Letter Bee — Roleplayer Guild

Intrigues of Venedig - Fantasy RP

I. Intro

Welcome to the City of Venedig, the most cosmopolitan place on the Planet of Erde. A metropolis built on land reclaimed from the mouth of the great Wien River, Venedig is known as a place of opportunity, where you can buy anything, sell anything, be anything, as long as you have the triad of skill, intelligence, and wealth. 

Take a boat to the Grand Bazaar, and you can smell pepper, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Take a carriage to the Jewelers' District, and you are treated to the sight of necklaces, rings, bracelets and pendants, all worth a fortune. If your preference is books, the Grand Library of Venedig has copies of every book ever made; and an interesting mystery is that when you take out a book, a new one magically appears, right in front of you. To be in Venedig is to listen to a dozen languages whenever you go to a crowded place, to see the canals blaze red in the sunset, and to rejoice in the clean streets, safe from petty criminals.

But Venedig has a darker side. In the planet of Erde, there are few places where slavery is forbidden, and this city is not one of those places. How can it be, when the slave trade is so profitable, when selling people for every concievable purpose is the source of so much money? The rulers of Venedig uphold the natural order, not subvert it! 

And in the wider world, their overlord and liege, the Emperor of the Reich des Goldenen Grahles, has taken advantage of that. Having won a civil war against the rebellious 'lesser princes' of his Empire, this ruler, Karl Maximillian XV Schwanhueter, has decided to make an example of his disobedient nobility, in order to impress that the Emperor is the absolute ruler of his nation - instead of being killed, they and their families will be enslaved and sold in Venedig, where they are supposed to vanish into the pages of history.

Six months later, the first batches of slaves, kept well-fed and clean to preserve their looks, are going to arrive in Venedig, where the rich and powerful are gathered to watch these ex-nobles suffer the humiliation of being sold as property. But the fact remains, Venedig is a city where anything can happen, where one can achieve almost any dream, and it applies to these new slaves as well, even if they dream of freedom, justice, and revenge.

And the city will change...

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Basically, this is an Open World RP, but with a central plot moved by 'City Events' that multiple people can react to in their own ways, instead of a linear main quest. There will be crimes, riots, terrorist plots, misuses of Magic, and should we reach a certain point, plagues and open war. You can be anything you want as long as it makes for a good story, from a wandering bard skilled in sword and harp, to a wise mage or cleric, or one of the ex-noble slaves, confronting their new fate. Just contribute to the setting!

II.  Interesting Countries that Trade with Venedig

The overlords of the city of Venedig, the Reich des Goldenen Grahles was born from a boy's broken dream, a dream whose end resulted in a new beginning for the men of the north.

A long, long time ago, the Gods and Goddesses empowered Heroes to fight for them, all except their Queen, the Keeper of the Golden Grahl, from whose cup all magical energies flowed. One day, a young man, Phillip, went to the Holy Vale, where Kaiserstadt now stands, to wonder why this was so. Passing through the Three Trials set by the Keeper, Philip faced the Goddess, who answered his question thus:

"As you have come through my tests, you deserve the truth. The reason I do not raise up heroes and heroines is because I am no Goddess, nor are my family Gods. We are but men and women who have drunk from this Grail," she would present the cup to him, "which in turn draws its power from Existence itself. Therefore, Existence is the only True God."

Outraged at this answer, Philip snatched the Cup away from the woman, and drank from it. And so he became a 'God' himself, and the most powerful of all.

After this, Philip exiled from Erde the Keeper of the Golden Grahl and her brethren, the Gods and Goddesses, before casting the cup into a chasm deep within the world. And this is the reason why anyone with the right knowledge can tap into the earth for magical energy at need. Philip then looked back at the world, and saw his younger brother, Peter, who was learning how to be a healer. Deciding that the age of warrior-heroes was over, he empowered Peter as the first Hero of a New Age, commanding him to unite the people of the Northwestern Continent in worship of Existence, which they are also a part of...

