OOC: The Age of Man

A Private OOC Chat for the Age of Man between MarineViolet and Utopia.

World building discussion, plot details and goals discussed and outlined here.

Okay! YES! *happy dance* So, first order of business. Characters. Particular skeleton in mind?

I am working on that. I was sort of outlining some "races". I some stuff written up, but totally lost it.

Basically, there are a number of races, but as magic has flowed out of the world and races have started to disappear, people are beginning to suspect that most races are actually just subsets of humans (including dwarves). My ideas for races were:

Humans: General human race. They have the ability to use magic, but not many do these days.

Dwarves: Usually about 2/3 the height of a human with a broad build and heavy bone structure. They tend to have thick and plentiful hair- usually brown, red or black, but other colors are not unheard of. As magic has ebbed out of the world, it is suspected that dwarves are really just a subset of humans with specific genetic traits. They tend to live in mountainous areas. They can wield magic, though no one has heard of a dwarf mage in several generations.

Riveen: The Riveen are a tall, thin race with very dark skin. They tend to be around 6 feet in height and have thin, wiry build. Their skin is very dark, but their eyes tend to be bright green or light brown- though other colors have been seen. They usually live near watery areas. Their culture tells them they are one with the water and its bounty. however, recently, people have started to speculate, that, like dwarves, the Riveen are just a subset of humans. Riveen are able to use magic and some of the most powerful existing mages in the world are Riveen.

Pallain: The Pallain are a shorter race, usually about 3/4 the average size a a human. They have what looks like a frail build with sharp features and they tend to have large aquiline noses. Their hair is usually pale platinum blonde or golden blonde. Their eyes range in color. The Pallain have never been strongly in tune with magic, but on occasion there were some who had it. They are a strongly religious people. Those who wield magic among them are priests and priestess. They tend to live in the forests and surrounding plains. They have a very strong constitution and rarely get sick. However, like the other races, people are beginning to think they are just a subset of humans.

Barsk: These are a nomadic people. Unlike the other races, no one thinks the Barsk are a subset of humans. For one- they have tails. A long skin covered tail with a tuft of fur on the end. Their skins tends to a brown or orange color and is covered in random patches of fur. They are a nomadic people that raises herd of animals and travels with the animals as they graze. They have always had a weak magic that lets them communicate with animals, however, they have started to get sick and this ability is becoming more and more rare among them.

Extinct races: Elves, Rock Men, Scaleen (lizard people), Wind Runners (winged people)

Suspected extinct races: Dragons and Draco, Gnomes, Trolls

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Character Skeleton

Name:
Race:
Gender:
Age:
Physical Description:

History:

Non-Magical Skills: (between 3-8 skills)

Magical Abilities: (General magical skills: alchemy, illusion, etc, 3 max)

Favorite Spells: (5-8 specific spells)

Extra Stuff:

Oh dear. Oh dear. Okay, well, quick question. So, are you basically saying that therefore, that one of these two mages doesn't necessarily have to be human? Does the plot and world then have different areas in which these different races live? And an are in which they all live in relative peace? Is there any wars going on?

In my head, I don't see any wars going on and the races for the most part get along. But like with anything there are good people and bad people within them. The people are now well-mixed area wise, but since most of the races are really just sub-sets of human (think of like the difference in appearance between a Asian person and an Irish person more so than like a difference between a goldfish and a shark).

The apprentices can be whatever race. Iw as thinking about making the High Sorcerer that they apprentice under Riveen.

if you don't like the races, we don't have to have them. It was just an idea, but there does need to be something that makes people worried about the loss of magic.

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I also made a graphic this morning.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-w...0/ageofMan.jpg

Alright, I like the graphic :D. Well, according to your description, it makes sense for the High Sorcerer to be Riveen. Personally, I kind of wanted my mage to Barsk. You? I like the idea of Barsk not being known for magic, and the entire 'communication with animals' I'm a big fan of. I love the races, the idea of having NPC's be said races is super awesome in my head. World-wise, what are we thinking? Certain areas to be defined? How big is this world? You know.

Sounds good. I was thinking of just being a generic human myself.

As for the world, I was thinking that is is pretty big. Several continents, islands etc. Lots of different environments- much like Earth. The "main" continent would be mostly forest, plains and mountains. I was thinking it would be made up of all the major races and have a pretty big population- several millions. There would be very large cities and smaller towns and outlying areas.

I haven't put a lot of thought into countries honestly. I was thinking this main continent would probably have a couple, each ruled by their own system of government. The countries would not necessarily be segregated by race, but because of the terrain, some races may be more populous in some countries than others.

On the whole, I don't see the races hating each other per say, but there may be racism on an individual level.

Okay, sounds good. Magic-wise, did we have specific spells in mind? Do both mages know the same stuff?

