SYNOPSIS
Spoiler
Astrafalla is a fantasy RPG that aims high to capture sprawling, dynamic locations, excellent story telling with strategic turn-based combat. As the main character, you have grown up in the relative safety of Kuldahar, a picturesque village nestled on the ice-carved slopes of the fjords. Far removed from the turmoils that plague the country of Hyvalea, outside troubles are but distant rumors on the elders lips. Despite the peace Kuldahar provides, an insatiable pull in your soul demands you travel north into the troubled lands. For what, or who, you are uncertain and it is that uncertainty that holds your feet from taking the first step beyond Kuldahar's borders. But trouble comes on chill winds, even to the isolated Kuldahar...
When the village is beset by outside forces seeking the main character and her friends, the MC must flee. Cast into an unknown world with a Sayrin as your guide, recruitable companions and adventure ahead, the MC quickly becomes embroiled in the dark machinations of a Cult to Ellaes Fria, the goddess of winter. To stop the cult from completing a curse began by the tyrannical white dragon Icefang half a century before, the main character must follow the pull in their soul and delve into the ice covered ruins of Astrafalla in the hopes of finding an artifact gifted by the gods to the city more than 2,000 years ago known to legend as the Heart of Illuminar.
Kuldahar--Starting Village
Spoiler
Character Art and Concepts
Spoiler
Lady Rhoswen of the White Rose (left) and Timirra (Right) Waist Up
Vafri the Skald (left) and Vagn the Rogue (Right) Concept Art
Pyrene Waist Up Concept
CHARACTERS
Spoiler
Saga
Years ago, Saga the enchantress came to live in the quaint picturesque village of Kuldahar, desiring the location for how far removed it was from the rest of the strife of the country of Hyvalea. Use to a life of fame and power brought on by her old adventuring days, Saga lives in lavish splendor- a fact that bothers not just the residents of Kuldahar who mark her tower as an eyesore and threat to their safety, but the Druidic Order who controls the village as well. There has been an incident between Saga and the Head Druidess to date, an incident which has resulted in both sides largely ignoring the other. Despite the clash of lifestyles, Saga supplies the village with enchanted artifacts and rare wine and consul to those who dare to seek it from the aloof Sayrin.
Lady Rhoswen of the White Rose
Lady Rhoswen earned her title of 'White Rose' in her early adventuring days, where it originally referred to her herself being the 'white rose' due to her albinoism. Since, she has adorned her antlers with moss and roses, and embossed her leathers and cloaks with the rose motif. She is a recognized figure across the land of Hyvalea and is generally well received.
Long time friend to Saga and an old adventuring companion, Lady Rhoswen settled in Kuldahar long before the latter. Unlike Saga, Lady Rhoswen prefers the company of animals to men and is often seen with her snowy owl, patrolling Kuldahar's borders astride her albino reindeer. Lady Rhoswen commands attention where ever she goes whether it is for her albinoism or her unique manner of speech, the latter of which is marked by her deep velvety tones and concise dialect. Grounded and approachable, the villagers are quick to seek her consul over Saga's.
Timirra
(Always playing with name: Tamarra, Tamirra, Tamira, Tamyra, Tymira, etc)
Childhood friend to the main character, Timirra was brought to Kuldahar as a babe by Saga and has since been raised by the village. She has always been curious what tragic event resulted in her seperation from her kinsfolk, and if she even has any left, but Saga has remained tight lipped about the event or even who her parents were. The silence has led Timirria to dream of the possibilities on many a night and, perhaps inevitably, fed in to her desire to leave the sanctuary provided by the village. Often she has egged the main character on to act on their wanderlust to leave, and if they were too, that she would follow. Recently, Timirra has discovered she has a touch of magic, as visions consume her of events that she is uncertain are purely fiction or impending reality...
Pyrene
(Name may change)
Recruitable
Romancable
Another childhood friend of the main character, Pyrene is the niece to the Head Druidess who runs Kuldahar. When she was turning thirteen, Pyrene got into a row with her parents that resulted in an, as yet unknown, magical affinity to flare dangerously. Her latent talent was for fire, as it was horrifically discovered. The resultant explosion of wild magic burned down her house and her parents within it. Devastated and traumatized, Pyrene was taken in by the local Druid Order. Raised by the druids, she was pressured to suppress her magical affinity for fire magic and tune her magical talents towards nature. As a result, Pyrene has little control over her pyromancer skills, so when her restraint slips the results are often terrifying.
