Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by IceHeart
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The Ainedal Kingdom - Daldun Castle


The night sky was glowing with the flames of the city around them. Embers sailed into the air and thick smoke clouded up the sky. The King looked grimly at the sight below, it was over, they had lost the city and soon the castle would meet the same fate.

"To think the war was lost in only a matter of four months." The King mused with a pained look on his expression. Their eastern neighbors had suddenly invaded without warning, taking on Ainedal completely by surprise. By the time they had responded the enemy had already gained a strong foothold by taking over one of the Kingdom's strongest fortresses, thanks to an enemy spy opening up one of the gates to the enemy. The kingdom had fought to the best of their abilities, but there just hadn't been any time to prepare so in the end, all they had managed was to slow the enemy's advance.

The end was near. It was only a few hours at best until the castle was breached also. The king turned from the window and looked at his family. Before him were the Queen and their two children, twins a mere thirteen years old. While they were twins, they were fraternal, one boy and one girl. They both sported worried expressions as they tried to gauge what their father was thinking.

"My Queen, my children. I've called you here for a very important reason...it is time for you to leave." The King's face turned hard as he finished his sentence. The Queen's eyes lowered in resignation from already having guessed what her husband was going to say. The teenagers' eyes grew wide at the implications.

"But father that cannot be! Surely there is still a way to beat the enemy back!" The boy shouted, trying to find some light in the darkness. The King merely shook his head.

"What do you mean we have to leave! What about you father!" The young princess questioned, panic starting to creep into her voice. The King sighed, knowing it was a questioned that needed an answer.

"I cannot, the enemy needs a convincing victory if we are to prevent further casualties in this war. If they find I have fled, they will not stop destroying the Kingdom until they have found me. They must capture the head of state if I am going to be able to protect my people as the loser in this war. I'll be happy if I at least know you are safe."

Suddenly the door to the room burst open as the captain of the royal guard threw the doors open. "Forgive me my King! The enemy has breached the castle wars and are pouring in as we speak!"

"Curse them, we won't even last another hour at this rate! Hurry captain! You must take my family and leave through the secret passage at once!"

"But my liege! As the captain of the guard I cannot just abandon my King!"

"You are doing no sure thing! You will be protecting my family, my lineage! There is no greater honor! Now GO!" The king commanded of the captain, who became silent in the face of the King's fury at being questioned. He knew the King was not truly angry with him, he was just becoming desperate because of their situation and the only thing he felt could be done was to save his family.

"At once sire!" The captain thumped his breastplate with his fist and turned toward the royal family. "Come we must depart at once."

Tears started to stream down all their faces as the captain started to hustle them away. The queen put both arms around her children as they started to go, but then, the young princess broke free and rushed toward her father.

"No! I don't want to leave you father!" The King tried to keep a straight face, but the sight of his daughter rushing toward him in complete distress broke him down as well. Before he could stop himself he fell to his knees and hugged his darling girl, as tears flowed from his own eyes and wet her hair with their streams.

"I know...I know, but there is nothing to be done. Stay strong my dear...I pray you find happiness some day. Until then, stay strong."

"Your majesty..." The captain of the guard spoke in almost a whisper, not wanting to intervene in the touching moment but know that time was of the essence.

"Quite right." The king detached himself from his daughter so the captain could get a grip on her.

"No! Let me go! I want to stay! FATHER!!!" She screamed as she was dragged from the room. The last sight she saw of her father was of the King standing alone, wiping his tears and turning his face to stone as the doors closed, one last time.





The Kingdom fell that night and the royal family fled to Corbin Keep on the western border. The Borklein Kingdom had successfully captured the king and Ainedal was no more. Unfortunately that was not the only tragedy that night as in the mad dash to escape, the prince got involved in a carriage accident and lost the use of his legs.

The time is five years later, the twins and their mother have been biding their time in Corbin Keep, waiting for the right opportunity so they could strike back and take back Ainedal from the invaders. Thankfully the loss of their buffer nation has made their western neighbors quite nervous and talks have been proceeding fairly smoothly with the Lancor Commonwealth for assistance.

