How many nations/Can I be Gandalf/Are you still accepting?
We are still accepting, and currently have 1 open slot! There will be seven kingdoms including mine, so six available slots for you guys. I was originally going for six because I was worried about the similarity between our seven kingdoms and the phrase "The seven kingdoms", but ASOIAF actually has nine so and I'd prefer an uneven number of nations, so seven it is. I don't know how many applicants we'll get, especially because I probably sound like a huge tool right now, but I'm definitely only going to accept six. Also, the only options to play are the great houses of nations. You could be a small house of a small nation, but the point is, no solo characters like pirates, politicians, mercenaries, or travelling wizards and other folk like that.

Can my house ______?
Here's where it gets tricky. Magic is largely gone from the world, but great houses are so ancient that logically, some of them would have some magic properties. As for ancestral magic, keep it small enough that it could be denied altogether or dismissed as an excuse for something nonmagical -- Familial telepathy, Not burning, maybe even a secret were-animal house. Anyway, if you want your house to have some special magical component and you're worried that the one you've written for your house doesn't fit in, PM me and I'll take a look.

Expand on the Advanced tag?
This is the Nation RP section so to avoid any disputes, I will say right off the bat that this is an Advanced RP. By Advanced I don't mean Advanced Section, I mean Advaaaanced Section, brother. Full Hulk Hogan voice and all. I want us to all write something we're collectively proud of instead of just trying to win the most duels and claim the most land.

Expand on that Low Fantasy tag?
This is more of a personal preference I can flex GM status to enforce, but it also makes the world a more believable backdrop for human problems in human stories which is the goal. Magic is rare, shunned, and often more trouble than it's worth, while creatures that roamed the land in abundance thousands of years ago are now only found in the thickest, deepest woods where men rarely roam. There are dragons, but probably only a dozen in the world, and definitely not in our neck of the woods. On the other hand, the RP will have dire beasts, enchanted weapons, plants and animals that totally don't exist, and so on.

Expand on the Mature tag?
Roleplayerguild's rules won't allow me to straight-up say that you have to be 18 to be a part of this roleplay, so let me just give a foreword that the roleplay will deal with a lot of the same mature themes brought up in the book -- Torture, rape, murder, humilation, violence, the whole shebang. This is a story with a largely gray morality, so the lines between hero and villain will sometimes be blurred. Keeping in mind the subjects allowed, I expect every topic to be handled maturely. Having a character who rapes every barmaid they see and eviscerates every guy who says something shitty to them doesn't make them a good villain, it makes them a forced one. Anyway, lotsa dark themes inbound, though the heroes of the story will hopefully make up for it.

Your great house and nation. The sigil should be designed with this. If you can't use the program or it's giving you a hard time, PM me and I'll be glad to take a stab at it myself.

Power
Our story takes place during an interregnum, or a period of time where leadership is either changing, unclear, or missing. This is based on ASOIAF's power struggle after the death of Robert Baratheon, which is modeled after history's Great Interregnum. Much like ASOIAF and the Great Interregnum, the roleplay will have strategic weddings, betrayals, and be severely impacted by religious groups; history had The Holy Roman Church, Westeros had The Faith of The Seven, Ardacia has Yevism.

Tradition
In precarious times, people tend to either reaffirm their faith in moral codes, or abandon them completely. Such is the case in Ardacia, where the south sees waves of growth in panicking converts to The Church of Eirtu, and the north deals with mobs of rioting peasants who believe their world will soon end. The systems of order preserving humanity are being broken and rebuilt left and right.

Adapting
To put it bluntly, characters who survive are ones who adapt to the changes in society. Those who publicly go against the changes to tradition happening, such as race mixing in The Sylvain and the unquestioned legitimacy of King Valdemar in Edontas, usually find themselves with new enemies. In terms of imagery, many of Ardacia's wild animals are cited as being "fouler than they were ages ago", the implication being that only the strong survive in Ardacia.

Passion
Within all the scheming, plans, and politicking of the world, the one variable that can quickly turn the tides is passion. Love causes men to do irrational things, though this is not always romantic love -- The love of a new leader commoners share, The love of a land that is not one's home, The love of someone that a character can't be with, all of these things can undo plans laid by others seemingly out of nowhere, or beget new courses of action. Think Lysa Arryn and Petyr Baelish, Robb Stark and The Freys, Jaime and Cersei, and The High Sparrow and, well, peasants.

