RPG
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Factions:
The Crescent Alliance: Formed during the Shadow Wars, the Crescent Alliance consisted of the long time enemies Cairhien, Altara and Arafel as well as the Naian and Shadowfel elves, and was formed hastily to combat the swarms of shadow creatures that came out of the South Eastern Mountains, threatening all of the countries. During the war Arafel’s capital was raised and its cities broken one by one, even now many fear to venture into the ruined streets of the capital. The Crescent Alliance dissolved twelve years after the end of the Shadow Wars, and though relations between the nations are better than before, there is still an underlying disdain between Altarans and Cairhienins.
The Elven Triad: The elves themselves have formed tenuous alliances amongst themselves, and haven’t been at outright war since hundreds of years before the Shadow Wars. Though their relationships aren’t as smooth as some of the human alliances, they will always back each other over the other races
The Sky Riders: The Murandian islands are unique for their technology and secretive nature, during the shadow war it was the zeppelins of Murandy that fought the gargoyles and Drakyr of the Shadow in the sky. Even inside Murandy however, the Sky Riders have their own council and authority separate from the Queen.
The Aiel: The reclusive and often considered Savage Aiel, dwelling in the wastes north of Cairhien have only ventured past the Dragonwall once in living history, during the Aiel Wars in 213PS (Post Shadow War), when the King of Cairhien insulted their gift of an ancient Tree, by cutting it down to expand his palace. They poured out of the waste in great numbers, swamping the Cairhienin forces and swiftly capturing the city, and it took Altara, Ebou Dar and Cairhienin resistance to drive them back to the wastes. The Aiel live in towns and ‘holds’ rather than cities, the only city in the waste is Rhuidean, and it is sacred amongst their people.
The Shadow: Very little is known about the shadow, other than it serves a single dark lord, and its armies consist of vicious Trollish creatures alongside Wraithlike captains and magic wielding Generals. Many cults to the shadow have sprung up since the Shadow wars, but they are usually quickly rooted out and the members hung.
Known Shadow Creatures are:
Trolls, Orcs, Wraiths, Dreadlords (mages), Gargoyles, Drakyr (Flying Centaurs)
Nations:
Altara: The prosperous and noble land of Altara is one of the two great powers of Andor, alongside Cairhien. It is well known for its powerful cavalry and heavy infantry, and follows both a King and a Panarch. The current King is Ailron III, and the Panarch is Catherine II.
Cairhien: Cairhien is a land of merchants, nobles and politics, well known for the cunning and often unfathomable way that even the peasants are master manipulators and excellent at hinting at their intentions while at the same time keeping them entirely hidden. The smallest thing, such as greeting one person in the street and not another can mean a huge amount to a Cairhienin. Cairhienin is ruled by a King, at the moment King Weiramon I
Ebou Dar: Ebou Dar is a much smaller nation than Cairhien or Altara, and as such has always had to be careful about allying itself with one or another, as the other would swiftly crush it. As it is, the Queens have always managed to spin webs around both nations and remain neutral in the war, as well as maintaining good relations with Murandy. The current Queen of Ebou Dar is Tylin II
Murandy: As mentioned above, Murandy is an advanced and adventurous nation, and has stayed out of most wars amongst the other countries, only even fighting during the Shadow war where it lent the aid of its zeppelins. The Sky Riders Guild has its own authority alongside the King/Queen, though they maintain a dutiful respect to the rulers. The Current Queen is Caranya I
The Naian Forest: Home to the Naian elves, the Naian forest is a lush and beautiful region, and the elves reflect that in their grace and poise. The Naians are one with nature, and can command elemental powers – though most only possess ability in one element (Light and Dark are NOT elements, by the way). Their cities and villages are built around or in the trees rather than replacing them.
The Shadowfel Woods: In contrast to the Naian forest, Shadowfel is a gloomy and dark place, full of dangerous animals. The Shadowfel Elves are the equivalent of Dark Elves, and are known for their skill in archery and pioneering of the Crossbow. They are the least reverent toward nature of all the elves, but they still have more respect for it than the humans. Unlike most Dark Elves they are amiable toward the other elves, if a bit arrogant.
The Aeryan Forest: The Aeryan forest is rich coniferous woodland, which maintains a certain chill to it even in the summer months. The Aeryan Elves reflect this, and are calm, logical and calculating. They are a match for the Altarans in their sense of honour, and are harshly strict on criminals and those who oppose the Council’s rule.
All the Elven nations are ruled by Councils, which form a greater Council that rules all three.
The Plot:
Will be based around the return of the shadow and the ongoing conflict between Altara and Cairhien, for simplicities sake I will try and come up with a reasonable excuse for all the characters to be nearby each other once I know everyone who has joined
Your Character:
Can be from any nation, other than the Aiel Wastes, and have any fathomable profession/weaponry from a time when steam power and gunpowder weapons have been newly discovered – think borderline Medieval/Renaissance, where swords and such are still widely used but rare individuals possess pistols or muskets. Experimental weaponry is also around that can enable automatic reloading, but those are as likely to explode in your face as work. The technology is somewhat similar to that in Warhammer Fantasy if you are familiar with that, consider the Murandians the technological dwarves of the roleplay.
The Profile Template is as follows:
Name:
Race: (humans: 12-80, elves 15-300)
Age:
Nationality:
Weapons: (keep it reasonable)
Other Possessions: (Such as horses, Murandian characters can have a Skyship, but no more than TWO Skyships are allowed, first come first served)
Special Abilities: (magic for Naian and Aeryan elves only, Naian elves can have any element but Aeryans are resticted to Water and Air – Water encompasses ice, Air encompasses lightning, Earth encompasses plants)
Appearance: (Pictures are fine, so are descriptions)
History:
