blue wolf2 Red-tiger (GM)
Posts: 8
(11/23/01 5:22 pm)
STORY/Races
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Turning back towards the grave, the High Knight shed a tear in concert with the falling leaves. Her duty fulfilled, but honor does not allow it to go easily.<BR>
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Entrusting to earth her sword as she has her Liege, the sun sets upon an age - An age of prosperity.<BR>
Saddened as she was to see her King fallen, she cries not for him, but for the land.<BR>
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Bleak has it’s own beauty, as Autumn gives way to Winter, but the Winter is harsh and so is the new age to come.<BR>
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The Sun sets upon an age, and with the rising of the dark, a new one shall begin. Heroes were they in an age now passing, her duty calls through her honor, to see a new age of heroes in a new age of darkness. She would cull the strong and test their meanings, as they had been tested this age now past.<BR>
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But hope grew upon a savior, she knew, as grass grew green before her eyes at the base of the Lion’s sword.
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(The map of the Osteth continent is in "The Continent of Osteth" thread. I'm sure you figured that one out already, though. -Rycht)
<b>Arc two</b>
The three had spit up the country into their own personal providences. With this division of the country the land suffered and catastrophes destroyed the land and peoples hope. Soon as what people could only call miracles started happening around the land people saved from insidious plots and monster hordes. The man claming to orchestrate the entire thing was known as the peoples king, as his following grew so did the anger of the three. They sent out all they had against these agents of the king to destroy them all the plan backfired as the people rose up against the Three’s armies and took back their lands and lives. Peace came back to the stricken people of Osteth and they raised the peoples king to the proper place for his title.
His very first act, as king was a speech to the traitors of the kingdom, where they were cornered and driven out of the country to the outskirts. Northern and western Osteths boarders were strengthened as the traitors were cast out.
Now after all the work you did in helping this man to become king, you’ve been turned on and cast out of the country you helped save.
As you face these new lands there’s hope cults praying to ancient gods have begun roaming the land saying the gods have returned to even those rejected by society all one needs to do is listen. Will you listen for the gods of old or will you look for merely a way to live?
<b>Arc one</b>
Perhaps forty years ago, a man named Humphrey set out to free middle Osteth from a tyrant king, Brathord IX, called the Serpent, and reunite the many feuding provinces under Brathord IX's disastrous rule. Humphrey's strength and courage in battle made him the greatest among men, and coupled with his wisdom and charisma, he managed to unite the many squablling province's under the reign of the Serpent. But, having united the warring factions into one cohesive force, his task was not yet done. Fierce raiders from North Osteth raided along the coasts and inland, carried in great and menacing Dragonships, striking along the Eastern coast, and but rarely by land. Wild riders of the Kubliai Horde, from the Dire Lands, would attack and loot merchants trains and small hamlets. Through a long and bloody series of conflicts, King Humphrey, called the Lion, hammered out an uneasy peace between his Kingdom, which spanned from Holtburg to Qalabar, the Northmen, and the Horde. He ruled fairly, and it was a prosperous age.
Just as things seemed at their height, King Humphrey was struck with a debilitating disease. As with the old traditions Humphrey revived, an arcane bond was forged by magic between Humphrey and the land, symbolizing an age-old creed: The land and the king are one. Humphrey's condition worsened, and so too did the land. Fields yielded poorer crops. Animals sickened and became sterile. Humphrey perished, and things became worse. As the land mirrored the King, it began to decay. Humphrey had left no heirs, so there was no clear succession. The King's 3 high adviors; Bishop Tartare, Marshall Panteras, and Lady Isolde, who before Humphrey's rule, had been bitter ennemies, fell into old ways, and waged war upon each other, each claiming they had right of succession. To make matters worse, Dragonships have been sighted upon the coasts, and rumors of Southern Horsemen travelling along the borders abound, as with Humphrey's death, the peace treaties became null and void. The elves and dwarves have retreated from the world, and few roam the land, disgusted by the savagery of the humans.
A new King must be crowned, to heal the land, and unite it. Adventurers, some good, some evil, have rallied to the banners of the three would be monarchs, seeking some way to secure their patron's right to succession.