- Sigrun
Recruitable
Romancable
Found at an inn along a road, Sigrun and her brother Sigurd have been surviving on their own for a long time since their tribe was slaughtered by zealot humans calling themselves Harbringers, a group determined to wipe the taint of wild magic from the lands--a goal that includes committing genocide upon the Sayrin. As a result, Sigrun is does not trust strangers and has no qualms with picking the pockets of the patrons she serves. She speaks quietly, if at all, and generally only with her brother. She tries to hide her Sayrin blood by filing her horns and hiding her keen ears under her locks of hair or a hood. Introverted and quiet, she is, in fact, a genius with locks and mechanisms, making for a wonderful pickpocket, pick lock, and solver of ancient puzzle contraptions.
Dynahier
Recruitable (SECRET)
Romancable
(Young) Dynahier is recruitable by a certain questline's completion, and depending on that quest's outcomes determines if the players recruit Young Dynahier or not
Valendae Wulfgar
Recruitable
Romancable
Wulfgar was born to the Valendai of Astrafalla some years after the ancient city had been unearthed from the ice and snow, but his birth lead to the death of his mother in labor, a fact that his father holds against him. As part of a newly established line of kings, Wulfgar and his family have come under many trials and tribulations, both from the northern folk flocking to the protection of Astrafalla's walls who question why they should lead, and also from his own tempermental father and equally unstable half-brother. Sometimes Wulfgar cannot help but feel that his charm and winning smile are the only things that hold his family's power steady...when his father and brother are not threatening to crush opposition with an ironfist.
Vafri the Skald
Recruitable
Romancable
Vafri and his older brother Vagn are part of a first generation born and raised within Astrafalla. Their father, a blacksmith, had moved to the city seeking a stable and safe community to raise a family, but instead has been met with hardship and tragedy. From what extra coin their father has made at the forge has been spent on Vafri's education when the lad was discovered to have magical ability. He was sent off to apprentice under a wizard-but Vafri found that he had little patience or a calm disposition to be trained. Despite his failure, his father sent him off to be trained as a bard and it was there that Vafri flourished. Having finished his apprenticeship to the bards college, Vafri has found himself back at his father's smithy - The Hammered Nail, helping with the forge and blending his versitile skills to make unique weaponry, such as his iron mandolin mace.
Vagn the Rogue
Recruitable
Romancable
As the eldest child, Vagn's father relied on him to help out with the family business, that being the locale smithy in Astrafalla known as the Hammered Nail. Life was difficult for the family growing up. Their mother took ill after an attack on the city saw a large majority of the female population vanish into the night. Some women that remained took ill, such as Vagn and Vafri's mother. Even after years, she remains unhinged, and what money the smithy earns that doesn't go to Vafri's schooling goes into trying to find a cure for their mother. Sick of poverty, but raised with a deep respect to help his family, Vagn ended up falling in with the wrong crowds early on in the hopes of 'finding' loose coin that could help his family survive.
Sigurd
Recruitable
Romanable
The elder brother to Sigrun, Sigurd has remained the stone to which his sister clings after their tribe was slaughtered by a radical group of humans calling themselves the Harbringers. They barely managed to escape the massacre and have since wandered the lands, nigh inseparable, hoping against hope for a safe haven to settle but rattled by the brutality Men have shown and unable to trust the good intentions of strangers. Due to this, Sigurd uses the Hyvalean superstition about his people, the Sayrin, to his advantage to gain hospitality from the small communities he and his sister pass through and in exchange he uses his hunting skills to provide fresh meat for the communities. With these deals, they gain housing and offerings of food and goods, and by providing back they remain inscrutable. Eventually, Sigurd starts imagining signs of deception or his kleptomaniac sister's tendencies crop up, and they have to disappear into the night as suddenly as they had come. They are currently residing at a tavern off the main traveled road, where they are earning some coin before their next departure.
Romancable
Vafri and his older brother Vagn are part of a first generation born and raised within Astrafalla. Their father, a blacksmith, had moved to the city seeking a stable and safe community to raise a family, but instead has been met with hardship and tragedy. From what extra coin their father has made at the forge has been spent on Vafri's education when the lad was discovered to have magical ability. He was sent off to apprentice under a wizard-but Vafri found that he had little patience or a calm disposition to be trained. Despite his failure, his father sent him off to be trained as a bard and it was there that Vafri flourished. Having finished his apprenticeship to the bards college, Vafri has found himself back at his father's smithy - The Hammered Nail, helping with the forge and blending his versitile skills to make unique weaponry, such as his iron mandolin mace.
