Legends of the Dimwood OOC (invite only)

[Niniva]

Welcome to the Legends of the Dimwood OOC

Legends of the Dimwood

This is a Fantasy style RP for invited guests only. If you are here and you would like to join please feel free to send me a PM, but keep in mind I want to keep this RP very small so that the plot and the posting doesn't get too convoluted and confused.

To those who have been invited already, welcome! And begin chatting. I will have the prologue posted and linked to here shortly.

Let the chatting begin, and as soon as you guys post in here we'll discuss how I want to run the plot.

[Niniva]

Once you guys post, I'll start putting together "common knowledge" which every character will have. Once you all come up with a character idear we will then discuss (privately of course) what extra stuff your character knows and you can then choose to keep it secret, and/or share with your group.


PS: One of you needs to play the girl from the prologue. Unless you all want me to play her as an NPC.

I will be playing only plot design characters and one in particular that I hope you all enjoy, but my posts will involve a lot of extra environment description and I'll be handling the "enemies".

Some Notes and General Guidelines for the RP:
I may ask you to make a roll of a die, but that might just be a matter of deciding who's lucky/unlucky.

An example of this is, say, your troop gets attacked by a pack of enemies. I will have you all roll the dice and the lowest three rolls will end up being targeted by the enemies. All that this will entail is who the enemies focus on. I will post an attack that will include what might happen if it hits, and then you are left to find a way to either avoid the hit, or take the hit and include in your post how you respond.

I don't PLAN on anyone dying, but it could happen provided ya'll don't mind. In truth I'd like all of you to make it to the end, but if you have to leave the RP for any reason, or don't post for an extended period of time then we will just ret-con (that is, come up with some explanation) as to what happened to you. That may include death so that the rest of the RP can move along.

There will be a general posting order, and I hope you'll post here if you'll be absent for any extended period of time. When it is your turn to post you'll have 24 hours from the time of the last post to get a post out or your spot in the posting order will be forefeit and you will be moved to the end of the order. If you remain absent then your character will continue to do whatever you were doing in your last post unless the plot needs to move forward. In which case, you should either choose another player, or myself, to take control of your character and add their actions into your post. This is just to make sure 5 of us aren't waiting for the sixth to post for two weeks and then the RP dies because everyone looses interest. Interest will likely get lost, but hopefully that won't happen for quite some time rather than within a week (which is the norm, in my experience).

[Niniva]

Name: If this is not obvious, I believe I have made a mistake inviting you.

Race:This is obvious, however stick to the classic races. I don't want any angels, no demons, nothing like that. Those kinds of things are plot devices, not player characters, so for your references:
Human, half elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling, Elf. Keep in mind, in this story, Elves are especially rare. They have fallen victim to a strikingly effective racist agenda by a race of "men" and "Shar". Feel free to pitch a race to me, I'm open to new ones, but don't get too crazy.

No you cannot play a Shar. He's the bad guy.

No, you cannot play a bad guy. To be specific, you can play a guy who is "bad"....that is to say, morally reprehensible or generally not upstanding, but you cannot play the plot's main villain. That's my job.

NOTE!
Things should be kept within the regular norms of high fantasy lore. Dwarves can't use magic except for their clerics who only heal, but they also have a high resistance to magic. Gnomes are adept at alchemy and so there usually is one hanging around for potions and "special" cocktails. Halflings are usually great and sneaking around and backstabbing, also humor and gluttony, but they are terribly bad at face to face combat and are far more likely to run then stand and fight. Humans are generally average at everything, though a human that focuses is generally able to achieve greatness within their lifetime (hence why most powerful wizards are human). Elves, at least in legend, are adept at magic and woodland survival etc etc.

I encourage you to use this cookie cutter generic template and adjust it accordingly and be creative. Heroes are generally unusual characters. That is to say, they transcend some norm. So it might be that you want to play a rough and tumble dwarf warrior, OR it might be that you want to play a braniac dwarf alchemist. You might want to play a gnome warrior (of which there are not many). But what you can't do is bend the template too far. Dwarfs are magic resistant so you can't be a dwarf wizard. Humans are short lived so if you want one that's an epic wizard you should keep in mind that you have likely spent every waking hour practicing magic. So you're good at nothing BUT magic. Just be logical, I trust ya'll.

Gender: Male or female are the options here. That's it. This is not a progressive RP, this is classic high fantasy. Keep it simple.

