Let's get this started, then. If you don't know what a CYOA game is, take a look at
this thread. If you still haven't got a clue, ask. The crap about the world and stuff might be a little bit wall-of-texty. If that gets to you, just skip to the bit in bold red.
Quick links to stuffParty summaryGet Oriented The WorldThe world is named Tian. According to legends, it was the world of spacefaring humans in the past. At some point, some sort of a global catastrophe occurred, and most of them died. The reason for this apocalypse is not clear, but various explanations have been suggested. Your people are the descendants of the survivors. Tian orbits a yellow sun much like ours, at around the same distance from the sun. The gravity is very close to Earth-normal. It has no moons, but large irregular shaped objects can sometimes be seen in orbit with some of the telescopes your scientists have recently produced.
Your character is the leader of a six-person mercenary group currently working for a small lord in the southwestern part of the kingdom of Prajna. Prajna is bordered in the south-east and east by the Ahimic empire, which your kindgom is in war with, in the west and to the south by a mountain range and the Sannyamar nation, who your country has some trade with, but due to the difficuty of travel in the mountains, not much else. In the north and north-west is the sea. You are aware of one more country, Makaen, which is south of Ahim.
The terrain is mostly dry; yellow grass and scattered rocks, with moderate vegetation close to the few major rivers. There are some ruins of an ancient civilisation scattered around, sometimes covering vast areas of land. There are also large craters concentrated around and in these ancient cities. Some of the most common animals include various types of vermin, wild dogs, wild cats the size of large house cats, and large wild lizards much like
Dimetrodon.
Technology Before the apocalypse, your ancestors apparently commanded amazing technology, which enabled them to travel between stars at immense speeds, among other amazing feats. After it, the technological prowess of your ancestors was basically reduced to the iron age. From there, it has started to climb back again during the course of several dozen generations. Although generally the technological level is somewhat like medieval europe, with steel swords and chainmail, mainly wooden houses, and stone castles, your people have partially relearned how to use the working technology in the ruins and are currently able to operate some of the basic stuff like doors and elevators. They also have a concept of electricity, though they have no idea how to produce it. Many of the old buildings still have current running through the wires, and you have been able to tap onto this source to power some basic contraptions like lamps and the like. Independent of the study of ancient ruins, and quite unusual for a medieval culture, there have also been some technological advancement in steam-powered machinery. You have even heard stories of steam-powered projectile weapons in the capital of your kingdom.
Religion There are multiple belief systems popular in the world. Most of these mainly offer moral and ethical guidelines in order for people to be able to live their lives better, and belief in any sort of afterlife is very rare. All the religions can be arranged into two main groups: pro-technology, and anti-technology. The anti-technology religions were initially a counter-reaction to the apocalypse, and generally believe it to have been a civil war. The anti-technology religions are also usually very pacifistic, even going so far as to forbid killing insects. The main pr-technology religion believes that the apocalypse was a result of a war against a cosmic horror, and that humanity should quickly tech up so that they will be ready for the next time the monster will appear.
TL;DR: Human colony in another starsystem -> some sort of a catastrophe, most people dead -> technology to the iron age -> now at medieval stage with steam machines. Some old electrical stuff still works. You are a mercenary captain. Good luck.Your character and your palsAs I already said, you are the leader of a six-person mercenary group. To get properly started, we need to create your character and the five other members of your group. To create the characters, you must decide on a few things.
Your character only:
GenderMale or female. This will have a slight effect on your stats and a varying effect on how people will interact with you.
NameA silly name will obviously effect how people see you. I will take suggestions for companion names as well, but will ultimately decide them myself.
Every character:
AttributesDecide on an order of importance:
Strength (contrary to most rpg-systems, this does not determine your combat damage. It's only used for heavy lifting and grappling)
Constitution (not how many "hit-points" you have, but how long you can keep doing physical stuff before getting tired)
Agility (this is the main combat stat)
Dexterity (Small stuff with fingers. Effects lockpicking and pickpocketing and so on)
Intelligence (determines how fast you learn, among other things)
Willpower (determines how long you can keep going in the face of adversity)
Perception (yeah.. Perception)
SkillsYou have 25 skill-points to use for each character. You can assign a maximum of 5 points to any skill.
Skills:
Combat (Specify weapon to add points to)
Melee weapons available: unarmed, dagger, broadsword, one handed axe, longsword (aka bastard sword, hand-and-a-half sword, not 'long blade, one handed'), two handed axe, claymore, spear, halberd,
pole axe, quarterstaff (governing skill for melee weapons is mainly agility, though strength is used in grappling)
Ranged weapons available: bows, crossbow, javelin, sling (governing skills agility and dexterity)
Defensive equipment available: buckler, small shield (round/heather), large shield (kite) (agility)
Hunting sneaking (agility)
hiding (perception)
tracking (perception)
wild animal handling (willpower)
Thieving lockpicking (dexterity)
pickpocketing (dexterity)
climbing (agility)
Trade lying (intelligence/perception)
persuasion (willpower/perception)
appraising (perception)
Crafts (dexterity for all of these)
wood
stone
metal
leather
bone
Entertainment (These will keep your group entertained if you can't get to a town for a while. Keeps your people sane)
cooking (no special governing attribute)
musical instrument (Specify instrument. Mainly available are flutes, the fiddle, and some acoustic string instruments. Governing attribute dexterity)
singing (No special governing attribute)
juggling (dexterity/agility)
acrobatics (agility)
Science (intelligence for all of these. dexterity for performing surgery)
electronics
engineering
steam physics
archeology (archeology in this world involves ancient languages and knowledge about the function and operation of ancient machines)
medicine