Vahir

Steampunk Imperial Succession crisis RP

Well, I'm glad to have you and you're, err, libido on board!

Dawn of Worlds Worldbuilding Game (Playing as gods, shaping a world)

Awesome, three players already! Figure four of us should be more than adequate for this kind of game. I'll wait for one or two more people before actually starting this thing (to have a cushion for leavers), but I'll try to get an OOC up with more details ASAP.

Steampunk Imperial Succession crisis RP

Pretty much Code Geass, except steampunk instead of futuristic.

Steampunk Imperial Succession crisis RP

THE SETTING

"There is only one law, Nature's Prime: That the strong shall devour the weak."

-The Imperial Creed-

The Holy Rozarrian Empire is at its height. Its wealth, derived from the discovery and exploitation of Maandike, those stones of fire, surpasses any other. Lesser nations on which the gaze of His Majesty falls tremble in fear. And, of course, the Imperial Army is vast beyond imagining, the terror of the entire world.

The Livonian Federation of the north, that collection of democracies ruled by the madness of the mob, still reels from the last devastating war with the Empire. The great Kubra Shah, though his realm rivals the Empire itself, bends over for the Empire, knowing that his decaying throne is gnawed at by insurgents and terrorists. Only the stubborn Xiang still defy the Emperor's will, and then they breathe still only because he tolerates their survival.

It is in this state of affairs that Crown Prince Admar len Ruthweiler, firstborn son of His Majesty Emperor Norman len Ruthweiler, died. Though the official stance of the government is that he died of a malady of the heart, it is whispered, at court and elsewhere, that he was murdered. After all, what kind of 'malady of the heart' causes nine stab wounds to the chest?

What the heck is Maandike?

Maandike is a curious element; Brittle and ugly, it would normally not have much use. But it has one curious property: It is warm to the touch. For the centuries of the Age of Chaos, it was seen as an oddity, and nothing more. But the scholars under the patronage of the Kingdom of Rozarria- for a kingdom it was, at that time- discovered that, when submerged in water, Maandike heats up like the fires of hell, boiling the water itself. It did not take long for these same scholars to begin devising practical uses for this newfound energy: foundries began appearing across the kingdom powered by Maandike, foundries producing cannons (the explosive functioning of which is also another use found of Maandike).

The world is now in the midst of an industrial revolution that shows no sign of slowing down. To feed the industrial hunger for Maandike, the Emperors conquered a vast swathe of territory, and its exploitation is one of the main causes of tension between nations. The region with the greatest wealth in maandike encompasses both sides of the Nerwain Mountains, those sheer cliffs of rock which split Xiang and the rest of the world.

Cartography is fun!

Just what are those countries?

The Holy Rozarrian Empire: Once a petty kingdom, thanks to liberal exploitation of Maandike Rozarria is now the greatest power in the world, poised to conquer every other nation. The Empire is extremely aristocratic, and its society is split into three tiers: The Royalty, the Nobility, and the Citizens. Within those tiers, Rozarrians can be higher or lower on the social ladder; for example, the king is higher than the princes, the dukes than the barons, and the rich merchants than the poor farmers, but the poorest of each caste is higher in status than the wealthiest below him.

There is also a fourth, informal caste: The Inferiors, those without citizenship, and unrecognized by the Empire as human beings. They form the bulk of the population of the Empire. Each time a new province is added to it, its people are declared Inferior, stripped of all rights. Eventually, through loyal service, a people can earn the right to Imperial citizenship.

The Xiang Republic: Cut off from the rest of the world since the dawn of time by the impassable Nerwains, the Xiang developed a unique culture and society. The Heavenly Empire of Xiang, as it was for a long time known, was remarkably stable, with only rare civil wars to disturb the peace. The only passable route into Xiang was the Shah's Pass, in the south of Xiang. Because of the great wealth involved, both the Emperors and the Kubra Shahs kept a short leash on that trade route, suppressing any knowledge or exploration of the other side. Thus the Xiang slumbered into stagnation.

