Zeroth

A New Day; Cozy Fantasy Village Life

--- Northwestern Village (Smithy) ---

Akitsugu

Early Afternoon
@Xaltwind

---

---

"Your outburst was unnecessary." Akitsugu picked through the fragments of wood and tile left behind in the wake of all the looting. The problem was not as bad as he had feared---but in addition to having only three walls, the interior area that should have been the smith's actual house now had a gaping hole in the roof, under which seemed to be a fallen bookcase. All in all it took up an entire corner of the space, which was cramped enough to begin with. Akitsugu prayed that it wouldn't rain before he could patch it, otherwise the building's interior likely would not be repairable afterward.

But, though bereft of tools now, at least the furnace was intact.

"So was cutting off that little trollop's head!" Miyusahime's hilt clicked against the scabbard like someone clicking their tongue. "Maybe if you'd just slapped her, I wouldn't have said anything! But what if all those other people turned on you, huh!?"

"...So be it. I was in the right. She is a thief." The redhead spat the words, and tossed a broken and splintered plank back into the corner. "And if she does not return my tools, it will not end here."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I had intended to cut more firewood before dark fell. But now I fear leaving my claim," the blacksmith snorted, "unattended." He picked up another plank of wood, noting that this one had split in such a way that one end of it was quite sharp. Holding it over one shoulder, he headed back outside...and then slammed it down, pointy-end first, into the dirt right at the edge of the road in front of the smithy. Standing in front of it, he took a deep breath, then put his hand to his sword once more.

"Hey! I'm not a whittling knife!" He ignored her protest, and for the first time drew the gleaming blade. The afternoon sun cast ripples across the steel, revealing a pattern in the curvature like dunes in the desert. "Do NOT swing me at that rotten piece of lumber!"

"I won't." Akitsugu answered, instead placing his palm against the back of the blade just a few inches from its tip. Carefully closing his hand, so as not to get too many fingerprints on her otherwise immaculate surface, the smith placed Miyusahime's point against the wood. "Just bear with me."

"Hmph!" replied the sword as the scratching sounds began. "You couldn't just use that hatchet of yours for this!? I know the phrase goes "Master of Sword and Brush," but that doesn't mean we're interchangeable!"

"I have neither brush nor ink. Besides," Akitsugu tilted the sword at a different angle as he continued to mark the piece of wood, "I think the carving leaves a better impression than plain words." Finally, he withdrew Miyusahime and examined her point, blowing away a bit of sawdust. "Moreover, there's no danger of rolling your tip when it's already this soft."

The plank of wood, marking the property like a gravestone, now read:

KEEP OUT

"There. Now she has no excuse." the redhead growled as he sheathed his pouting blade. "And neither does anyone else."

"I still don't know why you're choosing to stay here." Miyusahime grumbled. "We don't know if we can trust any of these...these weirdoes!"

"I feel that Yingmei, Myrr, and Brom mean no harm, at the least. And Master Darryl, along with his wife, seems to be willing to go quite far out of their way for others...even if they don't deserve it."

"Even though he pushed you around to protect that thief?"

"My hope is that he only wished to preserve the peace." The smith tugged his mantle closer around his shoulders as he turned away from the house, and headed towards the workshop. "At least he didn't make a long winded lecture like the old man." He frowned, because thinking about the elder reminded him of the man's granddaughter. He hadn't even realized she was standing behind MacKinnon's leg when he'd started arguing with the woman. It had not been his intention to scare the girl at all---nor for her to even be involved in the matter. She had nothing to do with it. The young smith sighed.

He cleared away a few crumbling pieces of brick from the furnace's mouth, and looked closely to be sure there wasn't a rat's nest or something else waiting to bite him. Then, he carefully placed his foot on the brick body and chimney, lightly applying pressure to be sure there weren't any remaining weak points that would bring the whole thing down. Once satisfied with that, he set his shoulder to the large, cracked anvil and pushed it into a position from which he could climb atop it and peer down the short, stout chimney of the furnace. Like the mouth, he was careful in case any little critters happened to be waiting in the dark, hollow tunnel.

"_{Most of the detritus that's gathered should burn away fairly easily...but, I need to patch a few holes in it to avoid pressure pockets.}" Thinking aloud, he ran his fingers over the bricks and mortar of the structure. "_{They probably used a slaked lime mortar. Either there's a limestone deposit somewhere around here, or maybe...skeletal remains from animals or monsters?}" Bricks would be easy enough to make with fired clay, but for that he would need a separate kiln, and of course more wood to use as fuel. Not actually all that difficult, but a very time consuming process. Again he sighed.

