Soul Series: The Beginning (High Fantasy)

[Winter]

~Premise~
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In the world of Tel'nura exists four dragons, four unique individuals whom are believed to have inherited power from the four fabled dragons that were said to have existed before the cataclysm. Each dragon embodied a natural element which was bestowed upon mankind, a single individual being chosen from birth to inherent their power and maintain the balance of the world in their place. These individuals would be the embodiment of their spirits, and so carried the title of dragon along with their element so that all would know whom they were.

The four chosen dragons were greatly respected and from birth were given access to top educations where they would practice humility and responsibility, among honing their abilities to control their element. They would often remain within temples for the majority of their upbringing, venturing out only for educational purposes or for when their powers were required to aid villages or great cities. These dragons, while powerful, were not invincible however. Once a dragon reached their old age and moved to the afterlife, a new dragon would be chosen upon birth and the cycle would begin again.

For a long time now this has been an understood part of the world, not a focus as such but an understood part of life. However things have started to change and the world has become unsettled, for three of the four dragons have found their end.... by force. The dragon of air, fire and earth were found murdered in their temples along with the temples staff and the Emperor has ordered soldiers to the remaining temple to guard the dragon of water while he tries to figure out what has happened. What is more unsettling is that the cycles for the three lost dragons has not occurred, which has thrown many into confusion and worry.

With the balance disturbed and questions left unanswered, demands and questioning have sparked between kingdoms and communities and much of the world has become unsafe. Because of this the Emperor has called out to all corners of the world, sending invitations to only the strong and the brave, powerful, reliable and responsible individuals whom can undertake a task set forth by the Emperor himself. He would ask these individuals to take the last dragon to the high mountains of Tel'anar where they would be safer, and this was to be a strict secret.

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So this is the basic idea. I've not gone into mass detail since I want to check for interest first. But the idea is that the Dragon of water is the last dragon left alive, the Emperor is sending them to some place safer as the place / city where the water temples resides isn't safe anymore, given the other three were murdered in theirs. The Emperor (Who will be named) has sent invitations out to individuals who he believes can be trusted. They would be people who themselves have been highly regarded by their people or people in general (depending on where you're coming from, character history etc).

I intend for this to be high fantasy so magic / anime'esque stuff is what I'm looking for if you're planning on having a character with power or ability. As far as the world goes think something between Avatar: Legend of Aang and One Piece. I promote people to come up with their own corners of the world with their back story, feel free to come up with your own unique cultures that explain your characters traits etc etc. I'm all for it.

The plan would be to start where your characters receive the invitation from the Emperor and you're at the great city (yet to be named) having accepted the summon. You'd meet with the Emperor who would explain your mission and how dire the situation was and then our journey begins from there. I plan on this being a long investment with sub stories beneath the main plot arc, also we'll be unraveling the mystery of these murders as we go, finding out more and moving further into the rabbit hole. I would also strongly promote people to come up with plot arcs that concern their characters too, since that keeps things fresh and interesting and means everyone gets to develop the way they want.

I don't think I have anything else to add at the moment. But if you have any questions please feel free to ask. I haven't GM'ed in a long while so it's likely I've left out some important details. In any case thank you for reading!​

 

[rechonq]

I am very interested. You have left this very open and with so many options I feel like creating a character is going to be difficult. I do have some questions I guess. What level of writing are you looking for and what posting rate as well?

 

[Winter]

Don't worry I plan on giving a more in depth run down of character expectations along with a skeleton when the time comes. For posting requirements, it'd be dependant on how many people we have and how often people intend to post but I'd like at least a post per day if possible. Also level of writing will probably be adept, so I'd like a few paragraphs per post :)

 

[GroggyFrog]

I'm pretty interested in this idea. When you say the world is similar to one piece and Avatar does that mean you don't expect it to take itself very seriously? Sky bison and people made out of candy? Or were you thinking more on the merpeople and lion-turtle side of those universes?

 

[Winter]

@GroggyFrog glad you're interested!

It'll certainly have silly moments along with the serious and I'm absolutely ok with nonsensical concepts being introduced so long as it's not too out there. So a part of the world with flying bison like Avatar would be fine with me, but aliens from a different planet... pls no ;_;

I really want to stress the high fantasy concept with this. So large scale creatures, giants, enemies with strange abilities and such are likely things to be confronted with. I hope that helps clear some things up :)

 

[GroggyFrog]

Sounds amazing I'm looking forward to this!

 

[Winter]

I'm glad!

If this goes well, this plot will make the first chapter and we'll see a sequel. Though before even thinking about that I'm gonna concentrate on getting this off the floor. If we get another two-three people interested I'll put together the OOC, which will contain the extended information along with character skeleton.

 

[rissa]

This sounds really interesting!

 

[Winter]

@fyrelily Glad to hear you like it!

 

[rissa]

@fyrelily Glad to hear you like it!

I have a few questions before I leap into this rp for sure, should I post em here or pm you?

 

[Winter]

I have a few questions before I leap into this rp for sure, should I post em here or pm you?

Go ahead and ask away :) If you ask them here than I could answer questions that others might have.

 

[Warm Regret]

I have some interest in this as well and I'm looking forward to seeing more information revealed. :)

 

[ERode]

Have some interest.

