Heroes, figures of legend and myth made flesh. By performing magnificent deeds, exemplary individuals are reincarnated as Heroes, with abilities matching their actions in life. Heroes can grow in strength with each new deed worthy of advancement.
Heroes are chosen by the Judges and given greater Blessings by those same beings. Please a judge and you can advance yourself. Heroes are made for greatness and times like this scream out for a new renaissance of Heroism.
What is a Hero?
A hero is a person who exemplified themselves in life, died and reincarnated as a Hero. Heroes are ageless and recover from wounds faster than they did in life but they can be slain. In addition a Hero who is not in the process of accumulating deeds will begin a "Fall". Heroes get a single Blessing and a single Fatal Flaw upon reincarnation. Heroes can earn more blessings by completing Quests.
Blessings are either new powers or augmentations of what a hero could do in life. For example a Hero may gain titanic strength. Another hero may have been a mage and might gain a Blessing which augments their spell-casting.
A Hero does not need to be a virtuous person in life, they merely need to accomplish something significant. Slaying a Dragon with a wooden spear might qualify one to become a hero, but also discovering a cure to a horrible disease or taking over an entire kingdom.
Heroes also have an Aura, which makes it obvious a person is a hero when you're looking right at them. This aura can be disguised or muffled, but it is hard for a hero to blend in.
Magic
To Cast magic, Four conditions must be met.
- You must have a mental picture of what you want the spell to do.
- You must speak the spell words
- You must point in the direction the spell needs to go with your hand, staff or finger.
- Some Powerful magic (mind control, major summoning) requires a true name of the subject.
There are Eight opposing schools of magic.
- Creation --- Energy-
- Transformation --- Preservation -
- Transportation --- Conjuration-
- Mental --- Soul -
Magic Spells
Each School of magic has ten basic spells. Each spell can be modified by the addition of more keywords, like Fireball or Firebolt . The basica spell can also modify other spells. A spell which the caster cannot interpret in their mind will not work.
The World
The World consists of three pricipal landmasses: Aezaran, Nolion and Thalmar. There are also plenty of minor continents and island groups.
Thalmar, the central continent, is perhaps the most diverse and is mostly isolated from the other two by political and geographical boundaries. Thalmar's history, geography and political climate is complex and varied. Typically Thalmar is divided into five main regions.
The North
A cold land of forests, mountains and tundras broken often by lakes, rivers, swamps and small seas. The North extends from the glacial frost caps of Thalmar to the Dark Marshes that border with the Center. The North is a harsh landscape and lends itself to either tribal confederations or petty kingdoms. The common monsters and plagues of the North are the Fire Giants who raid villages, the roving undead who once answered to the call of the Lichlord, and the goblins and ogres who infest the mountains.
Thalmar was once plagued by a warlord named Ocar Tamn, whom by a coalition of tribes was defeated. The Warlord returned as a Hero and became the first Lich after putting his soul into a black box. He managed to take huge swaths of territory before his soul was cast into the fires of the Great Forge and set ablaze.
The East
The east, a land of dense forest, rolling hills and temperate climates, is home to two major political Federations. The First is the Eastern Federated Empire, a group of ex colonies, territories and client states bound by a facsimile of the old unified Glorious Empire. The other major political unit is the Union, a similar federated group of tribes, clans and monsters who call the forests home. Both have been in a state of cold war for a time, fighting proxy wars in the small kingdoms and other neutral states which still exist.
Besides the politics, the East generally suffers from bandit groups of Orcs, gnolls and ogres. The Dark forests to the extreme east of the continent contain creatures of fae and magic. Expeditions go regularly into the far east, but they never get that far and rarely return alive.
The Center
The self proclaimed "Center of Civilization" is a large number of fractious and rival city states. Each vies for power against the others and many seek to unite the Center. Mountains, rivers and fertile plains are spread liberally across the Center. The Center also enjoys a more advanced level of technology, using steam to power wondrous contraptions.
The Center is home to problems which are more hidden and insidious. Demon Cults, Serial Killers, Ballroom Vampires, Graveyard Ghouls, monsters which stalk the night and fiends in the shape of humans.
The West
The West is one of the new and more prosperous regions, with maritime trade with the mysterious Farlanders being commonplace. Merchants and traders are common, however dungeons and ruins are too. The Forgotten Ones once build a wonderous civilization in the west, and most cities are built on the ruins of these once great lands. A deal more tropical and warm than the other parts of the continent, the West is the land of opportunity.
