Vassals to an empty throne - Fantasy nation roleplay

[Milkman]

Welcome to Vassals to an empty throne

Vassals to an empty throne is a fantasy nation roleplay set on the continent of Mycoria. The continent is ruled by the Arkronians, a race of human like people that came from beyond the sea. For hundreds of years the Arkronians have managed to remain in power and forced the other nations into vassalage. The rule of the Arkronians enforced peace to a continent that used to be engulfed in endless war. Now a mysterious disease is ravaging through the kingdom of Arkron and only affecting the people of Arkronian descent. With the power of Arkron in decline, the faith of Mycoria lies in the hands of its vassals.

Vassals to an empty throne is a roleplay in its most purest form. It is purely a collective storytelling experience. This roleplay is all about its participants telling stories within and expanding the setting of Mycoria. Vassals to an empty throne is not some play by post strategy game that you can win. Such views and mentality should be left at the door. So there are no mechanics, no stats, no dicerolls and numbers on a nationsheet are mostly irrelevant.

The history of Mycoria

Thousands of years ago the realm of Mycoria was ruled by chaos. Kingdoms and tribes warred each other for small patches of land and the people of Mycoria suffered greatly. Thousands of lives would perish in endless battles. Even in the times of peace, the peoples of Mycoria were not safe as bandits laid waste to village after village. Plundering the riches, raping the women and selling the children into slavery. Mycoria was a place of chaos and bloodshed.

Many believed that the permanent state of chaos was the destiny of the realm, that suffering the hardships was the destiny of the people. However destiny changed with the arrival of the men from beyond the sea. Thousands of ships landed on the western shores of Mycoria, bringing warriors, artisans, women and children. At first the people of Mycoria greeted these strangers with a sense of hostility, trying to drive these invaders back into the sea. However the only thing the people of Mycoria achieved was motivating the men from beyond the sea to put an end to the chaos that had reigned for thousands of years.

The men from beyond the sea established the kingdom of Arkron on the western peninsula and launched what would become known as the hundred year war of unification. Over a period of 100 years, the men from beyond the sea subjugated kingdom after kingdom, tribe after tribe until no nation of Mycoria remained independent. All nations were forced to become vassals to the Arkonian throne, ending thousand years of chaos and bloodshed.

Under Akronian rule, the nations of Mycoria found peace and the continent prospored. However not all were happy with being ruled by overlords from beyond the sea. On three occasions various nations rebelled against the men from beyond the sea. The first rebellion happened 400 years ago and was put down in a matter of months. Not enough nations joined the cause to overthrow the men from beyond the sea. The second rebellion lasted for 100 years and became known as the century of chaos. The century of chaos came to an end with the decisive victory of King Amon-Mar III of Akron over the rebel forces at the battle of Tallingan Forest.

The 3th rebellion is still fresh within the minds of the people of Mycoria. Many elderly who are alive today still have memories of that eventful time as it only happened 50 years ago. Once again various kingdoms rose up against their overlords and in a matter of months the rebels managed to score a string of military victories unprecedented. For the first time since the arrival there was a good chance that the rule of the men from beyond the sea would finally be broken. However the allies struggled to reach an agreement on how to shape the continent after the defeat of the Arkronians. Fearful of sliding back into the times of chaos, the kingdom of Vulpinia secretly defected to the side of the Akronians and lured the rebel forces into an ambush. The betrayal of Vulpinia went down in the history books as the greatest betrayal of all time.

Now 50 years after the betrayal, Mycoria stands once again at the crossroads of destiny. Ravens were sent to all the vassals of Arkron with the news that King Amon-Mar IV had passed away due to a mysterious illness. All vassals were invited to attend the inauguration of his son Rakon-Da as the new king of Arkron, overload of the realm. However rumours start to spread that Rakon-Da has fallen ill as well and is currently in a comatose state. Others whisper that the royal family are not the only ones who are suffering from this mysterious disease. Some reports claim that the men from beyond the sea are dying in the streets by the dozens each day. Needless to say that the realm of Mycoria is about to reach a turning point in their history.

