Some backstory ( a rather long read )

The bloated detective wipes the mead-froth from his whiskers and slams the tankard hard on the wooden table, rocking your food. A proud belch soon follows, dirtying the already muggy air of the small tavern. "Right" he says, leaning over his chair and into his leather bag on the floor. Opening it, he searches for a while before returning to his upright sitting position...a wad of parchments gripped in his grubby paw. "Found the blighters" he beams triumphantly, handing the sheets out amongst you and your cohorts at the table.

The late afternoon rain patters softly on the roof and windows. The pub is scarcely occupied, which is only fitting. Why the legion representative chose The Bloody Rapier over a more illustrious establishment is anyones guess...but it only amplifies the feeling of mystery and secrecy that you cant help but feel this evening. Indeed, your group are the only people within the seedy little pub; save for the aged bartender of whom is tending to his glasses behind the counter.

The detective hands you your sheet of paper. Its http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/2295/arcaneuni.png. The fat soldier leans back in his seat, lighting his pipe and getting comfortable. "Right then" he addresses your little team. "Down to business" :

"As you lot surely know, things haven't exactly gone well regarding the Mages Guild. The mysterious killings and disappearances of key Mages Guild figures has been thoroughly publicised by the ol' black horse...but theres something else to it. Not some rogue mage with a grudge or blimmin' necro's. No...this is different, and serious so listen up".

The detective leans forward, exchanging a quick glance over his shoulder at the barman before returning his beady gaze to your group.

"You know how the Mages Guild are. Their a snooty bunch...always searching for ways to supposedly "improve" the world. Always coming up with new innovative ideas and magicks. Well, 6 months ago they really cracked it. Utilising their skills of conjuration and soul-trappin, they created an ethereal being. A sort of mindless spirit with great powers. The high-ups were very impressed 'cos it meant that this device could handle essentially any duties the mages would set it without second thought....but still make decisions based off its own intellect. It was capable of intelligent thought, but lacked the supposed "burdens" of human emotion. In other words, it was a robot. A bloody big, ghost-robot if you will.

So the Mages Guild melded this spirit with the Arcane University you see, essentially making the University a giant, intelligent, living thing. Now it could maintain and run itself. Books in the library for instance could order themselves, spells could make themselves, potions could mix themselves. Are you seein' what Im getting at? This was serious. The University became its own person, an artificial intelligence of sorts; a person they named "Vanus"...after the original founder of the guild itself. Now this is where things have gone wrong".

The legionnare points at your maps, indicating now is a good time to look at them. He continues his briefing.

"Vanus became self-aware. He realised the full extent of his abilities you see. This is what happens when you entrust a position of high authority to a supposed mindless machine. He went mad with power and created chaos within the university. Well...thats what we think hes done. You see, Vanus has locked the university down for the last week and a half. No one can get in, and the mages cant get out. We dont know whats going on in there, which is why we need you lot...and it's why we are telling you first before we go public with this whole caper".

He taps a grubby finger on the giant red circle in the centre of your map.

"Thats most likely his seat of power. The old main tower. Now you cant get in through the front gate, but we found a weak spot in the wall that we can knock down and get you in there to have a sniff around...thats marked on the map too.

I know what your thinking, why you and why not just send a ton of men over the wall? Because we dont know whats bloody in there. What if we stage a assault over the walls and he blimmin' wipes us out within seconds? No. This way is better. It's discreet and the safest way to play it. You test the waters first, see whats up. Those of you who want to go through with this plan; I have booked you a night in this fine establishment and have 1000 septims up-front as initial payment, with another 5000 septims upon your return. An armed team will escort you to the district in a days time and point you in the right direction. After that, your on your own".

The detective stands up and shoulders his leather bag, taking his helmet off the table and placing it back on his bald little head. "Infiltrate the University, find out what Vanus is up to...and stop him if you can. I'll let you discuss it and will answer any questions you may have for me at the bar".

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The RP

Well...this is an idea I had for an RP whilst laying in bed last night rather bored. As Im sure the more educated of you gamers here have already caught on by now, it's somewhat largely based on the classic P.C game "System Shock 2" ( you expected me to be original? ). You know, nasty rogue A.I's and whatnot.

