OOC Interest Thread--Divine Champions

Everyone,

Having been inspired by a friend on another forum, I have decided to try my hand at a similar, strategy/roleplay/wargame style thread. If anyone is interested, please read and post up a bio. If there is enough interest, I will start the game thread.

Thank you,
GoldenDrakon

Divine Champions

Setting: Divine Champions is an Adventure/Roleplay story and game set in a medieval, fantasy setting, with fragments of Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings, World of Warcraft and anything else I might just want to make up and throw in for fun. The Game World of the Gods is quite simply what it sounds like. It is a world set aside from reality to settle age old bets about whose champions are the best. Time is relative to gods who thought the 10 year conflict that was the Trojan War was but a skirmish. That being said they have no problem watching you all kill each other for centuries. Your relationship with or indifference to, the gods is up to you, but they are out there…watching… The world itself is a balance of different environments found all over Earth. However, the laws of nature do not necessarily apply. Jungles may suddenly give way to scorching deserts which stretch to the ocean where an iceberg floats by. Palm trees and oaks may grow side by side on the same island where you pick pineapples after the winter snow melts. Many types of animals roam freely as well as wandering bands of monsters or worse. Myth mixes with reality on a daily basis. A giant sphinx might offer you gold for answering riddles or a wyvern might fly down and carry off your horse. Who can say what might happen? Unlike many facts, this is the way the world is because the gods say it should be. Having been in this world all your lives, this is just the way it is.

Warrior, conqueror, diplomat or despots, which path shall you choose on your way to greatness?

Characters: What would a roleplay be without them? There are many "strategy/roleplay" games that fall short on the roleplay aspect beyond the most basic. Let us all try to give personalities to our characters and those in the households and villages. Friends and allies are always important so consider them well. Please do not make this just a game where you submit a turn. Characters and their citizens may be from any race they choose and may start off in any terrain choice.

Each player is asked to submit the following for review before starting:

Character Name
Character Race
Description
Brief Background

As an optional choice, you may also create up to two ‘lieutenants’ that you may also run as characters in support of your main character. These can be anything you wish within reason; generals, advisors, spouses, spiritual leaders, village elders, whatever. You may also make up whatever other ‘leaders’ or family members you wish but these will largely be non-played characters, used for plot and story enhancements.

Relics, Artifacts and Icons: From time to time, items may come available for your people, characters or your nations. It might be through a quest, by defeating a great challenge or created through the divine faith of your people. These items may be anything, whether your main character is recognized with a special title for extraordinary valor, a powerful, magical weapon liberated from a kraken horde or just the standard of your nation which has survived a dozen battles. Fate and the whim of the gods decide. Such things inspire great works and some of the worst acts. It empowers the just and a shield to villainy or inspires greater depths of greed and blood-lust. In game terms it means that icons, artifacts and holy relics can inspire and motivate. Also keep in mind a relic, leader or holy sword lost or captured can be a major blow. Morale and faith are both fickle and precious things; guard them well.

All players begin with.....

200 soldiers.....equipped with appropriate armor, shields, swords, etc. You choose the breakdown of troop types. You want 150 axe wielding soldiers and 50 spearmen that is fine. The only restriction is that these are grunts. No samurai, knights, dragon slayers, arch-wizards or the like.

100 skilled workers like blacksmiths, lumberjacks, priests, boat builders, animal trainers and others. You may select the break down or I can create something for you. Peasants can do all the jobs above under the guidance of these skilled people, but without them it at best goes slowly and at worst, is completed badly.

500 townsfolk: The Heart of your civilization. The women, children and common folk who are the heart and soul of any colony. They complete the day-to-day tasks that keep their lives, and your nation, going.

2 extras to be named at start of thread.


Hamlet 20 to 150 people

Village 151 to 750 people

Town 751 to 2000 people

City 2001 to 15,000 people ( a city usually dominates a region and popular for trade.)

Capital 15,001+ (a marvel of the ancient world and has many sites, resources and is usually the center for government and commerce.)

Here is the start......

Your main character(s), whether it is the traditional Chief and wife or a pair of Amazons ruling together. Maybe you have a knight married to a local witch. You could even be a bitter tyrant who wonders why nobody likes you as you torture the peasants. Everyone gets the same amount of people to begin with though how the population grows after that is up to you...constant warfare or allowing more than one spouse may increase or decreases your people.

