Dungeon Delver Quest (Original Fantasy... again)

[yrsillar]

The Towers of Kings, the Tombs of the Gods, their names vary from place to place, but the fervor they inspire never changes. There is no greater source of wealth and power in the world than these strange towers that dot the land, nor any shortage of danger, for all manner of fell beasts are spawned from their unplumbed depths to ravage the countryside. Despite that one finds emptied towers in the capitals of most kingdoms, for once some brave soul reaches the top and defeats the towers guardian, it spawns beasts no more, and it is said that those who clear a tower gain a single wish of nigh unlimited power.

More than one king can trace their line to such a hero.

Out on the wild frontier, the untamed lands roamed only by monsters and the most hardy of men and women, a new tower has been discovered, untouched by any mortal hands, a new tower rush has begun as the brave, desperate, the hopeful, and the foolhardy flock to it, seeing in it both the ultimate challenge and reward. One would imagine that experienced tower delvers would hold the advantage, but those who have once delved a tower can never again approach a different un-cleared tower, and so the great flood of novices will enter, most will die, some will rise above, and a few may even one day reach the top.

You are among them. Just one more soul among thousands, seeking your fortune in the dank and dangerous depths of a mysterious tower, do you seek fortune? Glory? Power? Or is the top of the tower your goal?

It may not matter, for death comes easily in the Tombs of the Gods.

AN: Welcome to my latest try at a dungeon delver quest. The second was rather short lived I will admit, and I am sorry for that, but I feel that I made some rather important errors in the world genning and mechanical aspects that were not easily fixed once the quest was started. Either way, here we are at a new beginning. I believe I have solved most of the issues that gave me trouble in previous iterations here, but I understand if folks are a bit wary of yet another new quest by me. Anyway. Enough of that, let's talk about character generation, that dreaded part of quest making. For this quest, I do NOT want people to immediately begin voting for character concepts, rather I am separating the initial character genning into two parts. Submission and voting.

Essentially I am asking that people submit characters over the first time period, after which I will select the 3-5 that I like most(If there even are that many) and then I will put to vote which one will be the pc. Please use the following format.

Name

Gender

Species: Human is fine, so are most fantasy races(non-humans being ultimately descended from altered tower delvers)

Appearance/pic

A brief character Bio: No heavy restriction here, but should include a basic rundown of character motivation and personality. Some history as well. Don't worry about contradicting the 'canon' the world is still fairly amorphous specifically so I can fit most character concepts within it.

And of course please wait until I have the front page set up.

 

[yrsillar]

Character Stats Skills Utility Skills Equipment Inventory

• 
  
  Name: Yatsurugi no Yuuka
  Gender: Female
  Species: Oni
  
  Level 4: 21/120
  Job: Oni Warrior C
  
  Health: 12(Level+Toughness+Will)
  
  Passive:
  Oni's Vigor: You recover one health at the end of each battle.
  
  Bio: Straightforward, perceptive, and exceedingly blunt to the point of cleverness. Yuuka proceeds in the quickest path to her goals and, while capable of subtlety rarely sees the need. Far from an idiot, Yuuka is actually both perceptive and intelligent. She simply does not deal well with roundabout paths or sparing the feelings of others. If lost in a maze, her first instinct would simply be to break down every wall before her until she found the exit. She clings passionately to friends and teachers, and is respectful, earnest and dutiful to her own detriment, but Yuuka has no time for those she considers fools.
  
  The virtues of wandering to gain experience were written in a book in Yuuka's homeland. So, trusty club in hand, she set out on a journey without much in the way of planning or notifying friends or family. She's quite lost and a bit confused by her present environment. But Yuuka's most useful solution to any problem has always been brute force, and she's sure it will help her through this more or less.
  
  Recently she has reached the strange tower rumors have spoken of, and has temporarily teamed up with a put upon elven summoner named Murdan. While exploring the tower the two of them came across an odd and brash woman fighting alone, named Ansom. After defeating the present enemy they parted on amicable terms.
  
