The Muse Thread

[The International]

I was recently inspired by a currently retired member of Althanas. Even though he hasn't written here in some time he's a great help to this day. I get online and chat with him and when I log off either a) I have an amazing new quest idea that I'm fired up about or b) plans for a current quest are significantly changed in a very good way. I feel kinda bad because I log on hoping to talk to him about his stuff, but somehow he manages to get me to talk about my characters and my plans for them. Either he's good at managing a conversation or I'm super self centered (probably the latter). Anyways I figured it would be really fun to find out what you guys are planing with your characters, so I have a few questions I want to ask. Who knows, maybe we can get a few of you questing with one another or with me as we toss these ideas around.


What is your character's next goal?
What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.
Which region is your character's favorite?
Which region is your character's least favorite?
What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?
What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)
Does your character have any major regrets?
Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?
Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?
How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?


Feel free to answer as many of these questions as you like. The more detailed the answer the better, and for those questions you can't answer... They shall haunt you in your dreams until you find an answer to them! Trust me, I know from experience.

Fire away, fellow Althanians!

[Rayse Valentino]

This is a great idea. I really want to read people's lists and maybe contact them for quest ideas based on what they put. I'll edit this post to add stuff once I think of them, but for now I'll put some basic stuff.

1. Take over Salvar's Black Market.
2. A short temper sometimes. He has a thing against people who hit innocent women. He would suffer withdrawal if he is somehow cut off from his cigarettes. He hates when people try to deceive him more than anything.
3. Salvar.
4. Alerar. He thinks they're trying to take over Salvar in its weakened state.
5. He may want to know how The Forgotten Ones got their power. Or the best way to take over a market.
6. I want to give structure and culture to Salvar. Really set it apart from the other regions in terms of setting. I want it to be a wintry region, with many snowy mountain ranges and only a small area of flatland for farmland. I would like to add more rivers to reinforce a type of 'bread and fish' diet, and other societal customs that could be used. As it stands, if you ask anyone what the difference is between a human from Corone and one from Salvar, they couldn't tell you in terms of culture.
7. He couldn't make his dreams come true in Knife's Edge. The war which ravished the city destroyed the criminal network. Now he has to employ a more rural plan of conquest.
8. I can't think of any plot for the Escape from Ettermire thread. Prison breaks are tricky. I would also like to do a bunch of stories in pre-war Knife's Edge with Rayse as a regular old underground arms contractor. I've yet to really do anything like that aside from The First Job, which was more of a prequel than anything. As for the actual Mafia stuff, I've given a lot of people various concepts and have had no bites, like various jobs for The Company or work as part of The Company. I also want to really make Rayse despicable by killing someone endearing or a great plot of deception, but since I don't do solos it would be difficult to coax anyone into letting me kill a PC or even an endearing NPC.
edit: Oh, there was this whole phase where Rayse was suffering from a 'magical sickness' caused by his improperly placed rune, which would cause his powers to go on and off without his control. I used it to put him in situations where he can't use his abilities. Whenever he takes his medication (which he got through a quest in Fallien that I scrapped), he blacks out and wakes up hours, days, sometimes a week later in a completely different place.
9. Rayse is secretly The Don, but he acts as one of the many liaisons called The Supervisors. He carries around a Forget Orb that erases his identity. On the outside, he's the CEO of The Company, which deals in real estate, small businesses, banking, and mercenary work. Some dirty money earned by The Salvaran Mafia is often funneled into The Company and turned into clean money.
10. They're not really. I've introduced a few NPCs that I would consider interesting, such as The Prince, a couple of Denebriel's old lieutenants, some of Rayse's friends from his youth, but I haven't used them in threads other than the ones I introduced them in. I suppose it's because I'd rather let PCs affect my PC's life than NPCs, but who knows.

vvvv hi numbers guy

[CaitieGirl]

What is your character's next goal?
Rose would like to learn to handle a sword. As of yet she only has skill with daggers. To win a fight against her friend Jake Narmolanya would be a thrill for her.
What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders?
Her goal, eventually, is to be skilled enough to protect her family and the rest of the people in her town. The attachment to her family is one of the pillars of her being, and so any threat to her family can be used against her. It's a serious weakness. Also, since her near death experience in Underwood she has been known to have horrific flashbacks when a blade is against her neck and any sighting of the assassin who almost killed her would almost certainly lead to hysteria.
Which region is your character's favorite?
Corone is home, and the only region Rose has seen.
Which region is your character's least favorite?
She both fears and longs to see other regions of the world but the little known region of Fallien is the most terrifying for her.
What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?
The Empire's presence in Corone is a threat to everything she holds dear. Ideally Rose would be able to help win the war against them.
What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)
Truthfully, I haven't found anything to complain about, but then I haven't been on the site for very long.
Does your character have any major regrets?
Not yet, although with her weaknesses it is likely that she will make a serious mistake, worth regretting.
Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?
Not a one.
Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?
That she hopes to find her mother, who walked out on her family when she was five. Rose has seen her father destroyed by her absence ,watched him struggle to raise their children on his own. She wants her mother to know exactly what it is she's done.
How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?
With only one thread under my belt the only characters in Rose's life that are significant are others' PCs. With the writing I've done the only people who really I impact her life are her family and Angela, a life long friend and mother figure, and I've never had them in a thread as characters, just from Rose's memory.

[orphans]

What is your character's next goal?
Currently, Azza is trying to figure out who she is and although it may not matter to those around her, what she is. Along the way, trying to learn some way to defend herself in a more practical fashion.

What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.
Her memories are rather vivid, usually taking the form of voices or dreams that can be remembered. They're usually triggered by familiar events from her past life. She doesn't have any preconceived prejudices at the moment, but she does fear being truly alone (i.e. forgotten in a pit). She used to be much more sure of herself as well, but ever since her development into her true race, she's become rather self-conscious.

Which region is your character's favorite?
Corone, Underwood specifically. That's where she spent the majority of her life.

Which region is your character's least favorite?
Radasanth. She is amazed and fascinated by the crowds of people, but after a while she'll find it stuffy and want to leave. To that extent, she also hasn't been to many places.

What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?
Azza would have absolutely not idea what she would like to solve as a mystery or conflict. Maybe... understand why the races fight each other.

What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)
Azza doesn't quite have a specific thing in character she would like to change or improve.

Does your character have any major regrets?
When all her memories return, killing one of her kin would probably fit here.

Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?
Nothing yet... or that I can remember.

Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?
Azza would like to find a way to become a true human and just live quietly somewhere with a few pets. Maybe a small farm.

EDIT: A better secret that involves ooc information, is that Azza isn't a normal Cleansing One from her race. She is classified as such though and will be revealed later on. Eventually.

How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?
Many of her interactions are with the NPCs of Underwood, and for the majority of her life, they made up her life. Should they die, or become seriously harmed, Azza would most likely become distressed.

[The International]

Haha! Rayse you should have a thread where your character is cut off form nicotine or tobacco. That would be so unbelievably funny... and dangerous. And is there a culture on Earth that you would compare to Salvar? That's usually the best way to start. Another way to start developing the culture of the country is to start from the environment and just see how people adapt, then make some of those adaptations customs, and then out date some of those customs with technology while allowing them to persist. Take for example certain foods that have been forbidden by certain religions. Despite advances in technology to keep diseases from spreading, some people still don't eat certain foods. Do the same thing with Salvar, and then do a show-and-tell in one of quests there.

And Caitie, if someone were to mention Rose's mother, would she actively attempt to hide the desire to meet her? I have been curious as to how the Empire affects the day to day lives of normal Coronians. How does the Empire effect Rose, and what was life like before when the Republic ruled the island?

[Amen]

I don't normally do these because I tend to blab on and on, but you asked! Was this inspired by the mutual friend we were discussing earlier?


What is your character's next goal?

Get to Fallien, find his mother, find out why he is the way he is. In the process he’s going to learn a lot about the Brotherhood, since his origins and theirs are pretty tightly intertwined. After that, I haven’t really decided. I guess it sort of depends on how he reacts to the thread’s events.

And no, I don't know in advance how my characters are going to react. I'm a sandbox writer, I flesh out a person as thoroughly as I can in my head, and then I put them in sandboxes to see what happens. Sometimes this works well, other times it...doesn't.

What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.

Oh, god yes. I pretty much set out to make the most fucked up paladin I could think of. He’s an honor-bound sociopath, capable of understanding empathy but incapable of feeling it, and driven by a need to please people he thinks are “good.” Try to think of how that would fuck with a guy: you’re a bad person and you know it, you enjoy it, and yet you also feel compelled to make “good” people like you. He doesn’t have any personal issues with demons or the undead, they didn’t wipe out his village and nail his dog to a door, they’re just an outlet for an extremely confused and frustrated person.

Phobias no. Well, actually, in the Citadel battle between International and me we sort of discovered that the prospect of being caught on fire worries Marcus quite a lot. He’s burned a lot of people/monsters with supernatural flame, and he’s seen the pain it can cause so it’s not something he wants to go through himself.

Prejudices? Yes and no. I suppose we could say there are levels, but beyond that it’s too complicated to put into words and I haven’t considered what it means yet.

Which region is your character's favorite?

Salvar. He was raised there, it's familiar to him.

Which region is your character's least favorite?

Radasanth/The Citadel/Corone in general. Ironic since he’s spent most of his time there.

After this latest solo, it’ll be Fallien.

What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?

Suravani vs. Mitra. What’s up with that.

…I mean, I have an idea of what I would LIKE it to be, but we’ll see where I get with that.

What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve?

So much! I don’t know if “change or improve” would be the most accurate way to put it: I’d love to expand upon things. Like I said, I’ve got crazy ideas for what actually happened between Suravani and Mitra, and what that means for Fallien. But most of my thoughts have revolved around Salvar and Berevar. Like, everything Rayse said about Salvar sounds spot on to me: sort of (but not quite) like Russia with Romania and parts of Scandinavia thrown in. I actually imagine Marcus' accent as being really vaguely Eastern European or Russian.

Berevar has been, mentally, my baby for years now. I’ve always wanted to expand upon it, or define it. I’ve spent a ton of time thinking about direling society and what sorts of places they live and how they survive, alongside orcs and dwarves. So yeah, I’d have a field day if anybody asked me to sit down and turn Berevar into a fleshed out region.

Beyond that, and I’m sure everybody else has done this at one time or another, I’ve toyed with the idea of other continents/regions outside of Northern Althanas, and what might happen if one decided to invade. For example, I was toying with the idea once of an African equivalent on Althanas, only it would be culturally like a mix between ancient Athens and the Zulu Kingdom, and they’d have comparatively advanced technology, philosophy, magic, and religion, and decide to conquer everything from Fallien north for its own good. Only THEY wouldn’t fight, they’d just send an army of mechanical golems on steam-powered metal ships. Epic!

Does your character have any major regrets?

Not yet, but soon. He hasn’t done enough to regret anything, but regret surrounds him in ways I’m not ready to reveal yet. I guess he slept with a vampiress, but he'll more regret getting found out than he regrets doing it because I mean, come on right?

Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?

A lot, I’m kind of constantly in a state of coming up with new directions for Marcus and scrapping them. He was originally going to start out as a paladin but gradually swing to the opposite side, but I scrapped that because his current dynamic is too interesting. He was going to rebel against the Brotherhood, but I found that too cliché – why can’t the knights templar actually be the good guys for once. He was going to be the classic knight in huge bulky shining armor with a shield and a mace, but I scrapped that for what is essentially going to be a holy berserker.

There are probably literally hundreds of other ideas I was going to run with but decided against it.

Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?

He’s not a good guy, and loves the fight, and he doesn’t ever actually want the war to end. He doesn’t love humanity and he doesn’t hate demons or the undead. This probably seems pretty obvious to anybody who’s read a post I’ve written from Marcus’ point of view, but it’s an essential IC secret.

How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?

They’re making his life a living hell every chance they get. Why else would they recur!

[Yari Rafanas]

1. What is your character's next goal?
Yari's next goal is to bring the Bandit Brotherhood into a position of power and take back Concordia.

2. What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.
Rafanas is very strongly against the use of dark magics such as necromancy, slavery, and other acts that generally remove one's free will. He values a true sense of freedom above all else. Sadly, his arrogance has blinded him from the fact that he is a complete hypocrite. He will toy with another's free will through his own magic and steal the very essence of their being to get what he wants.

