GrimQuest
Grim, a chronically ill necromancer, sets off with an adventuring party to investigate the source of the mysterious "Red Plague". Just when they're getting close to their next goal, Grim stumbles and falls, stone dead. Just another day in the life of a mage with one foot in the grave.
The necromancer's old party may have abandoned both them and their quest, but they're still determined to find where the Red Plague is coming from. With another ragtag party assembled, they're venturing out once more. No one's getting left behind this time. And death won't stop them.
GrimQuest is a hypothetical Earthbound-like RPG that I will probably never make, wherein death is not necessarily a game over. It deals with themes of disability, grief, friendship, and determination in the face of despair.
Characters
Premise
GrimQuest takes place on the island of Rhimval, a small country that is nonetheless brimming with culture and history. Religion and myth is especially important to the people there. Migration and movement over the centuries has resulted in a diverse population of humans, elves (particularly dawn elves), and beastfolk. It is from the mountainous north of the island to the arable south that players will make their journey.
Each time the player dies in GrimQuest, rather than a game over, they'll wake up in a limbo of sorts, a foggy stage between the lands of the living and those of the dead: the near shore of the River. From there, they'll have two options: either return to a previous checkpoint, or regroup with their party at their home base.
Story Overview
History
A strange substance, known only as the Red Plague, has been spreading across the frigid island of Rhimval for the past few years. Its ability to form entities, even infect living creatures, has brought a scourge of monsters onto the land. Many adventuring parties have sought to end it at the source, but none have succeeded. Only a few have made any real breakthroughs.
Prologue
As the game begins, Grim's old party arrives at the famously haunted Cliffside Castle, the source of a number of Red Plague outbreaks. Their hope is to pick up on any leads that previous adventurers have missed. Grim mentions to the party leader that they're feeling faint, but he ignores them and insists on pushing ahead. So Grim acquiesces. Sure, they've had episodes in the past where they keeled over and died for seemingly no reason, but it's probably fine this time. Right?
Well, it's not.
As with every time they've died before, Grim wakes up on the nearest shore of the River, greeted by a small cluster of wispy ghosts. Exhausted, they take their enchanted rowboat back to their hometown.
Then
Home for Grim is a disused Circle temple in a small village south of Cliffside Castle. It hasn't been long since they've been back, but a few things have changed. Firstly, the temple now has a groundskeeper who's a little too eager to meet a real-life necromancer. (This character serves as the advice NPC in-game.) Second, the apothecary has a new apprentice looking to make a breakthrough on the Red Plague. It is here that the necromancer meets the alchemist, and the real story begins.
Notes
Though temples of many different faiths can be found across Rhimval, two in particular have historically been most widespread, with notable differences in their philosophies and practices.
- The Church of Gladien: Worshippers of the god of light. Most common among dawn elves. Gladien's followers believe that the ultimate meaning of life is an unceasing effort to fight off darkness and evil, in whatever way a person can. What "darkness" or "evil" entails depends upon which sect you ask; most point to commonplace suffering and strife in the world, though some believe that death itself is an evil to be defeated one day.
- The Church of the Circle: Polytheists and animists. Most common among humans and beastfolk. Devotees of the Circle have slightly more variance in their beliefs, but all agree that suffering is a natural part of existing in the world, that death is a part of life, and that change is a positive force. Many believe in reincarnation, making their circle imagery all too appropriate.