Character Points: 150 Disadvantage Limit: 40 Quirks Limit: 4 Races Allowed: - Human (Normal attributes) - Gandar (See GM, they are dark skinned desert dwellers, and their people have been poisoned magically for generations. They are slightly larger and more strength oriented, incapable of magic, slightly resistant to both +/- magic, and are a social stigma. Can get you stats if anyone wants them) - Other - Probably not, but I am willing to discuss any race and/or human variant. Mages: - No Magery = no magic (ever) - Magery 0 = capacity to be 'given' magic, but will be unable to attain it on your own. Can learn spells, but will have no power to use them. Think of this like your magic power has an empty, unrechargeable battery, or something. I call these people Adepts, informally. - Magery 1 = Either you were born with your magic (The Gifted) or you were given it (Born with Magery 0). The Gifted are more respected in some circles, but have the negative of obvious physical characteristics, and thus are recognizable easily as mages in anti magic communities. Wealth: $1200 - at some point we will probably try to use the gp scale, for realism, but to purchase character items, use cash. Note: you will not be capable of running about with huge amounts (thousands and thousands) of gold pieces. They'll need to be hidden, stored at home, banked, or transferred to more valuable assets (gems, etc).
Basic Setting Information
Spoiler
The world you live in is called Aithar. Incidentally, just so that you know, the world is flat. With only one continent that is inhabited and known by you. You may hail from Arithea, or another nation (discuss with me for details). If you are from Arithea, you will be more familiar with the conflict here, for sure, but less familiar with the outside world - Arithea is on a peninsula, and the country to its north is now a barren wasteland from which the Gandar hail. Arithea is ruled by a Council of five (The Council of the Star). Arithea:
Spoiler
Arithea is ruled by the Council of the Star. It is a totalitarian government. Trade across the Galduun Wastes is illegal, as is the manufacture of oceangoing vessels (larger than fishing boats). Magery is illegal. The government captures and magically mind-controls mages, turning them into The Shackled - mages who are incapable of acting on their own initiative, who perform warmage duties for the Council.
The Rebels in Arithea are not guerrillas, at this point, but are a full fledged fighting force in a civil war. They occupy towns and regions, themselves.
Side Note (Recent Events): Pinnacle City
Spoiler
Pinnacle City, a city built on a mountaintop (using magic) and covered in a magical, inpenetrable shield dome, which has been there for hundreds of years, and is rumored to be some form of expirement, was just liberated by Rebel mages. Thousands of Pinnacle Citizens fled down the mountain and into the populace. No one knows why the City even existed, but there are rumors.
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"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." - Cersei Lannister
If anyone has any questions, or wishes to discuss or alter Creation guidelines, tell me. I'm OK with discussing any of those things. Or additions, or w/e.
Disads/ads/etc - I'm going to veto anything that is either completely unrealistic, or is at odds with the setting. Anything else is pretty much OK.
Cultural Backgrounds: If you don't want to be FROM Arithea, tell me, and we'll discuss background.
When we settle on campaign members, I'll make you accounts on my world's wiki and you can peruse more details before finishing character stories.
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"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." - Cersei Lannister
Two character concepts come to mind:
1) A teenage girl, formerly one of the Shackled, possibly with some mental damage because of it? Or—
2) A fighter type sworn to protect her younger sibling (one of the other players' characters, maybe)? Sort of a combo of Brienne of Tarth and Caramon Majere?
1) I would say yes, it's possible. It would take a good amount of magic and patience and probably result in some form of harm, either to your mind or your ability, and the person or persons who removed that bond are probably close to you, because they would've needed to keep you bound, incapable of casting (so you wouldn't kill them) and isolated as they tried to break that magical mental block for days, weeks, however long.
If you're interested in that one we can come up with some stats or appropriate disadvantages for that story. Maybe I;ll make what we come up with the norm for the un-shackled (The Broken? Stays with the recurring simple-name theme, haha).
2) This also sounds good. Having it be one of the other characters would help the party be closer knit, and the combo of Brienne and Caramon is giving my mind loops :D I like it.
Either of those sounds good. And either has potential to be worked into the story.
