A Strange New Horizon
IC Thread
It is the year of Our Lord 1502, a time of discovery and exploration. Europe, a patchwork of warring states, competing political alliances, religious controversy, and ceaseless innovation, has just stumbled across something extraordinary: a decade ago a strange man claiming to be able to sail to the East Indies by going West, Cristobal Colon, found a New World beyond the edges of the map. A New World of riches, opportunity, and exotic new peoples and cultures.
But this is not the story you may be familiar with, no. For where a primitive continent soon to be overrun by Conquistadors and colonists greeted the history you may know, this is a place utterly other, a map unfamiliar, a history diverged. Swarms of swarthy and not altogether friendly natives peer out at the pale-skinned interlopers, chiefs offering sacrifices to strange and powerful deities from atop the heights of temple cities, blue-glowing Wyrdstones shrouded by the hands of shamans summoning storms of malevolent force to turn back the ships that would wish to land upon the shores of the New World. This is a history very different, where even the most intrepid of Europeans have struggled to gain a foothold on the exotic Terra Obscuras, and the risks of venturing into the untamed jungles and monolithic temple cities are dire indeed.
Fortune though, favors the bold. An adventurous man, foolhardy or brave enough to take his courage in his hand, can make a fortune in this New World. A new start for those with no lives left in the lands left behind, untold riches of gold, silver, and the mysterious Wyrdstone to be gathered from the mysterious and treacherous lands over this Strange New Horizon.
IC Thread
It is the year of Our Lord 1502, a time of discovery and exploration. Europe, a patchwork of warring states, competing political alliances, religious controversy, and ceaseless innovation, has just stumbled across something extraordinary: a decade ago a strange man claiming to be able to sail to the East Indies by going West, Cristobal Colon, found a New World beyond the edges of the map. A New World of riches, opportunity, and exotic new peoples and cultures.
But this is not the story you may be familiar with, no. For where a primitive continent soon to be overrun by Conquistadors and colonists greeted the history you may know, this is a place utterly other, a map unfamiliar, a history diverged. Swarms of swarthy and not altogether friendly natives peer out at the pale-skinned interlopers, chiefs offering sacrifices to strange and powerful deities from atop the heights of temple cities, blue-glowing Wyrdstones shrouded by the hands of shamans summoning storms of malevolent force to turn back the ships that would wish to land upon the shores of the New World. This is a history very different, where even the most intrepid of Europeans have struggled to gain a foothold on the exotic Terra Obscuras, and the risks of venturing into the untamed jungles and monolithic temple cities are dire indeed.
Fortune though, favors the bold. An adventurous man, foolhardy or brave enough to take his courage in his hand, can make a fortune in this New World. A new start for those with no lives left in the lands left behind, untold riches of gold, silver, and the mysterious Wyrdstone to be gathered from the mysterious and treacherous lands over this Strange New Horizon.
Welcome folks, to my latest flight of fantasy, A Strange New Horizon. She'll be a bastard mix of an RPG, a freeform wargame, an economic turn-based strategy session, all those shenanigans. You, gentle reader, are a ne'er-do-well, an adventurer of whatever description you so choose, bound for the New World or trying to defend it against all these interlopers. Lord of an independent warband of the savage interior, simple homesteader looking to make a name for yourself, enterprising entrepreneur, battle-scarred veteran serving a foreign crown; the stage is set, all that are needed are the players. This New World is decidedly more mystical and dangerous than the one you might think of, so good luck- you are going to need it.
The Map of the New World
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[u]Application[/u]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Allegiance:[/b] (Do note whether your character is a native, European, or whatever)[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[b]Backstory:[/b]
[b]Archetype:[/b]
[b]Inventory:[/b]
[b]Hirelings:[/b] (This may be blank)
[b]RP Sample:[/b]
#OverTheHorizon
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So, this is an RPG! That means there are...
RPG Mechanics
Statistics
These generally deal with how good or terrible your character is at doing things, and mainly relate to combat, since it is a savage savage world out there. Unless otherwise noted, all characters start out with a 5 in all categories, which means they have broadly a coinflip in terms of success or failure. Some of these statistics are not on a 1-10 scale, like Reputation.
Health: Starts at a solid 10, ranges down to -10. If it reaches zero, you be a sorry invalid busy trudging your way down to Hell. If it reaches -10, your character will take a Mortal Wound, which has decent odds of leaving you a cooling corpse, barring shenanigans involving necromancy. There are plenty of ways to stop Health dropping, the foremost of which are not running out of supplies and not taking a sword to the throat.
Melee: Judges your ability to stab someone with your trusty rusty knife.
