[RPG] Sword and Sorcery Play-by-Post

[CJC]

===========================
Setting Elaboration
Here are all of the established facts about dragons which have been either implied or stated during the course of this game. This list is the most up-to-date; if anything already established before this point is contradicted by this list, then this list supersedes it.
Additionally, up until this point the dimension that houses the dragons has been referred to as the ‘dragon dimension’. To make writing this segment easier, and to tease with intertextual references, this dimension shall henceforth be referred to as “Utgard”, and the dimension the game takes place in shall be called “Nidavellir”.

Dragons: Dimensional Travel
The Rehatching
Dragons are not native to Nidavellir. They travel to this game’s dimension through cracks in reality (Rips, Shreds, and Tears). However, energy in Utgard is much more concentrated than energy in Nidavellir: when the dragon arrives they are forced into a ‘cocoon’ (shell) so that their internal energy can diffuse (increase volume to reduce density) to the background concentration in Nidavellir. This is how dragons are transformed into their reptilian shape by travelling to the dimension and this is what prevents them from going back through the crack to Utgard.

Refugees
Dragons, just like any other being in this universe, possess a metaphysical volume. This means they cannot pass through dimensional cracks which are too small to permit their passage. Think of it this way: a human will not be able to crawl into a rat hole.
As such, the dragons in Nidavellir are beings of small metaphysical volume; they are refugees of Utgard who have fled their dimension and its encroaching cold.
When these dragons refer to the “Big Fish”, they are talking about the rulers of their dimension, beings with large metaphysical volume. These ‘Big Fish’ are not aware of the cracks, but they DO know that people are vanishing from their domains. If they were to become aware of Nidavellir, they would need to find or create a sizeable dimension crack in order to cross over (building a WOUND).
The dragons of the game thus far therefore are hiding from the “Big Fish”; they do not want them to learn about Nidavellir.

The Bad End: Theft of the Sun
Destiny is what comes when we do not act. It is invariably tragic. So believe in destiny, and fight it with every ounce of strength you possess.
In the case of this game, destiny is that the “Big Fish” will learn about Nidavellir (and more importantly about the properties of this dimension) and come to conquer it, eventually stealing the sun and taking it back to their own dimension. The overarching goal of the players--outside and beyond individual plots--is to prepare Nidaviller for such an invasion to repel the “Big Fish” when they do eventually arrive.

Regarding Utgard
As dimensions go, Utgard is very close to elemental chaos. There is a great deal of raw magical energy but that energy has not coalesced into functional form yet. Seas are comprised of ether, volcanoes spew stardust, and even stormclouds rain drops of light rather than water.
Utgard has no stars, and as such has no natural sources of heat. The dimension is cold and unforgiving; dragons survive by infusing their pearls with heat and light. This is done by removing the pearl and allowing a Phoenixi to bleed on it.

Dragon Society
Due to the harsh nature of the dimension, society is structured around access to a Phoenixi and their much-needed blood. Individual nations have ruling bodies who imprison any Phoenixi the society encounters to properly allot their blood among the populace. Dragons not in the ruling body submit their valuables and services in order to get their pearls recharged. This is why dragons are so greedy in Nidavellir; they’ve never had the opportunity to accrue wealth and so in the warmth of a dimension with natural heat they hoard it. This is also what drives them to acts of conquest; they’ve never had power before and Nidavellir absolutely overwhelms them with it.
Like any world, Utgard has several differing nations which are not above warring with each other. Two such nations have come up in passing during the course of the game: Thane and Qinii. Thane is run by a council of five (colloquially called the Tiamat council) while Qinii has an empire with a single female figurehead (the Qin Empress).


Dragons: Anatomy
The scales
Dragons in Utgard are humanoid; in fact they have the same racial distinctions as the humanoids of Nidavellir (Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, and Humans). In Nidavellir, though, dragons take the form of giant flying quadrupedal reptiles (usually with leathery wings)… essentially the classic fantasy trope appearance. Dragons in Nidavellir take a shape, color, and elemental affinity based on their personality, which is why dragons from similar cultures in Utgard look similar in Nidavellir--they have compatible personality traits.
Dragons do not sprout feathers in Nidavellir; feathers are strictly worn by Phoenixi.

