Forbidden Paths - Invitation Thank you for your interest in Forbidden Paths. Please refer back to this page periodically, as new information is constantly posted. Disclaimer: I am new to the PBeM RPG environment, and have consciously chosen not to preview other games (join or lurk) to help me create this game. I hope this will help me create a unique experience for Forbidden Paths players - be this for good or ill, I am not sure. I do plan on using random numbers (rolls) and some numerical character stats in game play (mostly for hand-to-hand battles), but reserve the right to change the results to better fit any given situation. If you want a better discription of how this will work click here. Initially, a characters abilities and skills will be based on their race and class; however, as the game progresses, the players' ingenuity and creativity will be the most important factors. If your interests fall elsewhere - I wish the best of luck to you. I am sure that there are many RPGs out there that you will enjoy. If you are still interested, please keep reading. After I receive all character descriptions and histories, I will send out additional game-play information to the characters I select to join the adventure. Do not fear if your character is not among those chosen - I may add additional characters later on, or a current player might drop out. The sub-plots will be derived mostly from characters histories (so make them interesting!), and the main plot will include the overarching goal to return home and thwart the evil Quam and his minions before their devious plans can destroy all you know and love! Nothing much, just your basic defeat-the-bad-guy-and-save-the-world scenario (sap, sap, sap). It will be up to you and me to make it fun and interesting. Creating your character: Okay, so you're excited and up to the challenge - now you need to create a character. PLEASE make your character as detailed as possible (history, physical attributes, hates, loves, quirks, passions, favorite foods, etc.) so I can be true to them as I write them into the story. Think about questions such as the following: How would your character react to a position of leadership or to a leadership figure? How does your character feel toward/about other races/classes? Do you tend to talk a lot, or are you quiet and reserved? If a troll came at you intent on examining the insides of your skull, how would you react? Etc. Your characters race and class will be two of the most important things to determine what they are capable of doing, so choose wisely. If I feel that the character you create would not fit well in our fantasy world (or you select an incorrect race/class combination), I will send you feedback, and we will work on him/her. The brief race description below should give you a good starting point on your character's attributes; and the section on geography/history will help you with your character's history. Playable Races: Races are categorized into three groups: Beasts (non-intelligent, instinct-driven creatures), Semi-intelligent creatures (animal-like instincts, but capable of thought and some form of communication), and Intelligent Creatures (capable of complicated reasoning and communication). All playable races are intelligent, and all are humanoid except for gnomes and faeries. Elves - Descendants of faeries, elves are slightly taller than humans, they have lighter bones, and are the most agile of the humanoid races. They are at home in the forests and at sea, but don't do well in deserts or snowy areas for extended periods of time. Humans - Hopefully this one does not require an explanation. Dwarves - Short and stout. Their endurance level is generally the highest of all races, and although they are not very quick on their feet, they tend to pack quite a blow. Dwarves can live for several hundred years, and are considered adults when they are around eighty years old. Faeries - Faeries are mystical creatures that are largely a creation of Mother Nature herself, and are about half the size of a human. A faeries class is determined "at birth." Faeries are the most agile and quickest of all playable races, but are highly vulnerable to physical attacks that hit their mark. All faeries must spend one full day a month resting and communing with nature (referred to as immersing e.g. the sprite had felt the need to immerse herself for days now, but her pursuers had made it impossible) or they will gradually lose their faerie identity and become more humanoid. If a faerie grows evil in nature, or does not immerse him/herself for an overly long time (a year or so) they will morph into elves, and lose the ability to use any magic. Gnomes - Gnomes are about as tall as trolls, but are more slender and weaker. They hate to go out in bright sunlight, but can endure it for short periods of time. They are most at home underground, and are extremely expert at tunneling. A gnome's nose is very sensitive, as well as their hearing. Gnomes