Defense: Judges your ability to not get stabbed with someone else's rusty knife. Note that this has nothing to do with avoiding getting shot in the face- who do you think you are, trying to dodge bullets?
Range: Judges your ability to shoot other people in the face.
Morale: Judges your ballsiness and the odds that you shit your pants in terror the first time you get a splinter from the local poking sticks, or the European equivalent. If this drops to zero you leg it out of any situation you might be in, so keeping it up is wise if you want to remain in the fight. Recovers over time.
Strength: Plays into how hurt people are when you bludgeon them, and how much Equipment you can carry. May be decreased by injuries.
Skill: This isn't a one-size fits all solution, but it generally relates to anything that isn't non-combat, and there are a host of different skills. Surveying Skill, Bartering Skill, Navigation Skill, and so on. More is good most of the time.
Equipment
Random bits of junk that protect your sorry hide from the elements, and all the other equally random bits of junk people carry around for a host of reasons too numerous to list. You can't carry more than your Strength allows, so choose wisely. They also have a listed starting cost, if you're the type of person who thinks going to the New World in only the shirt on your back seems unwise.
Hirelings
You're the character, and that is great. You're the protagonist of your own special story. But a man who wanders off into the wilderness alone is all too likely to end up a grinning skull for the next better-prepared protagonist to discover as a cautionary tale. Better take some chumps with you to die instead of you, and carry your junk.
Archetypes
Who are you? What do you want out of the New World? This is shorthand for all that, a good way to determine what your character will have and what they won't. You need one of these in your application. Note that all Coin figures can be spent on goods prior to the RP- so kit yourself out with a Breastplate if you want to live, they aren't easy to come by in the New World.
Trader: You're here to run goods, make it rich, and hopefully not die trying. Strength increased to 8, Range to 7. Start with 200 Coin and a Scud-Runner, a small ship that can make the voyage from the mainland to Jonestown or Santo Domingo to sell goods to the treasure fleets and larger merchants who have set up shop there. The Scud-Runner can carry up to fifty units of cargo, with individuals counting as five units of cargo. It is unarmed, but fast.
War-Chief: The foreign interlopers are just one of the problems facing your people, here in the lands of your ancestors. You and your warriors are not associated with any particular entity, but strength is yours, and your story your own. Strength increased to 6, Melee and Defense to 8. Start with 100 Coin and a warband of five Fresh-tier Hirelings, but no weapons or equipment aside from tools, Spears, Bows, and Padded Vests.
Shaman: The mysteries of the Outlanders intrigue you. You seek to investigate them, while pursuing your own goals upon your homeland. Start with 50 Coin, a Spear, and a Mystic Artifact. The Mystic Artifact may have a variety of effects you can discuss with me via TG, an eldritch device of Wyrdstone that can be powerful indeed.
Conquistador: Backed by one of the European powers or merely a mercenary looking for a paycheck, you will crack open this New World and plunder her riches, for Glory, God, and Gold! Melee increased to 9. Start with 200 Coin, a Cutlass, and a Leather Jerkin.
Mortal Wounds
Every time your character reaches -10 Health, they receive a Mortal Wound. Mortal Wounds have a 10% chance to kill a character outright, but if they survive that chance, they are assumed to have survived the current combat, and may not be targeted for additional attacks, coup de graces, or any similar actions. Mortal Wounds stack, and thus a character who has receives a second Mortal Wound has a 20% chance of dying on the spot, three 30%, and so on. Leveling up and rare events will sometimes allow a character to remove Mortal Wounds, but by and large they represent the weakening of a character as they cheat death, and are best avoided.
Leveling
Characters gain experience as they traverse the New World. This experience will occasionally cause them to "level up", gaining new skills, better stats, or useful bonuses based on their time of prosperous adventuring. Upon leveling up characters gain 2 HP, and will be presented with a list of randomly generated perks to choose from. The first level takes 100 Experience to achieve, the second 200, the third 400, the fourth 700, etc. 100 Experience is gained for each enemy killed personally, 100 Experience granted for every 100 Coin earned or traded for, and 10 for each enemy killed by Hirelings in combat. 1 Experience is also gained for every Coin spent on Hireling upkeep, making maintaining a large band of warriors or workers a slow but steady way to level a character. Independent Characters amass Experience at half the rate of Player Characters, unless they become the leader of their faction/retinue.
Anddd that's all she wrote folks, feel free to apply. If you have ideas for new Archetypes, Equipment, mechanics, and whatnot, I'm always happy to get input- just keep it to TGs so as not to clutter the thread.
