Fantasy/Steampunk Adventure Sign-up, Interest Check and Development

Dear god, everyone's gonna be a magical luddite! Just make sure you don't push this too far with the magic and the hatred of heated water, eh? Wouldn't want me to invoke the spirit of Alphonse Kapown, now would we? Not that I could, his antimatter engine is strictly magical, unless I could somehow make a steampunk LHC or something.

Ciara's not a luddite. She hates your society, not your stuff. =P

I actually find that pretty rad, really. However, steampunk is for people who are, in the words of Professor Elemental,

All about reaching far
Seeking the secrets beneath the stars
With a decent mask
And a good moustache!
And you have none of those things! Don't dare.. Turn this into the resolution of the Leviathan trilogy!

Well, Gwydion's not a luddite. In fact he thinks that the world in general is full of nosy fools. also, let me know if I need to fix anything.

Name: Gwydion Sinira Age: 297

Appearance: Like this, but not smiley.

Faction/Nation: Border, formerly Circium

Experience: Sorceror

Specialization: Animation Magic and the study of non-human sentients (Elementals and Talking Animals.)

Personality: Gwydion seems jaded, anti-social and even bitter at first glance. He dislikes and avoids people on the whole, preferring the company of his shado, the constructs he creates and the animals and spirits that surround him. Nevertheless, he's kind at heart and will never turn down a being in need as well as intensely disliking violence and conflict. His primary motivation is to find out as much as he can about how his shadow came to life, and his fascination with non-human sentients springs from that.

Bio/A Brief History of You: Gwydion began his magical education early and was quite talented, a rising star in fact. However at the age of 17 he had the misfortune of suffering a magical accident that brought his shadow to life, though he has no memory of the event.

The lad's unusual condition caught the eye of several more powerful mages, and though this allowed him to rapidly gain a sponsor and apprentice with nearly any mage in the capital it came at the price of becoming a mystical lab rat of sorts. Gwydion shifted from one apprenticeship to the next attempting to avoid the constant probing and prodding from his fellow mages, devoting himself to learning as much as he could about his own condition and magic in general until he was well known and powerful enough to be a true Sorceror, hoping that his position would give him some peace. When this failed he joined up with the Rebellion and began a career as a soldier. Gwydion was always the first into the fray and gained some renown for the use of combat golems as personal shock troops and enchanted "Dancing Swords" in personal combat. Eventually the war ended and with it he attempted to retire to a life of study and teaching.

Still he continued to be hounded by his fellows and by prospective students, many of whom simply wanted to learn more about his shadow. Sickened, Gwydion moved to the border to try and become a hermit. However, he soon found himself serving as a negotiator between the spirits and sentient animals and the people that lived there as well as serving as a general "magical troubleshooter" of sorts for the locals, secretly finding the work rewarding.

Age: 280

Faction: Gwydion Sinira

Appearance: Looks like a shadow version of Gwydion, though he can reshape himself to resemble different things.

Specialization: As a living shadow, he can travel about easily, change his shape and interact with objects by touching their shadows.

Personality: Much more lighthearted and mirthful than his master and prone to tricks and pranks. He shares Gwydion's kind and helpful heart, and is deeply protective of Gwydion.

Bio: Somehow created via a magical accident during Gwydion's studies, Shadow has travelled with Gwydion throughout his life, and reflects his true nature, serving as his master's only real and constant companion as well as his assistant.

edited 13th Jun '12 4:40:51 PM by Dblade26

@Taco: Given that I've never read to Leviathan trilogy, I don't think you have to worry. :P

