GourmetItalia

Altaea: The Age of Revolution -=]- Late Middle Ages - Early Renaissance Fantasy Story -[=-

Whew knew a day of OOC Drafting brings migraine? Before I get back to y'all, just wanted to say that the OOC's coming along, albeit slowly 8/. Started at 9 am and kept it up until 3 or 4 when fatigue started settling in. Hit the sack, took a nap, and now I'm back to work so expect something in a couple hours or early tomorrow.

@ Skulls - Welcome, Skulls! I'm really glad you could make it here to RoleplayerGuild. Everyone, I'd like to welcome an Old-timer here. Skulls is from RoleplayGateway and she will be continuing her character, Onatha, from a prequel (Altaea: Song of the Ancients) to the current story. Skulls, make yourself at home here and mingle as you please. You know I'll be here or on RoleplayGateway so you know where to find me if you need to talk about anything 8).

@ Dream - You can't match Beauty and the Beast for a magical childhood. I mean ... great art quality and storytelling just delivered something so spectacular that there's something to like about it even in today's world. 8)

Timeline wise, you're right; the War of Sarifen Conquest does take place 20 years prior to the present day! In order for a character to have witnessed and participated during the conflict, they would have had to have been at least 16 years old. The aristocrat's arranged marriage birth is perfectly fine and very plausible. Back in the Renaissance, many marriages were certainly regarded as business arrangements and it's possible the Aristocrat birth happened from an arrangement of that sort! Marriage and love were mutually exclusive and only the upper classes enjoyed anything resembling the later.

Your Shield Maiden or Initiate character would probably be wearing heavier, Crusader-like armor with an assortment of weapons and a massive kite shield .

@ Ivory - A two-handed swords-master is perfectly fine and as long as she carries a pistol, whomever crosses her path shall receive my prayers. Swords and firearms make a deadly combination 8)

Altaea: The Age of Revolution -=]- Late Middle Ages - Early Renaissance Fantasy Story -[=-

Dream, I'm shocked the Disney reference escaped you, but I'll post this link if you haven't already recognized the movie:



I'm happy that you've included a character with mixed Sarifen - Valanian heritage and was actually hoping someone could take up the reigns for that sort of individual. I feel like political plotlines have remained a bit untapped in many fantasy stories save several such as Game of Thrones, Mistborn, or Codex Alera.

You're on the mark in that there will be heavy inclusion of all three! I will, of course, be testing the waters for certain plot arcs so as to find what works because the least thing I want to do is make this a tedious experience rife with historical essays and overwhelming/unnecessary world building tidbits. I will say that, for however far we push the story, there will be themes and incidents with mature themes and graphic violence. Some of the unfolding events won't be easy to stomach and like you said, drama, tragedies, and suffering on an unprecedented scale. When the OOC and IC launch (mutually exclusive), you'll know what I mean 8).

babbysama, no worries man and I'm happy to help! I look forward to the inclusion of a mercenary captain with all the notable characteristics you just described and it's good to know that you're keen on history and literature so keep plugging away at the keyboard. When I do throw up the OOC, you'll already have something to work off 8).

Ivory, the Holy Order of St. Melita, or better known by its formal name the Sororitas Melitas draws its inspiration from the Knights Hospitaller and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. As you probably already guessed, it's a proto-religious military order, a branch from Augurianity, and shares similarities with Ahmenmnism and its associated Orders. They generally safeguard roads for Augurian pilgrims or worshippers from other denominations and offer sophisticated hospital and medicinal services to beleaguered individuals or followers of Augurianity. Proven members of the St. Melitas Order are generally very capable fighters and mainly excel at mounted combat and close quarters engagements, making them extremely dangerous adversaries.

Principally, they owe some of their financial survival to generous sponsors in Vorst, but are by no means worse off given their self-sufficient services in medicines and armed escort aboard seagoing vessels and land routes. Additionally, the presence of a small Vorstan advisor liason preserves their fighting abilities in horse and bladesmanship.