Light and Darkness
Duality's a cool theme, alright? I've been told Ice & Fire is already taken, so Night and Day will be the opposites invoked in Ardacia. Right off the bat, Ardacians worship the light in the darkness (The moon), there's a house whose schtick is riding nocturnal bats, another house founded with a glowing fort, and an ancient religion of sun-worshippers being revived, and brought from the darkness. See? Themes. Additionally, they're situated at the north pole, so whereas Westeros's geography was not-Britain, ours seems to be more like not-Greenland. As a result, the shifting seasons have much longer days in the summer and much longer nights in the winter, as well as occasional dancing lights in the dark skies in northern winters.

Yevism - The official and less common name for The Church of Eirtu, named for Eirtu's supposed prophet during The Age of Beasts. The faith's essential beliefs are that Eirtu is the divine creator of the world, who watches the world from the moon with his wife Elonar, the second moon and goddess of Yevism. Whereas Eirtu is prayed for generally everything, Elonar is specifically prayed to for women giving birth, children who are ill, and the survival of crops -- the prayers which are most important. Yevist clergymen are known as "Black Brothers" for the colors of their robes, which are grey when they are given to them and gradually blackened with dirt and rain as the brother becomes more experienced. The leader of the Yevist faith is known as the High Brother.

House of Arda - The extinct great house of Ardall the conqueror. Their colors, orange and teal, still remain the color scheme of ancient buildings in the south. It is considered an act of blasphemy to construct a tapestry or painting of their sigil, punishable by a year of forced labor.

The Ashen Arena - A crumbling, black coliseum in a southern city that was once the Imperial city. It is seen as a symbol for the revolt of Ardacians and the wickedness of the Ardacian Empire. It is now occasionally used as a space for concerts or festivals, though its decrepit, foreboding appearance makes it unpopular for either.

The Mage's Guild - Ardacia's order of alchemists, which serve high houses and low houses loyally. A mage usually only specializes in one field, such as medicine or architecture, and so great houses usually have several mages, while low houses usually only have one or two. Despite their name, chemistry and astronomy are the closest the mages get to performing magic.
Church of Staloth - The religion brought by Ardall the Conqueror, which was Ardacia's official religion during the second age. It has a complex hierarchy of mercurial, vengeful, and frequently incestuous gods, who are said to live on the plane of Staloth. Due to the widespread bookburning and propaganda against all things imperial during the third age, few know what details of the religion are truth or lies.

House Flitton - @Deadbeatwalking
House Sable - @McHaggis
Western House - OPEN
House Osgar - @The Nexerus
House Soneillon - @Terminal
House Tyndall @Vor
House Helvetti - @RisenDead

Nation Name
The name of of your nation. If your people speak a second language in conjunction with commontongue, like how not all Irish people speak Gaelic, but all Irish people speak English, give both versions of the name if it changes in translation.

_{Germany/Deutschland, The Eyrie, Mordor}

Ethnic Peoples
The name your nation's people are referred to. If they have any pseudonyms or mild slurs they are commonly referred to by, add them as indents.

_{Chinese, Crannogmen/Bogmen, Numenorean}

Ethnic Description
The physical traits and genetic similarities of your people. This can be anything from a shared skin tone, hair color, eye color, nose shape, or height. As tempting as it is, try not to design a race of beautiful, battle-hardy Ubermensch that never see a boy grow under 6'5. As for "genetic similarities", think of traits they have that are less apparent. Native Americans can't digest milk, White people have higher rates of particular mental illnesses, and so on.

Culture
This should be your biggest section. The cultural customs, styles of dress, favored foods, art, music, of your nation. Include everything from the customs (Raising hands instead of shaking them) to the reasons behind them (Originally to prevent disease, now simply customary.) If any districts of your culture are particularly different from the others, include that in indents, as well as any particular stereotypes or common views of your people. The more detail, the better.

---

House Name
The surname of your ruling house. Over time and through the initial enforcement of the commontongue, all ruling houses have generally Anglican-sounding names, even if their country's native language is a borrowed European Language, Gaelic, or Welsh. If your house name is a compound word, try to say something that sounds right besides in battle, so don't go with "Steelsword" or "Bloodfire" or things like that. You can sound plenty tough without being edgy: Blackpoole, Thorne, and Graves are all names straight out of Medieval England. Hell, I'm kicking myself for wasting Blackpoole on this example, but there it goes.
_{House Lancaster, House Tyrell, House Tooke}

House Words
The motto of your house, which encompasses their values or general theme somehow. Try to keep it short -- In ASOIAF, the longest house words were "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" and "Though All Men do Despise Us", the latter of which is pushing it in my opinion. Most were metaphorical, and if yours is, include the meaning in an indentation. Extra brownie points if you can't say it to directly threaten someone.

