A Wanderer's Romance: Wuxia-Inspired Game of Dueling and Magic (Interest/Sign-Up Thread)

SamtheDeathclaw

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[HEADING=1]A Wanderer's Romance[/HEADING]​
The world began as nothing but ocean. Then, the Origins, powerful immaterial spirits, raised up a million colorful islands, though anything larger than a few dozen miles was swallowed by the envious deep. Some of these immaterial beings chose to take a physical form and live in the varied lands they had created, eventually settling into the forms of men and beasts.

Our ancestors.

The Origins that did not take physical form paid a great cost. They were left unable to affect their world directly, relying upon influencing men with words and knowledge. Their teachings led to our understanding of elemental balance, the formation of the Legendary Styles and the universal Code of Combat that define our world today.

However, since the Creation, humanity has grown and prospered. Kings and lord rule over hundreds of islands at a time, waging wars both in the shadows and in the light. War-bands cross back and forth over the endless cerulean ocean, while pirates prey on the precious trade that sustains many islands. All of this combat carried out according to the ancient Code of Combat. Or, at least, most of it. This is your world: brutal and beautiful, full of blood and art- often the art of spilling blood.

Recently, kingdoms have been falling apart, their Kings challenged and slain, after their elite guards were challenged and slain as well. However, this challenger is not taking the Kings' places: he's simply killing and moving on. This is what worries most people. Whoever it is seems to be seeding anarchy just for anarchy's sake.

King Sityr of Bastion Island has called for mercenaries to get to the bottom of what's going on. That would be where you come in. Bastion Island lies near the last Kingdom to be hit, and Sityr, despite his Kingdom's small size, fears that he is next.

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Welcome to A Wanderer's Romance, a game of swordplay, dueling, and magic. I'm your GM, SamtheDeathclaw, whom some of you may know. This game is based on a Creative Commons system produced by Christopher McDowall. While I would normally link you to the game itself, it is irrelevant to this game: I have removed and edited content to make it work as a play-by-post game, enough so that the original game would likely only serve to confuse a player.

In the days of yore, the Origins handed down to humans a system of understanding the nature of all living things. All living beings' spirits express themselves in four categories, with which you may be familiar: Air, Earth, Fire, Water.

These make up every individual's stats, as it were.

Air is the element of introspection, inwards, to the Mind and the Self. It is expressed in wit, willpower, courage, and communication. It governs communication and interaction, as well as self-control.

Earth is the element of looking outwards, towards the Body and the World. It is expressed in resilience, practicality, sensation, and physicality. It governs strength and endurance.

Fire is the element of emotion and hot blood. It is expressed in passion, creativity, leadership, and drive. It governs the emotions and charisma.

Water is the element of calmness and cool logic. It is expressed in control, grace, intuition, and instinct. It governs the senses and critical thinking ability.

There is, however, unknown to many, a fifth element, the meta-element: Balance, which is an individual's ability to demonstrate these elements in tandem, rather than in opposition. Balance is equal to the number of matching elements in an individual's elements, and tends to not be expressed except in extraordinary circumstances.
Tests: Most actions in A Wanderer's Romance will be resolved through Tests. A Test is simple: you roll, through the Escapist's chatroom dice-rollers, two six-sided dice (2d6, in RPG terms) and add two elements to the result, depending on what task you are attempting. For example, to fire an arrow is a Test of Earth and Water, as it is a test of the character's physical abilities, drawing the bow, and their senses, aiming the bow. So one would roll 2d6, and add the character's Earth and Water's score, and compare that total to a Target Number (TN) set by the GM.

Let's take, as an example, a character with 2 Earth and 1 Water, who wishes to fire an arrow at a target 50 yards away. Not an especially difficult task, so the GM sets the TN at 10- easily doable, the player only needs to roll 7 or better. The player rolls, and gets a 3 and a 4. Seven exactly! The player succeeds, and the arrow flies true.

Matching: There is one not-as-simple thing to keep in mind with Tests. Let's say, for example, that the player from before instead rolled 3 and 3, for a total of 9. As this is less than 10, the arrow would miss. However, those dice are Matching- the player rolled a 3 on both dice. This occurrence is special in the rules. When the dice Match on any given roll, the character adds their Balance to the total, as a certain twist of fate or simple good showing on the character's part make that particular roll that much better.
Combat is more or less handled the same as Tests. Whichever combatant has the highest Balance score reacts the most quickly, striking first. He then declares what Style he is using to attack (more on that later,) and the defender must declare what Style he is using to defend himself. These Styles determine which elements are added to the rolls, but beyond that, nothing is changed from Tests, including the special rules for Matching. After the dice are rolled, the attacker's Attack and the defender's Defense rolls are compared. If the Defense is higher than the Attack, nothing happens- the attack is deflected harmlessly. If the Attack is higher than the Defense, the defender takes damage.

Damage is a single six-sided die, with no elements added to it to begin with. This roll is subtracted from the defender's armor value, then applied to the character.
1-: A Damage result of 1 or less is a glancing blow. It stings, but little damage is done. The defender takes -1 on further defense rolls, as the attacker is inside of his defenses already.

2-3: A Damage result of 2 or 3 Staggers the defender. It hurts a lot, but ultimately the damage is minimal. However, the defender is put off-balance by the attack, allowing the attacker to immediately make a follow-up strike before the defender gets a chance to counterattack.

4: A result of 4 Weakens the defender. Blood sprays and limbs sag, but the defender is not out of the fight yet. A defender reduces all of their elements and their armor value by 1 (to a minimum of 0) for the rest of the combat.

5: A result of 5 defeats the defender outright. They may pass out from blood loss, or be otherwise at the mercy of their opponent. If the victor wishes, they may then kill the loser, but the winning strike is not the deathblow.

6: A result of 6 outright kills the defender. If the attacker chooses, they may downgrade this result to merely Defeated.

Armor, as previously mentioned, subtracts from damage the wearer would take. This makes it very powerful. However, it also restricts the wearer a great deal: the wearer subtracts his armor value from his Balance score.
An armor value of 0 represents no proper protection- nudity or average clothing fall into this category.

An armor value of 1 might represent basic padded cloth or leather armor, a buckler or small shield, or simple innate toughness.

An armor value of 2 represents chain mail, reinforced leather, some other mid-tier armor, a relatively heavy shield, or, again, nearly supernatural toughness.

An armor value of 3 represents plate mail, ceremonial armor, other heavy armors, a tower shield, or outright supernatural toughness.

An armor value of 4 is almost impossible for humans to attain without the use of Legendary Styles or Legendary Armor.

The combat rules are also used in quasi-battles, called Contests. These are non-violent contests of skill, such as horse racing, chess games, or tea ceremony. There, damage represents appropriate things instead: falling behind in a race, falling into a weak tactical position in chess, so on and so forth. The elements used in attacking and defending will be determined by the contest, and armor values- obviously- don't apply.

Instead of attacking, a combatant may choose instead to Focus. When Focused, a combatant may chose to release the Focus when attacking or defending, gaining a +1 to that roll, and a +1 to any damage rolls they cause. Once Focus is released, you are no longer focuses. Focus does not stack, and is automatically released after combat. If something would prevent you from Focusing, the action may not be taken at all.
Millenia ago, the Origins taught humanity the Legendary Styles. The resulting war decimated the islands. The Origins promptly came together to impose a Code of Combat on all those who would fight, supernaturally revoking those who break the Code's mastery of Legendary Styles.

The Code is actually fairly simple. It consists of three main points:
-Combat is between two equally-matched opponents and no others. The combatants should have ample time to appraise one another before the start of combat.
-The ideal resolution to combat is the surrender of the weaker combatant. Injury is regrettable but an accepted risk, as is death. Both are best avoided.
-With power, comes duty to protect oneself.

The following are violations of the Code, as examples:
-Attacking someone already engaged in combat.
-Attacking one or more opponents as part of a group, such as mass arrow fire.
-Killing an opponent who has openly surrendered.
-Continuing to fight after one has been beaten.

These violations invite reprisals from the Origins. Anyone who breaks the Code immediately has their Balance score reduced to 0, and regresses to Initiate in any Legendary Styles they knew.
Magic is a powerful force. No one is quite sure what it is. Many say it is the toolbox of creation, which the Origins left available to those who could harness it. The Origins universally refuse to answer where it comes from. Perhaps they don't know themselves.

At any rate, Magic is a force to be reckoned with. Not in the fireballs-and-horrible-death sense, but in the sense that a Fire Mage can bend minds with barely a word, and an Air Mage can communicate instantly over vast distances.

Magic is subtle, but powerful. A Water Mage doesn't have supernatural control over Water, but rather control over the aspects of Water: for example, Water's dominion over the senses allows a Water Mage to craft illusions, hiding things from the senses of others. A full description of these schools of magic can be found later on.

Air Magic uses the power of the mind and soul, drawing from inner power and channeling it outwards.

Earth Magic deals with the physical and draws upon the energies of the world.

Fire Magic draws upon the desires and emotions of the caster and those around him.

Water Magic is subtle in its ways, sensing and shifting things while being barely detectable, requiring complete
concentration to wield.

Name: The cultures of the Islands are vast and varied. Any name you can imagine could likely come from one island or another.

Gender: As with most things, sexism varies greatly between islands and kingdoms. Some cultures will not let women do anything beyond raise children, others are matriarchal.

Age: Simple enough. For ease, the Islands use the same seasons and year system we use, though not all islands may experience all seasons.

Physical Description: How does your character look? Height? Weight? Eye color? Hair color? Interesting features? How do they move? How do they dress? So on an so forth.

Philosophy: Your character's take on the world, summed up in no more than two sentences. "The strong must protect the weak," "Freedom is for those who earn it," and "Knowledge leads to enlightenment," are all good examples.

Personality: Who is your character? What is their culture like? Do they break from this culture? How did they learn the above philosophy?

Elements: Personality and Elements are intrinsically linked. Your Elements define who you are, and vice versa. You have 6 points to spend, and all Elements start at 0.
Air:
Earth:
Fire:
Water:
Balance: Balance is equal to the number of Elements which are equal. For example, a character may have 4 Air, 2 Earth, 0 Fire, 0 Water. As both Fire and Water are 0, their Balance is 2.

Specialties: Every character begins play with two Specialties, which represent their out-of-combat abilities. Examples include Archery, Acrobatics, Cooking, Geography, Deception, Leadership, Horse Riding, Sailing, and so forth. Whenever you make a check involving your Specialty, you gain a +2 bonus on that check.

Armor: Choose a value between 0 and 3, and subtract it from your Balance score. This is your armor value. Your choice as to just what it represents.

Weapon: Each character begins play with one weapon and one sidearm. See below for a list of choices.

Styles: Each character begins play with two levels of ability. For example, one could be an Initiate of Fire Magic and an Initiate of General's Cry, or a Student in Fire Magic. See the next post for Styles and further description of Magic.

History: The tale of your character. Feel free to share backstory with your fellow players, or not. The Islands are vast and multitudinous, it is entirely possible for two people to live in one kingdom and never meet.

Weapons are often prized possessions for warriors, as they can't exactly fight without them. (Usually.)
Weapons are those that are often used for combat. The categories used in various styles are: Straight Sword, Curved Sword, Axe, Spear, Glaive, Staff and Maul. These are obviously broad categories. A Curved Sword could be a cutlass or katana, a scimitar or saber.

Sidearms are typically carried in case of being disarmed or having ones weapon broken. Typical sidearms are daggers, darts, and bows. (Though the bow is usually forbidden in combat, except against other archers.)

Here [http://i.imgur.com/rMvl7cl.png] is a chart of example tests, and their respective elements. It also serves as an example of what sort of choices for Expertise would be appropriate.
This system lacks a system of "levelling up," but the players are still expected to advance as time goes on. The only way to do so is to study under someone else. In order to become an Initiate in a style, you must spend an entire day studying under at least a Student of the style, then meet a TN10 task using the elements of the style. At that point, you gain the abilities of the Initiate of that Style.

To become a Student, you must study under a Master of the Style. The Master will inevitably set some seemingly unrelated tasks to teach the Initiate a lesson about the truth of the style, which usually involve learning a new Specialty. Then, once the Master has determined the Initiate is ready, they must attempt a TN12 task once per day, using the elements of the style. If the Initiate passes twice in any given three-day period, he becomes a Student of that style.

To become a Master, one must defeat a Master of that Style in a duel, though the rank is only granted if the Master deems the Student ready for the responsibility and power.

To learn a new Specialty is much simpler. One must simply study with someone who has that Specialty for a day, then pass a TN10 task for it.

Elements are rarely permanently increased. Upon ascension to Master rank, the new Master may choose to increase one of his style's associated elements by one.
The Last Ocean is what the Origins call this world. To most humans, it is simply Home, and the sea is simply the Sea. Or, if they're feeling fancy, the Cerulean Sea.

In the first days, the Origins came to this world, and found only water. From the water, they raised up land, though any attempts to make something larger than a few dozen miles across quickly sunk back under the waves. So they made thousands and thousands of islands, making each one unique and different from its neighbors. Just because one island is an eternally baking desert does not mean the island a few miles to the south is not a freezing evergreen forest.

As each island is so different in climate, the humans who eventually emerged (the stories say, from Origins who decided to become mortal) founded vastly different cultures on each. The Origins who remained each took up residence on an island apiece, and took to leading the humans. As the Origins can communicate instantly with one another, they kept warfare low and simple.

This changed when the first Legendary Style was taught by a rogue Origin. His style, Stinging Bee, began scouring the world, as no one else had anything to defend against its power.

Until the other Origins rallied, and taught the humans more styles to counter Stinging Bee. Sadly, this had the unintended consequence of only perpetuating the violence, even once practitioners of Stinging Bee were hunted to extinction.

