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You wouldn't have to work them in though, their mythologies wouldn't have to factor into the story all that much aside from 'I'm sending a couple guys over to Gaios to see what's goin' on'.

We're all tellin' a story afterall.

That's assuming quite a bit. It's important to me that I have at least a passing knowledge of (and a fondness for) any mythology in this game

To be honest, I don't think I'll be joining now, was thinking about it but I'm too inactive an R Per...

Okay, then I'll start the RP thread. I'm going to probably be gone until tomorrow, but this will give your characters a chance to meet at the harbor of Theoclea.

edited 21st Apr '14 8:46:29 PM by StygianEmperor

Athena blessed myman because all the gods are pretty desperate for worshipers at this point. Also, Athena's not about to let Ares make a champion of some guy in her temple. And what's a bunch of scrubs to a bunch of lizardmen, anyway?

I deliberately kept it vague as to why any god made contact with any particular player character in the interests of creative freedom. In this case, it looks like it was either Ares or Athena, and she won out in the end by appealing to Xyka's wisdom rather than his lust for conquest. As it turns out, she got his tribe to turn over a new leaf, according to the bio, so it worked in her favor in more ways than one.

edited 21st Apr '14 10:15:09 PM by StygianEmperor

Well Athena doesn't seem like the kind of person to reward anybody after eatin' a bunch of humans. Remember that Athena was one of the few Gods that genuinely liked 'us' and wouldn't see a group of 'us' as a bunch of scrubs. It just doesn't seem very fateful to her characterization in the Mythos. Though I guess Stygian provides a good enough explanation. Employing a blood thirsty lizard man would be somethin' of tactical decision if you wanna take it a step further.

Stille seems like a bit of a stretch though. I don't like to see Character Assassination.

If you look closely at his signup, you'll notice this line

So it seems to me like instead of character assassination, it's more like Athena going "Hey, I really hate Ares. Seriously, holy Jesus is that guy fucking bloodthirsty. Maybe if I swoop in and grab that guy he is already offering powers to, it's score one for Athena!"

I like to imagine Athena saying that in an animesque monologue thought sequence, and she speaks sort of like a Valley Girl.

Well the GM had no qualms so it's a moot point anyways.

Though I do have a tendency to get nitpicky sometimes >.<:::.

But I did say it would be tactically advantageous for her which is perfectly in character.

edited 22nd Apr '14 12:31:45 AM by PhilosopherStones

@ Nman: If you've seen Xena, you'll know that it's Aphrodite that talks like a valley girl.

Also, Athena is a vindictive asshole - while Ares might be more overtly dangerous, Athena did all manner of terrible things in the name of revenge. For instance, Medusa was raped by Poseidon in one of Athena's temples, but did Athena seek vengeance against Poseidon? No, she cast out Medusa for no longer being a virgin, and made her into the grossest (and most dangerous) gorgon so she'd never attract the attention of another man.

Real paragon of virtue.

edited 22nd Apr '14 10:58:59 AM by StygianEmperor

I never got into Xena. I went about two or three seasons into Hercules, and keep meaning to finish, but never do.

What's the upper limit on Petsuchos age and size? I'm thinking up an ancient Petsuchos ascetic type devoted to Sobek.

edited 22nd Apr '14 12:12:33 PM by Gladonost

The Overseers are the oldest and biggest crocodilians, probably somewhere above 7 feet. 8 feet is the upper limit across all the races, since anything beyond that is pretty much impossible to have indoors. As for age, I'd say most Overseers are 100-200 years.

If, however, you're one of the divine Petsuchos (still one of Sobek's faithful archons up until his disappearance), you'd be immortal and probably very close to that height cap.

edited 22nd Apr '14 12:36:33 PM by StygianEmperor

Xena was the best goddamn show in the world.

Xena/Hercules is definitely an inspiration for this.

edited 22nd Apr '14 12:40:34 PM by StygianEmperor

Buffy would like a word with you on that although I will admit it's in my top five.