Setting


This is a medieval fantasy world, humans being the most common species. Magic exists but in general is more about one's ability to tap into natural mana sources than innate magical strength. As such magical applications are somewhat limited, being more supportive than outright destructive in many cases. Religions are prolific, with many nations having multiple religions sects, though the main religion of the Ainedal Kingdom was that of a monotheistic sect of which the royal family believed in.

The twins are now eighteen years of age and are more than eager to start taking back their kingdom, but they need to find ways to strengthen their standing and gather resources for battle. They need to try and incite rebellion among their nation to the invaders while courting the Lancor Commonwealth for support in their endeavors. Due to losing his legs the prince stays at Corbin Keep while trying to bolster their diplomatic ties to the surrounding nations while the princess has been training in war tactics and command.

The stage is set and the war for Ainedal's independence will soon commence. How will you help their cause?


Military Strength


To foster a feeling of progression I'll be adding a sot of stat to the role play. As we will be starting out as remnants our overall military strength will be rather low. This can be bolster through story progression by freeing towns, gathering support from other nations, hiring mercenaries, or upgrading our equipment. This can also be effected by how well we do in military campaigns and the like. Poor decisions can result in loses of military power.

Now the stat itself is more for story purposes, but if you don't pay attention to it you can land yourself in big trouble. I'll be putting up several nearby targets at a time with their own military stats. Take on a large target too soon and the consequences could be dire, but take on only small targets and we might not gain strength fast enough to deal with the enemy when they go on high alert.


Character Sheets


Feel free to mess with the format how you wish, just include this basic information at least.

Name:
Age:
Appearance: [Description or Picture]
Occupation: [Lord, mercenary, priest, knight, etc.]
Military Strength: [Max of 20. Someone with a high standing is more likely to have more personal troops, such as a Lord. Military strength will be based on manpower for convenience sake and will not take skill into account. 1 if by yourself.]
Personal Skills: [Skills you have acquired such as swordsmanship, tactics, foraging, metalwork, magic, etc. Basically anything that could be useful on a campaign.]
Trivia: [Whatever you want to add to add a little flare to your character, maybe something that bothers them or a fairly useless but unique skill.]
Biography: [At least a paragraph or two. Don't have to give too much history if you don't want to but should at least explain why they have gotten involved in the conflicts to come.]
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Theyra
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Theyra

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Interested in this
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Mr Savage
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Mr Savage Don't let the name intimidate you

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interested
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Kassarock
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Kassarock W O R L D E A T E R

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Potentially interested, what sort of post frequency you looking for?
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by IceHeart
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Potentially interested, what sort of post frequency you looking for?


One-to-Two posts a week is my intended target.
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Ghost32
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@IceHeart interested
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Aerandir
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Aerandir The old guy

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interested for sure
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by deia876lat
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I might be interested aswell.

Questions though:
How Medieval are we talking? Are we thinking Early Middle Ages or is there a level of technology such as pistols or cannons?

Does religion hold a particular strong sway over people?

How strong is the Borklein presence in the kingdom?

Is there any reason the nobles/common folk or potential allies particularly cares about the royal family? Or wish to see them return?

What exactly are you expecting from us character wise, what are the don't ect.
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by IceHeart
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How Medieval are we talking? Are we thinking Early Middle Ages or is there a level of technology such as pistols or cannons?


More early medieval if anything. Gunpowder is not really a thing yet. While there is a 'slight' possibility of someone having the skills to fashion a crude pistol, there is no real production facilities to make such a weapon practical for campaign use.

Does religion hold a particular strong sway over people?


I would say yes, most people have at least some kind of religion. In Ainedel in particular, the monotheistic one is the most prominent while the invading force tend to be more polytheistic. Ainedel does not have a state mandated religion however. The Lancor Commonwealth has fairly equal parts mono and poly, depending on the region.

How strong is the Borklein presence in the kingdom?


Quite strong, especially around the capital, they invaded and are there to stay. The more outlining regions their presence is somewhat thin but still have some garrisons and patrols to make sure no one is thinking of rebellion. Of course if they catch wind of something they are more than capable of sending out their forces to deal with it.

Is there any reason the nobles/common folk or potential allies particularly cares about the royal family? Or wish to see them return?


The Lancor Commonwealth find the Borklein Kingdom's expansionist tendencies to be troublesome and are nervous with their new neighbors. They had rather good trade relations with the Ainedal Kingdom and many of their trade routes have been cut off as a result of the invasion. While they do not wish to expand their own territory and overextend themselves they certainly wouldn't mind pushing the Borklein away from their nation and putting Ainedal in their debt.

