A Game of Gods Season 4: Interest Check/Signups

I've still been meaning to write another sign up for battleworld, but I do want to get in on this at the ground floor. I was only in frontiers for a short time, but my understanding is its less micro nations competing with each other and more a collective world building, is that right? That might influence what type of territory I will try to go for.

Out of curiosity does a territory have to be stand alone, or could we bring in specialized districts with the hope of other players building off that. Like bringing in a territory in hopes of being used as suburbs or a hospital or a red light district in a larger ongoing Frankenstein city.

Does a territory need to be functional, or can we bring in the equivalent of Ravenholm or Silent Hill? Just a bad place that the residence of the new world now have to deal with.

I'll get brain storming but wanted to see if I should keep it simple or see what I can get away with.

@Ore: As I mentioned, I'll get to responding to you later today, as I'm a bit busy this moment so can only respond to people briefly.

@Alex: Conan is Accepted.

@Neet: Hi, Neet! My intent is that this time it would be collective world-building alongside micro-nations competing and/or cooperating, but without extrinsic motivation like Battleworld's The Cure, so the free agents have the choice of joining up with a territory, being mercenary in nature, or forming their own nations. A smaller territory or district would be fine, but at the same time, my intent with the territory concept is mainly to have them be micro-nations with their own interests and/or geopolitics. If you went with something smaller but decided to bring in a more "proper" territory later, you would need to drop your existing territory once your new territory is accepted.

@Ore: Sorry, I have an additional question that I forgot to ask: What did you have in mind for the max range of Pyra's and Nia's elemental manipulation? By this I mean the range at which she can manipulate existing sources of fire or water or generate more of the element.

I'd say the max in ideal conditions is about 30 feet, since Pyra is a close-range Blade (and the same would apply to Nia). It is said that Blades absorb ether (essentially elemental particles) in the atmosphere, so I'd say it depends on the environment. However, it can be cut off or lessened if an area is too damp (or in Nia's case, too dry).

@Ore: Alright, it's nerfin' time! Please:

• Remove the energy barrier;
• Specify that Nia can't use her power to manipulate the movements of others by moving the water in their bodies;
• And edit into the signup the range limit to the elemental manipulation, as well as the rest of the specifics you went into in your previous response.

Alright, shields are down, catgirl can't go Amon-mode, and all of the nerfbats just rained down on them.

Excellent. Nia and Pyra are accepted.

Edited by darksidevoid on Aug 9th 2022 at 3:54:08 PM

Added an additional rule to the OP: "Prospective players must be willing to join the RP's dedicated Discord chat server for planning and coordination purposes, as we will not be using a discussion thread."

Name: Qilby (pronounced KILL-bee)

Age: Appears to be in his forties, but he's technically as old as his entire species

Work of Origin: Wakfu (primarily the show, since I've never played the MMO)

Appearance: He looks like a one-armed Hippie!

Personality: Qilby is a soft-spoken, even-tempered, and sagely man who enjoys sharing his knowledge with others. While he does not consider himself the cleverest of his kind (that title would go to his brother Chibi), he might reluctantly admit that he could be the smartest eliatrope, since he retains the memories of all his past lives. Qilby uses the experiences from his countless lifetimes to study not only the world around him, but the hundreds of other worlds his kind have visited throughout the universe (what he calls "The Krosmoz"). He has a particular interest in machinery and biology, since the former allows his people to travel the Krosmoz and the latter helps him uphold his conviction that life is sacred and should be preserved and protected.

Since much of Qilby's understanding of the Krosmoz focuses in on its ever-expanding nature and how small everything is by comparison (his understanding of reality very much included), he is going to have a field day with the Frontiers! With so many sentient creatures from so many corners of existence—some even overlapping in near-paralell tributaries of time—he will be able to learn so much from this single anomaly that he might never want to leave! Naturally, of course, this is bound to put him at odds with any characters who will try to make an effort to escape the Frontiers, or to try and find some way to reverse whatever force is pulling things into it.

That said, Qilby detests violence. He finds it brutish and demeaning when there's so many other ways to resolve conflict or achieve an objective. While his eons of experience means that very few things seem to surprise him (instead he reacts with varying levels of disappointment and delight), the one thing that's almost guaranteed to throw him for a loop is destruction without purpose or cause. He's definitely not a fan of the Chaotic third of the character morality grid. All in all, Qilby is a protector of light and order, but rarely from the front lines. He's a helper, a wise adviser, and in some cases a sorcerer with the answers to otherwise impossible problems.

Backstory: Qilby is 1 of the 6 leaders of the eliatropes: a race of immortal alien humanoids born from a mystic egg (called a Dofus) alongside their dragon siblings. When both a dragon and an eliatrope die, their essence returns to the Dofus that they hatched from so that they can be reborn after enough of their energy has returned. Qilby and his twin dragon sister Shenonome are unique among their kind because of their ability to retain the memories of their past lives. While he has long since lost count of how many times he has been born, lived, died, and been reborn, Qilby tends to use 1,000,000 as a ballpark figure.

The dragons and eliatropes are not from the World of Twelve (the setting of Wakfu and its sister series Dofus), but from a planet in one of the far corners of the Krosmoz. After a swarm of robotic monsters called Mechasms attacked and destroyed their homeworld, the eliatropes and dragons were forced to sail across the stars in a ship searching for a place to call home. After thousands of years of traveling they settled on a new world to call their own, and for a time things seemed like they were back before the Mechasms.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to last. One of the strongest Mechasms found this New Homeworld and threatened to tear it to pieces. In a desperate battle that nearly wiped out the twin species Dofus and all, the youngest of each race were sheltered in a parallel dimension while the adults fought (and died) to hold them off. In the ensuing battle, Qilby lost his arm as he watched his sister Shenonome lose her life. Perhaps in an attempt to save the last eliatrope leader, and perhaps out of pity that he could no longer continue to fight, Qilby was forcibly pushed through the same portal to the children's' haven, to guard and guide the next generation for when the battle was over.

But that never came to pass. Not because the planet was destroyed or the twin races were wiped out, but because Qilby's late entry through the portal transported him somewhere else. Somewhere new to not only him, but to all those who were transported there. A frontier the likes of which he had never seen.

Powers/Abilities: The signature magic of the eliatropes is planning, creating, and maintaining portals through space. It is through this power that they were capable of space travel as well as rip open doorways through dimensions. Details on this power (and others) are below:

• Thinking with Portals: Eliatrope portals are similar to the Portal gun in the sense that the simplest gateways are oval in shape and are about the size of the caster, but also share some aspects of Nightcrawler or the D&D "Blink" spell in the sense that the caster doesn't have to reemerge right away. Qilby (and potential passengers) can wait up to 5 seconds after the entry portal closes before the exit portal appears and they must reemerge. That said, once a second portal opens it's not hard to figure out where the person/object is going to reappear. It's arguably the biggest weak point in the basic methods of eliatrope magic.
  • Range and location for portals depends on a few things: Qilby needs to have a clear picture of the location in his head (99% of the time, he must have been there before), the portal must be in the open air, and it must be within 10 miles^note happy to nerf this! of Qilby's present location. An obvious downside to opening portals to areas Qilby cannot see is that he doesn't know what's waiting for him on the other side; his visualization isn't a live feed to the area, so ambushes are absolutely possible. In the show Qilby has proven to be so adept at creating portals that he can open them into parallel realms alongside the World of Twelve, but unless it's part of a GM-run or GM-approved event, I see no reason why he should be able to still do this. Besides, the spell takes a long time to cast, and once he starts it he has to see it through to the end.

  • Other characters can use eliatrope portals as well, so long as they enter one before it closes. I promise never to abruptly close a portal on a character, since that's an incredibly unfair way to maim or kill somebody. Excluding Qilby, no more than 5 characters can enter and exit a pair of portals at once, and the process is not universally adored. Nibler characters who have a clear sense of their position in the world are bound to find portal-travel unnerving and disorienting—some may even get sick. It's tough when you have a clear idea of where you are one moment and are thrown into a completely different position the next. At the very least, I doubt Krillin will be a fan.

• The Force is Strong with This One: Wakfu (the noun) is such a shameless copy of The Force that the character introducing the concept in the show starts talking like Yoda for a bit. It's the ebb and flow of energy that provides and sustains life throughout the Krosmoz, branching out into an endless river across reality. While there is no (arguably arbitrary) definition of "Light" and "Dark" when it comes to Wakfu, people like Qilby are extremely sensitive to it much like the Jedi and Sith, to the point that eliatropes that build strong bonds with others can identify their loved ones' Wakfu over long distances. Qilby will likely know which direction of the night sky he can sense Shenonome, or he will be very offput if he cannot sense her at all, and draw some conclusions about the Frontiers based on that discovery.
  • While the chances of Qilby reaching such a significant bond with anyone's...ehhh, prolly a little way's off, it should be mentioned that Wakfu is not a 1:1 translation to a character's "power level," fighting spirit, or ki. Krillin might sense that a warehouse contains 1 elite mook, 3 thugs, and 5 civilian hostages, but Qilby would sense 9 humans/humanoids, 2 rats, and 843 ants. Experience might hint him towards deducing there's a threat within the warehouse, but just using his Wakfu radar will not. It's basically just raw data with no suggestion of threat level or intent, but like with Krillin's detection methods Qilby cannot sense beings that are 100% artificial.^note Beings like Autobots and Decepticons are a strange gray area we may need to pick a lane on, Void And as with the Jedi and the Sith, just because they can sense a disturbance does not mean they're sensing for an ambush around every corner. Gotta get in the zone, first!

  • Since Wakfu is an energy that provides and sustains life, it's not a stretch to conclude that individuals with naturally large amounts of Wakfu are naturally expected to live a very very very long time. Qilby can detect this large store of Wakfu, and can draw some conclusions on the individual based on what he sees (usually that they're some kind of "immortal" being, or have a lifespan much longer than their appearance would suggest). Having a large amount of Wakfu does not hint Qilby to an individual's age, origin, abilities, fate, or intent. Like I said earlier, it's just raw data.

  • Qilby's pupils glow a cyan color when he is actively scanning the flows of Wakfu around him, so there's a visual tell that he is using this ability.

• I Have Two Characters Who can Use the Kamehameha!: Apart from using portals to either misdirect or redirect an enemy's attacks, the only quiver in Qilby's bow combat-wise is to form 2 portals right on top of one another. The reaction is a violent blast of energy that shoots straight forward for a second before dispersing. The intensity of the blast will vary depending on the size of the portals, and thus the amount of time it takes to complete the rotations. 2 little swirls of Qilby's index finger might make a tiny shot that feels like a bug bite, whereas something that spans his single armspan might threaten to do some damage. But as was stated above (and will be reitterated below), Qilby detests violence, and knows that he's not well-suited for it.

• He's Blinded Me with Science! Magic!: Portals aren't the only things eliatropes can conjure with magic. Unfortunately, due to Qilby's weak condition he can't offer much except for dazzling visuals. The illusions are very obvious (they have same the ethereal blue-green glow as the rest of eliatrope magic) and do not have any sound to accompany them. Qilby used this trick to calm a crying child with a story about two birds in love, but he could probably use it to give an MCU-style high-budget Power-Point if need be.

• I Believe I Can Fly!: It's a bit of a spoiler for the show, but underneath an Eliatrope's hat are a pair of ethereal teal-colored dragon wings attached to the sides of their heads, a little bit above their ears. These allow the Eliatrope to move off the ground, though they do not appear to allow the Eliatrope to fly so much as they can levitate or float. Flying speed's nothing more than 10 mph, but that hardly matters to a creature whose main power is moving through space with portals.

