Chosen of the Gods (New Thread - Players Needed)

[Que_Arres]

Welcome, Chosen of the Gods!

The Background

In the beginning, the world was under the guidance of many deities. These powerful gods ruled various aspects of life, from agriculture to death, from war to peace, from the heavens to the sea. The power of these gods depended on their followers, however, and when the heretic Enoch Venebon denounced their existence, their power began to fade. As Enoch gained more worshippers, the old gods strength weakened. Almost all of the deities vanished because of this, though a few maintained enough followers to survive.

One thousand years later, Venebon's descendants still rule the planet, claiming themselves to be the only divine influence. Yet there are still those loyal to the old ways, and this has upset the royal family. Prince Reliel, the current ruler, has proposed a tournament between the chosen ones of each surviving deity, so as to prove who has the most powerful god. Whoever wins will have his or her deity officially recognized, but anyone who fails must forsake the old ways and worship the deified Enoch, and all of their followers must fallow suit. If they refuse, they and their followers will be executed, in accordance to a contract that every participant must sign prior to the competition.

The Competition

Prince Reliel and his two younger brothers (Matziel and Alanar) will oversee the competition. The fights work in a tiered system, where the winners of one round will battle each other in the next, and so on thereafter. In the semi-finals, the four remaining fighters will team up against the younger two Venebons; the last fighter(s) standing will take on Reliel himself.

Roleplaying the competition: It is up to the players to decide who will win in a given fight. I recommend using the Post Action feature and rolling a d100; highest number wins.

The Arena

The fights will take place in the Harena Maxima. This enormous battleground is akin to the Colossium in its structure and layout: there are rows upon rows of seating above, a battle stage in the middle, and bunkers below. Battles may only take place in the arena, and it has been blessed (by the Great Enoch, of course) so that no participants fighting there will die.

In roleplaying terms: Fighters cannot be slain in the arena, so even if your character loses the fight by getting disintegrated, he will survive. This rule only applies to the arena, however, so the street is fair game for a to-the-death melee.

The Bazaar

The bazaar is a marketplace that has popped up almost over night around the Harena Maxima. Here, competitors may by food, drink, room and board, and even battle gear to be used in the fights. Some of the merchants are a bit shady, however, and there are many cutpurses running the streets, eager for an easy mark. The bazaar includes several taverns, smithies, and trinket stalls to keep its patrons amused and peniless.

In roleplaying terms: This area is a sort of common room where in-character conversations can be held outside of the battle field.

The Venebon Mansion

No one is allowed in the mansion unless invited by one of the brothers. Alanar is rumored to be very fond of bringing "peasants" back with him, though no one is certain whether or not this is true.

In roleplaying terms: Don't worry too much about the Venebon mansion. I included it as a location so characters can discuss various rumors about it. Don't be surprised if you do get an invite from one of the brothers though. wink

 

[Que_Arres]

Rules of the Game

Genre: High Fantasy. No modern technology like computers, high-powered guns, lasers, cyborgs, etc.

Post Style: Novel.

Example

Reliel sidled over to the newest arrival, and said in a sombre tone: "I hope you understand what you're getting yourself into, blasphemer."

No present-tense, first person, asterisk style please.

Characters: Priests/priestesses of imaginary deities (please refrain from using real-world gods, as it may upset someone). I recommend using Seventh Sanctum's Deity Generator for various descriptions of gods and their abilities. I also recommend using the site to create the deities' names. NOTE: the gods are not active characters, so no divine retribution coming down to smite your opponent. The priests/priestesses are granted divine magic that relates to whatever their god commands.

Example

Asion, the god of rainstorms, grants his chosen priest the ability to control weather. His powers may include summoning lighting or hail to strike at opponents.

And remember, just because you follow the goddess of death doesn't mean you can instantly kill your opponents. They are just as powerful as you are, so get creative with your abilities.

You may also play non-combatants, like a friend or relative of one of the fighters.


And remember, FOLLOW THE GAIA TOS!

AND FOR THE LOVE OF WHATEVER YOU CONSIDER HOLY, NO MARY-SUES! THAT INCLUDES THE UBER EMO CHARACTERS! IT'S ANNOYING AND BAD FOR ROLEPLAY!  

[Que_Arres]

Character Index

Please PM me with your character description for approval. You may play up to four (4) characters. I am playing six (6) characters because I am DM. If you wish to play more than four characters, PM me and explain why you feel you need more characters, and I may approve you. If you are playing more than two, you must designate at least one as "killable" (see below). Please PM me your character description in the following format:

[b]Character Name:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Deity:[/b]
[b]Granted Powers:[/b]
[b]Brief Background:[/b]

~*~*~*~

Here is a list of all the players and their characters, along with their basic bios. This is to make it easier for new players to see what sort of characters there are and what they may want to play.