"And on top of this, I now have more repairs to do." He hopped off the anvil, and used his frustration to help him shove it, in starts and stops, back to its original position. "Miyusahime, I'm going to return to the others, if for nothing more than a meal and a cot. You shouldn't speak any more unless it's an emergency."

"Like, if you're about to run someone through again?" Akitsugu did not answer her, but his eyebrow twitched.

A New Day; Cozy Fantasy Village Life

I'd intended to finish one today but allergies are kicking my ass. Will continue as I can.

ATLA Interest?

Glad to hear you're doing well!

I think the choice of story/setting will ultimately have to depend on what you as the GM want to accomplish/see through this RP. These questions aren't really something you have to respond to here, but just to consider: What is it about the Avatar world that's got you hyped to run the RP? Are you looking forward to descriptions of bending battles and that distinct Wuxia flavor? Or was there some aspect of the Avatar universe's storytelling or world that you really want to immerse yourself and the players in? For instance, did you find a lot of meaning in the emphasis the series puts on character development (every member of the main cast except arguably Toph changes significantly either in their own perception, or in how we the viewers perceive them, from who they were at their introduction)? Or did you really love exploring the fantastical landscapes within the world---the Earthbending rollercoasters in Omashu, the Three Walls of Ba Sing Se, the icy fortress of the Northern Water Tribe, etc?

Which of those things you want to put in front of the players, and in which proportions, should determine your bare-bones plot structure. If you want world-building, you'll need to implement a "journey" of some kind so that we travel a lot. If you just want high octane action, you might want to give more thought to the enemies we'll be facing, how they're organized, and how to make the Players want to kick their faces in.

Then, the rest of this is just my own personal opinion---feel free to ignore it if it's not conducive to your own GMing style:

Building RP Plot

The meat of the plot itself should be adaptable enough that you can tie it into your character cast and link up their backstories. For instance, if somebody made a character whose parents were killed by Firebenders, then maybe the Firebender who did it needs to be an underling of your Big Bad OR the Players need to HELP a village of innocent, second-generation Fire Nation Colonists against cruel Earthbending Bandits---both scenarios force that Player Character to deal with the trauma of their past in some way.

Another example: If someone makes a character who's struggling with the morality of using Bending Arts to kill, then maybe you make a recurring antagonist who's a sadistic assassin despite having no Bending Arts of their own, so that when the Players clash with them it can give the struggling character a means to further their development.

Beyond direct character contrasts between Players and NPCs, though, you should also try to build off what Players give you in their Character Backstories. If one Player makes an Air Bending Thief, for instance, and in their backstory they talk about how they got kicked out of their Air Temple and turned to a life of crime, whereas another Player makes a Non-Bending Bounty Hunter who's a Master Swordsman, then maybe you should DM the two Players and see if they'd be willing to establish a link between their characters that can effect the roleplaying and team dynamics---Maybe the Bounty Hunter once caught the Air Thief, but after being turned in to the authorities the Thief had to take some desperate measures to break out, like breaking the one Air Bending tenet of non-lethality they still valued. Now that death still haunts them. Or maybe the Thief stole a family trinket that was very important to the Bounty Hunter, and ended up selling it, so now the Bounty Hunter can't kill them/take them in until they find out where/to whom the heirloom was sold.

Similar strategies to tie your plot and world building elements to your Players not only keeps them invested in your game, but can give you a jumping off point as a DM. It's so much easier to come up with ideas for how to move a story forward if you have elements you can use as a springboard, versus coming up with new stuff out of the blue whole cloth.

ATLA Interest?

Also what were your qualms with Korra? Character focused or world focused? NGL I like that one too but feel like all the characters were way weaker in depth than the ATLA, but I really enjoyed the ideas behind the world-building and some of the places they took things.

@TaintedMushroom

Personal Gripes may contain Spoilers

I'm of the opinion that, as a CHARACTER, Korra was fine---she had issues, she changed as the story went on, she had some nice action sequences---but that as an AVATAR, she was terrible at her job and ruined everything for everyone. Other issues I take with it include the CONSTANT relationship drama, the direction of bending itself (I don't mind the idea of bending being incorporated into technology, but Lightning-bending is just something any Firebender can do now?), and the "progression" of the setting. It wasn't BAD, per se, but I felt like it was too soon---less than 100 years ago the setting was essentially Feudal Fantasy China, and now it's 1920s New York/Hong Kong with cars and radios and everything. I mean, I guess Meiji Japan made a similar sudden jump IRL, but I felt like the setting lost a lot of its "Mountains and Rivers" aesthetic.

