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[Doughguy]

The Story

The winds blow strong and rend apart the earth,
Down their tunnel you travel to a new home.
A world twinned and full of magic,
Broken now by the death of one majesty.
The Dead Queen waits for you within,
Her power the only way to escape Untwinned.

Once in the world of darkness there was nothing. And then something was born. Two realms given life in one birth. That of Life and Death came from the darkness, merged together by the violence of their conception. At the head of these realms were the King of Life and the Queen of Death, their leaders who were joined by marriage. Under their rule the two realms grew prosperously and the citizens were happy.

Then one day the King, alone in his room in Moet Elicidor, received a letter of unknown origins. A letter of prophecy. It showed him the future of the two realms, where the eternal aspect of Death overpowered the bright radiance of Life. Even he, the King, could fall prey to its grasp. And once he was a cold, unmoving corpse all life would fade away until only the still, unmoving earth remained.

The King could not permit this to happen. He enlisted the aid of the Stonemason and the Mocking Twins. The Stonemason carved thousands of magical stone helmets, giving one to each of the King's soldiers. The Twins spoke to each soldier in turn, convincing them to put on the heavy helm. And when they did the Twins sealed the helm upon their head, turning the soldiers into mockery of life and death, not truly alive but immune to death of old age.

And with his army the King struck at Death's heart, driving his own blade into the Queen's chest and sending her deep into her own realm. He stole her Sceptre of Souls and broke it in two, using the released energy as a sacrifice to summon the Wendigo from the darkness. The great beast erupted form the ground in front of the palace and slaughtered those who remained loyal to the Queen. Even the Swordsman was not match for it and was driven away.

Only the Patrician went unnoticed by the beast and managed to steal the body of the Queen from under the King's nose. With her few remaining supporters they fled south away from the King. There they hid from the Wendigo and the Pawn army at Grendel Nator Hill, awaiting a day they would strike back and avenge their Queen.

Satisfied with his safety the King resumed ruling the realm, an unstoppable and unchallengeable power. But he received another letter, one which shattered his illusion. When he had killed the Queen he had done more than ruin the world's plan, he had broken the sacred ties that held all beings together. He had untwinned the realm and so untwinned its inhabitants. The Duke of Ice declared himself independent, the Blind Fox told its first lie and the Coffinmaker abandoned her art.

But the letter showed him one hope for salvation. A way to separate the realms of Life and Death, permanently. Through a door which could only be opened from the other side would travel a group of people. They came from another realm, one where Life had been born alone and Death was an unwelcome hanger on. If he were to capture one of the travellers their corpses would open the door for him and he could travel to the other realm.

And so the King set his agents to the task, scouring the countryside for this door and the travellers. As they searched however, the Dead Queen's agents moved themselves, ready to assist these travellers against the King.

Magic and Skills

There are many types of magic in Untwinned. Some of these are more combat orientated than others, but all are useful. All have higher arts which will not be available at the beginning. Some of these, like potions, require teaching. Others, like Death, require practice and sacrifice. There are certain individuals who have their own kind of unique magic which cannot be learnt e.g. The Stonemason.

Arts of Magic

Potions – The art of brewing and bottling potions. They can be imbued with different properties but each requires a very exact recipe. In addition there is a magical resonance created by bottle shapes that can ruin or enhance the liquid within. The most basic arts are limited, usually simple boosts to strength or healing. However the higher arts can grant the drinkers control over the elements, the ability or fly, or kill the drinker in a single drop. The mage starts knowing three kinds of potions. Requires teaching.

Evaporating – The art of disappearance. At the most basic level the user can teleport themselves. At higher levels they can make objects disappear, be teleporting or simply removing them. At the highest level the mage can make their image and sound disappear but still exist, effectively being invisible. Requires teaching.

Life – The art of creation. The primary healing magic, even the newest mage can heal small wounds. The ability to heal increases with skill, up to being able to pull the recently deceased back to life. Alongside this grows the ability to grant life to inanimate objects and command them to do the mage's bidding. The size and complexity of the object that may be controlled grows with skill.

Death – The art of killing. A novice gains a black tentacle of theirs to command and can give themselves aspects of death, like not needing to breathe or eat. As they progress they are able to capture the souls of the recently dead for potions or to be crushed for boost to vitality. The highest arts give the user control of dozens of tentacles to control.

Untwinned – The newest magic, not much is known of it. The highest arts remained untouched by any mage. At the lower levels can combine objects to increase their power or make something more useful. At the medium levels they gain a measure of control over this act and can shape the new object rather than it being random.

Shapeshifting – The art of transforming. Untwinned has many animals that can talk and a Shaper fits right alongside them. The shaper starts with the ability to assume one form and must seek out new ones. Other shapers can teach them, but they may also learn from books and places of magic. The original form must be approved by me first. Requires teaching.

Skills

Instead of magic, warriors have the use of skills. All warriors start with a single skill at level one. As mages learn new arts warriors can learn new skills or increase their current ones as they gain power. You can choose one of the skills listed here or design your own for me to approve.

Shimmering Blade – The weapon sparkles and warps in the light, bending in odd ways or changing length. Some of these changes are real, others are illusion. This makes it very hard to predict where the blade truly lies.

Enhanced sense – One of the warrior's senses in increased. If the warrior has lost a sense previously, or loses one, this skill becomes even more powerful.

