Roleplay

[b]OP NOTES:[/b] You'll have to forgive the length of this intro post--it's designed to render an entire setting collaboratively presented by a few players, as well as leave open territory for development AND let people know what can/can't join here. [b]Status:[/b] Semi-Open (must read entire starter post to join, most characters allowed. This document WILL help you place characters. There's even ways to bring outworlder characters in if you don't want them to be native to this planet.) [b]World:[/b] Enceladus, Original. [b]Development Period:[/b] Most countries are in varying late medieval or ren periods. One nation is in early industrial revolution phases and has begun sharing with its more related neighbors, and some have tinkerer timelines all their own. Magic is plenty and steampunk elements have begun to spread. [b]Continents: [/b] 1 “discovered”; this continent includes 7 (arguably 8) nations that are heavily developed on a plot/dev level. Seafaring in the vast open waters was rare at their development threshold and the most developed nation was landlocked. Their information will be included below. We are open to integrating other continents and countries from beyond the seas to help incorporate other player ideas as long as it is discussed with the plot starters to make sure it integrates well. (these will be broken down after the next section) [size=5]HOW TO JOIN, WHAT'S ACCEPTED[/size] [size=4][b]Character count, posting regularity.[/b][/size] You can use more than one character, with stipulations. [LIST] [*]You must be able to devote reasonable time to each character. [*]If people are posting fairly quickly/lively and rolling along and you know you can't be around for a day or two, please find an excuse to see your character out temporarily, or we will allow people around you to imply they went to the bathroom or something so they can keep rolling. [*]If your character is continuing to leave other people "scene locked", you may be written out by the best functional means by any RP originators. This generally won't be death, but your character may coincidentally get a nondescript quest that sends them to the sub-arctic or something so everyone can resume what they're doing. [*]You must express the writing capability to differentiate your characters strongly if they happen to end up in the same post, or same scene. Also, do not only play with yourself with your own characters. This is an interactive game, not a chance to show us your personal novel. [/LIST] [size=4][b]ALLOWED/BANNED[/b][/size] Long-term this is intended to get all timey wimey, but the starting time period is a world in development between renaissance and industrial revolution depending on the area--but magic included. So yes, steampunk is viable in certain areas. However, we're going to ask people to WAIT before you start submitting your cyborgs. Fantasy medieval is fine. Steampunk is fine. If you are interested in entering that kind of character, please follow along and/or check updates to this original post. [b]Allowed by default:[/b] - Nonmagical creatures, humanoid or otherwise. - Low magic creatures, humanoid or otherwise. Low magic is categorized by simple witchery, mantras, etc. - Medium magic creatures, humanoid or otherwise. Medium magic is qualified as like, sorcerors that can throw fireballs, but not necessarily nuke entire cities. - Industrial revolution age technology or lesser, preferrably sourced with backstory gained from the information below. [b]Allowed with restrictions (message me first to make sure it jives):[/b] - High magical creatures, humanoid or otherwise. Things like, well, dragons play into this, but everyone has a different idea of how powerful a dragon should be and I just don't want someone's super well crafted bard getting made to stay home and make sammiches because someone's dragon can solve everything without a party. - High tech is on hold for now as above. [b]Pretty much banned:[/b] - Godly level things. Can it bend planes and time and space? If that gets entered, ever, it's in a well negotiated plot based effort. For example, we have a few ideas for such plot mechanics below, but they're not just going to be wandering around bars picking fights as much as out there for Plot Potential if anyone is so inclined. If you feel you have something that can really motivate a story for that, sure, DM me! [size=5]Countries: [/size] [img]https://i.imgur.com/nQoJ58D.png[/img] [b]LENEGON:[/b] Gnome Nation. Capitol Lenopolis. Tinkerers, golems, “mad creations”; volcanic territory with northern frigid peaks and settlement in Drixitilo. [b]GRWIER:[/b] Elvish Nation. Oldwood is the ancient capitol, ruins and forest; Newood is the current capitol. Nature and divine oriented, harmony based. [b]DONDRL:[/b] Wildlands, mostly barbarian tribes. Orcs, giants, beastmen, taureans are common. Fortress-like central cities, technical capitol Divirain [b]ISTOLL:[/b] Classic medieval nation. New Istoll is the new capitol. Human majority but decent mix of fantasy races in the minority. [b]THRENODY:[/b] To be discussed more later. Mostly dwarven. [b]KIARRDO:[/b] Slave Nation, psions of mixed races in upper class, Kastnil is the capitol. [b]ALENNON:[/b] Mage nation, Alenupalistia is the capitol. Heavy magical races of any sort dominate here. [size=4]ALNASA, RECENT WORLD POLITICS, AND MORE: [/size] Alnasa is a unique outlier, with a nexian portal in the core of the capitol, known for spitting out vagrant travelers from strange places. The portal is guarded, as it reputedly goes in both directions, and remains a valuable asset. This also put Alnasa ahead of the developmental curve from outworld perspectives and influence. In recent history (within the last 20 years), Alnasa rapidly grew to being the largest nation in both population and landmass. Their higher level (read: industrial revolution) based technology, and a power hungry ruler, left it besieging its neighboring kingdoms and claiming land. In that time period, first settlements around the sacred Oldwood fell in Grwier (20 years ago), then Old Istoll fell (about 15 years ago) and Threnody, which initially was its ally, was conquered (about 10 years ago). Threnody had been the richest nation, a complete oligarchy, fond of creature comforts and extravagant lifestyles, powered by their mines that provided a rare mythril-like material named Threnodian Steel. Alnasa claimed these mines after devastating Threnody with bombs, tanks, and firearms unlike they had seen before, furthering their war machine. The general lack of organization between tribes in Dondrl left a 10 year period of advancing Alnasan settlements in the territory. Istoll chose to comply to maintain what little sovereignty it had left on its thread of land at the time. Kiarrdo began to feel pressure from around Istoll giving way to Alnasan forces, and began to fight back with shaky alliances from the often reclusive Alennon mage councils. Kiarrdo was advanced in naval travel, with forces setting sail from Nilgar to Dondrl territories on the western shores, taking over sparse tribal cities and using their heavy fortress tactics while expanding their slave nation to include the giant breeds there for an eventual standoff with Alnasa. (5 years ago) At the same time, Threnody’s survivors in the rubble of the dwarven nation seemed to begin to disappear, only for the nations of the world to realize a new underground nation had been established in its place by the name “Xorvintaal.” (5 years ago.) An outworlder rose to power as a new lord of a new nation labeling itself a meritocracy, in a place where Alnasa’s early planes, heavy tanks and bombs could not invade. Similarly, countries around the continent began to realize that Threnody had been digging tunnels far and wide -- similar to a previous Kiarrdan ruler (10 years ago) who had done similar with waterway channels for their submarine and maritime vehicles. There was fear the two may be collaborating in the general world, and in Kiarrdo fear that their own underground venues were not safe. Little was known about the Xorvintaal’s ruler for at least a year. Until he surfaced in Kiarrdo (about 4 years ago.) Kiarrdo, as a slave nation, valued power above all, and rulers won--and maintained--their powers in four year cycle mass brawl competitions of survival that lasted for a few weeks on end. There, the Xorvintaal’s ruler, the Taaldarax, surfaced--and won, essentially fusing Kiarrdan and Threnody territories under the flag of the Xorvintaal Empire. New Istoll was increasingly uncomfortable with its position, trying its best to stay out of the escalating fight--with Xorvintaal wrapping it to one side, and Alnasa to the other as the two largest empires, it tried to remain passive, as did its king--who passed (4 years ago) and was replaced by a novice prince and new advisors to