Age: How old is your character? Don't be ridiculous here. Age will depend upon your race and such, if you're a dwarf, they generally live 500 years ish, so naturally an "average" age dwarf is going to be 150-200-250 years old. If you are human.......you are not old. Simple as that. Are you a Wizard? If you can explain why you managed to age past normal human years then I'll let it slide. If you're an elf (which you are not unless you're the female from the prologue) then the sky's the limit. They live to be 1000 years old or so, and some three or four times as long. If you are a half-elf, 300 is the max and that's being generous.

Background:This is your character's history. Up until now, where have you been all your life? You do not need to spill your guts, this can be vague, or detailed, or whatever. If you're a wandering rogue, then chances are no one knows much about your extended past, but do at least have your "most recent" goings on. A deeper past is preferable so that you have some secrets and demons and skeletons in your closet for drama n'stuff, but it is not necessary.

Role:This is where you tell me what your role is in the party. Are you a loner who's tagging along? Are you a healer? Are you a ranger, rogue, paladin, priest, confrontationalist, front-line fighter type? In general this is just telling me what you add to the group dynamic.

Appearance: This is where you place a picture as well as short character description.

[Niniva]

COMMON KNOWLEDGE:

The Setting:
This RP takes place in an alternate reality. Time works differently there, obviously. The age of the earth is many thousands of years old, however this setting is also classic high fantasy, so the machines are crude if there are any, alchemy is the way to go for any explosives and no they don't search for how to make lead into gold (although they might). They make potions and cocktails out of chemical compounds.

There are no guns, there is no gunpowder (yet). Magic is not prevalent but there are those who use it and there are even those who are so in tune with their magical nature that they wield it as they would their own weapon. If you are a wizard then you have it, though you should focus on a particular school of magic. However, typically all schools are open to every wizard in some degree.

Most things in this RP should be generic. I know there are several fantasy lores to choose from, but don't focus on being a "blood mage" from dragon's age(just an example). If you want to be a wizard why uses blood in his magic then by all means, go right ahead. If you want to use a fantasy setting as a generic template for your character design, go right ahead. Just run it by me first and I'll say yea or nay, and direct you on small adjustments.

The thing about this RP is, wizards are wonderful and powerful, but rare. So it shouldn't be the case that every one of your characters is a wizard type.

Magic comes in many forms, and many types of characters might use some. I will NOT require that your character be any specific "class" to use magic. In other words you don't have to claim to be a "druid" to talk to animals, but you do have to explain why you would learn that.

I'd LIKE it though, if most of you were designed to be heroes that were not magical at base. At least one, maybe two, of my NPCs will be incredibly powerful as far as magic is concerned and even they don't generally use it as an offensive weapon. You certainly can (especially if you're a wizard) just be creative and don't over-do the magic. I don't want you calling down meteors or creating black holes or having earth destroying DBZ kinds of powers.

The Location:
This RP takes place in a forest called the Dimwood. The Dimwood is aptly named because the canopy of the forest is so thick that light doesn't penetrate. To put this in perspective, if it were noon on a hot summer day, the forest would look like midnight on the night of a full moon. If it is night, the forest is pitch black. There is absolutely -zero- light. You -cannot- see in the dark unless you are a race that is built with night vision or particularly good eyes. Dwarfs, Elves, and half-elves come to mind. Mystical or magical sources of light can be useful, certain any kind of easy-to-learn wizard spell that makes a stick or stone glow will work, most travelers through the Dimwood carry lanterns and such. Just keep in mind that if you are just a regular old human, the Dimwood's dark environment is not friendly.

The Dangers!
It is common knowledge that almost no-one goes into the Dimwood unless they are well trained, very experienced, or they are hiding from something. The reason is because it is so dark the predators and monsters in the Dimwood (of which there are many) can see you but you cannot see them. Evolution in this world has treated the creatures of the Dimwood very kindly. They are as well equipped to handle darkness as the creatures of the underdark in any forgotten realms novel. They can see in the infrared spectrum, they sense heat, and they are quite large. The most famouse and abundant of these beasts is something I call the "Mewtain" (yes I just made that word up for the story) which are pack hunting wild cats. Think: black panther with white tiger stripes and a tail with a tuft of hair on the end. The claws are 3-4 inches longer than a typical big cat, and the teeth are similar to a saber-toothed animal. They hunt in packs, though to know how many are generally in a pack, you would have to know more than the average person. There is everything in this forest from rodents to giant cats to giant spiders. Everything is large, and everything is dangerous in some way. Feel free to make stuff up as you go, I am not strict about monster design, just keep in mind that it should be based on real creatures, only imagine that evolution has granted it some sort of defense and offense that fits with living in utter darkness.

