Dragon War High Fantasy RP [CLOSED]

[Cartoonicat]

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."

For the last five-hundred years the continent of Halbernon has been at war. Eight kingdoms of humans, elves, dwarves and other such races have banded together to defend against the dragon onslaught, driven by the mad black dragon Dagmar himself. As new generations come and go, however, mindsets begin to change; the primarily human kingdom of Oneac does not wish to fight the dragons any longer.

The Cloud Accord is drafted, revised, and finalized into a peace treaty meant to not only call off the war, but make allies of dragons and the eight kingdoms. Not all kingdoms are pleased with this idea, and a majority of them are doubtful the dragons will even agree. In order for the kingdoms to sign the accord, the kingdom of Oneac must acquire Dagmar's signature first. If the leader of dragons agrees, the rest will follow.


Dagmar, however, is not so simple.


A delegation party is set out on a mission of diplomacy to meet with each of Dagmar's dragon generals, hoping that with their aid they can convince the black dragon that peace is the better option. If they return home, the brave heroes - or failures - will likely never be the same again, for they will face...

...danger in their safest havens...

...unexpected allies...

...the consequences of failure...

...and, hopefully, the sweetness of victory.

It is up to the delegation to save the realm, but can they do it? Comprised of tinkerers, magisters, warriors, diplomats, and even simple civilians, only time will tell.

Time and a lot of luck.
___________________________________________________________________________

This RP focuses on the delegation party, comprised of our OCs, and their quest to bring the dragon war to an end. The characters can be any age above 20 years old; they can know each other prior to being selected for the delegation, or they can be strangers; and they can be any race of the 8 kingdoms listed. OCs can also be from kingdoms that are not primarily their own race. Accepting 4 to 5 people, not including myself. Duplicate races are allowed, but try to be diverse.

I will be the only one playing more than 1 OC, simply because my characters are susceptible to death and yours are not. Depending on what happens in the roleplay, some of my characters may die. I like drama and angst, so... <3
_________________________

Rules
_________________________​

1. Adhere to Iwaku rules & guidelines at ALL times.​
2. If you have any questions, suggestions, concerns, comments, etc. regarding the story please private message me. The RP is already roughly outlined, but I'm open to ideas and if there is something you want to see happen, let me know!​
3. While I'm totally supportive of (within reason) IC drama, you must be respectful and friendly in OOC chat. If you can't respect your fellow roleplay partners, that's not acceptable.​
4. Do not join if you can't commit. We will be posting in rounds, with one GM post to progress the story forward every 3 days. This gives people time to post their reactions/actions/responses/etc.​
5. Subplot romance is totally fine. Again, just make sure it's consensual. If you wish to romance any of my characters, do know that while player OCs will not die in this, mine can and some probably will.​
6. If you fall behind I will try to move you forward in the GM posts with simple summary. ("So and so followed them down the stream" or whatever.) Try not to fall too far behind, because otherwise it'll be difficult to catch you up and play off your character's disappearance.​
7. 2 consecutively missed posts will result in a nudge. 5 consecutively missed posts will result in your removal from the roleplay. We'll say your character got lost, went missing, etc. That being said, you can come back if you want - but you'll need my permission to do so and, at that point, you'll need to PM me to discuss it.​
8. Minimum 2 paragraph responses, please.​
9. Now, if you've read the rules, tell us what your OC's theme song would be at the end of your CS. (When I get the CS up)​
   ​

So... anyone interested? :D

OOC/Sign Up Thread​

 

[Zero The Grimm]

What would you say is the average height for an orc?

 

[Cartoonicat]

What would you say is the average height for an orc?

I imagine somewhere between 6'4" and 6'6" as the average. A bit taller than trolls, but not by much, yet shorter than an average centaur changeling. (Jojin is 5'11" and she is about average for a troll.)

 

[Baddamobs]

Alright, finally got everything together; finally settled on goblin, and finally just gave in and used Styx for the image, even though I don't think my goblin is nearly as cool as that son of a gun. In any case, here he is.

