The Dark Legion The Guardian calls to you... Do not disappoint him. Roleplaying an Undead Undead Speech and Language One of the most important parts of roleplay is one, your actions and two, how you speak as a respective Undead. The first section will go through some of the language and speaking patterns of the Undead minions. The Undead use a lisp language.This is a mandatory speech pattern for being an Undead Minion. Since a human we are not anymore, we will not talk like them. The Lisp pattern of speech is fairly simple. Add a few extra consonants or vowels of the same letter at the end of a few words to achieve this. For example, "Follow meee Minionsss.... We hunnnt..." Use common sense when slurring your speech. Certain letters and words will be drawn out, while others won't. So to recap you can use one or both of these techniques to speak as an Undead: 1. Slurr yourr wordss. 2. You may also add "..." after each sentence, it adds a slight "trailing off" fealing to your speach. Now you are ready to use some our own words in your speach. We have several but none that are hard to remember. The list is as follows: - Good soulsssss: Greeting and good bye. - Soulstone or stone: Guild stone. - Soulpage: Webpage - Soulboard: Meassage Board. - Grave Robbing: Looting. - Guardian: the God Undead worship, also know as Wargod to the Orcs. - Hunting: When we go out in search of mortal souls. - Nyss: A lisp form of no - Ayss: A lisp form of yes If you have any ideas on how to improve it, please contact guild leadership. Tips on Roleplaying your Undead Undead have many different personalities just like any other race. When creating a dead-type creature, you should keep this in mind. First of all, decide which race of the Undead you wish to belong to (see race section). Then decide upon a name for your Undead Creature. Names such as Smith of Yew, WitlessMasta and Finny are inappropriate as Undead. All names must be spelled in a normal manner (i.e. they begin with a capital letter and all others are lower case) and must not be more unusual than the norm. For Example, Fred or John will not do, but Malice or Arioch will. Be creative in choosing your name. More on this will be covered in the "Creating an Undead" section. You can use this name generator to give you MANY great ideas while choosing a name (thanks RAND) Once you have decided these two things, your persona should be considered. Many options are available and in general, you should try to create a rich and unique personality to play. To help you get to know your Undead character we have compiled a few small questions you should ask of yourself and how you wish to play your character. Answer these questions and you should be on your way to excellent roleplaying: - Where did you come from? - What purpose, if any other than servitude to the Guardian, do you have? - What do you like and/or hate? - Are there any emotions which still exist in your Undead form? Needs? Desires? - Are there any unusual habits that may pass on from your mortal life into your Undead life? Once you have decided on these facets of your personality, play them religiously. In game, play an Undead minion at all times. Do not go out of character (OOC) for any reason if at all possible. Even if something comes up in real life, try to play it off in an in character (IC) way. For example, if you have to leave suddenly because your dog has to go out, don't tell everyone in game about this. Instead, remain IC and tell those around you something IC. For example, "I require a shorrrt slumberrr... I shallll return soonnn..." This tells everyone that you will be Out of Game in an IC way. Most importantly though; always try to have fun and let others have fun. PvP/PKing and Looting Rules -No starting problems with other RP guilds unless it has been explicitly clear from the leadership that our guilds are enemies. -Any PKing should be done in a matter fitting for a TDL rolepayer in a way that can be justified from an RP perspective without resorting to mental gymnastics. -No non-TDL toon should be involved in harassing/PKing as a TDL character, other than to gate yourself or the stuff on your body away after a death. -No dry-looting - period. Only items of value that can be used to better yourself and/or guild shal be looted (ie: gold, regs, magic armor/weapons, ect.). Panic runes and random garbage shal be left on the bodies -A ress and/or gate back to town should be offered if it is safe to do so (with some accompanying RP). MOUNTS When you reach the proper rank (race permitting) you will be allowed to ride eith a Pale Steed (White horse) Or a nightmare of your choosing. No other mount shall be ridden, nor shall you ride a mount if you are not of proper rank. Pale Steed RACES There are six races (skeletons, ghouls, wights, vampires, liches, and human allies) with ranks I-IV. Each rank has its own unique colored uniform. All colors can be found on the second level of the guild keep in the room with the blood fountains. General restrictions: only The Shadow