The pearl
Dragons do not manage their body heat through clothes or blood circulation. Rather, they maintain heat through radiating warmth from their PEARL, which is a spherical removable stone in the dragon’s chest. It is removable regardless of which dimension they occupy, but if removed in Nidavellir the dragon will be flagged by the universe as a native and will lose their reptilian features.
In Utgard, without a pearl a dragon will freeze to death.
In Nidavellir, the pearl is what defines a dragon’s personality and shape. Since it imprints these traits during the re-hatching, transferring the pearl into another dragon transplants these traits as well.

Dragon Radiation
Since Dragons are travelers (entities from a dimension different from Nidavellir), they carry with them certain communicable conditions which all travelers manifest to some degree. In the case of dragons, it is a lingering flavor of their home dimension which permeates their magic. This ‘dragon radiation’ causes things the dragons interact with and cast upon to slowly take on a similar appearance.
…This is actually the energy of the dragon ‘inducting’ the object/being into her dimension; Nidavellir things and people subjected to dragon energy slowly become equivalent denizens of Utgard (Draklings).

Draklings
When a natural denizen of Nidavellir is subjected to high levels of dragon radiation, they inevitably become denizens of Utgard (Draklings). However, since the metaphysical volume of creatures from Nidavellir is much less than that of creatures from Utgard, this transformation renders them more animal than humanoid.
There are four types of Draklings, based on the type of humanoid transformed:
Humans become Lizardfolk.
Elves become Dragontrolls.
Dwarves become Dragongnolls.
Gnomes become Dragonogres.
In Utgard, draklings take the form of quadrupedal mammals.
Lizardfolk become wolves.
Dragontrolls become foxes.
Dragongnolls become bears.
Dragonogres become coyotes.
This is significant, as without becoming a drakling any humanoid entering Utgard would take the form of a rat. This suggests that there’s a means of gaining metaphysical volume.
Draklings have pearls like the dragons that make them. They can also be used as casting conduits by the dragons who created them, and an unspoken bond of servitude (between friendship and subordination) forms that inclines the drakling to obey the dragon that created it.

Dragonkin
Dragonkin are genetic descendents of dragons that were conceived and born in Nidavellir rather than Utgard. They bear some of the reptilian features of their antecedents, but due to the low level of dragon energy in their body they have bipedal, humanoid form and they do not emit dragon radiation on others.
Due to their vastly different anatomy and lack of potent metaphysical volume, dragonkin are often rejected by their parents (if not killed outright).
Dragonkin do NOT possess dragon pearls. Utgard’s physics treats them as indistinguishable from humans. However, dragon radiation will not turn a dragonkin into a drakling. Rather, it transforms them into a fully-fledged dragon.

Phoenixi
Phoenixi are humanoids of Utgard that differ from the other denizens. They emit light from their bodies which can vary from a gentle glow to a blinding flash. They also do not have pearls. Rather, their blood is filled with heat and life, and is used to infuse heat into other pearls.
When Phoenixi travel to Nidavellir, they take the form of great orange birds, their bodies wreathed in flames. However, Phoenixi have the greatest metaphysical volume of any denizen in Utgard, so such visits are infrequent.
Phoenixi are born to dragon families, but the occurrence is rare. They are usually rounded up by the “Big Fish” before their fifth birthday.
Of note is the fact that the down of a Phoenixi in Nidavellir has special properties. Simply touching it is enough to remove any level of dragon radiation from the body.


Dragons: The Dragons so far
Atticas
Atticas is a fresh refugee and is only a child. He underwent his ‘rehatching’ during the first arc of the game. Atticas is significant in that he was able to perceive wealth as a connection to other services rather than simply a shiny thing to pursue--his goal was to contaminate Telivar’s riches and spread his influence throughout the world. In this way he is quite similar to the Big Fish, trying to control everything. Jerias talked him out of this action.
Atticas is also the only dragon on record to corrupt something before hatching, having resurrected Jerias’s body unintentionally before even breaking from the egg.