And so the Code of Conduct for battle was drafted, and enforced through control over the Legendary Styles.

Now, open warfare is virtually unheard of. War-bands of no more than a dozen are the only military forces, but their clashes are spectacular and bloody. Through their deaths, a new paradigm has arisen: the Kings. They may style themselves different ways, but ultimately, they all control territory with an iron fist, for good or ill. Those who live outside the protections of these kingdoms often find themselves plagued by common pirate attacks- often too common to not be intentional.

And this is where the world is today. Save for the man roaming the land, cutting down Kings and their elite guards without effort, of course.

Island specifics are yours to decide. Only major guidelines are pre-industrial technology, and the existence of Origins. Though, even then, the Origins are not always worshiped as gods: many islands have a pantheon of gods they pray to, as well as an Origin who helps them.

If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to let me know.
 

SamtheDeathclaw

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Combat Styles are divided into two categories: Offensive and Defensive. All characters know the basic Styles. (E.G., every character knows how to hit something with a weapon and how to block.)

Every Legendary Style- those created by the Origins- has three ranks: Initiate, Student, and Master.

An Initiate knows the basics of a style, what their philosophy is, and has received some training in the use of their Style.

A Student has studied directly under a Master, and has learned some truly spectacular techniques. They also gain a deeper understanding of the style's philosophy, and may teach the style to others. (See Progression earlier on.)

A Master has achieved the epitome of a Style, and can use it to perform feats unimaginable to most. To become a Master, one must study under, then defeat an existing Master of the Style.

A Style's philosophy is the way of thinking of its founding Origin, often encapsulated into a single sentence. They provide insight into the style's outlook on combat, and occasionally their stance on the world outside.

Offensive styles are used to attack, as a matter of course. Each one requires a specific type of weapon to utilize. All characters know three basic Offensive Styles:
Weapon Strike (Any Melee Weapon) - Fire + Water.
Brawling (Unarmed) - Earth + Fire.
Hunter's Bow (Bow) - Earth + Water


A chart of all known Offensive Styles can be found here. [http://i.imgur.com/lyL7wOG.png] A handful of the styles on this chart are, however, not available to players.
The Legendary Styles are more in-depth, of course. They are:

Elephant Fist (Unarmed) - Earth + Fire.
The stone crushes the pebble, the boulder crushes the stone. Crush the boulder.
Initiate: Ignore Armour Value penalties to Balance.
Student: Add Fire to Damage Rolls when Earth is higher than the defender's.
Master: In place of dealing Damage a hit can be used to destroy a single piece of the target's equipment.

Harmony Wind (Unarmed or Staff) - Air + Water.
Movement must be as a song, always suggesting a dozen directions in which the listener might be carried but each note seeming the one true way in hindsight.
Initiate: May be used as a Defensive Style.
Student: When the dice match (on attack or defence) the opponent cannot use their Earth or Fire scores.
Master: Automatically avoids any attacks that do not use Water.

Twilight Song (Straight Sword) - Fire + Water
Turn away from deceptive light and embrace the cool sensation of darkness. There the human soul can be heard and its spirit seen.
Initiate: You are always focused in darkness or moonlight.
Student: Opponents cannot use Earth or Air in moonlit or a darkened environment.
Master: Add Water to Damage rolls.

Warrior's Art (Unarmed or Curved Sword) - Earth + Fire.
The warrior must be strong of body and of mind in equal parts. Hard of fist and foot and train their instincts to know how to use them.
Initiate: Balance is Doubled whenever dice match.
Student: The value of one die rolled when attacking may be raised by 1.
Master: Double Earth or Fire score when dice match.

Hawk Talon (Unarmed) - Earth + Water.
The hawk takes only what it needs and kills only for its own survival.
Initiate: Add Balance to Damage against unarmoured opponents.
Student: May choose to Weaken an opponent instead of rolling for damage normally on a hit.
Master: Ignore any armour.

Grandfather Crutch (Staff or Spear) - Air + Earth.
There is elegance in the mind and body that few men are truly aware of. Elegance is born out of simplicity and focus.
Initiate: May be used as a Defensive Style.
Student: +1 to Damage and Attack Rolls when Focused.
Master: On a successful Defence roll the attacker takes damage.

Gentleman's Tongue (Straight Sword) - Fire + Water.
A diplomat can kill more men with a word than a sword, but a sword can kill a thousand diplomats.
Initiate: Double Fire when it is higher than the defender's.
Student: Add Water to Damage if dice match.
Master: Roll two dice as normal but increase the lowest to match the highest.

Cloud Tail (Spear) - Air + Fire
The cloud must shed water as it floats, leaving soaked lands as it moves to dry.
Initiate: May treat any Damage you cause as Staggered instead of the rolled result.
Student: Ignore Armour when Air score is greater than the opponent's.
Master: Add Air score to Damage.

General's Cry (Curved Sword or Glaive) - Air + Fire.
When an army sees its General as a man full of the same anger, lust and fear that fills each of them they will follow him into death. When a soldier sees this in his opponent he will find his own fear doubled.
Initiate: Defeners cannot use Fire.
Student: Add Fire score to Damage when higher than enemy's Air.
Master: May treat any Damage you cause as Weakened in additon to the rolled result.

Blinding Sun (Curved Sword or Axe) - Air + Fire
Be the generous hand that strikes on expectant palms.
Initiate: May be used Defensively.
Student: Whenever your opponent Focuses make an immediate attack.
Master: Add Fire score to Damage.

Cloud Puncher (Straight Sword or Unarmed) - Air + Water
From above the greatest challenge appears small.
Initiate: Opponent cannot use their Earth score when you are Focused.
Student: Add your opponent's highest Element score to Attack Rolls.
Master: Add your opponent's highest Element score to Damage Rolls.

Falling Meteor (Maul) - Fire + Water.
Be unstoppable in your movements and realise that obstacles are a lie. The shield, the helm and the skull are obstacles like any other.
Initiate: Opponent may not use Earth.
Student: Ignore Armour.
Master: Add Fire to Damage rolls.

Dutiful Guard (Spear or Glaive) - Earth + Water.
The faceless guard has saved the life of every noble, emperor and fellow guardsman in the land. Without him there is only death for all.
Initiate: May be used Defensively.
Student: You are always Focused if your opponent has hit you.
Master: Double Water score when attacking an opponent that has hit you.

Leaping Viper (Glaive) - Air + Fire
Step softly by the viper, for his reach is long and his bite deadly.
Initiate: Become Focused when you Stagger or Weaken an opponent.
Student: Add Fire to attack rolls when Focused.
Master: Automatically hit a Weakened opponent.

Seeking Killer (Spear) - Air + Water.
A war of a million spears can become a war of one with the proper thought.
Initiate: Become focused whenever your Balance is higher than the defender's.
Student: Add Water to Damage rolls when Focused.
Master: Opponents cannot use Earth or Fire to Defend when you are Focused.

Golden Fist (Unarmed) - Air + Water.
The ultimate power of the fist is apparent to any who have seen it and unimaginable by all others.
Initiate: Double any bonuses gained from being Focused.
Student: Raise the lowest Attack die to match the highest when Focused.
Master: Double Air score.

Willow Branch (Staff) - Earth + Water
A great man must be ever willing to bend and adapt.
Initiate: May be used Defensively.
Student: When used Defensively choose a single ability of the attacker's style to ignore.
Master: Choose a single Element, opponents are unable to use it to attack or defend against you. This may be changed at any moment.

Downward Current (Unarmed) - Earth + Fire
If you fight the current you will drown, if you relax you will be crushed. Only the current can succeed.
Initiate: Opponents cannot use Water to defend.
Student: Whenever an opponent is Weakened they are also Staggered, and vice versa.
Master: May always choose to Weaken and Stagger an opponent instead of rolling for damage as normal.

Leaning Crane (Curved Sword) - Air + Water
That which cannot be done in a single movement, you are not yet ready to do.
Initiate: Add Balance to attack and damage rolls on your first attack against an opponent.
Student: You are always Focused until you miss an attack.
Master: Double Balance when Focused.

Valiant Prawn (Straight Sword or Axe) - Air + Fire
An underestimated attacker delivers an unexpected death.
Initiate: Add Fire to Attack rolls and Damage against a Focused opponent.
Student: Add Air to Attack rolls against a Focused opponent.
Master: Opponents cannot use Water to defend.

Flock of Doves (Glaive or Curved Sword) - Air + Fire
The softest diversion can lead to the hardest downfall.
Initiate: May be used Defensively.
Student: Opponent may be Weakened instead of rolling for damage normally.
Master: Always strike first.

Burrowing Shark (Unarmed or Axe) - Earth + Fire
Be the shark of the land, feast on the unsuspecting.
Initiate: Add Fire to Damage against any opponents you attack before they attack you.
Student: Always strike first in combat.
Master: May be used defensively and subtract both Earth and Armour from attackers' Damage rolls.

Thunder Cloud (Maul) - Earth + Fire.
The wise man and the barbarian share many fears. Where the savage will cower the wise man will seek to explain. This moment of wonder is their undoing.
Initiate: +1 to Attack and Damage Rolls against defenders using Air or Water. +2 against opponents using both.
Student: Add opponent's Air score to Attack rolls.
Master: Ignore any Armour.

Blooded Stone (Maul or Unarmed) - Air + Earth
The brutality of a wound can enrage a fighter into victory or shatter their spirit.
Initiate: Ignore the effects of being Weakened.
Student: When you Weaken an opponent double the penalties they receive.
Master: Add Earth to Damage.

Defiant Way (Axe or Unarmed) - Earth + Fire
Force your opponent to fight on your land, against your sharpest weapon with their dullest.
Initiate: Choose one Element, your opponent cannot use it.
Student: You may use this Style with any Weapon. When this matches your opponent's weapon you are always Focused.
Master: Add Air to Damage.


Raging Fool (Unarmed) - Air + Fire.
There is order in chaos.
Initiate: Opponents cannot Focus.
Student: Balance is added to attack rolls when the dice do not match but not when they do.
Master: May be used as a Defensive Style. Attackers subtract Balance from their attack roll.

Thousand Raindrops (Straight Sword) - Air + Fire.
In the storm even the gnat is struck.
Initiate: Opponents cannot use Air to defend.
Student: Opponents cannot use Fire to defend.
Master: Opponents cannot use Earth or Water to defend.

Flesh and Blood (Axe) - Air + Earth
The humblest solutions can tear apart the most complex obstacle.
Initiate: When Dice Match add Earth to your attack roll.
Student: When you Release Focus on an attack you may choose to add Staggered to any damage results if you wish.
Master: Your opponent cannot subtract anything from the Damage roll.

Jade Lobster (Curved Sword or Axe) - Earth + Water.
The moment is the most important teaching of the way of the Lobster. Knowing the moment and knowing your power to act is knowing your enemy's death.
Initiate: Add opponent's Fire score to damage rolls when the dice match.
Student: When the attack dice match ignore Armour.
Master: Treat any opponent's Damage rolls of Weakened or Defeated as Killed.

Gibbon Palm (Unarmed) - Air + Earth.
Softness can shatter hardness as the whisper can cut through the crowd's roar.
Initiate: Air is Doubled until the end of your turn when attack dice match.
Student: When you hit an opponent they may not subtract anything from the damage roll.
Master: May treat any damage roll of Glancing Blow as Defeated.

Twin Snake (Unarmed or Darts) - Air + Water.
When faced with two snakes it is certain you will feel both sets of fangs and never the one.
Initiate: Each hit causes Damage twice at -1 to the Damage Roll.
Student: When dice match add Water to Damage rolls.
Master: Increase the value of the lowest die rolled to match the highest on attacks.

Shining Beetle (Straight Sword or Curved Sword) - Air + Earth
Before the beetle opens its case it knows where to fly.
Initiate: May be used defensively.
Student: Add Air to Armour score.
Master: Double Earth when focused.

Gamblers Hand (Unarmed or Straight Sword) - Fire + Water
You win some and lose some. In the end these outcomes are no different.
Initiate: Treat any unmodified attack rolls of 7 as if the dice were matching.
Student: When the dice match you may force your opponent to reroll the resulting Damage roll once.
Master: On attacks roll five dice and choose which two to use.

Boar Herder (Glaive or Spear) - Earth + Fire
Deliver your lessons at an appropriate distance.
Initiate: Add your opponent's Fire to attack rolls if they are not using a Spear, Glaive or Staff.
Student: You may choose to treat any damage roll as Staggered in addition to the normal result.
Master: May be used defensively. Add opponent's Fire to defence rolls.

Immaculate Strike (Staff or Maul) - Earth + Water
One strike to end your troubles.
Initiate: Add Balance to attack rolls when Focused.
Student: Add Earth to damage rolls when Focused.
Master: Double the penalties you cause whenever you Weaken an opponent.

Starving Hound (Unarmed) - Earth + Fire
The closer death creeps towards him the more dangerous the beast becomes.
Initiate: You are always Focused against an opponent that has hit you.
Student: Add Fire to damage against an opponent that has hit you.
Master: Ignore the effects of being Weakened, Staggered, or of a Glancing Blow.

Blinding Cinder (Staff or Glaive) - Fire + Water
The tiniest speck of flame can bring the strongest to tears when properly directed.
Initiate: Become Focused whenever you hit an opponent.
Student: Add opponent's Earth score to Attack rolls when Focused.
Master: Add opponent's Fire score to Attack rolls when Focused.

Closing Fangs (Unarmed or Straight Sword) - Earth + Water
For the unsuspecting prey the fangs close slowly.
Initiate: If you Weaken an opponent they are also Staggered.
Student: If your Water exceeds your opponents you may choose to treat any Damage roll as Weakened in addition to the rolled result.
Master: Add your opponent's Fire score to Attack Rolls.

