In the land of Orrosta, the old gods are stirring once more. The wrath cycle, a never ending war for control over the planet, starts anew. Drakkaru, (the god of dominion) thought to be dead by the other gods, is nearly free of the prison which has bound him for so long, and the Bellatists, (those who worship him), are gathering their strength. Cultists, full of hatred and malice, or perhaps simply stupidity, perform dark rituals of void, allowing for horrid creatures to escape their confinement. The horsemen of death and bloodshed ravage the land, leaving little but destruction. New elemental lords emerge, ready to consume the world. Yet, some good does stand. Mechaine (The god of machines, innovation and commerce), prepares the tin heads and men of iron, to strike out against the corruptive forces. Selene and the sons of Solantis work to uphold virtue and honor in the hearts of men. In this endless struggle, small forces can tip the balance. Can a ragtag group of adventurers discover the true nature of the world, and finally put an end to the wrath cycle? This is a very loosely structured sandbox adventure, set in a world of my making. The sky is the limit for what can be done. If you wish to join, just give me a brief overview of your character, and we can work to make it in line with the lore of the world. I intend to properly start in roughly 3 days, so ensure you submit a character before then if you want to join. I did attempt to do this once before, but 4chan was hacked, so here is attempt two. (Another note. If you wish to play a spellcaster, depending on the spellcaster, you will need to put in a lot of legwork into making spells, since some magic is very open ended.Also, when I say sandbox, I mean that nothing is going to happen unless you try to initiate it, so if you do not want a world where you have to instigate things, this is not the quest for you. There are plenty of storylines available, but you have to prod around a bit to find em.)
>>6295620It seems neat, but I have some questions to gather about what our starting power level is like. Will spells be like starting a fire, making water, and do like an arrows worth of damage? Then what will our ceiling be like and our growth to becoming better casters? Could a martial artist to become an unaging mountain monk? Can a weapon wielder enhance viva magic or some other source to better stand up to the enemy? If not, will basic soldiers as least be useful? I wouldn't main playing a trader of sorts with no magic if I can still do something if I need to fight. Depend on others I would be also down to try playing a cleric of Mechaine. Going around spending faith like they are the omnissiah and use lightning control (motive Force) to power machines to aid the party or drain the energy out of the enemy.
>>6295620question one: Do airships exist in this world or would it fit more thematically for regular steam ships question two: what races are available?
>>6296005>What will our starting power be like?In terms of starting power, I am thinking along the lines of a veteran solider, an inexperienced mage, or a fairly average inventor. The upper end of power depends heavily on the kind of martial or caster in question. For instance, a Bellatist inquisitor, on the high end, can survive decapitation and capture fortresses on their own. They are nearly invulnerable killing machines that need not sleep or eat, and boast incredible strength and resources. Alternatively, someone who was part of the order of Pendrake would probably peak at the ability to solo a standard vampire. They have a lot of gadgets and technical knowhow, but they are still just people.Looking at casters, there is once again a wide variance. A shaman would probably peak with some decent abilities, perhaps to start a storm or cause a wildfire or flood. Meanwhile, the strongest mages or a wrathmonger could torch a whole city in an afternoon. The difficulty of the campaign was going to vary on what the general vibe of what people wanted to go for. With that said, I always like running lower fantasy campaigns with people struggling against great odds, using their wit to survive, rather then pulling magic out of a hat. >What magic?The magic in question depends on the kind of magic user. The vast majority of magic is divine in nature. It comes for priests who do rituals for the favor of their deities. This can range from the priests of Selene, who are great healers, to wrathmonger, who use rage to summon fire of all sorts. The two exceptions to this are alchemy and wizards/mages. Alchemy is separate from any divine influence. Meanwhile, wizards use the power of the ley lines for their spells. Depending on the school of wizardry, they can freeze men's hearts, conger storms, use fire, or in vary rare cases, even raise the dead. Regarding Mechaine's magics, they often revolve around machines (obviously). However, his magic also influences contracts and runes for augmenting weapons. There are various ways to make magic weapons, and some creatures are nearly invulnerable without magic weapons. Dwarven runesmiths and Mechaine's priesthood are the most adept at runecraft. Lighting is more the domain of shamans and wizards (though an arc gun would be in line for mechaine, if ya still wanna do that). The only contract magic stronger then that of Mechaine's is drakkaru's. >Can a solider become a monk?Yes. They are known as the followers of the soul forged, and use their own spiritual energies to enhance their combat abilities. They focus on improving themselves, mind, body, and soul. They dedicate a great deal of time to training, but also scholarship, meditation and the arts.
