NationStates Jolt Archive

Ok, glad to have got your attention...

Now..

I would like to know who is interested in doing an rp set in the year of 1272 AD using the tech of the time, possibly using a RL country divided up by nations fighting to take total control. I was thinking we could use an area about the size of England, including Scotland and Ireland aswell...

There would be large scale battles, skirmishes, seiges, naval battles and in depth charactor role playing to establish a good story line. We will be using our Nationstates nations, this will not be historical or have anything to do with RL.

Please feel free to post any ideas you may have to improve this idea, i really want to get this going....

What i have posted here is brief, once some interest comes fourth then we can expand on this topic....

Instead of a 4-5 player limit i will bump it up to 6-7....it is a rather large area to cover..

bump...

Couple of questions:

1) How RL is the tech supposed to be?
2) How "creative" - read wanky- are the applications of said tech supposed to be?

Just wondering right now...

The tech will be exactly how it was in 1272 AD, therefore being Medieval.

Could you please make the second question more clear?

Bump.....

my nation would do it

Anybody in here wanna join my crusade thread?

Got a link?

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=500323

There ya go, I hope it picks up, it would explain alot about my country as it goes on

I'd be interested. My nation has a strong Viking heritage, so...

Thats awesome! im glad we are getting some interest now :)

1 or 2 more then we can get into the details....

Any suggestions?

The tech will be exactly how it was in 1272 AD, therefore being Medieval.

Could you please make the second question more clear?

Well, here's an example of a potential "wank":
1) Fireworks, military rockets, fire arrows, "earth shaking" bombs were all known by the Chinese at this point (Battle of Kai-Keng in 1232 documents the use of rockets and such to defeat the Mongols).
2) Use of burning skin and eye irritants (like mustard powder, pepper) as well as inhalable incapacitators (like sulpher and pitch) and even "soul hunting" poison gas (using a sulfide of arsenic) and fine powdered lime were in use.

So, taking these two and using an "earth shaking" bomb to disperse arsenic and lime in a quick manner among enemy troops is a "wank" because it was not recorded historically during this period but is a simple "2+2=4" for modern people to come up with.

Don't get me wrong, it's acceptable to me to mix and match but it's very easy to advance too far and fast with ideas. I was just wondering if there would be a general agreement to rein in the possible leaps and bounds of cross technology. Or just how open do players want the mixing to be?

I'm in. Just two quick questions.

Does it have to be European(For instance, could it be Mayan, Aztec, Japanese etc)

Does it have to be from that time or can it have been BEFORE then?? Like ancient Rome, Greece, Carthage etc.

Of course, my nation will be custom, I'm just curious as to what limitations the customisations will have...

Rather then be a nation, could I be just a nomadic group of cultists?

Alright,

starting with Nevus's post regarding the tech we will be using...

It will be mostly European based, Swords, spears, shields, battle axes, mace's, crossbows, longbows, i see Warshrike has asked about tech before this time...please go alittle more in depth with your request and we will see...

Artillery will include catapults, Pierrière, trébuchet, mangonel,

Direct firing weapons such as...

ballista's, arbalète à tour...

I don't think we will be using gun powder...

Now...

Everyone is welcome to take part, we need someone who is familiar with map editing to mark our territory. Also all players will be expected to write a bio about their lands..ect..you all should know the deal..kinda like a mini factbook we will stick in the OOC, if everyone agrees to that.

We have yet to decide our military size and strength...total populations..what have you.

ok...

The Horde Of Doom..regarding your question, yes..you can be a nomadic group of cultists.



Warshrike...

Run what ever you had in mind by me, then i'll tell you if you got the go ahead or not...im interested to see what you come up with...

I hope i got everything..?

Oh and everyone will have outposts and little forts scattered about, but everyone is entitled to ONE large fortress/castle of this time....

Each player is expected to post a picture of this fortress/castle..

Like so...

http://www.today.ucla.edu/2003/images/030225beaum2.jpg
Castle Locke

^^^^^
My fortress

That is just an example of course, the picture MUST be posted with your information on the OOC thread..i was thinking we could make factbooks but i want to see what you all think first, after all..this is OUR Rp..

Like for instance, could we be an ancient roman civilisation with Legionarres, or a Japanese Samurai nation, or even an Aztec nation who's warriors weild obsinate weaponry?? Or a mix of all of them??

I was thinking of even having a Stone-Age nation of Barbarians who relied on brute strength and numbers, and only wanted to invade the other nations.

I do like some aztec masonry and weapons. Perhaps we can mix and match weapons but not allow anything too radical. I mean really, if my troops want to fight naked except for lizard skins on their backs while their hopped up on shrooms and low grade narcotics while at the same time weilding a sword/club made from bone/obsidieon while having a hawaain lizard teeh dagger strapped to their...manparts....
*takes breath*

why shouldn't I be allowed to?

and I like the castle idea...can they be underground?

I'm interrested. However, instead of a nation, I would like to come up with something similar to Knights Templar or Sohei of Japan. Meaning, a religion/cult that has monasteries around the whole "world", in all or atleast some nations, with a rather strong military power and wealth from monastery lands and bank system to influence internal and international politics with.

The main monastery, the stronghold of the whole organisation, would be the castle you required.

What say you?

This is comming along really well,

I like the idea's this has generated so far, now...

for the questions and suggestions...

Warshrike..

What ever direction you would like to go in regarding your tech go ahead..no gunpowder.., remember we will be using a map of the England, Scotland and Ireland..

The climate and terrian will remain the same.

i myself will be using knights, heavy cavelry, cavelry, longbowmen, crossbows... that sort...you know the deal..

Now...


The Horde Of Doom..

