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[TCM]

-The Duchy of Akor, Kingdom of Rothential-
-Summer, 1284-

   The Kingdom of Rothential is the home of great kings, gallant knights, beautiful ladies and treacherous rogues. Which will you be? None, because those are the very few that become immortalized as legend, whereas you are a commoner. In fact, your tale is much less glorious; you went through the motions of peasant village life for 18 years when a plague rolled through your fief, killing off 90% of its populace, including your entire family. With his workforce killed off, your lord quickly went bankrupt, losing all of his holdings, including your home and land. Thus, you and the remainder of survivors were thrust out into the world alone, equipped with only the clothes on your back.

   A few weeks later, after roaming through the wilderness, half-naked and starving, you finally came across a village. You made your way to the lord's manor, swearing your fealty to him. Fortunately, he was in a bit of a work shortage at the time, and immediately gave you your own land, in exchange for the remainder of your life to be spent working in his service. Peasantdom was not the most joyous of conditions, but it was far better than succumbing to hunger in the middle of a forest.

  As you look around your cottage, a queer sensation seizes your body. You have no way to describe it, being a peasant all your life and lacking the articulation, but it feels as if this is the beginning of a long journey, one where your body will not survive to see the need, but you know for a fact your soul will. If only you knew what this truly meant...well, there's no time to ponder these matters. You have work to do.
Gameplay:   

The focus of this game will be on the life of the Protagonist character and how they interact with the world in the decisions that they make. The Protagonist Character is mostly independent of the players, whose role it is to provide the Protagonist with subconscious ideas and plans in response to the events that happen over the course of the game. There is no overarching in-game goal, other than surviving and producing offspring. The latter is important as when the current Protagonist finally expires, the players will vote on which child they will become the next Protagonist that they will guide. (In cases where an offspring is impossible to procreate, there will be alternate methods of Protagonist Inheritance.) The true goal of the game is to tell a story of a lineage of people, from the beginning of a Dynasty and everything that happens beyond. 
While the first Protagonist is a mere peasant, there will be many events to decide on throughout their lives. Besides endlessly working, having children, going to church, being poor and miserable, all before dying of some disease epidemic, peasants had to many matters to attend to. Their was finding a suitable spouse, keeping the cottage in good condition, and all sorts of fun from dealing with sporadic wildfires and freezing winters, to being raided by the army of a rival lord, and perhaps even getting into a drunken fist-fight to the death with a neighbor in a land dispute. You will have much to do in the life of the Protagonist.

The game will progress one season per turn, a balanced amount of time to still remain intimate in the Protagonist's life and relationship with others, while long enough for new events and decisions to be ensured every turn. This game is mostly realistic in nature, but entertainment, drama, and excitement for the player will be paramount.
As the seasons march on, so will time. The years in-game roughly correlate to years in real life. The game starts off in 1284, which would be the Late Middle Ages. The passage of time will change all aspects from the game as it alters life as it did in reality.

Also, as in real life, Luck will always play a huge part of the gameplay. Depending on the situation, I use anything from a six-sided die to a hundred-sided die system. What rolls I perform and what the rolls mean will always been hidden from the players, as we don't see the invisible forces of the universe and beyond that effect everyone and everything. While God may roll the Protagonist's dice, they are not helpless, your job is to guide them through whatever life throws at them, whether it be good, bad, or something else.

Traits:

Even in the crazy world of the Protagonist, some things remain fairly static. Traits are important characteristics that the Protagonist and all other Characters posses. They included things like Honesty, Adaptability, Intelligence, and Dexterity. Some Traits are genetic, while others can be obtained. Traits can be positive, negative, a mix of both, or neutral. For example, though many would think being 'Greedy' would be bad, a Greedy Character will be much more ambitious when pursuing goals that involve their desires. As Traits can be gained, they can also be lost or altered. A Diligent Character may become Slothful if they neglect their duties for too long. A Pious Character may become Doubtful after a great tragedy. Genetic Traits are much harder to alter than obtained Traits, as it would be much harder to alter someone's Intelligence than their Dislike of Deer. Some Traits can be sharpened, as a Fast Character can eventually become Swift. And even genetic traits can be offset with time; a Character who is Dumb will never be a Genius, but they can work to lose the negative Trait.