Hierarchy

• Circium is ruled solely by the Council of Arch Mages, currently a triumvirate of the most powerful mages in the known world, which exerts absolute control over the rest of Circium from the famed Ivory Tower in the Circite capitol, Acetus. The Academic Elite of Circium, however, are some of the only people who the government cannot intimidate into silence. A relatively small group of powerful Sorcerers and Sorceresses, namely the most accomplished teachers of the colleges, they are permitted to question the decisions of the Council without fear of reprisal, but they must do so discreetly. Nevertheless, they are the only group that is even resemblant of a check on the power of the Arch Mages, and therefore, the two groups don't always get along. The Elite hold significant sway with the general populace, however, so doing away with any of them is seen as a risky gamble that holds the potential to disturb the Status Quo, even sewing the seeds of discontent in the worst-case scenario...
• Anilix is, technically, ruled by a democratically elected president with a congress, all from the famous "Steam Palace" in the capitol city of Takei. But the president has been the same since the very founding of the nation, and new congressmen or women haven't been elected in over twenty years. In actuality, Anilix is essentially a tight-knit community of city-states, each independently governed by the whims of the largest mob. The federal government is strapped for cash, given that it spends impulsively on almost any project that asks for a grant, and evasion of the already paltry tax rate is so common it's taken for granted.

edited 13th Jun '12 7:50:46 PM by Blackfire667

And what of our characters? Are they approved?

Oh, right, yeah, it's all good. Just remember; if you're approaching 300 by, say, 50 years or more, you're getting old. Maybe not physically, but emotionally, mentally, spiritually, etc. After all, the defining war of your nation started 300 years ago! You've lived through one of the most important moment of your peoples' history then watched it all fade away. (or change drastically, at lest)

It's not a big deal, really, just don't go acting like an impulsive, spry whippersnapper when you're +200 years old. Unless you've always been impulsive and energetic, I guess. :P

Ah, this gives a reason for Ciara's purportedly ridiculous kill count and combat skill, then. As well as her desire to make up for it.

Question, though: why do people die at 400?

Hm... somewhat considering joining this.

Are vampires allowed? I've got a couple of character ideas, and one of them is a vampire, so, um, yeah.

edited 13th Jun '12 12:03:38 PM by AnnoR

Four Is Death, of course.

Damn, I was about to say the same thing!

Magic, that's why! That's what you get for adhering to your Ideals of Magic instead of our Laws of Science!

The Border

Mostly founded in the waning years of the Rebellion's aftermath, when the Border was still open and commonly travelled across by people from both sides, the small cities along the then-unsettled outskirts of the fledgling nations were meant as temporary shelters as the larger cities that had once been under the thumb of the Old Empire were reclaimed, repaired and assimilated into either Anilix or Circium.

Eventually, the large cities were fixed, most people moved back to the core of their respective nation, and the two ex-colonies shook hands and parted ways, diplomatically speaking, to focus on their own internal politics, which were still rather messy. This began the slow, gradual decline from friend to enemy, as Circites and Anilixians lost touch with one-another, noticing only the increasing cultural gap between them.

Some, however, did not move back. Some liked the unique camaraderie they shared with their neighbours, people who had stood by each other through think-and-thin to ensure their settlement and its inhabitants survived, some liked the multicultural environment, and others still liked the feeling of the undeveloped frontier, the quiet of the small populations, or the close-knit communities that lasted through generations, regardless of anyone's national allegiance.

Whatever their reasons, a few people stayed, and whatever their allegiance, they have adapted to an open-minded culture of tolerance, respect and cooperation, wherein the traditions of both nations can stand together in harmony or mix almost seamlessly. The Border is also the birthplace of the revolutionary idea that magic and tech can be combined to form something greater, something that could benefit everyone — if only the differences could be put aside!

What about music? Do we have radios, gramophones, magical music producing/sound-transmitting radios? With wireless communications, does that also mean we have some sort of Tesla character? Perhaps Wizard Tesla?

Um, like I asked before, would vampires be allowed?

lolz, well, everyone's got a point, but 400 was really somewhat of an arbitrary cap, mostly because I didn't want a bunch of 10,000 year-olds running around like twenty-somethings... In-game, however, it' because eternal life has yet to be achieved by either science or magic. It remains an undiscovered breakthrough, and depending on who you ask, that's either because the body simply isn't means to last more than 400 years, and mechanical supplements can only do so much, or because the gods simply won't permit it.