Danger here is not scarce. Pirates, Sea Monsters, Dragons, strange things from Aezeran, oddities from Nolion and the raids from the Lizard Cultists of the Forgotten Metal Gods from the seas. The life in the west is a life on the knife’s edge.
The South
The South is a warzone, where the dispossessed and unwanted of the other nations join under the banner of the Sun Crusade to reclaim the Southlands and defend against the Metal Ones. The Metal Ones have been at war with the nations of Thalmar for centuries.
The South is of course home to the war, but there are also strange beasts and the ruins of the Forgotten Times to explore.
Thalmar, the central continent, is perhaps the most diverse and is mostly isolated from the other two by political and geographical boundaries. Thalmar's history, geography and political climate is complex and varied. Typically Thalmar is divided into five main regions.
The North
A cold land of forests, mountains and tundras broken often by lakes, rivers, swamps and small seas. The North extends from the glacial frost caps of Thalmar to the Dark Marshes that border with the Center. The North is a harsh landscape and lends itself to either tribal confederations or petty kingdoms. The common monsters and plagues of the North are the Fire Giants who raid villages, the roving undead who once answered to the call of the Lichlord, and the goblins and ogres who infest the mountains.
Thalmar was once plagued by a warlord named Ocar Tamn, whom by a coalition of tribes was defeated. The Warlord returned as a Hero and became the first Lich after putting his soul into a black box. He managed to take huge swaths of territory before his soul was cast into the fires of the Great Forge and set ablaze.
The East
The east, a land of dense forest, rolling hills and temperate climates, is home to two major political Federations. The First is the Eastern Federated Empire, a group of ex colonies, territories and client states bound by a facsimile of the old unified Glorious Empire. The other major political unit is the Union, a similar federated group of tribes, clans and monsters who call the forests home. Both have been in a state of cold war for a time, fighting proxy wars in the small kingdoms and other neutral states which still exist.
Besides the politics, the East generally suffers from bandit groups of Orcs, gnolls and ogres. The Dark forests to the extreme east of the continent contain creatures of fae and magic. Expeditions go regularly into the far east, but they never get that far and rarely return alive.
The Center
The self proclaimed "Center of Civilization" is a large number of fractious and rival city states. Each vies for power against the others and many seek to unite the Center. Mountains, rivers and fertile plains are spread liberally across the Center. The Center also enjoys a more advanced level of technology, using steam to power wondrous contraptions.
The Center is home to problems which are more hidden and insidious. Demon Cults, Serial Killers, Ballroom Vampires, Graveyard Ghouls, monsters which stalk the night and fiends in the shape of humans.
The West
The West is one of the new and more prosperous regions, with maritime trade with the mysterious Farlanders being commonplace. Merchants and traders are common, however dungeons and ruins are too. The Forgotten Ones once build a wonderous civilization in the west, and most cities are built on the ruins of these once great lands. A deal more tropical and warm than the other parts of the continent, the West is the land of opportunity.
Danger here is not scarce. Pirates, Sea Monsters, Dragons, strange things from Aezeran, oddities from Nolion and the raids from the Lizard Cultists of the Forgotten Metal Gods from the seas. The life in the west is a life on the knife’s edge.
The South
The South is a warzone, where the dispossessed and unwanted of the other nations join under the banner of the Sun Crusade to reclaim the Southlands and defend against the Metal Ones. The Metal Ones have been at war with the nations of Thalmar for centuries.
The South is of course home to the war, but there are also strange beasts and the ruins of the Forgotten Times to explore.
Races
Human
Elf
Dwarf
Orc
Human
Elf
Dwarf
Orc
Race APP:
Rules
1. Basic RP stuff, don't god-mod, OP word is law, don't post till your app is accepted and don't be a jerk.
2. I'll be handing out the "levels" once you complete quests. You don't gain Heroic levels until I or a Co-OP hands them out and you don't gain the effects of those until I or a Co-OP approve the level up form.
3. Feel free to flesh out and describe the world as you want. I've left things a little vague so that you can interpret things as you want, so long as they don't clash with already established information. I'll create another thread or a wiki where we can track the lore and background we come up with.
4. In PvP or any disagreement, if you can't come up with a solution yourself, I'll adjudicate the result. In the case of PvP it'll probably be randomly determined.
5. I'll be releasing "expansions" which will give the world more breadth as we go on (Kinda like World of Warcraft) as well as more quests as we proceed.
Application
Level Up Form
Starting Quests
Quest APP
I'll put up an app once I hammer out the details for a character in my head.