• "Tis but A Scratch!" "A WHAT?! Your Arm's Off!": Qilby is not at the top of his game, in no small part because having 2 arms is really really helpful when it comes to making more than 1 portal at a time. While it is possible for Qilby to make multiple portals with a single arm, anything effective (such as transporting himself or others) is bound to take twice as long due to his disability. If Void approves of it, Qilby might be able to feign being a bigger threat than he is by surrounding a target in a dome of portals, but he'd lack the energy to go through with any bluff he might make. He's not in tip top shape, and isn't eager to throw himself into a fight, but when backed into a corner he'll do whatever he can.

Skills: What Qilby lacks in raw power he makes up for in genius and a near unfathomable amount of life experience. He has provided wise socioeconomic and political council, has made his own major contributions to his kind's understanding of science, magic, reality, and the Krosmoz. There's 0 doubts that he's going to try and take a seat at the table of the Frontiers' leadership, and he'll have the hard-earned wisdom to back many of his claims. He'll likely be all for supporting expeditions throughout the planet to discover what resources are available and how to maximize their use. Inside the confines of civilization, he will be an adamant advocate for universal standardized education and for a push to develop an R&D team as soon as possible. Basically he'll be all for advancing the Frontiers to the standard he was accustomed to when sailing the Krosmoz, even if he plans to remain grounded for the foreseeable future.

Equipment: Nothing for now. We'll come back to this later.

Edited by TheodoreHastings on Aug 23rd 2023 at 6:01:36 AM

@Theo: I would make a "thinking with portals" joke, but you already did it for me, haha! Qilby is accepted.

• Name: Wulfrik the Wanderer (aka the Worldwalker, the Eternal Champion, the Inescapable One)
• Age: Unknown, won't die until killed
• Appearance: Wulfrik◊ the◊ Wanderer◊ is a towering redheaded giant, even for one of the Norsca. Skulls and bones taken from previous victories adorn his ancient suit of enchanted Chaos armor, and his cape was once the scalp of a slain giant.
• Universe: Warhammer Fantasy
• Backstory: Wulfrik once drunkenly boasted of his martial prowess, claiming himself the equal of any warrior in the world. The gods then cursed him for his pride, henceforth he lived forever on the condition that he always prove his boast true. He was given the gift of tongues, that he might deliver challenges in the language of any creature, his words carried on the winds of chaos themselves. No matter how crude his insults and threats, they so incense the listener that they throw caution to the wind, accepting his challenge in their haste to silence him.
  At first, Wulfrik cursed the gods for making him take this vagabond lifestyle instead of letting him rule his tribe. But after he acquired the Seafang,◊ his flying longship, and exacted vengeance upon his father-in-law and the mage who had both betrayed him, he realized how truly blessed he was. Now he travels the world, his Seafang ensuring none can flee him, striking down the greatest warriors and monsters as a demonstration of his devotion to the Chaos gods. To Khorne he offers their skulls, to Nurgle their stinking guts, to Slaanesh their still-beating hearts, to Tzeentch their dying breath.
• Personality: Despite his appearance and his background, Wulfrik is no mindless berserker. To slaughter the defenseless and challenge the meek is of no interest to him, and to offer up such unworthy trophies to the gods would quickly result in his own death, his soul barred from the great feasting halls of Khorne and tortured by daemons for all eternity. Nor will he carelessly throw away his life in battle: the gods have given him a purpose, and he will not spit on their blessings by rising against it. Thus he approaches every battle with the intent to win, and his sense of strategy has been honed by thousands of battles against enemies both brutal and cunning.
  As a servant of the Dark Gods and formerly devoted entirely to Khorne, Wulfrik despises cowardice and trickery (save turning those tricks on their perpetrators), and having been betrayed by mages, has a great deal of contempt for them. Conversely, those who share the values of the Norsca will find him a loud if boisterous ally. Though cruel and short-tempered, he is quite loyal to those he deems his kin.
• Powers/Abilities/Equipment:
  • Wulfrik carries several enormous swords, unremovable Chaos armor that makes him immune to poison and psychological warfare, a shield which cancels magic that hits it (enchanted weapons and such become mere sharpened metal and rock), a spiked crown that slowly mends his wounds, and a brass collar which reduces the effects of magic.^* sometimes deflects or cancels magic without making him immune
    • The Spear of Domination: Wulfrik acquired a spear whose magic allows him to tame metallic beasts and force them to obey his will once he stabs them with it^* The Override spear from Horizon Zero Dawn. Whether it works on non-HZD robots, A.I.s etc. is up to whoever runs them.
    • Wulfrik acquired a weapon from fellow Frontiers prisoner Kylo Ren called a greatsaber, which cleaves through nearly any material of flesh. However, as it kills bloodlessly and instantly, and in some cases leaves no body behind, he deems it unfit to serve the cause of Chaos and only uses it on vehicles, metallic beings, and other fools and cowards hiding in metal boxes.
  • The Gift of Tongues: Wulfrik's greatest curse and greatest blessing. When Wulfrik delivers a challenge to an enemy within sight range, the target hears it in his own language, becomes enraged at the insult no matter how crude or unsubtle, and immediately goes to fight him regardless of the tactical situation just to shut him up. This effectively makes him an omniglot, able to speak with any creature, intelligent or bestial.^* the target and those near it hear the insults in their own tongue, how they respond is up to their player
  • Wulfrik's strength is higher than many mortals, allowing him to prevail against even trolls, dragons and giants.^* max 10k lbs
  • Wulfrik is known to have high tolerance for alcohol, once drinking eight full barrels of Norscan mead before finally collapsing.
  • Cursed by the Gods: Wulfrik's curse is automagically known by mages, who know that killing him with magic will result in the curse transferring to them: they will suffer nightmare and be plagued by the Chaos Gods until they bend to their will, traveling the world and murdering beasts and champions at their bidding, and tortured for eternity once they fail.
  • Eye of the Gods: disabled.
• Canon/Fanon: After being abducted from his rightful fate of slaying heroes and monsters alike by interdimensional beings called "Producers" to participate in a multiversal reality show, the show's ending under unclear circumstances resulted in Wulfrik ending up in yet another world. He was in this world for a long time, eventually regaining his ship, several followers and robotic beasts that obey him, and finally succeeded in escaping, only for his freedom to be denied again, being separated from his crew and ship during the voyage. He now hopes to hear the voice of his masters once more, looking for powerful creatures to kill in an effort to get his life back on track, and looks for his ship.
• Territory: None for now.
• Followers: None for now.

Edited by Chabal2 on Oct 22nd 2022 at 6:08:19 PM

@Chabal: Wulfrik is accepted! It's great to see him again! :D

Edited by darksidevoid on Aug 11th 2022 at 2:03:51 PM

It's taking me a bit longer than I'd like to get something together, but I am in the process of doing such.

Amended Rule 3:

So our current territories is Kayne's little slice of heaven, with the possibility of the ruins of Anor Londo, the tropical Wumpa island, and a pokemon territory which I am assuming is a small town with lots of tall grass. My top current choices are Jirga Para Lhao from gravity rush 2 or Mother Base from Metal Gear 5

Jirga Para Lhao pros: A unique and colorful setting for players to interact with that is both modern and utterly fantastical. As an open city other characters can visit it freely, making it a hub for interactions. Would be fun to see where characters fall in terms of social class and how that effects their interactions. The drastic class divides provides conflict opportunities with groups like the Angry Centipedes or the government's military providing possible antagonists for players. Greed of ruling council or even traders like Lisa and Vogo provides conflict opportunities with other territories as they are more they likely claim resources as their own rather then share. Cast is fun that can provide both light hearted interactions as well as drama.

Jirga Para Lhao cons: Floating islands don't make it easy for others to move around the city freely without the right tools or abilities. Story is a bit complicated with pocket dimensions, time distortions, people who are really other people, in universe retcons, etc. Would need to iron such things out, especially since certain details escape me since its been a couple years.

Mother Base Pros: Self sufficient base allows it to lean into the the more survival aspects of a territory in a new world. An independent state of mercenaries, and being Metal Gear in general, make it rife for political intrigue and drama. Military opera with lots of opportunities for metacontextual naval gazing. Being primarily regular human soldiers, can provide unique point of view (pragmaticism mixed with full awareness of their limitations and consequences of their actions, as opposed to another fictional character who might go "That mayor is a jerk, I am going to single handedly wage war against their entire army!"). True neutral alignment make them able to play both the allies and villain to players, complete with complementary speech about how there is no such thing as an absolute enemy, today's enemies can be tomorrow's allies and vice versa. Recruiting other players allows for Mother Base to develop the quirky mini boss squad common in the series, but made up of characters from other series.

Mother Base Cons: Military base off limits to those not in Diamond Dogs. Tribalism outlook can have them standoffish to those not in Diamond Dogs or not human (plays Not Your Kind of People by Garbage). Given modern military tactics is all about doing everything in your power to make sure you are not in a fair fight, and game play largely being about stealthily taking every one out before anyone even realizes you are there, engagements against the Diamond Dogs can largely be about denying a player every advantage they have while trying to force them into a disadvantageous position, rather then a clash of two titans at their best.

A few other ideas are Rengkok from Ruiner to provide cyberpunk dystopia hub, another crack at Santa Destroy from No More Heroes to see if I can get others to join the UAA this time around, or a chunk featuring the Sisters of Battle from WH 40 K just for the culture clash when other territories meet the nuns with guns.

Basically long post just to say I am indecisive, but thinking about it. Out of curiosity, what are the GM territories going to look like so I have a better idea how the world will look starting out? Oh, and how many characters can be in a territory?

Edited by ImmortalNeet on Aug 13th 2022 at 11:21:21 AM

Alrighty, this one's gonna be big, so I'll try to keep things short.

Name: Gwyndolin, the Dark Sun

Age: Unknown, but supposedly ancient, considering their father started the Age of Fire

Appearance: "Hear the voice of mineself, Gwyndolin, and kneel before me."

Universe: Dark Souls 1 long before a sludge abomination started eating them

Personality: Gwyndolin is a schemer, and a rather clever one at that. Their affiliation with illusion magic helps make what's really a terrible and tragic state seem warm, awe-inspiring, and grandiose. While they are technically in charge of everything because all the other gods are either dead, undead, or abandoned Anor Londo, Gwyndolin prefers to be in a supporting role, tucked away in the shadows where nobody can see.

Gwyndolin has a strict sense of right and wrong, and falls neatly into the "Well-Intentioned Extremist" trope of seeking vengeance against evildoers. Those who share in Gwyndolin's "eye for an eye" philosophy will find a promising ally in the Dark Sun. While the Blades of the Darkmoon are essentially disbanded on the Frontiers, those who swear fealty to Gwyndolin will always be welcome within Anor Londo...so long as they do not let their curiosity get the better of them.

Surprisingly, Gwyndolin holds their father and sister in a much higher regard than themselves. Despite being the ruler of Anor Londo, they don't sit atop a throne—they sit in a simple chair beside the massive, empty coffin of Lord Gwyn. While the Dark Sun expects to be addressed with the respect of a Lord (essentially a god), they can and will tolerate some rude behavior from mortals. However, insult either Gwyn or Gwynevere and that tolerance is DEFINITELY going to end. This short fuse hints to a deep love Gwyndolin has towards his family, even showing half-dragon "abomination" relatives like Priscilla and (much later) Yorshka far more affection than anyone else; the latter is even treated as an equal.

And, as you've no doubt noticed by now, Gwyndolin's gender is ambiguous and not really defined in-game or in the lore. They will go by "he," "she," or "they," since they don't really care what pronouns are used so long as those addressing them give the respect a Lord is due.

