Fantasy Poll for Medieval/Fantasy RP

[Vyolence]

I'm mostly trying to get a feel for the amount of people interested in a literate Medieval themed RP on this site. Comment or vote and help ya girl get an idea of how much of the community is currently interested in this topic. It would eventually be my goal to build lore, race details, and regional settings.

ISO - players interested in a Medieval realm RP with fantasy elements. A world would exist with a vast list of races, regions, and some crazy shit (let's keep it interesting folks). Players should be 18+, somewhat active (weekly replies at the least) and interested in fantasy elements. There won't be a main storyline to participate in - mostly locations that are explorable with individual group storylines/interactions.

Backbones required.

Edit: I got busy!

 

[darkborn]

What if my backbone is made of cartilage?

Shark-ception.

...cough.

Anyways, what's the feel you're wanting to go for? Like, for example, LotR is very darknoble (AKA, it's a dark setting, but there's hope for the future..); as such, it's aesthetic is much more down to earth, realistic, and low magic compared to say, DnD, which is very heroic fantasy; as in, characters can achieve great feats of magic, though (on most DnD campaigns), not godly amounts. ORRRR you can go the route of Warhammer Fantasy. Grimdark. As in, magic is simultaneously higher level and lower level (AKA, higher levels require daemonic practs and/or exposure to corruption via the Immaterium.). That, and steampunk elements are prominent.... Oh. And it's very likely Daemons are gonna eat the world and it's gonna end horribly.

...I hope my explanation made sense. xD.

 

[Flecker]

I've been craving a normal slay the dragon RP. For some reason, in my 9 years RP experience, I've never played an RP like that.

 

[Vyolence]

What if my backbone is made of cartilage?

Shark-ception.

...cough.

Anyways, what's the feel you're wanting to go for? Like, for example, LotR is very darknoble (AKA, it's a dark setting, but there's hope for the future..); as such, it's aesthetic is much more down to earth, realistic, and low magic compared to say, DnD, which is very heroic fantasy; as in, characters can achieve great feats of magic, though (on most DnD campaigns), not godly amounts. ORRRR you can go the route of Warhammer Fantasy. Grimdark. As in, magic is simultaneously higher level and lower level (AKA, higher levels require daemonic practs and/or exposure to corruption via the Immaterium.). That, and steampunk elements are prominent.... Oh. And it's very likely Daemons are gonna eat the world and it's gonna end horribly.

...I hope my explanation made sense. xD.

I designed a sandbox style RP on Discord a year ago - modeling it mostly around The Elder Scrolls lore. I'm essentially debating on rebooting that here. High/low magic, traditional/not so traditional races/themes. Anything goes and while themes of TES might exist, nothing will replicate that completely.

My goal is to have a few sub-threads that vary from each other in population, geographic location, etc. I've decided after a burst of creative energy I'll just write, organize and post lore. Then see what happens.

 

[Flecker]

I definitely love Skyrim. Might be a good idea to start there I think the lore is pretty much set up. If there's a new angle we can take then probably it'll be a nice RP.

 

[Vyolence]

I definitely love Skyrim. Might be a good idea to start there I think the lore is pretty much set up. If there's a new angle we can take then probably it'll be a nice RP.

I started with Oblivion which remains my favorite TES game to this day. I don't foresee as many restrictions in this lore tho. I think so many people that aim for 'sandbox' style Medieval/Fantasy RPs end up getting restrictive with race, magic, etc. I think a solid sandbox that allows an 'anything goes as long as you accept the consequences' type deal is what my goal would be.

 

[Flecker]

Well I think one of the reasons why they're being a little bit restrictive with the race is so they can put a lot of details and make them very rich. If we have infinite possibilities maybe people can get what they want, but people will be a bit confused with how things actually work like the mechanics of the magic involved and how the races evolved, civilized and behaved.

 

[Vyolence]

Well I think one of the reasons why they're being a little bit restrictive with the race is so they can put a lot of details and make them very rich. If we have infinite possibilities maybe people can get what they want, but people will be a bit confused with how things actually work like the mechanics of the magic involved and how the races evolved, civilized and behaved.

I hope the option of character creation sheets can clear that up. But c'mon, it's half the fun trying to unravel the mystery of another character!

 

[Flecker]

I agree completely! I think what makes RPs interesting is actually trying to figure out the randomness that can come out of the interaction with other people. Though I think there's no harm to align people or at least give them some form of end goal or like a solid landscape to start building things.