>>6296005>Are basic soldiers useful? Depends on the area and the solider. In the northern mountain kingdoms, most veterans could probably take on a troll if they had a good weapon for it. Most civilizations are in high medieval or early iron age, but the northern mountain kingdoms are early modern, and Mechaine's domain is early industrial revolution.If you want to know more about any individual thing, lemme know. I cannot give an encyclopedic breakdown of everything in one post, but there are answers to almost any question.
>>6296033>Do airships exist?Yes, or they will in about 6 months igt from when the adventure starts. Mechaine has been working on them for a war he foresees on the horizon. Airships would probably not be common, but a steamship would be near the southeast. >What races are available.Only one race in Orrosta has a soul, which is to say free will. That is human. If you want to play something else, that is fine, but you will have to model your behavior around stereotypes. With that said, there are moon elves, high elves, humans, dwarves, gnomes, tinheads (steampunk cyborgs), men of iron (diesel punk robots), some vampires, swarmlings (insectoid like creatures, katarazie (crystal creatures which can discharge electricity and feed on emotions), fey, and Slavs. There are a lot more races, but they are decidedly evil, so they would be off limits unless there was an overwhelming desire to do an evil run.
>>6296005I realized I never actually answered your question, so I am going to rectify that. Starting power mage would be able to throw some fireballs, freeze smaller creatures, start fires, things of that sort. Their power is geographically dependent, and if they get interrupted mid cast, the results can be.... very bad for everyone involved.For a solider, think of a veteran with a crossbow, a halberd, and perhaps some gadget or basic firearm. In terms of growth, that depends on the magic user in question. For instance, a disciple of Mechaine would gain power through experimentation, field testing, magical contracts, or just being a savvy businessman. Rune crafting specifically is just a function of experience, like smithing would be.
>>6296064Cool.>>6296065Thanks for the info and answers.>>6296071>swarmlings Yo gotta become the zerg and build up the hive. With the behavior around stereotypes, I am imagining doing quest for like a cup of sugar or something simple to grow the swarm in some way.>>6296076Cool. I got a few ideas building up. I am thinking of maybe going for trader by day and inventor as a hobby depending on how skills get deal with. If it is better to focus starting out I think I will start with being a trader. Since it's good to have someone to help fund the party and build connections. Also doesn't hurt to have funding to research with. I bet those contracts can be a good way to buy time if used well. Assuming we can get the targets signing or make good deals with powerful people.
>>6296071>Im on mobile so I gotta namefagWould there be any downsides to being a tinhead vet and tuning myself up, for mechaine
>>6296130Tinheads do have many advantages over normal people. Possessing both biological and mechanical augmentations, they can specialize far more then the average person. Beyond this, tinheads feel minimal pain, need little food, rest, or water. They primarily make up the armed and policing forces of Mechaine's nation, though they sometimes act as bodyguards as well. However, tinheads act autistic to an extreme. A large amount of their brain was replaced with gears and mechanical parts. While this does make them highly resistant to corruption, it also means they have a near obsession with whatever they were designed to do. If you made a tinhead to hunt wolves, it would learn every single thing possible about wolves, study them in extreme detail, then exterminate them in the most efficient way possible, regardless of collateral. They also tend to be very ineffective when it comes to interacting with normal people, outside of those made specifically as diplomats. With this said, while the biological augmentations cannot be changed, the mechanical augmentations can. Find someone adept in the mechanical and magical arts, and they could likely change what your hyper obsession would be.
>>6295620What makes a real wrathmonger, if I understand, a follower of the God of Dominion? Are there followers of that God who aren't obsessed with letting him out and just want to use that power? Is that power only for combat and blowing stuff up or does it include lords who want power to move and manipulate people?
>>6296418If I was a human priest of Mechaine how hard would it be to get a tinhead or man of iron bodyguard?
>>6295620Are there any sea gods or powerful water elementals. I'm thinking of making a sailor or pirate that eventually became a cleric
>>6295620What is the level of technology in the setting? I would interested in becoming an inventor who makes a machine to take and redistribute the godhood of the old pantheon and select a new one. New gods for modern times
>>6295620It is I, Jedidiah Kane, the wandering Warrior-Pilgrim! I never did get to slay that giant.
