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[Ardas]

Ah, Storm Coast: a land of kings and queens, generals and merchants, priests and wizards – over the last 300 years, this little corner of creation changed, perhaps irrevocably forever. The feudal world that existed here for centuries was obliterated by plagues and wars of unprecedented scale, to finally emerge in all of its soot-stained and steam-scolded glory. The new wealth overwhelms the old trade leagues, new weapons cut down the former knights and giants of brass and steel tower over those who formerly held power of creation at their fingertips, made powerless by their magic-sapping engines. Nations that were both battered by fate and devastated by their neighbours try to find their footing while industrialization, of unknown origin and uncertain design, sweeps the land, promising production and wealth beyond imagining, yet giving birth to new and terrible engines of destruction

Among all the turmoil, one nation stands out. Elberth, an old kingdom and a land occupied for past several centuries, where the spirit of independence remained, encapsulated in hushed whispers of an heir of the old kings who will return and restore the land to its former glory. Occupied and partitioned by its neighbours, Elberth is soaked with blood of both patriots and oppressors alike and the nation is waiting for its freedom.

The rumors are not without a foundation however, and for years now a hidden order protected the scions of Sigurdson dynasty, preparing them for their task, building up supplies and stirring up revolutionary sentiment.
The hour of liberation is at hand.

Welcome, foolish mortal, to You are King – The Steam Age!

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 (har har) 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 are loads of other rules, all of which will be revealed and explained by GMs – myself and Ghazkull, who will assist me in running the game.
 
We have decided to revive a world created over a course of two long-running games, (You can find the threads here and here) and push it into a new territory. Knowledge of the previous games is not necessary however, feel free to jump in and add to the game with your own ideas.

You can find the IC thread here.

So you want to join You Are King?

Are you insane?

I kid, I kid.

This helpful guide might help you on your epic quest to join this daunting forum game.

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 (well with the good exception of battles, more on that later), 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 world that experienced a dramatic shock from its early renaissance setting (See YaK II) and was kicked right into the smoky industrial age. Think Arcanum – steampunk and magic are both present and competing for hearts and minds of men. There are two non-human races; Hatcuri (Lizard people) and Elvs (Human subspecies. Long-lived and crazy). However the Elvs are all but extinct as far as this part of the world is concerned and are not playable and Hatcuri are in a far-away land and have not been seen in ages. Gunpowder exists and has been in use for 300 years – expect muskets, rifles and revolvers. Knights and such are on the way out. Magic exists, but is rare, highly dangerous, and rightly feared, but on the wane due to steam tech. The gods do not intervene in the world, and their existence is uncertain.

If this sounds like fun to you, continue to Step 2. If you would rather not have to strain your think-muscles with politics and subterfuge, maybe try something else.

Step 2: Check up on the state of the world.
The world is crazy. It is created by the players as they play. There was some background lore which carried over from YAK 1 and 2 and there is a map. A jump to a new period was made but some of the history might reference past events. Not to worry, knowledge of those is not necessary for this game. Everything else- made up on the spot and constantly growing and changing. So trying to describe the state of the world- bit of a never-ending task. Details will be posted below, with the said map.
Read the last page or two of the thread as well (once it arrives). 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 here in OOC thread.

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 anything, basically, although everyone will start as a supporting character for the King character, for sanity’s sake, with future potential to branch out. 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.

Step 4: Refine your character.
You have your vague idea, you have feedback maybe on your idea. Now flesh it out. Name your character. Give him a background. Give him a personality. Go back and change the personality to something less Mary-Sue-esque. You will need the following information:

Code: [Select]

Name: A durrrr
Description: Appearance, age, obvious traits
Background: Where is he from, what does he want, how is he going to get it.
Starting resources: Your background and fluff will determine your starting resources and skills.
Not worry though ,as no one will start stronger than anyone else – every player will start with roughly 3 points of resources/skill/money/whatever that their background and character is equipped with.

Step 4a: character skills.
Here's a list of traits and skills that your characters can start with. If you have a skill or ability that is custom or unique to your character, feel free to let the GM know, however you might not always get it due to balance reasons.