Backstory: Like many people and places and things in From Software games, Gwyndolin is an enigmatic figure. They were last born child of Gwyn, who eliminated the eternal dragons and brought forth the Age of Fire. While biologically male, Gwyndolin was raised female due to their affiliation with the moon. As they grew up, it became clear that Gwyndolin had great talents in magic, archery, and strategy; skills that made them an ideal adviser to the Lord of Fire, if only behind closed doors.

When the Age of Fire first threatened to end and Gwyn sacrificed himself to sustain it, Gwyndolin had to plan ahead for an unfortunate fact: no matter how incredible their father was, even his body could not keep this Age alive forever. There would come a time when someone would need to take his place. To that end, Gwyndolin began a long and complicated scheme to get the most despised members of human society—those who bear the curse of the Undead—to travel to the kingdom of Lordran, prove themselves, and ultimately succeed Lord Gwyn. With the help of the Primordial Serpent Frampt, Gwyndolin would find willing sacrifices to perpetuate their father's legacy, and sustain the Age of Fire.

...or they would have, had Gwyndolin not awoken to find that Londor was now far, far away.

Powers/Abilities: Gwyndolin specializes in magic, and can do some fun things with it.

• Teleporting: Gwyndolin is not an athletic person, so they use magic for most of their agility. By casting a spell that surrounds them in golden light, Gwyndolin can teleport up to 100 feet in 1 direction, so long as it's in clear line of sight. This spell cannot take passengers, and Gwyndolin is completely vulnerable for the 3 seconds it takes to cast the spell.

• Soul Arrow Barrage: One of the basic spells in Dark Souls 1 is called Soul Arrow, in which a blue light the size of a fist soars from a caster's wand towards the target. Using their scepter, Gwyndolin can cast up to 8 Souls Arrows with a single gesture. These orbs of light move about as fast as a sprinting athlete and have limited tracking, so they're far from unavoidable. Plus they disperse at first contact, so hiding behind something's a guaranteed way to beat this.

• Soul Spear: Another move that looks a lot like what players can do, Soul Spear is Soul Arrow's bigger, more threatening older brother. Gwyndolin can only cast 1 Soul Spear at a time, but it moves much faster than the Soul Arrows—closer to 50 MPH. Because of its speed, Soul Spear does not have any tracking capabilities. While Soul Spear also disperses at first contact, it's bound to leave a sizeable dent on most cover.

• Semi-Automatic Bow?: Gwyndolin is a gifted archer—so gifted, that they can shoot 5 arrows in a row with just 1 shot! Naaah just kidding, this is some magic BS. Gwyndolin's good enough to accurately aim at a moving target though, so that's something. Nothing particularly special about these arrows though, so cover and sturdy protective measures are going to stop any real damage.

• Rain of Arrows: Kinda cheating here using a move from Dark Souls 3, but dammit it's too cool and flashy not to use. You know that fantasy staple where a character looks up and just sees a cloud of arrows falling down like raindrops? Gwyndolin has a spell that does that. Firing a single shot skywards while reciting a spell leads to a 10 second torrent of arrows that follows the target. This is hands-down Gwyndolin's strongest attack, but even though it can threaten to turn somebody into a pin cushion, it's by no means unavoidable. It should also be stated that this spell can only target 1 individual, and that friendly fire (even leading the torrent to rain on Gwyndolin) is a very real possibility.

• Illusions: Gwyndolin's greatest magic has little to do with combat. They are capable of creating massive and intricate illusions that look and sound completely real. The Dark Sun has used this ability to create a fake Gwynevere to guide the Chosen Undead towards rekindling the First Flame, as well as bathe Anor Londo in an eternal sunset and its magic is so potent that the illusions will remain even if Gwyndolin were to die.

Skills: Gwyndolin is a talented strategist, and knows a great deal about their world and how it works. That knowledge might prove useful when dealing with their supposedly former Brother-in-Law, Seath the Scaleless. Apart from that, they're well trained in etiquette and will probably take a shot at diplomacy, masquerading as the ambassador to Anor Londo, on behalf of their sister Gwynevere.

Equipment: Gwyndolin carries a gold scepter that doubles as their wand, as well as an ornate bow. While I personally believe that they're just an illusion to make them seem more intimidating, it should be noted that there are vipers under Gwyndolin's dress.

Territory and Followers: Gwyndolin is in charge of the lost city of Anor Londo, former home to the gods and the capital of the kingdom of Lordran. While there are many demons, giants, and knights at the Dark Sun's command, there are a few important figures that will be supporting Gwyndolin in one way or another:

• The Darkmoon Knightess: The first friendly face (uhhh, helmet) almost anybody will see upon entering Anor Londo is this woman, who serves as the Fire Keeper of the city. She's undoubtedly the closest person to Gwyndolin, since she knows more about Anor Londo's secrets than anyone but the Dark Sun. While she normally seems friendly and welcoming, it should be noted that she's a skilled fighter with a rapier and dagger infused with magic. She's a Blade of the Darkmoon, after all—assassination is her bread and butter.

• Dragonslayer Ornstein:◊ The captain of Lord Gwyn's knights and close friend to the now Nameless King, Ornstein is charged with protecting the Lady Gwynevere at all costs. He's an incredibly skilled fighter who specializes in spear combat and using magical lightning to defeat his foes—skills that he honed in the war against the eternal dragons. While he takes his responsibility of guarding Gwynevere's chamber very seriously, it seems doubtful that he knows that there's nobody actually there; it's just an illusion made by Gwyndolin. Should he ever learn the truth, it's very likely that he will abandon his post and become a free agent.

• Executioner Smough: A massive 10 foot tall cannibal who was granted his position by Lord Gwyn based on his sheer might. Smough is a curious figure, one who has been given the charge of guarding Lady Gwynevere's chamber alongside Ornstein. They both take their roles very seriously, but while Ornstein longs for his glory days of dragon slaying (and believes guard duty is utterly dull in comparison), Smough feels an immense sense of pride in his job. He's loyal to Gwyn and his family for giving him honor, rank, and subsequently purpose. It's this loyalty that will keep him at his post until his last breath.

Name: Seath the Scaleless

Age: Ancient (at least older than Gwyndolin)

Appearance: The Father of Sorcery

Personality: Seath is...well, he's Coocoo for Cocoa Puffs. Paranoid, isolated, and caring only about his own life and the pursuit of more knowledge, Seath has no interest in meeting with the "lesser" creatures of the Frontiers, let alone cooperating with them. The only thing they have to give him are their minds, bodies, and souls, which he will use to conduct more of his experiments. He has his sorcerers target young women with strong convictions—qualities that make them candidates for Fire Keepers back in Lordran, but the Doylist definition will be "player characters," since Seath isn't trying to make friends.

With his crystal intact, Seath is going to be one arrogant motherfucker. He's a full throttle villain, here to openly antagonize the Frontiers starting more-or-less from Day 1.

Backstory: Seath was born with a mutation that left him without the protective near-indestructible scales of his brethren. Due to this condition, Seath was treated as an outcast, which led him to gain a deep resentment for the other dragons. When Gwyn rose to power alongside Nito and the Witch of Izalith, Seath saw an opportunity to get his revenge on his brethren. The scaleless dragon betrayed his brothers and sisters in favor of the First Flame, a treason that helped spell the end of almost all eternal dragons, as well as the Age of Stone.

Gwyn—now a full-fledged Lord—did not forget Seath's help in the war against the dragons. As a sign of trust and friendship, he granted the dragon a shard of the Lord's Soul, the title of Duke, and gifted him a massive facility on the outskirts of Anor Londo. It was here where Seath began to research a means to give himself the one quality he lacked from birth: invulnerability.

Years passed. The Age of Fire waned to an end, and Lord Gwyn committed the First Sin and defied the natural order, prolonging his age beyond its time. Seath hardly noticed; his research had driven him deeper and deeper into madness, until finally he perfected the magic that would protect him from all harm: a crystal, which he kept hidden deep within a cavern spawned from the courtyard of his archives. With his invulnerability secured, Seath was now free to conduct other experiments—specifically, on young maidens who show promise of becoming Fire Keepers.

It is in the midst of this pursuit of research subjects that Seath finds himself far from Lordran, on a world teeming with all kinds of toys to break...

Powers/Abilities: Seath's move set is pretty limited. Guess you don't need to really focus on making up new moves when you're invulnerable. Speaking of which...

• Invulnerability: I wasn't going to add this at first, but Void encouraged me to try it out. If Seath has this (or at least still thinks he has this) it'll give me an excuse for him to be aggressively evil from the get-go. As it says on the tin, this crystal grants Seath physical and magical invulnerability, like an invisible barrier on his skin. This connection to the crystal is remote and intangible, and while there isn't a range limit for its effects, Seath isn't going to be leaving the Duke's Archives anytime soon. After all, something might happen to it while he's away.
  • In contrast to Seath, the crystal is incredibly fragile and will break on contact. When it does, its effect ends and Seath will be vulnerable again. He lacks the ability to repair or replace this crystal, so once it's broken, that's the end of his invulnerability.

  • In the game, the crystal is a heavily-guarded secret—one that's only uncovered by Big Hat Logan when he's reading through the Duke's library. On the Frontiers, I think it's safe to say that this little secret won't be secret for long. Whether by discovering it like Logan did or by following some kind of magical signal it radiates, sooner or later (prolly sooner) playable characters are going to find out about it.

  • I'm including this ability in-part because I'm aware of 2 important details: the playable characters are not The Chosen Undead, and they aren't restricted to the limits of Dark Souls 1. What amounts to a broken mechanic and the only unavoidable death in the game can be much much more manageable for characters who can use the environment to their advantage or can use abilities that aren't available to the Undead. This is a strictly defensive advantage, and while Seath isn't going to be afraid to flaunt it, he isn't going to be leaving his library to pick fights with people himself; he's got far too much experimentation to do!

• Flight: As a dragon with wings, Seath is capable of flight. That said, his body isn't really designed to stay in the air for very long, so don't expect him to partake in aerial combat. There's only 1 point in the game where he flies, and that's when you're a few feet away from smashing his crystal. I don't speak dragon, but I think the roar he lets out translates to "Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!!!" so I wouldn't consider the speed in which he zooms down to fight you is his normal flying speed.

• Crystal Breath: Pretty much all of Seath's magical attacks revolve around shooting out a white beam of magic from his mouth. Upon contact with the ground, walls, or potentially the target, crystals begin to suddenly grow. The crystals can range from 1 to 6 feet in height depending on how long Seath fires in a single spot. These crystals break within a matter of moments, but they can prove a difficult obstacle to avoid—those points at the top aren't dull!
  • If the Crystal Breath manages to hit a target (a rare occurrence, since Seath doesn't aim so much as he carpet bombs an area and lets the AoE crystal sprouts do the dirty work) the point of contact will be covered in crystal on a surface level. Get it on your jacket, it won't pierce you through your jacket. Even if it hits flesh, the condition isn't like frostbite; it's covered in a crystal shell that will need some form of solution (magic? acid? a very delicate jackhammer?) to remove—no circulation is lost and the flesh beneath the crystal is unharmed. Much like Krillin and Qilby, I'm not interested in maiming characters, and I DEFINITELY don't want to inflict the infamous "Curse" ailment from Dark Souls 1!

• Seath Smash!: Apart from the above, it should be noted that Seath is a big ass dragon, and has 3 tails to flail about to hit his targets. He can also try to squish his enemies with his fists. Not much else to say about this, really. Might be funny to watch him punch a fellow dragon like Rayquaza!

