The Reforged Saga - Prologue: Great Expectations [M]

[Megilwen]

So you mentioned that some of the crystals could be thrown. I'm assuming they have to be enchanted first before they can be thrown? As in they don't come out with the different types of crystals having different properties?

[Imperial1917]

All crystal weapons are enchanted. You can, of course, thrown a regular crystal, but then you might as well be throwing a rock and a bunch of money at someone. Specifically speaking, crystal weapons are either made of crystal or of rock that is enchanted to have a particular effect, almost all of which are very violent, hence 'weapon'.

Crystal weapons are made by combining the crystal with a particular magical herb or creation part to produce a certain affect. A crystal weapon is only a single-use weapon; once unleashed, it cannot be recovered. A similar process is used when making wands, in which crystals are combined with a magical herb or creation part plus a stick (for obvious reasons) to produce a multi-use (usually 6 uses) weapon.

[Megilwen]

Okay just checking

[Imperial1917]

So obviously Geneforge is a bit on the obscure side and there are a lot of questions going around. I can't cover everything at once, so some things I will answer as they come up. Here are few bits of information that may help you create your CS.

1. Shaping is NOT hereditary, nor is it innate. The craft of Shaping is knowledge-based; you have to learn it in order to do it. While it might be possible to do the very basic process of Shaping on one's own, actually making viable results is next to impossible. One is not born knowing how to Shape.

Similarly, having Shapers for parents does not mean one will become a Shaper any more than not having Shapers for parents bars people from trying to become one. In addition to this, Shapers' children who do decide to become Shapers may not necessarily follow their parents' classes. For example, a Guardian and an Agent could have a child who decides to pursue being a Shaper. As far as the Council is concerned, it is up to the individual to decide their own path. The Council's concern is whether one can actually accomplish being a Shaper, not keeping hereditary lines.

On a related note, the Shapers are a sect that believes in a society separate from outsiders and individual achievements. As such, when Shapers are addressed by outsiders they are addressed as "Shaper" and whatever personal name they have. This is because Shapers will usually take their personal names with them when they ascend to Shaperhood and leave behind their familial connections, becoming part of a greater (and separate) society from what they were a part of before. Some Shapers may retain their family name for the sake of sentimentality, but this is not the norm. Within the Shaper ranks Shapers may refer to each other by their Shaper class (Guardian, Agent, or Shaper) and their personal name, though this is a personal preference matter.

2. In case it was not clear from the OP, Shaping is a very volatile and dangerous practice, for everyone involved and even people not directly involved. Altering lifeforms generally means that most will end up horribly disfigured if they have any life at all. Sometimes creations will come out so unstable that they only live for a short time while in other cases they possess undesirable or even dangerous qualities. Many a Shaper had been killed when they created something so mutated that it slipped from their control and killed them. This is part of the reason that many research outposts were established far from civilization on distant islands during the time of the Shaper Council: if something went wrong that the Shapers couldn't control or just couldn't be bothered to clean up, they just Barred the island, prohibiting travel to it on pain of death.

That being said, the process of creating new variations on existing models is a long and excruciatingly slow process. There is a great deal of trial and error involved as Shapers make new models, gauge the outcomes, and record what seems to work while discarding what doesn't. Existing creations are the products of months, years, and possibly decades of careful work. The Shaping techniques that are the result are long and intricate, requiring careful study to avoid creating something that dies horribly or else causes others to die horribly. This is just one of the reasons that Shaping is not taken lightly.

Yet there is always a drive to create new, better creations and research goes forward. Experiments to create variations on existing creations that are better suited for one use or another or just for the sake of knowledge are always in progress. In particular, serviles, which provide a great deal of labor in Shaper-dominated societies, are constantly being adjusted to better suit their work. Some will be made for chopping wood while others will be made for farming; some will be made suited for swamps while others might be better suited for colder climates.