Peaceful Hammer (Maul) - Air + Earth
When all is destroyed, there is peace.
Initiate: Add Air to Damage against opponents wielding a weapon.
Student: Add opponent's Fire to attack roll.
Master: If your Earth is exceeds your opponent's you are always Focused.

Lion Rampant (Unarmed or Straight Sword) - Earth + Fire
A symbol cannot be defeated.
Initiate: Opponents can never be Focused.
Student: Add Fire to damage rolls.
Master: Opponents cannot use Fire or Water to defend.

Thundering Tsunami (Staff or Maul) - Earth + Water
When the earth rumbles, it sends oceans fleeing toward the land.
Initiate: Ignore opponent's Armour.
Student: Add opponent's Water score to Damage rolls.
Master: If you hit your opponent they are Weakened in addition to rolling for Damage normally.

Abyssal Embrace (Axe or Maul) - Earth + Water
Calm waters can devour the unwary soul.
Initiate: You are always Focused when your Balance is higher than your opponent's.
Student: Add your Balance to attack rolls.
Master: Add your opponent's Balance to attack rolls.

Leviathan's Sting (Darts or Spear) - Fire + Water
Grasping from the deep, there is no escape from its burning sting.
Initiate: Fire is doubled when dice match.
Student: An opponent you have hit cannot Focus or use their Air score.
Master: Add Fire to damage rolls.

Dust Storm (Darts) - Air + Earth
Even sand can become deadly, when borne by the wind.
Initiate: Opponent cannot be Focused.
Student: Opponent cannot use their Air score.
Master: Whenever you hit an opponent you may Weaken them in addition to rolling damage.

Glacier Shatter (Straight Sword, Curved Sword, Glaive) - Air + Water
The strongest metal will shatter in winter's breath.
Initiate: Styles that do not have Fire as one of their two Elements cannot be used to defend against your attacks.
Student: Opponent cannot use their Water score.
Master: Opponents add their Armour score to damage rolls against them instead of subtracting

Shroud of Frost (Staff or Glaive) - Air + Water
Even the lion moves slowly when ice covers the ground.
Initiate: An opponent you have hit cannot use their Fire score to attack or defend.
Student: Can be used Defensively. You may use your Water score in place of Armour at any time.
Master: When your opponent rolls to defend treat non-matching dice as zero.

Desert Heat (Spear) - Fire + Water
The sun weighs heaviest when the air is still.
Initiate: May be used as a Defensive Style.
Student: Whenever an opponent misses you, they must choose an Element with a score higher than zero. This is reduced to zero for the duration of the duel, ignoring location modifiers.
Master: For every Element your opponent has at zero, add one to their Damage rolls.

Generous Host (Unarmed) - Air + Earth
A Gracious host knows when to give and when to accept.
Initiate: If your opponent attacked you before you attacked them, double your Balance.
Student: Replace any one of your opponent's Element scores with yours.
Master: After you have both rolled you may swap any of your attacking dice for any of your opponents defending dice.

Studious Mind (Straight Sword) - Air + Earth
We learn more from our mistakes than our triumphs.
Initiate: Become Focused whenever you miss an opponent.
Student: If your last attack missed add Air to attack rolls.
Master: Whenever you miss an attack you may take a Lesson Token labled with the name of your opponent. (Message GM for details. This system has been removed for being cumbersome, with the exception of this style.)

Spirit's Shadow (Unarmed or Straight Sword) - Fire + Water
Do not take the material things of this world for more than they truly are, a mere illusion of but one reality.
Initiate: You may choose to ignore any effects from your location.
Student: Opponents cannot use Earth to defend.
Master: May be used defensively. Any attacks using Earth cannot hit you

Commanding Word (Axe or Maul) - Air + Fire
One word well placed will change the centuries.
Initiate: Add Fire to Damage when you Release Focus.
Student: The first time you Focus during a duel your opponent is Weakened.
Master: Whenever you Release Focus your opponent takes Damage.

Star Tumble (Axe or Curved Sword) - Earth + Water
Men beieve they can predict the stars. Shatter this belief.
Initiate: You may make an attack immediately after Focusing.
Student: You may treat any Damage result as Staggered if you wish.
Master: You may use any two Elements in place of Earth + Water with this Style, as well as any Weapon.
The two basic defensive styles are:
Careful Parrying (Any Weapon or Unarmed) - Fire + Water.
Swift Dodging (Any Weapon or Unarmed) - Air + Water.

A chart of all defensive styles can be found here. [http://i.imgur.com/Wq4gg4V.png]
Legendary Defensive Styles are:

Iron Tortoise (Any Weapon or Unarmed) - Air + Earth.
Even the mighty storm knows the mountain will not yield to its hail or thunder.
Initiate: Add Armour rating to Defence Rolls.
Student: Armour Value is never ignored.
Master: Subtract Armour Rating from Damage Rolls twice.

Divine Step (Curved Sword or Straight Sword) - Air + Water.
The mightiest beasts must always be trapped before they are killed.
Initiate: When dice match opponent takes damage.
Student: Add Air to Damage against opponents you have not attacked and on your first attack.
Master: Roll three dice and choose two to use.

Stone Guardian (Maul or Glaive) - Air + Earth.
The Unbreakable will stand for eternity.
Initiate: May use Earth in place of Armour at any time.
Student: Ignore Damage results of Staggere or less.
Master: Subtract your Balance score from Damage rolls.

Scorpion's Nest (Spear or Glaive) - Earth + Fire.
Few predators will thrust their bodies into a nest full of stings and poison.
Initiate: If either dice show a 6, the attacker is damaged.
Student: On a successful defense the attacker is hit. No more than one hit may be caused from a single defense.
Master: Attackers must take a hit whenever they attack.

Harsh Master (Maul or Staff) Air + Water
A lesson is best taught with a heavy hand and forgiving mind.
Initiate: Attackers cannot use their Air score unless it exceeds yours.
Student: Any character that misses you while unfocused takes Damage.
Master: Double Air score.

Storm Brewer (Any Weapon) - Air + Water.
He who invites the storm will be best prepared to face it.
Initiate: Attackers cannot use their Water score unless it exceeds yours.
Student: Attackers cannot use their Fire score if it exceeds yours.
Master: Subtract opponent's Fire score from Damage Rolls.

Tiger Skin (Any Weapon) - Fire + Water.
The predator does not fear the predator.
Initiate: If your Fire score is higher than the attacker they cannot use theirs.
Student: May subtract Fire from Damage Rolls.
Master: Become Focused whenever your opponent hits you.

Dragonfly's Weave (Curved Sword, Glaive or Axe) - Fire + Water
The fragile must be untouchable, the slow must be strong. The wise can be both.
Initiate: Whenever an attack misses you, become Focused.
Student: Add Water to Defence rolls when Focused.
Master: May be used as an Attacking Style. Add Fire to attack rolls when Focused.

Meteor Dance (Straight Sword or Spear) - Air + Fire
When all around you is destruction you must find your sanctuary in places unseen.
Initiate: Add attacker's Armour value to defence rolls.
Student: Attackers may not use their Earth score.
Master: Add Air to Armour score.

Open Claw (Unarmed) - Air + Water.
An open hand can take what it wishes. A well-trained mind will know what to take.
Initiate: Add Air to rolls when defending against Unarmed opponents.
Student: Attackers may not use their Fire score when attacking.
Master: Attackers may not use their Earth score when attacking.

Stone Breaker (Curved Sword, Axe or Maul) - Earth + Fire.
Take the weapon, take the hand, take the arm, give mercy.
Initiate: Attackers may not use their Earth score.
Student: On a successful defence the attacker drops their weapon.
Master: On a successful defence the attacker's weapon is destroyed and unarmed attackers take damage.

Soul Mirror (Curved Sword or Straight Sword) - Earth + Water
Your greatest enemy is yourself reflected.
Initiate: Add your opponent's Balance to yours.
Student: Add your opponent's Balance to your Armour value.
Master: Add one of your opponent's Element scores to your matching Element score.

Upstream Flow (Unarmed) - Earth + Water
Let the waves crash on you as you move upstream
Initiate: Become Focused whenever your opponent is.
Student: Ignore Staggered or Glancing Blow results when taking Damage.
Master: Ignore Weakened results when taking Damage.

Burning Forge (Unarmed) - Air + Fire
A child will only ever touch a hot stove once.
Initiate: An opponent you have caused damage to cannot use their Earth or Fire scores.
Student: If an attacker hits you they take damage immediately afterwards.
Master: Add Fire to damage rolls.

Closed Circle (Any Weapon) - Air + Earth
Permit not a breath of your opponent in nor an ounce of your spirit out.
Initiate: Add Balance to Defence rolls.
Student: Choose one Ability of your opponent's Attacking Style to ignore.
Master: None of your Elements, Balance or Armour can ever be reduced or ignored by an opponent's Ability.

Last Warning (Straight Sword or Spear) - Fire + Water
Mercy often comes seconds before Wrath.
Initiate: Become Focused when an attacker misses you.
Student: If an attacker misses you while you are Focused, you may release Focus and hit them immediately.
Master: If an attacker hits you they take Damage.

Sudden Shift (Any Weapon) - Earth + Water
The river's flow can shift the greatest mountain.
Initiate: Your opponent cannot use their Earth score unless it is greater than your Water score.
Student: If your enemy hit you on your last turn they cannot use any of their Elements on this attack.
Master: If you did not use this Style on your last defense roll add your Earth score twice.

Badger's Barricade (Unarmed) - Earth + Fire
When the passion of defense fails, release the fury of attack.
Initiate: Add Fire to defense rolls.
Student: If your opponent has hit you, you may use this Style to attack.
Master: Add Fire to Attack rolls.

Gaping Chasm (Any Weapon) - Air + Earth
When the earth itself splits, it can divide even the most ardent lovers.
Initiate: Unarmed attackers only roll a single die when attacking you. This means the dice never count as matching. All others take a penalty to attack rolls equal to your Earth score.
Student: Attackers using any weapon other than Staff, Spear, Glaive or Darts only roll a single die when attacking you.
Master: On a successful defence your opponent is Weakened.

Strategic Savant (Any Weapon) - Air + Fire
The greatest fight is won before the sword is drawn.
Initiate: You add your Fire score to your Balance for determining turn order.
Student: You may double any bonuses gained from Location.
Master: Your opponent ignores any bonuses gained from their Location.

Insistant Denial (Curved Sword) - Air + Fire
No.
Initiate: If either of your attacker's dice show a 6 the attack misses.
Student: Ignore any Damage rolls against you that show a 6.
Master: If either of your defence dice show a 6 your attacker misses.

Blood Sharer (Straight Sword, Curved Sword or Axe) - Earth + Fire
Share every drop your attacker draws from you.
Initiate: Whenever your opponent Weakens you they are Weakened themselves.
Student: You may treat any Staggered results against you as Weakened instead.
Master: When your dice match, remove any penalties from being Weakened.

Burning Calm (Unarmed or Staff) - Fire + Water
Inharmony is the greatest threat of all.
Initiate: If your Fire and Water scores match add Balance to your defence rolls.
Student: If your attacker's Fire and Water scores do not match they cannot use either.
Master: When your dice match your attacker takes Damage.

Empty Vessel (Spear or Unarmed) - Earth + Water
Leave not a ripple in your wake.
Initiate: If you are not wearing armour add Balance to defense rolls.
Student: Armoured opponents cannot use their Earth or Water scores.
Master: Double your Balance score when unarmoured.

Magic is similar to combat styles, except the Styles are the Elements: Air, Earth, Fire, Water.

Casting Magic, however, is much more difficult than swinging a sword. To cast a spell of power equal to your own rank (I.E., an Initiate casting an Initiate level spell) takes an hour and requires a roll of the Magic's element plus the caster's Balance against TN12.

To cast a spell one level lower (Student to Initiate spell) take a minute and requires success against TN10.

To cast a level two levels lower (Master to Initiate) can be done in place of an Attack in combat, or a few seconds out of combat, and requires no roll.

It should be noted that the abilities listed here are only suggestions. The only hard-and-fast rule of Magic is that it does not damage enemies directly, or directly manipulate elements.

Air Magic
Initiate: Convey a simple message to another on the same island. Ignore the effects of hunger, thirst or tiredness.
Student: Become temporarily immune to even intense pain while concentration is maintained. Temporarily share senses and memories with another on the same island. Convey a simple message to someone on a relatively nearby island.
Master: Shed physical body and become immaterial in the same way as an Origin. Absorb another willing mind into your own. Share senses and memories with someone on a nearby island. Convey a simple message to anyone, anywhere on the Sea.

Earth Magic
Initiate: Restore a sick or diseased person to health. Feed a large group with a tiny amount of food and water. Preserve a body or food.
Student: Encourage rapid growth or decay in a forest. Create an intense physical sensation or paralysis in another. Move on water or glide through the air along with another.
Master: Achieve immortality from disease and aging. Return a preserved body to life. Slowly raise or lower an island.

Fire Magic
Initiate: Push an individual?s emotions in a certain direction for no more than a week. Become drawn towards something you desire.
Student: Force a strong emotion onto someone for a significant duration (no more than a month). Create solid trust or mistrust in yourself or another. Cause an object or person you desire to make its way towards you by some means.
Master: Command complete obedience in another. Return yourself to life after death.

