01. Plot 02. Summary 03. Rules 04. NPCs 05. Characters 06. Profile 07. Dice Game 08. FAQ 09. Example Posts
OOC thread (out of character chat) Any of the art in the thread is thanks to Armadilla. So cute!
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:35 pm
Plot
It was a dark and stormy night, and Prince Cereal was afraid. There were no visions of sugarplums dancing in his head as he slept. No. Rather, he was plagued by dark sights in every corner. It seemed that Sycamortes were creeping up on him, intent on his death. He cowered betwixt two large stuffed toys, hoping to hide behind them. It didn’t help. He could’ve sworn that he felt the monsters creep closer and closer until their breath tickled his feathers. He whimpered, crying for his mother. Lightning crashed and in a burst of light, she came.
Queen Owlatte cuddled her son close to her. She crooned softly, soothing the young gosling. When he was at last calm enough to speak, he asked for a story. Knowing exactly which story he wanted, his favorite of all time, she began, “A long time ago, back when your father and I were still young…”
Back before the Kingdom was the Kingdom, we lived in a grand place called Kindred Wilds. It was a forest, pure and simple in the same way that the people were. There was no castle, no King, no Queen. There was no sweet and funny advisor, no tournaments, and certainly no extraordinary cakes or parties. What we had was peace and harmony, a coexistence between all of us kindred and, more, between kindred and Sycamortes. It was a good time, a happy time and yet there were those who were dissatisfied with this tranquility. There were those who lusted for greater power.
We didn’t know at the time—it wasn’t until much later that the truth was learned—but the first Lord Sycamorte, who had lived for hundreds of years, was dying, rotten at the core. He’d tried everything to stop the rot. Potions, magic spells, time, and more. Nothing worked. He’d accepted his death and was working on choosing an appropriate successor. It was through his grace and goodwill that we’d been able to accept one another’s individual differences, to rise above the primitive instincts that had previously led us to hunt and flee from one another. He couldn’t pass the title and the responsibilities to someone who wouldn’t continue in that tradition. The Shadows, his home, deserved a kind and caring ruler.
Unfortunately, the decision was taken out of his hands. A young Sycamorte mage named Mortimer, whose rotting was more personality than disease, presented a “guaranteed” cure to Lord Sycamorte. Willing to try anything, he drank the whole bottle. He died mere hours later. The cure was a potent and deadly poison brewed specifically for the great Lord and, to our everlasting sorrow, it worked. This brash Sycamorte mage didn’t even wait minutes before declaring himself Lord, although he did wait two days before announcing his intent to enslave us and take over the nearby Zen Gardens. It took a few months of plotting for the Sycamorte nation to decide on a plan, and the deaths of many that opposed the plan to unify the remaining members, but the experimenting eventually began.
At first, we took it as a matter of nature, a resistance to our evolution. Even before we’d risen above our instincts, before we’d intellectualized ourselves, there had been those who’d gone mad for no reason. They’d terrified everyone, murdering anyone in their paths… even the innocent grazers and gatherers had fallen prey to the madness. So we thought nothing of it. It was just one or two people here and there. We didn’t know that they were experiments. More often than not, they awoke from their stupor and were their normal selves again. They had no recollection of the chaos and death they’d caused.
It wasn’t until a full year had passed before we realized that something was wrong and, by then, we had a pretty good clue. There was a sudden uprising on a dark and stormy night just like this one. Kindred of all kinds rose from their slumber or stopped in their nightly hunting, eyes blazing with a strange red light and without a single sign of awareness to be found. They’d gone mindless. They’d gone mad. They moved almost as one, each stalking the kindred nearest to them. They bit and tear, ravaged and maimed. It was a terrible tragedy and one that affected all of us. More than half of the Wilds had gone mad in one night. From what we can gather, the Sycamortes had poisoned the food supply in certain areas. Phantom Sycamortes, the strongest mages the Shadows had to offer, had cast a spell with a similar result in other areas.
Those of us who remained unchanged scattered, attempting to hide from our friends and neighbors. It continued like this for weeks. We fought amongst ourselves. We hurt one another—both the sane and insane alike. The Sycamortes seemed to win. Mortimer gained more land and more minions by the day. Things looked bleak. And then two groups rose: one led by the Lady, a young Owlatte, and one led by a brave warrior who came to be known as General Machia. The Lady’s group vowed to break the spell, hoping to use the combined powers of love, friendship, and faith with just a dash of their own spellcasting and potion-making. They had some success, too, managing to break the madness in just a few kindred. One of these was Ichabod the Fox, the spirited fox who ran messages between the various kindred groups before this dark time came upon the Wilds. No one knew how, but suddenly these few kin were lucid and free. They likewise vowed to help end things in whatever way they could. General Machia, on the other hand, was looking less to cure the symptoms than he was to cure the disease as a whole. As he saw it, this meant stopping the new Lord Sycamorte. It also meant stopping the Sycamorte army began to grow in and take over the Wilds. Violence beget violence. They won some battles and they lost some, but they never got any closer to stopping, much less finding, Mortimer.
