The Inheritance Game [Intrigue, high fantasy]

[Malan]

The High Kingdom of Matal is deeply steeped in tradition. The reigning High King comes from a very ancient and magical dynasty, one rumored to predate humanity. It has been heavily diluted by the years, but one trait stands out: One week and one day before the death of every member of the dynasty, their eyes turn bright purple in color.

And in his 56th year, High King Erasmus bears the Mark of Death. Thus begins what the citizens of Matal have dubbed 'The Inheritance Game'.

Every High King (or Queen, but it will be referred to as a King for simplicity) is not only expected, but obligated to have as many children as he possibly can. This is to ensure that come the Inheritance Game, there will be a worthy ruler able to step forward.

Over the next week and a day, the High King's children will have to compete for the throne. The Conclave, a group of 100 predetermined, trusted men and women selected by Erasmus and kept in anonymity until the Mark of Death, will decide at the end of the Game who shall inherit the throne. The High King's children will have to prove themselves in the next few days in order to get the throne, in any way they can.

But they have to watch out. As one scholar famously quoted, "The High King does not leave this earth without taking a few of his children with him". Intrigue, deception and sabotage will all come into play here. As some Heir Potentials view it, the goal is not to come out on top, just to be the only one to come out alive...

Will you play the Inheritance Game?

---

So anyone else want to try this out? It'll basically be a sandbox - I'll present you with jumping off points, but as a child of Erasmus you can do whatever you want to get elected. Murder, sabotage and anything you can think of to hurt your brothers and sisters is not out of the question. This will seriously be a test of how creative you can be to influence the Conclave to elect you High King, and how clever you can be to avoid being a victim of the Inheritance Game. We throw fairness out the window here - this will be a shorter RP because of course anyone can die. But to avoid a slaughter of your characters, I'll provide a variety of NPCs that can influence the election in one way or another, that you can focus your plotting on.

[Zepta]

Colour me interested. How many posts would be expected per week? I have a normal habit in the pre-collapse days of around 1-2 when I had a game going, though at the moment my schedule is rather empty so that may be able to be revved into high gear if needed.

I have a habit of long introductory posts and histories to help everyone (and myself) get a feel for my character so some delicious lore details would be welcome when the time comes. I was also wondering whether the potential inheritors would all know each other or would there have been more of a sudden reunion of lost branches of the family? Also what king of an age group would you be looking for?

[Malan]

I'd expect a few posts a week, and I'd be glad to provide more lore if I get an OOC up. My plan was for the inheritors would be all brothers and sisters to the 56 year old Erasmus, so that would make the age range anywhere between 16-40. But if you really wanted you could play a relative coming in to try and win the vote, although you'd have a harder time of it.

[Zepta]

Ahh right-o. Well let's hope this get's off the ground, I'll start with a *bump-idy-bump*.

[Dead Cruiser]

Hm! I could definitely become interested in this.

Just as a minor curiosity, would we all be either full-blooded siblings or bastards? Or does the king have several wives or courtesans we could be born from?

[Malan]

You could be full siblings or bastards. The only one who wouldn't approve of the High King taking mistresses would be his wife.

[Dead Cruiser]

Would the king's bastards still be part of his court, though? My thinking was that if he had courtesans, even his children with them would be considered proper royalty. Just a thought.

A few more questions, if you wouldn't mind. Would we be able to write in other children of the king as NPCs? Generally for the purpose of competition without immediately running out other players, if that makes sense. What is magic like in this setting? Are there "races" in the kingdom aside from humans?

[Malan]

Well the goal of the High King having children is so a good heir can step forward. The legitimate children are trained to rule, and those who are not elected High King are usually given governor positions after their parents' death. Royal bastards are more like the wildcards in the Game. They can come from any background (their birth would have been recorded). Lowborn bastards wouldn't have been raised in court. but bastards of noble women could have been raised alongside the others, but with more freedom.

You could write more than one character or add your own NPCs, I'll do the same. Magic and races wise, we'll treat it as a traditional high fantasy game, so Elves and Dwarves, although Matal is a human Kingdom. Magic is prevalent and a skill to be learned just like swordsmanship.

