Fantasy Voyage To The End [OOC]

[Kloudy]

Scaleless What do you think to my idea for a rival/usurper for Remus?

 

[Scaleless]

Scaleless What do you think to my idea for a rival/usurper for Remus?

That would work if they wanna pursue that route. I’m thinking of a hydra tbh. A big snek fellow with a couple of heads. It is up to them though, haha. I personally love to see other peoples creativity so I’m pretty open for whatever regarding Remus.

A hydra that has since grown a couple more heads and amassed more power… would be pretty sick. Maybe the hydra sparred an orc, letting them escape just as a way of taunting Remus after his capture years ago?

 

[Kloudy]

That would work if they wanna pursue that route. I’m thinking of a hydra tbh. A big snek fellow with a couple of heads. It is up to them though, haha. I personally love to see other peoples creativity so I’m pretty open for whatever regarding Remus.

A hydra that has since grown a couple more heads and amassed more power… would be pretty sick. Maybe the hydra sparred an orc, letting them escape just as a way of taunting Remus after his capture years ago?

Perhaps a warparty of orcs ventured into the depths of the Abyss to find their own "Remus" to fight back against Kyserias, found the hydra and tried to subdue it. Failing, they were only able to bring back a single head which in turn regenerated and birthed a new subspecies that now permeate Erebus. Since then, maybe the orcs learned to tame and then ride these smaller, weaker hydra?

Edit: I'm imagining something like the cgi creature from the season of Overlord with all the lizardmen plot

 

[Scaleless]

Perhaps a warparty of orcs ventured into the depths of the Abyss to find their own "Remus" to fight back against Kyserias, found the hydra and tried to subdue it. Failing, they were only able to bring back a single head which in turn regenerated and birthed a new subspecies that now permeate Erebus. Since then, maybe the orcs learned to tame and then ride these smaller, weaker hydra?

I like it. You got a real knack for this stuff Kloudy. Maybe not so wide spread though, just under ownership of especially prominent members of their organization, perhaps as a symbol for their ability to establish power over the monsters within the abyss. Kinda seeing its ability to survive after getting their head cut off as symbolic of their past relationship with Remus. Works wells from what Echo was planning, as I’ve gathered. One group sees their movement as establishing control over the monsters of the abyss, whereas Bread’s group is more based on servitude.

 

[Kloudy]

I like it. You got a real knack for this stuff Kloudy. Maybe not so wide spread though, just under ownership of especially prominent members of their organization, perhaps as a symbol for their ability to establish power over the monsters within the abyss. Kinda seeing its ability to survive after getting their head cut off as symbolic of their past relationship with Remus. Works wells from what Echo was planning, as I’ve gathered. One group sees their movement as establishing control over the monsters of the abyss, whereas Bread’s group is more based on servitude.

Aww, you flatter me. It's a little conceited, but I do fancy myself somewhat of a lore-king (or perhaps simply a lore-junkie)~

I'll stop brainstorming this for now to give Echo a chance, wouldn't want to take over the idea. But yes, I'd imagine they would be a tad rarer than other monsters in the area.

In regards to my own brainstorming, I plan for Cicero to be quite knowledgeable in the stories and legends of Erebus and the levels below it. Would I simply make those legends up or do you have various tidbits to supply me along the way?

 

[Scaleless]

Aww, you flatter me. It's a little conceited, but I do fancy myself somewhat of a lore-king (or perhaps simply a lore-junkie)~

I'll stop brainstorming this for now to give Echo a chance, wouldn't want to take over the idea. But yes, I'd imagine they would be a tad rarer than other monsters in the area.

In regards to my own brainstorming, I plan for Cicero to be quite knowledgeable in the stories and legends of Erebus and the levels below it. Would I simply make those legends up or do you have various tidbits to supply me along the way?

Lmao quite the title there, can’t say it’s unearned now. I will be happy to contribute to this but I will not stop you if you wanna add to the world’s history / lore. You have shown yourself to be quite the reliable lore-king. So a bit of both… I will think up another section of the lore with some legends to help you out so he can be a true encyclopedia.