Water Magic
Initiate: Gain a brief glimpse at another place. Dull the senses of another for a short time, no more than half a day. Create crude illusions targeting two of the five senses for a short duration, no more than half a day.
Student: Temporarily change form. Shift to another location on the same island. Gain a detailed view of a distant place. Create detailed illusions affecting three senses for a short duration, no more than half a day. Create crude illusions targeting two senses for a decent length, no more than a fortnight.
Master: Become completely and permanently aware of everything happening on a single island, particularly any source of danger. Shift an island slowly in a single direction. Create permanent crude illusions targeting no more than two senses. Create detailed illusions affecting three senses that last for up to half a year. Create quasi-real illusions targeting four of the five senses for no more than half a day.

-Removed the system where you were forced to act in accordance with a style's philosophy. Maybe it works in tabletop, but I don't think it adds anything here.
-Clarified and reworked the Water Magic.
-Fire magic duration now based on story needs, not dice rolls.
 

SamtheDeathclaw

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Aug 8, 2009
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hiei82 said:
Name: Nazli Shula Haddad

Gender: Woman

Age: 28

Physical Description: Nazli is built like a house; standing at over 6-and-a-half tall and weighing in at a little over 210 lbs (all of it muscle). Her eyes are a dark brown as is her long, tied-up hair. Her skin is of a darker-tanned shade than most and is marked with burns and a number of tattoos (visible include an Origin symbol for the elements of fire and earth). While she doesn't lack for grace in her movements, she tends to move in a more determined and direct way. She dresses in a long leather and cloth robe with many pockets and loops that hold many tools of smithing. Carefully concealed beneath the leather and cloth are chainmail and some metal plates. She wears a Hijab much of the time (though out of a memory of home and as protection from the sun rather than any religious reason) but takes it off while forging for obvious reasons.

Philosophy: "Origins grant me the strength to act, the wisdom to act well, and the courage to act well forever."

Personality: Nazli is a very spiritual person. She believes in the spirits and that they guide all people toward enlightenment. From this faith she draws the courage to act for the benefit of others. She knows she lacks the longevity of the spirits and will fade from this world in "a blink of their eyes". As such, she wants to ensure that she uses what she has to do the most good for the most people. Finally, she knows that all this will is meaningless without the power to act upon it. Courage, Wisdom, and Strength are therefore what she prizes most.

These have pushed her toward her 3 part goal: 1) travel the sea to train with the greatest blacksmiths in the world to 2) create a legendary weapon to last through the ages and 3) give that weapon to a person or people worthy of it.

Elements: Personality and Elements are intrinsically linked. Your Elements define who you are, and vice versa. You have 6 points to spend, and all Elements start at 0.
Air: 2
Earth: 2
Fire: 2
Water: 0
Balance: 3 Unencumbered - 2 Armor = 1 Modified

Specialties:
Metalworking: represents training as blacksmith
Persuasion: represents dedication to goal

Armor: A suit of scalemail (Rating 2) - mail covering most of body with interlocked plates covering vital areas covered by her blacksmith's apron/clothes.

Weapon:
Main Weapon: "Damascus-Steel" Scimitar (Curved Sword) - Her current Masterpiece
Sidearm: Blacksmith's Hammer (Improvised Maul) - mostly used to create weapons/armor OR latest creation if applicable.


Styles: Student of Flock of Doves (Glaive or Curved Sword) - Air + Fire
The softest diversion can lead to the hardest downfall.
Initiate: May be used Defensively.
Student: Opponent may be Weakened instead of rolling for damage normally.

History:Nazli was born the sixth child of a family from the island of "Damas". Her father was a smith of some repute for island, producing everything from tools for artisans to the weapons of war for the islands limited warriors. The island wasn't the most hospitable of islands - having more sand than water or vegetation - but it was rich in iron and steel and so could trade for what it lacked with those neighbors it had. In another life, Nazli might have been a simple smith or been married off to some rich land owner but fate decided otherwise.

During her 8th year, a plague swept across the island, killing nearly 80% of the populace. No one knew where the plague came from but the island was fully unprepared. What little protection they had came from the Origins who helped the small island nation. Of her family, only she and her father survived the plague. Lacking in "proper sons" to take over the and help with the forge and with so few people left on the island to replace them, he began - reluctantly - teaching her the way of the forge. From her father's perspective it was a task ill-suiting a woman and regretted it almost daily at first. However, as time passed Nazli matched and in some ways exceeded his skill. In time, he would likely have seen the error of his ways were it not for the final fate of the island.

The plague had it seemed came from infected food coming from their neighboring islands. These neighbors jealously coveted the wealth of resources of the island. Once they felt the island was ripe for conquest, they sent in their champions to challenge the island's leadership for the right to rule. Following the Code of Conduct to the letter, they saw their island fall. With that, the natives of the island found themselves second-class citizens in their own homes.

Her father, having recognized what these neighbors did to gain advantage and the cost it had taken on his family and friends, took it upon himself to see these monstrous men lose their prize. To this end, he called on his most loyal of friends to collapse the mines (giving their lives in the process), while he broke into the island's armory and destroyed all his prized weapons and armor in the way only a blacksmith could.

Nazli aided them as best she could by destroying the family forge and taking what tools and supplies they could down to the docks. The plan was to meet at daybreak and set sail for a new life. When daybreak came and her father did not arrive, Nazli knew it meant he'd been captured and so set sail for parts unknown.

During her travels, she's found most people are the same as those who took her home and family from her causing her to distrust most others even as she works with them. She's made it her life's goal to find someone of true nobility of character and craft for them the perfect tools for them. Toward this end, she's continued her traveling almost non-stop, stopping only for teachers in the ways of smithing and "just" jobs to fund her survival and travels.
Dogmatic99 said:
Name: Llyr Argall

Gender: Male

Age: 20

Physical description: Llyr is a fairly short and slender young man, most of the men of his home island have often joked about how his hands are so thin, like a girl or a child and how he should wear better boots to make himself look taller or so he can reach things high above him. He's shown them that he's capable of reaching things just fine but that hasn't stopped them. They've often used that, along with his dark brown hair and jade green eyes to suggest that Llyr must be descended from a fay origin that lacked the strength and fire that made up their ancestors. Llyr doesn't know, but it would help explain why he's so pale.

Despite his weak appearance no one will doubt Llyr's ability as a hunter, he moves with a greater ease than other, larger, men when in the dense forest that covers most of his homeland, skipping nimbly among the tangling roots and dancing through the trees until the time comes to slow his pace and move like a fox through the undergrowth. They actually compare him to a snake, but he prefers foxes. Though folks would prefer he kept that kind of thing to the forests, as Llyr is very light of foot and quiet in nature and tends to sneak up on people by accident. Fashion has never been a big thing among the men of Llyr's home, mostly they try to see who can wear the least amount of clothing and show off the most warpaint covered muscle. He foregoes this and dresses in a practical and conservative manner with whatever furs and leathers are to hand.

Though he does have some lean muscle, just no one to show it off to. Not that he'd want to.

Philosophy: The world is huge and I am small, all the easier to move through it unhindered.

Personality: Llyr is, as you may have guessed, not an alpha male. In fact he's kind of a loner. Softly spoken, when he deems to speak, Llyr has always preferred the quiet and the company of animals over that of his clansmen. Finding peace in the secluded instead. He doesn't deny that this is because of the culture he grew up in, where the women are the mystics and wise folk while the men are warriors, the tradesmen. And of course, Llyr isn't built to be a warrior. Rather than dwelling on being shunned as a runt though Llyr embraced this way of living. Not that he can live totally alone, as brash and loud and needlessly competitive as they are he doesn't hate his clansmen. He even made some friends with some of them, that was how he learned how to hunt. Though Llyr never managed to get truly close to someone. It's as if there is a final wall in his way that he can't quite pass.

He's been told that it's because he always seems so distant, that people can never really read him or tell where they stand. They might be right, Llyr never really does anything because he wants to but because he has to. And he's always been that way. Happiness has never come easily to Llyr, the only time he really felt joy in something was when he learned the ways of the spear or when he could lose himself in the wild. Sometimes he thinks this could be enough for him but in his heart Llyr can't deny that even he doesn't want to live a life of isolation and apathy. This unquiet thought is what caused him to leave his home, to travel the world and seek out his passion and find his fire.

Elements:
Air - 2
Earth - 2
Fire - 0
Water - 2
Armour - 0
Balance - 3

Specialties:
Survival (Air + Earth)
Archery (Water + Earth)

Primary Weapon: Spear
Secondary: Bow

Styles:

Llyr's fighting style is that of a hunter, which he has honed on deer, boars and the occasional wolf. Inspired by the need to move freely and quietly. Each strike must be with purpose and not an ounce of energy wasted. A good hunter should always aim to fell his prey as swiftly as possible, this goes double for a dangerous opponent.

Seeking Killer (Spear) - Air + Water.
A war of a million spears can become a war of one with the proper thought.
Initiate: Become focused whenever your Balance is higher than the defender's.

Empty Vessel (Spear or Unarmed) - Earth + Water
Leave not a ripple in your wake.
Initiate: If you are not wearing armour add Balance to defense rolls.

History:

Llyr hails from the forested mountain island of Cader Idris, a place that knows only summer. It stands as one of a cluster of closely situated islands, each one ruled by a different clan. This loose collection of groups have formed a ragged alliance together, making them a kingdom in the vaguest sense of the word. Though which clan that claimed the king right is left open every five years, ready to be decided as warriors from each island gather for a great tournament where the winner is crowned. And then when politics aren't involved they have honour duels and skirmishes between warbands trying to win themselves glory the rest of the time. All according to the laws of combat of course but to Llyr's mind the whole thing just. Never. Stopped. And they never shut up about it. The closest thing to a gift these people could think of was to share the fighting styles their origins had once passed down to them! So Llyr would find his daily escape from clan life in the forest, until he was more at home there than back at his village.

Until one day when he lost himself in the mountain paths and found himself standing in a grove, hidden by the steep mountain walls and untouched by man, or so he thought. It was here that Llyr found the wanderer who would teach him the ways of the empty vessel, to rise above his journeyman skill and pass through the world like a ghost. He would stay in that place for three months, living off the land before his heart would ache for home and more. His teacher encouraged him to stay but it wasn't to be. The two parted ways, knowing they would never meet again. It didn't take much thought for Llyr to decide what he'd do next. He would leave his island as many young men had done before him, to seek adventure and new experiences. The clan always talked of those that brought back trophies, riches and fame and how it brought more glory to them. Llyr wouldn't do that, he was going for himself, to find the joy that had alluded him his whole life.
Terratina. said:
Name: Li Zhu
Gender: Male
Age: 24

Physical Description: Li would have a rather forgettable face if it wasn?t for the fact there Li is always wearing a smile of childish wonder, oh, and there are the scars. Only two though, one which cuts along his left cheek while other one is just a small cut which creeps up from his chin and stops near his ever smiling mouth. Li?s head and face are clean shaven, emphasising his boyish face. He dresses practically, usually wearing a dull coloured tangzhuang behind a tabard of padded leather armour along simple trousers and shoes, with his weapons in scabbards attached to his belt. While Li tries to cultivate a welcoming air, anyone with a bit of common sense concludes the smile is fake and are rather disconcerted. However, they are wrong: it?s not the smile that?s fake, rather it?s Li?s tolerance of other people.

Philosophy: ?True beauty lies in bloodshed.?

Personality: Li has a rather odd view of other people, to him they are just things. Ugly things. Pigs wrapped up in plant fibres who yammer on about nothing. In other words, he regards other people as a child would a fly. Unfortunately, he was the type of child who pulled the wings off them. To Li, the only truth and beauty there is in the world is within fighting, where words are forsaken and each participant justifies themselves by using their body as a weapon. The body is more honest than the mind, after all. Nevertheless, Li does not get the same thrill from hunting, humans have too much of an advantage after all. Some people assume Li is the scheming kind, but he only cares about finding beauty in the world. After a fair bit of wrestling with his feelings on the issue, Li views the Code of Combat as a necessary evil: sure it limits combat quite a bit but it allows for a slew of one-on-one fights where he can witness and judge his opponent closely.

Elements:
Air: 0
Earth: 2
Fire: 2
Water: 2
Balance: 3 - 1 Armour = 2

Specialties:

Acrobatics (Earth + Fire)
Meditation (Fire + Water)

Armour: 1

Weapons:

Primary - Jian (Straight Sword)
Secondary - Swordbreaker Dagger

Styles:

Closing Fangs (Unarmed or Straight Sword) - Earth + Water
For the unsuspecting prey the fangs close slowly.
Initiate: If you Weaken an opponent they are also Staggered.

Blood Sharer (Straight Sword, Curved Sword or Axe) - Earth + Fire
Share every drop your attacker draws from you.
Initiate: Whenever your opponent Weakens you they are Weakened themselves.

History: Li was taken in by the Xueshou monastery at an early age when the ship he and his parents were on crashed upon their shores. They were far from kind masters; the Xueshou meditate on various Legendary Styles hoping to fully comprehend the Origins and each Xueshou monk is expected to know at least four and master two in their lifetimes. Li?s training began at soon as he reached six years of age. As he grew older, he grew bored of bald old men teaching him how to kick and yammering on about philosophy. He?d rather spend time at the dock listening to sailors? tales of other islands and bloodthirsty pirates, how exciting!

