The Lucenrai Chronicles: The Fallen Kingdom

[vietmyke]

The Lucenrai Chronicles: The Fallen Kingdom

Lucenrai, a world with lush summers, and harsh winters, the kingdoms of man have made their claim. Lucenrai is a large continental landmass, and one of the only two known continents in the world, flanked by several smaller islands and landmasses. The heart of the continent consists of an expanse of plains, hills, and lightly forested grasslands. To the north are an expanse of tall mountains and tundra, covered in harsh everwinter forests. West of the heartland is Mediterranean and warm. Down to the south, the land gets considerably wetter, and has large stretches of thick forests, and marshy wetlands. Towards the east, the plains become harsh, turning into a craggy, rocky region which then opens up to a large, harsh desert. Across the ocean nearest the western coast, are small chains of tropical islands, these islands are the buffer zone to the continent of Reyen, a lush frontier land, filled with forests and natural resources waiting to be exploited.

For years, the realms of man have lived in relative harmony. This harmony has not always been peaceful, small wars breaking out between the different kingdoms, but there was balance, order. To the North is the Kingdom of Ardel, a hardy and proud people, used to harsh weather and hardtimes. In the Heartlands, the ever constant ally of Ardel is the Kingdom of Edessa. With its fair lands, large mines, and central location, Edessa is both prosperous and diverse and is a generally peaceful nation. To the West is a large mercantile Varyan Empire, famed for their massive trade power and wealth, as well as its access to the rich islands and resources of the new world. To the south, in the great forests is the Kingdom of the Welds. Colloquially known as the Kingdom of the Wilds, the Welds have been rivals of the Edessa for centuries. To the east is no kingdom of man, rather hundreds of clans of nomads and raiders.

Lucenrai is now in a state of turmoil. The Welds, longtime enemies of Edessa have suddenly turned to the kingdom for help, desperately requesting aid against a sudden surge of marauding Orcs. Alongside the influx of Weld refugees, Orcish bands have appeared in South Edessa and have begun pillaging the countryside. To make matters worse, the Varyan Empire has launched a massive invasion of Edessa, seemingly taking advantage of the chaos created by the orcs. With an army armed and armored with the wealth of the mercantile empire and the resources from Reyen, the Varyan Empire has easily swept across the Edessa countryside.

On the brink of defeat, the forces of Edessa have been forced back to its Capital city and the nearby lands. With little hope of victory, Edessa decides to send its refugees- its youth and future, to the north, to seek refuge within the Kingdom of Ardel. In the dark of night, caravans from Edessa are sent northbound, with nothing but a scant few guards, mercenaries and older teens to protect them while the remaining soldiers of Edessa prepare to hold the Empire at bay.

---

Plot

This RP will revolve around one of the final caravans to leave the capital city of Edessa. A ragtag group of old soldiers, grungy mercenaries, youths and children, we will struggle to survive in the wilderness as we flee from the dastardly forces of the Varyan Empire. Along the way we will be beset by hardship and adversity as we make our way through the war torn countryside of Edessa and into the harsh wilderness of Ardel. At times, our story will be light hearted, at other times, it will be dramatic and tense as we attempt to prevail over insurmountable odds. Our characters will face daunting challenges, testing their wit and willpower, as well as their morals as they are pushed to their absolute limits in this struggle for survival. This is: "The Lucenrai Chronicles: The Fallen Kingdom"

Rules

1. This Roleplay will have higher standards when compared to most Casual RP's, I will be expecting at least a few, well written paragraphs, and absolutely NO ONE LINERS.
2. Be sensible and polite in the OOC. Any arguments should be either taken off to private messages, or brought to my attention to resolve.
3. No Mary/Gary Sues. Your characters are the story's heroes, but they are not perfect.
4. No God-Moding. Your characters are important, but I will not hesitate to injure them if they do something exceedingly stupid. Note, as GM, I reserve the right to God-mod however I like, with the purpose of advancing the plot, or steering it in a specific direction.
5. This will have blood and violence, and foul language is freely allowed, though for the sake of decency, any sexually graphic acts will fade to black (or will be taken to PM) before it goes too far.
6. Player knowledge is not character knowledge. Just because you know something (be it through OOC or another person's post, does not necessarily mean that your character knows.
7. As GM, my word is law. This does not mean I will be unreasonable, nor will it mean I will be unfair, but I will expect you to respect my executive decisions.

Regarding Characters
IMPORTANT: I will only be accepting up to 4-5 characters (not including my own) so it will NOT be first come, first served.

