Gowi

Fatal Souls II | Game of Thrones-inspired RP

<Snipped quote by Gowi>

No offense, but last time, you not putting out all the canon at the start made me develop my nation into a mess of contradictions and impossibilities, patched over with duck-tape to make it fit in with your emerging details on the world.

Should I do this again, I'd want to restart from the ground up, so that I can build on the bones you've laid out without having to worry that it'll all be invalidated in a week's time.

@Vahir

Yeah, that was my fault for launching early and I take full responsibility for that fact.

Fatal Souls

Berserkers- They're... Vikings. The whole shtick of being a viking is getting on a boat and being a badass hand to hand combatant. Plus medieval naval warfare was basically the same as ancient. Ram that ship over there and if it doesn't sink jump on and hack away at the sailors. They are better as marines/infantry though. Landing on beaches and then having a land battle is preferable.

@Vandy

The Battle of Lepanto was in the middle ages; though that wasn't in the northern seas of Europe where the development of naval combat wasn't as well-developed. Given that Skavia would mostly fend off the Stormbroken and their Vyntarland cousins, it probably makes sense that most of it is transport ships; though I imagine the Stormbroken perhaps would have small ballistics/catapults attached to their ships, but I have to see if the Stormbroken player shows up.

Legendary-Well that just comes from the Game of Thrones theme you've got going on. Everyone in Westeros knows who Jamie Lannister is and can recognize his face even though they have never met him? That and people like to talk about the ruling families of their country. As for Loki, I'll go add more detail if you want.

@Vandy

Jamie Lannister was also a prodigal knight and renowned more for the fact he was a "kingslayer". I just want to make sure we don't have people making too many people who are combat geniuses and warriors.

Hovedstad- Never said it was indestructible, just that it has never been destroyed. Obviously if a large number of boats caught fire there would be trouble. The Skavians however LOVE this city. If they know an enemy is heading to Hovedstad they send EVERYTHING they have to protect it. If an enemy reaches the Floating City, most of the Skavian military must be dead. Loki and his rebels will never attack Hovedstad because of the strong mystical belief they have in this city. They truly believe it is protected by the gods. The entire north sea is going to freeze over? Well I guess the name will change to "The City Stuck in Ice"

@Vandy

For a time, yeah. The "totally-not-the-king-beyond-the-sea" will end up uniting the tribes in Vyntar and crossing it by foot and mount; and I have a feeling the best time for when this event happens will be midway into your Civil War haha. But to give you an idea at the start of the RP in the Northlands the coastline is starting to freeze a bit preluding a harshly cold spring in the North, foreshadowing the events to come.

Vassal Map- I welcome the help with that. As I said the best I can do is copy the entire political map to microsoft paint and crop everything else out. Let's just say that isn't my forte.

@Vandy

Test Map so far

Trade- Understood with the runesteel, consider it removed. Deadliest Warriors sound better? Northmen are tough.

@Vandy

I can go with “hardy, yet fierce” or similar descriptions, just try to avoid the “BEST IN DA WERLD” sort of tone with them, alright? I just want to make sure I can trust my players to not steamroll over others which is a problem I see in actual Nation RPs. Good thing this about story and not min/maxing huh?

History- That just seems unrealistic to me. It was a time of war and the Vynts had been raiding Skavia for some six years. I just have a hard time believing that the entire military sees rape as taboo. I guess I could explain that away by having Crach handpick the most evil and un-holy bastards he could find. Plus every soldier knows that rape is morally wrong, but in war it happens. They can understand that what they are doing is bad, but in the end they are soldiers. I doubt that anyone would say, "Ha! I will never rape a woman, not because it is morally wrong in every way but because I grew up in the North!"

As for Perhyr getting involved, yeah that would have been inevitable. It was quite some time ago but they definitely would have gotten involved just because of proximity. For relations, I would like the two to be old allies since Hafrek only exists as a great house because of Balkr, but that alliance is being strained because of what Skavia's crown is doing right now. Maybe Perhyr would support the rebellion?

Grammar mistakes happened because I seem to have a hard time proof reading my work directly after I write it. I was going to go back over it after you had seen it. I can add to the characters if you want, but that was more of a "who this person is" than a detailed character sheet for each one since I'm playing as a house and not a single character. Plus the recent history section is pretty substantial.

@Vandy

Surely not every single Northman is honorable or pious; but ever since they distanced themselves from their bloodthirsty cousins in Vyntar, a lot of their culture shifted into that of honorable nature. I borrowed a lot from the Starks and mixed it in with a lot of my ideas. However rape and killing unarmed men/women is seen as extremely immoral to the point that it should be punished. Know this when considering the Northlands. Though anger and fear make normal men do things out of character in many ways.

@Perhyr: Well, Viktor definitely would not like Skavia's current liege, but he is practical and wouldn't burn trade and tradition. He might take a wait and see approach, or send one of his sons to Skavia to give him eyes on the conflict. Probably Henrik.

Fatal Souls

@Gowi
Before I forget, is there a particular animal or symbol in mind when it comes to Dierk or Torvic that you have preference? I'm partial to mythological creatures so I may choose a dragon, wyvern, or leviathan.

@Liar

Dragons are more of an Atularis thing, but other than that no thoughts there.

Fatal Souls

@Gowi
Thanks for the information. I think I have all I need to know to get started.

I'm going to come up with my own House sigil and words, but feel free to tell me if you want something changed.

@Liar

That's malleable enough, dynasty stuff might be altered/changed since Dierk's "Witness Our Might" days. It has been a few centuries.

Fatal Souls

@Gowi
What about information for House Thralon? It did state we can't change the name--and that's fine with me--but I'm just curious if there's anything I need to know that isn't already on the first post before I write up a sheet.