Nevertheless, Li persevered with his training and it finally clicked: if the Origins were supreme supernatural beings and if Legendary Styles came from them, surely bloodshed was divine? Li then plunged himself into training, finding he enjoyed the no nonsense approach of Closing Fangs and Blood Sharer. His masters, however, quickly noticed Li?s rather... positive approach to hurting others and growing disdain for the Code of Combat. In the end, the head monk - or King of the monastery island - known as Grandmaster Guo came to Li?s quarters one night and suggested that Li should leave quietly in a couple of days. Li did, having been practically given a sentence of exile. Next morning, Li hitched passage to another island as a stowaway and has been working as a mercenary ever since.
EnigmaticSevens said:
Name: Ryael Astucizu Excaverra e Bruxar

Gender: Male

Age: 24

Physical Description: Ryael has a pleasant enough face, features gentle, somewhat boyish, and nearly always adorned with a slight smile and a few days worth of unshriven scruff, a land where laughter comes easily. Yet in the soft angles and lingering adolescent charms is a clear streak of mischief, a playfulness with a cutting edge, reminding all those who might forget, that even a young wolf has teeth and that the most beautifully colored serpents oft times conceal the deadliest venom. With dark hair and rosy, sun-kissed skin, Ryael is a picture of fine health and youthful vigor, form wiry, lean, and possessed of a greater strength than most might imagine. His eyes are bright, a shimmering grey run through at their center with a myriad colors, proof positive of one blessed by an Origin (or so he claims.) He?s not particularly tall, but he walks with a sort of constant cocksure swagger, a rutting sensuality behind each step and smile, and for better or worse, his presence seems to fill even a rather large room. Yet, for the most part, this is a boon in Ryael?s line of work. A bright eyed smile puts a soul at ease, a tricksy tongue set in a pleasant face can unwind the knot of worry from a husband?s heart even as it worries the knots on his wife?s bodice.

Philosophy: "Life is not some mystery to be solved but rather a reality to be experienced!"

Personality: Ryael rhymes with smile, and smile rhymes with guile, and some men were born to smile with guile and rile the complacent and self-assured. There?s something in Ryael?s manner, at the core of his nature, that most people find oddly attractive. The lad wreaks of the exotic and the exotic is always enticing. Life has a way of dulling men, of pulling their teeth and blunting them. The fiery passions burn out, the wanderlust fades, and the worries grow more mundane. Ryael is unblunted, and even more so, he sharpens those around him. Even the sternest minister or humblest farmer seems keen to admit that life is certainly more interesting with Ryael in it, for better or worse.

Jovial and clever, Ryael?s tongue is full of wit and witticism in equal measure, quick to conjure up gaiety and glee. An odd union of opposites lies bound up in the youth?s bones. As sultry and salacious as a buck in rut, yet possessed of an odd nobility, and a seemingly genuine respect for even the smallest of people. Be you pauper or prince, bastard or saint, Ryael knows there?s a song in you, somewhere, and he?s more than happy to weave it into something grand, something memorable, and quite possibly something shockingly tawdry and scandalous. There is a powerful magic in words, far grander than any fel sorcery, and Ryael knows this well. The lad was born and raised to live a life worthy of song and story, undoubtedly charmed if, quite possibly, regrettably short.

The people of Feijuadu, the Broken Land, excel at the imaginative, the creative, the unexpected, at twisty thinking and knives that bend in odd directions and Ryael is no exception. Among the Feiji, all things are a romance, and their own origins are no exception.

"Come Pravera, springtide daughter, to a land of flesh and clay, come to weave a world of beauty, come to break to the winter?s sway.
Harsh Invernu, icy lover, grieves for want of distant bride, grieves with lusty wroth and roaring, grieves with need and long bruised pride.
Flower daughter, snowborn son, wage their war and shatter stone, and where their blood does mix and mingle, spring forth heirs of broken homes.
Bleeding children, bleeding lovers, scattered ?cross the broken land, send their tears into the summer, seek the mother?s tender hand.
Ma Verao doth come with mercies, come to calm her wayward sired, come with love and light unending, come to set the world afire.

Mother, mother, set the lands, set them aright and give us peace
Feijuadu no more broken, welded tight beneath the seas."


To those born of the blood of clashing gods, what are the petty conflicts of men? Little more than opportunites ripe for the taking. As hot blooded as the lover?s spat they claim gave them birth, and gave rise to the tightly clustered archipelago that is Feijuadu, the Broken Land, a mad quilt of sand and swamp, the Feiji thrive in the fires of the crucible. Vigor, heat, industry, ever swelling aspiration- artistic or economic, all serve as fuel for a people who cherish movement and growth first and foremost, who call stillness stagnation, just a slower sort of death. Why shouldn?t such a people be glorious, why should they not seek mastery? Why shouldn?t the nomad bands scattered across a few resource poor islands, swell into an economic and cultural mecca to rival neighboring kingdoms, and rule as a tiny tyrant within their own region? Ask one of the Feiji for proof of his divinity, and he?ll gladly wave his nation?s history like a flag with one hand? and set about worrying the knots on your coin purse with the other.


Elements:
Air: 1
Earth: 1
Fire: 3
Water: 1
Balance: 3

Specialties:
Music
Seduction

Weapon:
Primary: A Kampilan, a single-edged sword of distinctive shape, well crafted and extremely ornate, made all the odder by the utter lack of a cross guard. It seems rather purposefully wrought to appear decorative, almost ornamental, all the better to draw attention away from the very well maintained edge.

Secondary: A trident dagger, a single mid-length double-edged blade flanked by two smaller blades extending at 45 degree angles from the hilt. Also quite heavily decorated, beautifully detailed with odd scenes wrought in inlaid golden filagree, a pretty bauble to look at? and never fear until the moment it traps a blade in its queer embrace.

Styles:
Gentleman's Tongue (Straight Sword) - Fire + Water.
Initiate: Double Fire when it is higher than the defender's.

Initiate Fire Mage

History: Ryael does not call himself a musician because he can pull a sound from any given instrument so sweet as to make the stones themselves weep. He does not call himself a musician because he has learned the magic that lies pent up in song, that cuts to the core of emotion and moves mountains. He does not call himself a musician because such a career is the surest way to drown oneself merrily in wine, women and song. Ryael calls himself a musician because jotting down spy, thief, saboteur, and occasional assassin in a harbormaster?s log book under ?Occupation? tends to raise eyebrows? and a fuss. Besides, those sorts of low individuals don?t get invited to fancy parties, and Ryael loves fancy parties. While quite skilled, in truth, with a number of instruments, a Musician of the Feiji is only an entertainer most of the time. In all other moments, such a one is the embodiment of the Feiji philosophy of ?pensantorcanto? or ?thinking around corners.?

Most men expect thieves to steal through the night and pick the locks on their treasure rooms, fewer expect their lonely, dutiful stewards to be swept away in a fit of passion and invite the thieves in for a midnight tryst. Most men expect light-fingered pickpockets to brush past them and secret away their coin purses with crafty fingers, fewer expect to get blindingly drunk while carousing with a witty new-found friend and awaken without coin purse or clothing for that matter. Most men expect assassins to come skulking through the night, stinking of desperation, rejected by the Origins and wielding poisoned knives. But when some fop of a musician blows into port and woos a wife, a sister, a daughter, or a friend into scintillating scandal, such men expect to challenge that peacocking fool to an honorable duel and give him a good thrashing. They make the most amusing faces when the real blow strikes and the lifeblood flows.

When trouble arises and must be dealt with, most men look to mercenaries or heroes for succor and salvation. The Feiji? send musicians.

At present, Ryael is representing the vested interests of some fourteen different trading consortia concerned with the economic devastation left in the wake of so many newly rudderless kingdoms. They?re quite aflutter over recent events, so aflutter that their accountants and watchdogs have yet to realize that their key agent on the scene isn?t precisely? exclusive in his devotions. As far as Ryael is concerned, the old adage is a good one, if you?re good at something, never do it for free? and if you?re really good at something, get paid for it a couple dozen times over.
Texas Joker 52 said:
Name: Wakahisa Daichi, or Daichi the Bottomless

Gender: Male

Age: 31

Physical Description: Daichi is a large, rather imposing man, standing at 6 feet with a stout build that consists mainly of hard fat and muscle. His skin is lightly tanned, while his long, dark hair is pulled back into a simple tail at the nape of his neck. His wide, face is usually smiling with a flattened nose and dark eyes underneath thick, slashing eyebrows, and he has a long, well-groomed Fu Manchu mustache. While he doesn't look blatantly overweight, he does appear to be bulky and slow, which couldn't be farther from the truth. He moves with a distinct air of grace and care, with each movement measured and fluid.

Whenever he isn't in combat, he prefers to wear simple, but elegant, robes, often in a sedate patterns and darker colors such as navy blue or forest green, and plain sandals.

Whenever he is prepared for battle, however, he wears heavy armor without a helmet, that also leaves the part of his chest and right arm almost completely uncovered.

Philosophy: "There is more to valor than fighting only when you think you'll win. If defeat is certain, fight with honor and accept defeat with grace."

Personality: Normally a quiet, unassuming man, Daichi is in actuality a very passionate warrior who believes wholeheartedly in the virtues of a swordsman: Honor, Valor, and Wisdom. As such he has a very strong sense of justice, and will never stay quiet whenever he sees something that goes against what he believes is truly right. Though he will not hesitate to cut down an opponent in a fight whenever he truly sets his mind to the task, he prefers to simply defeat an enemy, and usually sees death as wasteful and unnecessary. As such, he comes across as a man who knows his own strength, and is very restrained because of it.

If there is anything Daichi truly appreciates, it is kindness and beauty in all its forms, be it nature, women, but especially good food. It has been said that, without the self-control and discipline that his Master had taught him, Daichi would never stop eating everything around him, because he has never truly been satisfied by any meal. Said appreciation causes him to be rather serene on his own, taking in his surroundings with a sense of contentment. It was also a small part of the reason behind his travels: The Last Ocean is a big place, and there is surely plenty of gorgeous sights, smells, and foods to be taken in that what happens to be on the Isle of Shuu, his home island.

Elements:

Air: 0
Earth: 2
Fire: 2
Water: 2
Balance: 3 - 3 Armor

Specialties:

Cooking: Daichi is quite the accomplished amateur cook, due in no small part to his unending appetite. As such, he is always on the lookout for any new recipes he can find.

Painting: As a man who appreciates beauty in all it's forms, he has dabbled in painting not only portraits but landscapes as well, though it is clear he still has quite a bit to learn.

Armor: Daichi wears heavy plate armor that focuses on protecting his stomach, upper left torso, left arm, and legs, with the heaviest plating on his left shoulder and around his waist. The plating is painted a dark blue, with the pauldron emblazoned with a simple red flower. His armor leaves his right arm and the top right half of his chest completely bare, save for a simple armored glove covering his right hand.

Weapon:

Primary Weapon: Uchigatana

Sidearm: Reinforced Sheath

Styles:

Dragonfly's Weave (Curved Sword, Glaive or Axe) - Fire + Water
The fragile must be untouchable, the slow must be strong. The wise can be both.
Initiate: Whenever an attack misses you, become Focused.
Student: Add Water to Defence rolls when Focused.

History: Daichi grew up on the Isle of Shuu, a place well-known for the lush gardens of wildflowers and fruit orchards that stretch across almost the entire island, the mild weather it has year-round, as well as the fact that it was the birthplace of the Dragonfly's Weave style. His parents were simple folk who tended to the flowers there, selling them whenever they had the opportunity. But as a boy, he didn't care about flowers or pretty things. Instead, he was more interested in eating, playing, or watching the Sages of his small village undergo their rituals and training.

Out of all the children in his village, however, Daichi was easily the biggest and the strongest. So when play would turn into a scuffle, and then a fight, he would often hurt someone in the process. And after one fight too many, his mother pulled him aside to scold him, telling him that just because he was the strongest boy on the island, didn't mean he should use that strength to hurt others. If anything, his strength meant that he needed to be more gentle and careful than everyone else.

He thought on what she said for hours that day, all while watching the Sages train, until one of them came over and sat next to him. The man, Sage Kaito, asked him what happened to be the matter, and Daichi told him about the fights he would get into, and what his mother had said. Sage Kaito listened patiently to the young boy, and asked if he wanted to learn how to control his strength. Daichi looked up at him and promptly said yes, because he didn't really like hurting his friends, especially without really meaning to. At that point, Sage Kaito took him back to his parents and asked if they were willing to let their son be a student of the Dragonfly's Weave style, and went on to explain that knowing how to use ones strength required discipline and control, which Daichi surely needed. After a few days, they agreed.

The next decade were some of Daichi's best years. Training was hard, but before long he came to appreciate it, and he seemed to almost blossom thanks to it. He became more soft spoken and gentle, and even came to regard the island with a new sense of wonder at it's beauty. He not only learned the art of swordsmanship, but started to learn how to cook, as well as paint, immortalizing the world around him in the process. The only things that didn't change were his strength, his steadfast sense of right and wrong, and his appetite, which often baffled his teachers and drove the cook of the temple mad.

After ten years of training, however, Daichi decided that it was time he traveled abroad to see the world, and that he could only learn so much just on the Isle of Shuu. Sage Kaito understood, and with his Master's blessing, he was given a sword and a newly-crafted set of armor, knowing that given state of the world, he would undoubtedly get involved in duels all along the way. And as he started to go from island to island, he proved them right. At each new place he visited, his reputation grew as both a quiet swordsman, and as a person one never said "All-You-Can-Eat" to.

Six years after he started his travels, he heard of Island Kings and their elite guards being killed without being replaced, he quickly realized just what kind of chaos would be spread in this manslayer's wake. So when King Sityr called for warriors to help prevent more anarchy, Daichi decided then and there that he would help, and began to make his way to Bastion Island.
Chilifro said:
Name: Brother Shui Gang

Gender: Male

Age: 41

Physical Description: Brother Gang is, to put it simply, a very well-built man. His body has been torn apart and put back together again by the rigors of harsh daily training, molding it into a deadly weapon in and of itself. He stands at the modest height of five feet, six inches and, while it may not look it at a first glance due to the...more wide-set body that he sports, all of Brother Gang's 190 pounds stem from muscle, not fat. He may not have a six-pack, but he doesn't need one; all of the muscles do what they're told and that's all Brother Gang can ask for. If anything, Brother Gang is proud of his body, if the fact that he usually goes out with nothing but a vest covering his chest is any indication. Thankfully for most of us, Brother Gang has afforded more attention to his lower body; he wears loose-fitting pants and a pair of sandals, giving him the range of movement that he needs. Most of the time, Brother Gang moves with a surprising lightness to his step, hinting at the fact that the monk is ever-prepared for battle. With the same practicality in mind, Brother Gang keeps his scalp and face cleanly shaven, revealing his stern blue eyes and kind but hardened resting expression to the entire world.

