Of Steam and Steel: OOC (Steampunk RP, Mature) {Open}

[Lisky]

"It was 20 years and a handful of days ago when -they- first appeared... if it were any other kingdom, nothing would have been like it is now... no one did anything to stop them, no one even tried to slow them down... there were few if any creatures to begin with in those lands... no one worth rescuing, no one of influence or power..."

"They came forth almost like a chitinous tide, their great machines spewing soot and ash into the skies and the first of three smaller kingdoms fell.  The other two, seduced by greed, formed a loose alliance with the swarms... Their was resistance at first, a feeling of domination, but, given the few creatures left were either killed, or fled to safer areas, there was only so long one had to wait before public education turned the rebellious nature of the nation's youth on someone else.  In all honesty, someone should have seen it coming, perhaps even tried it first... but, whatever else happened, they took their grand machines to the surface, eventually merging all 3 kingdoms into a single, solidified nation.  Now their on the warpath again... things are already strained in this part of the world... everyone ready to jump the other guy the moment they show a little sign of weakness... Though really... what can you expect when the short lived races reproduce like mice, and their word is as tangible as the waste their machines spew into the air?... "


"Some wish to change the status-quo, other seek to exploit it... perhaps there's a grand war on the horizon, or perhaps I'm just rambling... An old man's mind trapped in a young one's body, a cynical, jaded and ancient soul who just sits back and watches as the world crumbles and burns around him... I have little care of what happens, though they tell me that i should pass on what i know to the youth... Perhaps so. Or, perhaps i should hoard my knowledge like so many do gold, and other valuables.  Keep it where no other may touch it.  There is value in knowledge, you know... men have fought, died and killed over knowledge.  Knowledge is at least as powerful as any weapon, and often sharper than the finest of steel... but, I digress... I'm sure you're more interested in finding out where you're here, of all places... well, perhaps i know, and perhaps not... mayhaps I'll answer your real question should we meet again by some chance..."

The raccoon angel gentle eased himself to his feet, casually taking a first step, a tentative second, and his third seemed to be a hop-step as if he were to run.  Large feathery wings unfurled, and with a single hop, he took to the skies... heading north, or perhaps north-west... it's hard to tell these things just by the position of the sun, after all.

********************

Hello and welcome players... That little intro was just to set the stage... i'm sure it left more questions than it answered, and as such i'll give players the basics of what they'll need to know to create a character sheet.

We're dealing with a single continent for this particular chapter of the game, in an alternate Furrae.  It is broken up between 5 large nations, and several smaller ones... the large ones are the focus, as small nations change their names as often as their lords.  Along with a brief over-view of what you can expect, technology wise, from them... These are mostly just guidelines, what is common knowledge about each place.    

Ahnk' Ator  - Political goals: World domination, control of magic, At war with all other major nations

primary inhabitance: Insectis, Being

Technology: Heavy machines ranging from your typical coal and steam driven train to some exceedingly advanced many-legged war machines.  They rely on Insectis earth and fire magic to make very tough, though very heavy materials with which to build their empire.  They rely heavily on tried and true steam or gunpowder driven weapons.  


Aeliseium - Political goals: "The Greater Good" rid the world of creatures and their magic fueled pestilence.  At war with all other major nations. (as a side note, they are ruled from a capitol city, the amount of control exerted is inverse to the distance from the capitol)

Inhabitance: Beings
Technology: without the aid of magic, the beings have focused their energies into creating grand machines to achieve parity.  They focus on survival of the individual rather than grand machines like the insectis build.  They use complex clockwork technology that stores energy in springs and gears to power personal armor, supported by steam powered mechs and tanks...  Zeppelins are common, though exceedingly weak, and flammable due to their lack of magical enhancements, they are used as heavy lifters and for quick transportation.  Gyro-copters are not uncommon either

They have found a way to store and fire lightning as weapon, and it is the staple of their heavy armaments, however, lighter technologies tend to be clockwork chain-blades, and gunpowder weapons far more complex than the simple single shot, or revolvers found in Ahnk' Ator



Nhylamar: Political goals: Expansion or, at least survival. (currently in a very loose neutrality with Sevastia'Nyad [see below])

Primary population:  Demon, Cubi, Mythos and Being (though all magic races can be found here)

A combination of magic and technology, Nhylamar produces the finest of machines, if a little simple compared to the being nations.  Machines are decently rare, though Zeppelins are exceedingly common. Armored skins allow for massive fly fortresses, and soul-stone powered machines allow for moderately powerful fixed wing planes, along with lighter power sources, and enhancements magic allows one to weave into their machines, Nhylamar firearms, although somewhat simplistic (a typical revolver) are both commonly built to larger sizes which accommodate creatures, and with easily enchanted ammunition, to give even more bang to already very powerful guns.



Sevastia'Nyad :  Political goal: Survival and possible expansion (currently in a very loose neutrality with Nhylamar)

Primary Population: Angel, Cubi, Phoenix (though all magic races appear here)

Rather than true technology, The Nyads use magi-tech, magic built technology.  Rather than clumsy and cumbersome Mechs, they use golems , which are also slow... but their magical nature, and sturdy construction give them a far more reliable reputation.  They use airships, though not in the conventional sense.  Rather than being supported by balloons, gas-bags or other physical means, the Nayd use soul-stone powered magic-generators to lift their "sky-ships" into the heavens.  They use wands rather than firearms, bound with a number of pre-defined uses of usually a basic fireball, or magic-missile type attack.  They are a renegade branch of Voethfel (See Below) who left several millennial ago. Nyads are rumored to be the real source of the undead race.




