NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC:

EDIT: This will be conducted on an offsite forum to comply with the measures on historical RP's. Forum can be found here http://crusaderstories.bigforumpro.com/index.htm (hope the link works this time!)

EDIT2: Two slots are left, preferrably for players who wish to be Saracens!

Ok, after watching Kingdom of Heaven last night I’ve been inspired to try another crusades RP. However unlike most I want this to be Rp’d from the perspective of nobility in the royal courts and not with one player controlling each faction. I envisage factions, but they will be controlled by two moderators.

So what we are looking for is a character driven RP that has elements of military action, economic development and diplomatic and political dealings. All with the backdrop of the Middle East in the early twelfth century. A good starting date would be 1150, just after the 2nd Crusade has ended in failure at the gates of Damascus

This thread will serve as an interest thread from where all applicants will be vetted. I’m afraid that I am looking for good quality RP’ers and people who have demonstrated a historical awareness for the period as well as basic commonsense. It sounds rather rude, but in the last RP I participated in based in this period we had zealous Christian leaders running off and being best friends with Damascus and Saladin. Whilst I realise not every Christian crusader in the time was a religious nutjob, some historical consistency would be nice. As would relatively realistic economic development, baring in mind water sources, population confines and the ever present religious differences. You can be a Christian, Muslim, or possibly an Assassin leader (such as the guy in Assassins Creed whose name I can’t remember...Altair’s master.) I also envisage some bandit bands as well.

On a RL timescale I don’t see this thread travelling hugely quickly. I don’t expect people to post everyday – god knows I don’t – but around a post a week would be nice. Or if you have to drop out then a TG to me or the other thread mod just to let us know so we can open the spot to somebody else.

If your still reading and don’t think I’m a stickler for everything then please do fill in a little application below and I’ll have a look at some of your RP’s using the search function in jolt.

If there are any that you think particularly demonstrate your skills, willingness and commitment do leave a link or just the name of the thread. I’m hoping to start an IC thread on Friday with around 6-8 people.

For map reference I believe this map to be quite good, however a google image search will provide others if you so desire them:

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/europe_12thcentury_1884.jpg

Resource wise im still to work it out. But for the crusaders I’m thinking a regular reinforcement pool of troops and people from Europe, for others the normal numbers should suffice. Raw resources need more research from myself before I comment on them!



Application Post (Copy and Paste into your reply please)

NS nation:
Rp experience(only roughly):
Any particularly good posts/threads:
Desired faction/name for your Lord:
A rough idea of how many of the following that you would start with:
i)men-at-arms,
ii)servants
iii)population
iv)raw resources

You can modify it to fit NS regulations im sure, but so you know..

Im interested in this type of Rp.

I'm sure that this goes against the Mod ruling about historical RPs....

EDIT: I would however be interested if we used our NS nation in MT and or PMT and had one nation launch crusades.

sorry! I didnt mention it would be done on an offsite forum! Whoops! Great organisational start for me.

I was still under the impression it was OK to canvas the NS forums OOCly for players...perhaps Im wrong in which case Ill delete the thread.

If you want any information on military garb/technology/weapons/maps of the time then I'd be willing to help. I won't participate however.

For instance, here's a usable map. Link (http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/Upum/Fantasy/Crusader_Levant_map_small.jpg)

Can i join as a single mercenary knight?

I would love to join. Perhaps as a Saracen.

I am interested

NS Nation: The Worker's State of Kulikovia
Rp Experience: +4 years
Good threads: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=542651
Also the current "The Guardians" thread. My old nation Kulikovo has good posts as well.
Name: I'm still thinking of one

Also, Osteia: Sorry for not replying to your tg's. I've been busy and am still hammering out a general plot.

I just want control over one Gothic Knight mercenary :-), then im happy.

