Byrd Man

Democracy in Action: A Political RP

Credit to Dutchbag for providing the foundation for this game.



"Laws are like sausages — it is best not to see them being made"
--Otto von Bismarck

Bullet Points:
-- You play members of the US House of Representatives
-- The key to this game is cooperation and working together, not winning the game.
-- Fine, you want to win? Get yourself reelected and make the country a better place. That's the closest to winning you'll ever get.

Setting: United States of America, present day.

Situation: The presidential elections have just finished and a new commander-in-chief is in the White House. With the president comes a new cabinet, a new administration, and a new Congress. It's up to you to help the country by enacting new laws and policies that will benefit the people of America. Keep in mind that every choice and decision doesn't happen in a vacuum There will be resistance from members of the opposition, your own party, and even from the voters. As good as it is to change things for the better, it's also good to get reelected. Will your legacy be one of immense fortune and prosperity? Or one of economic ruin? Will you stand firm against the foreign powers of the world? Or bend the knee in the name of peace? Those decisions are yours to make.

In Character Info: You play a member of the US House of Representatives. The IC thread will be used for House discussions and debates. Each turn will consist of about six months, so we'll go through four turns before you'll need to be reelected. The only stat I'll be keeping track of is approval rating, both presidential and congressional. A higher approval rating from the president means his/her party could sweep a midterm election and make passage of laws and bills through congress easier, a higher congressional approval rating means reelection will be easier for you.

Parties: The two main parties in the US are the Republican and Democratic parties. You can look up details on each, but the incredibly broad strokes are that the Republicans are the more conservative party and the Democrats are more liberal. Within the House there are factions inside the respective parties, from the TEA party and their hardline on the right to the Independent Democrats who take a more moderate approach on the left. You will need to choose your character's party and where they caucus within that party, keep in mind geographical regions will play a part in your character's party. Bleeding heart liberal Democrats very rarely come out of the rural Deep South, and a TEA partier from a big city like New York would be just as unlikely.

Roles and leadership: I want to state right here that I want this game to be mostly realistic. I don't want any Frank Underwoods running around literally stabbing people in the back. This is about politics and there will be chances for intrigue and scandal if we can get this up and running. The majority in Congress will depend on the makeup of the RP. If we have six Democrats to four Republicans, I will take that and extrapolate the makeup of the house to give the Dems a slight majority in Congress. Whatever party is in the majority will get to pick the Speaker from their own ranks. The Speaker will be in charge of keeping debates civilized and calling for votes in pending legislation. My role as GM will to provide scenarios for the House to react to, as well as playing the president, Senate, and Supreme Court as they will be needed. Since this is a democracy, the chance of a higher office will be a possibility with some people if they have a high enough individual approval rating. They can move on and run for the Senate, become a member of the President's cabinet, or even run for the top office themselves. That's something I'm still trying to work out so it's a work in progress.

Chatzy chatroom: Link

Sheet

Name
Age (Keep in mind you have to be at least twenty-five to be elected to the House)
District: List of Districts Here
Years in Office: (Not everybody will be fresh-faced Congressmen, so I'd like to see a mix of newer and older members)
Political Party/Faction within that party:
Ethnicity/Religion
Character Background

Players

Marcellus Kahnt (R, ND) - So Boerd
Joshua Daniels Hoffman (R, OK 2nd District) - Ghirardelli
Herbert Forward (D, IA 1st District) - BelatedGamer
Tommy Pollaxes (R, MO 6th District) - Vilageidiotx
Dick Duncan (R, TN 1st District) - gorgenmast
Justin Stork (R, CA 8th District) - Rare
Bridget Melika (D, HI 2nd District) - YandereNoodle


Government Administration

President: Michael Norman (D, VA)
Vice President: Russell Reed (D, WA)
Secretary of State: Lilian Mather (D, CA)
Speaker of the House: Marcellus Kahnt (R, ND)
House Majority Leader: Tommy Pollaxes (R, MO)
House Minority Leader: Herbert Forward (D, IA)
Senate Majority Leader: James Davis (D, MN)
Senate Minority Leader: Harris Young (R, GA)

House Makeup:

Thirty-Five seat Republican Majority

Democracy in Action: A Political RP

I'll bump this one more time because we could do with another player or two.

