Welcome to Force Arcana: Legacy of Dreams. This is a play-by-email Role Playing Game based in the fantasy world of Onara, in which you take control of a character embroiled in the conflicts of the age. You will lead your own squad of unique soldiers, but whether you guide them to victory or eventual doom is entirely up to your actions. There are, however, a few limits as to what you can do with yourself and your underlings. I also need to go over a few etiquette rules for you guys: a mere formality, I’m sure.

By the way, my name is Viktor. Nice to meet you.

Rules on Etiquette

While I’m pretty lax on this stuff, I’d like to make it known that you must abide by the standards of basic human decency. That means no vicious personal attacks. I don’t mind if you call someone stupid, but please don’t take it seriously. Feel free to insult someone’s character as much as you want, but realize that it is simply within the game world and not meant as an affront to you.

You can curse as much as you like, but I’d prefer you not rely on it in place of actual content. It's not a big deal as our game is considered to be for those over 13.

Lastly, never get angry about this game. It’s a game. You wouldn’t get pissed over a game of Scrabble, would you? Don’t answer that.

Emailing

You can email me at viktor@afterera.com . I’m open for business from Monday to Friday until 8 PM Central time. I don’t want to be updating until 3 in the morning, like some other webmasters. On weekends you can email me whenever you want, but I won’t update until Sunday night (or thereabouts).

Action emails should follow this format: "Player Name - Squad Name - Action". I'll get pissed if you don't follow this because it makes things a lot easier.

The only emails allowed during the week are action emails. The only emails allowed during the weekend are joining emails. Questions are allowed anytime, though I’m more likely to answer them if you catch me in the chat.

Overview

Therul's Descent forever changed the land. You could stand alone in the dark of the Felrun Range and hear the very earth mumbling to itself, in a language deep and ancient. It was as if Onara itself went mad. I don't like remembering that time.
-Goldwin the Wright, Warrior-Poet of the Ellder Age

Onara: a mystical land of conflicting natures. Plains ridge up into mountains, which melt into swamps, which give way to the unending western sea. Various forests dot the realm, and to the north snow covers the land. Chaos and order flourish equally here.

Humans are the native species of Onara. The inherent magik of the land imbues almost every creature with supernatural abilities, however, and this flux of power has caused many semi-magikal mutations to become dominant within the human race. Flying men, pigmies, giants, and stranger beings all inhabit the dark corners of the globe, emerging only occasionally to trade with the members of their former species.

Mix into this setting equal parts xenophobia, nationalism, and bloodlust…and you have the current situation in Onara. A power-hungry empire, known as the Pax Imperica, has started a war for territory by crossing ancient boundary lines set by the people of the prosperous nation of Volinus. The Archons of the city-states of Volinus have declared war on the Imperica, and battle lines are being drawn through the great central mountain chain. The Pax has responded by hiring a famed mercenary unit, the Komitjadii, to take care of the legendary Volinus Knights guarding their western fortresses.

However, a third party has stakes in the coming conflict. The Magnat-Pope of the Theocracy, always interested in spreading his salvation to beings everywhere, has begun to send scout forces to investigate the battles between Volinus and the Imperica. These forces have had several run-ins with the militaries of the two nations and the Komitjadii, and their respective leaders are now alerted to the Pope’s interest. The main legions of the Theocracy lie dormant in their southern strongholds, but word has it that the Pope is preparing for war against one of the other two nations. It is unknown what his true plans are, however.

Your Role

It is upon this theatre of battle that you make your entrance. Fresh out of one of the four feuding sides’ battle academies, you are given a unit of your own and a few resources with which to wage war. As squads often go for months without receiving orders from busy commanders, you are given free reign over your troops and your goals in combat. Though general guidelines and orders will trickle down from above, you are encouraged to choose your own destiny in this war. So what will it be: infamy, nobility, or somewhere in between?

