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[Shootandrun]

Welcome, foolish mortal, to You are King 3

The first few posts of this thread explain how the game works, how to join us and what's going on in the world. For rules and technical stuff, refer to the Wiki.

You Are King is, and I quote, "A surprisingly deep game of politics, intrigue and feudal rule.  Play a noble, advisor or simply a minion of the King and seek royal favour - or risk the role of a rebel or independent and seek fortune at the risk of the King's wrath."
That basically describes it. It's a roleplay heavy affair, with simple mechanics to keep things balanced. The most basic mechanics are basically RTD ones; complex things that rely on chance/skill will have a die thrown for their success by an impartial authority. There's loads of other rules, but you can ask about those in the OOC thread, or read the wikia page on the rules.
Things are all over the place. You can basically do whatever you want- be a merchant, a noble, a warrior, whatever. People interact and we get a semi-coherent story/world going on! Want to join us? See the next post.

There is a dedicated OOC thread which exists for discussing the rules, things that are happening, and asking to join the game. Find it here.

Also, there is an IRC channel we use for the harassment of each other
/server irc.freenode.net
/join #YaK3

I strongly encourage using it. While the OOC thread is not used often, there are a few chaps in the IRC most of the time, willing to talk about the game and pretty much everything else. It's a much faster way of operating than through the OOC thread, although you don't have to use it if you really don't want to.

GMing in this game is a complex thing. Many actions can be resolved without GMs doing anything- a lot of stuff is 'just' people talking.
Actions that require rolling, NPC interactions, or just a description, are resolved by one of these people:
-Me
-CyberGenesis

and to a lesser extent the following king:
-Dwarmin

[Shootandrun]

So you want to join us?

Step 1: Be sure you know what sort of game this is.
This is a roleplay-heavy game. Less min/maxing, more acting like your character would act. There is no way to 'win' and the mechanics are simple, but you are expected to interact in a sensible manner with people and not make your story be just about you; tie it into the stories of others and the story of the world at large.
The game is set in a low-fantasy early renaissance world. There are no non-human races. Gunpowder has not been invented and never will be in this game. This is the Golden Age of chivalry and feudalism. Magic does not exist, but there are mythical creatures roaming around the world, although centuries of hunting have left only a few survivors behind, and they have learned to fear - or to hate - mortal men.

Step 2: Check up on the state of the world.
The world is crazy. It is created by the players as they play, and constantly growing and changing. So trying to describe the state of the world- bit of a never-ending task.
Check out the list of current locations on the wiki- just skim through that. That's where stuff happens.
Skim the list of current players on the wiki. That's who is making stuff happen.
Read the Story so far: that's a summary of what happened.
Read the end-of-season summaries (at the bottom of the first post). That's what has happened, chronologically - it will contain more in-detail information than the Story so far.
Read the last page or two of the thread. That's what is happening.
You now have a vague impression of what the world is like. If a particular aspect interests you, you can ask about it in the OOC thread.

Story so far: nothing yet.

Step 3: Think up what sort of character you would like to create.
So you have a vague impression of what sort of game this is, and know sort-of what sort of world is going on. Ok. Now, where do you fit in? Where do you want to fit in? You can be nearly anything, basically - including a landed noble. Preferably something interesting, but also plausible. When you have a vague idea, suggest your character idea in the OOC thread. Get feedback. Perhaps the feedback is 'are you sure?' or 'we have ten of those'. If so, maybe you should consider changing your idea.
Your character has to start in the player nation, in order to keep the players interacting with each-other. This is irrevocable.
There are two things your character CANNOT be: a trader or an engineer/scientist. We had those last game, they were boring.

Step 4: Create your character. Fill in the thing below, and post it on the OOC thread. Wait for GM approval before posting in the IC thread. If you do not, you can give up on your hopes of playing.

Player: [Your username]
Position: [What your character does in life]
Full name: [Your character's name]
Bio: [Your background]
Traits or resources: [What you'll have at the beginning of the game. This is important. You have three ducats to spend. A ducat can buy: troops (at the price listed in the rules) traits (bonuses to certain dice rolls) or you can simply save up money and start the game with it.]

