Steampunk RP - Now accepting profiles!!

[Afanassii]

I have plans to create a steampunk-ish role play placed in Afanassii's home world.

Since I'll just be having one thread in the vast span of Midorea's RP forum, I plan on running it in the city of Converse and the surrounding areas. This will make things a heckuva lot easier to keep track of.



Rules

1 - Follow all of Midorea's general rules.

2 - Read everything I have posted on this first page before you post your profile.

3 - Be kind and patient. This thread is open to peoples of all skill levels and I would like to think of it as a place for less literate people to practice their skills in literacy. If you have a personal problem with someone, please take it to PMs. If you have a problem with their writing style, please PM me. Of course gentle reminders about the rules (placed in the OOC brackets, of course) are allowed.

4 -Character Profile posts belong in this thread, not in the actual role play thread. I will reserve the first 2 posts of the RP thread to have a list of character information and a link to this thread for more info.

5 - Try to follow the roleplay writing style. Meaning: posts should be made in third person in the past tense. I'm not a rules/grammar nazi, but it is a whole lot easier to read if we are all writing the same way. (If you have any questions concerning grammar or just generally about any of the rules, please feel free to PM me!) OOC is allowed, please place it in (parenthesis) either before or after your role play post..

6 - Only one character per person. This is the general rule, however if you would like to play more than one character you can ask. I would like to think of this as a reserved privilege. I would prefer that you use a mule account if you do have a 2nd character - OR - make your different character posts using different colored writing so that it is easier to keep up with.

7 -Rules are subject to changes or additions at any time - with or without notice.

8 - If you want to use a picture for your character's profile, you MUST credit the artist if you did not draw it yourself.

9 - Once you have your character's profile set you may NOT alter important information to suit situational needs. Meaning that if you have a character that looks or acts a certain way and you have interests with another character who is not attracted to tall/loud/quiet/androgynous/what-have-you men or women, then you can't change your character in a desperate attempt to alter the course of fate.

For instance - Nassii has an aversion to the sun, it would make no sense for him to suddenly become a sun bather to catch the attention of a nearby tanning woman. Making this sort of change is unethical and goes against my character concept. Nassii has his faults and strengths and he is what he is no matter what befalls him.

*THIS is the reason why I'll be moving the character profiles from here into a single post in the RP thread, so no changes can be made without contacting me first.

10 - You may NOT speak for another character out of your control and you also may not state what another person is doing. This may seem like a small thing but it can be quite an annoyance when someone decides how their actions are going to affect your character.

For instance: Say your character is running down a flight of stairs and is unable to control him/herself enough to stop when you see someone before you. You cannot state that you run right into them (because that would be taking away their choice of action, free will and reaction time, see?) You can simply state that you are "heading right for them" and then they get to choose what happens on their end of things.

* The only exception to this rule is that you can say that you run into a situational NPC that you have created - such as a janitor cleaning the hallway.

11 - At the end of any character profile you make, place the following quote "I understand the rules, that I do." This allows me to know that you read the rules.

12 - You need not wait for approval to begin role play after your profile is posted. But please make any changes to your profile that is requested of you, as needed.

[Afanassii]

What is Steampunk?
Wiki has a good page on what Steampunk is in general: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk

Steampunk as it will be used here is the general clothing and technology of meiji-era Japan as well as what equates to about the Vicorian and "Wild West" ages in America.

Basically, take the technology, weapons, dress and demeanor of that time and cross it with several races and abilities such as psychic and magick and elemental affinity.

The added element of magick to the steam technology makes new technologies available. There are locomotives (trains), yes, but there are also motorcycles and airships - all powered by steam, and perhaps a little magick or elemental power.

There are no computers, only typewriters. There is electricity, though it is rudimentary. There is no television, people still seek entertainment through plays and songs.

This world is based upon our own and developed in much the same way, but has its own histories and religions. (Right now things are still underdevelopment, so much is left to interpretation. I trust that you will be patient with us as we flesh things out)


A Brief World History
The world has had its ups and downs but lately things have been peaceful, at least on the large-scale. Though there are always those who sneak in the shadows and wish to take control of the world somehow.