the throne, trying good faith efforts with either nation to little benefit of his own people in the end. Adventures from heroes of Istoll, including advisors and confidants of the new prince, led to a new Grand Chieftan of the many tribes of Dondrl called together, upset with the growing disturbance of channels diverting their water, machines destroying their forests, and their people enslaved. The seemingly simple tribes gained unexpected alliance with the gnomes of the north in Lenegon, pushing back first against Kiarrdan -- now Xorvintaalian -- forces chaining their kin at the western shore (3 years ago). The thing of legends came to be that the new Grand Chieftan and the Xorvintaal Taaldarax turned out to be blood brothers, a rivalry that would carry the tides of the continent for the next year. Xorvintaal chose to withdraw Kiarrdan forces from Dondrl to best focus their efforts maintaining the borders of their surface level Kiarrdo territories from increasing Alnasan pressure, already taking on a decent force of giants in chains. The death of the Lenegon Craftsman happened to put what was initially intended to be temporary control in the hands of the Grand Chieftan, in what has come to be called Axian Territory since (3 years ago). Axian Empire is broken into two landmasses for recognition of Grwier as a sovereign nation, though at the time it was small with Alnasan occupiers in the east. Xorvintaal and Axia maintained a petty brotherly feud, but in the end, Alnasa showed itself as the greatest threat by which they would need to cooperate. Even Alennon chose to come out of its idle bystanding in the deep, tropical south (2 years ago) and banded together, with Xorvintaal and its underdark serving as the operative core to reclaim Alnasa by agreement amidst all other surrounding nations. Just under 2 years ago, Alnasa fell. Most land has been returned to the original countries before the war, though the central-most land is dedicated as a neutral zone in which councils and world leaders meet -- a fantasy take of the United Nations, if you will, with given territory to promote trade in a recovering world. The nazi-esque regime of Alnasa has been entirely replaced, with no central governance of its own beyond what the other nations and empires decide at council meetings, though there are whispers of resurgence in dedication to the old war general passed around on the street, and a few politically motivated attacks have caused disruptions in the last few years in the aftermath in protest of Alnasan Loyalists, deemed a terrorist organization by the Council of 7. [size=4]THE COUNCIL OF SEVEN[/size] Each nation sends its own representative on major global affairs. While the Xorvintaal and Axian Empires maintain multiple nations within them, they divide their representation separately. The Axian Empire maintains its ruler as the Grand Chieftan, but has set a new Grand Craftsman in Lenegon as a fairly autonomous ruler, if still in answer to the Axian flag by respect. The barbarians of Dondrl will not accept another chieftain, and so the Empire’s ruler maintains that seat. The Xorvintaal Empire has to itself three representatives. The former Drog’Lovac, a dwarf, of Xorvintaal returned to the surface of Threnody after the war for surface-level rebuilding efforts and maintains a seat. (This leaves the Drog’Lovac position in Xorvintaal currently up for discussion within the Drog Council of the nation.) A temporary Slavelord was settled in Kiarrdo due to the busy-ness of the Taaldarax, but the arena competition for the seat of power will be arriving soon, leaving potential of a new seat to any warrior of tremendous might that commands respect. Both of these still answer to the Xorvintaal Taaldarax, who remains involved in their politics, but the Xorvintaal is now considered a separate nation from Threnody, and the Taaldarax himself sits as representative. Istoll, Grwier, and Alennon all maintain their own individual representation. In council decisions, a 4/3 majority is minimum. Undecided votes can hang the council at 3/3 for extended periods, although this is rare. Each kingdom has its own internal politics and if you want something more direct and explicit to the development of a character or backstory within a particular region or nation, please DM me, I’ll give you plenty of fodder to work with. Respectively though, the above is the average amount a common citizen of the