Thinslayer

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@Blizz Huh. Oddly enough, half of the listed ideas have canonical lore equivalents in this world.

• The Mercurial Shifters, a.k.a. "voidspawn," are shadowy, shapeshifting monsters from a hellish parallel universe. They are the sworn enemies of humanity, except for a tiny handful that have thought about it for themselves and decided otherwise. They were once more technologically advanced than modern humanity until the Ancients (and then Regret) pummeled them back to the stone age.
• The Wraithkin, so named for being "possessed" by "ghosts in the machine," are sleek, deadly constructs given "life" and built for war against the Voidspawn. Most were destroyed in the conflict.
• Ghosts are very plausible. If one steps into the spiritual plane before their physical body is destroyed, they will be stuck there until a higher spirit comes to claim them. Partial ascension after death from powerful lingering regrets (like how Regret herself ascended) is a common way this can happen. Their anchor would be a suit of armor. Normally it wouldn't be mobile, but we can bend the rules a little.

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@Blizz How about a goblin potion vendor? Perhaps Regret saved his life once, maybe granting him a few drops of her blood so he could ascend to mortality, and he now journeys with the protagonists because he owes her a life-debt. He could brew his potions from the strangest materials, yet with God smiling upon him, they still work because he believes in them with all his heart.

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@Blizz
Okay, now that I've got a few more of my ducks in a row, I may be able to help you work out what kind of character you want to play. The world is largely medieval fantasy, but with a handful of more modern innovations like steel, manual washing machines, looms and spinning wheels, and trebuchets. Depending on your choices, muskets may become accessible. Regret recruited her Champions from many traditional classes and beyond - you could be a priest/priestess, bowfighter, paladin, even a dungeon porter (whose role is to carry loot). If you have something to contribute to the Hero Party, you can be a Champion.

You can also optionally include support from an auxiliary patron. Your primary, of course, will be either Regret or Yddrog, but you can contract with others to obtain more magic powers. Patrons like Ifrit or Prometheus can offer you fire powers, for example, which you can use to make stuff like flaming swords. Do note, however, that each demi will have their own agenda, and you can only use their powers insofar as you comply with their agendas.

Magecraft is possible without a patron if you appeal to the gods above them (You're a Karen, basically. "I would like to speak to your manager!") using chants, runes, and magic circles, but it requires college-level knowledge in math, chemistry, and physics, on top of fluency in runic languages, in order to execute your spells correctly, and the steep sacrifices required to pay for them are often prohibitive. Basically, you need a patron for anything battle-related unless you're a certified expert - a wizard, in D&D parlance. Naturally, Regret would love to recruit one into her party of Champions.

All that said, considering the genre of this tale, a traditional knight such as would use a sword & shield would be a most likely recruit into the party. They can be either gender, morally upright, and the most badass fighter in their discipline. Talented, experienced veterans would be the first to catch their lady's eye. You're going to be slaying a dragon, remember, and one created to protect the world from foes as capable as you, so your character need to be at the top of their game.

Does that help?

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

I may have to specifically invite some people at this rate.

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound

The Faraway Land

Dragonbound

Slay the dragon! Bring peace to the land!

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived an evil dragon named Yddrog who was hell-bent on enslaving humanity. In response to this threat, humanity's guardian demigoddess, the Archon of Regret, summoned You, the Heroic Champions, to defend them. No one else could even touch the dragon, for he was of her creation, and only those gifted with her power could stop him. And stop him you did, a thousand years ago, and banished his soul to The Pit, where he was supposed to stay until the end of time to await judgment.

He did not.

A thousand years hence, Yddrog's fanatical worshippers, the Dragon Cultists, recovered the scattered pieces of his flesh and sacrificed one of Regret's descendants, the Princess of Aetherion, to retrieve their deity's soul. The ritual succeeded, and Yddrog was resurrected in the flesh - and brought with him the long-departed souls of Regret's Heroic Champions. Your spirits were anchored into homonculus bodies, your fates now tied by the dragon's blood in your veins to serve the very creature you were once meant to destroy.

Whom will ye choose? Will you return again to the lady you once served, or betray her for your new master? Will you save the World of Men, or condemn it to dust until the End of Days?

