[OOC] Crumbling Kingdoms: A player driven intrigue plot set after the fall of a great empire

[Strange Rodent]

Welcome to Crumbling Kingdoms, my friend! Here, you will play a character with goals, obligations, and power, all vying to complete your goals through various challenges. NPCs, the world, and even other players will stand in your way, and it's your job to play your hand better than everyone else, and laugh at their corpses when you get what you want.

This RP is set in a post ancient world, similar in nature to how I imagine it must've been after the fall of any of the great empires of history. New Kingdoms rise and fall in the place of older, more advanced ones. People make it their business to study these walls that go up to 20 meters high, when they can hardly build walls three meters high themselves. Metallurgists ponder over why this strange, malformed shiny stuff is harder than their pretty and well formed shiny stuff. Nature is reclaiming the old world, but it's only a matter of time before the new people replicate this ancient technology.

As players, you'll be working towards your individual goals with the appropriate amount of zealous vigor in a semi sandbox world. Kingdoms rise and fall in the span of months, and only the most ruthless survive. As a GM, I'll let you do anything, so long as your character has the influence or ability. Can't say the other players will let you do things, though ;)

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Rules:

• 1) The golden rule of this RP is don't be a dick OOC. Nobody finds that pleasant. Call me out on this one if I forget ;)
• 2) My word is final. This rule is in every RP, so it doesn't need much stress
• 3) On posting habits. Post at least once a week, and post short, but well written posts when you do. Free quantity, Advanced quality. Proper English is a must. The acceptable length is a few sentences to 2 paragraphs, and you can write up to 4 paragraphs if you're collabing. The less you write, the less others know ;)
• 4) Please don't emphasise on unimportant details
• 5) Communicate with people! If you're unsure about anything, ask! We're all pals here, with the same goal in mind.

Not a rule, but keep in mind that this RP has a goal of bringing irl people closer together. It'd be real cool if we all are pals by the end :)

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World info

This will fill up when more becomes known to the players :)
Have some basic info!

info on your starting area

You will all start in the nation of Cobsterra. The current rulers are King Emmund and Queen Juli of the house Pennikis. Their line has ruled for 3 generations, and was preceded by House Tremmly. The nation itself is bordered to the north by an allegedly uncrossable sea, called Promise Sea; to the east by a river running to Promise Sea, called Murren's River; To the south by another nation named The Anma Coalition, with which relations are strained but maintained; and to the west by a ludicrously thick, uncharted forest named Loosebind. Nobody has gone into the depths and lived.

It's mostly feudal, with only small changes in operation. The succession laws are based off of blood, then marriage, then claim. The Heir is chosen from the appropriate group, then raised to rule. From age 14 they serve a 4 year "apprenticeship" under the title of Deputy, if they are betrothed, then the promised couple undergo the training together. While they're training they are placed between the Lower Council and the Upper Council in terms of power.

House Tremmly

Petty King Grahm of House Tremmly formed the nation of Cobsterra before history was recorded. The legends say that Grahm was fighting a losing war against his rival, Hallkh, who ruled the neighboring nation of Cses. Hallkh had kidnapped and killed Grahm's brother, Cobb, to lower the army's resolve. Needless to say, this hit Grahm hard. It's said that in his loss, Grahm discovered a new Enigma, born of the very desperation and hatred in his gut. He named it Uoyv Daybak, which meant "For destroying evil rivals". With no hesitation, he unleashed his power on the Cses army, with results so horrifying that no human deserves to hear them. The rumor is that he left the army to rot there, as a warning.
From then on, Grahm was a feared name, even among family. Grahm went on a conquest, forcing all in his path to bend the knee, or die at the horrible power of Uoyv Daybak. He named the resulting territory Cobsterra, after his dead brother. Grahm was brutally and publicly murdered several years later, as a gesture of goodwill from the rest of the Tremmly family to the people.
House Tremmly had a long and peaceful realm from then, and were well loved. Their only problem was that each royal couple could only ever produce one child, for unknown reasons. The reign was taken by House Pennikis after 5 generations of peaceful reign since King Grahm.

House Pennikis

Until Riva Pennikis claimed Cobsterra, the Pennikis name meant nothing but a small estate in the south. Riva Pennikis was betrothed to the only Tremmly heir, Toug. She underwent two of the four years of Deputyship with her Betrothed, but had plans in the works. At the beginning of the third year, the fruits of her plotting had come to bear. She was the first in line to the throne by right of marriage, and by "An unfortunate turn of luck", Tuog, now her husband, died of Dysentery.
Riva took back the Pennikis name in a public display of loyalty to her family, which she said was all she had now that her beloved Tuog had died. House Pennikis has reigned for 3 generations including Emmund and Juli, less successfully than House Tremmly, and that has led to some dissent.

Regions

Map

Map made with https://inkarnate.com.

Within the kingdom of Cobsterra there are 3 duchies. Cses, Hyuon, and Tra. Each was a nation that was subdued by Grahm Tremmly in his conquest. They all still operate fairly independently, but owe troops, loyalty, and taxes to the Crown.

Cses

Cses is located in the northern marshlands. The capital is Cseskhell, and that's where Duke Yssi Tamad holds his power. There is currently no Duchess, as Yssi refuses to remarry. Cses produces many more fine goods than practical ones, such as silk and dye. That being said, some of the best charcoal in Cobsterra is produced here, so they can trade that with others fairly reliably. They tend to import stone and metals, as they can't produce much of that themselves.
A notable place in Cses is Hallkh Hill, where it's said that Hallkh stood against Grahm for the last time.