Most characters will also be expected to be novices, relatively inexperienced, or 'low level' in skill. Characters for the most part will be youths and young adults, and can have some skills- though characters cannot be a master at arms. Alternatively I will allow one or two characters to play an older, more experienced and skilled character, provided that they are adequately balanced, for example, A skilled swordsman, who is now old, and no longer the fighter he once was. I am also searching for a player to be play as the child of the monarch

This RP will not play out on a tabletop style system, and treasure, loot and gear will be bountiful in this RP. However, characters will be limited in what they will start with- as it will be what they can carry with them. Starting gear must also be reasonable: For instance, if your character is the son of a baker, it would make no sense for him to have a set of plate armor and a greatsword, likewise it is doubtful that he would have the martial skill of a trained soldier.

Technology and Magic

Pretty standard Fantasy fare, technology is your typical swords, spears and shields. Steel plates, chainmail, and leather make up the backbone of defensive technology in the world, however fantasy alloys and materials will also be present:

Adamantium, recognized by its high density and brown/bronzed color is extremely durable and strong, but heavy.
Mithril is lighter than steel, but just as strong, and conducts magical energies easily.
Ironwood is a dark gray wood, thick and as tough as iron, hence its name.

Magic is also as you'd expect, magical bolts of varying elements cast through willpower and concentration- though not all possess the talent for magic.​

Character Sheet

Appearance: Your character's appearance. I prefer art images as opposed to real life pictures
Name: Your character's first and last name.
Age: The age of your character, the age range I'm expecting for most characters is 16-19. Old Caravan Guards and Mercenaries will obviously be a little bit older.

Personality: One of the more important parts of your CS, give me a good taste of what your character is like.

Backstory: Important, but not as important as your character's personality, give me a small summary of your character's history and bio.

Skills and Abilities: Here is where you put things your character can do/are good at, as well as what magic abilities they have (if any). Magic is a rare talent and is difficult to master. If you intend on making your character a user of many weapons- chances are s/he won't be a master of magic. Skills and abilities should be presented in list form as Experience level, Skill, Description. For instance:

Novice Woodcutting - this character has been chopping wood for a short amount of time

In general, experience based skills should go: Novice, Journeyman, Adept, Professional, Accomplished, Master, Legendary. Skills that aren't as dependent on experience (such as the ability to wear armor) should just be Untrained or Trained.

Equipment: Here is where you'll give me a list of your character's equipment, weapons, and armor- if any. Remember, you're playing refugees and caravan guards on the run- not a mobile armory. If your character possess a particularly special weapon made of some fancy fantasy metal, there had better be a good reason aside from "It looks/sounds/feels/is cool!" like skills and abilities, weapons and armor should be listed in a format of "name, attributes". Images can be included in hiders.

Sword, Old, Dull. - this sword was given to example character by an old man in a cave.
Vidofnyr, Adamantium - This mighty battle axe is forged of fine Adamantium and hits like a carriage; a really heavy, fast moving carriage.

My Character

Name: Emil Erran.
Age: 18

Personality:
warm and kind-hearted, Emil is a soft spoken young squire with a strong sense of morality and justice. This level headed squire tries his best to stay brave and rational in the face of hardship and adversity, despite his inexperience. Honest and trustworthy, Emil is compassionate and kind, if a little shy and under-spoken. Loyal to a fault, Emil is more than willing to risk himself for the sake of others, and goes to great lengths to defend his loved ones. A very down to earth and grounded individual, Emil's calm and positive demeanor, while bordering on naivety bolsters the spirits of those around him.

Backstory:
Emil, youngest son of the Erran family, comes from a long line of Edessan Knights. Emil, like the rest of his brothers were introduced to the lifestyle of a knight at a young age, and were immersed in their culture from the moment he could walk. The son of a Edessan Knight and his wife, Emil and his brothers were well educated at a young age and were taught manners as well as basic martial skills and knowledges as children. Throughout their childhood, Emil and his brothers would often venture into the town to play with other children. Emil made friends easily, and was known for his gentle and sensitive demeanor, while the rest of his brothers were respected for their various other qualities.

As they Erran children grew older, they were trained in the ways of various weapons, such as the spear and sword, and were trained in horsemanship and riding. After his seventh birthday, Emil was apprenticed to another noble family to serve as a Page, where he would begin to further refine horsemanship and swordsmanship as well as learn the intricacies of reading and writing. A naturally perceptive and intelligent child, Emil was treated well by his host family, and learned much under their tutelage.