Basic Info Appearance Personality Relationships Background

• Full Name: Rictus Gromgrata
  Nicknames: "Rict" / "Ricky" / "Pain in the neck"
  Gender: Male
  Sexuality: "I love the ladies, and the ladies love me." (Editor's note: no they don't)
  Race: Goblin
  Age: 31
  Kingdom of Origin: Loobatai
  Weapons: Two curved knives, weighted chain, "my razor wit."
  School of Magic (only 1 and if applicable): N/A
  
• Skin: Moss green
  Height: 3'9"
  Body Type: Lean
  Weight: Around 63 lbs
  Hair: As bald as the day he was born
  Eyes: Pale yellow
  Scars, tattoos, warpaint, etc: His left ear has a notch right at the end
  
• Good Traits: Is surprisingly loyal and reliable to friends, an eternal optimist, an exceptional drinking buddy
  Bad Traits: REALLY runs his mouth off, will flirt with anything in a skirt (with the exception of gnomes), will only stop poking at a clearly sensitive subject after the threat of physical retaliation
  Fears: Death (obviously), letting down an ally that needs him, the idea that the war will go on without end
  Quirks & habits: Rubs the notch in his ear when he's nervous/deep in thought, laughs at his own jokes when he's drunk, sniffs at the ground when arriving in a new location (supposedly helps get his bearings)
  Skills & talents: Quick thinker/able to make plans up on the fly, agile, good climber, studied dragons most of his adult life
  Likes: Knowing his friends are safe, scratching that sweet spot behind his ears, making progress to a goal, a strong drink
  Dislikes: His friends putting themselves in danger, watered down drinks, being alone
  
• Relationships: TBD
• Personal History: Rictus was the eldest of four siblings in his family, and more or less had to take to raising his siblings after his mother passed away to failing health and his father entered into a near catatonic state. In order to provide for such a large family in the goblin's poor economy, Rictus signed up for the riskier jobs involving studying dragons, finding an odd kind of passion for studying the bane of kingdoms. Even after his siblings grew into adults themselves, Rictus continued to volunteer for the tasks that took him dangerously close to dragon territory, growing his understanding of the creatures day by day. He struck an opportunity when he helped to tutor a young goblin for the work, a goblin that just so happened to be the child of an aide to King Cutter himself. This connection would eventually land Rictus even more important work, and eventually a spot on a certain Delegation.
  Job Prior to the Delegation: Was formally a 'dragon scout.' Despite the impressive sounding title, the job mostly consisted of hiding in a tree or bush and observing dragons with a telescope from as far away as possible. The job did occasionally involve the risky task of sneaking closer for better observations, though, and these expeditions are one of the reasons goblins currently hold an edge on dragon knowledge in the kingdoms. Rictus was one of several who volunteered for the delegation, taking the spot through a combination of aptitude and willingness to accept that this could just be a hopeless suicide mission.
  Miscellaneous Info: Like a lot of goblins, he's not overly fond of gnomes, rather dismissively calling them "just soft goblins." To that end, gnomes are the only race that he won't flirt with, much to the relief of gnomes.
  As a side note, his experience of raising his brothers and sisters has made him pretty good with kids, though his goblin features mean that anything other than a goblin child would likely find him unappealing.
  

And, as a bonus, I finally found his theme:

 

[Cartoonicat]

Alright, finally got everything together; finally settled on goblin, and finally just gave in and used Styx for the image, even though I don't think my goblin is nearly as cool as that son of a gun. In any case, here he is.

Love him! His theme song is really nice, too ^~^ Since Jojin is a troll, she won't have a problem with him (his flirty ways may irk her at times, however). Do you think it possible they've heard of each other or even met at some point? As a big game hunter, Jojin will have occasionally traveled far throughout Zandalur to find 'unique' game (like bears, leopards, etc. that are not native to the Zandalur's marshlands) closer to the borders of the other kingdoms.


Speaking of borders, I am working on a detailed map of Halbernon. Hopefully I'll have it up by tonight. Will include all ten kingdom territories as well as dragon country. It might have to be broken into two maps, however.