I can't say i can allow your fortress to be underground, it's rather...complex..

As for your tech, figure it out and post it on here... :)



Madnestan...


Sounds good, i like it...

Osteian infantry of this time period resemble Templar Knights when it comes to their equipment...very expencive but very well armored and well worth their cost in the long run.

Alrighty then. First, sice I don't know the area that well, where might I find the most bogs/swamps?

Secondly, my idea is as follows:
Very crude, almost cave man like. Most live in sloppy huts (http://us.games-workshop.com/games/warhammer/orcs/terrain/village/images/hut_P1.jpg), which can easily be rebuilt or moved. They only farm one plant: shrooms. The Horde is divided into "bands" which is a group of 2-6 families. The bands move about once a month taking their shrines (http://www.lightningcoyote.com/oldsite/images/concepts/magic/Orc-S/images/b-temple.jpg) with them. War is the only form of food collection besides hunting....they are cannibals.

Their weapons are simple devices, very similar to Aztec design, like the macuahuitl (http://www.famsi.org/research/pohl/images/aztec4figure09.jpg). Armor, if they wear any, is leather made from lizard skin. Warriors however usually go naked, save for a helmet (http://www.fxtailor.dk/masks/masks_001.jpg) carved from bone(sometimes with flesh still on it) hopped up on their shrooms. The helmets are re-enforced with multiple layers of bone, the skin of foes put on the outer layer. I figure since I'm sacrificing technology and sophistication, I can get a little added strength.

Calvary is useless, as horses simply sink into the bogs. However, they are very skilled at the use of hawks for spying and other, larger birds of prey are sometimes used as weapons. Fire is well known, and greek fire is in general usage.

Their territory is easy to see, because it is marked by skeletons. Skeletons of fallen foes are either nailed to trees, or stuck on spears jammed into the ground.

They are reffered to by other groups by many names: The Bonefolk, the Undead, Boogeymen, but most know them as...the Fleasheaters. Some think they are the living dead, a legend the Flesheaters relish. After all, all dead are carried away by the flesheaters, and a warrior may see a flesheater wearing the skin of a fallen comrade...whose to tell him it isn't the dead man come back to get him?

I like it,

Lucky you have located your peoples in an area of those conditions, therefore they are protected from my cavelry..they are Osteia's strongest unit as shown in role plays before this, also your troops are able to move a HELL of a lot quicker than my own..no armor..heavy weapons..artillery..

Osteia's heavy horse resembles Gothic knights if you have ever seen a picture of their armor....not one to mess with id say.. :) **Muahaha**

sounds as if their spy capibilities are great aswell, Angermannland also has a great spy network if you are familiar with his PT role playing...

For my lands i think i will be claiming Wales...or an area in northern England..possibly a piece of Scotland..

I will be putting up an offical OOC thread soon....

also..

We need a map editor!

any idea where swamps and bogs are found in england or ireland?

Ah, PT. Gallant emperor of RP genres.

I am very interested from this process, and shall do more accurate planning later.

What about this map? (http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/gifs/feudmap.gif) It doesn't have Ireland or scotland,but it can allow for easy claiming and easy coloring!

Bit simple and primitive, but easy to color and claim + haves Ireland and Scotland.

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/3397/1europeprovincesag1fl1.png

The second map is perfect....

:)

Im sure with a little bit of research you could find swamp lands rather easily..

Bump..

We can take acouple more people..

alright then, I call the bit in red. (http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/913/mapjd8.png) A huge portion of the area is nothing but bogs and swamps.

Ok, i claim the upper part of Wales...

Across from your lands, could you edit my part in blue please?

to the left...

North, North East, East,, south east, or south of me?

West...

to your left, the upper half of Wales...

Count me in too please.

I'll have a more extensive write-up today, though later.

Initially, for basis of easy minds eye picture, think of Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain) in terms of culture, refinement and military style.

For land...south east to south central...definitely coastal for a strong naval influence.

This'll be fun. Yellow is my first choice, green my second if necessary.
On the map location. (http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y293/jeudesprit/Past%20Tech%20Nation/nevclaim.jpg)

I'd like to claim the southernmost 5 territories one the mainland, if I'm allowed(Discluding South Wales). I wish to have a civil war at some point, so a large nation would be gewd.
If we are only allowed the one territory to start, I will claim the one directly south of the Flesheaters domain.
Mad, I'd be willing to have something like that in my nation.

The Nation of Neraka.

Neraka is a massive, densley popolated are who's strong military relies on their Spear/Pikemen and Archers. The Elite Infantry of the nation are the mighty Samurai and Phalnax.
The army also contains light Cavalry who use spears, bows and swords. Though they do not wear heavy armour, the cavalry ride very well bred horses which run rings around the enemy.
The Samurai wear very ornate armour and weild finely crafted swords, beleiving in honour. Some Samurai ride horses, akin to Knights in other nations.
The Phalnax are highly trained warriors fighting in heavy armour with large Tower sheilds. They fight in a very close order.
The Neraka fear the Flesheaters and wish to wipe them out, yet do not wish to enter their swampy domain.
The Neraka wish to unify the mainland, whether through War or Diplomacy is yet to be seen.
The ruler of the nation is King Malaki the Great.
The capitol of Neraka is Nerak. It is a large city surrounded by a high, black wall.
The navy of Neraka is weak, almost non-existent, yet their coastal defences are incredibly good. They compose of Pitch firing Catapults, Fire Ballistae and Managols.

May I use Nerak as my 'fortress'??

I'll be unable to post until late sunday, it seems... a weekend in my girlfriends place without net connection, you see..

I'll post all the details about my religion and organization immediately after returning. This is looking very promising this far!

