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Author Topic: New Battle Idea: The Calling  (Read 11060 times)

Offline Kitharsis

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New Battle Idea: The Calling
« on: May 09, 2013, 09:58:17 PM »
Setting:
Treymara is a land dotted with Castles and Keeps.  Knights and Lords take post and rely on their sword arm and quick feet to protect their lands.  Large trade cities filter merchants and tradesmen in and out on a regular basis.  The horse is the preferred method of travel, and oxen still rule the caravan.  Small towns and villages rely on strong backs and long days to make it through life.  When the trade caravans pass through, stories from the more untraveled roads bring reports of monsters attacking the unlucky.  Everyone knows a guy, who's sister's cousin heard that their brother's wive's uncle saw a monster once.  Terrible creatures, so they say.

However absurd these stories are, the number of them has been rising lately.

Most of the folk you meet on Treymara are quite common.  Cooks, farmers, innkeepers, blacksmiths and all manner of people just doing what they can to get by.  Most Treymarians are not born under a lucky star, or blessed with a crazy uncle well versed in rituals and alchemy.  No, most people keep out of trouble and high tail it at the first sign of danger.

It is a good thing you are not common.  You are the ones that travel without a horse.  Some of you don't even carry weapons.  Some are warm in the winter without a coat, while others sleep underwater when you don't want to be disturbed.  And that is just the beginning.

Magic/Powers:
There are no typical wizards or clerics living on Treymara, in a sense.  There are no wizard academies or abbots where Paladins train.  No, there are only Callers.

A select few individuals on Treymara are born with three parts.  Three souls, if you believe in that sort of thing.  The first and foremost is the human soul.  This is the dominant part of their being.  They have human features, human emotions, human dreams, desires and fears.  But along with their humanity, they have two extra parts.

The second soul is the soul of an element.  They are drawn towards it and it is drawn towards them.  As they grow, so does their affinity for the element.  Some have been know to spring fire from their fingertips, or freeze a cup of water by mistake.  If honed, this second part of their being can become a very powerful tool.

The third soul is the soul of a beast.  The nature of the beast manifests itself in different ways.  Some reflect on their beast physically, while others take on the mannerisms of the animal.  Bears sometimes like to sleep in, or are hardy, broad individuals.  Dragons, on the other hand can be fierce and intelligent.  Wolves favor loyalty and hawks have the keenest eyesight imaginable.  Like their elemental soul, as the individual hones it, their animal becomes stronger.

Combining the three souls into one body creates a powerful and complicated being.  Tri-Men, Callers, Devils, Angels - people have many names for these individuals born with three souls.  They are lauded as heroes and saviors one day, and cursed as demons the next.

The ultimate ability of these three souled individuals is The Calling.  This is the union of man, element and beast.  When this occurs the Caller is drawing upon their full potential.  Their power is enhanced tenfold, and their adversaries stand little chance.  The Calling decides wars, topples kingdoms and alters history.  It also comes at a heavy price.

Plot:
This battle will focus on the actions of a handful of Callers.  Initially they will be following a band of monster hunters, or defending an outlying castle from the increasing raids from the growing threat of monsters.  Callers can have a difficult time of hiding their abilities, so once they reach a certain age they typically take to wandering.  The stars align and the bones fall in such a way that the participants of the battle all end up at the right place to be recruited for the initial endeavor.

Depending on the success of this preliminary story, we can continue on or say, "Eh, nice try."  It's been a while since I've hosted a battle.  If you have any suggestions I'll consider them.  I'm flexible on the setting also.  We can add a few decades/centuries and bring in cannons and muskets if your heart is set on it.  If this doesn't take off I'll be forced to continue writing the little novel I had going with a similar idea.  I just couldn't kick the thought that it would make an interesting battle while I was writing it.  So here it goes.
« Last Edit: May 16, 2013, 09:36:05 AM by Kitharsis »

Offline Archdemon Stu

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2013, 11:55:57 PM »
"Oh hey, an update... wait... Kith's making a battle?!" I gotta' admit, I was in before I even read it.  Now that I've actually read it, I don't think I can stop myself from brainstorming a character.  Going to need to make someone cool-headed and calm to move away from only writing flesh-eating-manic-anger-issues ghouls, and a stoic barbarian that never really got the opportunity to take off.

Probably a ranged caster, archer, or support-ish person...

All tangents aside, I'm in.