3. Which region is your character's favorite?
Corone, specifically Concordia.

4. Which region is your character's least favorite?
Salvar. Sorry Raeyse, it's too cold.

5. What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?
None that I can think of that aren't already being worked on. Though if I had to pick, I would like a part in wrapping up all that crazy Forgotten One stuff.

6. What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)
I suck at elf stuff, and I always wanted somebody to kind of hold my hand on the types of elves we see in Althanas. I mean, does anybody even know what Concordian elves look like? I kinda want to detail them.

I'd also probably retcon the existance of dwarves in my forest. There was a dwarf town at one point, I believe.

7. Does your character have any major regrets?
Lots, but they all stem from being a complete tool in his youth and/or dying, leaving his well-crafted kingdom to crumble.

8. Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?
I've never established where Yari came from, or who is parents were. I had a whole, 100+ quest in my head that I started but never finished. It was going to involve Yari finding his brother, a trip into underground Concordia where Rafanas would confront the Manipulator and Glyce face-to-face, and discover his true origins. It was a bunch of destiny stuff that has never materialized.

Most recently, Yari made an attempt to revive the Bandit Brotherhood and raid the Sanctuary that Gild Sorrain won after the Gisela Wars, reclaim his old stuff and whatnot. That's still on the to-do list.

9. Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?
Probably that he feels a sense of inadequacy and fears his time has come and gone. Despite missing his old family in the Brotherhood, he is glad that his past crimes against his brothers have been forgotten and Althanas only knows him for his achievements, not his failures.

10. How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life? Yari is mostly in command of any NPCs he interacts regularly, so usually he is the one effecting them.

[Hysteria]

When I think of Salvar, I think of the Slavic people.... so mostly people are are hardy and have beards because its normally snowing with ice capped mountains even in summer.


Also, since her near death experience in Underwood she has been known to have horrific flashbacks when a blade is against her neck and any sighting of the assassin who almost killed her would almost certainly lead to hysteria.

Indeed!

Just one of the reasons I like my name, plus its nearly an anagram of my own name.

What is your character's next goal?

He wants to one day beat one of Sei, Revenant or Jensen in a fight. So far he got his butt kicked by the first two and is rather depressed about the whole thing. He left the Ixian Castle on the pretense of collecting information in Underwood (which he is doing), but in reality he left to try and prove his worth somehow.

What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.

He feels inadequate within the Ixian Knights, and thinks that Sei favors him because he is young and the rest of the knights just put up with him because of Sei.

He also can only vaguely remember what happened before he was born (he created his own body, and transferred his mind into it from another overlapping reality [often referred to as the Shadow Realm by others]). So he doesn't actually remember why he did that. He thinks it might have something to do with the Ixian Prophecy, but not how, or even if he is meant to help or hinder Sei.

Which region is your character's favorite?

He likes the cities of Radasanth, Scara Brae and Underwood.

Which region is your character's least favorite?

Doesn't really dislike one.

What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?

To be honest, I don't know enough about whats going on know what mysteries there are.

What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)

I'd like a Bestiary List for Althanas, often I use animals for quests, either as a random encounter, or at the main focus and without a good compendium of knowledge, I just make up an animal, though I don't really like it because it seems un-cannon.

Does your character have any major regrets?

Losing so badly in the Cell, and not being able to face Revenant face-to-face in their fight.

Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?

I was going to make Talen a bit 'crazy' but I scrapped that.
Talen was originally older than he is now, so I scrapped that too.

Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?

He is not human. Although pretty much everyone knows that Talen can use shadow magic, he has never told anyone (except Lorenor probably figured it out) that his body is completely made out of the same energy he manipulates and he is, for lack of a better word, a shadow elemental.

EDIT:
I forgot his other secret! He is a follower of N'Jal, but only Lorenor (again) and Metaldrago should know this. He has a tattoo on his left shoulder blade of the Spider God's mark which he keeps hidden. He also has the mark of Hromagh on his left forearm, but that's for all to see.

How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?

There is one, an old soldier in Scara Brae called Mel who was Talen's first friend. He acts as a moral compass for the youth, sort of like a father figure. Mel is the only person who Talen wouldn't want to know if he did something bad, like stealing or killing someone is cold blood.

I've just created another NPC for Talen, a female called Shaw, although I haven't decided what her first name is yet. She as well as a few other NPCs appeared for the first time in a Solo i just did, and most of them (the ones that lived) are going to feature in another one too. How Shaw fits into Talen's future I'm not sure yet... but it'll be interesting :p

[Duffy]

Duffy Bracken

What is your character's next goal?

After the time lock, and retrofit to an active member of the troupe and an active part in Scara Brae's theatrical life, Duffy's next goal is to find the last remaining copy of The Phoenix & The Bard. There were five copies written, and it is from the pages of that book that the troupe was conjured, by Wainwright Jones (the Wraith Lucian). Duffy, and Ruby want to know how their story ends, because their life thus far has only been the first few chapters. The last copy is said to contain footnotes and the last chapter, which was not published in the second edition of the book.

What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.


Duffy has a severe personality clash with his past life as a thief, and his present life as the protector of the troupe's assets. He loathes stealing, but realises that it's been the only way the troupe has survived all these years. He, because of how their life is written, is eternally in love with Ruby, though they both know it, they know it can never happen (such is the tragedy of their tale).

Duffy is scared, like every writer/actor/singer of being forgotten. It is his one dream to be remembered for all eternity as a playwright, to have other troupes in the many years to come after his eventual retirement perform his roles, his plays on the stage. This is of course assuming he's nothing more than an average writer to begin with...

Which region is your character's favorite?

Duffy is Scara Brae born and about as Scara Brae bred as you can get. He is embedded in the culture of the island as much as Redden Pie is the favourite hot street corner treat (second perhaps only to Ruby's former business...) He is often found in the Market District around the famous fountain, or running amok in the Slums of Numarr, where the majority of the city's poor live, close to the Docklands and wedged between the upmarket noble regions.

Which region is your character's least favorite?

Duffy hates Corone, especially the parts of it with any sort of Empire presence. Lysander was killed at the hands of the Empire's former Magister (Lysander being one of Duffy's past lives) and his love of freedom of expression and everything he and the troupe and Scara Brae stand for stand to suffer should the Empire continue it's expansion and subdue the Ranger Rebellion.

What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?

Duffy and the troupe have already done this, as Lucian and his tower lie in ruin (or will do, after the trilogy of his demise is written). They still have to work out how their story ends through finding the missing copy of the book that created them, and perhaps there is still the question of where the Thayne Tantalus and his Grand Shrine truly lies (they have yet to see it, or hear from despite it being six months since Lucian's corruption of the god's heart was ended)...but they have an eternity to do it, so only time will tell what mystery will spark their imagination.

What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve?

I would like to expand upon the mythology and magical properties, but in terms of Duffy...I'd like to continue the expansion and regeneration of Scara Brae's culture. There needs to be something there that reflect's it's theatrical heritage, and I guess the Tantalum will have to spread the joy of festivity and bring the heart of creative Althanas to life. Someone gotta start da revolution!

Does your character have any major regrets?

Duffy regrets having to hurt all his friends and sacrifice their well being over and over (life after life) in order to finally defeat Lucian. He regrets not standing up to the street runner gang that scarred his hand when he was young, and regrets letting the Prima Vista fall into disrepair because he couldn't face up to his responsibilities. I guess he also regrets not telling Ruby he loved her before she got married...but they say nice guys always finish last (or certainly, they finish alone but alive).

Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?

My battle with Lucian was meant to be an epic, multi-character and multi person spectacle, but it grew too much and I couldn't commit to finishing it. I have instead vowed to write it briefly, time-slip the troupe six months into their time line when Lucian is dead and the routine has returned and then retrofit everything as a 'it happened X ago.' Times changes, and I guess it's a shame, but these things happen.

I scrapped the airship plan too...but there's still time for that :cool:.

Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?

Duffy's biggest secret? Well, his biggest secrets have all been revealed to the people he was keeping them from. He knew Lillith wasn't really dead, and that Ei's sacrifice in the final battle wouldn't really kill him...he knew who and where Ruby's village was, and he knew where Blank's mother was buried...

The only secret he has left, is that he knows in his heart that the ability to live forever they all had died with Lucian...

How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?

Well, put it this way, Ruby, Lillith, Blank and Pete were all NPC's to begin with...

They became so big and important to Duffy they got their own profiles ;).

[Silence Sei]

1. What is your character's next goal?
Currently, Sei's just trying to protect his race, but immediately after the Mystic War comes the Radasanth War, so I guess his next goal would be protecting Radasanth

2. What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.

Unless pushed to a breaking point (Which, as of right now Cassandra Remi is the only one who has), Sei believes everybody is redeemable from their sins. While normally a good trait, it makes him very gullible and susceptible to betrayal.

Phobias, Sei is scared of stairs. Terrified of them even. Ever since the noodle incident with Jensen (Which may or may not ever be explained). He also is scared of losing those closest to him.

Prejudices? Not really, Sei has befriended everyone from Angels to Demons from Earth.

Personality Disorder? I think I covered that well in my opening.


3. Which region is your character's favorite?

Corone, it is where Radasanth, as well as the Mystic Towns reside.


4. Which region is your character's least favorite?

Raiaera. Every time Sei goes there, bad stuff seems to really mess him up. His first visit, he lost an arm. Second, he (temporarily) lost his daughter.

5. What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?

How Facade Incorporated managed to gain such advanced, and up until that point, unseen technology.


6. What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)

Sei would like to make the Ixian Knights pretty much into the Corone Guard, but refuses to do that until there is a government everybody can agree on in power.

7. Does your character have any major regrets?

Killing the only woman he ever loved, kicking Jensen out of the IK temporarily, giving Kyla his blessing to date Jensen, sending Kyla and Jensen on a mission just by themselves...

8. Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?

At one point, I had planned on making Sei the Head General of the Facade, and search for the original crest bearers in order to bring the company back.


9. Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?

If we told you, it wouldn't really be a secret, would it? Well, anyways, here it goes.

Most Mystics get 'upgrades' to whichever of the two elements they are adept with. Light Mystics are normally able to withstand extreme temperatures in either degree once they reach this second level, a few of them are even able to cause true solar flares when they reach the pinnacle of Mystic Magic. Sei never learned anything beyond the initial Mystic level of making a ball out of pure light.

10. How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?


Well, they're his family, they have a major impact on his life.

In the non family roles, Octane is pretty much one of Sei's top advisors, Jones is one of the top brass in the Mercenary Company, Laconic is (sooon to be interim) Leader of the Wetworks Team. There's a bunch of ways my NPCs effect Sei, either directly or indirectly.

[The International]

Well this is awesome!

I'm guessing that's a placeholder, Duffy. Can't wait to see what you have in store for us.

Yari have you ever considered taking those characters and locations that you mentioned (The Manipulator, The Sanctuary, ect.) and submitting them in the Underwood submissions contest? At the moment you wouldn't have much competition, if you win other players will make these NPCs a pivotal part of that part of the world, and when you do get around to dealing with those characters a few people would have invested in it. When it comes to the elves I've always just given them an earthly ethnicity and put pointy ears on them. Raiaerans = Anglo Saxons with pointy ears, Alerarans = African Americans with pointy ears, Concordians = Native Americans with pointy ears, and before the split, something like Asian or East Indian with pointy ears.... That's how I imagine them. Does that seem strange? I've never really told anyone that before, but it seems to work for me. I've even imagined the king of Alerar as Taye Diggs lol.

And yes Amen, it is a mutual friend of ours that inspired this thread. Have you and Rayse ever done a thread together? If the two of you are on the same page about Salvar you can brainstorm and maybe flesh out and add to the details that have already been worked out about the place so far during a quest.

Sei and Hysteria... What would happen if Sei saw that tattoo of N'jal? How would Sei react? I'm seeing some real potential there for a great drama to be played out.

Now let's go down the list of who has or once had a vested interest in Corone...
Orphans
Amen
Yari, The Robin Hood of Concordia
Sei
Hysteria
CaitieGirl
And more...