OOC: This will most likely begin on Saturday,

:)

Warshrike, good bio...gives me a little bit of insight into your people. Civilization bio's will be posted in the OOC thread all at the beginning without any chatter...

After everyone has posted a mini factbook then we can use the OOC for what it's really for..

Im just trying to organize this best i can,

Well i gotta head out, c u all later....

Königreich von Abendroth

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/a/a9/Prussiaflag_small.jpg

Location: Northeast England
Capital: Iserlohn
Head of State: König Karl II "Just"

Abendroth is old kingdom of German culture sphere in Northeast England. Population of Abendroth is focused on cities of Iserlohn and Lohengramm, to the coast.

Army is based to infantry and navy; cavalry has never been important part of Abendrothese military. Abendrothese infantry, often colled "Fuches", "foxes" are light form of infantry, heavy ones, the "Hirsch", "elks" are rare sight in fields where Abendrothese are spreading death and glory.

Abendrothese is officially Christian nation, but pagan faith is still strong in it's soil. Many people still sacrifice cattle and harvest to ancient pagan gods, especially to the magnificent Kaiser Eisenberg, gallant leader of gods, protector of soldiers.

http://www.nba.fi/kuvat_iso/37c4d7d8.jpg

Fort Iserlohn

The Al-Nev founded Nevus at the far point of their expansion. Originally intended to be just a trading outpost, the greenness of the land and the riches from trade swelled the number of immigrants. It soon overflowed its original walls and borders and became a state in its own right.

The head of the leading noble family, Sami Tarek al-Saqr, rallied support for independence from overseas and led Nevonian forces to victory in the “Twin Battles” (a land battle decimating forces sent to bring Nevus to heel and a naval battle resulting in the destruction of its supply fleet). Thus sitting free and in a position for maximum trade flowing through their port, Nevus has achieved a fair amount of wealth.

Under the Tarkin dynasty, Nevus has blossomed into a center of learning and science as well as a burgeoning trade center. It has as much of a cosmopolitan atmosphere and make-up as is possible in the land. By decree, as long as basic laws and civility are observed – and the will of the ruler is obeyed – anyone of any stripe may live and flourish within the borders. This means that there is an extensive police force, including a secret organization that answers only to the Justice Vizier, as well as an extensive spy network.

Militarily the average soldier is very well equipped with chain or scaled armor, a slightly curved fine steel sword and a light shield. All are expected to be able to use a bow but there is a dedicated corp of archers using larger compound-recurved bows (difficult to maintain with the weather but worth it). Spears are also common issue but they are more for use versus cavalry- often being dropped in favor of the sword for fighting other infantry. Many also carry all metal maces for use versus well armored opponents but these are definitely regarded as secondary weapons.

Originally there was a strong cavalry tradition, but now (with a few notable exceptions) horses are generally used for transport or as light units to chase a broken enemy. The sole exception is the household guards of the ruler. They are mounted on the finest horses available and spend their time training with lance and bow to form a heavy striking unit. Often they are employed at the critical point of a battle to turn the tide or break an enemy, most of the time with the king riding to the fore.

There is a strong naval tradition and Nevus spends a large amount of its wealth maintaining a fighting fleet for coastal patrols and protection from raiders. The ships maintain the tradition of being smaller, fast and flexible built. The larger warships (galleys) do make use of rowers since sails were sacrificed for various missile weapons flinging incendiary devices. This fast flexible fleet is used for raiding and fast strikes at the unprotected bellies of enemies. It also is invaluable if an army must spend an extended time in the field.

Due to the love of knowledge, centers of learning and a huge (for the area) library, Nevus is well able to employ siege craft and a wide variety of artillery pieces. Many an aggressor has also come to grief with a cloud of fine grind lime or sulphurous smoke with stinging pepper for the eyes and nose. Use of these alchemical weapons in a formal battle has won the day several times with little loss. Hellbore in a water source does wonders to end a siege.

Nevus is a rich and sparkling beacon to the land. Anyone can join and partake of its delights, but no one can take it all for themselves. The people as a whole would prefer peace and hard work, but they do not shirk from a fight. Come let us reason together is the standard response to aggression, but Nevonian walls are strong, its people secure and their ferocity in ending a fight well known. They still maintain the old country terms of unconditional surrender…if called for…

(castle image to follow)

Alrighty then, here's the map so far: Map. (http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/5148/mapqf7.png)

Warshrike, you are allowed only one territory, and the one directly south of me is claimed by Nevus. How about the one inbetween them?

Red: FleashEaters
Blue: Osteia
Yellow: Nevus

Looking great,

We need to get the others claims in.....

Alright the Flesheater bio:

They are reffered to by other groups by many names: The Bonefolk, the Undead, Boogeymen, but most know them as...the Flesheaters.

The Fens, as it is called, is perhaps the largest group of bogs, swamps, and marshes on the island. It is incredibly ancient, temples and statues of forgotten gods dotting the landscape. A long, long time ago, before the age of Rome or Greece, before Egypt, even before the Sumerians, a tribe of men lived in The Fens. They worshipped the outer gods, and were said to possess great power.

This tribe formed an empire, and soon had begun to colonize mainland europe itself. They erected temples wherever they went, reaching high into the sky. They preformed mass sacrifices, wiping out entire tribes to feed their gods. It is they who discovered fire, and spread its knowledge through the use of it in warfare.

One day, however, the gods no longer smiled on their favored tribe. The empire fell, the temples became overgrown, and the people were cast into darkness. They were killed everywhere they went, their former glory earning them the hate of every other tribe. The remnants of the grand tribe settled in the swampy Fens, where they discovered ruins older then their empire. They studied ancient texts and hid from the world.

