Line #14 Roleplay/Adylheim


1	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
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3	''Adylheim'' is a diceless [[PlayByPostGames Play By Post Roleplaying Game]] set in an original fantasy world. It places a heavy emphasis on writing and character development over combat and leveling. [[http://www.adylheim.com/rules The rules]] strike a fair balance between being permissive enough to allow characters to be interesting from their time of creation and being just restrictive enough to prevent most [[GodModders Godmodding]].
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5	The game was founded in February 2008 by major figures in a splinter community from another [[PlayByPostGames PBP]]. As a result it has the close-knit, family feel of a much older game, complete with [[TrueCompanions satellites]] who stick around in chat without actually participating in the game.
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7	The game universe is a LowFantasy world drawn in about equal parts from the StandardFantasySetting and Myth/CelticMythology. It differs from HighFantasy mostly in its absolute insistence on GreyAndGrayMorality, its by-in-large return to (largely European) folklore tropes over [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings more recent]] [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons fantasy fare]], and its position on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. The human lands, where most of the action takes place, consist of [[http://www.adylheim.com/adylheim kingdoms]] formed from the fragments of a dissolved Empire, which are prevented from all-out war with each other by their equally fragmented internal politics. The wealthy become involved in politics (which usually involves combat) or magic to cement their power, while the common folk live lives of toil and hardship. Even so, it's not a WorldHalfEmpty all together: people help each other, communities scrape through hard times, and fate is capricious, rather than actively out to get you. It's more of a [[AWorldHalfFull World Half Full]].
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9	As of 2011, the game is defunct. The website was deleted, but some of the roleplay's content can be accessed by [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110211155648/http://www.adylheim.com/forum/ The Wayback Machine]].
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12	!!''Adylheim'' provides examples of:
13	* AllTrollsAreDifferent: Holds within the game world itself. You know it's a troll because it's a vaguely nature-themed humanoid creature that doesn't look like anything else, not because of any shared characteristics among trolls.
14	%%* {{Animorphism}}: The Ursidaen. {{Bears Are\|BadNews}} [[InvertedTrope GOOD News]]!
15	* AnotherDimension: Explored more thoroughly than usual for a fantasy story. In addition to the archetypal elemental planes, gods' planes and [[TheMultiverse alternate realities]], there are also separate planes of dreams for each race, two intersecting planes that form the Realm of Faerie, a five-plane-spanning [[TheEmpire Cosmarchy]] that has invaded Adylheim in the past, and more.
16	* AntiMagic: Thunderstone, though it is very rare. On the less rare side, faerie magic and some non-racial magic is disrupted by iron, and the incorporeal undead are still harmed by silver.
17	* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: One of the largest cities was designed by a group of [[MadScientist mad architects]], which is why the entire city was built as a prayer to the gods and includes both a LivingLabyrinth, as the underground network of caves is constantly changing and the occasional AlienGeometries.
18	* BlessedWithSuck: High magic is very powerful, instantaneous, and can be used without any training. So lots of young high mages, especially Fire and Life mages, end up dying. This is because high magic is CastFromHitPoints.
19	%%* BondCreatures: Low mages' familiars, usually [[RightHandCat cats]].
20	* Myth/CelticMythology: One of the larger influences on the game, including TheFairFolk and TheWildHunt.
21	* CrystalDragonJesus: Some of the Dragonkin religious sects are obviously influenced by different Christian ideas, though there are obvious Buddhist, New Age and Humanist influences as well.
22	* CursedWithAwesome: The Ursidaen are humans cursed with the ability to [[ShapeShifting shapeshift]] into bears. It's not all roses though: the power means that pregnancies often end up as miscarriages, and infanticide due to deformities is a common event.
23	%%* DemBones: What zombies eventually turn into. They still have personalities and wills, but they can't talk.
24	%%* DisabilitySuperpower: The Dae'Vol and their telepathy.
25	%%* ElementalEmbodiment: Elementals.
26	%%* ElementalPowers: High Magic. These are PersonalityPowers, but ElementalRockPaperScissors is averted.
27	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: Indeterminately far in the future, when the Namer gives away the last piece of his name to a new person or object.
28	%%* TheFairFolk: Fairies are scaaary people.
29	%%* FantasticRacism: Discussed here.
30	%%* FantasyGunControl
31	%%* FoodChains: Fairy Food, as usual.
32	* FunctionalMagic: With caveats. Theoretically magic (with the exception of [[ReligionIsMagic Mantra]]) cast in the same way should yield the same results, but the state of the universe and especially the state of the caster can change the results dramatically. For [[HermeticMagic Low Magic]] and Alchemy, it's that you can't draw the ''exact'' same shape twice, and it requires such concentration and free time as to make screwing up at least once more likely than not. High Magic is sympathetic with the caster's emotions, so only the most self-controlled or skilled high mages can guarantee consistent results. Mantra is supplication to the gods, who have free will and aren't beholden to anyone.
33	%%* GiantFlyer: Dragons, drakes, and arguably the Dragonkin, in descending order of bigness.
