This is me checking for interest....

[adrienne]

This is such a wonderful forum... I would like, if there is any interest, to run a thread too. It is one that I sorta started as tabletop, but ... things got complicated, and it died. I'd like to set it up here. (taber, mya, you both know this one). You may or may not agree, but I don't think it worked as a table top game. But... I think it would be much better suited to this style of storytelling.
The only caveat would be that any individual participating would have to realise I would eventually like to publish this story (or at least try for it), so their participation would imply concent to using their character and character's actions.
I would have some existing characters that I would play or could give over, or folks could give me a character concept and I could let them know.
What is the steps here? I guess I should tell you about the story? K. Next post: the story.

[adrienne]

This is horrible. I should be working... bwah ha ha ha.
Okay... Tentatively, I would call the thread "Seven Crows".
If allowed to do this, I would start by dumping a tonne of backstory down on everyone... I have 1 chapter written, you see. This is a brief introduction to that: In the rural, fisher-folk town of Dungannan, there exists a sleepy community. For hundreds of years it had developped without any outsiders at all, but then, about 15-20 (?) years ago (I'll have to check that number), there was a massive sickness that killed many members of the community (and in the neighbouring community Heisler, the only community at all in the world with which Dungannan has any contact). Shortly thereafter, they started to see more and more shipwrecks miles out to sea, upon the breakers. In that first season, a luxurious and foreign boat burst into flames upon the breakers, and when the fisher folk tried to launch rescue operations, they recovered 3 individuals. One, a woman, was holding an infant. The infant survived, but she died before reaching shore. An old man was pulled from the briney water too, and survived for three days in a fever spouting language that no one understood.
The child has been raised by Viey, the town's midwife, and has been taken by Zola, the town's innkeeper, to work in the tavern.
Last year, a very strange thing happened. A group of nine bards ambled into town. Never in the history of the town had there been visitors.
The bards, fairly mysterious but entirely entertaining, have stayed for the year, telling stories and learning stories in a very bardy NPC kind of a way.
Then, in the first chapter, another stranger arrives. This time, alone, in robes, and takes lodging at The Seven Crows (Zola's Inn).
This adventure would start in a world without magic, but would move into a world with magic similar to but definitely NOT anyone else's magic. ie. I must keep it as much my own for publishing reasons as anything else.
All residents of Dungannon may be played by anyone on this site. At this time, I'd like to keep the bard troupe and Dal Sarwin (my dark stranger) played by me. They're more NPCs anyway. The story will require, very very shortly, a guide character (ranger-esque) ... and there are many towns folk that could be all PCed up. I would like to offer Taber first crack at that guide character, if he would want him... doesn't have to...

Particularly, there are:
Viey, the midwife - in her 50s
Zola, the innkeeper (she has a very specific back story - I will be picky about letting her go) - about 30 years old
Keechai - 18ish (she's that baby from the water... very exotic... very nostalgic) - waitress at 7Crows
Topaz - 18ish waitress at 7Crows
Crins - 10 Topaz's little brother
Wennie - 18ish and really rather ditzy/annoying, waitress at 7Crows
Wennie's Fiancé - 20ish, fisherman, and does have a name... though I can't remember it...
Shamier - 50s, lighthouse keeper (female, if you can't tell by name)
There are many males in town too, but for some reason it seems that I haven't expanded many of them.
Most are patrons in the 7Crows.

Anyone wanting to participate in a bard role would have to talk to me about it. There are 4 males and 5 females.

There will be at least 3 distinct plots: 1 taking place inside Dungannon following Topaz, Shamier and Viey, 1 taking place outside Dungannon following the Bards, Zola, and Keechai (the guide goes with this group), and 1 taking place outside Dungannon following Dal Sarwin and Wennie (!!! spoiler? ha ha).

I am a bit verbose, and will likely be fairly heavy handed for the stuff already prescripted. BUT, after about 10 pages into chapter 2 I'm all spent, so this will help if anyone wants to.

There are also some fun characters that will have to show up later in the story, including : Ruttegar, a very bad person, and Zola's ex; an entire college full of people; and various females in sand-coloured burka-like-robes.

Please let me know if there is any interest in this at all. I would love to do this, but I will not be offended if it doesn't happen.

Thanks!!

[Taber]

"One for sore, Two for joy, Three for girls, and Four for boys, Five for silver, Six for gold,Seven for a secret never to be told."
-counting crows

sounds fun, mind if i bring in Dayman Nell?

[adrienne]

Wasn't Dayman your ranger? If this does run, I was really hoping you would.

[adrienne]

I will be annoying and just keep posting stuff here until someone tells me that they'd kinda like a kick at the cat, etc.

