H2G2 Free-Form Fantasy Forum

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H2G2F4Are you a fan of Fantasy? Do you like Role-Playing? Can you think of a third question to this?

If the answer to the above questions, or just the first two, or even the last one is Yes, then come on down and join the H2G2 Free-Form Fantasy Forum! (H2G2F4) Select a Character Class and a species and join in the fun! You can be a hero, a villain, a bystander who refuses to help either of the above on the grounds that you might face retribution from the other, etc. and then join in! Just know that the laws of Continuity apply here. If you want to join in someone's adventure, make sure you know what it's about before trying to do something that affects something.

Setting

Note: Please read the sections below this, so you can answer the Ghastly Madman's questions.You are in a dark room with wooden walls. A ghastly madman is at a podium, writing in a book with a quill pen. Continue

Species


Note that, while this gives you an idea of what each species is like, the following descriptions are more "rules of thumb" than irrevocable laws. It also includes how well they do in Magic, Melee (close-range) combat, and long-range combat.
    Human: While not exactly the most intelligent or strong race on the planet, Humans tend to be more lucky and brave than most inhabitants of the world. (Average in all areas)
    Elf:smiley - elf Elves have strong hearing and sight, and they tend to be more intelligent than humans. Elves also have the longest lifespans on the planet. (Magic: High. Long-Range: Average. Melee: Generally low.)
    Dwarf: Dwarves generally live underground, and their proficiency in working with stone is second to none, nor is their pride in their race. They are also are stronger than humans and elves. Also, female Dwarves are indistinguishable from male Dwarves, and are referred to using masculine pronouns. In fact, the only time you know if a Dwarf is male or female, is at the point in a relationship when things might prove to be embarrassing. (Melee: Very High. Magic: Very Low. Long-Range: Very Low.)
    Mini-Dragons: See below for a visual description of dragons. These creatures are one foot long -- two feet at the most -- and can be tamed as pets. (Very Low in all areas.)
    Fairy:smiley - fairy (Also spelled "faery") Faeries are generally well-known. They are usually between an inch and a foot tall; they are winged, delicate, and beautiful. Their fighting skills are pretty much nil except against other fairies, but they have an uncanny ability to fit through keyholes. They CANNOT have actual classes, and the only possible proficiency with them is magic. (Magic: Average. Long-Range: Pathetic. Melee: Yeah Right.)
    Esper: Espers are magical beings from another realm. Their magical powers are second to none. They usually take the form of a human or a majestic creature (usually humanoid in form). When espers die, they transform into a strange crystal called Magicite which can be used to summon the esper that transformed into it. Someone who summons an esper enough eventually learns one or more spells from them, and they can use these spells no matter what their class is. (Magic: High. Melee: Average. Long-Range: Average.)
    Taltal: They may be about the same size as Dwarves -- maybe a bit shorter -- but they're just about their opposites. Taltals seem to try to emulate humans, even though they aren't that much in the strength department; they're also better at magic tham some other races. Some humans have snidely commented that male Taltals look androgynous. (Magic: Very High. Melee: Very Low. Long-Range: Average.)
The following species are usually only playable as villains. (Note: this is also just a rule of thumb)
    Orc: Also called Goblins. Orcs generally live underground. They have pale green skin, sharp teeth, and pointed ears.
    Troll: Trolls are strong, long lived, and for the most part stupid. They must always go underground before the sun comes up, or they turn to stone. But what happens when the sun goes back down again...?
    "Greek" Troll: Greek trolls have a letter of the Greek alphabet before the word "troll" (e.g., "epsilon troll"); this denotes how smart and how strong they are, which are inverse. In other words, an alpha troll is the smartest type of Greek troll while being the weakest, and an omega troll is the stupidest type of Greek troll while being the strongest. The alpha and omega trolls are usually in charge of that tribe.
    Dragon: Possibly the most famous creatures in Fantasy literature, Dragons are usually depicted as being evil. Huge, lizard-like, winged, and capable of breathing fire, Dragons are often misunderstood. Dragons love riddles and gold, perhaps even more than themselves. (Come to think of it, Dragons are more neutral than particularly villainous.)
The following races CANNOT be applied for as characters, but usually will have some kind of major plot significance.
    Star Chaser: Strange beings from another galaxy. They travel from world to world, doing what they can to cause as much chaos and destruction on that world as they can before destroying it and absorbing its life force. If a Star Chaser comes along, drop whatever conflict you're involved with to deal with it.
    WEAPON: WEAPONs (spelled in all capitals) are gigantic creatures and slightly robotic, who can do a lot more damage at once than the average all-powerful-destructo-blast can. Can be Summoned by major villains.
    God: I think this race speaks for itself. smiley - winkeye There's no set pantheon, so Clerics and such can worship whoever or whatever they like.

