[British Vs. Myth, anyone?] Here, There be Dragons!

[Novum Genus]

In the 1990s, there came a great influx of new technology, ideas, industrial expansion, and growth in Europe. Most notably, of course, was Great Britian. An island empire, that had long since established itself across the Eastern seaboard of the New Americas, of the coasts of Africa, and all across India and parts of China. But no one knew where such wealth came from.

Was it gold mining? Slaves? Criminal activity? No one could figure out...

Until they stopped looking in the real world,
and discovered the Archipelago.

~Main Information-ish~
If you've read the book, "Here, there be dragons," you'd know that this is not an accurate translation from book -> website, but that's not the point.

This is set in an alternate universe, where Great Britain never lost its hold on places such as the Colonies, Africa, and India, and grew into one of the most powerful superpowers of the world.

The German Nazis are still around, still attempting to negotiate with the UK to not intervene, should they just happen to invade all the surrounding countries.

The Russian USSR was still established as well, still Communistic or Socialist, still powerful in Siberia, Russia, Ukraine, etc.

But most of all, the Archipelago existed.


During the mysterious, misty nights of London, every New Moon, a portal opened to a completely different universe.

This universe was everything of a fantasy: elves, dwarves, dragons, humans, orcs, wyverns, bear-o-dactyls, werewolves and vampires, and many more.

The Archipelago was a massive chain of islands, some being close enough together to be 'tethered' by bridges and dams, to be turned into great Elven, Human, or Dwarven cities of power, wealth, and strength.

And then came the 1990s humans, wielding powerful long-range cannons, rifles that could shoot far farther than any crossbow or longbow, and tanks with cannons, guns, and flame, purging any who oppose as they pillage and burn to steal what they want: Wealth and power.

And no one is happy. The soldiers are weary, although they are set for life when they return from their wars, if they ever do. The creatures of the Archipelago are fearful and angry at the invasions, and so they begin to fight back, ferociously.

And your story is that of a fleet moving on Helion, the golden city inhabited by dwarves, elves, humans, orcs, and any other sentient creature that can behave, and contains the largest treasure trove in all of the Archipelago.

But here's the catch:
The city is very, very heavily guarded...
By the most powerful dragons.

So, are you a dragon? A British fleetmaster? A common British soldier? An Elven archer? A Dwarven Berserker?

~More information~
The Archipelago is a magical place, and only the innermost islands are physically set in one place. Other mystical islands with great treasures of knowledge, power, or items lie on islands that the Archipelago moves. For example, the Cartographer's Island is one of the most sought-for places in the Archipelago world, as the Cartographer has written the Map of the Archipelago, which contains everything. How to reach this island, how to build this weapon, how to wield magic, how to use alchemy, how to make a dragon defenseless and puppy-like, even. But very, very few have reached the CI, and they have all returned with no book, and no desire to ever search for the book again.

Of course, the Dragons are attempting to find the CI to defend it, and the British are attempting to discover the CI so that they may rule and steal everything!

So, imagine a star. Imagine that the star was a dotted line. The dots are the 'Border' islands. These are on the edge of physical-space and Archipelago-manipulated space. Passing these border islands, often with creatures such as a Medusa-like creature, a Sea Serpent, or other horror, leads you into magical waters. Sometimes, you can be returned to London. Sometimes, you can end up on the other side of the Archipelago border. Sometimes, you'll find yourself in a storm and smashed to bits against sharp rocks that conveniently appeared. And sometimes, if the Archipelago takes a liking, you'll find yourself on a safe, comfortable island with plentiful foods and such.

Inside the borders, are physical islands. The very center of the 5-point star of border islands is the main opening/gateway between the Archipelago and London. There is a great open space, guarded by a single island, called the 'Gateway Island.' The GI was once a small bustling human town, trading with the old-Londoneers and the rest of the Archipelago.

Now it's a fortress, turning out warships and soldiers, being reinforced and supplied by London ever New Moon.

At each point of the border-island star, is a capital of some kind. Directly north, the point is the golden city guarded by Dragons, Helion. The southern 2 points are human capitals, both of which are under British control. The eastern-most point is the Elven capital, under siege by the British, and the western-most point is the Dwarven capital, so far left alone, but traded with.

