TheSovereignGrave

God and Country - A low-fantasy renaissance NRP of religion and discovery

So, now that we have the placement of the Pontificate States are we allowed to put land claims in our sheets?

God and Country - A low-fantasy renaissance NRP of religion and discovery

Hey @Aristo, it seems pretty obvious that the Ambrusian Church is sort of a Catholic Church expy but are we going to get a more detailed explanation of what exactly their religious beliefs are?

God and Country - A low-fantasy renaissance NRP of religion and discovery

So, figured I's get at least a start on my NS.

Kingdom on the Ardäin

Kinnekräich op de Ardäin

Kingdom on the Ardäin

Nation Overview

The Kingdom on the Ardäin is a kindom with a long and storied history along the banks of the Ardäin river. Though the land on the banks of the Ardäin are rich and fertile, the power of the kingdom has been in a long decline over the years and it is far from its zenith. The simple reason being that most of the Ardäinesch nobility stand stubbornly in the face of progress, clinging desperately to the old ways of chivalry and knighthood. The armies of the kingdom of are varying quality due to their adherence to a feudal system, and still field armies filled with the rabble of the levies and the heavily armoured knights of the nobility. It is also a place of great oppression, with many of the Ardäinesch King instituting laws designed specifically to limit any power the serfs may have. This has resulted in the Ardäin's slow decline, which is only amplified by the Kingdom's internal problems. Still holding fast to feudalism the King has to deal not only with enemies from outside the Kingdom, but from the scheming of the powerful nobility as well. And the current King, Alois IV vun Kinnekdrelaps, is a surly and unpleasant man whose wife has born him only three children: two sons who are a halfwit and an invalid, and an infant daughter with clubbed feet and fused fingers. This had made the King even more unpleasant to his wife, Queen Stéphanie vun Mierbuerg, which has not endeared him to Stephan vun Mierbuerg or Rodolphe vun Gëllenduerf, the Queen's father and eldest son from her first marriage respectively, who are both powerful noblemen.

Geography

The vast majority of the kingdom is made up of flat plains and rolling hills, with forests and copses of trees. The land is also incredibly fertile, especially on the banks of the Ardäin itself, and there are numerous farms all across the countryside. Though there are higher foothills in the northeast and southwest where the kingdom borders mountains.

History

Self-explanatory. This doesn't need to be long; just informative. I encourage players to collaborate and create shared history.

Society

Ardäinesch society is, at its most basic, divided into three separate groups: the peasantry, the clergy, and the nobility. Nominally all three branches are of equal importance to the kingdom; the peasantry do the work, the clergy pray and insure God's favour, and the nobility rule and lead. However, in practice the peasantry are looked down upon with disdain by nearly the entirety of the clergy and nobility. There are numerous laws passed for the sole purpose of limiting any power and wealth the serfs could ever have, which results in a generally miserable populace who have been known to revolt. However these revolts all end the same: peasant rabble butchered by the heavily armed noble warriors.

In terms of religion there is a rather interesting dichotomy. Much of the Ardäinesch people are quite religious, especially the peasantry. However the clergy of the Ardäin is infamous for their corruption, excess, and abuse of power. So while the serfs are a pious lot of people they have a near universal hatred and distrust of any clergymen, with the exception of many local priests who aren't as corrupt.

One of the major facets of the upper class is also their staunch traditionalism in the face of an advancing world. Most of the nobles do their best to cling desperately to the trappings of chivalry, and there are many laws which exist solely to attempt to keep the kingdom in medieval stasis (as well as oppress the serfs). There are few cities because serfs are banned, on pain of death, from leaving the village of their birth without permission from the local lord; there are few to no wealthy burghers because the peasantry are banned from having too much wealth; philosophy is nearly a taboo subject unless it exists in line with the Church and nobility's views; the Ambrusian Church is given free reign over the peasants so long as they don't interfere with the nobility; and there are heavy limits on the importation of any 'new' technology such as guns or the printing press.

Economy/Industry

The land along the great banks of the Ardäin River is fertile and well-suited to agriculture, which is the predominant industry of the kingdom. Though there is small-scale mining and logging, the vast majority of the Ardäin's serfs are farmers.

Military

I do not require numbers or pinpoint-accurate troop demographics, but give us an overview of your military. What does your nation do well? Has it embraced gunpowder and tercio, or does it cling to the past and field vast ranks of mounted ment-at-arms? What kind of equipment do you use? Many Fiorentian militaries will be similar, in appearance and/or equipment, but you don't have to be identical. You are free to embellish this section with famous regiments or historical commanders. How is your army organized? Do you have a color scheme? Have fun, but be sensible.

Fade: Space NRP-RPG fusion

Just want to say sorry that it'll take me a while to get a post due to my slowness :P

Gotta make the perfect post to reply to @Darkspleen, @TheSovereignGrave and @Ozerath.

@Sigma

Oh, no worries. Take all the time you need to make it juuust right. :D

God and Country - A low-fantasy renaissance NRP of religion and discovery

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I do love backwater states. God forbid they're on the frontlines of the war with the Timluks!

@Aristo

I wouldn't consider it a backwater, per se. I imagine it as being fairly wealthy since it owns a large amount of fertile land, but definitely currently being left behind technologically.

EDIT: And man is it difficult trying to find a nice looking coat of arms with skulls on it.

God and Country - A low-fantasy renaissance NRP of religion and discovery

<Snipped quote by TheSovereignGrave>

Glad to hear it! What've you got in mind?

@Aristo

A kingdom that's primarily agrarian in nature, and which is very much trying to hold onto the ideals of chivalry and knighthood in the face of an evolving world. And which is likely going to end up with the very real possibility of facing a succession crisis upon his death because he has 3 children: the eldest son who is unfit to rule because he is mentally retarded, the second son who many consider unfit because he's incredibly frail and sickly, and a deformed infant daughter.

God and Country - A low-fantasy renaissance NRP of religion and discovery

I could be interested in this, and I actually already have an idea for my nation.

Fade: Space NRP-RPG fusion

Eh... Let's go with the Ospea Star System then. There would probably just be a few destroyers and light cruisers along with some space stations (excluding stuff on planets of course). Maybe a heavy cruiser or two as well.

@Darkspleen

Fabulous, I'll put the arrival in my next post. Whenever that may be.

Fade: Space NRP-RPG fusion

@TheSovereignGrave Definitely. Feel free to drop by and give us a visit! The Confederation is definitely a good place to drop by when joining the galactic community. Definitely don't want to make the mistake of visiting the Xim. >.>

@Darkspleen

Oh, don't be mean. They're not all bad. :p

And anyway I assume that on the edge of frontier space the worlds wouldn't be bustling, right? So a less populated system kind of like my post about entering Sol would be fine, right? Oh, and could I get a name for the system?

Fade: Space NRP-RPG fusion

So, since the Doctrinate hasn't actually made contact with the rest of the galaxy (or our small part of it, at least) it wouldn't make much sense for a diplomatic mission to be sent there since Ch'ak would have no idea of its existence. So, the second one will have to go somewhere else. The Confederation looks like a good starting point, since they've actually made contact with other civilizations and even knowing just the basics of Cormyrean culture from rumours would put them high on the list of targets for Ch'ak's first diplomatic missions. So, is that cool with you @Darkspleen?