House Sigil
Should be designed with this. It's not PC to say this is something I'm "OCD" about, but I'm definitely picky about uniformity in this regard. I find the official sigil creator is too limiting and the rest I've found have been too cartoony. If you can't use this site because you somehow can't run flash or can't figure out how to use it, leave this section blank for now and I'll get around to doing it for you in the future. Also, keep the house words on the banner rather than the house name. You'll know what I mean when you start fiddling around with it.

House Seat
The name of your castle/fort/holding. Include a brief description of its appearance and any components like escape tunnels, moats, special doors, or things like that which might bear mentioning so that it isn't godmoding if you use them in the future.

House Heirloom
The item passed down from father to son, or mother to daughter or whatever, in your house. This is usually a weapon like a sword or axe, though houses with more scholarly or magical origins pass down books, dowsing rods, harps, scythes, and other various items. Though small houses and great houses alike have heirlooms, the heirlooms of great houses are typically much older, and usually enchanted somehow. Such enchantments should be included in an indentation and not present an advantage so great it can be relied on to win every battle.

House Description
A general description of your house, their current members, how they all look, and what they're known for.

Nation Name
Edontas

Ethnic Peoples
Edontian
Pathy (Considered derogatory depending on inflection)

Ethnic Description
The Edontians are generally short and pudgy when they are rich, and short and stocky when they are poor. Most of the men reach a maximum of 5'6 or so, while their women are a few inches shorter -- Despite their stockiness, they are generally said to be a loud people with a presence that far outweighs their stature. Whether it is a genetic fault, mark of poor hygiene or diet, or a side effect of the culture's affinity with pipe-smoking is unknown, though many Edontians have crooked, sharp, or naturally missing teeth. An "Edontian Smile" is expression synonymous with showing off, due to the popularity of false teeth, gold caps, and other custom dentistry in Edontas' upper circles.

Black or brown hair and dark olive skin are common traits, though the southern Edontians are generally paler with redder brown hair, whereas northern Edontians are of darker features -- Both have curly hair, thick eyebrows, and thick body hair, which are all seen as stereotypical Edontian traits. The men are either short, broad-shouldered, and packed with fatty muscle, or somewhat less short but taut and lean, whereas their women are usually short and full-bodied. Almost all Edontians are brown-eyed, though those born with green eyes are considered lucky. No full-blooded Edontian can have blue eyes or blonde hair, and the two are stigmas tied to bastardy among commoners.

Culture
To know Edontas is to know a poor country. Given as a slight to one of Ardall the Great's lesser liked generals, the strangely-shaped lines on the map Edontas is confined to were purposely drawn to give the country vast swathes of marshes, craggy hills, and inhospitable sandy earth. Edontas has always lacked the natural resources to support a true population, and so throughout history, many Edontians have taken to nomadic lifestyles throughout Ardacia, travelling, trading, and doing seasonal work when it is available, then returning home or sending most of their money back to relatives. This has led to the common slur for Edontians, Pathy, in reference to the trails and roads they walk, though whether it is an insult or not largely depends on how it is used.
Edontas is almost completely covered in pine forests that are separated by sparse bogs too shallow and sulfurous to yield bog-iron, and many small craggy hills and valleys, increasing in size further north. Almost all of Edontas' soil is too loose and sandy to be farmed, as well as having literal piles of slowly-degrading pine needles. Coupled with Edontas' climate being cold and wet due to its proximity with the mixing northern and southern winds and landlocked location, all of Edontas' land is almost comically ill-equipped to farm.

To make up for this, those in Edontas who toil rather than travel by cart are almost always either miners, buckwheat farmers, or lumberjacks. Edontas is rich with precious metals, ore, and salt, and so mining makes up about three fourths of Edontas' exports, while the remaining exports are woodcrafts -- particularly wagons -- and Edontian Ale, a buckwheat stout known for its malty taste and dark red color. Aside from these professions, many Edontians who travel the continent are pirates, bandits, and swords-for-hire, though not as reliable or honorable as Questors.