It is unclear when they became so barbaric, but legend says that this tribe learned the true intentions their horrible alien gods had for man, and they went insane. Others say they simple had a famine one year and developed a taste for man. Nobody is sure, but what is clear is that no one else has dared to settle or clear The Fens since their arrival.

The Flesheaters are a simple people. Thier hovels are very crude, almost cave man like. Most live in sloppy huts (http://us.games-workshop.com/games/warhammer/orcs/terrain/village/images/hut_P1.jpg), and can easily be rebuilt or moved. They only farm one plant: shrooms. The Flesheaters are divided into "bands" which is a group of 2-6 families. The bands move about once a month taking their shrines (http://www.lightningcoyote.com/oldsite/images/concepts/magic/Orc-S/images/b-temple.jpg) with them. War is the only form of food collection besides hunting....they are cannibals.

Their weapons are simple devices, very similar to Aztec design, like the macuahuitl (http://www.famsi.org/research/pohl/images/aztec4figure09.jpg). Armor, if they wear any, is leather made from lizard skin. Warriors however usually go naked, save for a helmet (http://www.fxtailor.dk/masks/masks_001.jpg) carved from bone(sometimes with flesh still on it) hopped up on their shrooms. The helmets are re-enforced with multiple layers of bone, the skin of foes put on the outer layer. Often strange symbols are carved into the masks or their very skin.

Calvary is useless, as horses simply sink into the bogs. However, the tribe is quite adpet at using hawks and abnormally large eagles in war as scouts or as weapons themselves. Another art that has not been lost to time is fire. The Flesheaters have mastered greek fire, a napalm like substance made popular by the Byzantine empire. The Flesheaters usually pour this substance into a skull and hurl iiit at the enemy, lighting him ablaze. Any attempt to put water on the fire only causes it to burn hotter and brighter. These dangerous weapons are reffered to as "Jack o' Lanterns " by outsiders.

The religion of the Flesheaters is unclear, as no person has ever seen one of their shrines. From what can be gathered they worship many dities, the chief of them being some entity known as Mustakrakish.


Their territory is easy to see, because it is marked by skeletons. Skeletons of fallen foes are either nailed to trees, or stuck on spears jammed into the ground. This grotesque display of barbarity outlines the whole of The Fens, and this sight alone has stopped many "extermination" mobs away. Instead of rope, it appears the Fleasheaters prefer to use dried intestine, whether animal or man knowbody cares to find out.

Some think they are the living dead, a legend the Flesheaters relish. After all, all dead are carried away by the flesheaters, and a warrior may see a flesheater wearing the skin of a fallen comrade...whose to tell him it isn't the dead man come back to get him? The Flesheaters particulary seek out the faces and skins or preists, and often wear their bent and blood covered crosses as a sign of their supremacy.

The Flesheaters have no allies, mainly because nobody ever talks to them. However, legends tell of a young chieftan, during the Roman era, who braved the Fens and spoke to the "high preist" of the Flesheaters. According to this legend he discovered that if he wore a certain symbol and chanted a heretical prayer, the Flesheaters would do him no harm. 4 days after his "meeting" the roman army in lower England was decimated by "demons" wearing the "skin of men." Rome was almost driven off the island, until the brave chieftan who had formed the pact apparantly refused to eat the flesh of a roman soldier with the high preist. This was seen as a great disrespect, and the Flesheaters are said to have eaten and devoured his entire tribe. The Flesheaters returned to the Fens, and Rome returned (although it is said that every week they left 10 prisoners or slaves outside of the Fens as an "offering" to the "demons.") The legend ends with a chilling statement: "the skin of the once brave chieftan adorns the high preist to this day, his face and the skin of his children used as table cloth for thier demonic altar."

It has been theorized that in some occult text or another, one could find the sign and prayer, and speak to the most devilish of all peoples, the most horrids of horrids, the most macabre of macabre....the Flesheaters

Painting, "Driving the Romans Out." (http://majic13.ionichost.com/art/berserker.jpg)

Thats awesome,

I'll come up with somthing soon..

On another note, some of your pictures don't work...

(are you sure? they all work for me...)

I'm just getting alittle worried...so far everybody want to crowd around me! Oh and if you are interested in contacting the Flesheaters, just do a thread where one of your "wizards" or such finds a book on the legend and he goes meets a old man in a forest. I'll take if from there.

CAUTION!
IF YOU DARE TO ENLIST THE DIOBOLICAL FORCES OF THE FLESHEATERS BE PREPARED TO HAVE YOUR RULER VISIT THEM, PARTAKE IN HUMAN FLESH, AND DO MANY EVIL THINGS THAT THEY WANT YOU TO DO. YOU DON'T WANT THEM TO GO TO WAR WITH YOU.

If i would have known about you or your Flesh eating tribe we could have done an rp where i had the Romans return...that would have been cool too :)

It sounds as if alliance is difficult to establish.....

Of course, it has to be hard. My troops will be the toughest, most fearsome, and the most badass in the lnad. The sheer sight of them will send most running, and in actual combat they will be masters! They've been trapping, killing, and fighting people since birth, and know them like a Plains Indian knows the buffalo.

Imagine if you will, a large plain, with two armies on each side. The opposer marches his infantry forward. All of a sudden, from the nearby woods a massive shrieking horn blows, imitating a sound not heard on earth. From the woods rush nearly naked beings wrapped in the skin of former soldiers, rshing at them with inhuman speed and ferocity. The other army breaks, and tries to flee.

But they can't get away. They are dug into, hcked to pieces, bitten, decapitated, disembowled, and utterly destroyed. As the opposer flees the Flesheaters begin to eat thier now fallen foes, and quickly drag the reamins back into the woods.