Death's Escape – The warrior evades one mortal wound, surviving that which should kill them. This skill disappears once the blow is evaded.

Untwinning – The warrior can merge two objects to create one of more power. This is limited to any weapons in their hands, or their arms themselves i.e. can merge their two arms into one for greater strength.

Pyrotechnic Burst – With a flourish of the hand the warrior creates a trio of small explosions which act like fireworks. They cannot damage the opponents but are effective distractions.

Dancer's Step – By performing a small jig or dance the warrior can increase their speed for a short time.

The Start

Everyone begins the RP on modern day earth. Your characters all grew up on earth, had normal lives there. There's never been a hint that Untwinned would choose them for what will happen. The first post will be your character on earth going about their day. The first GM post will be the entrance to Untwinned.

Important NPCs

None so far

Map

Will be updated as you discover it

Rules

1. I am the GM my word is law

1. I reserve the right to add/change rules at any time and have rules act retroactively
2. No perfect chars
3. I reserve the right to kill off characters without discussion if I deem them having failed to escape a fatal situation.
4. No killing of another player's char
5. Please try to post at least once a week
6. If you are inactive and hold up the plot for around a week I will take control of your character just long enough to move the plot along.
7. One char per person

CS

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Calling: (What your character will become. A Knight, a healer, a mage etc)
Magic: (If you will be a mage)
Skill: (If you will be a warrior)

Appearance:

Personality:
Bio: (Your life on earth so far. No one has ever had contact with Untwinned before, not even a small hint)

 

[Cahill]

Name: Shaw Hackett

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Calling: Warrior

Skill: [FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION] Craft - Pull out a weapon, of whatever substance is at hand, granted there is a large enough deposit of this substance. Almost like conjuring a weapon, but needs other materials to make this weapon. Contact with this is necessary. Say a boulder is in reach, can pull out a entirely-made-of-stone rod/sword/etc. Same with deposits of wood or iron or steel.

Appearance: Golden blonde hair, cut short at the back and sides, a chinstrap beard leading from it. His hair is about half a finger's length at the top and his eyes are a bluish-green. Shaw is lean and muscular due to regular exercise and just the right genetics. At about 6'0 in height, he is a healthy, early twenties man with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He has a bit of a square shaped face, with a strong jaw-line, but not so evident cheekbones. A nose with a slightly broad bridge and narrow nostrils sit above lips that are average in thickness.

When not at work and donning his uniform, Shaw prefers to wear jeans, no matter the color, and t-shirts. Usually plain shirts with no graphics and v-necks. In colder weather, he wears sports jackets and long sleeve v-necks.

Personality: Shaw has a strong sense of justice. He has a set of morals he values and would likely not breach unless he has no other choice. He is also a kind but firm man, befitting those who should be working with the public. Not harsh or a dictator in any way, but still able to get his opinion across.

Bio: Son of a divorced couple, Shaw lived with his father after his mother left with another. He never made contact with his mother again after that. His father never found someone else and proceeded to throw himself at his work. That is why Shaw learned how to be independent from an early age. He did not blame his father though. In fact, when deciding on a career, after successfully graduating, he chose something in the same line. His father was a detective and thus he saw fit to enroll as a police officer.

Police Academy went by, he trained hard and went on to a precinct when he passed. He started there doing most of the grunt work, from just directing some traffic on busy days to desk jobs. Answering phones to sitting in a squad car to patrolling the streets. He now aspires to become a detective as well.
[Unsure whether you're still up for this, but here's a CS nonetheless. Please let me know if you require changes.]

 

[Neohmi]

Name: Mai Li Hao
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Calling: Mage
Magic: Evaporating

Appearance: Slim but firm frame, taller than most women of her background. From afar, one might say she is attractive. Her olive skin lights up in cold weather. Up close, however, many consider her a plain face. She has dark almond-shaped eyes framed by short yet thick eyebrows and divided by a slender and slightly crooked nose (from a fight most likely). Her lips: small and plump. In an attempt to look different, she had her hair permed into a messy tangle of dark strands and blonde highlights.

She is addicted to form-fitting, long-sleeved tops of various colors and can never let go of her favorite leather jacket and well-worn high-cut boots. At work, she transitions her jeans and boots into baggy jogging pants and trusty white rubber shoes.

Personality: Growing up as the plain one in a household of beautiful women, it is no surprise that Mai Li is riddled with insecurities. She has long learned to cover these up by pretending not to care about her appearance and acting tough to the point of being boyish. Strength is important to her and she is willing to go through great lengths to prove to others that she has it. This often lands her in a great deal of trouble. Only her fierce loyalty towards treasured friends can keep her grounded.

Bio: Mai Li's mother used to be a beauty queen. Among her eight daughters, only Mai Li hadn't inherited her looks having taken up from her late father instead. This fact has been the bane of her existence. She found sanctuary among the boys who cared not of her looks but of her strength and guts. It was not uncommon to find her in the middle of a brawl.

Mai Li wizened up when her mother moved to America after marrying a foreigner and left her and her siblings to fend for themselves. While her siblings went on to become models, hostesses and other "pretty" jobs, she settled as a maid at a large mansion whose owner happened to be a retired master of Bagua Zhang. She gladly became his student and found she was a natural.

Opportunity came when a small-time foreign producer witnessed her kick the butts of some rowdy men in a street market. He hired her as a stunt double on the spot and brought her to Canada. For five years, she practiced on her English while doubling for local kung fu movies.