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Post by mcr on Jun 1, 2020 23:35:41 GMT -5
"Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the Four Nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked."
A low rumbling grew steadily louder as the monks of the Western Air Temple and their families rose for their daily rituals.
Wiping the dust from her eyes, Tsering yawned slowly. She squinted her eyes as a bright light and a faint heat drew nearer. The rumbling grew louder and the mountain beneath her shook. The air itself seemed to glow.
Shaking her infant daughter awake, Tsering exclaimed: "Tashi! Tashi! Wake up!"
Pointing above them and out the window, the faint glow that had awakened her was replaced by a growing shadow. First one. Then a dozen. Then dozens more. Giant floating objects, the likes of which she had never seen before darkening the sky, following a large sphere seeming to tumble through the sky.
Pointing to a medicine chest, Tsering tossed out the vials of medicines and the medical texts, cramming daughter inside.
"Stay here. Don't move. Don't speak. Wait for me to come back."
Scrambling, she raced to the garden to ring the gathering bell, used normally to signal prayer times and meals, but now was their only means of alarm. Suddenly, huge jets of flame came poring out of the blimps, scorching the earth beneath them. The infernos drowned out all but the most potent and short-lived death cries, crackling blazes echoing through the Temple. The heat was nothing like Tashi had ever felt before. It was as if they were being cooked alive. The Air Nomads were under attack. And the Fire Nation invasion had begun.
A short few minutes later, heavy boots marched into the Temple. An accented man's voice boomed throughout:
"Scour the fortress. Take any prisoners you can. We need to find the other Air Nomads."
Scores of men responded: "Yes, General!"
"Mommy?"
Tashi squeaked open the chest to look for Baabu, her stuffed Air Lemur for comfort.
"I'm scared."
The boots grew closer to Tashi's hiding place, and she slammed the lid on the chest a little too loudly.
A young fire nation soldier peered in, seeing the young girl try to hide.
Pointing towards the main hall and the other dorm units, he shouted: "I'll clear this room, check the others!"
Cautiously creeping in, the soldier whispered:
"It's okay. We won't hurt you. I'm Liu. Are there any soldiers here who can ambush us?"
Tashi gave a confused look before shaking her head no.
Liu shouted: "All clear here" before whispering: "Our men are going to sweep around once more. Wait for us to leave, and when we do, make your way out of here. We're only here to stop your soldiers from attacking us."
Tashi again gave him a confused look. Everyone knew the Air Nomads were a peaceful people with no military. Soldiers and ambushes were foreign and alien concept only found in history books, that they lived in temples not fortresses.
A few hours passed before she heard the General again: "Is that everyone? Alright, let's go" Lifting the lid on the chest, she crept to the door to see hundreds of charred bodies strewn about in summary fashion. Racing to the closet for her air glider, Tashi grabbed it and leaped out her window, speeding away from the Temple with the wind and the Fire Nation at her back, never to look upon her home again. ========================================================================================================== [[OOC: Set in the initial aftermath of the Air Nomad genocide, this will be a prequel game to The Last Airbender. Looking for 3-6 players to take on a mix of benders from different elements or non-benders ostensibly on intersecting paths to find and protect the Avatar from the Fire Nation but likely to get up to all sorts of fun and wacky shenanigans along the way. Airbenders and firebenders are fine as long as they're not Aang or hellbent on trying to kill him and anyone looking for him; more specialized abilities like blood bending or chi blocking are subject to Rule 0.
Stone Count at 25+5 with some wiggle room if necessary. Energy, Health, and Regeneration instead of Durability. Let me know if you have any other questions]]
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Post by Gris on Jun 2, 2020 4:17:04 GMT -5
Sounds interesting and this is a world I dearly miss playing in. I could perhaps go with a healer waterbender that rejects violence and wants to keep their beliefs even as a war starts to rage. Or maybe an airbender (or an air tribe member without bending even) that is bitter and rejects the useless pacifism that got them destroyed. Will see if more people get in and the idea gets traction.