Voethfel: Political Goals, to be left alone and thrive.

Primary Population: Demon, Angel, Cubi (though all magical races can be found here)

Voethfel is very similar to what you'd expect from a creature only location, it's schools focus on the arcane, to train creatures to use their magical potential to hurl waves of ice, or balls of energy.  To shield themselves from harm with a barrier of energy that appears with the sway of a hand, or the flick of a wrist.  Voethfel is home to an entrance to SAIA, and the cities in general are far grander, more thought out, and far better protected than the sprawls of the industrial revolutionary nations.  A well trained demon with a finely crafted blade  is often times more than a match for a mechanical walker if simply because of the fluid motions, enhanced speed, reaction time, and strength a powerful creature can bring to bare.  


*****

With introductions complete, what i'll need from you, the players:

Name:
Race:
Age:
Country of origin as well as current residence:
Physical Description:
Equipment:
Magical Abilities (if applicable):
History:
Trivia (if you so feel like it):

Please PM me your idea first, rather than posting... i can answer questions there, as i'm certain there are many questions pertaining to things that would not be common knowledge to every one in every land.

So, on that note, hope you all have fun with this

********************
Player List

WhiteFox - Gabriel Cartwright
Arroyo - Arroyo M. Milori
Paladin Sheppard - Paige Nova Sheppard
SquirrelWizard - Stephan Oralis
Gabi - Anabelle Clemens
Tapewolf - Sethir Clandover
The1Kobra - Kyirri Teekay
Ashen Star - Ashlynn "Ashes" Taige
Kafziel - Lucy Alighieri
SpottedKitty - Zelah Marazanvose
techmaster-glitch - The Vaponci brothers
Mel Dragonkitty - Dr. Adelaide Montegu
Tezkat - Tezkat "Fang" Bloodfang
Ghostwish - Challam Tal'Rael Seme
Tipod - Bart Thom'sen
insidexml - Sikici Bapetos
Azlan - Locke "The Starfire Count" Pyrinost-Highwynd
llearch - Sir Cyril Whittington-Smythe the Fifth.
Keaton the Black Jackal - Keaton Jyraneth
Mechanisto - Dame Errant Josephina Hortence
Corgatha - William Di'hei
JamesCray - Johan Marek "Mak" Ledwinka
Boogyman - Jeremiah Ac'Gregor
Cogidubnus - Alexander Sharpe
Meany - Haien Messua
danman - Avram Kalugin
AmberCross - Chris Tellurian


If you ever need to reach me personally, or have a question you want to ask without it becoming general OOC knowledge, you can usually catch me on MSN, AIM, or through Boxy's IRC

PMs also work as well.

[WhiteFox]

Name: Gabriel Cartwright
Race: Rat
Age: Youth, exact age unknown.
Country of origin as well as current residence: Nhylamar
Physical Description: 4 feet tall, light but tough. Light brown fur, black eyes, strawberry blond hair.
-Gabriel and Holland

Equipment:
-"Holland"; short barrel, large bore pipe-gun. Crude, but effective. Uses a magical ignition system.
-Gun belt
-Walsh; Steam powered motorcycle. Burns oil, has enchanted components.
-Various mechanics tools
-Paperboys Cap
-Small brass pendant, a cog on a chain loop.

Magical Abilities:
Gabriel knows a few spells and some magic theory, but only enough to work with Nyhlamar engineering. He's picked up a little bits here and there.

History: Gabriel works as a freelance engineer and mechanic, and has spent most of his life crawling around machines. He is usually energetic and upbeat, and is a diligent and hard working young lad. He hasn't had any formal education, but has enough on the job training and experience to fix and maintain just about anything. Or at least make a good attempt.

Trivia: Though friendly and easy to work with, Gabriel spends more time around machines then people. He doesn't socialize much.
Gabriels steam powerd bike is named after the Walschaerts drive gear, which it is built with.

[Arroyo Milori]

Name: Arroyo M. Milori

Race: Being/Feline

Age: 23

Country of origin as well as current residence:
He was born in Nhylamar, but moved to Sevastia'Nyad to further his study of magic at age 18.

Physical Description:
He is a light gold yellow and orange lion. He has orange fluff on his chest, and orange bangs. He also has a lazy looking mullet that he considers a "Mane." His eyes are a green and his paw pads (along with his nose) are brown.
Here's a picture if you can't imagine him well in your head

Attire-wise, he wears a brown pilot's jacket, held together by a light tan waist wrap followed by a single thin belt. His pants are ordinary brown pants and he also wears leather boots. He also wears goggles, which are also protected by a guard visor that oddly doesn't disrupt his vision when wearing them. Though he wears the goggles on his forehead when it is not in use.

Equipment:
Rusted gold charm, Snake sword, two canteens (containing a quart of water each), and mana pressure cuffs on each arm. He also owns a steampowered boat that doubles as his house.

Magical Abilities (if applicable):
Water Manipulation- Arroyo's primary ability. He was born with this magical power to manipulate water with motions he makes. This ability of his is a key ability for his secondary powers, without it he wouldn't be able to further his studies with the magic he had and grow stronger with it.

Blood Manipulation- One of Arroyo's secondary abilities. This allows him to control the blood that runs through his veins. Most of the skills used in this field tend to be passive, such as living armor (using the blood in his veins, and the marrow in his bones he can take damage head-on as if he was wearing a suit of armor and ect.) He uses this ability as a case of emergency, due to the fact that using it as a weapon will cause a bit of stress to his body.

*symptoms may include blacking out, exaustion, and ect.

