Soul Stealer
Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:40 pm
Neioris, the land of your birth, is a dark and terrible place. It is ruled by the corrupt and powerful, whoever can connive their way to the top. There is an iron-fisted government that quells all rebellions, but despite the fact that those leading it will do anything to stay there, they are often murdered and a new despot or council is installed in their place. What roads exist are plagued with bandits, disease rots the earth and destroys the populace, and each man's rights are only what he can reinforce by his own might.
Among the institutions in this foul place is the Penance. While crime is rampant in the fields, the government only arrests those who they feel threaten them, who a leader has a grudge against, or some similar notion. When they are arrested, they are stripped of all possessions and taken to a gateway flanked by a wall made of black, swirling energy. This wall encompasses an enormous area dedicated to "keeping the peace," though truly it is just a punishment for some transgression, major or otherwise, real or imagined. Those within are serving the Penance, and to date nobody is known to have escaped.
You have been incapacitated, bound, and dragged off kicking and screaming to this area. Your memory has been wiped of your name, history, and relations. As you stood before the gate, they tore everything except your barest garments away from you and gave you one single object: a small ring with a ruby-red stone in it. This stone is a Lifedrinker, a gem that can steal the very essence of the newly dead and transport it to the ring's wearer. However, as one steals the essence, their own body ages as well, to compensate for the new power and experience flowing through their being, and there is more than one case of men mad with power killing themselves in such a way. The new essence also drives them to this madness-- several souls in the same body conflict and distort reality until the original can bear it no longer and loses what sanity remained.
You have been thrown into the gate with nothing more than a stick, mockingly tossed in your direction-- how gracious of us, we'll give you a weapon!-- and as you dust yourself off, you find a few others nearby in the same situation, all sporting the same scruff of clothing, the same stick (not even really a staff), and the same ring. You arise and must now decide your next move.
Ally with them, and risk backstabbing for a temporary safety net? Attempt to sneak away and deprive yourself of what could be your easiest kill? Or attack them, and risk your life right now in return for long-term survival-- but eventual madness? It is all in your hands.
Sign-up sheet:
Name: Call yourself whatever. You don't remember your original name.
Sex: Male or female.
Age: Your character won't know this, but just to give an idea.
Stats:
Split 50 between HP and MP.
HP: Determines how many hits you can take.
MP:
Split 100 between Strength, Endurance, Intelligence, Willpower, and Speed.
Strength: Determines how much damage you do in melee.
Endurance: Has a minor effect on resisting physical damage, and determines how far you can run or swim without getting tired.
Intelligence: Determines effectiveness of spells, as well as how many spells you can hold.
Willpower: Determines resistance to magical effects, as well as resistance to insanity.
Speed: Determines how fast you are.
Spell: You get one spell to start with, but you can't use it until either you make your first kill or you've spent a day in the Penance. If it's too strong you might not be able to cast it until you've made several kills.
There is water, but food is unnecessary-- you get sustenance from stealing souls.
You can release souls if you wish. That lessens your power, but also brings back some of your control and sanity. The soul leaves immediately and cannot be taken by anyone, or called back by you. When you make a kill and steal their soul, you can choose to steal only the original victim's soul, or all souls they've stolen. In very rare cases, such as if the person you've killed has the soul of a famous warrior, you can steal the famous person's soul instead of the one you've killed.
If there are questions, ask. If not, sign up. I still have to make the mechanics, so it might be a bit before your topics are up.
[ April 11, 2005, 10:42 PM: Message edited by: Prince Toad ]
Among the institutions in this foul place is the Penance. While crime is rampant in the fields, the government only arrests those who they feel threaten them, who a leader has a grudge against, or some similar notion. When they are arrested, they are stripped of all possessions and taken to a gateway flanked by a wall made of black, swirling energy. This wall encompasses an enormous area dedicated to "keeping the peace," though truly it is just a punishment for some transgression, major or otherwise, real or imagined. Those within are serving the Penance, and to date nobody is known to have escaped.
You have been incapacitated, bound, and dragged off kicking and screaming to this area. Your memory has been wiped of your name, history, and relations. As you stood before the gate, they tore everything except your barest garments away from you and gave you one single object: a small ring with a ruby-red stone in it. This stone is a Lifedrinker, a gem that can steal the very essence of the newly dead and transport it to the ring's wearer. However, as one steals the essence, their own body ages as well, to compensate for the new power and experience flowing through their being, and there is more than one case of men mad with power killing themselves in such a way. The new essence also drives them to this madness-- several souls in the same body conflict and distort reality until the original can bear it no longer and loses what sanity remained.
You have been thrown into the gate with nothing more than a stick, mockingly tossed in your direction-- how gracious of us, we'll give you a weapon!-- and as you dust yourself off, you find a few others nearby in the same situation, all sporting the same scruff of clothing, the same stick (not even really a staff), and the same ring. You arise and must now decide your next move.
Ally with them, and risk backstabbing for a temporary safety net? Attempt to sneak away and deprive yourself of what could be your easiest kill? Or attack them, and risk your life right now in return for long-term survival-- but eventual madness? It is all in your hands.
Sign-up sheet:
Name: Call yourself whatever. You don't remember your original name.
Sex: Male or female.
Age: Your character won't know this, but just to give an idea.
Stats:
Split 50 between HP and MP.
HP: Determines how many hits you can take.
MP:
Split 100 between Strength, Endurance, Intelligence, Willpower, and Speed.
Strength: Determines how much damage you do in melee.
Endurance: Has a minor effect on resisting physical damage, and determines how far you can run or swim without getting tired.
Intelligence: Determines effectiveness of spells, as well as how many spells you can hold.
Willpower: Determines resistance to magical effects, as well as resistance to insanity.
Speed: Determines how fast you are.
Spell: You get one spell to start with, but you can't use it until either you make your first kill or you've spent a day in the Penance. If it's too strong you might not be able to cast it until you've made several kills.
There is water, but food is unnecessary-- you get sustenance from stealing souls.
You can release souls if you wish. That lessens your power, but also brings back some of your control and sanity. The soul leaves immediately and cannot be taken by anyone, or called back by you. When you make a kill and steal their soul, you can choose to steal only the original victim's soul, or all souls they've stolen. In very rare cases, such as if the person you've killed has the soul of a famous warrior, you can steal the famous person's soul instead of the one you've killed.
If there are questions, ask. If not, sign up. I still have to make the mechanics, so it might be a bit before your topics are up.
[ April 11, 2005, 10:42 PM: Message edited by: Prince Toad ]