 

[Kloudy]

Lmao quite the title there, can’t say it’s unearned now. I will be happy to contribute to this but I will not stop you if you wanna add to the world’s history / lore. You have shown yourself to be quite the reliable lore-king. So a bit of both… I will think up another section of the lore with some legends to help you out so he can be a true encyclopedia.

Oh god, actually now I'm regretting calling myself that xD

I'm happy to work with you on legends and the like, writing random bits of lore is indeed my higher calling.

Now that we're a little more familiar, can I try to convince you of discord again so soon? I really do feel like this back and forth brainstorming would benefit greatly from the platform. I'll stop trying if you want me to, of course.

 

[D. Rex]

I'd recommend worshipping a creature of equal strength to Remus when they were in their prime. Then you could give said creature the backstory of being Remus' rival back in the day until he was captured by Kyserias. When Kyserias relinquished control of Remus' domain in the Abyss, your new creature stepped in as the new Alpha.

This works twice as well when you think about how Kyserias used Remus to wage war on the other races/territories of Erebus. There's likely bad blood between him and the orcs, lending weight to their allegiance towards his rival and usurper.



Oh, that sounds Game of Thrones-y enough to work perfectly for me!

I'll have my CS up very soon, but your prince's personality sounds exactly like what Cicero (the mentor) would have wanted him to grow up to become during his younger years. He would have feared the prince would learn from and imitate Kyserias, perhaps leading the advisor to teach him a calmer and kinder temperament.

If we go by the timeline, the prince would have been almost 20 when Kyserias disappeared. We can say that Cicero had been teaching him up until then while being the king's advisor, but then he would have left the royal court. If you'd like, we can say that the prince still continued to visit Cicero in the Valerius Learned Institution? It's Cicero's family's university/library.

In regards to combat-style, an elemental swordmage sounds awesome and well-balanced for our current party composition. I would assume he was taught the basics of magic by my character in his younger years? Cicero knows some barrier magic, so perhaps the prince picked up some of that too to conjure energy shields and such?

Game-of-throney is a good way to put it.

Perhaps 4 heirs go along the expedition. Either solo or with teams of their own. Given the competitive nature of their goal, it would give the option of having them interfere at some points. With them wanting to claim security of their succession, and outside of the laws and observation of Erebus... who knows what they would resort to? Or what secondary goals they might have... the power to usurp... curry favor with father... eradication of competion... old grudges...

They could provide interesting speedbumps given that they would get stronger as they descend as well.



As well, I think we could easily work in that Cicero had a hand in helping the Prince attain his philosophy during his formative years. And given the prince would value scholarly pursuits as much as physical, I think it does stand to reason he would very much want to visit Cicero to learn more.

While the elementalism would come from his family heritage, i think learning things like magical shields could prove very useful in his vanguard role. So I would be more than happy to work in that too.

 

[D. Rex]

Which reminds me!

Scaleless

Given that the king took power roughly a decade ago.

Who was Eligus before he took power? I would assume he was likely of high nobility to wrestle the title of king after big makes disappearance? Did you have anything made up for that?

 

[D. Rex]

I'd recommend worshipping a creature of equal strength to Remus when they were in their prime. Then you could give said creature the backstory of being Remus' rival back in the day until he was captured by Kyserias. When Kyserias relinquished control of Remus' domain in the Abyss, your new creature stepped in as the new Alpha.

This works twice as well when you think about how Kyserias used Remus to wage war on the other races/territories of Erebus. There's likely bad blood between him and the orcs, lending weight to their allegiance towards his rival and usurper.

I like this idea of a Remus alternative. Gives an ominous feel that Remus wasn't the only big boy on campus. And that such an event as Remus being used as a weapon could easily happen again.





As an aside. I think Prince could sympathize with Remus. But he would be quite on the fence if chance opened up to free Remus from his curse. The little dragon might be understandably embittered by the experience. Given the stated temperament of little Remus, it would be easy to assume big Remus might try to enact vengeance. Or, reclaim his dominion by starting with Erebus.