Step 5: Jumping in. Exactly what it says on the tin. Wait until you are approved by a GM before you do that. A player saying "yeah, seems ok, go right in" is not an acceptable excuse for a GM. The fact that the GMs seem to have missed your application is not an acceptable excuse to jump in. If you were buried in posts/ignored because we missed you, just post again (give us a margin before doing that), saying "I was forgotten" or something like that.

[Shootandrun]

The World, the Background

Here are all available maps of the world, followed by some explanations.

Spoiler: World Map and Cultures (click to show/hide)

Culture names written in the same font are part of the same cultural group.
Adranic = French / Germanic. The culture of the player kingdom.
Polytheistic pantheon, slavery is ok and widespread (they buy their slaves from Duluks and Haegars). Polygamy exists - a woman can have many husbands, a man many wives.
Altanic = Spanish
Polytheists with the same pantheon as Adranics, no slavery but human sacrifices => Nobleborn prisoners of wars, Altanic or any other culture, are imprisoned in a room full of salt with glass walls, and the people watch as they die from thirst. Animals or criminals are sacrificed in times of prolonged peace. Monogamous, but mistresses (and misters(?)) are accepted. Trade very present.
Eldanic = West Slavic
Meritocratic military: any soldier competent enough can become a general with enough patience, although nobles have the advantage of receiving a better education. The oldest of all generals becomes the new Prince (aka King) when the previous one dies. This means there are often leadership changes in their nations, but it also means that they have one of the best officer corps of the world. Polytheists, same pantheon as the first two. Slavery is illegal; they are the sworn enemies of the Duluks.
Haegars = Vikings
Raiders and pirates. Polytheists, but they have their own gods. They burn the bodies of warriors, and bury the warriors who managed to kill at least one Haegar before dying. Peasants are sold as slaves. Best archers of the known world. They are strictly monogamic, women are equal to men, they keep no slaves for themselves.
Duluks = Mongols
Mounted raiders. Polytheists, their own pantheon. Have a strict honor code, universally respected. They sell their enemies into slavery, all except the Duluks.
Saelradians = Egyptians
Republic. The ruler is a God, and his divinity goes from ruler to ruler. The people, the voters, are those who grant said divinity. The rulers who turn tyrant were possessed by demons at the time of the elections.
Ralkarians = Greeks
Decadent and extremely rich, great traders. They do not enforce any religion, and as such there are a lot of different temples in their cities. The richest man in the nation is the ruler - since they control taxes, they have a tendency to remain the rulers for all their lives.
Ampyrians = Arabic
Matriarchal culture. Monotheists.
Selenids = Chinese
Foul mouthed, notoriously dishonorable. Value the lives of their own. Monotheists.

Background information:

The eastern continent - Eldania, the land of the Blessed - was once ruled by one mighty people: the Eldans, the Blessed People. However, nearly a thousand years ago, a great Scourge came from the eastern lands, known as the Duluks, who brought with them new Gods and one great horde, ruled by the Great Khan. The Eldans had not fought any war for generations, and they were not capable of facing the greatest army of the known world. So they were defeated, again and again and again, and the eastern lands were lost. They started to flee - first the Altans, who took their great fleets and went to the southwest, then the Adrans, who fought the Haegars and chased them out of their homelands and into the north. The last Eldans remained, however, and in one last great battle for Eldania, the Great Khan was slain by an arrow through the eye. Although the battle was lost by the Eldans, it was a great victory; soon enough, the Khanate was thorn apart in a great war of succession, and the might of the Duluks fell into ashes.

The Eldans, Altans and Adrans never reunited their nations, and as the centuries passed their culture started to change. Their Holy Writings were written in a language that was no longer spoken in this world, and soon enough they started arguing about religious matters. The Altans developed barbaric methods of dealing with their enemies, while the Adrans enslaved those who lost in wars; the Eldans developed a more militaristic culture, to face the eastern threats. Their languages changed, and soon enough the Western continent was known as Aldania - which also meant the Land of the Blessed, in the language of the West. While the three peoples kept the same pantheon, never again would they agree on religious matters, and this caused many bloody wars that could have been avoided. Civil wars turn three nations into and dozen, and they continued to fragment and to waste the power of the old days.

To the south, a new people had taken place in the East - the Selenids, who were a Khanate that simply ran out of enemies to invade. They settled down and started to cultivate the land, something that had never been done before by their people, and the Duluks never accepted them again as part of their people.

