In Feudal Japan, a former Buddhist temple stands in serene elegance. The complex is modest and grand all at the same time, housing a well-kept main temple, a courtyard for physical training and lectures, beautiful gardens interspersed between the different living quarters, and a farm that the inhabitants sustain themselves with. A man-made stream diverted from a nearby river runs through the grounds and when the sun sits high in the sky, the whole school is gently shaded by a mountain range only a short distance away. A large village is a few days' journey away but the grounds already has the facilities to make supply runs far and few between, allowing students to fully focus on their training and different works. The buildings are maintained and populated by a well-respected master and his devoted followers. The monks here train themselves to become better people in mind, body, and spirit under the firm, yet gentle teachings of Master Natsu Katsuhira.
Katsuhira himself is of low upbringing. After a childhood, which extended into young adulthood, of thievery and senseless violence, he had a child. The realization that his lifestyle would put his child on the same hellish path as him struck, and so he forsook his old ways and ran off on his own. A kind Buddhist monk took him in at the age of twenty-five, with his newborn baby named Shu, and taught him to seek the inner truths within himself under his guidance and the teachings of Buddha. Over eight years, Katsuhira progressed well in his training and found the love of his master's daughter, bearing a second son, Hiro. Soon after Hiro's birth, the teacher passed away along with his daughter, and the other followers left to settle elsewhere, leaving Katsuhira the temple grounds with which to honor his former master's memory. He made the decision to re-open the monastery. However, instead of as a strict Buddhist environment, he opened it to troubled youths like he once was. His vision was to give them a chance to better themselves in a environment that encouraged introspection, spiritual awareness, and the ideal of being kind toward your fellow man. The School of Branching Paths.
The monastery has functioned in relative peace since it's rebirth as an alternative school of sorts, eighteen years ago. Given the social climate of the time period, bandits and the occasional stray soldiers turned raiders were the brunt of opposition they faced. To offer self-defense, Katsuhira taught his students the same style of martial arts his teacher taught him, an unorthodox discipline dubbed "Bonsai Style". The namesake comes from the style's openness to change and personal interpretation, meant to represent the many different paths the branches of a Bonsai tree can take.
Students have come and gone and Katsuhira has aged to 50. Shu and Hiro have advanced to leader roles of the disciples and have begun shouldering the load of managing the school. Though old, Master Katsuhira still engages with his pupils with the same vigor he always has. However, he knows he doesn't have many years left and seeks to teach his students their final lesson before his death.
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This RP is what I plan to be the first part in a trilogy. It deals with Master Katsuhira taking his sons+students on a pilgrimage that will advance them to the level of their training from which they won't need his guidance. It will be a Historical Fantasy Action/Adventure RP.
Bearing the genre of Historical Fantasy, things will be period-based. Characters will do a lot of walking on dirt paths and things of that nature. The fantasy comes more from the spiritual aspect of the story and some of the enemies characters will encounter. Content-wise, things won't get grimdark or anything but the storyline will delve into mature, realistic situations.
Katsuhira himself is of low upbringing. After a childhood, which extended into young adulthood, of thievery and senseless violence, he had a child. The realization that his lifestyle would put his child on the same hellish path as him struck, and so he forsook his old ways and ran off on his own. A kind Buddhist monk took him in at the age of twenty-five, with his newborn baby named Shu, and taught him to seek the inner truths within himself under his guidance and the teachings of Buddha. Over eight years, Katsuhira progressed well in his training and found the love of his master's daughter, bearing a second son, Hiro. Soon after Hiro's birth, the teacher passed away along with his daughter, and the other followers left to settle elsewhere, leaving Katsuhira the temple grounds with which to honor his former master's memory. He made the decision to re-open the monastery. However, instead of as a strict Buddhist environment, he opened it to troubled youths like he once was. His vision was to give them a chance to better themselves in a environment that encouraged introspection, spiritual awareness, and the ideal of being kind toward your fellow man. The School of Branching Paths.
The monastery has functioned in relative peace since it's rebirth as an alternative school of sorts, eighteen years ago. Given the social climate of the time period, bandits and the occasional stray soldiers turned raiders were the brunt of opposition they faced. To offer self-defense, Katsuhira taught his students the same style of martial arts his teacher taught him, an unorthodox discipline dubbed "Bonsai Style". The namesake comes from the style's openness to change and personal interpretation, meant to represent the many different paths the branches of a Bonsai tree can take.
