Since the God’s creation, the world has been inhabited by a spattering of different races. Elves, Dwarves, humans, and many more. With the differences between species, came war. Most wars were over within a few years, and few raised a number of casualties worth noting. All, except for the war of the humans.
While the much larger, northern continent of Tilor is filled with a variety of races, the southern continent of Yalin housed only humans. The humans divided themselves into two separate factions: Belguard to the West, Mandarai to the East. For 250 years, war waged on between these two nations. Neither remembered why the war began, but they continuously refused to stop for anything short of clear and utter victory.
From an outside perspective, the two countries were an equal match. The other races of the world were willing to open trade routes, but they refused to raise arms in the name of either faction. Overtime, the expansive forest that divided the two nations served to cause a stalemate; the cavalry of Belguard were unable to maneuver a large force forward, while the archers of Mandarai feared entering the open fields of their enemy.
That was, until 12 years ago. In the year 782 A.C. (After Calamity), something terrible happened. Within the capital city of Mandarai, a portal to another world - or many worlds - opened. From its depths rose strange and powerful creatures - some intelligent, some not. The creatures - monsters, as they are now called - poured forth, turning Mandarai from one of the most powerful nations in the world, to a dark, overrun husk of its former self.
The few that survived were those of the Mandarai who fled first. Word traveled to Belguard, and it appeared as if it were up to Mandarai’s timeless enemy to contain the disaster that were bursting from its Kingdom. Unfortunately, Belguard refused to act.
Prince Mandric of Belguard - 22 at the time - was third in line to the throne. While his father and elder brothers bickered about the shame of helping an enemy, Mandric hired a mercenary company and struck out for Mandarai. While his force was not large enough to strike at the heart of the problem, he managed to set up an outpost in the forest of the Belguard-Mandarai border. While others would sit back and watch, Mandric and his men made it their duty to control - and destroy - these new creatures.
It is now the year 794 A.C., twelve years after the opening of the portal. Monsters have spread across the planet, but the majority of the creatures still reside within Mandarai. As far as the world knows, the portal remains open - possibly driving the creatures to remain nearby. Likewise, Mandric and his mercenary force remain strong.
Over time, many individuals of all races and nations have joined Mandric’s Guild. They are funded by merchants and King’s looking to use the hides, claws, and organs of the beasts as components for new and diverse crafts. Mandric’s Monster Slaying Mercenaries have become a successful business, known by all.
But, no matter how many hunter’s Mandric’s Guild recruits, they still hold true to two goals: they are the first line of defense for the world and, one day, they will find a way to close the portal.
Out of Character Information
Helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllloooooo! I’ve narrated a few stories in my time, so I have a fair amount of experience and an idea of where I want to go with this. As the players, you will be Mercenaries with the express purpose of hunting and killing monsters. These could range from anything to dragons, vampires, giant ants, demons, or whatever my imagination can come up with!
Storium is pretty focused on collaborative writing, but I enjoy firm control of my npc’s and have plenty of good idea’s for plot development. Much of the action, however, will likely be up to your control. I want you to have fun, but I want to tell a story, too, ya know?
Each chapter will likely be a mission. Player characters don’t have to travel together, and there will be a list (like a bulletin board) of potential assignments, as well as a load of npc’s that you could choose to travel/work with.
I would like the story to be in third person past, but I understand slip ups (writing in both across multiple stories gets me screwed up too, and, sometimes, this feels like dnd, heh). I would like to aim for completing 2 scenes in a week, but, as I’ve seen across Storium, it seems likely that we’ll be traveling a bit slower than that, which is okay.
If players need to drop, no worries, because this is designed for a pretty open give-and-go environment, since the Mercenary Guild is so populated.
Character creation guidelines
Races - Confirmed races of the world are Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, Hawk-men, and Humans. I’m open to other suggestions. The northern continent is open for you to create races/histories all you want, as I’ve only severely focused on developing the southern, human continent.
Magic - I’m open to discussion about types of magic. The only thing I’m holding solid on is this - magic is done through mental energy in the same way that you use physical energy to move your body. The more magic energy used, the more your mind starts to turn into a drunken state, until you eventually black out. Also similar to physical endurance, extensive practice allows one to build up their mental endurance, allowing greater feats of magical strength without turning drunk/passing out.
It should be noted that the majority of the mercenaries in Mandric’s guild use enhancement magic. Example - a warrior may use strength and endurance magic so that they can withstand the direct strike of a dragon’s tail without dying. Likewise, an archer might use speed and eye-sight enhancement magic, ect.
Natures, Strengths/Weakness -Please create your own. Make natures your specialty, not your race (Ex: Archer). If you’re an archer, Strength doesn’t need to be something obvious… if you’re an archer, you’re good with bows. So make it something else like a quick thinker, or a positive person, or smooth talker, ect. Same with weakness. Sub-plots can be anything, and I’ll make it work. (If you have difficulty with these, feel free to email me and I’ll send you/put up a few choices, but I would like you to create your own.)
Your characters can be new to the Guild, or they could be veterans - even as far back as being an original member. If you’re a veteran of the guild, though, I’d like you to have an idea of how many assignments your character has completed. I would guess that the average would be about 1 per month, due to travel time/healing time, ect. (I’d like it if you included that in your biography, so we can all see how experienced your character is).
If you have any other questions, feel free to email me at drgnicefire@gmail.com, or go to https://storium.com/forums#/category/lfp/thread/t341er and ask your questions there!
Hosted and narrated by:
Brett Lundquist (Exmondias)
Started 07/06/14.
Scenes played: 4
License: Community License
