Hey everybody, this is the second forum game I'm running using a bit of homebrew i've cooked up. it's a bit free form, and a bit solid at this point, but in general, the idea is as follows:
You are a lord (known as a graf in pictish) in the realm of Pictia. it is a wide country full of steppelands and just about every biome you can think of. A year ago, a great cataclysm happened in the east, brought on by a campaign by many different countries and factions against the Khaganate of the falling star, lead by Kaillus, son of Haillus (yes, pronounced as per the klingon hero of note.) It is a dark time in Pictia and the six nations of the west, with a great daemon having been summoned in westeria and subsequently causing a storm of daemons to be spewed forth, slaughtering all in their path to the drum beat (bleat?) of the Horned god, said to be a great goat.
Alternatively, you may be a Lord of Westeria, which was, until recently, a footnote in history compared to their easterian neighbours. the entire reason why westeria exists is strictly because it is divided by a mountain range, and was too useless in most any respect to be considered a threat. but now, after magics have seen their renewal in the world, and their successful application in westeria, it is beginning to become a global power. [maps of westeria are forthcoming; until then, the following are approximately correct --]
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZAgbqLx5FOGip10I8GDVTFUDTaF9cGyrsMwA8Wbr90M/edit-- 'men of flying rocks' was the pre-translation name the picts had for westerians. Dalak-Tai (see second map) would be the border province west of westeria.
This game is based on the system known as Reign, and uses much of the same mechanics, but with a few modifications, most importantly being: you cannot roll to increase your stats. you must instead bargain with allies to better your realms, as well as do battle with your enemies. what this means in practice, is that a constitutional monarchy/oligarchy has been established, yielding a limited democracy. to increase stats, you must therefore pass laws, and set about great building projects, from equipping your army and crafting siege weaponry, to making sure agricultural practices work, and constructing bridges over rivers. your resources can be used to enact those laws.
your basic stats are as follows:
Might (land)
Might (naval)
territory
sovereignty
influence
wealth
Land might is the value of land force strength and can also represent other forces, such as police.
Naval might is warships at your disposal, both for riverrine warfare, and ocean going vessels.
Territory is a measure of how well your country's resources are being used. it can also be a measure of manpower, and is used for defense.
Sovereignty is how well connected the government is, and how good the bureaucracy is. A state with 0 sovereignty is
DEAD. also rule of law and all that. a state with high sovereignty and high might may well begin to show signs of manifest destiny, especially if the people are suitably hawkish.
Influence is how good your spies are planted in your enemies domains, and also at home.
Wealth is cold. hard. cash, and other valuable resources. pretty self explanatory.
each stat can have a value between 0 and 7, but you must be of a rank
higher than lord to gain more than 3 in any given stat.
I may split this thread in two, for westeria and pictia respectively, but we'll see. Each side has a king, who have already been selected. they are charged with the power to veto legislation, and will dictate foreign policy for each side. in addition, there are a number of other nations, which are controlled by me, the GM, to generally make your lives more interesting. They are as follows:
Easteria
Cumberland
the former kingdom of Dalak Tai (now ...western... westeria)
the great southern forest
The crimson kingdom
the holy college
Bellaria,
Trimerron,
gothica.
(these, along with pictia, form the conglomerate known as the six nations of the west. capitoled at Seven keeps, the city which the God King Isaac son of Isaac named, was the site of a few different forum and IRL games we played a long time ago. 'we' being a bunch of students from SFU in vancouver.)
rules documents:
How rolling works:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M1abT1PMemiLQvs1-fuOIaspylR7wfnJrR7cJw1ags0/edit(more to be added as needed)
REMINDER: FOR ROLLS, SEE THIS REFERENCE.
http://www.gregstolze.com/Company_Reference.pdfGame documents
board of bills (picts):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lRKKezaW2tPhEgUT9yKvu29d2vBqyIT79UqFCS1Ji5M/edit#board of bills (horned servants/westeria):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UVZupT8gpckmROY0xcLTGagAAGpikTSOdRSfO4Kmuqk/edit[under construction]
All of that said, to create your state, you need to do as follows:
describe where it is. feel free to add geographical notes such as rivers, mountains, deserts, great forests, etc. 'west of westeria, north of the Kal'don river, on a great mountain perch' would be a good start. your stats should reflect your state, so think about this in terms of territory -- a city on a river with absolutely no boats is not going to make much sense. likewise, a city in a desert probably wouldn't have a navy. just be creative. Some notes on pictia to give you a bit of direction:
technologically wise, it approximates mongolia around 1200 AD. guns exist, but suck by todays standards. (Fire lances, not muskets yet.) they are, however, still potent. same goes, more or less, for westeria. cities in Pictia use the term 'tun' for city. for extra legitimacy, Picts first born take their fathers name (Eg, Isaac son of Isaac), and their second sons rhyme with the first -- eg, Mazaac son of Isaac. but that much is optional, as plenty of intermarriage has happened over the pax pictia.
Westeria has no such notes, so feel free to be as creative as you like there.
With those things in mind, I will enforce balanced teams. if there is one too many players to balance, they will be put in a precarious position between the two sides.
don't forget to lie, cheat, and backstab eachother, guys