Hidden 6 yrs ago 6 yrs ago Post by Major Sharpe
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Major Sharpe Hoosier

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In the Court of the High Queen


In the final days of winter High King Childeric IV of Viexmeur died suddenly, at the age of 52. His reign of forty years, which he had begun as a youth, was largely uneventful. Which is to say it had been a time of peace. The lands under Viexmeurite dominion had prospered, and Viexmeur herself even more so. The cities of the Crownlands had grown rich through trade, and were experiencing a cultural flowering- Arcane lore, scholastic inquiry, and the many arts all reached new heights.

To many, the future seemed bright as the temple bells of the capital pealed in mourning. Lord Chancellor Vulmar of Anvers, however, set immediately to his unhappy work. For you see, though Childeric was a wise and benevolent king, he had lacked the foresight to declare a successor, and his legitimate children had predeceased him without issue of their own. Who ought to inherit the High Kingship was, from a legal standpoint, rather unclear. There were cadet branches of the Royal House of Meyrovic, to be sure, though which claim was the stronger had yet to be seen.

Vulmar, and his scribal underlings, spent nearly a week following the good king's death scouring genealogical records and historical annals, trying to discern the proper course of action. In time it became clear that of the cadet branches of the Meyrovics that still existed- chiefly, the Chlotarics of Veterre and the Carlings of Montisle- neither could sit upon the Silver Throne of Clovis. They were alike in hereditary dignity, more or less, but the Chlotarics had been destitute and obscure for generations, and the Carlings were glorified merchants. Alas, the high lords and petty kings whose allegiance belonged to the crown of Viexmeur would never accept so lowly a sovereign.

But one other fact came to light, happily enough. While scrounging the Royal Palace for information, a pair of scribes had come to find that the King had not been so careless with the future of his Kingdom as previously thought. He had fathered a bastard by a tavern wench, they learned from a group of courtiers, a daughter named Gisela. He had quietly legitimized the girl, with the blessing of the High Priest, and had sent her away to study abroad. The King had evidently intended to return her to court upon the completion of her education for some sort of surprise, though his untimely death prevented this.

Now, finally, a clear course of action presented itself to Vulmar. It was obvious that a girl of thirteen could not secure a crown alone, however rightful her claim to it might be. The Great Houses of the Provinces would each take to arms, aiming to seize power for themselves. However there was an ancient custom, one not invoked for over two centuries, that might allow Gisela to take the throne. And avoid a bloody interregnum. It was once common practice in Viexmeur for an advisory council to be assembled from the Great Houses of the Realm in the event the heir to the throne was not yet an adult. This helped avoid civil war by forcing each of the Houses to swear fealty and give homage to the new monarch, and placated them with a significant role in the new government.

With this knowledge in hand, Vulmar of Anvers wasted no time in drafting letters to each of the Lords and Ladies of the Great Houses, and sent a ship to retrieve his new Queen.





Thanks for staying with me so far. In this RP, each player will be the head of one of the provincial Great Houses, or a representative sent by them (most likely, but not necessarily, a member of the House) acting as an adviser on the regency council of the newly-crowned High Queen Gisela of Viexmeur.

The main action of the game will involve advising and sometimes educating the Queen, and of course court intrigue. The story will be driven largely by the interplay between the characters themselves, rather than by some external force. Though, I wouldn't rule out an invasion or a rebellion, to keep things interesting. Each adviser will want to influence Royal policy in a direction that favors their House and Province. Many of the advisers may know each other, and will certainly know of each other. Perhaps some are friends, and others enemies.

Please see below for some background ramblings. I'll also post a character sheet template once we have a few people interested.















In terms of writing style, I'm looking for posts of at least a couple paragraphs, but not exactly novel-length. I'm not really sure if Advanced would be the best word. High Casual, I guess? I'd also like to have about six players, give or take.

Oh, and I've borrowed inspiration heavily from Flynn's 'The King is dead, long live the King!' RP.
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Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Flagg
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Flagg Strange. This outcome I did not foresee.

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I'm in, this looks awesome.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Enzayne
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Enzayne Invading Eldar

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I too am interested in this. Court intrigue for the win.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Major Sharpe
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Major Sharpe Hoosier

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@Flagg

Glad to have you aboard!

I too am interested in this. Court intrigue for the win.


Super!

I think I'll try to get an OOC thread up with character sheets and stuff either later tonight or tomorrow afternoon.
Hidden 6 yrs ago Post by Major Sharpe
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I've just put up an OOC thread. Feel free to mosey over there at your leisure.
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