Marksmanship (bonus to muskets and rifles chance to hit)
Swordmanship (bonus to combat with swords, sabres and the like)
Tactician (+1 to Tactics in battle per level)
Charisma (bonus to any speech, persuasion and political rolls)
Acrobatics (bonus to any agility or dodge rolls)
Subversive (bonus to traps, plots, explosives and ambushes)
Alchemist (+1 to research and alchemy rolls)
Novice mage (you have a rare talent, but it is yet to be refined)
- Schools of Magic - elemental magic is most common and widespread with 4 basic elements, but other types also exist, however they are less common due to their difficulty, forbidden nature or power (ask GM for details if needed).
Natural Philosopher (+1 to research and science rolls)

Post the proposed character in the OOC thread. Receive feedback. If someone with the appropriate authority says it is ok (Ghaz or myself), you can jump right in.

Step 5: Jumping right in.
Right, yeah. Once your character has been Ok'd, you can post in this thread with your character's introduction. Go looking for trouble; people should be tripping over themselves to offer you plot hooks, and you will soon find yourself tangled in a web of politics and intrigue. This is what we call 'fun'. You will probably find that it is 'fun' in the DF sense of the word. By which I mean, !!Fun!!

One last thing: If you join in winter, upkeep for that year is paid already.

For game start:
At present we will accept 6 players – King (of course) and 5 retainers and allies that will help him restore and then rule the kingdom. The number of players allowed might change, depending on the progress of the game. Hopefully we will be able to manage more.
All players are encouraged to submit a King application but should be aware that the application will be selected on basis of merit and as such should also prepare an alternate character for a courtier role, if their king application is not selected.

The game will start with the heir (King player) receiving people and retainers in his hidden rebel camp in preparation for the final strike against the occupying forces in the country. The King can decide to place his camp in one of 3 places of the former Elbreth Kingdom or near it and begin his restoration effort from there (more details after game start).

Present: The number of players is fluid at the moment and more are expected to join as soon as a kingdom is established. Hold on tight and wish the Princess and her merry band success!

[Ardas]

Spoiler: Map of the world (click to show/hide)

For those not in the know, Elbreth lies right in the middle between Lonemine, Preston, Brigthall and Jarldom - with the grey areas being the occupied territory. Questions about the history of the world and state of the nations will be delivered when the game starts.

[Ardas]

Spoiler: Original Rules - as handed down to us from Iituem's first game (click to show/hide)

Favour System:  Favour is entirely at the King's discretion.

Roll to Dodge:  Anything subject to the hands of chance is determined by a 1d6 die roll.  Standard RtD rules apply: 1 = crit failure, 2 = failure, 3 = minor success, 4 = success, 5 = great success, 6 overshoot with consequences.  Modifiers may be applied to rolls in specific circumstances as described below.
Caveat:  Only natural 1s and natural 6s count as crit fails/overshoots, in the event of modifiers.  Otherwise unnatural 1s or lower are just failures and unnatural 6s or higher are grand successes.

Game Years:  Game years pass when the GM (that is, I) say so. Each year will be divided into 2 seasons.  Time is otherwise fluid, but when a season passes armies are recruited, taxes are collected and other events may occur.  The king does not need to wait for a season to pass in order to take actions but the king can always declare he is willing to "wait for season's end", at which time I will (if around) pass a season. Otherwise a game season will pass when I feel like it.

Declaring a new Kingdom:  If allied independents have enough clout, they can declare independence.  This requires them to own at least five parcels of land within the same province.  Declaring independence is instantaneous, and whoever the independents elect instantly becomes king of the new Kingdom and has all the powers of the original King (pertaining to the new Kingdom).  It is very likely that the old regime will attempt to destroy the new kingdom once created.

Annexing a Kingdom:  Simply continue to crush the opposing kingdom with military might until they either have no armies left to oppose you, or you/they are willing to broker a peace settlement.  Diplomacy may then ensue.  Alternately, you may capture every last parcel of land the kingdom possesses, de facto annexing the kingdom.  You will also gain the Treasury of the former king in this manner.

Military Strength:  Military strength represents armies, powerful sorcerers, the aid of church healers, war machines or anything else that would confer a military advantage.  The main way military strength is gained is by raising armies, though military strength can be gained by events or completing challenges set by the GM.

