NPC
sleep researcher
While browsing the RPG sub-forum, I figured that making a more open-ended and free-form RPG than the usual would be interesting (and fun).
Plot
Nimbur is a beautiful and bountiful nation to the south of the Silver Continent. Its coastline meets a shimmering sea along the southern edge. Its land yields crops and treasures, long-lost artifacts and priceless gems in equal measure. The country was built upon the ruins of a civilization that collapsed upon itself, a people much more advanced than them. When they fell into a generalized civil war and exterminated each other almost overnight, they took many astounding technological developments and magical artifacts with them. Now the land's bowels hide these treasures, strange devices and cursed tomes that go for quite a bit of money if you know where to sell them.
As such, it is no surprise that Nimbur is crawling with bounty hunters, mercenaries and treasure-seeking travelers. Thousands of adventurous youths have decided to make a living off of venturing into the most remote and unexplored corners of the world and returning with, hopefully, priceless treasures. Nimbur is blessed with variety in nature, and within its terrain one will find snowy expanses, rolling grasslands, fog-drenched mountains, fertile valleys, sweltering swamplands, active volcanoes and glimmering lakes. Ancient ruins and abandoned temples await in the hidden places of the world, and adventurers will waste no time in plundering them, no matter the dangers ahead.
However, Nimbur has presently fallen into a state of disrepair. After the death of the magnificent Dragon Emperor, a man whose power and sagacity united the country under one ruler, his young and inexperienced son has ascended to the throne. The new emperor's hand is unsteady and his decrees fall on deaf ears; his stately palace to the north commands no authority. Instead, Nimbur has fallen prey to avaricious noble families seeking power and leverage. These noble houses have risen as feudal estates all over the country, recruiting warriors, vagrants, thieves and adventurers of all sorts in order to find new treasures and ancient artifacts for them in exchange for handsome rewards. These families form alliances in hopes of overthrowing the ruling emperor and throwing Nimbur into a state of anarchy, where they will fight each other over a seat in the throne.
And so, Nimbur has become a rather dangerous place to traverse. Cities have erected walls and caravans travel with hired guards. Now that the single source of political power is gone, farmers, artisans and rogues flock to feudal lords for protection in exchange for serfdom. These noble families amass militias, which they use to clash with each other in bids for terrain and power. The country is rapidly becoming a land where the strong few subdue the weak populace and exploit them without repercussion.
In a time like this, the weak-willed emperor has turned to an old legend for hope. Understanding that the one way for him to wrest power away from the nobles is to beat them at their own game, he has set his sights on the Diamondhead, an artifact said to have been the pride of the long-lost civilization and the source of their insurmountable power. Nobody really knows what the Diamondhead is, what it looks like, or where it is located. All that the legends say is that it has the power to reveal all the world's secrets to its owner; it can predict the outcome of every battle, reveal whether harvests will be bountiful or scarce, and even foretell the end of the world. In a land where everything is uncertain, knowledge is the source of all power, and the emperor understands that if he obtains the Diamondhead, the feudal lords will have no choice but to kneel before him.
To this end, the emperor has sent out a message throughout all of Nimbur. All wanderers, hired swords, adventurers, treasure hunters and assassins are welcome to travel to his Mountain Palace on the northern end of the country. Their past deeds do not matter; whether vagabonds or convicts, everyone is a welcome candidate for the greatest search party ever amassed, so long as they are skilled. They will be sent to the four corners of the nation in search for the fabled Diamondhead, and whichever party finds this mythical item—which may or may not even exist—will be rewarded with untold fortunes, knighted and invited to the emperor's court. In other words, a carefree life of riches and pleasures.
But as mentioned, Nimbur is a dangerous place. And no doubt some of the less morally-inclined characters to enter this bid will try to cull the competition by taking out the weaker contenders. This isn't to mention that the noble families are none too pleased with the emperor's plan and will probably go out of their way to throw a wrench into its gears. And that isn't to mention that Nimbur is a dangerous place by itself, crawling with brigands, thieves, dangerous fauna and who knows what else.
Whatever happens to these brave adventurers, it will surely be a story told and re-told for generations after them.