Now is our darkest hour. Let us cling together. Let us pray for a Saviour.
Edited by: Sithrazer at: 3/2/04 8:20 pm
Herein I describe how the three principle nations of peoples behave. Bear in mind that simply because I compare to the real world, does not give you right to do so.
Northmen: Northmen rely primarily on agriculture for their food production, and supplement this with hunting. Traditional crops do not grow in the cold Northern Osteth, but some do. Northmen are, in essence, Vikings, and live much like they would, in villages, with a leader, a few fighting men, and then farmers, craftsmen, etc. There is not unity in the Northmen "kingdoms", a "King"'s authority extends only as far as he can enforce it with fighting men loyal to him. Men and women may become warriors, however it is uncommon for women to be full time fighting personnel. No Northman owns lands, but a "King" does hold sway over the land as far as he can enforce his will.
Northmen, male and female, achieve epic proportions. Men and women on average stand close to seven feet in height, but rarely more than seven and a half feet. Women tend to be slightly leaner than men, and most male Northmen weigh over three hundred pounds, often a majority of it muscle mass. All Northmen have blonde hair, and blue eyes, but there is some difference in shades thereof.
Things of note: Pedastery and rape are utterly unkown among Northmen. Though often seen as coarse and brutal by outsiders, Northmen are loyal and faithful to thier kin and comrades. Northmen do not use horses for military purposes, only for farming and other burden purposes. Northmen favor huge weapons, obviously. Great axes, great swords, halberds, long spears, clubs shod with iron bands, and huge long bows are most common. A Northman bow is well able to launch an arrow through two men in full plate, and requires a Northmans' strength to wield. Northmen, male and female, can exhibit a furious, berserker frenzy during battle, called among the Southern peoples: 'Northmans' Rage'. It is something uniquely Northman, and among them it is known as: 'Odins' Blessing'.
Northmen are outright attacked by Southerners. The Northman legacy of raiding the coasts using dragon ships has left a bitter memory in the ignorant, superstitious southern folk.
Osteth: The Osteth populance is much like the people of Europe during the Dark Ages, adhering to the belief of a Monothiestic religion, and living under the rule of Feudal lords. The peasantry is for the large part illiterate and ignorant, believing witches and outsiders can be blamed for poor crops to a rainy day.
Ostethers, as an ethnic group, represent physical characteristics of many of the European peoples, barring Scandinavian peoples and any of the Germanic tribes(the Teutons, Goths, and Germans), as well as Asiatic peoples, as Southern Osteth was conquered and the peoples there have freely mixed and interbred with one another. As such, Ostethers, as an ethnic group, exhibit a wide variety of physiological difference: green eyes, brown eyes, black eyes, brown hair, red hair, black hair, etc. Ostethers, however, never grow taller than six feet, and that is a very, very rare occurance. Ostethers are incapable of much muscle mass, and seldom weigh more than one hundred and ninety pounds, except in cases of obesity.
Things of note: Despite considering themselves civilized and advanced, the Osteth people are perhaps the most vile and depraved of the major peoples. Corruption, avarice, and tyranny are now back in full force with Humphrey's death, more than making up for the slight decline during his reign.
Murrn : A race of cat people they live in southern Osteth. They are unfriendly to outsiders and would rather keep to themselves and their own affairs. They are pagans, and worship animal idols. They favor staff-like weapons and are very agile. At war with the Lupin. Murrn are similar in height to the Osteth ethnic group.
Lupin : A race of dog-like people also liveing in southern Osteth. They exhibit physical characteristics similar to most breeds of dog found in the real world, and communities are always of the same breed. For example, a settlement of mastiff-like Lupin would contain only mastiff-like Lupin. These people are friendly to outsiders but do not permit them to stay long. Also pagan in belief, and worship animal idols. These people favor bladed weapons and, of the anthropomorphic races, are the most physically powerful. Lupins exhibit little size difference between the sexes, and the tallest Lupin grew to a height of six feet and fiv inches. A muscular Lupin weighs around two hundred pounds, and a lean one weighs around one hundred and fifty pounds. At war with the Murrn.