Why Corone and not any of the other regions? I like Corone myself and when the time comes I'll be putting the Villeneuves all over that island, but it seems as though Corone has always enjoyed this popularity. Is it because it one of the more conventional environments mostly occupied by humans, is it because the Underwood forum has generated interest in Corone which is ICly connected to it, or is it because Corone is at the top of the Althanas Regions section? No answer is a wrong answer. I'm just curious about your individual reasons.

Also what could someone do to make the other regions just as popular?

[Duffy]

It's a place holder, though I'm sorely tempted to do a sheet for Ruby, Blank, Lillith, Cydnar, Jennifer, Nihjar, Mordelain, Oliver and Allennia too...I may have to limit myself to the Tantalum!

I think you pretty much nailed the question of Corone, though. Not only does productivity lure productivity, it's the largest, most popular and active region. I think it's familiarity and generic setting (the same can be said for Scara Brae) place it and Underwood at the heart of most conventional role players.

[Hysteria]

I'd like to see Ruby's one... and I know Talen would like to see more of Ruby full stop :p

As for Sei seeing Talen's N'Jal tat.... I've got no idea. I wonder if many characters actually have an opinion on the Thaynes.

Corone, I think is popular because of Underwood being a feature and having a active mission board and timeline.

[Duffy]

Posted.

God I can talk for hours about this stuff!

Ruby will be next.

[Enigmatic Immortal]

place holder. Aw yeah...

[The International]

This is getting really good! Duffy, question. Where did you get the Tantalus name from?

PS. come see me about your airship idea and what you've done regarding that so far.

[Yari Rafanas]

Yari have you ever considered taking those characters and locations that you mentioned (The Manipulator, The Sanctuary, ect.) and submitting them in the Underwood submissions contest? At the moment you wouldn't have much competition, if you win other players will make these NPCs a pivotal part of that part of the world, and when you do get around to dealing with those characters a few people would have invested in it. When it comes to the elves I've always just given them an earthly ethnicity and put pointy ears on them. Raiaerans = Anglo Saxons with pointy ears, Alerarans = African Americans with pointy ears, Concordians = Native Americans with pointy ears, and before the split, something like Asian or East Indian with pointy ears.... That's how I imagine them. Does that seem strange? I've never really told anyone that before, but it seems to work for me. I've even imagined the king of Alerar as Taye Diggs lol.

Why Corone and not any of the other regions? I like Corone myself and when the time comes I'll be putting the Villeneuves all over that island, but it seems as though Corone has always enjoyed this popularity. Is it because it one of the more conventional environments mostly occupied by humans, is it because the Underwood forum has generated interest in Corone which is ICly connected to it, or is it because Corone is at the top of the Althanas Regions section? No answer is a wrong answer. I'm just curious about your individual reasons.

Also what could someone do to make the other regions just as popular?

Hard to submit characters I killed. :] Also, the Sanctuary isn't mine to submit but I will probably pursue it in the future. I have been thinking about Underwood submission stuff and will probably have a few locales/characters hammered out soon enough.

As for Corone, there are a few reasons it thrived. Originally called Radasanthia, it was the first forum listed in the Althanas regions section of the site, so it was often the first one a player would read about. Throw in that the noobie forum, the Peaceful Promenade, was a tavern in Underwood and located in Corone, lead to many starting their lives on Althanas. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't know crap about what regions were what, and didn't learn where the PP was until after I had already played a few threads there. I quickly adapted my story to the region and it has stuck ever since.

On the subject of adaptability. The region is described as a melting pot of races and culture. Pretty much everybody who has an origin with a specific "hometown" or culture that doesn't quite fit the extreme conditions of Elf Land, Ice World, and other places, ends up having a nice blank slate where they can just say, "my place of origin is located somewhere in the northern area of Corone, not too far from Radasanth. It's a convenience thing. When you're new to the site, and you're assaulted with all this lore and confusing region almanac stuff, you want to go with the most simplistic approach so that you can expand and grow on your own.

Even now, one can safely write in ignoring the Civil War and going about their day in whatever village they want.

So, anybody need an overpowered time-manipulating bandit to fix some of these broken ideas?

[orphans]

I had Azza start out in an orphanage in Underwood for the facts:

1: Seemed the most tame out of all the regions.

2: Underwood seemed almost in its own world as well, being a crossroad and deep in a forest.

3: I imagined that although it can get hot, the forest would be a reprieve from the heat during summer. Goes along with Azza's kind which are more accustomed to frozen, desolate blizzards. I saw Underwood as a middle ground for the small girl.

4: Located near Radasanth, which provided catalysts for potential stories. That, and because many other characters go to the Citadel, would make it easy for Azza to meet them should they go to Underwood area, or even Radasanth.

5: Going in hand with 4, because of Azza's age as a primary limiting factor, and because she didn't have the ability to be independent from a caretaker (thus, the orphanage), Corone/Underwood seemed to be the best choice.

6: The region also has the highest percentage of "Other Races."

After finishing this, I realized this was kinda a mouthful of psychobabble (but it all makes sense to me...) ~ go me!

On another note... I'm curious about who this mystery, mutual friend is.

[Duffy]

I got the Tantalum troupe from Final Fantasy 9 (though they've come a long way from that set of ideas).

Tantalus, and the story that is coming based on the Thayne's creation and ideals, is based on the Greek mythological tale. Many of the Tantalum are eternally damned by temptation resting just beyond their reach.

[MetalDrago]

What is your character's next goal?
Drago's next goal is to strengthen Dissonance's member base, making them a true force to be reckoned with. His major goal is spreading evil to every corner of the world and bringing all those who are evil together under various alliances through Dissonance. They don't have to be members, but he is looking to make an intercontinental alliance of evil beings.

What internal issues does your character have? Does he have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders?
Drago's biggest personality disorder is his dual-personality. He is both calm and calculating, and an utter beast in battle. His phobia, which he is slowly coming to grips with, is he doesn't deal well with the fairer sex. He's extremely uncomfortable around women that most men would consider desirable, to the point where they can seriously disrupt his thinking process and leave him frozen.

Which region is your character's favorite?
Salvar

Which region is your character's least favorite?
Corone. Despite it having a multitude of races, Drago faced severe intolerance for decades while he lived there, and doesn't travel there more often than he absolutely has to.

What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?
Solve? There's no conflict he wants to solve. Conflict is the breeding ground of great evil. As far as mysteries go... he wants to learn the art of Weapon Magic, which he believes to be a lost art.

What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)
Nothing I can think of that Drago himself would change, though he does want to have some holdings in Salvar all to himself.

Does your character have any major regrets?
Being a wanna be hero. Drago despises his former self and would do anything he could to erase any evidence that he, himself, was ever a decent person.

Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?
Drago was supposed to become some kind of Dragonian Hero, but I scrapped that idea when I took MD down the path of N'Jalian Paladin.

Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?
Drago's biggest secret... this is a tough one. He doesn't let it on at all, but secretly he's a very lonely man. I doubt any further explanation is needed.

How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?
MD has only two recurring NPCs thus far. The first is Eins, a monk from the Citadel. He's there for mostly exposition and character growth reasons. The second is Terramat, who is the main NPC trainer for Dissonance. Terramat and Drago have a teacher-student relationship where Terramat shares wisdom with MetalDrago, and there's also the fact that the two are often seen joking with one another, albeit in a very sadistic fashion.

[Zerith]

What is your character's next goal?
Zerith's next goal is to fulfill his role in that so called prophecy of Sei's Ixian Knights and to help the mute build and lead an army to win the Mystic War. After that, Z's next goal would probably be to go back home and focus on his family.

What internal issues does your character have? Does he have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders?
At the moment Z's biggest fear is that he'll live in Jasmine's shadow for the rest of his life. He's positive there are people who think he's only considered nobility because of his marriage to her, and although he may call Moriah home he's still just a human while the majority of the population are half-elf.

He's also struggling to accept the fact that since Jasmine herself is a half-elf,
he'll age much faster than she will.

Which region is your character's favorite?
If not Moriah (other regions), then Corone as it's the next place he frequents.

Which region is your character's least favorite?
Fallien. Hot desert and armor don't mix well.

What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?
Exactly what was the world that the Thaynes created before Althanas like?

What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)
Zerith thinks Althanas would be better as a whole if N'jal was taken out of the picture.

But being more realistic, Zerith would like Moriah to expand. Build a few more cities, trade exports with Corone, Scara Brae and other nations and basically climb out from beneath it's shell and become more known throughout the world.

Does your character have any major regrets?
Zerith regrets being unable to intervene when his best friend, Zevernus, gave up his life to save Jasmine. In Zerith's mind, he should have been able to do something to stop it.

He also regrets ever being part of the Grander's Order.

Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?
At one point, I had planned for Zerith to become something similar to what Lorenor is with N'jal, but with Draconus instead. I also had him originally follow V'dralla specifically.

Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?
Zerith has a couple secrets...

On the rare occasion, he questions if he made a wise decision marrying Jasmine. He shrugs it off, believing that all married people feel like that every now and then.

He also think he would make a much better King than his brother-in-law ever could. While he thinks Eric is busy just keeping Moriah the same as always, Z dreams that if he ever wore the crown, it wouldn't be long until he put Moriah on the map.

How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?
Ever though he's dead, Zevernus has left a big hole in Zerith's life. It's taking time for it to be filled again, as the halberdier wasn't sure if he would meet anyone he could consider a friend as good as the one he had before. Eric on the other hand is a voice of logic to Z. While they are becoming more and more close because they're family, there was a bit of reluctance on both parts.

[Jasmine]

1. What is your character's next goal?
Honestly, she'd like to settle down for a little while and raise her kids (yes, plural as of the start of the Mystic War, she's preggo again) and be good wife to Zerith.

2. What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.
Spiders. The bigger they are, the more likely she is to want to curl up into a ball and make someone else deal with it. Driders would have her in a fetal position on the ground.
Oh and the fear that most mother's share... losing any of her kids.

3. Which region is your character's favorite?
That's easy, her homeland, Moriah. A close second is Corone where she's spent a lot of time.

4. Which region is your character's least favorite?
She doesn't really have a least favorite.

5. What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?
I really have no answer for this one.

6. What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)
Honestly, there's nothing Jas would actually seek to change, except maybe to help Moriah become less of an isolated island.

7. Does your character have any major regrets?
1 Major regret above all others: hooking up with Raelyse Salidan

8. Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?
Not that I can remember off-hand

9. Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?
She's scared that she won't be a good enough mom, having grown up (until 16) without a real mother figure other than the palace servants.

10. How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?
Well, they're her family, so they have a more personal affect on Jas's life than anything else. She loves her family dearly.

[Silence Sei]

Sei wouldn't care about Talen's tat. As far as he's concerned, what Talen does on his own time is his own business, so long as it doesn't interfere with Sei's vested interest. He'd just see it as another person being blessed by the Thayne, just as he was (but with a vest, not with a tatoo).

Sei's interest went to Corone because after the Alerar-Raiaera war, in which he served Thoracis as head strategist, he moved to Corone and became known as the Protector of Radasanth (Later known as the Hero of Radasanth). Thats about all there is to it. He did have a interest in Alerar before then and when he started out, however.

[Amen]

Regarding Corone: honestly, my characters would probably avoid the place like the plague if not for the Citadel (and the fact that other player characters prefer it). I like writing about people hitting other people too much, and Corone is usually too civilized for that.

[Saxon]

What is your character's next goal?
What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.
Which region is your character's favorite?
Which region is your character's least favorite?
What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?
What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)
Does your character have any major regrets?
Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?
Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?
How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?


I read shit and analyze the writer's successes, mistakes and cannibalize their style and add parts I like to my own. Good stuff.

[The International]

@Saxon: Uh huh. I'd figure as much coming from you.

@Sei and Hysteria: You know that tat of Talon's still might be a nice genuine side plot during a quest you guys might have together. Perhaps during some other task Talon goes out of the way to hide it, and then when it's actuall revealed, surprisingly Sei doesn't care.

[Saxon]

@Saxon: Uh huh. I'd figure as much coming from you.

Strangely, me too. Imagine that.

[Hysteria]

@Sei and Hysteria: You know that tat of Talon's still might be a nice genuine side plot during a quest you guys might have together. Perhaps during some other task Talon goes out of the way to hide it, and then when it's actuall revealed, surprisingly Sei doesn't care.