Steam Manipulation- One of Arroyo's secondary abilities. Not a very flexible ability, usually used for powering machines, convert water into steam (and vice versa) and create small illusions. He would rarely use this ability unless a situation calls for it.

Arroyo must be within 2 to 3 meters radius of water in order to manipulate it.

All

History: He Grew up in Nhylamar, and studied magic as a profession. He believed that technology and Magic will further our process evolution and understanding of life. However he felt that his skills were not tested further enough and transferred to an academy of higher learning for magic at age 18. Now at his current age, he is considered a spellsword and a traveler.

Trivia (if you so feel like it):
-Arroyo values his hair more than anything; cutting a single lock of hair will evoke his wrath.

-Arroyo is a casual Traveler. He is currently learning how to manipulate steam-powered machines with steam, seeing that Engineering caught his interest at his current age.

-His charm necklace is enchanted (as well as soulbound to Arroyo), turning into his snake sword "Brocken Spectre"

-Arroyo was a fast learner and well committed to practicing magic. His swordsmanship is near average for his age.

-The purpose of the mana cuffs was to train himself to use less mana when using his abilities. He had these when he was 18.

My bio : 3

[Lisky]

also, if you have any major questions, feel free to fire them off either here or via PM... i'm trying my best to be helpful, and i'll try and get to you as soon as i can...

Welcome aboard, players... when i get a few more profiles posted, i'll open up the IC and get this show on the road...

[Paladin Sheppard]

Name: Paige "Frosty" Nova Shep'Pard

Race: Succubus

Age: 580

Country of origin as well as current residence: Aeliesium(Birthplace)  Wolksheem Dukedom(Current location)

Physical Description:
Hair:    Light brown/blond
Eyes:    Brown
Fur Coloration:    Rusty Brown and Black
Appearance:    Standing at 5'10" Paige is fairly tall, slender and busty, striking in her looks bordering on gorgeous (And damn well knows it). She has muscle mass but its suits her form well. Her long hair rests at the middle of her back in a ponytail or untied depending on her mood. Her black fur markings are her neck to groin, forearms, calves and feet, the tip of her tail and her cheeks.  Generally seen wearing a black padded leather catsuit, with a bomber jacket, thigh high adamanite capped boots, and a pair of flying goggles.

Equipment:
-Frostmorne & Arctic Touch: Paige's enchanted short swords. Appear to be made out of blue ice but far far stronger than any being made steel.

-A .60 Cal 6 shot revolver with a 10' barrel and a wand mounted underneath, however the wand only projects a beam of green light. (Can be swapped out for other wands as needed)

-Aeliseium AeroFighters  A-16E Spitfire Fighter/Bomber (modified)
                -8 Disposable Wand Self-loading Systems (30 shot wands with 10 reloads per system)
                -4 Unguided Anti-armor rockets
                (Note: like all fighters is fairly fragile. Relies on speed and maneuverability for defense)

Magical Abilities (if applicable): Paige is  fairly powerful in frost and ice magics, so much so she enchanted her own swords without using a soulstone as most cubi weapons are.

History: Up until a week ago Paige had been the second in command of a up until now rather successful Air Pirate band. After a near flawless heist of a Aeliseium arms shipment the band was unfortunate enough to stumble into a Ahnk' Ator long range patrol while transferring the cargo to their own armored zeppelin. The resulting explosion destroyed all of the involved Zeppelins, and most of the fighters in the brawl. Paige's A-16 Spitfire was almost swatted into the ground but her flying skills enabled her to escape the fate of her companions and allowed the succubus to escape the surviving Ahnk' Ator craft. Since then she has been sitting drinking or sprawled unconscious in bar at the aerodrome in Meadhall, part of the small free state of the Wolksheem Dukedom.


Trivia (if you so feel like it):

Paige's goggles allow her to spot targets at great distances, and gives her a view of what is behind her as well.

Her clan mark is on her right ankle and as she poses as a being most of the time is mistaken as a tattoo.

Paige's catsuit acts a g-suit when in her fighter, allowing her to pull far tighter G-forces than most pilots.

[WhiteFox]

Hey, Arroyo. Guess I'm not the only one going from the tower to the ballroom.

Reads bio.

(Jesus christ it's a lion!} 

(don'tnitpic,don'tnitpick,don'tnitpick)

...Gold doesn't rust or tarnish.

[SquirrelWizard]

Name: Stephan Oralis
Race: Squirrel (Cubi)
Age: 23
Country of origin as well as current residence: Nhylamar
Physical Description: 6'0" 160 lb, athletic build, clan marking is on the back of his right hand so he typically wears gloves to cover it. no head wings yet. Black Hair, brownish orange coat, black bat like wings. typical attire is brown slacks, white dress shirt, slate gray vest, and Brown Long Coat. He wears a black bowler hat when he's outside. He always wears gloves to cover his clan mark (see Noctali Clan below).
Equipment:
- "Caster" Flare Gun: Stephan originally designed to allow for targeted light or smoke effects on stage, after it proved too powerful to use safely, he re purposed it to allow him to use pre-enchanted magical ammunition to cause magical effects over a small area (IE Blinding Flash of Light, Smoke Clouds, Nauseating Miasma, Instant freezing of Water.)
- Specialized Toolkit: Stephan carries a kit that contains a combination of lock smiths tools, mechanics tools, and watchmaker's tools. It doesn't contain all the tools of its respective sub kits, but it has the ones he uses to maintain his shows equipment.
- Revolver - 6 shot double action.
- Mary's Special - Small, Concealable, single shot pistol. with .41 slug.