However, as with all things, Luck and a plethora of other factors are always at work. You cannot force the Protagonist to gain or lose a Trait, as it is rare for things to go exactly as planned. You may have the Protagonist observe the forest to increase their love of the wilderness, when they are attacked by a pack of wolves and develop a fear of the wild instead. Most of the time, Traits are not gifted or earned, they simply just happen. That is not to say you can not influence their develop, but it does mean that the Traits, that may or may not be obtained, may not be what you intended.

Children will gain genetic Traits through their parents, with each genetic Trait having a 50% chance of being inherited. If the parents have two Traits that are the same or closely related, the child has a much higher chance of receiving either Trait, and possible a superlative version of the Trait. Likewise, if the parents have conflicting Traits, it is much less likely for the child to receive either, and if they do, it is likely that the Trait's will be a diminished version of the original.

Occupation:

With your fealty signed, you must choose one of the following Occupations in order to produce Goods for your lord. You don't have many options, but each of them offers their own unique situation:

Farmer - You will be set near the lord's manor, where you will attend to multiple fields every season. This will mostly be crop-based duty, though you may also be tasked with caring for the animals. As you are situated in the center of a village near the manor, the lord and his minions will be able to keep a close eye on you, lest you are caught being unproductive or breaking a rule. However, you will also have the most security in the case of an attack or disaster, as you sit at the Lord's doorstep. In addition, the farming community is geographically tight, meaning that you will have quite regular access to social interaction with others. Crops are planted in the spring and harvested in the fall, at which time livestock is also butchered. During winter, you will be given some sort of alternate duty. Your livelihood is very dependent on the weather, as you could easily get anything from a great harvest to a failed crop.

Fisher - You will be given a home near a river system nearby, where your goal will be to regularly catch all sorts of fish. You're at a moderate distance from the manor, meaning that you should be protected in times of war or disaster, and you should be free from the prying eyes of the lord (key word being should, not will.) Fishing is done spring-fall, and you will be given alternate duties during winter. The homes of fishers are spread pretty far apart, meaning that there will be little social interaction, which may actually be a good thing if you crave a quiet life for you and your family without neighbors trying to steal your equipment or attempting to kidnap your daughters.

Woodcutter - You will live on the far edges of the lord's land and cut down the forest of trees to cultivate into wood. This is to be done year-round, even in wintertime. In these rural regions, the lord's authority will be limited, meaning that illicit activities like storing excess produced Goods for your own usage, or hunting wild game, are commonplace. On the other hand, you will have to wait quite a while, possibly a whole season, before the lord's forces can arrive to assist you in times of war and disaster. Elements of the wild, like blizzards and packs of vicious animals, will be of greater effect than in a region that the lord would work to quickly aid. Despite this, Woodcutting communities are large and full of hardy individuals, though not quite as packed as Farmers.

Miner - Same as Woodcutter, except the tools provided are different, and the houses are situated closer to nearby ore-pits rather than forests.

Protagonist Creation:

Name: First and last, middle optional.
Gender: Societal roles mean that gender will play a huge part in your life. Young girls are under much more pressure to get married earlier, whereas boys can go through a couple years without needing to marry. Women will be more focused on domestic tasks and raising the children, though they will still be called upon frequently to work with their husbands. Conversely, women do not have to worry about being called into a standing army.
Age: 18 [Born Summer, 1266] (Do not change this.)
Brief Biography: Optional. If you wish to come up with a bit of a story of anything interesting in the first eighteen years of your life, you can do so here. The Brief Biography will effect the Traits the Protagonist will start out with.

Traits: (Nothing here for now. Will be filled in later.)

Inventory: (See above.)

Relationships: (See above.)

The first turn will explain the layout, rules, and features of the area in more detail, all of which depend on which Occupation you choose. However, if you have any preemptive questions about the game or the fiefdom, feel free to ask them now. Just know that for in-game subjects, you will only be given as much information as the Protagonist knows.

[a1s]

A Diligent Character may become Slothful if they neglect their duties for too long.