In the north, the Haegars healed their old wounds and resumed their old style of living, raiding throughout the land and the seas, and selling prisoners as slaves. Although they became great partners with the Adrans, they never completely forgot the fact that once, all lands in the west that were above the mountains had belonged to them.

In the south, the Amyrians and the Saelridians were left undisturbed by the Great Invasions, and they actively traded with the Selenids, Altans, Adrans and Eldans. They had little to offer, but they still profited in the end of the arrival of the Aldans and Adrans in the west, and they sold food for the metals that they could not collect in their own lands.

Further down south, an old empire started expanding its borders, and the Ralkarians installed colonies on the islands between the Wildlands. They were great traders, and they exchanged exotic goods for what the northern nations had to offer. However, they started to fall into decadence, and soon enough the colonies no longer truly obeyed the Emperor in the South, although they remained officially under his rule. Eventually, money started to matter more than birth in these strange cities, and Merchants Lords started to rule where nobles lines of the old days had once been.

[Shootandrun]

Information on the player kingdom

Spoiler: Regional map (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Player Kingdom: Cities and Fortresses (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Player Kingdom: Natural Locations (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Player Kingdom: Resources (click to show/hide)

Windheath is the player Kingdom. It is currently ruled by Dwarmin's character, Albert Conricht. The Conricht dynasty acquired it after the War of the Hounds, a bloody conflict involving two small provinces ruling on either sides of the river.

Spoiler: War of the Hounds and Aftermath (click to show/hide)

 The country of Windheath was once separated into two distinct provinces, which were ruled in conjunction by rulers North and South since time immemorial-this ancient compact was shattered by the assassination of the Royal Couple King Haldane and Queen Adrienne during their vacation in the Running Woods.

None could agree on a perpetrator, and shortly after, the violent and bloody War of the Hounds began in earnest. It raged for 15 years, and was named so because of the particularly large number of War Dogs utilized by both sides, some say-less endearingly, the fact that some believed both sides were merely 'Dogs' savaging a corpse of a once proud nation.

In the end, The Northerners won-and established the Kingdom of Windheath. Arvin Conricht, the man who had rode into the capital at the head of a victorious army, only ruled for a month-he had survived almost a dozen years of constant battle only to apparently die peacefully on his bed at just 28. His young wife, Kathryn Conricht was only 19, she surprisingly seized full power and headed off what would have likely been a resumption of the civil war-mostly by threatening to slaughter all sides if they did not learn to work together.

She would eventually come to be called the "Iron Queen", yielding legitimate heirs to further her realm, and it was under her rule that the country rebuilt and flourished once more...

Windheath is much richer than its neighbors, which makes it both very powerful and very desired. A fragile peace is held with the Haegars to the northeast, who agreed to stop raiding the coast as long as the Windlanders keep to their side of the borders. Windheath, with five major cities, has a very high population for the region - Stormstead, the capital, is one of the biggest cities of the continent. The kingdom is known for its great grazing plains, where sheep, cows and pigs are kept in great numbers, for the furs found in the northern forests and mainly for the gems excavated from the kingdom's few mountains or the pearls taken from the coast.

Spreadsheet of the nobility

[Shootandrun]

Links to the seasons:

Summer 937
Autmn 937
Winter 937
Spring 938

[Shootandrun]

Reserved too, you never know for sure.

[Dwarmin]

It's evening, and the sky is the brilliant crimson orange deeping into azure dark-heralding the pass of the sun, to the night to come.

The bells ring out all along the rivers edge, as they usually do at this time, a clarion call the Rivermen (and Riverwomen) to haul up their nets and rods, to steer their vessels for their docks and homes in Stormstead city, or many of the smaller settlements clustered up and down the river.

But, there's not many people fishing out today-aside from a few truly desperate or greedy-most have gathered in the city center for the celebrations. For today, is the coronation of Albert Conricht, their new King...

The crowd, packed wall to wall in front of Stormstead Keep, watches as Kathryn Conricht-their Iron Queen-enters from afar. Almost fifty now (though men would say no less beautiful, even in her latter years...her hair yet retains it's color and shine, still as passion-red as a living flame), the Queens steady green eyed gaze surveys the crowd with authority...and all fall silent, even the most ardent heckler. It is this singular will that has, in large part, kept the country from siding back into the terrible lows it reached during the War of the Hounds. Love her, or hate her...most agree Kathryn Conricht did a superb job.

