Grin
Not "Mr. Grin"
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"Cayaa Panuia; Cayaa Tuk Panu"
rough translation: "We are Panuia; We Are Inseparable From The Earth Itself"
The Panuia tribe resides on an island roughly the size of New York State. They call the island "Panu", their word for "the whole earth" - they know nothing of what lies beyond the ocean which surrounds their land. Over several dozen generations, they have perfected the arts of agriculture, animal husbandry, and hunting. Everything they need is provided by the land, and in exchange the Panuia take great care to preserve Panu's natural beauty. Their care for the island is religious in nature; they call this devotion "Panuska" (translation: "Earth Love") and their holy leaders teach and inspire members of the tribe to follow this righteous path.
They aren't the only residents of the island. Across the Grand Chasm resides the Aptu-Kai (translation: "The Four Serpents"), the remains of old tribes, exiled criminals, and Panuia defectors. The lands which the Aptu-Kai occupy are a place of turmoil, as the factions fight among themselves for vital resources. The Panuia have known peace by making sure the Aptu-Kai stay on their side of the chasm, not to mention their superior numbers discourage any single faction of the Aptu-Kai to attempt a takeover.
Despite the violent nature of the Aptu-Kai, the island of Panu has never known famine. Even in the case of major disasters, such as tsunamis and earthquakes, both Panuia and Aptu-Kai have thrived and rebuilt in a way that would amaze even our modern engineers.
Their secret: the Grand Chasm is the landing point of a meteor which crashed tens of thousands of years ago. It imbues the lands and creatures with abilities foreign to our modern medicine. Virtually everyone on the island is immune to disease, heals quickly, and possesses one or more physical qualities well above mortal men. Panuia elders identify these accelerated traits via "Totems", and each member of the tribe spends their rite of passage contemplating their Totem. A rare few Totems even possess a supernatural ability.
This island is the only place on the planet where such a meteor exists. Unfortunately, residents of other continents on the planet accidentally discovered this.
Several years ago, one faction of the Aptu-Kai began "desecrating" the their enemies, by shackling them in meteorite-forged chains (unbreakable by even the ultra-strong possessors of the Whale Totem), floating them out to sea on a small boat, and then sinking the boat with flaming arrows. Any victim "lucky" enough to survive the arrows would certainly drown. The purpose of this rite was to humiliate their enemy by making their death so far from Panu, that their spirit would never know peace.
Of course, what they didn't figure on, is that corpses traditionally float...
Several of these corpses were discovered by Naval ships, belonging to an empire no resident of Panu could ever know existed. Sailors discovered that anyone that handled the (surprisingly lightweight yet durable) shackles suddenly gained the ability to heal quickly, as well as gaining physical powers of some sort. It was only a matter of time before they followed the strange corpses to Panu.
And this is where our story begins.
Panuia fishermen arrive early from their daily task, reporting large and unusual shapes upon the distant horizon. They don't know what they're looking at.
They turn to their Elders for the answers.
. . .
Whaaaaaaat, you think I'm going to just GIVE AWAY what they said? This is where YOUR CHARACTERS come in!
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CHARACTERS
I'm looking for 3-6 people who would like to play a mystically-enhanced native of Panu, who will prove to be crucial during this unique point in their history. Characters will be dealing with a situation similar to the conquistadors who first came to South America in search of gold, only in this case the conquistadors are steampunk-powered and in search of magic meteorite.
Ideally, I'd like to see the following roles filled:
Whale Totem: A character with enhanced strength. Typically take mining, building, and agricultural jobs, where their strength is far more useful.
Mongoose Totem: A character with enhanced agility and reflexes. Typically hunters and wardens/warriors, mostly relegated to patrolling the Great Chasm to prevent Aptu-Kai from crossing into Panuia territory.
Eagle Totem: A character with enhanced senses, who can hear footsteps through the ground from a mile away. They make great fishers and hunters, though a few are also utilized as wardens/warriors for scouting purposes.
Snake Totem: A character with enhanced resilience and health even beyond that granted normally - they are immune to all toxins and can heal from even mortal wounds in a matter of minutes. They are invaluable as medicine makers, foragers, and Elders (due to their longer lifespans)
Beaver Totem: A character with enhanced intelligence and deduction, bordering on precognition. They are Panu's engineers, lawgivers, and (in rare cases of war) tacticians.
Skyfish Totem: An extremely rare Totem for an extremely rare character, one with a supernatural "superpower". These characters don't really have a set place within society, and are treated with a mix of honor and fear by other Panuia & Aptu-Kai.
(NOTE: These aren't the only Totems that exist, they're just the ones I feel would round out a good party. If you have an idea for another Totem, please include it with your show of interest.)
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GAME STYLE & EXPECTATIONS
I anticipate that the RP will be event driven, however I also anticipate that a lot of combat will be involved once things get rolling. Please include with your interest whether you'd prefer dice-resolved combat (I have a simple system that can accommodate this efficiently) or RP-resolved combat.
Aside from establishing scenes, I don't plan on RPs being longer than 500-1000 words each, or roughly 4-6 paragraphs, but longer RPs won't kill me. Short responses are acceptable within reason and if appropriate (e.g. combat), but please keep the purple prose to a minimum; I am a firm believer in Kurt Vonnegut's 8 Rules, especially the one about every sentence either revealing character or advancing the action.
I plan on setting the pace somewhat casual, and won't expect daily RPs. That said, if you suspect your interest will peter out unless people are RPing rapidly, at least let me know. In fact, I'd prefer if you'd say a little something about your pace/frequency expectations and preferences during your interest post.