Description of the settings
There are six kingdoms, but only three of which conduct trade regularly. They are the following:
1) Consilium Regnum (the rule of Wisdom) the largest of all kingdoms, it is ruled by Elan, though they allow all races within their borders and deem them necessary (at least in this kingdom) to run a well-balanced country effectively.
2) The Kingdom of Balance is lead by a representative from all native races, this is strictly enforced since the goal of this community is to achieve its name. The land is conveniently proportioned large enough to threaten the confidence of the Consilium and even more conveniently located, surrounded by mountains on one side, the great forest on another, the Consilium to the north and the great ocean to the western side. The Kingdom of Balance has the largest singular city in the world, a port city named Converse.

Balance is the leading area for all the world's technology. The airships are mostly built in Converse and they have a port reserved on the north eastern side of town for them.

Important Areas in Converse:
1. The port. - here the airships are made and stored.
2. The shopping district. - Since Converse is so large, items can be found from around the world here.
3. The guildshops. - Contractors and their apprentices can be found here. A large public park has been sponsored by the guildshops and is placed in the center.
4. The hall forums. This is where the government is based. There are many halls for different aspects of governing and a large town square with a large clockwork fountain and food stands.
5. The Docks - simply put, this is the water port-side of Converse.

3) земля свободный (rough translation: "Freeland") This is a country run only by Sekassiret. It is the only place that these people can roam without suffering serious prejudice. It is one of the smaller kingdoms yet no one tries to invade due to fear and misunderstanding of the race and their secrets.

[Afanassii]

Races:

All of these races are deemed separate but equal. They are all humanoid, and most of them very much like regular humans. The environment of this world made subtle changes with each generation the tribes were separated, and so today we see very real differences between them.

I have included the general racial stereotypes/opinions/prejudices. These are only the general societal opinion that those of that race tend to have. Your character needn't share that opinion with the rest of their kind, unless you would like them to.

Elan:
Elan are psychically awakened human beings. The bulk of them came about from semi-nomadic peoples who settled in a region where they found a treasure trove of ancient knowledge in the forms of scrolls and bound books. There they settled and became philosophers and seekers of hidden knowledge.

Many Elan are descendants of others with psionic abilities, however it is said that they can allow someone of any race or class to join their ranks through a special dedication ceremony. This is the very ceremony that granted their abilities to begin with.

Elan born from elan have a variety of appearances, though those who are accepted into the fold and dedicated tend to have features specific to the preferences of the dedication council of that time, therefore each generation of initiated Elan have different appearances. The current generation of council members prefer those of pale skin, red hair and light colored eyes. Only one aspect of appearance ever truly marks an elan: they have slightly ovular (vertically) irises and their pupils are a dulled-out darkened gray rather than true-black.

Abilities: minor psychic abilities such as telepathy and clairvoyance. A few have learned more powerful or more specialized psychic powers. Some of these include being able to create pychic armor to guard against magical, physical or mental attack, and being able to ignore hunger and thirst. Those who are 'dedicated' tend to be more psionically gifted than those born into the race, probably because they appreciate their status more. Elan are also naturally gifted with languages and are quick learners with many things.

Views on the other races:
In general, they believe they are greater than all other races since they deem themselves enlightened.
Elementalists These people pride themselves on being too close to the world around them when they should be trying to better their own intellect.
Elves They are intelligent and mostly stay out of our way but they value life itself more than knowledge obtained so we do not exactly see eye-to-eye.
Sekassiret Disgusting creatures, they horde whatever knowledge they have over us as if those few morsels could make up for what they don't have since they lack access to our own libraries.
Mountainfolk Of all the races, these are those who treasure intellect and learning the least. We do not associate with them.
Outsiders Usually useless, however with them comes new knowledge of the strange places they come from.

Elementalist:
These are the tribes that settled in areas in which one of the traditional elements were strong. Near the oceans dwell the water elementalists. Near mountainous regions are the bulk of the earth elementalists. Near hotsprings and volcanoes are fire elementalists. And on settlements on the highest altitudes as well as areas of open planes are the air elementalists. These four are represented fairly equally.

The tribes maintain somewhat of a competition and hold much pride in their own element. It is rare for marriages to occur between members of the separate tribes, but from those unions are born children who can control the odd elements, those of: light, Darkness, sound, metal, and wood (plants)

Their appearances range dramatically, though the general rule is that their appearances are best suited for the environment they have lived in and therefore best suited for their element. For instance, an air elementalist might have toughened skin and wind-strewn hair. A fire elementalist might have skin dark as the color of pitch and tightly curled hair to beat out the heat. (These are only examples of the many, though)

Abilities: Simply put, elementalists hold control over the element of their affinity. They cannot create it merely by will, so they must have a source of it nearby for them to control. For this, the elementalists usually carry something with them to use as their source of element. Most Elementalists are peaceful though competitive, they do not like to actually fight.