The Edontians are a merchant people who can seemingly put a price on anything. In Edontian funerals, the body is commonly bid for in an auction to "prove the worth of one's life", which usually pays for the cost of the funeral itself. Due to the Edontian culture of poverty, haggling is socially acceptable for just about every transaction, while small lies designed to benefit oneself are simply accepted as the norm. Crime is additionally a more socially acceptable form of occupation than in most countries Lesser crimes are made invisible to guards through bribes, while honor killings and duels remain the most common form of justice in their place.

The Edontian's preference of vengeance over justice stems from Ardall the Conquerer bequeathing Edontas to Leiredon the Red, his least-liked general and rumored half-cousin. The founding of the country was known as "Ardall's Gift", and due to the country's borders binding it to inhospitable terrain, gift-giving is unheard of; In Edontas, there are only transactions. To exact vengeance, Leiredon did eerything in his power to keep his country as far from Imperial rule as he could during his life, such as inflicting the lightest possible punishments for those caught practicing Yevism. Because of this, Edontas has been deeply tied with Yevism for all of its existence, harboring the fewest number of Red Yevist temples of the seven kingdoms, and some of the most spiritual people.

Cuisine in Edontas is seen by outsiders either as too spicy or too oily -- Spice is used to cover the taste of bespoilt meat, while the oil of the whitecairn plant is used either as a thickening agent or in cooking. Because many Edontians, male and female, learn to cook for themselves while on the road, the kitchens of kings and lords all throughout Ardacia are usually stocked by Edontians willing to work for cheaper than most. Edontas' surplus of salt affects its cuisine as well, and it is featured prominently in most Edontian dishes, as well as one drink. Due to the inhospitable farmland available in the countr, most of the food is imported from Caerulmoste, Aaldorenfeald, Westport, and The Sylvain, while the occasional miracle crop grown on Edontian soil is usually consumed by the grower.

Mealtime in Edontas is traditionally a segregated affair -- Unless one is hosting a "Dinner" or any sort of event, men will eat, drink, and smoke outside, while women, children, the ill, and the elderly eat inside by the fire. Smoking takes a large part in Edontian male interaction, as it shows a certain level of tolerance to pain not believed to be found in women and children, as well as serving as a social gathering. More wealthy Edontians frequently drink tea as they smoke to soothe their throat, and to prolong conversation. Such conversation is usually about the road: the wandering Edontian is both a popular character in folklore and the basis for the Edontian experience. Because Edontas cannot support a true population, longing for a home is a deep-seated part of being Edontian.
Edontas' associated weapon is the Sicklewhip, a short scythe attached to a metal weight by a chain. Though it is an unheroic and ugly weapon, it is a useful one, as it is designed for both the scythe and flail halves of the weapon allow an assailant to reach around a shield. In addition, the sicklewhip is often used as a tripwire by bandits to dismount those on horseback by tying the chain half to a root and sticking the scythe end into a nearby tree. It can also be used as an assassination tool for choking, as well as a farm tool for cutting and threshing wheat, which is the only crop of Edontas.
Aside from their less savory attributes, there are still good things to be said for the Edontians. They are a deeply musical people, known for playing anything from the fiddle to the lute to the concertina. Edontian courtship frequently involves singing songs and dancing, and musical talent is frequently part of the scale suitors are measured by. Aside from their affinity for music, they are almost always hospitable and warm to their fellow countrymen due to their culture of travelling and the loneliness this begets. Though they are seen as gypsies, tramps, and thieves by most, they have grown comfortable with their lable and wear it proudly.

History
Edontas was given to Leiredon the Red as a slight for his perceived lack of skill on the battlefield during Ardall's conquest. Comprised mostly of sandy pine forests, sulfur bogs, hot springs, and packed hollow ground above large cave systems, "The Gift" as it was known, would set Leiredon against Ardall subtly, which would be the beginning of the country's anti-Imperial mindset.

Worship of Staloth over Eirtu and Elonar never rose to much popularity due to the original lack of funding for any national force of guards, police, or the church of Staloth's clergy in Edontas. Originally abandoned by Leiredon for the first two decades of its existence while he sailed along the Sunrise Sea, Edontas and crime have been synonymous since its literal founding. It was the site of few events of historical importance until The Great Uprising, when a company of sellswords led by Flitkor the Blind usurped the ruling House of Edon. Flitkor's first order of business would be to found his own great house -- his second would be to gather forces to march on the Imperial city, a fight that had already been in progress for six months.

