[GURPS] At the Edge of Chaos - Recruitment Reopened

[SalmonMax]

Okay! I've gone through a few iterations, and I found I was really inspired by the idea of this cloistered character emerging into the wider world. Someone with a bit of a unique background, who has useful abilities but also needs a helping hand to get by.

Race: Suni is a human being, considered by some an invader or at least progeny of invaders.

The Nation: It's not a 'nation' per se, but Suni does belong to a reclusive sect of contemplatives called the Nosqui Ortum that strive to model themselves on 'They Who Rose,' and a universal principle called Ascension. The path to Ascension is one of mental and spiritual enlightenment combined with physical refinement and health. While the Nosqui Ortum is not by any means a common sight in Taytomac or Vinione, they do appear in places where humans have congregated to speak of their beliefs, and offer their communities aid.

Character: Suni has been in the Nosqui Ortum for as long as she can remember, and has walked the path all that time. Even so, as she got older she started looking to leave the compound. Suni feels that there is something missing for her, and hopes to find it in the world outside.

[Phettberg]

Alright, good stuff. I have made you a private thread over in the game folder so we can discuss it further over there. See the secret message below.



Still accepting applicants. Will consider different character types as well.

[Phettberg]

Just bumping this one more time.

It's now not certain anymore that a pure magic user will be joining the main group, so anybody wanting to play something like a mage, a very miracle heavy priest/cleric, or any other character that uses magic in some shape or form is welcome to.

[Phettberg]

Not above bumping this one last time, then I'll just make do with what I have. I'll just bullet point some of the specifics again for those just tuning in:

Long running campaign set in a Homebrewed Low-Tech Fantasy world looking for more fresh blood.

A lot of non-traditional custom made races and some that are slightly more familiar. You can make your own race too!

A large world to dive in with more than a dozen countries this side of the world and many more elsewhere. Space to explore and space to create! If you want to customise cultural aspects or "classes you can!

Ideally I'd want to bolster the numbers of what has traditionally been the "first" group, but those wanting a solo, duo with a story focus of their choosing I can also accomodate. Only recently we've established a more "viking-esque" part of the setting for another player who was into that. Want some high seas action? Survival in the desert? Subterranean exploration? It's all there somewhere in the setting.

Recruitment is unlikely to firmly close any time soon - so pm me whenever.

[bagginses]

I'm interested. It's been quite a while since I've played any GURPS so I'll need some guidance in the beginning - especially in character creation.

Looking at the unused races so far, I'm thinking of a Raz'Ar Shaman type if you're looking for a magic user. But I'd be willing to consider other concepts.

[Phettberg]

Nice to see you here as well - always happy for you to join another game with me.

You will get all the guidance you need and there is no rush to get something finished. A magic user is definitely a good idea and something the party can do with, and a Raz'Ar Shaman would work well with that.

I have some more thoughts on character options naturally - but as is my custom for this game I made you your private thread in the folder where we can talk more.

[Aegis]

Hey Phettberg,

I think I’d be interested in playing this. It seems pretty cool.

[Glw30]

I'm very interested in joining, I have 2 or 3 ideas for a race born in this world's cataclysm. Is there room?

[Phettberg]

Welcome guys.

You're both welcome to join of course. Party composition has changed yet again. From the original Players only two remain in the first group: A To'Ari fencer, and a flour-golem scout.

Two other players are working on their characters to add to this group. One of them is making a Keita Magician/Dancer, the other is making a Human unarmed Fighter/Monk analogue.

Races not featured as PCs in any of the groups these days are Ux, Getta, Raz'ar and Ilder. New races are also possible as I said earlier.

I've opened up private threads for the both of you in the game folder. You should see a link to them below in a secret tag. If not shoot me a pm or post.

As for anybody else interested: Give me a shout and we'll see if we can fit you in anywhere. Not firmly closed yet.

[kenneth]

Heya Phett.

The idea I had at your first post was an octopus and have read through this thread praying someone didn't take my idea. There would be As I considered the difficulties of playing an aquatic species in a land-based game I came up with the following.



Race: An Okeanoan (say: OH-key-a-NO-an) is one of a number of species of intelligent cephalopods the can be found in oceans all around the world. Depending on species they can range from two to four meters long and are found in environs from tropical to arctic, and from shallows to deep ocean. It is only through their aptitude with magic that they have been able to not only survive in, but compete with the surface world.

They start life as mindless plankton, spawned with ten to twenty thousand siblings, drifting on the current. Those that survive slowly awaken as they grow, becoming conscious around the age of eight and sexually mature at twelve. Most begin to form small tribal groups at around the age of four. These tribes are sometimes a mix of Okeanoan species, and often with individuals spawned on the far side of the world.

