[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/yHM3T5E.png[/img]

[h3][b]The Imperial Crisis: Succession[/b][/h3]
[hider=The Setting]
[h3]"There is only one law, Nature's Prime: That the strong shall devour the weak."[/h3]
[i]-The Imperial Creed-[/i]

The Holy Rozarrian Empire is at its height. Its wealth, derived from the discovery and exploitation of Maandike, those stones of fire, surpasses any other. Lesser nations on which the gaze of His Majesty falls tremble in fear. And, of course, the Imperial Army is vast beyond imagining, the terror of the entire world. The Livonian Federation of the north, that collection of democracies ruled by the madness of the mob, still reels from the last devastating war with the Empire. The great Kubra Shah, though his realm rivals the Empire itself, bends over for the Empire, knowing that his decaying throne is gnawed at by insurgents and terrorists. Only the stubborn Xiang still defy the Emperor's will, and then they breathe still only because he tolerates their survival. 

It is in this state of affairs that Crown Prince Admar len Ruthweiler, firstborn son of His Majesty Emperor Norman len Ruthweiler, died. Though the official stance of the government is that he died of a malady of the heart, it is whispered, at court and elsewhere, that he was murdered. After all, what kind of 'malady of the heart' causes nine stab wounds to the chest? With his death, and the increasing age and deteriorating age of the Emperor, the question of who will succeed to the throne has become more pronounced than ever, and in the shadows conspirators begin to act against each other. 

You are an Imperial Prince, a son of the Emperor, ambitious, plotting your way up the succession. Or, you are one of His Majesty's cousins, tasked with the administration and pacification of a troublesome border province, trying to do what is best for the Empire. Or, you are an Inferior footman, whose unswerving competence has caused you to rise as high on the social ladder as one of your birth can. It doesn't matter; What matters is that you are but one player in a great game, one that will decide the face of an Empire which dominates the world.
[/hider]
[hider=The World]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/edTgVwW.png[/img]

[b]World Factions[/b]

[b]The Holy Rozarrian Empire:[/b] Once a petty kingdom, thanks to liberal exploitation of Maandike Rozarria is now the greatest power in the world, poised to conquer every other nation. The Empire is extremely aristocratic, and its society is split into three tiers: The Royalty, the Nobility, and the Citizens. Within those tiers, Rozarrians can be higher or lower on the social ladder; for example, the king is higher than the princes, the dukes than the barons, and the rich merchants than the poor farmers, but the poorest of each caste is higher in status than the wealthiest below him. 

There is also a fourth, informal caste: The Inferiors, those without citizenship, and unrecognized by the Empire as human beings. They form the bulk of the population of the Empire. Each time a new province is added to it, its people are declared Inferior, stripped of all rights. Eventually, through loyal service, a people can earn the right to Imperial citizenship.

[b]The Xiang Republic:[/b] Cut off from the rest of the world since the dawn of time by the impassable Nerwains, the Xiang developed a unique culture and society. The Heavenly Empire of Xiang, as it was for a long time known, was remarkably stable, with only rare civil wars to disturb the peace. The only passable route into Xiang was the Shah's Pass, in the south of Xiang. Because of the great wealth involved, both the Emperors and the Kubra Shahs kept a short leash on that trade route, suppressing any knowledge or exploration of the other side. Thus the Xiang slumbered into stagnation.

Their delusions of superiority were forever shattered thirteen years ago, the day Rozarrian airships flew over the supposedly impassable Nerwains, while a vast army marched through the Shah's Pass. Within a year, the Xiang had lost two-thirds of their land, and all seemed lost. The magnitude of the defeat, brought on by the impossibly large gap in technology, was worsened by the criminal incompetence of the central government. And so, twelve years ago, a revolution overthrew the emperor, and declared the Republic of Xiang. 