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Post by Dhark on Jun 2, 2020 9:12:04 GMT -5
Most definitely interested in anything AtLA!!! Sounds interesting and this is a world I dearly miss playing in. I could perhaps go with a healer waterbender that rejects violence and wants to keep their beliefs even as a war starts to rage. Or maybe an airbender (or an air tribe member without bending even) that is bitter and rejects the useless pacifism that got them destroyed. Will see if more people get in and the idea gets traction. Gris... you’re in my head again. My initial idea would be for a Waterbender, but the yin to Gris’s yang—> the wild and free warrior minded sort of Waterbender. Proactively looking to engage in fomenting an active resistance. My second idea was the Airbender on the Run sort. Bitter and angry, but low key afraid that he’s the last. Likely turning to being a thief to survive/exist in rejection to the wisdom of his heritage. Thirdly— an Earthbender. One who witnessed the beginning of the Fire Nation’s expansion first hand... and saw the writing on the wall for what was coming next. Joined an early resistance cell, making weapons caches and defenses as he travels the coastline. Tactician and crafter more than combatant/fighter... he wanted to be an architect, but war has changed things.
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Post by Gris on Jun 2, 2020 13:20:32 GMT -5
Ooooh nice! The more I think of it the more I lean towards a non violent waterbender. I have to think about it, and if I have something cooked tomorrow I'll probably post it here besides PM'ing it so it's public to see.
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Post by Dhark on Jun 2, 2020 17:29:36 GMT -5
I’ll hold off on getting invested emotionally/mentally in a character until MCR decides he wants to run this for sure... (I mean, I’d even be down for a duo game personally... I’m bendy. Heh. Bendy. Get it? I kill me...)
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Post by RidiculousNinja on Jun 2, 2020 18:21:12 GMT -5
I'm interested myself and I was also drawn to Earth or Water lol.. if yall want to do water im fine with Earth. Maybe originally from the Sandbenders? If MCR is cool with that.
Either way I was going to go with someone more rough around the edges. Maybe initially sees a way to make a profit?
If I was a water bender maybe raised by pirates. Learned he was taken in a raid when he was a child and skiped out in the middle of the night. (I really like Ice Bending for this) just trying to survive.
If Earth maybe somewhat a thief or enforcer maybe got caught and is on the run. Now he's focused on being the most powerful earth bender so he can enforce his own will on others.
I'm not opposed to the interesting dynamic of being a Fire Bender either. Probably a young soldier who couldn't handle what he had done to the air nomads. And wants to make right but now has to hide from everyone that he's a fire bender.
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Post by RidiculousNinja on Jun 3, 2020 7:39:30 GMT -5
Thought about it and settled on Earth bending but forgoing the sand bender idea.
I do have a couple of other ideas I like better...
A young Dai Li agent sent to find more information on what happened to the air nomads or the avatar.
An earthbender prisoner who previously used his bending to steal.
A famous sculptor who wishes to create art with all the elements of the Earth. He seeks out other benders to learn new techniques that will help him.
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Post by Gris on Jun 3, 2020 7:56:38 GMT -5
I couldn't wait so I went ahead and did the thing: Vita, Northern Tribe Princess Little sister without a throne, the girl who does no harm.
Abilities: 9w Intelligence 2 (2r) Strength 1 (1r) Agility 2 (2r) Speed 1 (1r) Health 3 (1w) Energy 15 (3w) Regeneration 5 (3w) Actions: 20w Acrobatics 2 (2r) *Agility Bonus.
Close Combat 1 (1r) *Agility Bonus or Weapon Modifier. *Specialties: Self Defense.
Sense Water 3 (4w) *As Concentration. *Intelligence Bonus.
Waterbending 7 (12w) (as Mastery of Water and Ice) +1 Manipulate the element. -1 Can't create the element. +2 Includes Magical Healing. Social Skills 6 (4w) *Specialties: Political Protocol, Etiquette, Charm, Deception, Foreign Customs, Small Talk.
