Come one! Come all! Take a seat as I tell you about an amazing land: a land known as the Iron Kingdoms. Within the IK, you'll find a potent blend of steam power, gunpowder, swords and sorcery. Don't like guns in your Fantasy? Give the IK a chance; we may have pistols and steam engines, but we haven’t forgotten our fantasy roots, I don't even like to call it "Steampunk," instead I call it "Full Metal Fantasy". In the lands of the Iron Kingdoms, you'll still find elves, dwarves and other old friends, though they all have a unique spin - to put it lightly. You'll also find the mighty Steamjacks -- each an amazing fusion of the engineer's and wizard's craft. This tale will center around the Kingdom of Cygnar, Jewel of the IK. I see that I several of you are captivated by my words, and I implore you to read on…

A complete and very lengthy History of the Iron Kingdoms and the Races that dwell in them can be found at the following link, including plenty of information on the Steamjack: tales-the-iron-kingdoms-t21785.html
(This is of course purely for fluff, and is optional reading. Any important information in those pages I will explain here in due time. However, I highly recommend that you do read it, as it will help add depth to the world and your character.)

Well, now that introductions are out of the way, I welcome you to my little RP. This is going to be a more serious Fantasy RP, with a very heavy Steampunk feel. Still a bit lost? Maybe I can help.

Steampunk is a sub-genre of fantasy that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. Most Steampunk works are set in an era where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne.

Full-Metal Fantasy is therefore a combination of classic High Fantasy (Lord of the Rings, stuff like that: Elves, Dwarves, magic) and Steampunk.

Standard forum rules apply, and no set size for the RP has been determined. I would like to note that magic is uncommon in the IK, and so yes, you may be a Mage or similar, but not everyone can be.

The available Classes are:
The Rifleman: An exceptionally trained specialist in the use of long guns.
The Gun Mage: Extremely rare individuals that cast spells through specially crafted pistols.
The Battle Mage: The classic warrior-wizard. Sub-class: Druid
The Wizard: A toned down version of Gandalf. If you don’t know what a Wizard is, should you really be here? Sub-classes: Elementalist and Cleric.
The Rogue: Master thieves and trackers, rogues are a common sight in the IK. Sub-class: Archer.
The Warrior: Almost all adventurers are Warriors: every thing from the Swordsman to the Royal Cygnarian Storm Knight fall into this class. If you hit things with swords or similar, this is the spot for you.
The Mechanist: Masters of the mechanical arts, Mechanists can craft Steampunk constructs and are highly trained specialists.

You are also free to make your own class, as long as it is realistic. These are simply templates.

Confirmed Characters:
TheWalrus: Genevieve Haley, Royal Gun Mage
luke4215: Lucard De'Monte, Assassin for Hire
Phidius: William Gale, Battle Mage of Cygnar
Mina Blackraven: Razz, Fayling Summoner
Jermain: Jason R. Finch, Rifleman
Conquerer_Man: Dr. Fredrick Hallon, Master Mechanist
Weaver: Noxukmdamt, 'Nox', Gobber Alchemist
Allonsus: Horace Deering, Sharpshooter

Sample Character Profile:

Name: Genevieve Haley

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Race: Human

Class: Gun Mage

Native Kingdom: Cygnar

Appearance:
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 165 lbs
Hair: Dark Red
Eyes: Bright Green
Clothing: Wears a royal blue greatcoat with a high collar and golden trim. The greatcoat has two golden exterior shoulder pads built in. Under this is a black dress shirt. She wears a matching tricorn hat and has the double-holster for her pistols clearly showing on her rugged brown belt. She has many pouches filled with supplies on this belt, and her sword sheath is opposite the pistols. Tall black stovepipe boots and tanned Calvary pants complete the ensemble. Keeps her hair in a tight braid, and always wears small, rounded, blue-tinted glasses.

