The Bearers of Flame
The Guild: From time immemorial, the guild has stood as a bastion of hope for the weak and defenseless, driven by the courage of brave souls willing to risk oblivion so that everyone else might live to see one more day. It was on the backs of these brave men and women that the empire of the sun spread its reach across the continent, driving back the darkness til all that had remained was myths and children’s stories. For a few generations light was a constant and life thrived under the loving glow of father Sun while The Guild slowly faded into myth along with the monsters that it hunted. Though, like all things time moves on and erodes away all that man achieves and things from history forgotten are dredged from the depths.
Current Day: It’s been five years now since the sun began to wane and rarely does his light manage to break through the Tenebris fog that chokes down across the empire. People hurry down the streets in thick cloaks, silently shuffling forwards in a futile attempt to forget that the world seems darker, and more devoid of color with each passing day. In the woods and withering fields, strange sounds can be heard echoing as dark shapes flit at the edges of vision. With this creeping darkness however, certain people wake feverishly each night feeling a calling that promises salvation and each morning they are healthier and stronger, power of their will to live feeding them while the world starves. You are one of these few, and last night on your way home did you see a poster drawn in fabulously colored ink requesting the attendance of the people named upon it at the local tavern this coming evening. As you went closer, it became clear that your name was emblazed upon the vellum in golden ink that burns with the light of the sun now lost.
The Town of Duskstar: An agriculture town by trade, Duskstar sits around the river Briem. It’s central houses are old but modest, and walls of time cured wood surround the town proper. Past that farms stretch out a half day's walking distance before they give way to wild forest. In past years it was a center of trade activity for the hunters and woodsmen who came to trade furs and meat for fruit and vegetable, as well as with the river barge traders who would frequent the Duskstar markets. Now all that comes from the woods are occasional road-weary people who`s very skin is grey with fear and their eyes are dark with loss while down the river shattered barges float mixed rarely with bloated bodies face down in the slow moving water. Though with nowhere to go, the people of Duskstar trudge onwards as they replace the once lush fields of green with toxic smelling mushrooms that seem to move when nobody's looking and desperate souls brave the woods in hope of returning with a meal of meat that was already rotting before it was caught.
Today is the last day you will go about your life normally. After this, things will change, for better or for worse. Should you be strong in the coming years, you may just bring about a brighter future for us all. But while this change is inevitable, the future is not yet so secure. How far would you go, stranger? And what will it cost you?
Religion In antiquity homage was paid to the locale spirits or greater monsters. Myth holds that many would sacrifice food, valuables and even their enemies to the most prominent of locale powers and as such those powers in turn grew stronger. Eventually however the Guilds-men rose up and in their struggle to rid the land of evil slew many of the peoples religious figureheads. Initially they were reviled and chased out of the towns for the turmoil they brought though in time the people came to realize that their lives were better without the looming fear of pleasing the fickle creatures they once called gods.
For modern times, there are still remote cults who worship dead myths as their deities though the most commonly accepted religion in the civilized world is the Temple of Light. It's priests and followers build grand structures of glass and stone that shine beautifully in day, and even in this age of darkness seem to have an illuminating light about them. The temple's teachings are based strongly around upstanding morals and helping their fellow man, in turn they immortalize blessed people as saints, and worship icons that stand as symbols of good and hope.
Otherwise there is a large number of other minor religions that vary wildly from town to town. Duskstar itself has a popular following of the cult of aether who believe that those who strive to be the best in their chosen path of life will be raised to live in the night sky as stars. In turn, it's priests gather fortunes from the night sky and claim it to be guidance from the pillars of society past.
(Atheism is also accepted broadly and many various orders, knighthoods and sects spring up frequently with their own take on the idea of the human soul. Basically you can describe your own beliefs if you like and no one would really look at you sideways though worshipers of other ideology may frequently try and debate the differences with you.)
Disclaimers:
-Rolls are 1d20+stat+specials versus opponent or difficulty, basic actions auto succeed.
-Magic in the current era of the world does not exist as far as you know, though in the tales of myth great wizards fought shoulder to shoulder with iron-clad warriors.
-For now you are a largely normal human who lives in a medieval european-style setting.
-I place a greater value on storytelling and role-play than stats and numbers. Please keep that in mind if you are interested in playing.
-Most importantly, have fun! The night might be dark and full of terrors but that doesn’t mean you can’t laugh and be merry!
Character Creation:
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Physical Description:Important, can be words or a picture at your personal preference.
Backstory:Who are you? Are you a guard, or maybe a highway bandit driven to town for fear of the things that now lurk in the dark? What sets you apart from others and gives you an inner fire such that you thrive while others fall? Be creative but realistic in the sense that the world has only been on the decline for the last few years and before that it was an idyllic paradise for many generations.
Skills:Pick 4 and briefly describe some skills that your character would have due to their backstory. These are general in detail and can be useful in combat or out of it. Examples include:Stealth-Staying hidden and keeping others hidden, Mechanics-From lockpicking to fixing a broken cart axle, Marksmanship-Bows, darts and thrown objects as well as basic knowledge of anatomy to allow you to get the most out of your ammunition.***Overall it can be assumed that everyone has basic life skills like cooking and farming. Literacy is something that not everyone learns and would be a free extra skill gained if your lifestyle requires you to be able to read.
Attributes: Base of 10 is average human level. None can be over 16 at character creation. You have 6 points to allocate as you see fit (start with 10 in each), with each point giving you a plus one on die rolls relevant to that stat. You may subtract -1 from two different stats or -2 from one stat to get an equivalent number of points to allocate to other stats.
Strength-10
Constitution-10
Dexterity-10
Charisma-10
Intelligence-10
Wisdom-10
Derived Stats:
Health=Level x Constitution
Speed=Level x Dexterity
Fortitude=Level x higher of Strength or wisdom
Mental Stability=Level x Higher of Charisma, Intelligence or Wisdom
Resistance=Level x Lowest stat
I shall be accepting 6 players to start based on quality of completed sheet as opposed to first come first in. You have until Tuesday August 16, 2016 to get me a completed sheet before I choose. Otherwise adequate sheets will get a spot on a waitlist. You may be kicked to the waitlist if you are inactive for multiple days in a row, and replaced by someone from the waitlist.
IC:
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=160077.0
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Topic: The Bearers of Flame-Sign-ups OOC (Read 2248 times)