Vestraten: Characters & Plot

[Joel P.]

Welcome to this planning thread for the new collab story! It is one of three, each addressing different facets of the world.

This thread covers characters and plot. For the moment, we're going to leave this pretty much alone (except for Stormiel, who I know has some ideas) until we get the other stuff fleshed out.

Feel free to contribute to this discussion, but bear in mind that unless you are part of the Vestraten team, you will have no say in the final implementation of any ideas, whether contributed by yourself or another (though opinions will certainly be respected). If you would like to become a member of the Vestraten Collaborative, contact Joel P. This is not intended to be a club or a social status, but rather a subset of Anomalians who happen to be working on a story together.

That said, don't ask to be a member unless you would like to contribute a meaningful amount of work; whether mental or physical. Anyone can contribute ideas, but that's not the same as asking to be listed as co-author on the binding.
Current team:
Joel P.
rjj7
Kessie
stormiel

[stormiel]

Hey Joel,

The sub-threads look good. I'll post what I've got soon

[stormiel]

Here's a small glimpse of what I'm thinking, here are my top 4 short ideas. As the plot and setting progress I can update, scrap, come up with character profiles and personality cheat sheets (if we want to use any of these characters at all).


I'm one of those character first types so until we have characters I may not be very helpful with the plot.

Anyway here it goes:

Brinn (male): Only survivor of a small group of soldiers (maybe some sort of small battle or ambush in the conflict leading up to the main event). Wonders from town to town as a merchant. He hides the scars of his face as well as the shame and guilt of his past beneath the hood of his cloak.

Zara (female): Assassin sent to kill the prophet, Miran. She is very deceptive and can change forms to fit her need. She plays on the sympathies of her enemies.

Ada (female): Outcast. She has a gift for speaking the truth to those who need it, but is rarely taken seriously. Sometimes she's impulsive and seems to attract trouble. (I think it would be fun to make her and Zara archenemies)

Miran (male) The prophet. Miran is older and is very kind. He's always willing to help anyone that he can and takes both Brinn and Ada under his wing to help them become all that they were meant to be (a long journey for all).


There is lots of room to add or change any of the characters above.

Let me know what you think.

[Joel P.]

They sound good for the time being. I don't think I'll have any specific input 'til we get plot and all figured out.

[stormiel]

Yeah, looks like we need a lot more to the plot and setting and such for now. I can do some writing for this, but I'd rather do it through the anomaly and not by email (my email situation is a nightmare right now).

[rjj7]

I think we need to discuss, and possibly vote, on what type of story we want. At this point, the whole discussion of mists and magic really hinges on what we want the type of story to be.



We could write a save-the-world type story. Supernatural. This requires a threat to the world in its entirety. The mists will somehow likely be tied in to that (i.e. what are the mists?). Our villains will likely have to be 1) from another world, 2) immortal, 3) powerful magicians, or 4) something more abstract, like nature itself (though especially in the last case, we'd probably want sub-villains of some sort). This will probably end up with a merry band of misfits that get thrown together somehow and go on a quest. It would require our characters to have ties to someone with knowledge.

We could write a poligical-intrigue-and-civil-war type story. Natural. The mists would probably be neutral, but possibly being used in some evil way by the villains (i.e. what are the villains doing with the mists?). This would probably end up having more Point-of-View characters from a wide range of social settings. Our villains would be 1) governmental figures, 2) agents of a foreign government, or 3) creators of insurrection. Our heroes would probably end up being some combination of those with a stake in the government, and those employed by people that have a stake in the government. It would require our characters to have ties to someone with influence.

We could write a personal-mission type story. Either natural or supernatural. This would involve a character having some specific issue they need to resolve; e.g. one of the characters has fled from another world and come into this one through the mists, and is currently being pursued by people from his/her homeworld. A personal quest to escape vengeance/inflict vengeance/find a cure/close a rift/something that is important to our characters as individuals, but not the world as a whole. Our villains could be just about anything, but should probably be tied to the mists somehow; mages, other-worldly beings, or the natural decay of the world(s).