The RP will be set within the chaotic remains of the Arcane University district, although it is somewhat larger and different then the Oblivion version you know. In case you missed it earlier, heres a http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/2295/arcaneuni.png of the new district.

Expect to fight lots of mages who were unfortunate enough to have their minds essentially melted by Vanus' influence, aswell as come across some new powers and abilities due to the way the districts been warped and twisted to the crazed vision of its unearthly master. I am undecided in regard to whether I should add a Bestiary, Items, and Locations list like I did in Mechanical Hearted Menace ( what a ripping success that turned out to be >_> ) and would appreciate any input if there is indeed some amount of interest going on pertaining to making this.

What you can expect is die should you not properly RP. I know I kind of raised the point back in MHM, but never really enforced it. Now I promise it...you will die if you do not play realistically as if you were in such a situation. I was lucky enough to be the only party member decapitated in Lycans great The Cave before that RP tragically shut down and I assure you it only made the thing that much more awesome. I will also PM members with secret things they may find or sudden pieces of handy information like I did in MHM to hopefully keep the RP fresh.

This thread is really only to see if theres any interest in such a concept. If you are indeed interested, post up a character using the sheet provided ( plus anything else you wanna add of course ) and we'll see how we go. If I get 7 or more folks interested I shall make it

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Character Sheet

Name:
Age:
six:
Race:

Personality:
General Appearance:


Skills: ( 7, can be anything really )
Birthsign:

Weaponry:
Armor:
Clothing:

Miscellanious Objects:
Miscellanous Information: ( personality traits and what have you )

Brief Bio:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Alrighty then...lets see how we go

Might as well use the traditional journey character of mine, who went through the TES Bioshock rp and lived. Onward, Jassan, immortal character that you are!

Name: Jassan Zartuk or Longarm, or Jas
Race: Bosmer
Age: 40
Faction/Profession: Procurer
Faction/Profession Description: "Everyone seems to think a Procurer is a thief. They're not. Procurer and thief should never describe on another, ever. A procurer may steal, yes, and may do thief work, but a thief is a lowly scum. Not so for one such as myself, a Procurer. We have class, style, a little touch of pizzazz. We are the noble's of the thieving world. Unlike the lowly thief, we fit quite well into standard society. Not to mention, we Procurers are rather handsome gentlemen." ?Jas

Physical Appearance: Jassan is a short, thin man. His sapphire eyes are sharp, always watchful. His frame is lithe, agile, and very, very light. His slicked back hair shines in intense light, and he seems proud of his appearance. Not what one would call drop-dead handsome, but definitely not ugly in any right. He makes himself look downright classy.
Mental Description: Jas is a very humorous fellow at heart, always seeking the funnier aspect to a situation, and snapping witty comments about himself and others. He speaks his mind quiet openly. He may seem the jolliest fellow on Nirn, but he can get angry. However, even in anger, his humor portrays itself, though he gets more sarcastic and nasty in his jokes as his anger grows. He can hold his tongue, the question is, does he want to. He is somewhat of an egotist, believing himself quite handsome (he's not), intelligent (well, he might be), and a highly skilled procurer (Entirely true, actually). He considers himself a 'gentleman thief', if such a thing exists.
Eye Color: sapphire blue
Hair: Black, short, and slicked back.
Height: 4'9"
Weight: 113lbs

Clothing: "I wear this dashing burgundy shirt, with matching pants, and simply magnificent Blue Suede shoes. Oh, and my handy belt pouch, to hold my spoils o' plunder, of course." ?Jas
Armor: "If you don't want to get hurt, don't get hit. Then you won't need such heavy, weighty armor. Duh!" ?Jas (a.k.a.- none)
Weaponry: ] "After beating up a foe, I robe them of any throw-able daggers. I'm not a picky man. I will take this, that, and the other one, so long as I can throw it. Sometimes I find glass, once even a Daedric. But I always lose them in the end, so I feel no possessiveness. Hard to keep track of your daggers as they fly at people, you know." ?Jas
2 in each boot. (hidden)
1 in each sleeve. (hidden)
10 along his belt.
2 on each thigh.
1 on each shoulder.
For a total of 22 daggers that he can carry at once. Though he doesn't always carry 22.
Other Equipment: An assortment of lockpciks hidden beside his knives. Oh, and some gold, of course.