Amon and Zaheer were top tier villains, and I don't hold the "rushed" nature of their arcs against them because Nickelodeon execs apparently hated anything that wasn't Spongebob and Fairly Oddparents at the time and wouldn't give the team more than 13 eps at a time to work with. The story of Wan was great imo, but season 2's main villain and his ultimate plan felt too fanfic-tier, and season 4 just felt like it took forever to get anywhere/had too many small plots that took space away from the main arc.

I was thinking of two ideas, one being that the fire nation wins perhaps? Maybe a rebellion story?
OOOrrrr maybe they win but lose? Devastate the Earth Kingdom with Sozin's comet and awaken a sleeping beast as the Earth Kingdom as a whole pivots and becomes a brutal force to be reckoned with, even going as far as to completely flip the script and become the would be conquerors.

I'm not married to any of these ideas in particular, just spit-balling so far.

@TaintedMushroom

So an AU based on Aang somehow biting it, and presumably the next 2 or so Avatars who would've been born after him in the 100 year period before Sozin's Comet passed again also biting it? Or the AU Avatar simply being off somewhere leading their own revolution while the RP characters are on another adventure?

My recommendation would be to keep it small at least at the start---instead of our characters being part of some rebellion against the Fire Lord, for instance, maybe give us a Seven Samurai-esque scenario where we're trying to set a village free from a relatively low-ranking Fire Nation army-captain who has basically been made a provisional governor or something. Or defend a crumbling temple where a scant few Air Nomads have somehow escaped the Fire Lord's genocide, but their commitment to pacifism makes them a sitting duck to the soldiers hunting them down. Bring down a bandit gang led by a brutal Earthbender, or some Waterbending Pirates harassing a group of refugees on their way to Ba Sing Se via ship. So on and so forth.

Another recommendation I have is to look at Kung Fu/Martial Arts movies and think about how you might adapt some of those plots to the setting. For instance, maybe you take the plot of Ong-Bak: "In Thailand the Earth Kingdom, an impoverished village has its most precious Buddha Spirit Guardian statue stolen from the temple. The heroes must travel to Bangkok Ba Sing Se to wrangle the statue from a volatile drug Bending Steroid dealer."

ATLA Interest?

Also potentially interested, based on plot/era. Not too fond of the Korra stuff, personally, but if you wanted you could look up the franchise's TTRPG stuff; they have a lot of good suggestions for campaigns in different eras of the setting.

I've always wanted to make an old, crotchety Earthbender kung-fu-master-archetype; the kind that's gotten old enough he can't do much of the flashy stuff anymore, but makes up for it with precision/ruthlessness. Like, another earthbender is getting ready to do their big stomp so they can throw a boulder at him---the old man kinda pokes his toe in the ground and a nail-shaped spike comes up right underneath where the opponent's foot is going to come down. Cue their reaction. But would a "been everywhere, done all that, killed a lot of people in my day" character be permissible in this RP, or do you think they'd come across as too OP?

hi. who wants to help a random middle schooler online come out?

You should probably discuss these things more with your parents or a licensed professional, not an internet forum full of strangers.

If this friend of yours is someone older/more sexually active than you, your parent's disapproval of them may come from a place of fear more than it does their stance on your identity-issues. For a variety of reasons, young people today are vastly more vulnerable to grooming, and that may be why they want you to cut off contact with that person. If that's the case, you're better off listening to your parents.

As someone in his 30s, I'm of the opinion that if you have chaos in your life right now as a middle schooler, it's likely due to lacking a perspective on life that will come with time and experience. Try not to stress out too badly about schoolhouse drama, arguments with your parents (provided there's no violence or deeper abuse, of course) and other such things; as you get older, you'll realize a lot of things that seemed like the end of the world at the time were the furthest thing from it. It's not your fault, because for you right now, that place where you're forced to spend 8+ hours of your day and forced to interact with kids you'll probably never see again after graduation is all the "world" you know. But most of what happens there really isn't going to matter or even be remembered, by you or the other kids, in 10 years.

I doubt this was what you wanted to hear, but I wish you the best regardless.

A New Day; Cozy Fantasy Village Life

And thus drama is diverted! Alas, there shall be no battle this day! Away with ye, O knight of Cerberus!

A New Day; Cozy Fantasy Village Life

--- The Village Center > Northwestern Village (Smithy) ---

Akitsugu

Early Afternoon
@Xaltwind@ERode@Dragonydas@Rune_Alchemist

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---

Miyusahime's voice froze Akitsugu the moment before he was about to draw--the expression that flashed across his face was one of both disbelief and what seemed to be...fear? Shock? It was the kind of expression someone makes when they have, without realizing it, exposed a secret about themselves.

