Fantasy Where Mana Comes From... [OPEN]

[Resting Witch Face]

"We do not understand it. While some may think themselves masters of the mana, they are mere slaves to it's willpower. If we allow the people of the world unlimited access to this power it will cause a second ruination of our world. Mana is not a boon, it is a grave curse." Vragg the Gray, 819 A.C.
........................................................................................

You live in a gray world. Fifteen years have passed since great catastrophe struck the land, and plunged the lives around you into turmoil. A sudden eruption of energy came in a flash, and wreaked havoc across the world. Ash clouds the skies and deep ravines form, sudden great chasms threaten to send you into the earth. One would think that this would be hell, but a curious thing happened as these disasters struck: People began a process known as Awakening. Latent energy from the aforementioned eruption bestowed a great gift upon all, that being the gift of Magic. People began throwing fire from their hands, conjuring beasts and demons from their own psyche, healing others from the brink of death. Being alive at a time like this has made the years fly by, taken by a need for survival and an acceptance of this new reality facing you. After a harsh few years, the land seemed to set. No longer did the ground quake at night, and you hadn't seen a crack in the soil for weeks. Word comes from the monarchy of your region after what felt like decades of silence. The words fall upon you like a great shout from the heavens, stealing hope from your mind.
"THE MAGES ARE TO BLAME!"
A great panic ensues, stirred by distrust in the new magically inclined. Even though the disaster had CAUSED the outbreak of magic, people still feared the power it gave to those around them. They feared that bad men would use these powers for nothing but their own gain. That was the thought process of the monarchy, losing control of their populace being the worst case scenario. Then, the point of no return occurs, as the King is dethroned unceremoniously by an assassin wielding terrifying shadow spells. Suddenly a new force bursts forth from the cracked cocoon of the old castle Gravenshaw, lead by the son of the king, Prince Donovan Gravenshaw. Mobs of armored knights move through the towns, collecting every magically inclined person without mercy. It could be your sister, the kindly innkeeper down the road or even the old lady at the herb stand in town square. The life of the world that had been weathered felt ever more drained, and the land became colder and gray-er. Magic all but vanished from the streets of common folk, as the royalty swore that the lands would be cleansed moving forwards. In a hypocritical bid to save the health of their people and potentially profit in the meantime, alchemists were allowed to continue their work so long as they did not invoke mana from any other school of magic. Those who objected found themselves wheeled away on a cart full of mages. Those who fought against the anti-magic regime found themselves drowned in a tide of holy steel, the steel of a legion of resistant Paladins, sworn to uphold the word of the monarchy. After a while, the illusionists and con-men were seen through and secrets began popping up like wildfires. Anyone could be a mage these days. Some people were even wrongly confined, mistaken for another without trial or competency.

Convoy #35, outbound from Pelyte, headed to the Capitol after a three week round trip through the country side. The contents? Five magical detainees, destined for deep confinement in the Pen. You count the minutes turning into hours as the landscape outside slowly drags by, the bumpy horse-drawn carriage making sure that you are unable to sleep. The enchanted shackles around your wrists prevent any sort of casting, if you were even capable of such, so you waited and waited for the end to arrive. Soon you would forget the sweet taste of ale, or the blinding rays of the sun. Soon all you would know is the cold stone of a prison cell. You weep, stare off into empty space, it doesn't matter. The guards frown on conversation, so your fellow passengers sit in silence along with you. The moon dips under the horizon, marking the end of another sleepless night. Some hours later, you can't keep your eyes open anymore, slumping against the seat as the midday sun peeks over the tree-line. Darkness and quiet, finally...

You awake to chaos. The carriage is spinning, you're flailing around. Your fellow captives are being flung like ragdolls against the walls of the cage carriage, before the entire thing cracks open like an oversized nut. You're falling down a cliffside, into a great river flowing angrily below. The horses were seemingly already deceased, and the guards were nowhere to be seen. You don't even remember feeling wet, just more blackness. The last memory to cross your mind was the nose-defiling stench of burning flesh. You awake for the second time on a sandy shore, washed up some distance downstream in a thickly forested area. The carriage in it's entirety, guards included, is gone. Miraculously, the fellow captive mages seem to be close by, waking up of their own accord eerily similarly to yourself. It would be a good idea to stick together, going off on one's lonesome could just end up in captivity.

You just hope these strangers will be kind to you, or at least allow you to call for their aid in the future. It's a scary world for mages.

(Hello. Bonjour. Kon'nichiwa. Zdravo. Annyeonghaseyo. Hola.)
(If you've read this far, please leave a question or comment should anything come to mind. If you'd like to join in the future, say so and we'll have a simple character sheet made. I've tried to implement tabletop elements in previous RP's of mine, so I'll try to keep it text only for the most part. There will still be the possibility for combat, though I want to focus on character interaction, worldbuilding and exploration. Things are not what they seem, and the deeper you delve into this world the more you may uncover...)
​

 

[undeadrat]

Sounds super cool! Do you require realistic faceclaims?

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Seems pretty interesting. Will keep my eye on this

 

[Resting Witch Face]

Sounds super cool! Do you require realistic faceclaims?

nah, character sheets can be text only. If you want to use an image, drawn is preferred.