Heh, I think you'll find that if a character neglects their duties, they're not really diligent to begin with. (I do get what you're saying, but I just thought this was funny)

Name: Oslaf Hruomcarl.
Gender: Male (this being the middle ages and all, I don't like our chances as a siblingless orphan and a woman)
Age: 18 [Born Summer, 1266]
Brief Biography: Oslaf is an orphan and a survivor of a major plague outbreak. He has traveled an above average amount of time for a man of his age and social status, though not by choice. Upon his arvial in the new land Oslaf has chosen to become a Wodcutter.

Traits: none worth mentioning.

Inventory: none worth mentioning.

Relationships: none worth mentioning.

unless I misunderstood what "See above" meant.

[NRDL]

Name: Oslaf Hruomcarl.
Gender: Male (this being the middle ages and all, I don't like our chances as a siblingless orphan and a woman)
Age: 18 [Born Summer, 1266]
Brief Biography: Oslaf is an orphan and a survivor of a major plague outbreak. He has traveled an above average amount of time for a man of his age and social status, though not by choice. Upon his arvial in the new land Oslaf has chosen to become a Wodcutter.

Traits: none worth mentioning.

Inventory: none worth mentioning.

Relationships: none worth mentioning.

unless I misunderstood what "See above" meant.

+1 let's turn him into a badass lumberjack

[Yourmaster]

Name: Oslaf Hruomcarl.
Gender: Male (this being the middle ages and all, I don't like our chances as a siblingless orphan and a woman)
Age: 18 [Born Summer, 1266]
Brief Biography: Oslaf is an orphan and a survivor of a major plague outbreak. He has traveled an above average amount of time for a man of his age and social status, though not by choice. Upon his arvial in the new land Oslaf has chosen to become a Wodcutter.

Traits: none worth mentioning.

Inventory: none worth mentioning.

Relationships: none worth mentioning.

unless I misunderstood what "See above" meant.

+1 let's turn him into a badass lumberjack

+1

[Funk]

Name: Oslaf Hruomcarl.
Gender: Male (this being the middle ages and all, I don't like our chances as a siblingless orphan and a woman)
Age: 18 [Born Summer, 1266]
Brief Biography: Oslaf is an orphan and a survivor of a major plague outbreak. He has traveled an above average amount of time for a man of his age and social status, though not by choice. Upon his arvial in the new land Oslaf has chosen to become a Wodcutter.

Traits: none worth mentioning.

Inventory: none worth mentioning.

Relationships: none worth mentioning.

unless I misunderstood what "See above" meant.

+1 let's turn him into a badass lumberjack

+1

+1

[Cheesecake]

Name: Horace Younger
Gender: Male
Age: 18 [Born Summer, 1266] (Do not change this.)
Brief Biography: Laboring in Father's fields had been hard work, but he knew nothing else, till the Plague swept through the fields. He had to run, into the forests, away from disease and into starvation. His salvation came when he happened upon a lord's land, and from that moment forth he pledged his fealty in gratitude for being given a second chance. He has vowed to repay his lord's debts through the growing of crops.

Traits: (Nothing here for now. Will be filled in later.)

Inventory: (See above.)

Relationships: (See above.)

[3man75]

Name: Oslaf Hruomcarl.
Gender: Male (this being the middle ages and all, I don't like our chances as a siblingless orphan and a woman)
Age: 18 [Born Summer, 1266]
Brief Biography: Oslaf is an orphan and a survivor of a major plague outbreak. He has traveled an above average amount of time for a man of his age and social status, though not by choice. Upon his arvial in the new land Oslaf has chosen to become a Wodcutter.

Traits: none worth mentioning.

Inventory: none worth mentioning.

Relationships: none worth mentioning.

unless I misunderstood what "See above" meant.

+1 let's turn him into a badass lumberjack

+1

+1

+1

[Toaster]

So we're playing Crusader Peasants?

+1 for Jack the Lumberjack, for consensus.

[PokemonRocks85]

We totes are, Crusader Peasants II, More updated then Crusader Peasants I and Less updated then Crusader Peasants III/ GG \

+1 To The Lumber Jack.

[Harbingerjm]

So we're playing Crusader Peasants?

+1 for Jack the Lumberjack, for consensus.

It's a nice change from Crusader Counts: My Little Shithole Can't Be This Invaded.

[a1s]

I know it's the weekend, so can we expect an update in the next 2 days?