Skills: Seath knows a lot about magic and its effects on the world. He's credited as the Father of Sorcery in the world of Dark Souls, and it can be assumed in his saner days that Seath shared his knowledge with the kingdoms of man. Nowadays, it's doubtful he'll be sharing anything with anybody. Not unless they serve him, or wind up as the subject of one of his experiments.

Equipment: Aside from the crystal, there's a bizarre secret within the Scaleless dragon's back tail: the legendary Moonlight Greatsword can be found within it! When held with both hands, the user can channel the blade's magic to release a wave of energy with a swing. Finders keepers to whoever gets to chop off that tail for some sweet random loot!

Territory/Followers: Seath is the head of the archives on the border of Anor Londo. His primary followers include tall sorcerers known as Channelers who travel the world in search of test subjects for Seath to conduct experiments on, and the strange serpentine humanoids known as Snakemen who serve as wardens to the jail-like holding area for the test subjects.

Then there's the test subjects themselves, usually either covered in or composed of crystals, as well as some truly abominable creatures known as the Piasca◊. I can go into detail as to what all these enemies can do, but they're all fairly basic aside from the Channelers, who can cast buff spells on nearby enemies, shoot Soul Arrow spells, and teleport to areas within 50 feet and in line of sight. Let me know if you'd like more, though!

Name: Crossbreed Priscilla

Age: Unknown, but she's likely been around for a few centuries.

Appearance: "This land is peaceful, its inhabitants kind, but thou dost not belong."◊

Personality: Priscilla is about as close to a pacifist as the Dark Souls trilogy gets. She doesn't want to hurt anyone, and is primarily concerned with watching over the denizens of the Painted World. When she's confronted by the Chosen Undead, she tries to reason with them and instruct them on how to leave Ariamis. The Painted World is a safe haven for the lost and abandoned; there's little it can offer someone who already has a home.

That said, she's not a pushover, nor is she so Pollyanna as to pretend that her words would never fall on deaf ears. After all, she wields a weapon even the gods fear; it's only a matter of time before someone tries to take it from her.

Priscilla finds the Frontiers to be quite an enigma. It will take a great deal of convincing to get her to leave the Painted World—she might not even believe that such a thing's possible, at first—but if she ever does, it's possible that she might conclude that the Frontiers is based on a similar premise as Ariamis. Talk about life imitating art!

Backstory: Crossbreeds are the rare offspring of a dragon and a god. Since both factions were opposing sides in the war that ended the Age of Stone, it's no mystery why crossbreeds are considered abominations—they're literal representations of "fraternizing with the enemy." Considering her size and the color of her hair, it's suggested that Priscilla is the child of Lady Gwenevere and Seath the Scaleless; though if she knows her parentage, she's not about to share.

Whether she was given it by someone (likely Velka, Goddess of Sin) or she created it herself, Priscilla's life-stealing magic was powerful enough to even frighten the gods. Were her weapon in the hands of a mortal, there would be no telling how much chaos that one individual could inflict. If being a crossbreed wasn't enough to sentence her to a lifetime imprisonment, her power certainly was.

Priscilla has been in the Painted World for a long, long time. She has found peace in Ariamis, and has come to view the other residents of the painting not as prisoners, but as refugees. The world outside Ariamis is harsh, violent, and unfathomably cruel. While it may be cold and dark, at least the Painted World is a gentle place.

Powers/Abilities: Priscilla isn't much of a fighter. In fact, she was supposed to be the main heroine of the game before the developers decided to use Fire Keepers to fulfill that role instead.

• Lifehunt Scythe: Priscilla's primary weapon is a powerful magic scythe that drains the life out of anyone who wields it, excluding her. I can't really think of a way to translate the "Bleed" status ailment into an RP, so just know that this really big, fairly heavy weapon is a cursed object that drains stamina upon contact, as well as just being a stupidly sharp blade.

• Fairy Dust: Priscilla's other means of dealing damage comes in the form of a spell. By taking a deep breath and supporting it with her hand (almost like blowing somebody a kiss) Priscilla can blow out a snowy mist of magic that harms the target on-contact. The mist lingers in a cloud about 15 feet in diameter, before dispersing after 5 seconds.

• Invisibility: Priscilla can turn invisible in an attempt to avoid a confrontation or hide from enemies. There isn't a telltale shimmer Predator-style, but she IS about 10 feet tall and the seam of her dress (skin?) is only a few inches above the ground. It won't be too tough for an observant character to figure out where she is. She might be pretty quiet, but she can't hide her footprints!

Skills: Priscilla would easily fill in as "The Heart" in a 5 Man Band. She's kind and empathetic, and while she has learned from experience not to trust everything a person says, she is always willing to grant people the benefit of the doubt. If she gets convinced to leave the Painted World, I can definitely see her trying to contribute to the Frontiers on a humanitarian front. She wants to help people, and has a knack for befriending others and figuring out what she can do to meet their needs.

...just don't mistake her kindness as an invitation to flirt with her. "Thine desires shall be requited not."

Equipment: Just the Lifehunt Scythe.

Territory/Followers: It's tough to say whether the monstrosities in the Painted World of Ariamis try to guard Priscilla, or protect her, but I'm willing to bet that she's managed to win them all over. The presence of Velka's imagery suggests that Priscilla has a very powerful deity looking out for her, so it's possible she had some help getting the approval of her fellow refugees.

Much like the Duke's Archives, there's not a ton to say about Priscilla's "followers," apart from probably the half-rotten Undead Dragon◊ that likes to perch near the Painted World's exit. It can breathe a poisonous gas as well as do standard predatory attacks like bite and swipe at folks, but it can't fly or move around easily—trying to be agile threatens to tear apart more sinews.

Name: Darkstalker Kaathe

Age: Unknown, but presumably older than Gwyn, which would make him at least rivaling Seath the Scaleless in age. It wouldn't be hard to argue that Kaathe and the other Primordial Serpents are among the oldest creatures in the world of Dark Souls

Appearance: "I can guide thee, and illuminate the truth."◊

Personality: Kaathe is an enigmatic creature that dwells within the fathomless Abyss located beneath the abandoned ruins of New Londo. Though his motives are unknown, he holds a clear disdain for the present Age of Fire and its artificial preservation, which he seems to view as meddling with the natural order of the world. Another Primordial Serpent—Kingseeker Frampt—betrayed his kind and befriended Lord Gwyn, and continues to try and undermine the coming of the Age of Dark. Though Kaathe condones Frampt's interference, he merely says that the Kingseeker has "lost his sense," and does not seem to hold much animosity for Frampt personally.

Perhaps Kaathe simply assumes that Frampt is doomed to fail sooner or later. Above all else, it appears that Kaathe is an incredibly patient creature.

Kaathe is not an "evil" figure, exactly, but his dedication to plunge the world into the Age of Dark (a.k.a. the Age of Man) puts him at odds with the status quo and all of the virtuous figures that try to preserve it, whether they're aware of the Age of Fire's many faults or not. As such, he is more likely to ally with the darker forces on the Frontiers, so long as the ultimate goal is to bring back the "true" form of humanity and set it back as the rightful ruler of the world.

To some, Kaathe is considered a monster who wants to destroy the world. To others, he is a revolutionary who seeks to dismantle a rotten system that helps no one but the lords clutching to their fading power.

Kaathe's favor for humanity (and his search for the Dark Lord who will be born among them) will probably render him a temporary ally to the inhuman BBEGs on the planet. Though it's uncertain whether or not he can be killed by conventional means, he seems incapable of completely leaving the Abyss. Instead, he elects to use others to impose his will in Lordran, and now, on the Frontiers. Considering that it's not unheard of for Darkwraiths to betray Kaathe's cause^note such as Kirk, the Knight of Thorns, that could prove problematic for the Primordial Serpent later on.

Background: As one of the Primordial Serpents, Kaathe has been around for a very, very very long time. He seems to have some sense of the natural order of the world. Since he champions the push to usurp Gwyn's era of gods and bring forth the Age of Man, he is remarkably influential among the humans who have grown disillusioned with the status quo, and humanity's squandered position within it. Humans who venture too close to the Abyss often feel the allure of the Dark, and Kaathe openly encourages those humans to embrace it; after all, it is their ancestral birthright.

Kaathe searches for the Dark Lord of mankind, who will bring about the end to the Age of Fire and herald the third Age of the world: the Age of Dark. To that end, he has granted his followers—Undead humans called Darkwraiths—the ability to strip people of the presentable shell that makes them resemble Lord Gwyn and his ilk. This "lifedrain" power sapped people of their Humanity, and rendered them charred husks of creatures known as Hollows. According to Kaathe and those who would align with his philosophy many years later, this Hollowed state is the true identity of mankind, for it resembles the frame of their first ancestor who obtained a soul from the First Flame: a feeble, but powerful Dark Soul.

To date, Kaathe's greatest victory against Gwyn's Age of Fire appears to be the corruption of New Londo's Four Kings, which ultimately led to one of the greatest secrets and most humiliating failures in Lordran's history. Once valiant supporters of Lord Gwyn, the Four Kings were tempted by the power of lifedrain that Kaathe offered. They allowed the Age of Fire's greatest surviving threat—the Abyss—into the city of New Londo, and the Darkwraiths housed within it began to massacre the populace without mercy or hesitation. Desperate to contain a threat so close to the kingdom's capital, Gwyndolin ordered three sorcerers to do the unthinkable, and flood the entire city—civilians and all. Ingward the Sorcerer still watches over the seal to this day.

Yet even under fathoms of water, Kaathe, the Abyss, the Darkwraiths, and the now wraith-like Four Kings still live. They await one who will break the seal and release the floodwaters from the ruins of New Londo, so that they can once again resume their search for the Dark Lord.

Powers/Abilities: Kaathe is a non-combative character. Whether he can actually fight or simply finds the practice beneath him is a bit of a mystery, but he appears content to guide others in a direction that would accomplish his goals. Rather than take part in battle himself, Kaathe grants power to those who ally or follow him—specifically, the power to sap people of their so-called "Humanity."

• The Power of Big Succ: Kaathe is capable of granting his followers an ability called Dark Hand, which offers 2 important benefits: it serves as a reliable (albeit small and low-durability) shield for the user, and it allows the user to sap the vitality out of their victims. Much like Priscilla's Lifedrain Scythe, this ability doesn't translate super-well for an RP like this, so let's say that it can drain the victim's stamina—the exact amount can be decided among players, but it is nonlethal very much by-design. Since Dark Hand literally radiates around one's right or left hand, its range is very limited. The shield can protect the user's body up to a 3-foot diameter circle centered on the palm. In order to use Lifedrain, the user must be in direct physical contact with the victim.

• Nazgûl Cosplay Gear: Kaathe provides his Darkwraiths with armor that looks intimidating and metal as fuck, along with a sword that's ALSO intimidating and metal as fuck◊. There are no rules forbidding anyone from signing up for the Darkwraiths just for the fashion!

Skills: Again, these are non-combative features, since this Toothy Worm Boy don't like to get his non-existent hands dirty.

• Up is Down: Kaathe is a creature who is right at home in the ever-fluid physics of the Abyss, and thus is immune to its inconsistent fluxes of direction and gravity (more on this later). If anyone were to become trapped in the Abyss, Kaathe could easily guide them out—so long as both parties reach an understanding, first.