In the decade since, the Xiang have fought a brutal, desperate war for survival. Every day, their generals make sacrifices, ruthlessness being their only hope for salvation against the iron might of the Empire. Their desperate struggle is only worsened by the knowledge that the Rozarrians are commiting but a fraction of their armies to the Xiang campaign. 

[b]The Livonian Federation:[/b] Composed of eight sovereign nations, the Federation is an alliance of circumstance. Though all democracies, with liberal social policies, these nations were quite antagonistic to each other before the Rozarrians appeared on their doorstep. It took the conquest of half the Livonian nations for the last eight to agree to a union before the common foe. Though wealthy, the federation remains divided, with each member seeing to its on defense first; a weakness the Empire exploits regularly.

[b]The Kubra Dynasty:[/b] An old power, the Kubra Shahs have on paper power enough to rival even the Empire itself. But their realm is unstable, the peripheries rocked by violent insurrection and rebellion. Thus, the Shahs have attempted to follow a policy of appeasement to the Empire, sacrificing even the enormously lucrative north-eastern province (containing the Shah's Pass) to the Empire to avoid the war they know will see the collapse of their empire.
[/hider]
[hider=Technology] All modern technology in the setting is derived from the use of Maandike, a rough, rust-colored stone. This is thanks to its property of heating up tremendously in contact with water: using Maandike to boil water powers all modern machinery. Once dissolved and extracted, the form of which is referred to as Maandike Dust, it is also extremely explosive. All these properties have made it something of an obsession in the Empire, to the exclusion of all other forms of technology.

Now, for specific instances of technology. I of course can't list everything, so if you're wondering if a specific thing exists, just ask. But here are a few of the important things:

[color=yellow]Steam-powered trains[/color] exist, although no other nation has adopted them quite as enthusiastically as the Empire. Powered by Maandike steam engines, they enable the Imperial armies to shift rapidly from one front to another;

[color=yellow]Cannons[/color] exist, although they are specially built to withstand the incredibly violent force caused by Maandike Dust. Cannons depend not on fire, but on water, which is the catalyst for the ensuing explosion;

[color=yellow]Airships[/color] exist, and are used for both military and civil purposes. Now, most civilian ships of this kind are little more than blimps. But the Imperial Fleet has an impressive collection of warships which would make the Hindenburg blush, with the largest ones having enough firepower to level a city. They're limited in altitude, of course; to cross the wall-like Nerwains in the north, they had to fly small blimps up to a promising looking plateau, build a base there, and set up machinery to quite literally lift the larger airships high enough to cross the mountains. Needless to say, the Xiang were taken completely by surprise when THAT appeared to blot the sky;

[color=yellow]Guns[/color] don't exist, or at least any that I would recommend using. After the introduction of cannons, some attempts were made to design smaller, handheld cannons that could be carried by infantrymen into battle. But Maandike dust's lack of stability made it more likely that you'd just kill yourself by firing the gun. Armies have continued to use swords, pikes, and other more conventional weapons of war instead.

[/hider]
[hider=Character Sheets]Player characters will be applied in the following format. Note that this is just the minimum of information I expect to be able to understand your character; you are of course free to add more than is included if you can think of something else. Please post the sheets in the OOC so I can vet and approve them before you put them on the character tab.

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b] Note that if you are a child of the Emperor, you're restricted to younger than 39 years old.
[b]Caste:[/b] The castes, in order of importance, are Royalty, Nobility, Citizenry, and Inferiors. Note that the lower you go on that food chain, the less likely it is you matter in Imperial politics, so I expect most people to be either royalty or nobility.
[b]Occupation:[/b] Even the most lazy noble has responsibilities, such as estates, or investments. Royals are given jobs running the government.
[b]Appearance and Personality:[/b] Give a few paragraphs. Pictures are welcome (hide big ones, though).
[b]Biography:[/b]
[b]Motivation:[/b] What does your character hope to achieve in life? (ex: Power, a better world, protect family...)
[/hider]
[/center]

Feel free to ask or PM questions.