>>6296423There are actually very few wrathmongers who follow Drakkaru. Back during the 32nd wrath cycle, Drakkaru had children with Prudence. One of these children was Wrath. Wrathmongers are the priests/mages of Wrath. Given Wrath's tenuous relation with Drakkaru, they are not always allied. The one thing universal amongst wrathmongers is that they all tend to be very angry folk. A wrathmonger's magic is almost only useful in a combat setting, since it is all fire magic. The strength of a wrathmonger is directly tied to how angry they are. The angrier they are, the stronger their magic. However, using the magic of Wrath naturally tends to make you angrier. The result of this is that the strength of them increases over the course of a fight. The drawback to this is that if the magic of the wrathmonger grows to strong, it starts having negative effects on the wrathmonger in question. First it begins withering their body, then it begins inducing insanity in them, and finally it will burn away their soul. Very few have the presence of mind to not quickly get themselves killed in this fashion. As for those wrathmongers who are old, they are to be greatly feared, for they have mastered one of the most destructive magics in existence. At the high end, they can torch whole cities in minutes.
>>6296423Now, regarding the actual magic of Drakkaru, that would just be his priesthood. They do not have special names. The magic of Drakkaru is exclusively ritualistic. It is the strongest contract magic in existence, as well as binding and domination magic. Due to the rituals inflicted upon those of the Bellatist priesthood, you will find very few who have enough free will to actually be working independent of Drakkaru's wants. With that said, the leader of the Bellatists has been known to break free and betray Drakkaru on occasion, and a fair few upper military commanders are chiefly working for power. The magic of Drakkaru has a lot of utility outside of combat. Not only is there magic to dominate, but magic to make super solders, bind evil spirits to statues and force them to fight for you, alchemy, and more. For instance, the inquisition is made up entirely of priests, and each one of them is a superhuman in their own right, infused by the magics of Drakkaru. However, none of them have free will. Finally, it is worth noting that some lords are allied with Drakkaru without being dominated, and they will often try to politic and use the priesthood to gain an edge over political rivals
>>6296428You would have to be fairly high ranking, or alternatively on a mission specifically from Mechaine
>>6296495The oldest of all the sea gods would be the Elemental Lord of Water, one of the four elemental lords that was fighting when the world was young. The elemental lord of water and wind were killed by Drakkaru during the 3rd wrath cycle. With that said, there are a number of generic powerful water elementals that wish to claim the mantel of the new Elemental Lord of Water. Most sea gods in Orrosta are corrupted by their proximity to the void, and as such, very few are anything but evil. With that said, there is a sea goddess near Selene's kingdom which is of good temperament. In any case, there are a number of void cultists and shamans alike who seek to help an elemental ascend, so that the seas may gain their fury once more. This would be apocalyptic for basically the whole world, but none of them know that. But yea, elementals do not tend to have clerics, they have shamans. All and all, that works well
>>6296655It depends on the area in question. Most kingdoms of man are high or late medieval ages. Selene is a mixture of early iron/late bronze age. The Northern Mountain Kingdoms are early modern, and use pike and shot warfare. The peoples of the mountain range that runs through the middle of the continent tend to resemble the nords of the early medieval ages. For non-human species, the only ones more advance than the medieval age would be gnomes/dwarves. They boast pretty advance steam powered equipment, but gnomes are basically incapable of innovation past that point. If you wanted to do anything with machines, you would want to go with Mechaine. Now, regarding a machine of what you are describing, that would require incredibly advance arcane and mechanical knowledge to even begin to attempt. The only mortal with knowledge that would begin to approach what would be needed on the arcane front would be a great sorcerer in the middle of the largest desert in the world, on the western side of the mountain range that runs through the middle of the continent. Beyond that, the youngest of the notable gods today (that being the 68th wrath cycle) would be Mechaine, and he ascended back in the 42nd wrath cycle. Even that required the heart of a dead god and enough Faustian bargains to kill a horse, as well as a whole nation behind him. Also, keep in mind, there are 3 kinds of gods in orrosta. There are the pantheonic gods, which are the gods that shapped the universe. There are the natural gods, which are personifications of the universe (the horsemen, the elemental lords, or the emotional gods would be representative of this.) Finally, the new gods, which are born exclusively from mortal worship, and tend to be weak and fleeting. These are beings which are millions, and a few, which are billions of years old. Even Mechaine, who is the youngest, is still north of 200,000 years old. I am not saying what you want to do is impossible, but it is as close as you can get without it being impossible.
>>6296688Good to have you back. Try not to charge headlong at a giant without even attempting to recruit allies this time. I am never gonna tell you guys you cannot do something, but there was almost no way short of inspired tactical brilliance that you were ever going to kill that thing.
>>6296708What happens when one of us dies? Im thinking I would want to play a tinhead or man of iron who's mission is to protect human life, but that mission could probably turn suicidal very quickly.
>>6296770Maybe we can save the core that is you and rebuild.