The next few centuries were of expansion and innovation, as Philip, from his realm in the Higher Planes, empowered more 'non-warriors', artisans, thinkers, and even traders, to increase the development and sophistication of the empire founded by his Brother, an Empire that saw the Golden Grahl as the symbol of Existence itself, and who spent every waking moment trying to discover more about the laws that guided it, and how to reshape said laws to their liking.

And so, life was good...until the last direct descendant of Peter, Wolfram the High, tried to conjure up the Grahl from the centre of Erde, so that he can become a God himself. He failed, and the calamity broke the Northwestern Continent in two, creating the Great Inland Sea, and turning the future site of Venedig into a set of isles in a lagoon.

However, the Holy Vale had enough lingering magic to save a great multitude of people, and from this was continued the Reich des Goldenen Grahles, now ruled by the Schwanhueter dynasty, descendants of Wolfram's Keeper of the Swans, Karl Maximillian I. But not all believed in the legitimacy of this new ruler, and others believed that the Reich as a whole had been a mistake, and that the disaprate peoples of humanity should go their own way. But Karl Maximillian I and his descendants managed to regain the allegiance of huge swathes of land, including the nascent city of Venedig.

One Millenium Later, the Reich has yet to restore the full extent of Wolfram the High's Empire, and its current ruler, Karl Maximillian XV, was content to let it be so, but less content to bow to the demands of his own nobles, who had been given many privileges by his father and grandfather, so that they would help them snatch up the 'Rebellious Provinces'. And so, after matters came to a head, the nobles rose up in rebellion, which was crushed by the Emperor with the help of a new weapon: Gunpowder.

After this, Karl Maximillian XV was the unquestioned master of the Reich des Goldenen Grahles, but his eldest son, Otto, was stabbed to death with shivs while visiting a cell filled with imprisoned rebels in order to reassure them of clemency. Needless to say, the Emperor was outraged, and promplty issued the infamous Iron Decree, which ordered that all the imprisoned nobles and their families would be sold to slavery in Venedig. And so it was done.

"People say the Gods are Uncaring, and that is a general truth. But as it is a general rule, there must be an exception," this were the words of the first traveler from Tian to reach Venedig.

Once, there was a Dragon, who was also a God. This Dragon reigned over a mild land, and watched over its people with a pleased eye, appreciating the way that they formed societies and organizations. One day, to see them up close, the Dragon took human form, in order to find out more about these creatures.

And what he saw was this: They smiled, they laughed in joy, they cried, they lived and they loved. And he loved them back. But when he turned back into a dragon and went back to the heavens, he saw that no matter what he did, great and small, he would always harm those who looked up to him, either by not doing enough or by doing too much. After that, he cried, and the tears of the Dragon fell down into human lands, dispersing into magical energy, and empowering the first Magi.

And that is the real reason why humans are able to do magic...

With myths and legends that contradict the Goldenen Grahles' and the Confederation's, the Celestial Empire of Tian believe that Love is the true moving force of the universe, and that all pain, all suffering, will be ended once everything in existence, from the lowest insect to the highest God, are united in one harmonius whole. Disunity and Seperation, they believe, is an illusion, or at best, a wound, a wound that can only be healed by communion with others, a communion that recaptures, at least for a moment, the greater unity with Love.

But despite this, the citizens of the Celestial Empire do not eschew individuality altogether, or at least, the majority doesn't. Everyone must find their own ways of communing with other people, their own paths to unity, and true harmony comes from realizing that people can change roles, lives, and characters, and yet still remain part of the whole.

Thus, under a good Emperor, chosen from among the descendants of the Dragon, the Celestial Empire of Tian is a good place to live, where food is plentiful, medicine and literacy are widespread, and the roads and borders are kept safe by large, well-organized armies of professional troops. Under a good Emperor.