 

[D. Rex]

Scaleless

Lastly! You had brought up the family name of the King. I would like to put forth the suggestion of Godboldt. A suitably imposing name that a self-important tyrant might take pride in.

 

[Kloudy]

Game-of-throney is a good way to put it.

Perhaps 4 heirs go along the expedition. Either solo or with teams of their own. Given the competitive nature of their goal, it would give the option of having them interfere at some points. With them wanting to claim security of their succession, and outside of the laws and observation of Erebus... who knows what they would resort to? Or what secondary goals they might have... the power to usurp... curry favor with father... eradication of competion... old grudges...

They could provide interesting speedbumps given that they would get stronger as they descend as well.

I think the idea of other npc groups led by other heirs to the Arcana Kingdom is a great one. The competition, the political intrigue, the moral ambiguity of duty versus family. Would make for a right dilemma for the Prince, perhaps one that he would confide in Cicero for.

As well, I think we could easily work in that Cicero had a hand in helping the Prince attain his philosophy during his formative years. And given the prince would value scholarly pursuits as much as physical, I think it does stand to reason he would very much want to visit Cicero to learn more.

Excellent, I'll write it in my cs that the two have a good relationship.

While the elementalism would come from his family heritage, i think learning things like magical shields could prove very useful in his vanguard role. So I would be more than happy to work in that too.

Again, that works perfectly for me!

Given that the king took power roughly a decade ago.

Who was Eligus before he took power? I would assume he was likely of high nobility to wrestle the title of king after big makes disappearance? Did you have anything made up for that?

Usually one must marry into the royal bloodline to even have a chance at convincing others of your kinglyness. So if you don't already have royal blood in you, you'd either need to be extremely wealthy/influential or a living paragon of warfare.

Oh, and not that it concerns my character much but I vote the royal surname could be Arkanicae. Aka, an archaic version of Arcana. That would make the ex-king named Kyserias Arkanicae - which I think sounds cool.

 

[Hyphae]

Well, its more about what you need. If its largely a medieval country in decline, then the average person shouldn't be able to comfortably afford the things they need.

Let's assume the average citizen is a serf or peasant that owns no land and lives in poor conditions. They would pay a tax to their local lord, say a third of their income. With increased taxation rates from Eligas, let's double it to two thirds. Now let's say that 25r is enough for a single person to eat decently for a week. A peasant will work for his local lord and will likely need to feed around 3 other mouths if they have kids.

If they earn 100r a week, and it costs 100r for 3 square meals for your family and you, plus you had to pay your local lord around 66r (give or take depending on temperament), corners will have to be cut or a lord's soldier will cut you.

So either you shirk taxation, or starve yourselves a little. Throw in the neccessity for medicine, maintenance of clothing and tools, animal feed, travel costs, etc - now we're looking at a struggling populace and an economy in decline. So 100r doesn't seem like much once we're aware of what it takes to live.

In terms of housing in the city or buying land, you probably have the right idea keeping it in the thousands. No peasant will ever earn/save enough money to buy their way in and adventurers/merchants wouldn't have much trouble saving up profits from their exploits.

To weigh in on the economics of the Abyss conversation a day late, might it make more sense to have it so rather than getting paid simply to go into the Abyss, one primarily earns money by selling things collected from within the Abyss. Perhaps those that have shown some talent, or who come from more privileged backgrounds would have the opportunity to join sponsored expeditions, with many having their pay sent directly back to their families on the surface while they embark on longer delves.

I can imagine there being a major problem with peasants struggling to make ends meet on the surface going down into the abyss only to get killed by the monsters down there, while nobles and such with a degree of political clout or money to throw around, would have no trouble getting sponsors and integrating themselves with experienced delving teams from the get-go, thus furthering the class divide. That would seem to be vaguely in line with shitty medieval economy on the decline.

Anyway, as far as my character goes, I was thinking a sort of self-taught spellcaster that focuses on problem solving and making the absolute most out of the very weak spells they’ve managed to pick up from observing the spells people use in their day to day lives.