>>6296770Or could be a bot that was built with a mission to serve as a righthand man, then my squad/boss got wiped and now I ended up kinda glitching out following a party member as my new commander
>>6296770Depends on which dies. If a tinhead died, then the priest may be reprimanded, and have to fill out paperwork on what occurred, but assuming it was not malicious or stupid, unlikely for anything too bad to occur. If a man of iron died, then the priest would have a very... long talk with Mechaine as to what was important enough to lose one of the most valuable pieces of equipment on the face of the planet. If the priest died, it once again depends on if it was a tinhead or a man of iron. For a tinhead, it depends on if their primary objective was to protect the priest or complete the mission. If it was to complete the mission, then they will work to complete the mission, then report the death after the mission is finished. If their objective is to protect the priest, then it will likely continue to protect the body, while waging a one man war against whatever was stupid enough to kill the priest until it dies or the tinhead does. If it is a Man of Iron, it will likely assess the situation, determine if the mission is still completable. If it is, the priest will be buried, and the Man of Iron will work to continue the mission. If the mission is not completable, then the Man of Iron will likely bring the body back with him, return to base, explain what happened, and get sent to take care of something else. Possibly get tuned up depending on circumstance.
>>6296774The Men of Iron are a magical construct as much as a mechanical one. While they are fully robotic, and are extremely advance, they actually do have spirits. These spirits are synthetic constructs meant to replicate the soul of various effective solders. Of course, getting the soul to make the synthetic version kills the person in question, and it does need to occasionally be recharged. However, if you have the magical and mechanical knowhow, you basically only need the processor to rebuild a man of iron and retain full functionality.
>>6296810I know that at least one person is interested in being a priest of Mechaine, or related in some capacity, so you two may want to partner up depending on circumstances.
>>6296850Most the shorter post asking about Mechaine and that stuff have been me trying to spitball a character. >>6296810Would this idea work or maybe >>6296112Being this guy's scraped together tinhead work? Whatever you think would work as QM for being a tinhead or man of iron you tell me.
>>6296877That could be cool. It could be something like I found ya on one of my trade runs and been putting money into fixing up or pilgrimage and test of skill that leads to us making the party.With the Warrior in the group we will have a strong front line. I'll hope I can heal people or basic surgery if it comes down to it. Unless it will need to be viva Man of Iron augments. Worst case we can hire a medic or something.
>other races besides Humans don't have souls>moon elves, high elves, humans, dwarves, gnomes, tinheads, men of iron, vampires, swarmlings, katarazie, fey, and Slavs>SlavsTOP KEK
>>6296877>Would this idea work or maybeYes, that would work.If you are a tinhead, it is a lot more realistic you would be malfunctioning, rather than a Man of Iron. However, neither is impossible. I am fine with you running a tinhead or a man of iron, but if you go for the latter, you are going to have to constantly be searching for fuel. I am talking specifically about oil, coke, or other highly energy dense substances. Also, if you are a man of iron, you are going to have to be able to impersonate a robot trying to impersonate a human. If you can do that, you can do eighter. Elsewise, stick to a tinhead
>>6296897Cool I'll stick with a tinhead then
>>6296934you want to work aboard an airship tinboy?
>>6296952Im game for it, what's your fascination with them?
>>6296952What's your plan for the airship? Do you want to work to make it the fasting thing around or maybe a heavy air warship? If you allow of some cargo space, I bet we can make good money on transporting goods or mail. Assuming that long range commutations are poor.
Gonna try to get a rough idea of the party looks like we got>>6296112The Quartermaster>>6296688Jedidiah Kane, a returning character>>6296495Maybe a swashbuckling cleric>>6296952The Airship AutistAnd me the Tinhead
>>6296713Imma try it anyways. Even the failure will make for a good story.
>>6296688I will confess, I cannot remember, was Kane Bellatist or a member of the Order of Pendrake? Once I get an answer I will start up the actual campaign.
>>6296713I was thinking of going with a veteran soldier. Low fantasy. Just him, his rapier, his blunderbuss handgun and his wit and experience. Im imagining something akin to a Conquistador, having once sailed to lands afar and fought against all manner of foes. Not a high ranking officer, just a hardened foot soldier. Is there any kingdom in the setting that could work?
>>6297418Are you Jedediah Kanes player?
>>6298319No
>>6297418Closest to that (at least in technology), would be the Northern Mountain Kingdoms. You will not find many explorers amongst them, but they are the only ones with vaguely comparable tech, though they tend to favor the messer or katzbalger over a rapier. In terms of swords, they also are partial to the kriegsmesser or zweihänder. But yea, if you are willing to accept Holy Roman Empire superiority, they will serve what ya want fine.
The story is starting, so everyone get ready!>>6298364
>>6297329He was part of a separate order, one that got wiped out. Can't remember what I wrote in the old threads, pretty sure he was the last survivor, other than that I don't think there was much info.
