Salamander: A Folklore Fantasy Sandbox

[Beak]

art by Cody Foreman​

SIGNUP THREAD is up! :)
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Salamander
In a dream, you are drowning. You're submerged in warm murky water; seaweed tickles your feet and dim sunlight filters through the algae all around. You swim toward the light, break the surface, draw in a thankful breath of sweet air. All around is the warble and squeak of birds, the susurrus of shadowed trees, the enclosed protection of mossy mountains, the rush of a gentle waterfall. The breeze on your face feels too real to be a dream. The trickle of magic among the branches seems too strange for reality.

This is a game of survival, exploration and mystery.
Exploration of the environment is the only way to discover the secrets of this world, the reason you're here, and the way to return home. There are no NPCs to guide you. Work with -- or against -- your fellow PCs to uncover mysteries, obtain precious artifacts, and manipulate the magic around you.

This is a sandbox game.
The plot is determined entirely by character action. How your character interacts with the world and what they do in order to accomplish their goals directly affects the type of plot this is going to be. You may expect strange and dangerous beasts, environmental hardships, remains of old civilizations, traps, enchantments, spells, myths and legends. Your character may be faced with impossible decisions and moral challenges. The spirits, ghosts, gods and guardians may become your allies or enemies. Everything is alive in one way or another. Your character may decide to call this place home, to bend its magic to her will and become its new god -- or she may only desire to move quietly through the shadows in search of a way home. Or, perhaps, your character is more interested in the reason she is here, the civilizations that once walked the overgrown roads, and the story of the water.

This is a collaborative game.
Tell me what direction you want your character to develop, and the story can be guided accordingly. Shout out your ideas and they might be woven into the setting. If something isn't working for you, say so -- every action and choice could have a thousand alternative consequences, some more world-shattering than others. The world and the plot can change on a dime, based on your character's whim.

This is a game about characters.
Characters will begin as simple humans with no extraordinary abilities. They may or may not remain that way for very long. The importance lies in their personalities. Characters should be ready and willing to act without being told what to do. In other words, I'm looking for aggressive roleplayers. Because the only importance lies in personality, the character sheet is the simplest of all:

Name: (what your character is called)
Abstract: (a single sentence that sums up your character)
Detail: (anything and everything you'd like to tell us about your character)
Inspirations
Inspiration for setting and plot are drawn from Myst, Shadow of Colossus, Ico, various Neil Gaiman and HP Lovecraft stories, and myths and folklore from a variety of cultures.​

 

[The Philosoraptor]

So... What kind of magic are we talking about?

 

[Beak]

I'm thinkin along the lines of living trees, healing water, floaty stones, exploding mud, flowers that attract ghosts -- as well as rune magic, psychokinesis, enchanted objects, magitech, abilities bestowed by the gods and guardians ... there's not much that wouldn't fit in, really. If you're just talking about the "magic in the trees" I'd treat that like leylines and/or fairy roads that are full of condensed energy: getting too close for too long can be nasty. If you're asking for a magic system, there isn't any. You could say that everything and everyone is naturally imbued with magical potential, but there are many ways it can manifest, for good or for ill. I'm not sure whether I've answered your question. x)

 

[The Philosoraptor]

I'm thinkin along the lines of living trees, healing water, floaty stones, exploding mud, flowers that attract ghosts -- as well as rune magic, psychokinesis, enchanted objects, magitech, abilities bestowed by the gods and guardians ... there's not much that wouldn't fit in, really. If you're just talking about the "magic in the trees" I'd treat that like leylines and/or fairy roads that are full of condensed energy: getting too close for too long can be nasty. If you're asking for a magic system, there isn't any. You could say that everything and everyone is naturally imbued with magical potential, but there are many ways it can manifest, for good or for ill. I'm not sure whether I've answered your question. x)

Badass. Could I have a fish that bleeds acid?

And furthermore, are we looking at Lovecraftian gods, or typical mytho-gods?

 

[Beak]

There could totally be acidfish. And an acid pond full of acidfish. With big eyes and toothy grins. That are clairvoyant and spit acid blood.

I'm leaning more toward Lovecraftian, as well as some gods/spirits resembling Native American, Egyptian or Japanese folklore -- grounded in natural phenomena and present in the world to some degree. The creation myth here would probably have something to do with the bodies of dead ancient gods. Haven't quite thought about it til now. What would be awesome to see?

 

[Honor-Sama]

This seems really interesting. I love sandbox experience, throw some well thought out characters into a cool world and stories make themselves! Are there going to be no npcs at all or would it be possible for the characters to find civilization in this strange realm?

 

[Beak]

It might be interesting to see how far we could get without using NPCs, though eventually somebody's going to want some explanation of what's going on. There could be some kind of odd civilization, or just some nomads with sticks and masks. Or both. What are you thinking?

