ArenaSnow

Charmed, I'm sure.

Welcome :)

It's like greeting an old friend....

Welcome :)

*Archived*

Tits are fine, it's just the sci-

oh, that kind of TiTS. carry on

BYTANIA, of Mages and Monsters

7, mmm. Well, lets see where this goes. I'll give it a day or two to gauge the activity levels. May consider splitting the groups up with a higher number of players.

BYTANIA, of Mages and Monsters

You know what? I'm in.

@superservo27

excellent, that's one soul Ah, very good.

Hello

Welcome :)

BYTANIA, of Mages and Monsters

вyтanιa

^{σf mαgєѕ αnd mσnѕtєrѕ}

Interest Check

the OOC

Greetings, mortals. Or... maybe not. Hmm. We'll figure that part out later.

You now see the interest check of a roleplay that is intended to operate in 'short story' form. That is, it will allow people to come and go, though I would prefer people to join if they actually think they will stick around long term. Every so often, the current story will end, and a new story will be started that is influenced by player decisions. What you do in one story will permanently change others, and there will always be options. For starters, characters will be a group of magic users that get together and adventure for the sake of keeping the world still going.

Other characters can enter, but mostly, this is about a group of mages. Why mages? Because you will be entering a world an ad hoc map that I'm slightly basing everything on from Medeival 2 that actually doesn't like you. Perhaps you're a good guy who just wants to know magic. Perhaps you're an asshole proving to everyone why mages need to be exterminated. Either way, what you do, is done in secret. So what are you here for again? Well, not everyone likes to do things in secret. They're naive, they don't care, they want to watch the world burn - any number of reasons. Your job is to take care of them by whatever means necessary, and keep the world from going into a riot, or ending, or any number of nasty things that may happen when a demon wipes out an entire village. Or perhaps not even a demon. Maybe a young mortal who just realized "oh wow, I can make earthquakes, this is so... mommy? why are you buried in the ground". I'm sure you can see why these unfortunate events need to be avoided, or at least handled before there's even more reason to hunt down magic users.

Who am I? No, no, stop it. I'm just a narrator. Your leader is somewhere in an abandoned fort, right where the rest of you will be going after receiving a mysterious Contact^TM I don't care what it is, make it up, mention it in your CS or your opening post when you get there. When you begin, everyone will have met each other and at least have an idea of what they're grouped up to do, even if there may be reservations between party members (after all, not everyone likes a necromancer. Strange, I know). Then a decision will be made where to go first. Believe me, there are plenty of things to do. Minor kingdoms everywhere, each with their own quirks and problems... oh yes. Plenty of trouble for you to handle, don't worry.

Get to the point? Fine. You're an aspiring magic user trying to stop bad things happening alongside your fellow misfits while fighting things ranging from easy to ten times as powerful as any one of you, and the world hates you. No, you don't have to be a complete novice. No, you may not be an elite supermagicuser, there will be enemies far stronger than you. No, I'm not going to roleplay in cringy first and second person like this interest check is written in.

Bites, anyone?

No? Ok, fine. Here's a world map.

Right here

There are, as of yet, no real kingdoms of note. Each province has its capital, and all the capitals are named, though that isn't to say that the region shares its capital name (BS one into your backstory, eh?). Grey regions are independent city-states/kingdoms with a single province, and regions with unique colors are the world's kingdoms of note. I'd imagine you want to know what the geography looks like. Well...

'ere it is

To simplify things, the northwest is a grassy plain region, the big bumps are some of the world's most notable mountain ranges (especially the mountains in the northeast, huge valleys and such), and the southeast has a big desert. Again, this map is pulled right out of an old mod on an older game to serve as a context, so I can literally give you screenshots of what it all looks like if you ask about a part of the map.

Still not enough? Ok, how about some information on your potential targets/enemies.

