Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by BlackBishop
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The
Greatest House


Welcome to the interest and development thread for The Greatest House - medieval low fantasy game where you assume the role of one of the land’s leading noble families, and maneuver for dominance over the kingdom.

The King is dying. Some would say his legacy was that of peace. For fifteen years, he kept the kingdom out of conflict, forfeiting claims over the disputed lands and focusing on economic prosperity for the kingdom. His pursuit of peace, it has been criticized, has allowed the kingdom's enemies to bolster their strength, only leaving them more vulnerable. Yet there is no arguing that the lasting peace has resulted in fat coffers along with growing decadence among the nobility.

As the leader of one of the great houses of Calan, you must begin preparations for the succession. The House of Lords will elect the next ruler of the kingdom. Should you desire the crown, you must find a way to convince the Lords that you are the best candidate.

Once the succession is finalized, the game enters into a sandbox mode, where players set out to realize their character’s ambitions.

What you can expect from the game…

~ Weekly updates that propel the game forward in time by the seasons.
~ A low fantasy world, much of which is designed by the players.
~ A sandbox game where the players make their own story.
~ A fuse of chance and literary sense in establishing order outcomes.
~ Events that will test your characters and resources.
~ Ambitious npc’s that will form rivalries, plot rebellion, and generally cause problems or boons.
~ Stats and resources to manage and spend to give you an edge.





Here is a rough draft of our map. Please include a land claim for your fief. I will fill out the map with geography based on your descriptions as we go along.

Please feel free to voice your interest, begin on a fief/character sheet, or ask any questions. Thanks for taking the time to check this out. :)
Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by LordZell
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So I’m in and love the concept except like you have these stats but didn’t give a definition of how many points we can spend or if stuff should equal out. Otherwise I’m game
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Mr Irony II
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Mr Irony II Mr. Beard

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Interested as well.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by BlackBishop
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So I’m in and love the concept except like you have these stats but didn’t give a definition of how many points we can spend or if stuff should equal out. Otherwise I’m game


Ah of course! Your stat values are randomly assigned. I give you your values and it's up to you where to allocate them.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by LordZell
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Well then I’m in.
Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Mr Irony II
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Mr Irony II Mr. Beard

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Thinking 1 or 4
Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by LordZell
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LordZell The Zellonian

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Can we get a discord for quick communications
Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by BlackBishop
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Can we get a discord for quick communications


For sure. discord.gg/gJwCYkc
Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by BlackBishop
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The Continent of Theran




Here we have a rough draft of the continent in which we shall play. I have fleshed very little out in far as religion, and I didn't want to get too bogged down with those details, and rather work on it as we go in a sort of collaborative effort. Basically what I am thinking is that we will have two major religions that shall mirror Christianity and Islam, as you can probably guess from looking at the map.

The broad strokes are a monotheistic religion centered around a martyr and his saint followers. This religion is prominent in the northern continent, though isn't centralized under one figurehead like the pope in our world. In the south, the sultanates worship an older religious figure, a warlord whom united and built the caliphate that once dominated Thera.

A Brief History of Theran


In ancient times mankind lived a tribal, and nomadic existence. Life was short and brutal, and marked with many conflicts among their neigbours. Out of the south, a chieftain rose claiming to be graced by God. His name was Meshach and he began brutal conquest in God's name. For decades the man fought, finally slain in a bloody battle with his rivals.

Meshach's sons would take up the sword of their father, and realize his dream, building the Caliphate of Sera. For centuries Sera would be the dominant force on Theran, its reach extending across the continent.

In the height of the caliphate, a man was born in the north. His name was Gideon. As Gideon grew up, he attracted a following traveling the continent and performing miracles, until eventually being arrested by the caliphate and executed. Gideon's martyrdom swept the continent and over the centuries a great following grew, dedicated to Gideon's teachings.

Five hundred years later, an alliance of kingdoms rose up and freed the north of the Caliphate, later forming the Holy Empire of Valencia. Valencia and Sera would remain as opposing powers through the centuries.

Now, in the present day, infighting and economic stagnation has eroded the influence of the empire and caliphate, rendering them shadows of their former power.

