Anyways, take a look at the rules and prompt and JOIN! Character Bios can be posted here.
Oh, and you don't mind me hijacking some space in here to use for RPs, do you Penden?
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Arcane Underground
Anthalis, jewel of the world. For hundreds of years, the city has stood at the very heart of the Charisan Empire, controlling affairs from the various territories. It is renowned as the central city of science, magic and culture. The high reaching crystal spires almost seem to touch the sky, proclaiming to all the greatness of the Imperial city. The city prospers and grows under the wise and benevolent rule of the council.
Or not. That is what many people all over the world, both inside and out of the empire have heard. The truth is actually much different. True, Anthalis does have the crystal spires and clean streets associated with the city. However, only a small portion of the population ever see them. Most of the city lives in the squalor of the Lower City. Crime is common and yet many people turn a blind eye to the horrors bred by it. The rights of the people are stomped on by the council every day, and yet no one takes notice of this. This has been going on for so long that the people have adapted to it, even come to expect it. Any new arrivals learn quickly that normal rules may not apply. So, the people go on living, not even aware that they are nearly slaves.
The council now serves one thing; itself. They serve their own interest without a care towards the people they are supposed to protect. Their every whim is satisfied at the expense of the people within the city. Only a few feel that this is wrong. They think that the council ought to turn back towards the people. These “humanists” are the minority within the council, with the self-serving “imperialists” holding most of the power. These tensions have gone unnoticed by the public for a long time, but the strain on the council is beginning to show, even to the common man.
It is time for a revolution.
Three months ago, a series of lightning raids against council guards within the city drew the attention of the people. A group calling itself the “Arcane Underground” has claimed responsibility for them. They seem to be a group of people (including some mages, to the council’s dismay) who wish to set up a new government for the people. Lead by a man only known as “Captain”, they have made some early victories against council groups in the city. However, their numbers are not as abundant as people might think. Thus, they actively recruit anyone who wishes to join. The council is also seeking more people to crack down on the “terrorism” now plaguing the city.
And behind all of this, a more well hidden plot by another group of mages threatens to take both by surprise.
Welcome to Anthalis.
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Hello and welcome to Arcane Underground. This is a free form role playing game originally created by Truewind. However, after that first attempt died, I decided to revive it. Several months later, I actually get around to it. Those of you veterans of the first game, welcome back. I put in some things not in the first one, so if you want to use the same characters, then you may have to adjust them slightly. It’s still fundamentally the same thing.
New people: Welcome to the RP. The above description is pretty much what the conditions of Anthalis are when the game starts. The council, corrupt almost entirely, has begun to crack down on the Arcane Underground. Both of them are desperately recruiting mages from the city to bolster their ranks for the conflict. Your characters can be on either side or on neither.
Here’s some basic ground rules:
(1) We’re here to have fun. Therefore, try to be civil to each other when speaking out of character. In character it’s a little less strict, but still try to stay within some pretty obvious boundaries.
(2) The role-playing style is free-form. Therefore, all of the conflicts and resolutions will be determined by the players involved. So try to be fair. Your character cannot block every attack and deliver bone-crushing blows all the time. Remember not to godmod and we’ll all get along. I and the other mods will look into reports of Godmodding and issue warnings if it occurs. Now, I try to be patient, so we’ll probably give you at least one more chance. But if the problem persists, then we will remove you from the RP. This involves your character passing into my control (or just dying if it fits the story) and you not being able to control them. You will also be asked not to post anymore. If you do, then I will delete or otherwise remove your posts. If it continues, then I’ll contact actual mods to get you removed. This is only in the most extreme situations. Here’s my definition of Godmodding. If nothing ever hits you, unless you have an excuse (and a good one at that, like you’re incorporeal), then you’re godmodding. If you ever dictate how someone other than your characters acts, you’re godmodding (Note; this excludes minor NPC civilians like unnamed townspeople or random city soldier #1. It mostly applies to other PC and important NPCs.). If you give yourself super powers you could never logically have (Fire mage controlling water), you’re godmodding. If you’re character seems to be a relative of the energizer bunny (just keeps going and going and going and going and…), you’re godmodding. Use common sense and don’t be a moron and we’ll get along fine.