Also, contrary to popular myth, any traveler knows that MOST of the creatures in the Dimwood are not bothered by light. It doesn't hurt them, and it doesn't make them go away. Heat, on the other hand, might. Again, you will need a background of the right kind to know how to defend against which monsters. You'll learn as you go most probably.

MYTHS AND LEGENDS!

Specific to the Dimwood:
Everyone has heard some kind of far fetched story about wraiths and ghosts and demons and tribes of deranged humanoids. Orcs, goblins, and monsters of every sort are well known to reside in the Dimwood, but the colorful stories abound of giant monsters, Dragons, and some sightings of incredible creatures are always abundant. You, as a player, are welcome to come up with your own "myth" and be as creative as you like, just keep in mind the stories are all just whisperings and talkings of travelers who are known to embellish. There should be tiny hints of truth, but mostly exaggeration. However there is one individual set of stories that -everyone- knows.

The legend of the Dimwood revolves around a hooded figure. Each of the stories (of which there are hundred of versions and dozens and dozens of tales of sightings and confrontations) involves the figure appearing as if from nowhere, each of them tells of the figure having agility beyond normal, some tell of him taking out entire bands of bandits without being seen. Some tell of him saving caravans from hordes of mewtain attacking. Some....tell of him robbing travelers on the road and leaving them for dead. The stories come from all directions and are of all colors and creeds, but they all have a similar formula. The hooded figure comes from nowhere and no one -ever- see's him coming. He is not there, then he is suddenly there, then he is gone, in every case it is as though he disappears into thin air. Some say he is made of the shadows themselves. He is an apparition made of the wavering and wandering dark mists of the forest. Other say, he is made of so much shadow that it is difficult to focus on him, even when he is standing before you.

In almost every story, this dark figure has a giant grey wolf by his side, and it is a ferocious killing machine. Twice the size of a normal wolf, it stands 4.5 feet high at the shoulder and seems to weigh anywhere between 250 and 500 lbs, depending on who you ask of course.

Other important legends:
Everyone has noticed that Elves are rare creatures. Most of them have disappeared, and the ones that have not do not wander freely. In the lands to the deep south, elves have been driven out or kept as slaves. There is a well known story about the last great city of the elves which has been hidden from mortal eyes, but they are just rumors. Since the race of man controls the land for the most part, the stories are just that--stories. Men do not live long enough to remember the last time someone laid eyes on the place, and so legends of the city are long forgotten in the lands to the south, but wanderers and adventurers hear the tales of the place. The dwarves know it well, half elves are always familiar with it. Gnomes know of it, and believe in it whole heartedly.

Everyone is also well aware of the mythical creatures and races that are now rare. Once upon a time, it is said, there was a race of giant wolves. Many think the grey wolf and the hooded figure represent the last of both of their races. But there are tales that in some of the distant places these wolves exist and are revered. Again, the gnomes believe this very strongly, though it has little affect on their daily lives. Some of the older half-elves may have even encountered one though it is rare.

Race of Giant men:
There was once a race of goodly men who were enlarged. Of course "giants" are real things, ten foot tall beasts of men who lack intelligence beyond a small child, however this race of men grow to between 8 and 10 feet tall and are evenly proportioned. They grow to be very old, and usually look young until death. They speak in a strange accent, and there is but one or two tribes remaining in the most distant of places. Some say they began to disappear around the same time the cities of the elves began to fall to ruin. It is rare to see one of these nomadic types, though it is rumored occasionally one or two settle and live out their long lives in a particular place, drawn there by some call for greater purpose. They do not know what, but they know it will come.

The Shar:
Demons, lords of darkness.....beasts of fire and char. These creatures haven't been seen in more than an age. They haunt the dreams of elves, the stories are that they are a twisted race created by horrible magic, ugly and deformed, killing machines of powerful physical prowess and magical defense beyond anything anyone has seen in this age. Bred for the purpose of hunting down and destroying the members of the elves high society, royalty, and special classes. The rumors are that when the elves disappeared so did these monsters. There are rumors that one or two remain....hunting down the remaining elves of the world and slaughtering them under cover of night.

[Niniva]

Profiles:

Name: Frichdar Oakly
Race: Halfling

Gender: Male

Age: 24

Background: Frichdar has been wandering ever since he left the village of his parents at the age of seventeen. Accompanied only by a small ferret named Sir Anthony, he makes his way in the world with a small cart that holds his meager possessions and supplies for making pottery, how he earns his food and lodgings. In his spare time-which he has a lot of- he practices knife throwing and sword play. But he is by no means good at either. His real talent is cooking mushrooms and quail, making a quite delicious stew from the both.