 

[Winter]

That enough interest for me to begin an OOC! ^^

 

[rissa]

lily's rambling questions:

Is there a defined magic system? If not defined per se, will you have guidelines for us to conform to? Basically, how crazy will you allow certain magic to become? Also how much like ATLA are you thinking? (World wise or magic wise.) Do priest/ess or disciples (or people for that matter) from the earth, fire, and air temples have the elemental abilities that the dragons do, albeit much weaker - or is it completely different?

I've never even heard of One Piece ;_;

I really like that you're encouraging us to create culture backgrounds for our characters, but will there be a section for it in our character sheets? Do you have set locations where we'll be traveling to and from? How big is the world of Tel'nura? Will we have a map? (My cartography fetish is showing, I'm sorry. I just really love maps. I could probably make one for ya if you'd like.)

And finally is this first come first serve or is there an application process via character sheets and the like?

 

[Ramboing]

I'm also really interested.

Kinda bouncing off Lily's question. When you say high fantasy I'm guessing you mean Dungeons and Dragons-esque fantasy? So should we be looking at our characters in terms of those classes and abilities (eg Warrior, Bard, Rouge, Wizard etc)?

 

[Winter]

lily's rambling questions:

Is there a defined magic system? If not defined per se, will you have guidelines for us to conform to? Basically, how crazy will you allow certain magic to become? Also how much like ATLA are you thinking? (World wise or magic wise.) Do priest/ess or disciples (or people for that matter) from the earth, fire, and air temples have the elemental abilities that the dragons do, albeit much weaker - or is it completely different?

I've never even heard of One Piece ;_;

I really like that you're encouraging us to create culture backgrounds for our characters, but will there be a section for it in our character sheets? Do you have set locations where we'll be traveling to and from? How big is the world of Tel'nura? Will we have a map? (My cartography fetish is showing, I'm sorry. I just really love maps. I could probably make one for ya if you'd like.)

And finally is this first come first serve or is there an application process via character sheets and the like?

Great questions, I'll answer them in order.

1) There is no magic defined system. I loathe systems as I genuinely believe it inhibits creativity and I like to think I can trust my cast / participants to use their judgement in what would be too powerful. That being said I WILL be adding a list of abilities / powers that will be straight up banned. Off the top of my head control of time will not be available, because you'd basically be invincible. Where possible I'd like the power / ability to tie into the character, so I'd like to know how that person discovered their talent, how it's helped define them rising into the world.

As for the Temple staff being elemental users, I hadn't considered that but I like the thought. Maybe their use of the element comes from a different source of magic. While the dragons hone it as an innate ability, others such as the temple staff would rely on summoning magics and mana based magics to apply elemental magics. So as you said the differences would be in power, execution and to a degree the delivery.

I also want to present the idea of rune magic. If you're interested in having a mage type character then by all means consider concept that revolve around that role from other media. Even if it's so generic in that your character utilizes a staff to cast magic. Just remember that magic isn't a backbone in this world, it's a part of it. There's others out there that merely have power, obtained through either cultural or circumstantial reason.

2) Knowing One Piece isn't necessary at all ^^ It was more of a reference to describe the kind of world feel I'm after.

3) I hadn't planned on a section in the sheet, though if you want to add that yourself by all means go for it! You can go as in depth with your characters culture and homeland as you like. If you really want to work into it, I'm happy to involve it in a sub plot that could include your character. I'm a fan of each character having their own tale alongside each other, that everyone dips into. Which is why I'm promoting people to really develop in depth characters, so everyone has a chance to show off aspects of their characters within future plots and can develop in the way they like.

I'm not including a map of Tel'nura. I think to do so puts a limit or 'invisible wall' around the world. Without a map it can remain as large or small as our imaginations care to think, which gives us limitless room to work with. Sorry Dx.

As for acceptance, I never go by first come first serve. Everyone will apply with a sheet and if we have too many applicants it'll be a case of picking the right fit for a group dynamic. As unfortunate as that'll be for some, I feel it sets a better precedent as accepting people based on having shown early interest leaves room for those who would be lazy or not as dedicated. I'll be picking based partly on group fit, effort and detail of the character. I think that's probably the only fair way I can do it.

@Ramboing Gosh no, I am so anti D&D xD I'm not a fan. There are no set classes, I want you all to feel like you really have the freedom to create something in a new world, something you will find fun and rewarding to play as you set upon this adventure.

 

[Ramboing]

@Ramboing Gosh no, I am so anti D&D xD I'm not a fan. There are no set classes, I want you all to feel like you really have the freedom to create something in a new world, something you will find fun and rewarding to play as you set upon this adventure.

Thanks! While I love playing D&D, it should be fun to branch out and create new things.

 

[Artorias]

Hmmm. I am interested to try this.

 

[rissa]

@Winter

Thank you for replying so quickly and so in depth! There's a few things that I'm happy to 'agree to disagree' with you on, but I'm looking forward to joining regardless. (Just personal opinions regarding systems, which I love if done correctly and as you said, loathe if done wrong. I agree that it can stifle creativity yet I enjoy reading about and coming up with out-of-the-box solutions that stay within the rules of the magic system itself.)

And no need to apologize!! I never really thought about the "invisible wall", as you described it, it's definitely something new and interesting to think about. Again, personal opinions here, maps help solidify and immerse me into my worlds. Then again I may just have a map fetish. ;~;

I think rune magic is incredibly interesting and fun to work with. I may just take you up on that offer. Anyways enough of my rambling, I'm just excited for this to get started. 8D