Hyuon

Hyuon is located mostly in the southern Hills of Cobsterra, with some Murren shore presence. The capital is Hyuonkhell, and it's ruled by Duke Beldra and Duchess Fijja of House Taggl. They tend to have quite an active military, and have almost perfected the art of fighting in the Hills, which is only enhanced by the amount of Hillforts they have hidden there. They export exceptionally high quality arms & armour and stone. They tend to import wood and medicines, as the Hills aren't super rich in woodland.
Hyuon borders the Anma Coalition, and so has quite an active and well trained military. They are equipped with some of the finest military grade gear. The standard armaments for an infantryman is a steel chainmail byrnie, a conical steel helmet, bronze vambraces, a round wooden shield, and a steel tipped spear. The tip of the spear can come off to serve as a utility knife.

Tra

Tra is located in the west, and in theory contains all of the Loosebind. As a result, Tra is legally bigger than every other part of Cobsterra combined. Practically, only a very small amount of the Loosebind is actually accessible. The capital is Trakhill, and it's ruled by Duchess Hamy and Duke Teuoy of House Welkk. Tra has a booming scholar community, mainly due to the study available in the forest. There have been rumors of bipedal creatures with smooth skin and hollow faces roaming the forest. The hunters here are also remarkably good. They export lumber, medicine, studies, and furs. They import specialised tools for making expeditions and tough fabrics.
There is a small settlement built at the edge of the forset called Bind's Edge, which solely exists to supply those residing in the forest and those journeying into the forest. Duchess Hamy funds it out of her own pocket in an attempt to expand her own lands into the forest. So far the project has been somewhat successful. They can get about 20 kilometers into the forest before it becomes too thick to journey into. In some parts, it even seems that there is a wall of trees.

Pronunciation

Here, I endeavour to explain how the Cobbsterrans pronounce certain letters.

a = AH. This is almost always emphasised in words.
i = ih, as in "inbred".
y = ii, as in "Evil"
o = hard o, as in "Tom".
e = eh, as in "End"
uo = wO. The O is short and strong, like how you would say "Opera"
kh = a raspy back of the throat k sound. Like TV static at the back of your throat.
Cs = an s sound that starts louder than it finishes. The rest of the word should be pronounced at the same lowered volume.

Hierarchy

Most powerful at the top, least powerful at the bottom.

• Monarch: King and Queen. They both have equal power.
• Upper Council/Regent: The close group of advisors. Each member represents a department of the Lower Council, and is elected by the appropriate Department, or chosen by the Monarchs. They work closely with the Monarchs to do what's 'best'. A regent is appointed to the council if the current Monarch is still a Deputy or a minor. Regents have no more power than any other council members, but can break an equal division.
• Deputy/Deputies: The Heir that is being trained for ruling by the Councils and Monarchs. Titles may be inherited through marriage at this level if very specific conditions are met.
• Lower Council: This Council is formed solely from those who apply for the position and are accepted by those in higher ranks. They're formed by 7 Departments: Dept of Justice, Dept of Stewards, Dept of Diplomacy, Dept of War, Dept of Secrets, Dept of The People, and Dept of The Sciences. They all do about what they sound like they do. Dept of Justice deals with law enforcement and the Judicial System, Stewards deal with cash and resources, Diplomacy publicly deals with other nations, Dept of War is inactive unless it's wartime or war is on the horizon, Dept of Secrets' operations are largely kept secret but are known to involve investigation, Dept of The People is formed by those with a low social standing and have little to no power, and the Dept of Sciences is always in a bad spot because they tend to focus less on politics and more on study. This rank is the highest rank that a player can start in.
• Nobility: The last of the ranks that are allowed a vote. Anyone in the Nobility may vote on certain decisions that are put through to vote. To be in this class, you must own land and owe fealty to the Monarchs.
• Courtiers: Usually little more than upjumped peasants, courtiers only have power because they work close to the ruling class. They're the servants, lesser nobility, and the like. A cunning courtier may posses a lot of Soft Power, due to hearing gossip and being fairly unregulated apart from doing their jobs.
• Commoners: Everyone else. Somewhat ironically, they posses the most collective power of any class, but most of them are too unambitious to realise it.

Noble Tier List

From most powerful to least powerful, here is a list of Noble's positions.

• Duke: To be a Duke, you must own a Duchy. Duchies are groups of adjacent Counties, usually three or more. Dukes operate their Duchies like small kingdoms, and only the Monarchs, Deputies, and Upper Council can directly tell them what to do. The Lower Council has power over them, but enough that a Duke may resist. You can't start as a Duke or Duchess.
• Count: A count operates out of a County: a piece of land with at least one city, produces goods, and provides their governor (A King or Duke) with taxes and levies. If you want to start as a Count, you probably should describe your County and what it produces. The Counties have been left unmade so you guys can have some free reign here
• Burgher/Baron/Head Scholar: These ranks all have the same level of political power. A Burgher governs a city, a Baron governs a Military settlement such as a fort, and a Head Scholar governs a place of study such as a University. Same as above, if you start as any of these, you should develop your holding.
• Earl: An Earl is anyone who owns a small piece of land, such as a farm or manor, called an Estate. They have little to no power. The scope of this title is fairly limited, so if you start as an Earl you can just mention it a few times. Still, the more development, the better.

Magic

Very little is known of Magic. It's one of the known unknowns of the world. Everyone has some capacity to do it, but few have the mental fortitude to follow through on that. Of them, even fewer are able to extend their prowess beyond a few spells.

Nobody knows why, but use of Magic seems tied in some way to study and understanding of what Scholars call The Enigmas. Nobody knows where or what they are, just that they exist and they know one when they've found it. Effects of these Enigmas are always different. Some lead to the manipulation of certain things, others lead to otherworldly waking dreams, and most have just led to insanity.