House Name
House Flitton

House Members
King Valdemar Flitton
Prince Alvin "Bagface" Flitton
Princess Gertrude Flitton
Prince Oren ______
Prince Wiliam Flitton

House Words
Through Guise of Night

The words of House Flitton, "Through Guise of Night" refers to their literal and metaphorical use of darkness. Literally, the words are a simple threat: Those who oppose the Flittons are not usually met on the battlefield or in duels, but disposed of through assassination, imprisonment, or intimidation. Additionally, the Flittons signature mounts are direbats, which can only be flown at night, an advantage that the family has historically used for infiltration and escapes.

House Sigil
A brown bat on an olive field, surrounded by a black border.

House Seat
Cavernhall, as its name suggests, is built into a massive cave system. It appears deceivingly small on the surface, though the majority of the structure is actually underground. It is a dank, musty castle that always seems to have water dripping from the ceiling, and the building is filled with an unpleasant coolness to the air brought in by the caves. From the surface, Cavernhall is a short, squat castle made of yellowing white stone, built into the mouth of a large cave overlooking a cliff. The wall encompassing the surrounding area is built of the same white stone as the castle itself, and is decorated at each of its corners with a batlike gargoyle.

Inside the castle itself, it is kept warm by a fire at the center of the great hall and small cauldrons of sweet incense hanging from the ceilings. All of the metalwork, from the doorknobs to the candle holders, is slowly oxidizing copper, and at the end of the castle's great hall sits King Flitton's copper throne, which has grown green where his hands lay from sweat. Directly above it hangs the gold-dipped skull of Flitkor the Blind's direbat. Further into the castle's tunnels, the rooms and passageways become less and less paved and carved out until you are simply in a cave that has torches available. It is unknown how far down the Flitton Cave goes, though there is a certain point that no man has been able to ascend known as "The Drop", which is believed to go hundreds of feet straight down until reaching a small reservoir attached to the Mottem Expanse.

The mouth of the Flitton Cave is home to the largest colony of bats in Edontas, and likely the world, who servants of Flitton feed daily. Among the colony are the Flitton's direbats, which are bred for their intelligence and size -- Though they leave each night to hunt, they return unfailingly before the sunrise. The castle itself was originally built with wide corridors to allow Flitton direbat access to the castle as well, though this practice has fallen out of fashion.

House Heirloom
Flitkor's Crown

The Crown of Flitkor the Blind was worn by Flitkor when he and his mercenaries besieged the Castle of Edon, and again when House Flitton aided in The Great Uprising. It is only magical in the hands of one with Flitton blood, and its effects are usually not noticed by those who wear it -- It allows the wearer to echolocate.

House Themes
Blood - The Flitton direbats are often thought to be vampire bats, though they are only simple carnivores who eat birds and livestock. Despite this misconception, the Flittons have a lot of blood imagery: Valdemar has impure blood, Bagface bled for five years, Oren's pale face is described as "blood-drained", and so on.

Blindness - The founder of House Flitton was Flitkor the Blind, their words allude to being enveloped in darkness, and their house heirloom allows you to echolocate.

Capital City
A brief description of the city surrounding your House Seat.

Banner Houses
The low lords sworn to your house. Whether or not you include brief descriptions is optional, just include things most would know: Their name, and perhaps their sigil, with occasional information on especially important banner houses.

Name
Include titles. Heads of house are kings or queens, their children are princes and princesses, their siblings/cousins/distant relatives are lords and ladies. If you absolutely have to have a character with a famous nickname, try to have only one or two at most.

Age
It's basically the medieval times, so let's say the old age death limit is 70, and anything after that is pushing it.

Loyalty
Their house should be the first thing on this list, unless they've been disowned or something like that. After that would either be a woman's maiden house or any order that character is a member of, such as priesthood or knighthood.

Appearance
A description of their look, style of dress, and anything you'd notice being face-to-face with them. Gait, smell, hyperbolic comparisons, and so on.

Personality
Your character's mannerisms, traits, strengths, weaknesses, and so on. Include private details, and remember, the more realistic this person is, the better. Every member of your house should be a full-fledged person and not a two-dimensional caricature. Keeping in mind the setting, remember that there are few people who are completely good or completely bad.

History
As brief or as long as you'd like, describe your character's life. If you're using this sheet you're already accepted, so don't worry about giving me an epic ballad of life events for your ten-and-two princeling. If they've all had uneventful lives (boo) just give a bulleted list of tidbits of their history that reinforce their personality.