Just a thought, but why not the heir of a losing faction in a civil war with claims in the Imperium? That would sufficiently muddy the waters a bit when it comes to a potential conflict. It would also mean that there could be a lengthy campaign of subversion and bribery and other forms of influence mongering prior to open conflict...
Just the first thought that came to mind.
I like it- do you mean as a proposal for a character?
Centuries have passed since the Shadow was defeated, and little is it mentioned anymore, and then only in whispers. The Clerisy, those dutiful and punctilious protectors of piety and order, have ensured that only the most sanitized and pious accounts of the Great Battle circulate, in which Justinian, the incarnate god, met the Dark Lord Daigon on the ashen plains of Nagath and in single combat vanquished him. In the deserts far to the south, the arrogant wizard-lords scoff at such stories, and debate theories of their own about the fall of Daigon and the Empire of Nagath. Some question whether there ever was a Dark Lord, speculating that the Temple created an antagonist to justify its own pretenses to sanctity.
Whatever the truth, it is clear that Nagath was once the seat of a great dominion. The ruined fortresses of steel and black stone, the great earthworks channeling rivers of molten rock, the half-ruined machines still capable of great destruction, the shrines haunted still by demons and dark gods, these and more remain testimony to some former glory...or horror.
But now it is a wasteland, infested with warring tribes of beastkin and orcs and barbarous men, the haunt of trolls and ghouls and outcasts from every corner of the civilized world, acknowledged by the Imperium only when they send in expeditions to massacre its remaining inhabitants in an effort to prevent them from ever becoming too numerous.
It is here, in this gods-forsaken land of ash and fire, of ruins and warring tribes, it is here that you will forge a kingdom.
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Welcome!
In this RP, players will design and play as a characters within the vast wasteland of Nagath, a Mordor-like hellscape in the fantasy world of Geryon. There will be NPC nations around Nagath taking an interest in what goes on within it, most notably the theocratic Justinian Imperium and the Imperium's sworn vassal-princes known as the Marcher Lords, who hold the hill country between Nagath and the Imperium's eastern flank. These vassals, and the Imperium they answer to, will not tolerate a threat rising in the seat of the ancient Dark Lord Daigon.
You are...well, whomever you would like to be. An Inquisitor in the Justinian Imperium, hunting down the faithless and accursed? The third son of one of the poorer Marcher Kings? A wizard-lord from the southern deserts? An orc warlord? An outcast cultist of some dark faith? A slave girl?
Whatever your lot in life, you share something with the other characters here...you possess an artifact, a possession of the former Dark Lord Daigon. A dagger, the shard of a broken sword, a leaf or book of dark verse, a gauntlet, a... ring? It might be a family heirloom, something you found by the side of the road, or something you've spent your whole life seeking. You may know its origins or be completely ignorant of them. Your artifact might be an item of great power, or simply a totem you keep close by.
Regardless, circumstance(?) or perhaps some inner compulsion has led you to the pirate city of Ozgad's Folly, on the north coast of Nagath, where our story begins.
-It is (grim)dark fantasy RP set in a harsh and unforgiving fantasy world. -I'd like this to be an exercise in collaborative world building. That means that we want characters that feel like they inhabit a shared world. Players should collaborate heavily on designing their characters and the setting. -It is mediumish fantasy: magic exists. It is powerful, dangerous, and definitely out-of-the ordinary.
A note on Magic: I am not a big fan on fixed magic rules or magic systems. The setting is what I call "High Fantasy OOC/Low Fantasy IC", meaning that the world would have as many fantastic elements as we like, but there would be limited magic "on camera" in the IC, as both an aesthetic choice to keep magic... magical and mysterious, as well as to put a limit on IC power levels while allowing for maximum creativity and freedom OOCly. There will be no magic system and no 'canon' cosmology for this RP, so competing and mutually incompatible understandings of the world, gods, and magic are fine.
That means no armies of reanimated dead or golems, no legions of fireball casters, balrogs, etc. We're going to err on the side of how the LotR handled magic rather than say, D&D. Meaning, it is present and powerful, but mysterious and often indirect.
Likewise, the RP will take the GRR Martin approach to history, myths and religion: there are as many religions/myths/understandings of world history as we can come up with here, but we will leave it an open question as to whether any of them are true. Conflicting mythos and cosmologies and visions of god(s) are encouraged.
-It is vaguely 1600 AD tech. Gunpowder, muskets, cannon, etc all exist. -ancient, mysterious technology and powerful demons and god-like beings exist, but should adhere to the guidelines for magic laid out above -original fantasy races are encouraged -Inspired by Tolkien, Shadow of Mordor, Warhammer fantasy and 40K, Lovecraft, Morrowind, &...looking forward to seeing what others bring to the table. - Advanced writing standards.
I finally have enough time to get back into RPing, would love to join. Need to read the OP in some more detail later then will create a CS if there's space.
Yes, apologies for the slow start. I will try to have to OP up tonight or tomorrow. RPG crashed on me on Friday and deleted my intro which, like a moron, i did not have saved elsewhere.
I don't suppose the introduction of non-orc races will come along anytime soon?
Folks are welcome to come up with their own races, I'll just need to accept them.
@Flagg Is my CS accepted? I'm waiting with the history to incorporate others in it (like some crusade that just happened to cleave through my land. yk, no biggie).
Can you post your WIP CS in the character tab? Will review this week.
@FlaggHeya; you have any more info on the Noss'fyrat?
Who, these guys?
Short version: they are vampire/flesh mages who worship a lovecraftian monstrosity known as the Conqueror Worm and they were allied with Daigon back in the day, using their unique magical expertise to help create slave races like orcs and beastkin.