I was talking to Paragon about Talen's involvment with N'jal, and about what would cause Talen to betray the Ixian Knights. While he wouldn't do anything to sabotage the knights (he refused Lorenor's request to provide intel on what the knights were doing), he would ensure that followers of N'Jal escaped the grasp of the knights.

This thread certianly has helped me think of some interesting plot lines ;)

[Silence Sei]

I was talking to Paragon about Talen's involvment with N'jal, and about what would cause Talen to betray the Ixian Knights. While he wouldn't do anything to sabotage the knights (he refused Lorenor's request to provide intel on what the knights were doing), he would ensure that followers of N'Jal escaped the grasp of the knights.

This thread certianly has helped me think of some interesting plot lines ;)

Likewise, if the N'Jal followers weren't doing anything to cross the Knights, or Corone, Sei would leave them be.

And yes it has. :P

[The International]

I'm glad it does help. That's what I was hoping for. I have to admit that the most interesting posts I've read so far are Zerith, Jasmine, Sei, and Hysteria's because they have a lot to do with other player characters. That's not to say the others aren't interesting. It's just that those four are so different from the others in that regard that they catch my eye.

@ MetalDrago: was there a moment when you kind of conceded to the destiny of your character being one of the bad guys? I ask that because Vespasian and his family could go either way.

@Enigmatic Immortal: I hope you haven't forgotten about that placeholder of yours on page two. I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to say.

[Amen]

I have to admit that the most interesting posts I've read so far are Zerith, Jasmine, Sei, and Hysteria's because they have a lot to do with other player characters.

The most fun I've ever had writing pbp is when I did it in conjunction with other people. Otherwise the point is diminished - why not just write by yourself. (Because nobody will ever read it, duh.)

The problem I've run into is when you tie your character closely to somebody else's, you kinda get co-dependent. What if one runs out of time to write, or loses interest. For example, the last time I came back to Althanas it was with Nayeli/Ulysses, but it happened right when I was moving so I couldn't write for about a week, and she lost interest. By that time our new characters were so intertwined by design that I couldn't work up the interest to write mine without hers, so I scrapped it and came back to Marcus.

Kindof a frustrating balancing act, so I'm jealous of the people who manage to make it work.

[Hysteria]

Indeed, but then if you don't create those relationships between characters you run more of a risk of losing interest in them. I think the key then is to make a number of relationships. Taken Jensen Ambrose, he is very closely involved with William Arcus and Sei, but also (to a lesser extent perhaps) Talen and Zerith. If Sei took some time off, he still has three others to bounce off. I think thats why clans like the Ixian Knights are popular. In character they can be easily replicated by NPCs, but OOC they are unique.

[Rayse Valentino]

I'm glad it does help. That's what I was hoping for. I have to admit that the most interesting posts I've read so far are Zerith, Jasmine, Sei, and Hysteria's because they have a lot to do with other player characters. That's not to say the others aren't interesting. It's just that those four are so different from the others in that regard that they catch my eye.

Tie-ins are very interesting if the other party doesn't go missing. My first character, Kylin Rouge, was created in conjunction with Silence Sei. One represented Shadow Magic, the other Light Magic, which were the two different paths that the character Blue in the video game Saga Frontier could take.

Rhythm the robot was made as a tie-in with Sei's robotic character, then later brought back to be a tie-in with Esmeralda. Rayse Rafanas was Yari's twin brother. That's the problem with these things, it's hard to start up when people go missing or lose interest, basically what Amen said. If you're not sure the person's gonna be around you might as well do it on an alt.

Also, Rayse Valentino is Teric Bloodrose's nephew. This tie-in was not based on character creation; it came about later.

So yeah, interweaving the fates of characters is a great way to get stories. Plus, you skip that awkward introduction and friendship phase.

What I'd also recommend is a sort of substitution of NPCs for PCs. Lots of people can fill a role, and even if you don't need them posting specifically, you could use their character briefly for a purpose and then later on you use that bit of history for a greater thread with you two together. I believe that every solo can be interactive, it's just writing stories by yourself is not roleplaying.

Also, Sei, I mean with like two big wars that were caused by powerful necromancers, wouldn't pretty much all of Althanas ban necromancy and make it punishable by death? It seems weird to me that the Ixians wouldn't crack down on groups that, for example, worship N'Jal and practice necromancy because they're basically society's greatest fear. The fear that the scourge of the undead would reach the shores of Corone was probably prevalent all throughout the FQ time period.

[Silence Sei]

Necromancy is not inherently an evil concept, Rayse. It -could- be used for good, it's just that most people who wield it don't use it for such. Yes, you could make an army of undead zombies and ravage a city, but you could also revive somebody who was taken before their time in order for them to hear the last goodbyes of loved ones.

And also, Light and Shadow Magic weren't just paths Blue could take, every character in Saga Frontier, with the exceptions of T260G, and Riki could take the trials.

[Rayse Valentino]

This is more or less a medieval society, yes? The idea that anyone would take the high-minded stance that necromancy can be used for good is far and few in-between. After two wars started by ridiculously powerful NECROMANCERS wielding armies of UNDEAD, I am 900% certain that it's illegal by almost every government on the planet by now. Not only that, but you KNOW these N'Jal people are using it for malevolent purposes.

Turning a blind eye to this is pretty much the opposite of justice.

[The International]

I have to agree with Rayse on a number of things here.

We should get into the habit of using one another's Player Characters as Non Player Characters in our quests and even our battles and tournaments. After I finished my quest with Ataraxis I listed something very special in the spoils.
International Pass – As thanks for her help, and since she’s the only person who knows what the Villeneuve family truly does, Lillian can use the International as an NPC mode of transportation, as well as the Villeneuve family as minor NPCs so long as they aren't killed off (discussed with and approved by The International, as stated above).
Because I knew he had the ability to write my characters well, Ataraxis was allowed to use all five of the Villeneuves and their ship to his heart's content. I wouldn't even have to enter a thread I'm not a part of to say bunnying is approved. If I go AWOL Ataraxis would still be able to use my characters. The fact that a great level of trust is required for this sort of thing should go without saying. Another high level player asked for this, but I had to refuse him outright because I knew he'd write things so that the ladies of the family were having sex with him and the men admiring him or something. Nevertheless I would definitely encourage finding a fellow player you know and trust, and giving them the privilege to bunny you without needing your permission.

As for the necromancer argument I look at it like this. Necromancy is to Althanas as certain illegal and legal substances are in America. Given the reputation of those who have used necromancy I couldn't imagine most of the nations allowing it to be practiced. I also see Sei's argument. Necromancy doesn't kill people, people kill people, so he and the Ixian Knights wouldn't take a position against the practice, but those who abuse it.

[Yari Rafanas]

Wait, are we comparing Necromancy to weed or even cocaine use? I'm with Rayse here. Controlling the undead, regardless of your reasoning, is probably an extremely frightening/disgusting act to anybody in Althanas who doesn't kneel before N'jal or all those crazy Forgotten peeps. That being said, it's probably viewed more like dog-fighting, except instead of fighting other dogs, the owners use them to eat children and stuff.

Down with necromancy!

[Silence Sei]

Down with necromancy!

Says the guy who made the original big hit anti-undead thread.

Though there are various types of undead, they don't have to nessicarily be evil by any means. Sei was a bloody vampire for about 3 years before becoming human again, and even then, he still retained everything that made him a good guy. The difference was he ate his burgers super raw.

I can see the point that most people wouldn't allow necromancy in their country, given it's track record, it could very well be the most evil practice magic wise on Althanas.

Strong willed undead can rebel, I even had a quest with my Aquath character in which he did so, but rather than go back to being, well, dead, he searched for a new purpose in his life. I guess I'm saying that if the necromancer is bad, the undead he raises doesn't have to be.

And this has absolutely nothing to do with Sei's niece being a practicioner of Witchcraft :P

Also, I'm not turning a blind eye to it, Sei visited the city of the dead, fought alongside Lorenor. As far as he saw, his people just wanted to be left alone.

Now, if they try to lay siege to Radasanth, that's another story entirely.

[Miyako]

From the eyes of the common man, woman and child, and even the nobles and those from upper tiers of society, necromancy is probably viewed as a negative thing, simply because of its misuse. I wouldn't quite compare it to legal/illegal substances based on the fact that... it's sort of like... comparing magic rituals to herbal medicines.

With that aside, the lines of right and wrong, good and evil, are always subjective to each person.

Technically, Miyako is a "necromancer" of sorts, dealing directly with spirit/ghost creatures and those that exist within the same realm, but on a different plane of existence.

Just different schools of thought though. Most people see necromancy as death magic and the decay it causes as unnatural. Most of it is, won't argue that, but I'm sure there are those rare individuals who view necromancy just as another branch of magic and who view death as a part of life.

From Miyako's view point, necromancy is just for those who choose to deal with the darker energies that surrounds the daily life of everyone. Her opinion on death? It just simply is.


More on topic though... mmm... haven't actually completed anything with this character yet, so... nothing tangible yet.

[Saxon]

Glad to see gross generalizations of personal views and forcing them on others hasn't ceased to be a trend around here.

[The International]

Exactly how did we do that, Saxon?

Miyako, nice to have your view on the subject. Since we've veered off course would you care to answer the questions in the very first post of this thread? The more information you can provide the better.

[Rayse Valentino]

Yeah, I'm not asking for Yari's (although it's a good one) or Sei's individual views on necromancy, but the general take on it by the various regions. How does Althanas view it? How do the governments respond to it? That's the kind of thing I'm looking for. Sei's particular views are colored a LOT by personal experience. He's seen the other side of the coin and knows what it's like. The common person? They hear about wars in faraway lands being waged by people ripped out of the ground to do someone's bidding. About elves dying to Xem'zund's forces and then immediately being raised up to fight their brethren. Is it evil? Maybe. Can it be good? Sure. But that's not the issue.

How does the world at large see it? Do the rest of the Ixians share this sentimental view that Sei has? What if someone reported a N'Jal temple to someone in the Ixians who was more noble-minded, or to the local government? That sort of thing.

edit: I didn't mean to derail or anything. I just want to consider various story options that apply to everyone.

[Silence Sei]

I didn't mean to derail either.

I would assume, country wise, that Rayse is right in the sense that most people probably fear Necromancy due to Xem'Zund.

But Hadia (Or rather, wherever/whatever it's called now) probably doesn't.

[Corvus MacCallum]

1.What is your character's next goal?

To slay a false god and fell a cult focussed on the sacrifice of demi-humans in Findren, a Kingdom that is a seething corrupted swamp.

2.What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.

The main issue is simple loneliness, always gripped by wanderlust from an early age he made the self-imposed restriction upon his contact with people. Mainly that he would do all he could to ignore his lustings and urges except for another traveller like himself, not wanting to run the risk of leaving a girl with more than just a bit of depression on his departure.

It's also based on the fact that his career in life is one with a short time-line for most and he has no desire in leaving a widow when he could have stayed and done so much more with them instead of throw it all away on a hunt that would lead to his demise.

3.Which region is your character's favorite?

None really, wanders anywhere.

4.Which region is your character's least favorite?

The hot and humid areas are such a bugger on his body, built more around cold climates.

5.What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?

Nothing too specific, merely the acquiring of several legendary or exceptional weapons. Among them being a sword in... memories a touch vague, royal vaults of Scara Brae?... or perhaps it's in Corone, been some time since I've looked at them.

6.What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)
A bit of personality information on some of the influential NPCs so that they can be included a lot easier, rather than having to foist up mentalities from the air and hope it fits.


7.Does your character have any major regrets?

Mainly women in his past, one that left him used and alone in the woods after a confession of passion, one that gave up her redemption to vanish from him and a potential pupil who like so many, left the path he was on.

8.Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?

An entire adventure of blood shed and violence with the catch that it was immediately after a violent hunt and Corvus had not yet been given any medical treatment, left battered and bloodied before taking the first step on this new venture.

9.Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?

There really is not an answer for this one. Corvus leads a very simple open life-style, the most he keeps secret are his feelings for women that he meets but thats of a changing personal nature and not some deep down enigma that couldn't be guessed, it's all in the body language.

His life-style of hunting, he enjoys, he does enjoy to slay large beasts, to feel close to death as he challenges them and his own mortality. He even enjoys killing those he fights, but he doesn't keep this inside him either, it's always apparent.