Gaia names are in green before each character description. Characters in red are "killable" (ie. you don't need permission from the player to kill them).

SIDENOTE ABOUT KILLABLES: Try to allow the player of the killable character an opportunity to give a relevant death speech/ death scene. Not only does this allow for the player to realize the character is now dead, it allows for a dramatic and appropriate end for the character.



Que_Arres
Character Name: Prince Reliel Venebon
Gender: Male
Age: 30
Appearance: This gentleman has narrow, umber eyes that glow hypnotically. He has shoulder-length, straight, burgundy hair with prominent bangs on the right side of his face. His physique is rather muscular. You can't help but compare him to a proud peacock. He has a pointed chin. (Description from one of Seventh Sanctum's generators.)
Personality: Haughty, self-confident, considers himself better than everyone else. Reliel is very devoted to the worship of Enoch, and sees enyone who doesn't follow his god as a blasphemer that should (and will) be divinely punished. Even with his strong beliefs and stuck up demeanor, he has a powerful sense of honor and fairness, which is why he decided to hold the competition.
Deity: The Great Enoch, the god of everything
Granted Powers: The Red Death. This Aspect of Enoch focuses primarily on power and destruction. Some of Reliel's abilities include summoning balls of fire and lightning, creating earthquakes, and sheer blasts of raw energy.
Brief Background: Reliel is the eldest of three brothers and the current ruler. He proposed this competition as a means to prove the power of Enoch.

Character Name: Prince Matziel Venebon
Gender: Male
Age: 25
Appearance: This determined gentleman has round red eyes that are like two setting suns. His silky, curly, black hair is worn in a style that reminds you of a trailing ribbon. He is very tall and has a thin build. His skin is light-colored. He has a hooked nose and small hands. His wardrobe is elegant. (Description from one of Seventh Sanctum's generators.)
Personality: Matziel is a know-it-all, and most of the time he really does know it all. He's logical to the extreme, for better or worse. In other words, when he is presented with a problem, he will imediately find the most logical solution, even if it is the least desirable one.
Deity: The Great Enoch, the god of everything
Granted Powers: The Azure Scales. This Aspect of Enoch focuses on force and motion. Some of Matziel's abilities include teleportation, telekinesis, increasing/decreasing speed, altering gravity, and sheer blasts of force.
Brief Background: Matziel is the middle child of the Venebon family. He is by far the most logical and calculating of the three brothers, and often comes off as cold and unfeeling. More often then not, he is more concerned with the history of Enoch than the competition itself, which he sees as "a pointless endeavor that will only confirm what is already known to be true: that Enoch is the one and only true god."

Character Name: Prince Alanar Venebon
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Appearance: This man makes you think of a joyous songbird. He has slitted eyes the color of pine needles. His silky, wavy, green hair is worn in a style that reminds you of the petals of a flower. He is short and has a graceful build. His skin is deeply-tanned. He has a large mouth and a wide chin. His wardrobe is strange, with a lot of black and violet. (Description from one of Seventh Sanctum's generators.)
Personality: Alanar is... well, a bit fruity, to say the least. Cheerful, outgoing, and much more open-minded than his brothers, he has a tendancy to get into a lot of trouble.
Deity: The Great Enoch, the god of everything
Granted Powers: The Emerald Light. This Aspect of Enoch focuses on life and health. Some of Alanar's abilities include healing, opening old wounds, necromancy, and the transferance of lifeforce from one being to another.
Brief Background: Alanar is the youngest of the Venebon brothers. His flamboyant outlook on life (and some say obsessive fascination with *ahem* pleasures of the flesh) have left most wondering if he is sane. Truth be told, Alanar is simply and incurably curious. He finds Matziel to be too stuffy and Reliel too withdrawn for his interests, so he often spends time with the lower classes. Of the three brothers, he is probably the least concerned with the competition.

Character Name: Master Ehcas Venebon
Gender: Male
Age: 12
Appearance: This personable young boy has wide yellow eyes. His thick, wavy, very short hair is the color of summer leaves, and is worn in a complex, handsome style. He has a boyish build. He has an upturned nose and a small mouth. His wardrobe is mostly black.(Description from one of Seventh Sanctum's generators.)
Personality: Surprisingly well-bahaved for a child his age, Ehcas still has a very short temper (something he acquired from his father). Usually, he tries to remember his manners around adults, but he's still just a kid.
Deity: The Great Enoch, the god of everything
Granted Powers: Though very limited, Ehcas seems to posses the Emerald Light, like his Uncle Alanar, although he really doesn't know how to use it.
Brief Background: Ehcas is Reliel's son, although he prefers to spend time with his uncle, Alanar, since he's much more fun to be with.