The Knights of Edessa, or the Edessan Knights as many know them as. These knights are tasked with serving and protecting the people of Edessa. These stalwart warriors are well known for both their valor and martial skill, despite their relatively small numbers. Every male member of the Erran family had been an Edessan Knight at one point in their life. Emil's brother is among the famed members of the Edessan Knights, and one of the King's personal guards. Each of Emil's brothers has already entered service in the order.

As he turned 14, he became squire to a famed Edessan Knight, where he furthered his training, continuing his work on bladesmanship and horsemanship, as well as learning archery, music, speech, and skills befitting a young knight. Here he learned how to take care of, and maintain armor, how to tend horses and treat wounds. The next several years were difficult, his knight was fair, but strict, and offered him nothing but the most difficult challenges to face.

Now a fresh 18 years old, Emil's journey to become a full fledged knight of Edessan has been cut short by the war. With his lord having sent Emil away with the other youth of the city, Emil is one of the oldest of the youths to leave, and like many of the other older children, has supplemented the sparse number of caravan guards with his own skills.

Skills and Abilities:
Adept Swordsmanship - As a squire, and the son of a Knight, Emil has received martial training in various fields, he is capable with many weapons, but shows the most promise with a sword.
Journeyman Spearmanship - Along with his swordsmanship, Emil has received training with the spear and lance, though it is clear he shows a preference to the sword.
Novice Archery - Alongside his other martial skills, Emil has also been briefly trained in the use of the bow and arrow.
Journeyman Horseback Riding- As a knight in training, Emil is trained on how to ride a horse, fight from a horse, and take care of a horse.
Trained Armor use - Years of training have taught Emil how to quickly don and remove plate armor, and can thus move with more dexterity and quickness than one without training would be able to. He is also well versed on the care of plate armor.
Novice Cooking - 'Cooking' would be a bit of a stretch, Emil is capable of preparing meat and raw food to an edible state without causing sickness.
Novice Lute playing - The way of the arts, poetry, and writing are often emphasized amongst members of the upper classes, music is especially appreciated throughout Edessa. Emil has picked up a tune or two on the lute in his free time.

Equipment:

Father's Sword, Worn. - An old sword used by Emil's father. Though it is worn and has seen its fair share of use, it remains a balanced and capable weapon nonetheless.

Father's Sword

Edessan Half Plate. - a cut down suit of plate armor utilized by Edessan knights and soldiers. Plates protect major parts of the body, while the rest is backed with tough leather under a tunic.
Roark, Horse. - A well bred brown horse named Roark ridden by Emil.

In his knapsack, Emil carries a few supplies, some dried rations, flint and steel, and a few other survival items.

[dndragons]

Sounds interesting and fun. I'm semi new to forum rps so I hope to live up to your expectations, but I've done rping in other types of situations for a long time.

[vietmyke]

sounds great! Character applications will be posted here, OOC/IC thread will be reserved for accepted players.

[dndragons]

Just curious as to what kind of magic you envision. Is it ritual based, powerful, dnd style, etc etc. Also, as a low level person if I made a magic user they would be like a novice magician/witch/wizard?

[vietmyke]

Magic is cast via spiritual essence, it is kinda typical final fantasy/tales series spells, what with fire balls, thunderbolts, elemental destruction and the like. It is considerably potent, and dangerous, but the aptitude for magic is only found in select people, and is often traced down bloodlines. The power of spells are based experience as well as natural prowess.

[dndragons]

Alright, and what do you expect for say spellcasting times? In other words how long it would take to cast them.

[vietmyke]

Again, it will depend on the natural prowess and experience of the character. For an average adult mage, he'd probably be able to cast and throw a baseball sized fireball in the amount of time it would take to pick a rock up off the ground and throw it.

[Balthazar007]

Appearance:

Name: Riku Fulton
Age: 17

Personality: Shy and introverted, Riku has always lived life in the shadows of his older brother. He is happily content with having few friends, none of whom considered 'close', at least he tells himself that he's happy with it. His reserved nature allows for clear thinking when not under too much pressure, making him very strategic when needed. When he is under too much pressure, his default response is to remove himself from the situation; in combat situations this trait reads as cowardness.

Backstory: Riku is the younger of two brothers belonging to a loving mother and work obsessed father. A doctor and widely known white sorcerer, Riku's father only paid him any attention when he showed occasional signs of interest in the family business. Always feeling inadiquate next to his protege brother, Riku decided to undertake this journey to find his own destiny.

