The continent of Illyria, ruled by four kingdoms united following a devastating world war in the early 20th century. The mountainous lands of Gulvan sit to the west, the kingdom’s wealth gained from great mining operations and the construction of vast military fleets. They are the first to employ autonomous weapons into their military.Sitting in the eastern plains is Aldrir, where the fires of chivalric tradition still burn on. Despite its avoidance of many modern customs, magic flows within its people, the last mages of the world.To the further northeast is the kingdom of Mirain, the gateway to the seas beyond. Sitting in the center of the world, Mirain prides itself as a hub of environmental research and egalitarian development.Finally, the kingdom to the south is Forea, once the great empire of ancient times, now a propulsory force of industry and trade across the world, as well as a hotbed for culture and entertainment for tourists.As the winter of 2007 rolls into spring, Illyria enters a state it hasn’t seen in a millenia: wartime. Gulvan’s new administration has spent the past half a decade bringing its old grievances back into the forefront of its politics: it believes Aldrir’s gift of magic is a sinful power that will only bring ruin if the world doesn’t decide to act and seal it away. Negotiations for continued peace degrade, and now Gulvan has launched an invasion across Aldrir’s borders. For now, Forea and Mirain abstain from the fighting, hoping that peace can be achieved between the combatants.Perhaps the stagnant fate of all of Illyria now hangs in a tense balance.But you? You couldn’t care less about any of this. You’re just a young punk looking for any way you can to drive really, REALLY fast…[Continued…]
>>6377053[DISCLAIMER OF AUTHORIAL SHAME]Distant Driverse is an urban fantasy story about a rambunctious young prince who gets into a street racing career. Updates will be issued 1-3 times per day. It is a fictional tale written by someone whose knowledge of racing and tuning cars is perhaps less than expert. Corrections are appreciated but don’t go expecting perfect realism here. Just as well, the setting is one that features anthropomorphized animal characters exclusively. I do wish I could draw, but I’m still really early in learning and nothing I could currently make would be good for this + I won’t stoop to ai generation, so I do my best to textually describe characters. Sorry if any of this isn’t very good, it’s my first truly planned out attempt at running a quest of any kind. And if you’re reading this, thank you for playing! Now, let’s continue.[Continued…]
Your name is ROMEO COSTA, and you’re currently just trying to drive home down the highway. You are a prince of Forea, the second son to King Vincenzo and Queen Corinna. Like the rest of your family, you hold the sapient appearance of a mouse, though you’re the only one amongst your siblings to inherit your father’s distinct black fur, though your eyes are brown in contrast to his blue. As fits your station, you care at least a little for your appearance. You sometimes lace the fur on the back of your head into a small braid, but most days you just leave it as it were when you awoke. Its the summertime, so you’re wearing a short sleeve designer button down shirt, a black choker with your house crest in silver as its charm, a set of trousers in deep black, a set of white sneakers with black toeline trim that pass well enough for dress shoes from a distance, and finally your lucky red driving gloves adorn your hands upon the steering wheel.As the second in line for the crown, with an unfortunately only slightly older brother ahead of you, the only way any of the affairs of Illyria have affected you thus far is via mild but mounting annoyances. The tensions have canceled the Formula One season, made it a lot harder to travel, and they’ve saddled you with a duty you’re not so sure you’re comfortable carrying out. Officially, for the time being, Forea is a neutral party in the war between Gulvan and Aldrir. However, as part of some string of alliances and blood pacts and even more binding contracts you’re sure are in place but aren’t sure exactly how, Forea owes its allegiance to Aldrir at least a little. Your father chose to honor this allegiance in the face of the kingdom’s neutrality by sheltering the princess of Aldrir, Eva Fairisles, away from the war as the situation escalates. And, as she’s closer to your age than your older brother or younger sister, father expects you to keep her company when she grows bored. Or, in father’s words: “Preserve the normalcy of her life.” That means driving Eva around the city, grabbing lunch at a high class joint that’s maybe a little too high class to taste good, and taking her to see various landmarks across town. All that and you still have to have her back at the palace by the middle of the day so she may complete her afternoon prayers.[Continued…]
>>6377055You glance at her, through the rearview mirror, not daring to destroy the stillness of the moment. The silver-furred spaniel wears an elegant but simple cream colored sundress with a matching wide brimmed hat, an orange ribbon adorning the hat tied in a neat bow, brown summer sandles, and a pair of sunglasses that you feel don’t sit quite right with the rest of the outfit. She’s wearing something that would bring out her eyes, and yet she continues to hide them as the car continues in silence. The hum of the engine, the quiet roar of the passing highway, it’s been a few minutes since she’s attempted to pester you with small talk. You’ve only known her a week, but it still feels like you’ll never truly know her. She is the epitome of a fairy tale princess, kindhearted, focused, and so infuriatingly naive sometimes. You wonder if she really was held in a tower all her life, but the reality is more likely that Aldrir’s traditions in magic have just raised her far differently than your upbringing has. There’s a rift between you that you’re not sure was ever meant to be closed like this.You really should say something, though. Your father would want you to leave a good impression, and you’ve been pretty bad at doing that for most of your life. You decide to just go for it, saying the first thing on your mind.>”Have you heard anything from your family in Aldrir yet?” [+Trait: CURIOUS]>”Nice car, isn’t it?” [+Trait: VAIN]
>>6377056>>”Have you heard anything from your family in Aldrir yet?” [+Trait: CURIOUS]
>>6377053Bump
>>6377056>”Have you heard anything from your family in Aldrir yet?” [+Trait: CURIOUS]
>>6377056>”Nice car, isn’t it?” [+Trait: VAIN]
>>6377061>>6377083Locking vote for curiosity.Writing!
