[center][img]http://conceptartworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Elder_Scrolls_Online_Concept_Art_Zone.jpg[/img] [i]“Now comes the night of ruin. The Serpent shall summon the dark. The barriers between the planes will be weakened. Now comes the long march of the dead and the return of the black jaws of Oblivion. Dawn’s Beauty will be cleansed. The impure will fall. The sinner will suffer. This time, there will be no Hero to save them, for the Scrolls are silent. Believe me, my children… when it is done, when the lands run red with blood, balance will be restored.”[/i] [sub]- Aurelius, Lord of Moths[/sub][/center] [b]This is (for now) a private, invite-only RP.[/b] The year is 4E206. The Civil War in Skyrim is over and the Empire has brought peace back to the continent... albeit an uneasy one. In the height of summer, the days inexplicably grow short and the nights are cold and dark. The light of Masser and Secunda fades and the Serpent grows ascendent. Rumors abound of horrors in the shadows; of the dead rising from their graves and of the hellish beasts of Oblivion stalking the darkness. People huddle together in their homes and mothers clutch their babes close when night falls, and the roads grow emptier by the day. Ragged prophets proclaim the impending end of the world on street corners. Fear slowly, insidiously, spreads through the continent. Others try to maintain normalcy and order; lords and ladies urge their underlings to keep working and that everything will be alright. Soldiers and city guards patrol the cities and the countryside, incoming goods and ships are inspected, and troublemakers are thrown in the dungeons, all attempts to prove that everything is under control and that there is nothing to worry about. But good news spreads slowly, and bad news sprouts wings. In the midst of this, an unusually early night falls once more over the [i]Loyal Hound,[/i] a wayside tavern northeast of Daggerfall. Locals and travelers alike warm their hands by the fire and their bellies with drinks as the proprietor, a taciturn Imperial by name of Solomon Antabolis, puts a wary lock on the door. None of them have actually seen any of the rumored walking dead or alleged Daedric monsters that move between the trees, but, well… better to be safe than to be sorry. This is where our story begins. --- [h3][b]RULES, MECHANICS AND GUIDELINES[/b][/h3] [hider=Rules][color=fff200]1.[/color] No Godmodding or power gaming of any kind. We're telling a story, not having a competition to see who is the biggest badass. Not to say you can't do awesome things when it comes around time for combat, but know your limitations. This includes self-insert characters, backstories that are designed to give the character access to abilities, skills, and equipment that would be considered an unfair or overpowered advantage, autokilling NPCs during fights with virtually no effort put into it, taking on a room full of people single handedly, meta gaming, trying to have everyone treat your character like they’re something unique and special, your character knowing things they shouldn’t, et cetera. The goal here is believable characters. [color=fff200]2.[/color] The writing standard is typical Advanced. Read what you wrote over before you post, and ensure you have acceptable spelling and grammar. That said, I'm not a perfectionist, and mistakes are made by everyone. Just make an honest effort and we'll get along just fine. Posting expectations are at least 2 detailed paragraphs per post, probably more, within a two week period. If you think short paragraphs and single lines are the best thing in the world, than I direct you to the free section. Failure to post within the 14 day period without a notification of absence will result in your ejection from the game, no refunds. [color=fff200]3.[/color] No speed posting. This means give other people a chance to post before you do. There won't be a strict posting order, but if I notice the same two people posting back and forward in a short time span without giving others involved in that group or conversation or whatever a chance to reply, I will not be happy. That said, if you have two characters conversing with each other, feel free to reply steadily back and forward if things are going slow. Just keep in mind posting expectations and if serious actions are taken during those posting, others will have to be taken into consideration. [color=fff200]4.[/color] If you are going to be absent for any length of time, please let me know. I’m not going to kill of your character or kick you to the curb because stuff came up. Real life comes first, but that said, do try to be fairly active. Your character will be controlled by a GM until you return. If you vanish without word for more than 14 days, you will be removed from the game and your characters written off or killed. Consider this your only warning. [color=fff200]5.