Kalleth

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@Zelosse My proposal is there for your consideration. I understand if you think we have enough teachers.

The Seven Vices of Vicaria

Hey all,

I was wondering if, for my first ever RP as GM, if anybody might be interested in doing a buddy-style, carousing romp through a medieval kingdom, as any character that loosely fits the setting, but that is required to have some kind of vice that gets them into trouble. I have a few ideas for plot arcs which could be quite funny. And I was also thinking of keeping with the traditional format wherein I post as the GM, and then you, the players, respond. If this is something you might have an interest in doing, please let me know.

If I receive at least two interested people, I'll make a proper RP thread. In addition, when you note that you're interested, let me know if you'd prefer free or casual as the category we go with. As a GM, I'll always offer plenty to go off of, but it's really up to you since I don't mind either.

Introduction to VII Vices of Vicaria

Vicaria, a land of Holy men. The province is known for its Ten Thousand Temples, and there was a time when the Vicarian Empire stretched across the Continent. Now though, the God-King has fallen on hard times, and the land is more tightly gripped by poverty, famine, hardship, and tight pants than ever. So of course, there's never been a better time to go on a kingdom-wide pub crawl! Grab your dice, your tankards, your coins, and your women! The Seven Vices of Vicaria will never be as sprightly as they are now, and there are good times for the taking! Be wary though, as there are many in Vicaria who would just as much like to bring you down to their level of misery, as you would like to rise high beyond it! The underworld may be burgeoning, but your adventures need not be shallow! Just step into Vicaria, grab an ale, and become the Debauchers of a Decade! The Carousers of a Century! The Mischief-makers of a Millenia! The Gods, of Pleasure, Excess, and Lechery!

Mayhaps Vicaria will fall, and another land, of freer people and desires, may rise from the ashes...

Update: Here's the link to the RP page! https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/163228-the-seven-vices-of-vicaria-casual-rp-mature-content

Things I'd Never Do If I Ever Became an Evil Overlord (#121 I will not attempt to use an artifact that I know can only be used by the pure of heart)

Well looking at the tally so far, we've got

A Scottish Nerd with Delusions of Grandeur (Don't look at me like that, it's obvious...)

A Chechen Writer who isn't going to put up with this shit.

A Meme Gandalf whose objective is to guide the Hobbits to Kekistan.

A Catgirl that has made her mission in life to make ventilation as deadly as possible.

Sounds like a pretty great acid trip to me.

:D

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@Zelosse My Gym Teacher proposal, Coach Manilow! :D

Also while I have your attention, I was wondering, it seems like we really ought to have some kind of proper map of the Academy, or at the very least a list of locations for reference, to make sense of everything. Is that something we should put together?

My Teacher Proposal

Name: Jordan Manilow
Age: 42
Element: EARTH (Sand Specialization)
Appearance:

Appearance

Personality: Jordan Manilow is a go-gettin' arse-kickin' sand-spittin' kind o' guy. He ain't afraid of gettin' grit in his teeth and puttin' his nose to the grindstone to do what needs doin'.

In short, Mr. Manilow can be a hardass. But he's also the loudest, funniest, and most charismatic guy in the room, when he's not making you do laps. To call Mr. Manilow the quintessential coach figure does not do him justice, since he will insist he wrote the book that the quintessential coach reads every morning. So maybe he's full of himself, but he also can get right down to earth with his students when it's called for. The Headmaster himself has been at the business end of Mr. Manilow's pep talks, and let's just say that there's a reason why Mr. Manilow demands ultimate respect from his students whenever Kano makes an appearance. In four words, Mr. Manilow is;

Enthusiastic - Probably too enthusiastic. Ask the kids lying on the ground puking their guts out. Still, he brings out the best
in people.

Crass - There's a no bad language policy in Mr. Manilow's class. The exception being Mr. Manilow himself of course. The female
staff don't always find his sense of humour amusing. Mr. Manilow's reputation precedes him.