Raising Armies
Regiments of various type an various power will be available for recruitment to players once independence is declared. note, these units are strongly dependent on type of society you are running, your industrial power and technology and organization in place. As you progress, more units will be available.

Personal Guard:  Every player that is either granted 'noble' status or declares independence can raise one regiment per game year as their personal guard.  Raising a personal guard regiment takes no time and happens instantly.  If the regiment is killed it cannot be replaced until a year has passed.  If the regiment is not killed, a noble/independent can continue to increase the size of his personal guard by one regiment per year, subject to maintenance.  Recruiting regiments of the personal guard after the first costs 1 ducat/regiment.  The first personal guard regiment is always free, being composed of loyal retainers and kinsmen.  This regiment still requires upkeep (see below).
Land:  At the start, all land belongs to the state. The king may grant land to subjects, or it may be taken by independents in battle (see Battles).  Each parcel of land allows half a regiment to be recruited per year by the owner, i.e. you need two parcels of land to recruit a regiment, minimum. (Half-regiments do not carry through, so you cannot just recruit a regiment every two years.)  Land also provides tax (see Taxes).
Other:  Other methods may be suggested by players to recruit military units, such as training an elite corps of guard.  These may or may not have success, and will be up to the king (or independents) to enact.

Upkeep:  All regiments will have their own upkeep, based on their equipment and training, with levies and outdated units being the cheapest and the latest machines being most expensve.  The upkeep is deducted at the end of the game season, should the regiment still be intact.  If there are insufficient ducats, excess regiments are disbanded. .

Provinces:  All armies exist in a physical location somewhere in the world.  Armies therefore need to declare what province they are in.  This is important because if raids or attacks happen in a province in which there are no opposing armies, no battle can happen and the attacker automatically succeeds.

Taxes
Taxes are the lifeblood of the kingdom.  Taxes are necessary to maintain the armies of the nation.  Taxes can also be used to give bonuses to RtD attempts (see Guidelines to the King).  Taxes are taken in Ducats.

Taxes from Land:  Every parcel of land owned by the kingdom provides 1 Ducat/game year in tax.  This represents agricultural yields, land revenues or whatever else that serves the basic foundation for land taxation.  Land owned by the king's subjects (nobility is not a requirement) or seized by independents will pay the ducat of tax to the player directly, though the king is free to demand however much of the tax from his vassal.  Note that land can be seized in battle.

Taxes from Trade:  Ports and markets provide a variable amount of ducats/game year in tax, depending on trade and relations with other countries.  These are paid to whomever owns the market/port.  Seizing a market/port in battle also brings 1 parcel of land (the land on which the market/port rests).  The king may gift the port/market to a vassal without also gifting the land upon which it rests.

Taxes from Industry:  Towns provide a variable amount of ducats/game year in tax, depending on the development of the town.  These are paid to whomever owns the town.  Seizing a town in battle also brings at least 1 parcel of land (the land on which the town is built) though larger towns may stretch over multiple parcels, all of which will be seized during a capture.  The king may gift the town to a vassal without gifting the land upon which it rests (essentially granting the right to take rents). Cities in themselves might contain separate urban and industrial areas, with differing amounts of production and wealth.

Other Taxes:  The king may attempt to raise extraordinary taxes, such as war taxes.  These may have ill effects, such as causing peasant riots.  It is also possible to gain other sources of revenue not listed here.

Battles
Defence of the Realm is of the utmost importance to a King.  During any battle, the King and his supporters will want to choose how many regiments or other units of military strength (see above) to send out to fight.  All battles consist of a pair of opposed rolls from either side - 1d6 plus the full military strength of the army being brought to bear.  If one side beats the other's score, the battle is a victory for that side; the victor loses 1 point of military strength (i.e. a regiment is killed) whilst the defeated loses 2 points of military strength.  If both sides get even scores, the battle is inconclusive and both sides lose 1 point of military strength.

When regiments are killed in battle, the leader of the side they were on (if a player) gets to choose which regiments were killed.  If an NPC, the King may choose.


As well as costing troops, battles in distant locations may prevent troops sent there from defending other positions.

Battle Modifiers:  Some things can grant modifiers to battles taking place - in the above example, the frosty terrain granted a penalty to non-trolls fighting in the region.  It is possible for kings to build fortresses and the like to give bonuses to defenders in certain locations.  This is up to the king.