Demons - The nastiest buggers you'll come across. Old creatures spawned of hellfire and possessing a vast suite of abilities, not least of which is their ability to corrupt virtually anything that they touch. They do not exist in bulk - typically, there is only one demon that will be involved somewhere at a time. Their lack of numbers is easily made up by corrupted pawns and murderous fanatics that follow them and feed them the foul energies that they sustain upon. Removing a demon is dangerous, and the work of a capable mage. Or multiple.

But, it is in large part because of demons that mages have the stigma against them that they do. A corrupted mage is downright terrifying, and it was corrupted mages that caused part of the current social problems in the first place. Magic is perceived as either evil or easily corrupted. The latter is not completely wrong. Every demon differs, but they should all be approached with great caution. Some are, of course, more powerful than others. You may get lucky and find a relatively weak demon, or a damaged one, or one that was banished to the mortal realm for failing to prove itself worthy to its brethren. Or you might find a very powerful demon that seeks to corrupt the entire world, and has tools that it can use to do so. Who knows...

Corrupted Individuals - Corruption is a messy business. Kill a demon, and its minions may still roam. They can be powerful, but they often lack the raw cunning and corrupting influence of a true demon, allowing them to be more safely disposed of. But, again, they should not be underestimated. They are often deranged, though there are some who blend right in. Either way, removing them can only make the world safer.

Rogue Mages - The bane of magic users everywhere. The rogue mage typically does not care about supressing power, and attempts to use it to his or her upmost advantage. Sometimes they specialize in raw destruction, and sometimes they specialize in deception, working to undermine the politics of a particular state or city. Either way, a rogue mage is dangerous. They can sometimes be diplomatically handled, but other times they may be impossible to manage with diplomacy, making it necessary to get rid of them.

Supernatural Hostiles - Bloodthirsty vampires, feral werewolves, specimin gone wrong, any number of pest that terrorizes towns and kingdoms alone or in packs. While eliminating one of these is typically not going to save the world, it may make for an appreciative and more friendly populace.

Covens, Cults and Brigands - Terror inducing covens, deranged cults and particularly brutal bandits are the bane of civilization. Again, destroying or otherwise handling them does not necessarily save the world (though sometimes it might), but it may make for some appreciative NPCs in a world that otherwise doesn't like you.

Unwitting Destroyer - A child who blows up his home. A villager tempted by a cursed relic. A well-meaning individual who is prone to causing misfortune.There are some in the world with no malicious intent that cause damage without any desire to do so. Perhaps they can be saved, or perhaps it is too late to save them. Either way, they too must be handled.

Still? How about an RMAQ, randomly made answered questions?

Will you stop posting like this? It's cringy and not very amusing.
Yes, I don't know why I did this, it's just how I felt like writing at the time. Expect a more professional presentation when I actually make an OOC post, and expect third person to be used far more often.

Player death?
I will not actively try to butcher your character, but there is a possibility that your character will die if you seriously fuck something up. But, the nature of this roleplay is such that you can just add another character applicant and (usually) just integrate somewhere along the journey. There will be various checkpoints that allow for new players to join, and players that go inactive for weeks will be phased out or, if there is not an easy way to do it, killed outright. I'm more merciful if I think you just hit a very busy spell, and in that case, I'll write you in the background. If you're being an ass, posting everywhere while bemoaning your lack of time in posting here and holding everything behind, then you may suddenly experience death by crushing.

How active do I need to be? What are the post requirements?
I seek a post happening IC at least once a day, with me being more likely to prod the more players that there are. Everyone should be able to get a post in once in the week. I would prefer daily OOC activity as well, but I won't enforce a strict schedule, and I would like this to be fairly casual. Basically, give this a peek every 1-2 days. I do not write huge word walls of IC posts, so I don't expect as much. Write as long walls as you like, with the minimum being a paragraph that moves the story forwards. There's only so much one can do with dialogue, but as per the section's bare minimum, do try to avoid tiny posts. Grammar's nice too, but the main requirement is this - post something that advances the story as best as you can, and be legible about it.

