Lady Sabine
Member
Howdy everyone. You can just call me Sabine. I've had a hankering recently for some good old fashioned fantasy, with faeries and witches and dryads and unicorns and all that good stuff. So far there isn't a plot in mind other than a night of festivities, one of the few where crossing the line between realms is easy and open to all, but that could change.
Specifically because I'm looking for someone (or several someones) to introduce conflict! I would very much like for this to be character-driven, with every character having specific goals in mind and purposeful actions, which is why I specified "talented" in the title. I will not be a stickler for post length (one paragraph ought to suffice) but I will ask for a reference RP so that I can judge each person's ability to keep a plot moving and make a real contribution. In other words, if your writing isn't beautiful or English isn't your first language or you've never written more than two paragraphs, don't worry about it. But if you write four beautifully detailed paragraphs in which your character sighs, takes a sip of her drink, moodily pouts, ponders the color of the carpeting, then says three words to her romantic interest... this is not the RP for you, I'm afraid.
Anyway, before we get any further, I think I should lay the scene a little. The setting is fairly vague, but I still think it will help to have something to go on. Loosely put, this will take place on a border between the worlds, the intersection between the realm of Fae and Man, on an ancient bridge over the river.
The Silvershroud woods is an ancient coniferous forest, true to its name shrouded in mists and fog and low-hanging clouds for most of the year due to its position between the mountain range called the Spine of the World and the cold Widowmaker sea. It is located in the kingdom of Terra Sylvan, which is a feudal monarchy and more or less irrelevant to the RP, on the continent known as Nostros which is home to dozens of kingdoms and cultures. The village is called (uncreatively) Stonebridge, a tiny place with only a few dozen buildings; the inn is called the Argent Willow and no one is quite sure how it stays in business since it rarely sees guests. The bridge itself only runs between the village and an island in the river; it has no name and is too narrow for anything except foot traffic, old and grey and covered in moss. No major roads run through the town. The river that runs beside it is called the Pony by most; it's too large and cold to run across, but it's gentle enough to allow some barge traffic carrying ore from the foothills. For most of the year it's a sleepy, somewhat creepy little town, with little traffic. Every midsummer and midwinter, however, a Fae lordling who calls himself the Prince of the Forest will open the gates between his kingdom and the island, letting as many people as they wish cross between Stonebridge and the Fae realm.
The land of the Fae is far more varied, with most of the great civilizations now laying in ruins. The Age of the Fae is dying and the Dawn of Man is rising, with magic slowly dying from the world, dragging magical creatures with it. The Seelie and Unseelie courts collapsed centuries ago, leaving most of the Fae realm in chaos. Few beings now have the strength to open doors between the worlds at will, even at places like Stonebridge where the worlds are so close they almost touch. I would prefer to keep the RP set entirely in the human world, at least at first, so this realm is not very fleshed out at the moment.
What is fleshed out is the Argent Willow on the day of Midsummer. It's a two story building, snugly built with glass windows and a thatched roof, that looks out over the river a few dozen paces up a sloping bank. The second story has thirteen guest rooms; seven face front and are smaller, more utilitarian, while five face the river and are larger, more richly furnished. Downstairs there is a tavern and a small store selling supplies and potions, as well as the living quarters for the family who runs it. Out front is a cobblestone courtyard with a fountain in the shape of a woman pouring water from a jug into a pool, gazing at her own reflection, as well as a warm stable with room for a dozen horses. No one is quite sure how the inn is maintained, since it's owned and run by a single woman and her five daughters, but the locals come in regularly to hear some music or have a drink or buy a potion or medicine; the proprietor is a fairly well-liked woods witch, and her daughters follow in her footsteps. They are the ones planning to oversee the human end of the festivities; they always open casks of cider and ale and wine and usually even have enough food for everyone. Most of the villagers have no small amount of magic ties themselves, or else they would find somewhere else to live, and also show up to enjoy the celebration. Other visitors come from much further, many of them staying in the Argent Willow. The bridge to the Fae world will be open from six in the evening to six in the morning, after which it will close and anyone trapped on the wrong side must find their own way back. The bridge itself is within sight of the inn, close enough for everyone to hear the music and see the frivolity.
Sound like the kind of place that interests you? Great! Let's just rehash a few brief expectations.
Does your character have motivation and purpose? Can you write paragraph-length posts in which they interact meaningfully with other characters? Do they not fall in any of the categories specifically banned? If you answered yes to all of these questions, you too could be a part of this roleplay! Simply post below and tell us what to call you. If you want to start outlining your character or asking questions, jump right in!
Specifically because I'm looking for someone (or several someones) to introduce conflict! I would very much like for this to be character-driven, with every character having specific goals in mind and purposeful actions, which is why I specified "talented" in the title. I will not be a stickler for post length (one paragraph ought to suffice) but I will ask for a reference RP so that I can judge each person's ability to keep a plot moving and make a real contribution. In other words, if your writing isn't beautiful or English isn't your first language or you've never written more than two paragraphs, don't worry about it. But if you write four beautifully detailed paragraphs in which your character sighs, takes a sip of her drink, moodily pouts, ponders the color of the carpeting, then says three words to her romantic interest... this is not the RP for you, I'm afraid.
Anyway, before we get any further, I think I should lay the scene a little. The setting is fairly vague, but I still think it will help to have something to go on. Loosely put, this will take place on a border between the worlds, the intersection between the realm of Fae and Man, on an ancient bridge over the river.