Council is ever allowed to wear any color of clothing. When mounts are allowed based on race/rank, only white horses or nightmares are allowed. Human allies can ride any type or color of mount. Clarification: ANY race may have magery. Only liches, vampires, and human allies may add in Meditation and Evaluation of Intelligence. You are not required to have a certain style of hair. Just stay away from mohawks and follow the coloring guidelines. Also, pay close attention to the forbidden skills. If you don't see a skill on the list and you want to try it out, go for it! For instance, if you want to stray away from the typical "Mace mage" Template the liches have, find another skill to add in place of macing/tactics. Perhaps Spirit Speak, Alchemy, or Inscription. (I realise Spirit Speak is a worthless skill, but it has its roleplaying advantages.) 1) Skeletons: Background: The most common kind of undead. Limited individuality and intelligence until higher ranks are reached, at which point a more malign cleverness may surface. They are frequently employed as either manual labor or as front-line shock troops. They remember nothing of their former lives. Mandatory skills: Anatomy- skeletons obviously have a deeper understanding of how the human body looks on the inside than anyone else! Forbidden skills: Evaluating intelligence, meditation, inscription, alchemy- skeletons possess neither the intelligence nor the experience for these skills! Common skills: Lumberjacking, mining, carpentry, blacksmithing, bowcrafting/fletching. Mandatory equipment: Must wear full bone armor at all times, no exceptions. Must always carry a melee weapon or a resource-gathering weapon (Pickaxe, sledge hammer, ect). Forbidden equipment: Staves, any armor type other than bone, any kind of robes. Capes. Ranks: I. Skeleton – Dark gray fancy shirt and pale white hair only. II. Skeletal Reaver – pale white hair only. Must wear a dark blue sash and dark blue fancy shirt. III. Skeletal Champion – pale white hair only. Must wear a dark blue sash, fancy shirt, and kilt. Allowed to ride Pale Steeds. IV. Bone Titan – pale white hair only. Must wear a true black sash, shirt, and kilt. Allowed to ride Pale Steeds and nightmares. 2) Ghouls: Background: Flesh-eating monsters who stalk the shadows, ghouls are primal predators. These lightning-quick zombies display remarkable patience while hunting prey, but quickly lose all self-control when the taste of meat fills their rotting jaws. Although the initial transformation wipes all memories and thoughts by an all-consuming hunger, ghouls exhibit individual personalities and often remember bits and pieces of their former lives. New memories may surface gradually with increases in experience and rank. In the rare case that the meal of a ghoul manages to escape and survive, these victims may soon find their complexion turning strangely pale and their skin beginning to flake… It should be noted that ghouls are ragged survivors and thus are the most diverse of all the undead races. A TDL ghoul fits into one of the following sub-types, which may overlap to some degree depending on the particular ghoul: 1) Feral Ghouls: Barely intelligible, these beasts remember little of their human lives and often communicate with growls and the body-language of savage monsters. Little more than animals themselves, their growls and wails have the ability to communicate with the beasts of the land. With their powerful vocal cords, they can provoke, calm, or even tame their fellow animals (Common skills: musicianship, provoke, peacemaking, animal lore, or animal taming). 2) Stalker Ghouls: Hunters to the core, they represent the savage fury and thirst of true predators. They strike from the shadows, and often their claws and teeth alone will poison the prey with wracking surges of deadly pain. (Common skills: stealth, poison, weapon skills, tactics). 3) Scavenger Ghouls: These poor creatures have been consumed by a burning obsession for “my precious, precious†gold, diamonds, and bounty of all sorts. They scour Britannia for all sorts of hidden treasures, determined to hoard everything they can back in secret warrens and hiding holes. The greatest of these scavenger hunters have even been known to sail the seas with their rotting crews, trapped in an endless search for treasure. (Common skills: lock-picking, treasure-hunting, cartography). Mandatory skills: Hiding - ghouls inhabit swamps, sewers, rivers, and the darkest of forests, constantly hunting for fresh meat. They typically pounce on victims from beneath mounds of dirt or the surfaces of water, or drop on their targets with deadly speed from the highest treetops. Forbidden skills: Harvesting or crafting skills of any kind- ghouls lack the concentration to hunt anything but human flesh! Fishing is the exception as many ghouls depend on live fish as a source of nourishment when human prey is scarce. Leatherworking is also an exception. Evaluating intelligence and meditation are likewise forbidden (Meditation will be permitted