• Name: Sethos
• Gender: Male
• Age: 2159
• Race: Petsuchos
• Class: Desertmaker (Sun/Earth)
• Appearance: The children of Sobek only grow larger as they age and Sethos is a fine example of exactly how big they can get. Fully seven and a half feet tall, he towers over most others and his 320 ponds of muscle make him also rather bulky. His massive jaws and thick arms tipped with clawed hands along with the many scars from when he was much younger and more rash are intimidating to most onlookers. He wears a simple linen shendyt around his waist along with a few thick gold armbands, mainly relying on his thick scales and hide to protect him from most blows.
• Deity: Sobek
• Blessed Weapon:Thundercatcher: A massive leather whip with thick barbs of meteoric iron along the lash's length. The handle is chased in gold which is engraved with images of Sobek and a list of the names of all his high priests.
  • Blessing: This weapon can call forth the full rage of a desert thunderstorm with a single lash. By cracking this whip, Sethos can call forth a massive thunderclap, stunning his foes.
• Spells
  • Desert's Touch: With but a touch, Sethos can draw out the moisture from his foes, mummifying them over the course of around a minute. He can also use this power to instantly mummify a dead body.
  • Alpha Predator: Crocodiles are the alpha predators in the waters of the Kemmur, their mighty jaws and fierce strength assuring their dominance. Sethos can focus this primal fury and power into a great bellow, bolstering his allies strength and disheartening his foes as they are consumed with fear.
  • Desert's Might: Through his asceticism and study of his environment, Sethos has found out how to call up the most deadly of all desert hazards, the mighty sandstorm, as his own defense and offense. This spell creates a swirling vortex of sand and debris around Sethos obscuring his form and fouling all but the most well aimed projectiles, but beware for a sandstorm can, with time, strip the flesh from the bones of those unlucky enough to be caught outside its eye.
  • Cauterize: A focused beam of heat that can scale from merely cauterizing wounds up to a more conventional stream of flames to attack the enemy.
• Equipment:
  • A simple leather backpack containing some food, incense, myrrh, and a small pouch of gold coins
  • The shendyt and gold-brass alloy armbands he wears
• Background: Sethos is one of the Petsuchos, divine archons of Sobek, who has been trapped here on the earth by the departure of the Old Gods. He has fought in most of the wars Horakht has ever participated in as one of the foremost champions of Sobek. After the eparture of the Old Gods, he retreated to the most remote reaches of the Kemmur River, living on a small island in the middle of the river near a fishing village as an ascetic. During this period, he meditated on why the Old Gods had seemingly turned their backs on the world and upon their archons left here. Finding no answer to these questions he has been overjoyed since Sobek contacted him as his champion, being promised a return to the heavens and answers about the long absence of the gods. He has since bought passage on a trading ship to get to Gaios and to Theoclea.

edited 24th Apr '14 5:49:54 AM by Gladonost

Looks good, approved.

Edit: Any chance you'd be willing to change your Nature Mastery to Earth or Storm, for the sake of the Desert's Might power or Thundercatcher?

He's sort of more in-line with Set, but I'm fine with his patron being Sobek since the Petsuchos in AoM had solar beams for whatever reason.

edited 23rd Apr '14 3:33:11 PM by StygianEmperor

Changed to Earth. And Sobek was a god of the Nile and its frequent flooding and storms as well as being associated with the desert, as an explanation for Thundercatcher.

edited 24th Apr '14 5:53:53 AM by Gladonost

Yeah, I wasn't too worried about the whip. Approved for real this time.

Hey, are you still accepting signups? I wanted to make a Merman Warfare/Storm character. I saw in the Discussion page that you were still doing planning on any Atlantis-analogue. As of now I have it written as "Oreikalkos" in the signup (named after the mythical metal orichalcum commonly associated with Atlantis), but it's your world, and your call on what it should be called, or if it should be just straight-up Atlantis.

edited 28th Apr '14 1:07:40 PM by AllHailThrall

Yeah, you can submit a guy, though if the team gets too unwieldy I might split it for separate pursuits.