Past: The Militant Order of the Arcane Tempest requires a great degree of control over its students, for each is expected to graduate as an elite soldier. When it inducted an intense and troubled youth by the name of Genevieve Haley, the Order and no idea what it was getting. Purely by instinct Genevieve learned how to channel power into her pistol shots, which she placed with unerring accuracy. However, despite her impressive skill, her ego and irreverent attitude made her a difficult girl to befriend. She claimed that a pistol had more life and was a better friend than any of the sods in the Order against whom she competed. Soon Genevieve was performing trick shots whenever she could escape the scrutiny of her teachers, and she slowly earned the grudging admiration of her peers. However, Genevieve was still a constant source of insubordination and so the Order sent her off to roam the Iron Kingdoms, while they prepared trials for her return.

Abilities and equipment: Carries spare bullets and powder along with a good amount of light field medical supplies and rations in the pouches on her belt.
Spells:
Detonator: This spell causes the enchanted bullet to explode in it's target.
Shocker: This is a enchanted bullet that is designed to scramble and disrupt the Cortexes of Steamjacks.
Thunderbolt: This is a enchanted bullet that electrocutes targets and knocks them down.

Weapons: Twin Magelock Pistols and a Cygnarian Stormblade.

Name: Leon De'Monte

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Class: Gunslinger, Assassin

Native Kingdom: Khador, though he grew up in Cygnar

Appearance:
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 180 lbs
Hair: Platinum (white)
Eyes: Grey
Clothing: Lucard's first layer of clothing, unseen under everything else, is a simply white, long sleeved undershirt and undergarments. Over that is a black, notched collar single breasted vest and bowtie, with a pair of black High-Back Brushed Cotton Twill Trousers and Madison Ankle Boots. Finally, over that, is a black duster.

((The reason I spelled out all of the names is so that, if you want, you can find them here: http://www.ushist.com/victorian_clothing.htm))

Past: Not much is known about him. He is an assassin for hire, taking jobs everywhere he can and ending every contract without hesitation. He has no known family members, loved ones, or even close friends. It doesn't help that people can't seem to remember him clearly...

Abilities and equipment: Lucard is very skilled with guns of all types, though his favorite is the pistol. His accuracy is unmatched, his precision deadly. He is also known to be skilled with a blade, but his affinity is for guns. For all of his strengths when dealing with guns, Lucard makes up for it in his strong lack of any magical talents.

Lucard is blessed with one magical ability and one only, and that is that he seems to produce a magical aura around him. This aura is not visible, in fact it works in the opposite way. This magical aura affects a persons mind, altering their memories so that they can never fully remember Lucard. His clothes, his facial details, anything. He just seems to be a shadow, a blurred figure in their memory. The harder they try to remember him, the more his image illudes them.

This assassin always has with him spare ammunition for his pistol. A small backup pistol is kept in his boot for emergencies.

Weapons: A very powerful, custom made pistol. This pistol is capable of holding up to 5 bullets per round, making it a very deadly foe indeed. A second, smaller, less powerful pistol is kept in a small holster around his calf for emergencies. He also carries with him a razor sharp Rapier for close range combat.

Name: William Gale

Age: 42

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Class: Balle Mage

Native Kingdom: Cygnar

Appearance:
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 145 lbs
Hair: Brown, with some gray streaks
Eyes: Rich blue
Clothing: Wears elaborate robes over plain clothes most of the time, though in a battle situation he would wear just a cloak over leather-backed chainmail and a tunic, along with a steel helmet.

Past: Born into a modest family, he showed strange abilities from an early age, so when a mage was going through his town he was, by chance, noticed and his family given a handsome sum for young Will, who was only seven at the time, to be adopted as an apprentice. He was slowly introduced to the powerful and destructive art of battle-magery. Showing real promise in it, he was given books and allowed to experiment on his own. He soon outpaced his own master and was released on the grounds that he could be taught no more, at the age of fifteen. So he went out and lived peacefully for a time before he decided to join the military. He was gladly accepted...just in time for the War. He distinguished himself and was given an officer's commission in the Mage Corps of the Army of Cygnar. as the War came to an end.