for those who become animal tamers, I realise that gating your pets around will require quite a bit of mana.) Common skills: See sub-types above. Mandatory equipment: Ragged robes/clothes or leather armor- ghouls are scavengers and hidden killers, and frequently wear light or even rag-tag, mixed sets of armor or tattered clothes. If not wearing leather/studded leather armor, normal clothes/rags must still match the greens of the ghoul ranks shown in the pictures below. Forbidden equipment: Any armor other than the leather types, shields, capes. Macing weapons are allowed, but no staves of any sort. Only feral ghouls and scavenger ghouls may ride mounts, and only at ranks III and IV. (New ranks for feral ghouls: II. Ghoulbeast, III. Nagual, IV. Strigoi) (New ranks for scavenger ghouls: II. Ghoulish Scavenger, III. Ghoulish Hoarder, IV. Grave Robber) Ranks: I. Ghoul – must wear a dark grey sash and undershirt/trousers, shoes and some sort of brown or dark-colored armor. Hair must be white or some sort of pale blue/green. II. Ghoulish Predator, Ghouldbeast (Feral), Ghoulish Scavenger (Scavengers) – must wear an olive greenish sash and undershirt/trousers, shoes and some sort of brown or dark-colored armor. Hair must be white or some sort of pale blue/green. III. Ghoulish Assassin, Nagual (Feral), Ghoulish Horder (Scavenger) – must wear a dark green sash, shoes and kilt, and some sort of brown or dark-colored armor. Hair must be white or some sort of pale blue/green. IV. Shadow Stalker, Strigoi (Feral), Grave Robber (Scavenger) – must wear a true black sash, shirt, shoes and kilt, and some sort of brown or dark-colored armor. Hair must be white or some sort of pale blue/green. *NOTE: Any exposed skin should be covered with the proper colored clothing. Mix and match as you please, the sloppier the better. Ghouls loot their kills and are known for their unique taste in style! 3) Wights: Background: Powerful spirits of murderers and warriors enscrolled by liches or ancient curses within heavy suits of armor. Highly intelligent, fully cognizant of past lives and abilities, fiercely prideful and independent, and extremely resentful of any pacts or magics binding them to the will of any spellcasting masters. Mandatory skills: Weapon skills. Forbidden skills: Hiding/stealth, evaluating intelligence, meditation, inscription, alchemy, and any resource-gathering skills, Common skills: Parrying, magery (many wights either retain their own spellcasting abilities or are intentionally imbued by portions of the magic power possessed by their creators-turned-masters, such as liches). Mandatory equipment: Full-body matching sets of chainmail or platemail. Only the helm may ever be removed. Forbidden equipment: Any other kind of armor. Robes. Macing weapons are allowed, but no staves of any sort. Capes. Ranks: I. Wight – hair must be some sort of blue, teal, or white. II. Wight-Captain – hair must be some sort of blue, teal, or white. III. Wight-Commander – hair must be some sort of blue, teal, or white. Allowed to ride Pale Steeds. IV. Revenant – hair must be some sort of blue, teal, or white. Allowed to ride Pale Steeds and nightmares. 4) Liches: Background: Ancient wizards, necromancers, and sorcerers who discovered one of the rare paths to eternal life as one of the undead. They consider themselves the lords of undeath, and as a result, frequently bicker with vampires, high-ranking members of the other undead, and most especially their fellow antediluvians. They retain all past memories and skills preceding their transformations. New humans begin their journeys as necromancers, until their skills and achievements have proven them worthy to be initiated until the ranks of the undead. Due to their familiarity with the dead and their own status with already having one foot in the grave, these novice necromancers do not have to worry about their safety around the living dead as do the guild’s “human allies.†Mandatory skills: Magery, evaluating intelligence, meditation, Forbidden skills: Weapon skills other than maces (Only staves will be used), wrestling, and tactics. All resource-gathering skills and any crafting skills other than alchemy and inscription. Common skills: Alchemy, inscription. Mandatory equipment: Robes and staves/spellbooks. Forbidden equipment: Any kind of armor, any other kind of weapon other than a staff or bare hands. Capes. Ranks: I. Necromancer – true black robe, red shoes. No staves yet- usually a spellbook is equipped. Hair must be dark gray/blue. Hair Color II. Lich – gnarled staff, dark gray robes, and sandals. Hair must be dark gray. Hair Color III. Lich Elder – gnarled staff, dark gray robes. Sandals. Hair must be light grey. Allowed to ride Pale Steeds. Hair Color IV. Lich Lord – You've earned your black staff! Gnarled staff/black staff, evil NPC mage robe, Sandals. Hair must be white. Allowed to ride Pale Steeds and Nightmares. Hair Color 5) Vampires: Background: Highly intelligent, evil, and vain creatures who style themselves superior to both the