 

[Cartoonicat]

This is how I imagined the average natural lifespan of the ten races:

1. Fairies - 250ish
2. Dwarves - 120ish
3. Humans - 80ish (same as our modern life expectancy despite medieval setting due to protection magic)
4. Merfolk - 80ish
5. Gnomes - 70ish
6. Trolls - 70ish
7. Orcs - 70ish
8. Changelings - 60ish
9. Goblins- 60ish (mana-poisoning hurts)
10. Elves - 50ish (destruction magic also hurts)

Now, these are just the averages. Of course some elves live to be, like, 80 - but it is very rare. Much like how humans have an average life expectancy of 80 in modern society (say, Japan) yet there is a record-holding 122 year old human in the Guinness Book of World Records.

If you'd like to alter your character's age based on this, now would be the time to do it. Still, OCs should be over 20 years old. (Queen Fallon is human and Oneac is the kingdom where the Cloud Accord was created, so the delegation only accepts members Oneac deems adults in human years.)

 

[Shayla]

My CS should be up tonight! :3

 

[Baddamobs]

Love him! His theme song is really nice, too ^~^ Since Jojin is a troll, she won't have a problem with him (his flirty ways may irk her at times, however). Do you think it possible they've heard of each other or even met at some point? As a big game hunter, Jojin will have occasionally traveled far throughout Zandalur to find 'unique' game (like bears, leopards, etc. that are not native to the Zandalur's marshlands) closer to the borders of the other kingdoms.


Speaking of borders, I am working on a detailed map of Halbernon. Hopefully I'll have it up by tonight. Will include all ten kingdom territories as well as dragon country. It might have to be broken into two maps, however.

The two meeting is definitely a possibility, since his job would also take him pretty far afield. It definitely would in character for him to break the stealthy regulations that 'dragon scouts' follow to try and chat up a attractive female hunter too, lol. If they know each other, he probably would have learned to not flirt too much, since even he's smart enough to realize that annoying a troll that could crush his skull is a risky choice.

 

[Dante]

Interesting that Elves are the lowest

 

[Cartoonicat]

@Shayla Looking forward to it! ^~^

@Baddamobs Sounds good! Zandalur is also on the edge of dragon country, so that works well with his study of dragons, too. Perhaps Jojin and Rictus met one day while she was hunting? Hokum could have gone after him or something - either being territorial or thinking him food, though likely the former - and Jojin had to reel the crocolisk in to avoid an unnecessary squabble.

@Dante Mhmm. I wanted a twist with the elves, and it made sense to me that their great destruction magic come at a price. They're the physically weakest of the races (noted in the Elloris Elves info tab) but offer a great advantage in combat, too. Goblins also suffer a lower life expectancy, though this is due to mana poisoning in general. I figured for humans, what with their moderate levels of destruction magic and protection magic, it'd null each other out. The merfolk do not have destruction or protection magic, so they just naturally have that lifespan.

 

[Zero The Grimm]

I take it in some parts or other there is slavery?

 

[Cartoonicat]

I take it in some parts or other there is slavery?

Ooh, great question! Before the dragon war started, not all of the kingdoms were friendly with one another. They only came together through the combined pleading of Oneac, Zandalur, and Alcine when the dragons struck. A treaty was signed, abolishing all legal slavery of foreign races in each kingdom. (Ie; Elloris can't have troll slaves, but they can have elves).

Sooooo... under the guise of "indentured servitude" Elloris contract foreign races that way. They'll take anyone except elves or goblins. Slavery was extremely popular in Elloris (and Waris).

Waris, however, has always relied on a class system where the poor Merfolk resort to indentured servitude for the wealthy. (Though, really, their "poor" are more like middle class anywhere else.)

Oneac will partake in regulated apprenticeships, but aside from that Queen Fallon the Sixth is highly against taking away the freedom of her people. Her own servants serve her of their own free will. She and Mother Yiglak were the first ones to propose the abolishment of foreign race slavery, too.

The trolls don't have slaves, as there is "no need for them." Everyone is expected to pull their own weight and share resources in Zandalur. Plus, due to their lower intelligence, the trolls have a long history predating the dragon war of being exploited and refuse to do the same to others. They find it disgraceful.