There isn't any conflict of beast and man inside him, he's both as is his entire race and so there are no real qualms about violently ripping the throat from an enemy when its felt required.

There isn't anything in his life that he keeps hidden or secret, at worst the unknown facts about him are simply not known because others do not ask. Really is that simple.

10.How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?

Rasten the demon hunting mage enjoys making the odd job offer now and again to act as his muscle. Apart from that, not bothered with recurring NPCs on this character, too early really.

[Zerith]

How does the world at large see it? Do the rest of the Ixians share this sentimental view that Sei has? What if someone reported a N'Jal temple to someone in the Ixians who was more noble-minded, or to the local government? That sort of thing.



I've thought about this, and I've come to this simple conclusion that while Zerith is an Ixian Knight, he doesn't like necromancy and probably wouldn't tolerate it for long (if at all.) So if someone reported to him that it was being practiced, he probably wouldn't object to shutting it down. Hell, he'd probably offer to do it himself.

But this is only based on the fact that the only exposure Z had to it resulted in the death of his best friend. So yeah... he's not really fond of the practice at all.

[Miyako]

1.What is your character's next goal?

Travel the world and accumulate knowledge about spirit/ghost creatures of all kinds. Due to health and physical limitations though, Miyako is less likely to venture anywhere extremely dangerous.


2.What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.

Miyako is curious, but knows when to back off or hold it at bay when needed. Disorder wise, Miyako can see dead people? Spirits to be exact, and not just people, but creatures and amoebas and such. Drawing a lot of it off oriental lore of ghosts and spirits.

Violent and loud people are not her favorites though, and she does have a low opinion of people who portray themselves as such. She does remind herself though, that there is most likely a reason.


3.Which region is your character's favorite?

Akashima is home and familiar.


4.Which region is your character's least favorite?

None yet.


5.What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?

Miyako would like to see what is beyond the great seas. Maybe not so much a mystery, but she wonders what sort of spirits reside deep in the ocean. The closest she can come to them is the shores and beaches of Akashima.


6.What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve?

Easier to travel roads. Maybe less bandits, or at least, a way to make friends with them without losing an arm and leg, or your possessions.


7.Does your character have any major regrets?

Miyako does wonder from time to time, what her life would have been like had she not been cursed/blessed with the ability to see spirits and draw them towards herself. Because of it, she can't stay in one place for too long.


8.Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?

None yet, since just starting out. Taking it easy and lethargically slow though.


9.Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?

If she closes her jade eye and keep her void eye open, she can see a river of the smallest spirit creatures, aptly called the River of Life.


10.How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?

None yet, since just starting out. I would imagine her mother and father having.... some effect, but not too much. Miyako will be traveling a lot so, it's unlikely that there will be many reoccurring NPCs, if at all.

[The International]

Okay. I guess I need to throw my hat in now. Like Duffy I have quite an ensemble. Not only do I write my character, I write his family as well. Sometimes more than him. For example, my solo Alix & Esme is more so about his parents than him. It's at post number 9 and he just now showed up. However, I'm going to do my best to just do this from Vespasian's point of view.


What is your character's next goal?

To be a the invisible hand behind a major event in Althanas. As the baby of the Villeneuve family, he always has something to prove. He'd also like to put himself and/or his family members in a significant position of power in Althanas.

What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.

There are times when Napoleon had a Vespasian complex. As a product of his parents' nature he is completely amoral, and doesn't judge. That's a good thing for his black sheep sister, Ludivine, who considers him her best (and only) friend. In the midst of all of this he lacks a true sense of self worth around his family, while feeling a little too good for the rest of the world. There's only one PC so far that he considers “on his level” and that's Lillian Sesthal due to her intellectual prowess.

Which region is your character's favorite?

Alerar. Vespasian feels like he's surrounded by like minded intellectuals there.

Which region is your character's least favorite?

Raiaera. They're doing some messed up stuff to Vespasian's Mom right now in Alix & Esme.

What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?

Vespasian would love to simply find out exactly how an Alerar Airship works. The concept is intriguing to him and he admires the Dark Elves for successfully hiding its secrets from public knowledge. He'd love to know just for the fun of knowing.

What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)

I'd love to see the Corone conflict come to a head, leaving the island completely Empire, completely Republic, or complete Anarchy. Whichever serves the Villeneuve Family's interests better will be the one they go for. I'd also like to see a real war between two nations. In Althanas. So far all we've had was civil wars and immortal beings taking over, and I understand that Corone needs to get its stuff done before we do anything else, but in the distant future it would be cool. I had a conversation the other day with the Muse that inspired this thread and we had a whole discussion about the Eternal Tap, and came up with the best what if question. If the Tap was shattered into different pieces at the end of the War of the Tap eons ago what if it's been slowly repairing itself... oh shiznit!

Does your character have any major regrets?

Vespasian usually regrets the strategic mistakes he often makes. He beats himself up a a lot.

Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?

Oh god where do I begin. I got a quest where Vespasian poses as a Graff in Alerar, I got a quest where Vespasian has to find a missing kid in Radasanth's red light district, I got a quest where the Villeneuves send their ship, The International on a suicide mission, I got a quest where the entire family does one last job together before the parents decide to kill themselves. There are many more.

Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?

Vespasian has ADHD. HAH didn't see that shit coming did you?

How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?

The NPC's are Vespasian's life.

[Duffy]

Now for me to ask you a question...

Did you intend for the NPC aspect of your character to be so important?

Or is it more a case of 'oh, he has an aunt...oh, a sister too...oh darn, now I need more character profiles!'

[The International]

The plan was to start with Vespasian, develop him alone, and then have a quest here and there with the rest of the family. Then I realized something. I literally can't write a good thread without having at least two other Villeneuves in there. There's a series of unfinished quests lying around here somewhere that will never get finished because I can't find a way to get the others in there. I even think there was a quest that was so bad that the other player very publicly said that that he didn't want to finish it. Without the rest of the family around he's just another wannabe fantasy/action hero with a chip on his shoulder, with one or two of them around I feel like the reader can explore his whole persona. I love it now though.

I have been curious about how you've approached your ensemble. While I've made profiles for all of my characters, I haven't made separate accounts.

[Breaker]

If you have trouble keeping things flowing when writing from a single perspective, try writing in first person. It can really help to shape a character's voice.

Also, if you've got any unfinished threads you'd like to sew up, PM me the links... I like finding satisfying endings for such things.

[The International]

It's also based on the fact that his career in life is one with a short time-line...
So, Corvus where do you see your character in say ten or fifteen years? I know that sounds like a cliche question, but I'm sure you see why. How would his life change down the road when his career is over, and is there anything he needs to do to prepare for that time?


...try writing in first person.
I actually did that while I was writing the Villeneuve Vignettes. It did help quite a bit, but I think I need to do it some more. As for those discarded threads I'll be sure to keep your offer in mind. Thank you.

[Corvus MacCallum]

Well I mean short time-line for his occupation meaning more survival rate. Hunting big beasties doesn't have many happy retirement stories. As it stands now though he'll likely be doing that well into his grey years.

Actually been an amusing thing, using a modified version of Cor named Torran in an Adventure setting and so far he's shaping up immortal just for kicks, with each generation of the group, going down various kids and bloodlines, he is always there, getting more shaggy furred and powerful each time. Always fun

[The International]

NEW QUESTION NEW QUESTION
What inspirations are there for your character and their cast? Don't lie. There's something somewhere in sometime that was the original inspiration for your character. You'd never guess mine, but I won't show you mine until you show me yours.

[Les Misérables]

There were two elements to the original inspiration of Phyr Sa'resh... one should be quite obvious. The other, I don't think anyone could guess.

1. What is your character's next goal?
To survive the conflict in Corone and find peaceful lodging somewhere.

2. What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.
Phyr is a recovering alcoholic and can be severely paranoid due to his time spent in prison.

3. Which region is your character's favorite?
Corone.

4. Which region is your character's least favorite?
Salvar.

5. What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?
Phyr wants peace in Corone because it seems like an ideal place to do what he never managed to before: fall in love and raise a family.

I'll have to get to the other questions a bit later...

[Hysteria]

Well, the original inspiration for the original incarnation of Talen happened in late 2004. The name Talen comes from a David Eddings book, where the main character interacts with a young boy thief called Talen. When I first made Talen the system required an 'element' that the character used. The options were something like Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Lightning, Bio, Spirit, Light, Dark or None. I picked Dark and made a young man with mastery of shadows. After that time Talen went through a number of different changes, then i stopped using him when I moved to a different RP system. When I joined Althanas, I decided to use Talen and the rest is history.

[Silence Sei]

Actually, I took the names Sei, Silence, and Orlouge from SaGa Frontier. As well as Ciato.

Sei's appearance was also supposed to emulate Zozma who was also a character in SF, only instead of red hair, Sei had orange.

Later on, I gave him Sesshomaru's little cloth that he drapes over his one arm, and that was actually the reason I gave Sei one arm. I still think Sesshomaru is a bad ass.

Anita actually was a name I came up with, as well as her mysterious history, but it came off as too much of a rip off of Anita from Darkstalkers, so....

Anyways, there is my inspiration for the character. For quests, I usually find inspiration in comics/video games.

Just watch, Sei's going to get a Portal Gun soon.....:P Not really, but maybe,

[Hysteria]

Wait wait wait... Sei only has one arm?

[Jasmine]

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been fond of fairytale princesses. My all time favorite Disney Classic is "Sleeping Beauty," followed by a tie between "Aladdin" and "Cinderella."

Jasmine's first and middle names are directly from my fave Disney princesses (her maiden name, Matrino, is a spin off of my own last name) and her backstory is influenced quite a bit by "Aladdin" (which is probably painfully obvious, but when I created her, I didn't really care.) But I didn't want her to be the ordinary princess. I wanted her to be able to take care of herself and whatnot, kinda like Xena. As far as personality stuff goes, Jasmine is like me in so many ways it's almost ridiculous, but in many others, she's nearly everything I wish I was.

Poison came about courtesy of an IM rp I did with a friend years and years ago. I just adjusted her to be a fully fledged chara for althanas. The RP required a female assassin, so I made one. *shrug* I have a few other versions of her set in different technological eras, but the personality and appearance are the same for the most part. Oh and the fact that's she part Karnishan, a race I made up for the IM RP. Simply put, the Karnishans are a celestial race, they live several hundred years, age very slowly, and only female get wings that are like delicate as gossamer, very pretty, and resemble butterfly wings in shape. Other than a few feet to reach a high shelf though, a pure-blood's wings are pretty much just something pretty to look at.

i may do a few other chara's later, but that's good for now. :)

[Letho]

Took me a while to get to this one. I meant to do it sooner, but forgot about it. Anyways, here it goes...

#1 What is your character's next goal?

Oddly enough, I don't think Letho currently has one. I mean, there's a story arc where he needs to save his lover's eternal soul from the pits of hell waiting to be finished, but that's been stuck in limbo for a good while now (mostly due my inactivity, because of which I'm not sure Pat and Paul would still be interested in finishing this at some point). I guess his goal right now is trying not to fuck up too badly as a father. Which he's failing to do.

#2 What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.

Letho dislikes magic very much and will usually dislike magic users as well. He feels that magic is a dishonorable way to fight, even if it proves useful at times. Also, he often questions the fact that those that he cares about usually die while he lingers, and he fears the same will happen to his daughter, making him a bit overprotective of her.

#3 Which region is your character's favorite?

Corone. Letho was (and in a way still is) involved with what was happening in the region. He found it sort of as a replacement from his homeland, Savion, which was lost in a barbarian invasion.

#4 Which region is your character's least favorite?

Probably Raiaera. I think Letho visited it maybe twice. The elves just don't sit well with him.

#5 What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?

Though Letho probably wouldn't care two figs about it, I'd like to learn more about the Eternal Tap. I found it an interesting concept that never really came to life and wasn't expanded on overly much.

#6 What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve?

Probably help to bring an end to the Corone Civil War. It's probably unfair to Letho, because I started that thing and expected him to finish it. Which was hard to do when my inspiration failed and I couldn't write.

#7 Does your character have any major regrets?

