OOC: RPG Idea

[Zandan]

A lot to read here, hope you have some time on your hands.

(Permission to post given by LadyPSerenity)

Title: Still to be decided

The idea is to take a generic fantasy world with limited exploration of the depth of its lore and expand on it as we role play in it. The actual thread will be framed around a small but swiftly escalating conflict that will eventually envelope the world. What the characters do, where they go, and how their actions affect the “big picture” is completely up to us, as are the nuanced details of the world at large. I hope that this will work out as I picture it, with a fascinating fantasy world that is nuanced and deep without being a radical departure from the core elements of the fantasy genre.

So let’s break it down.

Plot:

Technological Setting: One of the most important things when determining just what the genre for a role playing setting is the level of technology available. It goes a long way further than placing a label such as “Fantasy,” “Science Fiction,” “Post Apocalyptic,” or whatever you might see on it. For this world I’ve decided to choose a setting I feel is largely unexplored, a dynamic world where the traditional fantasy setting is slowly evolving in a steampunk themed future. Basically stated, it’s the world is on the threshold of crossing the line between fantasy and steampunk. New technologies, such as steam engines, gunpowder, and more are being researched as the story goes along. As the story matures we may see characters possessing the first firearms, riding the first trains, or captaining the first airships. To be honest, I see this as possibly the core conflict of the world, the conservative devotion of some races and nations to the old ways of sword and sorcery combating the progressiveness of others who favor the development of new, world changing technologies. This conflict is cultural, economic, and perhaps, eventually, even coming to literal war.

Races: The sky is the limit here as to what we want to add to the game, but I’ve taken the liberty of placing five staple races into the setting for basic use. If we want to add tiger people, or lizardmen, an avian race, or anything else you can think of, including made up races, into the setting, by all means feel free to put it in. At any rate, I feel the five should suffice to form the foundation of the fantasy world we’re starting with.

Humans – An obvious choice, and as usual they are the predominant “civilized” sentient species. The Great Empire, where the story will begin, is a humano-centric nation. Humans are a flexible and diverse race, as well as an extremely competitive one. The various cultures of humanity, as a rule, strive to optimize and enhance themselves, and further establish their role as the dominant race in the world. Physically humans stand between 5 and 7 feet, where variation depends largely on the individual’s origins, and live an average of 65 to 70 years.

Dwarves – Another fantasy staple. Dwarves are similar to humans, but culturally they are almost universally a great step in the direction of conservatism and traditionalism. Dwarven culture demands the utmost respect be given to one’s ancestors, and places a much greater emphasis on wisdom than intelligence. While dwarves are traditionally portrayed as living in a subterranean environment, in reality they are perfectly fine living both above and below ground. In fact, without their surface settlements they would be deprived of a great deal of natural resources that would make life difficult, if not impossible, below ground. Dwarves are typically between 4 and 5 feet in height, and live, on average, to the age of 180.

High Elves – Elves in the world are split between two groups, which are referred to by humans as light elves and dark elves. Though the actual derivation of the terms “light” and “dark” elves has more to do with complexion than anything else, with even these factors muted at best, the common tongue of humanity has the unfortunate condition of associating the word “dark” with “evil.” In the case of the elves, this has led to stereotyping and ostracizing of dark elves, though if anything they are more similar to humans than their light elven cousins. The difference between light and dark elves is primarily cultural. Light elves are hedged into traditional, fundamentalist ways of thought that some would even classify as outdated, while the dark elven culture subscribes to a more progressive, diverse array of ideas and thoughts. Physically, all high elves, whether dark or light, fall under the same species. They are typically slightly taller and thinner than humans, and have longer ears that vary widely in length and shape. They age very slowly after the first 25-30 years of life, and typically live to an average of 400 years, though some claim ages of nearly 600.
*I specify these elves as “high” elves because I realized there is sufficient basis for “wood” elves or other variants that can be included during the course of the story, and I would prefer not to make blanket statements.

Orcs – Culturally speaking, the orcs are very likely the most diverse group included here. Though all orcs are focused around the clan, the cultural values of each individual clan vary widely. There are civilized orc clans that have ingratiated themselves with human, elven, and dwarven nations, clans that subscribe to the traditional lifestyle of the noble savage, eschewing the progress and achievements of civilizations and tending to isolate themselves from them, and cruel, kratocratic regimes dominated by short-term warlords and bloodthirsty warriors who seek to pillage and destroy. Physically, orcs vary widely, with skin tones ranging from green to brown to gray, but they are typically 6 to 7 feet tall. They have slightly shorter lifespans than humans on average, but individually speaking the difference is almost non-existent.