Skills and Abilities:

Adept Traditional Medic: Riku has been learning from his father and brother since he was young.
Journeyman Strategist: Riku has a natural ability to quickly and reliably asses situations but lacks experience.
Novice Magical Healer: Riku practices magical healing consistently but has never shown a strong innate talent.

Equipment:

Medical Bag, Contents include: 5 stolen vials of enchanted potion, bandage rolls, healing creams, small leather bags for ingredient collecting, a canteen of water, and small medical instruments such as a scalpel.

Dagger - Riku's uncle gave him this new dagger before going off to war; Riku has yet to use it.

(Note: His 5 stolen vials of enchanted potion will be used only in extreme cases and will be a little secret from the others. Basically, they are good for whatever ails you, at the cost of 12 hours of deep sleep while they work their magic.)

[vietmyke]

Note to all: My own character has been added to the OP to show an example of the standards I expect of a character. (Aside from the background, which needn't be quite as long, though I wouldn't mind.)

[Balthazar007]

What you think of Riku's CS?? Too short?? Just enough?? Just say the word. :)

[Dondude]

Interested. I'll see if I can get a CS up by tonight or tomorrow. I will most likely go for a thief/barterer role who favors using charisma over actually fighting.

[vietmyke]

@Balthazar007, extremely sparse. Personality details are more sparse than I'd like, but I get the gist, barely.

Background is very lacking. What was his childhood like? What about his mother? What about his brother and father? None of them are explained in anything more than a passing detail. There is no detail about when, where, and how he learned any of his abilities, or how he interacted with them, or the town around him. What sort of experiences has he had? How long has he been learning magic from? Why did his father bother teaching him if he paid no attention to him? It needs some work.

Skills are fine, or they will be once they're explained or implied more clearly in the background.

It is implied that the dagger is made of normal steel, and can cut, so the 'metal' and 'sharp' qualities are unnecessary, unless the dagger is particularly sharp, or particularly metal *Headbang rockerfist* Also, vials, not viles.

[vietmyke]

Also, I should've mentioned this earlier, but before people's feelings start getting accidentally hurt:

Myke criticizes 'cause he cares.

OldGuild

[Balthazar007]

@vietmyke

Haha, you're fine. No feelings hurt. I'm experienced enough to respect the wishes of the GM. More detail, means more detail. No problem! I'll need till tomorrow to come up with a juicy backstory though. I'm tired and ready for bed.

[dndragons]

Alright I wrote a character.

Elizabeth Falkner

Name: Elizabeth Falkner
Age: 18
Personality: Liz is a quiet but intelligent young woman. While she is quick to state her mistakes and faults she also can sometimes end up being brutally honest to people. Some could call her pessimistic while she would call herself a realist. While magic is the art of doing the unexplainable in a sense, she is still able to study it and therefor it’s logical. Emotionally she tries to remain stable. She doesn’t like openly displaying sadness or fright though frustration is one that can show if someone risks the lives of others needlessly. Finding her drawing or studying either magic or literature is the most likely situation one may find her in. Despite how she may seem, fantasy novels and tales of adventure have been her favorite since she was a girl.

Backstory: Elizabeth was the second daughter within her family which grew from her father’s long forgotten bloodline. They were considerably poor and her family owned a farm which when she was seven got burned down by the orc tribes leaving them to have taken refuge within growing slums of the Edessa capital city. It was in these slums she had her first encounter with magic due to an old man who tried to get money for food by selling old trinkets. She was fond of the items he sold from old astrolabes to ancient coins and quickly became his friend due to this, eventually he would almost be a replacement father when her own died of a disease that traveled through the slums one year when she was nine.

Her mother worked long hours to earn meager pay as a tavern girl and seamstress and didn’t have much time for Elizabeth and her older brother. The siblings would head off to the old man’s place during most days to talk about old stories he may present and eventually he trusted them enough to show his skill with magic. Of course, he would only use minor tricks around them, and when Elizabeth expressed curiosity he handed her off a book not expecting much, but it was only a week later she was performing basic spells with more skill than an average novice. Because of this the old man thought perhaps she could rise out of the slums by learning magic and getting picked up as an apprentice somewhere else. Her brother was very supportive of this and when Elizabeth was 15 she ran across a wizard whom offered her the awaited chance to leave.