The Old World

Basically nothing is known about The Old World. All that was left behind were ruins, and skeletons ranging from towering ribcages over 100 meters high, to tiny little claws no larger than a toe. The people know they were more advanced, but don't know why just yet. What they do know, is that when it fell, it fell hard, and now there's hardly anything left.

Ask me any questions! Most things would be in world common knowledge, so I'll be happy to answer questions :)

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Character Sheet:

Sheet

Basic info

Name:
Nicknames/Aliases:
Appearance: No images please! Flex your creative writing muscles. Self drawn pics are acceptable :)
Age:
Sex:

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Skill info

Skills: Choose at least 3 things that your character is trained in or good at. Rate each skill 1 through 3 stars, you have 8 stars to assign. The more stars, the better. Try and give a general explanation of each skill
Magic Skills: Consult with me in a PM before filling this out
Knowledges: Anything your character is particularly knowledgeable about. You have 4 stars to spend here in the same way as skills

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Driving info

Goals: This is the primary drive for your character, and the section that should be the most developed (Not necessarily the longest). Your sheet will be refused if you don't have a driving goal.
Belief/Motto: One to two sentences describing how your character acts and thinks. An example might be "The world is cruel, to survive you have to be more so.".
Drive: One word only. This is what everything ties back to. "Family, Power, Knowledge" are all acceptable drives.

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Power info

Allegiance Owed: Maybe your lord, maybe a close family member. Who your character is legally bound in service to. N/A can be chosen, but usually "House (xyz)" should be chosen.
Allegiance Received: See above, but reverse. Everyone that legally owes you service.

Debts Owed:
Debts Received:

Past Commendable Deeds: Saving someone's life, acts of charity, etc.
Past Condemnable Deeds: Opposite of above.

Secrets: Everybody has them ;)

Titles: Your official titles, appropriate to what amount of power you hold.

Marriage Ties: What house yours is tied to via marriage. List the appropriate characters for this, and their station

We have discord!

discord.gg/y76W7Ab

[Strange Rodent]

@Heyitsjiwon @rush99999 @AP Ottovan @Aristo @Claw2k11

Here is OOC skeleton. Sorry for the potato quality at the moment. Just need to take a few hrs to sleep :)

[Sierra]

Tempting. Could we get a bit more OOC information regarding the present state of the world (factions, locales, etc.)?

[Banzai Tracers]

Whats the rough time period of the setting?

[Strange Rodent]

@Sierra yes, I had to sleep so I stopped writing, but you'll all be getting more info about houses Tremmly and Pennikis, a little more info on magic, info on regions within Cobsterra, and some modern history. Anything older than ~100 years is unknown without thorough study. I'll write it all up after work :)

@Banzai Tracers it's set after the fall of a great, ancient empire. Think fall of the Roman Empire, only little to no records, art, etc. was left behind. Time wise it's, Dark Ages to Early Medieval.

[Strange Rodent]

Alright, that's all the OOC info that's going up here until you guys figure out more in game. If you need to know something that would be obvious that I've skipped, just ask. I have a habit of overlooking the most obvious of things :)

On the flip side, if you want more specific information, just PM me. Certain info is privy to only certain people. For example, knowledge of magic is strictly limited to Mages.

[Banzai Tracers]

Character generation place holder.

[Edit] early details:
Name: Convel Summerwind
Titles: Ship Captain?

Ive grown too tired to proof read my work, i shall wait until tomorrow and per chance a dream will arive and it will be much improved.

[Banzai Tracers]

Character Sheet:

Basic info

Name: Convel Summerwind
Nicknames/Aliases: "that bastard over 'ere frum the house Summmerwind." "Lord Captain Summerwind" "Count Summerwind."
Appearance:

Dark Blackish gambeson with virtical quilting, double breasted tied at the right side with simple brown leather ribbons and holes. Short sleeved. Three quarter length drop ending above the knee. It has small wings which cover the neck but not the jugular.

Dark Blackish-brown leather bracers with iron studs, medium thickness, laced with more ribbon. Indeterminate cashmere/mohair goat fur insulation layer underneath. Cheeky letter knife concealed under right bracer.

A silk wrap sash around his waist of the distinctive Summerwind House livery.

Over the top of the silk sash is his sword belt. Dark Blaskish-brown belt with ornate brass buckle with two belt hole forks. The tongue of the belt is very long and tied back under, over the top and through the rest of the belt in a clan fashion. The sword scabbard is held i place by a standard two points sling made of lighter guage leather belt attached to the main belt.

Standard black leather boots with folded down lip. The lip is held in place by two small buckles which also act as a form of studded armour. The boots are lined with goat fur.

Silk gloves.

Unusual sword design. Dueling Khopesh?
One handed flanged mace.

He keeps his hair long to about the bottom of the neck. His hair is shiny black, youthful and densely thick.

Dark Green sheeps wool cape with foxes winter pelt.

Dark Green sheeps wool breeches tied at the bottom with black goats wool gaters.

Neck-scarf Gaiter made from Blackish goats wool.

Age: 28
Sex: Male

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Skill info

Skills: Choose at least 3 things that your character is trained in or good at. Rate each skill 1 through 3 stars, you have 8 stars to assign. The more stars, the better. Try and give a general explanation of each skill

Strategy: ** (long term goals over short ones)
Trading: ** (can make or break down deals)
Sailing: * (can sail a large ship)
Reflexes: * (fast muscle reflexes)
Oration: * (can communicate clearly to groups)
Reading: * (can read and understand very fast)

Magic Skills: Consult with me in a PM before filling this out

PM Message: Sent / Not Sent

Knowledges: Anything your character is particularly knowledgeable about. You have 4 stars to spend here in the same way as skills

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Teaching: ** (heuristic)
Intelligence Gathering: ** (Scouting, observation, Intrigue??)

