Syros is dead and the world is up for grabs. The Calydonians have conquered the known world under the banner of Syros the Unparalleled, and in the wake of his death without an heir that same world is being clawed over by the remaining families. You will take the place of one of these royal families as they fight for power, or even just to stay alive, in a world where men still fight with bronze and the remnants of newly conquered peoples dream of a day when the old powers will return. This RP will include...
TL;DR Summary/Important Points:
- A fantasy world set in classical antiquity. This does not mean you will be limited to what was historically true, of course. We are not merely mimicking the real world. Magic will be limited to a level that could be construed as merely mysticism or ignorance insomuch as it will be made to look plausible. You will be allowed to invent your own plants and animals so long as they make sense within this world's eco-system (IE: No dragons or T-rexes. Nothing that would not possibly be able to eat enough to sustain itself, basically).
This all takes place in an empire known as Calydonia. Being a civil war RP though, it won't be long before Calydonia becomes split up into petty kingdoms going by different names. Calydonia itself though, is the name of our Macedonia/Rome.
- A Pre-Designed Jumping Off Point. There are a few requirements for every app. We will start the RP off with a battle. So long as you join before or while this battle is taking place, you will be required to attend. Your family must be from Calydon, and they must currently govern some piece of land in the Calydonian homeland. This applies even if you govern a Satrapy. This is so the storyline doesn't end up breaking apart to become a bunch of people jacking off in their own corners while ignoring each other.
- Dynasty based RPing. You do not RP a nation per se, nor do you RP an individual or a ragged band of unconnected people. You will be given control of one of the Calydonian families. This will include their retainers, advisers, and subjects as you wish to introduce them. You can play a small dynasty with very little land, or you can play a larger one with possession of up to one satrapy (kingdom subject to imperial rule).
Think of Game of Thrones. You will play a family and control its members, as well as its vassals.
- Character-Centric, Third-person Perspective (ideally limited). We aren't looking for chessboard RPing where you simply say where things are and what they are doing (IE: "The Broian Army is moving south with five hundred spears and six hundred cat-tossers. The city is producing lots of copper wiring due to an industrial level of homeless crackheads living in the area"). We also don't want to see first person, as first person tends to get confusing in an RP setting. Everybody is I and suddenly you forget who's I's are who's. Limited perspective is what you should strive for, but understandably that isn't always easy so it isn't necessarily a requirement.
You will play a family and its vassals, but through its characters. You will develop these characters on a personal level, and everything you do (orders, moving an army, ect) is done through them. Again, think Game of Thrones. It's about families fighting each other, but you get to see the whole thing unfold through the eyes and actions of characters that have been heavily developed.
- Late Bronze-age, Early Iron-age technology. Steel will be a mystery from far beyond the borders of the Calydonian world. It will be a rarity. Most metal-working will be done with bronze, copper, or crude iron.
Basically, this is an RP based in a fantasy classical antiquity setting, based loosely on Alexander's empire. The Calydonians have kicked everyone's ass for fifty years. But now, Syros is dead, along with his only heir. The Calydonian families and generals can't decide who should be the next emperor through peaceful means, so they decide it should be settled on the battlefield. This is where our RP begins: In a massive battle between twelves armies, on a salt-flat (because open wounds + salt = fun times), fought between players.
This battle signals the outbreak of a civil war, through which we will play. Syros' generals were granted satrapys/provinces during his conquests, so their families control chunks of his empire. Now that he's dead though, some of these families might decide to turn their provinces into kingdoms. Or maybe they'll be loyal and remain a part of whatever is left of the empire. Or.. maybe the native inhabitants of these regions will decide now is the right time to take their home back.
Point is: Civil War. The families of Calydonia will be pinned against each other in a struggle for power.
We actually got the order a little messed up, so we actually already have a thread for this. If you're interested, you can go there and read up the OP. We have everything from a religion laid out, to a map and backstory. Mostly everything is in the OOC OP, but we're actually using the first post in the IC as a bit of a test. You pretty much have to read it because it has a bunch of the backstory in it. If you don't read it, you'll be lost and we'll know.
So yeah, go here if interested. If you have questions, please ask them there too :]