Character Classes


These are rigid laws. Note: When Summoning and Magic is mentioned, it means without using Magicite.
    Warrior: (male and female) Warriors are proficient in physical combat only. Some are tactically intelligent, but not usually.

    Special abilities:
      Parry: A Warrior can deflect physical attacks with a weapon (as well as a shield)
    Wizard: (male only) Wizards are well versed in all forms of magic: spells, curses, elemental attacks, etc. Except for Summoning. They are more wise than an equal warrior.

    Special abilities:
      Learning: A Wizard can learn any type of magic (other than summoning) just by seeing it used.
    Sorceress: (female only) Sourceresses are identical to wizards except in the way they gain their skills. When a sourceress dies, she must transfer all her power into another before she can be truly at rest.

    Special Abilities:
      Inheritance: If a Sorceress character dies, she must give all her powers to another female character, who then gets ALL the dead Sorceress's spells, powers, etc. and becomes a Sorceress in addition to what she was before. (Even if she was already a Sorceress.)
    Paladin: (male and female) They are the epitome of being good guys. Noble, valiant, loyal to a fault, brave, etc. You get the idea. Actually they're pretty much Warriors except that they can use a bit of White Magic, and their personalities.

    Special abilities:
      Counterattack: Like a Warrior, they can deflect physical attacks with a weapon (as well as a shield), but Paladins can also choose to take the hit instead and give it back to whoever hit them.
      Cover: If a Paladin is physically near enough to another party member who is being attacked, he or she can get in the way of the attack and take it instead of them.
    Cleric: (male and female) Clerics usually have some sort of god who gives them power. They usually use their power to heal party members; they don't usually participate in fights, and for a good reason: they aren't good at it.

    Special abilities:
      Pray: They can call on their deity-of-choice to lend them aid. This tends to involve healing or otherwise strengthen the party members.
    Thief: (male and female) Thieves are good to have because they're fast and they can steal items from other characters. (It's a good idea to not practice this on someone stronger than you.) They can also nullify the need for (non-magical) keys in many situations.

    Special Abilities:
      Steal: Guess.
      Burglary: Allows the Thief to get into a building that otherwise would be impenetrable, whether this is via an upper-story window or by picking a lock.
    Ranger: (male and female) Rangers are good for long journeys; they can travel ahead and scout the territory, they can deduce what has happened from a bent blade of grass (which is an exaggeration), and they can do it all without being seen. Also, Rangers are capable of using all kinds of weapons (both swords and bow-and-arrow, for instance), but they don't excel at any of them; their main advantage is in their ability not to get into a fight.

    Special abilities:
      Tracking: They can locate a trail left by, well, just about anything, as long as it was on the ground. They can also detect when they're about to catch up with it.
    Fighter Mage: (male and female) Fighter Mages are well-balanced; they can use any form of magic (except Summoning), and their physical-combad skills aren't half bad. However, they don't actually excell in anything.

    Special Skills:
      Well, none, really, except in that they can balance themselves perfectly between physical and magical abilieies with ease.
    Summoner: (male and female) Summoners can only use green magic. In appearance, they seem to be whatever specie they are, except that a short, greyish horn is growing out of their head.

    Special Skills:
      Manipulation: A Summoner can influence the mind of wild monsters to aid the party for a short while. Afterwards it runs away.
    Dragoon: (male and female) These warriors are proficient in physical combat almost exclusively. However, they can use some air-based magic, as well as the ability to leap almost fifty feet and jump down on their opponents. They are typically armed with spears as opposed to other forms of weaponry.