The other army has won, and news will spread that it enlists the help of dark forces....

For a benefit like that, you will do some very, very horrid things.

That sounds cool! and horrifying....

The wearing of the enemy skin kinda reminds me of the movie, The Devil's Rejects, when buddy wears that girls boyfriends face...shiiit!

**That's sick..**

Never saw that movie....wanted to though.

Oh and by the way, the Flesheaters will sometimes make raids into nearby villages or towns. Nothing to declare war on me about, since it's been going on since forever. Just don't want an alliance of 4 kingdoms to come crashing through my swamp!

Also, would it be ok if I had a few of my warrior's faces cut up and sown in places so they looked less...human. Even crawl on all fours...have the tops of their fingers cut off revealing the bone, then haveing it sharpened like a razor....their ears cut...basically making them look like this? (http://images.epilogue.net/users/ztiev/ghoul.jpg) or this? (http://www.lovecraft.ru/illustrations/gods/img/ghoul_coc_big.jpg)

I mean it's possible, just INCREDIBLY PAINFUL...but they don't care about that.

Very well... I will take the northernmost province of Scotland. This should give me enough time to take some land southwards before I meet you.

Are we going to be playing with neutral armies/garrisons??

hehe Doom. I think war between us will be like Rome and the Gauls. Albeit a slightly stronger Rome and more psychotic Gauls...

A bit more of a Bio:
The walled city state of Nerak, Northernmost province in the ancient Harim empire, saw the fall of the empire long before it came. The preists began practicing dark rituals which Nerak wanted nothing to do with. The Samurai drove the preists out and established their own religious order, The order of the Ivory Hand. The High Preist of the Ivory Hand pressured the newly independant city into a fear of the Harim returning.

To combat this threat, the might Samurai led the Phalnax out of the walls and conquered much of the province. Soon after, the Harim empire fell. Fear ran rampant throughout Nerak as dark shapes were seen gliding over the ocean in the distance. Once more, the High Preist convinced the people to act. This time, massive Ballistae and Catapult towers were build every hundred metres along the shore, each tower made of stone and 25m high.

Meanwhile, within the city, the Ivory Hand had new opposition. The order of the Ebony Hand was practicing much the same rituals as the Harim preists had been. To this day, the Ebony and Ivory orders loathe eachother. Only the Samurai keep them in check.

Of late, the Nerakans population has boomed, and they are having trouble feeding an evergrowing population. With this in mind, they prepare to march southwards in search of new land and food.
The heavily booted Phalnax march forth, Samurai in the lead, and behind them scores of Archers and Spearmen. Preists of both Ebony and Ivory march with the army, ready to preach a new religion to those they encounter.
Elite Chariots and Horsemen ride along the flanks.
The army of Nerak is coming. For unity. For strength. For Nerak.

At home, Nerak is ruled by the King Malaki and his three advisors. One advisor is of the Ebony order, Dakkon. The second is of the Ivory, Ulrich. The third is a Samurai warlord, Emeran Takeshi.
Of late, many members of both religions have been found dead through many means. It is beleived that, unless checked, the Orders will soon cause a massive internal conflict.

Notes: Added in Chariots. Took away coastal Managols.

OOC: I wrote quite a lot tonight, but not enough. It is against my principles to post a half-ready text, so I'll save it for tomorrow when I have time to finish it, and then I'll start actually RP'ing.

Thank you for your patience.

Ok, thats cool...we are still in the preperation stage...

New map. (http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/8100/mapcc2.png)
Red: FleashEaters
Blue: Osteia
Yellow: Nevus
Green: Warshrike

Warshrike, i gave you some of the islands, but the norethernmost one I left "undiscovered." Lets get some rpin done!

The Cult of Madnast

The God
General of Gods, The Heavenly Warlord, Father of Warriors.

Madnast is the God that Madnestian Knights, members of The Order of The Black Silver, worship. He is part of the ancient pantheon that was once followed by the whole of the Islands. Nowadays, Madnast and perhaps some of the Flesheaters’ gods (even though neither of these would ever admit that they nor their gods would have anything in common) are all that is left.

Why is he worshipped? Well, the thing is that those who fight under the blessing of Madnast very rarely lose - if their cause is just, that is. When the battle hangs in the balance, when both sides are using every last tip of stamina they still have and fighting with everything they got, in that decisive moment the thunderous laugh can be heard, and the tired soldiers look up to the sky. They see the massive figure of a muscular black charger and their God in the golden saddle, swinging his sword high and the echoing voice, “FORWARD!”, gives them the encouragement they need, new strength fills their tired bodies, and the hearts of the enemy are shaken.

The physical appearance of The Father of Warriors is the figure of a massive, two-and-a-half meters tall man wearing a silver armour – this is also how he is also presented in the statues made to honour him. His skin is black like that of a demon, but his eyes shine like blue diamonds. His mount is Fargyin, a massive black warhorse. “Where the Fargyin has charged will the grass never grow”, like the saying goes. The feet of the Holy Horse are said to be in fire, to leave a flaming path wherever it goes.

Worshipping and Rituals
Madnast is not believed to require sacrifices or fancy temples and rituals that only few selected priests can execute properly. His followers are mostly, excluding the Knights who are completely dedicated to him, simple warriors, soldiers and free lances. The God is like they are – simple and honest. It is thought that if a man has true faith and that in his heart he follows the guidance of The Father of Warriors, it will be enough. It is the business between the man and the God, and others have nothing to say to it.
Within the Order things are a bit more formal. There are certain things that a Knight is and is not allowed to do, to keep the blessing and stay in favour of The Father. These will be explained later, for despite being few, they are indeed important for the organization.