Capturing Open Land:  Capturing land that is not a market, port or part of a town requires a successful attack on whatever party owns it (which might be an enemy country, rebels or even the King himself).  If a victory is secured in battle, 1d6 parcels of land are captured by the victors.  If the land is undefended, no victory is needed - ownership can be claimed simply by moving the army into that region.  You still can only claim 1d6 parcels at a time, due to the need to pacify the peasants.
NB:  If no open land remains (i.e. land that is not covered by a market, port or town) you can only capture markets/ports or towns.

Capturing Markets/Ports & Towns:  Capturing markets and ports requires a successful victory in battle (or moving into the market/port if undefended) and will grant ownership of both the market/port and one parcel of land.  The same rule applies for towns, except that the owner gains as many parcels of land as the town covered.
NB:  Capturing markets/ports and towns in battle leads to looting and pillaging.  Any market/port or town captured in this manner loses 20% of its base yearly revenues from looting.  If you want to take these structures intact, make a diplomatic settlement.

Raids:  If you are unwilling to capture, you can raid a market, port, town or other taxable structure (but not open land) instead.  On a success, you steal 1d6 Ducats from the Treasury of whomever owned that structure.  If the owner's Treasury is empty, money is stolen from next year's tax revenue.  If that is empty, raiding the structure yields no benefits.  You do not gain ownership of the structure with a raid.

Defenceless Targets:  Targets may be considered defenceless if there are either no armies/defenders in that target's province at the time an attack is conducted or the armies present in that province and unwilling/unable to defend the target.  Attacks on defenceless targets always succeed, though this does not necessarily protect you from retaliation.

Additional rules and balancing - subject to changes so watch out for any announcements!

No dynastic inheritance by the same player.  By all means get someone else to play your brother/sister/cousin/daughter/slave, but don't just reincarnate as your next of kin should you die.

Inheritance:  You may designate players to inherit your estates or wealth (if you have any) to pass to them on your character's death.  You should do this before you die.  It is up to the King as to whether the law respects that inheritance (if within the kingdom's reach) but otherwise it will be respected.  Regular soldiers can transfer their loyalty in this way, but not personal guards.  You may not pass inheritance on to your next character in this way, and if I see anyone pass their estates on to a patsy who then gives it straight to their new character they will suffer the wrath of fate for playing the system.  If you deliberately play a character who is next-of-kin to another player's character, you will automatically inherit unless the player designates a different heir.
NB:  You can inherit the kingdom this way.  Whether the nobility respect that inheritance is a different matter.  Wars of succession have been known to happen this way.

Urban Potential:  Town growth is now limited by the number of resources a region can produce.  With 0 Resources, a total of 2 Tax can be derived from the towns in the region.  Each additional Resource adds +3 to the total tax limit in the region.  Manufactured resources count towards this limit.

New towns nominally have a base tax of +2, so their base difficulty is -2.  Some outposts might be founded at -1 difficulty with a base tax of +1.  The difficulty of improving a town thereafter is equal to its present tax rate/2 but limited by resources (see above).

Mines and other such affairs to either count as an improvement to towns (urban industry) or as one-off events.  In this case, setting up a mine to (say) search for ores or other geological resources would be a one-off event.  Success would garner you a cash bonus, resource revealing or both.  Failure might cost you.  Base difficulty for that task would be -2 (-1 for ducat bonus chance, -1 for searching for the first resource in a region).  If a region has no resources of note (like Eelspine), finding the first resource is at a -1 difficulty.  The difficulty increases by -2 for each successive resource to be found.

Military Labour:  Put more soldiers into the effort (+0.5 to roll per regiment) to simulate using your troops as manual labour rather than leaving them on guard duty or spend ducats (+1 to roll per ducat).

Colonising Unsettled Regions usually has a difficulty of -1 per parcel of land attempted to be claimed.  Some harsh regions (such as high mountains) may have higher base difficulty.

Fortifications add structural bonuses to defending armies.  Fortifications increase in order; Walls, Forts, Castles and so on provide defensive bonuses of +1, +2, +3 etc.  The difficulty to create a structure is equal to its defensive bonus.  Upgrading a fortification (say from Keep to Castle) is as difficult as building it anew, but does not require as many engineers to construct (see specialists).  A fortification always requires Defense Level - 1 total engineers invested to construct.