Elizabeth took it, leaving her mother and brother behind, and became accustomed to a higher class environment for a while. This wizard oversaw many of the nation’s wizards during this time of war which was why he stayed in the capital while the few others worked around the nation. Her personality didn’t change from what grew in the slums. From its close quarters, economy driven crime, and all around filth she was only open to her brother and the old man she knew. The wizard found her dedicated but unexpressive. However, she was a prodigy of sorts. Within three years she grew faster than most pupils, though most pupils were brought at a younger age if their skill was found.

As the war got worse for the nation Elizabeth found herself being pushed hard by her master. Constant practice which drained her day in and day out and until her 18th birthday she had almost forgotten what is was like to be able to go outside. On it though she was granted the day off in which she ran to see her family and the old man. However, her family was gone and she ran into the old man whom she longed to see again. He was confined to his beds most days at this point, and he told her how her brother joined the military a year earlier to try and change the fate of the nation while her mother was killed for the money in her pocket. Elizabeth received an old necklace her mother owned which her father had given her. The necklace’s symbol simply giving an old note that her father had known about their bloodline, even if they hadn’t produced a magician in a few generations.
The call was soon made later for the caravans to be made and head out. To which Elizabeth was placed on as she was still far from military ready with her magic.

Skills and Abilities:
Adept Magic: Elizabeth trained three years for a group of magicians who tried to use their magic for their nation, however usually they would be taken in at a younger age and if it wasn’t for her natural talent she would have been but a novice. Her magic wasn’t deemed combat ready as she only casts minor offensive spells for now such as the equivalent to a burning hands or a flash of light to blind opponents. (Equivalent power spells to this more now and weaker)
Journeyman Artist: Elizabeth passes her times with books and illustration. It's a skill she has learned simply from a long time of doing it, though without a teacher it's simply the accumulation of years of work. She doesn't possess skills with coloring or other materials though she is good at shading. However, it's not fine art and she draws what she sees or has seen.
Journeyman Healer: She has basics down when it comes to medical aid and the ability to sew wounds or clean them.
Untrained Armor Use: She isn’t good when it comes to wearing armor and prefers cloaks.
Novice Navigation: She has the ability to guide by the stars if she has her astrolabe.
Novice Naturalist: She has basic knowledge on nature and survival as she studied and read books often
Novice Loremaster: As with her nature knowledge, her love for books has given her knowledge on old stories and legends. Along with basic knowledge on location lore.

Equipment:
Star cloak: A cloak sewn by her mother before she left which is simply dark blue with starts on it in the shapes on constellations if one cares to tell that they are in the shapes of the celestial objects. Keeps her warm and can help cover her in the dark.
Dagger,old: A simple cutting tool for self-defense though she isn’t trained with it.
Astrolabe,Old: The old man’s favorite astrolabe which isn’t the finest but functions for navigation by the stars.
Necklace,Silver: A necklace depicting a four pointed star from her father, no known significance. The gem in the middle of the star is a diamond.
Blue Journal and Charcoal pencil: A simple blue journal that looks rather old, but contains plenty of empty pages as well as previously drawn stuff by Elizabeth. The items are ordinary in pretty much every fashion and mostly nondescript besides for the drawn contents on the pages which may include things like butterflies, a building from the slums or from a window where she trained and such.

[Dondude]

Gregor Horace

Name: Gregor "Greg" Horace
Age: 17

(ignore clothing of image; refer to face and hair)
--------------------------

Personality: Having spent much of his life in the slums of Edessa, the forgotten, lawless underside of the city most nobles and upper class would prefer to ignore, Greg has developed a bit of a harsher perspective of the world around him; and he isn't afraid to share his equally harsh opinions. The "world" (as Greg has come to understand it) places slick-talking, violence-driven megalomaniacs as rulers in exchange for nobles and errants, and as such, Greg has adopted both the skills and mindset necessary to survive under these free-for-all circumstances. While Greg is not a sociopath by any means, and may actually grow amiable among those he deems useful, his environment has taught him to serve his own needs above others... if only for the sake of survival. As such, he will often use his natural borne charisma to serve his own interests; assuming everyone else is attempting (yet failing) to do the same.

(Brief) Backstory: Abandoned by his parents as a baby, Greg was one of many countless, forgotten orphans of Edessa. He spent the greater half of his life among the over-flooded, ill-kempt mess halls regarded as "orphanges". Years would go by that Greg would spend waiting in line for gruel, sitting between screaming, pent up youths until he finally came to the most important realization of his life: anything, even living without a roof, would have been better than the waste of existence offered by what was essentially prison cells in the orphanage.

