Rules for Velgarth Persona's

[stardragon]

Hi All, I'm Stardragon and I'll be RP Master for this set of threads.

Welcome to the World of Velgarth, home of Mercedes (Misty) Lackey's Valdemar and other countries, and the many varied peoples that populate her world.

This thread is for the rules of character creation (some of which are Misty's rules and sacrosanct, some of which are flexible, and others which are just common courtesy) and any breakage of these rules will result in your not being allowed to start RP'ing until the breakage is fixed.

Now that might sound harsh... but there are really only a couple 'hard and fast' rules and most everything else is flexible. I will post the guidelines for creation first, and then the accepted species/types of people you may create and a small sample of what those species/types are like.

EDIT:
I will also post a Gifts list and descriptions along with the total number I will allow to begin with of the Very Strong level in each Gift. First come First allowed will reign here but if I find you have a strong Gift that others want, and you are Not being active I will ask that your character be modified downwards so that others who are active may play those level Gifts.

[stardragon]

Guidelines for creation of a persona!

1- The most important one- You MUST have read at Least one full Novel set in the area where your character would come from. AND to prove this you must give the name of one of the Secondary or Minor characters of that book as well as the book title at the end of your persona sheet. I have read every single book and can verify this so please don't try to cheat.
EDIT: You only need to do verfication once for each type of character. For example if you create a Tayledras now and want another later you do not have to give me a second reading example later.

2- You may NOT use any original character from the books, this RP will be set a couple hundred years AFTER the last chronological book. Your character may be Distantly related to a character from a book, no direct relations except in the Valdemar monarchy.

3- Gifts (Mind Magics and Mage Gift) are an intergral part of Velgarth RP. However those Gifted are in the minority in most countries. NO character may have more than 3 Gifts, ONLY 1 Gift may be strong, the others must be proportionately weaker. The more Gifts the weaker they all are.

4- You may not create a new species/race/clan without contacting me for approval first. I will accept almost anything that is feasible within Misty's realm, so this is mostly a formality but it is an important formality.

5- Be reasonable. Everyone has flaws. Odd hair and eye colors are not acceptable as natural coloring in most cases. (No violet eyes/hair is not naturally possible in any species though hair/feather/fur dying Is possible).

6- Have fun with it, be original but don't go hog wild please

More to come... out of time for now.
EDIT: Ok I was wrong looking back over these I think that's enough to go on for now. I reserve the right to come up with more as they are found to be needed. Coming up- Species/Races/Clans/Countries etc. and then Gifts.

[stardragon]

Types of characters you may create- (This is going to take several posts so please be patient)

HUMAN-
These range all over the place in looks etc, depending on what country you hail from. So the countries and a 'race' description follow.

Valdemar- This country is a melting pot much like the US, a bit of everyone can be found here. The one Crown authorized religious edict- There is no one True way. All types of religions and their offshoots occur in Valdemar. Ruled by a Monarch, who is assisted by a Council and the Heralds.

Dhorisha Plains- The Shin'a'in, No one not Shin'a'in goes on the plains unescorted by Shin'a'in, no one. And it is exceedingly rare that anyone not Tayledras or Clan-sib would be given escort. Shin'a'in are nomadic, live in clans (PM me for clan names if you don't know them, there are only a set amount of them and they are already named). They are golden brown skinned, black haired and dark eyed (except some of the Hawk Clan, you must be able to explain this if you claim it). Think American Indian. ONLY Shaman's may have Mage Gift, any that do not take the Shaman's way must go to the Clan Cousins, the Tayledras. Religion- The Star-Eyed Goddess. Shaman's and Clan Elders are the governing factor here.

Tayledras Vales- The Tayledras aka Hawkbrothers. Once they and the Shin'a'in were one people, the Kale'din. Tayledras live in magically controlled environments called Vales and are usually bonded to a Bondbird, a magically altered breed of a once normal bird, usually they are a raptor species. All Tayledras are at least marginally Mage Gifted, those with only small magic become scouts or artisans. Tayledras share skin color and build with the Shin'a'in, but due to the magic of their Vales their black hair bleaches silver white usual by their teens, sooner if they are a mage, and their eyes are blue. Bondbirds also bleach to white and blue eyed over time. (The Vales are limited in number and already named PM me for a Vale name if you don't know one.) Religion- The Star-eyed Goddess, known to help her people- when they can no longer do it without her help only. Vale Elders are the governing factor here as well.