>>6377138I dropped my trip...
>>6377061>>6377083”So, uh… Have you heard anything from your family in Aldrir yet?” The words drift from your lips about as gracefully as a rock skips across water. You’ve never learned how to skip rocks, of course.“No, I haven’t…” She glances up out of the sunroof, as if asking the heavens for some kind of answer as to the whereabouts of her loved ones, and for a second you aren’t even sure you’re looking at a real girl. Then she gives you a playful sideeye that reminds you that, in fact, she is. “You asked me that already.”“I did? When?”“This morning, first thing you said when I took my seat for the drive.” She crosses her arms as she continues leering at you.“My bad, I guess I just kinda forgot…” You can feel the conversation sliding down a cliff, and this attempt to salvage it has only made you look foolish once again.Eva giggles “It’s quite alright, I know we don’t exactly have much in common beyond this arrangement itself.”“Huh? Nah, I really did wanna know! There’s a lot I wanna ask.”“Really? Then ask away.”Your mind blanks for questions, the questions it does form feel childish. You want to ask her about magic, about being a princess in such a traditional sense, is it hard without siblings, does she even like you after a solid week of hanging out?“…They got cars in Aldrir…?” Your brain tries to catch the question before it exits into reality, but it’s a little too slow.Eva’s quiet laughter builds some. “Yes, we’re behind but not in the stone ages. We’ve got cars, just…” She glances out the window again, and her tone drops as she gazes the tops of the skyscrapers. “Not ones this fast… Or roads this high up…” She turns back to you, eager to distract herself from her obvious fear. “Any… other questions?”You strain your brain for one more. But it comes up short. Its final gambit for retreat is given instead.“Do you wanna listen to the radio…?”She nods. “That would be fantastic.”[Continued…]
>>6377159You give her your best reassuring grin and fiddle with the buttons to the audio dashboard, changing the output to the radio and twisting the volume knob on the left slightly, far quieter than you’d normally listen to anything in your car. The station feed crackles to life. “-RIDGE FM 1010, nothing but wicked beats, check it out now!!!”“You can change it if you don’t like it, it’s cool.” You state, heat rushing to your cheeks at the thought that she might find your music taste weird. You take her silence to mean she either is fine with it or simply does not care. You’ve already turned your gaze to your window and rearview mirror, watching the buildings fly by… The Archway line, the major highway with a perfect view of Aurea’s downtown skyline, named so for being built along the parade arches of the old Aurean empire that span the city, tracing some of the old aqueducts as well. The traffic is light at this time, the typical workday won’t be over for another hour and it’ll be going away from downtown anyway.Your mind drifts inwards as you settle in with the music and the sound of road under your tires. Sometimes you feel like you’re too curious for your own good, but of course you are, no one ever tells you anything. The most active role you’ve ever taken as a sovereign of your own nation is showing some foreign girl around town. There’s so much you want to know about the world that your position forbids you access to, and yet, how can you complain? You’ve had more open opportunity than the average person after all…Before your thoughts can spiral to self loathing, a confluence of the senses rouses you to sit up in your seat. Your ear is the first to signal a discrepancy, the usual scream of a vehicle in the passing lane wouldn’t have done anything to call your attention to it, but this time it ramps up far more quickly than normal. Next, the corner of your eye twitches as the sight of a silver object glimmering in the sun. Where the Caracole is meant to avert the eye, the vehicle that is coming to pass you is begging to be seen. Finally is a sixth sense, the other car makes no contact with you, but you feel it as it passes. A rush that feels like static crawling up your tail and spine, quickening your pulse… And then, it’s gone, rapidly becoming a silver speck headed for the tunnel. But… Something inside you is breaking. You don’t want to see it go alone. All this week you’ve been trying to keep Eva from boredom, and now your heart aches to indulge in the unbecoming thrill of the road…[Continued…]
>>6377160Eva lets a small yelp escape her muzzle, and shuts her eyes as if the car were going to crash into yours. After a moment, she looks up and gives a relieved sigh. “He’s reckless, won’t someone stop him for driving that far above the speed limit?”Your mind calls to you to tell you to say something along the lines of “that’s not how highway driving works, Eva” but you simply refuse to pick up the metaphorical phone. Your mouth hangs open a tiny bit. In the split second it passes you, you recognize it. The Assoluto Bisonte… Something in you breaks, you enter a more focused state from the awkwardness of before. The radio announcer’s putting another joint on. You instinctively use the buttons on your steering wheel to raise the volume.Then, you shift gears.>”You should probably hold onto something.” Your conscience screams at you to at least be this considerate to Lady Fairisles before you chase after the Bisonte.>”This is about to be the highlight of your morning, my lady.” Something about the cool sleekness of the Bisonte encourages you to attempt to match it with your words.