It should also be noted that most creations are made sterile when they are Shaped. The reason for this is that, in the event that creations go rogue and escape containment, making them sterile prevents the problem from getting larger than it already is. There are few exceptions to this, notably the seviles and ornks. Shaping is laborious process, meaning that creating new serviles every time the need for labor grows would be impractical. So instead the Shapers made serviles fertile and breed them. Ornks, of course, are the same matter, though ornks are livestock and are bred for obvious reasons.

3. The edicts of Thorin's Council, like its predecessor the Shaper Council, are absolute, but that doesn't mean that there aren't internal politics. Shapers can be like gas particles; the further they are away from each other and able to do their own thing, the better. Of course, that isn't an option in this new, Known World. There is limited space and so people will jockey for the best positions. All Shapers are free to do whatever they wish so long as they do not break Shaper Law - except when the Council tells them to do something. In that case, they are required to obey. That includes being posted to certain areas. However, sometimes it is the Shapers who want to be posted somewhere.

Yuushin, the only source of the all-important crystals used in Shaper research in the Known World is an example of this. Competition for such a posting is fierce and, though Shapers will never let their internal struggles show to outsiders, they will go to nearly any length to get into the good graces of the Council in order to obtain a posting there. Though things like assassination are possible, things like spying on others and reporting violations of Shaper Law to the Council are preferred, as then the Council will deal with the unfortunate.

Other settlements will have similar politics. However, it is a carnal sin against the Shapers to show any kind of tension between members to outsiders. On the outside Shapers are expected to be models of calm, collected and collective behavior at all times. They must be perfect at all times.

[Aro]

Name: Peri Kansler

Year: 4

Origin: Issei

Age: 18
Gender: Female

Declared Class: Agent
Appearance: Dark Brown Hair, Hazel Eyes, Slightly Pale Skin, Height: 5'4, Weight: 120 lbs, Heart Shaped face with slightly blushed cheeks, Slim bodied- fit and curvy

Wargear:
Weapon: Longbow (handcrafted not shaped) and wooden arrows with crystal/stone arrowheads (Enchanted w/ Poison)
Gear: Long black robes with red trim. Sleeves come to elbow length, no longer. Mage robes come with an attached red hood and a pair of black leather shoes. (Not tennis shoes, Lol)
Supplies: Several small knives, Canteen full of water, Tomahawk

Creations: None currently

Allegiance: Peri pledges her allegiance to the Shaper Rule. She respects that the rules set by the Shapers was for the best of Issei's people, and Peri tries her hardest to uphold these rules and influence others to do the same.
Personality: Positive, Independent, Friendly, Calm, Willing to Learn, Curious, Loves to help people, Generous, Slow to anger- but when she IS angry....

Skills and Talents: Skilled in long range attacks (Archery), Skilled in the use of a Tomahawk for Self Defense, Finished last year her skill in Mental Magic, Enchanting, and Runecraft. This is her last year of school in which she is studying Magic Shaping.

Banes: Has self esteem problems, sometimes. Becomes worried and concerned very easily. Usually cares too much about the smallest things and becomes attached when she shouldn't.

Biography: Peri's family reside in Machi. Her mother, father, and her little sister Wimm. Luckily the college allows people to go there for free or else Peri would have never gotten an education, because her family is poor. And her going to college to become an Agent brought optimism to her once doubtful family.
Her family respect the rules of the Shapers' but there are several things that the Kansler Family doesn't agree with the council on. Which lead to her father training her at the age of 12 to use her trusty bow and her tomahawk to defend herself in her time of need, and Mr. Kansler teaching her not to depend on the council for anything.

(RP Sample to come via PM)

[Imperial1917]

@Aro
Welcome to the forum!
Thank you for submitting a CS and RP Sample (via PM). They have been reviewed.

Your CS has been rejected.
The overall quality of the CS is not in line with the basic expectations of this RP. Please refer to the GM Character located in the OP for a guide on CS formatting and an example of what is expected of players' submissions. The Reforged Saga is a RP based in the Geneforge universe, which is a relatively obscure universe. It is expected of all players to carefully read and understand the prepared OP material as well as any supplementary material provided in posts by the GM throughout the OOC.