Rise of Calan


Calan was a prominent province within the Valencian Empire. They bolstered a strong navy and formidable army that often spearheaded incursions against the Caliphate. As the Valencian Legions withdrew, and the empire's was no longer able to aid in the defense of the province, a movement for independence grew. The Valencians fought to keep Calan within the empire, but fighting multiple wars, and problems at home, they were unable to quell the uprising, and Calan was begrudgingly granted independence.

Over the years, with other former provinces of the empire forming kingdoms around them, a power struggle ensued for dominance over the region. Rampaging war parties from the surrounding area would raid and pillage Calan. Powerful families rose in this tumultuous time, fielding armies, and beating back the invading hordes. Out of the series of conflicts, the kingdom began to resemble present day Calan, with these families forming petty kingdoms and claiming rights to the land.

Alliances among the families, known as the Great Houses, were brokered, shifted, and broken. With the hordes driven out, the families turned on each other, each seeking claim to Calan. At last, after years of fighting, a white peace was forged, and the crownlands and the House of Lords formed. Calan would be ruled by a single king, elected from the rulers of the Great Houses, and by the kingdom's prominent land owners.

God bless Calan!

A Timeline


1000 Before Gideon - Theran is ruled by splintered tribes. Life is brutal and short.
500 B.G. - Meshach appears and begins uniting the southern tribes through conquest.
485 - The Sera Sultanate is formed, with plans of a Caliphate being written.
470 - Meshach is killed in battle.
450 - The Sera Caliphate is formed in the south.
300 - Valencia rises as the last independent stronghold against Sera.
0 Gideon's Age - Gideon is born.
33 G.A. - Gideon is crucified by the Caliphate.
50 G.A. - The Holy Book of Gideon appears in the north.
150 G.A. - Facing widespread rebellion, The Caliphate withdraws from the north.
200 - The Holy Empire of Valencia spreads across the north, safeguarding against Sera.
500 - Both Sera and Valencia begin to wane in influence.
621 - Calan begins its fight for independence.
635 - Valencia withdraws from the north-east, granting Calan independence.
640 - Raiders from the east arrive and begin their pillaging of Calan.
680 - Calan is established into a series of petty kingdoms ruled by the Great Houses.
701 - After years of bloodshed, the Great House Pact is signed, and the first King is elected.

800 - 900 This century shall bring us into the recent history of Calan, largely based on your bios. Assume wars with our neighbours, alliances forged and broken, and strife within Calan itself.
Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by rush99999
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If this is still happening and nobody else wants it, could I have number 3 as my fief?
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Dark Light
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If @BlackBishop is hosting this I am soo in!

(If there’s spots.)
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by BlackBishop
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@Dark Light@rush99999@LordZell@Mr Irony II

If you're all still interested, I'd very much like to run this game.

I'd like to move on with some world building. While you will all play as your respective dynasties, part of the fun is creating your own fiefdom. Put some thought into what kind of culture your people might have that differentiate them from the other fiefs. In a bygone time, your fief would have stood as its own independent kingdom, though now it is but a dutchy in the kingdom of Calan.

While we will all follow God and Gideon, perhaps your beliefs set your people apart in some way? Perhaps your people hold the blood of the barbaric hordes making them perceived as aggressive and uncouth? Perhaps they eek out their living in an inhospitable land of vicious beasts making them a hard people? So many possibilities. I leave it to you (within reason) How to shape your fiefdom.

For now, my primary concern is the map.

Lay out the details of the geography of your fief. The people are largely agrarian, so you may only have up to one city, and a handful of settlements. Keep it simple for the sake of the map maker please!

Based on your descriptions, I will begin forging our map.

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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Dark Light
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Think location 1 or 3 Would suit my dense forest, rivers and subsequent marshlands that they create.
Thinking cold-hearted, hard people of barbaric bloodlines growing up in the harsh unforgiving jungle.
A bit wild and influenced by nature they can be considered savage. (Although not) They care less for modesty than most others, love music and dance, follow nature’s laws, commune with nature and beasts, are free spirited.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by BlackBishop
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Think location 1 or 3 Would suit my dense forest, rivers and subsequent marshlands that they create.
Thinking cold-hearted, hard people of barbaric bloodlines growing up in the harsh unforgiving jungle.
A bit wild and influenced by nature they can be considered savage. (Although not) They care less for modesty than most others, love music and dance, follow nature’s laws, commune with nature and beasts, are free spirited.


