Races of the land
While it may seem close to earth, The now forest of Stevenston had much more grim origins.Horrific flora, hungering fauna and yet the key races are still able to survive amidst the chaos.
Humanity, as technologically sound as they are managed to botch things up for the other races after an attempt to cure the old world of dangerous plantlife, instead increased its potency.
Now moved into small settlements dotted across the deadly forest,they fight a losing battle to just barely keep their head above water, though a figure has helped them through-out history.
Wether it be the vix vitae, Amalura the deceiver, Joan the mother...they are all the same being, just seen in differant lights. In honor of this creature, most humans treat vulpines as sacred.
Elves have always been in stevenston, to the point it's quite frightening to imagine how they came to be. In truth, these beings are the side effect of Eldritch monstrosities breaking an
Existential plane in order to seep their maddening corruption into the lands that the elves now inhabit. Elves and humans do not get along well for the most part, as they see them as the
Very cause of the whole "Forest" problem starting up. The three best words to describe an elf in general would be: Graceful, delicate and ravenous. They've created many a form of magic but
See sigils as utterly horrid. The effects of said school of magic distorts ones very soul, either driving them mad as they carve symbols into their flesh to strengthen it or in some cases,
Prevent one from passing on as "The wilds intended". They have recently joined a merchant deal with a weird band of roving caravans, supporting the strange singular entities along side them.
While all the weaker races intended to die out, Orcs just got increasingly durable to the point that flora hardly affected them. That said, swallowing a human or an elf still makes for better
Protein than salads. Orcs see the other races as food, ignoring wildlife as they have a natural ability to command wildlife. Animals and orcs share a kinship, thus they don't bother getting
in the way of eachother. A certain critter hangs with these green skinned, relatively jolly folk and even taught them how to distill mushrooms into some kind of alcoholic beverage, the spores
tampering with one's mind and leading to intoxication. They do not like a certain guild that popped up with the death of ancient civilizations, and are always willing to help the Trappers and
their "unique" leader.
What's worse than being hunted as food? Being unable to defend oneself as well. The gnolls are as close as one can come to being wildlife, while still being sentient. Every other faction plots
This race's downfall...or at least that's what they believe. They ally themselves to the Dunestalkers, as lizard folk are just as animalistic as them despite being from a deep vast wasteland.
The dunestalkers are not big fans of the woods, only seeing it as a treasure trove for salvage, if it wasn't for the trappers also needing this beloved material. Despite torturing and eating
The members of this faction, they actually adore the thought of their boss.
LOCATIONS
Forest styx:
The seemingly endless forests of Stevenston are home to rather intelligent wildlife. Ask a feral dog a math question, and they may actually answer. While this intelligence helps them communicate
And even understand other languages, it does NOT help the wildlife feed. Majority of the plants, while deadly to upright species are quite harmless to any beast, tempting swathes of the other races
To genetically or magically splice animal DNA as to hope to not survive on meat and meat alone. Cannibalism is a common thing to the majority of majorly intelligent species, treated as normal to most.
Expect bandits at the worst, willing to enslave explorers into food or sex slaves.
Rad-sands/Spittle-valley.
Named after an old folk hero who used a spitoon to avenge the lives of his family, as well as the final resting place of said outlaw "Jaramiah "Gut gulch" Tedithore." History tells that long ago a civilization
Used to thrive, but grew too fast for their own good. Eventually, they caught a local legend, forcing it into horrible experiments, eventually resulting in the loss of the poor creature's "Natural" sight.
A strange figure wandered into her pen, and let the captive animal loose, before causing a catastrophic civilization wiping event, turning the surrounding area to radioactive dust. Human-lizard hybrids now
Inhabit the toxic sands, refering to themselves as Dunestalkers and attempting to salvage technology from this advanced people, to help conquer the rest of the forest for themselves. Supplies are scarce in this
Area, resulting in raiding parties to enter the forest to kidnap and consume anything they can get their hands on.
Istrello: A long thought extinct settlement somewhere in the woods, after a group of bandits dug under the city and planted bombs on the substructure in the hopes of levelling the city entirely. Unbeknownst to
most at the time, they were working on synthesizing mole DNA for Kemozation treatment. Given their choices, the citizens spliced themselves up, becoming large handed and mostly blind (thought a few exceptions exist)
Many a year pass, and the small city becomes an entire bustling community. Food underground is scarce, aside insects and surface dwellers, though with their new lease on life, Istrello developed a type of tuber that
Grows based on fertilizer, water and music alone. These plants have shaped the way their culture works, essentially forcing mandatory musical prowess and a respect/taste for it.
The endless city of a billion names: The oldest and most legendary city in the history of all of Stevenston. The kingdom started off humble, until an underhanded coup by a member of the royal servants brutally consumed,
Digested and disposed of the (Almost) entire royal family. Instead of eating the youngest, lady Gloyari Elizabeth Tenneton, she planned to just drop her from the castle walls and let the fall break the poor child for her.