Karse- A country bordering Valdemar, their land is a land of hills, hard to farm and hard to live on. They are a very religious country looking to the Sun God Vkandis, who is known to appear to his people. They tend to the stockier, bland sort of peoples with not too much variation. Ruled by the Son of the Sun, a position filled by Vkandis' chosen Priest/Priestess.

Rethwellan- A country bordering Valdemar, a land of mountains and valleys. Religion- unknown but not a huge factor in it's daily life. Ruled by a monarch. Monarchy is know to give it's children very long, very constant filled names.

Hardorn- Once a war ravaged country, now a bit of a melting pot of a place but not to the degree of Valdemar. Many types may be from here. Ruled by a Monarch and Council. Religion- varied.

Eastern Empire- A Huge Empire to the very far east. Special permission required for this type of 'sona as you must be very well versed to pull this off. Religion- The Hundred Little Gods. Ruled by a Mage Emperor.

Southern Empire- The Black Kings. Think African American Empire and you'd have something close. This is a very structured and static nation. They do not change things except once a year and then it must be declared by the King himself as an acceptable change. This includes new professions as well as new laws etc. A very culturally oriented and bound country, tradition is Everything!

Other locales will be edited in as I think of them and have time or when I have someone interested in them.

Types of jobs for humans- Just about anything really, within the realm of pre-industrialism that is. From Mage to assassin, to blacksmith to thief to palace worker to trader. There's not much a human can't be. If you have any doubts feel free to PM me.

[stardragon]

NON-HUMANS
(I will break this up into several posts for length and will separate them by a commonality.)

Bird-like:

Bondbirds- It would be odd but you could play just a bondbird I guess. Bondbirds speak to their bonded human via Mindspeech, their speech is very limited word-wise (like a 3-4 yr old child) but is overlayed with emotions and visual images to get great detail when needed. Must be bonded to be played.
Size/Description- If the real bird would be 1 foot tall the altered bondbird would likely be around 1 1/2 ft tall and everything else is correspondingly larger. Colorations just like the real birds until they bleach out.

Gryphons- Velgarth's Gryphons were created by the great Mage of Silence far in history, they have the intelligence of any human. They live in the Vales and occasionally in other countries. They can be mages, fighters, scouts, artisans and other similar professions. Their natural coloration runs in the varying shades of whites, and browns with black accenting but they are known for dying their feathers, particularly the wing feather tips. Despite common representation on the book covers (like below) according to Larry Dixon, co-creator of them, they have feathered tails like a bird.

They look like this in body build with some mild variations (this is a dye job, not natural color)-

(If you know of a better (i.e. larger/closer) image of Skan or another Velgarth gryphon please let me know.)

Trevardi- The tervardi are humanoid birds, complete with feathers, though they are based on songbirds rather than raptors. They can be found in many colors and color-patterns. They were also created by the Mage of Silence, they are a very shy and reclusive race with very little known about them outside of the Vales. They live in the Vales or their own colonies only. Religion- unknown. Ruled- unknown. Permission required for them.

Vorpal Hawk- RESTRICTED, the Vorpal Hawk in this case is the avatar of the Star-eyed Goddess, you must give me details to prove you can play one.

[stardragon]

OTHER NON-HUMANS

Companions- These are whiter than white 'horses'. They are just like any human only in a horses body. They communicate with Mindspeech, and are pure white because of the mage energies that they use to increase their endurance, speed and other attributes. Sometimes called Shining Ones by the Tayledras because to MageSight they glow with power. Companions are ONLY found in Valdemar unless they and their Chosen are traveling, or they are on Search to find their Chosen. Companions Field on the Palace grounds in Haven is their home. Ruled by the Grove-Born Stallion the Companion to the Monarch's Own. This stallion does Not age and if he dies a new one appears in the Grove to take his place. Companions do not Choose until they are 10 or older as they are still considered a child/youth until then.

Kyree- Kyree have rather blunt, wolf-like heads and bodies like a cheetah, with tails and coats like wolves. They have a life-span similar to most humans.
Usual colorations- grey, browns, whites. They come in male, female, and neuter (natural born). Neuters are usually the world trotting ones. They are as smart as humans or smarter. They use Mindspeech to communicate, can be Mages, Shamans, Historians, fighters, artisans and more. Religion- unknown. Ruled by a Shaman and Elders they have an oral history. Live in clan packs, in 'dens' (usually an elaborate cave network).