Indeed, becoming a street rat in Edessa proved far more profitable for the boy than he ever imagined. While "profitable" meant managing a meal of soup or porridge every night, this was by and far considered an exorbitant luxury among his situation with "The Clink", as Greg had so aptly named his prior living arrangements. In his mind, living on the streets was as close to living like a king as one could ever be; sure, the people were rough, and the stakes were always rising. But at least there were no walls. No limits to climb high.

Early on in his "career", Greg would hop to and fro Edessa's numerous street gangs... but most higher-ranked thugs found his attempts of schmoozing and sidestepping more of a cost than he was worth. Living without a faction made no difference for the boy, and after a while, he found such independent living beneficial: there was no burden on his shoulders beyond his own.

He made his own fair share of friends anyway, developing a reputation among the petty criminal circuit for his more refined scams ("refined" among these low-level thieves being beyond a shakedown and stabbing in an alleyway). One such case involved convincing a naive young noble that he was a Varyan magistrate, and in need of funds for his journey back West to meet the bail of the noble's distant cousin. This scam was only one of many... but a particular story Greg likes to share, nonetheless. Such schemes have earned Greg infamy as well, both with Edessa's enforcers of law, as well as with the more organized crime syndicates...

Skills and Abilities:

Adept Persuasion/Bartering - Greg is a naturally gifted smooth-talker, and his skills with his tongue has saved him on more than one occasion from a strangling or stabbing; on other occasions, however, his tongue has led to exactly that. Nevertheless, he's managed to survive such encounters. Failing to learn the values of keeping his own strong-minded opinions to himself, his disposition for discourse has certainly developed from his unrelentless pursuit of verbage... even if through constant trial and error.
Journeyman Daggers - To survive on the streets beyond adolescence, one must learn how to handle a weapon... Greg was no exception. Like most street rats, he took an affinity to daggers, as they are light, easy to carry and conceal... and just as deadly as a sword, if not more so, when catching a target by surprise. Not that Greg has since killed any man, nor would he be much of a match against an actually trained combatant. No, most of Greg's "skill" with daggers come in his presentation, being able to have his dagger dance between his fingers, twist along his palm, and spin from his throws. Certainly, he knows how to slice and dice with decent speed, having seen his fair share of street brawls, but he is by far no professional.
Journeyman Acrobatics/Sneaking/Lockpicking - While knowing a weapon is only one of many preliminaries for survival in the slums, knowing how to traverse a city without being seen is far more prosperous; Greg has learned this quite well. Many sleepless nights Greg has spent hopping and sprinting about, searching for unknown nooks and crannies where he could either find a free meal, or better yet, an unguarded source of wealth. Certainly, in a moderately wealthy city such as Edessa, such prized bounties were not hard to stumble in to... but accessing them was an entirely different story, even for Edessa's most skilled thieves. Greg has learned how to pick the more basic of locks, having bartered middling necklaces, amulets and the likes to feed himself for weeks on time. But the true treasures were left for Greg to merely covet, looking off with dreamy eyes into windows filled with bountiful measures of treasure... kept under lock and key far beyond his current aptitude.
Novice Illusion Magic - Among the many hoodlums Greg has befriended over the years, one older and far more seasoned resident of the streets was delighted to teach another in the arts of the arcane; Madame Hen. While most saw her as insane, Greg thought of her as an excellent source of both knowledge and company, and the two managed to foster a close, almost mother-son relationship. Only after ensuring such a relationship was genuine did 'Mother' Hen offer to teach Greg how to tap into his inner affinities for magic... but at this point, the teachings were short-lived, as the attacks neared shortly after the initial stages of training. As it stands, Greg can only create a small orb of light from his fingers. In addition, Greg is capable of creating intricate shadow puppets. Along with his knack for talking, this makes Greg a particularly great source of entertainment for storytelling around the campfire.
Untrained Ritualist - Often referred to as "Witchcraft" by many uninformed... while this may actually be the case, Hen's persuasion on Greg has helped him see its uses differently. This came on one such occasion where Hen offered to show Greg her "blood magic" in person... so long as he agreed to be the "lamb". Upon agreement, the act was quick; without warning, she sliced a deep chunk through Greg's chest with surprising speed (using the dagger described among his equipment). He witnessed his blood siphon through the air, flowing into a fresh wound on Hen's wrist. Her wound healed in seconds, and her skin seemed to regain some color, as Greg felt his own state become frail and weakened; and he remained that way for the rest of that week. Whether Hen's intentions were truly to teach or to "feed", Greg has at the very least gained an awareness and intense interest of pursuing such powerful dark arts...
Untrained in Armor - Self-explanatory; and it is likely Greg would never have a preference to wearing any of the sort.