Abilities and equipment: Master of the destructive arts, though he can heal to an extent. Carries a bastard sword that is an heirloom and he is proficient at, he could easily outmatch the standard swordsman, but would need to use magic to beat anything above that. He also carries a repeating rifle slung across his back.

Weapons: Bastard sword, Cygnar Iron Works CI-12 .30-06(pronounced thirty-ought-six) Repeating rife.

Bolt Action? I thought this was more in the times of iron ball, musket-syle gunnery? If we can use rifles and stuff then I'm gonna change my guys gun to a customized revolver

It is. I instructed Phidius to change that aspect and he appears to have done so. Modern firearms are not archaic "takes five minutes to reload" weapons, but revlover pistols are very rare, and there is no such thing as a bolt-action in Steampunk such as this. However, you can have a repeating long rifle, essentially the same thing but instead of a clip there is a 6-8 shot revolver magazine. A clockwork mechanism is common is most guns, perhaps holding three to five rounds at a time. There are no clip-based weapons at all.

Cheers,

TheWalrus

First and foremost, I think the background thread for IK is great, enjoyed reading it.

Just have a quick question though before I commit the character I had in mind to writing, are Gobbers intended to be similar to Gnomes?

The detail I had planned in the appearance section was done with a Gnome-esque character in mind, so just want to check to make sure it's going to fit the setting. Also a little curious about the height, just how small is 'small'...

Sorry if I'm getting a little too wrapped in the minor details. ^^

The only problem I have with this roleplay is I want to join it, but don't think I can. I've always felt a fascination for the Steampunk genre, but I don't really understand everything about the setting, mainly the weaponry. I want to make a rifleman class character, nothing appeals to me more than a skilled shooter.

Alternatively I want to make a mechanist. I don't know what exactly Steampunk constructs are and I see this class more as a summoner gone mechanical. Meaining they would use a Steamjack or be a sort of pilot or navigator.

EDIT: Was foolish and didn`t notice what you posted about rifles.

Alright, so apparently we have some issues arising. Hopefully I can expalin that away.

Weaver: A Gobber is more like a Goblin in stature and appearance, but do have the tinkering skills of a Gnome. I would say that they were a combination of the two, but as they aren't I won't. That said, a Gnome would work just fine, but they would look like a Goblin, just far friendlier then a Tolkien-esque one. As for height, I'd put them at around the height of a Halfling. Small for a person-creature. I'm glad you care so much to get wrapped up in the details, it is no problem at all.

Jermain: I was thinking of doing a technology FAQ for the RP, but it would be very lengthy and I don't want to turn anyone away with too much detail. If you would all like to see one, I can whip one up. To quickly answer your question about Rifles, ballistic technology is very advanced in Cygnar, I'd put it about American Wild West era in technology, but not as refined. Normal bullet cartriges exist, but are a musket ball in packing with the power and whatnot all together in a tube. Modern bullets in the sense do not exist. Most people could get a clockwork pistol, much like a combination of a revolver and a lever-action. Military rifles are more advanced and are often revolvers. I hope that helps.

A mechanist is not really like a summoner, more like someone that builds things. Steampunk constructs are everything from turrets to little flying devices to Steamjacks. You could use a Steamjack, just remember that they are very unsubtle things and require a constant supply of coal, running out of fuel every three hours or so.

Well, I hope that helps. Let me know what you all think, and if you want me to write up a formal technology FAQ, I will do so.

Cheers,

TheWalrus

Name: Razz

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Race: Dark Fayling

Class: mage

Native Kingdom: (not sure...i cant really decide so I'm going to edit when i know for sure.)