The symbol that the members of the Order use is made of the pictures of The Sword and The Lightning tattooed in their arms, Lightning to the left and Sword to the right hand. The tattoo is not made of colour, but a scar. Someone with the blessing of the god does it with a dagger as a part of a formal ritual of becoming a true knight.


The Afterlife
Those who pray Madnast and fight like good soldiers throughout their lives, are believed to join the ranks of the Household Guard of their Father. Rest are given the eternal rest in the Halls of Mirasha, in The House of The Brave.


The Order of Black Silver

Those who have committed their mortal bodies, immortal souls and time in this life and world to Madnast, serving as "The Hands of The God on this Earth, as his Sword and his Shield, his Ears and his Eyes, and as his Mouth and Voice to those whose ears are not worthy for his own Words and who have to hear it through his servants.", are called Madnestian Knights, and their organization The Order of Black Silver.

The Order's economy is based on the new system that they have spread together with their growing net of monasteries, called "banking". Travellers can give their gold to one of these, and get a letter with the Order/Monastery's Seal in return. The letter describes the person it has been given to, so that stealing it wouldn't get you nowhere. This letter, with the seal untouched, can then be turned to money in any other monastery with sufficient gold reserve.

The cult and Order are both ancient, dating back to the Age of Tribes, far beyond all written word or memory of men. The cult has not however been always like it is today. Only three hundred years ago begun the rise of the order, to the glory and power that it now holds. When Sarwan The Glorious became the Grand Master, the Order had declined and weakened to be merely more than a handful of old, tired warriors just waiting to leave this world to see their Father again in the House of The Brave. There were few young within the ranks, and it seemed like this generation would be the last. Order’s only real job at this point was protecting the ancient texts (that were later collected and edited to form the holy Book of The Sword) and tradition of honouring and praying Father of Warriors. The cult itself wouldn’t have died with the Order – there were still enough men who believed in him - but it would have been the end of any organized religion practicing.

Sarwan saw and thought about all this, and in the meeting that was feared to become the last of them (meetings of those days took place once every ten years) he stood up and spoke. The exact words of that speech are not known, but it must have been rather remarkable, for in that speech he convinced the remnants of the Order of Madnast to completely reform itself.
In 5 years there were 500 knights and monks, instead of 50. In 20 years there were 3000. When Sarwan died, 50 years after taking control, there were nearly 5,000 Madnestians (a new word that was taken into use after the shallow line between monk and knight was removed and they were all made equal). When Sarwan died, his son Hasdrun The Cunning gave the Order its current name, and started to build up its economy. After being financed mainly through serving as fierce mercenaries the knights were now used to protect the new system, banking, that has been described above. It weakened Order’s armed power, took it further from its origins and confused many of Madnast’s followers. It did, however, make the Order incredibly rich.
New turn, back to the roots this time, was taken when a great storm destroyed the city in which the Main Chapel was located, and the Chapel itself was hit by a lightning, the symbol of Madnast, and burned completely. It was taken a sign, and Hasdrun was forced to change the system a bit. Banking was too profiting and financially important to be completely abandoned, but the majority of the knights were sent to the field again, to do what their god had told them to do – to face other men in the bloody chaos of battle. Servants of Madnast, Knights in their black and silver armour rode their great warhorses again, fighting on the side of this and that king and kingdom, caring little about politics. Their leaders were more interested about the “big picture”, and fell deep into the great swamp of both internal and international intrigue and plotting in and between the nations of the island. They feared greatly the very idea of hegemony – one state having too much power over its neighbours – and the Order became some sort of a stabilizer in the politics of the Island, siding usually with the enemies of the strongest faction that somehow threatened the fragile state of power balance.

Three hundred years have now passed, and the Order is on the heights of its strength and prestige. Madnestian Knights are greatly respected in most of the courts of the Island, if not loved in all of them, and even feared for the power that they possess. Their monasteries and castles – usually quite there is no difference between this two though - are numerous in all (OOC: If someone wants to be a exception, this can of course be changed, but I’d hope for not too many of them…=/ ) countries of the Island, and their Great Citadel (http://www.orthodox.clara.net/crusader_castle.jpg) in the Middisle (OOC: Isle of Man) is truly an impressive one. Besides their banking income, knights gain profit from their (usually pretty small) lands that are located around their monasteries, in the form of taxes collected from the peasants (OOC: If this is not ok with some players, it can of course be discussed). They also control the Middisland, which has some 9,000 inhabitants, and they too pay taxes to the Order. Many of the knights are originally from the small island, and most of the able youngsters of the island are reqruited as men-at-arms to protect Order's many monasteries and holdings overseas.
There are perhaps as many as 1,000 knights alltogether, and each monastery has a unit of 20-200 men-at-arms, armed with pole-arms or crossbows. The knights are exactly what you’d suppose them to be – heavily armoured, extremely well trained men ready to fight to the bitter end. Besides the Osteian Knights there are probably no horsemen that would be able to withstand their full charge or meet it in equal terms with their own.



OOC: I used my old text about Spardlakon, a god created for some ancient RP, that I found. If there's absolutely anything that needs to be changed or removed, I hope you don't hesitate to tell!

OOC Stuff:

Since the RL population of England by about 1300 was approx 5 million, if you just take that as a base figure and divide it evenly among the territories on the map and it comes to roughly 333,000 a piece. Obviously size and topography would vary this but for RP stuff I wouldn’t suggest going too much higher to begin with. For example, my land of Nevus is not going to have even that many people, probably along the lines of 200,000 at the most.

Also remember that that is total population – including children, elderly and other less than warrior / fully productive persons. Work out your ratios according to the traditions of your people, but remember the ramifications.