Premise
The RPG will begin in the Emperor's Mountain Palace, where our characters will be designated as one of many search parties sent off to the remote corners of Nimbur in search of the Diamondhead. From there, we will essentially go where adventure takes us. The characters will explore ruins submerged in a murky lagoon, climb to martial arts temples on misty mountaintops, ride steamboat airships across the sea to visit tropical islands zealously guarded by their natives, face off against a noble's militia, ward off gangs of thieves in the forest, and so on. Think of a Dungeons and Dragons session where the main goal is to have fun. Of course there won't be any dice-throwing or number-crunching, just regular forum RPing in the usual SPPf fashion. Obviously, on the way, characters will be given the opportunity to explore their own pasts and exorcise their inner demons, if they have any. The focus will be on character interaction and adventuring. Things will be kept relatively lighthearted and comedic--think LUNAR, Grandia, or Rhapsody more than Final Fantasy--but that doesn't mean there won't be more serious moments.
Sign-ups
Here is the character template. I'm expecting around seven or eight players, not including myself.
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Appearance:
Personality:
Weapon:
In the cosmology of Nimbur, weapons are considered more than simple tools and everyone has an almost animistic relationship with their weapon. All weapon-wielders, no matter if they're lowly thieves or prestigious knights, name their weapon of choice and care for it with varying levels of fastidiousness. Weapons may have magical properties or grant special boons to their wielder, but usually they are mass-produced or self-crafted without any of these special attributes. As the RPG progresses, characters may find opportunities to obtain new and more powerful weapons.
Advanced weaponry such as firearms does not exist in Nimbur (aside from high-tech ancient weaponry unearthed from the previous civilization's ruins). The most common weapons are polearms (lances, staves), blades (daggers, swords), and ranged weaponry like bows, crossbows and the rare slingshot or boomerang. Those well-versed in magic tend to carry mystical tomes which assist in spellwork.
Equipment:
Any adventurer worth his (or her) salt is prepared for all eventualities! Depending on what type of character you are playing, they may carry plate armor, smoke pellets, throwing daggers, or less exotic items such as crushed medicinal herbs or a compass. As with weapons, you will gain (and lose) equipment as the RPG progresses.
"Equipment" is a very vague category, so include anything you think is worth mentioning, including things that may normally not be referred to as "equipment", such as companion pets or familiars.
Skills:
Your character must have some skill or another if they have decided to embark on this adventure. This is a very broad category. Your character may be a skilled martial artist, a magician, a blacksmith, a traveling merchant or many other things. Nimbur has both magic and technology, although the latter hasn't advanced beyond the Renaissance or so, except for, again, unearthed technology from the former civilization's ruins. Obviously this kind of technology is very rare and usually in the hands of nobles. As for magic users, they usually focus on one of the elements.
Skills are not limited to battle-related abilities, either. Any abilities that your character has which you think are worth mentioning, should be mentioned.
Background:
A brief recount of where your character comes from, what they were doing up to this point and why they ended up being an adventurer, or whatever it is they are. Remember that your character's background will be mined for potential sub-plots in the RPG later on, so be sure to put some meat on it.
And finally, here's my character.
Well, that's it! I await your sign-ups.
BLUE SKY SAGA
Plot
Nimbur is a beautiful and bountiful nation to the south of the Silver Continent. Its coastline meets a shimmering sea along the southern edge. Its land yields crops and treasures, long-lost artifacts and priceless gems in equal measure. The country was built upon the ruins of a civilization that collapsed upon itself, a people much more advanced than them. When they fell into a generalized civil war and exterminated each other almost overnight, they took many astounding technological developments and magical artifacts with them. Now the land's bowels hide these treasures, strange devices and cursed tomes that go for quite a bit of money if you know where to sell them.
As such, it is no surprise that Nimbur is crawling with bounty hunters, mercenaries and treasure-seeking travelers. Thousands of adventurous youths have decided to make a living off of venturing into the most remote and unexplored corners of the world and returning with, hopefully, priceless treasures. Nimbur is blessed with variety in nature, and within its terrain one will find snowy expanses, rolling grasslands, fog-drenched mountains, fertile valleys, sweltering swamplands, active volcanoes and glimmering lakes. Ancient ruins and abandoned temples await in the hidden places of the world, and adventurers will waste no time in plundering them, no matter the dangers ahead.
However, Nimbur has presently fallen into a state of disrepair. After the death of the magnificent Dragon Emperor, a man whose power and sagacity united the country under one ruler, his young and inexperienced son has ascended to the throne. The new emperor's hand is unsteady and his decrees fall on deaf ears; his stately palace to the north commands no authority. Instead, Nimbur has fallen prey to avaricious noble families seeking power and leverage. These noble houses have risen as feudal estates all over the country, recruiting warriors, vagrants, thieves and adventurers of all sorts in order to find new treasures and ancient artifacts for them in exchange for handsome rewards. These families form alliances in hopes of overthrowing the ruling emperor and throwing Nimbur into a state of anarchy, where they will fight each other over a seat in the throne.