also have very good sight in dim lighting. Gnomes are frightened of creatures larger, louder, meaner, or uglier than themselves, and this makes them fairly useless in battle. Geography and History: The kingdom of Quam is located in a fantasy world which is mostly uncharted. A color map of the Kingdom of Quam is now available (I am working on a different one that shouldn't take as long to load). The known world is quite small, and can be described briefly. Picture the known world roughly as a square. The West and South consist of uncharted territory, and to North and East a turbulent ocean (The Tormented Seas) extends as far as the eye can see. The northwest corner of this square is heavily forested. Elves inhabit the north-most portion of the forest and live in groups rather than cities. Their area of the forest is referred to as the Forest Keep. Elves have knowledge of boats and sailing, but their experience is limited since the ocean is far too dangerous to traverse for any large distance. Faeries wander about the southern half and often meet to socialize in the Faerie Ring. Located in a clearing in the forest, the Faerie Ring is a large circle of enchanted mushrooms where each faerie comes into being. Wandering down the west side of our world, Oracle Lake, a large crystalline lake, separates the forest from a region of hills and scattered rocks and trees. In this southwest corner, gnomes have dug out caves below the earth where they live in families. This maze of tunnels is called the Labyrinth, and for those other than gnomes who have attempted to navigate the area, it is affectionately known as that #@%!* gnomish maze. Moving east, the path becomes ever rockier, eventually turning into a grand range of mountains - the Stone Towers. The Stone Towers are home to the dwarven race. Dwarves resent the fact that Quam claims the Stone Towers as part of his kingdom, and regard their capitol to be the city of Granal (nestled deep within the mountains). Their king, Gnasht, would almost welcome an excuse to order his armies to fall upon the city of Azor where Quam reigned from his castle. For these reasons, relationships have been tense between humans and dwarves ever since Quam gained the throne. As you have probably guessed by now, the northeast corner of the land contains the bulk of the human race. Azor is located along the northern shore, and the Isle of Doom is offshore a short distance. The land near Azor is mainly farmland and villages. Although humans are the majority in this area, members of all other races are frequent visitors and/or inhabitants as well. Some Notes and Fundamentals: · Time will be measured in Years, Months, Days, and Hours. · Character experience is somewhat ambiguous (all characters will begin at a rather novice level), and I will try to clue you in when a character is potentially able to do more than you believe. · Use the following scale to determine your character's age. First, decide how old the character would be if he/she was human (max 90yrs). Next, multiply the human age by the number listed after your character's race. [Human=1] [Elf=1.5] [Faerie(Sprite)=.6] [Faerie(Nymph)=2] [Gnome=.8] [Dwarf=2.7] For example, if my character was an elf with 20 human years, they would be 30 years old (20*1.5=30). · Although magic will be an important part of game-play, it will not dominate the story. Consequently, you do not need to worry about evil villains disguising themselves as twigs and casting curses on your character as they walk by - or other such nonsense. · Each character will be or has been taken by Quam and his advisors to the Dome (Read the Story), and you need to decide why. What did he/she do to attract Quam's attention? Is the character fully aware of what they did? Was it intentional? How much do they believe what Tao'Dawn wrote? Please include those elements in your character description/history. · Turns will start with a one-week turnaround time and may become more frequent as I become more comfortable with the game. · All turns will need to be posted by Friday mornings, and I will have the story update and continuing scenario out to the players sometime the following Monday (Note: these time-frames are not yet set in stone and I will inform you if they change). Dont worry about the turn/posting format yet. Detailed information is forthcoming. · Remember that you are an integral part of this game, and all of your comments/suggestions are welcome. This will be a learning experience (for me if for no one else), and by the time we are done, we should have a fully functional and fun RPG. Return to top of page Story - A brief history Characters - A description of the characters available Magic - An explanation of magic Battle - A rough description of how battles work Submit - A form you can use to submit a character Players' Page - A resource and info page for players, lurkers, and visitors Chat - Forbidden Paths now has its very own chat page! Map - A map of the land