Edit: I should add Icthians to the races list, the neato creature-from-the-black-lagoon race that was in Titan Quest.

edited 28th Apr '14 1:08:03 PM by StygianEmperor

• Name: Glaukon
• Gender: Male
• Age: 220 [looks around 22]
• Race: Merman
• Class: Stormguard: Storm/Defense
• Appearance: Glaukon has silvery-blue skin lightly dotted with scales closer to his lower-half and embedded on his arms. His hair is long and black, reaching down to his shoulders. His eyes are also entirely black, reflecting a bit of light. His nose is small and barely protrudes off the face. He has lightly webbed hands [and feet when he has them], and fins protruding off his forearms and shins [again, when he has them]. He has a chiseled figure and a smooth face with no facial hair. His tail is long, and his fins have spikes on the outsides of them.
• Deity: Poseidon
• Blessed Weapon: Thyaferos, the "Stormbringer", an ornate orichalcum trident, adorned with pearls at the base of the points and the base of the trident itself.
  • Blessing: Thyaferos is imbued with the power of storms, giving it an electrical edge in combat. Anything stabbed by Thyaferos is subject to an intense burst of lightning.
• Spells/Abilities:
  • Wind's Beck and Call: Glaukon calls upon the spirits of wind itself to heed his bidding. This allows him to manipulate the wind, forming gale-force squalls, tornadoes, or even hurricanes.
  • Lightning's Embrace: When Glaukon is sufficiently roused, his body is surrounded in lightning, and he himself becomes a force of storming destruction. This, however, amplifies his emotions and causes him to act irrational and hostile for the duration of the effect.
  • Unshaking Resolve: Glaukon fears nothing and has a strong force of will, as well as a diligent mind. For this reason, Glaukon is immune to supernaturally-inflicted fear, distraction, or despair.
  • Orichalcum Arms Training: Being the captain of the guard, Glaukon is proficient and knowledgeable in orichalcum weaponry and armor. Orichalcum, a legendary material, is said to be harder than iron, and moves through water as if it were air. It is also incredibly rare and valuable, since most of the orichalcum stocks were lost when Orichalcos was sacked by the Icthians.
• Equipment: In addition to Thyaferos, Glaukon has an orichalcum chestplate and armguards, as well as a large orichalcum shield. He also carries on him a few javelins, an orichalcum dagger, and a large net.
• Personality/Backstory: Glaukon was the captain of the guard of Orichalcos before being chosen. Because of this, he has been training nearly his whole life in the Orichalcan military. He is a fierce fighter and noble defender of the sunken city-state, with a strong heart and a strong sense of justice and honor. However, when Poseidon, the lord of Orichalcos, vanished, he was left nearly without a purpose. The merfolk's new home was now in mortal danger, and due to multiple incursions by Icthian tribes, the kingdom almost fell entirely. Glaukon blamed himself for being unable to save the city from invasion. Thus, when he was contacted by Poseidon, his purpose felt renewed. Commanded to head to Theoclea, he was promised that he would be at Poseidon's side as the head of the Ocean Lord's armies. He was then handed Thyaferos as a token of the god's favor to his champion. This also imbued Glaukon with the power to control storms, as Poseidon does.

edited 28th Apr '14 3:36:14 PM by AllHailThrall

Orichalcos/however you want to spell it is probably a good name for the lost island-nation. However, I think it should be noted that it was not always a Merfolk domain - before it sank, it was home to a rich and powerful Poseidon-worshipping human civilization who are now dead or scattered, and has long since (maybe 1000+ years) been repurposed by the aquatic race as a major undersea capitol. I'll put as much in the discussion thread at some point. I like the nod to the Icthian tribes, and I'll see if I can get them in the race list soon.

Onto your powers:

Wind's Beck and Call is fine, though you can safely assume that most powers can be "overcharged," which, like you mentioned, could knock your character out if they're not careful.

Lightning Speed combines two powerful effects, movement speed and a damaging lightning aura. Either give it a negative effect to balance it, remove one effect, or split it to make two powers.

Unshaking Resolve is good.

Orichalcan Arms Training: This sounds more like a mundane skill of "knowing how to use weapons common to his culture." That is, except for the case of Orichalcum Armor, which due to its considerable resilience could be a passive power in itself suited better for the Defense Mastery.

Which is why I'm suggesting you switch from Warfare to Defense. As a guard captain, it's thematically appropriate, and your Unshaking Resolve certainly fits there as well.

edited 28th Apr '14 3:20:15 PM by StygianEmperor

All right, I've edited the post.