    Special Skills:
      Jump: A dragoon can jump fifty feet into the air, but only in the process of attacking an opponent (in other words, they can't jump over castle walls).
    Monk: (male and female) Monks are unarmed fighters who follow one of two philosophies: getting in complete harmony with body and soul to turn themselves into the perfect weapon; or the philosophy of "hitting things until they stop moving." The first involves finesse, the second involves brute force.

    Special Skills:
      Unarmed Combat: A Monk is actually more powerful (i.e. they can give and take more damage) unarmed and unarmored than with weaponry or armor.
      Manipulate Fire: Monks can create small fireballs to throw at an opponent or to use in conjunction with another attack.
    Henchman: (male only) Henchmen ALWAYS have names ending in "wick" (such as Nodwick, Lampwick, Sedgewick, Troywick, Ezekielwick, Efrim Zimbalist Jr.wick, etc). They have to continue to work for the party even if they get killed (Can you say, "resurrection"?). And they can also cook food, clean stuff, and fix stuff1 better than anyone (the last applies especially to Dwarf henchmen). Henchmen can also be used as monster bait! And you can fix them with duct tape! And they can be reused! Boy, having a henchman is GREAT! (NOTE: Henchmen aren't allowed to be leaders or to make important descisions.)

    Special Skills:
      Go Unnoticed: Henchmen are literally beneath the notice of most beings, so if a Henchman invokes this skill, he essentially becomes invisible for a short while.
      Swag Lifting: Henchmen have superhuman strength bordering on godlike; however, this is only with regards to carrying items as "loot" (i.e. they can't lift a two-ton portcullis so the party can get into a fortress, but they can pick it up and carry it home if the Warrior thinks it would look good on the lawn).

Types of Magic


Note: Fightermages can use all of this (except Green). Just not very well.
    Black Magic: This type of magic is used to harm enemies. It's usually elemental, though. Watch out: if Black Magic is used on an enemy whose element type matches the element type of the Black Magic, it will heal said enemy instead of harming it. (See the section on "Elemental Spells and Reaction Types") And here's a list of spells to go by.
    White Magic: White Magic heals living things and harms undead beings. There's also a few White Magic spells (such as Pearl and Holy) that behave like Black Magic.
    Yellow Magic: Yellow Magic is something else again. It can be used for anything from changing someone's status to bringing their HP down to 1 regardless of previous value2 to turning people into frogs to opening a hole in the Space-Time Continuum through which an asteroid then falls through. Yellow Magic can stop enemy's movements, turn back time to the user's advantage, and hasten battles with formidable enemies. Some Yellow Magic spells (such as Meteor and the Comet series) behave like Black Magic spells.*Green Magic: Green Magic is used to summon some sort of powerful monster or demigod, which then uses one of the above types of magic. This does not count dead espers.
    Blue Magic: Blue Magic is any magic skill stolen from an enemy. The results of stealing a skill from an enemy is often more surprising than useful, but, still. Blue Magic usually behaves like Red, Black, or White Magic.

Elemental Spells and Reaction Types


Black Magic spells each have one of ten "elements" that determine what kind of damage it deals. Everyone has one of five levels of reaction to each element.
    Reaction Types:
    • Normal: The name says it all.
    • Weak: Hurts twice as much as Normal.
    • Resists: Hurts half as much as Normal.
    • Absorbs: Does not hurt at all.
    • Heals: Rather than hurting the target, it heals him/her/it.
    Elemental Types:
    • Earth
    • Wind
    • Water
    • Fire
    • Thunder
    • Ice
    • Light3
    • Dark
    • Poison4
    • Gravity5
1One can also force them to fix armor that's supposed to be thrown away if the party is cheap.2This is just a technical term; HP isn't actually used in the F4.3Also called Holy; only used for White Magic.4Only used for Red Magic.5Not to be confused with Earth; only used for Red Magic.

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Infinite Improbability Drive

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