Challenges: 5w Scary Secret (1w): Her heightened perception of the element and what she could do.
Psychological: Pampered (1w). She doesn't know firsthand how hard life out of nobility can be.
Psychological: Pacifist (3w). Violence only begets violence.
The youngest child of the chieftain and only female sibling of three, Vita is a princess by name and nothing more. Given how the Northern Water Tribe is structured around the male warrior leadership, she's seen as something to be protected and not much more. Vita doesn't exactly resent that, as she knows that comes from love, but she wants to do more, even if she doesn't yet know exactly what. Pestering her father and two older brothers has lent her some degree of freedom, and allowed her to visit other nations and serve as an ambassador of sorts in a symbolic way, even if her role has been mostly cosmetic. Her brothers sometimes see her as a fickle child, but since her non violent beliefs make her fit in the traditionally meek role of the Northern Tribe women, she doesn't tend to meet much resistance unless she gets really argumentative.
Vita is an specially gifted healer, with talent to mend both body and mind, and she has been capable to soothe both humans and animals since she was very young. She's hiding a secret from her family, something she hasn't told anyone even if it's nothing to be ashamed of. Any waterbender has a sense, a special sensibility for water, or they wouldn't be able to bend the element at all, but Vita's grasp of it is further reaching and more detailed than most when she concentrates. It takes just a few seconds for her to be able to detect masses of water around her, even if it's a full pitcher in another room or a flowing stream across a treeline. That by itself would be nothing to hide, but her gift reaches living things as well. When she touches another person or even an animal, she can feel them in a different level than anyone else if she concentrates. Vita can reach deeper than any other healer of her tribe, and she knows that such a gift allows her to heal wounds that no one else would be able to, but she's also aware that it probably allows her to do more. Such a reach scares her, what she could do... The furthest she has gone was calming an scared and injured Buffalo Yak with her touch so she could heal him, and she only went that far because if she didn't the animal would have to be sacrificed, but she didn't feel specially good or proud afterwards. What could she do to a person... it sickens her just thinking of it, and she's sure that it would make everyone see her as a monster. Now she just grows restless in palace, eager to get another trip somewhere else, or perhaps a visit from the outside.
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Post by Dhark on Jun 3, 2020 10:21:35 GMT -5
Well, if Gris wouldn’t find it overly infringing upon her niche... I definitely favor my own Waterbender as her prescribed/assigned “bodyguard”. Either the middle child / older brother, or just a young up and coming warrior that “earned” the position/task. Either way I think he’d be battling with a resentment of the responsibility (because he’d rather be joining the front lines) and his loyalty to Vita (as sibling and/or princess).
Mechanically he’d be far more martially inclined, and far more devil may care... far from the bastion of soothing calmness of Vita.
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Post by Gris on Jun 3, 2020 10:41:07 GMT -5
Well, if Gris wouldn’t find it overly infringing upon her niche... I definitely favor my own Waterbender as her prescribed/assigned “bodyguard”. Either the middle child / older brother, or just a young up and coming warrior that “earned” the position/task. Either way I think he’d be battling with a resentment of the responsibility (because he’d rather be joining the front lines) and his loyalty to Vita (as sibling and/or princess). Mechanically he’d be far more martially inclined, and far more devil may care... far from the bastion of soothing calmness of Vita. I'm more than fine with it, be it a brother (probably the middle one would be a more reasonable choice than the heir) or a young warrior about her age. I like a lot the tension between "I got a babysitter job" and "But it's a prestigious one" and how characters would contrast.
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Post by Dhark on Jun 3, 2020 10:43:06 GMT -5
MCR said three to six players was his ideal... looks like that’s three?
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Post by Dhark on Jun 4, 2020 0:22:56 GMT -5
Here’s what I came up with... presuming Gris likes it (totally willing to change things) and MCR pushes forward with this: AtLA Prequel DHAKO=================== (BRIEF)BIO/HISTORY:
Second son. Middle child. Black Sheep. Non-Conformist. Ungrateful. Disgrace.