Magical Abilities:

Stephan's Father taught him several spells in regards to his clan, but also spells to help him with the family profession as a stage actor.

-Stephan can teleport himself near instantaneously within line of sight
-Using the same spell he can teleport other people to or from him, and he can teleport himself with one additional person, again line of sight only and it takes a couple of seconds to complete the spell though. The strain of these spells is minimal allowing a couple "blinks" per hour with no real strain, "blinking" an additional person applies additional strain. (this is a benign teleport). Also, blinking in this manner is disorienting, and nausiating to those who are not used to it. Stephan is used to the disorientation, and as such he doesn't suffer any ill effects unless he has to blink more than twice in rapid succession.
- Finally, by spending time to study and form a mental image of a location, he can later teleport to the location as long as he is not too far away, and takes much longer to cast.

*note regarding the teleport* the spell itself doesn't transfer inertia, meaning that the spell can be used while falling or being thrown. While the spell doesn't transfer inertia, as long as a person doesn't become disoriented or isn't teleported to a location that would prevent them from following through, it shouldn't break their stride.

-Stephan has access to a small extra dimensional space, 1 yard on each side, to access this space he has to conceal his hand from observers, typically using his coat or hat. The size of the opening used to access this space dictates how big of an item he can place/retrieve from the space. There is enough air in the space for a relatively small creature to survive for one hour (again restricted by the size of the opening). There is no gravity in the space, which means that the contents cannot just be dumped out. (it has a rough weight limit of 300lb before it starts to become a strain on Stephan's mind)
-He was also taught a spell to make his back wings disappear.

Apart from these specific spells, Stephan has some moderate magical ability to conjure up "effects" which ranges from fog, ethereal lights, acrid smoke, freezing mist, and so forth. His knowledge of purely offensive magic is rather limited (except he is competent with a lightning spell, but that was due to it being used as part of a stage show.)

Stephan is adept at weaving enchantments into materials, but less so at mechanics. Though he has occasionally made something new (at least to him), most of his mechanics experiences is tending to the current machinery on his cart and stage props.

History: Stephan has been traveling around Nhylamar and Sevastia'Nyad as a traveling illusionist. His show is pretty much standard though he tries to shake things up with an electrical flair. He travels with his stepsister Mary who offers her services as a tinker, and occasionally designs strange and wondrous, but ultimately dangerous, devices that sometimes get used in the show. Mary is Stephan's only family, as his father mysteriously disappeared when he was 16 which led to the declining health of his mother, and eventual death, at the age of 20. Stephan is by no means a person who seeks out combat for pleasure or profit; but, if pressed, will typically use his abilities to change the direction of battle, either by misdirection, confusion, or other sorts of arcane trickery.

Personality: Stephan is fairly outgoing, personable, and proud of his abilities. He tries to avoid conflict as much as possible, and if something were to come up he tries to talk his way out of it rather than fighting. While he is a showman, he tries to avoid revealing the fact that he is a cubi. As Mary is his only family alive, he tends to be protective of her, sometimes to her irritation.

Trivia: Stephan's father told him that he was a cubi, but the extent of Stephan's knowledge on Cubi is only what he remembers from his father, or what the locals speculate. Much of what Stephan has heard has led him to question whether he wants to be a Cubi or not.

Just to give a bit of background on Stephan's stepsister...

********
*note: Stephan is the character I'm playing, Mary is an extra situational character that might show up from time to time depending on where we go.*

Name: Mary Oralis
Race: Rabbit Being
Age: 20
Country of origin as well as current residence: Nhylamar
Physical Description: 5'4" 115 lb, slight build. Long White Hair (typically pulled back in a pony tail), Gray coat with white "gloves". Typical attire is a modest dress and a wide brimmed hat. While tinkering she opts for overalls and a long sleeve shirt, or boiler suit depending on what she's working on.
Equipment:
- "Old Man Winter" - born during one of Mary's design frenzies, OMW is a combination of a liquid coolant system, and a liquid injection system. Both spectacularly overengineered. The weapon is about the size of a rifle and works in two phases, first it launches a stream of highly pressurized water about 20-25 feet in distance, much like a modern day squirt gun, second it magically freezes the water into ice. The freezing process doesn't cause any damage itself, though having a limb, or machinery encased in ice for any period of time could lead to hypothermia or mechanical failure. The Freezing process affects not only the water from OMW, but also any water the OMW's spray hits during the freeze phase (note freshwater only). The resulting ice from the gun is non-magical, and subject to its environment. Repeated usage of OMW adds to the thickness of the ice on the target. Without a backpack unit, the OMW has about two shots worth of water. To Freeze the water, the gun uses special ammunition cartridges enchanted with freezing power, Mary typically gets Stephan to enchant the ammunition since he's a more powerful spellcaster.

-Toolkit Satchel: Mary has a set of common mechanics tools she carries around in a leather satchel.

Magical Abilities: just enough to do material enhancements for most Nhylamar tech, and am munitions.

History: Mary has no memories of her real parents as she was found orphaned on the doorstep of the Oralis residence, and regarded her step parents as her real parents, and Stephan as her brother. Lately she's been traveling with Stephan, assisting with the various show mechanics, occasionally stepping in as an assistant. When she isn't helping with the show, she also runs a tinker shop, either for a profit or bartering for rare materials or foreign tech. Mary can repair most Nhylamar tech given the time, materials, and tools to do so. She is fascinated by all of the various technologies of the other factions, and will try to make off with any she can get her hands on, but those opportunities are few and far between. Her knowledge of outside tech is second hand, and she can typically identify parts of a machine, though she may not have the knowledge, materials, or capability to repair it.