Can I be <insert god-dragon, demon, angel, elves here>?
I would prefer a primarily human population, though other common fantasy races are acceptable (they would, however, be considered foreign the more outlandish they look, and the people of the world are rather xenophobic by nature). Vampires and other humanoid 'monsters' are acceptable, though I would be giving them a closer eye. Demons and angels and other high-magic entities such as dragons will be governed by my canon rules, as I intend to control them. It is possible to create a character of high supernatural power such as a demon or angel, but you would almost certainly need to collaborate with me on them. Again, I use my canon rules for them, and my canon rules are extensive to a degree that will probably not be seen for any other form of character. My standards would be high and my lore nitpicking would be constant. You'd make such a special snowflake at your own risk, and only if you think you'd make it. That said, I am open to discussion on more unusual characters.

Basically, the more 'special' your character is, the more nitpicky I become. >.>

How powerful can my abilities be? How should I list them? Are there limits?
What I primarily want to know is what your character's niche is and what they can do. Are they water-based mages? If so, what can they do with water? Once you have that set up, stick to the rules that you define for yourself, and don't try to min-max your abilities in-character. Water bending does not mean you get to incinerate someone by draining all the water from them just because you influence it. I will not throw my magic book at people unless I deem a particular ability to be OP, and I may mention certain restrictions for what powers can do when sheets are presented. Conversely, I want character creation to be relatively free. I'm open to discussing character abilities.

Time manipulation and mind manipulation are hard "nopes" with a small degree of wiggle room. Little pockets of slowing down time may be allowed, but nothing that truly goes back in time. You can have an ability that influences/reads emotions and such, but you cannot pluck information from someone's head.

Will there be player vs player combat?
Not planned, but possible. If this happens, I do expect you to use a degree of honor and to know metagameing = bad.

How much of the world is previously built, and how much can I add?
I mentioned my canon above. For the most part, only small amounts of my canon will be used that actually affect players, and even then, mostly just to define the limits of OP when I'm looking at a sheet. I'll use larger chunks of my fantasy canon when creating enemies and such, but those factors are on my end. The world map is static, though you can say you are from x region and then come up with details about it as long as they fit the region's theme. You could also say you are from beyond the borders of the map, which allows you more pure leeway. Administrations for any 'major' factions will be controlled and determined by me, so if you want to associate with them, talk to me.

As for what you can do, beyond that, up to you. Make up towns, people, even nobles, cultural aspects, bits of story to use as the foundation of your backstory. It is not a static world - the limits are defined by the map I am using to create a clear structure so I know where the heck things are going on. Make what you like, and chances are, you will not have an issue.

Why post in casual?
I write at casual length. I have for quite some time, and I will not pull the "this is a high casual" blah blah, because as far as I'm concerned high casual can go straight into advanced a good portion of the time by the site's definitions. Casual in scope - this is not going to consist of seriously deep plots and themes on the player end; casual in length - my primary concern is players working to advance a story, not fill word quotas; casual in requirements - I'm open to just about everyone, but I'll just have to see who pokes and go from there.

When will the OOC appear?
- when there's enough people
- when I get off my lazy ass
- when I figure out how things will be structured, as things will change somewhat by player numbers

What if the site goes down?
I mentioned the discord somewhere somewhere below in this post. >.>

Can I have OP be a co-GM?
I'm a picky bastard when it comes to top positions, but send a poke if you are curious, and I will give you a look.

...general world tidbits? Lore?

Bytania is a random campaign map made by some guy on Total War Center that I renamed underdeveloped world with small kingdoms and many independent provinces. Sure, there are expansionists, but for the most part, nations are small, though the distate for magic users is universal at the moment. More will be given about specific nations as the nations come into play, and perhaps when I decide to put an OOC together. Which would probably take a bit of a while, expect a week at least if things are moving swiftly all round.

I hear people like character sheets

But I'm not going to give you one. Ha.