34	* GiantSpider: The Moonspiders, which sing their prey to sleep rather than poisoning them.
35	* GlamourFailure: Elves' glamours stop working the moment they're touched with iron (steel is okay.)
36	* TheGodsMustBeLazy: The gods answer prayers in only the slightest, you-get-an-edge-of-good-luck ways, and Mantra takes continuous hours and sometimes days to create any supernatural effect. The gods also ''never'' appear in person in Adylheim. Fortunately, there are no "good" and "evil" gods, just big supernaturally powerful people who have their own likes and dislikes, and their own duties in keeping the multiverse in order.
37	* {{Golem}}: Golems are reanimated bodies surrounded by the dirt of their graves for extra strength.
38	* {{Grimmification}}: Lots and lots of this, unicorns have a tendency to eat virgins, for instance, and [[PickyPeopleEater not in a nice way]].
39	* HalfHumanHybrid: Half-elves and half-ogres, though these are always sterile.
40	* HermeticMagic: Low Magic, the more versatile and least inherently risky to the caster of the two magic systems, is largely GeometricMagic. It also takes hours at least to achieve even the slightest result.
41	* HumanoidAliens: The Dae'Vol. They're freakishly tall and thin, have porous red-and-grey skin with black stripes, AlienHair on their heads, and most importantly have ''[[BizarreAlienBiology no mouths or noses]]''.
42	%%** The Crystalkin, planar wanderers made of crystal.
43	%%* IKnowYourTrueName: True Names.
44	* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: More like Linear Warriors, Quadratic Low Mages, Logarithmic High Mages. Increased skill in High Magic never gives you more ''power'', just more ''control'', so that you can use it in more subtle and precisely.
45	* LittlePeople: Gnomes are tiny, non-sentient humanoid earth elementals. They're pretty harmless unless you make them angry, in which case you'll want to avoid stepping on the ground as much as possible.
46	* LizardFolk: The Dragonkin. [[WingedHumanoid Which have wings]], by the way. Please note that while their wings sprout from their shoulders, [[BizarreAlienBiology their arms don't]].
47	%%** The Naga.
48	* LoadsAndLoadsOfRaces: On this plane, in playable territory, twelve (including all humans as one race). Keep in mind that the entirety of the first continent hasn't even been discovered yet, and that there are theoretically ''infinite'' [[TheMultiverse planes]].
49	%%* MagicAIsMagicA: One of the few really strict rules, for the purpose of preserving game balance.
50	%%* MagicAndPowers
51	* MagicallyBindingContract: Geises. Free will is still in play, however, as being entered into a geis against your will weakens the geis to the point that it might as well not be there.
52	%%* MassiveRaceSelection: Standard Playable Races.
53	* MedievalEuropeanFantasy: Arameia, Longmoor, Starkwater and Nevros play it straight, but Teslan is almost at Renaissance level, Andragoria and Nerin are both more Asian-themed, Maradin society would be at home in ''Film/WaterWorld'', and non-human cultures are all suitably non-European.
54	* MedievalStasis: Human lands. The Dae'Vol have MagiTek and the Dragonkin are [[TechnologicalPacifist Technological Pacifists]], but everyone else is held at a medieval level by hardship, politics, and the presence of magic. This is arguably a DeconstructedTrope: two of the common justifications for MedievalStasis, religious fervor and repressive government, are actually the defining characteristics of the more advanced societies. The Dragonkin's devout attachment to their all-consuming religion has kept them at peace with each other for thousands of years; though their xenophobia and traditionalism impeded the rate at which their technology developed, in the past eighteen thousand years they have ''never once'' had to deal with the EndOfAnAge, and over the millennia their slow progress has added up. Dae'Vol MagiTek is the result of living in a [[{{Mordor}} horrible]] [[{{Dystopia}} dystopian]] [[FantasticCasteSystem society]] that cranks production and research up to OverNineThousand as a way of justifying their MoralMyopia. Meanwhile, the MedievalStasis societies have more mundane and realistic reasons for remaining at their technology level: they have more immediate concerns, like feeding themselves and avoiding being killed by rivals.
55	%%* MoralMyopia: The Dae'Vol.
56	* MutuallyExclusiveMagic: Any one person can use only one kind of [[ElementalPowers High Magic]].
57	* OmniscientMoralityLicense: Averted, even for the omniscient. Choice and free will are two of the defining themes of Adylheim, after all.
58	* OurDemonsAreDifferent: A demon is just a sentient being that has signed [[DealWithTheDevil the appropriate contracts]]. Selling one's soul is a last ditch effort though, typically they will generally be satisfied with the first few years of your life, or the last few. Or perhaps the memories of your first love. Those who have done too many deals with demons end up becoming demons themselves after death. Because, let's face it [[CelestialBureaucracy bureacracy]] is the ultimate evil, or as close to it as you'll get in Adylheim.
59	* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Dragons are giant beings of godlike power, and are worshipped by the dragonkin. They were instrumental in the gods' defeat of the creator Primus, but unlike the gods came to Adylheim to live. Their two wars reshaped the face of the planet, and they created the drakes, the dragonkin, and probably some SealedEvilInACan that's still hanging around, waiting to be discovered. At the end of the Second Dragon War they flew away into space, taking their most damaging machines of war with them, leaving the dragonkin ''and the drakes'' behind. Drakes are more conventional Western dragons.