NS nation:Nosovia
Rp experience(only roughly):off and on for roughly 3 years
Any particularly good posts/threads:I suppose my best would come from Mokastana's civil war http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=544063 however I had more on another forum.
Desired faction/name for your Lord:Lord Aaric Randmarr (The thrid son of a Norse/Sicilian lord)
A rough idea of how many of the following that I hope to start with:
i)men-at-arms, roughly 40 knights and 150 foot soldiers
ii)servants-16
iii)population currently reserching
iv)raw resources currently reserching

Im very interested.


NS nation: Pilgrims of Isa
Rp experience: A few years
Goodthreads/posts:I enjoy all my posts.
Desired Faction/name: Knight of the Temple of Solomon, the "Pilgrim of Antioch", Theodore Wilkins, owns some land in Jerusalem.
Men at arms: Not many, just a squire, and about 50 footsoldiers with 20 knights.
Servants: 10
Population: A few hundred in his land.
Raw resources: Very near a river and with grain fields close by.

Also, Osteia: Sorry for not replying to your tg's. I've been busy and am still hammering out a general plot.

It's alright, im still in whenever you get set up Kulikovia

Count me in. I'll be the Christians, some of them anyway- the Knights Templar from France and England.

NS nation: Mante
Rp experience(only roughly): Although I haven't posted much as Mante, I have participated in historical RP's under other nations.
Any particularly good posts/threads: There was one about Napoleonic Europe that I quite enjoyed for a time - but it lost momentum due to unreliable RPers and general lack of interest.
Desired faction/name for your Lord: Faction:Byzantine Empire. Lord: Isaac of Nicea, a minor prince of the Komnenian dynasty.
A rough idea of how many of the following that you would start with:
i)men-at-arms: Say a bodyguard of about twenty, a group of thirty cataphract knights, one hundred spearmen/infantry, fifty archers and ten siege engineers.
ii)servants: A staff of twenty for myself, a group of forty for the army.
iii)population: My home province of Nicea is in the Bithynia region, and acts as a second city and port to Constantinople. So, at home I'd have say 25,000 people. (more information forthcoming)
iv)raw resources (more information forthcoming)

Would it help if we created factbooks for each of our Lords, including this information?

Also, do we include, as I did, areas that our characters come from, or assign ourselves areas that they have conquered/occupied in the Middle East itself?

Count me in. I'll be the Christians, some of them anyway- the Knights Templar from France and England.

Horaay, another Templar! Although some are from Germany:)

NS nation: Turka-Sir
Rp experience(only roughly): In total 4+ years. Onsite 3 months.
Any particularly good posts/threads: None have been completed thus far.
Desired faction/name for your Lord: Egyptian Kingdom, Emir (do not confuse the title Emir and Amir. Amir is a prince, whereas Emir is a general title of authority) Khadir Kalawun General of Saladin's 32nd Mamluk Cavalry

i)men-at-arms: 350 fully-graduated Mamluk cavalrymen
ii)servants: Four eunichs, six harem women, three wives
iii)population: Does not hold any office which rules over a populace
iv)raw resources: Researching

Quick queation before my character is to be final, which Crusade will this be? I assume your goal will either be the First Crusade, the one with the most peasent soldiers involved, or the Second Crusade where Latin Kingdoms have already been established.

NS nation: Wandering Argonians
Rp experience(only roughly): Third nation, first was started Jun 2003
Any particularly good posts/threads: There's quite a few. Just type my name in the 'Advanced Search' box. Also look for the nation 'Mercenary Soldiers'.
Desired faction/name for your Lord: Sir Matthias Heckler, of the Knights Teutonic
A rough idea of how many of the following that you would start with:
-None, I'm strictly a character RP'er.

I don't do the whole 'massive force' thing that well. I can also do an assassin character if that would be more benefical to the cause. That would probably be better anyway since they operate alone and I'm best at playing the loner.