Besides, magical immortality is so cliche! :P

@Anno: Er, vampires? No thanks... :/

Anyway... I can't believe I haven't written the rules yet! That, and my own characters! Sheesh, I haven't written this much in ages... How about we skip the Old Empire's overview, and get to RP'ing a little sooner?

• Name: Rebecca Weistrand

• Age: 152

• Appearance: Like this

• Faction/Nation: Border

• Experience: Sorceress/Engineer

• Specialization: Integration of both magic and technology.

• Personality: Filled with never ending curiosity, responsible, bright and empathetic. Rebecca is someone who is boundlessly curious and inventive. While living on the Border she has seen the good and the bad of both nations... which only motivates her further into research to join the two people and the arts of both magic and technology. While enjoying a great amount of freedom due to her station, Rebecca feels a deep seated love and responsibility towards the people of her town, which impulses many of her projects to improve the living conditions of those living there. She is aware of the rising tensions between the two nations and thus knows that should it escalate into full blown war it would be the towns of the Border such as her own those most affected.

• Bio/A Brief History of You: Rebecca is the eldest daughter of Weist town's mayor, in the border between Circium and Anilix, barely on the Anilix side. As is Anilix tradition, elections are held regularly but since Rebecca has memory her father has done a good job and never left the office once. Since very young, Rebecca was a bright and curious young girl, curiosity which led her to pursue her studies from an early age. Given her father's position and wealth, Rebecca had access to good tutors first in her basic education and later into the scientific fields and technology development. However, at the same time Rebecca was in contact with numerous mages, including Katherine Wolfe the niece of the ruler of a neighboring city on the other side of the Border. At first, Rebecca learned a few tricks from Katherine, though as the time went by she was enchanted by both the wonders of magic and beauty of the natural world which could be found further within Circium's territory. It was at this point when Rebecca started to study both magic and technology on parallel, her days filled with endless equations, calculations and designs and her nights filled with spells, circles and magic tomes. It was just a matter of time until she attempted to marry her two passions... an effort which brought about her belief in integration for the two nations, the two peoples. Rebecca labored hard at her craft, becoming one of the most prominent developers of the new outrageous discipline. With a failure rate of more than 75%, Rebecca has had her good share of experiments blowing up in her face, break down before her very eyes and dreams crushed and dashed before harsh reality. However, all these failures just serve to reinforce her determination... and to make her successes all the sweeter.

But it seems like magical power and technology's been growing, so maybe it is possible? Especially with two of the Arch Mages having a focus on life.

@Taco: I suppose you could transmit music magically... I hadn't really given that much thought... And, yes, Anilix has gramophones. Tesla coils and the like, though? I'm apprehensive about really having much in the way of electricity and electronics... I'll allow a few rudimentary experiments with electricity, which is newly discovered and isn't really catching on. 80% failure rate, though! Slightly more than magitech's failure rate of 75%. :P

Hum. Well, I might be able to make this character not-a-vampire... maybe. Hm.

@Raineh: Well, yes, I suppose it's theoretically possible, but it would be quite the undertaking. You'd have to be working on it for quite a long time before a major Eureka moment happens. And even then, you'd have to wait until you actually turned 400, and I don't think the thread will last quite that long... It'd be pretty cool if it did, though! lol

I think it'd be a side effect of delving into what, exactly, constitutes life so much. XD

Hm... right, so, um...

If someone were 100 years old, how old would they act?

I just brought up Tesla because the dude thought up wireless communication such as radio. If we're pre-tesla, though, that's cool.

@Anno: Erm... Like a 25 - 30 year old? I don't know! lol, consider it this way: if your maximum lifespan is 400, and you're 100, that means 1/4 of your life is over! Evidently you'd be an adult by then, but exactly how mature your are from an emotion/mental perspective depends on the personality in question.

@Taco: Yeah, mostly pre-Tesla. Like I said, having electricity makes me a little apprehensive.

edited 13th Jun '12 1:15:36 PM by Blackfire667

Alright, good, eh-heh. Just kind, of, um, since you had a lot of rules I figured I should ask.

Um, right, this idea can still work. Well, time to... um... work.