Rules

• Understand that this is a storytelling experience and that the participants are here to work together writing awesome stories.
• Be cool, friendly and communicative to your fellow roleplayers.
• Use common sense when creating nations.
• Post at least once a week.
• Follow the guild rules.
• Listen to the GM.

Lore

Magic
Magic is an integral part of the world of Mycoria. Many try to practise magic but only a very few master the art. This makes magic rare and powerful yet the scope of it’s application can be rather limited. Magic for instance cannot wipe out entire armies or grant someone the strength to defeat a thousand soldiers. Magic can come from different sources but never from within. No one on Mycoria is born with magic. However magic is granted by sources from beyond the mortal realm. Those sources grant a character some magical powers but at the same time can take it away if they feel displeased by how the practitioner uses his newly found abilities.

Technology
Technology in Mycoria has not advanced very much. Gunpowder does exist but gunpowder weapons are very rare. Concepts such as national identity are alien to the inhabitants of the continent and people are more likely to identify themselves with their village or clan then with a nation. Although there are great works of engineering on the continent. Machinery is mostly a foreign concept and inventions such as the steam engine beyond the wildest dreams of the sages.

Established races

Players are encouraged to develop and pick their own races. Standard fantasy races such as humans, elfs, dwarfs, halflings and orcs are all fine. The general guidelines are that the races must resemble humans in their capabilities and how they live. In short, they must live on land, eat food, drink water, breath air walk on two legs and be in a decent size range compared to humans. Avoid races that are warped demons, that fly, live underwater or live in total hellscapes that are inaccessible to others.

Arkronians: The Arkronians are also known as “the men from beyond the sea”. Arkronians mostly resemble humans to a large degree. However they tend to be of longer build with male ones roughly being in the range of 200 to 220 centimeters. Females tend to be smaller. The Akronian skin is recognizable by its grey color. Not every Arkronian has the same greyscale. This has led to the proverb that there are as many shades of grey as there are Arkronians. Arkronians do not have bodily hair. Their scalps are bald and facial hair in the form of beards, moustaches or eyebrows are absent.

Vulpin: The Vulpin are a race of anthropomorphic bipedal fox like creatures. They often have thick coats of fur, brushy tails and fox heads. There are many variations in fur color, shape of the head and ears and other features. Often such features are tied to a certain Vulpin clan. The Vulpin tends to be slightly shorter than average humans with mail Vulpins often being around 170 centimeters long. The Vulpin have gained huge notoriety with their betrayal during the 3th rebellion. It has led to the proverb “shifty as a Vulpin”.

Application

Interested? Great! Just post in this topic that you're interested. I'm not overly picky on who's joinging this roleplay as long as they understand that this is a collaborative story telling experience. I don't really want armchair general mentality of playing to win (which is not possible because this is not a game). That just derails things with pointless discussions. Once 3-4 people have expressed their interest I'll put up the OOC and we can start creating our nations. As you proberbly have noticed two area's of the map have already been claimed. One is for the kingdom of Arkron, the supreme overloards of the realm and the other is for the kingdom of Vulpinia, those treacherous Vulpin who made sure that those damned men from beyond the sea remained in power.

Nation sheet

Name:
Flag:
Quick description of your nation:
The side your nation was on during the 3th rebellion: Either with the throne or with the rebels
Population/races:
Culture/society:
Religion:
History:
Government:
Economy:
Military:
Territory:
Factions:
Characters:

[Trinais]

Quietly slides inside thread.

Looks around at lore.

Is pleased by what he reads.

"DIBS ON THE SOUTHERN ISLAND!"

[Milkman]

Quietly slides inside thread.

Looks around at lore.

Is pleased by what he reads.

"DIBS ON THE SOUTHERN ISLAND!"

@Trinais

Just the biggest one or you want his little brother as well?

[Trinais]

Just the biggest one or you want his little brother as well?