NS nation: Elves Security Forces
Rp experience(only roughly): Off and on for about 4 years
Any particularly good posts/threads: Eh, none really on this forum, stuck mostly to my regionboard before it got hacked.
Desired faction/name for your Lord: Byzantine Empire, Lord Kryil Spiros (Second son of an Athenian knight)
A rough idea of how many of the following that you would start with:
i)men-at-arms: 70 vanguard spearman, 10 cataphract knights, 20 trezibond archers
ii)servants: 12
iii)population: 230
iv)raw resources: a small river/watering hole

Wow! Lots of posts. Sorry no reply yesterday people I was attempting to get the forums running correctly. Theres a link on the front page now to them...I warn you its my first time running a board so things may be a little clunky for a while!

Once you’ve registered there is an area for us to all put our little factbooks on our Knights and retinues etc so we can keep it together there too. I’m still aiming to open the RP thread on Friday :)

Individual responses to things brought up:

Thrashia, thanks for that offer of assistance, much obliged. If you register on the forums Ill put you as a Mod in our historical discussions area!

Osteia, yes a single knight sounds very good

Turka-Sir, Saracen sounds excellent...I was wondering if we were going to get anybody wanting to play as that after the first few posts but certainly happy you want to.

Kulikovia welcome onboard!

Same to Nosovia.

Stevid. Perhaps you could be a single Templar Lord as well as taking care of any major decisions that get shot up the order?

Mante: Yeah I think a brief factbook would be a good idea, stick it up in the section on the forum when you have a moment!
I think having a bit of a backstory for your Lord would be good. The time period is inbetween the 2nd and 3rd Crusaders, around 1150, so just after the 2nd Crusade has ended. Having some lands in the Holy Land at the start as well can be good...perhaps you wish to start small and expand, its up to you!

Wandering Argonians: Perhaps being an assassin character may be best then. I don’t like the whole huge army thing, but I was thinking most of the Lords would have a small battle company. Its up to you of course, you could play as a Loner Lord wandering around looking for a fight (for some reason the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail comes to mind!!)

Elves: Welcome onboard!

Cool, sure thing. Do you want me to post up the details for my dudes here or will there be a seperate thread or forum for that?

Theres another forum. The link is in the first post.

Surely this is the fouth crusade?

Count me in! Expect an Assassins Creed. ;)

NS Nation: Mussleburgh
RPing experience: Of doing countries 3 years, of doing single people almost none :(
Activity: High!

in the last RP I participated in based in this period we had zealous Christian leaders running off and being best friends with Damascus and Saladin.

Surely this is rather a compliment towards the brilliant diplomatic skills of the Seljuks? :p

Or are you referring to some other diplomatic maneuvering? My memory of that thread is pretty foggy by now.

Anyway I'd be interested in this, though I'm not sure exactly how much free time I can expect in the coming few months. I'd be willing to play whatever slots are unfilled, though I'd prefer to be on the Saracen side. Will wait to fill in more details until I figure out what side needs people.

No Byzantine representatives here? If there's any room I'd like to RP a young orthodox slave/captive/whatever with Byzantine roots.

I would really like to know which Crusade this is based off of. I still think this is the Second or Third Crusade, based off the fact that Saladin seems to be the leader of the Saracens. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

Cool, sounds good.

Turka-sir, ive edited the main page. We will start at the end of the 2nd crusade and we can change history from there depending upon what happens!

Manth, I was referring to Raymond of Tripoli running off to Damascus and staying there. Sure be a Saracen :)

Damirez, we do have one I believe. You can be another if you so desire.

If both of you come on board I think we can stop the applications and move on slightly ahead of schedule!

Posted my bio.

In Tripoli Raymond made peace with Saladin, perhaps hoping to ally with him against their common enemy Guy.

Taken from wiki, not the most reliable source, but it shows that Raymond's negotiations wouldn't have been totally unrealistic.

Welcome.

NS nation:Java-Minang
Rp experience(only roughly): 2 Years, mainly lone RPs
Any particularly good posts/threads: None in this forum
Desired faction/name for your Lord: Saracens/ Al-Ayubbi
A rough idea of how many of the following that you would start with:
i)men-at-arms, 50 Infantry
ii)servants 20
iii)population 1000 villagers
iv)raw resources 5 t food, 10 t construction material


Just putting my 2 cents

Join people!! :-) promising Rp here!