The Silvershroud woods is an ancient coniferous forest, true to its name shrouded in mists and fog and low-hanging clouds for most of the year due to its position between the mountain range called the Spine of the World and the cold Widowmaker sea. It is located in the kingdom of Terra Sylvan, which is a feudal monarchy and more or less irrelevant to the RP, on the continent known as Nostros which is home to dozens of kingdoms and cultures. The village is called (uncreatively) Stonebridge, a tiny place with only a few dozen buildings; the inn is called the Argent Willow and no one is quite sure how it stays in business since it rarely sees guests. The bridge itself only runs between the village and an island in the river; it has no name and is too narrow for anything except foot traffic, old and grey and covered in moss. No major roads run through the town. The river that runs beside it is called the Pony by most; it's too large and cold to run across, but it's gentle enough to allow some barge traffic carrying ore from the foothills. For most of the year it's a sleepy, somewhat creepy little town, with little traffic. Every midsummer and midwinter, however, a Fae lordling who calls himself the Prince of the Forest will open the gates between his kingdom and the island, letting as many people as they wish cross between Stonebridge and the Fae realm.
The land of the Fae is far more varied, with most of the great civilizations now laying in ruins. The Age of the Fae is dying and the Dawn of Man is rising, with magic slowly dying from the world, dragging magical creatures with it. The Seelie and Unseelie courts collapsed centuries ago, leaving most of the Fae realm in chaos. Few beings now have the strength to open doors between the worlds at will, even at places like Stonebridge where the worlds are so close they almost touch. I would prefer to keep the RP set entirely in the human world, at least at first, so this realm is not very fleshed out at the moment.
What is fleshed out is the Argent Willow on the day of Midsummer. It's a two story building, snugly built with glass windows and a thatched roof, that looks out over the river a few dozen paces up a sloping bank. The second story has thirteen guest rooms; seven face front and are smaller, more utilitarian, while five face the river and are larger, more richly furnished. Downstairs there is a tavern and a small store selling supplies and potions, as well as the living quarters for the family who runs it. Out front is a cobblestone courtyard with a fountain in the shape of a woman pouring water from a jug into a pool, gazing at her own reflection, as well as a warm stable with room for a dozen horses. No one is quite sure how the inn is maintained, since it's owned and run by a single woman and her five daughters, but the locals come in regularly to hear some music or have a drink or buy a potion or medicine; the proprietor is a fairly well-liked woods witch, and her daughters follow in her footsteps. They are the ones planning to oversee the human end of the festivities; they always open casks of cider and ale and wine and usually even have enough food for everyone. Most of the villagers have no small amount of magic ties themselves, or else they would find somewhere else to live, and also show up to enjoy the celebration. Other visitors come from much further, many of them staying in the Argent Willow. The bridge to the Fae world will be open from six in the evening to six in the morning, after which it will close and anyone trapped on the wrong side must find their own way back. The bridge itself is within sight of the inn, close enough for everyone to hear the music and see the frivolity.
Sound like the kind of place that interests you? Great! Let's just rehash a few brief expectations.
- Your character should have motivation and purpose! They should be there to find something (or someone!) or to do something (not someone). Having trouble with this part? Run your character by me and I'll give you something.
- Alright, posts! You should write a paragraph per character, per post, and if you know you make mistakes... run it through Spellchecker. It takes ten seconds. As for character limits, right now I'm going to say two, but once the RP has been going for a while I might change that. Please do not post within two posts of your own (in other words, the posting order Bob-Sally-Bob isn't okay. Bob-Sally-Will-Bob is fine). Please post at least twice per week, preferably three times.
- I'm briefly going to run through a list of character types that I don't want to see. If you have a convincing argument that your character, who fits one or more of these types, would be a good addition to the RP, you may petition me to grant you an exception. If you don't have any good arguments, though, find something else. Those characters are: runaway princesses (or nobility, or any other privileged position), jerkass loners who just happened to stumble across the gathering (boring, boring, boring), any creature over a hundred years old (especially those who don't act their age), vampires (nothing personal, but this isn't that kind of fantasy), werewolves (see before), characters who aren't humanoid, shapeshifters (if you're using a mythical creature that can change shape, such as a puca, it's a-ok as long as they stay humanoid most of the time), characters who can't talk (also boring), and anyone with powers/abilities capable of razing a building or killing five armed warriors at the same time (this isn't the place for mega-badasses).
- I'm only looking for a few other people. Five at most, probably. I may not be able to accept everyone who shows interest.
- In order to petition for a character in an above category, ask for help with motivation, figure out a character's prior relationships, or anything else that only involves two people, please use PMs.
- Do you want your character to introduce a major conflict? That's great. Just run it by me first, publicly or here, so that it won't suddenly come as a surprise. Don't steal the spotlight suddenly for no real reason.
- Last but not least, if anyone would like to be a co-host and help me manage this RP, please send me a PM. I do ask that you be active and willing to help me organize the players/characters and move the timeframe along, but the duties should be light. Mostly I just want someone else who can make sure that no one gets stuck, maybe answer a few questions or organize some conflict.
Does your character have motivation and purpose? Can you write paragraph-length posts in which they interact meaningfully with other characters? Do they not fall in any of the categories specifically banned? If you answered yes to all of these questions, you too could be a part of this roleplay! Simply post below and tell us what to call you. If you want to start outlining your character or asking questions, jump right in!
