Jump to content

Requaero Paradiso, OoC / Submissions


Cancer Lancer
 Share

Recommended Posts

Requaero Paradiso

1349, Florence, Republic of Florence, Italian Peninsula

"Lords have mercy on us"

The inscription is repeated among the thousands of empty residences in this once prosperous city. What was once the greatest centre of knowledge and art in the limitless earthly empire of God has now become a graveyard for the wealthy and indulgent, and a cesspool of filth and animalism.

Has the Lord completely abandoned us? Does our faith truly weigh so little to Him that he would reject all of the sacrifice in His name?

The Black Death has all but decimated Florence in the past year, with scarce few remnants of the once great city remaining. Most of which will soon suffer the same fate.

God, if you can hear us, please grant us refuge…

We live each day with the fear that it may be our last. We are sick and helpless, poor and unclean. We pray each and every hour that you will give us salvation from this madness.

If not for the sickness, there are men and women who come to take us from their homes under the pretense of your name, claiming that their deed is righteous; that they affiliate with what they claim to be your avatar in these dark times… The Medicine Man. I have yet to witness a single person taken who has come back healthy as was promised, and instead witness brutality and witchcraft at any sign of resistance. Witchcraft that border beyond the realm of the Demonic… Truly these people cannot be your servants, can they, my Lord?

I have witnessed my countrymen turn to barbarism and animalism in their desperation and sickness. What were once my neighbours have devolved into beasts that scarcely resemble humans. Their skins rot. Their teeth sharpen. Their nails grow. And they prey on our brothers and sisters.

God, if you can hear us, please grant us refuge…

We live each day with the fear that it may be our last. We are sick and helpless, poor and unclean. We pray each and every hour that you will give us salvation from this madness.

God, if you can hear us, please grant us refuge…

Lest we turn to the devil in our time of need.

Amen.

Requaero Paradiso. At Humanity’s darkest hour, will you continue towards the fading flame, or will you give yourself to the all-consuming dark? Time runs short, as the sickness grows deeper within you by the second. Choose now. Will you continue to trust in God, or will you find your answer through the whispers of Demons?

Requaero Paradiso is a semi-historical story driven RP based on apocalyptic plague-infested Europe during the late medieval / early renaissance era. It will be a story of intense survival, politics, religion, and facing the unknown. The story will not be locked into one setting; Florence is merely where the story will begin (as it was among the first major locations to be historically devastated by the Black Death). Likewise, your character does not necessarily have to be Florentine; nor even European, for that matter (Think Bursa-based Ottoman Turk, Egyptian Mamluk, Altan Ordo Mongol, Berber, etc ). Roman-Catholicism is not the only major religion to be involved in this RP, and you should certainly not limit your character creation to such thoughts, regardless of how heavy dogma plays into the plot. That said, try to be historically accurate. You’re not going to be allowed to RP say, a Native American Shaman or a Japanese Monk unless you give some very good reasoning as to what business you have in plague-infested Italy. You may be asked to modify your characters,

Also, don’t worry about not starting with any supernatural abilities. It would be boring if we just roleplayed as mere mortals, would it not? ; )

For now, combat will be strictly story / text driven, obviously with no godmoding or anything of the sort (Lest I, the GM, decide to end your efforts with a swift death for your hubris). Unless someone could recommend me something that isn’t completely time-consuming and unnecessary (I’d prefer not to use dice). This will be a story driven RP, after all. Multiple characters are allowed.

Oh yeah, and you’ll probably die at some point. In the case it does happen, don’t worry too much. You probably won’t stay dead for long.

----------------------------

CHARACTER CREATION

Name:

Appearance: (A picture is worth a thousand words)

Background:

Personality: (Optional. Since you'll be given the opportunity to act out your personality without a description in the RP itself, although generalizing it will help me assess submissions)

Skills and Talents: (Nothing supernatural yet)

Extra Info: (OPTIONAL)

(As usual, make your character balanced. Otherwise, I'll personally "balance" your character(s) or flat out reject it).

---------------------------

If you have questions, leave a post below and I'll see how I can best answer it while limiting spoilers.

Edited by Cancer Lancer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps I'll start with a character for example's sakes.

Name: Alessio dei Bardi

Appearance:

ebwah8ST.png

Background:

A low ranking cleric of Rome, sent by the Vatican to Florence to investigate where the Black Death had hit hardest. Though the Vatican announced that his mission was of utmost importance for the sake of the survival of God's people, the truth is that he was sent because he is basically expendable to the Catholic Church, and that his death would in fact be quite convenient for some hierarchs of the papacy. Florence was thus the perfect place to send Alessio on a God-given suicide mission.

Alessio dei Bardi is officially the grandson of Simone dei Bardi and Beatrice Portinari; however, this is only in title. He is in fact the grandson born of a love affair from Dante Alighieri and Beatrice. As the circulation of Dante's Comedia has risen to uncharted popularity, its ideas were adopted as part of the Catholic Church's dogma, and any knowledge of Dante's sins would thusly discredit the book, which until this point the romance between Beatrice and Dante was hidden as a poetic form of Courtly Romance, rather than a physical one. Alessio knows all of this, but to defy the papacy would be to defy God; thus he has the choice to either be labelled a traitor and a heretic to the Kingdom of God and face excommunication, or go willfully to his inevitable demise to Florence.