Democracy in Action: A Political RP

Also here's a link to the Chatzy room I created: Link

Democracy in Action: A Political RP

I'm alright with it as long as it's not too tongue-in-cheek. The House has had its share of nuts that's for sure. The congressman in my old home district, who was a doctor that practiced medicine for years, once said that things like evolution were "Lies straight from the pit of Hell"

Democracy in Action: A Political RP

The Imp of the House, I can dig it. Looks like we'll have a pretty solid Republican majority, in the House. One of the Republicans will act as Speaker and I'll probably compensate by having a Democrat as president. I'll create a chatzy room sometime in the next few days for us to use, expect the game thread either tomorrow or Wednesday.

Democracy in Action: A Political RP

Legalize it, cool. Finish up that background and you'll be good to go. If we can get a few more than we can start the game.

Democracy in Action: A Political RP

Bumping this bad boy.

Legions: Rise of Rome

I know. I just wanted an excuse to use blackface!

Legions: Rise of Rome

Eporedia

"PIGS! PIGS! PIGS!"

The men of Legion VIII chanted loudly as they marched towards the enemy. They wore black warpaint across their face to appear like demons. Each man had on their face the crimson hand print of their commander. The Bastard of Rome himself rode close behind his marching legion, his face painted the red of Mars. He and only a select few lieutenants rode horses, the rest of the mounted units converted to infantry for the assault. The Bastards rattled their short swords and shields loudly when the enemy came in sight.

"PIGS! PIGS! PIGS!"

---

Six Hours Earlier

"Death."

The Bastard rode down the line to speak to his men while they dressed and prepared for battle.

"This is what awaits us on the battlefield. Death will be our constant companion from here on out. If all goes well, I imagine half of you will die today. If all goes wrong, we shall all die. The treaty breakers of Carthage have invaded our lands. Feel shamed by that fact. Rome, the mighty invader now faces invasion. Feel angered by that fact. The Africans seek to take your land, kill your sons, rape your women, and enslave your daughters. Feel enraged by that fact. We are the front lines of the assault. Feel elated by that fact. The honor of drawing first blood falls to us, men. Feel delighted in that fact. The Consuls and the Senate have recognized something we have long known to be true: when you want something done right, send a Bastard. Feel proud of that fact. In just a few hours we will be engaged with the enemy in a life or death struggle for the safety of our homes and families. Do not feel burdened by that fact. Feel chosen and feel honored that you will be present at this great victory for Rome. Those of you who die today will die having achieved glory. Those of you who run today will be personally slaughtered by me. I said it in Sardinia and I will say it now: I have no intention of stopping my advance until I have personally slit the throat of that Africa treaty breaker Hannibal! Eat hearty and prepare yourselves for battle, Bastards. Today we do butcher's work and the Carthaginians are the pigs."

The Bastards let out a loud roar as Cursor galloped away on his horse. The chant started somewhere in the middle of the legion and spread through the ranks.

"PIGS! PIGS! PIGS!"

---

Now

Butcher's work was the appropriate word. Both sides stood at stalemate, the raging Bastards striking down as many of the heavy infantry as possible while taking heavy casualties themselves. Plenty of the Iberians had ran shortly after engaging the painted up mad dogs of the VIII. Those that stood tall were falling at a steady rate until the Roman advance broke against the tougher infantry behind the Iberian soldiers. From his horse Cursor shouted obscenities to his men and to the enemy, encouraging one while cursing the other. He directed the first line to yield to the second and third wave. Cursor's hastati were still green, but his more veteran soldiers were among the best of any legion. They were all men who were too rough for any other work but war, men who were not desirable in other legions for various reasons. They were the dregs of Rome and unwanted by nearly everyone. In short they were just like Cursor. These men had been personally whipped into shape by the Bastard himself.

The principes and triarri stepped up to the task well. They fought and rotated out with each other while the hastati caught their breath towards the back. The heavy losses were beginning to level out to become even between the two sides. Before long the heavy infantry began to give ground as the rotating veterans pushed ahead. Cursor laughed maniacally from the rear and cheered his men on.

"KEEP GOING, YOU BASTARDS!"

Democracy in Action: A Political RP

Looks good. Alright, that's two conservatives. Hopefully we can get a few dems to even things up.