Options available per turn: These options may be used internally as well as externally, such as spying on a merchant guild or battling a treacherous clan. You do not have to do all the actions listed.

Roleplay
Fight
Diplomacy
Explore
Trade
Build
Train
Harvest
Spy
Research

A game turn is roughly one month. There are still 4 seasons and 12 months in a year.

Hmmm....do I dare get involved in yet another story. Heh....I barely have enough time for our space one...but this does tap into an genre I am eager to write about...so count me in. Should be fun....can't imagine what you will do with complete reality freedom...*shudder*

Welcome to the boards Tul. Nice to see you here.

Set up a profile as explained above and it's on.

Now when you say "set up a profile".....do you mean as in the one I setup so I could post here...or something different??

Also, do you prefer that any posts made be in the characters name (i.e. my current user name is Tularious...so any posts made should be made for a character named Tularious). I only ask this as I was looking at some of your other posts and all of your character references were "Golden Drakon". Just wanna know how posting works for you.

Thanks.

Tul,

I'm sure for this thread you can use what ever name you want to use.

When it comes to using your username for your character name is when you enter Universes, a story created specifically for this forum. It's basically why the forum exists, though it's running rather slow at the moment.

I assume he wants you to set up a profile for this particular thread. So your village stats and all that.

Oh yeah, GD, I might give this one a try.

Can a ruler be single? LOLS.... I might leave myself open to an alliance later on in the game.

Then again... it could be cos my character may have warts and green/blue skin....

*laughs so hard that it becomes awkward*

I'll come up with a profile.

Ok...so how does one create a second profile for a particular thread?

I don't think that you need to come up with a seperate username for the thread. (I'm s.e.a.m.u.s, but i play as Corwin Ainsley in the house of ainsley thread, and would have someone else in this thread.)

for example:

Character Name: Papa Smurf
Character Race:Smurf
Description: 6 inches tall, blue skin, frequently dresses in red leggings and a red baggy hat.
Brief Background:While he is only two apples tall, Papa Smurf is tall in wisdom and long of vision. Using his vast experience and magical knowledge, Papa smurf had managed to keep his small community hidden for years from human exploitation, until a magical experiment was interrupted by Brainy Smurf and transported the village to the game world of the gods

Yep, he's right.

On this forum, you can have as many characters and profiles as you want. As long as you keep to the same thread for each character.

Each thread is it's own story

Tularious wrote:

Ok...so how does one create a second profile for a particular thread?

Seamus has it right. You can make up whatever character profile you want for your leader; Dargon the Barbarian, Bubba Joe, or Melvin the Superdood. Whatever works for you. This profile only affects this game and not anything else on the site.
The only exception would be the being transported to the world of the Gods. That is moot. Your character and his clan/town/tribe/village/whatever, has always existed on this world. You were born here and will probably die here...(although how and when the latter happens might be in contest)

Quote :

Can a ruler be single? LOLS.... I might leave myself open to an alliance later on in the game.

Then again... it could be cos my character may have warts and green/blue skin....

Whatever you want to be is good.

It scares me that you knew I'd go with Dargan.


Also, what are the guildlines/rules in regards to magic and such? Is it in existance for our characters? Or is this a purely melee style world?

Okay, so how's this?

Character Name: Alleia Kuindra
Character Race: Half Elf (human)
Description:
Age- 48 (human)
Height- 5'9"
Weight- 110 lbs
Physical- Lithe, athletic build
Skin- Pale (almost creamy ivory)
Hair- Dark crimson (natural) shot through with brown highlights. Iron straight, down to her waist
Eyes- Deep sky blue
Brief History:
Alleia was born out of an affair between the King of Baltral and an unknown woman. His love for this woman was so much, that when she fell pregnant he forced his wife to claim it was hers. He did not know at the time that his love had been manufactured. Elven lords (driven from his Kingdom) had sought revenge for their banishment and strove to place an elf on the throne. Alleia was to be queen. They relied too much on her loyalty to elven kind, however, and were dismayed to discover that when she did take the throne (as the only rightful; and remaining heir) that she did not lift the banishment. Instead, she cut all ties with Elven kind and outlawed their presence - save those of half breeding.

She now rules Baltral without a husband and though close to fifty years old, looks as young as she did when she ascended to the throne after having poisoned her father at the age of twenty.