Squads and Unit Types

While we became heroes, they fought and bled and died. It hardly seems fair.
-Janelle Divine-Heart, Hero of Therul's Desscent

Force Arcana focuses on squad combat, so it is appropriate that you understand how squads are organized. A squad is a group of soldiers under the command of an above-average leader. Said leader determines how best to deploy and use his soldiers in combat. When you begin, you will have one squad with three members in it - your leader and two companions, all of which are fully customizable. Companions are identical to leaders in all aspects, excepting the ability to advance to the Legendary Classes, and the accumulation of Tactician and Warrior points.

As the game progresses you will have the chance to recruit new companions and a special type of unit known as grunts. Grunts are soldiers, of varied types, who make up the bulk of most large armies. They are not customizable and are generally pretty weak, but it is possible to recruit numerous grunts, while the amount of companions in your army is set at four. The minimum amount of grunts required to form a squad is five, not counting the companion leader, and the maximum is twelve. A companion is required to create and lead a grunt squad. Please note that every grunt squad incurs an upkeep penalty of two gold per week. While it is possible to control armies beyond the maximum limit, one cannot do so directly, and it costs considerably more.

Mercenaries are the only side incapable of recruiting grunts, but to make up for this deficiency their companion limit is eight.

Actions

There are two types of actions: military and logistics. Military actions comprise anything related to combat, such as scouting, ambushes, pitched battles, "digging in", exploration, etc. Logistics actions comprise anything related to supporting your army, such as buying/selling equipment, equipping items, buying skills, etc. Each player can make as many logistics actions as they wish, provided they are possible (in a town when buying items, for instance).

However, the rules regarding military actions are a little more complicated. Each player automatically gets one military action every day, but one more can be gained depending on the number of units one commands. Once a grunt squad of at least six units is under your command, two military actions become available. This way you can scout and then attack, or raid a tomb and carry out a diversionary attack on a nearby village, or whatever you can think up. The only stipulation is that the action must take place within the territory that your main character occupies - grunt squads cannot move on their own.

For mercenaries, two actions may be taken once your squad has reached five companions or more.

Movement

To move in the land of Onara, one simply needs to send in an email specifying the destination. The map is divided into territories, classified by geography and natural boundaries. It takes a full day to travel between adjacent locations, and another day to travel to a specific locale within the territory. You can find a list of locations on the Map page.

You can always move, unless you are training or performing some other action that requires staying in the same position for a long period of time. Note that healing does not impede movement.

Combat

Here's the best advice I can give ye: don't die.
-Riktus Kress, Leader of the Komitjadii

The meat of this and most other RPGs, fighting is your way of life. By engaging in combat you gain strength, experience, and eventually become a valuable asset to your side. Combat in Force Arcana, however, is slightly different from what you’ve seen before. Battles are known as Encounters, and tactics play a major role in every fight. Encounters can be anything from an ambush by bandits to a full-on fight between opposing forces. Battles take place when nothing concrete is at stake. Events are large-scale battles where land, a fortress, or something else important is at stake.

Exploration

The map of Onara found on the Map page is hardly comprehensive: it simply shows the locations and descriptions of the major cities in the land. Many other locales exist: small towns, hamlets, farms, crossroad pubs, etc. The creation of these in RP is entirely up to the player; however, in game terms there is something one can do with random towns.

If a PC wishes to take shelter in a random town from, say, an attack, all they need to do is email me saying that they wish to. As the webmaster, I'll make a random town roll to see what sort of town is nearby. Perhaps the town will ask something in return, or it may even start a quest for the unwitting PC.

On the other hand, if a PC wants to raid a town for loot and plunder, all he needs to do is email me. While this can make one fairly rich, most towns have some sort of defense and the PC won't always find it easy. Another side effect is that the PC's squad gains an infamous reputation with most citizens, and random towns will usually refuse to help someone like that.

There are also various other structures and places one can explore for fun and profit: tombs, ruins, castles ruled by hated tyrants...the world is vast and mysterious. Try exploring for a day as an action and see what you find!

