Bora Klan: The Destiny Anchor - Extensive roleplay campaign. 2-5 players.

[Azhtek]

Okay, so a few months ago, I was going to start a roleplay with some people. That fell through, but I'd already put a couple of hours into building the world. So I finished doing it and whipped together some basic information in a readable format, which I'll dump here. This roleplay is likely going to go on over a number of months, maybe longer, depending on how rapidly people respond, how quickly things can be resolved etc. I'll post all of the information here and we can have a discussion. I'm looking for people well-versed in RP, able to make detailed, coherent posts consistently. I will say, however, that I'm after quality, not quantity.

How it'll work is that players will take turns posting, but each player will need to react to both the events, and the actions of their co-players. Pretty typical stuff for RP, but still. Given that this is a pre-built world, questions about events, NPCs, abilities will undoubtedly come up. When they do, I invite people participating, or even those just spectating, to post here in this discussion thread.

Narrative posts, which are posts designed specifically for exposition or to activate an event, will be posted in blue text, like this post. These are essentially catalysts for the story and get things started, or can be used to kick-start things if the story starts to write itself into a corner. Deus Ex Machina.

The story itself revolves around up to five players who become unwilling targets for an artefact of immense power, labeled as the Destiny Anchor. It binds the characters together from across the world and summons them to a location, far from itself in the G'evune desert. The characters are bound in that if one of them were to die, the rest would follow suit. They learn of the Destiny Anchor from an ancient G'evune village elder, who tells them what must be done; find the Anchor and destroy it. Not an easy task. (Details on artefacts and G'evune are below.)

More details will be in the opening post, should enough people become interested, or further below in the discussion thread if details are desperately needed to be known.

Although the start of the story is known, I haven't gotten farther than that. I have no expectations of how the story will progress, as that is up to the actions of the players' characters.

Speaking of players' characters, you will need to build a new character for this RP. You can choose one of the races listed below, or a Namo if you'd prefer a non-human character. Completely up to you.


Without further ado.

Bora Klan

^{Click for full-size map.}

Bora Klan is a large continent consisting of six political states and one constructed island to its South. The land is diverse, consisting of many peoples of different races and creeds, and even different species. Indeed, one of the most curious things to come fom Bora Klan are the Namo (Neo-Animala Military Outfit); the result of military testing of the arcane fusion between humans and animals to create more unique, resilient or specialised soldiers.
The Namo experiments created tens of thousands of new beings of different species, ranging from felines to shark, each intended to be a specialised machine of war, trained rigorously and taught the finer arts of combat.
However, despite the success of creating the hybrid beings with very few failure rates, the more evolved human minds were unable to access the more primal features of their new animal forms. Instincts were overridden with rationality, senses were dulled down to more human levels. The experiments were cancelled, though the Namo had already spread through the land, creating lives for themselves and reproducing very successfully.
They're not a common sight in all of the lands, though many have managed to eke out a living alongside their human counterparts, both in civilian and military life.

It has been nine years since the events of the Great War, and though treaties between nations have held thus far, governments still are out for blood. They want more land, or reparations for war crimes, or recognition of events. The continent is currently a political powderkeg and armies stand at the ready to defend their nations.

Currency.
[spoiler=Click to learn about currency]Currency in Bora Klan is mixed, with each nation except G'evune having their own mint and currencies. Prior to the war, each nation kept their own currency, stubbornly refusing anything else. This worked well for them at the time, as little interaction across borders occurred. However after the war, the borders were flung open and trade began pouring through between nations. They each still officially hold on to their currencies, and still refuse other nations', so the people began to rely on the exchange of precious metals. Bronze, iron, gold and platinum are the coinage used between citizens, which can then be exchanged for each nation's own currency.

25 bronze coins equate to 1 iron.
25 iron coins equate to 1 gold.
15 gold coins equate to 1 platinum.