And today, she willingly hands over that power-to retire at the height of her reign, undefeated and undiminished. Such is her way.

All turn aside to watch the next one to enter. A Young, passably handsome man in the rich aqua colored silk robes enters from the left. He seems a bit nervous-but he doesn't break stride. He walks up to the Queen, taking a knee. This is Albert Conricht.

The Queen draws forth the Dragonspine scepter-a symbol of the Crown, it's almost barbaric in design...living bone fused with brilliant steel. She lays it across his left shoulder, speaking the ancient words.

Then, the man rises. He embraces his mother, kissing her on the cheek. The Queen seems to pause a moment-is it hesitation, emotion, or something more? Nevertheless, she relinquishes the crown and Scepter to the man, her son.

He faces the crowd, now King Albert Conricht.

His next exact words are lost to time-he might have had a speech prepared-for the cheering of the crowd drowns out everything he might have otherwise said...in time, the King retires to his throne room...along with his courtiers, of which he has many.

[Game Start!]

Albert felt the weight of crown and scepter. It felt...good, certainly. He had been preparing for this day his whole life, after all. So why shouldn't he feel good?

Yet, he was honest-and was still man enough to mourn the passing of his youth, all what it was aside from training for today. The Mountain Drakes would no longer fear he and his mens blades at dawn, at least for awhile. No more days drinking and carousing with his friends on their river yachts. He and Richard would no longer be the most prominent customers of the Riverside brothels-they used to hit them all in one night-more's the pity, he doubted he would ever take another pretty woman on horseback to the Running Woods, just them. At least, without an army to ride by his side.

He accepted the loss as best he could. He had certainly gained enough to offset it.

Albert addressed the group of men-and few women, he noted, but far less prominent than he might have guessed.

"Comte and Ducs, my friends-noblemen and noblewomen. I know you've all gathered here to witness my coronation-and I thank each and every one of you for coming. What we make today-together-will make Windheath stronger than ever.

I think it's time...we let go of the past, and look to the future. Our scars may never heal, but we may bear them with dignity. My Mother saw us through the Age of Iron-I intend to bring us into the Age of Gold. All of us-even those who were yesterday at cross arms, today may call each other brother and sister.

Yes, you may speak to me, now-your King. I will always be here to listen to you. I believe my head is sufficiently swollen from today's festivities to take anything you say in good humor." The King finished, an easy smile on his face.

[Taricus]

To one of the sides in the throne room, stood a imposing figure clad in full, blue armour, waiting. Waiting for something to be said or happen. The crest of both Spirituaser and of the Emanhild family displayed proudly on the cape on this figure.

The bear was ready and waiting...

[Dragor23]

"Long live the king... Yeah, fuck, I need more beer..." Theor has not the best mood. The son of the almighty iron queen, witch of the north... Her husband, the mighty conquerer, who destroyed his home country with his royal ass. These are not good days. Well for him they're not. Yeah, there is peace, the peoples are happy and all that nonsense. But what about his house? What about him!?

His family gor only a few sploches of land because they pitied his father. Oh, which shame and discrage... What had they done do get such a suffering? This red haired bitch and their bastard can stick their crown up in their royal asses.

" I should thinking about this... Only depressing me..." he mumbles in his three-day stuble. He sweeps over his sweaty, black hair, which covers his ears. What a day. Too hot and too moist. "Man, my mood is not the greatest."

[King_of_the_weasels]

Cyril approached the new king, kneeled quickly before standing. "Look at you, dressed in fine furs and a ladies frock... nothing ever changes does it?" He said derisively, before cracking a smile and laughing, "I kid my friend!  You look right kingly, as you should.  Didn't I always say you'd be king? I did, of course I did. Because as we both know, I know many things, an expert of many fields, it's true." He nods to himself, as if in deep thought. Before laughing once more, "Now I must be off, I shall leave you to more serious folk.  I wish you a long rule and a longer life my friend, my bow is always at your side."

[Shootandrun]

From behind the Blue Knight appeared another figure, thinner if not much smaller. His red hair and his colors - aqua, silver and blue - left no doubts about his identity. He wore a blue hunter's cloak - he liked hunting - and on his hands were scars that had been created by claws - he liked hawking too, but he was not always careful with his birds. He was not in armor, and he had no weapon at his side. He walked with a certain assurance, though he did not have the look of a warrior, unlike the thing who had been in front of him. He looked like his brother, although he was obviously younger. He was, of course, Richard Conricht. His brother had just been crowned king of the richest kingdom in this part of the world.