[/color] If you disagree with contents of someone's posts, don't turn the OOC into some horrible flame fest. We're all hopefully mature enough to settle disagreements through logical discourse. If things start to go into flame war territory, I will warn the players. Failure to STFU will lead to your banishment from this RP with nothing more than an angri faec to accompany you and your character being killed off brutally. Probably after through ogre rape. [color=fff200]6.[/color] If you want to do something, and you aren't sure, ask in the OOC so it can be discussed. Or, if you want it to be a surprise, PM the GMs. If it's a good idea, we'll work it into the plot. I like to encourage creativity and think that all good RPs involve ideas from all their players. Sometimes this leads to amazing subplots and character development. [color=fff200]7.[/color] If you have questions or ideas for events, PM the GMs. Your input will help keep you not only invested, but it’ll give the GMs more fuel to work with for upcoming encounters and plot lines in the RP. [color=fff200]8.[/color] If you feel the need to start a romance between characters, that's cool. This isn't exactly a rated role play, and it’s bound to happen. I personally like to graphically describe violence and swear quite a bit, but if you feel the need to indulge in smut, please take that stuff to PM. 4 pages of graphic sex isn't going to save the world; it'll just cause everyone else to feel really awkward and need a cold shower afterwards. It is known. [color=fff200]9.[/color] Gary and Mary Sues will have a Morag Tong contract put on them that they will never, ever escape from. Probably because their legs will be eaten by ice wraiths and their body horribly maimed by hordes of angry hornets before the assassin gets to you. He's a local, and his name is Joe. He will ruin your day, Mr. or Miss. I Have No Flaws and Everyone Loves Me. The GMs may choose to do background checks to find out if you’re reliable and generally write at an acceptable quality, so beware that even if your character sheet is outstanding, if you’re argumentative, write at an unacceptable level, go AWOL frequently, power game, and so on, there’s a good chance you WILL NOT be accepted.[/hider] [hider=Equipment Guidelines][color=00aeef] -Iron, steel, and leather: [/color]Very common and easy to come by and easy to afford. If your character possesses anything under these categories, you don’t need to justify having it. [color=00aeef]-Elvish and Orcish:[/color] these are somewhat easy to come by, and both have their unique advantages. They both happen to be fairly expensive and aren’t nearly as common as the previous category. Elvish weapons tend to hold an edge better than steel and are very sharp, as well as being much lighter and more flexible than most metals. Orcish material is very hard, very durable, and very heavy. It’s more difficult to work with and shape, but once it will never fail and requires virtually no upkeep while not being quite as sharp or flexible as elvish works. Please explain how your character came to obtain these items somewhere in their backstory due to their uncommon nature. [color=00aeef]-Dwemmer, or dwarven:[/color] This is relatively common in Skyrim, Morrowind, or Hammerfell if your character has been in the ruins. Most of their machines and defenses are still working, so chances are, your character is brave and tenacious if they got their hands on this stuff. Stores would sell limited stocks at pretty marked up prices considering how hard it is to obtain it. [color=00aeef]-Ancient Nord:[/color] Really old weapons that somehow hold up over the years, they're crude and quite common in ancient nord temples, tombs, and ruins. The only problem is you usually have to deal with the drauger. And obviously, they're not nice zombie people. Stores wouldn't sell this stuff (it would be like going to a gun store and asking for a Brown Bess when there's the newest Remington rifle on sale). [color=00aeef]-Solstheim Nordic Steel:[/color] Weapons made by the Skaal of Solstheim, it’s excellently crafted steel weaponry and armour of the highest caliber, but is quite rare to find outside of Solstheim, given its association with the Skaal. [color=00aeef]-Stalhrim: [/color]A special, magic ice-crafted set of equipment that can only be forged by the greatest masters using techniques only known by the Skaal. Changes are, your character will have neither access to stalhrim, the equipment to mine it, or the knowledge to do anything with it. It is exceedingly rare stuff. [color=00aeef]-Aleyid/Akavari:[/color] Similar to the ancient Nord weapons and gear, a long gone elvish civilization left behind a lot of Cyrodiilic ruins and the invaders from across the sea to the East in Akavar. However, no armour examples are known to exist and what little katanas they had left behind are extremely rare to come across. Please don’t write up a whole backstory of how your character obtained these because ‘lol, Japan is the best’. However, what examples remain are expertly crafted swords that have