Minotaur – The last of the races I’ll place in here is the minotaur. They are the most uniform of the races culturally and physically, mostly due to their comparatively limited numbers and limited diversity within their populations. The standard minotaur, one who has subscribed to the beliefs and values taught to him by his tribe, has respect for his ancestry, an appreciation of nature, and a strong sense of honor. Minotaur typically stand in excess of 7 feet in height, sometimes, but rarely, as tall as 10, and the color of their fur varies between a number of earthy shades. Minotaur have a lifespan between 80 and 100 years.

Magic: Magic exists in the world, of course, and is divided into its two traditional types, arcane and divine. Arcane magic is studied scientifically, and wizards are trained to manipulate the ley line energies that run through the world. Divine magic is a controversial topic, and is cited by clerics and other users as being derived from the grace of their god or gods. Arcane scholars, particularly those who question the existence of any god at all, call divine magic’s authenticity into question and have offered the alternate hypothesis of soul magic, which is magic derived traditionally through the ley lines and molded into individual spells through the willpower and faith of the caster. Ergo, detractors of divine magic say, the cleric channeling soul magic is able to heal a wounded man because he has enough faith in his religion to believe his god will grant him that blessing, which translates into the actual production of a healing spell. Whether or not divine magic is derived from heavenly beings or from one’s sense of faith does not affect the fact that it exists and is just as potent, if not even more so, as arcane magic.

Religion: I've developed religion among the basic races fairly extensively. There's the official religion of the Empire, the worship of a large Pantheon, but the number of people who subscribe to its beliefs has dwindled in recent years. The most common religion among humans is Gyaalism, a recently developed monotheistic worship dedicated to the god Gyaal. Durodan is the traditional god of the dwarves, the great forger of all things, and he is widely worshiped among them. Like the traditional pantheon of the humans, the dwarves also have a small pantheon. The traditional worship of the elves has been of the sun and moon, a dualism that has evolved over the ages. The sun and moon are seen today (respectively) as representative of a valkyrie goddess of wisdom, war, and nobility and a trickster god of cunning, magic, and the arts. They are both nameless, being referred to as either the celestial objects themselves or simply the God and Goddess. Orcs have abandoned the concept of a god and traditional worship for a spiritual harmony with the elements, and shamanic manipulation of the primal forces is a field of some interest for academic scholar-mages. The religion of the minotaur hybridizes traditional religious worship with the spiritual harmony of the orcs, with their primary god/goddess being an asexual earth mother-type divine being with myriad forms, which range from the sun to water to the world as a whole. This very abstract religion, the nature of which requires deep immersion in the culture of Manaos for many years to understand, calls its divine being Masavaon which translates to the common tongue very roughly as "Giver." Additionally, there are a number of cults within all races and religions, though these are more common among humans, dwarves, and elves.
If you want any more information on the individual gods of the dwarven or human pantheons, or the religions in general, feel free to ask.

Geopolitical Structure of the World: The world is divided into nations, of course. I’m going to leave this section largely unexpanded so that we can add countries whenever and wherever we please. Since I’d prefer to stay away from the traditional conventions of Good vs. Evil, I can imagine politics and relations between the various nations will become very important. Here are some of the more important nations:

I have an assortment of maps that can be used, I plan to put it up to a vote on which one would be used.

The Empire of Humanity – This is the classic realm of humanity. It’s the Gondor of Middle-Earth, the Cyrodiil of Oblivion, and so on and so forth. The Empire is ruled by the Emperor, Claudius Lex IV, from the spartanly named Imperial City. Emperor Lex rules over a massive domain that includes an expansive coastline, green tracts of some of the most verdant, fertile land in the world, vast woodlands in the north, and iron, silver, gold, and copper-rich mountains in the south. The population of the Empire is primarily human, but representatives of all races can be found in some number or another. With respect to naming conventions and the general culture, I see it as a hybridization of France, Britain, and Germany throughout the High Medieval Period.

The Kingdom of Corusc – To the direct north of the Empire is another humano-centric kingdom, the Kingdom of Corusc. Corusc broke away from the Empire some eighty years ago and is a highly militarized nation, with one of the largest and strongest armies in the world. Coruscan are not known for their hospitality.

The Northern Orcish Clanship – The Northern Orcish Clanship is an alliance of the honorable orcish clans that have remained aloof and independent of the ever expanding nations of the neighboring humans.

