Sierra

Sierra's Crap Vault

Character Framework

Basic:

Name: Name given at birth/legal name.
Aliases: Include both accepted and resented pseudonyms/nicknames.
Sex: Needs no explanation.

Appearance:

Physique: Include any relevant identifying characteristics. No amount of pictures can substitute for a well-written description.
Wardrobe: Include signature apparel and general fashion preferences.
Demeanor: Include all non-physical components of general appearance e.g. mannerisms. Focus on baseline rather than specialized interactions.

Psych Profile:

Goals/Motivations: Where does this person see themself down the road? What is it they hope to do? What keeps them doing what they’re doing? Section by item and explain.
Fears/Regrets: What is this person running from? What do they wish they could take back? What do they avoid at all costs?
Psychology: Describe more general thought patterns & processes. Be detailed and thorough. Explain in detail why they make the decisions they do.
Daily Routine: Walk through a daily routine. Make note of the (lack of) personal significance of all things.

History:

Upbringing: Focus on early history and any relevant events within.
Defining Period/Event: Describe in detail the event that set them on their current path. Clearly show how the events that take place achieve that.
Noteworthy Incidents: Describe any other events in more recent history that are of relevance to the character or their reputation.

Abilities:

Best Qualities: Defining positive personality attributes
Worst Qualities: Defining negative personality attributes
Strengths: Defining positive skills and physical abilities.
Weaknesses: Defining negative physical limitations.

Ties:

Family: Section by relevant family members. Focus on describing perception and relationship.
Friends/Allies: Section by individual. Explain relationships well.
Enemies: Section by individual. Explain relationships and the causal circumstances.
Trinkets/Paraphernalia: Any physical object that holds meaning to the individual.

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Certification Sheet

Primary Alias: The name they give when asked.
Appearance: Abridged, but sufficient, visual definition of the character.
Reputation: The information other characters would be expected to know.
Recent History: A writing excerpt from their relatively recent past. Doubles as writing sample (under 1000 words please).

There Will Be Blood

Quick bump on this. Other stuff in the pipeline ahead of some juicy additons for this but they will come in due time.

Sierra's Crap Vault

The world of Avalon lives under an unyielding prophecy. As long as intelligent beings can sense and wield the magical powers of the aether, the miraculous energy of the gods that grant mortal beings a mere sliver of their power, then the cycle will continue.

As long as the aether flows, there will rise a congregation of sorcerers taken by the dark powers, united in vision and purpose to upheave and reshape civilization. With their rise, dynasties end.

-- Lord Cairn Christian

King Friedrich Vahlen, third of his name, has stopped at nothing to see the recurrent devastation come to a close. Yet his people resent him. The once-great elven kingdoms of the forests and plains were savagely annihilated half a century ago at the dawn of Johann Vahlen’s reign, and his sights settled on the dwarven people’s of the Siegfried Mountains soon after when the cut off his supply of war gear in protest. They eventually sealed themselves away within their mountain fortresses to avoid a similar fate. The cost of that war was placed squarely on the shoulders of the citizenry as it was a war “for their protection.” Taxes and high demands on the tradesmen of the Vahlens’ kingdom that have not subsided. Now they pay for the tyrannical hunt for any man, woman, or child brave or foolish enough to explore the mystical powers of the aether that are soon to be a relic of a bygone age. Friedrich’s Royal Inquisition listens around every corner and pounces without mercy on those caught.

Now the fifth incarnation of the Sorcerers’ Cycle is upon the world. The Kingdom of Man is poised to finally crush the sorcerers’ rise once and for all. The only obstacle remaining is to find them among the populous. But a rumor is spreading throughout the kingdom: This incarnation of the cycle could undo much of what the Vahlen family has done in its long and bloody tenure; that the races of Avalon long thought extinguished would return to save humanity from its grim fate, whether they deserved it or not. But first the aspiring sorcerers would have to escape the insidious talons of the Royal Inquisition.

Who are you?

You are no one. A commoner, a tradesman perhaps, no one the kingdom would ever really care about as an individual, for now. By a convenient happenstance, dumb luck, or maybe fate, you found something from the sacred library of the old mage’s academy. Most people would rip it to pieces, burn it even. The possession of just a page from an old spellcraft text would have a mere commoner staring down an Inquisitor’s blade. Yet you keep it hidden instead of doing the sensible thing and destroying it. Perhaps given time, you can learn something from it. Prophecy works in mysterious ways, and it is nothing if not relentless. You are now a part of the Sorcerers’ Cycle.

What can you do?