Equipment:

Mithril Dagger: Ornate, once of High Quality; but has since become Worn with age - One of Mother Hen's parting gifts... a knife used for many, many occult, sacrificial rituals in a cult that, in an earlier life, Hen was adamantly a significant member of. But Greg was given no such backstory by Hen [and such mystery should remain for the time being...].

Mask: Ornate, Mysterious - A mask Greg just happened to stumble upon during his escape from the city, before secretly smuggling himself into the last caravan party. It most likely is just a simple jester's mask, but there could be something more to it. Coincidence, or fate?

Hider

Greg is currently draped in what is essentially a mish-mash of sewn-together rags... typical peasant garbs, the sorts. In addition, he carries a small satchel of essentials, such as a small stock of scrap foods for example, while his newly found mask sits at the bottom.

Very excited about this RP so far, especially after seeing this potential team form. Seems like a good group.

EDIT: Changed "blood magic" to officially "ritualism" (though Hen and Greg will still know it as 'blood magic'), after checking out some other CSs in your advanced section, to keep the concept tidy with the universe. Also made the other recommended changes and added a slight bit more to the backstory... but like I said, I would prefer not going beyond the necessary info just for the sake of keeping the fun of discovery. There is not much more to tell of Hen than what is further described/elaborated in the skills section without getting redundant. Again, the mask is simply "there" if such a plot device, either for just him or the rest of the characters, could prove useful. Likewise, the dagger and Hen's shortly mentioned cult could also become something larger down the line.

[vietmyke]

I'll be reviewing submitted characters momentarily. Keep in mind that you guys are also 'competing', for lack of a better word, with players from my advanced interest check, as this RP is intended to be a High-Casual/Low Advanced RP.

[Vesuvius00]

Sorry, It took me forever to get the format right for the skills and stuff.

Vitoria Briar

Name: Vitoria Briar
Age: 18

Personality: She is a very kind person, and will often go out of her way to try and make someone’s day, she enjoys seeing people smile. She is slow to anger, and quick to forgive. She is a loyal friend and very cunning in the face of adversity, coming up with plans that would seem childish in their simplicity but prove her instincts are spot-on. She’s very good at reading people, and at estimating how any situation would most likely turn out. People just naturally feel comfortable with her around, they are glad to call her a friend.

Backstory: Vitoria is the only daughter of a slightly upper class family that lived in the countryside around the capital city of Edessa. She had two older brothers, who are now fighting in the war, and one younger brother who travels with her. Her parents were healers, her mother able to use healing magics and her father well-versed in the arts of physical healing. Both her parents are busy tending to those wounded in the capital city.

Her family ran a small clinic out of their home, and Vitoria loved to help out in any way possible. Often, she would be tasked with cheering up a patient, or keeping visitors calm. She often mimicked the things she saw her parents doing to help the patients, and her parents acted upon that show of interest, training her to become a healer just like them. She learned quickly, and soon found that she genuinely likes to help people.

By the time she was 12 years old, she was a good nurse. She had wonderful bedside manner and was always able to get the patient to cheer up. She was well-liked in the area, and her family's clinic grew in popularity as word spread of the good atmosphere and good care. When she turned 15, she and her mother found out about her magical ability, healing like her mother along with the ability to harm in the same way.

The ability she has to harm scares her, and she sometimes tries to pretend that she doesn't have the ability at all. Because of this, whenever she practiced her magic she would only use the healing ability, leaving her fairly good at healing, but still very, very bad at controlling any of the harming ability.

She doesn't like the thought of hurting people, and now as one of the older people leaving Edessa, she's forced to carry a dagger and a bow so she can help defend the group if needed. She can use the hunting bow she carries, but she doesn't want to. She learned how to shoot because of childhood competitions between her and her older brothers.