Your CS was lacking in, among other items, explanation of your character's behavior, descriptions of your character's skills, and an acceptable bio. The overall length of your CS sections prohibits quality explanations and contains unacceptable grammatical errors. The CS as a whole does not demonstrate the expected effort necessary for this RP.

Particular points of interest include:
- Bows do not exist in Shaper lands.
- Skills and Talents are supposed to be listed with descriptions where necessary.
- Machit (incorrectly referred to as Machi in the CS) is the vast swampland that comprises much of the Known World. All characters reside there, making the assertion that the character's family lives there redundant. A specific location is necessary.

Frankly, it is felt that you did not read and understand the entire OP including the quality expectations, the least of which is exemplified in the quality of the GM Character section. If you wish to resubmit your CS for reconsideration after extensive revision and improvement, you may do so.

[Minkasha]

How may players are you looking for before you start? If there comes a shortage are we able to portray multiple PCs or would we just share a bunch of NPCs or what?

[Imperial1917]

There isn't really a floor for player numbers so much as a cap. The cap is 7-8 before we have to start creating more than one group. Obviously we need at least 2 people (the GM and one other) to get the RP started. This RP itself will be rather short and is meant to serve as an introduction to the world. I don't really like the idea of a player having more than one character in a group since it will be rather crammed if that happened. Since we don't have a real floor on players, we can make do without having NPCs in the coming Acts.

[Minkasha]

Name: Kira Zobel

Year: 2

Origin: Yuushin

Age: 15

Gender: Female

Declared Class: Agent

Appearance:

A lithe built girl standing five foot three inches she is at height to the girls her age. Her jet black hair parts down the right, flows in waves to her mid back, covering most of her left eye if not styled back. Her skin is of an olive tone, small incision scars linger on the insides of her elbows, her left middle finger is missing and her right pinkie as well. Her face shape is oblong, giving her a tall but proportioned face with a rounded jaw.

Her lips and eyes show signs of her youthful feminine features with long, bold lashes, thick but arching black brows, and thin yet pout lips. Her eyes seem to have an almost unnatural hue of hazel that comes off prominently golden in color. Her pupils are naturally dilated, a very intense look that turns any casual glance into a possible uncomfortable encounter.

Often she binds her chest for increased mobility in combat and comfort.

Wargear:

-Fyora leather scale (complete set)

-Leather hand wraps studded with jagged pebbles.

- Three iron daggers (two hidden on her and one held on the left side of her hip)

Creations: None

Allegiance: “Destroy the fallacy”

Personality:

Kira keeps away from herself. Naturally she is an escapist and her means to do so are through bonds with others or physical activity. Being forced to sit with her own thoughts, simply being by herself, has always made her uncomfortable and resentful for reasons she doesn’t understand. Her ability to interact with people has been a constant struggle that she attempts to overcome, but her intentions have not been for the benefit or consideration of others. They are part of her distractions, living distractions. Kira naturally keeps conversation about herself minimal, if nonexistent and promotes others to ramble about themselves because she knows no other way to keep people in her life.

Socially, Kira feels handicapped and her mind is against her. Though she doesn’t mean to, she has been caught staring at boys. She has always found them fascinating and most of all Kira has wished to assimilate with them.

Through her youth Kira has asked herself why Shapers continue to exist if the threat of their power is so great. To this day she has not found the answer to this burning question.

Skills and Talents:

Acrobatic Agility – Kira can move at exceptional speed while being able to keep a balanced center of gravity. Tied with natural cunning she has expressed through her education, she can be a rapid and constantly moving melee opponent.

Martial Proficiency – She is skilled using singled handed dagger fighting and hand to hand combat.