G'evune uses a barter system.[/spoiler]


Technology.
[spoiler=Click to learn about technology]Levels of technology within Bora Klan is varied. Some states have little or no knowledge of technology, medicine, or sciences. Of course, steel swords and armour exist, some more exotic metal alloys are known and used, but most standard infantry use steel. Use your imagination, this part is intentionally left blank for your creativity.
Crossbows, long and shortbows, and all siege weaponry used in Medieval Europe is available. Refer to Age of Empires II for references on siege weaponry.
Single-shot pistols aren't common, but they are especially potent. It's not unusual to see a thief lord within Korrn-Vol with a baldric of pistols strapped to his chest. These pistols use blackpowder and steel or lead balls.
Mechanical weapons, such as concealed blades on a slide, are even less common than pistols due to the high cost of machining intricate parts, but it's not altogether unknown.[/spoiler]


Magic.
[spoiler=Click to learn about magic]Magic is complex, intricate, time-consuming and dangerous, and the mages who wield it are rare. But it has proven to be a very potent weapon. Magic is different to how you'd normally think of it, where you wiggle your fingers and mumble some words and suddenly lightning. On Bora Klan, you're instead trapping the natural energies of the land now to use at a later time. Here's how it works.

The power of the lands is still something of a mystery, where it comes from and why it's there. What scholars of the arts have discovered, however, is that certain materials attract that energy and can store it. One of those materials, arguably the most stable and therefore the most widely-used, is forrikite, a crystalline compound mined from deep within the earth. It's commonly found growing near iron deposits. When crushed into a very fine powder, it can be mixed with water to act as a paint, which mages often use to create channeling runes. These runes direct the power into powdered dyes made from forrikite. The dyes allow the forrikite to adhere to surfaces and act as a catalyst to release the stored power when struck.

Forrkite can be mixed with several materials to channel energy for different purposes, and there are six different types of energies, which vary based on the shape of the channeling rune and the catalyst dye interacting with the forrikite.

• Fire energies cause anything charged forrikite dust touches to burst into flame. Mages often use this energy to burn fires hotter than even a blacksmith's forge. It's considered one of the most volatile energies. Fire dyes are red.


• Water energies cause the forrikite to discharge into purified water. It requires filtration of some kind, due to the presence of forrikite particles, but the water is drinkable. It's often used by the army of Kovos Prima as a means of providing water for troops. Water dyes are white.
• Electrical energies cause forrikite to discharge arcs of lightning potent enough to kill a man. More intrepid mages have discovered how to harness this power to assist them with their research, though it's more commonly used in trap devices. Electrical dyes are blue.
• Living energies cause forrikite to heal wounds when discharged, able to bring people back from the edge of death. However it is the most difficult to channel and can only be stored for very short periods before the energy fades. Used incorrectly, it can cause wounds to instantly fester, searing pain to wrack the body until they die of shock, and in some cases, immediate death followed by very rapid putrefaction. Most mages consider this the most dangerous energy and avoid it at all costs, but there are some who pursue it. Living dyes are black.
• Earth energies cause forrikite to discharge into a gas cloud of vile black smoke. This smoke is often used as a smokescreen for escape by thieves and assassins. If a mask is not worn, it can also blind victims for several hours, even after the smoke has cleared. Overexposure often results in suffocation, or permanent breathing difficulties. Earth dyes are green.
• Air energies cause forrikite to act as a stimulant. Persons who are exposed to this energy become stronger, more violent and have their senses sharpened. The effect lasts only a few minutes and takes a tremendous toll on the user, leaving them enfeebled for several hours. Air dyes are pink.

[/spoiler]


Artefacts.
[spoiler=Click here to learn about artefacts]Though magic is difficult and complex, there do exist very rare specimens of artefacts which seem to naturally channel the powers of the world, focusing and enhancing them. These artefacts are often hoarded by governments, locked away to never be used. Whenever an artefact has been used, great calamities seem to follow. Storms which tear towns and cities apart, earthquakes which sunder the land, plagues which devastate crops.
Most governments, despite the power at their fingertips, choose not to use the artefacts as the effects often negatively affect rich and poor alike.