These were the words that were etched like kindling into the burning wreckage of Dhako’s misspent childhood. It was that very day that he decided for himself that it was over, all fifteen years of it, and he was prepared to enter the world as a man under his own skills and merit. He turned his back on everyone and everything he’d ever known; Left the Northern Water Tribe behind, and ventured forth onto the high seas in pursuit of his dream to become the greatest pirate to ever sail the ocean. As his small ice skiff left the bay, he never looked back once. He’d had enough of the lot of them. That they had dispatched not a single resource in following, or trying to stop him, evidenced sufficiently that the feeling was mutual in so far as he was concerned.
In surprisingly short order he found a crew willing to take him on.
Within a handful of years he had his own crew and ship, The Sea Wolf, and a growing reputation as a notorious Pirate Captain... He was well on his way to becoming the legend he’d set out to become.
But then it happened.
An anonymous source tipped off The Fire Lord as to the identity of this particular thorn in his increasingly vital supply chains. Political pressure was applied, and the the flagship of the Northern Water Tribe itself came for Dhako... with his father at the helm.
Dhako was summarily informed that his vacation was over, and it was time to return to home, family, and duty. The decree was punctuated by sinking The Sea Wolf and remanding the remainder of it’s crew over to Fire Nation authorities. Infuriated, Dhako retaliated, ineffectively, and subsequently spent the voyage back north in the brig.
It was only the overtures of his little sister that calmed his tumultuous rage. More specifically, it was her assurance that she’d already arranged for pardons to be granted to his former crew in exchange for a term of community service (technically military service, but that was vaguely worded intentionally).
The news that his crew was not being made to suffer consequences for his choices in lieu of himself calmed Dhako considerably.
By the time the flagship reached home, Dhako had come to terms with the price to be paid for his actions... and for the political influence extended on behalf of those who’d served under him so loyally: Bodyguard duty for Vita.
A seemingly odd penance up front, until the revelation as to why she would need a bodyguard was shared with him.
That very night, The War began...
=================== CHARACTER NAME: Dhako ALIASES: Dhako, Chieftan’s Son, Prince Dhako, Captain Dhako, Wayward Son NATIONALITY: Northern Water Tribe GENDER: Male HAIR: Brown EYES: Stormy Gray with Blue Flecks HEIGHT: 6’ WEIGHT: 190 lbs =================== IMAGE/PORTRAIT (TBD... thinking GoT’s Euron Greyjoy) =================== ABILITY SCORES Total: 03W 01R=================== INT 03 (01W) STR 02 (02R) AGI 03 (01W) SPD 02 (02R) =================== VITALS Total: 07W XXR=================== HEALTH 03 (01W) ENERGY 12 (02W) REGENERATION 06 (04W) =================== ACTIONS Total: 15W XXR=================== SWASHBUCKLING 03 (09W) *As Ninja *Base Cost AN+05CL *AGI and/or Weapon Bonus OR Two Weapon Bonuses *Parkour/Acrobatics *Water/Ice Weapons *Intuitive Combatant Statecraft 02 (02W) *Base Cost AN+02CL *Etiquette *Panache WATERBENDING 05 (04W) *Base Cost AN *Control/Manipulate +01CL *Cannot Create -01CL *Permafrost Ice Constructs/Weapons (duration @an free) +01CL WATERCRAFT 02 (02R) *Base Cost AN *Engineering/Design *Piloting =================== MODIFIERS Total: 04W XXR=================== REFLEXIVE DODGE III (04W) *Base Cost MN+03CL =================== EQUIPMENT Total: XXW XXR=================== WEALTH II *Free from Statecraft =================== CHALLENGES Total: 05=================== PSYCHOLOGICAL [MIDDLE-CHILD] (02) - As rebellious and non-conformist as he can get away with, Dhako is a true sea wolf at heart; for all his reckless and seemingly self centered impulses he is fiercely loyal to his family and friends above all else... CONFLICTING INTERESTS (01) - Dhako is torn between the prescribed duty to protect his sister and his desire to take to the seas to be an active participant in the war. DARK SECRET (02) - In his wayward youth, Dhako earned quite the reputation as the captain of the infamous pirate vessel known as “The Sea Wolf”... Admiral Setali, now-leader of the Fire Nation’s navy, learned everything she knows about seamanship and naval warfare from her tenure as Dhako’s first mate (and ex-girlfriend)
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Post by Gris on Jun 4, 2020 3:55:12 GMT -5
Loving it. He has seen the world in a way Vita only dreams of, so she probably pesters him about telling her stories and yet, she's nowhere ready to face what her brother has been doing and certainly doesn't approve it. Vita probably begged to father to be forgiving, and even if she doesn't see the full picture and she's well meaning, she now finds herself being her brother's charge, his "prison". Very nice work there.