Vagn the Rogue
Recruitable
Romancable
As the eldest child, Vagn's father relied on him to help out with the family business, that being the locale smithy in Astrafalla known as the Hammered Nail. Life was difficult for the family growing up. Their mother took ill after an attack on the city saw a large majority of the female population vanish into the night. Some women that remained took ill, such as Vagn and Vafri's mother. Even after years, she remains unhinged, and what money the smithy earns that doesn't go to Vafri's schooling goes into trying to find a cure for their mother. Sick of poverty, but raised with a deep respect to help his family, Vagn ended up falling in with the wrong crowds early on in the hopes of 'finding' loose coin that could help his family survive.
Sigurd
Recruitable
Romanable
The elder brother to Sigrun, Sigurd has remained the stone to which his sister clings after their tribe was slaughtered by a radical group of humans calling themselves the Harbringers. They barely managed to escape the massacre and have since wandered the lands, nigh inseparable, hoping against hope for a safe haven to settle but rattled by the brutality Men have shown and unable to trust the good intentions of strangers. Due to this, Sigurd uses the Hyvalean superstition about his people, the Sayrin, to his advantage to gain hospitality from the small communities he and his sister pass through and in exchange he uses his hunting skills to provide fresh meat for the communities. With these deals, they gain housing and offerings of food and goods, and by providing back they remain inscrutable. Eventually, Sigurd starts imagining signs of deception or his kleptomaniac sister's tendencies crop up, and they have to disappear into the night as suddenly as they had come. They are currently residing at a tavern off the main traveled road, where they are earning some coin before their next departure.
SETTING/WORLD DEVELOPMENT
Spoiler
The land of Hyvalea rests at the most northern tip of the world of Emmeral. It is a land steeped in a violent history and riddled with the bare bone ruins of its bygone kingdoms. Ancient treasures and knowledge lie forgotten in the shadows, buried deep in the mountain kingdoms of the Irathi, whom ruled the lands some 2,000 years prior to their sacred Mother Mountain exploding, casting a cloud of wild magic over the world that twisted everything it touched. In the wake of the fall of the Mother Mountain that birthed their species, the Irathi fled south, abandoning the lands they had ruled to the corruption spreading across the lands. In the absence of their rule, the land fell into a dark age.
Nearly 2,000 years later, Hyvalea suffers the wrath of a tyrannt unlike any other--a white dragon known as Icefang, who had gathered hordes under his banner in a gambit to claim all the north for himself. In the final battle on the fields before his mountain citadel, what was to be known as the Fields of the Hoarfrost Cost, the dragon king was slain. But rather than a hard won peace, the allies fell apart, drawing in on their own kingdoms to rebuild the damage done. Yet known could have known that the horrid power Icefang had wrought upon the land. The dragon's breath brought winter, but they could not known it would not cling to the land stubbornly but also spread...
Some fifty years later, the events of Astrafalla take place. Hyvalea is succumbing to a bitter winter with half her continent under a harsh eternal winter. Entire populations have uprooted, fleeing south to escape the chill. The migrations have ignited old tensions between kingdoms and irritated the habitats of monstrous creatures. While the land rips itself apart, the cult to Ellaes Fria, goddess of winter, works in the shadows. It has gathered dangerous allies in the form of frost giants and the brood of Icefang to its call, promising them a land all to their own if only they succeed where Icefang has failed--destroy Icefang's old foes before they unite and find a way into the ancient Irathi Mother Mountain, where an ancient artifact forged by the Eltyma(gods) resides known only as the Heart of Illuminar.
Additional Notes on Magic in the World of Emmeral:
Magic runs freely through the world of Emmeral but her sentient races harness it differently. Humans are not tied directly to the 'pools' and thus produce wild magical effects with magic every time they use it, or magical pollution. This wild magic that is released varies in intensity, sometimes with no notable effects at all and other times with effects that visibly warp the land and its creatures. The human who can use magic without this side effect is rare. Elves and Sayrin are innately tied with magic, born of it if you will, and do not produce this magical pollution side effect when they cast spells.
(As of yet, I have no idea on how to implement this in game play mechanics)
Those who are touched by magic or wield it on a regular basis gradually show wear on their bodies of being spell casters. Initial use is marked by a changing of the eye color to amethyst. Continued use puts stress on the body, eventually stripping the user of the pigment in their hair causing premature greying. Additional stress on the body varies. If a caster uses their magic wontonly and overtaxes their body they obtain arcane scarring. This is irreversible and most casters do not survive long if the arcane scarring is severe.
DEMO COMING SOON