It's really impossible to sum up all the directions we could take the story, but I think that those serve as the three big categories. We can even have a combination of them, like the one idea I proposed (but which Kessie shot down, citing too great a similarity to another book) where the secular authorities end up doing something that will threaten the world if they're not stopped. A natural objective with supernatural implications, if you will.

For my part, I favor #2. Politics, influence, back-alley deals, and interactions with people from all levels of society. Magic will play a heavy role, but in a threaten-the-social-and-governmental-order type way, not a threaten-the-world type way. And in the middle, a few unfortunate souls who find themselves caught up in something they didn't ask for, but can't walk away from. We can tie into this personal-quest and world-instability, but #2 would be my pick for starting point and focus.

However, Kessie and myrthman have been proposing a number of good ideas related to world-class threats/instabilities, and it would probably be pretty easy to come up with a personal quest type story given all the material we have. Honestly, this story can be great no matter what direction we go with it.


Thoughts?

[Kessie]

I think you have the story classes sketched out pretty well there.

Now we get to figure out exactly what kinds of characters we'll have. What races are there on this world, anyway? All humans? Anything really fantastic, like tiger-people, elves, or Jar Jar Binks? :-D

[Joel P.]

Uhm...I've gotta check my notes... *virtual paper rustling*

Ah, here we are! I thought of these:

HIGH RACES
Elves: The oldest and most long-lived of the high races, Elves were the first to settle many of the kingdoms. High Elven, though all but forgotten, lingers on in names of geographical features and some cities. Elves are now the rarest of the high races, and are often of mixed blood (thus they can have either Crocean or Pallidasian coloring, combined with their characteristically pointed ears).
Dwarves: The Dwarves came shortly after the Elves. Most of their developments were in mining and the construction of underground cities. All Dwarves are of a pale coloring.
Pallidasians: The second most populous of the high races, Pallidasians have pale skin as the Dwarves do, and tend to be more gifted with magic than the other races.
Croceans: The most populous of the high races, Croceans are notable for their yellowish skin tone and their technological prowess.

LOW RACES
Orcs: Orcs come in three different colorings – red, green, and tan. Though classified as a low race, some Orcs have been known to be of average intelligence and have lived normal lives. For the most part, though, Orcs make up the armies of the Shadow kingdoms.
Undead: Skeletons, Vampires, and Revenants. None of these creatures have more than animalistic intelligence, and all serve Dark wizards or the Shadow kingdoms.
Dragons: Dragons are rarely seen any longer, and the ones which are known are small and usually lack the ability to breathe fire. Though Dragons may have once been intelligent, they are little more than exotic beasts at the current time.

I have no idea what constitutes a Shadow kingdom.

[Bought In Blood]

I know I’m not a team member, but if everyone’s ok with it, I’d like to add in my input.

I’m not a huge fan of more Elves, Humans, Dwarves, and Orcs. Tolkien did it first, and he did it best. Honestly, I think it’s better to try and be more creative and invent from scratch instead of rip off good ol’ John Ronald Reuel. In case you see the above statement as an attack on your imagination, please understand that is not my intention. I just feel that all “bubblegum fantasy” just mashes Tolkien’s ideas into a slightly different setting and claims to be creative when, inevitably, you cannot help but compare it to LOTR or The Silmarillion. Needless to say, they always pale in comparison. I think the whole concept of “Fantasy” shouldn’t be synonymous with Tolkien’s work. Fantasy’s only limits are your imagination's and it makes me sad that so many authors tie themselves down to another author’s ideas instead of exploring their own. I’ve read too much new fantasy that has a great creative premise, exciting setting, and a decent plot only to water it all down by putting in the staple fantasy races and dynamics.

I really liked Joel’s idea of Pallidasians (Pallid Asians?) and Croceans (followers of the Italian philosopher Benedetto Croce, I’m assuming). I think they should completely replace Elves and Dwarves since they are basically the same thing (Magic race, techno race). I also feel that having too many “good races” just makes it harder to focus on the main characters amid all the racial dynamics and having to check the glossary every time a character from one of the less explored races is introduced.

