Pledge your lives to the Watch!
Weird Introduction Thing
Hello one and all, I am usually most active in the ParadoxInteractive Forums, where many good games have been held, however I wish to start out on my own and while stats and orders are the name of the game in that type of place, here I will rely mostly on Roleplay. My own creativity will be used for this project, but this is mostly a sandbox game and players will be guided, but are allowed to create their own stories and interact with mine in various ways.
How this will work is that I will control almost all NPCs, especially at the start of the game, and players will be allowed to make 1-2 of their own characters and possibly 3 if there is enough who wish for it. The setting will take place far and before the timeline of the books. It is 2210 CA, The Starks hold majority dominion over the North however the Ironborn are rooted deep into Cape Kraken and Sea Dragon point, and might never dislodge from Bear Island. The Wall doesn't have an exact leg in this dispute, as the Boltons still control much of the eastern side of the north, allowing the Night's Watch to have some neutrality when it comes to politics above the neck. Trade with each of these three will greatly impact supplies, especially during winter.
The realms south of the neck shouldn't be of major concern however the Arryns are at war with the Starks who presently hold the Three Sisters. Other than that I will be crafting a map, a base-knowledge for all players, but only those in particular avenues for information will be revealed as to the happenings of border changes and the like. This is mostly because this game is set in the wall, and shall be rather restricted to the wall, but don't expect all the roleplaying to be boring-old watching as the snow falls.
The Order Itself
It's time to talk extensively about the main core, or rather chunk of the game. The Watch is a meritocracy, anyone from high or low can earn a station in the Watch and it is often said that the Watch makes use of every man. If anyone isn't exactly sure what the Night's Watch is about, you can read this and speaking of URLs, this is a handy allocation of all the houses you could hail from, but I will be double-checking to see if they fit in the timeline. The game will start in Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, all players will have at least one character in the new batch of recruits, who will be going about their training and towards their eventual vows.
Keep in mind that not all recruits are noblemen, and having preestablished relationships(from your own group of characters or with others) will allow things to start off more smoothly I feel. Since this is Westeros, everyone is going to have a grudge, so feel free to add layers to your PCs by having preexisting hatred(for ex: someone from the Vale dislikes a Stark Bannermen because of the recent war over the waters). Sadly the Watch is a purely male-order, but as long as you have one character as a Crow, I will allow exceptions for females in certain positions.
There are Four Classes(technically five counting recruits) in the game. The Stewards, Rangers, Builders, and Officers who specifically are unobtainable in the beginning.
Stewards are the lifeblood of The Watch, and are a core part of the administration. They are the largest class so they have the most sub-classes. They are as follows~
The Ranger Order is probably the most prestigious of the three, and for good reason. They patrol the haunted forest and while every man of the wall stand's watch over it, the Rangers are those that actively battle the wildings. Rangers are defined by experience, the more missions you have been on, the more respected and valued you are. The different classes are mostly separated from their fighting styles, and which the specific Castle wishes to employ. The Ranger Order is the place where burglars and thieves are not very well trusted, and noblemen have a foot up on any of their brothers(for their training and well-regard).
Finally the Builders, who are responsible for maintaining the Wall, the castles, and the equipment. They provide masons, carpenters, miners, and woodsmen. The Nightfort is the largest castle, as such requires the most builders, but Eastwatch comes in second for this because of a very unique standing and that is: Ships. All sailors from the Eastwatch are defined in the Builder order, for they craft the ships and so they are the ones who sail them.
So the obvious choice I would say is to be a Ranger, but that's not the whole story, as we need an equal and good cast of characters. Stewards will be the only ones who will have access to information happening outside of Eastwatch, and will have to navigate the various political traps and struggles in the Watch and Below. The Rangers will have the most contact with the wildings and to venture outside of Watch-controlled lands you must have a Ranger with your squad, Rangers will be the best at fighting naturally and should usually be the heads of operations.. Although no Wilding locations or settlements are known from the beginning and Stewards are a must to charter lands and locations. Builders have interesting opportunities since they can sail and many stories can come simply from that, but they can also establish new settlements and even shore up abandoned castles.
Speaking of all this traveling, I'd like to unveil the map-
The Castles
From West to East-
- Westwatch-by-the-Bridge
- Shadow Tower
- Sentinel Stand(Abadoned)
- Greygaurd
- Stonedoor(Abandoned)
- Hoarfrost Hill
- Icemark
- The Nightfort
- Deeplake(Abandoned)
- Snowgate
- Castle Black
- Oakenshield
- Woodswatch-by-the-pool
- Sable Hall(abandoned)
- Rimegate
- Long Barrow(Abandoned)
- Torches
- Greenguard(abandoned)
- Eastwatch-by-the-Sea
So that's my thing. I do not actually know if there is any interest in this roleplay. It again will be centered heavily on characters with a subtle story going on in the background. Players will interact with each other and my various NPCs, and can stick in Eastwatch, or eventually go off. There will be many events for everyone or some few, like before the game officially begins I would like a first day's dinner in honor of all the noble recruits(if there are any!) in the Shieldhall at Castle Black. If anyone has any ideas I would be welcome to have them, I know this post may seem long in some areas and too small in others, but this is me trying to explain an idea I've had for a while in a spur of the moment.