world could be aware of, and the rest can easily be found through storyline and adventuring. [size=5]OTHER WORLD EVENTS[/size] Starting 3-4 years ago, during the end of the war, Nexian disruptions and entries from the Alnasa portal increased exponentially. (Read as: chance to enter character, or imply they stumbled into the world a few years ago and built a life in the chaos since.) Many refugees from nations have begun to resettle in their homelands since, or others seeking opportunity during tense peace times to travel to nations of choice and start over. Due to development, advanced seafaring is rare. 3-4 years ago, first reports of an uncrossable fog began to wrap around the continent anywhere 200 miles or more out at sea. Due to wartime, this was not heavily investigated until the end of the wars about 2 years ago. Multiple ships have been lost at sea in this time. Many that return speak of being lost for weeks in the fog--some’s timelines and logs do not meet up with those on the continent as if wandering into a strange time space like the Bermuda Triangle. Many others that managed to make it further and estimated about 400 miles out at sea all speak of enormous, chaotic storms--every single one of them. A few speak of an island chain they took shelter on to regain bearings--which held unusual, ancient beasts likened to dragons and yet more feral. Others tried to navigate to the estimated coordinates and found nothing. There is disagreement in the rumors on if this is due to navigational failures from conditions or some sort of magic. [size=4]THE SERPENT’S ISLE[/size] Serpent's Isle rests between the boundaries of somewhere and nowhere amongst the Dracid Sea. A tale told only by the most novel of adventurers, no maps list the same location, but all mention a snake-shaped trail of islands with the largest housing an active volcano and a lush jungle seeded with ancient saurean life and other mysteries. The central island’s mountain houses an entryway reading a generic "Enter in offering to death" leading to a strange segmented metallic hall and eventually into the second level balcony overseeing a grand ballroom with checkerboard cream-and-blue tiles. It looks like the place of kings, with a proud table centerpiece with impossible lustre on the silverware. Open mawed dragon statues line the walls at both levels. The back house two unassuming rooms with unimportant books and little of relevance. Moving shelves betrays a connecting hall from each side into a descending stairwell, continuing another few hundred feet into the earth. Giant metal doors await, reading "I surrender to my shadow" before leading into a pitch black gallery. Bringing in illumination displays true to life sized draconic statues with glistening eyes guarding the dusty halls filled with curiosities and giant shelves, all leading to the banister-free sharp descent of a pit of stairs several hundred more feet into the pits which groan with life. Once in the base level, black onyx carved corridors web in all directions, varying from personal chambers, an extensive archaic library, a cozy study, and even an impressive kitchen, all themed from door to cabinet in serpentine and draconic imagery. Few opportunities are missed at portraying either. In the more cragged hallways, the fiery pits of the Hydra, Assmonster (if you find out, you find out) and various other pets wait as punishment to servants and those who lose to an earlier trap game. An extensive glyph seals away most magical capabilities in this area. The primary path leads to another set of gigantic doors leading into a stadium sied affair of a room, featuring an enormous table often offering a bounty, a throne of caduceus-design atop a flight of low stairs, an enormous pentacle with two 'feet' near the door and head before the throne, and a taxidermized, armored dragon of over two hundred feet at each corner, as if to support the ceiling. A smaller doorway with bone curtain idles to the side, piled with the titanic bones of dead, ancient dragons in a disrespectful and morbid graveyard. Who stays here? Hope you never have to find out. [size=5]Are you still reading?[/size] Good. If you fit the above auto-approve parameters, feel free to start posting. If you feel you hedge at the maybes, feel free to sling me a DM. I'll drop my first post(s) on this thread later tonight to give several early engagement opportunities for the more cautious.