The choice rests within your hands. Choose wisely whom you will serve.

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@Zyx@SilverPaw
I remade the interest check to rework or clarify a few lore elements. Let me know what y'all think of it before I go and post it to the Casual Interest Checks thread?

Interest Check Proposal

The Faraway Land

Dragonbound

Slay the dragon! Bring peace to the land!

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived an evil dragon named Yddrog who was hell-bent on enslaving humanity. In response to this threat, humanity's guardian demigoddess, the Archon of Regret, summoned You, the Heroic Champions, to defend them. No one else could even touch the dragon, for he was of her creation, and only those gifted with her power could stop him. And stop him you did, a thousand years ago, and banished his soul to The Pit, where he was supposed to stay until the end of time to await judgment.

He did not.

A thousand years hence, Yddrog's fanatical worshippers, the Dragon Cultists, recovered the scattered pieces of his flesh and sacrificed one of Regret's descendants, the Princess of Aetherion, to retrieve their deity's soul. The ritual succeeded, and Yddrog was resurrected in the flesh - and brought with him the long-departed souls of Regret's Heroic Champions. Your spirits were anchored into homonculus bodies, your fates now tied by the dragon's blood in your veins to serve the very creature you were once meant to destroy.

Whom will ye choose? Will you return again to the lady you once served, or betray her for your new master? Will you save the World of Men, or condemn it to dust until the End of Days?

The choice rests within your hands. Choose wisely whom you will serve.

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@Zyx@SilverPaw
Think we should wait for one or two more players, or should we start with who we have now? Any preferences?

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@Zyx
Enslaving the gods, eh? I look forward to seeing how he pulls that off. I imagine some contract shenanigans would be involved, like some expertly worded fine print that backfires on the patron at some point. If you can get your hands on a Bane weapon, it may be possible to kill the patrons outright. True Bane weapons are blessed by the gods, like actual highest-level gods (i.e. beyond demigods), to condemn to the afterlife whoever receives of them a mortal wound, regardless of any other mortality considerations. So if you were to smite a demigod's avatar with it, their soul would immediately lose all its authority and gravitate to the afterlife, even if that individual would normally have the Divine Authority to live beyond death. Bane weapons are really only effective against higher beings, since mortals are already dragged to the afterlife upon death, so a Bane weapon wouldn't affect them any differently.

True Bane/Godbane weapons capable of indiscriminate slaughter of demigods are little more than a myth right now. However, Regret was able to create Demibane weapons from her own lifeblood capable of canceling the inherited immortality powers of her contractors. They only work on those empowered by Regret (though not on Regret herself). They're mandatory for killing Yddrog again, so the players will eventually get their hands on these. There's also a lesser version, Rot weapons, that cancel all cell division in the injured area and poison the target's body with enchanted Blood of Regret. Normally her blood would grant immortality to whoever it flows through, but she can flip its effect with an enchantment to sap life instead. The target will visibly age and rot away as the poison makes its way through their body. So anyone with unascended/biological forms of immortality, like vampires or zombies, will rapidly fall to this weapon.

Yddrog has his own equivalent, Dragonbane weapons, that can pierce any inheritor of Yddrog's blood by "commanding" it on contact to make way for the king. Take a wild guess who it's meant for! e_e

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

That's fair. Speaking of which, I should probably start nailing down some aspects of the world we'll be playing in.

Roggwall

Roggwall is one of the major underground cities of Yddrog's empire. The pillars holding up the roof of this vast subterranean city are actually primitive arcologies, based largely on the designs of the ancient arcologies that once dotted this world. Magic is the primary power source for the city's inhabitants, and its duergar artificers are known to be among the best in the world. You'll find all sorts of magical tools and knickknacks here, as well as numerous priests who are more than willing to introduce you to their patrons - for a price, of course.