living and the other undead. Seem almost fully human in appearance. Vampires are thankfully rather rare, as they are often hunted by humans, powerful undead, and even other vampires. NOTE: Vampires are a rare race within the undead and we will limit the amount of vampires in our ranks if we need to. Mandatory skills: None Common skills: None Mandatory equipment: None Restrictions: Vampires are typically either powerful warriors or deadly spellcasters. They may where capes and often do. In addition, they may never wear any sort of helm armor, as they are loath to inhibit either their own appearances or the opportunity to sink their teeth into the necks of human victims. Finally, vampires can only by created directly by the Guardian or if a determined (one might say foolish) human is willing and able to track down an existing vampire in the guild and convince them to grant the kiss of undeath. At this point the newly-bitten human is bound to the will of his vampiric forefather until he achieves the status of full-blown vampire himself. Only members of the Nobility have the rights and abilities to create new vampires themselves. Ranks: I. Freshly Bitten – the bite victim suffers unbearable agony as the transformation wracks the body. The sudden need for blood further weakens the individual, and they constantly tear apart their own clothes in fits of pain. Must wear a death robe at all times and hair must be dyed pale white as vitality leaves the body. II. Vampiric Thrall – the vampiric transformation is underway and some unnatural strength begins to infuse the monster. Must wear some dark grey clothing. Hair can be any color from this rank onward. III. Vampire – the vampiric transformation is complete and the individual is freed from direct control of whoever gave the blood kiss. Must wear some dark red and dark grey clothing. Allowed to ride Pale Steeds. IV. The Nobility – must wear expensive jewelry such as rings, necklaces, etc. Some sort of true black and dark red clothing. Allowed to ride Pale Steeds and nightmares. 6) Humans: Background: On rare occasion, a particularly evil, powerful, or insane human seeks to enter into a sort of alliance or covenant with the living dead. These make for delicious snacks and thralls. However, even more infrequently, some of these supplicants prove themselves dangerous and useful enough to be admitted and at least tolerated among the undying. These can range from black-market merchants to gravediggers to sadistic nobles to every other sort of wretch imaginable. In order to join, humans must undertake quests of great difficulty in order to prove their worth and loyalty as allies to the eternal underworld. NOTE:Humans are also an extremely rare race among the undead. It is very difficult to earn the undead's trust and you will not see many in the ranks because of it. Mandatory skills: None. Forbidden skills: None. Common skills: None. Mandatory equipment: The prideful humans who seek passage among the walking dead must still suffer the constant disdain of their fellow, less vitality-filled guildmates, regardless of ability and status among the living. In addition, even high-ranking humans are in constant danger among the undead, as hunger or sheer jealousy might inspire a sudden attack. As a result, even after admission to the guild, humans must come carefully prepared to every meeting, including fish or meat for the ghouls, wine or expensive gifts for the vampires, reagents or high-level scrolls for the liches, and some sort of fine weapon or magical piece of armor as an offering for the wights and revenants. Forbidden equipment: None. Ranks: The only rank is “Human Ally.†Allowed to any ride mount of their choosing. (Note: I think this system is very balanced…no class has crippling restrictions, but each fills a unique role. The skeletons and ghouls have the most strict/harmful armor restrictions, but also have the least difficult skill investments and the least to lose if they die and are looted. Wights and liches have a little more freedom and maybe slightly more pvp potency, but also lose a lot more expensive equipment if they die and have more difficult skills to macro up. The recruitment ceremonies for vampires and human allies present a hurdle that encourages people to play the other races, and the constant gift tax for human allies at every meeting should make up for the lack of race restrictions and encourage people to play an undead unless they really want to RP a human ally…I think this system encourages people to make skeleton/ghoul alts or for casual players to make those, encourages a few active members to go full-time on a wight or lich, and allows the occasional RPer to play a vampire or human ally). RECRUITMENT CEREMONIES NOTE: None of these recruitment ceremonies are set in stone. They are all subject to change depending on availability and account limit. I do not plan on wasting an entire account on characters only for this purpose. These are merely guidelines to give you all a feel for how far I'm willing to go for the aspect of roleplaying. New recruits of the guild will undergo either a sort of public transformation or a recruitment ceremony/event, which is tied into which of the 6 races they selected. These provide some early RP opportunity, fun, and very valuable PR for the guild. 