A master elementalist can call a true elemental forth, they are generally life-long companions and aid them in whatever they do. Although some elementals cannot travel due to the binding to their element and the lack of it in the traveling region.

Views on the other races:
Elan Stuffed shirts. They don't appreciate good work and fair play.
Elves Sweet little things, they always do well with the world wherever they live.
Sekassiret Something wrong with them. Even the world around them rejects them, and they reject it to a certain extent. We've heard they'd rather be elsewhere....
Mountainfolk Ah! Friends! They may be gruff but they have the best of intentions and they understand the value of a hard day's work!
Outsiders Huh? You're not from around here? Where exactly... are you from, then?

Elf:
The history of the elves is unknown, though it is largely believed that they might be one of -or the only - race truly native to the world. They are more widely spread throughout the world than any other race, though they always remain in less-populated areas.

The elves range in skin color through all hues, with darker tones generally appearing in the equatorial zones. Their builds tend to be slight, with pointed facial features and extraordinarily long ears.

Abilities: Elves are undoubtedly the keepers of nature. Perhaps they were the original race, because they hold the strongest ties to the flora and fauna around them. They can nurture the growth of plants and most can speak the language of an animal or two. Because of their strong link to all sentient creatures, most elves are peaceful and all full-blooded elves are vegetarian.

Many elven encampments are in trees or otherwise off the ground, this allows them to separate themselves further from the other land-dwelling races.

Views on the other races:
Elan There is nothing wrong with a healthy thirst for knowledge, but it is possible to take things too far....
Elementalists They usually take good care of our world and have been blessed with gifts from her. We hope they won't abuse them. The air elementalists, especially, share a common bond with us.
Sekassiret We have heard stories of a race of spider elves, cursed by our gods. Although their ears are shorter, they are pointed as ours... we wonder if these are the evil race of legend...
Mountainfolk We are alike in some ways, though not in others. They mean well.... though they might not always "do" well. We are pleased that they try to blend their buildings in to their surroundings and disturb nature less than other races.
Outsiders Some are good; some are bad. We'd prefer to keep our distance rather than be betrayed or disappointed.

Sekassiret:
Ostracized by the other races, the Sekassiret are deemed as either evil, unnatural or cursed. They have their own, rich history, although the further one goes back into it, the more squabbling there is over details. Their history is partially obscured by the fact that they have learned how to travel through time and space by a combination of magick and the technology of the age. Legend has it that they came to this knowledge when traveling with the Elan, once they settled into their territory a fight broke out and the Sekassiret elders were able to make off with this information and have kept it from the Elan ever since.

Their society is in some ways backwards from the others around them. Although they tend to dress the societal norms for their gender, and even keep most of the usual jobs, the females are the dominant gender. While the males may hunt and perform heavy labor, the women keep the household (though tend to do little of the actual housework) and are the main decision-makers in all things. They are matriarchal and a male would marry into his wife's family and take on her last name.

Their main religion is ancestor worship and it is a part of their daily lives even if other spiritual beliefs are held as well. Boys are deemed as imperfect and their spiritual upbringing is held to the highest importance. A male is not considered a full person until he has be granted a wife and has the ability to love. Because marital fidelity is so important to them, the Sekassiret males are brought up with the beliefs that being a father and a devoted husband are the most wonderful things in the world. As a rule, their sons partake in daily catechism and devotional classes and ritually cleanse themselves on a regular basis. the most controversial of all the ritual events, by far, is the use of the drug jupag to provide temporary sterilization and disallow the boys the ability to feel more than friendly and familial love.

They encourage the boys (who have grown accustomed to the exposure of jupag over time so that it provides no unwanted effects) to travel about and sow their wild oats at whim. Jupag negates the chance for unwanted pregnancy and the boys are able to enjoy sexual experiences. As odd as this practice may seem, the reasoning behind it is to teach the boys the difference between love and sex. And, once they are able to fall in love, they will appreciate it all the more in the end. The Jupag-nai (the term for the ritual use of the drug) is one of the most closely-guarded secrets of the Sekassiret and the males are generally not even aware of it (before becoming fathers of their own) unless they are given the chance to know by the elder women in the family.