Hertasi- Lizard people, they are smaller than humans, scaled, tailed, shades of green etc. Think 3-4 foot tall talking lizard They are a shy race that live in the Vales serving the Tayledras because that's what they love to do. All names start with an S, their tail height and position are good indicators of their mood. They speak Tayledras and Hertasi can learn others, their vocalizations tends to have hissing sibilants. They can be Mages and Artisans as well as all forms of servants. Religion- Star-eyed Goddess. Ruled by Elders.

Dyheli- Dyheli look much like a white deer, only sleeker and bonier. They are as intelligent, and frequently smarter than, humans and communicate with Mindspeech. They live in herds controlled by a Lead Stag. The Lead Stag's Mindspeech is so strong he can control the entire herd when in a state of panic. Lead Stag personas will be Limited.

Firecat- RESTRICTED, the Firecat is an avatar of the God Vkandis. You must tell me more details to prove you are able to play one.

Others will be added as I think of them or have players requesting them.

NEW species will be considered if they would be possible in the world of Velgarth! Just PM me with your ideas!!!

[stardragon]

GIFTS:

Mage Gift- This can be found in most species. Ranks are (strongest to weakest)- Adept, Master, Journeyman, Apprentice. Anyone (outside the Vales) that can not get to the level of Journeyman tend to be called Hedge Wizards or Witches. Mage Gift uses the natural power of the world and yourself. There can be evil mages but they are extremely rare. Mage schools vary in what they teach. To get above Apprentice level you must be able to use Leylines. If you don't know what that is you can't have a mage above that level.

Among the Tayledras everyone has at least minor Mage Gift and learns it's control/use. I will allow 3 Adepts per Vale.
Among other countries Mage Gift is Rare!
I will allow 5 Adepts in the Karsite Priesthood.
1 Adept Shaman in each Shin'a'in clan.
5 Adepts among the Valdemar people, 3 must be Herald-Mages. (Visiting Adepts do not count in this total.)
3 Adepts per each other country we get enough players for.

Master level is not particularly limited. Journeyman is open to anyone who knows what a Leyline is. Apprentice level is open to anyone.

Types of magic- this is everything from your basic spell casting and shielding to elaborate spells that call upon creatures of the elemental plains. A variation of a regular mage is Weathermages other limited variations are allowed as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mind Magic Gifts-

Common Gifts among Heralds:
Farsight- the ability to 'see' things are great distances.
Fetching- the ability to move objects with your mind, called telekinesis in real life.
Mindspeech- the ability to speak to others mind to mind, called telepathy in real life. Comes in myriad forms including Animal and Receptive only.

Less Common:
Thoughtsensing- the ability to hear others thoughts but not to actually communicate, Mindspeech is nearly always present with this one however.
Foresight- the ability to see the future, not always controllable.

Rare:
Empathy- the ability to feel and sometimes affect others emotions.
Firestarting- the ability to create and control fire, called pyrokinesis in real life.

Ultra Rare:
Touchreading- the ability to know the history of an object by touching it.
Dreamspeech- the ability to appear in, and communicate through, dreams.
Earthsense- the ability to feel when the Earth is poisoned or otherwise 'ill'.


Required Gifts to be a Healer:
Healing- the ability to heal another person using only your mind and personal energies.

Common ones:
Empathy- the ability to feel and sometimes affect others emotions. It can be minuscule but it's almost always found in conjunction with the Healing Gift.
Mindspeech- the ability to speak to others mind to mind, called telepathy in real life. Comes in myriad forms including Animal and Receptive only.

Ultra Rare:
Earthsense- the ability to feel when the Earth is poisoned or otherwise 'ill'. This is more common among the Tayledras since Earth Healing Mages are so very necessary to them.


Required Gifts for Bards: (2 of 3)
Creativity- the ability to compose either lyrics or music.
Talent- the ability to play one or more instruments of your choice.
Bardic Gift- the ability to capture and influence an audiences emotions, this is similar to Empathy and is rarest of the three.

Common:
Mindspeech- the ability to speak to others mind to mind, called telepathy in real life. Comes in myriad forms including Animal and Receptive only.

I will take requests for other Gifts but they must be logical. Ultra Rare Gifts will be very limited and will only be allowed if you can prove you know what you'd be doing with it. An example post with usage of the Gift (PM'd to me) would be best for this.