However, the siege on the Elven capital has stopped recently, and all forces are moving on the Dragon capital, Helion, and these forces would easily be large enough to overwhelm the Dwarven capital, the most dug-in and defensive city in the realm.

The British are 5 islands away from Helion, each island being about a day's worth of sailing, and about 6 hour's worth of traveling by dragonwing.

~Interested?~

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Appearance:

Faction/race: [Human, British or Arche? Dwarven, anti-Brit or pro-Brit? Dragon? Elf?]

Rank/Class/Occupation: [If you're British, are you an Admiral? Note for Admiral or high ranking: You must know tactics. Otherwise, you will absolutely fail. If you're a dragon, are you a scout? A Cityguard? If a dwarf, a berserker, miner, axeman? Elf: archer, swordsman, mage?]

Relations: [Family? Friends? Married? In a relationship? Hate someone more than everyone else?]

Preferred Weapons: [A special sword, a generic sword, a bow [Short, long, recurve?]. Is it enchanted? Named? If it has significant history, you can put it here.

Current Weapons: What weapons are you carrying?

Inventory: What items are you carrying, and in what? A backpack? Satchel? Coinpurse?

Clothing/armor: What are you wearing? Casual-use clothes? Combat clothes? Formal clothes? None at all [Preferably you're a creature of some kind, since naked peoples would be hawkward.]

Personality: You can just rp it, and not describe it.

Backstory/History:

Specific Skills: Dodging? Lockpicking? This is individual skills. Fencing or skill with a longsword goes here, just 'swordsmanship' doesn't work. Preferably 3 or 4.

General skills: Good at swordsmanship in general? Archery in general? Cooking? Preferably 4 or so general skills.

Pet(s):?

Other stuff:

Other stuff (2):

Suggestions:

Another Question:

Question 2.:

 

[Novum Genus]

~Reserved~
[Information to be added here]


Dragons
That's right, Dragons. These are the biggest, baddest, most fearsome creatures in the realm, and they know and believe it. They are also one of the rarest creatures in the realm, only being less than 200 of them at one time, and they are very, very loyal to nature and their lands. Anyone who wishes to destroy will have a very hard time.

Basic personalities: Honorable, Chivalrous, and Prideful, Confident and Proud

Authority: Highest authority in all the lands. On richer islands, dragons are considered the most royal of guests, next to actual royalty, and are fed, cleaned, etc., freely. They have a very easy time in the richer sectors of the Archipelago.

Basic Appearance: Wings, tail, claws, 4 legs, short-to-long neck, and their features change to every one. Some have frills, some have just horns, some have none at all. Some have spade-shaped heads, some have long needle-like heads. It really just depends.

Types:
While most dragons are fire-breathers, you have the occasional gas, lightning, or ice-fire dragon.

Ice-fire is very similar to firebreath, but freezes and freeze-burns, instead of fire and such, and is only found in white, icy-blue or dark blue dragons.

Lightning dragons are often only electric-blue, and can only fire 'bolts' of lightning. Lightning dragons have a much better range than the other dragons, and while it does much more damage and AoE at range, it is not effective at close combat. They must 'recharge' their ion reserves [at the minimum, 10 seconds for large dragons, 20 for medium dragons, and 25 seconds for small dragons].

Gas-breath dragons can be very dangerous. The gas is that of a acid, and burns any flesh it comes into contact to. While a gas-breathing dragon has a severe advantage over close-combat, it also requires the dragon to have a particularly long neck to ensure that none of the gas is breathed in, since the pain of this gas in one's lungs is excruciating.

And finally, firebreath. There are 2 kinds of firebreath: Oily and gassy. Do you know what Napalm is? This is similar to that. A dragon eats something fatty, and the fats are pulled off of the flesh through the various processes, and is stored in a different belly, almost like a bladder. This oily substance explodes into flame upon contact with oxygen. Cutting open a dragon from neck to tail would open the firebladder, and liquid fire would spill out, from throat, mouth, chest.
Gas flame has another advantage to the oil flame's liquid-ness. Gas flame is helium and helps a dragon fly, lifting up the forward area of a dragon, making it easier to ascend, and allows for slower, more controlled dives or falls. Gas flame is hotter, lasts a shorter time than oil flame, and can be fired in a wider cone-type blast, rather than the oilflame's concentrated bursts. Effective for lighting a large amount of stuff on fire, as opposed to oilflame's concetrated heat.