@Milkman

I think the little bro will be a source of contention in the plot. But I'll take Biggie.

[Milkman]

Ok. I'll add your claim to the map soon.

[Lunamaria Hawke]

I WANNA PLAY! I WANNA PLAY! I WANNA PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Milkman]

Hey, you're welcome to play. Were ony need a few more to get started.

[datadogie]

I was meant to say yesterday that I too wish to express my interest. The northern snowy areas and mountains look appealing.

[Milkman]

Welcome. I'll consider the area claimed.

[Black Alice]

@Milkman what role do you see religion playing in this setting? Also, this has been bothering me, but how did the Arkronians even subjugate everyone? Were their advanced ways of living and lawful natures simply too much for the native Mycorians? Where did they even come from? Has nobody asked in centuries of them being in charge?

It's just nuts to me that these colonists just came in and kicked all of our established civilizations' collective asses, and made themselves the rulers of an entire continent. Seemingly without outside help, I'll add.

Also, as far as I can tell since you've not mentioned it, are there no Arkronian colonies beyond their Kingdom? That's a huge map, and the east side of it is virtually inaccessible from the west outside of one or two small areas (or skirting around the entire continent).

What kind of relationship does Arkron have with its vassals? Given the rebellions it doesn't seem we've been disarmed, and the balance of power is evidently very equal if a single country (province? state?) turning traitor was enough to turn the tide. Is the only thing keeping us in check the vast military prowess of the superior race?

---

I'm interested, by the way! I'm just brainstorming on what flavour of fey culture I wish to go with~

[Milkman]

[@BBlack Alice]Good questions :D

The Arkronains where able to assert its dominance over the continent due to a number of factors. I'll try to explain them here one by one.

1. The continent of Mycoria was never a united front. The different nations spend centuries warring eachother and where never able to to present a truely united front. The idea behind this roleplay is not player nations vs evil invader. The nations the players create could be favorable to the Arkronians, against them or something in between. During the rebellions some nations where against the Arkronians while others where on their side.

2. Superior mobility due to being technological advanced enough to cross the seas that are inpenetrable for the native nations. The Arkronians rule the waves and thus can ferry troops to other sides of the continent or sail up rivers to project power where it was neccisary. In short they have the best army and navy but are not like Nazi Germany that they just can walk in and oppress everyone who they please.

2. The Arkronians inplemented a system of indirect rule, much like how the Brittisch colonized India or how the Dutch seized control over present day Indonesia.. They worked together with local rules and made sure that being loyal to them was rewarding enough. In essence they managed the many conflicts on the continent and made sure that they where a game changer. Forcing the nations of Mycoria to more or less stop warring eachother. In short the Arkonians ensured that the local rulers could remain in power without being challanged by their neighbors, could use their power to aqcuiere wealth from within their own borders and do pretty much to their own population as they please.

3. Superior mobility due to being technological advanced enough to cross the seas that are inpenetrable for the native nations. The Arkronians rule the waves and thus can ferry troops to other sides of the continent or sail up rivers to project power where it was neccisary. In short they have the best army and navy but are not like Nazi Germany that they just can walk in and oppress everyone who they please.

The relations between the Arkronians and other states could best be described as vassal or tributary states. The states are bound to serve the Arkronian crown by a series of treaties but apart from that are mostly independent. They have their own governments who rule their respective lands, their own distinct cultures and societies and can make most decicions independtly from the Arkronian crown. However the Arkronians ofcourse have implemented certain instruments to assure their dominance.

1. All states must pay tributes. There are certain forms of taxation to all states that are designed to benefit the Arkronian crown while limiting the capabilities of states to grow much stronger and challenge their rule. The tributes could be money, resources, manpower or something different.

2. Foreign policy must be conducted in conjuction with the Arkronian crown. For centuries if nations want to make agreements with eachother they had to meet in the Arkronian capital and do the negotiation in front of Arkronian officials. All formal agreements had to be accepted by the Arkronian crown. Ofcourse there where still informal agreements and secret meetings.