Personality: Mary is a cheerful soul and she likes meeting new people, especially those who share an intrest in mechanics. During her moods she becomes completely obsessed with her project, often brushing people off. Mary isn't much of a fighter, she can be handy with a wrench but she prefers to avoid combat as much as possible. Mary's only family is Stephan, and she sometimes rails under his protection. She feels that he sometimes spends more time watching over her than living up to his full potential.

Periodically she gets the urge to design something, and typically works in a frenzy until a prototype is designed. During these urges, its not unusual for her to be found asleep at her bench surrounded by designs and parts. These designs are typically wondrous in nature, but inherently dangerous to the user as in her fervor to get the idea down on paper she forgets certain safety measures. If a design is worth keeping she often has to go back and work in the safeties to make it usable.

Trivia: Mary likes to act a little naive so that people underestimate her. It helps people feel more comfortable around her, and gives her an advantage should they underestimate her.
She also likes to keep a cheerful outlook on life.


Teh Wagon

Stephan and Mary travel the countryside in two large wagons, both wagons are powered by magic engines though typically they just have one engine running, and drag the second cart in reverse behind them (they do it this way as it allows them to power up the other cart's engine and back up if they need to.) Even though the carts are magically powered, neither can achieve any great speed, and are about as fast as most other carts in Nhylymar. One wagon has Mary's workbench and is their machine storage for the show, the other cart serves as a sleeper cart.


Noctali Clan (Clan of Smoke and Mirrors).
Members: 28
Affinity: Amazement and Confusion.
Mark: A blue arcane looking eye.
Clan Leader Status: Unknown, Noctali (a Ferret Cubi) has died and come back to life on numerous occasion, and seems to appear and disappear as he sees fit. No one person is sure of his status.
Quirks: Noctali clan members like to put on a show. Everything they do draws attention, either to them or away from their true intention. Whenever a Noctali teleports he always leaves and arrives in a puff of smoke. Also, the tentacles of Noctali Cubi will randomly switch from heads to no-head tentacles each time they bring them out. There is no pattern with this, and two Noctali cubi can have both tentacle types between them at the same time. The status of their wing tentacles doesn't prevent them from shaping them into tentacle heads though.
Clan Behavior: Members of the Noctali Clan range from entertainers, spies, and adventurers. They thrive in any situation in which they play to an audience by wowing them with feats of trickery, athleticism or luck. As such, the Noctali clan often sees itself as a clan of individuals instead of a whole. It is not unusual to see two clan members butt heads trying to outdo each other; though this air of competition quickly evaporates should an interloper join in. Politically the clan members are free to choose their own, though occasionally the clan will weigh in on specific issues as a whole.

[Tapewolf]

Hmm, I've been poring over this for a few days and I must admit I'm kind of tempted.  I might watch for a bit and think about whether I can adapt one of my characters to the setting or something.

[Lisky]

If there's anything in particular you're looking at, i can answer questions here, via PM, or over MSN/AIM, any would work... Also, glad there's some interest there, Tape

[Sunblink]

I'm in. I am so in. I just need to figure out how to adapt my own character.

Steampunk <3

[Arroyo Milori]

Hey, Arroyo. Guess I'm not the only one going from the tower to the ballroom.

Reads bio.

(Jesus christ it's a lion!} 

(don'tnitpic,don'tnitpick,don'tnitpick)

...Gold doesn't rust or tarnish.

likeIhaventheardthatbeforeelohel

I was thinking of someway that it shows age, it has the color but that doesn't mean that it is Gold. I wanted to describe the color of it, for all we know its gold colored metal. : U

[Tapewolf]

I'm in. I am so in. I just need to figure out how to adapt my own character.

Steampunk <3

Well, if Keaton's in the running and Pal is in the running, I think that settles it.  I have to give it a try, at least.  Now I just need to choose between Jakob, Niall and Daryil 

Presumably we're looking at a technology level somewhere around the Thief games or Perdido Street Station where electricity is not commonly used, with magic acting as a partial substitute?

[Lisky]

that's about right, Electricity is semi-common in Aeliseium, but, it's usage is almost strictly military... it's still in an unstable and difficult to control stage, and as such, not fit for civilian use... yet...  without a steady flow, you've got uses such as tesla cannon which build a massive charge, then discharge at a target via hair-thin copper wire, but the voltage output varies greatly.   In other countries, magic more than makes up for the lack of electrical power...

[Tapewolf]

Are 'Cubi free to go around winged, or are they forced into hiding as is often the case in DMFA proper?

[SquirrelWizard]

I think that in Voethfel, Sevastia'Nyad, and Nhylamar cubis are accepted, though cubis in Sevastia'Nyad and Nhylamar may opt to hide their wings so as to avoid immediately anouncing their lineage, and to not aggitate the populace (I mean cubis are still soul sucking creatures, even your most accepting being is going to be a bit wary when they see one.) I cant really guess about how cubis work in Ahnk' Ator, though due to their outlook and composistion they likely kill cubis on sight. The Aeliseium basically kills anything that doesn't look like a being on sight.

though keep in mind there is an advantage with hiding your heritage and looking like a being, as people will typically treat you as a being, which you can turn to your advantage. I'd reckon any cubi with a couple of brain cells to rub together would have at least acknowledged this fact (though it doesn't mean they hold true to it)

edit: This is just my interpretation from the info Bas posted, he has the final say so in it.

[Tapewolf]

cubis in Sevastia'Nyad and Nhylamar may opt to hide their wings so as to avoid immediately anouncing their lineage, and to not aggitate the populace (I mean cubis are still soul sucking creatures, even your most accepting being is going to be a bit wary when they see one.)