Uncompromising - Once Mr. Manilow has his sights set on something, you'll do it, or die trying. Trust me, you'd rather die than
fail to impress him. That said, failing may have been his intention all along. He's fair, but ruthless too.

Attentive - Although he can be an uncompromising ass, Mr. Manilow is always watching for the wellbeing of his students, and he
can tell when they're spent, or won't be able to do as he wishes. Years of observation have brought him a gift, and
he is scarily observant at times.

History: Mr. Manilow used to be a drill sergeant in the military. Before that, he used to be a special operations operative, performing highly classified missions. Needless to say, only Kano knows the full extent of his background. It's heavily implied that some kind of injury led to Mr. Manilow becoming a teacher at the Academy, although he has no visible injuries, which can be a source of gossip at times. However it is quite clear that Mr. Manilow has put his past behind him, and that he loves to teach the kids how to be fit, capable, active youth. He also gets a kick out of thrashing them with elementalism.

Equipment: Mr. Manilow's signature teaching implement, is a

willow rod

, which he often threatens to use, rarely if ever actually employs. In actual fact, he uses it as his primary aid in both "dowsing", as well as for climbing, fighting, etc.
Class Taught: Gym/Fitness/Martial Arts

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I'm curious, do we need any more teachers?

As far as I know, staffwise there is;

Stargazer (Nurse)

Catherine (Philosophy/Math/Logic)

The Headmaster

Xavier (Chemistry)

So I would definitely be game to play a teacher also. It seems to me like more than anything we're missing...

A GYM TEACHER!

Can I make a gym teacher? PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!

Screw it, I'm going to make a proposal. It's going to be awesome.

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Jideh watched with great amusement as the boy drew a caricature of him that was impressive both in its accuracy, and its purposeful exaggeration. He nodded approvingly and took a seat on the ground next to the boy. He reached into his pocket and drew out another granola bar.

"Hi Zeke, and sure, you can call me Yellow. Thanks for being a good sport, I bug everybody. The people who can take the bugging, and even dish out as good as they get, well those are the kinds of people I like to call my friends. So what do you say?" Jideh held out a new granola bar, both as a gesture of goodwill and to shake Zeke's hand.

"By the way, your abilities are super cool. Would you like to see what I can do?"

@Regitnui @Old Amsterdam

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@Regitnui I fixed it so that it makes sense now.

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@Regitnui I hope Zeke likes granola. XD

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Jideh Basrah had arrived. It had taken him several hours to make his way to the Academy but the travel time was well worth the wait. The grounds were magnificent, awe-inspiring, and generally exciting to him. Lugging his bags anxiously towards a collection of buildings that Jideh guessed were the main part of the campus, he stopped in his tracks.

"A greenhouse?" Jideh asked, to nobody in particular.

Jideh dropped his luggage (a suitcase, backpack, and duffel bag) and made his way into the impressively large building. There was no lock on the door, and as he stepped into the moist warm microclimate, a thrill ran down his spine. The variety of plants that jumped out at him was staggering, and without further hesitation, Jideh set to cataloguing each specimen in his head. Here, there grew a Red Ginger plant, and there grew a Durban. He spotted all sorts of climbing vines and mosses on the walls, and as Jideh creeped along, he began nursing several of the wilting plants. A spurt of energy, nothing more, just to give them a spring in their leaves. A well-practiced hand dug into his pocket and pulled out an granola bar, which he crunched on noisily. As a child he despised granola, but ever since hunger had become a constant companion, his distaste had faded considerably. Especially given the high caloric content which he could take advantage of, when stuffing dozens of granola bars in his pockets on long trips.

Jideh's plant-growing, granola-eating, sprightly stroll through the greenhouse was interrupted when he spotted a figure through the mossy growths in the wall. Somebody else! Jideh would normally have ignored this person and continued about his business but this was a special occasion. He was at the Academy now! This person could be a teacher, maybe even the Headmaster! He'd heard so many rumours about Kano, as he was called, and frankly Jideh was terribly curious. Thus Jideh crept along the path and left through another door. He spotted a white-haired boy who seemed to shine very brightly. He was drawing with the light, pulling sunbeams out of the air! A Light elementalist, Jideh realized. As the boy flopped onto the grass and stared up at the sky, Jideh heard his remark about people.