Driving info

Goals: To increase the eminence of the Clan Summerwind, both in legal rights and financial power. To create the foremost merchant trader fleet on the seas. So that never again will the Clan be subject to ethnic cleansing as was perpetrated in the past. So that no friend of Clan Summerwind would ever have to fight alone.

Belief/Motto: "Start right, End right."
Drive: Prestige

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Power info

Allegiance Owed:
The King / Queen.
House Pennikis
Upper Council.
Lower Council.

Allegiance Received:
There are 3 other ship Captains that serve for him in exchange for coin. All 3 of them are Summerwinds.
All of Clan Summerwind are beholden to the Chieftain.
Housecarl not yet selected.

Debts Owed:
All who serve upon the ships he controls have a form of sick pay and medical retirement fund. Should they be wounded grievously while at work or at war they receive a payout. The total fund in reserve is about 300 gold pieces.

Debts Received:
Waylon Hill owes him a chicken, but hes never collected out of shame.

Past Commendable Deeds:
Saved a man from drowning once.

Past Condemnable Deeds:
Not much is known, but a man once approached him with some kind of proposition. He killed him without so much as a word.

Secrets:
"I steal books every now and again and have never really felt ashamed of it..."

Titles:
Count of Brazen (County)
Protector of Salts (Town)
Lord Captain of Summmerwind merchant ships.
Lord of Clan Summmerwind.
Freedom of the Town of Salts.

Marriage Ties:
None yet.

[Strange Rodent]

@Banzai Tracers Very, very nice sheet! Just add a hider at the bottom detailing house Summerwind's holdings, members, and marriage ties and it'll be good to move over to the Characters tab :D

Keep in mind that the northern shore border is currently being claimed by @Heyitsjiwon, so if you wanted that, you'll have to talk with him. And of course, if you want to write more about your house than I said, you're more than welcome :)

[Banzai Tracers]

Addendum

Here is a claim for the County of Brazen.

County of Brazen

This seemed like a decent sized county. Usually i'd like a large slice of sparsely populated land with many mountains on the coast but this will have to do. Maybe there are some mountains in Brazen?

Places of note:
Town of Salts:
Salts town is a prosperous town of merchants dealing in salt Most of which they produce themselves by heating salt water. The wood and charcoal used comes from Cses a long-time ally. They then transport it by sea to the rest of the land. They famously provide the salt for the Kings table as well as hold a monopoly on the salt for Hyoun and their cavalry. They are a Summerwind clan settlement and use Summerwind merchants exclusively they also do a large amount of ship building and are home to many traditions of shipwright families. The Shipwright families also produce most of the buildings giving them a unique sloping wooden appearance which is good during the winter snow and whipperwinds. It is a common tale that the winter winds in Salts can whip so fast they can cut you on the cheek. Their diet also includes a large amount of seaweed and game birds leading to an unusual culinary culture. Salts is administrated by the central branch of the Summerwind clan. Currently Convels sister administrates it, but she is of equal rank to the elders and grandfathers of House Summerwind. Indeed the Elders of the town also have the ear of the grandfathers and she does a good job of accommodating them both in Witenagemot, in this function she acts as judge and minute taker.

Port Pragma:
At many points in time the Town of Murren has changed hands between the Summerwinds and the Lord of Hyoun. Indeed they are bitter rivals. Murren has a large population of Summerwind clansmen, making about 10% of the population. Murren is something of a crossroads town that connects Hyoumkhill with the rest of Cobsterra. They can leavy large taxes, fines and inducements on Hyoumkhill goods passing through. At present Hyoun controls Murren as given by the Regent, however Murren lacks any connection to the sea, which would grant a huge boon to its finances. Therefore in recent time The Summerwind Counts of Brazen have created a large fortress-port town called Pragma within their territory that is only a few miles from Murren. Thus the trade from Summerwind can reach Hyoumkhill. Pragma is 80% Summerwind by birth. The Counts personal stables are located in Pragma. Horse breeding is quickly becoming more than a passing interest for Covel. Pragma and its fort is operated by Convels cousin. Willis Summerwind.

Other Settlements:
The Summerwinds are close allies with Cses however not many of them journey to live in Cses. They instead inhabit small hamlets all around the coast too small and numerous to plot on a map. Further inland the hamlets are generally prey to bandits and highwaymen so their homes are generally built sturdy out of rocks "small and tall". The extension of territory towards Cobsterra is more of a responsibility than a privilege. It marks that the King has made Summerwind responsible for policing the bandits of almost half the distance towards Cobsterra out of his own pocket. With reference to Cobsterra itself more and more Summerwind clan each year are travelling to the city to sell goods and end up taking up permanent residences.

Marriage Ties:
The Clansmen themselves are free to marry whoever they want. They either marry other Summerwinds or people from nearby towns. Indeed the Clan has always operated a principle that anyone who took up residence in a Summerwind town or hamlet were soon given the last name Summerwind. So their genetic stock is not uniform and is instead measured in branches. Genialogy is often conducted by Clan Remembrancers who record every detail of importance. Summerwind Remembrancers are actually quite elite and are considered gentlemen.

Scions of House Summerwind:
TBD i have to go to work now.

Summerwind Holdings:
TBD.

