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Publius First Consul / 245 - 2529 a. u. c.

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The Chronicles of Irenaea



Premise


In this roleplay, you take upon the role of an ancient chronicler tasked with documenting the exploits of an important individual. This individual may be any manner of folk, although principally the subjects of the chronicles are those endowed with the wealth, charisma, or fame to obtain such a history. No document here is a perfect truth; all are riddled with interpretation and fanciful thought, not to mention outright lies. Even the most scholarly of volumes contains the unwitting biases of the author.

To supply such exploits that the chronicles will detail, a simulation is maintained that dictates how the world progresses. The simulation will dictate how borders expand and contract, how wars and politics unfold, and the lives of individuals.

The simulation will provide a basic outline of events as well as hard records. The IC thread itself is analogous to a large history textbook containing excerpts from the great poets and record-keepers of the day.

To maintain a unity in style that would be found in translated and ancient documents, a style guide is included. The guide contains the optimal provisions for creating a singular format and maintaining the plausibility of a single translator whilst maintaining a vast diversity of voices that contribute to the text.

Over time, as details are fleshed out by chroniclers and poets and the generations advance, a rich history will emerge.

The beauty of this system lies in there being no commitment to write at certain post schedules or even commit to writing more than one post. Players have the option of writing one post and leaving from disinterest, maintaining short bursts of high activity followed by hibernation, and writing to please creative whims rather than being bound to a single story or character for any length longer than a post.

Co-GMs


Currently, I am looking for Co-GMs to help me run the simulation and manage the roleplay. Their responsibilities are threefold:

Counseling
If a dispute ever arises, it would be your responsibility to set up a PM between all GMs and the entagled parties to settle disagreements and reach a mutually satisfactory conclusion. The main element here is not being a dingus.

Community
A Co-GM would have the responsibility to engage in the live chat, OOC discussion, and recruitment efforts as much as possible. Keeping others engaged is key to spawning a community with strong ties to the roleplay, and in the process creating activity. GMs are exempt from the 'low committal' status enjoyed by players.

Creativity
The central role of a Co-GM is to provide creative input regarding the simulation and the roleplay at large. You need not be a math genius or even good with dice or numbers to apply, rather general helpfulness and pleasantness is the quality at play. Making sure that the simulation churns out nicely, updates are posted, and covering each other in the case of absence is included here.

The rewards for becoming a Co-GM are mostly my gratitude, but creative input and the satisfaction associated with growing a project are ample enough incentive (in my experience and opinion) for those willing to put forth the effort.

Setting


The roleplay takes place in a landscape rife with conflict and intrigue. As larger empires develop, great feats of technology and academia compete alongside formidable armies against a rich mosaic of cultures for the glory of the land. Beyond the cradle of civilization lies the wilderness and deserts, untamed and hostile lands home to nomads and exiles. Deep in the hidden pockets of fruit groves, swamps, ruins, and moonlit dunes the edges of legend and fact blur, and the commonfolk whisper strange tales of sorcery and beasts. In the halls of marble and gold, diplomats clothed in silk converse with their equals in status from far-flung lands across seas and oceans as the likes of gods watch over from the carved pillars. Merchant vessels and caravans arrive by the dozen to feed the luxurious tastes of the nobility. This is the land of Irenaea, named for the man who united her and forged the tribes and cities of the fertile plains into a fierce empire in one mighty fire.

In an age long ago, it is said that the likes of faries and demons walked the land in the same numbers as man, but this age has long passed into myth. At most a score of such beings survive to the date, though powerful they are. They opt for recluse in the hidden places of the world, though some opt to join mortal society, often in disguise. Now only man remains to forge his destiny.