It wasn’t until the Lady’s camp was attacked by a group of Phantom Sycamortes, Mortimer’s personal assassins and pet mages, that the two camps merged into one. They still acted on different though related goals but now, when circumstances called for it, they worked together. Their camp moved on a regular basis to prevent a similar attack. Still, it provided a safe place for kindred to heal and strategize.
They had to beat Lord Sycamorte and help their friends regain their sanity. They had to. Their lives, and the Wilds itself, depended on it.
ElegantlyLuminous
Crew
Grumpy Adventurer
Online
ElegantlyLuminous
Crew
Grumpy Adventurer
Online
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:36 pm
Summary
The denizens of the Shadows and the folk of Kindred Wilds used to live in peace and harmony. Then Mortimer, a Sycamorte mage, killed the previous lord, took over the Shadows and used his army of mages and assassins (Phantom Sycamortes) and some clever poisoning to enthrall as many innocent kin as he could find. These kin turned violent and deadly, were as likely to turn on one another as they were to attack the Sycamortes who were beginning to creep into Kindred Wilds. For good or bad, a few brave kin shook off the spell and set off to stop Lord Sycamorte, hoping to free their friends and family from this wicked curse. They fall into two camps: one led by the Lady, a beautiful owlatte who is using the combined powers of love, friendship, and faith to undo the spell, and General Machia, a fearsome soldier who is using his might and brains to defeat the encroaching Sycamorte army so that he might overthrow Lord Sycamorte and save his people.
There’ll be three main things going on: the usual role-play writing (what your character is doing, who your character is interacting with, where your character is, etc.), battles against Sycamortes, and battles against cursed kin. All types of battling and leveling will involve dice rolls. Fun, fun! Writing can be at any level and any length—from a few sentences to a few paragraphs, all is welcome. Weirdly, just like playing tag, there is a safe zone in this game. If you are in the camp, you are there to heal (you’ll immediately be restored to full health the moment you set foot in camp) and so you will not be drawn into a Sycamorte or cursed kin battle. However, you cannot stay in camp at all times. That wouldn’t be fair. You’ll have to move around and interact. The Sycamorte army won’t defeat itself, you know? And if it isn’t defeated, how will Prince Cereal ever overcome his fears and fall asleep?
TLDR summary: Lord Sycamorte is evil. Beat Lord Sycamorte and save the Kingdom!
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:37 pm
Rules
01. While we won’t be requiring any specific “literacy levels” here, I do ask that you write at least three sentences of whatever length so that we can move the plot forward. If you want to write paragraphs, great! If you don’t, that’s wonderful, too! Everyone of all levels and experiences are welcome.
02. Do not delete your posts! Especially during dice rolls. Anyone found to be doing so purposefully will be removed from the role-play and given a warning. If you forget to roll or roll the incorrect number, just write “void” or something like that in your mis-rolled post and post again. I won’t hold that sort of thing against you. (Since I’ll likely do that at some point myself, that really wouldn’t be fair.)
03. Please include your stats (level, HP, and status ailments) with each post. Location (in the forest, at camp, etc.) would be nice but is not necessary. Likewise, decorations aren’t necessary unless you want to provide them.
04. I don’t really want to impose a specific posting requirement (i.e., you must post once every week), but I do ask that you please write yourself out of the plot temporarily if you get bored and don’t feel like participating or if you’ll be busy with school/work/vacation/etc. and won’t be able to post for a while.
05. Please try to keep things about PG-13. So keep cursing, romance, and violence to appropriate levels. Nothing too gory, obscene, or sexy for the young’uns of Gaia.
06. I’d prefer it if everyone could use third person (he, she, they) and past tense (wanted, saw, said, etc.) to help keep things uniform but if you want to or prefer to use first person (I) and present tense (says), that’s okay too. Basically: any person, any tense. We'll work with it.
07. Because I’m sure I’ve forgotten something, I’m reserving the right to add or change rules as necessary. Any changes/additions will be made in red and will likewise be announced in our OOC.
ElegantlyLuminous
Crew
Grumpy Adventurer
Online
ElegantlyLuminous
Crew
Grumpy Adventurer
Online
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:38 pm
Non-Playable Characters (NPCs)
Name: General Machia Level: Infinite Awesomeness Skill: Confusion
Name: The Lady Level: Beyond Comprehension Skill: Poison
Name: Ichabod the Fox Level: Decidely Inconsequential Skill: Wither/Healing
Name: Mortimer, Lord Sycamorte Level: Total Badass Skill: Confusion
Some random notes first. Any and all kin are welcome! Rare kin, common kin, RIG kin, dropped kin, event kin… whatever works. More importantly, there can be repeats. It doesn’t matter if we have three Sakuras and five Embers. There’ll be different names and personalities and, after a while, levels, so it’s no big deal if you pick something that someone else is already using. On another point, you don’t have to own your kin—if you want to use Carnelion but don’t have one, you are still more than welcome to use that kin as your character.