And so, Nimbur has become a rather dangerous place to traverse. Cities have erected walls and caravans travel with hired guards. Now that the single source of political power is gone, farmers, artisans and rogues flock to feudal lords for protection in exchange for serfdom. These noble families amass militias, which they use to clash with each other in bids for terrain and power. The country is rapidly becoming a land where the strong few subdue the weak populace and exploit them without repercussion.
In a time like this, the weak-willed emperor has turned to an old legend for hope. Understanding that the one way for him to wrest power away from the nobles is to beat them at their own game, he has set his sights on the Diamondhead, an artifact said to have been the pride of the long-lost civilization and the source of their insurmountable power. Nobody really knows what the Diamondhead is, what it looks like, or where it is located. All that the legends say is that it has the power to reveal all the world's secrets to its owner; it can predict the outcome of every battle, reveal whether harvests will be bountiful or scarce, and even foretell the end of the world. In a land where everything is uncertain, knowledge is the source of all power, and the emperor understands that if he obtains the Diamondhead, the feudal lords will have no choice but to kneel before him.
To this end, the emperor has sent out a message throughout all of Nimbur. All wanderers, hired swords, adventurers, treasure hunters and assassins are welcome to travel to his Mountain Palace on the northern end of the country. Their past deeds do not matter; whether vagabonds or convicts, everyone is a welcome candidate for the greatest search party ever amassed, so long as they are skilled. They will be sent to the four corners of the nation in search for the fabled Diamondhead, and whichever party finds this mythical item—which may or may not even exist—will be rewarded with untold fortunes, knighted and invited to the emperor's court. In other words, a carefree life of riches and pleasures.
But as mentioned, Nimbur is a dangerous place. And no doubt some of the less morally-inclined characters to enter this bid will try to cull the competition by taking out the weaker contenders. This isn't to mention that the noble families are none too pleased with the emperor's plan and will probably go out of their way to throw a wrench into its gears. And that isn't to mention that Nimbur is a dangerous place by itself, crawling with brigands, thieves, dangerous fauna and who knows what else.
Whatever happens to these brave adventurers, it will surely be a story told and re-told for generations after them.
Premise
The RPG will begin in the Emperor's Mountain Palace, where our characters will be designated as one of many search parties sent off to the remote corners of Nimbur in search of the Diamondhead. From there, we will essentially go where adventure takes us. The characters will explore ruins submerged in a murky lagoon, climb to martial arts temples on misty mountaintops, ride steamboat airships across the sea to visit tropical islands zealously guarded by their natives, face off against a noble's militia, ward off gangs of thieves in the forest, and so on. Think of a Dungeons and Dragons session where the main goal is to have fun. Of course there won't be any dice-throwing or number-crunching, just regular forum RPing in the usual SPPf fashion. Obviously, on the way, characters will be given the opportunity to explore their own pasts and exorcise their inner demons, if they have any. The focus will be on character interaction and adventuring. Things will be kept relatively lighthearted and comedic--think LUNAR, Grandia, or Rhapsody more than Final Fantasy--but that doesn't mean there won't be more serious moments.
Sign-ups
Here is the character template. I'm expecting around seven or eight players, not including myself.
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Appearance:
Personality:
Weapon:
In the cosmology of Nimbur, weapons are considered more than simple tools and everyone has an almost animistic relationship with their weapon. All weapon-wielders, no matter if they're lowly thieves or prestigious knights, name their weapon of choice and care for it with varying levels of fastidiousness. Weapons may have magical properties or grant special boons to their wielder, but usually they are mass-produced or self-crafted without any of these special attributes. As the RPG progresses, characters may find opportunities to obtain new and more powerful weapons.
Advanced weaponry such as firearms does not exist in Nimbur (aside from high-tech ancient weaponry unearthed from the previous civilization's ruins). The most common weapons are polearms (lances, staves), blades (daggers, swords), and ranged weaponry like bows, crossbows and the rare slingshot or boomerang. Those well-versed in magic tend to carry mystical tomes which assist in spellwork.
Equipment:
Any adventurer worth his (or her) salt is prepared for all eventualities! Depending on what type of character you are playing, they may carry plate armor, smoke pellets, throwing daggers, or less exotic items such as crushed medicinal herbs or a compass. As with weapons, you will gain (and lose) equipment as the RPG progresses.