Torhal has a tendency not to listen. (They don't get on well with Oneac because of it, and neither does Elloris.) While they don't blatantly showcase it, the orcs will smuggle foreign races (namely trolls, changelings, and goblins) across their borders as slaves. Queen Fallon the Sixth knows about this, just not to it's actual massive extent. Plus, tensions are running high with the Cloud Accord and she can't afford to call them out on it for fear of the orcs backing out of the treaty. Yiglak does not understand, but she trusts Queen Fallon the Sixth very much to do the right thing.

Darkrun dwarves do not partake in slavery and they pride themselves on their own achievements. They do, however, offer very intense blacksmithing apprenticeships to those interested - even goblins. (They don't like goblins, typically, but they acknowledge goblins are just as smart as gnomes and worthy of training.)

Rotchet gnomes and Loobatai goblins also don't partake in slavery but, like Darkrun, they will very happily bring along those who are interested in apprenticeships/internships. However... Rotchet gnomes have been caught in the past smuggling in unwilling research subjects (elves, humans, merfolk, and fairies) to participate in the study of magic.

Faunora changelings are similar to the trolls of Zandalur, though they've never been as exploited as the trolls. (They have - mostly by orcs - but most of them fight to the death rather than get taken captive.)

Alcine does not partake in slavery and typically have very strong opinions against it. Once Mother Yiglak and Queen Fallon the Sixth brought up the abolishment of foreign slavery, Queen Saorise of the fairies fought tooth-and-nail to abolish slavery period. Granted, that didn't go over well with Waris and Torhal (they claimed it was not Queen Saorise's right to dictate how they run their kingdoms) so she had to compromise.

In short....

Elloris: Yes, except for elves and goblins
Waris: Yes, but only poor merfolk
Oneac: No
Zandalur: No
Torhal: Yes for all races
Darkrun: No
Rotchet: Yes, but only for mages
Loobatai: No
Faunora: No
Alcine: No

 

[Cartoonicat]

NOTE: The current rulers of all ten kingdoms were not alive when the kingdom alliances were made; I simply used the names of Queen Fallon, Saorise, Yiglak, etc... as placeholders. (Don't have names for the previous rulers and they're not important, anyway.)

 

[Zero The Grimm]

500 years ago was when all the races more or less banded together to fight the dragons, right? And during that time, slavery was called into question and is not a recent concept?

 

[Cartoonicat]

500 years ago was when all the races more or less banded together to fight the dragons, right? And during that time, slavery was called into question and is not a recent concept?

Exactly, yes.

(Torhal, Elloris, and Rotchet culture finds their way around the abolishment of enslaving foreign races, though, as mentioned above.)

The alliance did nothing to stop the kingdoms from enslaving the original race of the area. (ie: Torhal legally has orc slaves and Waris legally has merfolk slaves.)

 

[Zero The Grimm]

So... particular races have different life spans? How old are the leaders?

 

[Cartoonicat]

So... particular races have different life spans? How old are the leaders?

I didn't brainstorm exact ages aside from Warrior Princess Laureen's when I made them, but here are some rough estimates:

Sorry for delay. Classes started up again so I've been quite busy during the day.

Queen Fallon the Sixth is about 45ish (middle age)
Magister Alre is in his 30s (middle age)
King Talmund Goldbeard is about 90ish (60s or so in human years)
Mother Yiglak is in her 50s (70s in human years)
Head Alchemist Mixie is about 35ish (middle aged)
King Cutter is in his early 30s (middle aged)
Commander Grutt is about 50 or so (70ish in human years)
Warrior Princess Laureen is 22 years old (36 in human years --- she began ruling 10 years ago with advisors)
Queen Saorise is 120ish (50 in human years, just about)
King Tidus is about 40 (early middle age)

 

[Zero The Grimm]

So...when ready do I just post him here?

 

[Cartoonicat]

So...when ready do I just post him here?

Yep, go on and post him here. We're all going to discuss possible character relationships and then, when the CS are finally ready, we'll upload them to the signup thread (linked in the interest check original post). That way it'll keep all of the CS nice and tidy, and we don't have to go back and forth between threads to discuss things.