Character Name: Princess Hatiel Venebon
Gender: Female
Age: 23
Appearance: This sneaky woman has beady yellow eyes that are like two pools of melted butter. Her silky, straight, neck-length hair is the color of sapphires, and is worn in an elegant, dignified style. She is very short and has a curvy build. Her skin is light-colored. She has a wide forehead. Her wardrobe is attractive, with a lot of white.(Description from one of Seventh Sanctum's generators.)
Personality: Hatiel is a very attractive woman and she knows it and flaunts it. She loves to use her looks to get what she wants, and she despises the attention her brothers get for being Chosen of Enoch. There is nothing she would love more than to humiliate them in public.
Deity: The Great Enoch, the god of everything
Granted Powers: None. She is not a Chosen of Enoch.
Brief Background: Being older than at least one of her brothers has given Hatiel at least a little respect within the very patriarchal household. She likes Reliel's son about as much as she likes her brothers, and sees nothing wrong in using him (or anyone, for that matter) as a way to garner herself more attention.

Character Name: Princess Cirael Venebon
Gender: Female
Age: 27
Appearance: This dishonest woman has slitted black eyes. Her fine, wavy, violet hair is short and is worn in an attractive style. She is very tall and has a wasp-waisted build. Her skin is china-white. She has long-fingered hands and wide feet. Her wardrobe is uncomplicated, and is completely red and orange. (Description from one of Seventh Sanctum's generators.)
Personality: Very quiet, Cirael rarely shows any emotion, even towards her husband and son. She likes to travel through the baazar to show of her wealth to the peasants.
Deity: The Great Enoch, god of everything
Granted Powers: None. She is not a Chosen of Enoch.
Brief Background: Cirael married Reliel Venebon when she was only twelve and he only fifteen. The marriage had been arranged when she was nine, so there isn't much in the way of love in their relationship, although Reliel seems to care deeply for her.


K33n
Character Name: Song
Gender: Male
Age: 36
Appearance: Song
Personality: Song is a strong minded fellow, a man of deep thought and heavy action. When Song decides to do something, naught will stop him. He is like the instrument he plays, the drum. In a crowd he stands out, his personality as loud as the clothes he wears. For while he makes decisions slowly, he is an easy man to talk to, and a lover of any music. He’ll raise his voice to any song, and strike his drum for any comer. When angered, his rages are unpredictable. At times, he becomes soft and ice cold, and others times he explodes like a volcano, roaring and screaming at the injustice done to him.
Deity:Khoard. The goddess of Harmony and Music. While she has no true earthly form, Khoard likes to takes the shape of a rather androgynous human. Long bangs or a blindfold always covers her eyes and leaves only a small, smiling mouth open to be seen at first glance. Her skin is black and smooth like silk, and her clothes a light, pleasant yellow. She is always wearing a toga-like robe, bearing her chest to the world. Around her neck is a tight circle of cloth, a deep blue and marked with a gold stitching of her broken circle mark. Her feet are bare and shaped like a dancer’s, and seem to make the floor on which she walks ripple as if it were water. Her voice is the perfect chord of life, the music that the living strive to make.
Granted Powers: Song can use his voice to make those around him feel a certain emotion, distract, or hypnotize a man or group of men. (Those with a strong will have a resistance to this). Though not a God granted power, Song possesses great martial prowess and phenomenal strength, both of which are obvious if he’s watched for any length of time. The mace he carries was sung into being by another of his Goddesses’ High Priests and is imbued with the power to strike a vibrating blow that causes the ears to ache and carries its vibration into the bones of it’s opponent, more often than not ing and shattering the afflicted area
Brief Background: Song is one of three High Priests of the Goddess Khoard. He fights for Her ideals, and to spread the joys of freedom to the oppressed. He is very much like a Paladin, preaching his faith with battle, and has won his Goddess much with his forwardness. His Brothers, Sung and Sing are his magickal “backup” and are rather more contemplative in their faith than he. The three of them together are a perfect Harmony, each lending their voice and abilities to counter and embellish the others and creating a rather impressive force of Divine might. He was raised within the Hall of Heaven’s Choir, the son of the previous Song. Song is an acquired title, equal to the High Priests of other faiths. Like his father before him, and his grandfather before that, Song has given up his name and previous life to become the ideal of his and Lady. In this time of decline, Song, Sing, and Sung all decided that he, Song would battle Enoch in his own tournament. The “God of Everything” would be taken to task.