Keep in mind with the existence of stirrups, mounted warriors are not to be under-estimated, not especially the Sisters of St. Melitas due to their incredibly versatility. The Order fields a purely female membership has seen better days and is a shadow of its former self due to heavy Sarifen taxation, the city's forced Policing Demands, and Governor Conqvist's chartered membership limitations. Some parts of the Citadel Headquarters would likely have fallen into disrepair due to shortages in membership and in a sense, this is also a good thing in that not only would there be competition with join the Order, but only the cream of the crop would gain entry. Shield Maidens of the Order would be afforded greater protection and higher regard from Sarife and the turncoat aristocrats residing within Valania. Generally there are varying ranks within its citadel headquarters in Voltas, however, I haven't fully drafted a rank system so I can't supply you with any substantial hierarchies or subculture other than that there is a notable Female Grand Master.

This list will be updated in the near future, however as of currently, this is what I have:
Grand Master - Currently held by Eugenia of Domenica
Knightess Commander Captain - Currently held by Lady Rosellia Vaan Lionheart
Grand Baliffs - Considered the Senior Leading Officers over various Dame Knight Companies and lead Battalions of up to 600 - 800 Shield Maidens
Dame Knights - Officers within a company 200 or more Shield Maidens
Valkyrie Apostles - Subordinate Officers under the Dames and leading sectional authorities for 50 - 70 Shield Maidens
Shield Maidens - The backbone of the Order's Primary Fighting Forces. Women are assigned different roles and carry different titles for various specialties, both combat and non-combat related.
Sister Initiates - Untested Recruits in training and the up-and-coming generations ...

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If it helps, Ivory, dream, I have this clip for added inspiration. Not my first choice of music, but I felt like your potential characters could at some point share some kick-assery like what I'm posting below .

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Update: Expect the OOC to be going up later today!

Altaea: The Age of Revolution -=]- Late Middle Ages - Early Renaissance Fantasy Story -[=-

Greetings Nimixia! Kind of strapped for time due to Academia, but I just wanted to offer my acknowledgements in your direction since you've taken interest enough to stop by Altaea's Interest Thread. We are an assembling crew and not many writers are needed to start despite the interest being shown. I do highly encourage you to read over my opening and subsequent posts and if you've any questions or need clarification about anything, you know I'll be here to answer them. I'll be taking my leave again until late tomorrow so if you or anyone else has any questions and I don't respond, I do apologize. I'll be back tomorrow if y'all need anything!

Altaea: The Age of Revolution -=]- Late Middle Ages - Early Renaissance Fantasy Story -[=-

Pepperm1nts, that's fine; the OOC will be up sometime Thursday because it would give me time to finish the OOC and Character Sheets. In the mean time, keep developing that character and we'll soon see his debut 8).

babbysama, I like all three characters concepts, but I'm not sure if the antagonistic mercenary captain, pirate king or the intelligence officer would fit well since they seem more like villainous types capable of murdering the protagonists and becoming counter-productive to the main story. These tales do not need more prevalent main antagonists as there are plenty of them, but the mercenary captain and bankrupted merchant are promising as long as they are protagonists and help progress the story line. I could certainly see a mercenary captain and merchant inspired by real life privateers such as Jean Lafitte or a Robin Hood of the seas.

Hell, you could even combine the all characters types into one single character; just don't base them entirely off of anime characters because no offense to anime, but uhm ... I find a lot of anime characters very wooden, cliche, and without depth. I mean, love watching animes as much as anyone, but from my past roleplays, I've seen writers included cheap, anime-esque characters and the amount of one liner god-moding seriously disrupted the story. That being said, I encourage you to do some research on various historical figures and to incorporate those themes you listed.

Also keep in mind that nefarious characters would likely be on their own when facing against other nefarious foes and I can tell you for a fact that you don't want assassins on your character's ass or frequent betrayals at every turn. Carcassonne is volatile for a reason and moving alone as an antagonist will likely accelerate their own deaths very early into the story .

With all this being said, keep throwing ideas my way!

Edit: Ack! Didn't see your post, Fern. All character ideas are perfectly acceptable, but I'm a little worried about the Amoral Assassin's motivations so send me a PM and we'll work on her 8).

Edit 2: I encourage you all to collaborate with one another for inter-related character back stories and possible plot arcs!

Edit 3: I'll be with limited internet access between now and late Wednesday, but keep sending PMs and posts and when I return, I'll try to answer everything with greater clarity ...

