Achilles, the Sunbringer, chosen of The Everlasting, self-proclaimed God King, is dead. On the cusp of greatness, the verge of world dominance, a band of intrepid heroes rose up against his tyranny and ended his iron-fisted conquest.
The death of the God King created a vacuum of chaos and strife. The nations he had already subdued were quick to reclaim their freedom, despite their crippled states, and the last remaining true nations were equally swift to seize the opportunity to take new land.
That was all three years ago.
In the time since, the nations have been quick to form new alliances, factions, and treaties. Now that they have reestablished some semblance of cohesion, they look to the ramifications of the coming age.
Gravesbane - once called Ligrav, the greatest city in Granis, Achillesā homeland. When he first began his world campaign, Achilles somehow found the technology to cause the city to take to the skies, becoming an impenetrable fortress from which Achilles could reign his terror. With his death, the massive city fell to the ground on the edge of the western wastes, burying its inhabitants - and its secrets - beneath the wreckage.
The three most prominent factions in the land have come into agreement - collaborate to send an expedition into the depths of Gravesbane to uncover its secrets, which may be pivotal in the coming age.
Enter the protagonists.
You are one of those sent to accompany the expedition into Gravesbane, sent by your organization, country, or faction.
It is doubtful that you are a heroāfar from it. Chances are you are a soldier, political agent, or exploratory expert of some sort - archaeologists, geologists, engineers. Many of you will be scoundrels, traitors, murderers, or rebels. Some of you will be wanted criminals, for the factions desire all different skillsets in this expedition.
And some will be those who should not be there at all.
The New Alliance - composed of most of the nations formerly under Achillesā rule. Only viable because of their unity, the Alliance has sent a mix of explorers, mercenaries, and criminals, many of which are those that rose to prominence as rebels during Achillesā reign.
The Old Kingdoms - composed of those countries never subdued. Outwardly, the Old Kingdoms are the strongest faction in the land, but everyone knows that the individual kingdoms are in a cold war of political intrigue, on the verge of all-out war amongst themselves. They have sent a force of skilled warriors and soldiers, some of which hide a dangerous secret.
And the Scholars of Sulgent - a widespread organization, outwardly a scholarly institution of some of the most learned sages in the land, but in reality the largest spy network in Graveslor. No one knows what stake they have in the secrets of the city, but their healers, scholars, and engineers are a welcome addition to the expedition. And it is rumored that they have access to an ancient art of magic long thought lost to time.
Each faction has sent a leading Representative and teams of soldiers, explorers, scribes, and other individuals of varying skillsets. Each faction has their own goals, agendas, and relations. And each faction hopes to uncover Achillesā secrets before the others.
So yeah Iām running an RPG. Iāll be maxing out the number of slots eventually, but Iām not putting a hard number on it and I also donāt want to assume the number of players Iāll get. General rule though: the more the merrier.
Because of the nature of the RPG, signups will remain open for the first parts, and then receive a hard close.
I will not be linking my worldbuilding document, mostly because it isnāt finished, so setting notes will be shared as they are needed. I will also not be sharing a map for quite a bit, since thatās nowhere near complete, and itās not that applicable for this specific RPG.
Genre is pretty general fantasy/low fantasy with some steampunk and sci-fi tropes the further you get into Achillesā old city.
To sign up, read carefully and fill out the character sheet template below and post it in this topic, or PM it to me. Once itās approved, your name will be pinged at the bottom of this post.
Rules
Respect the GM. You got that right. Wingerās in charge in this topic.
Keep it PG/PG-13 - hard no on graphic content.
No metagaming, autohitting, or autododging - donāt ruin the fun.
PvP (Player versus Player) combat is allowed for the purposes of drama, but donāt be a murderhobo. Maiming or killing of other PCs is only allowed with player consent.
No villainous characters - a morally ā¦ vague ā¦ character is completely acceptable, so long as their goals align with that of the group. Your characters are the protagonists - do not be the antagonist.
Normal boards rules apply to OOC discussion. Suspensions from the RPG will be handed out judicially.
Players are currently limited to one character only - quality over quantity. If you have a character concept that involves another individual, you are encouraged to collaborate with other players. Exceptions can be made to this rule.
Please keep characters balanced, and avoid creating any Mary Sues. OP characters will be modified as the GM sees fit. You are all the main characters of this story - not you specifically.