Offline Radobe

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2013, 05:28:14 AM »
I like what you have going.  What I would like to suggest is either a list or some sort of a definition to what an element is and a more detailed explanation on how it works. For example, when you say “drawn towards”, is that subtle or does it show in a way? Is it based on the individual or the strength of his affinity? I think I know where you are going with all this but I can’t get a clear picture from what you have given, even so I am interested and if you are doing it I would love to join in.
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Offline Shadow Chorus

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2013, 06:24:50 AM »
I do like the idea. And it'll be fun to only have one character to handle and let somebody else control every other npc  ;D.

I've already got ideas in my brain. I may revive the barbarian I had written for faidth's battle that never took off, or if we enter the era of gunpowder I could make a marksman.

Offline Kitharsis

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2013, 10:51:56 AM »
I'm flattered that you all like the idea! 

I wrote a more detailed explanation for character creation before typing up the summary above.  So I had that fresh on my mind while whipping up the summary if anything is unclear.  There are a few details that I need to solidify and be satisfied with before posting them.


Offline Archdemon Stu

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #5 on: May 10, 2013, 10:54:33 AM »
Quick question: if we all get different elements, and one of us gets the "heart" element, can we conjure Captain Planet?  He won't do anything, he'll just sort of lecture people.

Offline Kitharsis

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #6 on: May 10, 2013, 11:24:16 AM »
It's decided, you get the heart/fluffy bunny combo.  Congrats!

Offline Radobe

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #7 on: May 10, 2013, 06:14:26 PM »
Looking forward to making another character. Oh and by the way, dibs on the fox :D
An eye for two, a tooth for a jaw, a hair for a head! Fight to be respected!

Offline Archdemon Stu

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #8 on: May 10, 2013, 09:44:58 PM »
Alright, while I haven't been meaning to, I've sort of inadvertently been brainstorming a character.  Thinking an archer, and immediately thought, "Oh yeah well he'll be wind element to guide his shots, and-" but that would be too predictable I think, and is a pretty typical archetype.  However, fire on the other hand... that's interesting to me.  And not a clean-cut looking guy like they mostly are.  Scruffy, not afraid to get in the mud, almost wildman-ish, but still civilized... and I think it's about time I made a character that's a good guy to a fault.

Hm... I'll ponder on it further.  Let me know what you guys are thinking of making so I can make a proper fit to the group. :)

And he'll be a seasoned user of the heart/fluffy bunny combo.

Offline Shadow Chorus

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #9 on: May 10, 2013, 10:01:23 PM »
You could always make a light aspect archer, go for a complete reversal of what the Gorger was. Basically become a paladin with a bow.

Offline Archdemon Stu

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #10 on: May 11, 2013, 01:18:05 AM »
Haha, true.  Though, I think I like the idea of a do-gooder who'll stop to help old ladies across the street that harnesses the power of violent flames.  It could be a fun drawback if there's a fight in a village or a building, and he doesn't want to harm anyone that's not involved.  And then conversely, when there's nothing to worry about harming, he can really let loose.

So while I'm not quite feeling the route of light for him, that gives me a great idea for his character and how it ties into flame:  "Though it can be an incredibly destructive force, it can also be a warm light in the darkness."  Cliche, but I like it!

HOMG I GET TO THINK OF AN ANIMAL NOW!  I love this game already.  brb, back into the brains I go...

Can't wait to hear what you guys come up with!

Offline Radobe

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #11 on: May 11, 2013, 02:44:29 AM »
I have given a lot of thought on the elements, I like the idea but since I don’t know where they begin or end I am still on the drawing table. What I am having in mind though, are elements that are not your typical ones. For example, an interesting alternative to your fire would be the element of heat, if that can be considered an element. Being able to control heat can give interesting abilities in both the fire and ice element spectrums.
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Offline Shadow Chorus

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #12 on: May 11, 2013, 11:46:29 PM »
I like that, but I'd suggest staying within the fantasy realm while you do it. Don't want to get too sci-fi and have somebody's element be Nuclear energy.

Though someone whose element of choice was kinetic forces/gravity would be pretty cool.

Offline Archdemon Stu

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #13 on: May 14, 2013, 12:12:26 AM »
Interesting idea on that, but I think I like the idea of flame.  It seems to fit really well with the symbolism I'd like for my character.

At first I thought of "oh yeah, he could be like a hawk or an eagle" but once again, too typical of archers to be involved with birds (there's already one on this board in fact, though Sembas is well above and beyond the archetype).  Looked for animals that involve symbolism of love and happiness etc. etc.  Otter was the first thing to come up, and while I feel like that would fit, they're pretty clearly water creatures.  I think it would be TOO weird for fire.