Magic, nevertheless, remains in the world, at least to a degree. Principally, unless great power or great sacrifice is present, it is only capable of doing things that could have possibly been done without it, often referred to as thaumaturgies. Almost all magic comes from a religion, and nearly all sorcerers are therefore Holy Men. Most villages of decent size have at least one that may bless pregnancies and extent lives to mitigate the historical effects of child mortality and extremely short lifespans. The average lifespan adjusted for this magic is around sixty to eighty depending on the area, or seventy to ninety if you reach forty unharmed. Battles are also blessed by Holy Men on both sides, usually cancelling the efforts of their counterparts. Holy Men are also charged with protecting the harvest, a fundamental struggle in agrarian communities. The most powerful Holy Men are able to manifest their power in the form of a physical transformation - glowing eyes, increased stature, or in extremely rare and unconfirmed cases, levitation. Rumors say the the priestesses and witches of the Western Cults use magic to increase their bodily appeal, which in turn fuels their magic.

It is worth noting that this setting will be thematically authentic to human history - sexism, xenophobia, racism, societal injustice, and a whole host of other nasty things are a part of this roleplay. Use these aspects of life wisely to draw emotion from the modern reader, but balance this with the fact that the character's views and the historian's views on the matter are likely totally divorced from your own. The rule on maturity (and sensitivity) applies doubly here.

For reference, use the year 300 BC/BCE for technological comparison. Irenaea is significantly more fuedal than this, but most principles of warfare from that time period apply. As time progresses in the roleplay, so will technological advancements.





The Powers of Irenaea

These are the seats of power the roleplay will chronicle. Details are intentionally light and designed to be filled in by the players. As time moves forward, new powers will be added and some will die out.

[Houses under construction.]

The Faiths

The Treefaith - A collection of zealots throughout Meadland and the Treewall, mostly comprised of Easterners. They are animists and shamans that pray to oak trees and sags and perform blood sacrifices to keep vengeful spirits of illness and famine at bay. A group of Treefaith druids maintain a large holy site at the peak of the Greenmountain and the surrounding area.

Church of Dragonslaying - A Church based in Baldugtagee dedicated to the eradication of dragons. The church claims that dragons walk among the world in the form of agents of deceit and vice, and they furthermore hold the virtues of purity, chastity, humility, and righteousness to be critical to gaining the favor of the angels and heavens.

The Pantheon - This temple encompasses the common faith of Aedria and Bylleseus. The Major Pantheon, mostly universal in the regions that practice, is comprised of the Crone, the Judge, the Warrior, the Maiden, the Tempest, the Bachelor, the Father, and the Messenger. Interpretations of the roles of these deities vary wildly. The temple also accepts an uncountable variety of local gods and goddesses that collectively form the Minor Pantheon. The adaptability of this religion has made it widespread throughout Irenaea. The gods of the Pantheon are collectively referred to as 'the Ascendants'.

Hammerchurch - This faith worships Heavenhammer, an agent of divine will and flame. He is said to be equal parts Judge, Vindicator, and Father. The church calls upon all members to carry out his will, mainly that all men obey the Code of the Hammer (comprised of various tenets regarding lifestyle and behavior). This religion is mainly practiced in Paledune and the Shimmering Coast, with its main holy site being located in Paradise.

The Western Cults - Animistic and occultist religions from Witchhaunt to Baldugtagee fall into this category. Common Western Cults worship ancestors, demons, sky spirits, tree spirits, monsters, elves, or some combination. They all tend involve pacts for power in the material world in exchange for carrying out certain deeds and religious duties, and very few make any mention of afterlives.

Stylistics


Generally, stylistics come down to reconciling that all posts are translated documents, that they were translated by the same person, and maintaining a common format. To that effect, here is a quick checklist to make sure your post complies:

- Make sure your post only uses metric units. Google has an excellent conversion tool. [This rule maintains transnational consistency, since the same translator would not use different systems.]

- All words that have English meanings are spelled out. For example, the characters King Friedrich Fischer and Lord Hans Muller should be King Friedrich Fisher(man) and Lord Hans Miller, because these meanings are clearer to English readers. [This rule maintains formatting consistency, since as much information as possible is given directly to the audience.]

- Format your posts like the post below.


