In the days of the Conquest, perhaps the most bitter war of all was fought for a land, ironically, that our Imperial forces now occupy only in name: the Wyrmteeth Mountains & their attendant wilds: the Wraithwood, Great Briar, the Cauldron, &c &c. The Seven Kings of the Valleys, though their armies were smaller by far than our Legions, fought fiercely for a land their ancestors had spent centuries trying- & failing- to tame. The Empire was to learn what an impossible task holding such land was only after Odrosyan Red Hand, last of the Seven Kings, threw down his axes at the feet of Legate Cadius & surrendered.

The Wyrmteeth are a harsh wilderness, filled not only with wyverns, troggs, orcs, goblins, & trolls, but with dangerous & cunning elf-tribes, the greatest of them ruled by the enigmatic King of Thorns, who is thought responsible for the near complete destruction of the XXII Legion at Great Briar. & this is to say nothing of the Pale Men, whom even the elves are said to fear. Civilized places there are few, beyond the fortified imperial towns of Pellos, Grimhold, & Pinewatch.

A few of the noble families of the Seven Kingdoms remain, now nominal tributaries of the Empire, ruling the hamlets of their little valley fiefdoms from crumbling castles. Many more ancient castles in those lands lie burned & empty. Many villages have been reclaimed by the woods.

A testimony to the might of the Legions and the terrible destruction of the Days of Conquest.

- from A Travelers Guide to the Provinces, by Marcus Marcellus, Cartographer to Empress Vipinia XII

The idea here is to have a world-building heavy RP focused on the hinterlands of a mighty empire. A place where human civilization ends. Each player would be invited to design a society that inhabited this wilderness, be it a kingdom of wood-elves, greenskin reavers, a vampire in a haunted castle, a human fiefdom plotting revenge against the empire... the sky is the limit. I wanted to set an RP in a land inspired by Roman Britain and the northern wastelands of Middle Earth: Mirkwood, the Misty Mountains, the lands that were once Arnor, etc. Other inspirations include (in differing ways) Sylvania & Athel Loren from Warhammer and Solstheim & some bits of Skyrim from TES.

Players could play as the leaders of the faction they designed, or as party members of a questing group heading deep into the wilds- I have an overall plot in mind for a small party of adventurers that will be adjusted to accommodate the world as it gets fleshed out.

Any takers?

Discord

Interested. Technology would be restricted to which setting of inspiration's level? I was thinking of making some sort of Dorfs that got separated from their homeland centuries ago by the local flora and fauna and now strike out on their own for the most part.

Interested. Technology would be restricted to which setting of inspiration's level? I was thinking of making some sort of Dorfs that got separated from their homeland centuries ago by the local flora and fauna and now strike out on their own for the most part.

Im open minded about tech levels. A dwarf hold or some such would be awesome.

You have my pen. :D

Although I'm more of a one character in a party or small group type of RPer.

So I'd rather write a character grouping up with other player characters or say a small company of merchants.

Very interesting concept. But how do you picture a narrative in which some players only control a single character in a party and others control entire factions?

@Flagg Technology level? Are there any limitations on the types of sword or armor?

Very interesting concept. But how do you picture a narrative in which some players only control a single character in a party and others control entire factions?

I think it would be rather straightforward. Folks who are rping as part of the group would push forward on an interaction heavy story while people in charge of factions wld be playing a kind of narrative/character-focused faction RP. I imagine it being a bit like the Fellowship of the Ring movie, where you're following the main party and get occasional glimpses of what Saruman is up to.

We'd work OOCly to weave the 'faction plot' and the 'quest plot' together where possible and make them overlap, but even the faction plot would be character driven so in practice it would be a few people writing together and others writing mostly their own scenes (or both, since the same player can control a faction and a party character).

Since the emphasis here is world building, I'd be happy to have a player *create* a faction that inhabits the world and may be part of the plot, but *play* a single party member.

@Flagg Technology level? Are there any limitations on the types of sword or armor?

I'm open minded on tech levels, would even consider making the main empire steam-punky. Limits in general on weapons and magic would be focused more on them being cool and contributing to the story rather than much concern about being 'op' (within reason).

Could potentially be interested

I'm interested. I would likely do a faction, so if folk are looking for someone to tap for resources as they stick it to the Empire....

alright, lots of tentative interest. If I throw up an OOC page, @Kassarock @POOHEAD189 @Hank @fetzen are you still inclined to join? No worries if not!

@Rapid Reader @The Wyrm @Andreyich You folks seemed most enthused. Any interest in starting a discord to share ideas I can incorporate into the OP?

@Flagg
Sure

alright, lots of tentative interest. If I throw up an OOC page, @Kassarock @POOHEAD189 @Hank @fetzen are you still inclined to join? No worries if not!

@Rapid Reader @The Wyrm @Andreyich You folks seemed most enthused. Any interest in starting a discord to share ideas I can incorporate into the OP?

Yes and yes.

Make it so, @Flagg.