To Carthage then I came, where there sang all around me in my ears a cauldron of unholy loves. St. Augustine, Confessions Book III
Hello!
The idea of this RP is simple: it will be a faction/character RP in a fantasy setting based in the single, massive, mercantile city-state of New Anathagos. Through designing their characters and factions, players will help to flesh out the city and the wider world together. There will be a central plot, the rough outline of which I have in mind, that participants are welcome to join or ignore as they wish. People can design any type of faction they wish: crime syndicates, mercantile guilds, noble houses, foreign embassies, assassin brotherhoods, etc etc.
A few details on the setting:
New Anathagos is one of the greatest cities in the world of Phlegethon- and certainly one of the richest. Located on the subtropical island of Jos in the middle of the Sea of Beasts, the maritime power is ideally situated between major nations, and has grown rich over its nearly 700 year history as a hub of commerce. Ruled by a bicameral Parliament divided between an aristocratic upper house known as the House of Wisdom and an elected lower house known as the Chamber of Noise, in practice New Anathagos is a fairly anarchic place, with its myriad districts de facto governed by influential factions, syndicates, noble houses, religious orders and other centers of authority.
New Anathagos was founded by exiles, and has received many tides of migrants from distant lands over its long existence. As such, and a commercial center, it is one of the most diverse cities in the entire world, home to practically every race, sentient species, creed and culture that can be found on Phlegethon.
And on the RP generally:
- It is a character-centric faction RP. Players will design and write as the different factions of New Anathagos, but the focus of the RP will be on the characters. -It is dark fantasy set in a bustling renaissance era city state. -This to be an exercise in collaborative world building. That means that we want factions and characters that feel like they inhabit a shared world. Players should collaborate heavily in designing their factions and characters. -It is low-medium fantasy: magic exists. It is powerful, dangerous, and uncommon.
A note on Magic: I am not a big fan on fixed magic rules or magic systems. I do want to stress that this is low(ish) fantasy. That means no armies of reanimated dead or golems, no legions of fireball casters, balrogs, etc. We're going to err on the side of how the LotR handled magic rather than say, D&D. Meaning, it is present and powerful, but mysterious and often indirect.
I prefer what I call the Tolkien/GRR Martin approach to magic and religion. Magic is real, mysterious, and powerful, but for the most part takes place 'off-screen', and is for aesthetic purposes somewhat subdued or indirect (eg- no undead armies or mages throwing fireballs around). Likewise, the RP will take the GRR Martin approach to religion: there are as many religions as we can come up with here, but we will leave it an open question as to whether any of them are true. Conflicting mythos and cosmologies and visions of god(s) are encouraged.
-It is vaguely Renaissance tech. Cannons and arquebus are new military technology. There are a few exceptions to this. -It has original fantasy races. We're going to try to stay away from orcs/dwarves/elves/halflings. If you want a version of a classic fantasy race, try to give it a unique spin. -It is inspired by Tolkien, Dune, Warhammer fantasy, Lovecraft, China Mieville, & Morrowind.
RULES - Writing standards are advanced - Have fun, act like a human being, and remember this is a vehicle for story telling and world building and not a competitive strategy game. If you want that, try Civ or Total War. They're fun. - Respect the judgment of the GMs. - Please try to post once a week. If you can't, that's no big deal at all, but check in here to let the GMs know you're still with us. - One more note on posting: everybody gets writers block, or burned out, or is unsure how to proceed once in awhile. If that happens, nbd- but maybe try to find other ways to stay active? Help flesh out the history of the world, or invent a new subfaction or religion. Worldbuilding might prompt a solid IC post. Let's keep this alive and awesome.
OK! That's enough for a Int. Check I think- anyone in?