Here's some links, take your time. We got five slots for characters.
Character Sheets
OOC

 

[undeadrat]

What are level one spells and is there a list of them/their effects? Is this like DnD stuff? I've never played tabletop games before so I'm more familiar with something more freeform.

 

[Resting Witch Face]

It's a bit more open ended. Like I said in the character sheets, it can really be anything you want, provided it's not super overpowered this early on. Thus, I referred to it as a "level one spell" just to keep it in the realm of a beginner's spell. Just no summoning greater demons, blowing up the planet or divining the entire plot and we're cool.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

I'd like to throw my hat into the ring.

 

[BuggaBoo]

Tentatively Insta wretched here cuz Tabletop usually means rolling dice... are you using dice rolls?
And can you provide descriptions of the spells? Or do we just make up stuff for the spell based on the name.
And if we get to make it up, does level one mean only a single application of the spell at low power, or is it multiple applications but still low powered?

 

[Paarthurnax]

I would be really interested in participating, if there's room

 

[Resting Witch Face]

Tentatively Insta wretched here cuz Tabletop usually means rolling dice... are you using dice rolls?
And can you provide descriptions of the spells? Or do we just make up stuff for the spell based on the name.
And if we get to make it up, does level one mean only a single application of the spell at low power, or is it multiple applications but still low powered?

Sorry for the late reply.

I'm hoping to NOT use dice rolls in this campaign purely because it's really tedious for the GM...
I'll write out some more examples of lower power spells for each school of magic, but I'm trying to encourage you to create your own unique spells.
For balance reasons, I'll check out any sheets posted and try to work to find a happy medium for the sake of the game. For example: A low damage, ranged spell should have more than one cast for obvious reasons, but something like a stronger healing spell or AoE attack would have less or even just one cast.

Hope this helps.

 

[Resting Witch Face]

nah, character sheets can be text only. If you want to use an image, drawn is preferred.

Here's some links, take your time. We got five slots for characters.
Character Sheets
OOC

just gonna bump and link these back to the bottom. We still have no sheets posted, so plenty of room left for anyone wanting to join.

 

[undeadrat]

I'm working on mine! What's the tech level of this setting btw? Crossbows peak? Culverins?

Also, is it fine for us to make up minor locations (like where our characters came from) or is it assumed we're all from Pelyte?

 

[BuggaBoo]

k more questions: if we only have Level One spells, how do you learn a level 2 spell?

Is it like a game where you have to kill things and then at the end of the level you get a level 2 spell? Or like can you learn two diferent schools of level One spells at the end of the level instead of getting a level 2 spell?

 

[Resting Witch Face]

Sorry once again for inconsistent posts, I work closing shifts.

Tech level is base medieval, likely having Crossbows as the height of technology at the current moment in time, although alternatives would be wise...
The Caravan was on a long round trip, so feel free to make up a minor town or such and I could likely work it into the world map and the caravan's route.

Now, about how to acquire a Level 2 spell: I'm going to once again stress that I'd like to avoid numbers and dice rolls for the most part, but at the same time I'm struggling to come up with a consistent levelling system. I mean, a level one spell usually means there are levels beyond, I should've thought of that previously.
After some brainstorming, I've got a semi-competent approach to gaining levels and more spells. A merchant, omnipresent and mysterious, like the Arms Dealer from RE4 (never played far into it I just know the character.) You can buy magic related items from him after collecting some kind of currency, and even buy new spells (when in stock of course, tomes are few and far between.) I could even try a From Software approach to currency, that being it acts as both currency and experience points for leveling. I might have to implement character stats for that though. So that leaves us with a question:

Would you prefer to exclusively buy your spells, or spend points towards levelling up? Either way, you'll be drawing from a common currency.

 

[Resting Witch Face]

quick bump.

Character Sheets
OOC

 

[BuggaBoo]

K thx for answering all my questions but gunna withdraw interest. Good luck with RP!

 

[Resting Witch Face]

K thx for answering all my questions but gunna withdraw interest. Good luck with RP!

No problem...

 

[Resting Witch Face]

bump

 

[Resting Witch Face]

We have started posts, but we still have one extra slot available so I'll keep this post open. First come, first serve!

 

[Resting Witch Face]

Well, we're still accepting characters. We do have five sheets posted, but as long as we're still in the first round of posts anyone can snag up a slot.

Only two posts so far, so we still two or three slots available to newcomers. I'll link character sheets and the Main thread, which should be done in that order.
Character Sheets
Main Thread
Once we hit five posts, I'll be closing this thread and naming all our official characters for this RP.

 

[Jewel]

Well, we're still accepting characters. We do have five sheets posted, but as long as we're still in the first round of posts anyone can snag up a slot.

Only two posts so far, so we still two or three slots available to newcomers. I'll link character sheets and the Main thread, which should be done in that order.
Character Sheets
Main Thread
Once we hit five posts, I'll be closing this thread and naming all our official characters for this RP.

Are you still accepting characters? I am interested in joining this group.

 

[Resting Witch Face]

Are you still accepting characters? I am interested in joining this group.

Yes.