Details of artefacts are normally stricken from records, to prevent common knowledge of them and increase security.[/spoiler]

The nations of Bora Klan

Kovos Prima
[spoiler=Click here to learn about Kovos Prima]Kovos Prima is the most powerful military force in the land. It nests comfortably between Eith to the East, Gaddorva to the South, and the great G'evune Desert in the North and West.
The land is fertile and lush, which has allowed great prosperity to spread to the state's inhabitants. Populated areas consist primarily of farmland and small villages to support neighbouring farms, but the jewel of the state is the city dubbed, "The Iron Heart", Exadria. The city is known to be both an indomitable military might and enlightened font of knowledge, boasting the largest and best-armed military, and the biggest collection of acquired knowledge from across the world housed in monstrous libraries.
It's the youngest state in the land, formed from the unity of six smaller states who were all at war with Korrn-Vol, Eith, Gaddorva, or any combination thereof. The six states, tired of the ongoing cost of war, fiscal and mortal, united into the most potent military power to have existed in Bora Klan. In five years, Kovos Prima had beaten back the three surrounding states to their borders and showed no signs of slowing, pushing them back to their capital cities and claiming more and more land. When the three states opposing Kovos Prima had their backs to the wall, a deal was struck. In return for most of the land taken during the battles, peace would be bargained.
The treaties holding peace together are fragile and tenuous, however, and a number of groups exist within each state to topple Kovos Prima and retake all of the land, and then some as reparation. Other groups still wish to incite a full fledged war, either for profit, intent to see a rival state eradicated, or simply for anarchy.
Kovos Prima is governed by six representatives from the states who formed into the military powerhouse, and while they are undoubtedly the supreme power of the state, they still confer with a variety of advisers on topics of public health, spending, food supplies and so on.
The people of Kovos Prima are diverse, made up of many races and cultures. Namo have made themselves at home and are now regarded as citizens on par with all others, though some do still face ridicule from those less willing to succumb to change.[/spoiler]


Rish
[spoiler=Click here to learn about Rish]Rish is an arid land of mesas and canyons, very dry and dusty. Its back is to the sea, high cliffs and jagged rocks bordering the coast almost entirely, and its front pressed intimately against the G'evune Desert, it is a difficult land to conquer.
Its only two cities, Daris and Val Dara, each built overlooking one of the two great sources of drinkable water in the land, are surrounded by towering walls of steel and stone built to resist onslaught and allow the city to endure siege for years. The walls cast mountainous shadows over the land, standing 800 feet tall and as much as 200 feet thick, they hide their cities well. Neither has ever been broken in the 3200 years since their construction, and attacking armies have perished in the inhospitable land before even a dent could be made in the structures.
The cities are completely self-sustaining, with farms plentiful enough, thanks to clever agricultural practices built to mimic termite mounds wherein underground crops are farmed in much more temperate and climate controlled environments, producing enough to feed the entire city. The lakes each city overshadows are restocked from artesian wells deep underground.
Rish is very withdrawn from the world and not much is known about its people or culture, and it hasn't participated in any battle of significance since its walls are erected. Since then no outsiders have stepped foot into the city, and scholars have had to piece together scraps in order to determine how the two cities came to be.
What remains of their written history outside of the walls tells of a fierce collections of tribes, each occupying small pieces of the land and willing to wage war if another tribe so much as set foot over the border, which often was the case. Tribes often fought themselves into extinction over these disputes, only to have another, more vicious tribe emerge in its place.
So it was for thousands of years until an unknown and unnamed man appeared and began taking control of the tribes, quelling their bloodlust and uniting them under his banner, though how he did this is still unknown. As his influence over the Rish people grew, those in the other states became wary and prepared for war. However instead of rising up to fight them, the man had his tribal people build the two cities of Daris and Val Dara, surrounding them with the gargantuan walls and sealing away the two great source of water. What remained of the tribes he could not convince to unite with him died out, leaving the two cities as the last bastions of life in the sun-baked land.
Aside from a rumour and hearsay, no one knows what truly lays behind the walls. Those who are known to have come from Rish mysteriously have little memory once they leave the walls, further compounding the enigma of what hides within.
The people from Rish have dark red skin, yellow eyes and white hair, they're hardy and quite small, most barely reaching over 5'2".
Given that the cities of Rish have secluded themselves from the world, allowing none in, no Namo have ever come from this part of the world, or currently live there.
All that is truly known of the harsh land in present day is that it is ruled by two emperors, one to each city, whose bloodline has reigned over the people for thousands of years.[/spoiler]


