The Game of Souls (OOC)

All the graphics for this SB are sooo pretty! <3

Thank you so much @Wolfi! <333 @RavenAkuma is insanely talented and drew up the cover :3

Nyx's post was so good! <3

Thanks, Iggy! <33

I love how some charries don’t wanna be there (cough mostly Balius) and then Nyx is just like “You want the peace in my soul? Sounds easy enough!” And just signs her soul away. Rip xD

Since we now have only one open spot for Furia, Raven and I just ended up using that slot to create a villain that will eventually (probably) lose the games--unless we grow to like him, which at this point is very unlikely. He's not a very likable person XD Cassian is now submitted! :P

@ravenakuma great post!! I really like Jae <3 seeing him try that technique on our characters is gonna be super fun.

@Iggy Thanks! ^^

Raven and I created a poll on the first page of the OOC to help decide what we're going to do about side characters. We would really appreciate it if everyone voted! <3

@Iggy @RangerofIthilien @winterwolf0100 @eulogy

Loveee. I voted option 2 but maybe there’s a way for all of us to contribute to the types of characters that would be useful? We could even have a couple more if someone really needed a character a specific way and none of them fit? I LOVE the idea of them repeating though, definitely gives hunger games Cato/Clove vibes!

Yes! I definitely want all of us to have some say in who these side characters are because they'll be such a big part of the conflict of the story. Maybe everyone should say what type of character they'd like to see, and raven and I can create them?

Honestly, if anyone just feels inspired to make a side character, don't hesitate to! I can post a shorter more brief CP here :D Otherwise, Raven and I are good with just taking requests, too XD

edit: The Template is added to the first ooc post!

The phases or "games" in this roleplay are loosely based on The Hunger Games. There are some ground rules, but we'll get into that after I give a brief overview of each phase. We'll use this as a guide for the plot!

The Astral Gauntlet (The Arena)

Phase One: Wrath of the Land

This phase is exactly what comes to mind: Elemental Trials. Since the arena constantly changes, the atmosphere will too. This phase will focus mainly on strengthening alliances and foraging, as well as scoping out the arena and finding a camp spot. Food may spoil instantly. Water may turn to dust. Magic may betray its wielder when the land deems them unworthy. This phase is all about survival when the world seems like it's collapsing. Here are some things we can expect in this trial:

Spoiler

Approximate length of this phase: 2 Days

Goals:

• Find weapons, food, shelter, and healing supplies.
• Create alliances
• Survive
• Explore bonds with your Guardian

Danger:

• Storm Surges - Hurricane force winds will invade the arena, along with blinding rain, tornadoes, and lethal lightning.
• Scorched Earth - The temperature can randomly rise to unbearable temperatures, wildfires will start, rivers dry up, and water sources are scarce.
• Earthquakes and Tremors - The earth itself will have a tendency to split open, swallowing entire sanctions of the arena. This could also cause massive Tsunamis on the coast.
• Toxic Blooms - The air can turn thick with spores, causing hallucinations, paranoia, and disease.
• Freezes - the arena can freeze over completely-- diminishing water sources unless you have fire, and causing temperatures to drop into the hypothermia-zone.
• Starvation
• Dehydration

Phase Two: The Blood Trials

The second phase is a trial of combat. After the Wrath of the Land, the Mantra will get rid of 90% of all hiding places such as flora and caves. The arena will be fully transformed into a fully functional battlefield. New weapons, artifacts, and healing remedies will be scattered across the field. Some of them will be traps. Here are some things you can possibly encounter during this phase:

Spoiler

Approximate length of this phase: 2 hours

Goals:

• Eliminate other participants
• Secure weapons
• Betray or strengthen alliances
• Gain high favor/recongition from the High Mantra
• Engage in battles
• Unlock dormant magical abilities

Danger:

• Fake Arsenals - The arena is littered with weapons and artifacts, but some are cursed. A sword may steal the strength of its weilder. Healing potions may rot the body from the inside out. Nothing is freely given.
• The Mantra's Chosen Ones - The High Mantra hires creatures of war to hunt down those who don't want to fight. To hide is to be hunted. To run is to be chased.
• Enemies - there will be plenty of participants other than the ones in our cast, out for blood.

