[center]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/HX7OZsb.png[/img]
[i][h1]The North Road[/h1][/i]
[/center]

[center][sup]THROUGH WITCHENED WOOD AND RUINED ARCH
SOMETHING WICKED GRIMLY PROWLS
TREAD THEE LIGHTLY, HOMEWARD MARCH
ELSE ON THE WIND HEAR DISTANT HOWLS[/sup][/center]

[b]Fero Province is beautiful.[/b] It is dotted with some of the most idyllic and picturesque towns on the continent, and certainly the most fertile land this side of the Cinder River. If all were perfect, perhaps its capital, the Pigeon Citadel, might be the richest in the kingdom.

But all is [i]not[/i] perfect. Fero Province is surrounded to the south, west, and east by impassably steep and inhospitable mountains. The storm water that runs down from these may well be what keeps the land so lush, but the mountains that trap the clouds also trap Fero's citizens.

The only open space that might connect Fero Province to the rest of the kingdom lies to the north, where moorlands, forests, and swamps make up the journey to the hinterlands.

Once, the wild yet alluring landscape was not a problem. The North Road used to have settlements scattered along it - inns, guard towers, farmland.

[b]Now, there is a beast.[/b]

Accounts of what this thing looks like are scarce and highly contradictory. Perhaps you've heard it has teeth. Perhaps you've been told it took someone's father, or mother, or sister, or son. Maybe you think you saw it one evening, a shadow on the distant horizon, and maybe it looked at you with too many eyes at once. The children sing songs about it. The adults tell hushed stories and hang trinkets on their doors. The livestock go missing. Strange calls float across the wilderness at night. They say it brings fog, brings rot, changes the weather, turns you in circles until you're lost - and once you're lost, the beast will find you soon enough.

What is certainly true is that anyone who sets out to make the perilous journey along the overgrown, ruined trail of the North Road has never returned... At least not in one piece, and never with the same grievous injury as the last.

For Fero Province, ten years have passed in resigned, hushed solitude. The land provides for its people, and so long as they stay, they are safe. But the crown has not given up. The Pigeon Citadel finally put out the call: the royal treasury will [i]generously[/i] reward anyone capable of clearing the North Road and putting Fero Province back on the trade maps.

[b]You have decided to hunt the beast, or make a run for the hills.[/b]

[center][sub]THROUGH MISTED EVE AND RAINY NIGHT
THE HUNT ENDURES TIL MORNING FROST
SWIFT COURIER OR DARING KNIGHT
KEEP LANTERN LIT, OR ELSE BE LOST[/sub]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/bCwGa11.png[/img]

[center][h3]The Goal[/h3][/center]

[b]Slay the beast, or escape to the North.[/b]

Your character's exact motivation is yours to decide, but they must have lived within the closed-off Fero Province for the past ten years and have some reason to take the risk of travelling the North Road or hunting the beast. Maybe they have family up north? Maybe they're trying to win that sweet, sweet reward money? Maybe they want fame (or infamy), maybe they're just sick and tired of living in a place where nothing new comes in or goes out.

This is a dark-ish low-fantasy, medieval-inspired setting (bows and arrows, swords, and maybe just a little magic).

I will be setting the scene, giving information on the environment, sprinkling in events, and playing NPCS. I may or may not dip in with my own character, or have an NPC join the group temporarily(?).

You'd be playing one character each, in a relatively small group, with the option to split the party now and then. This will be played paragraph-style (though I'm not too fussy about length beyond that as long as there's enough to go on for the other players).

Characters are allowed to die, but I'll be leaving that largely up to the players' discretion. It is extremely likely there will be blood and injury.

[b]There may be other strange things on the North Road than just the beast.[/b]

[i]Let's see what you can do.[/i]

[center][h3]✧ ✧ ✧[/h3]

[h3]Game Rules[/h3][/center]

[color=fff79a][h3][sup]COURTESY, CONSENT, CONTENT[/sup][/h3][/color][/center]

[color=fff79a][b]╔ COURTESY ╗[/b][/color]
Be polite, and be kind. Do not bring Out-Of-Character drama into the roleplay. Try to be mature, respectful, and remember that people aren't psychic. Remember not to totally disregard someone's post if it was directed at your character. Remember that IC opinions voiced by characters are not OOC opinions held by players.

[color=fff79a][b]╔ CONSENT ╗[/b][/color]
This rule is to prevent godmodding, powerplaying, metagaming, etc. If you want to do something that will directly affect someone else's character, i.e. an attack, do not assume that the action automatically succeeds - phrase it as an attempt, and let the other player decide how their character reacts. (Also, don't be that guy whose character just fights all the other player characters constantly for the sake of it. A little strife and some scuffling here and there is fine when characters are under this kind of stress, but don't be a teamkiller.) Do not take control of another player's character.

[color=fff79a][b]╔ CONTENT ╗[/b][/color]
Due to the nature and theme of this premise it's likely there will be blood and action at some point - but try to use a little discretion and maybe don't spend six paragraphs detailing exactly how you're gonna gut a harmless merchant. Refrain from sexual content (anything further than a smooch, really). This is not a sex game and I'd rather it stayed that way, sorry. Also, no noncon/rape. Obviously no real-life politics.

[center][h3]✧ ✧ ✧[/h3]

[h3]Character Form[/h3][/center]

[pre]NAME: 
GENDER: (male, he/him, etc)
AGE: (no characters under 18, please)

APPEARANCE: (an image, a description, or both if you really want)

BACKGROUND: (must have spent the past 10 years stuck in Fero Province, whether they lived there originally or came to the area before the beast first appeared)

MOTIVATION: (Why is your character going on the North Road? For example, are they hunting the beast, or trying to travel safely? Keep this short, and feel free to make it a little vague - the rest can come out in the roleplay)

GEAR: (SEE BELOW)
[/pre]

[b]GEAR RESTRICTIONS[/b]
An example of what your character's inventory may consist of at the start of the journey is as follows:
-One major weapon that the character can effectively use (a sword, or a spear, or a bow and quiver of arrows, or something else entirely)
-Up to two "utility" items (for example a coil of climbing rope, or a small animal trap, or a musical instrument, or something related to a tradeskill, but you can be fairly imaginative here as long as it's not Another Sword)
-A bedroll and mess kit
-Maximum 4 days worth of food/rations

You can do less than that list or slightly different if you want to - if you aren't sure about one or more of your character's items, or want to swap something out because it fits your character's backstory better, feel free to DM me or ask in the OOC. I'm pretty open to suggestions, just try not to go [i]too[/i] nuts.

[center][h3]PLAYER INTEREST: [color=ed1c24]6[/color]/[color=ed1c24]6[/color][/h3]
[i]I'll go up to a maximum of 6![/i]

Magic will be in the form of magical artifacts, items, places, and the like along the journey - not grandiose innate spells your character knows by heart. (Sorry! Most roleplays I've run or played in have involved a huge amount of magic and spellcasting, and I'm trying something a bit different for this one.)

Please post your character applications in this OOC thread. I'll be posting a starter scene to IC and setting up a character page as soon as I've got my stuff together.

[b]Feel free to DM me for any reason, including character ideas, questions, suggestions, plot ideas, etc. Please understand my timezone is GMT.[/b]

Whew! I think that's it. Tagging folks who were interested!
[@Lugubrious] | [@Zoey Boey] | [@Fetzen] | [@Rina Daltis][/center]