How many die do we roll for stats?

Str: 18 (00)
Dex: 17
Int: 17
Wis: 18
Con: 17
Cha: 4


(doh!!! Another ugly one)

Tularious wrote:

It scares me that you knew I'd go with Dargan.


Also, what are the guildlines/rules in regards to magic and such? Is it in existance for our characters? Or is this a purely melee style world?

I knew that if I didn't mention him, you would...


Anyway, yes there is magic in the world; mages, druids and priestial magics as well as magical creatures, items and effects. For simplicity's sake, magic of the spell casting sort is not available to your character(s) although you may aquire a champion or ally who is able to use magic. How you choose to view or relate to magic is entirely up to you.

Quote :

How many die do we roll for stats?

You don't, you can make up whatever you'd like within reason. This is an RP character after all.

Wraith wrote:

Okay, so how's this?

Looks good to me but I did have a few questions:

So Mom was the elf and the entire romance was doctored by outcast elves from your human town? What happened to your mother, both natural and foster? What is your relationship to them?

Did you wish to make up your soldiery and skilled citizens? This is optional, but what you make up will set the tone for 'what kind' of town and economy you have to start with.

You have the option to make up two 'junior leaders' if you want them.

Wraith wrote:

Can a ruler be single? LOLS.... I might leave myself open to an alliance later on in the game.

Then again... it could be cos my character may have warts and green/blue skin....

Among certain species of hags and trolls, those traits would make you pretty darn sexy.

You know, I never did follow through on my idea to join Universes; I was going to volunteer one of several NPC characters from the House of Ainsley campaign, depending on Universe's overall power level (from near-normal Barrovik Stern to near-godlike Bardos Ainsley...yes, he's still around, but he is not your friend... ). But I never finished the doodleys for each candidate.

But if I'm to join Divine Champions, I might start by choosing a good character race and the predominant terrain of their dominion. Which do you think would work best as my future chieftain here?


Race: Mountain Dwarf
Terrain: Subterranean and Mountains
Concept: Dwarves are a proud race of warriors and artisans, and nothing swells a dwarf's chest with pride like the gleam in non-dwarven eyes as they marvel at the superiority of dwarven craftsmanship. This chieftain will thus focus chiefly on construction, production and trade; dwarven gems and metalworks are in high demand among other races, and the chieftain will gladly exploit this desire for the prosperity of his clan. But any threat to their trade (including the presence of another dwarven clan moving into their territory) will be met with threats from the proud and martially inclined dwarves, threats which will surely lead to violence and warfare if ignored.

Race: Orc
Terrain: Badlands, Steppes or Desert
Concept: In their history, nomadic orcish armies have suffered countless defeats in their raids and campaigns against the nobler and more fortified civilizations. This orc chieftain, wiser than most reigning orcs before, is determined to change that. Taking cues from their enemies, this orc chieftain can be expected to build and fortify his domain heavily, with human walls, dwarven tunnels and elven treetowers to provide defense. Alas, for all such innovation, the orcs are none of these races and cannot hope to copy such constructs as capably, so their primary focus will continue to rest on open warfare, swift attacks (ideally launched before their victims or enemies can raise a defense) and raw intimidation.

Race: Merfolk
Terrain: Ocean Floor
Concept: The merfolk are mostly isolationist (save for their relations with other aquatic races); though their relations with the airbreathers are scarce and limited to rescuing (or abducting) the occasional drowning sailor. Merfolk are not known for their craftsmanship; fire cannot exist underwater, so the merfolk must subsist without such crafts as smithing, cooking or potterymaking. Successful diplomatic contact with a friendly airbreathing race could result in beneficial trade (ie. metalworks for pearls and exotic fishes), but a nation which angers the merfolk (often through the wanton slaughter of whales and dolphins, which the merfolk hold sacred) can expect the frequent harassment and destruction of their tradeships and naval vessels.

Race: Frost Giant
Terrain: Arctic Mountains
Concept: Ever since their origins in Scandinavian legend, the frost giants have been respected as surprisingly capable metalsmiths and wielders of magic. In their halls and fortresses artfully sculpted from ice and stone, the frost giants train for their eventual war with the gods by morning, then drink and feast and make merry by evening. The arrogance of the frost giants and their chieftain is remarkable; however warlike they may be, the smaller races are typically deemed too measly and inconsequential for the frost giants to rouse themselves into open warfare against them. But this will not preclude the frost giants bullying any dwarves or humans who skirt the lands of the frost giants, and any smallfolk who dare to attack the frost giants are put in their place swiftly and with finality. There is no greater shame for a frost giant than to be bested by a mere "insect", after all.