Appearance:
(note: the things that come out like wings are a part of her outfit!)
Height: 5’5”
Weight: 135 lbs
Hair: black
Eyes: black eyes, though they change into a dark green sometimes, not often though

Clothing: odd leathers with belts. She hardly ever wears thing different. (look at pic)

Past: Being born to a fay mother and a human father cause some trouble for her as a child. At about 3 she was switched with a human baby and grew up thinking she was....at least a little human. At about 15 she found out she wasn't human but was ok with it. Leaving the village she traveled to another Kingdom to start a new life, not remembering much of her old one anyways. She began to train on her own as a mage. She learned things fast and with ease, having to do with her fay blood. She also learned how to summon something, something powerful. It was hard to keep him maintained for a while but the old woman she stayed with taught her how to keep him alive for months at a time if she needed. A shadow wolf with amazing speed. He protected her through a lot of hard times.

Abilities and equipment: She is a great mage and can cast magic without using a staff or anything to focus her energy into. Equipment...........not much.....

Spells: basic elemental spells, summoning (summons a shadow wolf type creature for help.) and sometimes power boosts.

Weapons: her summon shadow wolf. Kieva

Name: Jason R. Finch
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Class: Rifleman
Native Kingdom: Ord

Appearance:
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 187lbs
Hair: Dark brown, short.
Eyes: Dark Blue, almost gray.
Clothing:
Garbed in a simple white work shirt, with sleeves extending just past his wrists, a double row button black vest and black trousers. A silver pocket watch that doubles as a compass is held in the left breast pocket of his vest, the initials J. R. F. set into the lid. His feet are covered by black leather mid-calf boots that force his trousers up, wrinkling them. To keep warm, as well as serve a multitude of other purposes Jason wears a charcoal gray rifle frock coat. Always worn upon it reveals the black leather belt holding up his trousers, small pouches hanging from it packed with powder, munitions and a few tools for daily maintenance on his weapons. Black deerskin gloves cover his hands, and a complicated set of goggles hangs around his neck. A large leather strap hangs on the outside of his coat, a holster for his rifle.

Past: Born into the Royal Fleet of McDane Jason was raised as a professional pirate. The fleet, composed of only a few ships belonged to the McDanes, a very powerful family with deep roots in naval supremacy. Punishment was and is severe in an effort to wipe the thought of mutiny from the sailors minds. All members are trained from a young age, coaxed into believing they were the best and deserved the best and that others should willingly give it to them. Mercy was a foreign word and this royal fleet was one in title only. It wasn't uncommon to receive the order to attack other military ships, nor was it uncommon to be told to wage war on another royalist. With these cutthroats Jason found his calling. A rifle in his hand he was a deadly shot, and an excellent navigator, considering his experience.

Equipment: Bags of powder and munitions intended to last a long battle, although the time differed depending on Jason's mood. He has some more reasonable things, such as a knife, small tools to repair weaponry.

Abilities: Atop being a very good shot and a navigator, whether it be on the sea, in the air, or across the good old fashion ground Jason is very adept in mathematical equations as well as memorization.
Sure Shot: Taking time to aim and concentrate Jason fires, a guaranteed kill for most. Those lucky enough to survive, don't for long.

Weapons: A long range rifle, a revolver pistol that holds five rounds and a combat knife strapped on the inside of his right boot.

All the profiles I've received thus far are approved, but it will be a few days before we get things started, I want to make sure that everyone who expressed interest in the first thread has time to post a character. I'm still keeping the story details to myself for now, but don't worry, all will be explained in due time. Ideally, I want to start the IC thread on Saturday night, but we may hold until Monday morning if need be.

I will draw up a technology FAQ and post it either late tonight or tomorrow. Remember, if there are any questions, feel free to ask me here or via PM.