Role: The cook and complainer. Can't live with him, can't live without him.

Appearance: Frichdar is average sized for a halfling (three and a half feet tall) with light dirty blond hair and pale green eyes. He wears clothes fitting of a peasant and carries his money in a satchel at his belt at all times. (picture will come shortly, I still need to find one.)


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Name: Keldra Strongsword
Race: Half-elf
Gender: Female
Age: 25

Background: Keldra's mother is an elven slave and her father is the nobleman who owns her mother. She was a very unexpected child, as her mother was believed to be barren up until she got pregnant. The nobleman allowed the child to be born and sent the child to be raised by a liegeman who wanted a daughter, but who had not been able to conceive with his wife. The nobleman did not want it getting out that he had a half-breed child, and provided the liegeman with a modest estate very far away from his circle of influence.

She grew up knowing that she was adopted, and who her real father was. She knew by the age of ten that she was an embarrassment to her real father, and decided that she would prove she was worth something to him. This led to her begin learning how to fight. Her elven heritage gave her marginally faster reflexes and slightly greater strength, enough so that she is capable of taking on a man twice her weight, though with considerable difficulty. Whenever she became skilled in one style of fighting, she would quickly move on to learn another one. By the time she was sixteen, she was working as a freelancer guarding small merchant caravans. This line of work suited her real father, since it kept her traveling and away from him.

She has received a monthly fee ever since she was twelve in order to pay for her silence about her parentage. Most of it is saved until she wants to buy a new weapon or piece of armor. For the past seven months, she's been taking a year for herself and used her considerable savings in order to travel and test her fighting abilities. Everywhere she has been was for the purpose of testing herself or learning something new. She heard about how dangerous Dimwood is supposed to be and traveled to the tavern there in order to pick up a guard job as a sort of ultimate test of her abilities.

She prefers using blades and bows, though sometimes she'll buy alchemic bombs. She can use a light mace or axe, and is a fairly good marksman with any thrown weapon. She's also skilled in unarmed combat and mixes together all the styles she's learned with great abandon.

Role: She's an all-around melee fighter that's fairly experienced in a bunch of fighting techniques, but has never been in an honest-to-god full-on pitched battle. Most of her fighting experience is from defending against bands of four to eight bandits with a couple of other guards, with the goal of capturing or driving them away empty-handed. She's learned a little about woodcraft, and could function as a scout if pressed, but she's better off defending a specific target.

Appearance: {x} (I'll update this when you find a good one)

She is five foot one, weighs one hundred and ten pounds, and usually keeps her hair tied back in a braid. Most of her clothing is plain, sturdy stuff, and she keeps some soot on hand in order to dull whatever metal she's wearing to keep it from flashing in the sun if necessary. Her boots are extremely sturdy and expensive, so she wears cloth coverings on them to disguise them. The weapons she carries with her now are plain, but high-quality, and consist of a longsword, and several knives of varying sizes hidden on her person. Other weapons she owns are currently stored at her adoptive parents' home. Any fancy clothes or jewelry she owns is also stored at home.

[Niniva]

General Beginnings!

The plot of this particular story begins in a small tavern on the edge of the Dimwood. Every traveler knows that there is only one road through the forest, and every traveler knows that you can make it through the forest if you ride hard and fast. Or if you push your team of horses so they pull the wagon fast enough. It's a 12 hour ride, hard and fast, and there's only one stop. To make it through you have to begin at dawn, and pray you make it out before dusk.

On that road, just before you enter the forest there is a tavern call the "Dark Path's Lantern". That tavern is known to be well stocked, though only moderately busy. Usually four to five different patrons a night, and the regulars are only the traveling merchants brave enough to attempt the trek through the forest.

At this Tavern our story begins. You should keep in mind how you got here, and what you are doing here. Are you planning on making the trek through the forest? The day's ride ahead? If so your character will likely be in a hurry to put up his horse(s) and head to bed early since the next day's ride is long and hard. Are you here for adventure? If so, you have heard and chosen not to heed, the warnings of all the workers at the tavern, among many others. Even your own family might have urged you to reconsider this silly adventure seeking and begged you to make your destination somewhere else. Are you here for business? Perhaps you are not a merchant, but a gypsy or con-man. Or perhaps your business is your own. You are on the run. Or worse, you were drawn here by some deep inner feeling that tugged at your heart strings and led you here?

