babbysama

I, Arabicus: An alternate history RP set in Late Antiquity

Alright, I've quickly put together my NS. Apologies if it's a bit awkwardly written---there are a lot of concepts which are admittedly a bit new to me, and I'm continuing my research to ensure that my depiction of Sasanian Persia is, at the very least, as accurate as I can manage. I'll be reading some scholarly articles and papers and will probably update this a little bit; I still need to do some more research on Zoroastrianism. Additionally, there's not much in the manner of characterization, as I haven't drawn up character profiles for all the members of the House, and that will change soon. Anyway, without further ado:

House Karen-Pahlav

Leader Name

Alanda, Spāhbed of the West

Faction Name

House Karen-Pahlav

Map Province

Media, Sasanian Empire

History/Bio

One of the Seven Parthian Clans who allied with the Sasanians following the subjugation of the Parthian hegemony, the elite of Karen claim the status of vāspuhrān, in stature subordinate only to the Shahanshah. Unlike their fellow clans, most of whom intimate Parthian descent, but only through the invention of false histories, the magnates of Karen can attest to their descent from Kāve the Blacksmith of Aspahan, who expelled Dahāg from their lands and whose leather apron now adorns the banner of the nation. Who dares to doubt their descendance? House Karen holds court at Nahavand, their holdfast swaddled in the snows of the Alvand Mountains and built upon the foundations of the Haft Hessar itself. Despite the iniquity of Sukhra, a previous spāhbed of Karen who had lusted for the crown, the House of Karen has prospered under Sasanian rule. Following the war with the Turk, the family gained holdings in Zabulistan and Tabaristan, and reigns as perhaps the richest clan of the Empire, if not the most premier at the court of Ctesiphon.
But all is not well in the House of Karen. Alanda, the present patriarch of the family and the Spāhbed of the East, has held that office for more than thirty years---and while he has garnered some acclaim for his contributions to the military during his tenure, his health is waning. And while Alanda’s condition deteriorates, sinister forces gather to wrest the title of spāhbed from the hands of Karen. Alanda’s eldest son, Vushmgir, is more sickly than his father---and his second son, Valash, remains a toddler. Meanwhile, Houses Ispahbudhan, Suren, Mihran (especially following the failed shahdom of Shahrwāraz), and Zik jostle for ascendancy at Ctesiphon. With the Romans, the Turks, and the forces of a newly inaugurated infidel faith out of Arabia, there can be no chinks in the Sassanid armor. In the coming crucible, the House of Karen will need the guidance and wisdom of the fravashi if they wish to maintain their foothold within the Empire.

Question about the Feasibility of this Concept

Hi there everyone. I've been mulling over a concept for an RP for a while now. A few years ago, I read The Plague by Albert Camus; shortly afterwards, I played Icepick Lodge's masterpiece, Pathologic, which is fortunately being re-made, but which nonetheless inspired me despite its clunky gameplay and poor visuals. If you haven't caught on, both works study the effects of a plague---in the case of The Plague, a cholera epidemic, and in Pathologic something much more insidious---on the inhabitants of a town/village.

And thus I come to my question. Could a similar premise work in an RP? I've always been afraid of the dreaded "railroading", and I feel like a plague-centered story could be the ur-railroad. The player, at least as I've imagined, would be bereft of the their requisite agency---it would be totally up to the GM to dictate the course of the plague, who dies, who lives, etc. In a sense that might add to the hysteria, but I think it would also take away a lot of the fun. However, discussing all of the forthcoming events of the "plot" would take away from the mystery (as the central "theme" or "goal" of the RP would be to discover the origin of the plague, and, potentially, cure the inhabitants of the village).

I am, as I should mention, not by any means an experienced GM, so I apologize if this question seems easy to answer or trite! To those more practiced GMs, how best would you handle this situation?

The setting I have in mind, by the way, is somewhere in Russia---possibly Siberia, the Caucasus, or anywhere east of Lake Baikal, and with a heavy admixture of folklore.