Im gonna push this right back to the.... TOP of the fourms.... :-P

Java, head over to the forums and signup there :)

Ost you are now the official thread standard bearer!

For those of you still checking here as well as the offsite forums I'll be opening the IC thread up within a few hours!

Awesome!

Im egar for this to start. Lol

Application Post (Copy and Paste into your reply please)

NS nation: Aelosia
Rp experience(only roughly): 10+ years.
Any particularly good posts/threads: Just search my name in the Nationstates Forums, you'll find plenty
Desired faction/name for your Lord: Amir Almine-Al-Kaleima (Armenian princess, Saracen aligned, representing a large part of the indigenous populatoin of the Holy Land during that time period)
A rough idea of how many of the following that you would start with:
i)men-at-arms: 5 elite household troops, just a Corps Guard.
ii)servants: 30
iii)population: 500 villagers.
iv)raw resources: Agricultural, arable lands, four water wells. A handful of inherited jewels


Done. I believe I could have a nice point having a female lady, and representing the armenian indigenous populaiton, torn between saracen and christian alliances.

Cool! Anything special come out of that title? :P lol

Oh and i never did do this...

Application Post (Copy and Paste into your reply please)

NS nation: Osteia
Rp experience(only roughly): six years
Any particularly good posts/threads: Just search my name, i had another nation from 2003 called NS reallydrunk < lol i had over 2000 posts on that one aswell.
Desired faction/name for your Lord:Herzog (Count) Dietar Von Manteufel, Representing his family name, Christianity
A rough idea of how many of the following that you would start with:
i)men-at-arms: None
ii)servants: None
iii)population: No village or population
iv)raw resources: None

He has been sent by his father to bring more greatness to his family name. Ancestors have been involved in the fight for the Holyland sence the first Crusade. Dietar will serve as a lone mercenary, his father told him he is to do it no other way, once he returns home he will be worthy of his family name and will be a true servant of god.

Aelosia head over to the forums and register.

A reminder to all those who have signed up, the RP has now started on the offsite forums. All you need to get started is a brief factbook entry (such as the one here) and then your off!

Hope everybody enjoys it and if you've got any issues contact me and Ill try to help!

I'll leave registration open for a little longer because we may get more interest and I think it may be the more the merrier :)

Yay! lol

Rp is up and running, and ACCEPTING MORE SIGN UPS!

Lots of talented Role Players involved already, sign on up!

NS nation: Void Templar
Rp experience(only roughly): A few MT's, a few FT's and a few PT's and around a year.
Any particularly good posts/threads: A Living Shadow (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=549734&page=12)
Desired faction/name for your Lord: William of Hooktown, Miles Christi.
A rough idea of how many of the following that you would start with:
i)men-at-arms: 0
ii)servants: 2
iii)population: 0
iv)raw resources : 0

Seeking glory, William of Hooktown has made his way to the Holy Lands to join the English soldiers. He was brought up in a rich estate, but he shuns riches and likes to live commonly.

Welcome to the Rp.

Absolute steal from Bernard Cornwell. Hope it doesnt impinge on any copyrights lol!

Lol hope not, but o well....

Absolute steal from Bernard Cornwell. Hope it doesnt impinge on any copyrights lol!

Um.. Yes, well... Um... *jumps through window and minion appears - http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z107/Kain1235/foolishfool.jpg*

Just gonna push this sign up back to the top....

Sence i happen to be the Rp's official standard bearer lol...

Soz for not posting in the off site forum. RL stuff that needs sorting- will have a factbook post up soon.

I went away fr the weekend, im back now and can catch up.

posted.

Did we start this yet?

Yeah, on the offsite forums at the top of the first post.

And how far along is it? If it's more than four pages there really isn't much of a point in me trying to catch up.

only just started the second page.

And the address or link to this alternate site is where?

first post