Dragons are creatures that are for nature, from nature, and are guarded from magic because of their own massive, untapped magic strength.

Elves
Yup, elves. Faster, stronger, smarter than the common man, and taller too. Exceptional magic users and archers, and value equality. There are just as many female warriors as there is male. More pointy-ears, although some elves have elves that are similar to some creatures. Some have elves that bear resemblance to a feline's. Elves are also the most handsome or the most beautiful. Woot! They are also the most magical of hominids.

Dwarves
Diggy diggy hole! Yup, dwarves. On average, they are about half a foot to a foot shorter than humans, often the widest of hominids, and they often have the grandest castles... underground castles, that is. The dwarves have a fondness of mining, staying underground, killing any trespassers, and trading their shiny gems and mass amounts of ores for foods and exotic items. They have also taken a special interest in the British weaponry, and are working on their own.

Werewolves and Vampires
Ah, the creatures of many folktales and mystical stories. They still hate each other, but they get along nowadays with the British invasion. Vampires are quite rare, as well as the packs of Werewolves. Vampires, still can only travel by night, can fly, and burn in UV rays. Love the blood of humans and elves. Werewolves have a hunger for human and dwarven blood/flesh as well, can only switch their forms during the night, and they are surprisingly good swimmers and sailors.

Orcs and Cyclops
Ah, some more creatures. Orcs, of course, being their large green selves, are quite primitive, and would often quickly fall under the British muskets. However, they usually make up the bulk of berserkers and strength-warriors in the realm, and love to frolic through fields of burning villages and corpses.
Cyclops, on the other hand, are rather peaceful, other than the occasional 'dark castle' of Cyclops that crave hominid flesh. For the most part, they are the Capital Cities' blacksmiths, producing weapons that can only be matched by the best dwarven blacksmiths, but Elven blacksmiths usually do a better job, with their magical stuff.

Griffins and Wyverns
Again, some more creatures. Griffins are just as you know, and in this roleplay, have an amazing stamina. Often one of the most sought-for creatures in the Archipelago, because they can carry their rider for days without rest or food, though they do require some relax time, even if it's just 10 minutes.
Wyverns are also creatures that can be used as steeds, though they have less stamina, and more speed. They are similar to dragons, except being big enough to eat a horse when largest, and being able to hold 2 people at once for a island-hopping trip type. They tire faster this way, though, and with only 1 rider, they can do more acrobatics in the air and keep their rider safe.

Basilisks, Mermaids, and Sea Serpents
Basilisks are one of the most untamed races in the Archipelago. While the Wyvern can be tamed if you don't piss it off too much, Basilisks kill pretty much everything they find. They are slow swimmers, but can swim almost infinitely if they are surrounded by enough fish to eat. Usually, you can find a Basilisk on every 5th island, somewhere. Their weapon is their eyes: the intense heat that reaches out from their eyes like a cone of invisible fire turns any living thing into stone, regardless of whether or not it's looking at its eyes. Like small, flightless, wingless, flameless dragons.
Merfolk are another rare creature in the Archipelago. They usually only inhabit the Archipelago waters, instead of the Inhabited waters, and are more likely to drown/eat you if you get caught in their enchanting songs. However, there are a few groups of peaceful merfolk that shift between merfolk and human form, that reside near Helion and the Elven Capital.
Sea Serpents are the rarest, most dangerous creature in the Archipelago. They swim at random, with no specific home, though they tend to only be found in the Archipelago waters. However, the Sea Serpents have also been found to occasionally wipe out entire British fleets, and only one Sea Serpent has ever been slain, by a very large number of British ironclads. It seems that the Archipelago wishes to either have the Sea Serpents assist in pushing the British out, or have the Sea Serpents rule the rest of the Archipelago-realm waters.

 

[Novum Genus]

~Reserved~
[Current players, locations, and roleplay status]

[GM] RogueSteeler - DragonWatch General [Race: Dragon] Stationed at: Helion
Raimei - Reserved Player
Raitoningu - Reserved Player

 

[Ruko]

Bear-odactyls you say? Count me interested! You've also made me want to read the books too. Ill make an app once I finish coming up with an idea. Would dragons be able to shapeshift into humanoid forms? Some RPs do some don't. It just seems like interacting as a dragon is going to be pretty hard otherwise.

