[M] Runes - recruitment and OOC

[Azazeal849]

Woohoo! Thanks G

[Vivienne]

Is there still room in this game? I'm not in anything, and would not mind getting my proverbial feet wet. One possible thought/request; flesh out the 'rules' for runes/spells. There seems to be some ambiguity noted from other posters, plus it seems the focal mechanic of the game.

[Azazeal849]

Yes we have space.

I was generally light on guidance for magic (apart from restrictions) to allow people more freedom to create - but if you’d like something a little more concrete, use (for example) D&D spell lists for inspiration. And don’t be afraid to choose esoteric ones - I’d much rather see creative uses of all sorts of random magic than 50 shades of fireballs.

All runes will be approved / rejected on a case by case basis as character sheets are posted.

[Kiro Akira]

I believe I have finished, let me know if anything else is needed.

- - - Updated - - -

Also wanted to add I'm trying to not make the spells to powerful o.o let me know if I can increase it.

[Vivienne]

Also, how many spells do we get? One, two, twenty, 100,000,000?

[Azazeal849]

As a totally arbitrary limit, let’s say up to ten spells.

If you have a particular subplot or character arc in mind, I may arrange for you to pick up extra runes over the course of the RP.

[Zed]

I am interested in this RP. However, I am new to this site, though not new to RP.

Quite a bit to read up on yet, so I am not quite sure the accepted etiquette for joining.

Character in mind will definitely be a merc wizard, but his specialty is more of a curse than a offensive or defensive weapon.

Any suggestions, help on next steps would be appreciated.

[Derpnaster]

So what of people who eschew life inside of civilization? Are there people or tribes who reject the beliefs and orders of the cities in favor of their own passed down traditions?
Or are there wandering warriors who keep the roads and cities safe from what lurks beyond their walls?

[Azazeal849]

So what of people who eschew life inside of civilization? Are there people or tribes who reject the beliefs and orders of the cities in favor of their own passed down traditions?

As you’d expect, the cultural influence of each city reduces with distance, to the point that it’s hard to tell who some border villages are aligned with (and the villagers themselves probably don’t care). It also doesn’t help that the cities mostly raise revenue by taxing trade, rather than direct taxation in return for protection and infrastructure.

As for beliefs, they’re all ultimately descended from the same migration, so there is a certain amount of cultural crossover. Most people in the Valley are polytheistic (apart from the Risemen), and most people believe that runestones are in some way connected to their gods, but local rituals and customs vary. For example, the Lightmen consider water snakes to be holy, but Ashmen don’t. The idea that the gods fought each other and were shattered is very common, but not totally universal.

Which gods are given prominence also varies from place to place, and some villages have made up their own little niche gods related to local landmarks. The names of the major gods (once translated) tend to be more or less the same across the board since they use descriptors - the River God, the Mountain God, The Lesser Moon God etc - because like mages the gods never reveal their true names.

Religious and cultural bigotry abounds in the three cities, and if you openly practice a belief system that’s different from the locals, you’re going to get funny looks.

Or are there wandering warriors who keep the roads and cities safe from what lurks beyond their walls?

The cities all have their own brand of police force (often just street gangs for hire), and can raise soldiers if need be. Professional mercenaries both magical and non-magical exist, and in peacetime they are usually hired by rich traders as guards.

Mercenaries are usually too expensive for ordinary villagers, although no doubt there’s a few Boy Scouts out there who offer their services for cheap to villages that aren’t lucky enough to have their own mage protecting them. There are also plenty of travelling tradesmen and non-combat mages who go about selling their skills from village to village.

[Azazeal849]

I believe I have finished, let me know if anything else is needed.

Also wanted to add I'm trying to not make the spells to powerful o.o let me know if I can increase it.

Oops, sorry @Kiro Akira, I only just saw this post. Looks fine, and if your spells end up too out of sync with the other characters I’ll let you increase them.

I do have one question - after he left home, how has he been earning a living? Or was leaving home extremely recent and after the incident on the road he’s going back as a paid mercenary / going back to defend his home city?