[o0V0o]

Basic Info:
Name: Carnith Harrigniad
Pronunciation: The last name is closer to ‘Harriniad’ since the ‘g’ is almost unvoiced in their dialect
Nickname: “Carn”
Appearance:
Carn is a tall, slender man with shiny straight black hair that just barely reached his shoulders. Though the trail of achievements he's made seems like one built over many decades, he still retains a youthful, if androgynous complexion.
When not at work, he can typically be seen walking discreetly around the fields or town in his blue robes, green shirt and white trousers. When at work, one can find him in his office, hard at his duties while wearing his Institute’s white hooded cloak.
Age: 28
Sex: Male

Skill Info:
Skills:
2 - Learning: Essentially his ability to soak up new knowledge and process it. Can be applied to learning from ancient artifacts, etc
2 - Info Gathering: Basically the intrigue skill of being able to pick up on rumors or notice the minutiae. Limited in that he has to be actively using it to notice every detail and even then there are things he can’t realistically know. This skill kinda also covers observation and eavesdropping.
1 - Daggery: Due to the things he’s done in the past, Carin knew he had to find some way to defend himself. He found safety in knives. Though he isn’t ninja-level skilled, he’s at least skilled enough to defend himself and be somewhat terrifying if he ever was alone in a room with you. In fact, he keeps a few daggers on or near him at all times.
2 - Persuasion: He’s got a slippery tongue. Though not good enough to make you believe an enemy army’s right outside the gates when there’s only about a handful, he can make you believe someone’s probably out to get you with some evidence even if there’s none. This skill also extends to allowing him to get his way with other people.
1 - Toxicology: His tendencies, his paranoia and his ambition have led him to study poisons. He knows enough to identify and cure the more common ones and to brew a few lethal toxins.
Magic Skills:
None as of now
Knowledge:
1 - History
1 - Politics
1 - Human Anatomy

Driving Info:
Goals:

To leave a legacy.
Though marrying and having kids is anything but a priority for him, leaving something in this world is. He wants to leave something behind. Something that he knows will stand after he dies. Something that will remind people “I was here and I was alive.”. Something that will be strong enough to withstand the world he is so afraid of. This is why he seeks to protect his work. Because he knows that will be the only thing he’ll leave behind.
He's very willing to protect that legacy no matter what it takes and seeks to gain more power to do that and build himself as great a legacy as he can

Beliefs/Motto: “In life there is nowhere to go but forward”
Drive: Legacy

Power Info:
Allegiance Owed to:
The King Emmund Pennikis of Cobsterra, The Duke Yssi Tamad of Cses, The Count of Cseskhill
Allegiance Due from:
The Harrigniad Institute.
Debts Owed:
None
Debts Received:
None
Past Commendable Deeds:
Reestablishing the Harrigniad Institute as a respected and renowned place of learning bested only by the institutes of the capital in the 9 years he’d served as Head Scholar/Director. Wresting control of the Institute from the incompetent House Yuonard, who had seized the institute from his own house a few years prior.
Also, ending the widespread corruption that had plagued the Harrigniad Institute under the previous administration.
Past Condemnable Deeds:
In the past, Carn had to do some...less than morally acceptable deeds in order to reclaim his family’s institute and to bring it to new heights. These ranged from arranging for certain falls from grace to outright murder.
Here is a chronological list of his dirty deeds:
Killing a former ally-turned-enemy who threatened to expose his true motives to the then-Director Kheuon Yuonard. Victim died in an accident involving a very dangerous experiment-gone-wrong that may or may not have been arranged to go wrong by Carn (Age 17).
Arranging for a horrific scandal to occur right under the then-Head of Life Studies’ nose. Said Head proceeded to resign and was later found dead in his residence. Carn took up the said position (Age 19).
Secretly siding with then-Director Kheuon Yuonard’s enemies and orchestrating his arrest and stripping of titles in collaboration with the Count of Cseskhill. Carn was handed the title of Director of the Yuonard (immediately re-renamed to Harrigniad) Institute (Age 19).
Covering up an experiment gone wrong involving a very dangerous and very rare species of plant. Said experiment resulted in an undisclosed number of deaths. The cover-up was able to dissociate the institute from those deaths, claim that the experiment was carried out by leftovers from the Yuonard Administration and make the Count of Cseskhill look the other way (Age 21).
Using aggressive tactics to absorb other nearby Institutes (Age 21-23).
Arranging for the disgrace of a rival director (Age 23).
Secrets: Refer to condemnable deeds. Also, this character has lost most of his sense of guilt and regret due to all these horrific acts.
Titles: Head Scholar/Director of the Harrigniad Institute, Earl of the Harrigniad Estate
Marriage Ties: House Harrigniad (as far as the character knows) is composed of 9 members (inc. himself). He is also family head.

The House is tied to the following by marriage ties (House - Affiliated Harrigniad member):

The Counts of Hallkh’s Hill - A female cousin married to the Count by the name of “Ynina”.

The Counts of Syouje - A male cousin married to a female member (the Count’s niece).

The Duke of Tra - An aunt married to the Duke Teuoy’s brother.

[Strange Rodent]

@o0V0o All good to add in a hider, thanks for working on it with me :)

[Claw2k11]

House Komos

Basic info

Name: Sylla Komos
Nicknames/Aliases: The Iron Countess
Appearance:

Sylla is a fairly tall, slender woman with long raven black hair reaching down to her waist and pair of deep crimson eyes.

Unlike most ladies who prefer intricate dresses, Sylla prefers to stay in her combat gear most of the time, consisting of a linen shirt beneath a chainmail byrnie and a half-plate suit of armor, with her longsword at her hip and a shield and short-spear on her back.

On the formal occasions that she does have to dress formally, she wears a simple, but well made white silk dress with the sigil of her house embroidered on it.

