Polybius

The Rise of the Second Kingdom of Osteria

Boom. Looks like fun. Might have to smooth out the Stolt family history but the idea is there. Hey Theo, nice to see your back.

Lord Jeran Gades Stolt

Name of Lord/Lady Lord Jeran Gades Stolt
Physical Description: An impressive and battle hardened man with a thick mop of dark red hair and a fiery pointed beard to match. Lord Jeran carries the scars not of civil weapons, but of the cruel and savage implements used by the Orcish Hordes, gained over a lifetime of protecting the borders of the Osterian Kingdom.

Claimed Fief:

Souther Reaches

2. Southern Reaches (Unclaimed): On the border of the Orclands of the vast desert, the Southern Reaches is geographically a destitute backwater that remains immensely important to the security of the lands. While it is lacking in resources, the Southern Reaches keeps Osteria protected from the Orcs, who threaten to come pouring in at any time.
STATS: 400,000 Citizens | 21,000 Men-at-Arms, 2,000 Cavalry, 8,000 Knights | Produces 0 Grain/2 Gold/1 Iron | No Roads | 1 Fortress | Requires 4 Grain/Season. | 0 Unrest

Basic History:
It is commonly regarded that the Stolts were a rowdy and rambunctious clan originally from the Highlands, but constant bickering and quarrels (and some say rebellion) led to a quiet exile to the Southern Reaches. Over the following centuries, the Stolts built Thunderhall, the lone fortress on the brink of the southern desert to guard against the occasional band of Orcish raiders. A fierce martial discipline was established, and after a few more decades of protecting the kingdoms border, the Stolts were allowed to officially return to court.

So Lord Jeran Stolt was raised amongst warriors, with a simple military code and the brief, spotty history that his family could cobble together. Regardless of the kingdoms view on the former exiles-turned kingdom protectors, the Stolts are duty bound to defend the Souther Reaches from the Hordes. When King Timault was slain by the Blackmouth Clan, Lord Stolt was devastated and took a vow of honor to destroy them.

Background: Champion (Bonus to Combat Rolls)

Civilization - New Lands, New Glory! V. 2.0

Trying to get a post in today my man.

House Wars and Blood Feuds In Old Venara

It seems logical that I should post next, but I want to give @Zverda a chance to introduce Nalia.

House Wars and Blood Feuds In Old Venara

Did a thing. Sorry bout the staccato-shot weird intro post for Lucien, still feeling out the character, building some background stuff for the way his mind works. Very excited about this RP and getting to play a loose cannon with vendetta on his mind. Nice posts guys, let's keep it up.

House Wars and Blood Feuds In Old Venara

Lucien Delorano

---

Lucien stared at an old portrait. The ornate gold-lacquered frame seemed unfit for such a dark image, and in the flickering light of the candles and braziers, the boys expression seemed much darker.

This one was of a boy no more than 10 or 12, unruly hair and a dark brooding expression. Leon Delorano stood beside him, handsome face and heavy hand resting on the boys shoulder. Rings of ruby, gold and silver crowded the Lords hand, set in stark contrast to the boys dark tunic. In the background was a seascape with white-foaming waves and a dozen masts raised in the distance. The sails were furled, the wind non-existent. The sun was a purple crescent swallowed by the sea. Lucien remembered the portrait had been staged right here in this very room-the background was either painted first or added later, Lucien did not care or know, But mother insisted all her children be 'immortalized' in painting. Lucien could not remember the painters name, but how he had hated it when he told him to stand still, quit fidgeting!. Lucien remember how his father had wordlessly placed a hand on his shoulder as if to hold him in place.

Lucien looked away from the painting and turned to face his family. A lavish dinner upon an ornate table-nothing less would be expected at his fathers wake. The food sat mostly untouched, stomachs either too ill to eat or mouths shut in sullen silence. Lucien approached and hovered at his fathers chair. Lucien nodded mechanically as his aunt Fiona entered the chambers and seated herself beside her fathers chair. Still Lucien stood, arm rested on his fathers chair, staring at the open ledger of his last will and testament.

Quiet conversations occasionally pierced the silence. Besides the shuffling feet of the servants, and the odd clank of glasses, the room was still and tense. Most talked in hushed tones among themselves. Deflated, Lucien took a seat beside the empty patriarchs chair, and searched his mind for something to talk about. He wondered where Nalia might be. He thought of the messenger he had beaten to a bloody pulp after delivering the horrible news of his fathers murder. Four simple words had shattered his world in an instant. Lucien had made the messenger pay, that was for sure.

