[i]A long time ago, a golden age prevailed in the world of V’landriel. Adventurers traveled across the realms, and from them arose great heroes. Mighty and ancient races clashed on the battlefield, elves and dwarves, humans and orcs, halflings and ogres alike. Brotherhoods were forged, and many quests for the destiny of kings and peoples were undertaken. All who lived in this time knew it was an age of glory. Honour was found in arms and service as knights, in wizardry and mastery of powerful magicks, in communion with nature and spirits. Many names reside still in the books of lore of the great and mighty. When a golden age such as that passes, when its luster begins to fade, how does the world move on? What, indeed, is the bravery of heroes worth in an age where it is set against the swift, cold, and merciless delivery of mechanized death?[/i] [img]https://i.imgur.com/sK4TBfM.jpg[/img] [i]Yllendyr gatling guns and artillery decimate oncoming Kitagawa cavalry during the War of Human Subjugation, 1835[/i] Greetings and welcome to the world of V’landriel, your stereotypical generic high fantasy setting… taken seven hundred years in the future, taken to new limits and extremes, and taken to a grim, dark mockery of what it once resembled. Most of the known world is ruled by the Imperial Yllendyr Sovereignty, a jingoist, nationalist dark elf empire which has enslaved millions of individuals belonging to other, “inferior” races, with the remaining parts embattled in futile resistance. Can your race rekindle the dying light of a world descending inevitably into dystopia, or shape a new world which beckons from beyond the waves? In this NRP, you will take the role of either a subject nation of the Yllendyr or a colonial nation in this world’s equivalent of the Americas. A major crisis within the Sovereignty begins with the first post of the RP (located below), which will lead to the dramatic reshaping of this global empire, and you will supervise your nation's journey through this difficult period and its eventual destination: preservation of loyalty for the dark rewards and power it offers, autonomy under a reorganized and more liberal system, or independence fraught with its perils. The Old World is in a technological state equivalent to around 1900, and the New at a maximum of around 1750, though you’re free to play a stone age tribe if you wish. We also have an RP-wide collaborative project that involves individual characters, which is called Squad 6. Further details on these ideas follow. Now featuring our own tongue-in-cheek anime-styled trailer, thanks to [@Predawnia]! [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jto9aZPVksA&feature=youtu.be[/youtube] --- [h3][i]Nation Sign-Up Sheet:[/i][/h3] (Special requirements and restrictions for Dominions are elaborated on in the [i]Imperium[/i] section below) Nation Name: Flag: (Optional) Type of Government (If a Dominion, Imperial Viceroyalty, with any specific additional details): Head(s) of Government (If a Dominion, Yllendyr viceroy, indicate native assemblies/institutions that are a part of the administration, if they exist): Economy: (Main imports, exports, industries, technology level, etc.) Primary Species (If a Dominion, there should be a significant caste of Yllendyr, at least 1m for most nations): Population: Culture (If a Dominion, note how Imperial culture may be present or influencing the country): Religious and Other Beliefs (If a Dominion, secularism enforced, no state religion and freedom of worship): Location/Territories: Climate: Military (If a Dominion, these would be Auxiliary Legions loyal to the Imperial administration, note resistance movements or insurgencies, if they exist): Magic Prevalence/Usage and Elemental Alignment: History/Background Info (If a Dominion, sheet should indicate conquest by the Yllendyr and the effects of that a minimum of 61 years ago): --- [h3][i]Current Claims:[/i][/h3] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/509169131854102529/522489456624664596/Vlandriel_World_Map_River_System_Cleanup.png[/img] --- [h3][i]Magic System:[/i][/h3] This RP uses a unique magic system whereby instead of the four classical elements, each mage is specialized in a state of matter or being. There are five of these: Solid Liquid Gas Plasma Mind Mages of each type can only manipulate the physical world in that state, by interfacing with a metaphysical plane on which only that matter exists. For our purposes although it isn’t technically accurate, fire counts as plasma and plasma mages are able to manipulate it. Finally, mind mages are able to perform feats such as telepathy and vision through and control of animals and low-intelligence sentient beings such as goblins, etc. Each species will have an alignment towards one of the five elements, and you are allowed to choose this on your nation sheet. The magic system is kept deliberately vague to avoid arguments on technicalities. Any disputes should be settled between players if possible, but if any player in a dispute desires a GM's arbitration, they can have it. Anything that seems especially overpowered, seek a GM's approval. No assistant GM can arbitrate a dispute they are a part of. The only ideas which are specifically banned in this RP without specific permission are: teleportation, manipulation of souls, anti-gravity/flying without other aids, shape-shifting, divination/prophecy that actually tells the future, summoning from other planes of existence, granting immortality, creating independent, sentient beings, mind control in most instances, transmutation with the intent to ruin the economy, and time travel. --- [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/506708314839580672/509837356271009793/unknown.png[/img] [h3][i]Rules:[/i][/h3] 1. Obvious stuff. No godmodding, no powerplaying (beyond a healthy interest in your nation's welfare), generally follow the spirit of the RP and be courteous to your fellow RPers. 