But at that moment Myrr stepped up between them, and though her voice was soft, she vindicated Akitsugu's belief that the tools would be put to much better use in his possession. That validation gave the young man what he needed to take another deep breath---though his nostrils still flared angrily---and push his blade back into the sheath.

"Yes," he replied to Myrr, "and that way is for her to give them back---and then explain what she's done to my workshop." His eyes still glared hard at MacKinnon, and he had not yet removed his hand from the hilt.

Others were gathering now, and for the first time Akitsugu noticed the little girl behind MacKinnon. Their argument had, understandably, scared the child, and for a moment the blacksmith looked regretful. But as he sensed the large man---Daryl, right?---behind him, and the carpenter took a stern hold on his shoulder, once more Akitsugu set his jawline in a neutral expression. With a sigh, he let go of the sword's grip.

"Leftovers they may be, sir, they're all I've got until I can make new ones. And her thievery, much as I detest it, isn't what provoked me so." He crossed his arms and once again glared at MacKinnon. "She implied, just now, that all her rooting around has done something destructive to the smithy." He turned to look side-eye at the large man. "Would you tolerate someone who stole your tools, destroyed your shop, and then had the gall to taunt you about it?"

The merchant, whose name Akitsugu wasn't sure he'd learned yet, took the fence-sitting position and pointed out what he felt were the flaws in both parties' reasoning. The blacksmith sniffed, and held up one palm to show Daryl he had no more hostile intentions before slipping out from under the man's grip.

"Again, I had assumed that by stating my profession and intentions, anyone who came across the smithy would leave it be for my use. Just as I would have left a carpenter's shop to Sir Daryl, or a tavern of any sort to Sir Brom. I suppose I should beg your forgiveness," he spat the next words with more venom as he looked back at the quote-unquote treasure hunter, "for assuming the same decency of certain others in the group."

But the old man went on to lecture Akitsugu for his response. When he gave the blacksmith a stern, clearly unamused look, he would find that the red-head met it with the same intensity he'd conserved so far for MacKinnon alone. Clearly, the young swordsman felt completely justified in what he'd done. But, as the grandfather turned to lecture MacKinnon next, the smith felt there wasn't any need to keep defending himself.

"If you'll excuse me, Sir Daryl." Akitsugu made a curt bow, "I must go check on the smithy---"

At that moment, a newcomer arrived. At first, Akitsugu thought "What now!?" as he turned towards the voice, but then his eyes blinked very rapidly.

By the great kami, THERE'S SO MUCH SKIN!?!? For a moment the expression on his face went beyond "neutral" to simply, profoundly, "blank." The only indicator of a single activated brain cell was that of a blush that began to redden his cheeks---then, Akitsugu whirled with a sudden energy and pointed at MacKinnon.

"You will return my tools post-haste! Do NOT put water on them! Sir Daryl, I'm going to check my shop!"

Compared to his earlier attitude, this sudden urgency seemed almost panicked. But the red-head's coat and robes swished in the air as he hurried to the north western edge of the village, practically jogging with one hand steadying the sheathe of his blade---which, once again, produced a sound very much like human speech.

"Oi! Aren't you _{going to thank me for...}"

I have this idea in mind, help me polish it (Magic school)

To polish this idea, the first thing I'd suggest is double checking your grammar and spelling. There are a couple of rough places in your descriptions where the sentences seem kind of jumbled, in addition to the usual typos.

As I understand it thus far, your magic system could be summed up like this:

• Rare humans are born with the ability to perceive and manipulate Mana. In addition to being able to sense Mana, a structure within them called the Mana Valve determines how much Mana they can use at a given time.
• Channeling Mana through the Mana Valve and into one's movements allows them to trace Runes in the air. Runes act as instructions to create the user's desired effect out of Mana, like a piece of code that tells a computer to display a "Hello World!" message.
• Mana itself is present as a non-tangible property within both organic and inorganic matter, within living things and inanimate objects. Only magic users can draw it out of the environment and into their Mana Valve.

If all that is correct, then my suggestion to create a plot would be to further elaborate, whether privately or with your Players, on the logical conclusions of this system. @ArcticWasHere's suggestion that "Maybe Mana itself is depleting for some reason?" is a good one. If you want more conflict, then the cause of the Mana Depletion doesn't have to be "natural." It COULD be natural--maybe the Earth goes through phases where Mana depletes and replenishes like it goes through hothouse-ages and ice-ages in terms of climate. The conflict could come from the idea that Magical Society has become so reliant on heavy Mana usage--the way we're reliant on fossil fuels--that this period of depletion is going to cause massive resource shortages or cause some kind of important spellcraft or magi-tech to fail (like say, a barrier that keeps the Non-Magical Humans out).

