Carendar, Country of Light. Ruled by a monarchy centuries old, the land has thrived through the laws and teachings of its King, and for years, those teachings have not been questioned. Until now. Old, crippled and lacking in both strength of character and charisma, King Werner Escher has officially abdicated his position on the throne, leaving it open for his eldest son, Bastion, to step up and take his place. But Werner’s weak leadership has not passed without consequence, as rebel factions and crime syndicates have cropped up in the once peaceful lands outside of Carendar, and a new democratic movement threatens to dethrone the monarchy once and for all.
In an effort to redeem his family in the eyes of the people, Bastion Escher has called for another tournament to take place, the first in over thirty years. The tournament, known as The King’s Bounty, was traditionally held to determine who will stand by the King’s side, carry out his orders, and help him lead his country to greatness. Bastion, seeing the decline in the loyalty of his once proud people, has announced that this time around, the tournament will not only determine who will help to run the country by his side, but also, who will be heralded around the world as the best and brightest Carendar has to offer. With the advent of the media movement, Bastion’s promise to broadcast the tournament and allow the public sponsorship of its competitors will guarantee fame and fortune for the handful of those skilled enough to emerge victorious.
And so, from far and wide, citizens have come forward to pledge themselves to Carendar and test their strength, intelligence, magic prowess and world-wariness against the vast numbers of players in the King’s game. But underneath the granduer of the Bounty are rumblings of something much more sinister, much more serious - the threat of a war that could bring the end of the world as it is known.
Can the new King’s champions prove themselves in his tournament and fight off this new threat by his side? Or will the rising insurgence prove too strong for even the best and brightest stars the country has to offer?
Now, for some general information. There are going to be two narrators to this game, Kelly617 and Exmondias. This is going to be a big one, and we are hoping that our combined efforts will help things run much more smoothly than if one of us were to tackle it on our own. It’s going to take a bit of experimenting though, as Storium doesn’t allow co-narration just yet, so let’s keep an open mind!
The majority of the story will revolve around the tournament, its players and its outcomes. All of the players will be competitors entering the tournament for the first time. Though your motivations for doing so are entirely up to you! The tournament is open to anyone from any walk of life, so we hope to see a lot of variety and creativity! Farmers, fishermen, midwives, soldiers, adventurers, teachers, mages, you can be as lowly as a farmhand or as prestigious as the General in the King’s Army.
The tournament will involve a lot of combat, but it will also hold puzzles, personality tests, one-on-one duels, tests of strength, intelligence and magic. So being a brutish warrior with exceptional weapons training doesn’t necessarily guarantee you a title!
We also want you to think outside the box. We have provided some example character cards that you are more than welcome to use, but if you think you can come up with something better, or more original, go for it! Also, your character’s goals and motivations are entirely up to you. There are far too many possibilities for us to even suggest some, so write up your own! Get us excited about having you in our game!
Characterization is also very important. This won’t just be a hack and slash, puzzle solving, by-the-numbers competition. We want to see characters interacting with one another, and with the (many) NPCs they’ll meet along the way. Don’t be afraid to rustle up some personal drama to keep things interesting!
Here’s some stuff to know when creating a character:
Places
There are several main venues your character can hail from.
Clifton - the guard barracks. If your character is in the Royal guard or training to be a soldier of some type, they likely currently reside here. They can be from anywhere around the world, but this is where they will start off.
Deep Gorge - A merchant hub and underground harbor that sees the majority of trade in the Kingdom. It also houses the underworld, crime cartels and seedy activity. Merchants would do well here, as well as criminals and some of the more nomadic people.
Forest of the Dawnstar - A deep, peaceful forest that houses most of the members of the Dawnstar tribe, a people particularly attuned to magic. Most anyone in the world can train in the ways of elemental magics, but the Dawnstar are by far the most adept.
Gorgon’s Scar - Once home to the Gorgons, a tribe of accomplished Mechanics and the birthplace of Golem construction (think more Steampunk attributes than fantasy). Their potential was quashed when their city was razed in a war long passed. Now only a few Gorgons remain, wandering the world as nomads and desperately trying to keep their knowledge of machinery alive. The scar, now an open, barren land, hosts many of the battles held for The King’s Bounty.
Searing Sea - A desert land that lies between Carendar and Tilarden. Its vast, impenetrable wasteland keeps the rebels of the democracy from advancing upon the loyalists of the monarchy. There are a few who brave the wastes and live in the hot dunes, but they keep mostly to themselves.
Sirenspeak - The northern mountain range that lies beyond Carendar. Rumors of dragons have persisted for eons, though no one living today has set eyes upon one.