3. The Arkronains are allowed to settle in all lands and have military access to all nations. They will have offices, spies and traders in most nations. They could also have some form of military presence. That presence does not neccicarily have to be native Arkronian soldiers. That could also be regiments formed from soldiers from other nations. Just like the roman auxiliary system.

4. The Arkronians have banned the development of shipbuilding technology throughout the continent and monopolized it for their own kingdom. This is to ensure that they remain the dominant naval and trading force on the continent.

Ofcourse this sounds a little bit restricting. However as you have have proberbly read, the Arkronian system is on the verge of collapse due to a mysterious decease ravaging through their race. In essence they are a dwingling power and the nations wich the players will create are pretty much challenged by the question of how to shape their future in a post-Arkronian rule Mycoria. The Arkronians are still around, are still powerful but their dominance is dwingling. What is written above is the starting point but can be redefined throughout the roleplay.

Now to the subject of religion:

Religion is the way how the cultures and people describe the forces of the universe. It is both mythical and very real. I can be a source of great influence, power and magic. It can be used the explain what we don't understand and unify people under a common cause. The players are free to create their own religions. Religion might produce miracles but mostly it will be shrouded in mistery if it was truly the influence of gods, spirits dieties, a lucky chance in circumstances or outright trickery. A way to handle it could be something like this.

"during a great drought the priest called upon the people for human sacrifice. Every night the priests sacrificed 10 lives to the gods and on the 1oth night the rain finely came"

Where the gods finely pleased enough when the 100th soul entered the afterlive or was it just a matter of preseference until the weather changed? Some of the people might argue for the latter while others considered themselfs saved by the gods.

I hope this answers your questions a bit :)

[Dinh AaronMk]

Potential interest, if because the board has been dead enough and I am suffering a drought of potential RPs.

Maybe I'll think of something and can partake, and maybe I can manage a clear enough schedule to devote a bit of time to writing.

[gowia]

Tentative interest here. If allowed I'd happily take the desert region in the south east.

[Yam I Am]

I'm game. Though I have to ask; What are the limits on the delegation of power that is typical of a tributary state? As in, what actions are allowed to be taken just by the state proper, and which ones require the expressed consent of the Arkronains?

[Red Alice]

Tentative interest, I'd like to claim that big ole' swamp middle of the map, along with the city on a peninsula just below it if possible.

[Black Alice]

If we're throwing out claims, I'd love to have the flatlands in the southwest, between those two mountain ranges.

[Yam I Am]

Suppose i'll put mine in as well; I'd like these lands if possible.

[Milkman]

I'm game. Though I have to ask; What are the limits on the delegation of power that is typical of a tributary state? As in, what actions are allowed to be taken just by the state proper, and which ones require the expressed consent of the Arkronains?

@Yam I Am

From a gamemasters perspective, there is very little in the catagory of "no, you can't do that". From a story perspective decisions might have consequences. That could be anything from an ambassador urging you to stop doing what you're doing to military means. It really depends on what your nation has done and how powerful the Arkronians percieve they are. Part of their power is based on the desire of other nations to work with the Arkronians in exchange for a far more stable continent.

I'll proberbly write the formal agreement for the ooc. But keep in mind, its a piece of paper with signatures on it. Its not an unbreakable law of the universe :)

[Yam I Am]

Cool! Count me in.

[Milkman]

@Trinais@datadogie@Black Alice@Red Alice@gowia@Yam I Am I've added your claims to the map. Can you give it a look if i've have done it rougly correctly? Especially for those who described their location :)

@DinH AaronMK and @Lunamaria Hawke you haven't really put up a claim yet. If you're still interested and already have some general idea about where you want your nation to be located let me know. I'll be handeling claims on a first come first serve basis.

Since we've gathered a good amount of interest here I'll be planning on getting the OOC up either tomorrow or on saturday. Once OOC is up we can start to work out our nations and their shared history.