I think they would both know the same basics (light spells, basic tricks/illusions) but each would have a "specialty" spell or two that is different from each other. Really, these specialties would even be harder for them to cast because of the deterioration of magic. Perhaps things that take some time to prepare or a lot of effort are the specialties.

For example, would you go with the animal type spells for your specialty? Like summoning an animal companion or controlling them or something.

Totally, yeah. What about you? What were you thinking for your specialty?

I have to say, I hadn't actually thought about it too much yet. Though I should obviously. I was thinking I would come up with something to balance out what your character does.

Maybe alchemy or some big damage spell like summoning fire or ice or something.

My Potential character:

Name: Elba Millsmith
Race: Human
Gender: female
Age: 28
Physical Description: Elba is a fairly average for a human. Average in height, weight, build, looks... In fact, if there was a stereotype for what a human looked like, it would be Elba. She doesn't stand out in a crowd, blending in admirably. Her brown hair is usually pulled back into a simple braid that falls down to her mid-back. Her round face is covered with tanned skin and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks and nose. She has plain brown eyes that, from time to time, have the sparkle of intelligence. She seems to be fairly fit all things considered, but doesn't have an enormous bulk of muscle or the lack there of.

Elba dresses plainly, but tends to wear pants more so than skirts. She doesn't wear the traditional robe or cloak of wizards, instead opting for the simpler garb. She doesn't often wear armor, but she usually keeps a plain short sword strapped to her hip.

History: Elba was born the third of four children to Genna and Luc Millsmith. Unlike her other siblings, she didn't stand out in anything in particular. Her eldest sibling, Luca, is considered a great beauty with the finest voice in the area. Her older brother Petre is known for his fine looks and athletic prowess. Her younger brother Eno, showed tremendous artistic talent and smithing skill at a very young age. She was the perfect middle child. Average and unassuming in every way. Soft spoken and no non-sense. She never caused any trouble. Until she developed her magic. When she came into her power, it was clear that plain-girl Elba was anything but.

The Millsmith family owns a small farm along a river where they mill grains to sell at market. They are a well respected family and hardworking. Luca married well and Petre now runs the farm with their parents. Eno has apprenticed in the nearby town to a well known jewelrysmith.

Elba developed her talent as many sorcerers do- at puberty: which came late for her. Her parents had already assumed she would simply work the farm with them until she wed a nearby lad and then worked a farm with him. But her powers came on suddenly and explosively. She managed to set fire to their barn, burning most of it down after getting into a bit of a tiff with her brother. Elba is the first person in her family to have magical talent so far as they know, but there were rumors about a crazy great aunt of her father who may have had some sort of skill.

She quickly managed to get some control of her powers, but her parents, suddenly realizing that she wasn't as average and plain as they thought, immediately contacted the nearest Sorcerer- who happened to live in the large city of Mellin a few hundred miles away. He immediately came for her to make her an apprentice since he had none and there were no other people within the area who had any magical skill.

So, at the age of 15, Elba, began her apprenticeship to the Wizard Daveen the Green. She traveled with him to the city of Mellin where she studied with him for only 2 short years before he sent her away to apprentice under a more powerful wizard who skills more matched her own. From Daveen, she learned the basics of controlling magic and magical theory. At 17, she traveled to the capital city Grand Ammer to train under the High Sorcerer Alin Locke- a riveen who showed more magical ability than anyone else in generations.

While Elba is nowhere near as talented or magically gifted as her master, she is still one of the most powerful magicians of her generation. High Sorcerer Locke only took on two direct apprentices, Elba and ________. However, under the High Sorcerer, she was trained in several other skills aside from magic and taught only to use magic as the last resort. All in all, she is now much more of a swordsman and scholar than a Sorcerer.

Non-Magical Skills:
Cooking and baking
Farming
Milling
Research
Sword Fighting

Magical Abilities:
Elemental Magic (Fire and Air based)
Alchemy

Favorite Spells:
Fire Sword (creates an aura of flame on a weapon)
Smoke Ring (creates a ring of "solid" smoke that can trap someone within it)
Hot and Cold (makes things either hot or cold by transferring heat from one thing to another)
Hot Tornado (makes a column of spinning fiery death)
Quick Step Potion (a brew that add a few steps of speed to one's movement)
Air Potion (a brew that speeds up healing by oxygenating the person who takes it)

Extra Stuff:
Elba is soft spoken and does her best not to make waves or cause strife. She often goes unnoticed by those around her and she likes it that way. Many people consider her to be a boring milquetoast without much of a personality.

Elba loves a good cup of tea. She likes a nice hot cup and most often uses her magic to keep her tea warm. She is forever in search of the perfect cup of tea.