 

[The Philosoraptor]

There could totally be acidfish. And an acid pond full of acidfish. With big eyes and toothy grins. That are clairvoyant and spit acid blood.

I'm leaning more toward Lovecraftian, as well as some gods/spirits resembling Native American, Egyptian or Japanese folklore -- grounded in natural phenomena and present in the world to some degree. The creation myth here would probably have something to do with the bodies of dead ancient gods. Haven't quite thought about it til now. What would be awesome to see?

Oh, some sort of psychopathic gods who brought about the collapse of society by driving every member of it batshit insane. That might work, right?

But I was thinking, bleed out the acidfish into water, collect water in crystalline containers, and boom! Acid grenade!

 

[Beak]

Sounds like a Lovecraftian apocalypse scenario. XD Sounds interesting, actually. Especially since the world seems so peaceful and serene, with only old ruins to remind one that civilization once existed here, it'd be a dark twist to find out what happened to them. Perhaps the fault of one tentacled god with a selfish agenda.

Acid grenades made of fish blood and crystal are just the sort of thing that's crazy enough to work.

 

[Wolfsin]

I really love this idea, How many people are you looking to get for this roleplay, and what are writing requirements if needed, Post counts, frequency Etc.

And do we all start in the same place?

 

[Beak]

Thanks! :) Since at first the only human communication would be among the PCs, it's probably a good idea to have at least a few players starting out in the same location, though if a character would be better off starting somewhere else that's cool too. We could start with as few as 3-4, and remain open for as many more as might want to crawl out of the water at any time. We'll probably lose some along the way.

As for writing requirements, I go for quality over quantity as far as paragraphs are concerned. Posting frequency will probably vary as people start classes, etc., but maybe once every few days as a goal.

 

[PersonaWolf]

Seems pretty great. I really like the prospect of having that SotC loneliness but having it across an entire world.

 

[Sammael9216]

I could get behind this.

 

[Wolfsin]

Oh yeah another question. Are our base characters from a Modern setting before they came to this unique place? Or are they from all different times? etc? Need to know to create a base character outline.

 

[Honor-Sama]

With this lovecraftian apocalypse in mind, I doubt any civilization we found would be anything more then a barbaric tribal culture of nomads. Which could be more of an enemy to us strange newcomers then allies.

 

[Wolfsin]

Yeah i can definitely see that, but for our characters coming to this place, Im wondering if we are like full modern, with technology that suddenly doesn't work, or what have you.

 

[Beak]

Seems pretty great. I really like the prospect of having that SotC loneliness but having it across an entire world.

That is an awesome way of looking at it. I like it. XD The forbidden lands!

Oh yeah another question. Are our base characters from a Modern setting before they came to this unique place? Or are they from all different times? etc? Need to know to create a base character outline.

Good question -- I forgot to address it in the first post. Characters of any culture and any time period are welcome. Since you're all being transported to what is essentially an alternate dimension anyway, there's no reason you couldn't cross time as well as space. We could even incorporate some convenient mechanism when it comes to language barriers. Use whatever time period you're most comfortable with. I'd rather everyone keep to real life timelines, though and nothing further in the future than present-day, but I'm open to ideas and objections.

With this lovecraftian apocalypse in mind, I doubt any civilization we found would be anything more then a barbaric tribal culture of nomads. Which could be more of an enemy to us strange newcomers then allies.

Some very sound reasoning right there, and totally fits in with the setting!

 

[Wolfsin]

When you say ways to manage language barriers do you mean like a magical force or something that suddenly allows us to understand each other regardless of ethnicity and cultural difference?

 

[Sammael9216]

I have a minor concern. It is from my experience that Rps focused on character interaction without a plot to guide them, tend to get a little stale too fast. I for one like a little freedom in a RP, and not so much a GM holding my hand throughout the story. My main question is will the GM implement certain elements to drive the plot and encourage good RPing?

 

[Beak]

When you say ways to manage language barriers do you mean like a magical force or something that suddenly allows us to understand each other regardless of ethnicity and cultural difference?

Exactly that! I have no solid ideas on what it is, exactly -- whether it's an item or a spell or a property of the environment as a whole -- so if you have any ideas/preferences definitely give a shout. :)

I have a minor concern. It is from my experience that Rps focused on character interaction without a plot to guide them, tend to get a little stale too fast. I for one like a little freedom in a RP, and not so much a GM holding my hand throughout the story. My main question is will the GM implement certain elements to drive the plot and encourage good RPing?

Good question! I hope to implement some tactics here discovered through prior trial and error with this sort of RP. Essentially the GM will be handling cause and effect. For example, drop your torch on the ground and the forest catches fire, which causes a stampede of monsters. Or maybe a character gives food to an animal that turns out to be a guardian spirit and becomes a friend and helper. Or you pull a string on a tree out of curiosity and your fellow PCs are captured in a trap and threatened with imminent death. Essentially every PC action that interacts with the environment warrants an equal or excessive reaction from the GM.