Come to think of it, I think that's like the basis of nearly all Bethesda games right? Like there's the big bad dragon/conflict at the end, that big conflict is like disrupting the solid and established rules of the world. The disruption starts causing a myriad of events that are fun for our protagonists to explore and then we'll have a rich organic world.

 

[Vyolence]

I agree completely! I think what makes RPs interesting is actually trying to figure out the randomness that can come out of the interaction with other people. Though I think there's no harm to align people or at least give them some form of end goal or like a solid landscape to start building things.

Come to think of it, I think that's like the basis of nearly all Bethesda games right? Like there's the big bad dragon/conflict at the end, that big conflict is like disrupting the solid and established rules of the world. The disruption starts causing a myriad of events that are fun for our protagonists to explore and then we'll have a rich organic world.

Now as much as I love what you're saying - I personally always had a difficult time commiting to large RP groups with actual long term plots. I not only felt lost af ( and yeah, too lazy to read through waves of responses and plot updates.

Which made me think, another quality of a true sandbox RP might be the ability to jump in at any moment without having to study a plot, background, history, etc. My hope is to see players who are interested in a specific plot perhaps reach out in the OOC thread, come up with a game plan, and then go in as a group. Allowing multiple interactions to run alongside each other cohesively is ideal. Perhaps it's the lazy way to do it? I think this can be achieved with a GM who can insternsert random story plots to satisfy those who need more structure to RP.

 

[Flecker]

"might be the ability to jump in at any moment without having to study a plot, background, history, etc"

THIS IS I THINK WHA'S MISSING FROM RPN RPs. If your dream is to make something like that, I'll be fully onboard.

 

[Vyolence]

"might be the ability to jump in at any moment without having to study a plot, background, history, etc"

THIS IS I THINK WHA'S MISSING FROM RPN RPs. If your dream is to make something like that, I'll be fully onboard.

I got something cooking, I'd love feedback once I get it up. c:

 

[Flecker]

Cool! Keep me updated. By the way, when you say medieval, probably it's already answered lol, but are you still going to do TES or is it going to be like more medieval-y with knights and paladins and stuff?

 

[Vyolence]

Cool! Keep me updated. By the way, when you say medieval, probably it's already answered lol, but are you still going to do TES or is it going to be like more medieval-y with knights and paladins and stuff?

Hmm, well TES is my inspiration but I don't plan direct references ( unless we use a race from there specifically ). As for those sorts of things, they're definitely welcome. It won't be a focus by any means, just a reference to the time period to avoid any futuristic themes? ( I feel like I didn't answer your question but I hope that helps lol )

There won't be an specific date, in order to be less restrictive. Just 5 playable regions with small descriptions and a starter location in each - though I wouldn't expect all players to participate there, it's ultimately up to them! Just doing so to provide a little direction.

 

[darkborn]

Uh. Wow, a conversation happened. xD.

If I may contribute... I think SOME set up is necessary, but only for essentials, like how the magic system works, what are the specific tech limits of the setting, are there any gods (Which probably most fantasy RPG have, but there are some exceptions.) Because if anything goes, there's gonna be conflicting magic systems and weird discrepancies between regions/people, which will make power levels- not to mention culture- messed up.

Because, y'know, technology is often described in the context of magic as the great 'equalizer.' As in, it takes a select few elite to use magic, but everyone can use technology. And that leads to cultural change, and innovations such as printing press and paper, which leads to faster proliferation of news, which could lead to increased need for reading, which could lead for increased education in general, which could lead to peasants wanting more rights.... Yeah. This spirals and spirals.

..And this leads neatly into my next question! You fell into my trap!

MAX Tech level. Obviously not futuristic. Obviously not Dieselpunk. But what about Steampunk, Clockpunk, or Aetherpunk?

Oh. And history doesn't even need to be consistent across cultures. Because..

PEOPLE ARE COMPLICATED!

And may have conflicting views on how history works. Makes for nice little interactions.

 

[Vyolence]

Uh. Wow, a conversation happened. xD.

If I may contribute... I think SOME set up is necessary, but only for essentials, like how the magic system works, what are the specific tech limits of the setting, are there any gods (Which probably most fantasy RPG have, but there are some exceptions.) Because if anything goes, there's gonna be conflicting magic systems and weird discrepancies between regions/people, which will make power levels- not to mention culture- messed up.