Name: Alucaira

Age: 251

Gender: F

Appearance:

species: Vampire

Rank/Class/Occupation: Mercenary

Relations: none.

Preferred Weapons: An enchanted Cold Iron sword named "Hisame".

Current Weapons: Hisame, a repeater crossbow similar in mechanism to those of the chinese, and a small tube of ominous green slime.

Inventory: several glass phials filled with concentrated blood

Clothing/armor: Medium-weight leather armour, enchanted with protection.

Backstory/History: (either to be RP'd, or to be edited in once I come up with a decent one.)

Specific Skills: Very talented with a longsword, Able to teleport at will, however, not long distance, can move very quickly, has inhuman strength.

General skills: A deadly arsenal of inverted cleric spells, however they only work under a full moon, new moon, or solar eclipse. Rather good at intimidating people into doing what she wants. Doesn't feel temperature differences. Moderate tactician.

Pet(s): none.

 

[Raimei]

Go on then, colour me reserved.

 

[Novum Genus]

Bear-o-dactyls. If you wish to know my inspiration for such a creature, sensor your ears and eyes, and head over to TheOatmeal.com, and find 'The Motherfucking Pterodactyl' song. Can also be found on Youtube, sung by Sarah Conner. [I think]


And for closer relationships with somebody, other than being the giant-fearsome-guard-who-you-like, then yes, player dragons can have the ability to turn into a human, though I'd like to keep it to a time limit, like you can only be a human for a max of 2 days, or something. That way, you can't infinitely be a dragon. If you're a human-dragon shapeshifter, then I'll also have to ask for you to be a smaller dragon [medium-sized dragons have a head the size of a heavily armored soldier, larger dragons far more so], so you'll be more like a dragon that can carry 3 people.

Gud?

 

[Novum Genus]

Name: Kaland Vanner "Striker"

Age: Approximately 700 years old. Give or take a decade or so.

Gender: Male

Appearance:
[Except without the rider! No Dragon riders among higher-ranking dragons!]

​

Faction/race: Dragon - Helion DragonWatch/Guard

Rank/Class/Occupation: DragonWatch/Guard Primary General

Relations: Various Helion Castle connections and friends, escort to the Helion Elven Queen, Helion Dwarven King, and Helion Dragon King.

Preferred Weapons: Claw, Fire, Tail

Current Weapons: Tooth, Claw, Firebreath [Oily fire, not gas fire], Tail, Wing-claw

Inventory: Dragonwatch: Titanium Chest Armor, Dragonwatch: Titanium-steel General's Helm

Clothing/armor: Scale, colored as seen in the Appearance

Personality: To be rped. For a quick overview, he can be a good friend, or a horrible, horrible enemy. For the most part, welcoming, and wary.

Backstory/History: Very little is known publicly about the Dragonwatch's most trusted General, however, he didn't start very high....

For the first century of his life, he grew up on an unnamed island near the gateway that led to London, and the world beyond. He was raised traditionally: by a female and a male, both dragon, of course, being taught honor, chivalry, respect, and cunning, while also being taught how to fight, kill, hunt, fish, and track.

However, it was at this time that little raiding parties from London would come through, on rough, viking-like boats, and hunt whatever mythical creatures they can find. And a particularly large group had found Vanner in his homecave, while his parents were out fishing and trading for precious metals.

Of course, they knew something of dragons, and used bits of gold and other precious metals to lure him out. Then they trapped him, chained him up, and fled, taking him with them, to go home. However, because the New Moon had passed, they had to wait for some time near the Gateway Island, and that was where the mother and father had fallen upon them in a crazed frenzy, to save their only offspring. While the viking-people were well set, they couldn't go unscathed against 2 medium-sized dragons.

While short, the 'battle' was simply a massacre, first in favor of the parents, then they were quickly cut down as the weapons they had, namely being barbed spears, which they would throw at the parents' wings and head, getting the barbs lodged painfully in their unarmored parts. The extra weight, combined with the scale, was simply too much, and they drowned, only halving the original force.

And so he went into the human world.

No one really knows what happened from there, until 2 centuries later, he emerged from the portal, and was fished out of the water by Gateway Island fishermen, and brought to their home. At this point he was a small dragon, and had fully developed his ability to switch from human/elf form and back. He served the people of Gateway Island for a decade or so, never revealing anything of his personal self, and then left, after repaying the debt he had for the fishermen.

