Knights of the World Tree [high fantasy]

Which Region?

  • Hersh

    Votes: 5 83.3%
  • Trion

    Votes: 1 16.7%

  • Total voters
    6
  • Poll closed .

Lazzamore

WAAAAAAAAAA-
Hello everybody! I have another idea I'm testing the waters with: a High Fantasy Mercenary company RP.

The Gist


You would play as character who have joined the mercenary company 'the Order of the World Tree'. The World Tree employs diplomats, adventurers, sellswords, freelancers, monster hunters and many more, so take your pick as to what your character is.

The setting is a rich and populated one I've been using for some time, that me and friends created. It's quite old, so I've decided to narrow it down a bit; Our characters will be from a specific continent, and we will vote of which one we would like to use. We will likely move around, so don't worry if the one you like gets voted down, we'll get there either way.

Important Info

Ranks/hierarchy in the Order:
Low Squire – The entry level, where all new recruits begin their journey. Low squires swear no oath or promise to join, are paid a monthly rate, and can be fired like any employee. A Low squire is responsible for basic grunt duties and don’t take jobs. For some this stage is considered a ‘trial period’ to their careers, for others it’s just another day-job.
Squire – The Squire, or “Apprentice Indie” as they are sometimes called, is much like it sounds: They are assigned to a class working with a Journeyman to ‘learn the ropes’ as it were. This is widely considered the first true step to be a part of the order. A Squire’s job description is slightly more complex then that of a Low Squire, as well as learning the trade of the higher-up mercenaries, Squires are expected to start conducting themselves in a good light for the Order. They take only a minor contract at this point, and though they cannot be ‘fired’ per se, they can simply be relegated obscurity and never given jobs.
Independent – Independents, or “Indies”, are the rank and file of the order. they are given free reign to take their own jobs at this level and budget with which they hire and pay Low Squires. They also swear loyalty and sign their final contract at the beginning of this level, obligating the indie to be unable to discontinue work with the order.
Journeyman – Also called “Veteran Indies”, Journeymen have similar jobs to Independents except they are expected to train a class of around 7 squires.
Knight/Dame – Knights and Dames are secretive and shadowy figures. At this level the Order gives the Sellsword their most special tool; A “World Branch”, a naturally formed baton with unique magical properties. There are only ever 64 knights and Dames, each with only one World Branch, and never more. This tool is so important to the knight or dame that to lose or break their branch is tantamount to death itself. The branch, though, is never allowed to be discussed, even among other members as high ranking as Journeymen.
Lord/Lady – There are only 8 Lords and Ladies at any one time, and they each have one branch as well. They make up the leadership of the order and are usually considered unapproachable in expertise. They answer only to one figure.
The World Tree – The mysterious figure known as the World Tree is an enigma. What is known is that the Tree is almost certainly a person that communicates to the Lords and Ladies alone. The Tree is immensely powerful, highly secretive, and seems to have nigh infinite resources. Which is, for most mercenaries, just splendid.

Starting point - Choice A: Hersh
Hersh is, until recently, a land of great world powers. Its pedigree stretches as far back as history will go with mighty conquering empires: Blood Isle, Hirotia and Tyrrar, just to name the bare fewest of the mighty people of Hersh. the denizens of Hersh once included Blood Elven, Human, Orcish, Dwarven and Gnomish empires. That began to change roughly four centuries ago; when Blood Isle’s queen Blood Thorn would take her father’s wars to the level of genocide on all humans in Hersh and Baerlo (In ages past and nearly forgotten, the first kingdom of Blood isle was crushed by a human war effort). With all humans destroyed, Blood Thorn would continue to rule hersh with an iron fist, sacking and revoking sovereignty from Amos, driving out the any Nymph’s in Hersh and taking over their forests, and conquering much of all the rest of the continent aside from Oth (whom they considered old allies).
The Earthrage
But Blood isle was to be the last of the Hershan Royal line. When a cataclysm known as the Earthrage, in which three volcanoes erupted, the land was plunged into darkness and choking ashes. All plants died, and soon so did those unlucky enough to stay behind. But Blood Isle’s fate was not to be so simple: With all the resources at their disposal, Blood Isle boarded their vast navy with nigh all their people and wealth and made for the southern territories under their control. Then Blood Tri, a vicious Pirate, and (ironically enough) direct descendant of Blood Titan waylaid the fleet and overnight conquered the fragile kingdom, taking the entire race to serve him in foreign lands.
Hersh, now under siege by the underground dwelling Gnox drawn out by the perpetual night, would slowly fall to chaos.
The Vanguard that protected us
Finally, as all hope was lost, the Wood Elves returned to the land, and drove back the Gnox invaders that oppressed the surface dwellers. As the smog cleared, new plantlife was grown by Elven re-settlers, who joined arms with the High Elves, Halflings, Gnomes, Dwarves and even Orcs against remaining Gnox. They called themselves the Vanguard of Hersh.
In the years that followed, the Gnox empire of Auguaria would topple and so would all who allied with them. That tenuous peace now has been broken between members of the now fading Vanguard, with the Orcs of Gundertog already seceding from the alliance, starting a whole new war following the mysterious death of their high king’s wife, Vulcana of Ravad-Urz.
OR
Choice B: Trion
Trion’s story is as fractured as the people within it; In fact, Trion is three continents, not merely one. It’s most notable locale is the trade city of Cappacannis, a ogre port in between the three realms that serves as a central travel hub for the whole world.
A land marked for Death
The largest of the Trionic realms, Baerlo is a land overrun by the dead. Though a curse of unknown origin has today caused undead to rise at turn hostile, this was not always the case.
Baerlo was once a metropolitan land of four races, sharing one government in peace and freedom. Humans, Pech, Baern and Merrow lived peaceably together for millennia in a united Republic.
Out from Hersh rose queen Blood Thorn of Blood Isle, the great power of the time, went on a crusade to genocide all human beings from Adma. Though she was not successful in her lifetime, Blood Thorn brought the Republic of Baerlo to ruin for refusing to surrender their human brothers to die. Blood isle’s army marched through the land until not one man or woman of human blood survived. And thusly fell the Republic.
The Baern and Merrow would fall to relative obscurity and economic squalor. Out of the three races that survived, only the Pech would come about any of the old glory that could once be found in Baerlo, forming the Brumms Empire. At this time Goblins made their way from the southern Myradonic islands to raid and take land in this power vacuum, forming the Buzzgussian Empire.
Finally, even brumms would fall, as undead swarmed the northern continent as they do today.
Vagabonds who would be Kings
Dirtinir, the southern realm of Trion, had a very different history; The three modern powers of Dirtinir are Tirrinnia, Ibamayo and Duerk.
Tirrinnia is a land of survivors, forged out of the ashes of humanity after Blood Thorns crusade. The humans of Tirrinnia are zealous and protective of land and heritage, as they likely should be: They are the land of the full-blooded human race on Adma, the only holdout before Blood Thorn would have had victory. Today they are xenophobic and closed, but alive.
Ibamayo and Duerk share a common ancestry, both are thanks to a highly unlikely adventure; A greedy treasure hunt led by lizardman Arkson the Salamander, adventurer extraordinaire. among arksons company was a Tanuki dragon slayer known as Osaki, an elven noblewoman named Crimson, and an outcast of the Twilight Elven Dynasty, Dark Matter.
After their quest made each party member very rich, Arkson went on to fund the lizardfolk resettling of the long-lost empire of Ibamayo (ruins that he himself discovered). Dark Matter would grow old with his family, gathering a following of outcasts. It was not until then that his family and followers would form Duerk. The Twilight Dynasty had a safety measure built into its magical forest. The magic of the place would drive mad all who entered but were not welcome. This worked for years until Dark Matter’s people (known as the Darklings) magically took control of the woods. They secretly made it ‘malfunction’, now those welcome would lose their minds, and outsiders would freely travel through. After the lesser Twilight Elves were ‘cured’ of their unfortunate ‘illness’ (but of course the nobility were too far gone for help) Duerk was established were the Twilight Dynasty was.
The land that meant evil
This brings us finally to the archipelago of Necro. Necro is a land that have gone through many faces; A land of pirates, a magical fey-wilderness, an empire of repute, and today a garden of the devil.
Yes, the land of necro is today overcome with a garden of evil; full of the power of a monstrous dark being known as ‘the One Cast Out’, though his name is rarely spoken. Here Gnolls gather daily to serve the fiendish machinations of the wield of an Artifact known as the Blade of Lost Souls. The blade is iteslf alive (and arguably, in control) and was not selected, but did select the goblin Screeg, king of Khas Uggras the Devil’s Garden, to be its latest ‘soul’...

Please ask any question you have, As you can see my exposition up there involved a lot of name-dropping, so don't be shy!

EDIT 1:
Races
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Dwarves
A race in ruins, the Dwarves once had one of the wealthiest most long-standing empires in all of Adma, until it was destroyed single-handedly by ‘the Darkness’ (a god of undeath) to be used as undead servants for his various war-efforts in the world. Though the Darkness was vanquished in ages past, the Dwarves still struggle to reclaim what was lost.
You likely come from the Kannogetti Empire, last bastion of the Dwarves. Ruled by King Kannogett, the empire stands as one of the more powerful members of the Vanguard of Hersh.
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Halflings
Halflings value money. It’s a simple fact, though often abused, that out of all the short folk numbers and gold come easy to halflings. They tend to be meek, but always carry a big stick. And not uncommonly hired bodyguards.
You likely come from either Amos or Decurio, the two most famous of the Halfling cities. Amos, the older, is in decline (though known as a hub for adventurers), while Decurio, the smaller, is a rising economic star in the world. Both city-states have historically be firm members of the Vanguard.
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Gnomes
Tinkerers and scientists by and large, Gnomes are generally regarded a a bit… odd. A gnome is short, and tend to think in unusual ways. They can be obsessive and grim, and thus gnome populations tend to keep to themselves. Since the volcanic eruptions that occured during the Earthrage, which buried Gnomora completely, the Gnomes have lived in small pockets among the Halflings and Dwarves.
You likely come from one of the numerous ghettos and villages devoted to the Gnomes among the Halfling trade guilds, and the Kannogetti Empire.
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High Elves
High Elves tend to come off a bit uppity, having a history of wealth, power and imperialism. Even further goes their natural blessings; The eyesight and natural coordination gives the High Elven commoner untrained accuracy and vision as acute as that of any foreign soldier.
You likely come from Silverglade, the chief principality of the High Elven people.
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Wood Elves
Wood Elves are a long lived race dedicated to the furtherment of Life. Wood Elves tend to have supernatural empathy to plants and animals around them, giving rise to endless nature-worshipping religions from their culture.
You likely come from Many places in the world have Wood Elves wandering about; for Thousands of years Wood Elves fought against the Orcs over a stretch of land called Northdawn, until relatively recently, when this war ended with the Orcs as the victors and the Wood Elves banished. Though the Wood elves have indeed returned to aid in the war against the Gnox, old grudges die hard.
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Orcs
Strong and stubborn, the Orcs are reviled for their violent, difficult nature. Driven strongly by a sense of Honor that few other creatures share, Orcs tend to segregate themselves this way.
You likely come from Gundertog, the largest land of the Orcs, is currently ruled by Morttin Rawloc, a king who claims to have divine power and authority. Alternatively, far in the north, you may hale from the city of Tagzan and lands controled by the resurrected King Broll, anOrc lord from ages past trying to rebuild his country of Oth - He believes all Orcs ought to be under the banner of his rule.
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Sirens
One of the races created as handmaidens of the goddess Trenn, Sirens are the most human in appearance of the all-female races. Sirens still do not produce males, but have abandoned their faith in Trenn as well (in still-worshipping races, Trenn provide rituals for artificially creating more of the creature), meaning they must mingle with males of other races (frequently elves, dwarves and humans) to reproduce.
You likely come from the City of Skol, if you are from Hersh. It is difficult to be a Siren, for despite their devastating beauty they are trusted exactly nowhere. Skol is a Siren-run pirate haven that aligned with Gundertog since the secession from the Vanguard currently under the banner of Mistress Marcine.
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Gnox
Gnox are aggressive, huge, and mean-spirited. More savage then even Orcs, the Gnox rarely have anyconcept of ethics, and are generally extremely violent. Gnox come from deep underground inwhats called ‘the Catacombs’ of adma, and invaded when the Earthrage blocked out the sun.
You likely come from old Auguaria, called this as the empire that once ruled from the dunes of ashes and the wasteland is now completely destroyed and fractured by the Vanguard of Hersh.
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Kobolds
Politically and physically, Kobolds are the underdog. Small, craven beings who primarily live as savages, they are an odd mix of dragon with goblin.
You likely come from somewhere remote (kobolds tend to be meek in political clout), likely in Gundertog or Auguaria as that’s where kobolds happen to find the most welcome.
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Rageborn
Rageborn are feared warriors. They possess two hearts, one to act as an auxiliary incase a wound or disease damages the first. They benefit from very efficient, strong bodies, but suffer from nigh uncontrollable anger, making it difficult to integrate with other races.
You likely come from the Gumner temples. A “gumner” is a sort of warrior monk, who acts as a noble class among the organised Rageborn. Their temples are expansive and generally appear as more towns that singular halls. When the Vanguard warred against Auguaria, the Gumner temples were wooed by the Gnox as allies of convenience, and became vassalized upon defeat. Their future is now uncertain.
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Slimelings
Slimelings origins are uncertain, but however they became, they have very unusual abilities: Slimelings can turn their bodies from that of a human into a thick acidic ooze.
You likely come from anywhere, as you’re not at all a likely creature to begin with. Slimelings have never been numerous enough to form their own society, or even boroughs or ghettos.
Character Sheet
Name
Age
Sex
Race
Description
Homeland
Biography
Motivations
Strengths (list at most 2)
Weaknesses (list at least 2)
 
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Oh, I forgot to mention that, lol. There are quite a few races, so I was going to wait to write descriptions until we have selected our region and write only the ones who are appropriate to that place. You can of course play one of your own design too, but those I will need to approve, and they wouldn't be major to the setting.
 
If I may ask Lazz, can I play as a sentient construct, sort of like a Warforged? My idea is that the constructs are revoltees/escaped slaves who had gained consciousness and are trying to live out their lives in silent peace and my character are part of what is known as Generation One, as they are the first generation of Constructs built under the banner of this new society of __ . Need to think of a name so...yeah.
 
This isn't the same 'continuum' as Chronicled World, but if you want to bring in the Warforged somewhere I'm definitely cool with that. Either that or you could be a group of Golems of some kind. Golems are mostly sentient across the board but not necessarily treated as such.
 
Yeah I'm thinking of playing a Warforged type deal. Might just call them Golems as a broad term, but call them the Free Band, as a term for this specific faction.
 
We most certainly do have room for both of you, @Shadras and @Emory . I also thing we have enough votes to call it a pretty landslide victory for Hersh as our starting point. Is everyone okay with that? If so I'll have the races and character sheet up tomorrow with any luck.
 
Yo! Do you have room for one more? I hope to redeem myself from our previous rps where I applied and ended up bailing out.
 
We certainly do, @Enki , Great to have you.

Though i'm afraid i'm gonna need to push off posting the races from today: My main computer seems to be malfunctioning (it's shutting itself off unexpectedly) so I no longer have access to those documents. Sorry for the wait.
 
We certainly do, @Enki , Great to have you.

Though i'm afraid i'm gonna need to push off posting the races from today: My main computer seems to be malfunctioning (it's shutting itself off unexpectedly) so I no longer have access to those documents. Sorry for the wait.
Great news! Can't wait to get to a nice action-esque RP!

And that sounds horrible. Is any of the wires or fans faulty? Have you tried opening the PC in safe mode to see if it works then and if there is a virus in your computer?
 
Laz already said their computer is busted and they cant access the documents. Please be patient and understand the situation. Im sure Laz is working on a solution and just as annoyed or whatever by the delay as you are.
 
Laz already said their computer is busted and they cant access the documents. Please be patient and understand the situation. Im sure Laz is working on a solution and just as annoyed or whatever by the delay as you are.
^I know this, I just thought on bumping this conversation in case he did get his computer working but forgot to update on the situation.
 
My computer is still down, sadly. I've had visitors over the holidays, so what I could do was done slowly, but I'm gonna see if I can't finish the character sheets and race entries
today (I just started over on new document over google). Sorry for the wait, this has taken a lot longer then I anticipated.
 
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