Wind in my Hair

When the only thing you can keep yourself busy with is the continuous fulfillment of your eternal destiny, you tend to go looking for a little mischief.

Wind in My Hair will be a sandboxy RP about a group of runners, each hosting the magical energy of their bestial Familiar, as they evade bands of human hunters using their enhanced speed, stamina, and special gifts!

The Old Wild
When the living Earth was young and primal, it was ruled jointly by all Beasts who walked its lands and swam its seas and flew its skies, and they made their dealings together according to the nature of things. Peace and war, blood and water, all these they did fairly and agreed upon, and life was simple; no one creature ruled over another, for each had their place in the great web that connected all living things. These are now called the First Beasts, as among their children very few are quite like them. For the children of the First Human grew slowly but unstoppably in power, and with every generation spread themselves to wider and wider territories until they had conquered the earth, and then they set to dealing and arguing only with eachother. Now the First Human, forgotten, sits on some deep and unknown throne, and the creatures of the Old Wild have lost the majesty of their former kingdoms and forgotten their heritage – no longer "Beasts," but simply "beasts," even as the mighty "Humans" became mere "humans."

Yet the small number of First Beasts, when their numbers became critical, sought out the First Human and made a pact with her in an attempt to guarantee their survival. From that day forward each Beast would choose one human host and imbue them with a fraction of its spirit, so that the two existed in harmony. This bond, the Beasts reasoned, would serve to marry them forever to humanity, so that between Beast and Human there would always be fair dealings, and no party would take from the other more than their share. But the plot was a failure, and humanity continued to grow, and one by one the First Beasts died off, their hopes of restoring their former kingdoms gone forever. Now – known as Familiars – they live how they can in the dark and in the wild, and their human hosts protect them from the gaze of an unfriendly world.

The Setting
The bite-sized nation of Konandogo lies in an arid, grassy region. Most of the country is swamped in savanna, where one may find lions, cheetahs, leopards, jackals, hyenas, antelope, wildebeest, zebras, rhinoceros, giraffes, snakes, and everything in between.

Straight through Konandogo runs the Moyo river, patrolled by hippopotamuses, crocodiles, and flamingos. In the south the Moyo opens up into Lake Elizabeth before flowing on towards the gulf.

Into the western region of Konandogo extends an arm of the tropical Bustani forest, home to elephants, warthogs, tropical birds, frogs, lizards, and stinging insects.

In the northeast sits Mount Jinokubwa, a towering, wrinkled hump of rock capped with snow.

The nation's capital and largest city, Henrytown, lies in the steppe on the banks of the Moyo. The plains are dotted with villages, but the only settlement that comes close to the size of Henrytown is Kishimo, a dense clump of ramshackle buildings in the southwest.

Character Sheets

Runner character sheet
When its previous guardian dies, a Familiar must hurriedly select a new host to gift its spirit to. These are known as the runners, for they leave their old lives behind and disappear into the wilderness. Runners possess enhanced speed and stamina, and have every need of such skills, especially in modern times. Familiar and runner do not communicate with eachother by speech, yet are always in tune; they are one mind in two bodies. If their runner should die, a Familiar will seek out a new one, and if their Familiar should die, a runner will lose their gifts and return to life as an ordinary human. Probably be really sad, too. That stuff's depressing.

Name(s):
Faction: Runner
Pronouns: I.E. she/her, he/him, they/them, etc.
Age:
Gift: Each familiar grants their runner one special ability; some runners, for instance, see always their objectives, be they behind solid stone or one hundred miles distant. Some always hit their mark, no matter how far away, and others can speak with all living things. Still more are blessed with such gifts as speed, camouflage, lie detecting, healing, breathing underwater, etc (basically any singular ability that’s not OP like flight or instakill ). A runner's gift is often related to the natural abilities of their Familiar's species.
Habitat: Runners often (but don’t have to) specialize in certain climates or terrains. Jungle runners, for instance, swing through the trees as easily as they walk, desert runners have incredible stamina to travel for long stretches, ocean “runners” are quick swimmers, mountain runners have exceptional balance, and city runners are well adapted to the unique challenges of the urban terrain. A runner’s “habitat” commonly depends upon the habitat of their Familiar’s species.
Appearance and personality:
Bio: Optional, the only really important part is how they met their Familiar
Familiar name:
Familiar species: Dog? Cheetah? Elephant? Owl? Toad? Can be any animal. Shoot, I might even allow plants or fungi. :p

