I'm running a military campaign set in an alternate universe, with a heavy dose of urban fantasy. Character, intrigue, and plot are important, but there many opportunities to get shot, have your arm bitten off, or be instantly obliterated by powerful arcane forces.
The game will start with your arrival at your new station and continue from there. Characters must be soldiers in the Iron Legion, aka Legionnaires. Picture growing up in Germany during the early 1930's for your characters' past, except with more fascist totalitarianism, monastic orders of magical knights, secret occult societies, and clockwork overseers.
The story isn’t always a happy one. The theme is dark, so be sure to bring a flashlight.
Name:
Biography: NPCs or events often have relevance to the plot.
Physical Description:
Personality Description:
I'm aiming for 4 or 5 people. You’ll be joining in with a few long time players for added goodness.
Name: Anto Sladow
Age: 20
Country of Origin: Croatia
Born to a wealthy and loving family in the spring of 1990, Anto enjoyed a peaceful and happy existence for the first six years of his life. His family owned a large portion of land in the densely wooded mountains of Croatia where he and his four brothers and two sisters had free run to do what they would.
Shortly after his seventh birthday things changed for Anto. His family had heard rumors of a daemon rampaging through the woods, but refused to believe such a thing could happen without the Knights or the Legion being aware and taking action. This poor decision led to the the inevitable daemon attack on Anto’s home. The attack was brutal and only through sheer luck did Anto survive, hiding in the nooks and crannys only someone who had lived on the property for years could know, until the Legion arrived to put down the beast.
Anto, having no where to go, was brought to an orphanage to live until he reached adulthood. While the life of an orphan is not a great one Anto did have the advantage of having his families fortune to fund his life once he was old enough to legally receive it from the state. Over the years two thoughts dominated Anto’s mind. First, his pure hatred for all things daemon or daemon supporting, and second, the power of explosives he witnessed when the Legion took down the beast that tore his family away from him.
From the age of seven to the age of sixteen Anto’s nose was always buried in a book. Either dealing with chemistry and explosives or with languages foreign to him. He quickly found out he had a knack for both. When his sixteenth birthday came up Anto had already learned to speak seven languages fluently and was well on his way to being a professional bomb builder. Though, only one of those two factors led to the court agreeing that he was indeed mature enough to be given his family's fortune and let go from the care of the state.
Anto spent the majority of the next two years investing his money into learning more about explosives and how they can be used to destroy structures. At the age of eighteen, knowing nine languages, more than twenty ways to bring down a building and hundreds of different explosive compounds, that range from high end military explosives to something made from things at the local hardware store, Anto joined the Iron Legion. His only request? To be sent somewhere that he’d have the chance to frequently blow daemons back to hell.
Anto stands at five foot eight inches tall with a frame that is neither over nor under whelming. Despite his frequent handling of volatile material, Anto has, luckily, managed to do little in the way of lasting injury to himself. He has lost his left hand’s little finger and he is incapable of growing his right eye brow back.
He prefers to let his hair grow out but whenever he finds himself entering a new chapter in his life he can’t help the urge to shave it all off. So for the time being he has only the post shave fuzz atop his head.
His blue eyes tends to wander off most of the time, making him seem detached from reality. But when it comes to matters of explosives or daemons his wandering eyes and peaceful face give way to that of a very focused and serious man.
Typically too lost in his own thoughts to do very well in most social settings, Anto comes off as aloof to those who know him for only a very short period of time. But anyone who sees him at work knows that when push comes to shove you can depend on him to do his job.
Overall his political, religious and social views are that he doesn’t care one way or another about such things as long as he has a chance to destroy daemons. He is a man of obsessions. Obsessed with languages, obsessed with explosives and obsessed with revenge.
Biography: Born to a poor family in the inner-city of London, Evans' adolescence through young-adulthood was mostly spent on acts of petty theft and acting as a fence in order to fuel his single mother's drug addictions. As he grew older, he got involved with organized crime, and eventually completely neglected his mother's demands for funds.
Evans never knew his father... if he did however, he would realize that in his bloodline is a long, proud tradition of English military service. Evans' ancestry have always filled the ranks of the crafty, wirey, cunning types that every army always needs to do the dirty work when the sun goes down and the international committes for fair warfare aren't watching.
Bloodlines and early childhood aside, Evans' life of crime went much the same as many others do: For a time, he was very satisfied with his source of income. It supported him and he had enough surplus to have some fun. Unfortunately, one day his number came up.