Character Sheet
Name
Age
Gender
Appearance - Either a portrait (give credit for any artwork that isnāt yours), or a brief text description, such as eye color, hair color, build, notable features, etc
Faction - The Alliance, the Kingdoms, or the Scholars. Your faction will determine what information you are privy to, as well as a specific Faction Secret you will receive before the start of the RPG.
Equipment - Like the genre, technology and weaponry is pretty general fantasy. PM me if you have anything in mind out of the ordinary.
Biography - Include a brief description of the characterās past and background. This should also include insight into the characterās motivations and personality. Secret bios are allowed or even encouraged (PM me), but no one likes edgelords/Mary Sues.
Dark Secrets - You must include at least one secret about your character, which you will PM to me. This is something about your character fears. Something that they would not want others to know, and that they might not even know - or accept the know - themselves.
Major disclaimer: you are -not- one of the heroes who brought about Achillesā downfall.
Artifacts - starting out, you will have none. āArtifactsā counts as more sophisticated technology, magic items, etc.
I understand you may find these rules may be limiting, and I am totally willing to work around some of them. Go ahead and PM me if this is the case.
I am eager to be able to work with players regarding your character, so please, take your time. Thereās no rush.
Other Topics
Death and dying - If your character dies, theyāre dead. Capiche? You can however (if you so desire), still create a new character to play in the RPG.
Roleplaying - You are expected to RP your character, not yourself. āYeah, duh, Wingerā. No. What I mean is, if you say your character is shy, then you RP them as shy, not flamboyant and outgoing.
Activity - At this point in time, I can be as active as necessary within the RPG. That said, I cannot keep the RP going with no player interaction. What I mean to say is this: the RPG will be as active as you make it.
NPCs - My goal is to keep NPCs as engines to drive forward the story, and nothing else. In my eyes, my role as the GM is to tell the story, not be a character in it. Basically I promise not to have annoying GMPCs.
Anyways thatās enough of my ramblings go sign up I need the validation.
Pertinent Vernacular
Graveslor (GRAV-ess-lore) - The Eastern Continent
Gravesbane (GRAV-ess-bayne) - The Floating City of Achilles; the impenetrable fortress
Ligrav (LEE-grav) - the original name for Gravesbane before it took to the skies.
Granis (GRAN-is) - a country on the northeastern coast of Graveslor; Achillesā homeland; in the years leading up to his conquest, it was embroiled in wars that ultimately turned it into a wasteland and allowed Achilles to create such a firm hold in northern Graveslor.
Sulgent (SOL-jent) - A large city on the coast of Granis. At one time - before the nation was shattered by wars - it was the capital, but over time it fell out of power, especially after it was conquered overnight by Achilles. In recent years, it has become more prevalent again as the Scholarsā information market becomes a commodity.
Rhaske (ROSS-kuh) - The largest nation in the Old Kingdoms, situated on the eastern coast in the southern half of Graveslor. They have supplied the majority of the members from the Kingdom expedition.
Worldbuilding
Achillesā Ascendancy
The rise and fall of Achilles has been a phenomenon like no other.
It began with the wars in Granis, where Achilles, assumedly, was a political official for the Ligrav city-state. It is said that he may have been the instigator behind the wars in the first place, but one thing is for sure: he was the mastermind behind their end. Using the developing technology from each of the different city-states, Achilles created his impenetrable fortress, ending the wars within days of itās first flight.
The small vassal states - Esur, Vanisir - were the first to fall. Days later, the entire CesƩran royal family were assassinated under mysterious circumstances, allowing Achilles to launch of coup to oust the chaos-stricken empire.
This momentum was nearly unstoppable, as Achilles conquered the entire northern half of the continent. It is by only miracle that he was stopped at the Vellum Sea, and even then it would not have lasted if not for his death.
The Old Kingdoms
The Old Kingdoms are the countries that were never conquered by Achilles. Before his rise to power, they were all at tentative peace, living in the shadow of the CesĆ©ran empire. In the chaos during and after his campaign, they rose into prominence - treaties were rewritten, alliances reforged, as the new dominant faction rose to stop the wave of Achillesā army.
The Shards of Lusier
When Achillesā momentum was thwarted by the joint Rhaskan and Madrisi navy, he sought out other ways to gain access to the southern lands.