Yes, but so are Demons and Angels.  In fact probably more so, since 'Cubi have a vested interest in not killing people (dead people tend not to have emotions).

[Lisky]

Squirrel got it pretty much as i would explain it... in any of the creature nations, they'd be accepted regardless of form... as for the general guidelines, the insectis/being relationship in Ahnk' Ator is somewhat strained as is, creatures flaunting their power is a big no-no, and generally speaking, except with a rare few exceptions, the offending creature is attacked on sight...

There is a similar case with Aeliseium, except there is religion also backing the destruction of creatures... for rough figures, in Aeliseium 50% of the total population are completely indoctrinated with the religion, 30% don't trust creatures, they'll be passive aggressive, 15% are completely neutral/apathetic, and 5% have sympathy for, or are magic users and or creatures in hiding.

I could go on, but a lot will be covered over the course of the first few posts IC when i get enough characters to open up...

... As for hiding wings, there's not much point outside of the two countries who actively hate creatures, in fact, it's often times an easy way to advertise for a job... flaunt your wings, show off a bit, and perhaps you get a job enchanting materials, or some other easy, yet high-paying job that requires magic... it depends how one wants to be viewed... Also note that demons tend to be arrogant and flashy, they like making shows of their power, which is all the more reason to have their wings, horns and demonic abilities on display... flaunting how powerful they are... Angels are cunning and manipulative... they also have access to creature to being amulets if need be, along with morph magic...

That said... I think an important note to add that's completely off topic: the availability of souls to powered machines, along with other less reputable uses, should one have the coin to afford them.  In Voethfel, Sevastia'Nyad and Nhylamar the death-penalty goes beyond simply ending the life of the body, committing acts of murder, rape or otherwise horrible deeds that would put you on death row also involve the forfeiture of your soul... your soul is then either used for science, or sold to the highest bidder at local auctions... Soul-stones are reusable/refillable... that note is their for multiple reasons, and is something to keep in mind...

[Tapewolf]

That said... I think an important note to add that's completely off topic: the availability of souls to powered machines, along with other less reputable uses, should one have the coin to afford them.  In Voethfel, Sevastia'Nyad and Nhylamar the death-penalty goes beyond simply ending the life of the body, committing acts of murder, rape or otherwise horrible deeds that would put you on death row also involve the forfeiture of your soul... your soul is then either used for science, or sold to the highest bidder at local auctions... Soul-stones are reusable/refillable... that note is their for multiple reasons, and is something to keep in mind...

Yes.  I was quietly wondering about that.  Truth be told, now you've said that it's a bit of a turn off, I might be a bit too soft-hearted to really want to be part of a society where that happens, so to speak.  We'll see how I feel about it and I'll work on a character sheet, but it has raised a big question mark I have to say.

We may end up with my character ranting about the injustice of it, because I'm not the greatest fan of the death penalty and what you're describing is far, far worse  

Since their civilisation uses the souls of sentient people (as opposed to Morrowind etc, where any old animal will work), there's going to be a significant demand and you've basically recreated the scenario in A gift from Earth and the A.R.M. series by Larry Niven, where people are given the death penalty for jaywalking, speeding, running a red light so that their organs can be harvested.

Is Pal aware of that, FWIW?  Has he thought it through, since someone who engages in piracy is going to lose their soul as soon as they're caught.  Unless there's a taboo about using Creature souls (and Beings get the short end of the stick), Creatures would be especially prized since it's implied their souls have substantially more energy than a Being's would.

Also, what happens if the executed person is later found to be innocent?  Do the judge, jury, executioner and plaintiff also lose their souls for obliterating an innocent person?

As for the question of whether a 'Cubi character in a Creature area would go around openly, I guess I'm still none the wiser there.  If their souls are worth more on the auction they'd obviously go around as a Being to avoid ambulance-chasers who want an excuse to de-soul them.
If Creatures tend to get off the hook (a'la that thing about white people usually avoiding the death penalty), which is actually the case in DMFA proper (see DMFA 287), then they'd want to flaunt it for exactly the same reason.

In DMFA, 'Cubi hide their wings because they're often persecuted (sometimes with good reason, of course).  However that also makes them be seen as untrustworthy and deceivers.  What I was thinking in terms of was having a character who makes no bones about the fact that he's 'Cubi (in a Creature territory) in order to try and say 'I have nothing to hide'.  Obviously if doing this poses a threat to their own lives, they wouldn't do it.  That's really what I was trying to figure out.

EDIT:

Now the flipside of my screed about the souls is that you've come up with a scenario that has got me on edge emotionally, and I usually write pretty damn well when it's something I'm passionate about
Either way, I'd be interested to see what other players have to say about the idea of their characters potentially losing their immortal souls.  Keaton's characters, for instance, invariably have a long history of crimes, and if I go with this I'd probably have to cut out a lot of evil things Jakob would do and get away with in DMFA proper.

[Tipod]

Also, what happens if the executed person is later found to be innocent?  Do the judge, jury, executioner and plaintiff also lose their souls for obliterating an innocent person?

Have you ever played King of Dragon Pass? It probably works like how trials did there: you conduct a divination and hope your ancestors/gods/oracles don't have some petty grudge against the accused

[Tapewolf]

Have you ever played King of Dragon Pass? It probably works like how trials did there: you conduct a divination and hope your ancestors/gods/oracles don't have some petty grudge against the accused

Heh.  I would like to think that they used a panel of 'Cubi from different clans to scan the accused's thoughts or something like that, and only used this punishment for exceptionally severe crimes (e.g. stealing someone else's soul).  However, supply and demand...

