Thinslayer

The Faraway Land: Arcane Adventures (Closed 9/30/18)

So sorry for the long absence, guys. I hit a serious writing slump a while back that completely nixed any and all desire to write. It has since gone away, but writer's block remains. I thought the action scene would help, but it's only made it worse, since I have no idea how to rope it back into the main plot.

So I have a few questions for everyone.
* Are you still interested?
* Did you come for the magical research, fantasy action, or some other reason? I'm considering changing the plot.
* How do you want to mechanize power growth? Do you want your characters to research things themselves, or learn it from others?

Star Trader

Lore of the Day: Gwen Valentine

In fantasy stories, people treat long-lived characters as being just like ordinary people, except with their timescales scaled up to match their lifespans.

In truth, they are just like ordinary people, but the consequences are radically different. Ed's mother, Gwen Valentine, is one of seven such immortals. She is not some lone wolf lording her immortality over everyone, nor is she like a thousand-year-old teenager still gaping in awe at the lives of mortals. She's been around the block and seen a thing or two. Gwen has been married 7 or 8 times in a row, with most of them ending in the old-age death of her husband. Fenix Valentine is her 8th marriage (I'm guessing). With 8 husbands, you'd think she'd have hundreds of children, and you'd be absolutely right. In fact, the number of people bearing the Valentine family name number in the hundreds, nearly a thousand now, with dozens of them born directly of Gwen herself. Counting the extended family, the whole clan is numerous enough to fill a city. With Gwen at the head, the Valentine family is one of the most powerful in the Crescent Empire.

Most of the clan lives on Aion, and this is a deliberate strategic choice on her part. Normally, as an Immortal, she'd be given the task of terraforming new worlds and developing their civilizations, and handling dangerous mercenary jobs on the side. Birthing Aion's population herself is certainly an unconventional choice, but necessary in order to command their absolute loyalty in the long run. The Seven Immortals may be powerful, but deep down, they are still the lonely orphans they were when the Alchemist first picked them off the streets. She wants to create a world where the Seven can settle down and live in peace, an ideal they can only achieve with family. If the whole world is made up of family, they will never be lonely again or have to watch their backs.

Gwen and Fenix themselves reside on Crescent Prime for the time being, since Gwen has resumed taking missions for the first time in nearly a century, and Fenix wanted to join her.

Star Trader

While I work on the lore of Krakticus Quinn, it's time for your daily distraction! :D

Origins

It all started about 20 years ago. Back then, I often played with my sister Brenda. We occasionally played with Legos, and enjoyed Star Wars. One day, mom pointed out that the Force was basically a god, and being Christians, playing with pagan gods was repulsive to us. So we created brand new lore, with Zeranians and a Force-like replacement called the Arts, in which the theory was you could remotely manupulate your environment through electromagmetism. The Zeranian empire initially controlled three worlds in its solar system: Zerania, Zeron, and Zervitia. We added Zer and Rosa later on. While the denizens of those worlds were technically of the same nationality, they had radically different cultures and mindsets, making a fertile environment for political drama. The Terran Federation was an NPC empire friendly to the Zeranians at the time. The main antagonist was Ogel, the same villain from the Lego Alpha Team series.

For difficult reasons I won't go into, Brenda left the home a few years after we became adults, allowing me and my other sister, the 8-years-younger Alice, to grow closer. When I and Alice took over the Lego story, we ditched the Arts and created brand new characters. I soon noticed that we always had this ancient empire with ruins and high technology, and they piqued my interest. Who were they, and what happened to them? They obviously controlled the whole galaxy at one point, and making them evil was too cliche. Thus the Crescent Empire was born in my mind. I ceded control of Zerania to Alice and took over the Crescents, now no longer in ruins, but a living, breathing civilization. They eventually annexed the Zeranians into the empire anyway, though. Ogel, too, got a new faction: Rebellion Against Government Establishment, or RAGE, an anarchist rebellion dedicated to bringing down all forms of organized government. Rebellions are always seen as good in the media, like Star Wars, so it bent the tropes somewhat.

As our Lego roleplaying days drew to a close, so did the Crescent Empire itself. Our story ended with them fighting a climactic battle for their homeworld against RAGE, which they ultimately lost. The empire was wiped out of the galaxy, leaving behind the ruins seen in the present.

These childhood stories form the basis of the lore for The Faraway Land.