Lusier - the small but powerful nation that controlled the bottleneck of land on the western edge of the Vellum Sea, and the only land passage between the north and south. It was in Achillesā way, so it was removed. Permanently.
Using never-before-seen technology, Achilles obliterated Lusier, turning it from a strip of land to a grouping of broken plateaus, or islands near the coast. This would have signified certain doom for the southern nations, if not for Achillesā timely demise.
His city fell near the center of what is now called the Shards of Lusier, on the largest remaining segment of land.
The surviving inhabitants of Lusier have retreated to the east as refugees in Madris, although a small group of locals have stayed behind, with bolstering from the Old Kingdoms, to begin preliminary rebuilding.
The New Alliance
What is in modernity the New Alliance were once a collection of discordant nations dominated by the CesĆ©ran Empire. When that superpower was toppled so disturbingly easily by Achilles, the Empireās vassal states never stood a chance.
After Achillesā death, many of the countries were quick to reclaim independence. Led by New CesĆ©re, the crippled nations formed a conglomerate - The New Alliance.
In the three years since the formation of this faction, many have seen and taken opportunity. Factions that never existed have been pushing to form new countries. Borders are still disputed, and between areas of precinct, there are strips of unclaimed or disputed wilderness.
Granis
The one constant has been Granis, a country on the northwestern coast of Graveslor; Achillesā homeland. In the years leading up to his conquest, it was embroiled in wars that ultimately turned it into a wasteland and allowed Achilles to create such a firm hold in northern Graveslor.
Despite inherent mistrust brought about by this, Granis has become a haven for many refugees. No one knows who is really in charge there, but they have remained the most cohesive state in the northern territories, refusing to ally with any other nation.
The Scholars of Sulgent
The City of Sulgent
Sulgent (SOL-jent) (colloquial); The Red City (formal, decoratively); The City of Ignorance (pejorative)
Sulgent was once the capital of Granis, in a time that seems to many like it is beyond memory. When the country was fractured, Sulgent became the largest city-state taking part in the civil war, rivaled only by Ligrav.
After Achilles rose to power, Sulgent was quickly subdued. It was, however, the hosting site of a resistance that allowed the small window for Achillesā literal and figurative downfall.
The Scholars
Chances are, the Scholars really were once just that - scholars. However, it is common knowledge that they began amassing power during the wars in Granis, first as researchers and engineers of technology for the Sulgenti city-state, and later as spies and informants for any nation willing to buy.
The Scholars are not warriors. If they arenāt scribes or engineers, they are spies, well versed in the ways of espionage, sabotage, and political manipulation, but not combat.
Magic
This setting is adapted from my D&D campaign so bear with me
For years, modern scholars and sages have settled on a system of categorical classification of what the layman calls āmagicā. This framework has evolved over time. In modernity, there are five classification of magic.
Arcane Magic - the most common form of magic, Arcane magic is the type of magic that is learned. There are few people who actually wield Arcane magic as an individual; it is instead infused into devices, weapons, and machines.
Blood Magic - Blood Magic is rare; it is magic that is inherited, that a wielder commands naturally. Once, Blood Magic was just as, if not more common that Arcane Magic. However, over the last century the Bloodmarked Families have nearly all died out or dwindled out of prominence.
Divine Magic - Divine Magic, sometimes called the Lost Magic, is - or was - the magic of the gods. The power to heal and to bring about radiant destruction; to exorcise devils and obliterate the undead. Such magic has not been seen in the last hundred years; nor have the gods.
Natural Magic - Natural Magic is an art from an age gone by - the magic of the earth, of nature: growth, decay, and the weather. Very few still know the skill, and those that do guard it jealously.
Ethereal Magic - Ethereal Magic is a hypothetical - a postulation. Sages propose that this fifth type of magic would come from the dimensional rifts between the hypothetical different worlds. It is proposed that this magic would have strange, disturbing effects: warping time, bending space, and mutating flesh.
It is possible for a single individual to command more than one type of magic, although the rarity of such an occurrence varies depending on the type of magic. For example, it is common for someone born with Blood Magic to go on to learn much Arcane Magic. It is, however, very rare for someone learning the technology of Arcane Magic to be accepted into an enclave of practitioners of Natural Magic.
Religion
Under_Construction
Players
1000 BOBUX