Philosophy: "True honor comes from victory on the battlefield."

Personality: Brother Gang has known no other philosophy other than the one he was taught as a child, and he has no interest in learning about any others. He believes that he has been put in a very particular position in the pecking order of the universe, and he has no desire to ascend (or descend) from said position. As such, Brother Gang adheres to the philosophy of his homeland to the very letter, causing him to seem very uptight at times. That's not to say that the monk is completely unfriendly; far from it, actually. Brother Gang has grown old enough to know that the best thing a man can have in the world (other than individual honor) is a friend, and thus strives to be as friendly as he can to those he meets in his travels, especially his potential opponents. The keyword here is ?strives,? as you might imagine; Brother Gang, as mentioned, is definitely not an unfriendly man, but he is also a man who reserves his words for when they are necessary...which doesn't help his reputation as an uptight man in the slightest.

Elements:

Air: 3

Earth: 0

Fire: 0

Water: 3

Balance: 2-1 Armor = 1 total Balance.

Specialties: Awareness and Strategy

Armor: 1. This point of armor comes from his body itself, which has been hardened over time to withstand most simple blows.

Weapon: Main Weapon: his fists. The rest of his body counts as a secondary weapon of sorts.

Styles:

Golden Fist (unarmed) - Air + Water.

The ultimate power of the fist is apparent to any who have seen it and unimaginable by all others.

Initiate: Double any bonuses gained from being Focused.

Student: Raise the lowest Attack die to match the highest when Focused.

History: Brother Gang was born sometime in June; that much he reveals to the public. He was born to a simple family of modest wealth, as most are on the island of Wutai, and raised according to the teachings of the former kings and queens. Ever since he was a young boy, Brother Gang ? then usually referred to as ?Shu? ? was trained in the martial arts by his father, who showed neither him nor his two brothers any sympathy just because of their blood relation. The three boys were pushed to their very limits day in and day out, in much the same manner that their father had been pushed some years earlier.

Besides that, however, most of Brother Gang's adolescent years were uneventful; he didn't even have a girl he fancied at any point, at least nothing beyond the normal pubescent fantasizing. As his eighteenth birthday drew nearer and nearer, however, he watched as his brothers ? both of them now accomplished Students of the Golden Fist ? set out on their own pilgrimages, destined to travel the world for at least five years, attempting to bring honor to themselves and to the Kingdom of Wutai.

And so it was for Brother Gang, as well; for on his eighteenth birthday, Brother Gang was promoted (after a series of tests, of course) to the rank of Student and sent on his own pilgrimage across the islands. For the next ten years (the decision to stay out for double the time was, of course, on purpose) Brother Gang hopped from island to island, engaging in honorable duels with countless souls that he deemed worthy. Sometimes he won, and sometimes he lost; such is the way of the battlefield.

At the age of 28, Brother Gang finally decided that it was time to return home, at least for a time. Once he arrived home, he quickly found a wife of his own to settle down with. They had no children, and for that Brother Gang would prove to be grateful, for at the age of 35, after seven long years of peaceful marriage (and training, of course) the monk came down with a terminal case of wanderlust once more. He longed to be on the battlefield once again. For a year longer, Brother Gang retrained himself, getting as close to his twenty-year-old self as a man twice that age is allowed and carefully, through the art of persuasion (and ass-kissing), persuading his lovely wife to allow him to leave. As the year drew to a close, Brother Gang found himself successful in both of these objectives...although he couldn't begin to tell you how he managed to convince his wife of the venture. At the age of 36, Brother Gang left his home island once more, and since then, he has traveled; to lands familiar and not, far and near, mundane and exotic...and still he does not tire.

Brother Gang finds himself on the island of Bastion for the same reason he finds himself of any island; to duel the one he deems most honorable. He has heard the call of King Sityr and has judged this to be the perfect opportunity. After all, who better to duel than one with the strength of kings? Keeping another kingdom from falling into turmoil is just a bonus.
Neuromancer said:
Name: Michishige Sanosuke

Gender: Male

Age: 28

Physical Description: Sano stands at slightly above average height, with a toned body, emphasising agility over raw muscular power. Though not yet in his thirties, the stubble he sports along with his craggy, weather-beaten face and sharp features make him look somewhat older. The most notable characteristic about him is the jagged scar he sports over and under his left eye. He has long, dark brown hair fashioned into a ponytail.

Sano dresses lightly, wearing a green-and-white kimono along with a light green sash around his waist, sandals, a green-and-white shrug over his left shoulder,white gloves and a kasa.

He typically rests his left hand on the sheath of his sword and has a casual but aged saunter about him.


Philosophy: Life is pointless, and full of suffering. Yet, in facing adversity, man grows stronger and wiser, and may find their own meaning to it.

Personality: On the surface, Sano is introverted and tight-lipped, but underneath lies a sea of goodwill, good humor, and an honest readiness to help friends and strangers alike. Even so, his aloofness makes it difficult for him to properly express himself to others, and as he is a man of few words, they are often misunderstood.

Sano always addresses people politely, and is an extremely calm individual, one that never lets his emotions get the better of him. Unlike others who prefer to act first, he much prefers to contemplate all options presented to him before choosing the one that he finds to be best, an attitude that often left him accused of indolence. A pacifist, he dislikes battle and only seeks it when his back is against the wall.

Elements:
Air: 2
Earth: 2
Fire: 0
Water: 2
Balance: 3

Specialties:
Awareness: "Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye, for sight is weak and danger ever-present."
Empathy: "One who has suffered knows to see suffering where others cannot."


Armor: 0

Weapon: Primary Weapon: Katana (curved sword)

Style:
Leaning Crane (Curved Sword) - Air + Water
That which cannot be done in a single movement, you are not yet ready to do.
Initiate: Add Balance to attack and damage rolls on your first attack against an opponent.
Student: You are always Focused until you miss an attack.

History: Sano hails from the Isle of Bushi, a large mountainous island known for its military tradition, isolationalist tendencies and amount of Kings. In Bushi, unlike other more centralised islands, each major town and stronghold is typically ruled by its own King, leading to its moniker, "The Isle of a hundred Kingdoms"

Sano was born to a commoner family in a coastal village at the outskirts of the kingdom of Sagara, a small kingdom situated in the northen coast of the isle, different from other kingdoms in that its ports were open to foreign trade, gaining a lot of wealth, but also the ire of its neighbours. Due to frequent attacks from neighbouring kingdoms, the coastal villages away from the capital were often prey to pirate attacks.

Sano's village was no exception. The pirates slaughtered the entire village, and Sano only survived due to the timely intervention of an old wanderer, who drove them off with his masterful use of the sword. Orphaned and without a place to go, the old man took Sano under his wing as he travelled around the various kingdoms offering protection and aid to those in need.

But the way of the wanderer is filled with hardship, and Sano had to quickly learn to live with little in the ways of food, security and comfort. Still, he quickly grew accustomed to it, and even grew to like the lifestyle, as he felt a certain degree of satisfaction in seeing people's plights solved by the old man. As he grew to adolescence, Sano requested to be taught the way of the sword, and soon started his training.

The training involved much more than just physical exercise. Sano was often tasked with dealing with the problems of the people that they met, and more often than not said problems were much more complex than they appeared at first. Nevertheless, the years of observing his master had gifted him with experience, and was able to pass his trials competently.

Alas, before he could finish his training, his master, old as he were, fell ill and, despite Sano's best efforts, passed away not too long afterwards. A humble funeral soon followed, and Sano, griefstricken but unfettered, doned his master's shrug on his left shoulder and set out to continue his legacy. Despite having travelled all around Bushi, he felt that there still was much he had to learn from the outside world and, at the age of 16, he returned to Sagara and boarded a ship to see more of the world.

12 years have passed since then, and now Sano, a much more learned and world-weary man, finds himself in the island of Bastion. Having experienced first-hand the plight of the people that were left in the wake of the kingslayer, he decided to lend his hand in the protection of Bastion's King, and hopefully understand the reason for this seemingly wanton killing.
 

Terratina.

RIP Escapist RP Board
May 24, 2012
2,105
0
0
I'm interested, very interested. But, dice rolls just seem to slow things down in PbP games, regardless of however simple the maths is behind them. For that reason, I'm kinda weary about signing up.

[small]Also exams and shit I guess.[/small]
 

Dogmatic99

New member
Jun 24, 2012
914
0
0
I too am interested, just gotta go on a philosophy course while I work out a character that these styles might mesh with first.
 

SamtheDeathclaw

New member
Aug 8, 2009
1,091
0
0
Terratina. said:
I'm interested, very interested. But, dice rolls just seem to slow things down in PbP games, regardless of however simple the maths is behind them. For that reason, I'm kinda weary about signing up.

[small]Also exams and shit I guess.[/small]
I'm really not certain the rolls will stick around. I've been working on this for a week, and removed them and re-added them at least half a dozen times.

They're certainly only for more difficult fights/actions at least, if I do leave them in.
 

hiei82

Dire DM (+2 HD and a rend attack
Aug 10, 2011
2,463
0
0
Sounds fun; here's my submission

Name: Nazli Shula Haddad

Gender: Woman

Age: 28

Physical Description: Nazli is built like a house; standing at over 6-and-a-half tall and weighing in at a little over 210 lbs (all of it muscle). Her eyes are a dark brown as is her long, tied-up hair. Her skin is of a darker-tanned shade than most and is marked with burns and a number of tattoos (visible include an Origin symbol for the elements of fire and earth). While she doesn't lack for grace in her movements, she tends to move in a more determined and direct way. She dresses in a long leather and cloth robe with many pockets and loops that hold many tools of smithing. Carefully concealed beneath the leather and cloth are chainmail and some metal plates. She wears a Hijab much of the time (though out of a memory of home and as protection from the sun rather than any religious reason) but takes it off while forging for obvious reasons.

Philosophy: "Origins grant me the strength to act, the wisdom to act well, and the courage to act well forever."

Personality: Nazli is a very spiritual person. She believes in the spirits and that they guide all people toward enlightenment. From this faith she draws the courage to act for the benefit of others. She knows she lacks the longevity of the spirits and will fade from this world in "a blink of their eyes". As such, she wants to ensure that she uses what she has to do the most good for the most people. Finally, she knows that all this will is meaningless without the power to act upon it. Courage, Wisdom, and Strength are therefore what she prizes most.

These have pushed her toward her 3 part goal: 1) travel the sea to train with the greatest blacksmiths in the world to 2) create a legendary weapon to last through the ages and 3) give that weapon to a person or people worthy of it.

Elements: Personality and Elements are intrinsically linked. Your Elements define who you are, and vice versa. You have 6 points to spend, and all Elements start at 0.
Air: 2
Earth: 2
Fire: 2
Water: 0
Balance: 3 Unencumbered - 2 Armor = 1 Modified

Specialties:
Metalworking: represents training as blacksmith
Persuasion: represents dedication to goal

Armor: A suit of scalemail (Rating 2) - mail covering most of body with interlocked plates covering vital areas covered by her blacksmith's apron/clothes.

Weapon:
Main Weapon: "Damascus-Steel" Scimitar (Curved Sword) - Her current Masterpiece
Sidearm: Blacksmith's Hammer (Improvised Maul) - mostly used to create weapons/armor OR latest creation if applicable.


Styles: Student of Flock of Doves (Glaive or Curved Sword) - Air + Fire
The softest diversion can lead to the hardest downfall.
Initiate: May be used Defensively.
Student: Opponent may be Weakened instead of rolling for damage normally.

History:Nazli was born the sixth child of a family from the island of "Damas". Her father was a smith of some repute for island, producing everything from tools for artisans to the weapons of war for the islands limited warriors. The island wasn't the most hospitable of islands - having more sand than water or vegetation - but it was rich in iron and steel and so could trade for what it lacked with those neighbors it had. In another life, Nazli might have been a simple smith or been married off to some rich land owner but fate decided otherwise.

During her 8th year, a plague swept across the island, killing nearly 80% of the populace. No one knew where the plague came from but the island was fully unprepared. What little protection they had came from the Origins who helped the small island nation. Of her family, only she and her father survived the plague. Lacking in "proper sons" to take over the and help with the forge and with so few people left on the island to replace them, he began - reluctantly - teaching her the way of the forge. From her father's perspective it was a task ill-suiting a woman and regretted it almost daily at first. However, as time passed Nazli matched and in some ways exceeded his skill. In time, he would likely have seen the error of his ways were it not for the final fate of the island.

The plague had it seemed came from infected food coming from their neighboring islands. These neighbors jealously coveted the wealth of resources of the island. Once they felt the island was ripe for conquest, they sent in their champions to challenge the island's leadership for the right to rule. Following the Code of Conduct to the letter, they saw their island fall. With that, the natives of the island found themselves second-class citizens in their own homes.

Her father, having recognized what these neighbors did to gain advantage and the cost it had taken on his family and friends, took it upon himself to see these monstrous men lose their prize. To this end, he called on his most loyal of friends to collapse the mines (giving their lives in the process), while he broke into the island's armory and destroyed all his prized weapons and armor in the way only a blacksmith could.