Healing and Dying

I say send them all to God. If he sends 'em back, then obviously we didn't kill them hard enough.
-Orran Darkbane, High Templar of the Theocrracy

Battle comes with its costs, and one of the more mundane costs is injury. All mortal creatures can be hurt, and when engaging in life-or-death situations with other beings they tend to be very fragile. Your units will often be hurt, and may even be killed if you do not command them wisely.

Due to the magikical nature of Onara, the healing of wounds is greatly accelerated. Small cuts and scrapes close up within hours, and even grievous wounds heal after a matter of days. Some wizards, especially Ocean Mages, specialize in healing spells and are able to patch up their comrades in a matter of seconds. However, there is no coming back from death, except for the most powerful of wizards. Rumor has it that the Paladins can call spirits back from the grave, and there are even darker whispers of the Death Knight’s ability to raise the dead, but such things are best left to those able to understand them.

In game terms, this means that all of your troops’ wounds will be healed in a maximum of 4 days. During this time you are free to do whatever you wish, even battle, though you will certainly be far from your maximum strength. Death, however, is far more serious. When any of your companions die, they are lost forever, and you will have to hire or recruit another. The penalties aren’t so harsh for your main character, however. He/she will only lose half of his EXP and 1/3rd of the skills he/she has accrued, and will be replaced by your side’s command within 5 days. Don’t despair, you will still be able to create a new character all by yourself.

Experience Points and Skills

If combat is the meat of an RPG, then gaining experience and customizing your character is the bread and butter. In Force Arcana, gaining experience (or EXP) is simple. Engage in combat and you will earn a set amount of it. Customizing your character is slightly more complicated, but much more fun.

Each character has a cache of EXP from which to draw from, called the EXP Pool. EXP is placed into this pool through several ways, but mainly through battle. The EXP Pool measures nothing in game terms – whether you have a huge amount in it or very little really doesn’t count for anything. The true measure of your character’s power is in his Skills. Skills are bought using EXP drawn from the Pool, and apply their modifiers (stat bonus, actual combat skills, etc) directly to your character. You may also buy Warrior and Tactician Points using your EXP, but these are not as directly helpful as Skills are. Warrior Points measure your personal skill in battle, and Tactician Points measure how good you are at directing your troops in combat and countering your opponent’s moves.

There are two types of skills: Class skills and Weapon skills. Weapon skills are the basics, the necessary abilities needed to survive and thrive during war. The Class skills are the abilities inherent to each individual class - they are much more than simple survival techniques, and are capable of totally changing the course of a battle.

Classes

It's not enough to have superior numbers, or even superior tactics. Sometimes all that's going to save you is what you have inside. And, of course, what you KNOW.
-Dace Ragne, Blade Knight Commander

When eventually you gain enough skills, a class change becomes available to you. Changing class often upgrades your stats and abilities, and opens up a whole new set of skills that you can work towards. Most classes are experts with a chosen weapon, and when equipped with that weapon gain a bonus to its use. Each of the classes has different strengths and weaknesses, and it’s up to you to figure out the combination that best suits your playing style.

To change the class of any of your characters, said character must first meet the requirements of that class – usually certain weapon/magik skills. Changing to a basic class also takes a sacrifice of 20 EXP, 3 gold coins, and 2 non-moving days spent in training - master classes require 6 gold, 40 EXP, and 3 days. So as you can see, changing should not be taken too lightly. It also should not be approached with fear – after all, change is a good thing. See the classes page for more information.

A word on multiclassing: Only two non-class skills can be carried over when you change, per class. So, if a Barbarian had three class-specific skills and wished to change to a Knight, he would have to choose two and stick with those when the class change came. Note that this only applies to class changes outside of a class tree - if the Barbarian mentioned earlier wanted to become a Berzerker, he could keep all of his Barbarian skills.