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Post by RidiculousNinja on Jun 4, 2020 19:01:52 GMT -5
Went ahead and wrote this up too whatcha think? Genji Chen
"If I ever see you in Ba Sing Se again... I'll kill you myself." -Zai Feng, Dai Li Leader
I was never especially important. I was born on an average day to farmers within the outer walls of Ba Sing Se. It really wasn't me and my father and I didn't quite see eye to eye. There was still mutual respect there but I knew I couldn't be a simple farmer when I started erthbending. My days of simplicity were gone.
I immediately began tutelage under an old Earth Kingdom warrior and found that my stubbornness made me a natural bender and I quickly mastered several techniques. This attracted the attention of the Dai Li. As a natural earth bender and quick study it wasn't long before I was recruited within their ranks. The youngest in over 20 generations at sixteen.
Three years past an none of us were prepared for the news we received... the Fire Nation had destroyed the Air Nomads in a vicious attack. Zai Feng, our leader and mentor, told us not to worry and to speak of this to no one. Understandably he did not want the citizens to panic. Little did I know.. he meant no one, not even the Earth King himself.
I didnt realize but Feng had taken over the Earth Kingdom right under everyone's nose. His word became law and any talk of the new war would be considered treason. I confronted him but my brothers had chosen to follow their leader in his mad scheme and I was chased from my home. It is still my duty to protect the Earth Kingdom.
Now I'm on a search for the Avatar it's my destiny to help stop this war.
_______________________________________________ Abilities (4W)
Int 4 Str 2 Agi 2 Spd 2
Vitals (7W) Health 3 Energy 4 Regen 6
Actions Dai Li Training 1 (4W) *As Ninja *Base Cost AN+05CL *Str and/or Weapon Bonus OR Two Weapon Bonuses *Acrobatics
Earthbending 2 (12W) *Base Cost AN *Control/Manipulate +01CL *Cannot Create -01CL *Substitute Mastery for Strength +1 CL *Force Blast +1 CL *Combine with Combat +2 CL *Attack against Strength + defence to disable +3
Flight 4 (1W) *Base Cost AN + 2 CL *Bought through Earthbending -1 CL *Maximum Speed is 5 -1CL *Limited Manuverability/cannot perform any other action-1CL
Social Skills 3 (1W) *Secret Messages *Interogation *Information Gathering
Modifiers Wealth -1
Equipment Gloves of the Dai Li (+1 Stone Gloves +2 to disable with earth bending) Robes of the Dai Li
Challenges Outcast of the Wall 3 -Banished from his home and in constant fear that the Dai Li have hunted him down
Pride of the Mountian 1 -He is very prideful and this can lead to confrontation. A wayward remark can lead to an avalanche of destruction.
Heart of the Farmer 1 -While prideful he also cannot not sit idly by when someone is in need, especially farmers.
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Post by mcr on Jun 4, 2020 19:58:24 GMT -5
Still hoping for a few more pitches and RL stuff has me busy for a few days anyways so I'll keep this up for a while yet.
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