"Equipment" is a very vague category, so include anything you think is worth mentioning, including things that may normally not be referred to as "equipment", such as companion pets or familiars.
Skills:
Your character must have some skill or another if they have decided to embark on this adventure. This is a very broad category. Your character may be a skilled martial artist, a magician, a blacksmith, a traveling merchant or many other things. Nimbur has both magic and technology, although the latter hasn't advanced beyond the Renaissance or so, except for, again, unearthed technology from the former civilization's ruins. Obviously this kind of technology is very rare and usually in the hands of nobles. As for magic users, they usually focus on one of the elements.
Skills are not limited to battle-related abilities, either. Any abilities that your character has which you think are worth mentioning, should be mentioned.
Background:
A brief recount of where your character comes from, what they were doing up to this point and why they ended up being an adventurer, or whatever it is they are. Remember that your character's background will be mined for potential sub-plots in the RPG later on, so be sure to put some meat on it.
And finally, here's my character.
Name: Arjun Kisqat
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Appearance:
Arjun is short for his age; with his baby face, big, brown eyes and soft voice, it's common for others to mistake him for a kid at first. He is sturdy and built, though, with deceptively strong legs and arms. He has stringy black hair cut short and kept in an eternal bed-head state, as he hardly ever bothers to comb, and it is usually hidden by a wide and flat paddy hat used to keep out sun and rain. He is naturally dark-skinned, further tanned after many long days spent outdoors. He is kind of boy in a man's body, as his way of handling himself betrays. He always seems unsure, prone to shuffling, tripping and falling behind, staying in the back of crowds.
Arjun wears a silken, long-sleeved shirt which he tries to keep spotless but usually fails at. Under that he wears a heavy, dirty brown vestment similar to a poncho, but it mostly hangs over his chest and back, leaving his arms free for maneuvering (It's similar to what Wander from Shadow of the Colossus wears). It's made of wool and has an intricate pattern woven into the back in white. He also wears a string around his neck from which hang many different seeds, a talisman of good fortune in his home village. He wears a similar ornament around his left wrist. Loose-fitting black cotton pants and flimsy sandals finish off the outfit, although he prefers to go about life barefoot when possible.
Personality:
Arjun is not what you would expect from an adventurer. At times he seems like the greenhorn to end all greenhorns. He is polite, respectful and down-to-earth. He believes in honor and chivalry and in letting ladies go first. He was raised in a large family, for which he knows his place and how to deal with people, and never tries to take the place of leader. If anything he tries to keep cooperation going as smoothly as possible. He very much gives off the impression of being a simpleton or a country bumpkin, and many try to take advantage of this by ripping him off or taking advantage of his kindness. However, he is almost irritatingly quick to forgive.
His patience sometimes seems boundless, but when someone manages to enrage him it really gets him going. He becomes almost childish in how unrestrained his emotions are, and he may start bawling or throwing punches. He tries to remain on friendly terms with everyone he meets and avoids confrontation as much possible. Nevertheless, he will not hesitate to rise up in defense of his friends or family. Although capable of taking care of himself, he hasn't been on his own for very long, and often gets homesick or pines for parental comfort. He detests being seen as a child, though, for which he always tries to project an image of cocksure confidence and competence. This doesn't always succeed.
Arjun can be easily enraptured by the beauty of nature in its rawest form and often stops to take in the landscape as he travels. His passion is horticulture; he loves plants in general and is irritated when he sees someone trample a flowerbed. Both of his feet are planted firmly on the ground and he doesn't let romantic dreams of greatness seep into his head; he wants nothing more than a comfortable life away from the dangers of the world. He doesn't care much for money other than as a means to attain this future. He treats his friends like family, and he is embarrassingly quick to fall for others, but most of these feelings are repressed.
Weapon:
Arjun's weapon is Vasundhara, passed down his family for several generations. It is a glaive or lance with a single-edged blade of considerable length, which can be used to slash or stab. Vasundhara is about four and a half feet long from end to end; the staff is obsidian black, with two golden rings around the middle. The base of the blade has a golden ornamentation patterned after a flower, a red string hangs from the opposite end of the glaive.
Vasundhara is usually kept on Arjun's back by a leather strap, and can be retrieved easily when necessary.
