The continent of Ethica is covered in great plains, rich meadows, vast steppes, thick oft huge forests, lush jungles, imposing mountains and fertile flatlands - as diverse in landscape as it is in people. Across this large continent is an empire-sized realm first founded by the Phoenix Queen,Lalaifia “Lightbringer” Valarien, and Lady of The Dawn; First Chosen of Kammeth. Since time immemorial, it has been the House Valarien line that has ruled from the Phoenix Throne from the majestic city of Lalrial. Each nation within the Empire is ruled by a chieftain or general that rode with her during her initial conquest and their line have become the Great Houses today. Lalrial is a riverside metropolis and the capital of Ethica, and thanks to Valarien's covenant of fire, a powerful divine pact with the Lord of Fire and Sun, the Realm of Ethica has known protection and prosperity from the vile dark children of The Chained God. A being of immense power long ago trapped within the pale orange moon that hangs in the Ethican skies above and is said to be a source of Azueral Stones. Sky rocks capable of great enchantments and madness said to be fragments of the great eldritch beings prison so are thus bathed in his vile power.

In the one thousand and two hundred years of the Empire's existence, with the exception of a minor squabble here and there between the lords and the incursions from nations across the seas, all of Ethica has known peace. But the turning of the age might see an end to that long peace.

The Rp will start with the death of the most recent Phoenix King, Lord Taramyth “the Searider” Paragon Valarien, named so for his love of ships and obsession with sailing. Lord Taramyth was a fairly 'good' king though this may be due to the fact he was quite an absent one, spending less time ruling and more time sailing or charting for far off continents leaving more and more work to his Lord Regent. A tragic accident sea saw Taramyth meet an untimely end in the cold unforgiving sea. Taramyth death has left his offspring in a mad bid for the throne creating a time of turmoil for the realm. Worse yet the time of the long Night fast approaches when Kammeth goes into a lumber, signified in the heavens when the pale Orange Moon, Azueral's Eye, covers the sun for three months. An event always considered an ill omen.

I. The most important thing is to respect and follow the rules of our host site, which is no question. The themes are undoubtedly mature but we need to understand what we can and cannot write blatantly. Prose has many techniques referential and subtle where we can show the idea without outright being overtly over the line. If there’s sexual content there is always “fade to black”, if it is a particularly dark and questionable scene it can be referenced or hinted at instead of shown.

II. Respect fellow role-players. This is a collaborative project in nature so we shan’t dismiss or patronize those we should be working together with—lighthearted humor is fine but remember not to insult outright or start flame-wars; generally you know the drill so don’t be a dick and things should be kosher.

III. No meta-gaming—in Game of Thrones Robb Stark wasn’t prepared for the Red Wedding, so by good logic you shouldn’t be as well. The characters can’t know things outside of their timeframe, knowledge, and so on.

IV. Gilded Throne is a fantasy world, and by extension of that, this includes tropes of the medium. This is not limited to but includes medium-level magic, fantasy monsters, heroic adventurers, ancient artifacts, and everything in-between. As a good base of reference, it is a hybrid of ideas presented in the work of Bioware, Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, and J.R.R. Tolkien. This is not a RP for those who want hyper-realism or fantasy-touched "hard" medieval settings, but this isn't exactly insanely magical to the point of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign in the setting of Faerun.

V. Characters can and will die in this role-play. This means if five armed swords surround an unarmed individual there will be certainly a terrible end. Although, this is not to say GM’s or other players can kill others outright and without consultation—the characters in your house sheet are your de facto legacy characters and you have a say in plot progression but do remember this is a game of collaboration.

VI. Post length should fit the scene progression; also defer to the quote at the top of the page regarding “advanced role-playing standards”.

VII. Also a major rule...HAVE FUN!!! (or else...:p)

VIII. In the case of players who drop, grow completely inactive, and other situations that hold up the RP the GM's will take exclusive control of these houses and factions so the RP can continue to progress.

IX. If you have any questions, comments, concerns or need to contact a GM for any reason, we ask that you add all three to your pm or we will rewrite your pm to fit this format. To reiterate, all pm threads to the gms for gm reasons MUST include Goldeagle1221, Gowi, and Grievous Khan in the thread. This will normally include late additions to the lore, or concerns involving other players.