EDIT:  Do they have a concept of a 'blood price', whereby you can pay restitution instead of losing your soul?


New question.  Internal combustion engines.  Do they have those?  Assuming traffic offences don't cost you your soul, I'm kind of wondering about doing some kind of biker character, but obviously if motorcycles are not common it's going to make things a little awkward.  Unless the guy designed it himself, of course.
What, for instance, are the engines used in the Zeppelins Pal mentioned?  Do they have heavier-than-air flight, which is difficult to make work with steam?

[Arcalane]

Yes.  I was quietly wondering about that.  Truth be told, now you've said that it's a bit of a turn off, I might be a bit too soft-hearted to really want to be part of a society where that happens, so to speak.  We'll see how I feel about it and I'll work on a character sheet, but it has raised a big question mark I have to say.

We may end up with my character ranting about the injustice of it, because I'm not the greatest fan of the death penalty and what you're describing is far, far worse  

Since their civilisation uses the souls of sentient people (as opposed to Morrowind etc, where any old animal will work), there's going to be a significant demand and you've basically recreated the scenario in A gift from Earth and the A.R.M. series by Larry Niven, where people are given the death penalty for jaywalking, speeding, running a red light so that their organs can be harvested.

Is Pal aware of that, FWIW?  Has he thought it through, since someone who engages in piracy is going to lose their soul as soon as they're caught.  Unless there's a taboo about using Creature souls (and Beings get the short end of the stick), Creatures would be especially prized since it's implied their souls have substantially more energy than a Being's would.

That said... I think an important note to add that's completely off topic: the availability of souls to powered machines, along with other less reputable uses, should one have the coin to afford them.  In Voethfel, Sevastia'Nyad and Nhylamar the death-penalty goes beyond simply ending the life of the body, committing acts of murder, rape or otherwise horrible deeds that would put you on death row also involve the forfeiture of your soul... your soul is then either used for science, or sold to the highest bidder at local auctions... Soul-stones are reusable/refillable... that note is their for multiple reasons, and is something to keep in mind...

I think you're overreacting/overcomparing things a bit, Tape. Jaywalking is not an "otherwise horrible deed". Unless your name is Larry Niven, clearly.

The power available and actual number of uses are a significant impact on their demand. It depends on how flexible they are. Are the stones just batteries that can be used for any old magical purpose, or are they only really usable by highly experienced mages/spellcasters/artificers? Is the power you can get from your average joe worth going through the required rituals, if there are any?

[Tapewolf]

I think you're overreacting/overcomparing things a bit, Tape. Jaywalking is not an "otherwise horrible deed". Unless your name is Larry Niven, clearly.

Piracy will almost certainly be on the list, though...

Well, actually the point was that if they're used as batteries for desk lamps, or for powering cars, they will need a continuous supply of lots of them, and the threshold needed to take your organs/soul drops until littering has the death penalty.  And only people like me complain because most people want their desk lamps

But yes, I may well be overreacting a bit (partly because this comes as I'm putting the finishing touches on a song which is very firmly anti-death penalty).

That said, which are considered extremely terrible deeds on Earth seem to be par for the course in DMFA proper.  Rape, for instance is taught in SAIA.  Since there are a lot of Beings and not many Creatures it's statistically rare and not many people bat an eyelid unless it happens inside their territory.

The power available and actual number of uses are a significant impact on their demand. It depends on how flexible they are. Are the stones just batteries that can be used for any old magical purpose, or are they only really usable by highly experienced mages/spellcasters/artificers? Is the power you can get from your average joe worth going through the required rituals, if there are any?

Quite.  This is something that Bas will need to clarify.  Though the way I see it:

1. In DMFA proper, your average Joe can light a desk lamp at the very least
2. In Bas' world, they use it to power vehicles and gadgets
3. If the average Joe can only provide enough power to run a lamp and nothing else, then they're definitely going to be after Creatures to keep their vehicles running, which again comes back to the wing-hiding thing.

EDIT:

...of course the big question is how long a given soul will continue to power said widget - if the market for them is fairly saturated, or they are hard to come by and the governments haven't lowered the threshold to increase the supply (and profits), then soul executions are going to be a fairly rare event.

[Lisky]

Military campaigns are also a good source of souls, along with raids... your average joe can provide 10,000 years of fuel for lamp... or, a few weeks of power for something really big.  The soul executions are pretty straight-forward, and given the creature/being level of things, it's a bit unfair to beings, but, rape is by class level... there's a serious penalty, but rape and murder on your own social class level or higher is what indicts a soul-execution penalty.  Rape in general requires an ID... Which, if we're talking Cubi, means they probably won't be in their main form.

Nhylamar is by far the highest user of souls between the 3 magic using super-powers.  They require roughly 35-40 new souls a week... given that steampunk is industrial revolution era, there is a population boom in the lower class... who tends to be the ones who get the short end of the stick already...

Punitive raids are Nhylamar's primary source of souls.  Sending a few creatures into being held territory, collect a small village's souls, then head back.  Above and beyond the collection of an enemy country's population's souls, there are "black market" merchants, they tend to come from Voethfel, as the concentration of creatures there is high... and when there are deaths they often times produce creature souls... or, the stones are filled during raids on being held territory... Either way, selling souls is dangerous (especially if you get caught in the production end) though very lucrative.

As for the act of piracy within a nation's border, that is on that list... however many pirates do enjoy the relative safety of Voethfel's border in exchange for not raiding Voethfel's cities and towns... if a pirate is caught in the act, or fleeing the scene, anyone operating as a pirate, crew or captain, they're all sentenced to soul-execution.