Bio: "Well, after years of taking the wedding ring clean off me mum's fingers, and taking my pa's quill and inkwell without a lick of evidence, I left my rather annoyed parents to start my own work.. And thus I found the world of the classy Procurer, and have made much, much, much money. And that is your handsome neighborhood Procurer in a nutshell." ?Jas

Actually, Jassan is only partly truthful. Born to a noble family in Valenwood, he hated the jobs available to the nobleman. They were all too boring and plain. And so, after practicing repeatedly upon his parents, he perfected his thieving technique. When his parents found out, they were not annoyed; they were furious, and disowned Jassan, kicking him out of their home. Since then, he has roamed Tamriel as a Mercenary and Freelance thief, making money here and there, but not a large sum.

At one point, he earned the attention of the Grey Fox. The meeting went well, as the Grey Fox showed interest in Jassan's nobleman style. And so, the Thieves Guild Procurer was born. At the moment, Jassan is one of a kind. However, the hunt has begun now, as the Grey Fox seeks to use Procurers as his power in Morrowind, hiding from the Camona Tong amongst the guise of noblemen. His main goal is to use them for intelligence gathering and nobleman-robbing throughout Tamriel.

Great to see your along for the ride FC. Hopefully this will continue to gather further interest.

Name: Kills-Without-Sight
Age: 25 (Not sure what Argonian age-range is...but put him around 25 in human age)
six: Male
Race: Argonian


Personality: Kills-Without-Sight is a quiet, intelligent Argonian. He is calm and contemplative, but not well studied. He cannot read, nor write, due to his condition, which leaves most of his time that is not spent making his living to abstract thought.
General Appearance: Kills-Without-Sight is a dark green and brown Argonian. His skin is patterned much like camouflage, giving him a strangely comedic appearance. He has a 'spikes' hairstyle, which consists of two rows of shot spines that run along the ridges of his head. There are also a few random, out of place spines strewn atop the open space on his scalp. Kills-Without-Sight has light orange eyes.


Skills:Illusion, Destruction, Speechcraft, Hand-to-Hand, Sneak, Unarmored, Security
Birthsign: The Shadow

Weaponry: None
Armor: Leather armor (full with no headpiece) with iron pauldrons, knuckle plates, and wrist-bands. The armor has been died a grey and black mixture to help him blend in during the night.
Clothing: A black hood that is draqed over his head loosely and tucked into his armor.

Miscellanious Objects: Three lock picks.
Miscellanous Information: Kills-Without-Sight, is well, without sight. He is blind. There are no other physical complications, but this does give him a heightened sense of smell and hearing/vibration sensitivity (not sure what reptiles have...).

Brief Bio: Kills-Without-Sight grew up as a street rat in the Imperial City, mostly in the back alleys of the Market District. He was a beggar as a child, but not very successful, many of the other beggars took pity on him and donated what they could spare so that he could stay alive. This taught Without-Sight (as he was known before he became a mercenary/assassin) that there was some good in people, even those in the harshest conditions. It also gave him an intense feeling of respect toward those who are less fortunate than he, so he donates his extra earnings to the beggars of the Imperial City.

When Without-Sight grew to be a strong Argonian adolescent, he took up a few fights in the Arena. His fights drew many spectators, anxious to see a blind teen destroy trained combatants. It is unknown how Without-Sight became so proficient in close combat, but he soon found it to be his calling. This lead him to take up work as a bodyguard-for-hire and hitman. Many times the guards of cities in need have called upon Kills-Without-Sight to dispatch a criminal or two, but they always stand amazed as he returns with the job finished.




So, is this okay? If you would like a less-dramatically handicapped character, than I will change him. He could also go the other way and be called an overpowered character due to his fighting capabilities, but I figured the Legion wouldn't grab just anyone...so yeah, tell me what's up

Thats fine Neo...I dont think I have ever seen a blind character before, but you make it work well. And as for overpowered, I think the battles ahead will show you the true meaning of the word

We also have Jerods argonian yet to be posted, which brings us up to 3 characters. 4 more and Ill start it off, although I will still be taking until it has reached an appropriate limit. ill keep this thread open for just that purpose.

Sweet! This RP seems like it will be fun.

I like the plotline, even though I did recognize it the moment I finished reading it. That's fine, as long as you tailor it to your own uses, I don't see why you can't be a bit copypastalike.