60	* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: At first it seems that there aren't any Dwarves in Adylheim at all - but with enough digging it becomes clear that the role of the standard fantasy dwarves is held by the Mefici - non-playable, mysterious crystalline entities that mine crystal in return for undisclosed services from the Dee'Gar.
61	* OurElvesAreDifferent: Elves are still small, forest-dwelling humanoids with natural magical abilities, but instead of being cultured and sophisticated or down to earth, they're [[TheTrickster Tricksters]] with a cultural aversion to hard work, similar to medieval European stereotypes of Gypsies. It is heavily implied that they are in fact a group of TheFairFolk gone native after spending thousands of years away from the realm of Faerie.
62	* OurGhostsAreDifferent : Well they're not all that different, actually. Any person can become a ghost after they die if they want to stick around, though only those with unfinished business generally want to, as the afterlife is stasis followed by eventual rebirth (except for really exceptional artists, or demons).
63	* OurGhoulsAreCreepier: Cannibalistic abominations that can only eat rotting meat, and therefore tend to gather anywhere large amounts of death occurs. Not actually undead, nor particularly aggressive usually, but people prefer not to have them hanging around for obvious reasons.
64	* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: Goblins aren't tiny evil things, instead they're tiny strange things that mainly wander around moving things like dead sea gulls and small rocks from place to place without any seeming purpose. Did I mention they can only be seen through the corner of the eye? Oh and touching one or even acknowledging its existence is bad luck.
65	* OurGodsAreDifferent: The Gods are just powerful people doing their jobs to keep reality from falling apart and letting out their old enemy. In line with the conventions of [[Myth/ClassicalMythology polytheistic]] [[Myth/NorseMythology mythology]], the stories of their interactions have a definite SoapOpera feel.
66	* OurMermaidsAreDifferent: The chosen mariners of Erina, goddess of the sea, are transformed into mermaids when they drown.
67	%%* OurMonstersAreDifferent: It helps that the four original creators are still around, disambiguating the ambiguous. For more, see here.
68	* OurOrcsAreDifferent: For one thing, they're called [[TheOgre ogres]]. For another, they're amphibious swamp-dwellers. They're still big, dumb, and green though.
69	* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Lycanthropy [[spoiler: is an ''STD'']]. Instead of a person turning into a wolf at regular intervals, the infected person's personality and behavior becomes gradually more wolfish, until the disease has run its course and a [[SavageWolves Fell Wolf]] rips its way out of the body, leaving behind a pile of human skin.
70	* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Your standard, run-of-the-mill undead. They're pretty much like humans until they start getting gamey. They do not carry TheVirus, and don't usually bite, either. That said, vampires are just really strong zombies.
71	%%* PeopleOfHairColor: Humans. This is averted with the Maradin (seafaring dark-skinned people) and Soiliens (Asians), but played straight with the Arameians ([[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Númenóreans]]) and the Threakians (Scandinavians).
72	* PlanetOfHats: The aversion of this trope is one of the key concepts of this game. No one, not even gods, demons, or zombies, is defined by their race.
73	%%* ReligionIsMagic: Mantra.
74	%%* SomeoneHasToDie: Death curses and Great Works. (Arguably also some Necromancy.)
75	%%* SpaceIsMagic: It's where the dragons live.
76	%%* SquishyWizard: Most Low Mages. Averted with High Mages, which were created as a counterpoint for those who might want a different playing style.
77	* StarfishAliens: Viators. No one knows quite what they look like, as they explode as soon as their (magical, shapeshifting) suits are breached.
78	%%** The Upok, as well as the unnamed, squidlike cousins of the Dae'Vol.
79	* SummonMagic: Unusual in that it averts NoOntologicalInertia (summoning is permanent), and even more so in that Summoning does ''not'' bind the summonee to your will. You'd better have an offer that demon simply cannot refuse ready before you start.
80	* TravelingAtTheSpeedOfPlot: Thanks to Quanoth, trifold god of Time, Causality and Debauchery, who is also responsible for such oft-observed phenomena as time flying when you're having fun.
81	* TheUndead: Usually created through necromancy, the Undead retain their free wills and their souls - usually the same souls they had at death. Maia, goddess of death, doesn't like giving up her souls, so if you want to make an undead, you should either kill the person yourself and immediately transform the body, or have her approval. You wouldn't like her when she's angry. They usually don't like being undead either, and if released from their master's control go back to their graves (after killing said master).
82	* {{Unicorn}}: Unicorns don't do anything sexual with virgins - they just think they taste delicious. One of the very rare AlwaysChaoticEvil creatures in the game.
83	* WhatMeasureIsANonCute: Largely averted. In-game opinions about animals and races seems to be based mostly on how likely they are to kill you or steal your stuff. Which is usually "pretty likely."
84	%%* WordsCanBreakMyBones: Words of Power.

Context Roleplay / Adylheim