Magik

Want to gain ultimate knowledge? Throw yourself off of a cliff. Want to gain ultimate wisdom? Catch me.
-Ixalixius, Shaman

Onara is a land ripe with arcane power. All it takes is a little know-how and determination and almost anyone can tap into the veins of energy running through the earth. Magik has many practical applications, both on the battlefield and off, and wielders of this ancient power can be found almost anywhere. Magi are a secretive lot, and very rarely share spells even with those of their own arcane persuasion. Thus, budding wizards have to find their own way in the world of the arcane arts. In game terms, this means that each mage will have her own personal set of spells, randomly chosen from a much larger pool that will remain secret. However, there are three major schools of magik.

Elemental Magik - This is the stuff of legend, the chosen school of both the greatest archmagi Onara has ever seen and the weakest hedge wizards to be found. The most common of the three schools, Elemental magik is divided into four sub-schools of element. Earth, Air, Fire, and Water each have their own properties and uses. Gaia Mages tend to use powerful, ground-based spells that either cause massive damage to enemies or strengthen their allies. Wind Mages prefer graceful spells that alter or decieve. Flame Mages tend to use flashy, powerful magik that simply causes as much destruction as possible. Ocean Mages enjoy the best reputation of all the sub-schools, as they tend toward gentle spells that heal and support.

Blood Magik - A lost and ancient order, the Thaumaturges of Onara are rightly viewed with suspicion and disgust. Blood Magik has long been considered the most dangerous of the three schools, and includes teachings from the lost art of Necromancy in its rituals. This magik uses the lifeblood of other beings - and the mage himself - to power spells. As a result, the most powerful magik in the world is found in the minds of blood magicians, who are capable of almost anything as long as their supply of fuel stays steady. Though the discipline obviously attracts evil, virtuous Thaumaturges can sometimes be found, though they have to find a way to justify their hideous acts to themselves.

Wild Magik - An enigma, considered mere legend by most people, Wild Magik is rarely seen in the civilized areas of the world. It draws upon the power of Chaos, for which it gains the enmity of almost every other mage on the face of the earth. While the other schools require discipline and study, Wild Magik simply requires that one give up all preconcieved notions of order and become one with the universe. Practitioners of this art are often seen as madmen, but they are formidiable forces on the battlefield. Sometimes Wild Magik sweeps and destroys, sometimes it heals and defends, but the effect is always incredible. The will of the caster can direct its flow, so the effect is rarely random with a skilled user, but few non-Shaman take the time to understand that.

Creation of Spells

You taste that? That's true power. Don't listen to those religious fools...this is all that matters.
-Ra Aliente, Gaia Mage

Over the years, many mages have created their own personal spells, which can sometimes be found in spellbooks - though this is rare, as it's the odd mage who doesn't mind letting another look at his books. The creation of magikal spells, however, is a long and tedious process, requiring hours of study and the purchase of supplies and foci.

In game terms, this translates to 1.5 days per spell level (rounded up) - for instance, a level 1 spell would take 2 days to create, and a level 4 would take 6. During this time the mage may not participate in any battles, though the squad may still fight. It also requires 1 gold per spell level. To create a spell, simply send me and email and I'll reply with the level/time/cost of the spell creation. Some effects, however, are simply impossible...but you'll have to figure that out by yourself. It also goes without saying that you need a mage of some sort in your party to create spells.

Here's a tip: Don't hold back when researching a spell. The sky's the limit, and level 4 spells are incredibly powerful. But be warned: the more powerful a spell is, the more draining it will be on the caster.

Buying and Building

Each PC is given a salary that is determined by his or her importance in the army in which he or she serves. The starting salary is 5 gold per week (except for Mercenaries and Pax, who get 0 and 7 gold, respectively). Many things can be bought with this currency: items, weapons, grunts, fortifications, etc. Also, gold is necessary in the upkeep of large armies. See the shop for more information.