A couple. Not being able to defend his homeland is a big one. He saw his family fall and was exiled from the land, probably never to return again. Then there's also burying his two wives. That's perhaps what eats him even more. Because losing his home was a matter of pride and honor; losing his wives (sounds like an Ent thing ;)) is a matter of love and heart.

#8 Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?

The initial idea behind Letho arriving to the known lands of Althanas was for him to recruit an army for his return to Savion. I meant to do it as a series of quests in each region in which I would gain the favor of the local authorities one way or the other. But I started doing some random quests first and I wound up having too much fun in the regions that I didn't want to go back anymore. On top of that, such a story would be rather finite. Once he reclaimed Savion, there would be little there to do that you could do with other people. And I hate writing solos about shit that doesn't concern anybody save my own character. So I decided to stay in Corone and disregard that story for the time being.

There's a lot of other stuff, a lot of ideas that I sort of left to stew in the back of my mind, but I'll just leave it at that for the time being.

#9 Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?

Not really a secret, but Letho believes the ends justify the means even if the means are sometimes truly horrible. He killed a whole bunch of people (a lot of them innocent) in search of a way to bring Myrhia back. And despite the fact that he had failed to do so and that most of the mischief was done while he was stark mad, he doesn't actually regret those deaths. They keep them awake at night sometimes, but if he had to go through it all again, he most likely would if he knew it would get him a step closer to saving her.

How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?

Very much so. Myrhia has been an integral part of Letho's life since level... 2 or 3 or something like that, and she did a lot to turn Letho from this moody cliche good-hearted adventurer into a less moody good-hearted hero of the little guy (still very much cliche, though). She helped me explore a more emotional side of him without doing a whole lot of retrospective, and she enabled me to put Letho in situations that wouldn't normally occur. His daughter Lorelei is currently revealing to me just what kind of a father would Letho be, and unsurprisingly, without Myrhia's help, he's turning out to be a real son of a bitch. :P

[Yari Rafanas]

I wish our characters had gone through their "prime levels" at the same time, Letho. I have a feeling I would have had a blast shitting all over you in Corone. And I mean that in a good way.


NEW QUESTION NEW QUESTION
What inspirations are there for your character and their cast? Don't lie. There's something somewhere in sometime that was the original inspiration for your character. You'd never guess mine, but I won't show you mine until you show me yours.

Inspiration for Yari started mainly from AIM chat RPs where I played a cliche thief, mostly based on abilities and characteristics from Squaresoft works. Althanas made me think about what kind of thief I would make in a game with no real rules on what I could be. I was just fascinated at the time knowing I could craft a character who wasn't restricted to just mugging, pitpocketing, and running around with a couple knives.

However, even with the freedom, I still found influences and themes from some of my favorite video games... a lot of classic Final Fantasy with my own knock-off brand to it. The most recent example of this would be my latest ability, Brigand's Block, where Yari creates a boomerang of energy as a spell. The boomerang of course is a common weapon in earlier Final Fantasies for the Thief class.

Appearance and demeanor wise, I take a lot of queues from the Prince of Persia, but Yari is also pretty much a hyper-stylized version of myself. Call me a Mary Sue (or whatever the male version of that is, it escapes me at this time) but if I could I'd walk around looking just as rugged and sexy as Taydrius any day. I come close, but... you know, nobody's perfect.

Something some of you may not know or appreciate, but I am a huge Transformers fan, and even though he could never hold a candle to Optimus Prime, Yari's personality and leadership style is very similiar (in my head) to Rodimus Prime. You know, a chosen one, but doubtful of his place, unable to really fill his father's shoes, but at the same time keeping a little spark of that arrogant little shit Hot Rod. Eh, probably doesn't make a lot of sense to you guys.

Anyway, Yari is also like 10 years old now, so to give a list of all the little influences would take forever.

[Letho]

I wish our characters had gone through their "prime levels" at the same time, Letho. I have a feeling I would have had a blast shitting all over you in Corone. And I mean that in a good way.Oh, I agree. I think Yari and Letho would've made great archrivals. I have a feeling Letho would have had a blast chasing your raggedy ass all over Corone. And I mean that in an entirely non gay way.


NEW QUESTION NEW QUESTION
What inspirations are there for your character and their cast? Don't lie. There's something somewhere in sometime that was the original inspiration for your character. You'd never guess mine, but I won't show you mine until you show me yours.Inspiration for Letho... Hmm, I honestly never thought about it all that much. I think, when I was starting out, he was one part Goku from DBZ (his power up ability, crazy strong), and one part Conan (kicking ass with a sword), and one part Leto Atredies from Dune (royalty, and also the name), one part this dude from a comic called "Warlands" I read once, and I guess one or two parts of your truly (the grumpiness, redheads). There are probably more, characters here and there that I pilfered during the construction of Letho, but that's all I can think off straight off the bat.

[Christina Bredith]

I've been meaning to do this for a long time, so by god, here it is.

What is your character's next goal?

The reinstatement of the Republic of Corone and the elimination of its current Empire and emperor. Every little thing she does on the way is just a small part of that grander scheme.

What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.

Well, she's got a huge fear of orcs because they destroyed her home and killed her family when she was younger. I wouldn't call it a prejudice per se, but she certainly can't work well around them and doesn't trust them as far as she could throw them.

Which region is your character's favorite?

Corone, for sure. It's her home, for one thing, and the place she's most heavily invested in. Events in the rest of the world just don't matter while she's still dealing with all of this Civil War stuff.

Which region is your character's least favorite?

Hmm, I'm not too sure on that one. Probably Salvar, because the cold and dry air are just murder to her skin and hair. She probably wouldn't enjoy Raiaera very much right now, either, with all the stuff going on.

What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?

The Corone Civil War, duh. Even if the Empire were to win the war, she'd probably spend the rest of her life fighting against it, and I don't think she'd die happy (or at all) until she killed the emperor and all his heirs or something like that.

What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve?

Make Corone a better place and end this tiring civil war once and for all. There's way too much support for such a cruel and ruthless government in her (and my :p) opinion, so it's time to change that for the better!

Does your character have any major regrets?

Quite a few, I'm sure. Not being able to save her family from the orcs that attacked their home was probably the galvanizing factor in why she's come as far as she has. She also perceives the Gisela Massacre as a big failure even though there was nothing any one person could have done to stop it. And the longer the war goes on, or during any periods where she's away from Letho and the Rangers and their "main task" of bringing the Empire down, she feels regret for all the suffering people have to endure under the Empire and for leaving them to that suffering for so long.

Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?

Well, not particularly. I did have one or two quests that never got finished, but they were nothing particularly important. The important ones are still ongoing.

Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?

That she has a huge crush on Letho? Well, it's at least half platonic and it's not really a secret (except to him) so maybe that doesn't count. She's also just about terrified on a daily basis, though she would never let it show. She's afraid that she's not good enough to affect the changes she wants to see in the world, and that she doesn't deserve to hold the place she does. She's afraid that one day Letho and Izvilvin and all the other Rangers will realize that she's just a silly girl with no part to play in their story, and that they'll reject her because of it. And she's also afraid that the Empire will win the war and that will be the end of liberty in Corone. But it's all kept very deep beneath the surface and she puts on an extra bright face to hide it all.

How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?

There actually aren't very many (or maybe any) recurring NPCs in Christina's life, so I'll answer about recurring PCs instead. Letho and Izvilvin have basically been responsible for her development as a character. Not heavily involved in--responsible for. You'd probably have to just read The Price of Freedom to get a sense of why that is, but they've become an integral part of her life and her "self," and it was at their side that she began to mature into something like an actual soldier from a naive little girl.

What inspirations are there for your character and their cast?

She's basically the result of an unholy all-female orgy between several characters, some obscure and some not. You start with essence of Carmyne (http://img3.hebus.com/hebus_2001/12/03/20011203180418_3472.jpg) from Grandia Xtreme for the base inspiration (Christina actually looks almost exactly like that picture, including the uniform, and one of her sword abilities is based on Carmyne's), then add a dash of Ivy (http://soultemple.webs.com/photos/Videogame-Hotties/Ivy%200.jpg) from Soul Calibur (because her extend-a-sword skill named "Valentine" is such a subtle reference), and polish off the personality (and abilities) with Matsumoto Rangiku (http://www.godoon.com/gallery/media/bleach/matsumoto-rangiku-10th-division-vice-captain/47a8d1b9-d81e-11df-8228-a8bfc396a36f.jpg) from Bleach.

[orphans]

NEW QUESTION NEW QUESTION
What inspirations are there for your character and their cast? Don't lie. There's something somewhere in sometime that was the original inspiration for your character. You'd never guess mine, but I won't show you mine until you show me yours:

I'm beginning to learn that I seem to work backwards. For example, I make a main character... but then I have to know how other characters are connected, and their back stories. I guess I don't really view NPCs as NPCs? I dunno...

But to the question at hand. The original concept of Azza's entire race is started with a picture I saw awhile back. I don't quite remember where it was and it was a low resolution, so the finer details was hard to make out. It had a figure of a woman robed in brown, with horns and wings standing over a gravestone and holding what looked like a small notebook.

The race was developed for a DnD world I used to run in highschool and then briefly in college (yes Artie, Azza was around) and their overall role was more as passive observers of the world and its "maintenance crew," so to speak. They only involved themselves with humans and other creatures when they felt a need to stop unnatural destruction. Since there are no "angels" or "demons" in the world I poked around, Azza's race filled those roles, playing both sides.

The inspiration for Azza and her originally wild/destructive nature was her role as a "demon" on the losing side of a continent wide conflict in her home realm. She dies originally as well, though a bit more gruesomely than how it's portrayed in how I explained it in Althanas.

Althanas version of Azza started as a completely blank slate and it goes hand in hand with the tradition of her race of having heretics who die, exiled for a time to another realm.

I feel like I'm also forgetting something but oh well.... :/

[Duffy]

Final Fantasy 9 and Celtic Mythology. Simple really.

[Macabre]

As for inspirations concerning Ravenok, I guess it's a big hodge podge of various elements. Ravenok has been a staple character of mine as a writer for a long time now, I created the main idea of "Ravenok" way before ever coming to Althanas back in '06. For those that don't know, this is Ravenok v2 here in Althanas. My very first character when I came here was also Ravenok, who can be found here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?3190-Ravenok-Kinnes&highlight=).

Over the years he's always been sort of a mix of Dante from the DMC series (with bits and pieces of Vergil as well actually), Cloud Strife from FF7, myself, and even a bit of Alucard from the Hellsing series. Although he seems to grow as I do, his basic skeleton remains the same.

[Corvus MacCallum]

Corvus is another part of my Cor Archetype. Key components of a character that develop in different directions depending on the setting he's put in. This particular one is actually a spin-off of a spin-off, originally put together for a comic project that lost its artist. Taking inspiration from Star Ocean Cors Highlander species was from a different planet than Sarub, the world in which the plot occured.

Also there's a bit of monster hunter thrown in, Blademaster mainly, was one of the first times I'd seen a huge sword used mildly realistically and made that a key part of Cors methods. Plus wanted to do a beastial character 'correctly', in that it was perfectly mingled in his personality, it wasn't a split of man and beast.


Amusingly he's wound up getting a spin-off for another Adventure setting, this one mainly anthro and human... mostly because anthro artists are generally more friendly and willing than human artists. With the fun name of Torran.

And for the hell of it, a look at another Cor-type, Corran Meer, sky-pirate.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l167/Corvusmoore/CorranMeerCherie.jpg

[The International]

Alright! This is nice. I'm sure most of you noticed a consistency here. Most of your characters were originally inspired by video game characters. Good thing for me I know the majority of your references, and I've read everyone's material enough to know for a fact that most of you have taken the archetypes and put way more detail and intimacy into them than SquareEnix could ever dream to. I do have to ask, do any of you remember the point in which your character was no longer a version of their inspirations and became a force of their own?