Poacher character sheet
Hungry are the many, but able are the few. Aware that what they do is wrong, the poachers have no choice; to feed their families (and in some case, entire towns), they hunt whatever the markets pay for, and in this age all eyes are upon the grandest prizes of all: the skins, teeth, horns, and flesh of the magical Familiars, worth a fortune to the right people. The poachers travel discreetly, hiding from the sweeping gaze of international police, and hire their guides with great discretion. And if any human gets between a poacher and their prize, well…

Name(s):
Faction: Poacher
Pronouns: I.E. she/her, he/him, they/them, etc.
Age:
Appearance and personality:
Bio: Optional, the only really important part is what drives you to hunt.
Weapon: Joined together by need, poachers come from many walks of life. Some wouldn’t walk down to the corner store without their tried-and-true six-shooter stuck under their belt, while others prefer the bow or even throwing knives. Hunting weapons can range from firearms to swords to staves to boomerangs to your own two fists – whatever it is, if a poacher’s on the hunt with it, you can be sure they know everything there is to know about how to use it (else they'd be dead or in jail ).

International Police character sheet
If a runner stands for freedom and a poacher for survival, the IP stand for justice and order. Militaristic in their training, methods, and resources, the organization is unconcerned with the affairs of the locals; they exist only to carry out the law. The IP's presence in Konandogo focuses mainly on shutting down the poachers that fund international trafficking rings; they are "hunting the hunters," so to speak. But that doesn't mean they'll go out of their way to help a runner in need, as most of them won't even believe the locals' wild stories about magical beasts and their human guardians.

Name(s):
Faction: Police
Pronouns: I.E. she/her, he/him, they/them, etc.
Age:
Appearance and personality:
Bio: Optional, the only really important part is how and why you joined the IP.
Specialty and/or rank: The IP recruits everyone from common soldiers and squad captains to snipers and demolitions experts to engineers and cooks.

Generic character sheet
For major characters other than runners and poachers (such as friends, fences, etc). Minor characters don’t need their own sheets, nor do characters that have close ties to characters you've already sheeted (if that's even a word). But if you have a major character that is none of the above, use dis one.

Name:
Faction: None
Pronouns:
Age:
Occupation: Include if they have any connections to the runners, poachers, IP, or any other organizations of interest (like local government or something).
Appearance and personality:
Bio: Optional

Rules
1. No godmodding, powerplaying, autohitting, etc, etc~
2. Be semi-realistic about wilderness survival, like, packing food and water and paying attention to shelter and exposure and stuff... But don't feel the need to list your inventory down to the lint in the bottom :p
3. The world is a sandbox that all players contribute to. Feel free to invent and control your own NPC’s, such as the population of your hometown, a trusted merchant who buys your goods, or an agent that’s looking to bring you to justice.
4. You may have as many characters as you like, and only major characters need their own sheets.
5. Posts may be as long or short as they need to be.
6. Don't obey rule 6.
7. Have fun!

List of Characters

Runners



Name(s): Bundi

Faction: Runner

Pronouns: He/him

Age: 16

Gift: Stealth – Bundi steps quickly and quietly through the undergrowth; it takes a keen eye and an attentive ear to spot him, crouched low to the ground, among the trees.