[Tapewolf]

Thanks, that is very helpful.  I believe it answers most of my questions regarding the soul-execution business.  I'd still be interested to know about internal combustion engines, but apart from that, I think I have most of what I need to write the character sheet, assuming I can figure out suitable locations for my character's past and present.  For those who read 'Future History', I'm seriously considering using a version of Sethir.

One more question - have you specified a starting location for the characters, or are we all going to get a summons when it starts?

[Lisky]

you'll start out at different locations and be collected... but suffice to say, their is a definitive "bad-guy"  that you'll be trying to uncover/ discover in the first chapter

also note that your first interactions will probably be on rather unfriendly terms, simply because of the current political system

[Gabi]

My character is in!

Name: Anabelle Clemens ("Annie" for friends)
Race: Capybara being
Age: 22
Country of origin as well as current residence: Nhylamar, although her family came from Aeliseium.
Physical Description: Medium height, robust build (a little on the chubby side when compared to most other species, yet not as fat as a cow). Chocolate fur, dark brown eyes and straight, shoulder-length reddish brown hair.
Equipment: healing kit (herbs, thread, needles, bandages, towels, pots, some tools), general purpose knife, rope, clothing, water, some travel rations, a wooden wand (to channel and aim spells when physical contact with the target is not possible), cooking implements, a music box and a bar of soap.
Magical Abilities: Healing, mending things, brewing of certain potions, tagging objects so that they can be easily tracked, some air magic. She also posseses general knowledge of nature and non-magical healing techniques.
History: She comes from a long line of magic users who practiced the arts secretly in Aeliseum (usually doing magical favors to a circle of trustworthy neighbors, or covertly using magic to help in their day jobs). They used bening magic and thus managed to stay out of trouble for some time, but eventually rumors started spreading and they were forced to escape to Nhylamar.
Annie was born in Kerantan, a major city in the heart of Nhylamar, but moved to Lamylar - a small village on a relatively safe border - where she has been living for the last two years, working as a village witch. The reason was that her magic skills were not so helpful back in her old home (as Creatures were more readily available), and she didn't want to spend the rest of her life as a housewife (especially since the only guy who proposed to her was a jerk).
Trivia: She had some target practice with her dad as a child, but she's never shot a living target. Some of the rumors about her family included the presence of Creature blood; Annie hasn't heard of any Creatures in her ancestry, but doesn't completely rule out the possibility as her knowledge of her own family tree only goes back a little over a century. Other facts about her may come up in the game.

[Tapewolf]

Okay, Seth has been approved, so here are his specs:

Name: Sethir Clandover
Race: Wolf incubus
Age: 600
Country of origin as well as current residence:  Nhylamar

Physical Description:
Sethir is a white wolf of trim build with dark hair, red eyes and black, feathered wings.
Like most 'Cubi he has a natural aura of attractiveness unless he deliberately works on hiding it.
Appearance-wise he tends to stick to his base form, and reveals his headwings where it is safe and polite to do so.
As a rule he keeps his backwings hidden for convenience, since he usually wears a black, two-piece racing suit.

Picture
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k216/tapewolf/projectfuture/SethirSketch2-33.png
(Yes, it's grey, still trying to get the black version to look right)

Equipment:
Sethir generally wears a black leather racing suit as mentioned.  Possessions he is likely to have to hand include:
* A longsword which he usually keeps on his back for self-defence.
* Small toolkit - wrench, spanners etc
* A Stirling-powered motorcycle of his own design

Magical Abilities:
Usual 'Cubi abilities.  Good at short-range telekinesis, say 1-2 ft... handy for retrieving bolts that fell into an engine, for example.  Able to cast fireballs and heal minor injuries, otherwise relatively minor attacks etc.  He relies more on his sword and tentacles for that kind of thing.
Sethir's emotional affinities are based around justice and excitement.

History:
Sethir was born in Nhylamar, but moved to Voethfel during his youth for political reasons.  He stayed there for a few years before attending SAIA.  Afterwards he returned to Voethfel where he did some freelance mercenary work to earn a comfortable living.  He began to study the art of engineering, but despite his reluctance to return to Nhylamar he felt compelled to do so in order to take advantage of their higher technology level (the alternative of studying in a hostile, Being-controlled territory was even worse).
He currently runs a small machine-shop where - when not doing work for clients - he has been experimenting with the use of clockwork and Stirling engines as a means of propelling vehicles.

Trivia:
* Sethir is vehemently opposed to the idea of stealing souls as a punishment, and it was this which caused him to leave Nhylamar as a student.
* He wishes to return to Voethfel or another more enlightened area at some point, but the combination of the war and having sunk most of his savings into the garage does not leave him in a good position to move out at present.
* Sethir's Being father and Succubus mother are both dead.

[WhiteFox]

* A Stirling-powered motorcycle of his own design

Woo-hoo! We can race. 

[Tapewolf]

Woo-hoo! We can race. 

Heh.  I hadn't actually noticed that.  Steam seemed a bit cumbersome, but a Stirling engine has the advantage that it's (A) 1816 technology and (B) can actually run a relatively stock car.  Whether anyone has actually used them in motorcycles is something I intend to look up.

[techmaster-glitch]

   Well, this -is- a steampunk setting, which by definition means that steam technology has been cranked up beyond any level that ever actually existed...and while you are from a nation that uses tech not as impossibly sophisticated as Aelisium stuff, you do have the benefit of magic enchantments to pick up the slack 

But...hmm. *looks up Stirling engine* Ooh, that's neat..