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"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." - Cersei Lannister
How obvious are the physical traits for the Gifted? More along the lines of stigmata/odd markings and weird eye colors or missing shadows and reflections? Or is it a gradient of some kind?
As for character, I think I'll have my character be one of the Gifted, with a mix of spells and the supernatural advantages I was considering. Maybe a pinnacle city resident that found refuge in a monastery as a child (depending on how recent the unveiling occurred. It might help explain his supernatural advantages (if they're uncommon/rare/unique) as they could be part of the experiment or something.
The Gifted, to this point, had the white-streaked red hair previously discussed, oddly colored eyes, and 'couldn't think of...' - I like the shadow idea. Would you mind if I insert that?
The unveiling just occurred, say, a month ago, so not much time for anything in there, although could have sheltered at said monastary for a few weeks.
If you want to be from Pinnacle City, that pretty much precludes you from being a full mage - maybe allows some supernatural, but.. probably not worth the trade. Sorry, I just threw PC descrip in there because it's an odd regional feature.
Spoiler
PINNACLE CITY
Underneath a giant magical dome, the city-state of Pinnacle lives on, unfazed by the passage of time and unaffected by the aftermath of the Battle of Riataar, the mage battle that brought about the end of Aithar as a whole. Pinnacle City lives on.
But all is not as it seems.
Government
Within Pinnacle City, the Order of the Star is the governing body. A council of five, they rule the Pinnacle with an iron fist. Espousing equality and the rule of peace and prosperity, they deploy Watchers to all corners of the citadel. When disturbances occur, The Watchers deal with them sharply. Some people are taken, and when brought back refuse to speak of what happened to them. Some are shot on sight, and some taken, never to return. The members of the Order are eternal, never changing, never even seeming to age. The populace never see them, only through representatives.
The Order exerts control over the populace in ever changing ways. Each class of society is kept in line in different ways. The city’s Upper Class are kept under control through means of bribery and threats against persons, property, and family. The Watchers are culled from the Uppers, and this keeps their families in line. The Commons are subject to ever altering lifestyles. Decade by decade, laws that apply to them are ever changed. Two children allowed, now one, now four. Once a family settles in a home, it may be required to move again in a week, or it may stay there for three generations. Trades are the same. One is trained and educated generally until adulthood. Some are chosen for further training, while others are sent directly to work. Sometimes job changes are required, regardless of income change or needs, while others work the same profession from adulthood to death without pause, especially those in particularly skilled trades.
The 'Resistance'
And then there is the Resistance. Those who will not stand to be controlled. Unfortunately, the Resistance has existed for decades. It waxes and wanes, sometimes seeming to disappear altogether, other times seeming on the verge of a full scale rebellion at arms. But it never happens.
Last led by Zed Farradul.
The Resistance within Pinnacle is corrupted from within. Luckily the Resistance in Arithea is bigger and more robust and less susceptible to single person treachery.
The City Resistance has Zed and his two Lieutenants. Argyle Mathers and Violet Jadis.
The last center of operations was in a large grain storage facility. The management of the facility was being bribed. The facility was one of the more permanent the movement had in recent years but it is well known that they had multiple fallback locations and were quite used to relocating. Citizen members did not spend much if any time there anyway.
The Order are masters of manipulation. The entire society is built around this. Even the Resistance have a part to play. They were the carrot, as The Watchers were the stick.
The Galduuni
The citizens of Pinnacle are really the Galduuni Refugees who fled Galduun before the Battle of Mount Galindre. Refugees fled both north to Volchar and south to Arithea, and after the Galduun Accords ended the war, the refugees in Arithea mysteriously vanished from their camps, and were thought to have been slaughtered. They were all gathered, culled to prevent certain genetic characteristics, etc, and then placed in the magically created Pinnacle City.
The Galduuni today are not dissimilar to the Aritheans in complexion, with the only difference being a slight difference of accent on their speech of the common tongue.
Upper class started out as the Galduuni nobility and became the breeding area for the Gifted. The entire nobility’s water supply is laced with (Drug X) which over long periods of exposure dulls the Gift and its unintentional (or intentional) use. The upper class now has little resemblence to its former self. The Gifted are born with shockingly red hair with white streaks. Any common child who has such at age three is removed from their home and placed with a family in the upper tier.
