[center][h2][i][b]Masters of Veranth[/b][/i][/h2][/center][hr][center][sup]Murder Mayhem & [s]Unicorns[/s] Plot
An open-world RPG of Fantasy Politics by Polybius
Simple d20 mechanics[/sup][/center][hr]

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/R18eOyX.jpg?1[/img][/center]
[i]The Masters of Veranth have been murdered. One by bloody one, members of the ruling council have met a grizzly end. In the wake of the murders, foreign powers have made bold moves against our fair city-state. The Holy League is once again conducting trials overseen by the Grand Inquisitors and fierce Adjudicators of the Holy Church of Karolath. The ageless rivals of Veranth, the Cypriot League are suspected of hiring mercenaries to disrupt our trade routes. Our sailors are turned into slaves, sold on the blood soaked sandy shores of Saeth Mar...  
  
The young republic of Veranth needs leadership and sound governing. You have been selected (admittedly in haste) to preside over the High Council until such a time as elections can be held. In the wake of the turmoil of the fated former council, allegiances are challenged. Centuries old treaties between the great houses and the Twenty-Four Towers of the Guilds are at risk. [/i]

[h3]Your Character[/h3][hr]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/etIZ7cEm.jpg?1[/img][/center]
You are a member of the High Council, a temporary position until such a time that elections might be conducted.  You may be of the [b]Nobility[/b], with estates and retainers or a [b]Knight[/b], with a company of men-at-arms. Or you may play as a [b]Merchant[/b], trading and dealing with other nations. You may interpret these class restrictions however you wish. Regardless of your chosen class, you have risen sufficiently enough in the political and social circles to achieve a seat at the council. Work with your fellow council members or plot against them. The fate of Veranth is in your hands.  

[h3]The Game[/h3][hr]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/LaKc5Os.jpg[/img][/center]
This is a game of intrigue and politics and trade and war. There is money to be made, people to kill and an empire to build. The game will be played in turns. Each turn update, you send me your orders (what your character is up to for that season) and I give an update for the events of that season. The IC is fair game for any roleplaying you may wish to do in between turns. You are free to create any NPC's necessary for your narrative stories. Collaboration is encouraged. It should be noted that if you introduce NPCs, I may commandeer them for story purposes. 

[hider=Build a Character]
 [i]Follow this list of steps and your ready to submit a character![/i]
[list]
[*]Read Classes & Features
[*]Choose a class (Merchant, Noble, Knight)
[*]Choose a Secondary Characteristic (Primary Characteristics are tied to class)
[*]Choose a name. Make it fit with the setting. (Lore is located in the Character Tab)
[*]Write a bit of history about your character or a description. Maximum 5 paragraphs.
[*]PM me your character sheet.
[/list]

[b][i]Classes & Features[/i][/b]

[u][i]The Merchant[/i][/u]
 You are a wealthy merchant, perhaps an age-old family of Veranth with coffers stuffed to the brim with gold and jewels. Maybe you only recently accumulated your fortune. Whatever the case, you have been found either influential or rich enough (most likely both) to be appointed to the council. 
 Merchants have a [b]Trading House[/b] with plenty of room to store goods and a vault. Merchants also have a [b]Flagship[/b]. They are especially good at [b]Trading[/b]

[u][i]The Knight[/i][/u]
 A strict code of honor may or may not guide your sword. A relic of ages past, carried over to Veranth from the mainland, the Knighthood has shifted to a more profit-driven profession in the last century. Knights have [b]25 men-at-arms[/b] that require no upkeep, and are loyal to the death. Knights also command the respect of the common people, who see them as valiant heroes (regardless of their actions). Although this may become corrupted with time. Knights are especially good at [b]Fighting[/b]. 

[u][i]The Noble[/i][/u]
 Whether you bought your title or simply inherited the name, a noble commands a court and has access to important figures throughout the lands. Nobles possess an [b]Estate[/b] and may [b]Command a Favor[/b] at anytime, with anyone. Nobles are particularly [b]Cunning[/b]. 

[b][i]Characteristics[/i][/b]
[i]The emboldened words in the descriptions above are not merely just that-they are part of the simple d20 system I'm using in this game. Whenever you wish to perform an action, I associate it with the appropriate characteristic (A knight leading an attack for instance, or a noblemen brokering a trade deal) and roll to see if your action succeeds and to what degree. [/i]
[list]
[*][b][color=gold]Cunning[/color][/b] A silver-tongue. Spies in the shadows. Ulterior motives. Cunning is the wheeling and dealing that is so very necessary in the upper echelon of court politics. 

