Post by Seya on May 29, 2016 1:20:59 GMT
Seven months ago, the Pale Baltoy washed ashore. Laden with hollow jewels and trapped inside a sea-glass sphere, it held a telepathic message that mystified the world: QEDEM IS RISING....surely not.
Qedem was a child’s tale, for goodness sake-- a mythical island of wonders, said to be the ancient birthplace of all the elements. But nobody actually believed in it, right? The stories about pokemon “evolving” were nonsense. Thinking that companions and work beasts could spit fire or summon darkness was youthful fantasy at its finest.
The jewels, however, told another story: they were filled with energy that seemed to draw certain pokemon in. Lady Goldmoon, the wealthy woman who purchased the lot, believed them little more than curious collectors items until her pet Growlithe drew too close to the orange-colored mineral one evening by the fire. She and her daughters watched history unfold.
The next day, she launched a ship and told the world. The Pale Baltoy guided it back to its newly-surfaced homeland, and Qedem was laid eyes upon for the first time since the age of gods and heroes.
Dear __________,
Your application was received in a timely manner, and we at the Qedem Expedition Guild are interested in learning more about you and what you have to offer as a potential member of our newest team. This career path is not to be taken lightly; if the reports sent home by our initial squad in the field are to be believed, Qedem is home to pokemon that are far stronger than anything seen on the mainlands in recorded history.
We're seeking determined and daring young pathfinders to cast anchor at Camp Cavalli on the far eastern coast of the island, joining the first team of builders and merchants as pioneers in this new land. Your responsibilities will include traversing unexplored regions, assessing the safety of trade routes, gathering supplies to build up the camp, and perhaps most importantly of all, defeating and documenting the countless fascinating pokemon present on the island.
This opportunity cannot wait. As I'm sure you are aware, countless other ships will be seeking Qedem out for themselves soon enough, and will no doubt try to lay their own claims to the island's resources and land. Time is of the essence.
We have attached a questionnaire for you to fill out. Bring it with you to Goldmoon Hall two weeks after this full moon. There you will have your final assessment and be notified as to whether you have been accepted.
I personally look forward to testing your mettle.Clio Goldmoon, Guildmistress
ENIGMA OF QEDEM is a fantasy/pre-medieval PTU setting heavily inspired by the likes of Monster Hunter and Shadow of the Colossus. You are a young fighter or explorer off to witness the wonders of a long-untouched land. Qedem will present you with challenges of all sorts, whether it be fighting bosses, navigating puzzles, solving ancient mysteries, or even just flirting with the camp cook to learn awesome new recipes!
As some of you may know, a few information threads have been up on the Qedem boards HERE for a little while now, so feel free to browse those to learn more about what homebrew and mechanical changes you'll be dealing with in this game if you are accepted. The campaign will be peppered with my custom art and maps. I'm always open to player suggestions and I love working with character goals and fears. I have a history of morbid thoughts and I love creativity, so I'm really looking for true problem-solvers who attack things from every possible angle before (hopefully never) giving up.
CHARACTER CREATION
Your story begins with...► A character at level 4, ~20-40 years old.
► A single pokemon at level 10 with one or more evolution stages remaining. One egg move ala Playtest rules. Skill backgrounds on a 1:1 ratio (no edu skills). Must be Underdog. No Steel, Ghost, or Dragon types. Starts at Loyalty 2.
► One free Skill Stunt in a skill you have at least Novice in.
► One free instance of 'Weapon Proficiency'-- weapon types and the Edge itself explained in the info pages, AND a basic weapon of that type (details will be ironed out after acceptance).
You will not be starting with any items beyond personal effects, class-related crafting kits and a single weapon as discussed above. It will all be earned and traded for in-game.
While other pokemon can be added to your Companion Roster over the course of the game in a few different ways, you will only ever have one with you at a time, and 'capturing' them isn't nearly as easy as in a regular game. Choose a starter you won't mind working with for a little while until this happens!
Banned material:At Start:
► Supernatural and Elemental Classes (except Ninja, that's fine). Supernatural classes will be permitted from Lv5, Elementalists a bit later.
► Elemental Connection & Mystic Senses Edges.
► Type Ace.
All Game:
► DPDoM Splatbook.
► B&D Splatbook.
► Warper.
► Capture Specialist, Gadgeteer.
► Anything to do with Pokeballs and their crafting/upkeep.
About Fluff:Although you will find some information about Camp Cavalli and the NPCs on THIS Google Doc, you may have noticed I haven't fleshed out much concerning the "mainlands". That's because they're mostly irrelevant! I'm always happy to know more about your characters, but I've no need to pinpoint their birthplaces on a map. The countries listed on the document are merely a guideline. Feel free to make up your own kingdoms, peninsulas, states, and the like for backstory. As long as they adhere to my general mainlands rules (no elements or evolution in living history, no modern or futuristic technology) it's fine with me. I'll be judging your applications based on how much I like the character's initiative and drive, their reasoning, their skills and flaws... and how much I think I can get on their nerves.
The 'questionnaire' referred to in the letter above wasn't just for kicks, either. If you're going to spend a lot of time on your fluff, make sure a good deal of it is spent on answering the below questions as thoroughly, creatively, and honestly-to-your-character as possible. Whether you simply answer the questions or monologue-roleplay the entire interview is your call. Just know it's what I'm most curious about.