Altaea: The Age of Revolution -=]- Late Middle Ages - Early Renaissance Fantasy Story -[=-

Professional Valanian Hussars existed prior to the Kingdom's fall and although it's been nearly two decades since Valania's Armies crumbled, most of the Hussars escaped unharmed. Prior to the Kingdom's Annexation, the Hussars were spotted retreating near the forests bordering Vorst rather than risk defend Voltas, Valania's doomed capital. The Valanian Hussars' officer corps were primarily aristocratic, however, the mid echelons and below composed of enlisted commoners. Portions of remaining Hussars and Mounted Regiments have since waged an aggressive campaign against the Sarifen occupation with varying successes so your character's existence is certainly plausible!

Edit: Going to Hibernate now. I'll be up in 8 or 9 hours for more questions so feel free to drop more through PM or here and I'll be happy to help 8)

Altaea: The Age of Revolution -=]- Late Middle Ages - Early Renaissance Fantasy Story -[=-

Pepperm1nts said
Okay, I'll bite. How will the game play?

Well, I'm not sure if I would really call this a game as as much as a collaborative story-telling experience since there are zero game mechanics. The OP and first several posts do explain my intentions as do most of my other posts, but to re-emphasize, Altaea is more about plot driven arcs with rich, undiscovered/lost histories, breath taking landscapes, civil unrest, extremely selfish, albeit ruthless individuals, and a multitude of other intriguing tidbits. Characters will certainly be forced to brave insurmountable odds that are almost despicably stacked against them and will act and converse as closely to their personalities as possible and not necessarily what the writers themselves would do in real life. Call me crazy, but the aim is to build and portray believable characters with believable emotions and personalities with a touch of cinema added in.

Pepperm1nts said
I'm getting the feeling it'll be the classic 'A few heroes get together and fight bad guys'. Am I right in assuming that? If so, will there still be a chance for players to separate from the main group?

You're right in the sense that the heroes will face certain villainous types, but I do aim at exploring the world and for the characters to follow a main plot. Again, the opening and subsequent post covers everything, but no hard feelings given your situation and such. The characters are free to separate from the main group so as they don't deviate too far from the main story's varying location radius. As a matter of fact, for however far we push the story, some future situations will demand separation and reunification. I highly encourage fitting subplots that fit in conjunction with the main one so long as they within the group's proximity.

Pepperm1nts said
That brings me to another questions. How will the story be handled? Will it be freeform, or do you have something written down that we'll be following?

The story will be broken into Episodes and Chapters and at the end of Episodes, other Episodes will unlock and the active writers are free to pursue newly unlocked Episodes through a democratic vote. I do have a strong direction with which to take the overall story, but I am willing to make concessions and allow certain free form opportunities during varying plot moments. Again, the story is very plot driven with a strong emphasis on characters and their decisions having serious impact on their survival, their surroundings, and the ongoing plot arcs.

Pepperm1nts said
I apologize if any of this has been asked before, or if the OP itself answers it. I skimmed through some parts of the RP because it's currently very early where I am and I haven't gotten any sleep. I'll definitely go back and read it more carefully before the RP starts though.

I've been up for 16 hours answering questions while simultaneously finishing university homework so don't worry about it, hahaha. I'm just humbled you've stopped by and taken an interest in this up and coming story!

Regarding participation and activity, I am generally very flexible and would not mind you including a reoccurring character. As I mentioned previously, this story doesn't need a large cast and I am willing to continue the story so long as there is at least one other writer. I encourage frequent participation, but I can't force anyone to dedicate their time primarily to Altaea so participating writers are here by choice to contribute as much or as little to the plot as desired. Of course, after a certain period of time though, if there is infrequent and sparse posting contributions, I will keep the story going by summarizing the existing incidents and moving the plot. That won't necessarily involve killing off characters because I'm not that big an asshole, but ... I will move the plot chain after a certain period of time!

I hope these answer your questions, but feel free to keep asking if you need any clarifications 8)

Altaea: The Age of Revolution -=]- Late Middle Ages - Early Renaissance Fantasy Story -[=-

Good day to you, Pepper 8). Nice of you to stop by, hahaha. We're an assembling crew and there's always room for more so if this story picques your interest, don't hesitate to hop on board. If you need any pointers or are just naturally curious about some aspect of this story, float something my way and I'll be happy to clarify and help as best I can.