Equipment:
Arjun carries a number of tools that come in handy for survival. Namely, he has a fishing rod fashioned from a hollow cane, a pocketknife, a compass and a "map" that he foolishly bought for a few coins from a peddler in a town on the way to the emperor's castle; the map is actually full of errors and false paths, and got him sidetracked several times along the way. He also carries a varied assortment of seeds and nuts in a pouch, and some dried herbs which assist in recovering from wounds. He also carries what is known in his village as the Sheepcount Flower, a small and pale white flower with renowned properties; eating even one of its petals will put you into a deep sleep for hours.
Skills:
Arjun is not a fighter by profession. Although he has been trained in handling his weapon and can do so with a degree of competence, it's hard for him to hold his own against multiple opponents. Since he has an advantage over weapons with less range, he tries to keep a good distance and wait for an opening. He prefers to hurt or incapacitate rather than kill; he has never taken another man's life, but suspects that he may have to do so in the future.
Arjun is an excellent survivalist, however. He knows which herbs have medicinal properties and which ones are poisonous; he knows how to follow animal trails and make his way out of a forest. He can track others and erase his own tracks to be untraceable. He's an excellent hunter (and fisherman) and often recurs to these skills in order to feed himself. He can treat wounds and set bones if necessary. He is very practical and kind of a handyman, capable of carpentry, basic metalwork, and even sewing. He's also very good with animals and loves them in general.
Since Arjun is relatively short and slight compared to other, seasoned warriors, he can often run circles around armored opponents and dodge blows with ease. He can also use his weapon to pole-vault over gaps, a skill he trained himself in, which more often than not resulted in scraped kneecaps and a broken ankle on one occasion.
Background:
Arjun comes from a family of twelve children; he is the sixth. Most of his younger brothers and sisters help out in his parent's farm or inn. His home village is a small and uneventful place hidden in the eastern reaches of Nimbur, amongst open pastures and vibrant forests, where he was raised as a relatively carefree child.
The past year, his village was assailed by a drought which laid much of his family's harvests to waste. Though they continue to trudge on, they live relatively impoverished. His five older siblings have left to tend to their own business and the family has not heard of them in years. Given that his younger siblings are not yet ready to work outside of the farm, Arjun has been left with the difficult task of accruing wealth to maintain the family business for their sake. As he has no special skills to do this with, he decided (in a fit of uncommon recklessness) to take Vasundhara, the family heirloom, and depart for the emperor's castle after hearing of the great search for the Diamondhead. While he doubts the existence of the Diamondhead itself, he believes that by banding with fellow adventurers and scouring the land for riches, he may find something valuable enough to regain his family's economic footing.
As a secondary goal, Arjun also wishes to find his five older brothers and sisters, who years ago departed to begin their own lives. He has not heard of them in years and feels somewhat hurt by what he sees as their abandonment of the family, and hopes to find them as he travels around the nation.
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Appearance:
Arjun is short for his age; with his baby face, big, brown eyes and soft voice, it's common for others to mistake him for a kid at first. He is sturdy and built, though, with deceptively strong legs and arms. He has stringy black hair cut short and kept in an eternal bed-head state, as he hardly ever bothers to comb, and it is usually hidden by a wide and flat paddy hat used to keep out sun and rain. He is naturally dark-skinned, further tanned after many long days spent outdoors. He is kind of boy in a man's body, as his way of handling himself betrays. He always seems unsure, prone to shuffling, tripping and falling behind, staying in the back of crowds.
Arjun wears a silken, long-sleeved shirt which he tries to keep spotless but usually fails at. Under that he wears a heavy, dirty brown vestment similar to a poncho, but it mostly hangs over his chest and back, leaving his arms free for maneuvering (It's similar to what Wander from Shadow of the Colossus wears). It's made of wool and has an intricate pattern woven into the back in white. He also wears a string around his neck from which hang many different seeds, a talisman of good fortune in his home village. He wears a similar ornament around his left wrist. Loose-fitting black cotton pants and flimsy sandals finish off the outfit, although he prefers to go about life barefoot when possible.
Personality:
Arjun is not what you would expect from an adventurer. At times he seems like the greenhorn to end all greenhorns. He is polite, respectful and down-to-earth. He believes in honor and chivalry and in letting ladies go first. He was raised in a large family, for which he knows his place and how to deal with people, and never tries to take the place of leader. If anything he tries to keep cooperation going as smoothly as possible. He very much gives off the impression of being a simpleton or a country bumpkin, and many try to take advantage of this by ripping him off or taking advantage of his kindness. However, he is almost irritatingly quick to forgive.