Because, y'know, technology is often described in the context of magic as the great 'equalizer.' As in, it takes a select few elite to use magic, but everyone can use technology. And that leads to cultural change, and innovations such as printing press and paper, which leads to faster proliferation of news, which could lead to increased need for reading, which could lead for increased education in general, which could lead to peasants wanting more rights.... Yeah. This spirals and spirals.

..And this leads neatly into my next question! You fell into my trap!

MAX Tech level. Obviously not futuristic. Obviously not Dieselpunk. But what about Steampunk, Clockpunk, or Aetherpunk?

Oh. And history doesn't even need to be consistent across cultures. Because..

PEOPLE ARE COMPLICATED!

And may have conflicting views on how history works. Makes for nice little interactions.

Aye, I hear you. I don't want a magic system to be overly complicated or defined by a set of rules. I'd like to see enough structure to give an idea but not restrict. My theory has always been, if players create absurd characters, then their interaction probably won't be consistent if at all.

I can establish some parameters for tech, etc. But ultimately medieval means roughly through the 15th century IRL so tech including magic would give another century perhaps? Thinks like steampunk derived from the 19th century IRL, so they wouldn't fit well in this sort of universe. But that's what the OOC will be for! If there isn't enough of a skeleton to grab hold of, these micro details can be managed via OOC or even direct messages. My line is always open.

 

[darkborn]

Aye, I hear you. I don't want a magic system to be overly complicated or defined by a set of rules. I'd like to see enough structure to give an idea but not restrict. My theory has always been, if players create absurd characters, then their interaction probably won't be consistent if at all.

I can establish some parameters for tech, etc. But ultimately medieval means roughly through the 15th century IRL so tech including magic would give another century perhaps? Thinks like steampunk derived from the 19th century IRL, so they wouldn't fit well in this sort of universe. But that's what the OOC will be for! If there isn't enough of a skeleton to grab hold of, these micro details can be managed via OOC or even direct messages. My line is always open.

Nah, that's all I needed to hear.

I just like specifying stuff and whatnot, even if I don't intend to capitalize on it on the moment, because who knows when I'll get some sort of inspiration for a different kind of idea and scrap the original.

 

[Vyolence]

With the help of a map builder and my shitty editing skills, I made a map! Just trying to get a feel for regions and their climate, etc.

 

[darkborn]

What mapmaker did you use?

 

[Vyolence]

What mapmaker did you use?

Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator

Free web app that helps fantasy writers, game masters, and cartographers create and edit fantasy maps

azgaar.github.io

 

[darkborn]

Inkarnate is a really good mapmaker, and it's free, though you can get more with Pro, though Pro is subscription.

Alternatively, you can pay 20$ upfront and get Wonderdraft; it's a real competitor to Inkarnate.

 

[sheesh]

I've been looking for one of these, was thinking about starting my own thread to try and get a fantasy thread without restrictions on magic. I've been fantasizing about a character idea for the last few days and I can't wait to actually translate those thoughts into an actual character.

 

[Vyolence]

I've been looking for one of these, was thinking about starting my own thread to try and get a fantasy thread without restrictions on magic. I've been fantasizing about a character idea for the last few days and I can't wait to actually translate those thoughts into an actual character.

I've also been having an itch! I'm rather new to this site but when I began searching for something upon arrival, I noticed a trend. A lot of 'sandbox' vibes but very restrictive content.

I definitely understand why, to limit the chaos. But I think that's the fun part! I don't foresee magical restrictions in this environment - as long as there is no god-modding, etc. My theory is, if you choose to be an absolute trashcan with magical abilities, then don't expect much interaction! I'm hoping that will guide people to create unique abilities but still maintain some sense of accountability.

 

[sheesh]

I've also been having an itch! I'm rather new to this site but when I began searching for something upon arrival, I noticed a trend. A lot of 'sandbox' vibes but very restrictive content.

I definitely understand why, to limit the chaos. But I think that's the fun part! I don't foresee magical restrictions in this environment - as long as there is no god-modding, etc. My theory is, if you choose to be an absolute trashcan with magical abilities, then don't expect much interaction! I'm hoping that will guide people to create unique abilities but still maintain some sense of accountability.

Oh I've definitely got some unique abilities for sure. At least, I think they're unique. It'll be fun for me to build on, and with a sandbox kinda vibe I don't think I'll really need to interact with other players to get as much as I can out of this. Tag me when the character sheet thread is up!

 

[Vyolence]

I may have been a little busy!