Bankraz
Bankraz has been in the dimension longer than Atticas, but not nearly as long as the other dragons yet encountered. Formerly a gardener, the transition to Nidavellir transformed him into a Hedge dragon aligned with fire. He attacked Telivar out of petty jealousy; the topiarist trivialized Bankraz’s profession by simply making wonderful gardens happen with magic. Bankraz was given some good advice by Reven and so abandoned his assault on the wizard Telivar. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Cecette
Cecette was a scullery maid in Thane, and one of the earlier refugees to flee to Nidavellir. She found a crack behind a tapestry and traversed it, rehatching in the treasury of Audamar mountain. Unfortunately for her, other refugees had made the denizens of Nidavellir wise to the dragon phenomenon; by the time she hatched a team of wizards were waiting to separate her from her pearl and seal her draconic energy away where it couldn’t contaminate them or the wealth.
Stripped of her metaphysical volume Cecette turned to magic, studying the event that had stripped her of her pearl and learning from it. She became a practiced master of Lycaon magic and used it to escape the Audamar prisons. She then hatched a plan to build an army and liberate her pearl, transforming the elves of the region into ogres and scheduling raids on the mountain.
After the last attempt, foiled by Zataka and Sancireph, Cecette was again imprisoned in the prisons of Audamar, until the dragonkin Granberia helped her to escape. Unfortunately, Granberia--being a dragonkin--did not know there was a difference between pearls and gave Cecette the pearl of another dragon. Needless to say bad things ensued.

D’Arsonius
D’Arsonius arrived in Nidavellir shortly after the disappearances started. He is thus the second oldest dragon in the game. In Utgard, he was driven to kill the empress of Qinii and flee to Thane, where he was employed by the council of five to investigate the rash of disappearances. Stumbling on a dimensional crack, he traversed it only to emerge in a strange land with a strange new body. He was quickly overwhelmed by the power and greed of his new state and set about amassing his fortune.
Then he heard of the Princess and the Spire. Recognizing her as Nidavellir’s equivalent of a Phoenixi, he remembered his purpose and decided to send her back to the home dimension (he wanted to help the people, and another Phoenix would reduce the strain on refueling pearls).
To open a dimensional crack large enough to allow the princess through, D’Arsonius overextended his magical energy and tore himself apart. In the process, what was left of his energy coalesced in the shadow of the Princess (burned into the spire) and formed Granberia. The pearl fragmented into three and filled with void energy, transforming the other pieces of D’Arsonius into a ravenous vampire. One witness--a wizard who would later father Telivar--gathered the three pearl fragments and spirited them away. He went on to teach others how to shred dragons in this manner.

Erasmut
Erasmut is the oldest dragon in Nidavellir, but he is the youngest psychologically. A crack opened in the bath when he was just a toddler and dumped him into Undine’s shrine, where he slowly grew into a massive sea serpent. Still believing himself to be in the bath, he began to play with the ships that drifted by, capturing the little ‘toy’ men inside and running games with them.
Despite his youthful naivety he is incredibly powerful, as he is the child of a former member of the Council of Five. He is the reason they opened the investigation.

========================================

[CJC]

Summary (since last update):

Erasmut wanted to play hide and seek. Granberia fuses with the fire pinnacle Salamander and tries to drive Erasmut away, but ends up on the moon.

Goldleaf attacks the serpent out of rage at a similar beast and is swatted away into a desert. Dragon corruption plants a scale in his hand, but he painfully removes it.

Zataka is nearly blasted by the Granberia-Salamander fusion meteorite. Upon seeing Goldleaf swatted away, he tries to attack Erasmut but is placed in the toybox, where he follows a hall towards the source of the weeds.

Sancireph climbs the rickety ruins and wins the game of hide and seek, driving Erasmut to fly away and cry.

Rose collects Wallace the chef and takes him to the warship, where the former frogmen are conducting repairs to escape the grotto. She also comes across a book inhabited by the spirit of a psion, Yuri.

Finally, Granberia recovers WYRMKILLER on the moon and tries to attack Erasmut again, but Salamander deflects the attack into the water (not wishing to obey the sword). Undine attacks, but Salamander whisks Granberia to safety.


=====

@mrz84
Zataka,
You check the other rooms, but is seems they’ve been emptied suddenly. You get the feeling they were inhabited just a moment ago, but you shrug and move on. Descending the stairs, you come to an altar with a statue of a woman atop it.
Nearly every inch of the room is covered in the weeds, which sway toxically back and forth--almost breathing. Even more bizarre, though, is what’s behind the statue. There’s a, well… it’s hard to describe. It’s like the air is made of fabric and one of the seams has torn. Water is pouring out of the bottom of this rip into the room. You walk around this ‘tear’ and see that it’s just hanging in the air mysteriously. Milani’s pendant is practically hopping as you lean in.
What do you do?