"Well, as far as people go, I'm as weird as they come!" Jideh exclaimed, walking right up to the boy from behind, staring at his inverted features. "I'm Jideh Basra, and I like what you were doing with that light show over here. Can you show me more?" As Jideh ate his granola, a few crumbs fell to land on and around the boy's face. Inwardly, Jideh was shaking with laughter. He tried to maintain a straight face and gauge the boy's response and reaction.

@Regitnui

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Jideh Basrah

Jideh Basrah

Age: 15
Element: Flora (Earth Specialization)
Appearance:

Appearance

Personality: Jideh is outgoing, and contemplative in turns. He tends to burst out into a scene with exuberance, and then go quiet for a span of time. Most people would put Jideh down as a wind user. But they haven't seen him in a garden before, when his energy is directed at the beauty of the earth around him. He can be tender, and nurturing, to a rosebush he happens upon one minute, and then be boisterous, even irritating, to a fellow student he meets adjacent to the aforementioned rosebush. To put Jideh's personality into its core precepts, Jideh is;

Mercurial - Like the plants that he loves to care for, different parts of Jideh's persona bloom depending on the situation.
Jideh is so changeable that he can, in the course of a day, run through the entire emotional spectrum!

Peaceable - Jideh hates fighting, and will jump into a fight to end it, while judging harshly the person who started it. He
believes there is always a choice between calm discussion, and senseless aggression.

Inquisitive - Jideh is a curious fellow who likes to learn by doing, and will usually figure things out just as fast as
somebody who reads a book on the topic. He likes to puzzle things out. Especially word games.

Sensitive - Jideh cares about people, and he cares about what they have to say. Jideh takes everybody at their word, and if
somebody tells him something using strong vernacular, he can take to heart that they believe what they say.

History: Jideh's history is simple. Jideh was born to a loving family some hundreds of kilometres away from the school, and when he manifested his ability to manipulate flora, the family's farm flourished. It was during a dry spell when Jideh nearly died from over-expending his energy that his family realized how much they were using him as a tool for their own gain, and so for his own benefit as well as their consciences, they sent him away to the school. The Basrah family farm still provides food to locations all over the world, and they consider Jideh to be their pride and joy. Their hope is that in time, Jideh will forgive them for their mistake, and that he will return to them even stronger than before, not only to furnish the land, but also to expand the farm and take over as its head. Jideh still doesn't know if that is the future that he desires, but he has come to the Elemental School nonetheless in the hopes that he will be able to figure out what he wants out of life throughout the course of the school year.

Equipment: Jideh has a seed pouch, Swiss Army Trowel, and his father's work gloves. These three things he carries with him no matter where he is.

Flora Concept Info

So in terms of what flora is... At least to my mind anyway, is the following;

Flora is the domain of existence which encompasses the form of matter that self-replicates and falls firmly into the plantae category of taxonomic organization. This domain also includes the fungi category, however most wielders of flora have a stronger affinity for either/or. To give an idea of the sorts of things that a Flora wielder can manipulate, picture a forest.

In this forest, there are trees, bushes, grass, perhaps. These are all things which can be classified in the domain of plantae and thus are able to be manipulated by a Flora wielder. That being said, places like forests and jungles and meadows (and caves if you specialize in fungi) are where Flora wielders are in their element. As much as a water user would love to be near a lake, or a fire user, near a well, fire, so too do Flora wielders find their strength and comfort in places teeming with plant life. So naturally, Flora wielders despise deserts, mountains, urban sprawls, and anywhere where plant-life is stifled or neglected. There are other conditions which disadvantage a plantae filled environment, such as disease, droughts, erosion, and pollution. Conversely, flora-wielders can improve their environment through gardening, agriculture, horticulture, and collaboration with users of other elements.