The current ruler of Tian, Emperor Gao Ming, is anything but 'good'. In the interests of spreading harmony and love across all corners of Erde's globe, Gao Ming had delved into forbidden arts, conducting experiments on blood and souls in hopes of 'condensing' people into raw magical energies, which he considers to be the purest manifestation of Unity. Crushing dissent using an aborrhent artifact of immense magical power, the Whip of Chainbringer, God of Slavery, Gao Ming has sent his armies to expand in all directions, and even sent spies and emissaries to Venedig, hoping to find a way to take control of the city...

The Xul Warrior-Artisans are a race of natural survivors and warriors, the most prominent sapient nonhumans on the planet Erde. With a rich store of lore and legends, they have a unique origin myth that emphasizes the importance of mortals in the world:

Long ago, in the Age of Creation, the God Mansbane was exiled by his brothers and sisters so that the latter can claim the rich plains and forests of Erde. Raging at being forced to live in a desert waste, Mansbane sought revenge by seeking to lay waste to the world, and so extend his domain to the areas he had been denied. And so he created his own race, a species of fighters, siege engineers, and tacticians, who would exterminate the other races from the land. With skin and hair the color of the sand, sharp teeth for tearing apart flesh and plants, cat-like eyes that can see in the dark, and strong arms that tire less quickly than most humans', these 'First Xul', our ancestors, would have made a fine instrument for the destruction of life.

However, Mansbane did not realize that his creations had their own hopes and dreams, and when he told the First Xul, whom he had given axes meant to shed the lives of other Gods, of his plans, they turned their weapons against him, realizing that if Mansbane expanded his domain, everyone whould suffer in the end, including them. And so, in the first rebellion against the first tyrant, the 'First Xul' threw off their shackles, and in defiance, added the 'Warrior-Artisans' to their name.

And they had lived alongside the other races, as equals, ever since.

Millennia later, the Xul pride themselves on making the unlivable livable, using their knowledge of irrigation and engineering to create gigantic resevoirs and windtraps to collect water so that they can live, no, thrive, in the deserts of the Southern Continent. Pioneers of the Druidic arts, the Warrior-Artisans are also masters of using grasses and plants to hold back the dunes of their desert home, preventing said desert from advancing. But make no mistake, they are still fierce soldiers, and their axes are the nightmare of hardened warriors.

Following a matriachal culture based on the 'Great Mothers', female Xul who have endured the pain of both battle and childbirth, or followed the alternative path of Drudism, the tribes of the Confederation live in relative peace, with disputes being settled through non-lethal, but still fierce, duels. However, this peace has not dulled the edge of the Xul's axes, for the Great Mothers hire out thousands of mercenaries and engineers to Venedig, some of them bringing the Creed of Survival, whose prime commmands can be summed as such:

"The proper response to suffering is to use tools to remove the cause of suffering. When you thirst, dig a well. When you hunger, plow a field. When you have an enemy - that's what an axe is for!"

III. The Factions inside Venedig

The City Government of Venedig - "Wealth must not lead to lawlessness, lawlessness must not lead to the fall of Venedig." This is the driving belief of the Mayor and the City Council, which are elected by the city's citizens every four years in order to oversee law enforcement, infrastructure, and foriegn relations (as far as the Emperor of the Reich allows). Efficient, ruthless, and hardworking (even their critics admit that), the City Government keeps the climate of peace, trust, and mutual benefit that allows for widespread trade.

The Venedig Marine Knights - Venedig had always been metaphorically married to the sea, the source of its immense wealth. And so, it is natural that its armed forces are able to fight on both land and sea, and the Venedig Marine Knights are best at both. Unlike the majority of knightly orders, the Marine Knights prefer to fight dismounted or on ships, but few who have seen them board an enemy flagship, or hack a  kraken into pieces, can doubt their courage.

The Razors' Guild - As long as there are conflicts between people, assassins will always be needed. Barbers by day, killers by night, the Razors' Guild are beholden to the City Government for giving them a place to call home, but not their puppet. Taking money from both their barbershop and assassination jobs, the Razors' guild adhere to a sense of loyalty to their clients, in order to keep the flow of 'customers' going...