Katrien looks around, noting that most of her crew has spontaneously appeared in the center of the grotto. She also notices that Zataka is not among them, and neither is Wallace. There’s a ship sitting tantalizingly in the center of the grotto, only partially damaged and heavy with treasure. Hmm…
What does she do?


=====

@Tamamo
Granberia,
You wait for Salamander to leave, and then you sigh, pulling out the sharp shard of ice that is sticking out of your gut. You moan quietly; it’s ruptured your spleen and you’re bleeding slowly. You need to cauterize the wound, but you can’t have Salamander coming back; you’re going to need Rivan for more thorough medical attention. What to do, what to do?
…What is that.
Is it…
Yes. It’s one of D’Arsonius’s pearl fragments. It rolls across the floor of the temple, gently tapping your leg before stopping. It’s almost taunting you.
“Go ahead. Use it.”
What do you do?


Rose,
There’s really not much more to do before nightfall. You decide to put your feet up and get some rest while the former frogmen repair their ship.
Still… you might be able to come up with something…


=====

@TheDarkOne
Sancireph,
Victory, victory, victory! You won the contest.
…Man, Erasmut’s pretty upset over there. Oh well, you’ve got the ship now.
You descend the piled ruins and look for some crew to help you repair your reward.
Katrien’s wandering around, though, and she’s smiling at your prize.
What do you do?


Goldleaf,
You shrug off the raven as a nuisance and continue to walk. Eventually you come across a caravan heading into the desert. A man looks at you perplexed and asks what you’re doing out here without any supplies. He offers you some water to drink, and you accept. You are slightly refreshed; you could probably cast something now.
What do you do?

=====

[Tamamo]

Granberia: I plunge the pearl into my chest!

[CJC]

(Action Tennis--this is pressing business)

Granberia,
As you insert the pearl into your chest you feel an encroaching darkness wrap around you.
It's cold and unsettling, the void energies of D'Arsonius trying to enter your body. Suddenly, you feel a flash of brilliant light swell up from within you, closing your wounds and soothing your pain. It drives the darkness away.
The temple around you seems to be getting smaller. It's halved in size, or rather you've doubled in size. You feel a comforting wave of heat envelop you, but it is not spirit magic that is forming this shroud. No... it's something more primal.
You launch these flames at the obsidian until it begins to reflect light like clear glass. Looking into the reflection you see not the dragonkin with which you are familiar but a brilliant golden bird, wrapped in white flames.
You're not entirely sure what's happening, but you feel... right. Better than you've ever felt before.
Wyrmkiller writhes on the ground, twitching. It looks like it's trying to crawl away from you.

[Tamamo]

@CJC I have a lot of questions, before continuing
1. Am I a pheonixi now because I did something that shocked you and she; Spire Princess's pheonix, saved me?
2. I take it the pearl inside me is gone now? What about Darcy's.
3. Did this restore my true memories?
4. Do dragons have blood? Darsonius sort of needs that to live off other dragons right or is he different?
5. I'm still mortal right? That wouldn't be fair to the others.
6. Red or Blue?

1. You're a phoenixi now because the light of the spire princess filled you and overwhelmed the darkness of the vampiric crimson dragon. The pearl made you a dragon, but the Princess's light made you a phoenix. As for my motivations for making this happen, well... that's my business. : )

2. Yes and no. Technically phoenixi don't have pearls, but they're born what they are. You have become a phoenix, so you possess a pearl. It is yours now, though... the piece of D'Arsonius within it has been eradicated
(It needed to remain so you could remove it and walk around with other humans, if such ever becomes necessary)

3. That's up to you.

4. Yes, dragons have blood. D'Arsonius can use ANYBODY'S blood to sustain him, though, not just dragon blood.

5. Yes, you are still mortal. Phoenixi in this setting don't rise from the ashes, their light is redirected into a new child when they die.