(3) I need people to commit to this RP. The previous incarnation of Arcane Underground was plagued with people leaving unexpectedly. If you have to leave for vacation, please try to withdraw from events so that things can possibly continue while you’re gone. Example; if you’re having a conversation, withdraw a few days before so that the other person can act while you’re gone. If you have too little time for the RP and need to drop period, please inform me. I will then take your character and play them as an NPC. If you are then able to come back later, you can take them back. But I really need people to commit to this.
(4) Out of character (OOC) talking is permitted in RP threads to some extent. However, it should be kept to a minimum. Other general chat should go in the other appropriate thread. OOC talk in the RP pages should relate to the game somehow. It must also be marked and set apart with something like ((This)) or
(5) Try to avoid one line posts whenever possible. In conversations, it may be unavoidable, but try to throw in some detail whenever possible. Note; this doesn’t mean to go to Croftian extremes in lengthening posts.
(6) Don’t rip things off wholesale from a show or from a book or anything. Feel free to draw inspiration from them to create a character. You can even take names from it. However, under no circumstances will I allow Raistlin Majere, Cloud Stryphe, Willam S. Preston, esquire (Bill from Bill and Ted) or Utena Tenjou into the game. Draw inspiration from them, but you cannot be them.
(7) Just one more minor rule. At least try to use correct spelling and grammar. A few mistakes are alright and probably unavoidable. But try to follow it whenever you can. It’s just a minor pet peeve of mine. Also, I prefer to avoid l33t or emoticons or other things like that in RP posts. It just doesn’t fit in the game. In non-RP threads, still try to keep away from excessive 133+5|>34|< as it’s just irritating.
Overall, the plot of the RP is up to the players. As sort of GM, I’ll occasionally throw things at the city in general or situations to deal with, like a siege by hostile troops stops incoming supplies or a prison break occurs and now you’ve got a group of serial killers wandering the city. Almost everything, though, is up to the players. The PCs on the council determine plans of attack and recruitment. The AU decides what to attack where and when. It’s assumed in general that the council has some holdings in the lower city of resources that can be hit by the AU. Attacking them will weaken their base there. Ones in the Upper City are harder to hit, but they have more valuable resources the AU can seize. Before a raid, the Leaders of the AU and the Council determine what, if anything, a location can hold, whether its supplies like food or marble or money the AU can now use. The Upper City generally holds more powerful items or greater amounts of resources. Details on defense of the bases is up to the Council to decide. If they’re really ambitious, as a group they could decide how many areas there are in each and what each holds. Then they can allocate specific resources, like strengthening an outpost they suspect the AU will hit soon. That’ll all have to wait until we see who’s where and what. But it’s just an idea for all you budding councilors out there.
There are three basic classifications to alliances in this game. AU member, Councilor, or unaffiliated. An AU member may hold most any position, be it scout or demolitions expert. As long as it fits your character, you can pretty much do it. The only exception is that each side has one leader. You can challenge if you want, but in the council, that breaks etiquette, and for the AU, it’s not good to have internal conflict during a war. Unaffiliated people are just that, unaffiliated. They live their lives (usually in the lower city) without much knowledge of the overall conflict. They will probably become aware of it due to recruitment from one side or another. Anyone may change sides whenever they want, without telling anyone. A humanist councilor may see the AU as a way to reform the city and leak information to them. An AU soldier may be bribed or intimidated by councilors into helping undermine the rebellion. A former unaffiliated may decide to throw off the shackles of the oppressive world or they may decide to preserve the status quo. It’s up to you. One minor request is that I’d like to make sure that not everyone flocks to one side. If all the councilors are humanist, then there’s no opposition. If everyone is unaffiliated, then there’s no conflict. Therefore, I ask you to look at the state of members and alliances when deciding. If there are only 2 AU members and 6 Councilors, you might want to modify your character to be an AU member. And there is no rule that you can’t have more than one character. But if things get too hectic and there are too many people (yeah, right), I may remove a double character, or ask you to put them out of action for a while until it’s dramatic for them to return.