So, what I'll be looking for primarily is your character's appearance and abilities. Basically, I want to know what your character looks like, and I want to make sure you're not pulling your abilities out of your ass. Besides that, a name, an age (which shall not be represented with ??? or 100+, old mages live up to 170 on average with a serious physical decline after 150), a fairly simple backstory that can be fleshed out as the roleplay goes on (but that makes clear that you're not actually the long lost descendent of King XX) and what kind of stuff you will start out with.

Basically, a name, age, appearance (picture form is OK, otherwise, a concise explanation), your starting gear, backstory and abilities. Have all that in mind and you will probably be set for whatever (probably simple) character sheet I throw out at you.

Personality is something that should be determined in the roleplay, in case you're wondering. I'm only using my pre-established canon for some general baselines and to draw demons from, and the world itself I will be presenting and designing along the way. I'm going to be making characters with changing personalities. Have a personality in mind and stick with its development, but I'm not going to lock you down to two paragraphs of BS that suddenly change when you realize that something else actually fits the character.

I'd like to make a discord channel for this, not mandatory to join and with anything important being reposted in this thread. It's only if this gains traction, but if it does, I shall throw a discord out here. Oh, and as I mentioned above, it's nifty to have should the site bugger up.

And finally, I know the way I write spawns a lot of clarification questions. So, ask away. No, really. I like being asked things. I only bite depending on a 1d2 dice roll. stop looking at me like that, I'm not going to use dice in this

Valentine's Day Contest Idea

I'd have to see more as to how it would be executed, but it's a somewhat intriguing concept.

Roleplay advice

I never claimed to have great success, especially with the guild. My success time has already passed, well before I joined the guild, and that was when I had nearly a dozen active members in a group with me :p

I never expect success at this point; pessimistic as it may be, I anticipate the failure of roleplays, and I plan accordingly. My plan is simply integrating the gist into my own canons, but that has had the effect over time of making me picky to anything that is not to my fine-tuned standards. I'm thus failing one of my own ideas of what a good roleplayer is - that is, someone who's quite flexible in terms of plots they can take on. But that's neither here nor there.

The guild really is like selling cookies, and everyone's tastes appear fickle. Or they buy your cookies, start eating them, and throw away the rest, either right in front of you or immediately out of eyesight so you have no idea what you did right or wrong. You could always ask for critique as to what you're looking for and how you present it, but even if your presentation is impeccable, you still have the guild culture of not thinking about long term investment and various degrees of picky standards. Conversely, you will sometimes find a good partner who will carry on to the end. Expect failure, and once in a while, be glad when you do get someone who lasts.

And if that wears on ya, your best bet is to probably just take a break for a while, clear up your ideas/mind/whatever else, and keep whoever is still going in the loop in the meantime. It's a good time to take a break anyways, given the guild still has its fits of slowness.

Roleplay advice

Ah, I remember this thread. Well, hopefully I'm not taken as the spokesperson for the Grand Master of Negativity this time, eh?...

A break in general is always good. Clear your head, reconsider things, come up with plots and characters that may be intriguing to return with. Not just any old plot, craft something, have some plans and plot bunnies to go with in the event of your return, and before actually coming back, give a look at the threads that are ongoing.
- Roleplays stalling out of the blue is fairly normal regardless of the quality, methinks. You need someone special to get proper dedication, and eventually, the roleplay will end, and you will be very lucky to actually finish a plot. My compensation is to put unfinished plots and characters into my canon, so that everything I achieve in roleplay will continue one way or another.
- ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Personal tastes may vary, I'm pretty sure superheros and smut are the cool shit right now if you're reaching for a broad audience, and others, who knows.
- Couldn't speak for that without context.
- It certainly does with me. Still, it shouldn't be that alone, as there are people who like such themes.

Breaks are good. Unless you're ripping out current roleplays, there is no loss to you taking time to clear your head/reconsider/whatever. Downright necessary to do at times.