I feel that it is now my obligation to give the inspiration for my character... In terms of his powers and what they may end up becoming I've used Sylar from Heroes. That blade-finger thing he used to cut off people's heads was always cool to me! I'll also be giving him the ability to 'mimic' other character's abilities in the near future. Another inspiration for his ADHD-turned-genius prowess was Edie Spinola from the book The Dark Fields, which coincidentally has been turned into the movie Limitless staring Bradley Cooper. I read the book years ago, and it was very interesting to me. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Shadow series, however, it isn't Bean that inspires me. It's Peter Wiggin. That evil sumbitch took over the world. Evan Thomas' non-fiction book on the darling years of the CIA called The Very Best Men is inspiration for the spy theme along with Burn Notice and Leverage. The entire family's dynamic came before this television show came out, but I feel like ABC's Modern Family keeps me grounded with them. He and his family's shape shifting abilities and relative immortality, which is currently under threat in my current solo, is inspired by Doctor Who.

Last but certainly not least, Vespasian Villeneuve's greatest inspiration of them all... Mr. Bean.

[Rayse Valentino]

Rayse doesn't have any video game roots. Just a general interest for organized crime from movies like Goodfellas, Scarface, The Departed, and whatnot. Not that Rayse bears any similarity from any of the characters from those movies. All I had in mind when making him was "Salvarian criminal" and that's it. It hasn't really changed much from then. The fire stuff was inspired by Natsu from Fairy Tail and Fire Fist Ace from One Piece, but I'm trying to tone it down since it's not that interesting.

Kylin on the other hand had elements from Saga Frontier, in terms of Shadow magic and his first and last name. His appearance (just the shawl I guess) and main weapon was inspired by Raziel from Soul Reaver, at one point Yu Yu Hakusho served as inspiration for some abilities.

[Godric]

Boats N Hoes!!!!

[Christina Bredith]

Alright! This is nice. I'm sure most of you noticed a consistency here. Most of your characters were originally inspired by video game characters. Good thing for me I know the majority of your references, and I've read everyone's material enough to know for a fact that most of you have taken the archetypes and put way more detail and intimacy into them than SquareEnix could ever dream to. I do have to ask, do any of you remember the point in which your character was no longer a version of their inspirations and became a force of their own?

I feel that it is now my obligation to give the inspiration for my character... In terms of his powers and what they may end up becoming I've used Sylar from Heroes. That blade-finger thing he used to cut off people's heads was always cool to me! I'll also be giving him the ability to 'mimic' other character's abilities in the near future. Another inspiration for his ADHD-turned-genius prowess was Edie Spinola from the book The Dark Fields, which coincidentally has been turned into the movie Limitless staring Bradley Cooper. I read the book years ago, and it was very interesting to me. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Shadow series, however, it isn't Bean that inspires me. It's Peter Wiggin. That evil sumbitch took over the world. Evan Thomas' non-fiction book on the darling years of the CIA called The Very Best Men is inspiration for the spy theme along with Burn Notice and Leverage. The entire family's dynamic came before this television show came out, but I feel like ABC's Modern Family keeps me grounded with them. He and his family's shape shifting abilities and relative immortality, which is currently under threat in my current solo, is inspired by Doctor Who.

Last but certainly not least, Vespasian Villeneuve's greatest inspiration of them all... Mr. Bean.
I don't think Christina was ever a "version" of her inspirations, per se, though it's probably true that she shared some strong links with Matsumoto from the start (though I honestly think Matsumoto kind of blended into the mix later on, rather than her being an initial inspiration; i.e., Christina's personality was originally distinct from her actual inspirations, but rather similar to Matsumoto, who wound up getting mixed in as the character progressed). But any break from that, I think, came at the start of the Corone War, or to be specific, The Price of Freedom. She started off that series of threads being rather superficial and lazy, and matured a lot throughout them.

[Lillith]

Wait...Mr. Bean?

Explain yourself woman!

[The International]

Mr. Bean is flawed in a funny way. Out of everyone in the Villeneuve Family, Vespasian is the clumsiest, even when compared to Maelle, who doesn't fight at all. He puts his foot in his mouth a lot too.

Mind you he's more coordinated, and smarter than the average Althanian civilian, but they don't count.

[Vigil]

Liam?

The Bible, Catholicism, Irishmen at the end of the Victorian Era/start of 20th century, Werewolves before they become dumb, and whatever tribal and supernatural roots I can tug at to apply to his mysticism. He's almost too complex of a character because of his varying shades. Because his personality reflects so many different parts its completely possible to write a story that has nothing to do with being a werewolf, a Catholic, a mystic, an Irishman, a vigilante, a husband, father, etc. I'm proud with how I created him and my intentions with him should prove interesting.

[Hysteria]

No computer games in mine, at least none I am aware of. He is though pretty archetypal, the smart ass kid with abilities to back up his words (mostly). Though I did take Starks gun ability from bleach. (I'm hoping the series gives us something else good... getting pretty bad.)

[The International]

NEW CHALLENGE! NEW CHALLENGE!

Monologue - A long speech by one actor in a play or movie, or as part of a theatrical or broadcast program. These are also in literature though they aren't as frequent or as effective. It is usually no more than a paragraph or three minutes long when performed.

Imagine you were sitting in the audience of a theater, and an actor was portraying your character and performing a monologue depicting that character as they are right now. Write that monologue, and pick the actor if you want to.

[Karelinkski]

"Noble? NOBLE?! What the hell is noble about being born? My birth was just an accident of fate. My heritage, my history... My wounds. Those have made me what I am! Damn those who think high birth makes them better! And damn those murderers who slaughtered all the noble houses! I choose to live free as neither noble or peasant. I Will be a Free Man." - Karelinkski, as portrayed by Harrison Ford

[The International]

That's a very good start, Karelinski. When you hit level one or two I want you to come back here and write another monologue based on the events you've completed with Sergei. I think it'll be interesting.

[Slayer of the Rot]

1. What is your character's next goal?
Kill everything living and/or breathing between him and his daughter.

2. What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.
Dan has never been particularly complicated on the surface; he was originally a slayer of the undead who eventually embraced the rush he got from killing and went rampaging over the edge. However, beneath all those teeth and obscenities there's a man who has killed, and almost has been killed only to see his daughter again, a man who has willingly accepted deals with monstrous, murderous entities in order to gain the power to keep searching. He's lost his first family to a horde of zombies, and his new one, the Wilmhearst, wanted to use him as a living weapon. Dan trusts very, very few people, and even when he does find it in himself to trust another, his hand is never far from the hilt of any of his weapons. He also hates snakes, and some people says he's got an anger problem.

3. Which region is your character's favorite?
A tie of Salvar/ Fallien - The extreme temperatures, the hardy native people, the territorial wildlife.

4. Which region is your character's least favorite?
Corone - Too many bounty hunters, soldiers, and fame seekers.

5. What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?
What's it feel like to tear out a Higher Being's spine with your hands?

6. What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)
I personally can't think of anything. Maybe get his name in the winner's bracket of a tournament one of these days.

7. Does your character have any major regrets?
Dan regrets never truly having the power to save anyone - his family, Claire, Meredith. He regrets having not been the one to have made the sacrifice to finish Xem'zund in Godhand's place. And silently, he regrets having become as monstrous as he is - because he knows in the end, that his daughter may just reject the demon he's become once he finds her.

8. Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?
So very, very many. Really, there has been more crapped plans than I can count; initially, he was just supposed to be some special, one of a kind demon slayer with blood that could seal rifts and stuff, but one day I just randomly came up with the Saraelian demon idea. I've had plans to marry him, to kill and reincarnate him twice - once as an avatar of Hromagh with the Rotslayer bonded with his body, again as a bound djinn of rage and vengeance, that, when not summoned, lived in the real world as a real person, and when summoned to Althanas, would go into violent seizures and then into comas for as long as he was summoned. The plan for that was that he would, in the end, have to choose between the real world and Althanas, because the seizures were killing him. I've had ideas to create him as assassins and black ops agents for Raieran and Coronian governments, and ideas to turn him into a genocidal criminal warlord that never really panned out. The last, and furthest along scrapped change can actually be seen here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?19204-Live-for-the-Kill-9&highlight=).

9. Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?
Killing the mother of his daughter, Claire, is eating at him, the guilt pressing him further into madness. He has never told anyone that he killed her. Generally, Dan doesn't feel remorse, killing has become second nature to him, but waking up next to her ravaged corpse saw him off on a darker path than ever before, one that he doesn't wish to share with any other.

12. How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?
I've never been one to use a lot of npc's; I'm really bad at writing an using them. However, the npc who has had the largest impact on Dan, especially for someone who has yet to make an IC appearance, is of course his daughter. His desperate search for her has fueled nearly every action he's taken, no matter how misguided. Every once in a great while, his twin, Derium, will show up to fuck his day up, though he's hasn't appeared lately, something that will be changing soon.

The Wilmhearst family, an old bloodline of slayers, are the largest reason he has such rotten trust issues, and the reason why he tends to hold grudges.

[Yari Rafanas]

Good to see your input on this, Slayer. I think Althanas is really missing a tormented berserker right about now. I know Yari and Dan had a brief encounter in one of the Cells, but I'd love for Yari to someday be one of those "things in the way," and see what kinda havoc we could make.

[Slayer of the Rot]

Good to see your input on this, Slayer. I think Althanas is really missing a tormented berserker right about now. I know Yari and Dan had a brief encounter in one of the Cells, but I'd love for Yari to someday be one of those "things in the way," and see what kinda havoc we could make.

Nah, it wasn't the Cell, it was a similar type of Coliseum battle that Gild hosted. I remember us both mentioning in the OOC thread that their brief clashes had the start of something potentially epic, so it would be fucking awesome for Yari to become a "thing in the way".

Extra Credit
What inspirations are there for your character and their cast? Don't lie. There's something somewhere in sometime that was the original inspiration for your character.

The initial seed that sprouted into Dan came from a late night viewing of a 1984 disaster/zombie movie called Night of the Comet. I'd been drinking, and I thought about how fucking awesome it would be to play a character in the same situation - dodging zombies with a front row seat to the end of the world. Though the drinking and the movie planted the idea, Berserk shaped it in its image. I'd just picked up the first two volumes, and Guts was heavily on my mind as I made Dan. He started off as a survivor of the zombie holocaust, more or less the default champion of earth, since he was the last that remained. His cheapshot move, Kattosu, was a bastardized version of the Gatotsu, the signature technique of Saito Hajime of Rurouni Kenshin, which I'd been watching religiously.

These days, he still hosts bits of Guts, as well as pieces from Alucard, dashes of Kenpachi, some splinters of Dante from Devil May Cry, even some Sabretooth from X Men, and more.

[Vigil]

1.What is your character's next goal?

Keep on keepin' on. Liam is supposed to become a vigilante. Though he is starting off as a very wicked, self-righteous and violent individual. He will undergo numerous tragedies, missteps and relapses before he changes for what folks will call "the better."

2.What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.

1) His eldest son and wife were murdered. His daughter was kidnapped nearly a decade ago. He may have buried all three, but in his mind none of them have been put to rest.

2) He's had the lycanthropy curse gnawing on his innards, mind and soul for the better part of three decades. Its shaped a great deal of his personality.

3) He's being used by his peers by getting him drunk with power, playing on his many racial/class/a/religious prejudices and using his callousness and willing to commit violence to meet their own ends.

4) His commitment to God and his devotion to his people are his scapegoats for the majority of the crimes and unspeakable things he does. Liam believes he is a good man and lives by much of the same morals and religious codes that his peers do, but he hasn't learned that his ability to succumb to violence and aggression are his biggest weakness and in a Catholic perspective would make him very much evil.

5) Liam is xenophobic and a racist, especially one as a man out of his own time. This problem will never be completely solved. He will have his own views on slavery, white supremacy, etc. that shape some of his views as an individual. I'm not going to make this into a very big deal where every other person who encounters him has to contend with his opposing racial views. But I think people would find it very interesting to have somebody with a view completely different from their own fight on their side and be able to see his opinions on very real and controversial problems.

3.Which region is your character's favorite?

Corone. The Irish refugees who made it to Althanas found port in Corone. Their city, New Belphast, a booming port/shipyard, was founded in the country along with a slew of other Irish villages, towns and cities.

4.Which region is your character's least favorite?

I don't really have one for Liam. I hate elves and I think the interpretation of demons in Althanas is dumb. Probably will stick around Corone, Salvar and Fallien.

5.What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?

None. I have absolutely no interest in committing any effort to providing anything else to the official canon of Althanas.

As for his own mystery, however, I would like Liam to find his daughter. Or, more tragically, somebody he believes to be his daughter.