Coming off of the drug is done differently depending upon the clan involved. Some restrict their sons' involvement with all females and introduce them to the woman they have chosen for him while weaning him from the drug or taking it away suddenly. The boy then has very little chance to fall in love on his own, making this very much an arranged marriage. Other clans slowly wean their boys from the jupag and may require a time of quiet contemplation, away from their friends. This allows them to look over their lives and current relationships, and to see if any new feelings of love toward women they already know have come about since they have the ability to love them differently then.

While there is variation in skin tone, the vast majority of the race are extremely pale because they have no exposure what so ever to direct sunlight. Their eye and hair colors vary, but are generally light in shade. Several distinct features mark a Sekassiret in their home world, these are: small horns, hollow fangs (they must consume the blood of a mammal on at least twice a month, they also have a mild venom that they can secrete, it acts as a hallucinogen and narcotic for most mammals) a grayed-out pupil area of the eye, upon close inspection one can see 4 smaller dots inside, each representing an individual pupil. (these unique eyes allow them to be very perceptive) and about 60% of the race have a set of Spinnerets, generally those who have them are female.

Abilities: Most of these were covered under their description. Such as: increased perception due to their eyes, their venom sac and blood-draining ability. Those who have spinnerets can make creations from their webbing. They have no other natural abilities, though they are generally tinkerers and seekers of knowledge in their own way - mostly through technology, though some do learn magick.

Views on the other races:
Elan Know-it-alls. They can stick their noses in their books forever, we'll be out in the real world learning how things are done.
Elementalists We've gotten a rather bad rep with them, through no fault of our ownl. The fire ones dislike us especially, because our skin does not like the sun. Oh, well....
Elves They seem to think we are evil and out to get them. We eat differently, otherwise we might invite them to dinner to sort things out.
Mountainfolk Some wouldn't fit into our homes and the others wouldn't like them anyway. We'll allow them to throw their rock parties by themselves, as long as they don't throw their stones at us.
Outsiders How intriguing! Where did you say your world was? *Looks through books and charts* I think I can get there.

Mountainfolk:
Like the elves, little is known of the history of the mountainfolk and it is further obscured by the odd extremes in racial appearance. Some clans appear on the smaller side. They are stout and stick close to the ground to work the stone within the mountains. Other clans lead incredibly tall - taller than any other race in the world, these tend to live on the mountains themselves. Though both are stocky and value a healthy beard and a good ale. Despite the vast differences they can have between them, appearance-wise, Mountainfolk always regard each other as brothers. Their skin tone usually tends to be ruddy and their hair a blond, red or light brown. There are a set of the shorter Mountainfolk (Or "hillfolk" as called by the taller kinds as a means of determining them separate from themselves.) that live deep under mountains, rarely removing themselves from their mines, these tend to have darkened skin, the color of the stone itself.

Abilities: All Mountainfolk seem to have an ability to mold and shape stone. It is as if they understand the very nature of stone. Many are architects and often contracted to build all sorts of structures. All mountainfolk are strong - especially the tallfolk.

Views on the other races:
Elan We'd rather not deal with them if they're not paying us.
Elementalists We're much a'kin! The earth kind might as well be one of us if they were a bit thicker and had a fine beard. The others are might' fine as well, just different, I suppose.
Elves Flimsy little faries. We'd have to worry about breaking them if they didn't keep to their trees. They do grow many things in their forests that we can use for mead, though...
Sekassiret The most useless race. They'd rather flit about making odd contraptions and daydream than do anything truly useful.
Outsiders Eh... Who are you, then?


Outsider:
Simply put, the outsiders are those who have arrived in the world unnaturally. They were not born here, they either traveled here of their own accord or were brought into the world by means of Elan or Sikassiret technology.

Appearances: vary widely depending upon their world of origin.

Abilities: depend directly upon the outsider's world of origin. Some may have no abilities, some may have powers new to this world (such as the power of natural flight)

* What should be known is that this world alters one's abilities just as someone traveling from this world to another might have their abilities altered. (Just ask Nassii, he loses his Sekassiret abilities often when world traveling) So it is possible for a "normal" human from another world to travel here and gain something new.