• "Do not cite the Deep Lore to me, Witch. I was there when it was written.": Kaathe probably knows more about the history of the world than anyone else in Dark Souls 1. He is the only character in-game to mention the Furtive Pygmy, who inherited the Dark Soul from the First Flame and went on to sire the human race. He appears to know more about the fate of the world than anyone else in the game, regardless of their alignment. In other words, he is a very important witness to explain how Anor Londo and the gods above aren't as benevolent as they like to pretend to be.
  • "What is a man? Nothing but a miserable pile of secrets!": While it's pretty clear that Kaathe care much more about the fate of the world than he does about humans in particular, he has had more than enough experience dealing with them to draw some solid conclusions about how they think and what motivates them. He's the leader of a revolutionary humanity-sapping murder cult, after all; the guy has to be doing something right to keep growing his following. Chances are he'll draw similar conclusions about how humans from other worlds operate, and plan any interactions he has with outsiders accordingly.

  • "I have approximate knowledge of many things...": That said, his knowledge is far from limitless, and it's possible that his own ego/wishful thinking blinds him to how badly things have been thrown off course. Kaathe is downright wrong in his prediction that finding the Dark Lord will bring about the next Age, since Gwyn's meddling has pulled the world into an unending cycle. Either the Light fades and brings forth Dark, or Dark reigns until the embers of Light return to challenge it; a perpetual cycle of Light and Dark that leaves the world in a strange form of limbo. All this goes to say that no matter how sage and mystical he may seem, Kaathe is perfectly capable of messing up a prediction!

Equipment: None.

Territory: I'll go into detail about New Londo Ruins in the main territory section, but I think that the Abyss is specific enough to Kaathe to merit going into detail here.

The Abyss is...nebulous, when it comes to following the rules of the outside world. Canonically one needs a magic ring just to find solid ground in it, otherwise you'll fall and fall and fall until you eventually die. As far as physics goes, I tend to view it a bit like the quarantine zone beyond Hell's Gate from Darker Than Black or the White Dimension from Wakfu. To translate this ever-shifting dilemma into a gameplay mechanic, I propose this rule:

For every full round of combat in the Abyss (players will probably face the Four Kings if they jump in unannounced), I will roll a D6. The number it lands on will be the direction gravity shifts, with a maximum distance of 15 feet as the potential fall.

1 = Up (gravity reverses), 2 = Left, 3 = Right, 4 = Front, 5 = Back, 6 = Down (nothing changes)

Whether he is visible or not, I will use Kaathe's position as the True North of this shifting, and will not change his position for the duration of combat.

Characters who can fly, levitate, or generate their own gravity field will have resistance to these shifts. However, they will still be effected by it, if only to adjust course.

I see little reason to employ this rule outside of combat...unless it's for mutually agreed-upon lulz.

Followers: Much like Seath and Gwyndolin, Kaathe has proper followers who (usually) follow his orders. The edicts of the Darkwraith covenant are very broad—mostly just "steal people of their Humanity whatever way you like"—but they can be mustered into a small but non-replenishable fighting force of elite mooks, somewhere between 200 and 300 strong in total.

• The Four Kings:◊ Kaathe's strongest forces serve as his personal guards. These 15-foot tall wraith-like creatures wield equally large halberds that they can use to cleave knight and horse in a single swoop. They are also capable of casting dark magic projectiles from a distance, and can use the Lifedrain ability to sap the strength out of their victims.^note The same distance limitation applies. Much like Kaathe, the Four Kings are immune to the distortions of the Abyss, and will use the fluid environment to their advantage in battle.

Name of the Territory: The Lost City of Anor Londo (or just Anor Londo for short)

Universe of Origin: Dark Souls 1

Description: Anor Londo is the capital of Lordran and the former seat of power for Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight. Its architecture appears to be primarily Gothic, with real-world inspirations including Mont Saint-Michel◊ in Normandy. According to the opening cut scene of the game, the image of Lordran shows that Anor Londo appears to be cut off from the rest of the kingdom by a giant wall on top of a plateau, with an even larger mountain just a short distance from the city's limits. There are a few (fan-made?) images that help illustrate the geography. This one's hands-down my favorite!

As far as size goes, it's safe to say that (like many modern cities) Anor Londo stretches upwards more often than outwards. For a modern reference, let's spitball that the city proper itself is 5 miles wide, while the inclusion of the Duke's Archives on the mountain adds another mile. With the city being about 7 miles long that will mean that the entire territory will cover about much space as Paris (not including surrounding urban and suburban areas).

For the heck of it, I'm going to say that Anor Londo is on the same ground as its neighbors. It still has walls, but those walls will have gates that will remain open for almost all occasions. Let's say that there are 13 gates in all with 6 scattered on both lines of the big "U" shape the city makes in the Lordran shot, and 1 at the base of said "U." There are no gates that will allow newcomers to head straight for the Duke's Archives—you need to go through the city and up the mountain pass to reach it.

Contents/Locations: There are 2 really big structures in Anor Londo: the Palace, and the Duke's Archives. New Londo Ruins can be find deep below the capital city, currently only accessible through underground tunneling.

• The Palace: This magnificent structure stands at the heart of Anor Londo. It's the seat of power of both Lordran's faith and politics, and houses the city's cathedral, Lady Gwenevere's chambers, the tomb of Lord Gwyn, and a wide range of areas including bedrooms, kitchens, living areas, trophy rooms, scenic rooftops balconies, and many many many secrets.
  • Lady Gwenevere's chambers are heavily guarded, and will remain so even without any hopes of a Chosen Undead. She seldom gives anyone an audience, least of all strangers. To be granted a chance to meet with the Goddess of Sunlight, one will have to convince her younger sibling Gwyndolin that a meeting is a good idea. Otherwise any Peeping Toms seeking and Amazing Chest are going to have to answer to Ornstein and Smough.

  • The Tomb of Lord Gwyn is off limits to everyone. Gwyndolin treats it as sacred ground and will become hostile to anyone who tries to trespass. It's one of the easiest ways to get on Anor Londo's shit list, right next to being rude to Gwenevere, so don't try it unless you want the entire city against you. Have fun with the archers!

  • Accessible to the Palace via a giant outdoor elevator is another church, and while this one's still incredibly big (easily 100 feet tall), it pales in comparison to the palace. The inside the church is mostly empty aside from the marble floors, lifelike statues of the Lord Gwyn and his daughter, and a monastery full of mysterious figures with rogue-like weapons and agility◊ who protect the most eye-catching object within: an ominous painting◊ that stretches to the ceiling of the church. Should anyone be foolish enough to touch this strange work of art, they will find themselves stuck to the canvas—only to be slowly devoured into the painting itself!

• The Painted World of Ariamis: Within the giant painting is a cold and melancholy collection of ruins under a wintery moonlight sky. Its structures are mainly old stone craft that's threatening to crumble into the abyss below. Noteworthy areas include the colosseum-like structure that's about 60 feet from top to bottom (the tallest building around), the courtyard, the underground waterway and series of narrow tunnels that lead to the bottom of the courtyard's well, and the aqueduct that leads to the little plot of Ariamis that Crossbreed Priscilla calls home—right next to the plank leading to the exit.

• The Duke's Archives:◊ Overlooking Anor Londo is a large research facility with what appears to be a giant white flame or flower bursting from its courtyard. The Duke's Archives is a monolith to magical/scientific discovery, as well as the library for the largest collection of sorcery texts in Lordran—and quite possibly the world. While the library and courtyard aspects of the Archives can appear quite magnificent, the entire facility takes a dark turn the farther up or the farther down one travels.
  • In the upper levels of the facility, the stone floors and walls are gradually replaced with crystal. Seath the Scaleless resides in the highest room of the archives, where he fumbles through text after text of theories to test out. He's guarded by a lone servant and admirer known as the Crystal Knight, who serves as Seath's secretary and representative. While his armor and weapon (a crystal greatsword) are initially stronger than steel, they have a brief lifespan and will break after a short skirmish. Surrounding Seath's room lie an eerie collection of life size statues made of crystal. They're shaped like people in various poses of agony, and serve as a warning and testament to the eternal dragon's power.

  • In the depths of the archives lie even more disturbing sights. The lower levels of the library have had their shelves gutted for storage space. Crystal-reinforced steel bars now line the heart of the archives, where prisoners (most of them young women) are tossed inside to await their chance to become test subjects. Snake men serve as their wardens, with the help of the brainwashed Piasca. Without the key to both one's cell and the key to the exit far above, few Undead have any hope of making it out alive.

  • Deeper still—in the flowering crystal cavern sprouting from the courtyard—lies an otherworldly scene of sorcery run rampant. Massive Moonlight butterflies◊ soar through a cave that seems to eat through the heart of the mountain, where life-saving crystal bridges lie invisible to the naked eye and monstrous crystal golems◊ threaten to smack unwary trespassers off these bridges down to their doom. Deeper still lie the man-eater shells,◊ which makes its soft mollusk-like tissue out of the skulls of its victims. Beyond these abominations lies a single crystal in the farthest corner of the cave. Whether it's by some unseen connection to it, or the magical equivalent of a silent alarm, Seath is acutely aware of anyone who steps foot in this chamber, and is very quick to demonstrate that any trespassers have just made their last mistake.

• New Londo Ruins:◊ Deep below the capital city lies the ruins of Lordran's greatest failure. The city of New Londo was once a prosperous gem of the kingdom, but it was tainted by the Abyss and was soon overrun by Darkwraiths. In an act of desperation and potential cowardice, the city was locked away and flooded to prevent the Abyss from seeping further into Lordran. The poor souls who were trapped behind the sealed gates drowned, but even beneath the flooded city's surface, the Darkwraiths and the Abyss still remain. Along with something else, waiting deep within the void...
  • New Londo is a dead city, in more ways than one. Apart from the ghosts that haunt its decrepit structures, the street level of the city is littered with hills of the bones of the drowned masses. It's really disturbing when you can't walk two steps without snapping some poor bastard's tibia. Just something to keep in mind!

  • The Abyss can be found beneath the ruins of New Londo, though one will need to drain the water flooding the city to reach it. Just be warned that Ingward—the sorcerer guarding the sealed gates—will not allow anyone to drain the city. He'd sooner die than let the Darkwraiths escape into the rest of the Frontiers.

• Specialties: Magic and Miracles are commonplace in Anor Londo; both fields are products of an individual's dedication to their intelligence or to their faith. While the flashiest flexes are reserved for the Big Three characters, there are giants who know how to heal themselves with miracles, and there are sorcerers who can fire soul arrows at enemies from across a large room. With enough time and dedication—not to mention the right tutor or source material—it's possible for others to learn magic and miracles as well.
  • I'll be working on a case-by-case basis for helping playable characters level up. The spells available will be restricted to what's available in Dark Souls 1, and naturally Void reserves the right to deny any particular spell.

  • One last thing about Anor Londo's special rules: the city is bathed in a perpetual sunset. Once you pass through the gates it doesn't matter what it says on your phone or watch: the sun's about to set, but it never WILL set.

Population: I'm...a little nervous about this part. If I need to summarize every kind of enemy found within three different areas of the game, I'm going to be writing till next month. So instead, I'm just going to work with classifications and will elaborate if anything needs more details.

• The Silver Knights: The staple infantry of Lord Gwyn's army, these intimidating figures fight with swords, shields, spears, or (for ranged assaults) massive dragon-slaying bows with arrows the size of beach umbrellas. Obviously the latter's the most devastating, and since they were designed to penetrate a dragon's adamantine hide it's safe to say they can do quite a number on non-armored vehicles. That said, since the weapons are so big, they take a long time to fire and reload. The Silver Knights account for the vast majority of Anor Londo's population, ranging around 45,000 strong.
  • I'll also include the Painting Guardians as part of the Silver Knights' number. They're more roguish than their armored counterparts, acting more like ninjas than knights. While their evident lack of armor makes them more agile, they're also not as well protected. They don't tend to stay far away from the Church of Ariamis, but they might wind up acting as a form of law enforcement—sentencing criminals to live in the painting.