 

[D. Rex]

I think the idea of other npc groups led by other heirs to the Arcana Kingdom is a great one. The competition, the political intrigue, the moral ambiguity of duty versus family. Would make for a right dilemma for the Prince, perhaps one that he would confide in Cicero for.


Excellent, I'll write it in my cs that the two have a good relationship.


Again, that works perfectly for me!


Usually one must marry into the royal bloodline to even have a chance at convincing others of your kinglyness. So if you don't already have royal blood in you, you'd either need to be extremely wealthy/influential or a living paragon of warfare.

Oh, and not that it concerns my character much but I vote the royal surname could be Arkanicae. Aka, an archaic version of Arcana. That would make the ex-king named Kyserias Arkanicae - which I think sounds cool.

Based on what we know Kyserias was conqueror. So when he formed the kingdom, he obviously named it. Naming it after himself would be a obvious choice too. Unless he named it after his love of magic.

Name aside...

We also know that "the legacy remains in the blood of the royal family."

As such, we could easily expect Eligus to be related to Kyserias already. To what extent would be up for discussion. A direct would be reasonable. Kyserias, at the very least, began everything 50 years ago. Plenty of time for procreation there. Also, given that Kyserias is a mysterious figure, he very well could be much much older than we suspect, ageless even.

Eligus could easily have been before or early during the rise of Kyserias. And Eligus propagating during that time as well is reasonable.


Now! I have some to add to the idea as well.

Given the royal family is indicated for his legacy. I think we could say that Eligus is not the only relative of Kyserias. He could have had siblings, cousins, other relatives, etc.

To keep the idea simple... part of the reason everything was thrown into incredible chaos at the disappearance of Kyserias was the royal family fighting to fill the power vacuum.

Be it through cunning or might, Eligus prevailed.


Knowing this history, having lived through it. The children of Eligus anticipate a similar result when the throne becomes empty yet again. This helping spur their decision to handle things through this expedition. Like a private war between themselves so that the kingdom of Arcana does not risk shattering during a second aforementioned power vacuum.

 

[D. Rex]

Lol but I still think Godboldt is the cooler surname.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

I think its simpler to have Eligus be a descendant of Kyserias. A new bloodline proclaiming themself to be the new noble ruler without actually earning it and then becomes tyrant would probably lead the kingdom into civil war first rather than just economic decline.

 

[Scaleless]

A looot to catch up to while I was busy, a good thing though in my book. Sorry if it was not clear but, yes, Eligus is a descendant of Kyserias. I did point vaguely to it, but powerful magic users can get very extended life expectancy! Kyserias being famous for his prowess would of course be one of them.

A little internal struggle to decide succession? I like the concept and all of the subplots we have going on. A really solid idea and I will make sure to implement it. Let’s say he has 1 brother and a sister also going on the expedition? 4 is a little too much to juggle haha. Godboldt! An excellent choice for them all then if that is what you will be sticking with.

As for Eligus, I’ll create go into detail for more lore on our king: He spread his tentacles of influence through the royal court and its inner workings, through bribery and blackmail, and through backroom dealings with those who had something to gain from his ascension. He crafted a reputation of ruthlessness and cunning, and those who crossed him soon learned the power of his wrath. With an eye for opportunity, he even managed to gain control of some of the most powerful religious institutions in the realm, allowing him to wield the power of faith. By the time of his coronation, Eligus had already gained complete control of the kingdom’s most powerful institutions or had a puppet on the inside.

He was the oldest son of the former king, Kyserias, and a powerful abyssal priestess named Aelani. Though the two were deeply in love, their union was doomed from the start. Aelani bound her soul to the darkest depths of the abyss, seeking power and knowledge, but instead found only horror and despair. When something from the abyss possessed her, it drove her mad.

The news of King Eligus' coronation was met with mixed emotions. Many were thrilled to see a new monarch on the throne, while others were wary of the young king's power. But no one anticipated the shocking announcement that followed. Eligus declared that one of his brothers had attempted to take his mother's life, and that in the ensuing battle, a large section of the castle had been destroyed. He went on to describe how he and his brother had fought to the death, and how his younger brother had perished in the struggle.