The Nexus & The Dome
The city is built atop a mountain. The city is built atop an unnaturally formed plateau.
The Dome is maintained by a spell cast upon The Nexus. Under the lake which is at the center of the Upper City is the Nexus Room, where the spell was cast. The link to the Lodestone is maintained here by a Nexus Crystal. Were it to be removed, the Dome would fail.
Demographics
The Upper City houses about 1000 people. The Commons, about 8000. This number includes a good amount of families living in the Four Quarters outside the City proper. There are about 200 Watchers, with around 100 on duty at any particular time. The Resistance in the city numbers at between 30-80 at any given time (Right now, about 50). There are many who would be supportive of the Resistance, but not enough to risk their lives. Of the 1000 in the Uppers, around 400 are the family of Watchers, with the remaining being craftsmen, officials, and wealthy individuals, and their children.
Present Day
Now, Pinnacle City is almost completely evacuated. After the outside Resistance sent a powerful necromancer-turned-lich into the city with an army of undead minions, he cut his way through guards and populace alike to reach the Nexus, where he briefly encountered a group of PCs, had some dialogue, and then removed the Nexus Crystal, destroying the dome. Under the threat of impending doom from the rapid climate change atop the mountain, now unshielded, the denizens of the city fled to the towns of Arithea below to face their fates…
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"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." - Cersei Lannister
I'm thinking I'll have my character come from a monastery, so he could be the (less evil) Raistlin to your Caramon.
Additional questions (I can wait until the wiki is up if this is all on there though):
1. How exactly is magic transferred between the Gifted and Adepts? How does it affect each party (ie. Does the Gifted lose all her magic, part of it, or is she unaffected? Is both or either person hurt by the exchange? etc).
2. What're the religions of Aithar? A real brief overview is fine if you've already got some thought up, and then I'll ask you about the ones I'm interested in.
Sorry, I'll open wiki registration tonight so that you can register, and then I can approve them. I have it private so that it's just my group.
The wiki will be of some use to you, and some not. Reason being I am limiting the availability of information on it to that which the tabletop party may have uncovered. If it doesn't seem to be too much work I may either give online players unencumbered 'read' access or a separate set of permissions... we'll see, when I have time.
The Gift
Spoiler
You can be born with The Gift, already have Magery 1, and surpass the below.
You can also be born as 'an adept' (many or even most who do never even know) and have the ability to receive magic (the Gift). A mage may give their own Gift to another at any point in their life. All it takes is the will to do so, and a willing recipient. The participant MUST be willing, there is no save - they either accept what is happening or not. The transfer only takes a couple of moments of physical contact, often a hand on the head, or the like, followed by a bright light, after which the original mage is sapped of most of their Fatigue Points and exhausted, and the potential mage is knocked unconscious for 1d6 minutes.
The recipient gains Magery I without paying for the upgrade. The giver becomes burned out, and may never use magic again. They cannot be re-gifted. This most often occurs with the elderly and with those who wish to retire from life as an active warmage, or something similar. This results in orderly societies of mages where you surrender your gift at a certain predetermined age or condition, and it also results in battle mages who keep multiple apprentices with them at all times, to teach and educate into amazing mages without any power, and then pass their gift on to with their last breath if they should fall.
That's not all of it, that's just something to get you started.
2) Religions of Aithar - let me get back to you later tonight or in the morning, I'm working on a site proposal for a client for tomorrow and simultaneously trying to write a paper for an online class that's due tonight... gah.
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"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." - Cersei Lannister
What would be the percent value of a "Spirits only" limiter on a binding attack? And would "See Invisible" advantage that applied only to ghosts and other undead have a cost modifier as well?
I was going to have my character spend some time at a monastery of some kind to explain why he was gifted with magic and has exorcist training. Probably for schooling/study/induction for at least 3 or 4 years. I can fit that into any sort of background though: rich, poor, etc., so whatever fits your character best is fine.
Another question: Even though my character is going to be an Adept "gifted" with magic I still have to pay for Magery 1 because I'm starting out with it, right?