Barbaric swamp hippies. Check! :p
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Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by rush99999
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If one were to look at a map of my fief, they'd see that it's 25% plains, 25% hills, 20% forests, and 30% BANDIT ATTACK! The great house ruling the fief is less a great house and more a vicious clan of bandits that took over the fief and maintained their hold on the land through a combination of killing anyone who tried to throw them out, keeping their banditry mostly out of the rest of the kingdom (mostly), and by doing a better job of keeping the troubles of the Disputed Lands from spreading into the kingdom than the previous management did.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by BlackBishop
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Renlan




After the death of Gideon, one of his disciple, Renes, escaped the clutches of the Seran Ghazis, and fled to what would become Calan. Pursued by the infidels, Renes scaled a lone mountain. Upon the peak of that snow capped mountain, God came to Renes, and told him that he would build a church in memory of Gideon that would last the ages.

Having shaken the Ghazi pursuers, Renes descended from the mountain, and built the first church of Gideon, which would later become the Cathedral of Saint Renes.

Saint Renes would become an important figure in Calan, and the Church of Gideon, mostly known for his missions across the Thera Sea to save Gideonites from suffering the same fate as Gideon himself. The petty kings that emerged to rule the area generations later would all claim anscendry from the saint.

Renlan itself is dominated by Cloudbreak Mountain, with forests nestled about its foothills, and rocky outcroppings that extend to the north defining the region’s border. Port towns and farming villages dot the southern coastline. The primary settlement in the fiefdom is the Cathedral of Saint Renes itself. Standing as an architectural wonder, the lower cathedral and surrounding town is built upon the knees of the mountain, with its upper spires protruding from the mountain high above the land.

Renians are a God fearing people, pious and adhering to strict obedience to the tenants of Gideon. They are ruled by the Archbishop of Renlan, a position that has been held by the powerful Cegrik Dynasty for generations.

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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by BlackBishop
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On Renland...
Renland will be my fiefdom within Calan. Expect them to play the part of sage, providing counsel to the king and dukes of Calan.

On Valencia...
Smug imperials that have never really let go of the notion that they are the rightful rulers of the Gideonite kingdoms.

On the Disputed Lands...
A territory rich in gold deposits, making it prized by the Saren Caliphate and the Gideonite kingdoms.

The Free Cities...
A loose alliance of city states, that when working cooperatively, are a force to be reckoned with.

Reach...
A former duchy of Eastgard, that has recently fought for its independence from Eastgard.

Eastgard...
A waning kingdom marred by infighting.

Broken Shore...
A chaotic land of barbarian tribes, often raiding and pillaging its neighbours.

Starfall...
A group of allied petty kingdoms that work cooperatively in their struggles against the Caliphate.

Sera Caliphate...
A powerful empire, though past its former glory, pose a serious threat to the followers of Gideon.

Hron Tribal Lands...
A holy land known for its ferocious warriors that guard ancient sites prized by both followers of Gideon and Meshach.

Suuth...
A decadent land of self absorbed Meshachi.

All'ya...
Though a break away kingdom from the Caliphate, they have formed an alliance with their former masters - posing a threat for the Gideonite kingdoms.
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Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by BlackBishop
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Behold Calan! As you see, it is a mostly blank canvas, with Renlan and the Crownlands filled in. Korhol serves as the seat of the king, and the cosmopolitan heart of the kingdom - based on what we have so far, a diverse city of holy men, barbarians, and bandits :D

Now its just primed for your own fiefs. Get the details down here when you have time and I'll begin the map making.
Hidden 4 yrs ago Post by Dark Light
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Hidden 4 yrs ago 4 yrs ago Post by rush99999
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@Dark Light

Nice insignia. Did you make it yourself?

EDIT: Here's a version with the photobucket banner removed.

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