No matter why you have come....the sinking sun casts a long shadow from the tavern to the edge of the forest beyond. The ominous and orange glow of the fire on the hearth seems to intensify the feeling of dread that comes over this place. It seems quieter than normal....if you've been here before you may notice that the owner and his wench have lost the usual glow on their faces. Tonight they are somber and pale...and the man's mustache sits straight on his lip and his eyebrows furrowed.

And you are all.......gathered......for whatever reason, on the first floor of the tavern. Some drinking, some smoking their pipes, some perhaps....just avoiding being alone. But your interactions begin here.

[Lord Tirac]

Huzzah! We can pitch our ideas in this thread.

As for a character I could be, I'm particularity good at playing young girls and traveling vagabonds :]

[Niniva]

Lord Tirac

Huzzah! We can pitch our ideas in this thread.

As for a character I could be, I'm particularity good at playing young girls and traveling vagabonds :]

Howdy friend.

It's my opinion that females should play females and males should play males.

However, vagabonds are good!

What would you do? What sort of talents do you have to survive on?

[IDoDrumStuff]

*takes up your invite*
Hello there.

[Lord Tirac]

Niniva

Lord Tirac

Huzzah! We can pitch our ideas in this thread.

As for a character I could be, I'm particularity good at playing young girls and traveling vagabonds :]

Howdy friend.

It's my opinion that females should play females and males should play males.

However, vagabonds are good!

What would you do? What sort of talents do you have to survive on?

LOL.

Well I figure my character could be gifted with throwing knives as well as having a keen understanding of astronomy which explains his ability to travel without getting lost.

[Niniva]

Lord Tirac

Niniva

Lord Tirac

Huzzah! We can pitch our ideas in this thread.

As for a character I could be, I'm particularity good at playing young girls and traveling vagabonds :]

Howdy friend.

It's my opinion that females should play females and males should play males.

However, vagabonds are good!

What would you do? What sort of talents do you have to survive on?

LOL.

Well I figure my character could be gifted with throwing knives as well as having a keen understanding of astronomy which explains his ability to travel without getting lost.

This is all fine, except that it won't be very useful in the Dimwood since you can't see the stars....or see what you're throwing at.

[Niniva]

Captain Luke Brown

*takes up your invite*
Hello there.

Howdy friend. How goes it, and welcome. biggrin

[Lord Tirac]

Niniva

Lord Tirac

Niniva

Lord Tirac

Huzzah! We can pitch our ideas in this thread.

As for a character I could be, I'm particularity good at playing young girls and traveling vagabonds :]

Howdy friend.

It's my opinion that females should play females and males should play males.

However, vagabonds are good!

What would you do? What sort of talents do you have to survive on?

LOL.

Well I figure my character could be gifted with throwing knives as well as having a keen understanding of astronomy which explains his ability to travel without getting lost.

This is all fine, except that it won't be very useful in the Dimwood since you can't see the stars....or see what you're throwing at.

That could possibly be a small character quirk. Upon wandering into the forest he became hopelessly lost.

[Niniva]

By the way I've been updating this pretty regular since yesterday, but if there's anything that you have questions about or think I need to add to this then let me know and I'll type it up and stick it up there somewhere.

Anything I may have forgotten or overlooked that seem to be lingering questions, etc etc

[Niniva]

Lord Tirac

Niniva

Lord Tirac

Niniva

Lord Tirac

Huzzah! We can pitch our ideas in this thread.

As for a character I could be, I'm particularity good at playing young girls and traveling vagabonds :]

Howdy friend.

It's my opinion that females should play females and males should play males.

However, vagabonds are good!

What would you do? What sort of talents do you have to survive on?

LOL.

Well I figure my character could be gifted with throwing knives as well as having a keen understanding of astronomy which explains his ability to travel without getting lost.

This is all fine, except that it won't be very useful in the Dimwood since you can't see the stars....or see what you're throwing at.

That could possibly be a small character quirk. Upon wandering into the forest he became hopelessly lost.

Well he wouldn't last long that way. In this world the forest is very famous. You wouldn't "happen" to wander into it. There's only one road. You can, of course, get into the forest anywhere at it's edge, but you wouldn't last more than a day! Monsters would eat you!

EAT YOU! DEAD! razz

Anyway, you'd know full well about the Tavern on the road where our saga begins. You can get hopelessly lost once the story begins. Maybe you should grumble about how you hate the road through the Dimwood because of how dark it is, and that's why you always push your wagon through it faster than the average joe..........it's not cause you're afraid (or so you like to remind everyone)