[Parsely]

Name: Oslaf Hruomcarl.
Gender: Male (this being the middle ages and all, I don't like our chances as a siblingless orphan and a woman)
Age: 18 [Born Summer, 1266]
Brief Biography: Oslaf is an orphan and a survivor of a major plague outbreak. He has traveled an above average amount of time for a man of his age and social status, though not by choice. Upon his arvial in the new land Oslaf has chosen to become a Wodcutter.

Traits: none worth mentioning.

Inventory: none worth mentioning.

Relationships: none worth mentioning.

unless I misunderstood what "See above" meant.

+1 let's turn him into a badass lumberjack

+1

+1

+1

+1

[The Froggy Ninja]

Name: Oslaf Hruomcarl.
Gender: Male (this being the middle ages and all, I don't like our chances as a siblingless orphan and a woman)
Age: 18 [Born Summer, 1266]
Brief Biography: Oslaf is an orphan and a survivor of a major plague outbreak. He has traveled an above average amount of time for a man of his age and social status, though not by choice. Upon his arvial in the new land Oslaf has chosen to become a Wodcutter.

Traits: none worth mentioning.

Inventory: none worth mentioning.

Relationships: none worth mentioning.

unless I misunderstood what "See above" meant.

+1 let's turn him into a badass lumberjack

+1

+1

+1

+1

+1

[TCM]

I know it's the weekend, so can we expect an update in the next 2 days?

Yeah, I just wanted to wait about a day so all the votes could be cast, and the unanimous pick is Oslaf. The turn should be up pretty soon.

[TCM]

-Summer, 1284-
-Fiefdom of Lord Havels, The County of Reinton, The Duchy of Akor, Kingdom of of Rothential-

You are of course Oslaf Hruomcarl, whose family lineage stretches all the way back to the time when some genius decided calling his tribe the Hruomcarls would be a good idea. After surviving the plague that killed your extended family, and traveling through the woods for weeks nearly to the point of death, it is nice to be inside of a manor, as Lord Havels writes down a document insuring your servitude. He's nice enough to do all the paperwork for you, especially since you are completely illiterate.

From your brief interactions with Havels, you can tell a few things about his character: First off, he calls various maids into his room during the interaction between the two of you, and after giving them orders, takes some time to "evaluate" their uniforms or give them a pinch near the hips. You wonder what his Lady must think, if she's even around that is. Second, you can tell that he spares no expenses on the decoration of his manor, with its elegant tapestries and gold-laden furniture. Finally, he's an asshole. Not that you'd ever use such a term when you speaking, but it's hard to think otherwise after witnessing him fondling the maids, bullying the servants for no apparent reasons, kicking a dog, and berating you for looking at his belongings, all in the matter of a few minutes. Perhaps you'd retaliate in some manner if he were a peer and not someone who could evict you and send you off to prison.
 After signing your documents, he scans you, "Well, what are you doing standing here?" You explain that you don't even know where your house is. He groans and grabs a sheet of paper, scribbling a crude town map with his ink quill and shoving it into your hands. You are physically forced out of the Manor, short of being propelled out with a sharp kick to the backside. Well, at least that's over with.

[Traits Identified - Lord Havels:
Adulterer: You get the impression that this character doesn't remain devoted to their spouse, and if they do, then they keep their extramarital activities quiet.
Materialist: This character loves possessing lavish objects, and those of the highest quality.
Despicable: You can tell quite quickly that this character is an all-around awful person. If they have any positive traits, they're hard to find.]

The map leads you down a dirt road where you can see the rolling farmlands and their workers toiling outside in the fields. You somewhat pity the poor bastards, lumber work is definitely an improvement over the agricultural lifestyle you once possessed. The road remains fairly solid, but begins to become less visible as you walk past the fishing villages next to the streams that feed from the mountains far away. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad living here, though it does feel like it would be terribly lonely. By nightfall, the path is almost gone, and you fear you've gotten lost in the woods before you stumble upon a row of huts in the trees. So, this is where you live. There are numerous huts spread around the place in no particular order, each arranged into rough clusters of a dozen or so homes. You are able to deduce which cluster your house belongs to with the map, and decide that the only vacant house in the cluster must be yours.