• Hollows: A Hollow is what happens to an Undead who dies too many times without replenishing their humanity. It's considered a fate worse than death, as the poor creatures are practically feral. Hollows appear in the Painted World, New Londo Ruins, and the Duke's Archives, where the latter's leader has infused them with crystal to make their frenzied strikes even more ferocious; that said, they're still frail enemies. Hollows can use melee weapons or bows and arrows. Some Hollows have even learned a primitive pyromancy to shoot fireballs at their foes. They make up the majority population of both the Painted World and the Duke's Archives, nestled in the mid hundreds for the latter, and low hundreds for the former.

• Ghosts: The ruins of New Londo are haunted by the spirits of the civilians who were drowned in the attempt to delay the Abyss. These specters are visible and slow-moving, however they are impervious to physical attacks. Their long jagged knives can cut flesh despite being intangible. The ghosts are capable of seeing and permeating through walls, which allows them to set traps for the inattentive adventurer. Despite their immunity to physical harm, the ghosts are susceptible to all kinds of magic, and can be hurt by characters and weapons who are burdened with some for of curse.^note Curse damage is determined on a case-by-case basis, and required GM approval All in all, there are thousands of ghosts in the New Londo Ruins, but they would only prove a problematic fighting force if a large number of people were to invade the ruins at once, and spread out throughout New Londo. The ghosts tend to stick to their own corner of the ruins.

• Demons and Other Winged Creatures: The Witch of Izaleth breathed life into a wide range of abominable creatures, and her age-long alliance with Gwyn allows Anor Londo to benefit from her "children." By far the most common are the Batwing Demons who carry lightning-infused spears to stab at enemies. Gargoyles can be considered the Batwing Demon's bigger and scarier older brother, although there's a lot fewer of them and they're dedicated to protecting specific areas of the city. In Ariamis you will find Crow Demons that can swoop down from perches to dive bomb enemies, aiming to peck out eyes or stab through the neck. Inside the Crystal Cavern live the Moonlight Butterflies who (while powerful magic users) are generally quite passive, and will leave people alone so long as they're left alone. The winged creatures serve as excellent scouts and can arrive on the scene faster than almost any other part of Anor Londo's military. However, aside from gargoyles they're completely unarmed, and there aren't enough of them to create an effective Air Force. They amount to about 1,000 of the city's population.

• Giants: Giants are the honor guard of Anor Londo. They stand not only at strategic places throughout the city, but places of symbolic importance as well. The Royal Sentinels are the best of the best giants, capable of not only crushing foes with their greatshields and halberds, but also of performing 2 kinds of miracle as well: Force (the giant emits a wave of energy that pushes enemies away/off their feet) and Heal (the giant kneels in prayer to mend wounds; spell isn't an immediate relief and the giant is vulnerable while casting). Despite living in a city that looks like it was made to house creatures of their size, there are only about 1,500 giants in Anor Londo—including a master blacksmith!

• Channelers: I mentioned them above so I won't repeat myself much here. There's about 200 of them in the Duke's Archives.

• Snake Men: Most just use long saw-like blades to fight, but some specialized Snake Men (marked for their cobra-like head shape) fight with shotels and simple lightning spells. There's 300 of them in the Duke's Archives.

• Seath's Experiments: Not including the Crystal Hollow soldiers, there are the Piasca and the Golems. Piasca can spit scorching water and spear enemies with a tooth/tusk hidden in their bodies, while Golems have a limited ability to control the crystals that comprise their body. This mean they can create a limited AoE of spreading crystals on the ground, or moving tons of mass to an arm to turn it into a big, club-like weapon. The Golems' crystals don't have the same effect as Seath's; they're just really sharp and it hurts to be hit by them.
  • A neat thing to note about the Golems is that some special versions (larger than the rest and gold in color) actually serve as prisons to some of Seath's test subjects. The individual is unharmed when the Golem is defeated, which means there's some potential for capturing characters early on and NOT having them live a miserable existence forever! There's about 100 Piasca and Golems in the Duke's Archives.

• NPCs: Since I'm updating this signup, I might as well add some additional NPCs that have either been featured or will eventually show up in Anor Londo. The majority of these characters are Undead, and show varying levels of friendliness to Outsiders:
  • Solaire of Astora: Everyone's favorite Sun-Worshipping Summon, this jovial Warrior of Sunlight is on a quest of self-fulfillment. He seeks to become a beacon of light and prosperity that's so bright, it rivals the very sun in its brilliance. To that end, he is more than happy to lend his sword to those with a righteous cause, and will gladly enter the fray in the name of jolly cooperation.
    • After being introduced to Trevor Belmont and Grant DaNasty, Solaire accompanied the vampire hunters on their search for their missing Speaker: Sypha Belnades. In an attempt to gain an audience with Lady Gwynevere, Solaire joined Trevor and Grant in a battle against the Princess' sworn guards: Dragonslayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough.

  • ???: A knight that Team RWBY and Professor Oobleck encountered on their travels through the streets of Anor Londo. This gruff and cynical knight seems to hold little faith in the rulers of Anor Londo, and appears to know much more about this city than its rulers would like.

  • Siegmeyer of Catarina: A jolly (if not a bit airheaded) knight who is on a quest to go on a great adventure! There is nothing he cannot do when he puts his mind to something. Especially if...but maybe...and what about...Hmmmm...
    • Kat and Raven found Siegmeyer deep in thought in a suite of the city's palace. Having disguised themselves as maids who are still unfamiliar with the palace's labyrinthine design, the visitors from Jira Para Lhao appealed to Siegmeyer's sense of chivalry. With impressively little convincing, Siegmeyer agreed to guide Kat and Raven to the palace's kitchen. Little did he know that these two imposters were here to rob the palace of some royal sweets!

  • Xanthous King Jeremiah: A gruff and off-putting individual with some of the strangest fashion tastes on this or any other planet. Jeremiah acts as Priscilla's chief adviser and protector. He is inherently suspicious of outsiders and takes his job as protector very seriously, but deep down he's a kind person—he just prefers to let his actions speak more than his words.

  • ???:

  • ???:

• Other: The remaining population is bound to be responsible for the more domestic side of city life: blacksmiths, cooks, masons, architects, fletchers, metalworkers—stuff that maintains a military as well as a city. Perhaps one of the reasons why Gwyndolin won't be so objectionable to opening up this lost city's gates is to provide more skilled workers. There's plenty of rooms to rent out, at least.

Edited by TheodoreHastings on Nov 11th 2023 at 4:45:16 AM

@Neet: Any of those choices sound good to me. If you sign up as them, I will probably require that Jirga Para Lhao be moved to the ground. As you mentioned, Mother Base's relatively closed borders may be a little troublesome, but I'm not opposed to them being present as long as they'll provide an avenue for interaction with other players (plus I love Metal Gear stuff in spite of only ever having played MGS1). Your other ideas also sound workable.

Hmmmmm, I was hoping to keep this a secret to keep people in suspense. I'll PM you, though bear in mind that these are subject to change based upon what other people sign up as.

Edited by darksidevoid on Aug 14th 2022 at 1:42:22 PM

• Name: Rachel (the Rayquaza)
• Age: 30
• Appearance: Seen here. Is 8 feet tall and, while not really pictured here, she has a tail.
• Universe: Pokemon - specifically, an AU with humanoid pokemon known as ‘gijinkas’.
• Personality:
  • Rachel is willing to do whatever she needs to do to protect her city - she prefers diplomatic means as her primary way of resolving conflicts, but will show absolutely zero hesitation to resort to intimidation or outright violence should that fail to keep her territory/allies safe. She views violent conflict as being a fundamental part of nature - so while she doesn’t relish in harming others and believes it's important to rise above one’s violent impulses, she doesn’t agonize over participating in it when she feels it is necessary.
  • She generally has a fairly serious demeanor due to the role she’s been placed in and the responsibility that comes with it. However, when she’s not in high pressure situations, she likes to chillax with the best of them. Speaking less formally, getting intoxicated, sparring with people (in combination with the second thing sometimes) and generally being more rowdy - pretty normal behavior for a pokemon person.
• Backstory:
  • Rachel is from a very unusual version of the Pokemon world, in which its inhabitants are humanoid versions of pokemon known as pokemon gijinkas. She had a fairly normal upbringing - about as normal as the upbringing of a legendary dragon in human form could be, honestly - at least until a Groudon and Kyogre (two powerful legendary beings in their own right) gijinka started fighting each other and ravaging their surroundings. Rachel intervened, breaking up their fight by force, and then making them work through their self-admittedly petty disagreement. This happened pretty much beat for beat a second time with a Zekrom and a Reshiram, and eventually Rachel had enough of going through this nonsense where some exceptionally powerful pokemon gijinka would squabble over something stupid and destroy a few houses or some such.
  • Rachel wished to become the change she wanted to see in the world, and to that end, she ran for political office. A mix of sheer charisma and her credentials - ie her penchant for stopping powerful people from destroying the city after a messy breakup or whatever - led her to victory by a wide margin. She proposed a referendum on creating a sanctioned arena where people could fight away from civilians called the Pokemon Battle Stadium. The referendum passed because, quite frankly, everyone just thought it would be really cool to watch more legendaries and other powerful gijinka duke it out on live TV for everyone’s entertainment.
  • While kind of a frankly wacky way of addressing this problem of these powerful gijinka and the consequences of their feuds, it actually worked. The Battle Stadium became very popular, and in general people preferred the spectacle of Stadium fights over smashing up a residential district. Not to mention it was very profitable and a popular tourist attraction for out of towners.
  • Everything seemed to be calming down for the hectic city of Castelia - at least until everyone suddenly realized they weren’t in the Pokemon World anymore.
• Powers/Abilities:
  • Physical Attributes: Pokemon gijinka tend to be stronger than normal humans as a baseline, and Rachel - being a legendary dragon Pokemon - is an exceptional case of this.
    • She’s powerful enough to lift a truck over her head - and punch or claw through one - and durable enough to tank bullets (albeit not an infinite amount of them, she is tough but not bulletproof) and keep going without much trouble.
    • She recovers from wounds far more quickly than a human. She can even heal missing limbs given enough time (roughly 2 or 3 weeks).
  • Master of the Skies: Rachel can fly through the air at roughly 50 mph, and has particularly good endurance when it comes to staying in the skies without coming down to the ground for rest. She is unaffected by the harsh effects that being at very high altitudes have on people, and doesn’t need to breathe.
    • She also has control over wind, able to create gale forces capable of flinging people off their feet.
  • Dragon Breath: Rachel has two different breath weapons she can use - one is flame breath, which has the same potency you’d expect from an actual flamethrower. The other is a chargeable beam of energy, which blasts through a few feet of steel after several seconds of charging. Using this causes her to become briefly winded, and puts her in a vulnerable state for a short period until she recovers from this.

Skills:

• Trilingual: Rachel speaks fluent English, Chinese, along with the Pokemon language.
• Getting Political(™): Rachel is used to mediating conflicts between very powerful, stubborn individuals. She’s not some sort of genius or anything, but she has experience navigating the Pokeworld’s strange political scene and is better at diplomacy and statecraft than one might initially assume. It’s sort of a necessity given that, in spite of being a powerful figure, she lives in a democracy, and must answer to both the public will and other elected representatives.

• Equipment: Rachel generally carries a few healing Potions on hand in case someone gets injured.

• Territory/Followers: Castelia City

• Name of the Territory: Castelia City

• Universe of Origin: Pokemon

• Description:
  • Castelia City is a large, heavily urbanized city that is based on Manhattan - which it is also the same size as geographically. It has many towering skyscrapers throughout it, a large coastline with ports for any seafaring vessels to dock at its south, and a small chunk of forestland to its north that eventually just kind of cuts off and leads into the rest of the Frontiers. Here are various pictures of the city.