Tilarden - The City of Progress, Tilarden hosts the new democratic order and is run by publicly elected President Rowan Carver. Believed to be lawless and anarchistic by the people of Carendar, Tilarden is actually a forward-thinking city that embraces the ideas of science and machinery.
Whitetower - The current location of the Throne of the Escher monarchs. The tower and its city are surrounded by forty-foot high limestone walls that cast a gleam throughout the country when the sun is shining, thus earning it the name the Country of Light. A rich, prosperous city, Royals and highborn citizens live here.
Magic System
The magic in this world is elemental based. This means that anyone with an affinity for magic draws primarily from one category. Anyone can learn a spell from any elemental category, but the majority of their aptitude will come from their natural specialty. Keep in mind that mages cannot create the element (if you’ve seen Avatar: The Last Airbender, you’ve got the general idea), they can only use what is in their immediate surroundings to cast spells. For example, a Water Mage can create tsunamis to drown their opponents near a vast water source, but they are next to useless in a desert setting.
Also, don’t think that just because you are a farmer, or a merchant, you can’t also be a mage. The general of the Royal Guard could be a fire mage as easily as a merchant could be an enchanter. You can also play a character who has absolutely no magical abilities what so ever, or simply no interest in learning any. Totally up to you!
Water - Spells draw from the element of water and ice.
Fire - Spells draw from the element of fire, with an offshoot into electricity.
Earth - Spells draw from minerals found within the land. Earth Mages can control these “Earth” elements, as well as create and manipulate metals.
Wind - Spells draw from the element of air. Strong Wind Mages have some degree of telekinetic strength.
Light - Spells draw from the element of light. You can utilize the idea of “hard light” through the use of concentrated beams, or lasers. Healing and illusory spells are also possible for Light Mages.
Shadow - An antithesis of Light Magic, spells draw from the shadows cast by light. Shadow Mages are also capable of teleporting from shadow to shadow, but have very little power in areas where there are no shadows being cast.
Mechanical - Considered a “magic” by the old world order, Mechanics are actually more attuned to the pursuits of science. They can create Golems (a kind of sentient robot) to carry out their orders and fight alongside them.
Illusion - Illusion Mages are psyonics who can manipulate the minds of their opponents to make them see, hear and believe things that are not real.
Nature - Nature Mages practice the art of life magic. They commune with the world around them in order to control and manipulate animal and plant life. They are also incredibly adept healers, though Nature Mages are strictly prohibited from using Necromancy.
Necromancy - Necromancy is highly frowned upon within magic circles, though it is not an outright illegal practice. Necromancers can act as mediums between the worlds of the living and the dead, raise demons from the underworld and bring about unspeakable pestilance upon their foes.
Enhancement - Enhancement mages act in support roles within a battle. They can focus their powers of strength, speed and perception to enhance their own natural physical abilities or to enhance the abilities of their allies. They can also inhibit the abilities of their foes through the same practice.
Enchantment - Enchantment mages can not directly manipulate the elements like elemental mages can, but they can use the elements around them to enhance the abilities of items and weapons that are then usable by themselves and others.
Rules of Play
Finally, just a few rules and expectations we have for ourselves and our potential players!
Think big! Don’t be scared to take chances, get creative. While posts don’t need to be huge, they do need to be effective. We don’t like “one liner” posts, because they don’t really advance the story or add anything to the plot. Tell us what you’re seeing, how you’re feeling, and describe what you’re doing. Have fun with the magic system, dig deep into your character and make them multi-dimensional.
Under no circumstances should you take control of another player’s character unless you have discussed it before hand and you have express permission from that player to put words into their character’s mouth or actions into their…limbs? Because this game relies quite heavily on combat and cunning, others (narrators included) must have the opportunity to respond and react to your actions and words.
This is a stylistic choice for us, but we as narrators like to maintain full control of our NPCs. NPCs are the backbone of our story lines, and to give players the right to manipulate their words or actions means giving up a certain amount of control over the plot. While we want you to be able to write this story with us, we also want to be able to surprise you with the many twists and turns we have planned, and to do that, we have to be able to maintain a certain amount of control. We do that through our NPCs. You may be able to introduce your own NPCs to the plot, however, such as an animal companion or a bodyguard. Just let us know and we’ll work something out!
As far as content, this will be a 14+ rated game. Cursing is allowed if it makes sense for your character. It might get irritating if it’s happening every other line, or throughout narrative prose, but we aren’t squeamish about it. Gratuitous violence is encouraged and gritty descriptions are a must! Sex happens, especially in heavily character driven games, lets just keep it on the vague side, nothing pornographic or explicit, please. If for no other reason than it just isn’t that genre of story.
Hosted and narrated by:
Kelly Watt (Kelly617)
Started 04/18/15.
Scenes played: 1
License: Community License