Die Kommission für menschlichen Umgang mit Menschen - The Commission for the Humane treatment of Humans (KUM or CHH) - The newest power group to arise in Venedig, the Commission is founded on the belief that if slaves are treated with basic rights and a minimum of respect, they would be more obedient and productive. And so, they lobby and press for laws against the cruel treatment of enslaved people, and despite their name, they do the same for Non-Humans as well. However, some of them are drifting to the belief that the institution of slavery itself is inhuman and corrupting in the long run, but these aren't influential...yet.

IV. Magic System

There are six disciplines of Magic:

High - There are many theories that try to explain High Magic. Some say that it is the power of The Divine, it is the power of positive emotions, channeled through the human soul. Nevertheless, High Magic is the power of controlling Magical Energy itself, allowing for the ability to see all Magic, to draw available magical energy from the sky and earth, create constructs of condensed Mana, create and fuel magitech and enchanted items, ward people and places from magic, and finally, the ability to create bolts of silver-white light that cause damage that cannot be healed by Magic (although Science is exempt).

World - World Magic is control over the physical elements of the world. You want to create Fire? World Magic. You want to alter Gravity to make yourself float? World Magic. You want to use lightning to electrocute a person? World Magic. Basically, if it has nothing to do with changing one thing to another, or controlling something that isn't wholly of this earth? World Magic is your key. Basically, Bending from Avatar: The Last Airbender, but without healing or spiritual arts and with control over gravity.

Change - This is the magic that deals with changing one thing to another. This magic can knit wounds and reverse aging, cause trees to grow fists and turn vines into whips. This magic can change one substance to another, turning lead into gold, earth into acid, and fire into water. What it cannot do, however, is affect stuff protected by High magic, or mess with things that are already dead. That belongs to another school, the magic of the Underworld.

Underworld - Death is all around us, and the old laws against disturbing the ghosts who chose not to pass on are gone, cast into the wind. Nevertheless, the souls of the departed have to be treated with respect...but it is not the same for their bodies. Underworld Magic is the magic of Necromancy; it is the magic you wield when you want to raise an army of the dead, to control the shadows of the world, to speak with ghosts, and to strike people dead with one blow. You can even use this to transcend death, allowing you continued existence in this world without need for food, drink, and sleep...

Timespace - The magic of travelling vast distances in a single bound, of teleportation, portals, bullet time, and scrying. The strongest Magi can even control probability, making a person luckier or unluckier, sometimes to absurd levels. But what it cannot do is reverse the past, basically, no time travel. Time stop, however, is a possibility...

Mind Magic - This magic deals with controlling minds and altering emotions of both humans and animals, as well as creating illusions, mental compulsions, and even erasing or editing memories. A very powerful magical discipline, but a strong willpower can break its effects...

Basically, each PC is supposed to mix and match effects from multiple sources of magic, but the more disciplines you take your power from, the less room you have to grow.

You have six spells available, but the more schools you pick, the weaker they will be, as a rule.

Countering and Dispelling Magic

Making Anti-Magic spells is a bit complicated, but basically, you first need three High Magic spells, including the Anti-Magic rote, and one spell of the School you want to dispel. For example, if you want to dispel Underworld Magic, you need three High Magic spells and one Underworld Magic spell. As you have six starting spells available, you can theoretically be able to counter or Dispel three schools maximum. You can only counter or dispel High Magic if all six of your starting spells are of that school.

Enchantment Rules

Enchantment requires High Magic and a spell that you or another party member knows, along with an item to be enhcanted. Note however that the weaker and less durable the material is, the magic you can put into it is more limited; for example, oak can be enchanted to emit laser beams, birch cannot. This is the same for metals, and the strongest of spells can only be enchanted into 'Perfected Electrum (more below)'.