You head on inside to check out its features. The exterior is made out of wood, the roof is thatched straw, and the floor is dirt. There is no furniture except for a single small table, two chairs and a ring of stones in the center of the hut that serves as a fireplace. In lieu of a bed, there's a bundle of hay near the stone circle. On the table is a single item, a wood-cutting axe. While it is a bonus to be provided with your own work tool instead of having to procure it yourself, the axe shows signs of rust and definitely has passed through many hands before ending up here. It certainly isn't much, but you've been in far worse situations, and for the first time you have a home to your name; it fills you with a sense of pride and accomplishment, even if it truly is property of Lord Havels.

Your assigned duty is to cut down trees in the forest, which you will then sharpen and smooth out into usable pieces of timber. Because of the magnitude of these operations, working in groups will be essential. Every Saturday, a group of burly men riding in oxen-driven carts arrive to take the wood away. These are crucial events, as the "Timbercarts" not only transfer the wood, but also bring in food supplies for the community. If you don't have an adequate stock of timber by Saturday, you don't get food that week. (There is no fixed amount of timber required, everyone just gauges what is "enough", and those that have lived here longer will have a better idea. The demand for timber from Lord Havels can fluctuate for various reasons.)

While exploring your surroundings, you come across a tall wooden structure with fixated with a bell. This is the Chapel, and Church service is mandatory every Sunday at dawn. Besides standard services, the Church also performs weddings and funerals.
You see the multitude of families across the village, noting that even the children have been put to work with the boys working on the trimming of smaller logs while girls attend to more domestic chores with their mothers. There is even a tiny bit of agrarian presence, as you note that some of the households have goats.

Overhearing some conversation, you come to find out that all disputes are handled by a judge and some accompanying armed ruffians who come to the village every Fall to settle disputes that occurred in the village during the following year. The plaintiff accuses the defendant before the judge, and both sides attempt to convince him. This either ends in the defendant being believed and being let go, or the judge rules him or her guilty and extracts appropriate punishment. Last Fall, one of the villages apparently nearly had been convicted of Gambling, which is punishable by the Severing of a Hand. If the defendant does not appear, they are declared instantly guilty of their crimes, as well as being declared a Fugitive until he or she is located.
However, the villagers seem to think little of the legal process which they mock as slow and inefficient. Instead, they perform duels, which can be agreed to at any time. Duels are often fought with kitchen knives, and only to first blood, as killing another villager is always illegal.

The men also speak of an alehouse that lies to the East, though you can't tell much more than that just by listening in.
There is a Merchant Faire annually every Spring, though it lies deep within the fief near the Manor, and with the conditions of the roads, few villagers bother to ever make the trip.

[A few traits to note about yourself:
Agreeable: Overall, you are a pleasant person and willing to agree to others.
Fear of the Forest: Those awful weeks you spent alone in the forests have scarred you, making it hard for you to venture far into the woods.
Mellow: You are affable and slow to anger or excitement.
Muscular: Years of labor have made you a strong, able to exert more physical force than the average person.
Unlucky: For some reason, bad fortunate seems to follow you around.]

Spoiler: Oslaf Hruomcarl (click to show/hide)

Name: Oslaf Hruomcarl.
Gender: Male
Age: 18 [Born Summer, 1266]
Brief Biography: Oslaf is an orphan and a survivor of a major plague outbreak. He has traveled an above average amount of time for a man of his age and social status, though not by choice. Upon his arrival in the new land Oslaf has chosen to become a Woodcutter.

Traits:
Agreeable: Overall, you are a pleasant person and willing to agree to others.
Fear of the Forest: Those awful weeks you spent alone in the forests have scarred you, making it hard for you to venture far into the woods.
Mellow: You are affable and slow to anger or excitement.
Muscular: Years of labor have made you a strong, able to exert more physical force than the average person.
Unlucky: For some reason, bad fortunate seems to follow you around.

Inventory:
Rusty Woodcutting Axe: This Axe has seen better days, as rust bites at its handle. It was given to you upon you swearing of fealty.

Relationships: None.

Feel free to ask any questions, as I tried covering a lot about Oslaf's job and the village in general, but there are too many specifics to put in. I would imagine that some of you would want to know more about the fief's customs and laws in general, so ask away if you wish.