• 
  Strength: 5 (18)
  
  Toughness: 6 (16)
  
  Agility: 1 (7)
  
  Dexterity: 1 (7)
  
  Perception: 2 (12)
  
  Power: 1 (3)
  
  Will: 2 (14)
  
  Presence: 1 (14)
  
  Unspent Points: 2
  
  
• 
  Greatclub C
  Youare a master of the greatclub, able to swing these massive weapons as if they were no more than a normal club.
  -Passive: Add two additional Successes to all successful attacks. Successful attacks reduce enemy armor quality by one.
  -Arc Smash: 5/day. A single auto attack that targets up to three targets in melee.
  -Skullcracker: 3/day An aimed attack that sends the enemy reeling. Reduces attack dice by two, but stuns the target on a successful hit.
  -Meteor Crash: 3/day. A drawn out overhand swing that deals double damage on a hit, but subtracts 2 dice from your defense until the next turn.
  -Steel Whirlwind:1 /day A wild attack that strikes all enemies in melee with you. Does not benefit from the Passive of this skill. reduces your defense by two dice until the end of the next turn.
  
  Warrior's Challenge: D
  You laugh in the face of danger and invite your enemies to attack you endlessly
  -Passive: You begin each battle with target priority of 3+Presence
  - Don't Run Away! 5/day Prevent an enemy from leaving melee with you
  -Come at Me!: 1/day Challenges a single target which then suffers a die penalty equal to half your presence(Min 1) to all attacks which do not include you.
  
  Adamant Body E
  The art of hardening the muscles and skin with your inner energy.
  -Passive: Add two dice to your defense against piercing and slashing attacks.
  -Invulnerable: 1/day When struck by a melee attack negate the damage and reduce the quality of the weapon used by two. Weapons reduced to zero quality are destroyed. Creatures using natural weapons instead suffer two points of damage.
  
• 
  Breaker D
  You don't have time for barriers, puzzles or traps.
  -Passive: You add two additional success to all checks to break through barriers, and reduce the duration of roots by one turn.
  -Annoying!: 4/day automatically destroy a single trap or barrier which you have failed to get through at least once.
  -Like That'll stop me!: 2/day Automatically triggered. Cancels the damage of one trap per activation.
  
  Steel Stomach D
  You can digest nearly anything.
  Passive: You are immune to all toxins and receive some benefits from consuming Ingredients
• 
  Oni Club: A massive studded club wielded by wandering Oni. Nothing special. Quality 2
  
  Yamabushi's Garb: Flowing garments made of incredibly durable and flame retardant cloth. Quality 2 (3 vs. Fire)
  
• 
  
  3 Potions of Minor Healing(?): Restores three health. Mint flavored.
  20 Deucite Shards
  Wanderer's Garb: Simple travelers clothing. Offers no particular protection(cloth) Quality 0
  Lesser Berserkers Elixir: Heals three health and provides a +2 bonus to strength for one battle. 5 Shards
  2 Bonemeal
  
  5 Free slots
  

 

[yrsillar]

Potion Shop

Minor Healing Potion: Heals three health. Mint flavored. 2 Shards

Healing potion: Heals six health. 5 shards

Refresh Potion: Restores half the uses of a single skills daily powers. 5 shards

Full Refresh: Fully restores the uses of a single skills daily powers. 10 shards

Lesser Berserkers Elixir: Heals three health and provides a +2 bonus to strength for one battle. 5 Shards

Quicklings Tincture: provides a +3 Bonus to agility for two hours. 5 Shards

Ironblood Potion: Increase's the drinkers toughness by one each time they are damaged. Effect lasts for a single battle. 5 Shards

Armor Available

Warriors Garb: Simple clothing padded and reinforced to cushion against enemies blows. Quality 1. 6 shards

Yamabushi's Garb: Flowing garments made of incredibly durable and flame retardant cloth. Quality 2 (3 vs. Fire) 10 Shards.

 

[yrsillar]

Bestiary

Floor 1

• 
  
  Skeleton
  The weakest enemy in the tower. Dangerous only in large groups.
  
  Zombie
  Another basic enemy. A bit tougher than skeletons
  
  Giant Zombie
  Bigger, tougher stronger. Not much else
  
  Skeleton Warrior
  Skeletons armed with ancient weapons and armor.
  