6. Red.

(Read 10-23-15)
-C

[TheDarkOne]

Sancireph:
I ask Katrien if this vessel I have won will do to replace her ship. We will likely have to abandon the old cabin, but it's likely this merchant ship has one that is bigger. A quick look around confirms this--not only larger, but more opulent. The artifacts and money aboard the vessel are of little interest to me--if Katrien wants to claim them for herself, I have no objections. I ask the crew members that have reappeared to assist in repairing the vessel to make it seaworthy. Looking at the crew, I notice that Goldleaf and Zataka are nowhere to be seen. Where could they have gone?

Sancireph,
While Katrien is saddened that her old ship cannot be salvaged, the promise of the treasure within this new vessel catches her eye. She goes back into the cabin to fetch some keepsakes, but when she returns she is distraught.
Katrien: "Has anyone seen Wallace? I thought he was in the cabin, but there's no trace of him. His copper fry-pan is still here, he'd never go anywhere without it."
You mention you haven't seen Zataka or Goldleaf either.
A crewman pipes up.
Crewman: "Yeah, KLARK is missing too. We could hear him when he was in the temple, but he didn't pop back out with us."
Katrien orders her crew to begin immediate repairs on the vessel. She looks distressed, though.
Katrien: "We cannot leave until we find our allies. And even so, I'm not sure we can get this boat into the water without that wizard friend of yours."
You suggest they might be able to dig a channel to the shore, it's only about twenty feet away.
Katrien: "Well, it's a start. Let's fix the ship first."
If anybody knows where your friends are, it'd be that dragon. He's still sobbing on the far side of the island.

Goldleaf:
I explain to the caravan leader that I was forced through a portal to this place--but I do not mention the serpent or from where I came. I ask where they are headed.
"We've just restocked supplies and are heading for town. You're welcome to ride with us--beats walking in this desert."
I graciously accept his offer and climb up inside the wagon.
"You're a wizard, aren't you? Don't look so surprised; we deal with wizards, even occasionally sell some items that they might find useful. I have a few such items now, if you want to take a look. I'll warn you, though, they don't come cheap."
What does he have to sell?

Goldleaf,
Most of the wares are utterly ridiculous. Snake oil promising to turn the imbiber purple and cure their scurvy, various gaudy patterns of woven cloth 'for robes', and a few enchanted objects of marginal utility.
You see a sword similar to the one you gave to that captain for passage: it has an enchantment that illuminates the blade under certain circumstances.
You also see a mace purported to be able to 'split the earth itself'. Reading the runes you notice that there's not an actual enchantment on the weapon; the word is literally "gibberish" and so the weapon likely flings wild magic unpredictably. The paper mage who enchanted it looks to have duped this merchant.
One item DOES catch your attention. It's a carpet with runes embroidered in spiraling patterns. It is the same word over and over again: fly.
"Ah, something's caught your eye I see. A fine piece of merchandise that; it's a steal at 600 platinum."
Is this guy nuts?


(Read 10-24-15)
-C

[Tamamo]

Granberia
I grasp the pearl in my chest and close my eyes.
Granberia: "I see, things have become very complicated."

Memory Restoration
1. Darsonius manipulated my memories.
2. I am a being with multiple souls intertwined.

A: The Spire Princess
B: D'Arsonius "Now Eradicated"
C: Granberia

3. I was frozen in time for several hundred years by Salamander.
4. One Pearl Fragment remains, and this fragment has become my own pearl and if I remove it I can revert to my other form.
5. I have the largest meta-physical volume.

I decide to wait for Salamander to return so she can explain what has happened.

Rose
I go and ask the captain if there is anything I can do to help.

Did becoming a Phoenix foil Cecette's plan?

Of course it did!
(Read 10-24-15)
-C

[mrz84]

---Zataka---
I examine the room a bit more, and decide to remove the weeds from the statue as best I can. I warn the crewman to stay away from the tear before I can investigate it. Once the statue is free of weeds. I turn my attention to the tear, and more importantly, Milani's Pendant. The surge in activity from it lately increasingly worries me. I hold the pendant towards the statue for a few minutes (conventratin as I do so) and then towards the tear (again concentrating).

Zataka,
The amulet dances wildly as you concentrate on the tear. Suddenly you feel a great vortex pulling you in; you fall THROUGH the tear.
You find yourself in a claw-foot tub, drenched in rainwater, in a ruined castle. There's a hole in the roof above you and it's raining on your head.
Around the room you see white roses, placed lovingly in pots around this tub. Their thorny roots have overgrown the entire room and are even curling into the tub. This place has been abandoned for quite some time.
Climbing out of the tub you knock some of the water off your armor and look about. Milani's pendant has gone quiet.

