The scene opens up to a dark, rowdy tavern in the small town of Ushgar. A haggard, aging bard sits at the head of one of the many long tables in the establishment. Scars, burn marks, and arrow wounds are visible throughout his body, the look of a veteran obvious in his features.
The bard glances over his audience
“So… What story shall we start with? Mind you I’m not in a mood to do anything for free…”
An adolescent boy in his teenage years gathers his courage, nods over to the friend sitting adjacent to him, and runs over to the bard, whispering something in his ear.
The storyteller’s eyes widen for a second, before returning to their usual, lazy regard.
“So boy… You really want to know the story of how The Dark Company began? The mercenary unit that causes the blood to freeze even in the most powerful of Kings? The boldest of heroes?”
The bard quickly realized that the cacophony of voices, sounds, and laughter abruptly stopped with the mentioning of that infamous name. Every pair of eyes was on him now, with almost manic interest. The bard looked down on the table, deep in thought. He knew this was a story best left alone. However...
“The story begins in The Alabaster City, in Tysus - As a collection of most singular, unique individuals find themselves recruited into a squad of the Fifth Echelon mercenary army…”
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Hello everybody! This is a role playing game I have been thinking of for a while now. It will take a lot of roots and inspiration from The Malazan: Book of the Fallen series and A Game of Thrones/ A Song of Ice and Fire.
It will be a medieval fantasy war role play combined with quests and adventures.
The role play will be about the history of our fantasy world's, Mirhandia's, most renowned, infamous, and deadly mercenary army: The Dark Company.
The Dark Company, however, did not start off as an army. Not even close. The founders of the company were a squad of talented and ferocious soldiers who worked under several other mercenary companies, fought in numerous campaigns, and completed a myriad of adventures. Through all these conflicts, they gained fame and attracted a following of soldiers, allies, and other assets which helped them create the army they will become.
This role play will be located in the world of Mirhandia.
The detailed map is here.
Our players will be the members of the squad, which will embark on their first journey together.
This will be a medium fantasy setting. Yes, there will be mages. There might be dragons. However, everything has to be in realistic boundaries. You will not be able to incinerate battalions of soldiers with your sorcery. There are limits to those sort of things. Every squad/army also has it's own mage cadre or squad mages attached to it.
The mood of the role play will be dark, with cynical army/soldier humor mixed in. The Dark Company is not a group of noble, just knights who will fight to save a woman's virginity. We are in the grey. Surely, some members will be more humane, more merciful then others, while others will have a different outlook on the world. At the same time, we will not plot some plan to destroy humanity...
I would like the squad to consist of several roles.
- 1) THE MARINES. - These are light/medium armored individuals who have a nack for versatility. Think of a hybrid between shock troopers, special operations, and heavies. They can use many different weapons - you pick which one your character favors. They usually carry crossbows as well, but sometimes bows. The marines will later become the unique backbone of The Dark Company army, a type of soldier which many other hosts will try to mimic, but few will succeed. Unlimited places in the squad.
- 2) THE HEAVIES - These are the heavy armored, shielded soldiers that just simply won't budge. They usually take point during operations or battles. They can keep a large number of enemy at bay. Unlimited places in the squad.
- 3) THE SAPPERS - These are the wild, deranged soldiers which are connoisseurs of the grenado business. They deal with the primitive explosive charges and technology that is available in the setting of the world. Some of these explosives can cause a lot of damage, especially if done right. Sappers in an army can turn the tide of any battle, and can even the odds if the enemy army has more mages then you. There are several type of explosives, all varying in their uses and radius of the detonation. There will be explosives that you can attach to the crossbow arrow and lob at the enemy. These explosives, however, come from the far outreaches of Mirhandia, as only one culture of people have the secrets to craft them. They will be expensive, and sometimes rare. You will have a limited supply at every engagement, so best to use them wisely. A limit of two sappers in the squad. If there's more, the chances are they will blow us up
- 4) THE MAGES - Countless armies in Mrihandia have fallen in the tens of thousands simply due to a lack of mages. In some battles, all mages do is counter each other, while letting the soldiers battle it out on the field. The skill and power of sorcerers in Mirhandia varies greatly. There will be Head Mages, at the head of armies, who could destroy thousands, and there might be squad mages who can only do simple things, such as talk to animals. Regardless, I do not want any overpowered mages at the beginning. Pick a talent, and stick with it, and as we go on through the story your power, along with others, will expand and you will become the deadly, renowned founding mage of The Dark Company that you are. A limit of two in the squad.
- 5) THE HEALER - The physical healing of wounds, with bandages and medical tools are left to the Cutters. These medics, as you can tell from their namesake - often cut off body parts when the wounds are too grievous. The healers, however, are those few who have a natural talent in High Iskar. Iskar is the concentration of magic that deals with healing and rejuvenation. It won't be able to heal you when you have your head cut off, but it is a damn useful skill for mending serious wounds and illnesses. Although physically healed, the injured person still has to rest for a day or two, as this sort of magic puts a serious toll on both the healer and the patient. High Iskar is a potent magic that only a few are born with affinity to, and even less are able to master. Therefore an individual is limited to only that path of sorcery. Meaning, you cannot be a practitioner of High Iskar and be able to control fire as well. Healers can also be very capable fighters, and are often marines. Armies usually only have a handful of High Iskar practitioners, so it would be overwhelming if more then one practitioner is a member of the squad. Limited to one.
Races: For now, I will only allow the human race. However, if enough people ask for it, maybe we can discuss and work something out. I wouldn't want any pink fairies ruining our menacing squad, eh?
Gods: There will be gods of different pantheons. These gods will very rarely directly interfere with mortals, but they might play their games from above. A push there, a pull here. These gods have temples, priests, and of course High Priests. Some gods might have a "Mortal Sword." These will be mortals who are chosen by the god in order to get "stuff" done in the mortal realm. It is not unusual for a Mortal Sword of a God of war to raise an army. For now I will not allow anyone to start off as a Mortal Sword.
The squad will at first consist of a Sergeant, me, in order to keep the story going, and a Corporal will be appointed. No hard feelings but the corporal will be appointed some time during our first adventure. The Corporal should be a good, efficient role player. As we will become a closely knitted group of soldiers, bound together by hardships and battles fought together, the hierarchy will mean less and less. The shots will still be called by the Sergeant and through the Corporal, but it will be a casual thing to curse, joke, or sometimes second question the higher ranked squad members. One of the edicts of The Dark Company will, however, become the fact that every soldier has the ability to give his own input, feedback, and advice. It is that basis, among many others, that will make it so successful.
Although I can see how I'm coming off as very nit picky or strict, I will allow people to add to the world and story as they see fit. The more the players bring of their own to the plot, the better of a role play we will have! I will try not to force us in any strict direction or event, but rather it will all be depending on our actions as a whole, and the opinions of every squad member. Example : We are attached to a certain army, and therefore we will have to march with them to the engagement they hired us for. The Dark Company will later be famous for almost never dropping out or failing a contract. However, if squad mates feel a certain way about the conflict we are in, and would like to deal with it in another way, we will change the plot to reflect that. Don't want to accept a certain contract? Don't like the army we are fighting for? Feel like the quest we are on is pointless? We are in a world with boundless opportunities, and can go about it in many ways.
RP Quality should be casual to high-casual.
Please let me know if you're interested, or if there are any questions.