Suspicions swirled about the truth of the incident. Eligus' younger brother had never been known for violence, and he had sought to use diplomacy during the struggle for the throne. But Eligus had outmaneuvered him, and the younger brother had been unable to prevent his fate.

The timing of Kyserias' disappearance and Aelani's descent into madness had not gone unnoticed. Eligus had hidden his mother away in an unknown location, one that only he knew and visited. He refused to speak of her condition, or of her whereabouts, and speculation ran wild. Some said that Eligus had driven his mother mad in order to weaken his father and take the throne, while others said that the madness had been caused by her own reckless pursuit of power. Whatever had happened, Eligus had made sure to keep his mother's condition a closely guarded secret.

Edit: And on discord you’re making some strong arguments for it. You’re quite the salesperson lore king XD

I don’t want anyone to get left out… Let’s say that I’ll see who all makes sheets and if we’re all down for it we can move over to discord. Otherwise you’re welcome to just add me and we can trade ideas there and share ‘‘em on here.

 

[Scaleless]

Echocoa What do you think of the hydra idea btw?

 

[Echocoa]

I'd recommend worshipping a creature of equal strength to Remus when they were in their prime. Then you could give said creature the backstory of being Remus' rival back in the day until he was captured by Kyserias. When Kyserias relinquished control of Remus' domain in the Abyss, your new creature stepped in as the new Alpha.

This works twice as well when you think about how Kyserias used Remus to wage war on the other races/territories of Erebus. There's likely bad blood between him and the orcs, lending weight to their allegiance towards his rival and usurper.



Oh, that sounds Game of Thrones-y enough to work perfectly for me!

I'll have my CS up very soon, but your prince's personality sounds exactly like what Cicero (the mentor) would have wanted him to grow up to become during his younger years. He would have feared the prince would learn from and imitate Kyserias, perhaps leading the advisor to teach him a calmer and kinder temperament.

If we go by the timeline, the prince would have been almost 20 when Kyserias disappeared. We can say that Cicero had been teaching him up until then while being the king's advisor, but then he would have left the royal court. If you'd like, we can say that the prince still continued to visit Cicero in the Valerius Learned Institution? It's Cicero's family's university/library.

In regards to combat-style, an elemental swordmage sounds awesome and well-balanced for our current party composition. I would assume he was taught the basics of magic by my character in his younger years? Cicero knows some barrier magic, so perhaps the prince picked up some of that too to conjure energy shields and such?

That would work if they wanna pursue that route. I’m thinking of a hydra tbh. A big snek fellow with a couple of heads. It is up to them though, haha. I personally love to see other peoples creativity so I’m pretty open for whatever regarding Remus.

A hydra that has since grown a couple more heads and amassed more power… would be pretty sick. Maybe the hydra sparred an orc, letting them escape just as a way of taunting Remus after his capture years ago?

Perhaps a warparty of orcs ventured into the depths of the Abyss to find their own "Remus" to fight back against Kyserias, found the hydra and tried to subdue it. Failing, they were only able to bring back a single head which in turn regenerated and birthed a new subspecies that now permeate Erebus. Since then, maybe the orcs learned to tame and then ride these smaller, weaker hydra?

Edit: I'm imagining something like the cgi creature from the season of Overlord with all the lizardmen plot

I like it. You got a real knack for this stuff Kloudy. Maybe not so wide spread though, just under ownership of especially prominent members of their organization, perhaps as a symbol for their ability to establish power over the monsters within the abyss. Kinda seeing its ability to survive after getting their head cut off as symbolic of their past relationship with Remus. Works wells from what Echo was planning, as I’ve gathered. One group sees their movement as establishing control over the monsters of the abyss, whereas Bread’s group is more based on servitude.