Words... The hushed conversations were unnerving to Lucien. He felt a stranger here, in his own home. He had not seen his family or friends for four years while he was studying at the University and he had become detached somehow. Yet the old memories were slowly trickling through the thick fog of disbelief and mostly rage that clouded his mind.

Passing the strange healer Otto in the halls without a word.

Pieter at the docks, watching for the guards that might catch him sneaking aboard the sailing ship the Maid.

Nalia in fathers study learning the family secrets.

Lorenzo sneaking off with the kitchen girl to do gods knows what.

Fiona, his aunt whispering in fathers ear at supper....and his mother.

Dying.

Pale and thin from the plague that took her in an instant. Or was it poison? His memories lied. Otto, at her bedside. Father pacing the halls. The memories fell like a flood, and Lucien discarded them for rage.

"Any idea what we should do next?" said Pieter, sipping his wine.

Lucien shook himself from his revelry. He stared at the dead painters son. He smiled.
He drew his rapier and threw it on the table with a loud clang, scattering grapes and nuts and spilling a pitcher of wine. A thick scarlet stain spread across the table cloth.

"We can start with this!" shouted Lucien, pointing to his unsheathed dueling blade. His eyes were wide and furious.

The Masters of Veranth!

Gosh...bump.

The Endless Black (Revised) (Sci-Fi)

@Wombatalliongreat I'm kind of building my nation off of yours so any info I could get ahead of time would be great.

Building Rules for a Universal Nation Roleplay Game

I had a long reply written up, closed my laptop and lost all of it :( So here goes again

@ClocktowerEchosI agree completely that nations can be played like characters, sure. I think I misrepresented what I was trying to say-that is, in the context of building a game system, nations can't be treated like a standard, level-and-loot gaining character. Nations are simply too complex. What I'm taking from your ideas is that nations can be played to their characteristics. It seems like the standard nations pop up over and over again, the religious monarchy, the war-mongering horde etc. In later editions of D&D a GM can award points (hero points? Action points? I forget) when a player plays the character in a heroic fashion, or makes a choice that the character would obviously make-regardless if the outcome is decidedly bad. These points can be used for extra healing, an extra combat round etc. It's like saying 'hey, thanks for playing your character properly'. Alot of systems use this. I was just reading rules for Barbarians of Lemuria (like an old-school D&D variant set in a conan the barbarian like world) which uses these extra points a lot-from what I gather it is one of the main ways to increase your attributes. Something like that could be used in a nation game too. Thanks for the input Clock!

@AshganHey Man! I'm only briefly going to touch on the things you bring up (which are all really good points, thanks for reading and replying!)

On Culture- Glad you brought up the Hard and Soft Power thing. Sure, some nations will inevitably be weaker powers and have different strengths. I would love to have a system that can support economic warfare. Investing in foreign business', even buying politicians or court officials etc. would be a really good way to level the playing field for militarily weak nations. I suppose it wouldn't be all that different from genre to genre, just window dressing really. I like the way you think about the economic tug of war too, and your right, it doesn't exist in a vacuum. The circumstances surrounding economic balance and warfare are well beyond my own personal knowledge, but to make a simple, effective mechanic that could represent this complex idea would be invaluable.

On Economy - Again, super complex concept. I would imagine more modern/sci-fi games would have more interlocking and complex economies, I'm not even going to attempt to understand what an actual interstellar economy would look like. Something like a feudal economy (albeit with magical elements-looking at you Eberron) is probably more manageable with my limited knowledge. I want these basic concepts to be as broad as possible so that smaller pieces of the game can fit within each one. I suppose that means the GM would have to define exactly what kind of game your about to play. Military simulation? Economy will be a good part of it, but not as much as dealing with resources and moving units, etc. An economic/social simulator type game might have more applications for a complex economy mechanic however. Hope that makes sense. I'll have to get to the other bits later. Already got my brain thinking beyond the scope of what I had envisioned. Thanks!

I'll have to get to the other replies later my friends. Really looking forward to further discussion/collaboration!?

The Endless Black (Revised) (Sci-Fi)

Thinking of making a race of peaceful humanoids with moderate technology. Essentially acting as a secondary character trying to warn anyone who will listen of 'unknown threat at the edge of the galaxy'. Sort of Vulcan-ish.

House Wars and Blood Feuds In Old Venara

Awesome. Not going to post first however. :)