G'evune Desert
[spoiler=Click here to learn about G'evune]The G'evune Desert nests itself awkwardly between the mightiest military power in on the continent, and the ultra-reclusive state of Rish. G'evune does not have a centralised government like the rest, instead it is mostly a collection of villages who, for the most part, are at peace with one another. They have no military forces outside of whatever guard units could be cobbled together in their individual townships.
Towns and villages vary in size from 100 to 3000, mostly consisting of farmers and craftsmen. They have no currency, little technology and virtually no education systems. Despite this, the people of G'evune live very long lives, often surpassing those of people within civilisations with medical and technological knowledge centuries ahead of them.
Many thousands of years ago, villagers in the deserts discovered a vast network of caves when digging a well. The caves were filled with sharp, clear crystals. The villages brought the crystals to the surface and they were used as trinkets, and briefly as a currency. But over time, the people of the villages who used the crystals noticed that they no longer succumbed to illnesses, they had more energy, and injuries would heal far quicker, often taking days instead of months to recover. Through studying the crystals, they found that they stored immense healing energies which released upon being placed upon an injury, or could be worn close to the skin to reinforce their immunity.
The crystals themselves seem to stop working if someone who is not a carer of the land, that is the land's inhabitants, attempts to use them alone without the assistance of a G'evune, or if the crystals are taken outside the borders of the desert without a G'evune villager. They lose their power and crumble to dust.
Each villager carries with them a small crystal for use when they become injured when away from the village, or find someone who has injured themselves who does not possess a crystal.
Their lives are simple, and they prefer to be impartial in conflicts throughout the rest of the continent. When Kovos Prima approached the land with armies, village leaders negotiated peace, giving a large chunk of land to Kovos Prima in return for no bloodshed. The land was accepted, and life went on relatively undisturbed for the people of G'evune.
The people of G'evune are typically dark-skinned, or for those who emigrated to the lands for a simpler life, very tanned, black hair and black eyes. They're very hardy people who never back down from a day's work. After the war, some Namo decided to the villages in G'evune. Seeing a Namo is not a common occurrence, but they often are welcomed as friends and allies after they prove their ability to work in the unwavering heat of the desert.[/spoiler]


Gaddorva
[spoiler=Click here to learn about Gaddorva]Gaddorva was once a thriving centre of commerce and industry. There were trade routes and trading posts scattered across the land, all leading to gargantuan cities containing tens of thousands of people. Food was plentiful due to the rich soils, the hills were filled with iron, and the finest blacksmiths in the world were said to have come from Gaddorva. Gaddorva steel was second to none.
This was before the war. Now, the lands are empty by comparison, used as farmland by Kovos Prima with small mining colonies dotting the countryside near the base of hills to bring up iron. Blacksmiths now work to fill the quota of the the military power that crushed them.
The war with Kovos Prima hit Gaddorva hardest and first. Their trade routes and rich, fertile land were a threat to the emerging nation state in that they would be able to supply allies with large quantities of food and weapons to states who might ally with them. Kovos Prima announced their renewed power by strategic invasion of Gaddorva's cities. The cities of Gaddorva, unprepared for war, crumbled beneath the boots of well-armed and armoured soldiers. Siege weapons rained fire and boulders upon them, farmlands were incinerated, and villages were razed.
Blacksmiths of the lands were captured and sent to labour camps in order to pass on their knowledge to the Kovos Prima war machine, so that their high quality weapons and armour could be replicated and further bolster the strength of the new nation.
As the war raged onwards, villages were picked off as armies marched through the lands, none were allowed to live. Any resistance that the armies of Kovos Prima encountered was quickly stifled and eradicated.
It wasn't until the treaties were drawn that the remaining villages, most of which were on the borders of other nation states, were spared. It was estimated that Gaddorva, which previously had a population approaching 320,000, lost over 97% of its people in the war. After the war, they attempted to rebuild their lives and homes, resowing life into the ravaged land. Gaddrova has very slowly been recovering as the original owners of the land try to establish a new government for themselves, remake what had been taken from them.
The majority of the land is now farmland which is managed by people of Kovos Prima, but Kovos allowed the land to still be chartered to the people of Gaddorva, for use should they manage to rebuild their city.
The people of Gaddorva appear much like those of Kovos Prima, being a mixbag of race and ethnicity. Namo are also common in Gaddorva since the end of the war as they eke out a living in the land as farmers, or continue their soldier lifestyles as guards for the villages.[/spoiler]