The economy of England kept increasing during this time, but the really strong/wealthy land was a few centuries in the future. This is harder for this type of RP, but we should bear in mind that England was not the richest of places: Lots of resources to use but not a tremendous amount of precious metals and such. Again, for example: Nevus is in a great position for trade and harboring so it commands a high amount of coinage compared to its neighbors, but it’s really not that much compared to rich mainland states.

It looks like we’ve got a good mix of cultures going, and a huge dose of potential conflict (who wouldn’t want to exterminate the FleshEaters? :D ). What are some other views on this subject and other points of interest?

Hmmm... I didn't actually think that population would be that of England... I thought that we would take only technology and map from the real world. But, keeping the numbers low makes this more realistic and original, in comparison to most of PT RP's with armies of tens and hundreds of thousands, so I'm by no means against the idea.

I think that 3,000 would be the max of my actual knights, spread over the whole Island, so that I could never really field more than 500, in some rare cases perhaps 7-800 knights in one place. Couple thousands of men-at-arms on top of that, and the full power of the Order of Black Silver would be in use.

If possible, I'd like to see some details about the actual numbers and compositions of the armies on this Island, too :) .

We need to agree on a population limit.....

We need want this to be as real as possible...

My vote - 5 million. In south and coast more than in north and inland.

Ok, 5 million it is ....

Im gonna prepare a factbook in about 20 minutes all about my territory and my military....

Is my fb ok? I know I made the Order pretty damn strong and influential, but believe me when I say I know how to play without godmodding. And besides, I'm not even dreaming about conquering nations - just spreading the God's word... ;)

Madnestan, would you like to have the isle of man just for you? Also, perhaps we can do an rp later where I steal a holy item of yours. Or maybe a rp where one of your monks discovers a dark secret about the father of warriors....:p

My population would be around 80,000. Tough enviroment, tough life. As for the compisition of my army....all of my nation is really my army. Children, women, even old men may not rush out on the field, but still stand guard. People who get too old are eaten. ;)

In Nerak the Elderly either live to be revered... Or are sacrificed to the blades of the Ebonites.
Children are generally free. The can choose to be schooled, or may run the streets as they wish.
Cripples and beggars are rare. The medical skills of the Ivory Hand are second to none on the island, and the Ebonites step in to take those that can't be saved...

Madnestan, Your religion can find it's way to Nerak, But you will have to compete with both the Ebony and Ivory orders.
Maybe you could step in after/during my civil war...

Could I maybe have a larger population than the other nations?? Being further north WOULD be a disadvantage, but because there are no other PC nations I don't see any reason my pop would be low(Skirmishes with the NPC borders and maybe desease too... I would be willing to have the other provinces around me have a smaller population than Nerak if need be.

The army is, at current, depending on the pop. For a large pop, maybe a max of 50 Chariots, 100 Mounted Samurai, maybe 5-600 Light Horsemen(Bows, Maybe swords, Handaxes etc.)
The rest will be composed of a ratio of Spearmen:Archers 3:1.
Maybe some swordsmen too...

The Order of the Ebon Hand worships a goddess named Gaeshea
The Order of the Ivory Hand worships a god named Gaeshen
Though the gods are technically twins, they could be no more different.
The origionally belonged to the ancient pantheon, but are all that remains in the North. Indeed, apart from crumbling cities and Nerak, little remains in the north...

The national colours of Nerak are:
Samurai- Maroons/Reds
Ebon Hand-Black
Ivory Hand-White
Army-Depends on the service, regiment and rank. Usually a mixture of colours.
All of the arches are skill woodsmen, and were greens and browns to fade away from CC encounters
King Malaki's presonal colours are Black, White and Maroon, his coat of arms being a downwards pointing Sword painted half white, half black down the centre, over a feild of Maroon.

g2g to English now... Bye

Do you think that the birds and rabbits that live in those swamps can really feed 80,000 people? Especially if they're travelling around all the time? I'm not saying that it couldn't, as I really don't know about cultures/peoples living in swamps, but the number just appears as a rather high one to me anyways.


And yeah, I think that Isle of Man could be ruled straight by the Order, without any local nobles messing things up (like it is in the mainland)...:p

EDIT: About Nerak's population... I can't see how the Scottish Highlands and those rocky islands could really host a population larger than the southern provinces that raise much better crops and are closer to European trade routes (assuming that in our worl Europe even exists :P). It just wouldn't make sense, now would it?

Birds....rabbits.....what about people? The Flesheaters often have whole villages full of captives hidden in caves, eating them as they please. I've been raiding villages and town for centuries, and have been defeated by none. The Flesheaters live mostly off of their own elderly, those they kill in raids, or those they "farm." You're forgetting just how evil we are. ;)

But I look towards the seminole and the calusa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calusa) tribes. They survived quite well in the everglades and were the undisputed rulers of south florida.

Even those slaves have to eat, so having them can't really be counted as another source of food in that sense... ;)
But there is plenty of fish available also, and you can always raid your neighbours to get more people to eat. If the Flesheaters, on top of this, have a habit of making shitloads of children, 'guess that 80,000 isn't all that bad then... even though I'd cut it to 30-40,000 nonetheless.

It's a swamp. Mushrooms, man!! Madcap ones!! Gotta love them...

Well most of the population would be within the walls of Nerak, which is a large city.

Also, I shoulden't have those islands. The closest thing I have to a non-fishing navy is the towers which guard the shorelines. Unless fishermen settled them... In which case nevermind...

So when are we starting up??