It was a normal operation; they'd enter the building, hand over the supply at the same the clients handed over the cash, they'd go their separate ways, and the plethroa of guns that watched over the transaction would never be fired. Sadly, the drug enforcement agencies collaborating on busting a big cartel had other plans.
Evans was arrested that day, one of three surviving members of the cartel that took part in the deal. The cops took him into custody and delivered him to the hospital, where they took out the bullet in his gut. Evans had been one of the first ones shot; the memory of bleeding out on the warehouse floor while the rest of his partners were shot to pieces causes him reoccuring nightmares.
Upon recovery, he was given a choice: by chance, his record found its way into the hands of an Iron Legion officer. He could immediately join the Legion in inentured servitude and repay his debt to society, or serve a prison term. Evans never was one for confinement, and had always toyed with the idea of enlisting anyway. The choice was obvious.
Physical Description: Slim, short, and wirey. Evans has a thin frame suited for going lightning fast. Malnutrition and poor conditions growing up means that his body doesn't really have the capabilities for overall strength or endurance that it naturally would though.
His face is round with a narrow nose, and usually has 10% of a smirk or sardonic half-smile creeping on his expression. Bright green eyes almost always have a sense of alertness.
Personality Description: Evans is usually quite laid back. A lifetime of hardship and struggles has taught him to appreciate the small things. It takes something significant to ruffle his feathers, and he's quick to forgive. "We're all sinners, after all," is often what he'll say in response to an apology.
The only surefire way to fast-track him to a temper is exposure to spiders. Evans HATES spiders.
Biography: A tank pilot, gunner and mechanic with 16 years of service for the Iron Legion, Gerald has just recently left the brig which he had been held in for assualting a fellow soldier. Fortuantely his sentance was light, and the Legion was lenient. American needed more troops. With a history of disciplinary actions and court marshals the weathered veteran has no more rank than the freshest recruit. It may be some time yet until the Legion gives him his license back since his most recent foul up.
Despite his horrible interpersonal skills, one Talik Eichenger, a soldiering buddy from the days of old, still remebers the brash young soldier who saved his life. It is no doubt Talik's efforts alone, combined with his position, that have kept Gerald in the Legion's good graces.
Physical Description: A large and imposing man, Gerald is often found with his uniform grimy and in disarray from servicing vehicles or in repair projects completed in his spare time. Years of hunching over to work on projects have done little for the soldier's posture, and many a superior has taken Gerald to task for failing to maintain the appearance of the Iron Legion. When he isn't fixing something, Gerald is oft in the process of breaking something. Though not officially liscenced for aircraft, the cunning tinkerer has crashed and destroyed four of his own designs thus far, and most of his former supply seargent still wont relinquish any gear without full written comfirmation.
Gerald keeps a pair of glasses, and prescription goggles handy for use in the field, and for enjoying the view on his occasional brief flights. Though his eyesight isn't bad enough to require them for mundane needs (so he says,) Iron Legion protocol requires him to wear them while driving. His tank lisence has been revoked three times for failing to comply with this regulation alone.
Personality Description: Gerald learned years ago that he would never get anywhere within the Legion's hierarchy. This realization has given him a sense of freedom most soldiers envy. And some of come to hate him for his almost careless attitude. Gerald spends his off time bending the rules and doing as he pleases, often finding his leave cut short and as a frequent visitor to the brig. But as he plays hard, so does Gerald fight hard, and many are the medals and commendations he has been written up for.
Who boy, testimonials time. By Iron and Blood is an awesome story, it has been active for for over a year at this point. We have seen a complex story develop and characters enriched, but there also seems to be a never ending supply of direction for the story to develop. New player and old are always experiencing something new.
The story is harsh, do not expect things to be easy. People have died, quite often came very close to death. Entire towns and military bases have been blinked from existence. The scope of conflict is vast and can feel overwhelming, but with a bit of camaraderie you can hold on to the hope to see a new dawn.
The mechanics are simple to follow and GM and veteran players will be available to help new members make it into the game. The activity is high, so expect your interaction with the story to be returned. And I won't deny that even during high activity it can still feel like it isn't enough, because the story is that engrossing.
I look forward to the new players and I hope you will look forward to this unique and engaging story.
