Falworth's Saviors: Plot, Characters, and Discussion!

[Corsair5]

Falworth was a kingdom in turmoil. From the northern edge of Fricana, a massive invasion had come, a huge, united warfleet of Goblins and Crocmen are ravaging their coastline, and the undertrained and poorly equipped warriors of Falworth, softened by decades of peace, are near-helpless to resist them. In desperation, the King sent out a call for aid, a call...for Heroes.

Unfortunately, what he got instead was a coterie of wet behind the ears wannabes who looked like they'd been farmers last week and had decided to hammer their plowshares into swords.

And then another group came. And then some cadres. Oh, and a few parties. Dozens of wannabe Heroes crowded into Falworth, hoping to gain fortune and glory by driving back the advancing monster hordes. Instead, what most of them got was the tip of a Crocman's spear or a Goblin's blade. Falworth was in the unenviable position of having a massive invasion on their hands by some of the least impressive monstrous races in the world. Not to mention that the actually skilled Heroes were busy, at the very least, saving a continent from a Demon Invasion. A country being threatened by a war fleet of Goblins was regrettable, but they had to save the world.

So the bounty on Goblins and Crocs climbs a few coins higher, and more adventurers and a few mercenaries decide to swing by Falworth, hoping to earn a name for themselves so they're actually credible heroes. Some will gain a little fame by halting a war party. More will flee Falworth, hoping for easier, but more prestigious objectives. Most are slain.

Several more adventurers, mercenaries, and whatever else approach Falworth. Incidentally, each would stop at the Golden Rose Inn, a small but reputable inn on the road that links together Gaul and Falworth. No one could predict that these mercenaries would alter the course of history for Falworth - and the whole of Glorianna.

* * * * *

Now that I've laid out the basic plot, I want to differentiate this from the previous RPS with a little groundwork.

1: No Paladins...at least, not at the start. Given that the story follows a bunch of newbie adventurers, none of us should have earned the right to be a Paladin. Now, if you want to be a Lawful Good Jollyman, more power to you, but it'll be a while before your sword lights on fire. Last time we had a ratio of Paladins to Fighters of about 5:1, and there was some horrendous playing of the Paladins too. I won't say any names, but let's just say his character was Mordavian and he has an absurd number of posts. And the character got cooked and electrocuted at the same battle. And then became inexplicably Anti-Heroic...

2: I don't need to say this, but please nothing particularly outlandish. A new kind of Fighter, Wizard, or Thief, or even something that doesn't fit in one of the three archetypes? Great. But Half-Dark Ones are right out. But frankly, the mental images that conjures would keep all of our sane members and even me repulsed from that particular option.

3: The Multiverse aspects of the previous RPS are non-existant. While they may exist, there is no significant, well-known traffic between the Worlds. W.I.T. may be aware of their existence and even have some degree of contact with them, but there isn't a Portal Terminal with the 3:15 to Azkaban in Tarna.

4: Newbie Adventurers. This mostly applies to history - you DID take the correspondence course, right? Anyway, you should be small potatoes - we're not retreading Quest for Glory, but we're at least going to try to start off walking a mile in it's shoes.

5: Other than those four things, anything goes. I could probably have avoided mentioning the second and fourth, but I've been expanding my RP horizons and not all the landscapes are as intellectually balanced as Hero6.

Character sheets will be placed in this thread. Here's a basic character template, but it's hardly ironclad. If you want something more fancy or simpler, that's fine by me. Hell, you could chop Personality, History, Age, and Class off this one and still be able to convey most of your character.

Final Notation: This takes place 15 years before Quest for Glory 1. Aside from the fact that most of the events have never taken place, this takes place at the beginning of the First Demon Invasion, when Rakeesh recieved his leg injury, as well as about five years before Baba Yaga arrived in Spielburg Valley and placed the curse on Baron Spielburg. (Yes, I'm more or less pulling these numbers out of my head.)