1) Skeletons: A rogue graverobber will sneak into a graveyard to dig up some treasure that was burried with the dead. During the desecration of the grave a lich will appear and raise the skeletal remains of the buried body. The lich will the command the skeleton to kill the gravedigger, if the gravedigger manages to escape the lich will kill the minion and he will not be heard from again. 2) Ghouls: Some sort of “zombie-infestation†event, where the new recruit starts normal and human in a busy town, but starts to cough and then suffer from violent pains and fleshy parts falling off. The new recruit will be ordered to hang around a town bank until the guild zombie comes by and infects him! After infection becomes severe, the new ghoul runs to the sewers or something and hides and stealthes away. 3) Wights: A guild character name "a suit of armor" clad in head-to-toe chainmail or platemail will walk through town emoting *eerily silent*, when suddenly a gate opens to the guild house. The new wight has to follow the suit of armor around as a publicly visible ghost and then go into the gate with the armor, and at the guild house a ceremony is done to seal the spirit within the suit of armor, and the new recruit is given the armor. 4) Lich: This race has two stages. First to become a necromancer, you will need to spend much time in the graveyards observing the undead. When the Guardian feels your knowledge is sufficient, he will open a gate to the guild tower. Upon entering the gate he will offer you a path of immortality if you are willing to give him you soul and undying loyalty. To become a lich at rank II, the necromancer goes to Britain graveyard and drinks a poison potion provided by the guild liches until he’s dead. He then sees several other ghosts waiting for him. He is told to walk to the Britain bank in war/visible mode, and the ghosts follow him in a visible ghostly procession. When they get to the busiest place in town, the other ghosts surround him in a circle, and after some ritual words, a portal is opened to the guild tower/town (maybe some ghouls are hidden there waiting to pounce on any unwary humans who follow all the ghosts through the portal!) There inside the guild tower he is resurrected by an existing guild lich. 5) Vampires: A “Vampire Hunter†with dark grey and brown clothes and cloaks and a heavy crossbow or viking sword will be going around busy towns (see #6 below) trying to interrogate random people for information about so-and-so, who has disappeared and has been rumored to have been spotted pursuing forbidden texts regarding vampirism and eternal life. Meanwhile, the new recruit him/herself has to follow some sort of clues leading to the location of one of the existing “Nobility†vampires in the guild (or to The Guardian if none are available at the time), where the vampiric kiss is granted after some dialogue. 6) Human allies: a guilded town crier will run through the busiest towns at peak hours calling out news and rumors that so-and-so of town X has been rumored to have been spotted performing dark deeds and cavorting with the living dead, any information concerning this individual should be reported to the proper authorities. When a gate opens to to the bank the individual will come out from hiding and enter. (bring offerings or you will be eaten!) If your offerings and loyalty are deemed worthy, you will be accepted as a human ally. GUILD ORGANIZATION All officers and leaders are a part of a ruling committee (“The Shadow Councilâ€). The council will include at 1 of each of the 6 guild races. All members of the council will be members of the fifth and final rank. This rank is only achievable by one of each race, and is decided by The Guardian himself. The titles for each of the rank V members are as follows: Skeleton representative: Lord of Bones Wight representative: Lord-Revenant Lich representative: The Ancient Horror Vampire representative: The Blood Baron(ess) Human representative: Living Damned Guild treasurer/provisioner: Cryptkeeper Guild recruiter/noob counselor: The Meat Grinder Guildmaster: The Guardian Creating an Undead So you wish to join the ranks of The Dark Legion, eh? Very well then. Follow these few simple steps and ye shall be on the road towards damnation. BEFORE CREATING A CHARACTER Shoot me a PM with your chosen template, race, storyline, and goals. I will discus them with the council and we will give you further instructions. Do not create the actual character until the name has been approved! I cannot stress that enough. I don't want you to waste valuable time and resources creating a character that will not fit into the mold of TDL. The name you choose will greatly affect your chances of getting into the guild. The name you choose