Seeing as I'm already running the HoA campaign, I decided to avoid making an undead ruler. I wouldn't want to be a one-trick pony, after all.

So...which works for you, GD?

I still wanna go with the smurfs

S.E.A.M.U.S wrote:

I still wanna go with the smurfs

In that case....

Character Name: Gargamel
Character Race: Human
Description: 5'8" or so in height, badly receding hairline, bad teeth, large nose, habitually dresses in a shoddy old black robe and red shoes.

Lieutenant's Name: Azrael
Lieutenant's Race: Housecat (unknown breed)
Lieutenant's Appearance: Reddish coat with white belly, little piece of one ear missing, tendency to communicate with near-humanly articulate feline noises. Heck, he's a cat. What more do you want?

Brief Background: When Papa Smurf and most of the Smurf Village suddenly went missing, it wasn't long before the remaining smurfs, bereft of Papa Smurf's wisdom and leadership, fell into Gargamel's cruel grasp. But Papa Smurf--whose flesh and soul Gargamel coveted above all others--was not among them. Feeling cheated at Papa Smurf's elusion, Gargamel caged the captive smurfs back at his hovel and paid Big Mouth the Ogre a pile of raw meat to look in on them every morning for the next few months or so. Gargamel then completed a sorcerous ritual to follow Papa Smurf across time and space...and, unusually enough, he didn't bungle the ritual for a change. And Azrael went with Gargamel too, because the two are inseparable like that.

I think Azrael might actually be Gargamel's familiar, come to think of it.

This time, Gargamel will not be denied the soul of Papa Smurf, which he needs to complete his spell of immortality and achieve lichdom eternal life.

He'll get you, Papa Smurf, if it's the last thing he does! Hee hee hee ha ha ha ha ha!

Mreowwph!

The House of Ainsley wrote:

But if I'm to join Divine Champions, I might start by choosing a good character race and the predominant terrain of their dominion. Which do you think would work best as my future chieftain here?

I can deal with whatever race you want to create, but you might want to consider the latter two. Your merfolk would be interesting...and very likely to quickly become dominate over whatever seas and waterways you are near, but how will you contest those on land? You might be one of the ultimate defenders, but still locked into defense. In my experience, the defender is inevitably overwhelmed if kept on the defense.
Your giants would be interesting to see in action. I hadn't honestly considered something like them so I may have to add some limitations on your setup, given their sheer size and raw ability.

Aside from that, have at thee.

Yeah, the elves after they were banished managed to get the king interested (though not directly) in Alleia's mother.

Her human mother was weak and eventually killed by the king himself (earlier in Alleia's childhood) and quickly replaced with other queens. Each lasting only so long. As you can see, the king was quite... amourus. (sp?)

Alleia therefore did not have any qualms about killing the man that had killed so many before her. It was a political gain because the man didn't look like he was going to die soon and she was impatient for the throne.

As for the soldiers and skill workers... Can I leave particulars to you? I prefer a rounded crew of ranged classes with foot and mounted classes. Also with skilled workers I believe weapons smiths and amorers will be the best that she can offer, but metal workers and gem crafters will be the minority - but bring in some sweet mulah. Building wise, stone masons. I see it as a stone and metal city, quite opposite from Elven POV's (on purpose) with only little forestry influences from outlying villages though they mostly consist of farms. There is now little woodland.

Oh yeah, the elven mother: she continued to 'serve' the King and secretly taught her daughter everything she would need to know about the elven plot but her father's influence was just too strong and Alleia became disgusted at how desparate the Elves had become (once a noble race) as to make a woman of their own world a mistress to their enemy. For love of her mother, or pity, she released her, convincing her father that she was dead.

She returned to the elves, but Alleia never heard news of her, nor had she wanted to.

GoldenDrakon wrote:

I can deal with whatever race you want to create, but you might want to consider the latter two. Your merfolk would be interesting...and very likely to quickly become dominate over whatever seas and waterways you are near, but how will you contest those on land? You might be one of the ultimate defenders, but still locked into defense. In my experience, the defender is inevitably overwhelmed if kept on the defense.