I'm sorry I've been sleeping >-<
These ideas are really cool! I have been thinking a bit on a rival for Remus, and I was thinking something serpentine. And while I like the Hydra idea there's a few other things I had been thinking. I had wanted something a bit more mystical, I guess? Something to feel like it mirrored Remus's pure strength with it's own magical cunning. This was the inspiration I found after a bit of searching:

I do really like the idea of the orcs, in desperation, sending a war party to attempt to subdue or control a creature of the Abyss to fight back against Remus, meeting the creature, and failing to defeat it by leagues. I would say then that perhaps the creature, sensing an opportunity to take a jab at both its old rival and these weaklings who dared challenge it, told the few remaining survivors a rather twisted version of its tale with Remus, granted them a "boon" for challenging them, and then assisting them in leaving the abyss. The boon being familiars reminiscent of those attached to its body, which assisted in the fight against Remus and, while not stopping him by any means, did help the orcs gain a foothold. After the war, though, the familiars, which had since become commonplace, stopped obeying any commands, wrecked havoc, and then fled throughout Erebus. This, I think, can sort of combine our ideas in a way I think is neat.

This kind of built on the fact that the way I had envisioned it, the orcs do sort of worship these powerful creatures, seeing them as granters of strength that allowing them to conquer and control those below them. They can grow angry with their followers, as the orcs view the attacks by the familiars, and as such need to be appeased through worship and sacrifice to ensure the orcs keep the power they gained back since the war. My character was just sort of in opposition to this and vouched for a revival of the way of the orcs before this era of bending the knee to an image of power: harness the capabilities of the Abyss and its creatures to take their power as their own, not relying on the whims of others.

That's just what I had been thinking so far, but I need to refine it considerably, I imagine >-<

 

[Scaleless]

Echocoa That works really well, it is your character’s backstory after all so don’t let us direct it too much. I am interested in seeing your Orc all finished up. Shaping up to be a very fun addition, so don’t feel too pressured or anything—I’m very easy to impress ^^

 

[aurivee_]

...Somehow, I entirely missed this notification. My sincerest of apologies for my tardiness >.>

I haven't had a ton of time to come up with a character concept yet, but I'm debating on creating a character that utilizes magic to animate and control otherwise inanimate objects. Haven't quite settled on it though - just an idea that I've been playing with. No idea what their place in the setting will be... or anything else about their character, for that matter.. but I'll work on that today.

 

[Ayama]

My character will be a meathead knight with two disposable magical henchpeople- all three of them intended mostly as comic relief, to contrast with all the awesome serious plotlines and stakes we have going on ^^

(I will state for the record that if OOC moves to Discord I'll have to bow out, though based on how awesomely active this one has been I'm not overly concerned about that as an eventuality ;P )

 

[Scaleless]

You don’t have to make your characters super implemented in the lore or anything guys. If you just wanna play a funny little guy or a mercenary that is alright too. Don’t want people stressing too hard I’ll try and include something for everyone as far as the narrative goes IC haha.

I like the prince Rex. Just need to shape up the magic then or did you have something more you were thinking up in the prior sections? Btw am I free to design and play the npcs for their siblings when it comes up IC or did you have an idea? D. Rex

 

[D. Rex]

You don’t have to make your characters super implemented in the lore or anything guys. If you just wanna play a funny little guy or a mercenary that is alright too. Don’t want people stressing too hard I’ll try and include something for everyone as far as the narrative goes IC haha.

I like the prince Rex. Just need to shape up the magic then or did you have something more you were thinking up in the prior sections? Btw am I free to design and play the npcs for their siblings when it comes up IC or did you have an idea? D. Rex

Thank you!! Just making mine up as I go along! Working out pretty well so far. Lol probably spent a little too long playing with AI to get a pic though.

I still got work to do on magic mostly. And gear, depending on if you just want our mainstays or everything in our pockets. But mostly I just got to think up a couple specific magic spells and stuff, and maybe get a bit more info on the royal family elemental magic.


As for siblings! I had some loose ideas. Maybe a picture. But nothing that I really needed to be any specific way. Would fun to discuss!

 

[Kloudy]

Finally posted Cicero, although it is still a WIP.

Personality and magic is all done, so the feel for the playstyle is there. I'll be delving into gear and history more tomorrow after I get some sleep. If anyone would like to brainstorm any character-relationships then please ping me~