Stats here will not be a kin’s real stats. Everyone’s will be the same at the start. All kin will start at level 1 with 100 HP. As your kin defeat enemies, they will be given the opportunity to level via dice roll. (Conveniently, that’s how we’re fighting, too!) With each level increase, your HP will go up by 50 points.
You can either post your profile in our OOC thread or PM it to me. I’ll accept it either way. No need for special titles or anything like that.
[img]KIN IMAGE[/img] [b]Name:[/b] Your kin’s name, not yours. [b]Level:[/b] 1 (I’ll change this part as everyone levels up) [b]Skill:[/b] Poison? Confusion? Sleep? Wither? Healing? [b]Master:[/b] Your username
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:40 pm
Dice Game
Dice will be used for three main things: fighting Lord Sycamorte’s army (and phantom mages), fighting cursed kin, and leveling up. Below you'll find descriptions of each type of dice roll. Have questions? Please free to ask in our OOC thread! This is my first time hosting a dice game like this so I'm sure things aren't as clear as they could have been.
Leveling up
Leveling will occur after every third Sycamorte battle and it should occur on your first non-fight post afterwards or it’ll be forfeit. (You can’t go back and add in a roll and you can’t roll on your next non-fight post. Only one try per every three fights.) With this, you’ll roll one 4-sided die.
1- Nothing happens. 2- You gain 1 level. 3- Full HP is restored. 4- Status ailments are removed.
Fighting cursed kin
Battles against cursed kin will be random and user-specific. Our town crier, Ichabod the Fox, will make an announcement of sorts and use RNG to decide who will be fighting a cursed kin. (Each person to submit a profile will be assigned a number based on when they enter. So if you were the second person to join, you’d be number 2. If we generated a number between 1 and 5 and 2 was chosen, you’d be fighting and no one else would be. If we rolled a 3, you would not be fighting.) Battles will take place over three different posts (rounds). Each time, you’ll roll 1 8-sided die. Options will remain the same for each roll.
1- You hit the enemy kin. (Enemy kin loses 25% of its HP.) 2- The enemy kin hits you. (You lose 25% of your HP.) 3- You poison, confuse, or put Sycamorte to sleep. (Depends on your skill set. 100% success rate!*) 4- The enemy kin confuses you. (You will miss your first attack and hit for only 10% on your next attack.**) 5- You use a small heal. (+25 HP.) 6- You use a small heal on the enemy kin in an attempt to stop the curse. (+25 HP to enemy.) 7- The enemy kin miraculously regains its sense of self. (Curse randomly broken! Battle ends.) 8- The enemy kin defeats you instantly. (Return to camp immediately!)
*With poison, the enemy kin will lose 5% HP each round until the end of the battle. With confusion, its attacks will cause you to lose 10% of your HP rather than 25% but only on every other round. (So if you confuse it on your first round and it attacks you on your second and third, you’ll only be hit on the third round. If it only attacks you on the second round, no damage is done either round.) If you put the enemy kin to sleep, it’ll sleep for one round (one post).
**Confusion lasts for two attacks and this will transfer from fight to fight. I.e., if you are confused by an enemy kin with only one post left and you attack on that last post, you’ll still be confused for one more attack in your next fight for either Sycamorte or an enemy kin. If you don’t attack on any of your next posts, the ailment will keep moving forward with you until you attack or heal all of your status ailments.
Fighting Sycamortes
Sycamorte battles will be announced by Ichabod the Fox, and will involve three “rounds” or posts. Options will remain the same for all three rounds. Here, you’ll also roll 1 8-sided die.
1- You hit Sycamorte. (Sycamorte loses 25% of its HP.) 2- Sycamorte hits you. (You lose 25% of your HP.) 3- You poison, confuse, or put Sycamorte to sleep. (Depends on your skill set. 100% success rate!*) 4- Sycamorte poisons you. (You lose 5% of your HP with each post until your status ailments are removed.**) 5- You use a small heal. (+25 HP.) 6- You use an antidote. (Poison cured. No HP restored.) 7- Sycamorte runs away crying for its mommy. (Battle ends.) 8- Sycamorte defeats you instantly. (Return to camp immediately!)
*With poison, Sycamorte will lose 5% HP each round until the end of the battle. With confusion, his attacks will cause you to lose 10% of your HP rather than 25% but only on every other round. (So if you confuse him on your first round and he attacks you on your second and third, you’ll only be hit on the third round. If he only attacks you on the second round, no damage is done either round.) If you put Sycamorte to sleep, he’ll sleep for one round (one post).
**Poison lasts until you heal your status ailments (either roll a 6 during battle or a 4 during a leveling round) or you’ve gone through three consecutive battles. Like confusion, this will transfer from fight to fight. I.e., if you are poisoned during one battle with Sycamorte and don’t roll a 6 at any time during that battle, poison will follow you to the next battle with either a cursed kin or Sycamorte.
ElegantlyLuminous
Crew
Grumpy Adventurer
Online
ElegantlyLuminous
Crew
Grumpy Adventurer
Online
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 1:41 pm
Frequently Asked Questions
For any questions and subsequent answers. Nothing just yet!