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Meet Wennie (the annoying one) and Zola

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The Seven Crows bustled with the activity of evening. The boats were mooring in, and the smell of salt water permeated the shops and civic buildings. Pax had already ambled the few hundred meters from his harbour to the inn’s door, and his leathered skin crinkled in pride as he handed two heavy flatfish to the waitress.

“Viey,” the waitress called. “Pax’s come.”

“Hush, girl.” Pax’s thin lips grinned despite his annoyance. “Viey’s sure to know I’m come. I always come. What you should be hollerin’ if you be wantin’ to holler, is that I brought her two of the nicest flatfish to be caught in the history of all Dungannon.”

“And did you not say that of the water serpents, just last week?” An elderly woman turned her head toward the door.

“There you be, Viey.” Pax moved on land as he did at sea. “And can I help being the best fisherman in these parts?” He pulled a chair out beside her and sat himself in it with a grunt.

“Ay,” Viey rolled her eyes cheerfully. “Can you help being the most arrogant of the fishermen in these parts?”

“There’s no arrogance in stating the truth.”

Zola watched the couple bicker amicably at the far side of her eating hall. The three waitresses fluttered between tables joking and laughing with the fisher folk as they moved in. Many of the older or single workers in town patronized Zola’s kitchen. The younger, married folk would return home to their families and children, only visiting The Seven Crows when a relative from the neighbouring farms required lodging in the rooms above.

“Wennie,” Zola spoke with softly, “I can not cook those fish for Master Pax if I can not remove them from your grasp. If you are that hungry for fish, you should marry a dock man.”

The waitress by the door approached the counter and placed the fish down with a spirited giggle.
“I’ll tell you a secret,” Wennie leaned conspiratorially.

“What,” Zola normally tried to avoid feeding Wennie’s foolishness.

“I’ve decided not to marry any man from Dungannon.”

“So you’re planning to be a maid your life through?” Zola said, picking the fish off the counter and beginning to clean them. “Or are you going to marry a farmer, and mind animals? Or cross the bay to Heisler and marry a metal miner?”

“No, no and no.” Wennie whispered.

“Don’t be a fool, girl.” Zola’s hands moved without thought across the fish. “There’s nothing out there but water and mountain.”

“That’s what everyone always said,” Wennie smiled broadly. “But then Fik’s troupe came, didn’t they! Never a stranger until, one day, in walk nine of them.”

“Yes, and from their stories, they travelled a good long way to get here.” Zola put down her knife “Are you marrying one of them? Does he know?”

“Not yet.” Wennie cooed with joy.

“You are a fool.” Zola slapped the fish onto a rack above an open fire. “Go, fool, and serve our guests. And don’t let your father hear you talking such foolishness. Nor let Miratill hear, you’ll break his heart.”

“He’s so boring. As if I would marry him just because he asks.”

“Table. Guests. Go!”

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Miratill!! The name of Wennie's fiancé!! Good to know...

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Meet the bards: (these are snippets from what I've written... and hopefully will both set the stage and introduce you to characters.... everything here is happening the night before your story begins)

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“There are only a certain number of stories,” Fik’s voice carried well to all corners of the Seven Crow’s common room. She stood in what they now called the stage, a clearing of tables barely the size of the bed of her wagon. It did not matter. It was a stage.

“There are images, happenings, events that happen again and again. I know them all. I know them told in different orders and in different ways, but there are only a few to know so this is not an impressive feat.

“Invariably, there is trouble…” At his cue, Yashabush stepped out from behind a curtain, rather a sail that had been strung across a doorway to provide an entrance. The audience knew many of Fik’s tales, and Yashabush almost singularly played the troublemaker. There was a murmur of pleasant recognition.

“Invariably, there is love,” Demeny moved onto the stage, “requited” followed by Sherose, “and unrequited” followed by Yim.

The female members of the audience enjoyed this particular introduction quite a bit, as Sherose’s dark looks were the talk amongst the fishwives.

“Invariably, there are moments of great joy…” Bobunn and Nettia bounded from behind the curtain doing a short tumbling routine.

“Invariably, there are moments of great sadness…” Kiri assisted Draylor onto the stage, as he feigned a discreet death.

“Invariably.” Fik spread her arms quite wide, the sleeves of her bejewelled performance gown reflecting the candles from around the room.

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Reaction shot:

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Zola kept her ears open, but paid little attention to the proceedings upon the stage space. Tales of romance and heroics were entertaining for her customers, but she truly had more important things to mind. Fish could burn, mugs of ale could go dry, and silly waitresses could get themselves into more trouble than usual.

Zola’s eye was on Wennie leaning on a support timber, face wide and vacuous in her newly discovered infatuation with the Troupe’s men.

