Forming a Group Concept- The Foreign Court

[Garem]

Howdy folks. It's about that time again to roll up a new PC for me, but I want to start out with a group concept. It's been quite some time since I've done this, but these sorts of things are always much more exciting from the get-go since a lot of the RP grunt work has already been handled. I'm aiming at gathering two to four more players for this.

I like to involve everyone in the details and final choices, suited to our unique, brainstormed ideas. Here is the basic concept, with specific and spoilerific details excluded.

How we get to Ymph:

The PCs are members of a noble court from (Calimshan or Kara Tur most likely) who have been sent for by their Lord/Pasha/Shogun (not an actual character), who had been on business near the Shining Sea. While being pursued by an unidentified vessel, the boat crashes near Ymph and the PCs are washed onto shore.

Group Goals:

The group will set itself up within the Docks as a stark contrast to other competing factions-- it won't be particularly anarchistic and will be, by all appearances, a group with an honest record. It will certainly vie for control in the Docks and beyond. The biggest difference of all will be the lavishness in which its members live. Getting absurdly wealthy and, most importantly, showing it off will be a primary goal.

I want to focus on bringing an interesting ethnic flavor with this group, hence the choices of Kara Tur or Calimshan.

The group will not be bent towards religiosity. This might make it open to conversion, however.

Potential Character Concepts:

I plan on playing as one of the lord's advisors, a sorcerer, very loosely modeled around Jafar from Aladdin*. If not a sorcerer, then the captain of his guard, a more melee oriented class.

Other concepts include (combining is cool, btw):

-Children of the lord, real or bastard
-A member of the ship's crew- Captain, First Mate, Deck Boy, etc.
-Squire character
-A member of the lord's paramilitary
-Trader/Explorer
-Huntsman
-House Chaplain
-Scholar (Alchemist/Herbalist)

*Bonus awesome points if you come up with a concept using another Aladdin character as a template!

**Bonus awesome DM points if a DM creates a magic carpet NPC.


There isn't a whole lot of specific plot info up, but talk to me in IRC and I'll explain it in greater detail!

Concept will get rolling as early as one week from today but no later than two.

Channel: #Foreign

[Bearic]

If it's from Kara Tur, it needs Shan Yu from Mulan.
 
 Seriously, though, I would enjoy playing some sort of Bushido following squire, or a Rogue with a hint of djinn blood to him. I rather finish playing Micheal first though. Excellent idea, I think.

[GoblinSapper]

Playing courtly members from one of the far eastern nations with their own intrepretations of religeon, as well as their more advanced culture, would be interesting.
 
Infact, two words my friends.
 
Shou Lung
 
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Shou_Lung
 
Shou Lung is basically, Imperial China at it's Xenith. A shameless copy to the bone, but thats okay because Fantasy China is a crazy crazy place homeslice.
 
They would emulate better into a "Western" setting, because chinese soldiers used forms of equipment more familear to us - long swords, Butterfly Swords (Scimitars), Polearms, Cross and Longbows, and most importantly Heavy Armor and Shields. As well, Alchemy and Arcane Magic play a part in their folk lore.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chinese_swords
http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?/forum/55-ancient-chinese-arsenal/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_armour
 
Alternativly, if you want to go with Calimshan, plenty of crazy concepts to go with there. Interesting to note about Calimshan magic, they shy away from Evocation, preferring enchantment and abjuration.

[Garem]

Thank you for those links, GS. I at first favored Calimshan, but the more I read about Shou Lung the more I like it. And the less I like the samurai of Kozakura.

[Nightshadow]

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Kara-Tur
Scroll on down to T'u Lung, it's a great place for this sort of thing, I think.

While we're on the subject of Kara-Tur, though, here's info on katanas in the Forgotten Realms.

[GoblinSapper]

Honestly, the Katana is the reason I suggest Shou Lung. In that they don't -have- katana's or samurai.
 
Lets face it, it's just cheesy by this point. Asia isn't all Katana's and Ninja's, let that tired crap go to bed.

[Nightshadow]

It... isn't? =(

lol, jk, but - the katana's and ninjas were there, and characters originating from there are MUCH more likely to use a katana, be a ninja, or both, than if they came from somewhere else.

[Garem]

Honestly, the Katana is the reason I suggest Shou Lung. In that they don't -have- katana's or samurai.
 
Lets face it, it's just cheesy by this point. Asia isn't all Katana's and Ninja's, let that tired crap go to bed.

This is exactly what this group will not do. No horrible cliches whatsoever. We want to diversify the story to add an interesting new culture, not rehash silly Western stereotypes we see in movies.

Addendum: Do not mistakenly believe that this group is being made solely to have a unique culture. That would be insanely dull. It definitely has some interesting goals, it merely is being done through the unique medium where we can explore culture and, more importantly, culture clashes.

[Garem]

Getting a lot of "Meh" from two of the four who have expressed interest so far in a Shou Lung concept. Thus, we'll probably be Calishite!

[GoblinSapper]

Well, Calimshan is alot closer, and offers more diverse arrival methods then just getting portaled. And it's reasonable for a Calishite clan to believe they could build a fortune then take it home.
 
I have a Calishite cleric of Sharess buried somewhere... what you'll really need are tanks, though, and being a desert nation full plate bulwarks aren't really Calimshans bag. I could imagine a household guard decking out in plate though.
 
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Calimshan
 
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Calimport
 
A good source of info is Empires of the Shining Sea, 2nd ed Forgotten Realms Box Set. I can probably help sauce you if you need it (PM Me), but for obvious reasons i'm not going to just slap up a link and get in trouble.
 
Also, I like the TV show opening better http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1AoZt7MPIY
 
PS: Given how highly engrained slavery is in Calishite culture, not sure if the Docks is a good setting for them?

[Nightshadow]

The law says no slavery. Don't get caught. =)

[Kotenku]

Garem is a really cool dude and if you are looking for a cool dude to group up with, then Garem is a pretty cool dude to fulfill you cool dude quota.

IC I mean.

OOC he's kind of a jerk.

[Garem]

We will actually be from Memnon, one of the five largest city in Calimshan, not Calimport. It suits the concept much better.

The slavery issue is touchy, of course, but accounted for.

So far we have...

The Sorcerer Vizier
The Courtesan/Musician
The Sagely Monk Bodyguard

[GoblinSapper]

Aww you already have the courtesean?
 
I can't seem to find any information about Memnon at all...

[Decimate_The_Weak]

I've not had many chances to roleplay with Garem, but the times I had, it has been an enjoyable experience.
 
With that said, I think this concept is very interesting, and with Garem as it's lead, I think it will be a very awesome player faction.
 
If you want my advice - join!