Star Trader

Need a distraction, eh? Challenge accepted!

*cracks knuckles*

Time to write. >:)

Star Trader

I know, I'm sorry, 3 weeks is CRAZY long. I hit a serious writing slump and just couldn't find it in me to write any words at all. It was worse than writer's block, I think. It wasn't just this RP; I've been slacking on all my RPs. It got so bad, I didn't even want to look at RolePlayerGuild for a while. I started getting my moxie back a few days ago and started work on preparations for the upcoming scene. I'll show you what I've got so far.

And yes, there was a bit of writer's block too on top of the slump, but I've climbed out of it with the introduction of a brand new major NPC character. She actually required the creation of a whole new planet, which I'm currently building lore for.

You may recognize the reference image from a popular anime series.

Let me introduce you to Astora Weslake.

This Crescent-born firebrand is the object of Krakticus Quinn's affections. She hails from Cronica, an important and advanced Crescent colony whose primary exports are geo-engineering equipment and livestreams of martial arts competitions. Unlike similar worlds with their level of technological advancement, the primary aim of the citizens is not entertainment, but philosophy, much like the ancient Greeks. Some of the most animated debates in the galaxy are held on Cronica.

Astora's the type to speak before she thinks, and it's won her a lot of enemies and admirers alike. She's not particularly religious, unlike many Crescents, and tends toward more agnostic and pragmatic leanings. Bubbly, flirtatious, and somewhat tomboyish, Astora is bound to be one of the many allies we'll be recruiting on our journey.

Development of both Cronica and Astora isn't complete, so the above is liable to change before it's ready for story use. Like, for starters, "bubbly, flirtatious, and tomboyish" is super cliche, so it's a stand-in for my mental image of her while I work on the nuances.

Your thoughts?

Star Trader

Dagnabbit! I forgot it was my turn. I'll take care of that soon.

I'm doing okay. My brain has been in Minecraft mode for the last few weeks. What are your plans for the Arcane Adventures RP?

The Faraway Land: Arcane Adventures (Closed 9/30/18)

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The Faraway Land: Arcane Adventures (Closed 9/30/18)

@TheForgottenArc
Yes, everyone in the city can use magic. Once the sages bring magecraft under control later on in the story, that'll change, but for now, anyone and everyone can use it.

The Faraway Land: Arcane Adventures (Closed 9/30/18)

@Lucius Cypher@ReusableSword@Norschtalen@TheForgottenArc
I should probably mention that NightKnight has left the game.

Also, a new post is up. Don't forget to subscribe to the thread, because I don't always remember to tag everyone. :P

The Faraway Land: Arcane Adventures (Closed 9/30/18)

New Items Acquired:

• One-handed spiked steel club
• Parrying dagger
• Utility knife
• Javelin with sling
• Steel helm
• Steel chestplate
• Steel buckler
• Studded leather boots
• Leather tents
• Waterproof fire starter kit
• Small bag of coal
• 50 feet of silk rope
• 50 feet of hemp rope
• Reinforced steel torches
• Whetstone set
• Steel pike
• Sack of leather scraps
• Shortbow
• Quiver with 20 arrows
• Medicine kit: painkillers, antidotes, healing salves
• Canteens

Servants took down the requests and went shopping. By the time the sun rose to high noon, everyone received their requested items.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Winter said, and offered a respectful curtsy.
The king folded his arms and smirked. "You can thank me when you return from your journey."

As they turned to leave, the king began to cough and clutch at his throat. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees and vomited blood onto the floor. "What's...happening to me?" he groaned.
Winter raced to his side and materialized a gauntlet on her hand. She traced it over him, and paled when she learned the truth. "What the living hell?!..."

"He's melting. Inside out."

What were once the king's legs were now bags of skin. His sickening retches and groans filled the palace. Beyond pity and disgust, Winter felt a chill through her very soul. Magic. It must be. She glanced around and spotted a guard leaving through the front gate.

"After him!" she cried.

At that, the guard broke into a sprint and ran straight into the city, where chaos reigned. The magical energies from the chasm finally reached Midhaven, and people from all walks of life explored their new powers. Fire and ice, gale-force winds and cracking earth, clones and golems, magic of all kinds erupted throughout the city. Even the guards left behind their weapons to join the chaos. Tracking the assassin would be difficult.

Winter balled up her fists as she watched the party chase him out the palace gate.

I know who you are.

The time has come to settle old scores.