Vulray : A race of fox-like people the thrid of the furry races liveing in southern Osteth. A very friendly race of people that welcome outsiders into their society. They hold balance in high regard, and worship a trinity of gods whose influence nullify one anothers'. These people favor no specific type of weaponry. They also have an order of knights tasked with keeping peace between themselves, and between the Lupin and Murrn. A sort of police force. Vulray are a sleight people, rarely growing taller than five feet and four inches, or weighing more than one hundred and fifty pounds, excepting cases of obesity.
Kubliai Horde: This is the name given to the military formation that is the only contact the Osteth people have had with the Kubliai, a nomadic people who make thier living through the raising of herd animals. They are much like Mongols. Of all the primary peoples, the Kubliai are the most equal among genders, as both men and women may becomes leaders, warriors, or religious persons. In physical stature, they resemble the Ostheth ethnic group.
Things of Note: The Kubliai are famous for their use of a short, recurved composite bow, and their superb horsemanship. They ride on a small, nimble horses that can easily outmaneouver any other calvalry formations. A veteran Kubliai archer is well able to shoot as many as four times the amount of arrows from their short bows with accuracy in the time it would take any other archer to fire but one accurate shot. It should be noted, however, that their bows are not powerful: at it's most effective, a Kubliai short bow has insufficient pull to do more than puncture hard leather armor. Hence the focus on accuracy.
Slann: The slann are humanoid lizard beings. In size, the slann range from 6'6" to 6'9" and weigh between 275lbs-350lbs. Their scale color ranges from a deep brown to a bright yellow. Unlike any other race, this is the only race that's eye color changes on variables such as emotion or climate.
The slann are a people whose society is based around the hunt. Most commonly hunted in the deserts is a desert fowl, the emu. They live in tribes, following a single leader--usually the strongest warrior of the tribe. The relatives of the chief take high ranking positions, as well, followed by the hunters. Any magic among this tribe is of ritualistic nature--praying to their gods for gifts to help them. The males take up warrior positions while the females are the priests of the hunt. This race also lives in the desert region of Osteth in underground areas near oasises.
Slann clothing and weaponry are all made from various items found in nature. Weapons are usually large, simple, easy-to-use and mostly either edged or pointed. On average, the slann can take a great deal of pain. They have potential to be good mercenaries or soldiers. Being used to the dry desert climate, they feel uncomfortable in normal Osteth and in the North. It becomes near unbearable in the cold, as they are slowed extreme ammounts and cannot be without fire for more than half a day. Slann characters do not wear traditional armor, as they possess natural scale. Traditional armor is never worn by the slann, but they may don natural materials for protection...such as armor of bone or wood. In addition to becoming deblititated in the climates listed above, slann characters lose this natural armor when exposed to high enough levels of humidity. Their protective scale will grow back with time in a dry enough area.
Edit(Nov.8, '02): Note that Dragon-Halfs are now forbidden to applicants. Information is contained herein largely for archival purposes. Races become prohibited from player abuse.
Dragon-Half : This Halfblood race is the product of a union between a dragon and a non-dragon humanoid. This is typically done while the dragon is in a human or elf form, as these are favorites among dragons. Usually the child is left with the non-dragon parent as dragons will not care for a Halfblood. Dragon-Halfs are notoriously arrogant and proud to the extreme, flaunting their draconic heritage which is impossible to hide: often they will have scales, tails, wings, horns, bone structures outside the dermis, talons, forked tongues, or even cold blood. As they mature wings may form but are NEVER able to be used for flight, but are able to support gliding. Dragon-type abilities may show up but never reach the power of a full-blooded dragon in it's natural form. Their own pride, and the fact their are almost unanimously regarded as abominations makes it impossible for Dragon-Halfs to receive training in anything. Frequently, Dragon-Halfs begin with vestigial, imperfect, self-taught magic abilities or some poor self-taught hand to hand abilities. Each Dragon-Half is unique in appearance, as the combination of Dragon and non-Dragon are simply chaotic in their product.
The term Dragon-half also applies to anyone with a dragon ancestor. As soon as the physiological traits that mark a Dragon-half are bred out, then any power derived of draconic heritage is long gone within the family line.