6.What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve?

I don't care. I interpret things the way I like them and write them as I see fit. That's more than enough for me.

7.Does your character have any major regrets?

See #1.

8.Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?

I'm looking into writing Liam's origin. Its a bit fuzzy and I keep changing my mind in how I'd like to tell it. I'm beginning to think it'd be better to build a legend around him and have a sort of mythos where folks try to figure out where the Irish came from and why they're here. Its a copout, but its a decent trade for letting everyone know his complete history.


9.Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?

Liam kills people in the name of God, he's a werewolf and he's a blatant racist which is fitting for a man that was sucked out of late 19th century Ireland. What else could he possibly have as a secret?

I had thought about playing on his wife's murder as having him blame himself and think that he was the one that did it when he changed, but I find the entire premise to be very shallow. It'd be a casual explanation to a complex problem, and I don't like tying loose ends in those kinds of knots.

10.How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?

My NPCs will play tremendously on Liam's life. Most of them will be recurring and have lives of their own. They'll love, live, die and exist and hopefully affect Liam in many ways so that I can better paint his personality and allow him to develop.

I want him to find his daughter, to find love after his wife's death or the very best he can manage, I want him to have friends he can count on in a crisis and he needs to have many enemies and rivals to keep things interesting. The majority of these will come in the face of tragedy and strife.

[Caden Law]

What is your character's next goal?
Abort the possible future of N'Thayn'sal; save the world; live through the next five minutes.

What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.
Chronic nightmares and trouble sleeping, psycho-social isolation, an unhealthy tolerance for disturbing experiences, more survivor's guilt than you can shake a stick at, joke-racism (that kind of isn't, not always) towards Elves.

Which region is your character's favorite?
So far: Probably Scara Brae. It's the one where the fewest people/places/things have tried to kill him. Second to that, Beinost in Raiaera.

Which region is your character's least favorite?
Kebiras. Probably. It wasn't the first time Caden was locked into a cage and his life threatened in all kinds of unhealthy and improbably violent ways, but it was certainly one of the nastiest.

What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?
...all of them? But especially Liquid Time, the Forgotten Ones, and Thayne Lore.

What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)
...plenty. :)

Caden is currently trying (sort of) to found a proper Wizarding School in Beinost, Raiaera; no bardic influences whatsoever, open to anyone who can use even a hint of magic. If and when he and the other potential teachers finally meet back up in a few years' time, Caden will likely become the headmaster by default; an Archwizard, more or less. Other than that, he's being fairly proactive in going out and killing nasty things in their cribs. Guy's already aborted at least a half-dozen or more apocalypses as is.

Does your character have any major regrets?
I'd wager Caden has more to regret than most Althanians. Guy's basically a walking pile of scars and responsibilities at this point. Most of his regrets boil down to people he couldn't save or threats he could have ended sooner.

Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?
I was originally going to throw him into the Dajas Pagoda ages ago, where he likely would've become much more martial than he ended up being. His involvement in Raiaera was determined by coin toss; it was that or Salvar. His familiar, a raven, was originally going to be much more important. The dwarf-drow who taught him swordsmanship was also going to turn up as part of a crosscountry jaunt to the final battle with Xem'zund, and I had intended to have Caden survive (or at least see) the siege of a Dwarven city during the war.

I had also meant for him to develop more prowess as an alchemist, and, eventually, to put him on a skyship of his own for a little while. He was also going to have much more focus on Generic Wizardry before he went all psuedoelemental.

Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?
From the narrative: Zilch. Probably. I don't spare Caden's privacy from a reader all that much. You could probably infer that the gods are basically keeping him from ever having sex. But that's mostly just me being a prick.

From other characters: It varies by time and place. Right now, his biggest secret is probably his involvement in the true death of Xem'zund, but even that came out to another Wizard in my current thread.

How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?
Significantly depending on your definition of NPC. Caden's basically maiming his way through an underground dungeon with three of them right now. In the past, NPCs have shaped his life in any number of ways. He actually has an adopted daughter in Beinost, and a prospective lover there as well.

[The International]

Slayer, I have to ask you a question since you're one of the only players in which your character favors a region other than Corone. How do the unique settings of Salvar and Fallien affect your writing process? If we're honest here our character's favorite settings are our own favorite settings, and I personally spend a lot of time researching the canon of a region before I write, but then I find that the process of characterizing a region is extremely easy and in fact fuels my quests at times. Does playing in Fallen or Salvar slow your writing down, does it add flavor to your story, or both?

And Vigil. I'm looking at Liam and I would love to see how he develops. I'm guessing the overall mood of your narrative and the atmosphere of your stories is going to be very personal and dark. More so drama than fantasy, and I like that. You seem to have it all planed out, but I'm curious as to how much detail you've done. You also sound to me like you've played on Althanas before, hence the jaded tone of some of your answers. I might be the last one in the world to find out, but who were you before?

ALERT
I'd like everyone to pay attention to what I'm about to ask Caden Law, because it's a critical part of Althanas lore.
Could you tell us about Beinost, College Arcana and where they came from.

[Caden Law]

In answer to The International:

Beinost and the College Arcana (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?22902-Beinost-and-the-College-Arcana&p=184853#post184853), which includes short bios of the current prospective faculty.

Hope that answers everything.

[Atzar]

What is your character's next goal?

In the short-term, he's a part of a team who has been assigned to raid a goblin settlement. Longer term, I want to round out his elemental abilities and get him a badass suit of prevalida plate armor.

What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.

Prejudices? Goblins. He's developing one for mages, too, which is fairly amusing since he is one.

As far as phobias go, I haven't established any of them in writing. Later he'll develop a fear of the water, though - he can't swim.

He's basically an asshole. Arrogant, boastful, opinionated, impatient, reckless, et cetera. File those under 'personality disorders' for now.

Which region is your character's favorite?

He resides in a region of my own making. I decided that none of the regions of Althanas really suited what I wanted to do with Atzar - the only real magic-based region is Raiaera, but I'm not particularly a fan of the whole Tolkien-esque setting or the brand of magic that the region advertises. Here's a description taken from my profile:

"Mahar is a country, well south of any of the lands documented in Althanas’ history. ‘Country’ is also a very inaccurate term. ‘Tribal lands’ might fit better, for the people who inhabit Mahar live a tribal lifestyle. The tribes are about as friendly to each other as so many male tigers, fighting over a female in mating season. Each tribe constantly tries to establish dominance over its neighbors. Alliances are made only to be broken later. The tribes look down upon sword and shield as a means of warfare, instead taking up something far more destructive: magic.

As a result, Mahar’s land is blasted, ravaged by fire and lightning and wind from countless battles. Only around villages is it hospitable, where magicians practice their craft to restore the land and grow crops. The bones of all manner of beasts can be found strewn over the landscape. These are not beasts native to the land; rather, mages conjure these animals to attack their enemies and then let them roam free to live or die once their purpose has been served. These bones are commonly found in great abundance around the outskirt of villages, where they are cut down by alert mages before they can do significant damage to the people or crops...

Goblin-like creatures rule the lands where no human tribes reside. They, too, are tribal. They are usually somewhat more tolerant of their own kind in comparison to the humans, preferring to make raids on nearby settlements rather than each other. There are some variations among the goblin clans: most are fairly combative, but while some live in villages and are merely territorial, others are nomadic and wildly violent."

Sounds like a nice place for a picnic, right?

Which region is your character's least favorite?

This 'version' of Atzar has never been to any of the regions in Althanas' canon.

What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?

It depends on whether he comes out of Mahar or not; I haven't decided. He may make an impact on the canon of Althanas at some point, or he may just have fun in his own little sandbox.

What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve? (Do not take this question the wrong way. Find something that your character may be able to do about Althanas that would change it for the better, and don't find something to fucking complain about.)

If Atzar ever comes to canonical Althanas, it will be with a significant environmentalist agenda. As such, logical places for him to target are Alerar and the more populous areas of Corone. It's not a given that he'll be trying to change the regions for the better, though - he may pursue radical (and not altogether harmless) ways to achieve his goals, and one such goal that I've been toying with is that of creating his own planet. That's the endgame goal of this character.

Does your character have any major regrets?

Atzar thinks he's too awesome to have done anything wrong, and therefore has no major regrets that he can't easily pass off as the fault of somebody else.

Of course, one could also make the argument that I haven't really written with this rendition of Atzar, so he's not developed enough to have regrets yet. Take your pick.

Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?

More than I could list here. I'll just mention the main ones briefly here.

I was originally going to have him go insane. Picture a mad scientist who is also an extremely powerful wizard - not really good or evil, but instead will do heroic or horrifying acts based on sheer curiosity or the slightest of whims.

I lost interest in that, and toyed with the idea of turning him into a pygmy-dragon 'tamer'. Zirkan was the beginning of that idea, for those of you who know him. There were plans to work my way up to a host of eight of the little beasts, although I wouldn't have used more than a couple at a time in threads with other writers - too much of a clusterfuck, I'm sure.

There are some other ideas I've had on a smaller scale. Among them: stealing an Alerarian noble's airship with Christoph; raising a giant rhino as a pet/mount; and tuning his abilities to only truly be powerful as he's dying (I'm serious).

Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?

As I develop Atzar, he'll probably have a few secrets eventually. At this point, he really doesn't.

Kinda feels weird to basically have a level four blank slate.

How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?

Depends on the NPC. One will act as a guide of sorts, a mentor who Atzar seeks out in those rare times when he feels he can't work things out himself. Others will play the role of 'younger sibling', to be simultaneously taught and hazed by Atzar. Still others are 'friendly' competition, hostile opposition and even inspiration.

[Inkfinger]

1. What is your character's next goal?

Survive dealing with his boss's daughter and the girl he thinks he loves without them killing each other (or him). Following that....well, spoilers, sweeties.

2. What internal issues does your character have. Does he/she have any prejudices, phobias, or personality disorders.
He's got a phobia of men bigger than him, resulting from his absolutely horrible time in prison. He tends to get jittery when characters are noticeably bigger, meaner and more masculine than him, though this has yet to manifest blatantly in a thread yet due to Student Teaching.

He has a large amount of prejudice against muscle-bound lug-heads for other reasons, seeing as his work tends to be more subtle. He also dislikes anyone and anything relating to the Church of Salvar.

As for personality disorders...I think he's actually ok on those. Talk to me in a month, we'll see.

3. Which region is your character's favorite?
Fallien. He likes the heat, he likes the fact that all the authority figures tend to be women and all the men tend to be xenophobic and/or scrawny. He also likes the fact that he's got a fairly honest job their for once!

4. Which region is your character's least favorite?
Salvar. They sent him to prison, for Sway's sake! It's snowy! Everyone expects you to fish, hunt, or kill things for the Church!

5. What great conflict or mystery in Althanas would you like to solve?
The Salvic Portals, and their possible link to the Haida portals.

6. What about In-Character Althanas would you like to change or improve?
The time it takes (presumably) to get messages from point A to point B. Cael's eventually going to become a glorified mailman. I HAVE NO REGRETS.

7. Does your character have any major regrets?
Listening to his brother and returning home to get caught up in the precursor to the Salvic Civil War - the majority of which he spent in jail mourning the death of his friends and attracting unwanted attention from too many people. He also regrets not Telling Skyler He Has Feelings For Her before their six-month split (...that has since become a year+, I think, dang school!)

8. Have you had any plans with your character that you decided to scrap? If so what were they?
He originally had a much bigger part in the Salvic civil war...several winters ago now. He was going to be hijacking a train (SO SAD that this didn't happen), and...that's about it, so far.

9. Every one has secrets, so don't bullshit this following question. What is your character's biggest secret?
Probably the fact that he was raped during his time in prison. 4 characters know that, 3 of whom are NPCs. It's not exactly the sort of thing one broadcasts for all to hear, after all.

10. How are your recurring NPC's affecting your PC's life?
One is his boss, one is his nemesis, and one is going to be blackmailing him eventually. He also has a super-large family that tends to tromp through his memories at will....

There's other stuff I could add, but I don't have time right now, unfortunately. D:

[Dianus Ogham]

The utter epiphany of everything Dianus is, could be and thinks she is can be easily summarised with one song.

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYZTvRgTupY) song.

A must hear, I assure you.

Later ladies ;).