His patience sometimes seems boundless, but when someone manages to enrage him it really gets him going. He becomes almost childish in how unrestrained his emotions are, and he may start bawling or throwing punches. He tries to remain on friendly terms with everyone he meets and avoids confrontation as much possible. Nevertheless, he will not hesitate to rise up in defense of his friends or family. Although capable of taking care of himself, he hasn't been on his own for very long, and often gets homesick or pines for parental comfort. He detests being seen as a child, though, for which he always tries to project an image of cocksure confidence and competence. This doesn't always succeed.
Arjun can be easily enraptured by the beauty of nature in its rawest form and often stops to take in the landscape as he travels. His passion is horticulture; he loves plants in general and is irritated when he sees someone trample a flowerbed. Both of his feet are planted firmly on the ground and he doesn't let romantic dreams of greatness seep into his head; he wants nothing more than a comfortable life away from the dangers of the world. He doesn't care much for money other than as a means to attain this future. He treats his friends like family, and he is embarrassingly quick to fall for others, but most of these feelings are repressed.
Weapon:
Arjun's weapon is Vasundhara, passed down his family for several generations. It is a glaive or lance with a single-edged blade of considerable length, which can be used to slash or stab. Vasundhara is about four and a half feet long from end to end; the staff is obsidian black, with two golden rings around the middle. The base of the blade has a golden ornamentation patterned after a flower, a red string hangs from the opposite end of the glaive.
Vasundhara is usually kept on Arjun's back by a leather strap, and can be retrieved easily when necessary.
Equipment:
Arjun carries a number of tools that come in handy for survival. Namely, he has a fishing rod fashioned from a hollow cane, a pocketknife, a compass and a "map" that he foolishly bought for a few coins from a peddler in a town on the way to the emperor's castle; the map is actually full of errors and false paths, and got him sidetracked several times along the way. He also carries a varied assortment of seeds and nuts in a pouch, and some dried herbs which assist in recovering from wounds. He also carries what is known in his village as the Sheepcount Flower, a small and pale white flower with renowned properties; eating even one of its petals will put you into a deep sleep for hours.
Skills:
Arjun is not a fighter by profession. Although he has been trained in handling his weapon and can do so with a degree of competence, it's hard for him to hold his own against multiple opponents. Since he has an advantage over weapons with less range, he tries to keep a good distance and wait for an opening. He prefers to hurt or incapacitate rather than kill; he has never taken another man's life, but suspects that he may have to do so in the future.
Arjun is an excellent survivalist, however. He knows which herbs have medicinal properties and which ones are poisonous; he knows how to follow animal trails and make his way out of a forest. He can track others and erase his own tracks to be untraceable. He's an excellent hunter (and fisherman) and often recurs to these skills in order to feed himself. He can treat wounds and set bones if necessary. He is very practical and kind of a handyman, capable of carpentry, basic metalwork, and even sewing. He's also very good with animals and loves them in general.
Since Arjun is relatively short and slight compared to other, seasoned warriors, he can often run circles around armored opponents and dodge blows with ease. He can also use his weapon to pole-vault over gaps, a skill he trained himself in, which more often than not resulted in scraped kneecaps and a broken ankle on one occasion.
Background:
Arjun comes from a family of twelve children; he is the sixth. Most of his younger brothers and sisters help out in his parent's farm or inn. His home village is a small and uneventful place hidden in the eastern reaches of Nimbur, amongst open pastures and vibrant forests, where he was raised as a relatively carefree child.
The past year, his village was assailed by a drought which laid much of his family's harvests to waste. Though they continue to trudge on, they live relatively impoverished. His five older siblings have left to tend to their own business and the family has not heard of them in years. Given that his younger siblings are not yet ready to work outside of the farm, Arjun has been left with the difficult task of accruing wealth to maintain the family business for their sake. As he has no special skills to do this with, he decided (in a fit of uncommon recklessness) to take Vasundhara, the family heirloom, and depart for the emperor's castle after hearing of the great search for the Diamondhead. While he doubts the existence of the Diamondhead itself, he believes that by banding with fellow adventurers and scouring the land for riches, he may find something valuable enough to regain his family's economic footing.
As a secondary goal, Arjun also wishes to find his five older brothers and sisters, who years ago departed to begin their own lives. He has not heard of them in years and feels somewhat hurt by what he sees as their abandonment of the family, and hopes to find them as he travels around the nation.
Well, that's it! I await your sign-ups.