Edited by: Red tiger1 at: 10/21/03 11:58 am
Other Races
The characters "<" and ">" denote that whatever is contained within them is a new section, and therefore, a new species, not to be confused as a part of the species preceding it.
Text in italics denotes the common name of the sub-species that is described in the body of text following it.
<Elves>: Elves in general tend to be between 5 and 5'8" feet in height, and weigh 70-150 pounds. Light,agile,and quick-minded,they are all intrigued by magic. They are long lived.
Sub-Species of Elf:
High Elves: The most common sub-species of elf. When most folk think of elves, they think of High Elves. High elves are an isolationist, secluded lot, and are more than prepared to kill to keep their isolation. They favor bows, light swords, and forest colours. They exhibit no uniform coloration. They are exceedingly haughty, arrogant, and vain. And not without due cause: in far gone antiquity, elves ruled the whole of the world, but their rules was shattered by the beings they consider themselves most above: humans. They construct magical cities, sometimes of material that looks like glass, and by magical means always keep them hidden in the mists. High elves tend to be as small as possible, and inbreeding is high because of the lack of genetic diversity amongst the populations of the cities. Adventurer high elves will most often be exiles, but no less full of hubris than their other brethren.
Wood elves: Slightly larger than high elves, as well as quicker and stronger because they lead a more physical lifestyle. After the elven domination of the world, these elves turned their backs on magic and artifice, seeking to return into a kinship with the land they sprang from. It worked, to a degree. Wild elves are nomadic and feral; having a sixth "nature sense" that when developped allows them to communicate with plants or animals. They have a more natural magic, dealing with animals, and plants. Unlike the High Elves, they have a reverence for all life, despite that they still consider themselves the master race. Eventually, they believe, they will have the blessing of the land and again rise to their rightful place as sovereigns of the world. Because of their nomadic nature, they often encounter other tribes, and because of their wilder, more feral nature, have little qualms about breeding with members of the other tribe. They often exhibit earth colors for skin and hair, and occasional green hair is seen, and taken as a special blessing.
Drow Elves: These are the true elves, all others being products of distant interbreeding with other species. Their skin is midnight blue or pure black, and their hair white. They have red or purple eyes. It is these elves who orchestrated the elven claim to global domination, and these elves who most deeply feel the desire to rule again. Drow and other elves despise one another, each blaming the other for their defeat so long ago. The Drow are a subterranean people, and tend to be small, but not on the scale as High Elves. They favor hand crossbows, small blades, and their armors often have sharp protrusions in defence against being seized by some underground predator. Drow elves focus on the study of manipulating life energy and the body, as well as poisons.
<Dwarves>: Dwarves are a strong, proud people. They general abstain from the affairs of other races. They live longer than humans, but no so long as elves. Dwarves in Middle and Southern Osteth have their view of other races soured by generations of warfare, thievery and ignorant hatred directed at them. Dwarves in Northern Osteth are amused at the near demi-god status they enjoy in dealing with the Northmen on account of the high-quality goods they trade with the Northmen for things they cannot produce in their mountain dwellings. Dwarves in the Dire Lands are ambivalent, as they are left to their own devices. In antiquity, dwarves were slaves of the elves, and when humanity rose up, most dwarves cast their elven masters out to the humans' mercies and locked themselves in the mountain dwellings. Thus, dwarves have an innate racial hatred of elves that is as much a part of them as their arm or leg. Dwarves tend to be around five feet tall, but exceptionally stout and broad. The average dwarf weighs around two hundred and fifty pounds, given their strong, dense bones, and that they usually have occupations that build muscle. Among mortal species, dwarves are the greatest of smiths, and it is said there is no metal in the ground a dwarven hand cannot shape, and few in the heavens, either. Dwarves favor hammers, picks, and weapons that resemble tools. Complex, powerful repeating crossbows are the ranged weapon of choice, but their access to lumber is limited. Humans prize dwarven goods because dwarves craft them to last a dwarven lifetime, which is often far mor than a humans', and thus they need not owrry about it wearing out during theirs.
Edited by: Dragoon Andrew at: 12/5/02 11:05:27 pm
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at: 12/5/02 11:05:27 pm
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