---Katrien---
Gathering her crew, she has them start to load the few belongings from her old ship into the new one and to see to any repairs that need to be made. She looks through the treasures and and artifacts while waiting for news of Zataka and Wallace. She refuses to leave without Wallace at the very least and since Zataka saved her life (despite her protests she could handle herself), she feels an obligation to wait for him as well to repay him for it.

Katrien goes into the cabin to collect a few keepsakes but finds that Wallace has left... without his own treasured object (a copper fry-pan). When she talks to Sancireph, she learns Zataka is also missing. Out of a sense of obligation to the latter she arranges for a search party, though there are few crewmen to spare with the repairs needed for Sancireph's merchant boat. Katrien decides that she's not needed for this work, though, and leads a party of four to the warship at the other end of the island.
Much to her surprise, she discovers an entire new crew of men walking about, conducting repairs on this second vessel.
Does she press on, or go back and share her discovery?


(Read 10-25-15)
-C

[Tamamo]

Rose
I decide to walk through the kitchen and find that Wally is packing his thing.
R: "Going somewhere."
W: "Need to let Katrien know we found a ship."
This angers me greatly as I feel I can replace Katrien in his life so I use my Dominate Power on him.
R: "Whose Katrien? I don't know a Katrien. Perhaps you should stay her and take care of your daughter Rose."

@CJC
Let me explain this action a bit. There are two reasons I brought him with me: He's a cook "these men need food, and he brought some with him" and rose likes having him around.

Rose,
Wallace shakes his head. He then pinches his brow.
Wallace: "No, no, no, this isn't right."
He grabs you by the throat.
Wallace: "My mind is not your plaything, girl!"
Shoving you away, he flees.

You tried to erase a relationship with a loved one. Since you're not a psionic mage, your domination was overcome by the cook's force of will as a result of this. He was unwilling to part with his attachment.

Granberia
Salamander appears before me, alone sensing the change in my body and opens her mouth in awe.
S: "Darsonius presence it's gone and your a Phoenix with a Pearl!"
G: "I'm as surprised as you are. I plunged one of his pearls into my chest on instinct and this is the result."
GM Text: Salamanders Response

Granberia,
Salamander stares at you, dumbfounded.
Salamander: "I had always hoped this light within you would surface. I had worried that he snuffed it out."
Granberia: "D'Arsonius?"
Salamander: "No, the Wyrmkiller."
At this moment, you notice that the blade has gone.

G: "Silence, we must head back to Undine, I think I know a way to stop Erasmute from using her temple as a toy box."
I remove the pearl and slash open a temporary tear and return to UNDINES ISLAND and call out to Undine and Erasmute.

As you remove the pearl, you shrink back to what you would presume is your normal size. However, you note that you are no longer a dragonkin. Rather, you are purely elven (Selected based on player preferences and actions, change as necessary). You wonder if anyone will recognize you.
Your tear--ripped open with white flames sent down the blade of the white stone knife--sends you through a storm of primordial chaos before depositing you inside the cabin of the Katrien's Glory. But the cabin is empty; there's no crew around.


(Read 10-25-15)
-C

[Tamamo]

@CJC
Retroactive Continuity "description conflicts with Qinii Dragons"

The scales
Dragons in Utgard are humanoid; in fact they have the same racial distinctions as the humanoids of Nidavellir (Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, and Humans). In Nidavellir, though, dragons take the form of giant quadrupedal reptiles with leathery wings… essentially the classic fantasy trope appearance. Dragons in Nidavellir take a shape, color, and elemental affinity based on their personality, which is why dragons from similar cultures in Utgard look similar in Nidavellir--they have compatible personality traits.
Dragons do not sprout feathers in Nidavellir; feathers are strictly worn by Phoenixi.

Eastern dragons are long and slender and are capable of flight although they lack wings.
Granberia's Sister is one of these.

It's not just eastern dragons; any dragon can take the form of a serpent instead of a drake based on their personality. Admittedly the description was restrictive and I have corrected it.
(Read 10-25-15)
-C