Nazli aided them as best she could by destroying the family forge and taking what tools and supplies they could down to the docks. The plan was to meet at daybreak and set sail for a new life. When daybreak came and her father did not arrive, Nazli knew it meant he'd been captured and so set sail for parts unknown.

During her travels, she's found most people are the same as those who took her home and family from her causing her to distrust most others even as she works with them. She's made it her life's goal to find someone of true nobility of character and craft for them the perfect tools for them. Toward this end, she's continued her traveling almost non-stop, stopping only for teachers in the ways of smithing and "just" jobs to fund her survival and travels.

Edit: Edited in the background. Doesn't really make sense to keep it a secret in retrospect.
 

EnigmaticSevens

New member
Sep 18, 2009
265
0
0
This all sounds quite fascinating, and I've been itching for another RP on these boards, it's been entirely too long. I'll have something up shortly.
 

Random Fella

New member
Nov 17, 2010
1,167
0
0
Jeez, haven't seen you in ages.

This is a lot to take in, might take a while to get a sheet up.
 

Asclepion

New member
Aug 16, 2011
1,425
0
0
Name: Seluine Ocalilian

Gender: Female

Age: 22

Physical Description: The youngest daughter of the Ocalilian noble family, Seluine was conceived as a matter of genetics as much as politics. She is beautiful with light brown skin and eyes of an orange-amber shade. Her slender body, full breasts, and sensual mouth are all captivating to the senses. Her voice is clear, the pronunciation almost too perfect. She wears elegant attire crafted in her home island of Gaend.




Philosophy: "The only law is power. Superior power. Vastly superior power, in my case."

Personality: Aggressive, Cruel, Prideful, Confident, Passionate. She enjoys life greatly and lives in the intensity of the moment, loving nothing more than being the center of attention. She possesses a sharp mind and considerable intellectual prowess, but she is not very good at concealing her contempt for those she considers inferior or of a lower rank than her. She hails from House Ocalilian, a powerful and wealthy group of nobles on the island of Gaend. Seluine, however, was too impatient to be really successful at political scheming. She makes no secret how boring she finds the court to be, preferring the wind and waves and roars of cannon fire.

Elements:
Air: 0
Earth: 0
Fire: 3
Water: 3
Balance: 2 - 0 Armor = 2

Specialties:
Persuasion
Sailing

Weapon:
Rapier (Straight Sword)

Styles:
Initiate of Water magic
Initiate of Fire magic

History: Seluine grew up in nobility on her island's kingdom. As she moved through her adolescence she was instructed as befitting a noble - proper etiquette, the basics of swordplay, an extensive education, and magical teachings. She loved stories - adventure, daring raids and clashes of sword on sword. She grew obsessed with sailing ships, sneaking out to take long night voyages onto the ocean, often in little more than a rowboat. The noble houses were places of bureaucrats and sycophants, but the ocean offered 1000 new worlds to explore. By her adolescence Seluine was spending her time sailing across other islands and hunting roving pirates from her own ship, Whirlpool. She now sails on the Wave Dancer, and sips wine while water fills the lungs of her adversaries, the booming cannons music to her ears.
 

SamtheDeathclaw

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Aug 8, 2009
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Random Fella said:
Jeez, haven't seen you in ages.
Haven't been around in ages. Uni, real life, and tabletop have been eating most of my time. Plus, the Escapist has been alarmingly dead recently.
hiei82 said:
Sounds fun; here's my submission

snip
Looks good. Backstory received but I haven't yet read it twice, so no final opinion on it yet. But on the first read-through I saw no problems.

Asclepion said:
snip
Could you elaborate on her personality just a little bit more? The main question I come away with is, "Who does she consider inferior?" Fairly minor nitpick, and honestly it'd be fine if you don't feel compelled to write it into the sheet.

Beyond that, I don't have any problems with the character.
 

Dogmatic99

New member
Jun 24, 2012
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Name: Llyr Argall

Gender: Male

Age: 20

Physical description: Llyr is a fairly short and slender young man, most of the men of his home island have often joked about how his hands are so thin, like a girl or a child and how he should wear better boots to make himself look taller or so he can reach things high above him. He's shown them that he's capable of reaching things just fine but that hasn't stopped them. They've often used that, along with his dark brown hair and jade green eyes to suggest that Llyr must be descended from a fay origin that lacked the strength and fire that made up their ancestors. Llyr doesn't know, but it would help explain why he's so pale.

Despite his weak appearance no one will doubt Llyr's ability as a hunter, he moves with a greater ease than other, larger, men when in the dense forest that covers most of his homeland, skipping nimbly among the tangling roots and dancing through the trees until the time comes to slow his pace and move like a fox through the undergrowth. They actually compare him to a snake, but he prefers foxes. Though folks would prefer he kept that kind of thing to the forests, as Llyr is very light of foot and quiet in nature and tends to sneak up on people by accident. Fashion has never been a big thing among the men of Llyr's home, mostly they try to see who can wear the least amount of clothing and show off the most warpaint covered muscle. He foregoes this and dresses in a practical and conservative manner with whatever furs and leathers are to hand.

Though he does have some lean muscle, just no one to show it off to. Not that he'd want to.

Philosophy: The world is huge and I am small, all the easier to move through it unhindered.

Personality: Llyr is, as you may have guessed, not an alpha male. In fact he's kind of a loner. Softly spoken, when he deems to speak, Llyr has always preferred the quiet and the company of animals over that of his clansmen. Finding peace in the secluded instead. He doesn't deny that this is because of the culture he grew up in, where the women are the mystics and wise folk while the men are warriors, the tradesmen. And of course, Llyr isn't built to be a warrior. Rather than dwelling on being shunned as a runt though Llyr embraced this way of living. Not that he can live totally alone, as brash and loud and needlessly competitive as they are he doesn't hate his clansmen. He even made some friends with some of them, that was how he learned how to hunt. Though Llyr never managed to get truly close to someone. It's as if there is a final wall in his way that he can't quite pass.

He's been told that it's because he always seems so distant, that people can never really read him or tell where they stand. They might be right, Llyr never really does anything because he wants to but because he has to. And he's always been that way. Happiness has never come easily to Llyr, the only time he really felt joy in something was when he learned the ways of the spear or when he could lose himself in the wild. Sometimes he thinks this could be enough for him but in his heart Llyr can't deny that even he doesn't want to live a life of isolation and apathy. This unquiet thought is what caused him to leave his home, to travel the world and seek out his passion and find his fire.

Elements:
Air - 2
Earth - 2
Fire - 0
Water - 2
Armour - 0
Balance - 3

Specialties:
Survival (Air + Earth)
Archery (Water + Earth)

Primary Weapon: Spear
Secondary: Bow

Styles:

Llyr's fighting style is that of a hunter, which he has honed on deer, boars and the occasional wolf. Inspired by the need to move freely and quietly. Each strike must be with purpose and not an ounce of energy wasted. A good hunter should always aim to fell his prey as swiftly as possible, this goes double for a dangerous opponent.

Seeking Killer (Spear) - Air + Water.
A war of a million spears can become a war of one with the proper thought.
Initiate: Become focused whenever your Balance is higher than the defender's.

Empty Vessel (Spear or Unarmed) - Earth + Water
Leave not a ripple in your wake.
Initiate: If you are not wearing armour add Balance to defense rolls.

History:

Llyr hails from the forested mountain island of Cader Idris, a place that knows only summer. It stands as one of a cluster of closely situated islands, each one ruled by a different clan. This loose collection of groups have formed a ragged alliance together, making them a kingdom in the vaguest sense of the word. Though which clan that claimed the king right is left open every five years, ready to be decided as warriors from each island gather for a great tournament where the winner is crowned. And then when politics aren't involved they have honour duels and skirmishes between warbands trying to win themselves glory the rest of the time. All according to the laws of combat of course but to Llyr's mind the whole thing just. Never. Stopped. And they never shut up about it. The closest thing to a gift these people could think of was to share the fighting styles their origins had once passed down to them! So Llyr would find his daily escape from clan life in the forest, until he was more at home there than back at his village.

Until one day when he lost himself in the mountain paths and found himself standing in a grove, hidden by the steep mountain walls and untouched by man, or so he thought. It was here that Llyr found the wanderer who would teach him the ways of the empty vessel, to rise above his journeyman skill and pass through the world like a ghost. He would stay in that place for three months, living off the land before his heart would ache for home and more. His teacher encouraged him to stay but it wasn't to be. The two parted ways, knowing they would never meet again. It didn't take much thought for Llyr to decide what he'd do next. He would leave his island as many young men had done before him, to seek adventure and new experiences. The clan always talked of those that brought back trophies, riches and fame and how it brought more glory to them. Llyr wouldn't do that, he was going for himself, to find the joy that had alluded him his whole life.

Here's my sheet. I can go into more detail on the backstory if needed, I just tried to stop myself from waffling on too much and thought leave some stuff for character interactions. If anything needs tweaking I'm happy to do it.
 

Terratina.

RIP Escapist RP Board
May 24, 2012
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Name: Li Zhu
Gender: Male
Age: 24

Physical Description: Li would have a rather forgettable face if it wasn?t for the fact there Li is always wearing a smile of childish wonder, oh, and there are the scars. Only two though, one which cuts along his left cheek while other one is just a small cut which creeps up from his chin and stops near his ever smiling mouth. Li?s head and face are clean shaven, emphasising his boyish face. He dresses practically, usually wearing a dull coloured tangzhuang behind a tabard of padded leather armour along simple trousers and shoes, with his weapons in scabbards attached to his belt. While Li tries to cultivate a welcoming air, anyone with a bit of common sense concludes the smile is fake and are rather disconcerted. However, they are wrong: it?s not the smile that?s fake, rather it?s Li?s tolerance of other people.

Philosophy: ?True beauty lies in bloodshed.?

Personality: Li has a rather odd view of other people, to him they are just things. Ugly things. Pigs wrapped up in plant fibres who yammer on about nothing. In other words, he regards other people as a child would a fly. Unfortunately, he was the type of child who pulled the wings off them. To Li, the only truth and beauty there is in the world is within fighting, where words are forsaken and each participant justifies themselves by using their body as a weapon. The body is more honest than the mind, after all. Nevertheless, Li does not get the same thrill from hunting, humans have too much of an advantage after all. Some people assume Li is the scheming kind, but he only cares about finding beauty in the world. After a fair bit of wrestling with his feelings on the issue, Li views the Code of Combat as a necessary evil: sure it limits combat quite a bit but it allows for a slew of one-on-one fights where he can witness and judge his opponent closely.

Elements:
Air: 0
Earth: 2
Fire: 2
Water: 2
Balance: 3 - 1 Armour = 2

Specialties:

Acrobatics (Earth + Fire)
Meditation (Fire + Water)

Armour: 1

Weapons:

Primary - Jian (Straight Sword)
Secondary - Swordbreaker Dagger

Styles:

Closing Fangs (Unarmed or Straight Sword) - Earth + Water
For the unsuspecting prey the fangs close slowly.
Initiate: If you Weaken an opponent they are also Staggered.

Blood Sharer (Straight Sword, Curved Sword or Axe) - Earth + Fire
Share every drop your attacker draws from you.
Initiate: Whenever your opponent Weakens you they are Weakened themselves.

History: Li was taken in by the Xueshou monastery at an early age when the ship he and his parents were on crashed upon their shores. They were far from kind masters; the Xueshou meditate on various Legendary Styles hoping to fully comprehend the Origins and each Xueshou monk is expected to know at least four and master two in their lifetimes. Li?s training began at soon as he reached six years of age. As he grew older, he grew bored of bald old men teaching him how to kick and yammering on about philosophy. He?d rather spend time at the dock listening to sailors? tales of other islands and bloodthirsty pirates, how exciting!

Nevertheless, Li persevered with his training and it finally clicked: if the Origins were supreme supernatural beings and if Legendary Styles came from them, surely bloodshed was divine? Li then plunged himself into training, finding he enjoyed the no nonsense approach of Closing Fangs and Blood Sharer. His masters, however, quickly noticed Li?s rather... positive approach to hurting others and growing disdain for the Code of Combat. In the end, the head monk - or King of the monastery island - known as Grandmaster Guo came to Li?s quarters one night and suggested that Li should leave quietly in a couple of days. Li did, having been practically given a sentence of exile. Next morning, Li hitched passage to another island as a stowaway and has been working as a mercenary ever since.

Tell me if I've derped. :p
 

EnigmaticSevens

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Sep 18, 2009
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Name: Ryael Astucizu Excaverra e Bruxar

Gender: Male

Age: 24

Physical Description: Ryael has a pleasant enough face, features gentle, somewhat boyish, and nearly always adorned with a slight smile and a few days worth of unshriven scruff, a land where laughter comes easily. Yet in the soft angles and lingering adolescent charms is a clear streak of mischief, a playfulness with a cutting edge, reminding all those who might forget, that even a young wolf has teeth and that the most beautifully colored serpents oft times conceal the deadliest venom. With dark hair and rosy, sun-kissed skin, Ryael is a picture of fine health and youthful vigor, form wiry, lean, and possessed of a greater strength than most might imagine. His eyes are bright, a shimmering grey run through at their center with a myriad colors, proof positive of one blessed by an Origin (or so he claims.) He?s not particularly tall, but he walks with a sort of constant cocksure swagger, a rutting sensuality behind each step and smile, and for better or worse, his presence seems to fill even a rather large room. Yet, for the most part, this is a boon in Ryael?s line of work. A bright eyed smile puts a soul at ease, a tricksy tongue set in a pleasant face can unwind the knot of worry from a husband?s heart even as it worries the knots on his wife?s bodice.