[*][b][color=gold]Fighting[/color][/b] Martial prowess. Strategy. The ability to lead men into the raging hell-gates of battle or to defend them, to train them, and to use them effectively. It is also the characteristic in single combat.

[*][b][color=gold]Trading[/color][/b] A sound mind for economics. Understanding the market and how to use it to your advantage. Also the logistics and proper management of vast sums of money and goods.  
[/list]
[b][i]Secondary Characteristics[/i][/b]
[i]Secondary Characteristics are chosen by the player (unlike primary, which are tied to class) and encompass the more surreal and magical aspects of the game world.[/i]
[list]
[*][b][color=gold]Arcana[/color][/b] The understanding of the forces unseen at work in the world. There is a thin veil between this one and an infinite number of others. Sorcerers often peak through this veil-and often do not like what they see. 

[*][b][color=gold]Piety[/color][/b] Devotion to a higher god and fellow man. Like Arcana, Piety bridges the gap between the mortal and immortal realms. 

[*][b][color=gold]Luck[/color][/b] The neglected characteristic. It is said at a child's birth his fate is already known. 
[/list]
[b]Increasing Your Characteristics:[/b]
You may increase your characteristics in a couple of ways the most important being to use them. When you send orders, you may insist that you use a specific characteristic rather than the assumed. For instance, if your negotiating terms for a trade deal, you might suggest that you use a characters cunning rather than his trade. It is up to you how you wish to interpret this course of action. So for the example given, you might suggest you use your characters cunning to blackmail the merchant. Again, you would have to invent the circumstances IC that led to this course of action. 

Another way to increase your characteristics is by playing your character in character. For example, if you know a course of action would be detrimental to your character or the city, but your character would do it anyway, then that is playing to your character in character. Another way of putting it is 'Don't META-game'. 

These are not the only ways to increase your characters characteristics...
[/hider]

[hider=Sample Character]
[b]Name:[/b] Sir Arlon Fontleroy
[b]Class:[/b] Knight , Fighting, Luck
[b]Summary:[/b] A knight of extraordinary skill and luck, Fontleroy finds himself in the right place at the right time more often than not. 
[b]Bio:[/b]

[indent][i]Sir Arlon Fontleroy was born to a hedge-knight of ill reputation and his wench mother who abandoned father and son for a Cypriot Merchant. Despite his poor social standing, Fontleroy's father trained the boy and managed to have the boy taken on as a squire. In truth, it was to pay off his gambling debts-Fontleroy senior disappeared shortly thereafter. 

Fontleroy's luck began to change as soon as his parents had removed themselves from his life. First, the young squire was spared a savage death at the hands of a Saeth Mar slaver when the boy managed to gut one of the men attacking him. The Saeth Mar were impressed and only beat him within inches of his life, and deposited him on Veranthian soil at Sterling Shore. 

Second, the beaten and broken Fontleroy was discovered by Lady Gwenneth Arguile, while she was strolling along the Sterling Shore with her retainers. Young Fontleroy was nursed back to health and found himself soon squiring for one of the wealthiest families in all of Veranth, the Arguiles. In ten years, Fontleroy would marry into the family.

Third. The line of succession of Arguiles rapidly dwindled to one Peitro Arguile, and Arlon. Peitro, confounded by scandal and held accountable by the church of Karolath, threw himself from the Arguile Castle ramparts. Arlon Fontleroy suddenly found himself master of a minor castle and commander of several hundred knights. (These of course disbanded shortly thereafter to go fight in the Holy League Wars). Nonetheless, in the twenty three years Arlon Fontleroy had been alive, his station had increased considerably, and when the time came to appoint new masters of Veranth, Arlons name was upon that list.[/i][/indent]
[/hider]

[h3]Game Features:[/h3][hr]
[list]
[*][b]Turn Based RPG set in a home-brewed pseudo Renaissance-Medieval world with dark and possibly lascivious undertones.[/b]
[*][b]Depth of Lore and Worldbuilding.[/b]
[*][b]Your actions will have consequences in the world.[/b]
[*][b]You might die.[/b]
[*][b]Mechanics for building industry, guilds, armies and establishing trade.[/b]
[*][b]You get what you put into it. Having said that, I will never enforce a rule that detracts from the story.[/b]
[/list]
 [b]Final Note:[/b] [i]I will take up to 5 players, but it may slow the game down a bit. If enough interest is gathered I will post the extended lore of the world in the IC. The goal of this game is to create a vivid world with intriguing plot and depth of character that may be visited again and again. I am looking forward to writing with you all. Thanks for reading![/i]