Fading Twilight
Many hundreds of years ago, the grand arch-mage Azeash read a prophecy among the stars. He spoke of a gathering evil that would be unleashed upon the world. The public dismissed him in scorn, thinking that he had been driven mad by his magic. With a final warning, he disappeared, and was never heard from again. This incident was soon forgotten, until one night, when they came - the Shade.
No one knew their origin. In the beginning, no one even knew of their arrival, until it was far too late. Any record kept of the catastrophe or the nature of the Shade has long been destroyed, but the destruction was unmatched. The world surely would have been doomed were it not for the brave actions of six heroes, who managed to fight back the impending darkness.
One hundred and fifty years have passed since that day. There are those who still remember the legends. Indeed, among the elves and the Dwarven Elders, there are even those who witnessed such events first hand. In the eyes of the common people, however, these ancient happenings are of little consequence, being little more than an excuse for the mid-winter festival. With the end of the destruction came a new beginning. The barriers between the three races of the world - men, elves, and dwarves - were lowered in an attempt to rebuild, and harmony strong anew in the world. Trade flourished, kingdoms were rebuilt, and peace reigned. In time, mortal imperfections such as greed or envy worked their way back into reality, but not enough to corrupt the spirits of this new dawn. The world was at rest.
It is the winter of the year 150 ND. Having completed his mid-day meal, King Perhin rose from his seat at the grand dining table, and, trailed by his guards and servants, returned to the throne-room, where he sat with a sigh, massaging his temples. It had been a long day. The winter festival had concluded only yesterday; though the King enjoyed the festival as much as anyone else - indeed, there were rumors that he himself had taken place in the games and festivities, though the King assured that he was the only one who knew with certainty that these were true - the stretch of time from the end of the festival to the spring was a dreary one. Already, the youth in the city were starting to get out of hand, bored from being free from another season of work on the farms. Bored youth led to crime and vandalism, and who knew what else.... To top it all off, there had even been rumors of a dragon sighting in the mountains to the north.
The king frowned as he saw a messenger, escorted by a guard, hurry into the room. No doubt another report of a stolen cow or scattered chicken coop, he thought glumly. When his eye caught the wax seal upon the envelope, however, he sat up abruptly. The Tower of Magi almost never formally communicated with those outside of their order, but this was undoubtedly their seal - a hand with an open flame burning in the palm, stamped on deep blue wax. He hastily tore the envelope open, cursing as he cut his finger on the thick parchment in his rush. The message was short. It began,
"A prophecy has been seen among the stars...."
Creating Your CharacterA few notes about creating a character: Though there will definitely be plenty of room for humor, this RP does generally have a slightly more serious tone than, for example, Captain Pimp. As you create your character, do keep in mind that others may be expecting a slightly different playstyle than you, so try not to choose anything that is exceedingly disrupting to either the environment or other players. (For example, a character named Batman who spends his time streaking through the public wailing at the top of his lungs would probably not be the best choice.)Name: Choose any name that you think fits your character. It might help to think of this after considering your other choices so as to choose something fitting.
Gender: Male/Female. Though I recommend playing as a character of your own gender so as to better relate to your character and their situation, this is not required, so feel free to play as any character you think you would give you an enjoyable gameplay experience.
Race:
There are three sentient races harmoniously sharing the world. You are welcome to play as any of them. Each race has their own unique ability, and a detriment - please pay attention to the abilities of even races that you are not playing as, as even non-player characters of these races will possess these abilities. Also please note that these are not statistical advantages, but rather implications as to the nature of these races - for example, one could role-play as a naturally cautious and graceful human if they so chose, despite the description of the human race below stating that humans in general often act otherwise.
1.
Humans - known for their quick adaptability, determination, and ability to turn almost any environment into a thriving community, as well as for generally being the most diplomatic of the three races. Humans are the shortest lived of the three races. Though the three races were once equal, the coming of the Shade affected the dwarves and elves more so than the humans - ever since, humans have been the most populous race by a significant margin.
- Special Ability: The Human Spirit - through sheer determination of will, humans are able to grit their teeth through the pain and survive what would normally put an end to their existence. Note that this means that they have only a small edge over the other two races; this does not affect something such as having your head sliced off, falling into boiling lava, or similar instances where death is inevitable.
- Detriment: Hasty - generally speaking, humans tend to be slightly rash and act on impulse, causing them to be just slightly less coordinated in matters of finesse than other races.
2. Dwarves - folders and shapers of nature, dwarves once kept to themselves within the deep halls of their home within the eastern mountains. Now, however, though the Kingdom Under the Mountain remains, it has become common to see members of this stocky and usually bearded race travelling the roads, looking for inspiration for their trade or perhaps even just getting to know the world from which they had been closed off for so long. Dwarves live slightly longer than humans, by a ratio of about 1.5.
- Special Ability: Artisan - dwarves have a natural eye for fine materials, and are thus more apt at crafting items and equipment, ranging from makeshift weapons to fine masterpieces. They are also typically able to get a better price when buying or selling items, due to being able to recognize the build quality of items.