That child would be trouble. Why could she not be dependable like Topaz? Zola hated to let an employee go, but if Wennie could not do her job without falling nose over toes for every new face…

But then, there weren’t many new faces in this town. Perhaps the infatuation would go away with time.

Perhaps, the thought surfaced briefly in Zola’s mind, perhaps she disliked Wennie not for fascination with Yashabush and Sherose but for being who she was, a farm girl from the deeper soil to the southwest. It had been to those farms that Zola had come at an age slightly younger than at which Wennie had left. It had been on one such farm that Zola had spent her married years. Zola pushed the thought away.

Romance and heroics did not exist beyond stories, and even then they very rarely meant what they seemed to mean. She had much more important things to mind than fancy and fable.

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The watcher (fully hidden while fully exposed)

-------

Yashabush hovered in the wing, or rather, behind the curtain. Bobunn peered out, watching the tale again, learning the tale. Yim fretted well, and had learned the role well. But one day, he would be too old for Fanlin, and Bobunn would need to step in.

The lighting flickered.

It always flickered here. They used flame.

Dangerous, Yashabush mused, but really all that was available.

Upon the stage, briefly relieving Fik as narrator, he had seen the solitudes in the audience. Perfect subjects for painting, these villagers. The waitresses, all beautiful in some aspect, dotted the audience: Topaz was fair, Keechai dark, and Wennie… well, Wennie was predatory. Yashabush had known much more skilled seductresses, and Wennie was in many ways a fanciful child, but she would find herself her ideal. There was very little in this town to stop her.

However, the young waitresses had merely distracted his attention from a more interesting subject. The idea of his innkeeper continuously danced at the edge of his thoughts. It was not an attraction in the physical sense. He was far too old, or rather, she was far too young to be considered with any seriousness. But there existed a fascination for him in that woman. For a person who had lived for, at most, thirty years, she carried herself with a gravity he longed to understand. In other places, there were methods he knew to extract stories from willing and not so willing individuals. They would not work here. The town was relatively unique.

That was why they had come. A singular experience. Training. Honing of skills otherwise ignored, possibly forgotten. And Fik had been right. There were many things life, beyond the twin peninsulas of Heisler and Dungannon, had dulled in exchange for heightening other skills. It had been a fine idea to sharpen that which was neglected.

But Zola, as an idea, as a concept, as that which exists before definition, loomed out of Yashabush’s reach. And this intrigued him.

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K, this is enough for now. This is background to see the main characters a bit. Anyone can play any of the parts, if you let me know what you'd like. Yashabush is BY FAR the most interesting of the males... Very much a Harlequin character. Ruttegar, when he shows, is the evil-est of the males. Keechai is the best female if you want to discover amazing new lands, Wennie is the best if you like to cause trouble, and Topaz is the best if you want to do heroic things in your own home town. Zola is the best if you want a dark and troubled past and issues... so many issues...

[adrienne]

Oh, a word about groupings...

• All 9 bards, Keechai and Zola (although there could be a case made for Yim and Demeny staying behind). Guide character (Dayman Nell!!). Possibly Miritall.
  
• Dal Sarwin and Wennie.
  
• Topaz, Crinz, Viey, Shamier, etc.
  

These are the 3 main bits for now. There will be 3 storylines. I think I already said this...

[gintsuki]

This sounds like a great RPG! (I knew reading the other threads on this site would come in handy!) I would LOVE to participate in it. Your story sounds very well thought out, and if I were to play a character I would prefer you assign me to one you think suitable. I'll have you know that I can play any character with any persona given time and the references, but the ones that attracted my interest the most were:

Zola - She looks like a challenge that I'd be willing to meet, however I have a feeling you might not think I'm the one to play her.
Keechai - She seems like a really interesting character whom I wish to know a lot more about. I think I'd like to play a semi-dark character for once.
Sherose - Hmm... I'm questioning this character's gender. But this person strikes some curiousity... this is another one I want to know more about.
Kiri - Mentioned this character once, who is it?
Fik - My my... now she's a very tempting character for me to play, however I suspect you'd have to know alot of information about your story and plot to play her. She may be abit above my level...

Other then that I hope you have something in mind! Reply Asap because this is so intriguing!

[Rayne]

I'm interested in playing but I haven't read anything yet.

I made a category for you so you can put your rpg there. You're the mod of that section, so it's up to you to keep it going.

^_^

[wingedpanther]

I am very much interested in your offer Adrienne... but... but... I need MORE!
Ie... some character background and stuff... otherwise, I'm ready to start writing and what not...

[Taber]

AHH IT"S A YOU! NAH!

[adrienne]

My Wingéd Panther, dear friend, all the info you require awaits you at the bottom of the home page under Seven Crows. See you there, my Dal Sarwin...