Terrain Defense Bonuses apply to whole provinces in general and provide bonuses to any defending army in the region.  Bonuses tend to be +1 for hilly or heavily forested terrain and +2 for mountainous or swampy terrain.

Asymmetric Warfare Ruling:  If an army can successfully beat its opponent by 5 or more (i.e. the equivalent of rolling 6 vs 1 on an even battlefield) then the victors do not lose a regiment from the fight.  The defeated still lose 2 regiments as normal.  This should allow small armies with terrifying defences to hold out rather than be wiped out in three rounds of attrition by an army that can spare the men.

Player vs Player Combat:  In the event two characters go at each other with weapons, rolls will be as per battles; opposed rolls with the winner highest.  Each character starts with three hitpoints and will lose a hitpoint on a lose or draw (winning a roll, you don't lose a hp).  Having a shield or armour (include it in your preparations) counts as a +1 and having a weapon counts as a +1.  Having guards also counts as (only) a +1.  Other modifiers may be applied by me or the King, depending on who is doing the combat rolls.  First to zero hitpoints is dead or incapacitated (and thus at the victor's mercy).  Beating your enemy's roll by 5 means you inflict 2hp damage instead of 1hp.
Meat Shields:  To stretch combats like this out, having 3 guards gives you a bonus 3hp that you can lose in a fight instead.  Of course, every time you lose one of those hp you'll lose a third of your guards.  Having 2 guards grants a bonus 2hp, 1 guard grants an extra hp.  I'm going to rule that even if you have a whole platoon of guards around you, you can only effectively have up to 3 bodyguards in a given combat.

Player Training/Research:  Players can engage in training or research projects (1 project/year max) such as duelling training, leadership training or mechanical or alchemical research.  These projects require 100 points to complete and as a rule of thumb successes give 10-30 points, overshoots deduct 10 points and critical failures deduct 20 points.  When the project is eventually completed, the player character will usually receive a +1 to rolls relating to whatever skill or knowledge they have acquired.  Such training or research will often have other costs such as Ducats or special tasks attached.

[Ardas]

Also reserved (last one, I promise)

[hector13]

I'd like to play, but I don't have time to create a character just now. Is it alright if I hold off until tomorrow for creation? (prefer to be a retainer)

[Ardas]

The applications will be taken in until I say we have enough. At the moment, I am in no rush.

[Iituem]

*sharp intake of breath*

Squeeee!  Will definitely draft up a non-King app soon.

Edit:  Ah, sod it.  Why not?

Name: Erika Sigurdson

Description: A woman with long, strait auburn hair and skin a little more tanned than one might expect of her race.  Piercing, sad green eyes are set in a round, soft face with a pretty button nose and cheerful red lips.  Her form is slender, down to thin hips and breasts that might or might not be an artefact of her young age.  She carries herself with grace and dignity, often assisted by a variety of dresses and outfits to help communicate gravitas, amusement or blind fury.  A pair of holstered pistols are concealed beneath her dress skirts.

Background: Raised in secret for most of her life, Erika was brought up on tales of the old kingdom, on word of its glory days, and on the follies that led to its fall.  Her parents did their best to bring up a girl they intended to marry off for political advantage, and so her tutoring was largely aimed at grace, charm, deportment and persuasion.  Her brother received her father's tuition in swordplay, generalship and command, and with no interest in sewing or courtly poetry, Erika's mother was at a loss as to what to occupy her with.  At eight years old, salvation arrived in the form of a tutor who introduced her to the wonders of Natural Philosophy.  Erika became obsessed with books on the sciences, obtaining and studying them whenever possible.  She developed a close bond with that tutor, and she fantasised of being an explorer, heading out to distant and mysterious Hatcur and discovering new and interesting plants and animals.  She acknowledged that this would probably not happen, but did fondly desire that once she was married off to Lord von Whoever she might use his wealth to study at a University and become a natural scientist herself.