Note that is is an excellent example of the type of post that fits well here: selective biographical histories and tall tales. That said, obviously the actual writing here does not comply with the style guide. The things to note here are:
- The (In Character) author's name is noted in the quote, as well as the year it was written (no abbreviations; here we will just be using negative years should they apply (-382 instead of 382 BC/BCE)), all of which is properly bolded.
- Each excerpt from a longer work has it's own quote (I didn't actually cut anything between the quotes here but it exists for example purposes). [It's worth noting that all posts are presumed to be excerpts, and regardless of whether or not yours is, the body of the text should be completely within a quote.]
- The header lists the individual the biographer is talking about, as well as dates of birth and death in the proper format.
- The post has an italicized title at the top.
- The folklore post includes a 'ca.' (circa) denoting an approximate date of publication.
[This rule, somewhat obviously, maintains formatting consistency.]

- Check that your post is free of wordplay, rhyming, and other tricks of the English language. Translated documents should not include these since these tricks only apply to one language. Real world examples include The Internationale, which had to go through quite a bit of revision to attain any amount of cadence in English and other langauges, as well other ancient epics such as Homer's works and the Bhagavad Gita (which is why the Oppenheimer quote sounds so queer). [This rule maintains the illusion of a translated document.]

- A few general notes, remember to write out whole numbers between one and ten (weird rule but it exists), not to use contractions (this is considered bad form in longer writing), and use the Oxford comma (for the sake of authorial consistency). As well, using any kind of slang is heavily discouraged, and all prose should present dialogue in nonfiction format, not script or novel dialogue. Poetry is exempt from some of this, although aspiring poets should be wary of the spirit of the guide.

- Including graphics in your post may be helpful, but it's a good idea to PM a GM ahead of time if you plan to. Generally, graphics are more the role of the GMs. This isn't always the best case for things like portraits though, so if you have a strong interest feel free to PM. Note, though, that only classical styles that would have been available before or during roughly 0 AD/CE (excluding anime, almost any digital drawing that isn't quite convincing, or pretty much anything on paper) is off limits. Note that this excludes graphical styles which weren't common as well. Meaning, if you find some source that says anime was being embryonically developed in Japan in this time period and we have one drawing with suitably large eyes in the entire historical record, I still won't let you. If you are you using graphics, only images you made yourself and for this roleplay are acceptable (certain generators may have exceptions). The primary exception here is modern reconstructions, namely maps, diagrams of battle tactics, and infographics. Graphics do not necessarily need to be posted from the perspective of a historian. Contact a GM for instructions on formatting. [This rule maintains the illusion of a translated document by making sure that art has a common theme.]

- Don't use bolds, underlines, italics, or any other such formatting in the body of your post, unless you are referencing another work in the simulation (which is likely rare), in which case you should italicize that title. [This rule maintains the illusion of a common translator, as the same translator would apply the same formatting to all works.]

If you have any questions about the style guide and/or would like a GM to check it over, send a PM and we'd be happy too!

Note that if your post doesn't meet these guidelines, we will ask for you to fix it, but that does not mean you are banned or that your post was bad or anything of the sort. We understand that these guidelines can take some getting used to, and so long as you're willing to work with us, we'll generally be a lot nicer about it.

Perspectives and POVs


To clarify what is said in the premise, you are writing as people within the simulation. Specifically, your accounts will be published as primary sources documenting the events happening in the world. This isn't always the case though if you are writing about far off events (for example writing a secondary account of Irenaeus's conquests in the year 200). All posts must be written before the current simulation year. To see what simulation year it is, check the [Characters] tab. Beyond this, you have broad authority on what you'd enjoy posting. You may post about an event, a character, a whole dynasty, a piece of folklore, anything. Traditionally, chronicles would tell the entirety of of one life story, but you're welcome to play around with this. Beyond that, your post may be poetry, songs contemporary to the events, articles, declarations, transcriptions of the edicts of the rulers, really anything you'd like. Just follow the style guide and you'll be fine.

Rules


I. Be mature. There are themes in this roleplay that are, frankly, vile. The historians you are playing as don't usually think that. That is acceptable, but these themes should be handled with sensitivity. There is no reason to be more graphic than the extent you need to convey emotional detail.

II. Follow the style guide. Consistency in style is very important to his roleplay; the IC should seem like one volume translated by the same person, like one massive digital library formatted uniformly. This isn't because that is more loyal how history works, but rather because makes the IC look nicer and maintain consistency. Being hostile about this will see you removed (although feedback and criticism, if civil, is absolutely acceptable).