Name:

Age:

Species:

Gender:

Class: (I could have made this Your Character in a Single Word, but sometimes it takes two words. For example, Jafar's old character would have been Paladin, and Jigen's Ninja.)

Equipment: (Significant stuff. I'm going to assume everybody is carrying some SPIM, wearing pants, and brought the requisite rope, grapnel, and torches of anyone trained on the Famous Adventurer's Correspondence Course, or any of it's competition such as Military Training.)

Personality:

Appearance:

History:

[Swift]

Name: Melkie Roverdell

Age: 17

Species: Human

Gender: Male

Class: Fighter

Equipment: Ordinary long sword. Nothing of significance

Personality: Tries very hard to compensate for his lack of talent or ability. Thinks he's destined for greatness someday. Hates being insulted. Has a good heart, but hasn't fully grasp the concept of being a hero yet. Deep down inside, he's afraid of being a nobody.

Appearance: Scrawny, tall, fair-skinned pimply boy with short, dark brown hair and green eyes. 

History: Born out of wedlock, young Melkie was often cruelly taunted in school for having no father. One day, he ran home to his mother, teary-eyed, and asked who his father was, only to learn that his father was a famous knight, and that he was still out there slaying dragons and rescuing princesses. Of course, no one else believed this story, but Melkie did, and he believed that he could be a legendary hero, just like his dad. Since that day, he's been training hard in swordplay. He longs for the day he'll get to meet his father.

[Corsair5]

You're unarmed, Swift? Not even a dagger? I like the character, though.

Anyway, as soon as we get three more people, we can start this. I don't have any contacts with other members beyond the PM system, Swift. You got any means?

[Ignus_Draconus]

you did say not to mention the obvious stuff. 

darn, guess I don't get to try out my dimension-shifter. I'll have to think of something else.

[Corsair5]

I then detailed what I meant by referring to rope, rations, and torches. Standard issue stuff for adventurers. I don't know if any of you remember Quest for Glory 1, but, in fact, the Sword is not the Standard Issue weapon for Adventurers, it is only issued to the Fighter-Types. While Swift's character clicks into that category and I would assume he has a sword or some kind of Sword-Type-Thing, I can't discount the possibility of a Battle-Ax or a Spear or Warhammer or some kind of totally awesome Farm Implement like a grain flail with nails driven through it.

[Ignus_Draconus]

true. I guess I stand corrected.

looks like we have a fighter, so I guess I'll have to be backup.
wizard  , or thief  ? hmmm

[Swift]

I didn't write what my weapon for the reason that Ignus has mentioned. It's in the profile now.

Corsair, I could try contacting the others about this RP.

[Corsair5]

Please do, Swift. I'm not the most reputable person around here, even with my recent conversion from being the incarnation of Chaos to a more orderly mindset.

[Ignus_Draconus]

Name: Skippy
age: 4
gender: male
Species: coconut
class: worrier
equipment: none

personality: having spent a good portion of his life being stepped on by careless tourists, skppy the neurotic coconut has developed a paranoid and self-conscious personality. always the first to suggest a tactical retreat in the face of enemies or large crouds, Skippy can always be counted on to provide at least one projectile to use against the foe (read: himself)

appearance: brown, covered in coarse hair, slightly cracked. he's a coconut

History: found on a tropical beach by a touring wizard, Skippy was given sentience as part of a bet between two wizarding houses. after a week of listening to skippy's pesemistic and schitzophrenic conversation, the wizards decided to hand him off to the next adventurer that came to visit. such an opportunity came a few days later, and skippy was passed into the posession of a hardy warrior who, despite all of skippy's efforts, has retained posession of the irritating coconut to this day.