Take it or leave it, but I’m a big fan of when writers include a race that is completely extinct (even better if no one knows how it happened). No survivors, no remnant, nothing but ruins and mysteries. This can also imply that the world is older and bigger than the reader previously thought. If you really REALLY want elves to touch your story in some way, you could have them be an extinct race that has already completely faded away from the world. Maybe some people can trace their ancestry back to some elf in days of yore, but the Eldar Blood is completely diluted by the other races at this point.

You could have some humanoid race that is very new to the land. Some Warship of theirs got lost in a ‘mana storm’ and washed up on shore in an uncharted land (like the Vikings in America). The new race could be welcomed with open arms, or shunned and left to fend for themselves. Political tensions could rise wondering if the rest of that new race will come looking for them and a possible invasion could be an ever-present threat.

I do not really like the whole ‘horde’ idea either. I feel that having undead or orcs is just an easy way to make a huge evil army that there is no possibility to reason with, make treaties with, or have agents within their ranks. Maybe that’s the intention. I just think it can be so much deeper if the armies fighting each other are people fighting people. Then you can have political intrigue with treaties and espionage, political backstabbing, betrayals, and assassinations. But that all depends on where you want the story's focus to be.

[Kessie]

I agree with BiB. The humans, orcs, etc. makes me think of World of Warcraft, and I think we have so much more potential here. Even Warcraft started to branch out after a while, with the draenei and the worgen--and even the pandas.

I like the idea of a race swept up in a ship on the mana sea, completely unknown. :-) We could pander to the My Little Pony crowd and have them be humanoid unicorns. *is shot*

[Bought In Blood]

*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*

*Click click*

*Reload Reload*

*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*


But seriously now.

I'm with Randy and his whole “Politics, influence, back-alley deals,” etc. I think that is the kind of story I would be most interested in reading, in my humble opinion.

Kessie, thanks for the +1

[Ranger Varon]

Or sentient unicorns. Horses on two legs with horns is rather creepy, but could lend to some really awesome military armor and weapons.

And I also think ditching the standard fantasy races is a good idea too. It just ends up being rather cliche.

It might be interesting to draw more on Asian mythology than standard fantasy stuff which originates in European myths and legends, so using a different source would help with a different feel.

[Joel P.]

NO UNICORNS!!!! In any way, shape, or form. I am adamant on this.

In this case, I kinda agree about the Elves etc, but just thought I'd throw it out there. Ha ha, nice puns there, Bought. Actually, the names are taken from the Latin: 'Pallida' meaning pale and 'Croceus' meaning yellow.

Hey, I don't have anything against having armies you can reason with - but I'd like to argue that in the case of my 'Orcs,' the Enemy has a form of mind control (perhaps related to the mists). Seeing how some of them have been able to live normal lives. Maybe a bit of the plot can be involved in freeing them from that mind control? And the other creatures are pretty rare.

[Kessie]

Does there HAVE to be an Enemy? Tolkien did it, Lloyd Alexander did it, and every other Christian writer has done it. Why can't the various factions be various shades of gray, each believing themselves to be utterly righteous? That's way more interesting. It's why Game of Thrones is so appealing. Same for large-scale mind control. Unless you're writing the Borg/Zurg/hive mind (which is also overdone), I say let's avoid it.

[rjj7]

For a few comments on the idea of 'enemy' (and other stuff), see my post in the other thread.

Feb 14, 2013 22:26:31 GMT -5 rjj7 said:

Regarding Unicorns, I also think we should avoid them. NOT because I dislike Unicorns. I think that if handled properly (as in, handled the way I want them to be), they're great. But I wouldn't want to collaborate on them, since it's too easy to make people (including myself) upset.


Great work starting in on the races Joel. I feel that that's one of the harder aspects. I don't have time to give in-depth comments or thoughts at the moment, but I'll register a few opinions as soon as possible.

In general, I fall in line with Blood with regard to elves, orcs, and such. I wouldn't go so far as to say we shouldn't include them; just that we'll have to consider carefully before doing so. Again, deeper thoughts later.