Gloyari rose up, gathering aid from other civilizations with promises of riches and gold. A very young Bipedal animal joined her crusade, after being freed from the dungeons. Joan Blogayaskovarich pledged her very being
to the cause. Years of bonding, fighting alongside one another...it was only fitting that Joan became her life partner. Together, the kingdom hit its golden age as an era of peace, prosperity and a flourishing of magical
study. When the queen died, all forced the remaining royal onto the throne in hopes of keeping the city prospering. It was decided if Joan left city bounds she could resign, thought they had a cunning plan. Every day in
Secret, the borders of the city grew further and further as it even devoured smaller cities. The sly fox found a way out involving vertical ascension, having her beast kin aid her. Now growing upward, as well as out, the city
became too massive to even govern, districts being ruled by various castes and some by singular entities.
FACTIONSRovers: The weirdest part about stevenston, anyone who enters the land will be greeted, by a dark skinned man with an eyepatch adorned in dapper clothes. This man has one thing in mind: Making you join his roving caravan,
And doing jobs to share pay with him. In exchange, he offers a safe haven and even ones own personal merchant. In truth, the mysterious fellow is an old god, who treats adventurers as his pet projects.
Alts: none. One planned. (See: Dogmeat.)
The wyld: Nature spirits who take the forms of cervine and murine beings, led by a Cervine taruic being known as the wyldmother. They believe in the protection of all plants, meaning they use inorganic matter exclusively.
They are adorned in glorious, hand made platemail by their talented smiths who border on zealotry in regards to how one treats the materials.
They are allied with the Trappers, because their leader is a beautiful mix of flora and fauna, and has learned to spread the floral gift to others. Their other main ally are the Prey committee, masters of rebirth and consumption.
They hate most sentient species as with sentience and sapience comes destruction of the woodlands and its beautiful, radiant creatures.
Alts: none, few planned.
Adventurer's guild of the Styx forest: A mercenary company who hires people to delve into ancient ruins to search for lost knowledge, cursed secrets or artifacts to return to the bureau with. Money flows like water, as do pleasures
Of the flesh and influence over entire plots of land and settlements. Many a hero work for the group, though their shadier intentions with all the hoarded artifacts and their nature to Misinform their agents of their plans has lead
A handful to quit and work against them.
Their allies are the Rovers as alcohol, money and fame are very alluring to the drifter from other worlds. Their other allies are the Predatores, mercs who relish in consuming their foes.
Thier main foes are the Trappers, a group of foolish individuals who think that the dead civilizations robbed will care about their things being taken. Their other foes are the hungering ones...as is everyone else.
Alts:
Drues_Everglade, the latest in a long line of monster slaying heroes. Recently quit, joining the Trappers after being told the truth about his purpose in their grand scheme.
Trappers: A mysterious group of individuals who protect ancient vaults holding dangerous, potentially apocalyptic horrors. They've failed to contain only two, leading to the air becoming worrysome if one stays outside too long and
The latter vault containing an exiled group of lovecraftian deities known as
the hungering ones. Their leader is THE Joan "
Zomb" Tenneton, a being old as the concept of communication and possibly even magic made manifest
as Flesh and bone. They excel at cybernetics, biological experimentation and in general, adapting their bodies to their enviroment through unconventional means.
Allies: The wyld, who often enjoy the company of their leader and in particular the
trapper strain symbiotic fungus they've taken a hold of. Their other allies are Rovers, as most other factions know better not to trust them.
Foes: The adventurers guild have blatantly tried to open up major threats, such as unstable nuclear reactors or chambers holding scientific abominations from human history's past.
Alts:
Zenzig, A human who had his consciousness absorbed into mushrooms after over-exposure and germination of the trapper-strain. Loyal right hand and drinking buddy to his boss.
Ozden, (Played by other player) A Yellow bile imp of the humors variety. One of the oldest known Trappers and first members, and one of the few trusted to guard particular secrets.
RELIGIONThe conglomerate of the meat of Gaia: People who worship the Humanity within flesh. They believe that humanity transcends the human form, and is something akin to a soul. Their priests believe that all humanity filled beings are redeemable within the
Hylic globe, a fabled artifact that transports those special individuals
to a greater and far more pleasant form of existance.
Followers of the Vix: Consisting mostly of mages and people who have seen the VIX in their living avatar, these people and to a lesser extent most of mankind were guided, protected and taught by their deity. They are built upon the fundamentals of honor, charity and strangely enough, a mind that most would deep to be
Too open.
They are not opposed to being corrupted by monsters, having their souls and body transmogrified into all manner of beings. Seen as one of the primary religion for humanity.
Elven pantheons: Elves majorly believe in the purity of their kind and of their pantheon. From the lowly deity of gardening and technological advancement to their main deities of hunting, trees and weather. They are known to make blood sacrifices to their benevolent deities, hoping for protection from their Goddess of magic and evil: The fire furred Elu'Nith.
Worship of this fiend usually takes its toll on dedicants bodies as they turn paler, and darker in skin pigmentation, refered to as Drowzing.
Chosen of the primordial sludge: A more recent, but fast growing religion based on seeking out their most prized and beloved
Tar of renewal, most of which theorise is the same viscous fluid that most forms of life have come from, with the exception of the gnolls who are seen as just a mutation of canine/feline genes gone horribly wrong.
Their founder: Sprinko Roberts managed to taste enough that he's evolved into some sort of walking god, followers making pilgrimages just to kiss his chitenous hide.