 

[Impudimp]

Basic Info Appearance Personality Relationships Background

• Full Name: Ermina Luliope [Erh-meen-A Loo-lye-OH-pee]
  Nicknames: Lula, Mimi
  Gender: Female
  Sexuality: Well first they'd have to make her realize that she was being hit on in the first place...
  Race: Fairy
  Age: 52 (fairy), 21 (human), etc.
  Kingdom of Origin: Alcine
  Weapons: Magic
  School of Magic (only 1 and if applicable): Protection, Restoration, Can heal light wounds quickly; moderate wounds slowly; severe wounds over time. Works on anything living. Barriers Will break after 5 light hits; 3 moderate hits; and 1 severe hit.
  
• Skin: Peachy
  
  Height: 9-11 in. at smallest; 6'0 at largest (Can be anywhere in between though) Prefers smaller states for ease of motion so 5'0 is normal size for her. Thankfully smaller sizes conserve magic better as well.
  
  Body Type: Has some lumps
  Weight: From negligible to about 135 lbs
  Hair: Flaxen haired but thankfully not wiry
  Eyes: Boldest, Ocean blue
  
  Scars, tattoos, warpaint, etc: Forever dewy with a sheen of nectar from constant flower diving and other such sap collection... It's a living.
  
• Good Traits: Stalwart dedication to any task given to her, warm toward all life, floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee, endearing
  
  Bad Traits: Slow-witted, possibly even dull (think idiot savant), lacks tact and is incredibly blunt, workaholic, cries easily
  
  Fears: Alcine will slowly wither away and she will have no home, Dragon fire and the devastation it leaves in its wake, jump scares... They're the worst.
  
  Quirks & habits: Licks her fingers both after meals and after work (She loves nectar and sweet things in general), Surprisingly high tolerance for pain, Likes to make hair ornaments out of most anything that will stay in it
  
  Skills & talents: Super Green Thumb, hence particularly good at Restoration magic, Quite fast and stealthy when she wants to be, Rather good at singing, Hide and Seek
  
  Likes: Plants and Animals of all kinds, Sunny days, Friends, Gratuitous amounts of food (She eats quite a lot; No one is sure where it goes), Swimming, and Taking naps in strange places
  
  Dislikes: Dead things and barren places, Being hungry, Winter, and People who are unkind to others
  
• Relationships: TBD
• Personal History: An accidental child but loved nonetheless, Lula enjoyed her childhood alongside her brother, Vitello, as much as she could when faced with frequent hunger and hard work, spending her time with the plants and animals that she could find to sway her fancy and sense of wonder. Hers was the story of most fairy young. Alcine was a beautiful struggle every day. Thankfully, unlike so many, she made it to adulthood, but not without some damage. Growing without enough to eat left her mind half-formed. Her consolation was that she could focus her little brightness on what she loved most, fostering life. Learning the skill of botany and horticulture came naturally to the young fae and her mind never strayed to anything else. She loved being in the ranks dedicated to revitalizing Alcine's lost lushness. Then came a faithful day when she realized that her skills could do nothing for her beloved Alcine. There was more at work than simple burnt ground. As much as it pained her family, she left on a mission to find something to be done for her home. Inquiring after plants of foreign lands, and old masters, and anything else of help, even dragons themselves. She'd leave no stone unturned. Fortunately, opportunity found her to get more up close and personal to the dragon perpetrators than she'd even gotten before. She was now one of the Cloud Delegation.
  
  Job Prior to the Delegation: Worker B.E.E. - Botanical Engineering Expert, a part of Alcine's elite force of naturalists attempting to recultivate the lost empire for the sake a bright future. She went above and beyond the call of duty, volunteering for the Cloud Delegation in pursuit of answers to her people's most pressing issue. She'll ask the dragon king personally how to make their land arable again, whether it's stupid or not is literally inconceivable to her. So at least she has blissful ignorance on her side.
  
  Miscellaneous Info: She has a predictably short attention span, but once it is captured, it'll take nothing short of a spontaneously appearing blackhole to redirect again.
  

Theme:

[/QUOTE]

 

[Cartoonicat]

@Baddamobs and @Impudimp Looking good! Accepted~ Feel free to collaborate with others on possible character relationships.