Perfected Electrum

Electrum is a mix of Gold and Silver that occurs naturally, but can be made by artificial means. This material, if treated by High and Change Magic by four different Magi (see 'Group Spells' below) can be 'perfected', aka transformed into a metal as hard as diamond yet not as brittle, and whose lightness is that of cloth. But the most valuable property of Perfected Electrum is that it can contain very, very strong spells, except for Resurrection (see below under 'Group Spells'). Thus, Perfected Electrum is made only in very small quantities, under the watchful eye of the most powerful states...

Group Spells

Basically, multiple spell-casters with different Schools can do things that would strain a single Mage. This also helps in compensating for single Magi's weaknesses in specialization.

Example Spell:

Resurrection (High, Change, Underworld + materials for a new body) - Three Magi, or alternatively, a single Magi who has six High, Change, and Underworld spells each, can bring back a dead person. High Magic is used to supply magical energy and negotiate with Angels/Gods/Demons for the permanent return of the Soul (they must always be willing), Change is used to turn inorganic material into organic matter, and Underworld is used to tug back the Soul from wherever it's been. Resurrection cannot be Enchanted into Items.

V. What if I don't want to play a Mage?

Any PC can replace a spell from their spell list with an 'Exceptional Skill', which is basically a talent that counts as completely mundane as far as Erde is concerned, even if it would be supernatural in our world. All Exceptional Skills can resist the magical equivalent, or even counter them; for example, Exceptional Swordsmanship allows you to cut through magical barriers or attacks, while Exceptional Medicine can cure wounds caused by High Magic and normally unhealable by any spell, provided one has the right materials. Exceptional Skills can be anything you want, as long as 1.) it does not have an obviously magical effect, and 2.) It is an enhanced version of something a normal human can already do, just boosted to implausible levels.

This is an incomplete list of examples:

- Exceptional Swordsmanship
- Exceptional Archery
- Exceptional Unarmed
- Exceptional Endurance (can resist even magic)
- Exceptional Bureaucracy
- Exceptional Trading
- Exceptional Diplomacy (stuff done with this can resist the effects of Mind magic, even if the target is weak-willed)
- Exceptional Medicine

Exceptional Skills can also be stacked, aka doubled or even tripled in power. For example, you can use up three spell slots to gain Exceptional Swordsmanship x3, which allows you to cut through a two-story building made up of granite, and tear apart a Time Stop with a slash. More on stacking in the Rules section.

Note that Exceptional Skills are intended to be specialized, but at the same time, lack the versatility of Magic. And yes, you can have both Exceptional Skills and Magic; Exceptional Skills replace individual spells, not the entire spell list.

V. Rules

1.) No godmodding, powerplaying, metagaming, etc. etc.
2.) Any mature scenes, aka anything above nudity, must be taken to PMs.
3.) No OOC feuding! If you must argue, be respectful. IC, meanwhile, you can hate each other as much as you like as long as it doesn't seep over to OOC.
4.) You can control NPCs when I explicitly say that you can control them or if they belong to your Custom Faction.
5.) That said, you are allowed to create three PCs each, but only one Custom Faction per player.
6.) Please notify me if you will be gone for more than a week, I myself will let you guys know if I will be gone for that same amount of time.
7.) I reserve the right to kill off Custom Factions made by inactive Players, or fold them into a larger faction. Same for characters.
8.) It's a fantasy world; you can learn Magic - two new spells of any School per Story Arc, more if you find a willing mentor and time. New Exceptional Skills, on the other hand, are easier to stack, harder to learn - You can double the power of two Exceptional Skills every first arc, and select a new exceptional skill every second arc. Venedig will have Eight Arcs, so you get to stack two skills on the first, add one skill on the second, stack again on the third, and so on.

VI. Character Sheet Skeleton

Name: What’s your characters name?
Age: How old is your character?
Physical Description: What does your character look like?
Place any photo’s here.
Important items: What possessions are important to your character?
Short Bio: Tell us your characters story up to this point.
Starting Faction: If you're creating your own faction, please describe it here or in a separate post
Spell List: 6 Spells overall.
Exceptional Skill List: Replace any number of your 6 Spells with an Exceptional Skill
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