Philosophy: "Life is not some mystery to be solved but rather a reality to be experienced!"

Personality: Ryael rhymes with smile, and smile rhymes with guile, and some men were born to smile with guile and rile the complacent and self-assured. There?s something in Ryael?s manner, at the core of his nature, that most people find oddly attractive. The lad wreaks of the exotic and the exotic is always enticing. Life has a way of dulling men, of pulling their teeth and blunting them. The fiery passions burn out, the wanderlust fades, and the worries grow more mundane. Ryael is unblunted, and even more so, he sharpens those around him. Even the sternest minister or humblest farmer seems keen to admit that life is certainly more interesting with Ryael in it, for better or worse.

Jovial and clever, Ryael?s tongue is full of wit and witticism in equal measure, quick to conjure up gaiety and glee. An odd union of opposites lies bound up in the youth?s bones. As sultry and salacious as a buck in rut, yet possessed of an odd nobility, and a seemingly genuine respect for even the smallest of people. Be you pauper or prince, bastard or saint, Ryael knows there?s a song in you, somewhere, and he?s more than happy to weave it into something grand, something memorable, and quite possibly something shockingly tawdry and scandalous. There is a powerful magic in words, far grander than any fel sorcery, and Ryael knows this well. The lad was born and raised to live a life worthy of song and story, undoubtedly charmed if, quite possibly, regrettably short.

The people of Feijuadu, the Broken Land, excel at the imaginative, the creative, the unexpected, at twisty thinking and knives that bend in odd directions and Ryael is no exception. Among the Feiji, all things are a romance, and their own origins are no exception.

"Come Pravera, springtide daughter, to a land of flesh and clay, come to weave a world of beauty, come to break to the winter?s sway.
Harsh Invernu, icy lover, grieves for want of distant bride, grieves with lusty wroth and roaring, grieves with need and long bruised pride.
Flower daughter, snowborn son, wage their war and shatter stone, and where their blood does mix and mingle, spring forth heirs of broken homes.
Bleeding children, bleeding lovers, scattered ?cross the broken land, send their tears into the summer, seek the mother?s tender hand.
Ma Verao doth come with mercies, come to calm her wayward sired, come with love and light unending, come to set the world afire.

Mother, mother, set the lands, set them aright and give us peace
Feijuadu no more broken, welded tight beneath the seas."


To those born of the blood of clashing gods, what are the petty conflicts of men? Little more than opportunites ripe for the taking. As hot blooded as the lover?s spat they claim gave them birth, and gave rise to the tightly clustered archipelago that is Feijuadu, the Broken Land, a mad quilt of sand and swamp, the Feiji thrive in the fires of the crucible. Vigor, heat, industry, ever swelling aspiration- artistic or economic, all serve as fuel for a people who cherish movement and growth first and foremost, who call stillness stagnation, just a slower sort of death. Why shouldn?t such a people be glorious, why should they not seek mastery? Why shouldn?t the nomad bands scattered across a few resource poor islands, swell into an economic and cultural mecca to rival neighboring kingdoms, and rule as a tiny tyrant within their own region? Ask one of the Feiji for proof of his divinity, and he?ll gladly wave his nation?s history like a flag with one hand? and set about worrying the knots on your coin purse with the other.


Elements:
Air: 1
Earth: 1
Fire: 3
Water: 1
Balance: 3

Specialties:
Music
Seduction

Weapon:
Primary: A Kampilan, a single-edged sword of distinctive shape, well crafted and extremely ornate, made all the odder by the utter lack of a cross guard. It seems rather purposefully wrought to appear decorative, almost ornamental, all the better to draw attention away from the very well maintained edge.

Secondary: A trident dagger, a single mid-length double-edged blade flanked by two smaller blades extending at 45 degree angles from the hilt. Also quite heavily decorated, beautifully detailed with odd scenes wrought in inlaid golden filagree, a pretty bauble to look at? and never fear until the moment it traps a blade in its queer embrace.

Styles:
Gentleman's Tongue (Straight Sword) - Fire + Water.
Initiate: Double Fire when it is higher than the defender's.

Initiate Fire Mage

History: Ryael does not call himself a musician because he can pull a sound from any given instrument so sweet as to make the stones themselves weep. He does not call himself a musician because he has learned the magic that lies pent up in song, that cuts to the core of emotion and moves mountains. He does not call himself a musician because such a career is the surest way to drown oneself merrily in wine, women and song. Ryael calls himself a musician because jotting down spy, thief, saboteur, and occasional assassin in a harbormaster?s log book under ?Occupation? tends to raise eyebrows? and a fuss. Besides, those sorts of low individuals don?t get invited to fancy parties, and Ryael loves fancy parties. While quite skilled, in truth, with a number of instruments, a Musician of the Feiji is only an entertainer most of the time. In all other moments, such a one is the embodiment of the Feiji philosophy of ?pensantorcanto? or ?thinking around corners.?

Most men expect thieves to steal through the night and pick the locks on their treasure rooms, fewer expect their lonely, dutiful stewards to be swept away in a fit of passion and invite the thieves in for a midnight tryst. Most men expect light-fingered pickpockets to brush past them and secret away their coin purses with crafty fingers, fewer expect to get blindingly drunk while carousing with a witty new-found friend and awaken without coin purse or clothing for that matter. Most men expect assassins to come skulking through the night, stinking of desperation, rejected by the Origins and wielding poisoned knives. But when some fop of a musician blows into port and woos a wife, a sister, a daughter, or a friend into scintillating scandal, such men expect to challenge that peacocking fool to an honorable duel and give him a good thrashing. They make the most amusing faces when the real blow strikes and the lifeblood flows.

When trouble arises and must be dealt with, most men look to mercenaries or heroes for succor and salvation. The Feiji? send musicians.

At present, Ryael is representing the vested interests of some fourteen different trading consortia concerned with the economic devastation left in the wake of so many newly rudderless kingdoms. They?re quite aflutter over recent events, so aflutter that their accountants and watchdogs have yet to realize that their key agent on the scene isn?t precisely? exclusive in his devotions. As far as Ryael is concerned, the old adage is a good one, if you?re good at something, never do it for free? and if you?re really good at something, get paid for it a couple dozen times over.
 

Terratina.

RIP Escapist RP Board
May 24, 2012
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SamtheDeathclaw said:
Almost suspicious lack of derping here. And here I was hoping I'd get to mock you. Darn. But really, looks good.
Thanks! And please, I mock myself enough for both of us. :p
 

SamtheDeathclaw

New member
Aug 8, 2009
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The Escapist is, for some reason or another, not allowing me to reply to or send private messages. So if you need to get into contact with me, it seems the only reliable way is via Skype at samthedeathclaw.
 

Texas Joker 52

All hail the Pun Meister!
Jun 25, 2011
1,285
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Here he is! Let me know if there's anything I need to change.

Name: Wakahisa Daichi, or Daichi the Bottomless

Gender: Male

Age: 31

Physical Description: Daichi is a large, rather imposing man, standing at 6 feet with a stout build that consists mainly of hard fat and muscle. His skin is lightly tanned, while his long, dark hair is pulled back into a simple tail at the nape of his neck. His wide, face is usually smiling with a flattened nose and dark eyes underneath thick, slashing eyebrows, and he has a long, well-groomed Fu Manchu mustache. While he doesn't look blatantly overweight, he does appear to be bulky and slow, which couldn't be farther from the truth. He moves with a distinct air of grace and care, with each movement measured and fluid.

Whenever he isn't in combat, he prefers to wear simple, but elegant, robes, often in a sedate patterns and darker colors such as navy blue or forest green, and plain sandals.

Whenever he is prepared for battle, however, he wears heavy armor without a helmet, that also leaves the part of his chest and right arm almost completely uncovered.

Philosophy: "There is more to valor than fighting only when you think you'll win. If defeat is certain, fight with honor and accept defeat with grace."

Personality: Normally a quiet, unassuming man, Daichi is in actuality a very passionate warrior who believes wholeheartedly in the virtues of a swordsman: Honor, Valor, and Wisdom. As such he has a very strong sense of justice, and will never stay quiet whenever he sees something that goes against what he believes is truly right. Though he will not hesitate to cut down an opponent in a fight whenever he truly sets his mind to the task, he prefers to simply defeat an enemy, and usually sees death as wasteful and unnecessary. As such, he comes across as a man who knows his own strength, and is very restrained because of it.

If there is anything Daichi truly appreciates, it is kindness and beauty in all its forms, be it nature, women, but especially good food. It has been said that, without the self-control and discipline that his Master had taught him, Daichi would never stop eating everything around him, because he has never truly been satisfied by any meal. Said appreciation causes him to be rather serene on his own, taking in his surroundings with a sense of contentment. It was also a small part of the reason behind his travels: The Last Ocean is a big place, and there is surely plenty of gorgeous sights, smells, and foods to be taken in that what happens to be on the Isle of Shuu, his home island.

Elements:

Air: 0
Earth: 2
Fire: 2
Water: 2
Balance: 3 - 3 Armor

Specialties:

Cooking: Daichi is quite the accomplished amateur cook, due in no small part to his unending appetite. As such, he is always on the lookout for any new recipes he can find.

Painting: As a man who appreciates beauty in all it's forms, he has dabbled in painting not only portraits but landscapes as well, though it is clear he still has quite a bit to learn.

Armor: Daichi wears heavy plate armor that focuses on protecting his stomach, upper left torso, left arm, and legs, with the heaviest plating on his left shoulder and around his waist. The plating is painted a dark blue, with the pauldron emblazoned with a simple red flower. His armor leaves his right arm and the top right half of his chest completely bare, save for a simple armored glove covering his right hand.

Weapon:

Primary Weapon: Uchigatana

Sidearm: Reinforced Sheath

Styles:

Dragonfly's Weave (Curved Sword, Glaive or Axe) - Fire + Water
The fragile must be untouchable, the slow must be strong. The wise can be both.
Initiate: Whenever an attack misses you, become Focused.
Student: Add Water to Defence rolls when Focused.

History: Daichi grew up on the Isle of Shuu, a place well-known for the lush gardens of wildflowers and fruit orchards that stretch across almost the entire island, the mild weather it has year-round, as well as the fact that it was the birthplace of the Dragonfly's Weave style. His parents were simple folk who tended to the flowers there, selling them whenever they had the opportunity. But as a boy, he didn't care about flowers or pretty things. Instead, he was more interested in eating, playing, or watching the Sages of his small village undergo their rituals and training.

Out of all the children in his village, however, Daichi was easily the biggest and the strongest. So when play would turn into a scuffle, and then a fight, he would often hurt someone in the process. And after one fight too many, his mother pulled him aside to scold him, telling him that just because he was the strongest boy on the island, didn't mean he should use that strength to hurt others. If anything, his strength meant that he needed to be more gentle and careful than everyone else.

He thought on what she said for hours that day, all while watching the Sages train, until one of them came over and sat next to him. The man, Sage Kaito, asked him what happened to be the matter, and Daichi told him about the fights he would get into, and what his mother had said. Sage Kaito listened patiently to the young boy, and asked if he wanted to learn how to control his strength. Daichi looked up at him and promptly said yes, because he didn't really like hurting his friends, especially without really meaning to. At that point, Sage Kaito took him back to his parents and asked if they were willing to let their son be a student of the Dragonfly's Weave style, and went on to explain that knowing how to use ones strength required discipline and control, which Daichi surely needed. After a few days, they agreed.

The next decade were some of Daichi's best years. Training was hard, but before long he came to appreciate it, and he seemed to almost blossom thanks to it. He became more soft spoken and gentle, and even came to regard the island with a new sense of wonder at it's beauty. He not only learned the art of swordsmanship, but started to learn how to cook, as well as paint, immortalizing the world around him in the process. The only things that didn't change were his strength, his steadfast sense of right and wrong, and his appetite, which often baffled his teachers and drove the cook of the temple mad.

After ten years of training, however, Daichi decided that it was time he traveled abroad to see the world, and that he could only learn so much just on the Isle of Shuu. Sage Kaito understood, and with his Master's blessing, he was given a sword and a newly-crafted set of armor, knowing that given state of the world, he would undoubtedly get involved in duels all along the way. And as he started to go from island to island, he proved them right. At each new place he visited, his reputation grew as both a quiet swordsman, and as a person one never said "All-You-Can-Eat" to.

Six years after he started his travels, he heard of Island Kings and their elite guards being killed without being replaced, he quickly realized just what kind of chaos would be spread in this manslayer's wake. So when King Sityr called for warriors to help prevent more anarchy, Daichi decided then and there that he would help, and began to make his way to Bastion Island.
 

Asclepion

New member
Aug 16, 2011
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I can just ask here then.

I had the idea that Seluine would trap her opponents inside dream worlds by using water to cast illusions and fire to make the target believe that it was real. I could work it into her backstory, but I wanted to ask how difficult it would be.

As for who she considers inferior, the answer is "most everyone." She would probably go tsundere if she were ever equaled by a commoner.
 

SamtheDeathclaw

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Aug 8, 2009
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Asclepion said:
I can just ask here then.

I had the idea that Seluine would trap her opponents inside dream worlds by using water to cast illusions and fire to make the target believe that it was real. I could work it into her backstory, but I wanted to ask how difficult it would be.

As for who she considers inferior, the answer is "most everyone." She would probably go tsundere if she were ever equaled by a commoner.
About what I figured.

And I got your message, just wasn't sure if you wanted it published. It'd take at least Student level fire magic-to make inspire trust in what they see, and any level of water magic, though keeping a reactive illusion takes all of your concentration, so you can't fight or basically anything else while keeping them trapped there. A Master could probably circumvent the concentration, but it would still be temporary.

Texas Joker 52 said:
snip
Looks good!