Sounds like heaven for neophyte adventurers in the Dark Dragon's employ, yes? Normally it would be, except that nobody really likes you. You may be homonculi born and bound to Yddrog's service, but at the end of the day, you're still human to them, both in visual appearance and in how you think. Anti-human racism runs rampant here, so you'd better watch your back.
_____

Bestiary

Dark Shifter

Contrary to popular belief, they are not inherently evil. Formerly known as Voidspawn, the Dark Shifters fled to this universe through a dimensional portal to escape the impending heat-death of their own universe. Had they been more civil to the natives instead of greedily stealing any energy they could get their hands on, perhaps they could have lived in harmony with humanity. Alas, it was not to be, and the last remnants of them driven into hiding by Regret now hone their skills to a fine edge, sampling any genetic material they can get their hands on to prepare themselves for revenge.

As their names suggests, they are shapeshifters. Trillions of years ago in their home universe, they were actually humans once, but looming energy shortages combined with insane technological advancements prompted them to seek alternative ways to live. Their artificial bodies are designed to break down and analyze the genetic code of any creature they consume, and to modify themselves so they can mimic those creatures' forms and abilities. They can be absolutely horrifying to face, and the only saving grace when fighting them is that they are still incapable of contracting with demigods (and thus incapable of using magic).

As an advanced race that relies on genetic engineering for most of their endeavors, their homes are closer to living organisms than inanimate structures, kind of like elves in the way they try to harness nature. Unfortunately for them, a great deal of knowledge was lost during the Lonely War, so they are largely restricted to manipulating existing life forms rather than tailoring new ones. A few pioneering individuals have begun incorporating inorganic engineering into their designs, but those are treated as pariahs amongst their kind.

Orc

Orcs are monsters that ascended to mortality from their monstrous goblin ancestors. Orcs come in all shapes and sizes, but what they all have in common is an insatiable appetite. Whether that's an appetite for power, food, money, or what have you, they are greedy for it, and will stop at nothing to obtain it. Those with more tolerable kinds of greed can sometimes form civil relationships with humans, but they are uncommon. Most have allied with Yddrog because he satisfies almost every kind of vice orcs are greedy for.

Like the goblins they evolved from, they are highly intelligent sapiens, but unlike goblins (or any other creature, really), they tend to retain any musculature they build. This makes them frighteningly powerful if they're allowed to live for very long. Orcs are the most common type of Yddrog-allied creatures to go adventuring.

Dark Elf

Believe it or not, elves are not a natural species. They are all homonculi, like the player characters, who were specifically created to be avatars of the gods. They have given themselves over completely to their patrons, having sacrificed all of their free will to become agents and mouthpieces for their deities. Dark elves, or "drow" as they're sometimes called, are demon-aligned elves whose bodies have physically darkened in response to their total corruption by the dark demigods they serve. Due to their intimate communion with their patrons, they can cast magic as easily as they breathe. Fortunately, there are precious few of them, but the few that exist are veritable forces of nature. Meeting an elf, dark or otherwise, is widely considered an omen of things to come.

More to come!

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@Zyx@SilverPaw
I just had a eureka moment: if we go with the tragic second-paragraph plotline, what if Zyx's character was a citizen of SilverPaw's kingdom, perhaps even the king's bodyguard, brother, or friend? Because, for someone to feel such an intense level of vindictiveness against the gods and conviction in the betterment of humanity, I imagine something incredibly tragic must have happened to them and the people around them. The demigod Yddrog slaughtered everyone he ever loved, and the demigod Regret was the one who created him. And lest one think that the other patrons are more acceptable, perhaps Yddrog's mages were responsible for the devastation. That kind of experience might cause anyone to swear off all demigods entirely - and drive him toward Regret in search of power and time to exact his revenge.

Just an idea.

Edit: If we want to cut down on the tragedies and go for a more upbeat tale, then the first-paragraph plotline of the kingdom joining the alliance opens up a different set of possibilities. People don't always need to experience tragedy before they'll feel a strong conviction for something. Oftentimes, a really good upbringing will do that just as well. Perhaps Zyx's character did extraordinarily well in life; maybe he was a commoner who got rich enough to buy into nobility, or an inventor who managed to change the world, or even just a priest who, after having met thousands of good, strong people in his life, learned the rich wellspring of strength that humans were capable of without demigods to support them.

Which brings me to a question: do you have a story idea in mind for your character, Zyx?