TheGloomCookie
Character Name: Tempest
Gender: Female
Age: 25
Appearance: Tempest has mid-length curly black hair that hangs around her face and chin in a choppy uneven cut. She usually wears it tied back with tendrils escaping (or if in disguise done up in a coiffere). Her eyebrows are high and arching, and her skin is a pale olive color. She has bright green eyes that stand out against her dark lashes and a full wide mouth. The most unique thing about her appearance is her wide range of tattoos, on her arms and legs and back, but usually these are all covered and rarely seen. Clothing-wise, she usually wears traveling clothes, usually in colors that keeps her hidden. Mostly blacks and browns. She usually wears leather and suede, with a corset and gloves. She also wears a scarf around her neck to hide her face, a rapier that hangs on her belt (along with a short sword), a dagger in her boot (and a couple more sheathed on her belt), and a quiver with a bow and arrows on her back. She has a couple of belts that hold her weaponry and her lockpicking tools, and carries a pack with her for the rest of her materials (and of course to stash her booty). When in disguise however, she wears much brighter colors, a dark blue cloak and a dress of rich green that compliments her eyes. She only carries her daggers, all of them hidden, when she's in disguise.
Personality: Tempest is basically good natured. She has a soft spot for people in trouble, and loves animals and children. She really doesn't like unnecessary violence, but she will use it when she has to. She's very individualistic and has a strong will and sense of self. Usually though, she is fairly easygoing and relaxed. Her biggest flaw is that is a risk-taker, finding freedom and sense of self in daring stunts and raids and anything really that could be dangerous. As a general rule though, she tries not to get involved in things too much, despite how often she enjoys getting into trouble (she's a daredevil, but she's not stupid). However she can never seem to resist when something catches her eye. Usually something sparkly or a beautiful piece of art or weaponry.
Deity: Inokiir, God of Thieves
Granted Powers: Tempest has three abilities granted by her god. Sleight is an ability that makes her hands and feet extremely fast allowing her to snatch items stealthily away from anyone, even in plain sight and day, and allows her to run and move faster than the eye can catch. The second ability granted by Inokiir is Silence. This power surrounds her with an unnatural aura of silence and allows for every one of her movements to be soundless. Every step she takes, every movement of her hand (no matter how fast), every jump, landing, twist and flip, is silent. It also enhances her already dexterous body to perform some feats that she would normally be unable. Jump a little farther, twist a little more, etc. She uses both powers often in conjuction with each other and uses them almost as naturally as breathing. The third ability is Smoke, an ability which allows her to become-quite literally-a cloud of smoke. She doesn't use this ability as often, as it has one flaw. As a cloud of smoke, though she is sentient and has control, she cannot carry anything, not even her clothing. When she transforms, everything she has is left behind, including any items she may have filched. Hence she uses more for a tactical advantage, rather than for escape.
Brief Background: Tempest at an early age found herself on the streets. Both parents dead from a disease, there really wasn't much other place for a girl to go. Pretending to be a boy, she made a living on the streets as a thief, becoming a part of a guild that worshiped Inokiir. They are the ones who viewed her gifts as blessed powers granted by him. However, it was obvious that Inokiir held the 'boy' in his favor so jealous members of the guild, trying to find some way to get rid of Tempest, would continually find ways to find fault with her. She kept her Smoke ability a secret, as being found naked would give her away. At the age of fifteen, her ability was discovered and through it her identity. She was brought before the guild and, despite her useful abilities, they could not forgive her deceit. Women were a rare commody in the guild, and as the guild was almost communal, she was skirting around her duties as a woman to the men. She had two chose either death or to make up for her deceit. Tempest chose neither and using her granted powers, she escaped her death sentence. Leaving her hometown altogether, Tempest made her way to the capital to begin a new life. It took her ten years of successful thievery and clever disguises to make a name for herself in the capital as the 'Smoke Thief', and very wealthy on the side. In the last year or so she's used her money to set up a new identity as a 'Lady Edgewater' (her first disguise as a 'noblewoman'). Word of the tournament however has compelled her to enter it, despite the wanted posters littered around town. Daring as she is, she entered as 'Smoke Thief'.  

[Que_Arres]

IMPORTANT UPDATES!

11/18/06: I ended up just deleting the entire thread and starting a new one. TheGloomCookie, I have copied your post for you, since it pertains to the restarted game.

11/16/06: Because half of my players (and the most active ones to boot) were banned/quit, I've decided to start the story over from square one. Therefore, I am deleting all of the old posts and will be beginning the game anew today *sigh*.