Age: 23
Sex: Female

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Skill info

Skills:

Personal Combat(**): As the heir to a border county, one must always be ready for combat, and Sylla has been trained by her own father and various trainers both in close and long range combat.
Strategy(**): Perhaps as equally important as the personal combat on a border region such as this is being able to defeat or delay a superior enemy until reinforcements arrive and again, Syllia has absorbed this knowledge as eagerly as possible and has as a result become an adept strategist.
Intrigue(**): Deceit and courtly matters were not often a focus of House Komos, preffering to be an honest folk who choose to have all of their affairs out in the open. However, Sylla is someone who wishes to see her house safe from the machianations of other houses, both greater and lesser and as such, she has created and currently maintains a fairly extensive network of spies around the kingdom, her duchy and her personal county.
Silver-Tongue(*): As a consequence of her intrigue skills, Sylla has become quite an able speaker and persuader, helped quite a bit in this sense by her pleasing look.
Inspiration(*): A must in all skilled generals, Sylla has shown quite a talent for inspiring soldiers and others to go beyond their limits in order to achieve their goals(and by extension, hers).

Magic Skills: N/A

Knowledges:

History*
Politics*
Guerrilla Warfare*
Sieges*(both as a besieger and the besieged)

---

Driving info

Goals: Sylla wishes to make her family's name known throughout the kingdom. She wishes to arrange a marriage a royal marriage with one of her children. She wishes to prove herself as a great commander to her current liege.
Belief/Motto: "When we die, our family name will be all that lives on."
Drive: Family

---

Power info

Allegiance Owed:

King Emmund Pennikis of Cobsterra
Duke Beldra of Hyuon

Allegiance Received:

Baron Fokkas Sillas of House Sillas, ruler of Irongate Castle and the lands around it, Irongate Castle being the southernmost castle in the duchy and having the role of guarding the kingdom has much stronger fortifications. They are ardent supporters of House Komos.

Baroness Marianna Illin of House Illin, ruler Stonehaven Keep and of the rich iron and gold mines around the castle itself. Though they are loyal to House Komos, they have shown interest in the past to maybe take the place of their current overlord.

The Burgher of Osthaven(someone can sign up as this), is the title of the leader of only city in the county. The city itself serves more as a base for the rest of the kingdom's fleet in times of war. However, due to its location on the river, the city serves as a fairly large trading hub, bringing in significant trade revenue to its burgher and to House Komos respectively from its southern trade.

Debts Owed:

Through her father, Sylla has inherited part of a large debt towards her own vassal, Baroness Marianna Illin. The Baroness has specified that the debt can be paid in money, resources or a reduction in taxation and levy supply towards her.

Debts Received:

Through careful management and perhaps a bit of trickery, Sylla has been able to make sure that a range of people from simple peasants to rich merchants become indebted to her and as a result have become her eyes and ears throughout the kingdom.

Past Commendable Deeds:

Despite her own debt, Sylla has used her significant revenue to pay off the debts of various merchants around the county and asking for nothing in return(as far as most people are concerned).

Past Condemnable Deeds:

Has executed several people whom she accused of being bandits, despite no proof of that being true at all.

Secrets:

While not an outright sadist, she does enjoy the sight of bloodshed once in a while.

Titles:

Countess of Komos
Shield of Hyuon(Hereditary Title granted by the Duke of Hyuon to House Komos)
Marcher Lord

Marriage Ties:

Currently, Sylla Komos is married to the brother of Duke Beldra and has already had two twin children with the lord, with the daughter(Malla) being just a few minutes older than her brother(Syro). Both are currently five years old.

County of Komos

The county of Komos has a sort of a special status within Hyuon and indeed Cobsterra itself, as its lords have been given the status of Marcher Lords, a status which significantly diminishes the amount of taxes and levies the lords have to provide to their liege and are given a fairly significant amount of autonomy. In return, however, the lords are to use these levies, this gold and this freedom to become the shields of the kingdom and become a buffer between the Kingdom itself and the Anma Coalition.

As a result, watchtowers and small forts dot the border between the county and the Anma Coalition as to delay a possible invasion for as long as possible. However, the most formidable castle on the border is Irongate, as it was designed by the architects of the kingdom to be as hard to siege as possible and to delay an enemy until an army can be raised. Of course, in this fortress are placed some of the best soldiers in the county and indeed the duchy.

And, the soldiers within Irongate, Komos and Hyuon are equipped with the steel that is produced from the iron dug out by the miners and crafter by the smiths of Stonehaven. Stonehaven itself has been fortified fairly strongly as well, as it is meant to guard the greatest resource the county itself has, the great iron and gold mines in the mountains next to the city.

However, not all the gold comes from Stonehaven itself, the only city within county, Osthaven is a fairly significant trading hub, as the merchant ships coming from the south, first have to stop in the city itself, either to trade, or to resupply for the rest of the trip north. The main port of the city itself, however, in meant to be as a place where the main fleet of the kingdom is supposed to rest, should war start with the Coalition. There is currently no burgher acting as the head of the town and until a new one is elected, a council of prominent citizens have taken over its leadership.

The last and the most important place within the county of Komos is the fortress of Stonefall, being both an impressive fortress and a very important trading hub. The trade passing through the fortress has made some of the people going along the road settle in a town around the main fortress itself called perhaps quite unimaginatively Stonetown. Perhaps some of the desire of the people to settle here is in part because of the reputation of the fortress itself as having never been conquered or breached, plus it being the current seat of House Komos.

Smaller settlements and villages, while not protected by a castle, do have a small watchtower, so that any bandit attack can be seen in time and send word to the local lord to send help. While it does not always work, it has decreased the number of attacks on the smaller villages simply by fear that they are caught.