Once sexually mature, the drive to breed is quite nearly impossible to resist for an Okeanoan. Sure, fine, OK, puberty sucks for most species. The problem is that Okeanoans typically die shortly after reproducing. Male brains stop producing anything not required for mating and in ancient times, females typically starved to death guarding their clutch.

Occasionally a female would survive long enough to see her eggs hatch. She would then form another tribe and help the females of that group also survive. Over time, these tribes could grow quite large and allowed specialization and eventually, the use of magic. Unfortunately they all still suffered the tragedy of watching their young males waste away after mating.

In time their alchemists developed puberty blockers. While this does vastly extend the lives of males, it also resulted in almost every male being in a permanent state of boisterous adolescence. In addition it created a permanently annoyed over-class of mature females, desperate to get laid.

Okeanoan cultures are usually matriarchal in nature due to the vast majority of males literally being too immature to effectively rule. When a male has grown tired of being and has decided to mature, there is often a bidding war over his, um, genetic material. Females have also been known to kidnap and imprison males to get them off of their blockers so that they will mature and mate. This is considered murder, but the drive to mate can be agony and compassion usually allows her to die protecting her clutch.

The Akkoro: The Akkoro, it is remembered, were the first to develop the blockers and the first to create one of the great clans. While a generally peaceful civilization, there always seemed to be someone spoiling for a fight. Usually that meant retreat as the small tribes had neither the numbers, nor the inclination to fight. But now the Akkoro had their boys. In spite of the difficulties the blockers created, the added labor force, the extra brains to throw at problems and an army of bored adolescents pushed the Akkoro from coastal nuisance to local power to nautical empire in just under a century.

A problem arose that more than half of their population were rambunctious teenagers. While their boys usually didn't mean any real harm, real harm happens and the surface dwellers tended to take things personally. In addition, Okeanoans don't talk by making sounds and only learned to write after developing magic to verbally communicate. There were many battles and a few all out wars. The Akkoro had a rough few centuries and saw their numbers dwindle.

Magic eventually helped them win the wars and magic also helped them win a more permanent peace.

Noince the Healer: It was the development of flesh shaping that secured a place in the world for the Akkoro. Useful for healing injuries, curing of cancers and creating living tools, flesh shaping seems to be a talent unique to Okeanoans. Noince is one such healer, and crafter of generally disgusting but highly functional living tools.

He is a devout adherent to the cult of the Kraken, which is mostly an excuse to act stupidly in public because "I'm a Kraken!" While not particularly prone to violence he, like the rest of his kind is a carnivore: a predator. Killing or even eating things alive and often screaming is a normal thing to him.

He's fresh from his training and it's unclear if he's truly fleeing the oppression of female tyranny or if he was rather forcefully asked to leave. It's altogether possible he's been sent as a gesture of good will; a healing emissary for those earth-bound people on the stony surface. Then again, you don't send a boy to do women's work.

He wears a gill vest that he grew himself, shaped the honker that lets him speak, and trained the crab that lets him walk upright on land. All are controlled with a kind of organic telepathy. It requires both organisms to be modified and they have to be touching to create a link. Primitive organisms require the least sophisticated links while tools like the honker are almost an extension of the user.

[Phettberg]

Hi Kenneth.

Pretty cool and developed ideas. Coincidentally this fits in pretty nicely with some other stuff that is already in the setting, so good job on that.

I've made you a private thread over in the game folder so we can talk a bit more without constantly bumping this thread up.

[cottontailwind]

Hello! I’d love to submit an application if you still have room. I’m doing more reading and crafting and will have a decent application by tomorrow

[Phettberg]

You are very welcome to - there is still room aplenty.

Just so you have the latest state of affairs: Characters that are definitely going to be in the first group are a To'Ari fencer, a flour-golem scout, a Keita dancer and mage, a Gettan Assassin.

So this is something to consider when making the character. Races not present in any group are Ux, Raz'Ar or Ilder - but we can also double one if you have a strong preference. Making a new race is not off limits, but it can be a longer process.

We will shift the action to Taytomac, so while you can make a character that was raised on Vinione also (or any Broken Bridge Island really), it would be good to have some ideas about reasons for the person to be on the island chain of the Kingdom of Taytomac. Basic descriptions of places are in this thread in case you hadn't found it already. The game folder also has the racial writeups.

Looking forward to your ideas.