Body Mimicry – Kira has an exceptional bodily intelligence that has helped her grow in physical skills at an unparalleled pace. Non magical actions displayed by her peers and educators have quickly been replicated. This has also been used to her advantage to quickly understand her educator’s bodily movements and attacks, making her extremely adaptable.

Perfect Vision – Kira has 20/20 vision and has an easier time seeing in very dim environments than anyone else she has known.

Understanding of Magical Theory – Though her actual practice is minimal, her father had ensured she read on arcane lore.

Banes:

Malfunctioning Hand Coordination – For all her agile graces, Kira seems incapable of using both hands simultaneously for rapid actions (fighting with two hands, clapping quickly, etc). To do so causes her right hand to become spasmodic and a sharp pain shoot in to the left side of her brain. (This could be caused by something as mundane as writing with her right hand and drumming her fingers hastily with her left).

Social Dysfunction - Her natural expressions of emotion are not in sync to others. At its worst it can be a sneer when the girl is trying to smile or appearing bored in moments of defeat or sadness. This often makes her seem mischievous and unusual more so than she is.

Obsession – When in a fight it is difficult for Kira to stop herself unless her target is incapacitated in some way. She becomes so focused on her opponent, analyzing their every detail that it becomes a compulsion for her to succeed. It is not an expression of rage or aggression, but another avenue of her mind that is set against her at times.

Magic Overload - When bombarded with heavy magic, either boon or bane, Kira’s health quickly dives. From the inside out her body begins to hemorrhage, the first signs being of her coughing up blood from serrated lungs. Even healing magic must be used cautiously or only cause more harm. (Overload is defined by levels of magic that she could not ward off or resist with some difficulty. Meaning, as she becomes more magically knowledgeable and stronger it becomes more difficult for her to become overloaded)

Shaper Thurman's Will - Kira is unable to disobey her father's instruction. She doesn't know why.

Biography:

Kira Zobel was born of the parents of Teresa Kyles, a young Yuushin woman and Shaper Thurman Zobel. Her hands had two deformed fingers, the middle finger of her left hand and the right pinky being nothing more than stubs. Her mother and father had never said a thing about them, her earliest years of childhood content as they raised her.

By the time she was able to have her first memories she knew her father wasn't around much anymore like he had used to and her mother was drinking frequently. At this time she was moved back between Yuushin and the Grand Academy. In Yuushin she had nothing more than her mother and a small residence, often sitting around listening to the sounds of rain and the ambiance of the swamps. In the Grand Academy she had her father who always found her interesting, and a few acquaintances she knew on and off as she was growing up.

By the time her education was becoming the greatest aspect of her life, her social inability was turning those acquaintances into bullies. As a little girl she was picked on for her deformities, called 'little fingers'. The Grand Academy full of heavy stares and cackling at her expense. It was in this stage of her youth, six bordering on seven, that her darker feelings started to turn inward. It manifested sharply when she mutilated her mutilations, chopping off the stubs that were her deformed fingers. Her parents told her nothing was wrong with her. Though their reassurances didn't help push away a whole peer group of judgment and teachers that eyed her with suspicion.

At twelve years of age her mother passed. Father had told her a rogue creation had killed her, though he wouldn't tell her whose and how. He said it was appropriate for her to be sad now but it was when Kira had begun to ask why? For her life, her differences, for the Grand Academy and the Shapers. Why did it all exist? Ever since her mother's death, her father had also been around less. He had told her it was for Shaper duties, their encounters little more than the times he took to give her medical checkups.

Kira’s gifts in the martial fields had drawn mix results. Fascination and unnerve. She was fast, maybe too fast. She was weird, maybe too weird. Her father told her she was magnificent, but she never saw it. At fifteen she lives singularly in the Grand Academy, but that was all to change now that she had been extended the opportunity of a life time. Kira had been resistant, but when her father told her she would do so, and she found herself preparing for the unexpected.

[Megilwen]

If a character was a fourth year about how far would they have learned down one or more than one of the magic sub-categories (i.e battle magic, mental magic etc)?