Cheers,

TheWalrus

Name: Dr. Fredrick Hallon

Age: 46

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Class: Mechanist

Native Kingdom: Cygnar

Appearance:
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 200
Hair: Brown, short
Eyes: Brown
Clothing: Plain button-up shirt, simple trousers, Mechanists appron

Past: Dr. Fredrick Hallon was a foreman at a prominant factory in Cygnar. He over saw the construction of every construc from small childrens toys to production of government Steamjacks. After several issues with management mistreating the workers, Fredrick left the company taking all his knowledge with him. He now lives a hermit like exsistance, working in his workshop in a small town of only three-hundred. Luckly the town is the offshoot of a coal mine, and gives Fredrick the acsess to all his material needs.

Abilities and equipment: He has several schmatics that he has either stolen from his former employers or of his own designs.
"Ox" lifter and loader: A simple steam driven cart that loads and unloads heavy amounts of cargo.
"Hawk" ornithopter: A playfull device that flies. It can be programmed to do deffernt tricks by setting differnt switches on it's back to differnt settings.
"Hound" defensive turret: A devensive system that tracks a target by a device that Fredrick can hold. By setting the range on the device, he then aim the turrets at his target. There are four turrets protecting his workshop, each armed with a rifle and auto-loader mechinism. They are driven by the steam engine in his workshop.
"Sentinal" Steamjack: So far, Fredrick has yet to bring this steamjack off the design papers. It is a Steamjack of his own design.

Weapons:

Name: Alexi Chernov

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Class: Warrior

Native Kingdom: Khador

Appearance:
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 180 lbs
Hair: Very dark almost a midnight blue
Eyes: Blue
Clothing: Over his shoulders is a wolf pelt that is secured by a clasp that resembles the Khador flag. His jacket and trousers are made from the hide of deer. Underneath the jacket is black linen shirt. A pair of Khador combat issue boots cover his feet. Alexi's entire right arm is sleeveless and made of metal sprockets and gadgetry.

Past: Alexi grew up in the Kossite mountains of Khador. He served as an auxillery woodsman when he was only fourteen. After two years of service Alexi lost his right arm to a nasty Llael blade. Khador offered him a new arm to keep on fighting. He accepted for another three years. That was when The Butcher decided to slaughter most of Alexi's company. Since then Alexi cursed away the Khador military and has become a free lancer. He still loves his motherland and refuses to fight against her, with the exception of The Butcher.

Equipment: A magic powered mechanical artificial arm.

Abilities: Alexi's right arm is incrediably strong. It is aslo able to expel a short range flame. Expert melee fighter with his axes.

Weapons: A pair of finely crafted hand axes.

((What no Cryx or Menoth mentioned in the other post.))

Wow... didn't realise how much text was here, sorry if the history was a bit long-winded...

Name: Noxukmdamt, 'Nox'

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Race: Gobber

Class: Pyrotechnic (Primarily an alchemist, augmented by some average ability with small-scale gadgets and mechanical items)

Appearance and clothing: Standing at a mighty 3 foot and 2 inches, Nox's green and awfully greasy, oily skin is for the most part covered due to the large amount of clothing and accessories he carrys with him, his face and everything from the knees down to his large, smooth feet being the only parts that are unprotected.

Either left dangling around his neck, or gripped against his forehead, Nox has his trusty goggles always at reach, the glass being reinforced, due to the hazardous nature of what he enjoys fiddling with.

The main bulk of Nox's appearance is taken up by his large --albeit small compared to the other races-- cloak. The cloak is made from a rather thick, tempered material, and looks as if it has weathered multiple blasts and scorches, begging the question of just what exactly it is made from. The cloak however, is not merely a fashion statement and on the interior doubles as limited storage in the form of concealed pockets for some of his more exotic items.

Nox also carrys a backpack that is roughly half the size of him, giving a slightly comical appearance in some peoples eyes. In this backpack is where the majority of his alchemical and mechanical gadgets and tools are stored, without a doubt the most important posession to him. Due to his Gobberling nature, the straps have been made easy to clip apart, for those 'drop and run' situations that dealing with the more dangerous denizens left him in. Despite its weight, he has slowly become accustomed to carrying it with him.