When the British invaded, he had already found his way to Helion, risen up the ranks of Dragonwatch, and became one of the most well-known dragons in the Archipelago. He had, like any other adventurous dragon, traveled the Archipelago waters, and found many places that the Archipelago had shown no one else, and brought many treasures back home, most notably a group of elven miners who had discovered Titanium.

This Titanium later became used to construct the Dragonwatch's armor, since accurate British weapons would often pierce a dragon's collarbone and chest, and would, at the very least, majorly injure the creature.

And since the invasion, he has long since evacuated Gateway Island, or as well as he could, by defending it as long as he could [Out of his 7-dragon squadron, he lost 5 dragons and destroyed 48 wooden ships, varying from troop transports to galleons, and 4 ironclads], and continued to harass the British in every single shipment from London to GI.

In the last month, he had been recalled to Helion once word of the British's advance came in, and he began prepping for a final battle, of sorts, for him. Him being recalled had been a great fuss and buzz, because the only creature with enough leverage, power, and authority to recall him was the Dragon King. Even though the Elven Queen and Dwarven King had great authority, it was well-known that even the Dragonwatch Commanders were close to their authority, and the Dragonwatch General plainly outranking them, and any other ruler in the realm, other than the Dragon King.

Him being one of the most powerful, highest-authority creatures has made him a top-priority target for the British. Alone, they have probably sent thousands of soldiers to just occupy him.


Specific Skills: One of the best fliers in the Dragonwatch, fire-breathing, clawing [with legs], lashing [with tail]

General skills: Charging, Dodging, Offensive Combat, Flying, fire-breathing, swimming, ground-attack, troop-transport

Pet(s): None.

Other stuff:

Other stuff (2):

Suggestions:

Another Question:

Question 2.:

 

[Ruko]

Yup thats what I was expecting. I was mainly going to be in dragon anyway, the human form would just be for convenience in small alleys and stuff. Oh, and just one thing - I don't think you mean hydrogen. It would ignite into water. A water-breath attack wouldn't do much good :D. Helium is the light gas that burns easily. Ill make my app in an hour or so. got a bit of work to do first.

 

[Novum Genus]

Right, helium. I knew it was one or the other.

 

[Novum Genus]

@Raitoningu Right, accepted, sorry, not sure if I said before, you still in?
@Raimei You still in?

 

[Raimei]

Eerm, probably not sorry. I'm a bit tied up at the moment.

 

[Nue]

hmmm, any other races/factions/creatures you going to add?
If not, i shall post an APP for a dragon most likely.

 

[Novum Genus]

HUUUUUUH
*DEEP BRAETH*
*GASP*


OH MY FUCKING-
JESUS CHRIST
HOLY
FUCKNIG YES!~

A RATCHET AND CLANK FAN!!

WHAT FACTION DO YOU WANT? I'LL LIKE MAYBE MAKE IT
FUCK YA

 

[Nue]

Hmmm
a Lombax faction? XD
(glad SOMEONE noticed)
But anyways, Have you heard of the Draconians/Dragonians? Like a mixture of D&D Dragonborn (In lore) and Dragons (In looks and powers.)
[Because lets face it, dragons are not great architects :)
If not, I have a Dragon app ready.

 

[Novum Genus]

Have I heard of Draconians?

Lombax, I have an empire of Draconians that would put Tachyion and his goals and hopes to shame. Save the galaxy?
Bah! This empire owns dozens!


And elves/dwarves/humans build the stuff, the Dragons are just the wealthy and -lol- powerful ones.

 

[Nue]

You make me laugh.
so is that a 'yes' to the two legged dragon servants??

 

[Novum Genus]

Hmmm

Sure.

 

[Nue]

Hmmm

Sure.

okay...
....this seems so light-hearted ;-;...
this may be pushing it, but i have never RPed a dragon, nor draconian in a decent RP....
I am wondering if i can nail both in one RP?
trust me on that i have done two characters before, multiple times.

 

[Novum Genus]

Coo, coo. It's fine, not like we're filling up with people anyways. For a website that has a larger focus on fantasy rps, not many people are interested in dragons.