So of course now, we have to look at the interactions between Flora and the other elements.

Fire - You'd think that there would be zero compatibility here, but Flora recognizes the need to clear out old dead growth, and to purify the land for new planting. So there's a mutual respect, where Fire understands that Flora provides it with fuel, and Flora understands that Fire needs to be fed so as to allow for continued prosperity.

Water - Again most would say there should be an obvious affinity for water, however Flora knows that water can just as easily drown, erode, and evaporate, and remains cautious. Water on the other hand, is desperate for Flora's attentions because Flora can purify water, and filter out impurities. Flora rather bitterly, realizes that this leaves the impurities with them, and can have rough relationships with Water. Still, the two have a utilitarian relationship that has its highs and lows.

Earth - The Earth is Flora's cradle, and Flora's mother. Unlike the previous two, you would be correct in assuming that Earth users and Flora users go together like PB and J. Because of their close proximity to each other, and their reliance on each other, common is the pairing of an Earth wielder and a Flora wielder. That said, they are vehement in their desire to be seen as distinct from one another. So much so that there is a relatively well-known demonstration performed by these aforementioned couplings in which a Flora wielder will germinate a bean on a tile, and using a spurt of energy, cause the plant to bloom and grow all on its own. The bean will then wither and die over the course of a few minutes. The corresponding Earth wielder will then take a handful of soil and spread it on the dead bean. The Flora user tries to resurrect the dead bean, but to no avail. Alternatively, a sample of soil is filtered of all its nutrients and compared to a sample with nutrients provided from Flora, the difference is quite tangible. The difference between Soil, and Dirt, some say, is the covenant between Earth and Flora. The message is clear; The earth is where Flora lives, but it is not the Earth that gives Flora its essence. That is Flora and Flora's alone.

Light - Flora wielders maintain a similar relationship with Light as the one they have with Earth, albeit with much less confusion over the distinction in elements. Flora usually like having Light around so much it could be viewed as clingy, however if you had to depend on photosynthesis to survive, you might be clingy too.

Blood, Lightning, and Aetherial - Flora could care less about blood, since most everything in the domain has sap, or sugar-water, or other means of storing and transporting nutrients. Flora has a healthy respect for lightning, especially since Nitrogen producing phenomena are very beneficial to the domain of plantae. And much like all the other elements, Flora shrug at Aetherial, coming when called, but indifferent to its use.

What can a Flora wielder do?

Most anything involving plantae's natural functions and the abilities inherent, sometimes exaggerated to magical levels, or manipulated in unnatural ways. It's more beneficial to look at what a Flora wielder can't do.

What can't a Flora wielder do?

-Control any of the other elements, obviously. They can't control Earth, just the nutrient dispersion and absorption from Earth. They can't control Water, just how much of it is absorbed and released through respiration, etc. etc.

-A Flora wielder can't revive something that is dead. Nor can they use Flora magic to kill living plantae which is why Flora rely on Fire users as much as they do.

-A Flora wielder can't create new forms of plantae, only selectively breed, the old fashioned way gardeners do it.

-A Flora wielder can't manipulate plants to grow faster without taking the energy from within themselves or a willing other. If the energy is available and large enough however, they can accelerate growth exponentially and with extreme precision. This is the reason why a) Flora wielders are constantly taking in calories but never grow overweight, and b) Flora wielders tend to accrue large groups of non-Flora friends who can equally take in massive amounts of calories and never grow fat. In short, Flora Wielders are banned from Eating Contests, and are the world's most efficient personal trainers!

So there you have it! I hope this gives a better idea of what my Element idea is, and hopefully convinces you that this can really be a distinct element from Earth! After all,

Relinquo Foliorum Deorum.
I leave the leaves of gods.

Note: @Zelosse has confirmed that Flora is a specialization of Earth, however, he hasn't said no to anything previously discussed. So I'm going to go with it! :D