  Skeleton Legionnaire
  Long dead soldiers of a lost empire. When they lock their shields even strong foes have difficulty breaking through
  
  Skeleton Summoner
  Continually summons normal skeletons and skeleton warriors to it's aid. Otherwise helpless
  
  Skeleton Magi
  Drains strength with ranged magic
  
  Zombie Executioner
  A giant zombie with heavy plate bolted to it's skin and an executioners axe in hand.
  
  Witchfire
  A corrupted fire elemental steeped in necrotic energy. Heals the Undead.
  
  
  

 

[yrsillar]

Reserved

 

[yrsillar]

and another just in case. Open for submission

 

[Xicree]

[X] Name: Ansom Prin
-[X] Gender: Female
-[X] Species: Mostly human... mostly...
-[X] Demeanor: A grinning manic madwoman... ready to murder the world if that's what it takes to get her way. She's taken to the life of a Delver with almost unheard of Gusto and is always on the front line taking risks where others would balk. People say she's lucky to be alive... she just sees it that she's alive to get Lucky!

 

[Bre Karn]

[X] Murdan Mall'eoch
-[X] Male
-[X] Elf
-[X] Appearance: http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/189413/mmhmhmh.jpg
-[X] Bio: the Byzantine politics of the Elven Cenacle proved the downfall of of the Mall'eoch: their name slandered, they were disgraced, driven out of their ancestral holdings, their priceless artifacts, conquered in past Tower rushes, confiscated; but Murdan endured - training in the spirit arts that called the alllies with which his ancestors thrived in the Towers, he decided that clearing the next one would restore his family's name.

 

[Arkeus]

Lona Estellor
Female
Human
Appearance:

http://art-calavera.deviantart.com/art/Wizard-Queen-330363553
Bio: Younger Sister of the aging crown prince of the Essen Kingdom, she was the court wizard for her father and was chosen to learn to handle internal affairs while the crown prince was off adventuring and her baby brother (merely 20 years old!) was kept away from gaining too much power so he couldn't rival the crown prince. Sadly for the family, the crown prince apparently got the attention of a princess from a much more powerful kingdom, and managed to marry in. Lona now has no choice but to try and get enough power to strengthen her kingdom so that it doesn't get absorbed because of her brother's foolish dalliances, and hope her father and baby brother can hold the fort back home.

 

[cskey0]

[X] Shaxius Silverblood
-[X] Male
-[X] Tiefling
-[X]

Spoiler: Male Tiefling

-[X] Bio: Born from the union of a human male and a succubus. He is a thrill seeker that wishes to live in such a way that he can die with no regrets.

 

[Arkeus]

No voting cskey0, we are proposing templates only.

 

[yrsillar]

Yep point is to encourage people to post their own ideas rather than just immediately dogpiling on the first male and female ideas posted and screwing over people who post their idea later in the cycle.

 

[rcnr]

-[X] Name: Linnea Basswood
-[X] Gender: Female
-[X] Species: Dryad
-[X] Bio: Her family would say she's an unruly child with an insatiable curiousity, too fickle to put her roots down for even a handful of years. When she announced her plan to travel to the newly-discovered Tower, they paid no mind, sure that she would find a new obsession halfway through the journey and return wiser in a few decades. They underestimated her resolve to meet hundreds of talented warriors from foreign lands, and when she discovered that her healing skills were also in demand, she set her sights on the top floor.
[X]

 

[Darkened]

Name: Yatsurugi no Yuuka
Gender: Female
Race: Oni

Bio: Straightforward, perceptive, and exceedingly blunt to the point of cleverness. Yuuka proceeds in the quickest path to her goals and, while capable of subtlety rarely sees the need. Far from an idiot, Yuuka is actually both perceptive and intelligent. She simply does not deal well with roundabout paths or sparing the feelings of others. If lost in a maze, her first instinct would simply be to break down every wall before her until she found the exit. She clings passionately to friends and teachers, and is respectful, earnest and dutiful to her own detriment, but Yuuka has no time for those she considers fools.