The Underkingdom – The Underkingdom refers to the domain, but above and below the surface, of the dwarves, located against the southeastern borders of the Empire. While the Empire may produce the largest food surpluses in the world, it is barely able to scratch the surface of the Underkingdom’s manufacturing capabilities.

The City-State of Dartmouth – The largest city and most influential port in the world is none other than Dartmouth. Dartmouth is such an economic powerhouse that the mere threat of it declaring war on the Empire and shutting down the exchange of commerce between the shipping capital of the world and the Empire was enough to secure its freedom and its status as an independent city-state. Dartmouth is nestled deep within Imperial territory, and still serves as its largest port.

The Elven Princedoms – The Elven Princedoms refers to the scattered and disorganized duchies, princedoms, and baronies of the elves, all under the ostensive leadership of a single king. The title “King of the Elves” has not been held by a secured ruler in several decades, however, and any cooperation between the princedoms that would classify them as a unified nation has ceased to exist for some time.

Manaos – Manaos is the minotaur word for “nation,” and refers specifically to the nation of the minotaur. It has held on to its lands for centuries upon centuries, but as humanity’s Imperialism peaks in the coming years it may be the first to go to war against the Empire.

Alright, there you have it. A crash course in the framework of the world I’ve created. As you can see there’s a lot of unexplored material, which I hope we’ll get to fill in the blanks for as we go along. Now that we have the world-at-large out of the way, I’ll detail where we’re starting.

Fordleigh is a small Imperial town home to some twelve thousand citizens. It is located some six days journey from the Imperial City by horse, due to the indirect route required to cross several rivers, various valleys, and partially circumnavigate a thick forest with a rather poor reputation. Its inhabitants, which are rumored to be anything from goblins to werebeasts to treants to ghouls and geists, have proved inhospitable when the citizens of Fordleigh have entered. Grossly inhospitable. Fordleigh is primarily an agricultural center, though they have a variety of services including a small blacksmith and a bazaar selling a wide range of goods found exclusively in the northern empire and smuggled imports from Corusc. Of some interest to our protagonists may be the small crime ring, the Priyet Vos, that operates in Fordleigh, which is pervasive enough to have influence within even the highest level of the government.

And there you have it. Anything that I haven’t included in here can be added as we go along, though if you feel I’ve left out something important by all means point it out and I’ll add it in.

Character Sheet:

Name: Something vaguely appropriate. Common sense should serve you fine, so long as your common sense doesn’t tell you “Kesha” is a good name for a minotaur.
Race:
Age:
Appearance: a picture or description would be fine. If you decide to describe your character, please be detailed. Don't just write, "Brown shoulder length hair and green eyes. Average build and height." That doesn't help much at all.
Skills: A short description of what your character can do. This can be expanded upon as we move through the RP, but not in an absurd way. I’d prefer if you didn’t add psychic powers to this half way through the story on a whim.
Biography: The length is up to you.

Just a few rules for character creation and the story itself:

1. Keep your characters reasonable – Don’t give your human horns and skin of molten rock because he was blessed by demons. Please. I don’t want to have the awkward “I know I said it was sandbox but this is slightly ridiculous” conversation with anyone.

2. Keep your characters’ personalities realistic – By this I mean that your character should be deep and multidimensional. Think about your personality – no one really has a one-track mind, so there’s no reason you should make a character like that. Characters should have personal conflicts, doubts, fears, thoughts, and ambitions that make them less like words and more like people.

3. Keep your consequences realistic and present – If events call for a character’s death, please don’t defy the odds and come out on top. At least not too often. We all want heroic characters capable of cheating the Grim Reaper by a hair’s breadth, but if your character decides to challenge a dragon to face-to-face combat, at least have the courtesy to write an awesome death scene to read. Those posts are sometimes my favorite to read. Remember, you can always create another character.

Sample Character: (Not my character)

Name: Edorf, son of Odorf Bronzepick
Race: Dwarf
Age: 64
Skills: Edorf carries an oddity among the Dwarven people. His skills lay not in combat, forging, or even in magic a rarity for the Dwarves, instead, Edorf’s talent lies in the area of ‘engineering’, a very unsure subject for the world. He understands clockwork and a little of the steam technology that the Dwarven Engineering Guild is researching into. Besides engineering, Edorf is very handy with a crossbow, and is even researching ways to upgrade it and make it more powerful or even create a repeating one. Edorf has also been known to make a mean traveller’s stew.