OR, maybe the Mana Depletion is being caused by a power-hungry magician who's created a Weapon of Mass Destruction--his machine, or ritual array, whatever, is absorbing a huge amount of Mana for some nefarious purpose. Maybe he wants to magically nuke Europe and usher in an age of wizard supremacy.

You could also generate ideas for plots by asking yourself questions like:

• What Subjects are taught at this Magic School? Easy ones would be things like "Magical History," "Elemental Manipulation," or "Familiar Contracts." There could be more specialized subjects or extra-curriculars, though, like "Wizard Duels" or "Dragon Riding" that you could have Players compete in, either with each other or other magical schools.
• Are Runes standardized across all magic-users, or can individuals create their own "coded" Runes? Are all previously existing spells recorded in textbooks and libraries, or does each magic user come up with their own personalized methods of casting?
• How does technology interact with magic? Can Runes be carved or painted onto objects to permanently imbue them with magic?
• If the magic users are capable of great power, what reasons are there for them to hide from modern society? Are they simply outnumbered? Does a magician's most powerful combat spell still pale in comparison to a .50 BMG? Is an invisibility spell thwarted by thermal scanners?

I could probably sit here and ask more questions all day long, but you don't need to know every little minutia about your setting at this point. The point is that by asking these questions, you create reasons for organizations, factions, ambitious individuals, etc to exist. Maybe a government Black Ops program wants to force magic users to become super soldiers, or they've created Artificial Mages of their own who infiltrate the Magic School as spies. Maybe a powerful seal on an ancient demon beneath the school is getting weaker, and it's exerting its influence to create a cult within the school. So on and so forth.

I hope this helps, and wish you luck with the idea!

A New Day; Cozy Fantasy Village Life

--- The Village Center ---

Akitsugu

Early Afternoon
@Xaltwind@ERode

---

---

When MacKinnon suddenly got up in his face, Akitsugu didn't flinch. His jawline remained tight, and his eyes were fixed firmly on the mischievous, glittering green gaze of the first person he'd met among all these settlers who had earned his ire.

"It IS mine," he shot back at her, every ounce of him convinced of the matter, "and I believed it was obvious it would be mine when I stated, before: I. Am. A. Blacksmith." He swept an accusatory hand at the tools in the barrel. "What use do YOU have for them, then? Do YOU know how to use them? Can YOU make nails, or axe blades, or ploughshares, or ANY of the other things the rest of these people will need, using MY tools? Clearly you've no idea how to maintain them!"

With a jerk of his head, he indicated the others of the group around them---though whether anyone else had something to weigh in on this building argument, he wasn't of a mind to wait for their opinion. "Those of us who've gathered here, from who knows where, after going through who knows what, have all---unanimously, to my knowledge---agreed to work together for the good of the whole group! Thus I, as the blacksmith, am entitled to the smithy and its contents! Thus Master Brom, as a chef, is entitled to any cookware he may need! And so on for any other professionals among us and whatsoever we may find among these homes! So what is it that YOU do---besides loot your surroundings like a baser, no-good bandit!?"

Akitsugu, coming from a foreign culture that more often placed the good of a family or community over that of an individual, couldn't believe the sheer audacity of the excitable treasure hunter. It also seemed he wasn't taking her jests in good humor, either. True enough, he hadn't made any bombastic announcements or planted any kind of flag on "his" properties, but, true to his word, at the time the man simply hadn't thought it necessary. If someone had told him "by the way, if you don't stake your claim, someone else is going to rob the place," he would've been just as incredulous to that statement as he was in this moment. Why would they take things they couldn't use? Who would they sell them to, among the other poor-as-dirt wanderers too busy fixing up their own claims? Such ideas would've never taken root in Akitsugu's own mind, thus he could not see why they might be relevant to another's point of view.

But, after he'd said his piece, he realized just how angry he'd become. He sucked air through his nose and let out a low sigh, not quite a growl, and tried to compose himself---

"I heard a pretty big crash when I was leaving the area. Might wanna check if your smithy still there, y'know?"

@ERode

Akitsugu's pupils dilated. In the same instant it took his body to trigger that involuntary reaction, the micro-expression of emotion, the left side of his coat-like robe flared outward. His thumb pressed against the tsuba. His right hand locked onto the hilt. An inch of the blade gleamed and the ball of one foot dug into the earth.

"Aki-tan, don't do it!" screamed the sword, in a voice like a young woman.