Items and grunts can only be bought and hired in major cities, and sometimes even there the shops will be limited. Additionally, if you wish to sell something you must be in a large city, and depending on demand will go for anywhere from half price to full.

Sides

The Court of a Thousand Thousands stood for countless generations, a shining example of power tempered by virtue. It was the last of the glorious empires, the final bastion against an encroaching darkness. The pathetic remnants of order today don't even remember its name. It makes me sick. -Khart gubai Khan

Ruling parties are needed almost everywhere. They give the people something to cling to, an identity beyond that of their family or hometown. Thus, governments rise up and gain power – sometimes with the will of the people, sometimes not.

There are four sides you can choose from in Force Arcana, though only three are actually governments.

The Pax Imperica - A huge, powerful empire built on the greed of a dynasty. In ages past, the first Imperator of the Pax conquered the smaller surrounding nations, engulfing them all in a tidal wave of soldiers. Since then, the Imperators of Pax have ruled the massive nation, the throne being passed down from generation to generation. The Imperica’s greatest asset is the near-infinite pool of soldiers it has to draw from and its vast wealth, gleaned from the conquered territories. While the Luun War Academy is the oldest in Onara, Pax seems stuck in the past and most of their tactics are outdated. Still, some of the better military minds have come from this massive empire. Imperica commanders receive 12 gold coins when they first leave and 7 gold coins each week after.

Volinus - The Archons of Volinus form the one and only republic in Onara. They attempt to rule their lands fairly and peacefully, and most of the princes have been content with what they have. With the coming war, however, those with ambition have taken it upon themselves to raise their own private armies for the power struggle ahead. Volinus’ strength is in the training of its troops, for the elite units of the Archons are practically unmatched across the land. The Vakaat Battle School is where the best and brightest tacticians are sent, and those that graduate from its sacred halls are considered top-notch. Volinus commanders benefit from an increased Tactical Points score when starting off. They receive 10 gold coins when first deployed and receive 5 gold coins each week after.

Komitjadii - This famous mercenary group only gives their loyalty to the highest bidder… which usually happens to be the Pax Imperica. Led by the legendary Riktus Kress, the Komitjadii have been unleashed upon the Western border of Volinus and are engaged in a fierce battle with their Knights. For some strange reason this has convinced Kress to encourage the growth of mercenary units in the region, and while he won’t accept just any squad into his beloved army, he has been rather generous in funding up-and-coming mercs. The only rule is that attacks against the Komitjadii are forbidden…but then again, only the craziest fighters would bite the hand that feeds them. Mercenary commanders start with increased Warrior Points to reflect their personal dedication to themselves. They begin the game with 15 gold coins and receive zero pay from the Komitjadii after that - and your salary can never be increased. Hey, gold is hard to come by. Kress recommends finding your own source of income.

The Theocracy - It’s always THE Theocracy, never simply a governmental term, never simply passed over. The Magnat-Pope is the divine leader of this nation of fanatics, and he ministers to the people well. All the citizens of the Theocracy serve the Pope’s will without question, for to them he is more than a man – he is a demigod. The legions of the Theocracy never hesitate in battle and always fight to the last man. They consider their cause divine and their battles sacred. The commanders of the Theocracy, all graduates of the Temple of the Divine Blood, are steady fanatics, unwavering in their loyalty. The soldiers-fanatics receive the largest bonus: they are resistant to will-twisting effects, spells that turn their loyalty and so forth. However, the price of this resistance is complete and utter subservience – while an individual commander might interpret orders from his superiors, he will never directly go against them, as they embody the will of the Pope. Also, since they believe that death merely frees them to serve their God more fully, they are highly resistant to spells that bring their spirits back to their bodies. The Theocracy’s commanders start with 12 gold coins and receive 5 gold coins each week after.

Joining

Alright, now that you’ve read the rules you should have a basic working knowledge of how the game is run. Go to the joining page and fill out an application if you're still interested in joining!