[Strange Rodent]

@Claw2k11 Approved above board, chuck it in the characters tab :)

[Strange Rodent]

@o0V0o Hey, do you think you could put your char into a hider please? It just makes it easier to scroll through the characters when there's more of them :)

[Heyitsjiwon]

Basic info

Name: Regent Lothar of House Wolff
Nicknames/Aliases: The Wolf of the Vale
Appearance: Lothar has a commanding presence that just draws attention from everyone. Not particularly due to this looks. Rather he has relatively normal features such as short black hair, dark brown eyes and stands are a somewhat tall 5'9". What does set him apart is his radiating confidence and determination. In fact, many people seem to have trouble at maintaining eye contact with him due to his sharp, focused gaze and the burning ambition that lies in his eyes.
Age: 29
Sex: Male

Skill info

Skills:

Diplomacy: 2
Leadership: 2
Animal Handling: 1
Polearm Proficiency: 1

Magic Skills:

Enigma (ævi - 1)

Enigma (Vættir - 1)

Knowledge: Anything your character is particularly knowledgeable about. You have 4 stars to spend here in the same way as skills

History: 2
Linguistics-Speaking/Learning Languages: 1
Magic Theory: 1

Driving info

Goals: House Wolff is a cadet branch of the former royal family. It is the family started by the only child of Cobb, the Princess Alesia, who's dynasty went on to be eventually granted the county of Rouen in the Duchy of Tra, a recently acquired region of the Kingdom. The reason was clear, placing a cadet branch of the royal family would help keep the duke under close watch and discourage any rebellious ideas. However, with the usurpers on the throne who were clearly more powerful and a strong claim... there was little that House Wolff could do.

Thus, House Wolff, and Lothar in particular, have been working on consolidating their power and allies so that one day House Wolff may potentially sit on the throne as true descendants of House Tremmley... or at the very least bring the false pretender, House Pennikis, down. After all, they are at least related by blood to Prince Cobb and House Tremmley. But even worse, Lothar and his ancestors have been subject to unfair treatment by the Royal Family, often giving missions that would draw a lot of hatred to them such as forcefully collecting taxes early in a year from a random village on the orders of the Royal Family.

Belief/Motto: From God the King, From King the Law
Drive: Birthright

Power info

Allegiance Owed:

Count Norman Wolff, Lothar's elderly/sickly father.

Duchess Hamy, de-jure liege. Although historically, House Wolff only answered to House Tremmley. Recent events and the rise of House Pennikis has brought House Wolff closer to the Duchy rather than the new Royal Family.

Allegiance Received:
Mayor Abrams - Elected Burgher of the City of Calae. The city of Calais sits near the northern border of the Kingdom, the Duchy of Tra. and the Duchy of Cses. Thus, it serves as a significant trading city where many merchants find themselves visiting since it sits near the border of three major realms.

Mayor Flemming - Elected Burgher of the city of Bergen. Bergen is one of the closest cities to Bind's Edge and is the center of most of the County's production and industry.

Baron du Valois - Baron of Fort Valor, the County of Rouen's attempt at settling the forest and keeping peace in the rural regions of the County

Head Scholar Rune - President of the Vale Society, a scholarly/monastic order dedicated to studying the mystery of the forest and the region's history. The Society is based near Fort Valor as the Baron and the Head Scholar often collaborate in their expeditions to Bind's Edge. In fact, many Knights who are interested in the region do join the Society and receive formal education. These Knights are referred to as Vale Knights.

Debts Owed:

Head Scholar Rune - Rune had personally educated and tutored Lothar when he was a young lad, which led to Lothar learning a bit of the magic that the Society had learned from studying the forests.

Debts Received: - Lothar and House Wolff has saved countless rural settlements from harm as they made occasional visits to the frontier. And in the event that Lothar was not nearby during a tragedy, he often personally financed the reconstruction of the settlement along with protective palisades.

Past Commendable Deeds: Lothar and House Wolff are ardent supporters of settling and learning more of Bind's Edge. Each successive Count has had times where he sallied out to the woods with his Knights and Men at Arms to help rural settlements defend themselves from bandits, monsters, and beasts. In addition, Lothar and his father began to make the position of Burgher a democratically elected position to better reflect and serve the needs of the locals. Needless to say, House Wolff as a whole has undertaken many reforms focused on making the lives of people, especially those who live in more dangerous/rural areas, safer and better.

Past Condemnable Deeds: Rather than bowing the knee to the new Royal Family, House Wolff has maintained its distance and has yet to attend any feasts or festivals of the Royal Family. A clear sign of unruliness and opposition to the Royal Family. In response, the Royal Family often seeks to "punish" House Wolff by demanding greater levies in the event of conflicts. In fact, House Wolff is often told to raise a small elite force of Knights and horsemen to put down various "revolts" around the Kingdom. Lothar himself had to lead 50 Knights into a village that was "rebelling" when in actuality they were complaining about the sudden raise in taxes and were pleading for more time and leniency. Their orders were clear, to capture and bring back the "ringleaders" of the "revolt" to be hanged. Thus, House Wolff is often doing the dirty work of the Royal Family, which Lothar has no power to resist or deny.

Secrets: At a recent/past tournament, Lothar privately received the blessings of the Duchess Hamy herself in the form of one of her personal scarves, which Lothar casually tied to his lance during the joust. The event caused quite a bit of rumor as no one knew who owned that scarf. How scandalous! But most attendees now know that Lothar, while currently unmarried, is certainly out on the market, searching for suitors and someone appears to have a clear lead.

Titles: Regent and Heir of the County of Rouen

Marriage Ties: House Tremmly

Summary of House Wolff's Holdings:

Hider

County of Rouen - Sitting on the north eastern part of the Duchy of Tres next to the holdings of the Royal Family and the Duchy of Cses. House Wolff's family manor/palace sits in the middle of the eastern and western edges of the County.

Mayor Abrams - Elected Burgher of the City of Calae. The city of Calais sits near the northern border of the Kingdom, the Duchy of Tra. and the Duchy of Cses. Thus, it serves as a significant trading city where many merchants find themselves visiting since it sits near the border of three major realms.

Mayor Flemming - Elected Burgher of the city of Bergen. Bergen is one of the closest cities to Bind's Edge and is the center of most of the County's production and industry.