The virtues of wandering to gain experience were written in a book in Yuuka's homeland. So, trusty club in hand, she set out on a journey without much in the way of planning or notifying friends or family. She's quite lost and a bit confused by her present environment. But Yuuka's most useful solution to any problem has always been brute force, and she's sure it will help her through this more or less.

 

[prandom]

Name: Gui
Gender: Male
Species: Absolutely 100% Human, Without a Doubt
Age: 14
Appearance:

Spoiler

Spoiler: Occasionally people see this reflected in his eyes. Just for an instant

Bio: Gui looks very young for his age, and enjoys taking advantage of that to poke fun at people. On the other hand, it can be annoying when trying to get people to take him seriously. Not that it happens often. Anyways, if he needs to, he can just look them straight in the eye! They pay attention then. He's not entirely sure why.

Gui attended a small school of magic, where his absolutely brilliant ideas went off without a hitch and resulted in his graduating early! Yes, that's absolutely true! No drop-outs here, none at all, and if anyone insinuates otherwise they'll trip over their own feet (he's pretty good at force spells, if he does say so himself)! He's always looking for more knowledge, even the basics. Everyone needs to brush up on the basics now and then, even the best mages. Like Gui. Yes.

Parents? What parents? Who needs 'em! They'd probably try to get in his way anyways... Yeah, he's better off without them!

*sniffle*

Anyways, there's gotta be a lot of cool loot in that Tower, right? Dungeons always have all that kind of stuff! There's probably a ton of awesome lost spells and treasure in there!




Because we needed someone less serious. And more eldritch.

 

[tEN]

Name: Du Hansard
Gender: Variable, one month change time, at will, currently female.
Species: Crea, amphibious people with gleaming gemlike scales. Most Crea are slightly resistant to electricity, and some can heal from it or generate it, and highly advanced Crea can even pull some unique tricks with electrical signals. Du is merely slightly resistant.
Age: 19
Appearance: A beautiful lavendar color, Du looks like someone turned an amethyst geode inside out, shaped it like an androgynous human one and a half meters tall with webbed feet and slightly clawed hands, and gave it a good polish.
Bio: Despite an embarassingly poor aptitude for conventional magic, Du has always been fascinated by changing reality with sheer force of knowledge. With two older sisters, an older brother, and a younger sibling who still switches every three months all showing far more talent, Du put forth extra effort and discovered an aptitude for adjusting, improving, or dampening the properties of existing items and magical effects. Still finding disdain among her peers for this lesser magic, Du set out to prove that eking out every last drop of usefulness in her sword, in her amor, and in every items she finds, is just as magical as throwing a fireball or using an electrical aura to detect the presence of hidden foes.

 

[Sirrocco]

Name: Shadow (not her original name. She doesn't have her original name anymore. She sold it. She sold a lot of things. It was something of a buyer's market at the time, and she was pretty desperate.)

Gender: Female

Species: Not really human anymore.

Age: 17

Appearance:

Bio: A young woman fleeing her (recent) past. A street rat, she was caught one day by one of the more corrupt groups of town guard and sold as sacrifice fodder to a necromancer. Desperate for a way out, she prayed, and was answered. The thing that answered wasn't a god. She took the deal anyway. It wasn't cheap. Now she... shares parts of herself with a strange and eldritch patron from beyond the stars, and makes regular offerings. In return, it has granted her certain powers, and occasionally lets her channel its abilities directly. It seems that it's a bored strange and eldritch being, because the only offering it asks for is the opportunity to watch (through her eyes) and hear (through her ears) while she kills things. It doesn't really care *what* she kills, either, as long as it's large and complicated enough. It just likes to watch things die. She was only too happy to provide that first offering to seal the deal. The necromancer had no idea of what was going on until it was far too late. Now she has a couple of problems. The first is that the necromancer was apparently a well-liked member of certain arcane circles, and she's pretty sure that his colleagues will come after her (or at least send their minions) once they realize what's happened. The second is that she really does have to keep killing things. Falling behind on her offerings would be... bad. She's at the tower hoping for an answer to both those things - for a ready supply of socially acceptable targets, and for a way to increase her own power fast enough that by the time they catch up to her she has a chance of surviving the experience.