As the RP begins, here is the breakdown of Nevonian population:
Newborns to 4-years-old: 17,380 (males- 8,866 , female- 8,514)
5-years-old to 19-years-old: 51,700 (males- 24,695 , female- 27,005)
20-years-old to 49-years-old: 96,380 (males- 47,716 , female- 48,664)
50+ years-old: 33,540 (males- 17,374 , females- 16,166)

Total Population: 199,000
Population Growth Rate: 1.15% (barring War, Plaque, Famine, etc.) or about 61 years to double population.

Urban to Rural ratio: 1 to 9 or about 20-25,000 permanent inhabitants of the capital/port city of Nev. The floating populations can more than double this number during high trade season.

The elderly are treated with respect and usually have a wealth of experience to draw upon. Any type of education is honored and if you bring written knowledge (scroll, parchment, books) you may be paid a guardian stipend by the crown in exchange for free access to said material. Hence Nevus has a large though de-centralized library system and materials collection.

There is also a large young immigrant population eager to seek its fortune in the “Golden Cloud” that is Nevus. Hence growth may be even faster than anticipated, but various factors such as available land, aggressive neighbors and risks of illness (Nev being a major port of entry for the entire island) curb the increase.

Rulers, Symbols and Philosophy
The current (and founding) dynasty is the Tarkins, tracing their roots to Sami Tarek al-Saqr the first king. The current ruler is Ahmed ibn Musa Sami al-Nasr, the fourth of the line and great-great-grand-nephew of the founder. He is in his mid-30s and maintains a first and two other concubines. He has sons by all three as well as four daughters; the eldest – a boy named Rashid – is 10-years-old and expected to become the next king.

Ahmed’s mother is still alive and he has built her a tower to live in comfortably, now called the “Mother’s Tower,” and it may become the new site of the women’s harem. He has one younger brother, Musa, still living and three half-sisters. The youngest of these sisters, Fatima, is still unmarried. At 18-years-old, she is a valuable political tool with any marriage bringing an alliance with Nevus. It also helps that she has the dusky skin and lovely sharp features of her ancestors. Her hair is a long, lustrous raven black and her eyes the green that emeralds covet. Her husband will be the envy of many.

The symbols of Nevus are a “Golden Cloud”-symbolizing the glory of knowledge and the knowledge of glory and an “Ivory Crown” – symbolizing the unstained, incorruptible rule of the king. The colors used for flags, guerdons, and pennants are Gold, Red, Green, and White. There can be geometric patterns, no animals or people, but often are just solid colors arrayed in the order listed above left-to-right. Since there are no other flags permitted, heraldry is limited to who can raise that particular geometric style flag granted by the king. Personal symbols appear on shields and armor, never flags.

The standard religion of Nevus is monolithic. The belief is in the ultimate power of good, righteousness and justice. While the world is an imperfect reflection of paradise – hence mistakes, petty graft, corruption, lies etc. – but ultimately as long as a person strives for the right and the good with their full heart…paradise is theirs.

You do have to work in this imperfect world and your rewards in paradise will be based on your acts here, but only if you are truly evil, unrepentant or otherwise thumb-your-nose/ignore the concept of good will you be damned. Thus comfort and civility are to be sought in this life as long as they do not become the end in and of themselves. Also there should be no regrets in destroying evil and fighting against its allies. Living and dying in such a struggle increase your rewards in the here after.

Armed Forces:
Nevus has a core of professional Household cavalry, archers and select artillery specialists. The combined strength of these units is 1,600 men, broken down as follows- Royal Cavalry: 500, Archers: 900, Artillery: 200. With these are also long serving (though not necessarily professional) spear and swordsmen numbering about 600. These 2,200 or so warriors serve as the core for garrisons in Nev and any permanent fortifications in Nevus territory.

To supplement these professionals is a rotating call up of eligible age males for military duty. Most are used as footman but some do receive increased training in archery or fighting from horseback to supplement the specialist forces. During any given campaign season these numbers between 400 to 1300 extra men (depending on plans and possible enemy activity). That means at any moment in fair weather there is a combined pool of 2,600 to 3,500 men ready to fight but usually doing things like wall maintenance, road building/repair, patrolling to secure border areas from wandering cannibals…everyday kind of stuff.

The eligible age men also serve as the basic corps of reserves if a major war breaks out when an additional 3-5,000 could be mustered in short order without completely halting the economy (but making it a very lean year). Thus upwards of 8,000 men can be under arms in less than a month, but that would only occur in an invasion scenario – either being invaded or teaching a lesson to foes.

Naval forces are a tricky number in that many of the potential armed sailors are fishermen, riverboat men and merchant sailors in their normal occupations. There is, however, a core squadron of six war galleys (three in the water and three laid-up at any time) and 15 smaller sailing craft on patrol duty during raiding times. The 15 are from the large pool of merchant craft able to compete to get the royal patrol contract. The reason: Small scale raiding is permissible by the patrol boats as well as tax duty collection for the crown. Both are highly profitable ventures for the captains. Crew numbers vary from year to year, usually between 400 to 800 men.

Bump?

Is this going to get offf the ground or what?

We need afew more people....

is this dead?

So it, sadly, seems... =(

Is there still room? If there is, I was thinking about being a group of Miners led by their Foremen/Berserkers. And if I can be them, can Their castle/fortress be a small fortified position above a tin mine? I picked tin because I know for a fact they have tin in England

Oh...it's dead...gay

why did it die? The Fleshtearers were so cool!

It could be brought back to life, I for one would be willing to join up..
You should TG all the players and see if they're still up for it, maybe it just got forgotten
If not, I'll start my own past RP some day soon.

We need more then 3 if this is going to re-live. If we get two more people, lets rp!

Hmmm I have to go out now, but try telegramming all the past people and Ost to see if they're all up for it. If they are then we'd have enough people to rp.