 

[Nue]

Oh rly?
Dragon Application:

Name: Darei (No last name known)
Alias/nicknames: "The Compass Guardian"
Age:250

Gender:Male

Appearance:

Faction/race: Dragon/Dragon

Rank/Class/Occupation: little affiliations with Helion Military, if anything, he is responsible for Upkeep and Tactile troop movements, main dragon responsible for any outside alliances and resources. Like an overseer

Relations: Other than business with the Dragons/Helion and any brave souls or who wish to go the Cartographer's Island, and the occasional "hero", he doesn't have any relationships
Preferred Weapons: Gas-breath, The compass
The Compass: the little floating gem seen in the picture of Darei, was found on the island he now lives on, It has the magical properties for any brave soul who is willing to find a safe route to The Cartographer's Island, but does not tell what secrets it holds, it also, has the ability, to give unforgiving, unending nightmares the gem deems unfit, such as mages trying to seek the gem and harness its power into like a wand or something, and slowly, but surely, tears them apart,and they die of insanity. when Darei first saw it, he was curious about it, but it was no threat to him, and he became the known guardian of this sacred artifact
Current Weapons: His claws,teeth,wings,and tail. His Gas-breath. The compass, wears no armor.

Inventory:Besides The Compass, he carries nothing, he does have one of the biggest 'Dragon Hoards' however.

Clothing/armor: Wears no armor, as described above. However he DOES have some sort of magical resistance aura that shrouds him.

Personality: A genius who likes to play with those who he thinks are in a lesser intelligence in a series of tests on his island. average to befriend, given you don't try to kill him for his tricks and traps. He prefers to talk with grace, and intelligence, like an elder, but happily prefers to be friendly with dragons.

Backstory/History:Knowing nothing of his parents, and left on one of the Unnamed Islands on the archipelago, Darei was left to survive for himself, which turned out to not be that hard after a few years, and he took over the island for himself, running out any showings of wildlife there. he then formed the island to his perfections, and decided to live on a large cave on the mountain overlooking the island. He he found a strange and mysterious artifact, known to everyone today as 'the compass' in which offered him a chance of grand intellectual performance under one condition... that he would become the Guardian of a crystal, and protect it from harm, he swore this pledge to it, and gained an amazing and sought-for intellectual skill.

It did not take long before his island was found out by the other people, most were adventurous people who sought to find the mysterious Cartographer's Island, Kill Darei, and use the gem to get there.
Most died painfully and terribly, the few who did not kill Darei fled to tell of his tales.
But some were actually fellow dragons from a faraway place called Helion. Here they talked to him about how great of a place it was, so he discovered it with his fellow compass. The city was most wonderful, and full of dragons, some great and some not, it also brought him the problems that they face, and they asked for him to join the army, however, Darei did not wish to fight, he instead preferred to talk, and thus became the first Dragon diplomat, and traveled the wondrous sights of the archipelago and came back to Helion with pats from all the major lands, the Elves, Dwarves, and even the humans. He returned to his island and continued his reighn over his small island, meanwhile looking how trade between nations went on. his strategies with economy and diplomacy were perfect, but had one unexpected flaw.
The Brittish.
Specific Skills: Trap-making, Biotechnology/biological weapons, Persuasion, tactics.
General skills: Speech, Magic, Intelligence, and Mechanics.

Pet(s):Besides his coveted floating, talking gem, none.

Other stuff:
Unlike most gas dragons, he actually uses his breath powers for long range abilities as well, such as cannons and traps (prefers biological warfare for factions)
Other stuff (2):not really?

Suggestions:
Darei has good relationships with Dragons...but has bad ones with the Brittish
Darei is a good guy...once you get to know him
Darei's Island is located about 4 days sea travel north-east of Helion, close to CI.
Darei is one of the few people who know how to get people there, escorting you there however...takes some dedication
despite what i am describing, his island is quite tropical looking, full of tropical forests, and Darei made the mountain look pretty snazzy...aside from all of the traps of course.
Darei is important to any war due to his strategic and, rather unusual plans, and how he seems to do a great job at creating economic powers, this is why he has one of the largest 'Dragon Hoards' in recorded history.
Darei CAN be ridden on, but prefers not to.
Another Question: answered by Spence Ryker

Question 2.: I am going to Do the Draconian one tomorrow, I am tired today, good night!