I thought being the children of a Viscount or Baron or something (not from Pinnacle City?) might be fitting, if such a thing exists in the setting. It would afford you a degree of protection, since normally a Gifted child would be taken by the government. Perhaps you were kept hidden as a child and forbidden to leave the manor? Then once you came of age you were discreetly shipped off to the monastery for your education?
Of course that would mean that we probably have an older or younger brother as well, since there would have to be a recognized male to carry on the family name (assuming traditional medieval importance of sons, that is).
Well, he wouldn't have magic from birth, as an Adept he'd be Magery 0. And then one of the older priests/monks/clergymen would gift him with their magic in secret.
Probably an older brother, unless one of us is set to inherit. That also the issues of how our characters are specifically related, like who's older, who's younger, or are we twins?
Oh, that's right—forgot you were an Adept and not Gifted. Twins would be kind of neat, although I don't know how old you wanted your character to be. Right now mine is 27, but I could always change it.
Wherps, my notifications are broken some how, cause I didn't get ANY of this stuff, I was just giving you guys space to consider characters. Lemme read back quick.
Edits:
- The children of some form of nobility idea sounds good, I'll get you some more ideas/info after work today or if I have time before. I like the idea of them hiding you/dying hair/protecting you + the fact that they're under less scrutiny. Sort of like the 'third child' situation in some sci fis, or the hiding of Jews in the Holocaust. And now that you're out, you're well bred and etc, but you're... a mage, thus, issues.
[Just read more and realize that you aren't Gifted. Yes, if it's there at start you have to buy it. (Magery 1) I guess ignore the above, haha]
- Siblings sounds cool too, if you decide it'll all work.
- A monastery that teaches magic will probably be remote, secluded, and religious in nature, and would just teach magic to certain of its students with certain instructors, to avoid any scrutiny. It wouldn't present itself as a magic college, and in fact might present the magic they teach you as having a high religious value - treating it more like divine power of some kind, or mystical in nature, depending on the monastery, than as pure arcane lore and power. Even though in reality, it's the same thing.
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"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." - Cersei Lannister
What is the general "role" of women in this setting, Corrino? Standard D&Dish meritocracy dealio where gender is largely cosmetic, or more in line with traditional medieval fantasy with less rights/expectations to be married off and pump out babies?
I would say it depends entirely upon the specific nation or geographic area. Arithea, where you are now, allows women to do almost anything, as it has a large history with magic, which was the 'Universal Equalizer' - people of any race or gender or religion have seemingly been able to handle magic with the same ability.
Anyway, there are not often women in extremely important government or military positions - although there are certainly some (in fact, one woman sits on the Council, supposedly) - but you could find women in any walk of life. Most often, however, you'll either find them at home, or the cliche hardened soldier-woman, or in 'womanly' jobs. But if she wants to be of a particular profession, there's nothing stopping her except personal prejudices.
Hope that makes sense.
There are some areas of Aithar that are almost completely gender neutral, a couple of matriarchal societies, and several that are more medieval in their views. But this one is kind of... women have rights and are liberated, but are often socially relegated to certain roles.
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"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." - Cersei Lannister
Sweet, thanks. Just let us know about how the noble/family thing would work in Arithea. I'm assuming (unless we're entirely estranged from them) that it might be appropriate to take Wealth, Patrons, or Allies?
27's fine if you want to be twins. I was thinking around mid-20s anyway.
@Corrino: Idk if you missed it or are still thinking it over, but you never answered my earlier questions. Here's them again in slightly different formatting:
1.What would be the percent value of a "Spirits only" limiter on a binding attack?
2.And would "See Invisible" advantage that applied only to ghosts and other undead have a cost modifier as well?
Did our parents know they were sending you to be educated in magic? Or was it something you were chosen for by the monks while you were there?
I don't know how the campaign is planned to begin or whatever, but a plot-hooky idea for our background, maybe: Our slightly younger brother, a loyalist to the Council, has always been jealous of the bond between us twins. When you return home from your training at the monastery, he betrays our family to the Council for harboring a Mage. Our parents are summarily executed, and with both you and I on the lam, our younger brother automatically inherits control of the barony/viscounty/earldom/duchy/whatever?