Now, here’s the main wrinkle from the old Truewind game. As in the old version, you’re free to choose if your character is a mage or not. As a rule, all councilors are mages, and powerful ones too. AU and unaffiliated can be mages or they can not be mages. You must dictate what type of magic you use. Be creative. Don’t go for only standard necromancy or pyromancy. Try something original, like mirror magic or sound magic or something else. Become as specialized as you want. Generally, the more specialized, the more powerful you can start in that magic. Example; a fire mage is broad: They can control all fire however they want. A firecrafter must take fire from someone else, but they could shape it into sentient beings of fire rather than be forced to keep direct control of it. A combustor cannot control fire, but can force nearly anything to catch flame if the focus their power hard enough. Just describe it and be sure to stick with it. Anti-magic or magic absorbance isn’t allowed because that relates to the backstory of a character I’ll be running and of the city in general. If you really want to, then wait. One or two may show up later ((hehe. More than one Iahhel. Afraid yet, everyone who remembers him?)).
Here’s the difference. When you choose to be a mage, you have a classification of either an active mage or a passive mage. Lemme define these for you. Active mages are what most people think of. Throwing lightning or fire at enemies is an example of active magic. Any magic cast on the fly without preparation is active magic. Magic directly affecting an element is active magic. Around 90% of mages are active mages. Passive mages are more subtle. A passive mage doesn’t have an element. They have a medium that they work with. They can then imbue this with magic to make it do something. So, whereas a fire mage can throw a fireball, a passive plant mage must grow a flower that bursts into flames when it gets near a person. Passive mages are less limited in the element of magic that they use. A plant mage can grow the exploding flower mentioned above, or a silence flower that devours all sound in the vicinity, or a plant that releases spores that make an enemy tell the mage everything they know. Each passive mage has a certain material they work with. A plant mage grows their tools, a mason passive carves figures or runestones or something with rock, and a chef mage cooks their magic. I know this seems to be rally powerful, but passive mages have a major disadvantage. All of their magic must be prepared in advance. They may not free-form their magic as other mages do. Their spells must be prepared beforehand, and they probably carry only a certain amount with them. Before any fight, a passive mage must declare what they’re carrying. This should be within reason of what you’ve logically had time to make and have room to carry. While possible that a potter mage has ajar that pours molten steel when poured, if she’s not in a position where she’d need such a specialized tool, you’ll have to have some major justification why she spent a lot of time making it. It is possible that a mason mage has made an army of three inch tall figurines that grow when thrown, but how many of them can he logically carry without looking over-inflated and weighed down? Use common sense. Some extraneous things are necessary, either for protection or experimentation. But be reasonable. However, if someone ever attacks a passive mage in their home/lab/whatever, they’re free to cut loose with anything that might be in there. And most of the passive items are one shot items. The more practice a mage gets making a certain item, the faster and easier it becomes for them.
One other major limit on passive mages; most active mages look down on them and are cruel towards them, whether witting or not. It’s almost an instinctive reaction. Since passives are the minority, they take this. However, most of them within the city of Anthalis are preparing some sort of retaliation. What exactly this is is up to them. And yes, there are a few passive mages in the council, but only around two or three. And they’re on either side of the schism. Generally, the tie of passive magic is stronger than political ties, and they may well be playing the council against itself. That’s for the players to decide. Passive mage also are in the Arcane underground. Above all else remember that passive mages comprise 10% of mages. So I have the right to halt passive characters until the number of active mages rises to be larger. I’m not requiring exact percents, but just enough active to make it seem like the passives are really outnumbered, which they are.
Wow, lotsa stuff. Generally, even with all that stuff up there, this RP is pretty free. If you have an idea that requires one to bend the rules a little, then talk with be about it first. I’ll probably either bend the rules or help you fit it within them. It’s all for fun, so I’ll try and help you enjoy yourself. Here’s the character form.
Name:
Age:
Hair:
Eyes:
Height:
Other physical features:
Wearing:
Carrying:
Magic (If applicable):
Active or Passive:
Demeanor:
History (Yes, this is mandatory. You’re free to read everyone’s history. Just remember to limit actions to what your character knows, not what you know):
Allegiance (AU, council, Unaffiliated):
Job within group (ex: council’s masses representative, AU’s recruiter, shopkeeper
in lower city, etc)
Other details:
Here are the current location threads.
Upper City
Lower City
The other two that need to go up are the Arcane Underground Headquarters and the Council Chambers. Earliest they'll be up is Monday, because I kinda locked myself outta the school netword for downloading too much... BUT I'll have them up as soon as the three day lockout's over. sweatdrop
Direct other questions to me. Let the battle for the city begin.