@Liar

Dierk granted what would be known as Euritia to his younger brother, Torvic, who was less combat inclined but for what he lacked there he had a likable and kind personality. I have nothing written for Torvic's successors.

The only x-factor about playing Terijas or Euritia is that for some reason (up to the player) they want to restore the Imperial Throne; the High King of Orlandis. Though this could happen much later in the RP, again up to the players.

Anyway gotta get up early tomorrow, so I'll be about later.

Fatal Souls

Pretty much done with my sheet now... Hafrek Sheet

@Vandy

I will go in order with the problems I see most prevalent here:

Specialties – You state the Skavian infantry unit (the Berserker) is the pride and joy of House Hafrek yet decidedly went rather naval with your approach which is very concerning as it looks as a sort of inbalance therein. Is the northern-style navy that renowned and truly skilled or is it the footmen of the infantry?

“Legendary _” – My second problem is not unique to this sheet as I keep seeing the equivelant of telling me that Orlandis is affluent with legendary warriors and prodigal combatants. You don’t seem to really give me much of an understanding of Loki outside of the fact that he is apparently “genius” from birth.

Hovedstad – The northern coast of Skavia and Perhyr is known as the ‘frozen coast’ for a clear reason, though I have no issue with the ingenuity of building a city out of ships, I do find it concerning of how you describe it as infinitely indestructible. People utilizing fire ships even with the cold would definitely do some damage, but perhaps given the only naval enemies that have even taken an interest in Skavia are the Stormbroken I suppose the idea hasn’t come to an enemy yet. But when I start the linear event for The North (the Sea of Echoes freezing over like stone) how will this effect Hovedstad for you?

Vassal Map – I’ve PM’d you issues with the vassal map, if you want I can update the province map so we can have a more uniform vassal map; though yeah, you did sort of make this map before I even had an OOC going; be a bit more patient next time, yeah?

Trade – No Northlandic man would ever sell runesteel. Runesteel is not an ore; in fact in the description says it is an ancient forging process from iron, tin, and “other minerals” to create something as enduring as Mythril but much heavier. It is nearly sacred to vyntic traditions and is like the Voltaani selling off the secrets to their precious metalworking secrets and is probably seen as completely against their culture to do so. Also as skilled as Skavian soldiers may be (due to Stormbroken raids and vyntic traditions) I am a little worried that “THEY ARE SOME OF THE DEADLIEST KILLERS IN THE WORLD” sets a bad precedent. But perhaps I am paranoid?

History – Rape is against the cultural traditions and reformed religion of Northmen of Orlandis; the soldiers who found themselves honorable or pious would never have listened to such an order and instead perhaps attacked Crach out of such a non-northmen order.
BTW, Perhyr would've been no doubt pulled into that war if that happened. Which I would probably be okay with.

I have some minor gripes outside of the above (grammar/spelling, character bios being a bit too minimal, etc)

Fatal Souls

<Snipped quote by Gowi>

Thanks. Is there anything I need to know in particular about Euritia?

@Liar

There is this write-up, but generally nothing I recall that sticks out.

Euritia

Lands
The peninsula of The Arm is not as rocky or rough as the western fringes of The Highlands; though it has strong riverbeds and flowing hills alongside slight existences of steel mountain ranges and waterside cliffs. The minerals are rich in these selective mountain ranges with mythrite, iron, tin, gold, silver, and copper; but the true abundance of the lands is likely the rolling hills that are perfect for agricultural development, plentiful fish and fauna, vast arrays of northern herbs, the forests ample for timberhouses, and the tactical basis of the landmass.

People
A true synthesis of two cultures—the people of what is known as The Arm are the cultural amalgamation of the people from the Midlands who occupied the land under imperial decree, and the native people of the Highlands who were initially abrasive of said occupation. However, unlike the western Highlands the locals took well to their foreign lords, perhaps due to the kindheartedness of the descendants of Torvic Thralon or other cultural factors; whatever the case may be the people of Euritian recognize both cultural roots as many can trace their lineage back to both the Midlands immigrants and the natives of the Highlands.

Military
Much like Terijas, Euritia is skilled in the art of war ranging from siege, archery, infantry, and cavalry—however northern horses are fewer in number than those in their ancestral lands, so the nobles of Euritia are stuck with a dilemma: import them, or adapt to a new sense of fighting. The latter was the choice one of the older Kings of Euritia decided upon as he switched from offensive cavalry to defensive troops in general to protect the peninsula of the Highlands they occupied—The Arm. Favoring strong walls and ranged units such as the Euritian crossbowman (a recent development), they have kept any more Highlander aggression invade the peninsula granted by Dierk ‘the Conqueror’ that had since become their livelihood.

Fatal Souls

Do we post sheets here in the OOC beforehand?

@Byrd Man

Yes. Characters tab is for approved, though, sometimes people jump the gun a bit.

Fatal Souls

What you have designated as the Duchy of “Innsjo” also has some principal lore and importance, too, considering it was the first capital of Skavia, which only changed a few centuries prior when the former dynasty located there were executed by the zealous high king of Orlandis, Kristof. Assuming the ancient Skavian castle and such is still there it could make for a terrible enemy or a powerful ally for whomever holds it.

NOTE: Will try to get my Balkr and Valian sheets done before Sunday, but I also thought I'd have a Supergirl post up by last Sunday in MC; so we'll see.

Fatal Souls

I'd be interested in playing as a Minor House, either in Skavia or Perhyr. I'm liking what I've seen of the North so far. Plus I'm a diehard North fan in ASOIAF. However, Leidenshaft, if you want a Skavian house, I'll go somewhere else. I'm not sure how many people should be in just one nation.

@ulsterwarrior

Plenty of Perhyr dukes (or barons) to play...