Skills and Abilities:
Adept Healing magic - She can create apple-sized balls of Healing energy and throw them about 10 meters before they fizz out, Whoever they hit will get a small boost of energy and wounds will heal quicker for about an hour. She can focus this energy onto her hands and heal major wounds quicker by touching the person or holding her hands over the wound, she can keep this up for about 15 minutes before she tires, and in another 5 minutes will pass out. This magic cannot cure poisons, but it can help draw them out, and she cannot use this ability on herself.
Novice Harming magic - She can create apple-sized balls of Harming energy (the opposite of Healing energy) and throw them about 3 meters before they fizz out, Whoever they hit will get a burning sensation across their body and will bleed where the ball touched them. She can also focus this energy to anywhere on her body, extremely intensifying the pain felt by anyone who touches her like that. As far as she knows, she can only use short 1 or 2 minute bursts of this.
Journeyman Barrier magic - By mixing Healing and Harming energy she can create a wall of sorts, the larger the wall, the shorter the amount of time that she can keep it up. A wall about the size of a door will last about 10-15 minutes before she tires, and in about 3 minutes after that she will faint. The wall can't move, but she can, so long as she focuses on keeping the wall up she could protect someone for a while and she can go on ahead with a group at the same time, she can't get too far away though, 100 meters is about the limit.
Professional Traditional healing - She can set a bone in minutes, and get all the poison out of a wound. She knows how to wield a scalpel and stitch a wound together with precision and has a good amount of knowledge about the medicinal herbs across the country.
Trained Nurse - She knows how to deal with a patient and how to keep others out of the way when she's working, she also has good focus in any medical situation.
Trained Caregiver - She is good at keeping young children in line and at negotiating with older children due to helping raise her younger brother.
Journeyman Archer - She's a fair shot due to the games she played with her brothers, but she won't shoot people if she doesn't have to.
Adept Cooking - She is a good cook, even in the wild.
Singing - She will sing children to sleep and sing just for fun. She has a good voice.


Equipment:
A Dagger - She has no idea how to wield it and will most likely use it as an extra tool more than as a weapon.
Homemade Hunting Bow and Arrows - A bow she made with the help of her two older brothers.
Sewing Kit - Along with threads and needles to mend clothing, she has special thread and sutures to sew people together too.
Assorted Bandages - She has many, and always keeps some on her person.
Sharpened Scalpels - One with a larger blade for worse or deeper wounds, and a smaller one that she keeps on her person at all times for quick care of a wound and bloodletting poisons from the system.
A Bottle of Alcohol - for cleaning wounds and tools.
A Knapsack - holding a few keepsakes and a change of clothes for her, along with a smaller bag for all of her medical supplies and as many rations and such she could bring.

[Balthazar007]

@vietmyke
This rp seems like it's going to be a little more of a time investment than I can handle right now. Plus I see there's already another healer applying with a much more intricate background. Combine that with people applying from the advanced interest check, and I probably don't stand much a chance being selected anyways. Have fun everybody!

[vietmyke]

@dndragons Good detail in both personality and background, I got a good feel for Liz. Regarding skills, Liz spend a large portion of her life in the slums (ages 7-15), where/when would she have had the time to learn a higher mastery of art? Art isn't the cheapest hobby to get into. You also don't explain where she learned the ability to properly treat and sew wounds- I assume no one would have trained her in such a skill while she was in the slums, and such a skill isn't one that a magic apprenticeship would teach. A very well written character and a good example of a proper standard of what CS's should look like.

@Dondude would I be correct in assuming that Horace's general personality is the typical 'snarky rogue' with a bit of bluntness mixed in there? Not that its necessarily a bad thing, stereotypes can still be very entertaining when played well.

I assume your backstory is not yet complete- as there's no mention of "Mother Hen" yet.

Regarding skills, I would argue that 'intricate' shadow puppets imply the requirement for skill a lot higher than 'novice', but given their intended use, I'll let it slide. On the other hand, I'm not sure how I feel about the sound of 'blood magic'... All the same, I wouldn't consider him even a 'novice' in blood magic, as he has never actually practiced it. He can be aware and interested without having skill.

Regarding equipment- I'm fine with him keeping the dagger- Mithril doesn't rust, so it'd still be nice and shiny, but the state of the weapon clearly identifies it as an old weapon. Also be prepared to show how 'Mother Hen' was able to afford such a weapon- Mithril is not cheap. Is there any particular reason for the mask? and if there is, I'd like to know either on the CS, or PM if you'd like to keep it secret. Overall a good character, I look forward to reading the completed backstory.

@Vesuvius00, I've already read this character before so I know whats up. I would like to know a little bit more about her family life with her brothers and parents in the backstory.

Regarding skills, 'high Adept/low professional' can just be considered 'professional' for the sake of my own preferences. In the same vein, Low Adept can just be converted to Journeyman. All of these terms are relative in nature, and since she only did archery casually with her brothers, I'd even wonder if her archery skill would rank journeyman. An Anti-skill is not needed, the omission of a 'knifework' skill will imply that she doesn't know how to work with a knife.

And no, her brother wouldn't count as an item, he can just be assumed as an NPC on the caravan.