As for the nobles very few of them were able to keep their lands or titles even if they did surrender to the invaders so most would relish the idea of taking back what was theirs. For the common folk, they are more of a mixed bag, some don't really care who rules as long as they can live in peace, others are rather distraught about the invaders' religious tendencies and would love to have a ruler which shares their faith back. In the end it depends on how much they lost during the change, how scared they are of their new masters, and how they were treated before the invasion.

What exactly are you expecting from us character wise, what are the don't ect.


Well I haven't made character sheets yet, but that depends on what you want to do. You could make a lord of Ainedal who wishes to take back their territory and commands their own troops. Perhaps you would rather be a knight that fights on the front lines, or a mercenary eager to make a little coin. A priest devoted to healing, or a spy sent on recon. Depending on your character you might have control over a certain number of troops when the time for battle comes.

Characters will be restricted to fighting on the same side or at least neutral. Antagonist characters would just slow things down and shall all be NPC territory. While you could make a mage character they are not going to be turning the tide of battle by themselves and will have more of a support role. While there are other species you could play they can't be anything that couldn't fit in a human society and follow their rules. Humans are the main characters here after all.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Melkor
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Melkor The Nerd Formerly Known as Melkor

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This looks super interesting
Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by Melkor
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@IceHeart How long should I expect to wait before a CS is out?
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@Melkor I'll probably have a cs ready in a day or two.

As for the role play itself I'll probably wait until after Christmas.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by AEC Armored Car
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A few questions

-What is the Borklein's opinion on religion? I know you said the Ainedal kingdom has no state religion and that the commonwealth's religion depends on the region but would there be a reason for there to be religious tension of any sort with the Borklein from any groups of people?

-What is the Civil situation in the Borklein Kingdom itself? Part of me was considering playing a Borklein rebel or exiled noble but thinking back to it, since Ainedal got stomped hard there probably isn't much unrest there huh? Maybe unrest from the sudden surprise war?

-What is Borklein's military culture like? I want to ask more questions about their military but I'll hold off and instead just ask do they have a heavy focus on espionage and information warfare or was the spy fortress thing a special even for them?

-Would it be possible to create a group/squad to come along with our characters? For example, a mercenary being part of a small band, a crusader having members from his order, or an exiled noble with her household retainers? If yes, since the military strength at the beginning would be lacking would the group be limited to a dozen or less?

-Can we play Borklein rebels or Lancor Volunteers?
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by RedOnTheBed
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I am extremely up for this. I have too many ideas for characters, so I'll wait to see what other people pick.
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by NaturalTendency
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NaturalTendency wtich b*t*h

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I am super interested. Please let me know if this has already started or is going to!
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by IceHeart
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-What is the Borklein's opinion on religion? I know you said the Ainedal kingdom has no state religion and that the commonwealth's religion depends on the region but would there be a reason for there to be religious tension of any sort with the Borklein from any groups of people?


For a majority of Ainedal's population, the Borklein would be seen as heretics or at the very least extremely misguided. The Borklein tend to be very pagan with different rituals and a variety of gods. Even for people from the commonwealth who tend to be quite open with who worships what the Borklein can be rather too cultist for their tastes.

-What is the Civil situation in the Borklein Kingdom itself? Part of me was considering playing a Borklein rebel or exiled noble but thinking back to it, since Ainedal got stomped hard there probably isn't much unrest there huh? Maybe unrest from the sudden surprise war?


The Borklein kingdom was rather lucky to get some inside information and a traitor on the inside so they quickly took advantage of the situation to increase their territory and wealth. Of course certain nobles perhaps got a bit more than their fair share during the conquest which could create some animosity among the factions. The Borklein also used a 'criminal' army during the conquest, people who had been arrested for crimes but were given the chance to win their freedom in combat.

-What is Borklein's military culture like? I want to ask more questions about their military but I'll hold off and instead just ask do they have a heavy focus on espionage and information warfare or was the spy fortress thing a special even for them?


The spy inside was a lucky break on their part, not to say they don't have spys and espionage themselves, which is what lead them to the lucky break in the first place. Their information network isn't the most robust though as is mostly present in just their nearest neighbors lands.