Height: 3'2

Weight: 35 pounds

Hair: Bald

Eyes: Gray

Past: From a very young age, Nox took a feverous interest in anything and everything mechanical he could get his hands on. Being part of a nomadic family did manage to bring some bits and pieces his way, but nothing as alluring or enticing as he wished for, his quick mind having already picked up quite an aptitude for modifying and repairing small gadgets and trinkets.

Some time into his earlier years, his family crossed paths with an alchemist of notable repute, and, after much negotiation, the alchemist agreed to employ Nox as an assistant, delegating him the more simple of tasks.

The work varied, and Nox found himself learning more and more each day, whether it be a limited extent of ironworking or metallurgy, the more and more time Nox and his master spent together, the better able they were to communicate as Nox became further fluent in the human tongue. Finally after many years, the friendship between the unlikely two had truly blossomed, and the alchemist took Nox under his wing to begin teaching him the secrets of alchemy.

Unfortunately for Nox who had not been taught for long, and even more unfortunately for his new-found friend the alchemist, there was a mix up in the components for an incendiary device and gunpowder, causing fireworks of the like that Nox had never seen before. It would have been absolutely magnificent, had it not been for the fact that pieces of his friend and workshop had now been strewn across the surrounding terrain.

This was, without a doubt, the turning point for Nox, whom having seen something so glorious, now had the pyromaniacs fire lit within his heart.

The saddened, and now lonely Nox, who had become quite friendly and climatized to human company, was for the first time in his life now left with nobody. Armed with some basic alchemical knowledge and a relatively jack-of-all-trades level of ability in the technological department, coupled with some old alchemical formulae and books, Nox made his way into the world to attempt to ply his trade, just like his formerly in-tact friend had done.

Nox initially had a difficult time, not knowing particulary well how to handle himself infront of the other races, having only experienced an informal relationship for as long as he could remember. This casual attitude was usually responded to with loathing from those who felt any form of prejudice towards his race, or merely a mild neglect. This, for the main part, left Nox with nothing else to do but scavenge and steal to feed himself, using his knowledge of mechanical devices to be able to successfully gain entrance to otherwise locked and secured premises.

Luck did shine on Nox however, and he eventually found himself within the employ of manufacturers dealing in forms of gunpowder and custom ammunition. A job that was comfortable to him for many, many years.

Nox finally had enough money scraped together to purchase his own base components and equipment, letting him begin a small enterprise as a salesman, and allowing him to return to another of the few things he enjoyed, travelling.

Abilities: Nox knows a vast array of alchemical formulae with some limited iron working and metallurgy techniques, and can thus be extremely useful when his group or companions require powder or ammunition, if he has the supplys and tools at hand to create them.

Very skilled with smaller gadgets and trinkets, Nox is quite adept in dealing with traps or locks of a mechanical nature, often being a dab hand with the smaller, more fine items.

Due to the point in his life where he had to rely on his wit and instinct, Nox has become rather adept at sneaking around unnoticed, this is without a doubt aided by his small stature.

Weapons: Leaving blank for now, need to clarify something.

Great Weaver, freaking great. He's exactly what I exected a half crazy pyro gobber to be. I started laughing at the potential half way through your character sheet.

Haha ^^ Thanks a lot, really. Glad I managed to hit the nail on the head with him.

Prophetic_fury, while your profile is fantastic, if I can't contact you via PM or any other way except the public forum, I'm afraid that I can't allow you into the RP. I know that sounds like a ridiculous gripe, but there will be many times where I will need to talk with players in private, and if I cannot do so with you, then that will disrupt the RP. Sorry to sound like a prick, but it is a vital thing.

Also, Weaver: great stuff.

Cheers,

TheWalrus

*crickets chirping*

....

Where did everybody go? This thread was getting a lot of attention and then suddenly nothing for the past couple days...

*looks around* i have nooooooooooo clue..........

I'm still here. IT could be that Walrus hasn't been on yet to put the IC up.