[cottontailwind]

Application for Butangon, Armored Heretic Name: Butangon Race: Gracan Profession: Medium, fortune teller, weaver   Butagon's Details Pronunciation: Boo - TAYNG - gawn Age: Adulthood, young-to-mid Gender: Buck Build: Sturdy Eyes: Copper Hair: Brown, tinged with white Dress: Black, loose hooded robe made of cheap, thin fabric, around mismatched, patchwork armor Traits: dark, odd, poetic Values: compassion, poetic justice, enduring suffering   Appearance He held his horned-head low beneath the dusken hood and robes. And though he kept his sad, sidelong eyes averted under those fierce eyebrows, they followed after your trail, betraying an unassuming watchfulness. He knew you knew he saw you. A breeze had picked up, draping the flowing fabric against the odd angles of his wide, spiraling horns and piecemeal armor. At a glance, it could have been gossamer, like the wrap of a widowed mourner, but a second look showed it to be something cheap, hand-woven and frayed. He saw you inspecting his garb, too. The Gracan's beard caught in the wind as much but was nothing like the elaborate productions of his homeland. It was syrup brown and tinged with an early white, like most of the rest of him. It protruded in a three points including his chin, and to a lesser extent, either corner of his jaw (much to his childhood roasting). He wove small trinkets into his beard, sometimes the bones of some decomposed critter, or perhaps a small metal screw. Today it included a broken coin. Where the sidelong wind caught his garb, wrapping it around him and then tussling it open, it showed sewn leathers and pelts and crafted metals, similarly adorned with happenstance finds. The pack at Butangon's back and weapon at his side showed some degree of self-sufficiancy, but the other odds and ends at his belt, like a pouch wrapped in part of a snakeskin, a small skull, and several small, shimmering rocks woven into a chain of unknown hair, gave as much question about him. The smell wasn't terribly welcoming, either. Personality Butangon tends to be quiet and something of a loner, despite the nature of his kin, though mostly because he is experienced in being seen as lesser. There was a certain familiarity in being just another oddity to be oggled, and more than familiar, he learned to somewhat mirror others' haughtiness and enjoy the discomfort of the self-aggrandized. Among those whom he knew, usually more contacts than "friends," he showed insight, a coarse sense of compassion, and a dark sense of humor. Butangon cares about others' well-being but is just as happy to watch others face the consequences of their own vanity and short-sightedness. He's more receptive to those who are outcast, humble and downtrodden, or on the verge of despair. And despite his isolation, he can sometimes be caught lingering in stares to others enjoying one another's companionship... Through the teachings of the forgotten god of Waste, Change, and Reclamation, Butangon sees much of the world for its potential, including its potential loss, and the wisdom and strength that can be gained from embracing all the hardship and grief of one's life. This leaves Butangon especially strange to those who do not know him. But to those who have chosen--or been forced--to share his company, an unexpected poetic wisdom can be witnessed, even if somewhat unsettling. Butangon finds great beauty-sorrow in a villager smelling a simple bouquet of wildflowers, though necessarily from the villager not realizing how enjoying the wildflowers required their picking and demise. Background Most buck kids demonstrating aptitude for magic would have been plucked from their hearth and raised in the loving castration of the Herder. But not this one. In the most desperate of loves, Butangon's parents hid him away from prying eyes, explaining away his odd stares towards something unseen behind them. Imagine their confusion then when someone knocked on their door in the middle of a violent storm, and more so when they saw it came from an exiled shadow-mage. His name was Bulu Bulao, taken after the fell spirits and old gods, and he had come to barter for a child. He heard, through word or unseen anima, of the child's affliction of seeing lost spirits. But Bulu Bulao knew better. Butangon would have been only a boy, but somewhere between the parents' need and love, he was given away to the wandering Initiate for safekeeping. When the storm had passed, so had all trace of Butangon. At least, that's what Bulu Bulao had told him so many times. They lived and traveled together, hunting and magicking and surviving, but always beyond the reach of the stern Pelons. Bulu Bulao taught Butangon the ways of Bahana Guha, one of the forgotten gods of the Gra and long-since bastardized into a fell spirit of legend. They called him a demon that incited death, madness, and despair, but Butangon's wizened mentor taught him otherwise. Bahana Guha was closer to a nature spirit, a wandering deity that saw death and life as necessary components of a singular existence, and sorrow and loss as natural and everyday as the warmth of a rising sun. Bahana Guha was a scavenger deity, though it did not consume, but rather transmuted weakness and cast-away into wisdom and treasure. Because it found resilience in sorrow and meaning in loss, it was quickly cast as a spirit feeding on waste and consumption. Butangon learned to weave all manner of discarded junk and refuse into small treasures in his wake. For as much as he cried his values out to the open world, his subtle trail of patrons may have been their downfall. There was only so much land to roam in the outskirts of Lindisfar and the Queens and Pelons learned their unintended patterns, traveling at night and settling in caverns. They soon had to wander farther and farther... Psst:

[Phettberg]

Very nice stuff - I have set up a private thread for you so we can talk more. The link is below, so if you are not seeing a secreted link then send me a pm.