held up well over the years. [color=00aeef]-Falmer and Forsworn:[/color] Both sets of weapons are crude but effective, and Falmer gear usually has poison chambers due to being constructed from Charrus chitin and other parts. Forsworn stuff is built out of raw materials from nature, much like how a native American would. You'd only ever obtain either by killing a Falmer or Forsworn, and even then, would you really want it? [color=0072bc]-Glass and Ebony:[/color] Both of these are high-end, expensive, and extremely well made weapons and armour that you'd be lucky to ever find. Ebony gear originates in Morrowind, so it would be found among the rich and powerful there, and likewise, Glass gear comes from the Aldmari Dominion and is usually only found on their elite soldiers. While some examples find their way into Skyrim and Cyrodiil, it's very uncommon and you are a very attractive target for having them. Would you walk around with a rapper's amount of gold chains around your neck at night in a dark alley? Kind of the same thing. However, their quality is absolutely top-notch and while both weapons require a fair deal more upkeep than other materials (both incorporate types of glass in the construction in addition to metal), they are very desirable and dangerous. If your character possesses anything in this category, I would like a background justified and believable explanation for having it. I will not approve every CS that has glass and ebony in it because people think of it in video game statistic terms and therefore it will give them a competitive edge. [color=ed1c24]-Dragon:[/color] Dragons are all but extinct, and whatever remains are enslaved or in hiding. As such dragon scales and bone are extremely hard to come by. You can only find this in Skyrim, but as such, much of it has been confiscated by the Empire for archiving, equipping their own elite soldiers, or as museum pieces. It is extremely hard to work with dragon scales and bones, so even if someone obtained them, they'd have to be among the best to do anything with it. You very likely will never possess dragon materials. [color=ed1c24]-Daedric:[/color] The Oblivion crisis ended over 200 years ago, and as such, the presence of the daedra in Tamriel is so rare they may as well be myths to most people, and the few that do manage to cross dimensions certainly aren't going to hand it over. Even harder to obtain than dragon materials, a master smith would be hard pressed to find a daedra heart, and likely wouldn't know the process to create daedric metals and shape it into armour and weapons. You very much won't have possession of these, at all. [color=00aeef]Any enchantments:[/color] Possible, but you'll need to find the soul gems to charge them. Also, they're expensive as hell if you're trying to buy them, and only talented mages know how to soul trap. Best become friends with an enchanter if you're poor. If your character is an enchanter, it looks like you may be popular. Keep your enchantments limited to the level of skill your character has in the skill section. [color=ed1c24]-Daedric artifacts: [b][i]No. Just no.[/i][/b][/color][/hider] [hider=Game Mechanics][color=f7941d]1.[/color] You can only carry so much on your person at a time. Think of real life, are you going to be carrying a bow, a claymore, 3 daggers, a staff, 400 arrows, steel plate armour, just as many potions and scrolls, and every book out of the public library? Keep it reasonable, keep it realistic. Collecting loot should never be your goal. You should also specify how your character is carrying around most of their inventory. [color=f7941d]2. [/color]No matter how strong, talented, and experienced your character is, you're still only mortal. If you're running into 15 bandits, your odds don't look good. A troll is going to be the fight of your life. Herd of mammoths? Run like hell. You sustain injuries; you may die if you encounter a situation that is suicidal. [color=f7941d]3. [/color]Potions take time to work in most cases, so you're not going to get gutted by an axe and then look brand new by chugging Tamriel Energy Drink. It'll help your body mesh the wounds and heal you, and it takes time for it to eliminate poisons and disease. In short, be careful. On that note, chugging potion after potion isn't going to happen unless you happen to be a whale with the body mass to do so. [color=f7941d]4.[/color] Scrolls take time to read, so if you're reading one in combat to cast something, make sure you have someone watching your ass and there isn't a group of Minotaurs looking to rip your arm off ten feet away. [color=f7941d]7.[/color] Damage is realistic(ish), if you're hit by an ice spike or an arrow; you're going to need some serious medical attention if it hits something vital. But since this is Elder Scrolls, and potions work in ways that a platypus would say, "that's fucked up." People also aren’t going to die of an infection from a blade wound after three days of sickness or something. Point is, your character is mortal and will be taking wounds in combat. [color=f7941d]8.