2. Time. So time in this RP will pass at a fixed rate of one month per two pages. This means the first two pages are February, the third and fourth pages are March, and so on. During the two-page intervals, however, you should be free to explore the events of that month on whatever pace you deem fit. You could talk about what happens on the 2nd and what happens on the 31st all in the same post. You are free to do as many flashbacks as you like as well to previous months. As long as it's consistent with your neighbors and people you're interacting with. The time is set that way to allow you freedom of creativity while still having a fixed passage. 3. Posting rate. Please follow the general rule of allowing [i][b]two or three people[/b][/i] to post before you before you post again for a second time. If you want to do dialogue back-and-forth, try to consult with the player and post the whole conversation as a co-op post. I find piratepads helpful for this. Otherwise, we would just put the whole time scale out of whack. 4. Deal with the prospect of separatism and revolution seriously. Your nation should *not* simply be able to overthrow Imperial control in a single or a few posts, there should be a duration of time that it takes to mobilize, build support from the populace, challenge police and regional authorities, and finally fight a war of independence. [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/489313974047735810/506708009590849536/steampunk-elf-girl-25859-1920x1200.jpg[/img] [h3][i]The Imperium[/i][/h3] The Imperium is a structure in this RP that impacts all Old World nations, on the Eastern side of the map. All nations are subjects of it at the start of the RP, with very limited autonomy. Aside from three states (the Old Forest, designated as a protectorate, and the Fibor and Tokushima, whom are dominions with special arrangements) all nations are integrated Dominions of the Imperium. They would have Imperial, Yllendyr viceroys and administrations. Local monarchs, leaders, and representative institutions can exist in tandem, provided it's acknowledged they are subservient to Imperial authority. -The Securitariat: The Yllendyr secret police organization is highly present in most Dominions. They have authority that supercedes local law enforcement, and are on the lookout for anti-Yllendyr propaganda, any resistance or paramilitary movements, protests, etc. They will have networks of informants looking for enemies of the Imperium, and riot police armed with various countermeasures to deploy in case of mass protests or riots. Any sort of mass rising or developing resistance movement will have to contend with this entity. -Legal systems would be more or less uniform, but there would be obvious localized exceptions allowed for cultural reasons. Slavery in particular is legal in the Imperium, but certain Dominions would be able to opt out or ban the practice within their territory. Discrimination against non-elven, pale-skinned races would be a real and present factor. -There would be significant castes of Yllendyr in most if not all dominions as part of a policy of assimilation, of at least a million depending on population size, but that should generally be true of any nation over 30 million people. These Yllendyr would be mostly if not entirely upper-class, and occupy high positions in areas such as trade and administration. -All Dominions would use Imperial currency, which operates on a silver standard. Silver mining is heavily restricted and regulated by the Imperial government to ensure currency stability, though the Imperium crownlands do contain the continent's largest silver reserves. -The Imperium is universally secular, and most Yllendyr are athiest. No Dominion is allowed to enforce a state religion, but all religions are allowed free practice provided they don't contravene other laws. -Yllendyr language would be a mandatory second language in schools for non-native speakers across the Imperium, and as a result would be widely known amongst individuals younger than 70 years old. Education would be monitored by the Securitariat to ensure children were not receiving anti-Yllendyr messages, and indeed curriculum provided by the Imperium to any nation would have a distinctively pro-Yllendyr bias. As a result, some of the younger generation may have come to view the Yllendyr subjugation in a more favourable light. -Imperial unification of the Old World has also brought significant benefits: free trade, well-developed communications and transportation infrastructure between nations, and technological advancement. While there certainly would still be resentment, there are likely sectors of the population that look favourably upon the past 60 years despite of it, and those who have collaborated with the Yllendyr to their own personal benefit. -With a couple of specified exceptions, the Dominions cannot field local armed forces beyond militia and police-level. The role of military in the Imperium is filled by the Imperial Auxiliary Legions, which are a combination of volunteers and conscripts from all nations of the Imperium. No legion in a given Dominion can be composed of more than 25% locals from that Dominion, and the auxilia are rotated on 1 year intervals. If you require numbers on specific legions in an area, just ask me. --- If you've read this far, I greatly appreciate it and hope you'll sign up for this RP and help to build a very unique fantasy world! [i]Major credit to Voltus_Ventus and Willy Vereb for ideas that went into the making of this RP.[/i] There is a Discord for this RP, if you are interested, PM me. We discuss many issues of importance there.