Baron du Valois - Baron of Fort Valor, the County of Rouen's attempt at settling the forest and keeping peace in the rural regions of the County

Head Scholar Rune - President of the Vale Society, a scholarly/monastic order dedicated to studying the mystery of the forest and the region's history. The Society is based near Fort Valor as the Baron and the Head Scholar often collaborate in their expeditions to Bind's Edge. In fact, many Knights who are interested in the region do join the Society and receive formal education. These Knights are referred to as Vale Knights.

[Banzai Tracers]

@Claw2k11

Nah mate goddmodding.

Some trigger words:
1.) Duchy; i mean, we all want one, but a Duke owns a Duchy, but werent we restricted from being a Duke? If you mean another Dukes Duchy, then whos? There are only 3 that exist.
2.) So your character is basically a General, thats cool, about time if you ask me. But they have their own city of Stonehaven which has a gold mine? I mean, sure we all probably know of a gold mine or two, but i just want to check you arnt suggesting that you have the strongest army character ASWELL as the largest personal bank. I dont think anyone yet has mentioned gold mines but you happen to have a "rich" one.
3.) "Burgher of Osthaven... leader of only city in the county" Wow you have a CITY?! I mean, 100,001 is the definition of the smallest city worthy of the name. So far i personally have been operating off of the principle that the only city is Cobsterra. Am i wrong? Do i need to suddenly upgrade my towns to citys?
4.) "Debts Received: Through careful management and perhaps a bit of trickery, Sylla has been able to make sure that a range of people from simple peasants to rich merchants become indebted to her and as a result have become her eyes and ears throughout the kingdom." Oh thats cool so you basically single handedly pulled off the most difficult thing its possible to do and cant even tell us how you did it. Coolio...

I mean, we can work with it the way it is. I for one will have to regear my character to ending the reign of terror of this obvious ubersoldier, but that'll make the game a little dry.

We all are kind of godmodding in different ways, i have trade, the other dude has intellect, you have war. But we're being way more subtle. Get on our level! lol.

Addenda:
5.)"The county of Komos has a sort of a special status within Hyuon and indeed Cobsterra itself, as its lords have been given the status of Marcher Lords, a status which significantly diminishes the amount of taxes and levies the lords have to provide to their liege and are given a fairly significant amount of autonomy. In return, however, the lords are to use these levies, this gold and this freedom to become the shields of the kingdom and become a buffer between the Kingdom itself and the Anma Coalition." Humm...
6.) "The main port of the city itself, however, in meant to be as a place where the main fleet of the kingdom is supposed to rest, should war start with the Coalition." So you own the navy aswell? Quit stealing my moves! Someone had better invent an airforce so you can assume control and stewardship of it that too.

youtube.com/watch?v=xhy7dXWjpAA

Fun game, try to think of a power the king has or a function of feudal state that Komo has not absorbed.

[Strange Rodent]

@Banzai Tracers Alright, you've raised some valid points but I object to your methods, you're being far too aggressive. Thanks for bringing some of this to my attention, but next time, alert me with a polite nudge, rather than going off at the other player in the OOC

In response, a duchy was never mentioned, the character owns a county.
The mines aren't far fetched, seeing as Hyuon is cannonically rich in minerals, which causes a stronk and well-equipped army. That being said, @Claw2k11, probably tone down your revenue from trade & mining. I do see Banzai's point, it's not really fair on the other players.
Cities and towns are mechanically the same. They're both run by burghers, and are predominantly residential. The difference is not size, but whether or not it has a place of worship such as a large temple. You can call your towns cities if you like :)
Valid point with #4. Claw, maybe remove your spies. You have a large army and more freedom than others. Speaking of, now would be a good time to clarify to everybody that if Claw breaks this oath to protect the kingdom or is found using these advantages granted by being a Marcher lord for their own personal gain, they'll bring the wroth of the kingdom upon them. You'll all have a valid reason to attack and loot. Claw's army is large for the county size, but compared to the entire kingdom..... yeah no.

We all are kind of godmodding in different ways, i have trade, the other dude has intellect, you have war. But we're being way more subtle. Get on our level! lol.

Banzai Tracers

Speak like that again and I'll remove you from the rp. Your character is amazing, yes, but that doesn't grant you the permission to break the first rule of this RP. That's just plain and simple disrespectful and rude, and casts a very negative light on you as a player. You're not a GM or CO-GM, and so you cannot throw your weight around like this. If you had the position of co-GM in mind, you can probably forget about it. You're welcome to help others improve their characters, but do it politely and without using language like this, okay?

I didn't see the part about the navy. There is no official Cobsterra navy. Claw, it'd probably be best to remove that detail :/
Banzai is pretty set on the navy thing, so yeah. I don't support his attitude about it, but navy is his thing :)

Let me know if I missed anything.

[Strange Rodent]

@Heyitsjiwon Is looking good to me. Make sure you put it in a hider. Note to other players, the Enigmas possessed by Lothar are in a PM, and approved.

Also a note to everyone, this red border duchy claim thing is great, can everybody do that now please? It'd just save me a lot of confusion :)

[Claw2k11]

@Strange Rodent

I've removed the spies and the goldmines and iron mines and I've decreased the amount of trade coming through Osthaven, but not removed it as I'd have literally no other way of revenue other than taxing the peasants and we all know peasants don't like being taxed. As for the fleet, I never said I had one, the ports in Osthaven are a place where the rest of the kingdom's fleet can rest, as in the fleets of other houses.

As for the marcher lord thing @Banzai Tracers, I've gotten inspiration from this so that you didn't think I just made it up.

Also, I apologize if I've offended you with my sheet and I can see how it was OP. I'm really sorry about that.