It takes months of study, practice, discipline, and a clear and focused mind to practice even the simplest techniques when conjuring aetheric power in its purest, cleanest form. It takes less than ten minutes and some frustration for a desperate soul to summon power beyond description. The power of the aether is bent and shaped by the willpower of the wielder, but is attracted to and colored by the emotions of its host. This is the danger of the aether’s multifaceted nature. Even an amateur will realize that strong emotion seemingly amplifies their power, and that power feels good. Without formal training, most self-taught magic wielders fall into the trap that is the darker form of aetheric energy, and everyone who wields it is invariably twisted and consumed by the emotions they feed it with, by unrelenting powerlust, or are destroyed by the raw power they cannot hope to contain.

The magical possibilities of channeling the aether are as limitless as the imagination of the wielder. Given enough willpower and aetherial energy to make it so, anything is possible. A great and powerful fighter can defeat dozens of opponents and slay any beast living or undead, but a great and powerful mage can level whole cities in seconds. The capability of a would-be sorcerer is limited only by what they can will to happen, and how much power they can channel and contain within themself without being ripped apart.

What happens now?

It is only a matter of time before Vahlen’s inquisitors find you. They seemingly smell the magic emanating from those who channel aetherial power. Some believe the ancient knowledge of the old academy has been given to the Royal Inquisition to aid in their hunt. Some even believe the mage academy is not shut down but instead trains inquisitors in the ways of magic for themselves. No one dares speak such heresies aloud.

You must avoid the bloodhounds for as long as you can. Whether with dangerously intoxicating power, or with steel of your choice, you must prepare yourself to fight for your life. Sooner or later, you will need to. It will take all of your practiced skills, and no small amount of luck to survive and escape. How far are you willing to go when everything is on the line? How far is too far?

Character Sheets: Where do you stand?

I like surprises, so in my upcoming attempt at taking the GM reins again, I've opted to go for a ridiculously small CS for an advanced section RP. Though, that's just what I'm going to have people send me and post publicly. I'm also going to give my players the same character-building framework I use when I write a new character and tell them to go work through that on their own time. I have no plans to ever ask for that sheet; its entirely meant for personal reference and doesn't need to be readable to anyone other than the author. Maybe that's a risk since I'm relying on people's word, but in the advanced section I feel that's not too much of a risk. People there are willing to put in the effort even without me wanting verification. As a disclaimer, I would not be trying this if I intended to post this in the casual section for several reasons.

What Are You Listening To?

The brand new Within Temptation album that dropped the other week.

Overprotectiveness Around Worldbuilding

I originally talked about this in a reddit community. Suffice to say the gamut opinions there was rather narrow. Thus I want to poll RPG about this as well. Maybe an interesting discussion will spawn.

I have a world of the sci-fi variety called Stardust that I've built up. It originally started as a setting born out of a roleplay, but those of us that created it kept it going as a worldbuilding project long after. All of the other participants have since dropped it but I keep working and tweaking at it. By this point, well over half the body of work is mine alone and I'm a little attached. Suffice to say, the project has become pretty massive over the years it's been developed. The written documentation is over 150 pages (none of it formatted for ease of reading) and the unwritten documentation - stuff discussed and decided but just never made it to written form at the time - is equally as plentiful, and gets bigger anytime a new question gets asked.

The sheer volume of the body of work, the immensity of the task to distill it down into something more digestible for an unfamiliar reader, and my personal attachment has led me to be pretty closed off about it in the roleplaying world. I'm afraid that people will get key relevant details wrong that I'll need to correct and that I then look like an ass for it. I'm hesitant to let other people back into a position to have significant effect on the lore of Stardust. The people I originally wrote it with have since become close friends and I trust them and their visions for this. But introducing new faces to it brings unknown variables.

So I present this to all of you to ask whether or not this phenomenon of extreme stinginess with my world is not limited to me. The world is incredibly detailed and dense and I'm fiercely protective of it to the point it's likely to never be used in a roleplaying setting ever again, since that opens it to interpretation and adaptation that isn't within my control. Beyond “just learn to go with the flow” which is quite predictably out of the question at this juncture, what are you people's thoughts on potentially working past those mental blocks? Or am I completely justified in my overprotectiveness? Discuss.

There Will Be Blood

I want something dark ...

Not something serious or depressing. No slice of life abuse/addiction plots here. No.
Not something angsty, somber, melancholy, edgy even. I've grown out of pain for the sake of pain.
There is a time and a place for all of those descriptors. But at the core of it all, I want blood.

I want something that's twisted, violent, sadistic even. Somber tones and depressing histories have their place as second fiddle to stories of unbridled vengeance. I want to tell the stories of what the cliche tragic history brings about: the stories where the wronged carve a bloody swath through everyone responsible; where corrupting power is wielded with efficient brutality, where whole nations tremble before the unhinged wrath of one person. Below are my relevant premises, ordered by preference. Also included are interesting roles I've thought about playing opposite to, also ordered by preference.