Matal itself can be compared to old France, with a powerful upper class, established priesthood and poverty stricken lower class.

[Dead Cruiser]

Hm, alright. Well, that sates my curiosity for the time being. I look forward to seeing how this progresses.

[Maxwell]

Intriguing, but I'm extremely wary that this might turn into one of those "my character can kill your character" games where half the players make theirs to win, rather than create an interesting narrative. Freeform PvP is hard as hell to pull off at the best of times, and virtually impossible with a bunch of untrustworthy strangers. Do you have any kind of plan?

[Malan]

Other than saying I absolutely despise those characters? I say it's freeform, and it is, but I'll be moderating it to make sure everything is handled fairly (as in no "And then Bob pulled the dagger out of his heart and drank the magical health potion while killing everyone in the room"). I'll be sure to nerf anyone that's too powerful and help those that can't get a break for the sense of everyone getting enjoyment out of the roleplay. (So basically, unless you REALLY mess up and get yourself killed or utterly disgraced, or someone pulls off something ingenuous and does the same to someone else, there's still a chance anyone can win the election once the Game is over.)

[SeaFoamDaisies]

interested :D

[Malan]

Cool. 4 people would be a good starting point but it would change the game a bit to be a bit... less deadly.

[Lord Pie]

I’ll slap an interest out here. Could definitely be good :)

I like the whole creative freedom direction – and am happy to make a good character for some tasty plots and what not.

[Malan]

I can probably get an OOC up with more information about the world tomorrow. Things I plan to include:

Small history of Matal's politics
Matal culture
Countries surrounding Matal
The dynasty you will be a part of

Anything else you'd like to know before starting?

[Zepta]

Is it possible for a quick glimpse at a few NPC contenders (past or present)? Just so I have an idea what I'm going for or would that be included in the dynasty info (eg past battles). I'm not actually building my guy to win this, he's probably going to wind up in a box for daring to annoy someone twice his size haha.

Edit: Oh yes, I was also wondering wether magic would be present in this system?

[Malan]

Sure thing, I'll prepare that for tomorrow too. Remember you could also end up supporting someone else if you think that you're loosing. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens exactly.

I'm thinking a few disgruntled uncles and aunts, perhaps your grandmama looking to overthrow you. Everyone will be made to be opposing forces to your characters for the sake of diversity. I'm also probably going to have to make one spoiled brat who would nontheless be an OK king because he's well educated, because I bet nobody else will. :P

Also yes to magic, although being a skilled magician and a prince would probably cause your character to be lacking a proper court education, the same as if they spent all their time training with swords or thieving.

[ethanjory]

Wondering if I could be a foreign invader, since this seems like a rather convenient time to crush Matal beneath the heel of my boot.

[Malan]

Well the focus of the game is on character interaction, so playing a nation wouldn't really fit in. You could play a royal bastard (or uncle, cousin, etc.) who is the head of a gang of bandits or mercenaries, or something similar. I could also introduce foreign envoys who you could ally yourself with.

[ethanjory]

Essentially, wouldn't it be roughly the same thing if I happened to be a royal bastard who employed the help of a mercenary band, or rival nation? I'd be pressing my claim through force, and unless you would be taking the roles of NPCs from such rival countries, etc, it would be pretty much the same as if I stuck to my same idea. Then again, it's far from me to fuck with the universe that you created, and since I have no idea what kind of nations surround Matal, I can't really copy/paste my character concept into one of those easily. I suppose I agree with you when it comes to that, which kind of puts me back to square one when it comes to actually creating a character for this RP, which should be rectified when you put up the OOC.

So, to sum things up, I definitely won't go with that foreign invader idea, even if it would have been interesting to burn and destroy large parts of Matal for the funsies. Even though I guess I could do that regardless as a royal bastard in charge of a band of mercenaries/bandits, but I doubt that would earn me a lot of brownie points when it comes to actually getting the throne. In fact, that might have actually given me an idea. Maybe.