[/color] Keep in mind that whatever weapons and armour you do have does not reflect how well your character is going to do in a fight or survive, so don’t doctor a CS around trying to make sure that they’re the best equipped person in the game so you have a combat advantage. There’s going to be badass bandits out there running around in fur armour and iron weapons who’ve killed more people than your character has ever met who will not care if your character is decked out in full ebony armour, a shield, and a long sword. He’s light and fast, you’re low and heavy, and experience trumps expensive weapons and armour almost every time. Try to give your character equipment that makes sense for who they are and what they’ve been through. [color=f7941d]9.[/color] Weapons do not necessarily have to be what you find in the games, but follow it as a template. As such, things like spears, throwing knives, throwing axes, glaives, halberds, javelins, and flails are fair game, even if most of that didn’t appear in any of the Elder Scrolls games. However, that isn’t free reign to try to put something that is high-fantasy or just ridiculous into the game. Do try to keep things lore appropriate where possible, as well. [color=f7941d]10.[/color] To keep things simple, we will not be permitting werewolf or vampire characters. It’s an extra layer of scrutiny to go through when reviewing character submissions, and there’s always a concern that players just want the conditions for the powers/ badass factor rather than for narrative purposes, as well as it complicates group dynamics because realistically, a character with said conditions would show symptoms sooner or later and likely be attacked before long because of it. [color=f7941d]11.[/color] If you are trying to omit something in your character sheet saying that it will ‘be revealed later in the RP’ or just generally want to keep it a surprise, GMs need to be notified of the idea for approval and may be able to help incorporate ideas into the game. [color=f7941d]12.[/color] Don’t have your characters have close personal relationships with canon characters. Its one thing to say you served under Ulfric Stormcloak, but we don’t want to hear about how you were lovers or poker buddies or something. We aren’t fans of shrinking the world and since people tend to have their own personal ideas of what these characters are like, we’re keeping any canon NPCs firmly under GM lock and key.[/hider] *All of the above has been borrowed from the VotD OOC as written by Dervish so it should be familiar to basically everyone reading this. I only include it for the sake of easy referencing, but I trust all of you, so you can skip all of this. --- [h3][b]COMPENDIUM[/b][/h3] This will be filled in as the RP progresses to use as a detailed reference on the various unique factions, individuals and entities that appear in the story. --- [h3][b]CHARACTER SHEET[/b][/h3] [hider=Click me!][noparse][B]Name:[/B] [B]Race:[/B] [B]Sex:[/B] [B]Age:[/B] [B]Birthsign:[/B] [B]Origins:[/B] [B]Appearance:[/B] [B]History:[/B] [B]Personality:[/B] [B]Equipment:[/B] [B]Misc. Possessions:[/B] [B]Family and Associations:[/B] [B]Favored Attributes:[/B] [B]Favoured Skills:[/B] [Indent][B]Spell List:[/B][/Indent] (Note: Mages only, up to 7 spells) [/noparse][/hider] Your character's Birthsign isn't very influential, but feel free to use some of the effects from the games to spice up your characters a little. Pick two favored Attributes, one Major and one Minor, from the following list. [i]Strength Intelligence Willpower Agility Speed Endurance Personality Luck[/i] As for skills, you all know this system. Using the main skills of the game (two handed, smithing, destruction, illusion, lock picking, pick pocketing, shield, et cetera) things are rated by proficiency. You may have 1 highly proficient skill, 3 moderately proficient skills, and 3 somewhat proficient skills. You may, however, move up a class at the expense of another skill of the level below it (e.g. you pick 1 highly proficient at the cost of 2 moderately proficient). Likewise, you can gain more skills if you downgrade a skill (1 moderately proficient becomes two somewhat proficient, for example). Explain why your character is good at each skill in a brief sentence. This can include skills related to crafting or other professions. [SPECIAL NOTE FOR MAGES]: For a quick understanding, Highly Proficient skills are equivalent of expert level spells, Moderately Proficient is Adept Level Spells, and Somewhat Proficient is Apprentice level. Keep that in mind when playing your character and picking your proficiencies. Please stick to spells you see in the games, but I’m not against combining some of them if it makes sense, but keep in mind your character would have to be exceptionally talented to do so. Run spell ideas by the GM if you aren’t sure for approval, but if you see it in the games, you should be okay.