-Would it be possible to create a group/squad to come along with our characters? For example, a mercenary being part of a small band, a crusader having members from his order, or an exiled noble with her household retainers? If yes, since the military strength at the beginning would be lacking would the group be limited to a dozen or less?


This was one of the main things I have been mulling over in my character sheet actually. After some thinking I will be adding a 'military strength' section where you can put in their manpower such as a mercenary band, retainers etc. Of course I don't want a huge group to swing things instantly over so about twenty men max, but I expect closer to ten or less for most.

-Can we play Borklein rebels or Lancor Volunteers?


Lancor Volunteers should be fine, as for Broklein rebels...maybe? I'll be a harsher judge on such characters but I'll leave it open to possibility.

I'll be adding the character sheet to the first post in a bit.

Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by IceHeart
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First post now has the basic character sheets for you to mess with and think about.
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by AEC Armored Car
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Name: Jacob

Age: 26

Appearance: Jacob like all penitents of his brotherhood wears a hood covering his entire face as a sign of humility for his sins called a Capirote that is made of burlap along with simple monk robes. This might become a problem for espionage in the future and although he can exchange the capirote for other less conspicuous religious coverings his oaths forbid him from showing his face until he feels that he gained vindication for his sins. Penitent brothers are also forbidden from wearing footwear, symbolically so they must feel the pain of every step when moving forward past their guilt. Apart from his clothes, Jacob carries an old longsword.

Occupation: Penitent Monk

Military Strength: Combat strength of 6 penitent zealot monks armed with clubs and a support squad of roughly 12 regular brothers. The brothers are made up of mostly old but dedicated scholars with skills in medicine and history.

Personal Skills: Swordsmanship, Archery and Slings, Stealth, Poisons, Religious discourse, Medicine, Lockpicks, Creating and Disabling traps

Trivia: The capirote (his hood) is a symbol of regret and penance. It does not represent any ideals or philosophies that a certain group in North America might have.

Biography: The representative of the brotherhood of battered soles, whose monetary were slaughtered during the invasion of Borklein. The Brotherhood of Battered Soles is a monkhood, focused on atoning for one's guilt either through flagellation or community services that benefit one's fellow man. The name of the brotherhood comes from the fact that all brothers (brothers being the historical title even though there were women in the sect) would perform a pilgrimage by walking hundreds of miles with no shoes trying to understand the weight of their sins. The pilgrim, who are usually regretful criminals, would have to contemplate their actions leading up to that moment while feeling the pain for every step they move forward. Pilgrims are also encouraged to stop in settlements to interact and understand their fellow humans as well as help them in an effort to give back the world.

The brotherhood is a strange mixture of Buddhism, hardcore Christian Martyrdom culture and DnD greentext, they also do not worship a single diety and instead strive to emulate the actions of saints from history. Although the brotherhood of battered soles studies multiple saints, their patron saint and the man who's actions they most preach about is Saint Donovan the hobbled fox. Donovan was a con artist who through lies and bad luck was forced into becoming a knight then leading a resistance against an invading army. To save innocent people who were taken hostage Donnovan accepted a duel he knew he could not win and after his mutual kill death, became the patron saint of repentant thieves, guerrilla war and just causes.

The reason the Brotherhood is joining the conflict is simply because of Borklein's radical enforcement of their religion, the sacking of the Brotherhood of battered soles' monetary by Borklein forces and to achieve peace by reinstating an Aindal government. Jacob's purpose is mostly the same and his character arc isn't really focused on the Borkleing war specifically.
Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by pugbutter
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Cool thread. Are you looking for a straightforwardly good and heroic cast, or do you have room in the game for characters of dubious motivations and questionable methods? For example will you accept assassins, warlords, Machiavellian schemers, that kind of thing?
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by IceHeart
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Cool thread. Are you looking for a straightforwardly good and heroic cast, or do you have room in the game for characters of dubious motivations and questionable methods? For example will you accept assassins, warlords, Machiavellian schemers, that kind of thing?


They don't have to all be heroic and whatnot. Things can get a bit messy and while you can make a outlier type character there are some limits. If you think it's a worthy idea you want to try just spring a pm on me and I'll check it out.
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