The orphans-on-the-run thing is a little overdone, but it would give us a proper reason to be part of the rebellion, without tying us to a ton of responsibilities/NPCs if we have to flee the country or something. Plus an automatic bad dude in the form of our younger brother. *shrug*
ETA: What sort of terrain is Arithea? I was trying to decide what sort of survival skills I needed to take.
- I think the better question is what Binding that worked on spirits would cost, as Binding is a physical attack that wouldn't work on spirits, as far as I'm aware, at all. I'm not quite sure... if it's something you're particularly interested in, we can come up with something.
- You're using 'See Invisible' against 'Invisibility (Substantial Only)'. I'd be fine with taking a bit off of the cost, if we're limiting it to only the undead, but probably not a large decrease, given that Invisibility (Substantial Only) is something that probably is most often applied to spirits as is. Maybe like a -20%? I'm open to discussion though.
I hope the above made any sense.
@historiasdeosos
Spoiler
- Geography is mostly temperate. Cold winters, mild summers. You're starting in the fall. Forests, some plains areas, there's a mountainous strip along the north border and a few isolated peaks or clusters, but mostly it's level or hilly terrain and not a ton of craziness.
- I'd wager that for survival you'd want something either based in an urban environment, or something useful in forestry. Keep in mind your backstory, where you come from, and perhaps most importantly, where you've been the last few years.
Story / Start / Hook
Spoiler
OK so how about this for a consolidated idea. You're brothers, you have a younger brother. You go off to this monastery, Arudin. Not sure what historiasdeosos is planning on during that time, going with, staying at home, training? Unless I missed that. When you return, the family hides you while you're deciding what you want to do with your life, and you stay mostly on the down-low with the powers. However, your younger brother, in an attempt to curry favor with the regional authorities, turns in you (and his father for harboring you) in return for being promised your father's position (which he would probably never have acquired).
I'd be interested to start the campaign directly after that betrayal, and have the opening scenes be you guys at your chateau home sorta thing, being assaulted by the government soldiers, but if you want it to be later, we can do that too. Just an idea. Perhaps your parents have already been ambushed and killed while in the City, and you get word just in time to see them coming?
Sorry about my hit and miss availability, work has picked up, so has class, and I've been on a coding steak with the game I'm co-devving, so... sorry lol. When we get started I'll make sure and be watching more closely. Also I'll get the danged wiki logins :D
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"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." - Cersei Lannister
It's fine! I rather like having some time to mull over my character.
I think I'll have my character training to be/becoming a knight while Arudin is studying in the monestary. Assuming there are knights in the setting, of course. And starting off right after the betrayal is fine by me, as long as Arudin is okay with the hook.
What will be the name of the town/barony that our father rules? And what is his title? And how far is it from Pinnacle City?
The town will be called Salt Peak (Erroneously so, as the town is at the bottom of the peak it is named for, and the salt mines actually tunnel under the valleys in the range, not into the peaks themselves) I was thinking of the Lord's name as Baron Altera, and he is the Baron of this town and its surrounding county. Most specifically, he is in charge of the salt mines here - there may be a guild in that mix too, but no one doubts government control.
On a whim I began researching salt mining, and thus have run out of time to post more at the current moment, lol, sorry. I'll return in a bit and try and answer more of your questions and give pertinent info instead of plotting out the history of a mining settlement that will probably never matter...
Attention problems are bad when world developing, at least when doing so for a campaign.
lol
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"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." - Cersei Lannister
What's happening? Characters coming along? What do you guys need from me? Trying hard not to let this fall off my radar, I need to stop depending on alerts and start checking the forum a time or two per day...
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"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." - Cersei Lannister
My character sheet is almost done, aside from a few niggling details. Can our parents' deaths right before the game start be finalized (so I don't have to buy them as dependents )?
And the wiki account or a rough map of the country/area would be cool, just so I could get an idea of where everything is.
Same here, I should be able to get it up by the weekend, Sunday at the very latest.
Also, when it comes to spell pre-reqs, do advantages count too? I think it was Astral Vision that required knowing See Invisible... but I plan on giving my char that advantage anyway, so I was wondering if that worked too.
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The Wars of Arithea (OOC)
I rather like having some time to mull over my character.
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