[b]Welcome to a game of chairs (in the absence of a throne).[/b]

[img]https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6SQRCUMEEt0/hqdefault.jpg[/img]
A political intrigue/Nation roleplay set in an alternate universe of the Witcher series.
 
It will take place in the Northern Kingdoms, a plethora of smaller states each ruled by their own King/Queen/ Stadholder or whathaveyou. In recent history the Nilfgardian Empire has crept up on the borders of the Northern Kindom, annexing and conquering all that lies south of the great Yaruga River. Presuming that the Nilfgardian lust for power would not end there the Norhtern Kingdoms entered an uneasy alliance, halting the fighting amongst the states to form a united military front. Under the guidance of the Wilem Vandenbreght’s; the Stadholder of Vrystad Tarugerdam, they fought off Nilfgaard, managing to keep the Yaruga as a natural border. The Emperor of Nilfgaard subsequently ordered a ceasefire and terms were negotiated that would allow for trade across the Yaruga and the Great Westsea. 

[i]Two generations have passed since the great war with Nilfgaard and the origination of the Northern Alliance. The most notable passing of late being that of  Dirk Vandenbreght Consul of the Northern Alliance. A title that governs the appointment of military commanders of alliance armies, protection of the major trade routes and the appointments about them. Though not a hereditary position the Vandenbreght family has produced all Consuls so far and it was assumed that the title would pass to Dirk Vandenbreght’s eventual son after his death. Dirk’s demise has thwarted that assumption and next in the hereditary line would be Grenn Vandenbreght, Dirk’s brother and black sheep of the family. 

Grenn Vandenbreght is the leader of a renowned/notorious mercenary company called the Grey Company he has fought for the highest bidder in wars over the north and even done contracts for Nilfgaard in the border regions below the Yaruga, which had him fighting against rebels that were actually sympathetic to the Northern Alliance. Few see him to be a fit candidate for the role of Consul but he has made his way to Tarugerdam where the next consul will be chosen. He assumes the title hereditary but nonetheless the representatives of each member of the Alliance must come to cast the vote.

With that vote there is proverbial blood in the water, Each Northern Realm has send a representative in order to reaffirm alliances, get the better of trade deals and so on, but most importantly to elect a new Consul. Rumours are spreading of armies mobilizing in Nilfgaard and so this position cannot fall into the hands of just anyone…
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That is the premise of the roleplay, the added oddities of the Witcher world is a heavy discrimination of non-humans, mainly Elves and Dwarves, who mostly live amongst humans. In cities this most often results in Non-human ghetto’s. The Elves have come to rebel against this the most with insurgents groups called ‘Squirrels’ targeting humans when they can (though if you want to form a non-human nation that is a possibility, think on how it relates to the human ones, why it’s in the Alliance and confer with me). Ironically Witchers themselves play only minor roles as hunters of near extinct monster breeds that largely keep to their own affairs. Sorcerers and sorceresses are trying to form the outcome of major political events and it is usually a custom to have one at court. they are at the same time however considered meddling, dishonest and scheming folk that are best kept at bay, that is why they are not allowed on Alliance meetings and so on. They only serve as advisors and even that starts rumours amongst the populace of unnatural conspiracies, spells and other witchcraft that belongs at the stake. Last up is Nilfgaard, an Empire that stretches to the south of the Yaruga that resembles the real world Holy Roman Empire. They are well organized and the rule of their Emperor Emhyr var Emreis seems absolute. The persecution of witches is stronger in these lands and those that are allowed to operate do so by the training of the State University and at the behest of the Empire. Non-humans are slightly more sympathetic towards Nilfgaard due to the creation of small non-human vassal states within the Empire, and  in the previous wars and skirmishes the Elven “Squirrel” units were fighting a guerrilla for Nilfgaard. After the war they were left to fend for themselves.

That about sums it up, but feel free to ask any questions or make things up yourself! Couse that will be a central part to the roleplay: The creation of your own state!

Each player is a representative for that state but you can fully imagine that state yourself.  In order to help you along and ‘balance’ it somewhat the nation creation will follow the following set of rules.

Each nation is measured by these factors: location, wealth, strength, leverage.

A base statline of 1,1,1,1 is given to each nation and to make yourself stand out you get one point to spend. So far that seems dull, but I will also allow to trade in stats, so taking a 0 in any might give you a +1 somewhere else. 

Most factors are interpretable in multiple ways. Location can be a very defensible position like a mountainous region but can also refer to the position in relation to trade routes or resources. Wealth is most straightforward one in this but one can think about where the wealth comes from and the vulnerability of it. Strength can come in different ways, is it just a large populace that can be drafted into levies or does your state have a trained standing army (something that would be relatively rare in our setting), does it have a large navy or a strategic number of fort emplacements? Leverage is the most obscure one out of everything, but a very important one, what do you have to trade at the negotiating table, this will most probably have very strong ties to the other factors but can be completely unrelated as well, you might for instance have information about the death of the former Consul or already have strong ties with the nobility or traders of Tarugerdam.

In short be creative!

Let me know what if you are interested or if you have any questions!