Since he had killed a deer while on his way to the city, his day was going well so far, too.

It seemed logic that he would be the first to speak - he was the King's brother, after all. A prince and a duc - the second highest ranked personage in the room. Richard was a logical man, to be sure, and an outstanding chess player. A man muttered something at the back of the room, but since he was drunk he did not listen to him. Nothing important. Probably an impudent courtier who had not realized that when the king said that he could take anything in good humor, it meant almost everything in good humor. Alcohol had not flown yet. Someone else spoke - a noble pledging allegiance and friendship. There would be plenty of those tonight. He'd need to do it, too.

He stopped before the king and bowed, smiling. When he spoke, it was in a rich and deep voice, similar and at the same time different than his brother's.

"Long live the King. May his reign be a time of wealth and victories to our Kingdom. For as long as you shall sit on that chair, my sword and my mind shall be at your service... Now that this is done, I believe the first matter to attend, Brother, would be to chose the members of your council - although you might decide to keep our estimated mother's. Of course, we can leave that to tomorrow and drink and feast first, if His Grace so desires."

He did not mention that he hoped for a place in the military. He had said so for years and years while they grew up. Albert knew.

[Dwarmin]

@Cyril

The King remembered Cyril some. They had, in fact, gone hunting in larger parties before. They did say he was the best shot in the kingdom...

"I'm glad it was you who had the courage to speak with me, Marquis-and I see your tongue is as sharp as they say. You keep that bow ready-we'll probably be needing it sooner rather than later."

@Richard

Albert had always felt something certainly like love for his brother. Among other things. He had always, in his own way, tried to protect him-watch out for him. As he grew older, he realized his brother had grown up in his shadow...and for good or bad, he had always been there.

"I think a new wind is blowing-and the old council might find their affairs somewhat altered. I'll take it first thing in the morning. Tonight, we feast!

...And while I might be King-everyone seems to think that for some reason-I'm also your older brother. Between you and I, there should be no titles. What do you say, Richard?"

[Ardas]

Edgard sat among his peers and enjoyed the festivities. Dressed opulently and with a beautiful sword at his side, he always looked to make an impression. He was also known for his word and his behaviour; and whether he made friends or enemies, one could always be sure that the man was to be respected.

The long night under the "Iron Queen" was finally over and the reign of the young man looked promising. Regardless of whether he was to be a charismatic leader or a pathetic pushover, nobles of this land were looking at great future. Edgard felt right at home with the commotion and the ease that was not felt for a long time under the gaze of the old woman. It was time to strech one's wings and see how high could one get before others catch up with you.

After Richard and Albert exchanged few words between them, Edgard stood up and begun his speech.

"Dear lords and ladies, I am having hard time in expressing the joy that I feel on this glorious day. This kingdom could not have hoped for a better start than this fine day, fine company and fine man who is to lead us all. My family and I have always been staunch supporters of the royal family, both in turmoil and in conflict, but also in friendship and in peacetime. With our disputes settled and with our lands bursting with wealth of every kind, we can safely look towards the Age of Gold.

Albert is a promising young man, whom I known for a some time now, both as a friend but also as a trustworthy and honourable person, as someone that is willing to lead and inspire us with his deeds.
And lets not forget, that our King is a fine huntsman too, and that we have no beast to fear. He is yet to earn his spurs in battle, but I'm sure that none of us will be found wanting in helping our king in battle, to honour his name and our nation.
So here I am, reaffirming my friendship to him, and the loyalty of my family to his. Just as it was before he became my lord, so it shall be after.
I can only hope that my fellow lords will join me in raising their glases and goblets for our monarch. Long Live the King!"

Edgard raised his goblet high in toast to his new monarch.

[Elfeater]

 -Edited out-

[Shootandrun]

The younger brother smiled, an honest smile. When he spoke it was more softly - only the king and those near him heard.

"I say, Albert, that the golden thing on your head has not stolen your wisdom. There will be no titles between us, Brother."

He then listened to the other man's speech, and he raised his own goblet high and spoke loud.

"Long live Albert!"