Their delusions of superiority were forever shattered thirteen years ago, the day Rozarrian airships flew over the supposedly impassable Nerwains, while a vast army marched through the Shah's Pass. Within a year, the Xiang had lost two-thirds of their land, and all seemed lost. The magnitude of the defeat, brought on by the impossibly large gap in technology, was worsened by the criminal incompetence of the central government. And so, twelve years ago, a revolution overthrew the emperor, and declared the Republic of Xiang.

In the decade since, the Xiang have fought a brutal, desperate war for survival. Every day, their generals make sacrifices, ruthlessness being their only hope for salvation against the iron might of the Empire. Their desperate struggle is only worsened by the knowledge that the Rozarrians are commiting but a fraction of their armies to the Xiang campaign.

The Livonian Federation: Composed of eight sovereign nations, the Federation is an alliance of circumstance. Though all democracies, with liberal social policies, these nations were quite antagonistic to each other before the Rozarrians appeared on their doorstep. It took the conquest of half the Livonian nations for the last eight to agree to a union before the common foe. Though wealthy, the federation remains divided, with each member seeing to its on defense first; a weakness the Empire exploits regularly.

The Kubra Dynasty: An old power, the Kubra Shahs have on paper power enough to rival even the Empire itself. But their realm is unstable, the peripheries rocked by violent insurrection and rebellion. Thus, the Shahs have attempted to follow a policy of appeasement to the Empire, sacrificing even the enormously lucrative north-eastern province (containing the Shah's Pass) to the Empire to avoid the war they know will see the collapse of their empire.

THE RP

Okay, you might say, all that is nice and well, but what would we actually DO in this RP? I'm glad you asked!

Players in this RP would make members of the royal family, the sons, daughters, siblings, and cousins of His Majesty. Now, the Empire practices nepotism heavily, so your characters would have important duties aside from being a len Ruthweiler, such as being in the army, governing a troublesome province, dealing with government administration, and so on. And above all this, there will be a cuttthroat struggle for succession to the Imperial Throne- The Emperor's not getting any younger!

Wait, I know you ask. Shouldn't succession be fairly straightforward?

Well, it is, in theory. Rozarrian law maintains a policy of primogeniture, with the first born receiving the entire throne in inheritance. But in practice, in succession (as in all else) the Empire follows a tradition of social Darwinism: the strongest prince or princess takes the throne, and all their rivals soon find themselves on the executioner's block.

So, good people of the RPG: Interested?

Dawn of Worlds Worldbuilding Game (Playing as gods, shaping a world)

Awesome!

I know my post is a bit bare atm, but I've been burned a few too many times hosting this RP, putting lots of effort into OP's without anyone actually joining. I'll flesh out the rules and procedure when a few more people join.

Dawn of Worlds Worldbuilding Game (Playing as gods, shaping a world)

Okay, we have a tabletop sub-forum, it seems time to resurrect this idea.

Dawn of Worlds, for those who don't know, is a game where we play as gods, and take turns doing god-like things as the ages pass, with the idea being the development of a world, with its own unique cultures, civilizations, and of course beliefs. The rulebook is available online in this pdf.

If we do this, I'd be looking for a smallish group, four, maybe five players.

FANTASY RP WORLD BUILDER GM here

Nothing, apparently.

FANTASY RP WORLD BUILDER GM here

I'm interested. Busy with other stuff, but interested.

Tverios: The Conquest

Well, I didn't see that coming. It's not every often that someone goes from submitting a 5000 word post to dropping out.

If that's the case... I mean, is anyone else in this right now? Eschatologist? Maavoimat? Anyone?

Tverios: The Conquest

On a side note: The nomenclature for the river is pretty confusing, even for me. So I propose that it's been called the Etrusceia since the old Empire, but in recent centuries it's taken the name "Widow's Tears" in informal usage. We've been using both liberally, we might as well make both right.