Korrn-Vol
[spoiler=Click here to learn about Korrn-Vol]Korrn-Vol is often referred to as the Bandit's Paradise. The land is rocky and treacherous, offering little vegetation or water, and is home to no less than thirty-seven thieves guilds. It's often said that to enter Korrn-Vol is to forfeit all of your possessions by default, as thieves frequent heavily trafficked roads for easy pickings.
The nation's origins are a mystery, with all records either lost during a transition of power, or destroyed during raids. The land consists of small cities that dot the jagged and cold land, each home to a ruling thieves guild, with each running things a little differently. The differences range from punishments doled out when someone wrongs the guild, to codes of conduct stating what you can steal from whom.
Despite thief guilds being centrered in the rocky bosom of Korrn-Vol, their agents are spread across the continent, routing stolen goods and money back to their respective guilds. They steal from the poor, the aristocrats, soldiers, whoever they please. Occasionally, a thief may pick up the odd contract killing, if they have the skill, though many thieves don't like to be out of Korrn Vol for too long due to the dynamic shifting of the guild leaderships. They typically don't like to be out of the loop for long.
The guild hierarchies are something of a mess, with power struggles emerging every few years that result in a dramatic shift in how things are run. They're barely held together by a council with members from each guild who convene infrequently to discuss rules or codes, and sometimes just so they can fight one another and take control of another guild before the next power struggle rears up.
If it weren't for each guild being at every other guild's throat, they would pose a very significant threat to the peace and prosperity of any other nation. The inhospitable land helps to create hardened thieves and assassins who, if properly coordinated, could dismantle political powers, sway the course of war, seat themselves in a position of great influence.
As it is, though, they're often too concerned with infighting and bragging rights, or attempt to cheat a neighbour out of his possessions.
It is said, however, that there is a puppetmaster from deep within Korrn-Vol who manipulates politicians and has agents in every city, including the impenetrable cities of Rish, who do his bidding, but such things have only ever been rumours.
The people of Korrn-Vol are widely varied, consisting of races from all across the continent. Namo are a common sight, who found homes in the guilds after they found that they could no longer return home after the war, either due to issues with the acceptance of Namo as citizens, or their homes were destroyed or reclaimed in their absence.
Recent years have seen the thieves guilds grow considerably as migrants from Eith left their homes in the slums in hopes of a better life for themselves, away from the oppressive powers that rule them.[/spoiler]


Eith
[spoiler=Click here to learn about Eith]Eith is often considered the state of nobility. It has the greatest disparity of wealth between the leaders and the common citizens, with grand palaces of marble and gold erected by the wealthiest in tribute of themselves, while the common citizens live in shanty towns and streets.
The state itself has no central system of government and leadership, instead the wealthiest families divide the land evenly between themselves. They lease and out to families less wealthy than themselves, who they tax heavily to use the land. Those who use the land leased to them then tax those beneath them, creating a system of upwards-trickling income.
Families buy themselves armies, which the common citizens clamour to get accepted into due to the improvement of lifestyle. The armies protect them from the rabble, and if war were declared, would fight for them, as they did during the war of Kovos Prima.
The war barely affected the ruling families, but hit the common citizens hardest. Food became scarce as the ruling families diverted what was meant for the people to the armies instead; people began to steal and murder over what little there was.
Riots broke out, which lead to more dying at the hands of the soldiers who served the families.
After a time, common citizens, those who had the strength and resources, began to migrate to the land of thieves, Korrn-Vol, though many still stayed behind, hoping that things would improve now that so many had left or died.
The people of Eith are fair-skinned with rich blonde hair and vibrant blue eyes. Namo are frequent among the commoners, but are incredibly rare among the families, often adopted as a novelty.[/spoiler]


Levon Prison Island
[spoiler=Click here to learn about the Levon Prison]The Levon Prison is an island constructed by Kovos Prima. It's a rocky island with high walls along the coast, accessible by one single, well-guarded path.
It houses tens of thousands of criminals, who are kept malnourished and are beaten daily to keep them in place. The criminals range from thieves from Korrn-Vol, to war criminals, dissidents, tax evaders, or innocents framed for crimes to let those in power off the hook.
To date, no one has left the walls of Levon alive. Corpses of prisoners who attempted escape litter the walls, impaled upon spears by the guards.
[/spoiler]

[Gentry]

This is awesome~

Definitely going to be joining this.

[Joncat]

Sign me up.

[Natannis]

I'm in.

[Kiko]

I want in!