III. Go with the flow. Work within the simulation. You have wide latitude to outright lie and at times this is appropriate, but try to base your lies on things that happen in the simulation. As well, the more you reference (even if you don't corroborate) the chronicles of other authors, the more the world feels fleshed out and real. Most characters provided by the simulation will intentionally be tied to other characters to prompt you, but you need to do the heavy lifting. Remember, nobody 'owns' a character, a nation, or a culture. Godmodding doesn't apply.

IV. Try to stay active in the OOC even if you aren't writing. I know I said this wasn't mandatory, and it isn't, but it helps keep things alive through low activity-periods.

V. Don't be a dingus. Pretty self-explanatory.




This sounds interesting...


Great! The best thing to do is either start writing if you're feeling creative and you've read through all the material, or (the more recommended option) post in the OOC asking for some help getting caught up, and join the discord to speak more fluidly. Happy writing!
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Publius First Consul / 245 - 2529 a. u. c.

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Announcements


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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Publius
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I'm trying to get out a simulation soonTM. If you guys have any ideas or things you want to see, absolutely PM them, live chat them, or just post here. Any and all feedback is appreciated.

Enjoy the rainbow OP.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by pugbutter
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I won't promise active participation in this thread until I've gotten all my other RP stuff under control, but I wanted to drop by and let you know that this thread is fantastic and its quality hasn't gone unnoticed. I particularly love the mechanics you're using to enforce an historical tone within the IC prose.

You've probably alienated a lot of roleplayers by demanding that their writing actually be...you know, good...but I hope this is a huge success nonetheless.
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I won't promise active participation in this thread until I've gotten all my other RP stuff under control, but I wanted to drop by and let you know that this thread is fantastic and its quality hasn't gone unnoticed. I particularly love the mechanics you're using to enforce an historical tone within the IC prose.

You've probably alienated a lot of roleplayers by demanding that their writing actually be...you know, good...but I hope this is a huge success nonetheless.


Thank you! Don't worry about us for the time being; you're welcome to drop by whenever. I tried to set the lowest possible bar for activity and highest for depth, since that reflects what I actually care about and should (hopefully) make the writing better given the nonexistent time constraints. Nevertheless, very glad you dropped by :-)
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Bluetommy
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Im here, I'm queer (possibly), and I'm ready.
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Im here, I'm queer (possibly), and I'm ready.


That sig-message combo tho...
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I get that a lot.
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I'm dying to get into this but I'm without my laptop for a bit and there's no way I'm writing this on my phone.
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I'm dying to get into this but I'm without my laptop for a bit and there's no way I'm writing this on my phone.


No problem! I'm still working on the simulation, so no pressure.
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So, from now on, the standard day for simulations will be either Friday or Saturday, but for now due to slight delays we may need to push until Sunday. Keep in mind that this is the first time and we are still in the process of developing the rolls, so after this the process should be much faster.
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These are some of the most original and intriguing premises and formard that I have ever seen in an RP. Congratulations on the amazing work. I'll likely be participating in this.
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These are some of the most original and intriguing premises and formard that I have ever seen in an RP. Congratulations on the amazing work. I'll likely be participating in this.


Very glad to hear :-) ! That means a lot hear, on a sincere level. Looking through your post history, I'm quite confident you'd be a good fit. I'll add you to the list :-)

In other news, I finally got an autofill setup going for the characters. You can likely expect them within 24 hours.
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<Snipped quote by Durandal>

Very glad to hear :-) ! That means a lot hear, on a sincere level. Looking through your post history, I'm quite confident you'd be a good fit. I'll add you to the list :-)

In other news, I finally got an autofill setup going for the characters. You can likely expect them within 24 hours.


Thanks for having me on. :)
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@Polybius
@Atroposer
@bluetommy2
@Joegreenbeen
@Pugbutter
@Durandal
@Publius
@CaptainBritton

General Poll: I'm thinking of switching the chat to discord. Thoughts? Objections? It technically already exists here.

If people aren't into that I'll keep the old one.
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I think Discord is a better format.
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I think Discord is a better format.


Wonderful then, see you there!
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