Students have come and gone and Katsuhira has aged to 50. Shu and Hiro have advanced to leader roles of the disciples and have begun shouldering the load of managing the school. Though old, Master Katsuhira still engages with his pupils with the same vigor he always has. However, he knows he doesn't have many years left and seeks to teach his students their final lesson before his death.
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This RP is what I plan to be the first part in a trilogy. It deals with Master Katsuhira taking his sons+students on a pilgrimage that will advance them to the level of their training from which they won't need his guidance. It will be a Historical Fantasy Action/Adventure RP.
Bearing the genre of Historical Fantasy, things will be period-based. Characters will do a lot of walking on dirt paths and things of that nature. The fantasy comes more from the spiritual aspect of the story and some of the enemies characters will encounter. Content-wise, things won't get grimdark or anything but the storyline will delve into mature, realistic situations.
With this being an RP about monks (technically, troubled youths turned monk-like students) going on a journey, I encourage characters to have lots of interaction with each other. Think of how it would be to come from hard beginnings, having difficulty trusting anyone, then transitioning to a lifestyle of reliance on your "brothers" and "sisters". Don't be afraid to question! I embrace users to get immersed in the world that I'll attempt to make as rich and inviting as I can, and I'm open to suggestions on different places to take the story. There will be combat and yes, some of it will be armed (more in Weapons/Combat) since in real life Buddhist monks trained and traveled with weaponry. However, I also encourage hand-to-hand combat when the situation's stakes aren't that high. I'll try to use in-character cues as to when students should draw their weapons. Lastly, on the more technical side, I'd like for this to be a descriptive RP. In my opinion, a decent post would be at least two paragraphs but I won't nitpick if all you can manage is one (not to sound condescending).
Given the setting of Feudal Japan, the monks in this story would definitely need to know martial arts and carry weapons to defend themselves. That being said, to prevent extravagance, try to keep things practical and period-correct on the weapons side and only have your character carry 1. As for the combat itself, think of the tone as similar to a historical fantasy martial arts movie. To put it into words, think of how in these movies the more a character trains, the more nonsensical things they can do. So don't think of it as crazy if Master Katsuhira kicks a horse cart down a hill and it kills 20 bandits, because he's trained...really hard. Things like manipulating fire or other elements are a little too much, but things like exaggerated force/speed are fine.
Name:
Gender:
Age: (Adults are welcome, Master Katsuhira wouldn't turn anybody away. But I would like the focus to be on youths because of them naturally being at the age of finding themselves/questioning/etc.)
Background: (What were they doing before they joined Master Katsuhira's school, how did they find it, etc?
Personality: (What are they like? Interests/Morals? Try to flesh this out. The RP deals with themes of soul-searching and growth and it's more interesting if your character isn't static and has flaws that get tackled over the course of the story.)
Weapon:
Appearance: (Picture or text description, either is fine.)
Fighting Style: (In either straight description or a simulated fight, detail how your character fights. Highlight strengths and weaknesses or techniques they employ.)
Personal Goal of Joining School: (What did your character hope to gain within themselves by joining Katushira's school? Closeness with nature? Sated bloodlust? Be creative!)
Gender:
Age: (Adults are welcome, Master Katsuhira wouldn't turn anybody away. But I would like the focus to be on youths because of them naturally being at the age of finding themselves/questioning/etc.)
Background: (What were they doing before they joined Master Katsuhira's school, how did they find it, etc?
Personality: (What are they like? Interests/Morals? Try to flesh this out. The RP deals with themes of soul-searching and growth and it's more interesting if your character isn't static and has flaws that get tackled over the course of the story.)
Weapon:
Appearance: (Picture or text description, either is fine.)
Fighting Style: (In either straight description or a simulated fight, detail how your character fights. Highlight strengths and weaknesses or techniques they employ.)
Personal Goal of Joining School: (What did your character hope to gain within themselves by joining Katushira's school? Closeness with nature? Sated bloodlust? Be creative!)