...unless that defense is entirely impregnable; then it becomes a matter of weathering the storm and dealing with the surviving enemies who were too foolish enough to retreat several miles inland. Just as the merfolk are crippled by an inability to survive for long on land, the landwalkers are crippled by an inability to survive for long in the ocean's depths, which is exactly what they need to do if the merfolk would ever be conquered.

Enemies who don't need to breathe air (such as undead and constructs, like golems) don't have to worry about that pesky drowning problem, but they do still have to deal with enemies who are incredibly swift and maneuverable underwater, and who are experienced at fighting in all three dimensions rather than just two. Creatures like stone golems can't swim at all and will sink right to the ocean floor, which limits their usefulness against the merfolk even further (especially if they stumble into the nearest oceanic trench, saints forbid)...unless they land right in the heart of a merfolk coral city, perhaps.

If the merfolk did go on the offensive against a land-dwelling nation, it would likely happen in concert with land-dwelling allies. If the merfolk entered an alliance with the elves and moved against the orcs, the merfolk would probably blockade the orc nation's shores, sinking orcish warships while allowing fleets of elven warships to pass through the sea unmolested.

Then, of course, there's magic. One type of magic commonly attributed to merfolk is weather control; a mermaid sorceress might conjure up a waterspout, a hurricane or a nor'easter, which would hardly trouble the merfolk (who can simply dive to avoid it) but would cause great havoc among the landwalkers. And then we get into maelstroms and tidal waves....

But yeah, that inability to get around on land (unless they use magic to grow legs, fly or encase themselves in psychokinetic spheres of force) would be a burden if they wanted to go offensive. But their farming ability would be tremendous; if you can't find food in the ocean depths, you're doing something wrong. On top of that, their farming could also double as additional defense if they grow their coral reefs (for construction materials) and kelp beds (for food) just right.

GoldenDrakon wrote:

Your giants would be interesting to see in action. I hadn't honestly considered something like them so I may have to add some limitations on your setup, given their sheer size and raw ability.

Limit away. Frost giants can be pretty formidable in a fight, and they're social enough to form armies when the need arises. Of course, if someone else is playing something which is experienced at dealing with (and fighting) frost giants--like dwarves or human Norsefolk, perhaps--the frost giants start to lose a little of their edge.

Frost giants would be pretty cool to play, though. So my choice basically comes down to this:



...or this:



Toughie.

(I couldn't find any good pictures of merfolk kings, sorry. But that merfolk queen looks pretty cool, in an "aquatic alien" way. )

GoldenDrakon wrote:

Aside from that, have at thee.

Yarrr.

Yeah, I'll have to chew on that decision a bit. Also, I still have Campaign Cartographer! It's great for doodling up maps of your world, if you're interested. Mountains, swamps, rivers, here be elves, here be orcs, here be hill giants, et al.

The House of Ainsley wrote:

Yeah, I'll have to chew on that decision a bit. Also, I still have Campaign Cartographer! It's great for doodling up maps of your world, if you're interested. Mountains, swamps, rivers, here be elves, here be orcs, here be hill giants, et al.

When I said 'consider' I wasn't referring to you having to choose one of those two. You can play anything you want to with a few exceptions. In any case, any of the ones you mentioned would be welcome.

I have maps already although I will fine tune them as the story progresses. The Gods can alter their world as they see fit after all.

Yeah, that choice is self-imposed. Merfork are cool, but so are frost giants. So are orcs, in a "WAAAAGH!!!" sort of way.

Hmm...you know, frost giants must make sucky farmers. It's not like they can grow a lot of veggies where they live. Aside from slaughtering a musk ox or coming down from the mountains to stuff their faces in a peasant's apple orchard, how do frost giants manage to eat on a regular basis? :-/

A dilema you might have to figure out if your clan is to survive the first few months.....

Oh, that's easy! We slaughter musk oxen and come down into the hot, balmy, 60-degrees-Fahrenheit lowlands to steal apples from the peasants.

...except it's not stealing because we're doing those pitiful insects a favor by letting them live and not sitting on their houses. So they owe us. They owe us a million bushels of apples. And some hops. Maybe some honey, too. We have to make that world-famous frost giant mead somehow....