Biography: Edorf is the Odorf Bronzepick, a mine worker who earned his surname years earlier when he was mining and ran into several goblins. Odorf managed to slay all of them, using only his pick as a weapon, after returning to the mining camp and telling his tale, Odorf was given his own surname. When Edorf turned twenty, the customary age for a Dwarf to choose his trade, he did not choose to be sent down to the mines with his father, nor did he choose a ‘normal’ master, instead he chose to be apprenticed to an engineer. Edorf was surprised to find his father did not object, but Odorf was on good terms with the Dwarven Engineering Guild, whose projects mostly revolved greater efficiency and safety in the mines.

Not all of the family were happy with Edorf’s choice. Edorf’s uncle, a well known and respectable smith, was horrified at his nephew’s choice. This led to a division between him and Odorf, and even Edorf’s grandfather, disowned Odorf in shame. Nothing truly affected Odorf however, who continued to allow Edorf to continue his education as an engineer. Edorf was accepted into the Dwarven Engineering Guild, who were eager for more members, and after working in their mining projects for almost twenty years, Edorf was given a new task. He was sent out of the Underkingdom and into the Empire of Humanity, to research and discover the forms of engineering used by many people. Edorf has recently made his way to Fordleigh to partake in the celebration of Felling Night, and visit the local bazaar for any objects that may help the Guild.

________________

I've been gone far too long. To make up for it, I post this idea, anyone interested?

It still needs to be fleshed out, hence why this is not a sign up thread. The players shape this world, not just me.

[Elukien]

I'm interested. After reading this, i was hoping that this would be the sign-up page.

[Zandan]

LadyPSerenity denied my request for a sign up page seeing that there is no story (even though that is the point). I have sent her another pm with my reasoning, hopefully she will allow it. If not, then we'll need to come up with a story.

[Tigris]

Plenty of potential with this, I'm in. We just need RPers who will keep it alive. You've got my interest once you post a sign-up. I like the idea(I've seen it a few times) of the world growing as with the characters, it makes things very intriguing and in depth as opposed to rushed planning if done correctly. Alot of room for growth, let's do it.

[Zandan]

Looks like I'm going to have to come up with a basic story in order to get this approved for a sign up thread. Disappointing, but I'll try to have it as free as possible. I don't want this to be constrained to one path, it needs to have many ways it can go.

[Tigris]

Write loose, yet logical story arc "branches". As an RPG advances, you can never have it go one solid path. I can help write some possibilities if you'd like? PM me anytime, I wanna start this RP already. Haha

[Zandan]

Other people's thoughts and ideas is what this RP runs on, if you have any I would be happy to receive them.

[Zandan]

Every introduction I'm typing up is turning into a this vs that story...Far too limiting in my opinion...this may take a few days to actually start up...

[Elukien]

Take all the time you need, we won't be going any where anytime soon.

[Aedan the demon hunter]

Damn this sounds awesome I want play!

[Elukien]

Damn this sounds awesome I want play!

That's great that you want to join but will you be active?

[Aedan the demon hunter]

I well so long as the RPG are active then so shall I...That is if I don't get any pressing matter to attend to.

[rappappa]

I'll join! I want to Rp this! (Is hyper + has never roleplayed) This sounds really really really really really really interesting! If I come up with any suggestions I'll post again! (dang, I ate to much pocky....)

[Galactic Pretty Boy]

This sounds AH-MAZE-IING! Super excited about this! hope it goes up soon.

[LadyPSerenity]

I figured I'd quickly pop in here and explain why I won't allow the game without a history for those who are helping out as the person who is creating this did not show my reasoning.

It's actually quite simple, in an open world where you have no guidelines of any kind. No history of any kind, you are basically starting an RP that opens with.

Charlie walked into the bar and sat down, he ordered a drink from the bartender and tossed it back quickly before slamming the glass back down on the counter and signalling that he wanted another. Today was not his day.

That's it. Nothing to it. And if that is the type of RP you are looking for, the chat room is the place for it. It is nearly impossible to keep up with the current RPs and one where you post a line or two every time you post would be impossible. It'd be pages upon pages to scroll through with no actual content.

I'm not saying the history has to be specific, doesn't have to be a he vs. she or anything like that. IT can be a better and more detailed look at the world. You would basically create the different world leaders, find players to help you create them, and create whether maybe they are on steady trading grounds with their neighbors or maybe they are on rocky ones. Maybe one "country" has extremely strict laws. People are rebelling. You don't want a linear story then create MANY stories all within the same world. So there are problems to solve, things to do. This prevents the Teenage angst from being the main point of the RPG. Because seriously if what was wanted here was just a bunch of love stories all played out, the chat is a better place, and you can create a story that would suit that if you were really wanting it here.