[b][size=4]ALNASA, CITY CENTER[/size][/b] [columns][img]https://i.imgur.com/kBQZnHN.jpg[/img] [nextcol][indent][color=darkgoldenrod]"It's all so... [i]normal,"[/i] Rumea Donoma gripped a brass-gauntleted finger around her feathered chin, watching slow steam automotives tumble by no faster than the occasional crossing horse carriage clattering over cobblestone. Given, the sorceress had a strange concept of [i]normal[/i], even for an adventurer. But typically some gateway to another dimension felt--[i]other-dimensionalish.[/i] This was the first time she felt like she was anywhere near home since... well, since her home world had been destroyed. Solar-gold eyes swept over the signs. She assumed they were common--somehow, the languages across the realms seemed to share a common ancestor enough that she suffered through it like any other branched romance language; a study, she imagined, worthwhile for someone who cared. And furthermore assumed somewhere, an old enemy had an entire encyclopedia on.[/indent][/color][/columns] [columns][color=darkgoldenrod]With a sigh, she found her way to the local pub. Just as frequent as recognizing the letter A, they were often places to get bearings on the beat of a world. And since the guards in whatever bizarre tower she had popped out of hadn't exactly been particularly welcoming or willing to explain much, she imagined the talk among the common men would. She was never particularly difficult to spot, even at home. Her stark white cloak cut like a light through most rooms, the giant ruby stones clutched on her shoulderguards by golden hawk talons, and the matching red stones inset in molten-copper hued gauntlets weren't exactly what the average farmer wore to market. Oh, and the fact that she had feline ears and tail, feathers rather than fur, and a sharp freckling of gold along tiger lines in otherwise fiery toned bases. She was used to getting stared at--for one ill reason or another in either direction. So she just swiveled her ears to the room once grumpily ordering a pint, tossing out a bronze coin and hoping bronze was bronze regardless of the print. Nothing particularly traumatizing on the local airwaves, by the sound of it. Did that little turd send her to the wrong place?[nextcol][img]https://i.imgur.com/NzeC9ga.png[/img][/columns][/color] --------------- [b]XORVINTAAL, MONAHVEN[/b] [columns][img]https://i.imgur.com/K6KBwKd.jpg[/img][nextcol][color=darkslateblue][indent]Spatulae pads on long fingers brushed over cold stone, hooked nails clicking on the indents of engraved text. [i]"Another vessel lost at sea."[/i] A deep-chested voice croaked, trailed in reptilian afterbreath. Electric-blue, glowing eyes stared emptily ahead. [i]"That's seven in the last month."[/i] His company, an older dwarf, didn't dare to challenge the living lizard of a man who passed the plaque back towards him with a calculating calmness that seemed to set nerves on fire--even those of the fifteen-hand high proto-feathered raptor creature in the room, who let out the quietest creak. Kion'ra'alish slowly paced around the black, onyx map table at the center of the room, grazing his hands over the carefully crafted landscapes of the continent to impressively squared scale. [i]"At this rate I might as well go, myself.[/i] "Sir--" a brittle protest came from a stout bearded man "Wi' all due rrespect--"[/columns] [columns][i]"With respect, [b]what?[/b]"[/i] An alien-featured head snapped to the offending interjection. It, the horizontal blink of his semi-translucent aquarian lids loud enough to slap, and the folded but erect position of his finned ears snapped the cavernous room into haunting silence. All three stood awkwardly. He couldn't say he disagreed with the unspoken, if just for different concerns than the other might have imagined. It only made him seethe worse. The dragon-man's company tried to move on, "Beyond tha', th' Drogs report things goin' well. The Vignars're havin' bettah air quality w'the partial ex'dus t'th' surface." The dwarf noticed seemingly panicked, glowing eyes reflexively searching blank space. "Sir?" That wasn't something he could particularly voice. [i]"Nothing, continue."[/i] "Ah--Drog'Lovac's reports show New Haven comin' along splendedly--" [i]"Why any of them would want to return to the surface after what happened..."[/i] "Yes, well, many still like tha' big blazing ball in the sky." [i]"You're... dwarves."[/i] the blue one meagerly protested, rolling a hand through the air. [i]"You like rocks."[/i] "...Wow. I'm ignorin' tha'. F'wha' it's worth, some folks been applying for Taskmasterin' others." [i]"Which means we've lost Taskmasters to the migration.[/i] He wasn't buying the silver lining. Silence reigned again, before he sighed. [i]"Get me an advanced breakdown of their work credits, and current Junnesejer occupation. Let me know what Ronax we've had migrate in the last few weeks."[/i] "Aye, sir." And with that, he hobbled out, grousing at the Faal Fasnu Krein's entry gate with a dwarven grumble to the guards, "Awful cranky still for a man that won it all inn'he?" Nobody disagreed. Welp, on to the nearest Unazhaal to get a drink--he would leave the Taaldarax to brood over whatever it was in that oversized brain of his. Neck was too damn small to hold up all the plans and ego, the dwarf reckoned.[/columns][/color]