should not be Do0diSh or anything of the such. We are a roleplaying guild and have roleplayable names such as Balthazar Corpus, B'Lar N'Thot, Dark Fenris, Jou'Nar and Boz. Choose a name that best fits you and begin your adventure into the world of Britannia. After your character has been approved, create your character. Selection of sex is up to you, but follow the skin tone/hair guidlines of your chosen race. Shoot me a PM with your chosen template, race, storyline, and goals. I will discus them with the council and we will give you further instructions. (Brownie points if you make your way to Black Gate and socialize with current members. Learn from the current members and follow their lead. Remember, you aren' actually undead until you are innitiated. Try applying your backstory before we kill you and allow you to be borne again.) Follow these steps and you should be well on your way to undeath. STORYLINE In the begining, there was form, substance, and energy. Gathered within the womb of darkness was the Guardian; a great and formidable power, a dark power. Over many millenia the Guardian grew strong and powerful. Yet, He realized over time that He was not alone. Other intelligent forms had begun to take shape in the center of what was along side him. The Guardian, being older and wiser, watched in the shadows as the history of creation unfolded. The substance combined with form, and took parts of the elemental energies which swirled about, fusing together. This union we call Sosaria. As the ages passed, Sosaria became populated by many different races. Over the centuries, they warred, evolved and covered the lands. Some of these races found ways to tap into the greater forces of the beyond. This ability to tap into these forces became known by many names; majik, mojo and magic to name a few. As the mortal races learned more and more about how to harness these powers, they were able to call upon greater and greater powers. This angered the Guardian, for He felt that the powers of the beyond were His alone to command, and these puny mortals were tapping into them. Some even learned the art of returning ones soul to their flesh. Yet, tenacious little creatures that they were, they always wanted more. The time had come to put a stop to their poking and prodding of the vast and infinite beyond. These blasphemers had brought down the wrath of the Guardian. The Guardian created strongholds in the mountains to house his unholy legion. He filled them with his minions, and allowed them to fester and grow strong in their hatred towards all who opposed His will. Knowing that these mortals feared death, He claimed some of these places of death as His own. Thus, He had his servants raid the lands of the mortals and take their souls, adding to His own power. The mortals proved to be stronger than He first had given them credit for. They used the pure light of goodness against His work. He soon realized that the mindless creatures he controlled, although strong and fearless, lacked the lessons of the flesh, and thus the means by which He could turn the tide of this battle against them. Among the races of the living, He found the Orc tribes. He guided them as they grew, teaching them to destroy all others; man in particular. The Orcs, with their love of the Wargod (Guardian), served His purpose well. He realized in his ruminations that a power would be needed to bind His minions to a greater purpose and to act as a catalyst to spread fear and hatred into the hearts of man. To undo what had been done unwisely and undo all of creation. To his surprise and amusement, some humans understood his greater purpose, worshipped Him and spun the dark powers with skill and malice. He took these few into his fold and taught them His lessons. And, powerful they did become. The Guardian created dark artifacts of great power and hid them for willing seekers to find. However, he was disappointed time after time by the weakness that seemed to be inherent of mortals. A mortal named Mondain had used the Gem of Immortailty to control Sosaria and failed. He lost sight of his Master's plan and tried to use the powerful gem for his own earthly desires. The Guardian was angered by this treachery and allowed him to be undone. Finally, a solution formed in the Guardian's thoughts. What he required were followers that had learned the lessons of both the flesh and that of death. Those that drank deep from the cup of his dark desire, and sought to bring back into darkness all that was not meant to be. Thus the Guardian's everlasting disciples came into being; the Undead. And unto them, he gave them his sacred mission. NOTE: Individuals who are not guilded, and enter the area should not be attacked unless they show disrespect, or do not try and communicate with us. This will ensure that people arent afraid to come to the area. However if we are on a "hunting" there will be no mercy showed to anybody we encounter. Any comments or concerns can be PMed to me here Gharik Or IRC'd to Gharik-TDL (also me)
