Welcome to Terrabia, a medieval fantasy realm where Elves are hunted for their magical knowledge, Humans are in constant struggle for power, Dwarves live a secret existence underground, Sataurs roam the wild woodlands, and the Saurian Dragon Lords are a dying race.
This will be a plot based role play, but the plot will be loosely character driven, meaning the characters you make won't just be pieces in a game, they will also determine the direction the plot takes. There are specific goals in place, but how you get there and why will be up to you to some extent, and i will try to leave the world as an open sandbox to avoid too much railroading if you wish.
I will be unavailable for a couple days, so feel free to read, comment, ask questions, etc... and when i get back i'll start answering questions.
Content will be around PG rated, the style is open to any kind of treatment really, from realistic to anime, the deciding factor there is between you and your imagination.
There is supernatural and mythical content, such as magic, elves, and the undead, etc... but playing a magical elf is not mandated. Play what you are comfortable playing, or feel would be an interesting challenge, whatever you want.
Character creation is a bit intensive, more than just coming up with a name. Because i use a home made RPG system, expect a bit of a learning curve, but i've explained it dozens of times to different people, young and old, so i'm beginning to become a pro at it. I have plenty of patience.
Characters are made based on a point buy system, which means that instead of just deciding what your character is like in words, or rolling dice to see how strong or weak your character is, you get to choose your character's strengths and weaknesses.
There is also a Trait system, which grants additional bonuses to characters' stats, and these Traits are named, which you can ignore or take into consideration as part of your character's backstory (such as the "Bullied at School" Trait).
Skills are also a point buy system, but instead of buying a specific skill, you buy a skill set, which grants you several skills to use at any given time. Spells are the same way.
Combat will be treated descriptively, and even though i may roll dice and track numbers, instead of telling you how much health a monster has lost from your attack i'll describe the effectiveness of the attack, and you will have to determine if the monster is near death or if you should consider a retreat. Use your brain, think about tactics, be innovative, stay alive.
If your character should die, your party members will have three in-game days to revive your character, after that point your character will be considered permanently dead.
There are several races you can play as (Human, Elf, Dwarf, Sataur, Saurian), and you are free to define your character however you want with the understanding that the character's origins are within the game world (no crossovers with reality or another game, movie, or book universe), and all the characters will be starting in the same city. This pertains to character backgrounds, future goals, motivations, friends and enemies. Character classes are also open to interpretation, meaning you don't pick a class depending on the skills it offers, you pick your skills, then define your class.
If you want to play a cleric, that doesn't necessitate that you take Recovery magic, you could take a more natural, medical approach to healing instead. If you want to play a fighter, you aren't stuck with combat only actions, you can also take blacksmithing, healing, or magic skills. No one is stuck with a single set of skills, but the number of skill sets you can master is limited.
The maximum level for characters is 10, and there are only so many skills you can master in that range, so you can choose to specialize in a few skill sets, or generalize in many skills.
Also, i will be limiting the number of magic users, even casual magicians and hedge mages, to 1 for every 4-6 characters. So the ability to use magic is on a first come first serve basis. In the world of Terrabia, the ability to use magic is granted only to the lineage of the first born of certain bloodlines. It's not an ability that suddenly crops up, nor can it be learned later in life, it is your birthright.
There are no religious affiliations (not that the world is atheistically created, i'm just not going to insert them into the game), but there are two primary philosophical groups: The Order of Trask, and the Brotherhood of Gisdael. The characters will likely encounter these at some point along the way, as they gravitate toward any concentrated populous. Trask is very justice and retribution oriented, while Gisdael is very forgiveness and healing oriented. Both philosophies are taken to extremes, which means they both have their following and their detractors. Characters are not required to be a member of any philosophy, guild, or organization, but there might be some benefits through affiliation.
The story will begin in merchant city called Portsmouth on the western coast of the continent of Ravenwood. There has been political and economical tension for the last three years, and the city's leaders have been attempting to negotiate a peace treaty with the kingdom of Atlantica.
In centuries past, wars have broken out between nations, and spell weavers have always been the heavy artillery of war. A treaty had been arranged that kept the development and accumulation of magical knowledge to a reasonable amount, but in recent years the city of Tuo'Rath has established a Magic Academy, which acts as a training ground for new magicians but also a vault which contains many magical wonders, which has the leaders of Atlantica worried that the balance of power may tip and a new war will begin.
There are rumors however, that this is just an excuse for Atlantica to invade and take over Ravenwood's resources, and also to control the non human populous, since Atlantica is strictly a human domain.
Due to the recent tension and political discord, rioting and looting has broken out in the city of Portsmouth, which is where your adventures will begin.
The Inventory and Cultural info can be found in the OOC thread here:
http://www.christiananime.net/showthread.php?p=1498431&posted=1#post1498431