Personality:

He is serious and unrelenting on the outside, but this is due to the ridicule he has faced from both family and the Church due to his upbringing. While officially a member of the Bardi banking family, his father and their side of the family are ridiculed by the legitimate heirs of Simone dei Bardi and Beatrice. Despite this, he has a knack for wit and humiliating others through the use of words. Given his true nature, he is in fact a very chaotic and wild individual, whose true nature was suppressed by his youth. It occasionally shows in his use of crude language and displays of sporadic violence. He also has a knack for drinking.

Skills and Talents:

A gifted writer, well versed in the use of language, both vernacular and official. He also has a penchant for street-fights and brawls, and is rather capable at it (it's an acquired skill, from the countless fights in bars and with minor nobles who were insulted by his sharp tongue). However, as he was raised a cleric and not a soldier, he does not have professional knowledge of how to handle weaponry or any sort, be it swords or lances. This does not mean he is incapable of holding his own against soldiers and, to some degree, even knights, as he's knocked out fully armed and formally trained individuals who had the full intent of killing him in the past.

Extra Info: Technically he's an NPC, since I'm the GM.

Edited by Cancer Lancer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Name: Vidril

Appearance: Average height and build.(Im terrible at describing people)

Background: Vidril is noble of birth but not raising. As a young child he grew up in the countryside away from politics due to his parents beliefs. This led him to have very different insights and experencies from all the other nobles. He still learned to read and write though, at his parents bequest. Without having to worry about politics and what to wear he was able focus on simpler things in life. As he grew up he was riding horseback which is now show in his skill on horseback. He also learned practical survival skills. As he entered manhood and learned of his heritage he decided to learn combat in the style of the knights. Although he was inspired by the knights style of fighting he adapted it to suit his own needs. Only fighting with lances instead of swords. He wore the standard full body armor and careied a tower shield as well. He trained everyday with extra heavy armor and equipment so now he is able to move with ease in his standard gear. When he heard of the allusive medicine man Vidril set out to seek adventure.

Personality: (Optional. Since you'll be given the opportunity to act out your personality without a description in the RP itself, although generalizing it will help me assess submissions)N/A

Skills and Talents: (Nothing supernatural yet) Profcient in horseback riding, lances, armor, and large shields. Is terrible at politics and fancy/formal events. Can read and write as well as survive with very littlw supplies.

Extra Info: (OPTIONAL)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I updated Sham's character for him cause he asked for tweaks, so...

Name: Virgilio Gualberto
Appearance:

0512-dilios.jpg

Background:

Virgilio was born the youngest son of a Florentine family of knights, the Gualberto, and as he was the youngest, he was not formally raised by his family. As a child, Virgilio grew up in the Florentine countryside, to keep him away from politics and potential issues of familial succession. This led him to have differing insights and experiences that set him apart from others of similar birth. Though raised in the country, he was still taught to read and write by the local monks who owed fealty to his lineage. Being ignorant of the chaotic political environment in the Florentine capital, Virgilio was able enjoy the simple things in life. Ever since he was a boy, Virgilio had a love for horses and horseback riding, and through the years became quite adept at taking care of horses and riding them.

As a teenager, Virgilio, inspired by tales of heroics and stories of valor, like many young nobles before him (who likewise had the financial and political backing to acquire such a position), became a squire, serving a lowly county knight, and was taught chivalry and the way of formal combat. The young boy was quite foolhardy and stubborn, and for one reason or another had a distaste for swords. As such, much to his master’s (whose family was of a lower noble rank than Virgilio’s) chagrin, the Virgilio never touched a sword during his training, much less had anything close to resembling mastery of said weapon. His proficiency with the lance, however, was unprecedented, particularly for a youth that grew up in the country, as a result of the single-minded dedication he had put to the mastery of the weapon. The stubborn young man even did his training with impractically heavy armor. Although he put much effort into his training as a knight, it was never his family’s goal to have him be one such; Virgilio was, more or less, indoctrinated into chivalry by his own hobby.

At the outbreak of the Black Death, news had come to him that his father had grown sickly, and that his mother could only grieve and pray day and night in fear of her husband’s life. Likewise, Virgilio’s elder brothers and sisters had secluded the estate from contact with the masses in fear of the sickness, and likewise sent for Virgilio’s immediate return, though his training was incomplete. Perceiving that his family still did not recognize him and thought of his knightly training as mere foolhardiness to pass the time, Virgilio, now legally a man, went on a quest to seek the allusive medicine man, who he had heard singlehandedly held the cure for the plague. If he could bring such a cure to his father, perhaps his mother would stop grieving, and his father would finally recognize him as a potential successor of the Gualberto name and fortune.

Personality:

N/A

Skills and Talents:

Trained as a knight, Virgilio has knowledge on the use and maintenance of lances, armor, and shields. In addition, he is quite an adept horseman, and is very resourceful, owing to his childhood in the country.


Extra Info: Edited since Shamison asked me for tweaks

Just did what I could while maintaining the substance I think Sham originally would have wanted. Should be more interesting this way.

Edited by Cancer Lancer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...