 

[tEN]

Yep point is to encourage people to post their own ideas rather than just immediately dogpiling on the first male and female ideas posted and screwing over people who post their idea later in the cycle.

Click to shrink...

Would you mind doing a quick critique of all of the suggestions? Given that the options will be your favorites, the chance to fix things you don't like would be appreciated.

 

[yrsillar]

Mm, honestly I didn't expect to even get enough that I would be rejecting any, original dungeon crawler got like... three suggestions. Gimme a bit to look 'em over, but honestly I might just fo a full list for the vote since I could see writing almost any of them as an MC

Edit: Alright... after reviewing... the only one that doesn't really pass muster to me is csesky's. There just plain isn't much to it and it doesn't stand out... which still leaves eight options, more than the five i was thinking would be max. I need to think if I'm going to par it down a little more or not, give me an hour or so.

 

[tEN]

Any chance that submissions which do not win will still exist somewhere in the world as possible recruits/rivals?

 

[yrsillar]

Oh yeah, almost definitely. Thats my standard operating procedure with this kind of thing.

 

[Sirrocco]

Mm, honestly I didn't expect to even get enough that I would be rejecting any, original dungeon crawler got like... three suggestions. Gimme a bit to look 'em over, but honestly I might just fo a full list for the vote since I could see writing almost any of them as an MC

Edit: Alright... after reviewing... the only one that doesn't really pass muster to me is csesky's. There just plain isn't much to it and it doesn't stand out... which still leaves eight options, more than the five i was thinking would be max. I need to think if I'm going to par it down a little more or not, give me an hour or so.

Click to shrink...

Personally, I would ask that you trim it down to the 3-5 range (preferably closer to 3), if only to cut down on the level of drama and salt in the chargen process. Authorial fiat is so *much* less draining than massive argument and tactical voting shenanigans.

Oh yeah, almost definitely. Thats my standard operating procedure with this kind of thing.

Click to shrink...

Yay!

 

[tEN]

Electrolocation is really cool.

 

[yrsillar]

Character Vote!


[] Ansom Prin
[] Murdon Mall'eoch
[] Linnea Basswood
[] Yatsurugi no Yuuka
[] Du Hansard
[] Shadow

Alright, it was really hard to winnow this down, but in the end I decided to cut down on the traditional mages, since that has been a fairly common archetype among the quests I've written. Certainly no offense to Arkeus or pRandom, both of your characters looked fun and you can look forward to them appearing in the quest.

..I am a little leery of only leaving a single male character in the running though.

 

[Sirrocco]

[] Shadow

Who *doesn't* want to play an adorable, sympathetic character who must kill and kill and kill and never stop?

Also, I want to see what yrsillar will do with a powerset that came as gifts from an eldritch entity.

..I am a little leery of only leaving a single male character in the running though.

Click to shrink...

I originally wrote Shadow as male. I only genderswapped to fit the picture, but she could easily be swapped back.

edit: vote change because Shadow's just not going to win this one.

 

[tEN]

Character Vote!


[] Ansom Prin
[] Murdon Mall'eoch
[] Linnea Basswood
[] Yatsurugi no Yuuka
[] Du Hansard
[] Shadow

Alright, it was really hard to winnow this down, but in the end I decided to cut down on the traditional mages, since that has been a fairly common archetype among the quests I've written. Certainly no offense to Arkeus or pRandom, both of your characters looked fun and you can look forward to them appearing in the quest.

..I am a little leery of only leaving a single male character in the running though.

Click to shrink...

Du could start male with little change, as Crea can switch if you give them a month.
[X] Du Hansard
-[X] Male

Bam.

 

[Tavarokk]

[X] Yatsurugi no Yuuka

I'd prefer if she looked a bit more fierce, but still, an oni!

 

[Xicree]

[X] Ansom Prin

Of course

 

[shadowward]

[x] Shadow

 

[Arkeus]

[X] Yatsurugi no Yuuka
I actually like her more 'casual' appearance. Also, straight-forward bruisers can be fun.