I'd join!

Name: Kiera (Key-Air-Ah) Knightfall

Race: Redguard
Gender: Male

Apparent Age: 25

Actual Age: 29

Skills: Long Blade, Short Blade, Tenacity, Perseverance, Level-Headedness.

Armor/apparel: Light Armour. Full Leather.

Unique apparel: N/A

Weapons: Imperial Longsword, A Bow (On his Back) and a concealed dagger in his boot.
Equipment: Some gold, potions, a set of maps.

Physical Appearance: He is tall and wiry, his arms are long giving him a good reach but his height can sometimes make him vulnerable to daggers and short-swords.

Unique Appearance: He is black.

Mental Description: Extremely level-headed and cool in the face of danger, Kiera is liked by most. His witty attitude and sometimes childish actions make him an unusual character, but he ensures that all tasks are performed to the best of his ability.

Short Bio: Born and raised in Suran, Vvardenfell, Kiera or Ki, for short, was raised by his Mother and Father. At the age of fifteen, his Father left the house with another woman, and his Mother was left alone. When Ki’s Father absconded, she was left helpless and she suffered a stroke not long afterwards, killing her instantly. Ki was left to his own devices, and began training to be a true swordsman.

If he's ok, ofc.

Here's my wittle lizard :3

Neo, I like your Character, he's rather interesting. Like Atomic, I have never seen a blind character before

EDIT: What type of things will we be finding in the University? If it's some cool toys like a Dwemer Magnum like in TES: Bioshock (Or something of the like), that'd be insanely awesome

That looks fine Sir Steal, covers all that is needed.

We now have a dashing rogue of a Wood Elf, A blind Argonian, and a exceptionally "cool" redguard with another argonian on the way, superb!

Three more characters and we can make a start.

EDIT: Speaking of our second argonian, welcome Jerod. And as to weapons, Im sure vanus has come up with some devious inventions (although I dont know if they will be your standard steam-punk rifles like in mechanical hearted menace). I'll try to keep em special whilst sticking within the lore...and am open to any ideas you may have.

Have none atm, I'll think about some during school tomorrow. Rp's with their own unique items and locations are always fun :3 Although, to be honest, I never actually took part in one fully. (EDIT) The only I participated in was MHM.

I've seen blind character's done, usually not in a fighting aspect but then there are recordings of blind monks and such. It CAN be done, but he will be handcapped. I'd imagine a thrown dagger might be harder for him to accurately dodge, for instance.

Ohh... Dwemeri Magnum... I believe you refer to the awesome revolver that, in fact, Jassan Zartuck himself wielded in Bioshock. He actually had two of them, one sporting armor piercing bullets. Ah, fun rp that was.

Jas will have a blast with whatever the heck you come up with, Atomic.

Atomic, I have sent you my character sheet. Good to see you again, FC.

Pleasure to see you as well. Glad to see I have been missed by some older, lesser known friends.

Atomic, I will say immediately I am not sure just how much I can devote to this rp, as I am in college and life is hectic as it is. But, I will try to post when I can.

Aye FC, same here. Luckily however Im in me college break atm for another week and a bit, but thats perfectly understandible. We all cant be on the forums 24/7.

With Lords character ready and accepted Im two more characters off from creating the proper thread. Im glad Ive gone for a smaller starting amount of people in this instance as I think thats why Mechanical Hearted Menace failed so quickly. It became a tad all over the place so I can only hope that my hosting is better this time around. Im still contemplating whether Ill add the bestiary, locations, and item lists....aswell as thinking whether I should help narrate the RP in a "lycan" style, or create a character.

Anyhoo, it would seem no ones too lore-focused here...so Ill have to add some sweet dwemer magnum-esque weapons in the journey either way

Name: Alisa Ashfield <---- last name from marrying her husband. She kept it when he died instead of changing it back.
Age: 34
six: Female
Race: Breton

Personality: Your average lady. She is polite and has a sweet personality, generally avoiding conflicts. She goes as an average IC-citizen, not rich, but not poor either.
General Appearance: she is 1.65 meters tall, and has light brown hair drawn back in a loose ponytail. Her eyes are light green, and her skin is a tad tanned.