[Ignus_Draconus]

{please forgive the double post, I couldn't resist my april fools impulse . the following is one of my actual characters}

Name: Jacquelyn, “jack” Trades

Age: 14

Species: human

Gender: female

Class: wizard

Equipment: a short dagger (borrowed)
Spells: open, fetch

Personality: shy and timid in unfamiliar places or company, Jack is eager to talk when in the company of people she knows and trusts. Naïve and honest to a fault, she would have quickly fallen prey to the more unscrupulous elements of society were it not for her companion Mandolin

Appearance: slender and short, with chin-length brown hair. Jack is still not fully developed, so she can, and often does, pass for a boy – at least under light scrutiny

History: the sheltered daughter of a trading caravan, Jack was raised to be knowledgeable in necessary capacities – hiking, cooking, basic mathematics, bargaining, and similar skills. Being constantly on the move, she had little opportunity to develop extensive interpersonal skills, preferring to read books rather than interact with the almost perpetual group of strangers that surrounded her family – none of the regular caravan members were her age. During her caravan’s final trip her parents hired a wizard to act as her tutor. He, sensing the girl’s latent magical potential began teaching her the basics of magic, and a few simple spells that would be moderately useful for a trader’s daughter to know. Alas, Jack’s caravan was attacked by brigands one night, and only the fact that she was out collecting firewood at the time saved her life. Mandolin, an enigmatic boy whose troupe was traveling with the caravan also escaped and aided her in escaping the brigands. Because their pursuers were tenacious, Jack and Mandolin were forced to join the crew of a ship bound for falworth in order to escape.

[Swift]

Awww... but I like Skippy!

[Corsair5]

Yeah, but it goes beyond typical QFG satire into outright parody.

Anyway, after some heated internal debate, I've decided I'm going to make a character too, mostly because this is, to put it lightly, silent as the grave.

Name: Aberon Ral-Shidar

Age: 21

Species: Human

Class: Fighter

Equipment: Shapeir-forged Scimitar, small steel buckler, boiled leather chestpiece, four Dinars and six centimes.

Personality: Aberon is outspoken, forthright, and eager for a fight. He hates to be still for very long, and has a strong desire to win fame and glory. He has a bit of an ego. If you catch him off guard, he'll often say strange things, in particular, referring to people as 'Effendi', or warning them about the dangers of the desert.

Appearance: Aberon keeps his hair trimmed extremely close, almost shaved, while keeping a grand moustache and goatee. His skin is dark, befitting an upbringing in Shapeir, and he is rather well-muscled. His bearing is tall and straight, almost military. He still wears the colors of the Shapeirian Guard, although he no longer possesses any of their armor or gear other than his sword.

History: Aberon, born in Shapeir had the ambition of becoming a great and noble warrior his entire life, and on his sixteenth birthday, joined the Shapeirian Guard. However, he soon began to chafe under their strict orders and the dullness of life, watching hero after hero enter the desert to do great deeds, while he stood by the gate with no other duty beyond passing on messages and warning them - futilely - of the dangers of the desert. Although he rose quickly through the ranks with his ability, quickly elevating from being a mere Gate Guard to patrolling, and often getting lost in, the labyrinthine alleyways of the city, he left the Guard four years after joining, and instead decided to become a Freelance Wariror, hoping his training with the Shapeirian Guard would allow him to compensate for the lack of any real training as an adventurer. Upon hearing of the great war breaking out in the Western Lands, he took the last of his money and joined a caravan heading to Gaul, whereupon he haded further west until reaching the Golden Rose Inn, where he hopes to gain information on the Goblin and Crocmen whereabouts, and possibly join a group of adventurers.

[zeldafreak]

Ooo, RPing! I haven't done this in years!..

I'd like to join your posse if I could... last time I played was two or three years ago and I was a thief-turned-paladin; basically a thief who was stopped from doing a reprehensible deed by a paladin in his youth, and began using his athleticism and wit for the powers of good. I see that character is out as you have banned paladins, at least for now. I'll write up a character soon; can't do it right at the moment.

~ZF

[Corsair5]

Sure. Welcome aboard. Nothing against Paladins, but I wanted to start a story from Square One rather than starting in the middle of the Hero's Journey.

[The Guy]

You know, I wouldn't mind trying this again as well, but I don't want to ask to join and then not be able to make a commitment to it or if my computer decides to go haywire on me like it did the last time.