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I've been wanting to get back into the rhythm of forum roleplaying for a while, but my mind's been stuck lately in a certain story, so I couldn't really settle into another's game.
Premise: A small band of mercenaries escort an alchemist and his assistant through the mysterious wilds of 15th century Russia to the grand city of Vladimir.
The Setting: 15th century Russia, but with a ton of liberties -- it's probably Russia only in name, spirit, and all thoe fiddly external bits. Maybe the world's moreso early to high medieval Germany, a world I'm more familiar with, but with Patriarchs and Shamans instead of Popes and Druids -- and all the doctrinal implications locked therein. Yes, religion is a big part in this story, it must be noted, as all magic (which none of the players should be able to manipulate) stems from faith. The escort job started at the city of Novgorod, but the story should definitely not start there.
The Characters: I need only three players, each playing one mercenary. Since this is an escort job through ruralia in a fairly "low-magic" world, there are only "thieves" and "fighters", though even the thieves have to have greater value at fighting, or at least at not-getting-caught-by-bandits. And being cheap mercs, all of you have to be kinda-poor city-dwellers (up to you how you got upgraded/downgraded to that position, though -- but, again due to their cheapness, they can't have come anywhere near or along the way to Vladimir), Russian (not in race, which doesn't really matter here, but in culture, language, etc), and Christian (in name and practice only is acceptable) -- I should also say "male", as this is not a world fooling around too much with how gender was treated then, but for anyone wanting to play a female, this should be a fun enough obstacle, though I wouldn't expect the alchemist to hire out only women.
The Conflict: Again, y'all just have to escort the alchemist and his assistant to the city of Vladimir -- for now, there's no real baggage behind the alchemist's quest (Vladimir's just one of those places everyone goes to, and the alchemist seems innocent enough), so conflicts should be situational, mostly depending on how hard traveling can be in a world without cars and such. Two big rumors, however: increased outlaw activity this time of year (autumn), and increased restlessness among the local serfs....
Note: And I do hope the story manages to move away from the initial premise, but only once y'all get to Vladimir (or, if anyone including me does something stupid, TPK).
Influences: I'm hoping this to be a fun exercise in writing, esoteric symbology, and, well, role-playing. This story's influences, at least in my mind, are Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain, Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, Andrei Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev, Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, all those Fafhrd and Conan stories I've been reading lately, Greek Myth, and Adventure Time.
Premise: A small band of mercenaries escort an alchemist and his assistant through the mysterious wilds of 15th century Russia to the grand city of Vladimir.
The Setting: 15th century Russia, but with a ton of liberties -- it's probably Russia only in name, spirit, and all thoe fiddly external bits. Maybe the world's moreso early to high medieval Germany, a world I'm more familiar with, but with Patriarchs and Shamans instead of Popes and Druids -- and all the doctrinal implications locked therein. Yes, religion is a big part in this story, it must be noted, as all magic (which none of the players should be able to manipulate) stems from faith. The escort job started at the city of Novgorod, but the story should definitely not start there.
The Characters: I need only three players, each playing one mercenary. Since this is an escort job through ruralia in a fairly "low-magic" world, there are only "thieves" and "fighters", though even the thieves have to have greater value at fighting, or at least at not-getting-caught-by-bandits. And being cheap mercs, all of you have to be kinda-poor city-dwellers (up to you how you got upgraded/downgraded to that position, though -- but, again due to their cheapness, they can't have come anywhere near or along the way to Vladimir), Russian (not in race, which doesn't really matter here, but in culture, language, etc), and Christian (in name and practice only is acceptable) -- I should also say "male", as this is not a world fooling around too much with how gender was treated then, but for anyone wanting to play a female, this should be a fun enough obstacle, though I wouldn't expect the alchemist to hire out only women.
The Conflict: Again, y'all just have to escort the alchemist and his assistant to the city of Vladimir -- for now, there's no real baggage behind the alchemist's quest (Vladimir's just one of those places everyone goes to, and the alchemist seems innocent enough), so conflicts should be situational, mostly depending on how hard traveling can be in a world without cars and such. Two big rumors, however: increased outlaw activity this time of year (autumn), and increased restlessness among the local serfs....
Note: And I do hope the story manages to move away from the initial premise, but only once y'all get to Vladimir (or, if anyone including me does something stupid, TPK).
Influences: I'm hoping this to be a fun exercise in writing, esoteric symbology, and, well, role-playing. This story's influences, at least in my mind, are Alejandro Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain, Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, Andrei Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev, Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, all those Fafhrd and Conan stories I've been reading lately, Greek Myth, and Adventure Time.