Skills: Alteration(master), destruction(journeyman), restoration(journeyman). Being as skilled with magic(master alteration) as she is, I think 3 skills are enough as she shouldn't have had time to practice anything else.
Birthsign: The lover

Weaponry: silver dagger for unavoidable close combat. She relies mostly on ranged spells.
Armor: she wears her late husband's wedding ring in a jewelery chain around her neck. The ring is enchanted with 50% reflect weapon. I guess that counts as armour??
Clothing: dark green velvet dress with white silk band details and a black waistband witch her silver dagger is attached to along with a money pouch. Black leather shoes. White robe with hood when outside.

Miscellanious Objects: she carries a leather shoulderbag containing parchment, quill, ink, some potions, a small book containing personal notes.
Miscellanous Information: in the evening she runs a small private school for gifted children teaching alteration and restoration. During the day, she is a receptionist at the tiber septim hotel.

Brief Bio: Alisa is originally from Chorrol. At the age of 18 she moved to the Imperial City when she got married to her beloved husband Astien Ashfield. When Alisa was 27, Astien died in a hunting accident. She has been a widow ever since, carrying Astien's wedding ring in a chain around her neck. Her reason for joining the group is to save the mages trapped inside, and aid the adventurers with her shield spells and restoration skills.


Is she too powerful? Anything I have to change?

That sounds fine Ayumi Im pretty loose with the whole over-powered/uber thing as I plan to test all your mettle regardless....I would really only object to a full daedric set with the ebony blade or something rather, so no problems there.

One more and then I shall make the RP thread as soon as I can. I'll keep this open afterwards and maybe it can catch the eye of other RP'ers. Seven is a good number, but never hurts to have more ( although it wont be barrages of people to the extent the RP becomes a shambles )

Seeing as this was essentially an interest-gathering thread, I assume you all know the standard rules and whatnot when it comes to RP's. No ubering, flaming, one line posts, needless OOC's ect ect ect

I'm just working on a charcter sheet now. I'll post it when done.

Loving the looks of this RP, Atomic. You sure do make some good ones.

Sadly, my time is too short to participate, but it looks good so I'm just going to put in my support.

Here's my character guys.

Whoo! This will be fun! Bust out the mead!

Nice characters guys, we have an interesting bunch of whatever-the-heck we're calleds for sure

Heres my character sheet
Name: Ronon
Gender: male
Race: dunmer
Birthsign: the lord
Age: 40
Physical appearance: skin is almost black and looks slightly charred. His hair is short and charcoal in colour. His eyes are dark crimson in colour. Average height and build but is stronger than he looks.
Skills: long blade, short blade, armourer, agility, alchemy, marksmen
Equipment:
Apparel: Armour: black bonemould cuirass enchanted with feather to cancel out the weight of the swords, black bonemould boots and greaves
Clothing: black fingerless gloves, dark shirt
Weaponry: 1 steel claymore (back), 2 silver short swords (hip, 1 on each side), 2 silver throwing knives (1 on each leg), 1 elven long sword (back)
Miscellaneous Objects: pouch containing mortar and pestle, 2 repair hammers
Mental appearance: strong willed has a sense of chivalry but also holds some superiority over females. Doesn't like surrendering but knows when he is beat and will not fight a losing battle without a good reason.
Brief history: trained to be a swordsman from an early age specialising in the use of a long sword with 2 others. After his comrades fell in battle he strove to master their specialty as well. While he is highly skilled in both of their fighting styles his strength still lies with the long sword. When he does fight he does it as if he has nothing left to live for.

*Yawn* A sunny new day, and great to see we have our last spot filled. The in-game thread will be posted toot-sweet! Ill be sure to post your characters in there so there is no need to repost them.

Remember people you can still join, all I ask is that you post your character sheet in this thread so I can take a look at it.

Chriso, your support means alot...and should you ever find the time theres always a free spot in this :goodjob:. Now, on to making the main thread!

Yaaaay!

Alright folks, official thread is up and running. You may find it http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1045598&st=0&gopid=15164702&#entry15164702. I'll just be tweaking it to make it tidier.

Remember, if anyone is reading this and wants to join...they need only to post a character in this thread for approval. As to those who have already joined, you do not need to repost your character in the thread as I have already done so.

have fun!

I have posted

My little hobbling Argonian awaits his companions outside the bar.