I'm thinking a monkey of some sort.  Maybe something a little more intimidating like a gorilla or a baboon, or something more commonly known to be gentle, like a chimp.  Still undecided.

Or maybe a flightless bird, like... a cock? *Giggle* Or perhaps a mammal, like... a beaver?!  *Snicker*

Ah, animals-named-like-crotches jokes.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2013, 12:13:59 AM by Archdemon Stu »

Offline Kitharsis

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #14 on: May 14, 2013, 10:41:42 AM »
Characters:

For the sake of diversity I want to use a point system.  This way there won't be any vagueness concerning the abilities of the players, for my sake and yours.  At certain "level up" periods you will receive a point to spend in one of your three souls.  You can choose to be well rounded and keep your three souls even.  Or you can focus on one or two of them.  I realize that I typically focus on melee characters, and this is how I'm trying to incorporate options for more spell castery folk.

We'll begin with a point in each soul, with one additional point to place where you choose.

Human Soul:

This is where your mundane human skills lie.  Your skills with weapons are the main trait gained here.  With 1 point in your Human Soul you are proficient with one or two weapons.  Additional points give you increasing mastery.  This includes bows and crossbows.  Your Human Soul also defines your baseline strength and agility.  These can be augmented by your Animal Soul, of course, but this is the starting point.  Too few points in your Human Soul can make you clumsy with weapons and will cause a greater deficit to be made up for with your other souls.  There are also some instances where you may be cut off from your other Souls, and you will be relying on your Human Soul entirely.  I am going to implement a cap on Human Soul points, since Humans can only advance so far. 

Elemental Soul:

This is where part of your magic lies.  Again, this focuses on the natural elements of the world: Fire, Water, Sky, Earth & Holy*.  Skills like throwing fireballs or summoning tornadoes come from the Elemental Soul.  You can imbue your weapons with your element for increased skill and damage.  An archer attuned with Sky can use the wind to guide their arrows, or to increase their speed as they fly towards their target.  Holy deals in protection, healing and the warding of evil.  They are great support Souls and are potent against monsters. 

As you put more points into the Elemental Soul you will gain more powerful abilities.  Your skills will rival mother nature at her best, and your foes will toil vainly against your raw power.

The Caller's elemental abilities are slightly enhanced when in the environment of their affinity.  I'll call this out at certain times.  For instance, if it is particularly windy one day then the Sky element will be a little stronger than normal.

The Elemental soul can also affect the Caller's personality.  A water element could especially enjoy rainy days.  Maybe their favorite thing will be to take a swim or soak in a tub.  A fire element might always want the closest seat around the campfire.  They could also be absolutely miserable when it snows.

* A bit of foreshadowing, the Dark Elemental Soul is reserved for villains.

Animal Soul:

The Animal Soul is where the majority of your physical enhancements will come from.  Like I wrote earlier, Human Soul points can be capped out.  Animal Soul enhancements can push you above and beyond.  Obviously, the abilities gained by your Animal Soul will vary greatly.  With one point into this soul you will be able to enhance your senses to match your inner animal.  You will be able to make some simple transformations with your body like growing claws or sharpening your teeth.  If you're a bird Soul you could sprout feathers on your arms to glide short distances.  You will also be able to increase your speed and strength (animal depending) with your Animal Soul.  More points will allow you to transform into your inner animal.  More points after that will allow you to transform into larger, more stronger versions of that animal.  Your senses will become the perfect pairing of animal and human.  And your strength, speed and agility will be pushed to the extremes.

You may have noticed I mentioned a dragon during the introductory post.  Yes, your animal soul can be a dragon, or a griffon.  You can pick a fantastical animal, just don't expect it to be overpowered.  You can also be a scorpion, spider, wasp or a simple gnat.  But I would advise against the gnat.  Bears, tigers, wolves, hawks, and snakes all fit the bill nicely too.  I was initially going to say, "No fish, that's just crazy talk..."  But if you think you can make it work go ahead.  I'm not going to rattle off an encyclopedia of animals, birds, insects and reptiles for you to choose from.  It's open ended.  Just make sure you're not helpless in a fight.

The Calling:

The skills gained by your three Souls are powerful on their own.  As a Caller you are far above the majority of your Human brothers and sisters.  But Humans are not the only danger roaming Treymara.  As mentioned before, there is a growing threat of monsters.  And other Callers themselves can and will pose a problem. 