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They said she didn't have the self-control, that she would never be a mage with her impulsiveness. The Malistare name had not seen a mage in the family for near a century before now, and would not again for a century to come. Whether it was a desire to please, a stubborn insistence to prove her professors wrong, or something more sinister, Kassandra found power on her own. Or more accurately, power found her. The dark forces were well known to corrupt absolutely anyone who dared to tap its power. A young and naive failed mage reached forth into that hellish abyss, and the abyss reached back. Little did she know how quickly her sanity would fail when she tasted the boundless strength of malevolent magics. Little did the world know what it would take to save itself from her.

(A descent into madness tale spanning from a poor soul desperate to please to near annihilation as control slips through her fingers.)

Interesting roles: fellow mage-in-training, childhood friend

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There are witches and there are hunters. Witches killed people. Hunters killed witches ... and whatever other eldritch horrors needed slaying. That's just the way the world worked. Everyone knew that. The lines were clearcut and life was simple. No one wanted to see that change, but change is an inevitable part of life and people have to adapt or die.
The hunter's essential gear - steel, silver, crossbow bolts, holy oil, lavender, etc. - was well documented. So how did a hunter called Ying, who somehow acquire a record of nine dead witches in her wake with only a single steel blade? Why does she always work alone? Any hunter worth their salt would surely see something was up with her, but her track record spoke for itself. What nobody knew, the secret Ying protected with her life, is that she shattered what was normal: a hunter born and raised by witches who wields their power against them. Ying would take her secret to the grave if she had her way, but hunters are suspicious folk. The odds of that are quite low indeed, and people are not ready to have their narrow worldview shattered so completely.

(A story of trying to run from an inescapable truth and yet hold onto the strength from it, in a world that will never tolerate such dangerous conflicts of interest.)

Interesting roles: fellow hunter, opposing witch

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The Queen's claim was illegitimate. Everyone knew it. The whole trial of the young princess reeked of corruption. But an iron fist was an iron first and the nail that sticks out gets hammered. Legitimacy meant shit when you had an army to force your will. Yet the people of the land still held out hope that the young princess was still alive. It had been years since she was supposedly killed Everyone knew that rebels had tried to rescue her from the axe. What no one knew was whether or not they succeeded. That hope was enough to inspire a few to stand and continue to fight the Queen's tyranny. Among them stood a proud and ruthless fighter, Sylvia Blackheart. Fake names seldom got more obvious, but she was not someone you tried to pry for answers. Her skill with a blade spoke for itself. Yet she was surely hiding something. No one knows what, and everyone valued their lives more than to badger her about it. The only thing known for sure is that she hates the Queen more than anyone, and will fight against her so long as she breathes.

(A story of righteous revenge twisted by unbridled hatred where the means become unjustifiable by the ends and heroes become the very villains they sought to destroy.)

Interesting roles: fellow rebel fighter, royal court servant, military defector

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All her life, all nineteen years of it, Adrianna has worked for one thing: lordship. It had been promised to her since she could talk. It was promised to her before her first brother was even born. She trained as a soldier and as a commander. She studied as a leader and as a diplomat. She was groomed to succeed her father, rule the Corvello family lordship, and command their garrison regiment. So when her father saw fit to anoint her younger punk brother as his rightful heir on his deathbed and leave her none of what she was promised, the absence of a weeklong rage fit was nothing short of shocking.
The lack of public display of fury does not equal its absence, however. The commandant of First Company, her top officer, longtime mentor, and personal friend got the misfortune of being the ear that was subjected to her unrestrained thoughts. The motivation and the skill to take the throne by force was there, without question. But the soon-to-be Lord was her brother, who would never relinquish his newfound crown willingly. As much as she hates him for the golden spoon he received, the question remains open whether or not she has it in her to do what must be done: to strike without hesitation and spill the blood of a sibling.

(A more psychological story between Adrianna and her confidant along the downward spiral towards an attempted coup.)

Interesting roles: 1st Company CO, handmaiden, old friend outside the estate

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There's more I'll add in time. I have no shortage. You are not limited to the stated interesting roles, though following their guidance is a good way to keep my interest in what you're selling. If you like what you've read and want to pitch something to me, send me a short blurb in the same general style introducing your character concept and how it relates to the premise. And please title your PMs something inventive. "Want to RP?" will be immediately disqualified for lack of imagination.
I will not actually write sex scenes but I'm not hesitant to involve characters romantically. And it should be obvious by now that I'm not shy around violence, blood, language, you name it. That's the entire point here. I will not be pulling any punches, and I expect nothing less from anyone brave enough to message me.

For your consideration,

Make a wish, corrupt a wish.

Granted. Their hue is precesely between magenta and cyan.

I wish for motivation to come back to me.

Zero Hour (Futuristic Agent RP) (working title)

Debating if I wanna try and do an existing character adaptation ... or make a new character ... or if it's worth it. It certainly sounds interesting enough so I'll keep a watchful eye.