Seeds Of Ascension - A Mech Roleplay

@Darkmatter Care to expand a bit on how diplomatic characters would work?

I have a hard-on for diplomacy and am currently going to school for a career in it so I'm very interested ^u^

I, Arabicus: An alternate history RP set in Late Antiquity

I was hoping somebody would take up a Parthian family. Go for it.

@Vilageidiotx

Perfect! Do you have any particular NS template in mind right now, or is that still forthcoming. It's my day off and I'd love to get some work on this in before I am once again a slave to the dread despots of retail. :

I, Arabicus: An alternate history RP set in Late Antiquity

A question about the nature of Islam in this timeline:

Given the rise of islam happened in the context of a still prominent Roman Empire, wouldn't this cause serious butterflies to the faith, if it even exists? Islam may in this world have come to being by a different prophet from a different tribe even if Islam in these sense of being a unifying faith among the arabic tribes derived from judeo-christian thought still is around. While they likely still will write in Arabic and some of the athestetics may be similiar (although I don't know if there will be mosques modelled after muhammed's house as there will in our world), the whole doctrine may be different from the Sunnis and Shias or those other schools of thought that fell into the wayside. From a doctrinal standpoint I wonder if Islam at this point might as well be a "build your own Abrahamic faith"-type deal.

I have interest, but unsure where to go. Although I do ask, are Knights a thing here?

@Nilesapa

I'm likewise interested in what trajectory Islam will take in this world. Part of the reason the Islamic conquest had so much success was due to the quasi power vacuum that the fall of Rome and the Hunnic invasions had wrought in the region. With a stable Roman Empire, I have a feeling that the conquest will be more easily checked, especially in the Levant and the Maghreb. But I suppose the point of the RP will be the clash between Rome and the Caliphate, no?

I, Arabicus: An alternate history RP set in Late Antiquity

Would it be possible to take a pre-existing Sasanian house and play it, but with a mixture of fictional and historical characters?

I was thinking about using the House of Karen, one of the Seven Parthian Clans, an aristocratic family from Gorgan who had their seat at Nahavand, which would be somewhere either in the NPC area or Media I think (hard to tell in comparing the maps; near Hamadan in modern-day Iran). Anyway, they were relatively prominent in the Sasanian political and social hierarchy---Sukhra, one member of the house, had even been the de facto ruler of the empire for a little while during the 5th century (he was basically the Dick Cheney of the Sassanid Empire), and Bozorgmehr, one of his sons, was the Grand Vizier during the reign of Khosrau I. In addition, there are a number of historical spahbeds ("army chiefs") that are listed that fall within our time period---I was thinking that I could adapt some of those personages from history while filling in the rest with my own imagination. I think that using such a a prominent family would be a perfect way to illustrate Sasanian social and military traditions, and the House of Karen certainly played a role in the defense against the Arabs.

Thoughts? Or would you rather have an OC house?

Also, what year will we be starting in, or has that been decided yet?

I, Arabicus: An alternate history RP set in Late Antiquity

Definitely going Sassanid noble family

What's your favorite accent?

Definitely Indian accents for English.

In Spanish, I really enjoy Castillian Spanish and (though it's difficult af to understand at first) Caribbean Spanish, particularly from the Caribbean Coast of Colombia.

Alternate Middle Ages RP - Suspended

Repping tentative interest here.

What is the breadth of the RP, for starters? Are we talking the Balkans/Anatolia/the Caucasus/the Middle East/Mediterranean? How far is the reach?

I'd definitely be interested in playing a Persian state, Caliphate, or even a khaganate of some sort, perhaps the Khazars on the precipice of utter dissolution, or the Cumans.

Seeds Of Ascension - A Mech Roleplay

@Darkmatter Ahh, I see what you're saying. I'll draw up the concept for it, but perhaps start it later on in the RP and focus on my MURICAN character first instead. I realize that the early stages of the RP are the most important, and having character interaction would be much easier with some muricans and one group of rebels rather than a bunch all at once.