When Callers are born, their Human Soul is predominant.  Their other two Souls gradually emerge as they grow up, but the individual is still split into three separate parts.  The Calling is when the other two Souls are called to the surface.  It is the merger of the Callers three parts into one being.  This is a physical transformation that reflects the sum of their Human skills, Elemental skills, and Animal skills. 

Your Calling will be based upon where you spent your points, and it will be different for everyone.  Some examples include:

Bear Predominant Fire Secondary :  The Caller lets loose a mighty roar and is enveloped in a violent blaze.  He transforms into a giant grizzly bear the size of a small house.  His fur smolders and flames, and his roar expels superheated air that burns all in its path.  His claws are like red hot iron that cut through stone and steel like butter.

Sky Predominant Wolf Secondary :  A torrent of wind blows through the immediate area and concentrates into a tornado around the Caller.  Their physical body is engulfed in the mighty wind and fades away.  The tornado settles and reveals a pack of translucent wolves.  Their bodies waver with the gusts of wind still tearing through the landscape.  The wolves travel together in a group and their speed blurs their translucent bodies.  They descend on their enemies with biting teeth and scratching claws.  A strike of lightning fries the last opponent standing in their way.


Calling upon your beast cannot be used all of the time.  It is more similar to a fight or flight instinct than a power that can be utilized at will.  So you can't just flip The Calling switch whenever you want here.  In a sense, The Calling calls you.  I'll point out in the OOC thread when someone can Call if they so choose.  Or, if my writing is good enough I'll try and make it clear in the normal thread.

Like your other powers your Callings will get stronger as the battle goes on.  And as your point allocations change so will your Callings.  This is an additional aspect to consider while deciding where to place newly acquired points.



Offline Kitharsis

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #15 on: May 14, 2013, 11:48:28 AM »
Ok, that is a rather large wall of text.  I think I have things nailed down the way I want them.  It will be moved to the character creation subforum once/if that phase starts.  Even though it seems that you three have already begun :P  I hope the new information didn't squash any of your ideas.

I need time to get the initial story down and some NPCs made up, so we won't be starting for a while.  I'd also like to let this sit for a while for those who don't visit the boards very often.

Offline Archdemon Stu

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #16 on: May 14, 2013, 03:00:00 PM »
Sounds good to me!  I need awhile to think of a proper back story that's actually readable anyway.  Still need to break a few writer's block walls to nail the guy down into something unique, but that also flows well.

But yeah, this gives me some things to think about. :)

Offline Archdemon Stu

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #17 on: May 30, 2013, 04:44:23 PM »
Quick question: is there anyone in this setting that would know a lot about the stars and constellations?  A shaman, a druid, a mage, a scholar with a telescope and some theories?

Since stars are basically giant balls of flame, I thought that it would be cool if my character had some sort of thing with constellations and stars.  It would allow for some serious awesomeness much later as well.

Also, I think I've decided on a bear being his animal soul.  The symbolism with them match him pretty well.

Offline Kitharsis

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #18 on: May 31, 2013, 03:02:53 PM »
That is a very good question.

I suppose the Sky element might extend toward the stars and the night sky.  Or are you considering the Fire element with star and constellation inspired attacks?  Either one would work.

And while I would like to keep players as Callers, there will be other people and creatures that have supernatural powers of their own.  It wouldn't be a stretch that there is a shaman or druid that draws power and influence from the stars.

Are you drawing from Moon Bear from the Abominable Charles Christopher?  If you're not familiar with it I suggest looking it up.  Great web comic!

Offline Archdemon Stu

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Re: New Battle Idea: The Calling
« Reply #19 on: May 31, 2013, 07:50:32 PM »
I'm thinking along the lines of the fire element from the stars themselves using the constellations.  My character won't be a shaman or druid of any sort, but while I'm writing his back story I want him to learn about the stars and how they work through a mentor-like figure.  I started out wanting goody-good wilderness guy that draws from fire, and then I liked the symbolism behind gorillas, but they just didn't fit... bears though have very similar traits and symbolism, so I went with them instead.  Things representing power, kindness, warmth, all that kind of stuff.  And stars happened to fit the description of "a warm light in the freezing darkness" thing I previously mentioned very well, so that's where that stemmed from. :P

My mind works weirdly.

Moon Bear from the Abominable Charles Christopher?  I'm going to have to look that up!  If it's going along the same lines, maybe I could draw some inspiration. :)