Views on the other races:
Generally Outsiders know very little about the native races of this world and so have no opinions of their own at first. Those who do have opinions of the races tend to have been influenced by the first racial culture they came to interact with.

However, the following are general things about the other races to keep in mind when figuring out how your Outsider character might react to them:
Elan Their eyes are odd and they have psychic abilities. They believe they're better than everyone.
Elementalists They can control one aspect of the world around you, this may give them an advantage.
Elves Depending upon your world of origin, Elves may be a race of legend.
Sekassiret Truly odd, these people may intrigue you or disgust you. Much may lie on your character's opinions about spiders and possibly opinions on gender roles.
Mountainfolk Depending upon your world of origin, the Mountainfolk may also be a race (or races) of legend. (Dwarves and Giants, respectively.)

[Afanassii]

Classes
The major jobs in the world are favored by some races and ignored by others. The following is a list of specialized adventuring classes:

Auditor - One who enforces the orders of the Consilium or the round council of Converse. They actively seek to weed-out corruption within the government and are given a truth potion and magical weapons to do their job. An Auditor has official papers from the government they serve, allowing them to commandeer any vehicle for transportation. The auditor class, not surprisingly, is favored by Elan.

Tinker - One who knows the steam mechanisms of the world and how to fix them. Tinkers usually have a steam-powered vehicle of their own. These are the class that generally has access to technology that is little known so they may have strange weapons and other gear. This class is favored by the Sekassiret.

Entertainer - A traveller who is trained in the fine arts of companionship and storytelling. They are often hired to plan and host parties as well as accompany important figures when they enter into someone's town. Entertainers are best at distraction though they may be trained in a weapon or hand-to-hand combat. This class is shared pretty evenly amongst the races, though they all have their own way of entertaining.

Pilot - simply put, these are the ones that pilot the airships and other large vehicles. They can make a rather good living since there the demand for pilots is high. Martial training varies depending upon their upbringing and whether they were taught arms by a particular government. This class is favored by air elementalists

Mage - One who is focused in what little Magickal arts there are in the world. They may hold some natural talent but otherwise learn their skills through the study of books. This class is favored by the elves.

*though it should be said that many of the usual classes exist: Bard, warrior, rogue..


Profile Skeleton:


Username: self explanatory

Character's name: Also pretty self explanatory. Try to take care to give your character a name that suits their race/where they came from.

Gender: Post your character's physical sex (in any way you see fit to discribe it) as well as their sexual orientation. I do not require a simple "boy/girl, gay/straight" title because I am well aware that there is a huge amount of gray area between these.

Age: The ages available for an adventurer depend mostly on your character's race)

Race: Elan, Elementalist, Elf, Sekassiret,, Mountainfolk, Outsider

Class: Either one of those listed above, none or a class from your home world (IF you are an outsider)

Region of origin: You can list one of the 3 main countries as your home, or just a general region (Northern Arctic, equatorial, desert...) and a bit about what your family/clan is like.

Physical Description: An actual description would be nice, but you are welcome to use an image as well.

Biography: Family, friends, a brief recounting of your character's life experiences thus far. General attitudes for other races/religions/etc would also be a good thing to add. As well as your character's likes and dislikes.

Other: Any other pertinent information not covered above.

[Transcendence]

of course i would be interested. >.<

[Raezarin]

yay! The first thing i thought of while browsing this forum is that i would love to do a steampunk roleplay. Sadly, I don't have much experience(my first time roleplaying was at the festival ) so it's great to see that someone else is doing one!

[x_lilmissNINJA_x]

Steampunk?
Count me in!

[Lavndrdream]

I've never done steampunk, but I'm always up for new things! Count me in!

[kaishi]

I'd love to! ^_^

[Maeve]

I've never done real steampunk before, but I would love to try :3 Plus, I need something to keep me active here...

So I guess you can count me in!

[Afanassii]

Fantastic! I'm happy to see that there is some interest. I wasn't sure if there would be since Midorea leans on Asian cultures a bit.

I'm working on filling in the information in my posts on the top of the page. Hopefully we can have this running in a few days. Please keep an eye out for updates and for when I start the rp thread in the main role play forum.

[Maverik]

Can our characters get outrageous steam-powered power armor? =o

[x_lilmissNINJA_x]

lol.
Cause maverik is awesome like that. xD

Can't wait until it's up!

[Transcendence]

I cant wait either.

[Afanassii]