• Contents/Locations:
  • Castelian Parliament Building: It’s the government - this one happens to be a parliamentary democracy. To keep it simple, this is where elected M Ps meet to Get Political(™) and make laws.

  • Pokemart: Shopping centers that contain items that are intended for use by Pokemon gijinkas - things like evolution stones, and items specifically meant to be held by gijinkas to enhance their natural abilities. However items that heal wounds or various maladies (such as poison, for example) like potions and berries can be used by humans/non-pokemon as well, giving them additional utility. Plus they sell more mundane items as well, depending on the kind of store.

  • Restaurants: There are many different places to eat in Castelia, though the most well known one is probably Cafe Sonata - a variety bar and karaoke restaurant notable for the Meleotta gijinka who provides live music for the customers.

  • Battle Stadium: Gijinka really like to fight, so perhaps it was inevitable that something like this would exist. Simply put, this is where people can go to fight each other in brawls for prizes, for fun, or because you just have a score to settle with someone. It is capable of changing shape into various different environments to add some intrigue into the fights.

  • Central Plaza: Located in the center of the city, this is basically the Times Square of Castelia. There are often art shows, musical concerts, and all sorts of events that take place here.

  • Castelia Sewers: The main reason you’d want to go here is probably to sneak underground around the city through its various manholes, should you have some need to do that. Poison type gijinka reportedly can be found hanging out in here sometimes for who knows what reason.

  • Pokemon Center: Effectively Castelia’s equivalent of hospitals. Each is staffed by gijinka trained in healing, and they can easily heal minor wounds pretty much instantaneously. For more serious injuries that can’t just be instantly healed away, they provide the same medical services as any other hospital would as well.

  • Forest: There’s an area just outside the city limits full of tall grass and forestland. The berries and nuts found here can be eaten to heal minor wounds.

  • Ocean: There’s a lot of it just outside of the city, and you can often find gijinka swimming here. There’s just too much of the stuff, and that’s why this city is only getting a 7.8/10.

  • Miscellaneous mundane amenities you’d expect to find in a city, such as movie theaters, parks, banks, various commercial buildings etc. Just putting this here to cover my bases in a single section as a catchall for things I might forget about that really should be here, but aren’t going to increase the overall power level of the territory.

• Specialties:
  • As mentioned under Contents, plant and fruitlife has healing properties in Castelia. Beyond that and its unusual residents, there isn’t anything else that really applies here.

• Population:
  • Castelia is populated by beings known as Pokemon Gijinka - beings that look like humans, but have the abilities of a particular pokemon. Pokemon refers to a species of powerful fauna that come in all shapes and sizes and have all sorts of various powers. There are gijinka that are capable of controlling various elements, flying, utilizing powerful poisons, using psychic powers, and this is not an extensive list of what they’re capable of. All gijinka are capable of speaking human language, as well as their own unique Pokemon language. Most gijinka are formidable in battle, and they tend to like seeking out strong opponents to fight.

  • I’m uncertain of an exact population number - especially with no other large territories to use as points of comparison - but it probably should trend lower given that we’re dealing with a city with a pretty high power level here because of all the superhuman humanoid pokemon inhabiting it.

  • Probably goes without saying, but a lot of pokemon gijinkas are nerfed from what the pokemon are capable of according to the lore for balance reasons. Rachel can’t blast apart massive world destroying asteroids, Tyranitar gijinka cannot topple mountains, and if something like an Arceus/Dialga/Palkia gijinka becomes relevant for whatever reason, their power levels will be massively reduced until they’re in line with the rest of Frontiers.
    • Also of note - gijinkas can turn into their more traditional, nonhumanoid pokemon counterparts at will. This doesn't give them any extra powers or anything, and many of them prefer to stay in their humanoid forms for various reasons, but this is a thing they can do.

• Followers
  • Various pokemon gijinka affiliated with Rachel for one reason or another. Vague, I know, but I kind of want to submit everything else first before worrying about any specifically important NP Cs and putting off this signup even longer. If need be, I can always go back and edit in characters for this section as the game goes on.

Edited by HilarityEnsues on Oct 12th 2022 at 5:42:17 AM

@Hil: I assume the steel-melting breath is Hyper Beam? Please add that Ray would be winded and therefore vulnerable after using it.

@Hil: Castelia City and Rachel are accepted.

Alright, here we go, here's a Free Agent for your consideration!

• Name: Igno Voidborn
• Age: Unknown
• Appearance: In one of his most common appearances.
• Personality: While Igno is generally a kind individual, he does have a bit of mischievous side, and gets quite a bit of enjoyment from tricking others; he does, however, abide by the "confuse, don't abuse" motto, ensuring that his pranks are ultimately harmless and get the victim to laugh as much as the perpetrator by the time the jig is up. He is also fairly easygoing and spontaneous, to the point of having some trouble in more formal settings: He will address paupers and lords likewise (which has gotten him in trouble with the latter more than once), and settings such as classrooms, laboratories, or other such "serious" situations are likely to put him on the fast-track to Dreamland. Igno makes use of his shapeshifting rather liberally, changing his looks on a whim, presenting as male or female whenever the mood strikes, adopting the features and mannerisms of various animals; However, he tends to keep his large mane of hair, yellow eyes with slit pupils, and tattoo-like patterns on his skin to remain recognizable. There are few things that Igno values more than freedom, meaning he tends not to work well in strict hierarchies; similarly, he is quite inclined to extend that freedom to others, standing up for the little guy in the face of abusive lords.
• Universe: The Elder Scrolls
• Backstory: When asked about his past, Igno gives a variety of answers, some impossibly contradictory. A former slave who escaped his Dunmer masters and joined the Twin Lamps to abolish slavery in Morrowind; an Arena fighter from the Imperial City moonlighting as a member of the Thieves Guild, stealing from the rich to give to the poor; a hunter from Whiterun, leaving his hometown as Skyrim falls into turmoil and joining the Imperial/Stormcloak army (depending on when you ask). The only consistent elements are that he does not remember his childhood or his parents; typically a member of the low-to-mid classes, with an affinity for nature, freedom, and a willingness to defend those that cannot defend themselves.
• Powers/Abilities:
  • Shapeshifting: By his very nature, Igno is able to rearrange his body at will. He is able to violate conservation of mass to some extent with an internal extradimensional storage space, akin to a Bag of Holding.
  • Mysticism: One of the more esoteric and convoluted schools of magic in Tamriel, Mysticism has been described as allowing the caster to alter the nature of magic itself. Igno shows a particular affinity for this school of magic, and has learned the following types of spells:
    • Transportation spells allow the caster to teleport themselves either to a nearby place of power, such as a shrine, or to a location the caster has previously visited and marked with a spell. Transmission fees apply: the greater the distance, the greater the cost to the user's magicka.
    • Detection spells are used to sense the presence and location of nearby lifeforms or magic, but they can also be devised to locate more specific things, like keys; However, coming up with a new spell for such a purpose requires lengthy research and knowledge of the desired entity. And even with those, success is not guaranteed.
    • Dispelling, as the name suggests, removes previously existing magical effects from the caster or a target of their choosing. The cost and effectiveness of dispelling depends on a multitude of factors, like the strength and complexity of the magic effect to dispel, among many other things. ^note This will of course fail when attempted on a player character's essential items, or if the GM says so
    • Telekinesis is self-explanatory; the ability to move and manipulate things from a distance. This requires the caster's undivided attention, so they cannot use this spell on multiple targets at once, and can only apply a single force to their target, therefore they cannot crush or tear their target apart with telekinesis alone^note Or in Star Wars terms, the caster could Force Pull or Force Push, but not Force Choke.. Moreover, targets that are heavier or farther will naturally require more energy to successfully have an effect on them; Igno's current limit sits at about 500 kilograms.
  • The Glitch: When Igno is around, weird things thend to happen. Both technology and magic may inexplicably malfunction in new and interesting ways; a computer may suddenly change its language to Dwemeris, despite never supporting that tongue in the first place; a direct impact from a fireball may cause him to be turned to solid ice; these things all seem to happen at utterly random, and can just as well help or hinder him. The only situations that consistently trigger these mishaps are any attempts to analyze Igno's being, or to mess with his mind.
• Skills:
  • Surviving the Worlds...: Igno has traveled all over Tamriel, and has intruded upon the realms of Oblivion on numerous occasions. As such, he has acquired the knowledge to go through a variety of (super)natural locales, and keep himself alive by the end of it.
  • ... And all the creatures that inhabit them!: All these dimensions, of course, were not without animals and people who attempted to devour/banish/purify/kill him or otherwise put an end to his existence. This has left him with combat experience in using mundane and magical weapons, although he much prefers using his powers to grant himself "natural" weapons.
  • The Bestiary of Mundus and Oblivion: All that time spent playing around with the building blocks of life, modifying his very being, observing and trying out the bodies of a myriad of species has left him with an intimate knowledge of biology, along with how to communicates with many creatures.
• Equipment:
  • The Bipolar Blade◊ is a curious longsword: commissioned by a wealthy noble, each half of the blade was created by two master blacksmiths, unaware of the other's work, for fear that anyone but the owner would know of the sword's true power. However, a miscommunication meant that the two blacksmiths enchanted their respective half of the weapon with completely opposite enchantments, negating each other out entirely once assembled together.

Edited by FokiasTheJester on Mar 16th 2024 at 9:41:42 AM

@Fokias: Igno is accepted.

@Theo: Anor Londo and its inhabitants are accepted.

Amended Rule 5:

Name: Ramza Beoulve (also answers to Ramza Lugria)

Age: 18

Appearance: Slayer of the Lucavi

Universe: Final Fantasy Tactics

Personality: Once a squire who only sought to uphold the good name of his family, Ramza has endured trials that would break a lesser man's body, and has only come out stronger for them and become a man who would cast aside any good name and standing of his own if it meant doing what was right. Fortunately, he is now in a position where that is not necessary, but he is no less dangerous because of it, and if he perceives anyone to be a threat to him or his charges and negotiations fail, the gloves will come off.

Backstory: As one of the last living members of House Beoulve, Ramza saw his country nearly fall to ruin over infighting between the political powers, schemes from the church covering up a flatout lie of a religion, and demons working to re-awaken their master who would see the end of Ivalice. Between all of that and personal tragedies befalling the man, Ramza was thoroughly tested throughout his years fighting to stay alive and to protect those he held dear. While he succeeded in the sense that he and his loved ones did survived, his good name did not, as the Church of Glabados wanted nothing more than to wipe him off the face of the earth for his actions. Only timely intervention from the Queen prevented him and his sister from fleeing the country altogether, and now when not engaged in battle at her behest, he resides in Orbonne Monastery with his sister.

Powers/Abilities:

-Shout: Ramza focuses energy and then lets out a mighty battle cry, which sees his speed, vitality and attack power see a substantial buff for a limited time (i.e. going from his blade bouncing off an armor plate to being able to gouge it with a good swing).

-Chant: Ramza intentionally wounds himself magically to transfer his life force to an ally and heal them of wounds (the ally must be within line of sight of him for this to work).

-Tailwind: Ramza casts a speed-increasing spell on an ally to enable them to move and react twice as fast as they normally are able (the ally must be within 12 feet).

-Steel: Much like Tailwind, this is used to buff another ally, but this ups their strength, allowing them to strike twice as hard as they normally could (the ally must be within 12 feet).

-Ultima: Calling forth his magic for his only attack-based spell, Ramza engulfs his target in a blast of non-elemental magic, which is strong enough to destroy a knight's armor (Ramza can use this on a target up to 20 feet away).