>>6377161>This is about to be the highlight of your morning, my lady.” Something about the cool sleekness of the Bisonte encourages you to attempt to match it with your words.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLlDU8VoQ9k&list=PLADC8897C8DC0F10D&index=4Magic and cars. No need for NOS?
>>6377161>>”This is about to be the highlight of your morning, my lady.” Something about the cool sleekness of the Bisonte encourages you to attempt to match it with your words.
>>6377207>>6377166“This is about to be the highlight of your morning, my lady.” This definitely sounded a lot cooler of a thing to say in your head, but that’s far from the most pressing thing on your mind. Eva makes an inquisitive sound, unsure what you mean, before you gently press your heel forward into the gas pedal until it makes contact with the floor of the car. You can only faintly hear the princess protest this sudden development over the roar of the Caracole’s engine and the music beginning to swell…[BGM - https://youtu.be/X7qFf6jF5WQ?si=gVJ0pbH4f1NSMgLk]Another thrill surges through your heart. Low traffic, a cloudless blue sky, and a rival on the highway in a car so exalted. You feel a grin creeping its way up your lips as you lean back in your seat slightly.And so, the race begins…[Continued…]
>>6377329[TUTORIAL - RACING]The goal of a race is to be faster than your opponent. Either by staying ahead of them until the end of the course, outpacing them far enough that victory is guaranteed, or outlasting them as a mistake sends them crashing into a guardrail. To this end, a single number represents the distance between you and the opponent, ranging from 0 to 100. When this number is at 50, you’re neck and neck with the opposing driver. Below 50 means you’re behind, and above 50 means you’re ahead. If your distance is less than 0, you’ve been thoroughly outpaced and the race will be a loss. Vice versa, if your distance exceeds 100, you will leave your foe in the dust and win.Both cars have a condition, which will show any damage or special effects on the car, and a speed value that is used as a base for the distance you’ll gain in the next action. (At the end of an action, distance gained is equal to the difference of Romeo’s speed and the opponent’s speed.)First, you’ll vote on an action that will affect how much distance you might gain or lose as well as modulate the difficulty of the success chance, then you’ll roll as a corner or hazard approaches.Distant Driverse uses a 1d100 roll under system to check for the success of an action, three players will each roll one dice to determine the degrees of success. If all three roll under, you’ll reap the full reward of an action. The fewer successful rolls, the less successful the action, and depending on the action there may be extra consequences to failure. Any player rolling a 1 will instantly succeed the action, and any player rolling a 100 will instantly fail.The opponent will also select an action and roll for their own success, but this will be done by the QM following the player roll.In short, pick action, roll dice, gain or lose speed, gain or lose distance, try to win, try not to crash! For this first race, victory will be measured as merely overtaking the Bisonte. Let’s begin.[Continued…]
>>6377332[ROMEO - AMB 04 “CARACOLE”]Condition: FineSpeed: 150km/h[UNKNOWN - ASSOLUTO BISONTE]Condition: FineSpeed: 165km/hDistance: 30/100 (Behind)Remaining Corners on Course: 10[ACTION SELECT - Straightaway]>CHARGE (Gain 20 speed, but pose a much greater risk at the next roll.)>ACCELERATE (Gain 10 speed, but have slightly worse chances of success on the ensuing roll.)>MAINTAIN (Keep your current pace, no further modulation to rolls.)>PREPARE (Lose 10 speed, but gain slightly higher odds of success at the next roll.)>CAUTION (Lose 20 speed, but gain better odds of success at the next roll.)
>>6377333So just to clarify, do we roll dice NOW, or only once an action is selected as the winner of the vote?>CHARGE (Gain 20 speed, but pose a much greater risk at the next roll.)Either way, TALLY FUCKING HOOOOO!
>>6377411Only once an action is selected. Unless otherwise specified, I will prompt for dice in SEPARATE posts to votes always. Sorry for not mentioning that.