The Questionnaire:1) What role are you applying for? (Guard/Support/Researcher -- can list more than one if you think you fit multiple.)
2) This job would have you traversing the wilds and taking down targets in a variety of biomes in order to further our research and settlement, spending notable periods of time in demanding and dangerous environments. What use will your skills and abilities be to a compact team of expedition members?
3) What following aspect of the Qedem Expeditions interests you the most, and why?:
- Seeking the mystery senders of the Pale Baltoy’s note
- Learning about evolution and elemental “types” of pokemon
- Exploring long-untouched, ancient lands of many biomes
- Prospecting a new settlement and establishing trade
- Fighting pokemon far stronger than anything on the mainlands
4) After making an important discovery, your team falls into a bog en route back to camp. Your team’s researcher and one guard are injured. Your third party member is in a safe location, but unconscious. The researcher, who has learned and recorded data vitally important to the main missions of the Guild, has a 30% chance of being able to pull himself out on his own before the ground swallows him up. The guard is certain to meet her death should you not help her. You only have the means to help one. Who do you help (and if you're feeling bold, why)?
5) Why do you want to become an expedition member?
THE CRUNCH
I'll be accepting 3, maybe 4 players for this game at start. If everything goes well I am seriously considering opening a second team later on. That being said, each team will consist of at least 2 combat-focused "Guard" characters and 1 "Support" character. Whether the Researcher is a PC or NPC will depend on whether they fit well by the Guild's standards. When filling the questionnaire you'll be asked which of these roles you fill. I love skill monkeys. I like teams that cover a variety of different problems. I hope this game will present a challenge and you'll be tearing at your hair trying to figure out how to win! Because of this, I'm not looking for characters that can craft everything themselves; I think bartering and trading is a much more fun way to handle things. Just don't go overboard on the Researchers/Chefs/Mentors/passive support classes and we'll be fine!
Please feel free to apply with more than one character application!
Application Submission Deadline: Friday, June 10 @ 11:59pm Atlantic Time
Application Completion Deadline: Monday, June 13 @ 11:59pm Atlantic Time
Hopefully these dates won't need to change, but I reserve the right to modify them (extend, never shorten) if something comes up!
Skype is mandatory for this game; please join the conversation directly HERE ask in the Pokemon Tabletop group (make sure to ping Seya), or ask here to be added to the group. I'll also be using Roll20 for maps and movement. Otherwise, everything will take place on these boards!
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I can put out oodles of info and still miss the most obvious things...
PLAYER CHARACTER ROLE WEAPON STARTER DESCRIPTION NOTES Dark Shadow Darius Pike Support Kinsect Glaive Lickitung Awkward young survival chef. - Llyarden "Mia" Quinn Guard Great Sword Machop Rude & crude experienced fighter. - Anonyman Giro Guard/Res Great Sword Makuhita Oversized, record-keeping ninja. - TwilightKiwi Flint Stirling Guard Cannon Magby Weapons-loving combat engineer. - AncientSpark Asari Supp/Res Bow Paras Curious, wandering herbalist. - Mad Andy Gren Garvin Guard Kinsect Glaive Ponyta Enthusiastic wannabe knight. - Crow "Bob" the Sad Clown Supp/Gua Hunting Horn Mime Jr. A very, very sad clown. - matanui3 Bayard Almond Guard Hunting Horn Poochyena Mostly-reserved hunter. - Amillaiara Raven Winterchild Guard Great Sword Cacnea Intimidating combat-lover. - Amillaiara Neel Locust Researcher Bow Skiddo Laid-back outdoorsman. - truebutler Beatrice Rozen Gua/Supp Hunting Horn Bulbasaur Mercenary escort. - Dark Shadow Crystal Hatley Gua/Supp Sword & Shield Ralts Blunt but curious warrior. - breakthelevee Brant Stendahl Guard Long Sword Rufflet Sword-wielding shepherd's son. - SuperVaderMan Oscar Engwall Guard? Sword & Shield Cyndaquil Young delinquent blacksmith. - Elyander Sahraa Labdel Res/Supp Cannon Ledyba Wise, wandering chronicler. - shadowblaze94 Robin Carter Support Bow Cacnea Journeying field doctor. - JPThunda Makya Ahote Guard Bow Rhyhorn Determined plains hunter. - DavidHilm Mei Eckspi Researcher Longsword Snorunt Eager pokemon researcher. - CateranEnforcer Mack Gua/Supp Kinsect Glaive Growlithe Boisterous ex-gladiator. - Jacior Archibald Guard Kinsect Glaive Skiddo A true warrior. Alchemyst Nadia Medina Support Bow Pikachu Dynamic, eager archer. - joegus Cedric Holt Gua/Sup Longsword Chinchou Thrill-seeking sailor. - JPThunda Ethan Jones Researcher Cannon Sandshrew Adventurous archaeologist. - ShadowBlaze94 Amber Moon ? ? Jigglypuff ? Fluff unfi. GrimmStar Sven Toshiki ? ? ? ? Fluff & crunch unfi.