I play Lucian Weiß master alchemist and field medic. I was the first veteran player to die, but I cured that little hiccup. I'm an extremely inquisitive person who can often be found sketching in field journals, or shaking every speck of dust from my uniform after tussling with a daemon. In combat I am slightly reckless favoring a magically imbued rapier or a single shot breech load pistol with alchemical ammunition. When the real trouble starts expect me to undertake often drastic changes after quaffing a personally crafted elixir, results vary. You will always see me patching folks up after a battle, more often than not I'm what makes sure you make it to your next injury. I'm a proud patron of my own talents as well, having been burned, cut, shot, crushed, shredded, broken and obliterated, you know I have to keep my skills keen. I have a strong sense of moral correctness, however this does not always mesh with what we are told is right (law) verse what must be done to ensure justice. Duty for me is held in a higher office than most other soldiers.
I've played with Notion GMing for years across four different forums in several different campaigns. I'm not sure why(I'm not sure by which criteria to judge the art of GMing post-by-post RPGs. Dedication, creativity, flexibility? Notion is in abundance of all three, most certainly. On that note, Notion's abilities and dedication is probably the best example of GMing as an art that I've experienced.), but it's been worth it and I've certainly enjoyed it.
I play Squire Thomas Sangers, the grandson of By Iron And Blood's Neil Armstrong. His grandfather's shadow lingers over him and he's quite torn between doing good, following the status quo, and doing what needs to be done(All three not necessarily overlapping!). He's an eternal optimist and (Occasionally obnoxiously) chivalrous and patriotic. And, for the good part: Abilities, specialties, and duty in the team: In combat, he's a sneaky sharpshooter and back-up medic, but outside of combat, he continues to be a cunning and resourceful engineer and man of science.
Summary of currently active players, character name, basic archetypes and primary roles.
Loftydreamer, Lucian Weiß, Compassionate and Daemon Chew Toy, Field Medic and Alchemist/Potion Maker
ChronicLunacy, Kasimir Albrecht, Rigid and Dutiful, Leader and Orator
Telicis, Viktor Milakov, Reserved and Insightful, Tactician and Marksman
Boromeer3, Thomas Sanger, Slightly Crazy and Famous By Birth, Squire and Rogue
Outside of the fact that I feel like the S.P.E.C.I.A.L system was one of the best thought up stat systems of all time, I've never seen such high praise of a DM of a pbp game. Color me super interested. Tomorrow being football day and me being exhausted right now I expect to have an app up in the next 48 hours. I hope that isn't too long.
Biography: A tank pilot, gunner and mechanic with 16 years of service for the Iron Legion, Gerald has just recently left the brig which he had been held in for assualting a fellow soldier. Fortuantely his sentance was light, and the Legion was lenient. American needed more troops. With a history of disciplinary actions and court marshals the weathered veteran has no more rank than the freshest recruit. It may be some time yet until the Legion gives him his license back since his most recent foul up.
Despite his horrible interpersonal skills, one Talik Eichenger, a soldiering buddy from the days of old, still remebers the brash young soldier who saved his life. It is no doubt Talik's efforts alone, combined with his position, that have kept Gerald in the Legion's good graces.
Physical Description: A large and imposing man, Gerald is often found with his uniform grimy and in disarray from servicing vehicles or in repair projects completed in his spare time. Years of hunching over to work on projects have done little for the soldier's posture, and many a superior has taken Gerald to task for failing to maintain the appearance of the Iron Legion. When he isn't fixing something, Gerald is oft in the process of breaking something. Though not officially liscenced for aircraft, the cunning tinkerer has crashed and destroyed four of his own designs thus far, and most of his former supply seargent still wont relinquish any gear without full written comfirmation.
Gerald keeps a pair of glasses, and prescription goggles handy for use in the field, and for enjoying the view on his occasional brief flights. Though his eyesight isn't bad enough to require them for mundane needs (so he says,) Iron Legion protocol requires him to wear them while driving. His tank lisence has been revoked three times for failing to comply with this regulation alone.
Personality Description: Gerald learned years ago that he would never get anywhere within the Legion's hierarchy. This realization has given him a sense of freedom most soldiers envy. And some of come to hate him for his almost careless attitude. Gerald spends his off time bending the rules and doing as he pleases, often finding his leave cut short and as a frequent visitor to the brig. But as he plays hard, so does Gerald fight hard, and many are the medals and commendations he has been written up for.