Altaea: The Age of Revolution -=]- Late Middle Ages - Early Renaissance Fantasy Story -[=-

Welcome, babbysama! Yes there are indeed still open spots and plus extra baggage room. PM me if you have any questions and don't hesitate to chime in anything you think might enhance the story. I'm all ears and as I said earlier, you are welcome to join us in writing an epic tale! Come late Wednesday or Thursday, I will be launching the OOC so just grab a seat and we'll be sailing shortly 8)

Altaea: The Age of Revolution -=]- Late Middle Ages - Early Renaissance Fantasy Story -[=-

Dream, about those characters concepts ...

- The Stoic Sarifen Spy. - Despicable ... But I love it!!! (I hope you got the reference ;) Just be sure to heavily develop his motivations and be mindful of the surrounding political landscape. Intelligence gathering is as dangerous as it is nefarious and to excel may require more than simply selling out or outright murdering your closest partners or childhood friends. Sometimes the lines of justice are skewed in regards to preserving the state as opposed to performing for the greater good. Can spooks achieve both? Only the best know this answer ;)

- The Swashbuckling Valanian Aristocrat - An excellent character concept that fits well with the current plot! A few things I wanted to mention. Prior to the Kingdom's demise, most Valanian Aristocrats were indifferent to Prince Lucius' ascension despite signs of his promising leadership traits. After the Sarifens utterly crushed Valania's armies, most were ruthlessly hunted and executed to a man and only those forced into marriage, whom fled into the hills to join the resistance, held extremely viable financial leverage, secretly pledged fealty to Sarife prior to the invasion and/or fell into Marquis Richter Von Conqvist's favor survived the savage purges that followed Valania's annexation. Aside from this, I hope he's ready to face Carcassonne's coming storm!

- The Merchant's daughter turned Order of St. Melita - Huge potential for character growth and development! It's plausible that she may likely haven fallen under Knightess Captain Lionheart's mentorship as a shield maiden as well as accompanied the varying aristocrats to police Voltas' post annexation streets and surrounding towns where ever the locally stationed Nezām-e Jadīd cannot patrol due to manpower shortages. I also encourage and approve of the in-field perspective from the varying politics and orders of the upper classes/former kingdom magistrates.

You are way off mark in the fact that I approve of all character concepts so roll with one or write them all!

Fern, you are most welcome about the information and your continued interest brings tears to my eyes, hehehe :'). Don't worry about replying; we're all either breathing life into Altaea or clarifying the unfilled blind spots so no worries if you're feeling content. Speaking from experience, I am quite horrible at being the hermit and will admit to a storied history of silence during intense roleplaying discussions. My friends and story writing partners aren't here to vouch for me, but I speak the truth! So ... with that said; dun worrrrrrrry 'bout eet!

Regarding the OOC, it will be up by late Wednesday or Thursday. The reason being that I am slowly drafting the OOC as we speak, waiting for other invitations from writers, and am caught in the middle of a project fire storm.

Ivory, keep your swords ready and stay tuned for another exciting episode of Altaea: The Age of Revolution.

Konica, again welcome, welcome 8). The Printing Press has certainly not been invented yet! Paper and ink have already existed for eons, however, mass production has not yet arrived so news is spread through oration and word of mouth. To further emphasize, hired news readers are the only form of mass media as shown in this video so information is understandably censored; quite heavily if I may add! (Ivory, you asked about Vectis resembling the Western Roman Empire. There you are ... *nudge* *nudge*.)

Technology wise, Carcassonne is still barely scraping past the Late Middle Ages and this link should provide an insight into the current technological developments. I will, of course, quote a line in this article that perfectly sums the technological progress levels, "...the adoption of gunpowder, the invention of vertical windmills, spectacles, mechanical clocks, and greatly improved water mills, building techniques (Gothic architecture, medieval castles), and agriculture in general (three-field crop rotation)."

The Last Bastion: Bunker Chicago

Oh laird, Icarus; I don't think that was such a good idea.

Brovo, Brovo! Please don't bag Icarus; he's developed advanced Stage IV Icarus Disorder; an incurable life-threatening condition causing uncontrolled smart-assed side effects.

So ... that being said ... could I ... say ... interest you in a pack of pre-cataclysm MREs to change your mind?



Fresh out of the box, hot off out of the bag! My treat?