Phase Three: The Hollowing

At this point in the Games, our participants are tired and desperate. The arena will turn back to how it was before, with flora and mountains, lakes and beaches. But there's a twist. Along with all the former elemental forces, the enemies that we made through the last phase, and the injuries, our characters will face psychological warfare. Courtesy of the Mantra, of course.

Spoiler

Approximate length of this phase: Unknown

Goals:

• Endure hallucinations and illusions.
• Confront personal fears and regrets.
• Keep a grip on sanity long enough to escape the Arena
• Survive the supernatural entities and the Mantra's Chosen Ones

Dangers:

• The Mantra's Chosen Ones from Phase Two
• Other Participants
• The Mantra's Whispers - The High Mantra will tempt our participants, taunt them,
• and attempt to break them. In any which way possible. Anything is game.
• Elemental Forces from Phase One, but worse.

Phase Four: The Mantle of Arbiter

The final and longest phase of the game, participants are exhausted and nearly broken, but they'll be surprised to learn that they finally get to leave the arena--only to be sent into the most dangerous place for witches. The Ashen Isles. The way there will be treacherous enough with seaborne forces trying to kill whoever remains, but even upon arrival, participants will have to immediately find a way to avoid being caught by the Chantry's hunters, or being ratted out by anti-magic civilians. The only route to victory is to find the Mantra's relic, The Wailing Grimoire, hidden somewhere within the nation.

Spoiler

Approximate length of this phase: Unknown (travel time + hunting time, probably a few days tho)

Goals:

• Make it to the Ashen Isles
• Avoid being caught, punsihed, or killed
• Find the real Wailing Grimoire

Dangers:

• Seaborne Elemental Forces - Tsunamis, whirlpools, high tide, etc.
• Selkie's Kraken
• Other Participants
• The Chantry Of Golden Flame - The Ruler of the Ashen Isles (Anti-Witch)
• Anti-Magic Culture - If caught, witches get burned at the stake or imprisoned.
  Fake Relics That May Be Cursed[/b]

The Mantra's Rules

• Your character can ask for "out" at any time during the Trials. That counts as breaking a clause in their contract, though-- meaning they'd lose whatever they bargained.
• There are no "laws or rules" between participants. That's why it's better to have alliances. (think Hunger Games where anything is game.)
• No weapons from home are permitted inside the Arena besides your characters wand. (The only exception would be Sable Crystallus' participant-- they are given two physical weapons of their choice, and some enchanted/amplifying crystals).
• Guardians cannot kill participants. The choice to kill falls solely on the participants themselves. However, they can help amplify a participant's power or grant their participant the ability to use their magic source.
• No medical supplies are given to participants before they enter the Arena.
• The Mantra has the right to end all contracts at her discretion. Failure to entertain her, follow rules, or hide from combat may result in your contract being terminated (breaking a clause in your contract).

So as you can see from the last post, Ley and I put up some resources for the games! You can take a look in advance to get an idea of where we're headed, but if not, don't worry--we're still focused on intro posts for the time being, so we have plenty of time before we dive into any action XD

That said, here's an update on the side characters. These guys will pop up in the background and may interact or fight with any of your characters, and in line with Winter's suggestion, we took the liberty of putting five empty character sheets in the collab pad (they've been simplified--these guys won't need to be fleshed out NEARLY as much as our characters XD)

If there's a certain type of person or mage that you're just itching for your character to meet, battle, or even kill (if you're feeling a bit wicked >:)), you can drop some ideas onto their templates. If you're not interested, that's cool too.

We'll build these guys up together! I'll also be able to hop onto the pad later tonight, if anyone would like some help with intro posts <33

I have an idea for a side charrie so I will be in there a bit later as well! ^^ Nyx needs an enemy XD

First balius post is in :] I split it in two because I wrote a lot >.> sorry in advance to all of y'all who have to read it LOL. Excited to get this going! : D

Balius needs to be protected <333333

also amazing posts, winter! <3