Habitat: Forest

Appearance and personality: The kid’s a shrimp of four-foot-five and 90 pounds, with dark skin and a flat bald egg of a head – not an uncommon mold in Konandogo. His shirt’s bright green, too tight, and draped in colorful floral patterns; when Bundi doesn’t want to be seen, he takes it off and stuffs it into his too-large jeans, held up by a belt that flops around Bundi’s hips when he runs. Bundi’s had that shirt for years and cares for it like a younger sibling. He loves to talk about it, too – but then he loves to talk about pretty much anything, even if no one’s listening. There’s not enough company in the forest, so Bundi’s always looking for friends. As someone whose destiny involves staying hidden away from the public, that’s gotten him into a stitch or two, but the boy’s usually slippery enough to get away scot-free. Well, mostly; sometimes his shirt gets ripped a bit, and the only thing Bundi loves more than that tacky old tee is his familiar.

Bio: It was a warm night in Kishimo when Bundi stumbled into the darkness on the two-mile trip to fetch clean water for a sick younger sister. At the well, he gazed in to find two small specks looking back at him – some poor, cheeping creature that’d fallen in. Bundi lowered the bucket down, but the thing wouldn’t hop in, so – stifling his fear – he clambered down the tight chimney, leapt down with a splash, and hauled the tiny beast out. There, in the light of the moon, Bundi learned that there were few sights more pitiful than a sopping wet owlet. He took it home, fed it mice, and the two became great friends, but when the owl had grown large enough to fly he was forced to release it into the wild. So it was that the First Owl, in hiding for centuries, knew that it had finally found a friend to its kind; it watched over Bundi as he slept at night, and eventually made itself known. Though shocked and honored by the creature’s presense, Bundi could not accept its offer to flee together into the wood, away from the eyes of Man – the kid loved his family, and hey, finals were coming up. The two came to an arrangement; by day Bundi lives the life of a boy, but come nightfall, he sneaks with a smirk out into the night and runs free with his familiar gliding softly along beside him.

Familiar name: Usikumzee (or just Usi)

Familiar species: Owl (African wood owl)




Poachers



Name(s): Gurt Knight

Faction: Poacher

Pronouns: He/him

Age: 31

Appearance and personality: Six feet and clean-shaven, eyes like lasers, fiercely-clean-cut brown hair – Gurt acts like a real killer, but inside he’s just grumpy. Not depressed, not broken, but just a crotchety old man twice his actual age. He hates what he does with an anger both fearsome and mild, and he hates that anyone would do different. He’ll hate anything if he thinks about it enough. Hate is what gets him up in the morning, and it’s what wears him out until he closes his eyes. Gurt knows as many types of hate as he does tea, or oatmeal, two things Gurt does not hate. He’s learned to deal with it, or else he’d have snapped a long time ago. That means he’s got a real appreciation for the little things.

Bio: In his youth, Gurt looked to the rifle as the tool most suitable for causing ridiculous destruction to whatever ticked him off, but he could never pass the safety course at the range. Well, whatever – his hands would find their way to a gun by any means necessary, and soon they did. Not knowing what he was in for, Gurt signed on with a pair of starving poachers who needed more hands to work with. Turns out he wasn’t bad with the gun and the folks let him keep it. For ten years the band ran around together, until the oldest guy died, and his old partner sent Gurt away with this advice: “Find something else to do, Gurt! You still have time to learn things…”

But hunting was all Gurt could do, or wanted to. He dropped out of school and struck out on his own, spent time in and out of jail, lost contact with his family, and found himself at the bottom of a deep, deep pit that he hadn’t noticed he’d been digging. Don’t ask me how, but the dude broke himself out of jail, stole himself a nice old gun, and set his sights on the greatest prize of all – the hide of a First Beast, the only thing that could possibly set him on a better path. He’s been looking for years, working small jobs on the underground market, and the law’s been coming closer and closer to catching the “Knight,” as he likes to be called by his clients. Hey, it sounds cool.

Weapon: A bolt-action big game hunting rifle with a long barrel and a mean scope, custom modeled after the Winchester M70.




International Police

Nothin' yet

Others

Zilch

Reserved OKAYYOUCANPOST

looks interesting. may join this very soon

Cool cool, lemme know if you want help thinkin up characters