- Detriment: Magic-impaired - dwarves don't have much of a knack for the arcane, and typically prefer to stay away from the art. There have been, however, quite a few dwarven mages in the past, showing that, though difficult, such a role is not impossible.
3. Elves - unlike the dwarves, the elves do not shape nature to their will, but instead embrace the will of nature itself. They are typically slightly shorter than humans, though only by a few inches, and are often identified by their pointed ears. Elves are a merry people, known for their unique flavors of music, food, and clothing. Like the dwarves, they once kept themselves hidden from the world. Unlike the dwarves, they were more tentative when it came to opening up after the coming of the Shade; it is not uncommon to see the occasional elf in a public establishment, as a large part of the race are trying to put old discriminations behind them and embrace unity, but there is also a large portion of elves who choose to remain in their forest homes. Elves live about four times longer than humans, but their maturity is not by the same ratio - they mature about twice as slowly, and simply live longer. (For example, an elf who is 40 would be about 20 in human years, but rather than living until about 180, they live to be about 350.)
- Special Ability: Elven grace - elves are typically lithe and swift, and have a knack both for moving quickly, as well as avoiding fatigue during long travels.
- Detriment: Resentment - it is truly hard to get rid of the last vestiges of racism that have been passed down for so long. Elves often have initial trouble trusting those of other races, though they are still able to build up strong friendships with time.
4. Mixed Race - though uncommon, it is possible to have family members from different races, resulting in a unique person with traits from multiple races. Before the first coming of the Shade, mixes races were virtually unheard of, but they are becoming increasingly common today. Please PM me if you would like to play as a mixed race, and we will work things out so that you can play in the way that you would like.
Age: Choose the age of your character, keeping in mind the difference between the races. (if you are a dwarf, for example, take the human-relative age that you would like to be, and times it by 1.5. For an elf, times by 2.)
Class:
The Classes of Fading Twilight: ShowHide Please note that Fading Twilight does not have a strictly enforced class system. However, choosing a class does help to give others a good idea of the type of character that you would like to play. You are not at any time "stuck" to your class, so, for example, a warrior would be able to experiment with magic, though they would likely have little experience with it and would struggle with it much more than someone who showed that they have a background with magic by choosing mage as a class instead. Also note that your class does not completely define your character. For example, someone could have a background as a farmer, and role play as a farmer (maybe you're in it for the Harvest Moon experience or something, I guess,) and still choose any of the classes below simply as a way of describing how they would react in combat should it happen.
Warrior - one who prefers their combat the "old-fashioned" way. There are a variety of warriors with their own unique and distinctive styles, but they generally prefer the use of traditional weapons and armor and direct combat rather than alternatives.
Rogue - ranging from thieves to special agents to simply those with a knack for remaining unheard and unseen, rogues prefer to stay out of sight and out of mind. In a combat situation, rogues prefer to take a strategic route rather than duke things out man-to-man.
Cleric - though hitherto unmentioned, there are true gods in the world, both of good and of evil. These gods hear the prayers of their followers, and answer according to their faith. One does not have to have had formal clerical training to choose Cleric as their class.
Mage - there are two types of mages: those who dabble in magic, and actual mages. Magic is a difficult art, and it requires a lifetime of study. Though consistent use and study of magic is the only way to become truly skilled, such use takes a toll on one's physical health. Because of this there are few who even dabble in the arcane realms, and there are very, very few who choose to wholeheartedly practice the art. Those who do choose to devote themselves to magic have only a single choice for their training - a lifetime of study at the Tower of the Magi. If someone would like to play as a full-fledged mage, PM me, and I'll give you more details.
Please note that you are not restricted to these classes! If you feel that there is something else that more accurately describes your character in a single word or phrase, please go ahead and use that as your class. This means that unlisted classes, such as Bard, Paladin, Barbarian, Assassin, Archer, or whatever else comes to mind, are perfectly fine! On that note, if you really are going to play as a farmer as I used for my previous hypothetical example, (unlikely, but you never know,) you're welcome to simply choose "Farmer" as your class. Feel free to leave additional description if necessary, though there will also be room for that in the background section.
Physical Appearance: Feel free to be as detailed or non-detailed as you'd like, whether it just be a brief description or getting all the way into details such as height in inches, weight, and so on. Do try and give enough detail that others can picture your character. Generally speaking, the more detail, the better!
Background / Profession : Be as creative as you'd like here. Make your character who you really want them to be! If you're not sure about any details, please PM me, and I'll help you to work things out. As for a profession, if you have one, feel free to list it here as part of your background.
Personality: Who is your character as a person? If you don't want to give too many details, that is alright, but do at least let others know what type of person your character will be.
Unique Talent: Again, here is your time to be creative. Choose a
non-supernatural special ability that you would like your character to have. Choose something that will be useful and set you apart from others, but nothing that is too powerful. This should probably be related to your background. For example, if you are a dwarven metalsmith, perhaps you would have the ability to reforge swords and armor to be even stronger.
Other: anything else that you want me or other players to know.
Other Notes: