City of IF

[Tavanesh]

IT'S A SMALL WORLD

I am going to write a story game based on the board game: SMALLWORLD UNDERGROUND ™, a zany experience about oddball races vying for a small amount of territory in a wild underground cavern. HOWEVER, I’m going to do something a little different before I start.

FOUR PEOPLE WILL GET TO CREATE THEIR OWN CHARACTERS FOR THIS STORY-
That’s right, I’m leaving it to four IFians to create characters in which I will use to write. There are some rules as well as some guidelines for this, but the main thing to keep in mind is that this should be FUN, not WORK!

1. When you create this character you can make the executive decisions on his build. HOWEVER, once you have relinquished him to me, for the duration of the story he is my character. I will follow the description you have laid out to the best of my ability but I do not want any PM’s or comments stating how ‘so and so’ would ‘never do that.’ If you can’t handle that then don’t make a character.

2. Give me something to work with! I will provide you with some world background, but feel free to take A LOT of creative leave. The more you flesh your character out, the more details you give me in his background the better the story will be.

3. The tone of the story will take on the tone of the characters given to me. More serious characters will spawn a more serious story. Goofy characters will spawn a comedic story.

4. Your characters can defy race stereotypes. A Drow doesn’t HAVE to hate everyone (that would make it difficult to put him with four other characters) but maybe he can just have a strong dislike for the majority of races.

5. If more than four submit (which I doubt, but will allow for the possibility) I will select four for the main party on several factors-

-Dynamic: If one character just does not fit with the others and would make the party awkward (and not the interesting awkward) then he or she will be less likely to get in.

-Background: Stronger backgrounds with more details will be more likely to get in.

-Creativity: I like stuff with a little gumption. If it comes down to two entries I’ll be more likely to select the one that has that little extra spark.

-Presentation: I hate to say it, but a nicely organized character application looks much better than a glob of paragraph consisting of two run on sentences and a slew of grammatical errors. No matter how interesting the character is that will cause it to lose any appeal.

Any characters left over might get used as support characters or even an enemy of the four!

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Here’s the structure you should use when supplying a character

Name:
Race:
Sex:
Physical Description: (At least one detailed paragraph)
Personality: (At least one detailed paragraph)
Background: (At least two detailed paragraph’s)
Quirks/Traits: (A small list or few sentences detailing any little extra tidbits you’d like me to know)
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SO, without further ado, I give you the races to select from!

CULTISTS-
The Cultists are a race of humans who escaped eons ago into the Underground after being persecuted for their sinister beliefs. Their bodies have been twisted with dark magic as they worship their Great Ancient, a Cthulu like being. They wear flowing black robes and hoods generally to hide their deformities and blend in with the lightless terrain, and carry small swinging cages that no one, other themselves, know what’s inside. Could just be incense…or maybe evvvviiiilll magic. Or maybe it’s just a lunch bag?

DROW-
Elves of darkness, recluses of recluses. The Drow are maniacal elves with a deep and bitter hatred of… well, of most anything. Generally skilled warriors and assassins these dark elves are bitter and resentful of being forced to live in dank caves… although given the choice they’d rather live in a dank cave then the bright sun.

FLAMES-
Human sized fairy like creatures composed entirely of magma and fire sewn together with strong magic. These temperamental fey beings swarm and prosper in the volcanic regions of the Underground.

GNOMES-
Gnomes are small, pudgy beings with an appetite for digging and tinkering. They are stalwart, putting down deep roots and setting up strong defenses. They are also probably the most technologically advanced of all the races, even going so far as to have invented some crude drills.

IRON DWARVES- It has been ascertained that Dwarves like mines and being underground. Iron dwarves would declare most other Dwarves as sissies. Iron Dwarves live deep Underground, and build their drunken cities in stone leagues under the surface. A fan of the drink and of good rock these Dwarves tend to keep more to themselves and act more temperamental compared to other dwarves (however hard to believe that might be.)

KRAKEN- (humanoids) Though not actually the large squid like monster that rolls beneath the waves of a deadly sea, these creatures do find home in the Underground lakes and deadly pools of the land beneath the surface. Their skin is usually translucent and ranges from purple to green to blue. They can walk out of water, although they generally prefer not too, and have immovable tentacles for hair. Kraken are usually deceitful and cunning, but lack the supreme survival or combat skills of more brutish races.

LICH’S- Lich’s are former living humanoids who have traded their souls for eternal undeath and dark powers. The epitome of evil within a being they cause chaos, instill hatred, and destroy hope wherever they can. Lich’s don’t really start communities and they are fairly rare even in the Undergound.

LIZARDMEN- Lizardmen are whiney, slithery, half-man, half-lizard hybrids who build crude mazes of caves in the underground (which result in constant death due to poor construction.) Most anything Lizardmen due is fairly pointless in the long run and their lives are relatively meaningless. No one particularly likes them, and well, they don’t particularly like themselves either.

MUDMEN- Animated mud golems. These monstrosities roam the underground and find mud pits to breed and create masses of mud men. They don’t usually eat or drink, but must find dirt, water, or any facsimile thereof to reconstruct themselves when they become worse for wear. Mudmen are slow, plodding, and rather thick mentally.

MUMMIES- Mummies are everywhere. Where there’s one Mummy you can expect all his wrapped corpse friends are hiding behind some nearby rock chuckling at some joke that you won’t get…until they turn you into a mummy of course. Mummies breed by turning corpses into more Mummies, and there is no lack of corpses in the underground. They like to moan and groan a lot, and tend to clumsily stumble about in tombs or other places of death.

OGRES: Ogre’s are fat, burly, smelly, tattooed Undergrounders who like to eat anything. An ogre chef spares nothing. Every rock, moss, bone, and piece of snot can be used as something or other. They are rather lacking on social graces and are often thick headed as well as thick skinned. They’re plumb like fingers are not good for dexterity, but are quite great at crushing skulls.

SHADOW MIMES: No one really knows the origins of probably the creepiest Underground denizen. They don’t seem to speak, eat, or do anything that really makes much sense. There bodies are black as shadows except for their pale, white painted faces. Shadow Mimes group together and use mime magic to create invisible objects among other things.

SHROOMS: Mushroom’s granted sentience. These giant mushrooms are as varied as humans. Each Shroom emits different toxins (or healthy aromas), grow at different rates, cook at different temperatures, and have different personalities. Shrooms often form small forest communities in large mushroom fields and use the properties of the more vile mushrooms to protect themselves.

SPIDERINES: A Spiderine is a Drow head and torso atop a spider body. These nasty, spiteful, villainous wretches live in the deep dark chasms where they spin webs of intrigue and despair that catch more than a few unlucky Underground denizens. They breed like crazy and submit to a female dominated society. Spiderines come in waves, one minute you’ll see one Spiderine and the next a whole horde will be climbing out of a chasm. Often Spiderines are vile and seek nothing other than to harm and feed.

WILL-O-WISP’S: Will-o-wisps are the most mysterious and curious of the Underground creatures. They are little balls of multi-colored light that flit around, and usually gather in spots with a large concentration of magical energy. A whole bunch of them can be a beautiful sight if gathered in one spot, each blinking a different, brilliant color. They communicate telepathically and can do-so with non-wisps. Their personality varies as much as their colors.

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The story revolves around four beings of the underground who, by some twist of fate, get thrown together and must achieve some greater goal (however self- serving this goal may be) How they are thrown together has yet to be decided as well as the goal they will be working towards. When I get all the characters set up those will likely be my first DP.

A note about the Underground- It is filled with all sorts of adventure to use in back-stories. All the races above occupy it, as well as lone monsters that you would like to come up with, magical crystal fields, large mines, twisting caverns, underground lakes, mushroom forests, volcano’s, cities, chasms, and more. As I said, you have a lot of creative leave here. Use it well.

Post a character application below

[Thunderbird]

Name: Murk
Race: Lizardman
Sex: Male
Physical Description: A scrawny and thin specimen of his race, Murk appears in the story missing a tail and waiting for the day when he'll regrow it. He blinks a lot.
Personality: Murk suffers from bi-polar depression. Most of the time he's moping around in a terrible state of despair but on occasion he shows a hyperactive and undefeatable attitude. This usually collapses as soon as he ends up hurt in some way.
Background: Once a miner for his people, he survived a cave-in and escaped his 'lot in life' by running from the mines. It was in this cave-in that he lost his tail. However, he's terribly saddened by the fact that to avoid his suffering he must also leave behind the lady lizard of his dreams, Myss. He's now a shamed deserter and has few hopes for a 'good' life. He's just running from all his problems and finding life just gets worse and worse.
Quirks/Traits: May return to comment more later. This is a work in progress.

[PopeAlessandrosXVIII]

Name: Huado

Race: Flame

Sex: Male?(Do these even have a sex?)

Physical Description: Being made of flame, there is very little about him that separates him from any other of his kind. His eyes glow a shade of blue that is uncommon in his race. Long flames sprout from his head and cascade down his back to just bellow his shoulder blades giving the impression of hair. He wears no clothing, but flame dances around his waist to his knees covering his pride.

Personality: Observant and shy, Huadon takes his time with everything he does. Contemplating each option before acting, he has been known to spend several day on seemingly trivial issues. He is slow to speak his mind, but when he comes to a decision, he sticks by it no matter what. He enjoys a good joke, but mostly he enjoys dry humor. In large crowds he get nervous and refuses to speak.

Background: His unusual eye color lead to much persecution for Huado in his childhood. When he reached the age of accountability and went on his Mind Trial, it was revealed that he was meant to be a powerful force for his people. As he grew older, powers began coming alive within him and his people began to worship him. Given his own alcove beside the Great Fire Pit, Huado did his best to steer clear of everyone, becoming a kind of recluse.

One day, tired of hiding, he snuck into the elder's library and took a stone tablet detailing as much of the underground as his race have explored. Using the tablet as a guide, he made his way to the furthest reaches of the known territory before discarding it. Now alone and with no way of finding his way around the Underground, he travels. Ever cautious, he looks for a place he can live in peace.

Quirks/Traits: He runs his fingers through his "hair" when nervous, and the powers that have presented themselves thus far are Premonition(Only little flashes, not true Seeing), Stunning(Only works on one being at a time, and lasts about 2 minutes), and Combustion(He can make small explosions, like firecrackers, either in hand or small balls of flame he can throw with a delayed reaction to the actual explosion).

*Hope this is ok. I can't wait to see this one going!*

[Lost Omega]

Name: Dargur

Race: Former Cultist (if that's not too much of a problem)

Sex: Male

Physical Description: Dargur's time with the cultists has cursed him with one eye being extremely larger than the other. Also, the eyelids on the bigger eye are sideways and close a second or so after his regular eye. He is also very thin for reasons that shall be explained in his background.

Personality: Dargur is a good man, or he tries to be, but his black and white sense of justice often causes more trouble than it prevents. He is adventurous and wanders the world looking for things to do and see. He also detests any reflective surface and avoids them at all costs.

Background: Dargur was a devout cultist at one point but he was always adventurous. He frequently explored the caves he called home for hours, sometimes days at a time. On one of these trips he wandered too far and arrived at the mouth of the cave. The light was a new feeling for him and he stepped excitedly towards it. When he exited the cave he was surprised to see a world filled with colors beyond the black of the cave. Who could hate such a world? With that thought in his mind he left the cave for good.

A few days after leaving, and starving, he stumbled upon a village and attempted to find food. He felt the eyes on him and immediately felt uncomfortable. The man at the bar was horrified at the creature in front of him and tried to force Dargur out. As he turned to leave, he saw his reflection in a mirror on the wall and immediately smashed it. He ran out of the building and tried to reconcile what he had just seen. He looked at his hand and saw that it was bleeding yet healing at a rapid pace. From that point forward, Dargur has wandered aimlessly, looking for things to do, without a purpose.

Quirks/Traits: Dargur is a quick healer with minor wounds lasting at the most a few hours and major wounds healing after a day or so. He hopelessly tries to wield a sword but prefers to fight with his hands.

[Tavanesh]

We have three characters up! Remember, for each character already up, you can go back and add more details. You have lots of creative leave so the more the merrier. If you don't I will end up filling stuff in for them.

WE NEED AT LEAST ONE MORE!

[Thunderbird]

I'm most definately open to you adding details (or for others to jump in and add some to my submission as well.) I'm not taking any personal ownership here - just had a thought and figured I'd share it :)

[Lilith]

Name: Lana

Race: Will-o-wisp’

Gender: Female (at least the telepathic voice sounds distinctly female)

Physical Description: Lana is a creulean blue colored ball of light when she's content, about double the size of a man's fist. When her mood or temper shifts, the color she radiates shifts along with it. She can usually be spotted hovering just above the average height level for humans unless she's got some, important message to carry to someone else.

Personality: For a mystical creature made of light, Lana is best described as random and effervescent. Occassionally, the will-o-wisp will bounce off of the surfaces she's been flying around just for the simple fact she's so excited. For that reason, her form can flicker from her normal color and through every color in the light spectrum within seconds. She asks a lot of questions at high-speed from everyone she meets with the exception of gnomes. She normal does her best to steer clear of those 'foul little creatures'.

Background: Will-o-wisp's are not actually a race vying for a piece of power but they win themselves allies of every race by playing as messengers for any race to another. They're simply light-creatures and are quick to dodge any swipe made at them, but everyone knows it does no good to try. Lana popped into existence and from the start she, at least she thinks she's a she) has always been very curious and wanting to know everything about anyone she meets. The gift of being telepathic seems to be her blessing as she can normally startle passerby into an answer.

However, at one time, not long ago, the little light-ball floated low to the ground and bombarded a gnome with questions until the 'foul little creature' whipped around and put a container over top of Lana that shaded her light and kept her inside, letting her bounce around inside for quite a long time (which was only a few minutes, but it seemed to her like it was several hours) before she was released. Now, she keeps a wide berth around the gnomes and any shorter races that remind her of them, refusing to do any message-carrying service for them.

Quirks/Traits:
Child-like female voice

Random questions about someone's appearance ie: Why are your eyes that color?

Can take something quite literally so if being given instructions for a message, one must be very specific.

(I got bored)

[Tavanesh]

We have four great applications! I will probably be working on the next chapter of Strom for a little while now so if there is anyone else that wants to post a character there is still time. Also remember that any characters not chosen to be the main four may be featured as cameo's or villians or what-not. I will post when I will no long be accepting characters or edits to characters.

Thank you ThunderBird, Pope, Lost Omega, and Lilith for taking the time to create characters for this endeavor.