I'm not trying to be mean or cruel, and my suggestions were not based on what I've read above, they were just examples of what I mean by multiple stories all detailed into one world. World of Warcraft is much of the same. There are many different paths you can take, but there is a world with history because no matter how much of a sandbox the game is. There is a story to it, and a background. Unless of course it's senseless violence - HALO (though I think that even has a story in it).

So please understand my reasoning for wanting an actual story.

[Zandan]

The point of a sandbox is that the players themselves make the story. I have supplied guidelines and a minimal amount of history. As I said, I could provide helpful nudges to get people moving so that the posts don't become one-liners, but it wouldn't be a sandbox if I decided everything that is going on in the world.

I can make a story with the countries and factions I described already, but that could easily leave out any other player-created races/countries, driving potential RPers away. Which is the reason I'm having such a hard time making one.

I'll try to come up with a story and submit it in a few days. If I can't, then I'll have to ask for anyone interested to give their ideas (which is actually the main point of this thread, I probably should have specified that) or mark this as a failed idea.

[LadyPSerenity]

I understand what it is you want, and I understand that the point of the sandbox world is to make it free for people to do what they want. However, you still need a story of some kind somewhere. Whether that story is just a basic, what is happening in that time. "The humans recently developed the steam engine..." Or something is a start.

Right now there is nothing to fight against... so instead you have a setting where it's gonna be all about the drama. "You love my girl! How dare you!"

What are you going to do if no one wants to step in and make a villain type character? What are you going to do if the game becomes nothing but ten or twenty love stories all love triangles with so much teen angst in it that it could make a rope and hang someone? What ARE you going to do when the one liners start getting posted?

I've RPd with a lot of people - no I don't RP on here, but I do RP elsewhere - and when I do RP with them I find the most difficult thing to do is to get character interaction because everyone wants to be the lone wolf, the person pulled into the fray by another person. With nothing no conflict anywhere that lone wolf is a VERY lonely person unless of course someone comes to love them then we get another love story.

If what you want is that set of love stories, then talk to me about that. Because right now all I see happening from this is that, and I'm more than willing to be proven wrong.

Everyone on the forum who wants to start an RP goes through the same process. If you want to make it different, then talk to me directly and see what we can work out. I'm open to new ideas, I've allowed another sandbox game by the way the combat strategies one that is elsewhere on the forum. There is not really a plot so much as a series of conflicts and people fighting for lands. (Please forgive me as I'm typing this in the morning and my memory of EXACTLY what is happening in that game is short). I'm not flat out denying your request. I'm saying I want more information. I want what you plan to do to prevent one liners. I want what you plan to do to prevent/encourage love stories. I want what you actually want to do with this. Other than "Here I've created a technology setting for a world, and the races where they are in that world. Now make me stories." That to me sounds like a writer who has hit writer's block and is looking for others to do the rest for them.... so like I said, I'm more than willing to be proven wrong, but I would perfer to talk privately from this point in regards to what it is you think you can do to encourage an awesome role play. There is potential here but so far I can see even myself, who as you can tell likes to write, writing one liners because it's still not fleshed out enough for me to want to write anything else.

[Zandan]

*snip*

You raise good, valid points; and I, myself, have been a part of many RPs that have turned out as you described. As much as I would like to say that I can avoid that, I'm not completely sure that I can. Hence why I conceded to making a story.

You are completely right in one regard; I have a writer's block. It took weeks to create this world. I can't seem to find any inspiration through my usual means, so I wanted to try to find some through others' writing.

_____

Tigris sent me an idea of his. While I would rather not go with his idea right away, it is far better than any I have come up with so far.

My own idea centers around political and international strife, which I'm having a hard time putting to paper. Every time I try to write it out, it turns into something completely different than what I wanted. I'll try to have at least an outline later today after I wake up, but with my muddled mind, it may take a few days longer.

If I am still unable to, I'll see if I can make a few changes to Tigris' idea and try to go with that.

[Anuket]

World of Warcraft is much of the same.

That's what I thought when I was reading the first post, but I gotta say I am intrigue as how you are gonna make a story out of this. And I am hoping you'd come up with something great, once you get approved and post a sign-up thread I wouldn't hesitate to join.

Good luck, I suppose.

[Zandan]

*Cut for revision*

EDIT: Never mind, if a mod is reading this, please lock or delete this thread. I am putting this down as a failed idea, unless someone else wants to take up the reins and run with it.