Skills:

-Weapon Proficiency: As part of his training as a member of House Beoulve, and as part of what he'd picked up over the years, Ramza is proficient in or at the very least capable of weapon usage of varying sorts. Though he favors heavy knight swords, he's been known to use axes, katanas, lighter swords, and bows.

-Steed Riding: While used to riding Chocobos, Ramza knows how to handle other riding beasts, and can ride them efficiently as needed.

-Martial Arts: Even though most of his combat is done with weaponry, Ramza himself is no slouch in using his own body as a weapon, and is capable of fighting against and subduing men his own size and larger with merely his fists and legs.

Equipment:

-Ragnarok: A mighty knight sword which imbues its wielder with protection against offensive magic (it can stand up to multiple attacks or one very strong attack before the protection breaks, though it will regenerate over time). Ramza can choose to wield it with both hands, but will lose the protection of his shield if he does this.

-Venetian Shield: A shield that not only protects against physical blows, but also is enchanted to protect against elemental attacks (fire / ice / lightning), reducing their effectiveness against him (i.e. the shield can endure high heat / freezing cold / lightning strikes).

-Crystal Mail: An armor set worn under his standard attire, one that enables him to better endure both physical and magical blows (normal weapons and spells would have to strike it multiple times before it even dents, with stronger attacks needing the same before they can puncture it).

-Guardian Bracelet: A magical arm accessory that renders its wearer immune to being magically frozen.

Territory/Followers: By order of Queen Ovelia, Ramza and his sister Alma reside in Orbonne Monastery, and while on paper this is meant to be a punishment by means of house arrest for them, in practice it is meant to give them some long overdue peace. With the church's power base not being what it once was, both Beoulves are in theory free to leave as they wish, but unless they and their allies called to fight, they are content to mind their own affairs. If a call to arms is given, however, Ramza will go wherever he is needed.

Name: Alma Beoulve

Age: 17

Appearance: Ramza's Keeper

Personality: Much like Ramza, Alma believes in doing the right thing and helping others, and isn't afraid to leap into the thick of it if that's what's required. Unlike Ramza, however, she isn't above playing with people's emotions and connections if it means getting what she wants, though she uses her manipulations for good intentions.

Backstory: While she didn't go through the quite same amount of heartbreak and toil that her brother did, Alma has seen her own share of tragedy and hardship. Between seeing her best friend die and only narrowly avoiding the same fate, being kidnapped and intended for sacrifice, and having to shake off a demon trying to possess her, Alma knows full well that life is fragile and volatile, but she keeps pushing forward all the same, just like her big brother.

Powers/Abilities:

-Aegis: Alma casts protective magic over her target of choice, blessing them with magic that regenerates their vitality, gives them enhanced durability against physical and magical strikes, and increases their movement speed (Alma requires line of sight of her target for this).

-Dispelna: Alma blankets her target in holy magic that can cure poisons, undo magical ailments, and reverse petrification and magical transformations (Alma must be within 6 feet of her target for this).

-Chant: Much like Ramza, Alma sacrifices her life energy to heal others (requires line of sight).

-Ultima: Alma also possesses this spell, and it is as deadly in her hands as it is in Ramza's (and like Ramza, she can hit a target up to 20 feet away).

Skills:

-Medical Training: Besides being able to heal with magic, Alma is also able to adminster medicines and treat wounds the old-fashioned way, and has played nurse successfully many times.

-Steed Riding: Like her brother, Alma is capable of riding steeds.

Equipment:

-Healing Staff: A magical staff that can provide light healing to those it touches, which doesn't make it very useful as a defense weapon.

-Ribbon: What may look like a simple green ribbon is in fact a very powerful artifact that negates harmful magical effects. For some curious reason, it only provides this protection when worn by a female.

Territory/Followers: Like Ramza, Alma is stationed at Orbonne Monastery, but it's more fair to see that she is the one in charge of it, as she knows its layout and inner workings better than most. Thus, it is more rightfully seen as her territory.

Name: Agrias Oaks

Age: 23

Appearance: Holy Knight Agrias, Protector of the Crown

Personality: Agrias lives and breathes duty and honor, almost to a fault, with the Princess and her own subordinates having to remind her to keep in touch with how to be a human and a woman. As a general rule, Agrias believes strongly in justice, and will not hesitate to stamp out corruption when she sees it. She has a sharp mind in her head, but it takes some coaxing to put it to use in things beyond combat and duty, so personal matters and frivolous activities can fluster her.

Backstory: For as long as Ovelia was Princess, Agrias was there as her bodyguard, yet to her shame, there was a period in life where she failed in her duties of staying by her side. Yet thanks to fighting alongside Ramza and thwarting the efforts of evil, she was able to see the obstacles in Ovelia's way be torn down, and was able to remain at her side.

Powers/Abilities:

-Judgement Blade: With a swing of the blade, Agrias summons crystals of magical ice to fall down upon the target; if each crystal lands, the attack is strong enough to knock a fully grown man to the ground, and it has the potential to freeze the target in place (maximum range is a target 12 feet away).

-Cleansing Strike: As Agrias swings her blade, a spiritual echo of the sword launches forward and embeds itself into the target to deal holy damage, with a chance to render them unconscious if it hits a vital point like the heart or the head; even without that, it is still strong enough to puncture steel armor (maximum range is a target 12 feet away, and it can only move horizontally).

-Northswain's Strike: A circle of light appears beneath the target, and a large pointy pillar juts out from it seconds later to stab the target and inflict holy damage strong enough to shatter stone (maximum range is a target 9 feet away, and the target has a second to move out of the way if they notice the circle before the attack goes off).

-Hallowed Bolt: As Agrias swings her blade, sparks form beneath the targets, and large blades of lightning jab upwards seconds later with the potency of a real lightning strike, with the potential to paralyze the targets (maximum range is 9 feet).

-Divine Ruination: A focused ray of holy light forms around the target, subjecting them to intense heat (akin to being in direct contact with fire) and holy damage for as long as Agrias can keep them pinned in the blast radius, with the potential to blind the target temporarily (maximum range is 6 feet).

Skills:

-Weapon Proficiency: While she is best with the knight's blade, Agrias is able to wield other weapons as well.

-Steed Riding: In comparison to Ramza and Alma, Agrias is more well versed in riding, and is their superior in this art.

Equipment:

-Durandal: A holy knight's blade that grants the wielder added protection against physical and magical threats in a similar vein to Ramza's Ragnarok; while not offering as strong of a field of protection, it makes up for it by adding a similar safeguard against physical attacks, so the wielder can endure multiple blows before the weapon's effect is broken and it needs to recharge.

-Crystal Mail: The same make and quality as Ramza's.

-Crystal Shield: Boasts similar quality to the Crystal Mail.

Territory/Followers: As the Queen's bodyguard, Agrias is stationed in the Royal City of Lesalia. With the help of her two subordinates Alicia and Lavian, she keeps the Queen's abode safe, and works with the city guard to ensure the rest of the land is kept free from invaders and threats.

Name: Ovelia Atkascha

Age: 17

Appearance: Queen of Ivalice

Personality: While a gentle soul at heart, one who wants to do the best she can for her people and those she cares about, her naivety and inexperience weighs on her, and she knows that there are those who would abuse her trust, which has led her to become emotionally guarded.

Backstory: Ever since she was born, Ovelia was at the center of political schemes, as she was both a threat and a pawn to those who wanted to rule Ivalice, either by killing her or ruling through her. As such, her upbringing was a sheltered one, as she all but grew up in monasterys for her own protection. By the time she was old enough to potentially rule, the stability of Ivalice had fractured enough for two dukes to pit their forces against one another, and only the intervention of Ramza and his friends prevented things from getting even worse. Eventually, Ovelia did indeed take the throne. She had a King by her side, but after the two of them nearly killed one another in an argument gone wrong, Agrias took it upon herself to make sure any further 'arguments' would not happen again, leaving the fate of the King unknown.

Powers/Abilities:

-Aegis: Ovelia casts protective magic over her target of choice, blessing them with magic that regenerates their vitality, gives them enhanced durability against physical and magical strikes, and increases their movement speed (Ovelia requires line of sight for this).

-Dispelna: Ovelia blankets her target in holy magic that can cure poisons, undo magical ailments, and reverse petrification and magical transformations (Ovelia must be within 6 feet of the target).

Skills:

-Knife Usage: Though this isn't really a skill she wanted to learn, Ovelia learned how to use daggers and knives to protect herself at Agrias's insistence.

Equipment:

-White Staff: A magical staff she uses to cast her holy magic.

-Dagger: A simple knife she keeps on hand for self-defense.

Territory/Followers: As the Queen, Ovelia rules over Lesalia as its sole monarch, given that the King disappeared some time ago without a trace.

Name of the Territory: Ivalice

Description: A land of magic and faith, Ivalice has seen war and strife throughout its many years, and even now the peace that has settled is a cautious one on account of the reigning Queen's youth and inexperience in a land of old schemers and war veterans. While the different territories are under Queen Ovelia's control, it's in the royal city itself where she oversees day to day operations, and allows those in her employ to look after the other places. The castle where she reigns oversees the capital on top of a hill, and it is there where she is under guard to protect her from any further threats to her rule or health. As a whole, the realm is medieval in nature, and what technology is beyond the usual is scavenged and reverse engineered before it becomes usable.

Contents/Locations:

-Royal City of Lesalia: The home of the royal family in the city of the region where those with money and prestige live.

-Grogh Heights: A few hours from the capital city lies a farm belt to the north that delivers crops to the capital city and the common city. Legends tell of a band of monks that walk these lands, but no one's confirmed their existence.

-Dugeura Pass: Half a day's march from the royal city and past Grogh Heights leads to a mountainous area east of Grogh Heights said to be a place where those who needed to atone would venture to.

-Free City of Bervenia: A day of marching east from the capital city, past Grogh Heights and Dugeura Pass, leads to this dwelling where more common folk live. It offers a good view of the region, making a good starting point for an expedition.

-Mining Town of Gollund: A day's march south of the capital city, this town makes its living off of coal mining, and endures frequent snowstorms.

-Orbonne Monastery: A few hours south of Gollund, this house of learning and teaching hides an expansive underground library.

-Zeirchele Falls: A few hours east of Orbonne Monastery, this marvel of nature crashes down the mountain, and makes for a picturesque view and a hazard in crossing alike.

Specialties: Those who enter and live in this land are subjected to and able to use magic, as it is intertwined with almost everything that exists in the region, from people to monsters to nonliving things like equipment and landscapes. Not only does this mean that the people who live here can exhibit superhuman abilities, but creatures and monsters can as well. It's not uncommon for even wild Chocobos to be able to cast their own brands of magic, or for devils or undead creatures to use dark magic to harass their prey.

The starting schools of magic are Black Magic and White Magic, and while each branches out into different fields, these form the fundamentals of what most people will use to fight or support. Black Magic is for offensive spells, such as Fire and Thunder, while White Magic is for defensive or healing spells, such as Cure or Protect. Part of the work done in Orbonne Monastery is cataloguing all these different fields and studies of magic, and while their work isn't done by any means, they have what is likely to be the best understanding of how their world operates.

Population: The people of Ivalice, whether they support or oppose Ovelia's rule, are hardy enough that they can be trained to take up arms and wield magic for offensive and support purposes. It's not a perfect peaceful land, but there is finally some sense of stability, which is enough for the common man. All told, the population of Ivalice is roughly 30,000-35,000 strong.

Edited by Bored_Man on Aug 19th 2022 at 11:10:21 AM