Such dreams were shot down at age fourteen when her parents and brother were shot by forces loyal to the usurpers.  With no other surviving members of the family (at least, close ones) she was forced to take command of her forces, a duty long expected to fall to her brother.  She did what she could, but with no formal training in strategy or command, all she really had was a pretty face and an understanding of natural sciences.  So she did what any intelligent leader would do - she delegated.  Making up for her deficiencies, she gathered a close council of advisors and generals who could bind together the loyalist movement in a way she could never be able.

The last two years have been a mess of politics and insurrection.  Although not permitted to fight at the front lines (some would have preferred her not to fight at all), Erika did insist on ceaseless firearms training.  By now she has acquired more than a fair proficiency with the pistol, and in battles she will for preference snipe from a concealed position with her hunting rifle.  She only hopes that the days she has to do this will soon be coming to an end.

Personality: Erika is inquisitive and energetic, but unhappy with rule.  She never wanted to take on this position, and the responsibility weighs heavily on her.  She continues in part because of a deep-seated sense of loyalty, to her people and to her family.  She despises politics and intrigue, but accepts them as a necessity.  Ideally, she would forge a kingdom with the ethics and honour of the past, but the technology and understanding of today.

As with the rest of her family, she was raised Cyclicist rather than Suulian Orthodox (to say nothing of Mounish Heterodox, or whatever the dominant religions of the day may be).

[hector13]

Spoiler: Assassin! (click to show/hide)

Name: Marcus Briar

Description: An average, but well muscled man in his mid-30s, Marcus has the grizzled air of a combat veteran about him. He has a large scar running from the top of his lip up over his milky white left eye (through which he can still see) and terminating a short way into his black hair. His non-scarred eye is dark brown, almost black, and he always wears a long scowl on his face. Is generally found wearing a suit of expertly-maintained leather armour, containing a variety of light, concealed and very deadly weapons.

Background: Marcus has a troubled history. His parents were killed in a raid by bandits, and he along with all the other children of his village were kidnapped, forced to fight each other for food and clothing. He grew up, outliving the people he called "friend", one way or another... he was welcomed, as the sole survivor, into the bandits' gang, and learned how to fight and look after himself whilst among them during his teenage years.

A failed raid by the bandits again lead Marcus to be captured, but this time by the authorities. He was imprisoned alongside a garrulous mercenary, and they shared tales of their past glories well into the night, ignoring the sleeping guard. A quiet series of knocks was heard at the wall to the cell, obviously coming from outside the building. The mercenary smiled, tapping the wall in a similar series and then offered Marcus a trade: a life in service to his leader for the chance to escape. Given the long list of charges against him, and the likely penalty, Marcus eagerly accepted, but was confused. How were they to escape a locked cell?

The answer came shortly thereafter, when a small group of armed men quietly infiltrated the jail, killing the guard soundlessly. Both men were freed from the cell, and were quickly ushered outside, around all the dead bodies and onto a waiting horse, before spiriting away into the nearby forest.

Upon arriving at their camp, Marcus was informed that these men were assassins and spies, selling their services to the highest bidder, and he was to be trained in their ways, in order to pay back the debt incurred by freeing him.

Marcus then spent the next 15 years working his way up the ranks of the mercenaries, always working hard to prove himself the best in order to aid the people who had saved him from the gallows. He learned, from the best of them, the arts of Espionage and Assassination, and is expert in both.

Starting resources: Your background and fluff will determine your starting resources and skills.

If there are issues, let me know, and I'll amend as necessary.

Edited for clarity and a silly mistake.

Further Edit for accidentally using the Yak II code thing as my basis for the character. Whoops!

[Andres]

Of all the settings available why did it have to be steampunk? *sigh* I guess I'll just watch.

[Deny]

So wait, can we be Hatcuri? I wasn't clear on that

(Will make my sheet now anyway, tell me if something's wrong with it)

Name: Ssyrith Hassir
Age: 30

Description: Ssyrith is a tall male Hatcuri, with olive green scales and fierce yellow eyes, and a deformed forked tongue, often insultingly called a snake in his youth. Constant harassment and beatings in his youth led to him being extremely paranoid, which shows in his steps, he walks always on edge, tense and always ready to strike. He wears thick robes to deal with the colder temperatures of the north, leaving little more than his head, hands, feet and tail exposed. (Hatcuri have tails right?)

Background: A former apprentice under the legendary Alchemist Yverr Nazik, Ssyrith was very poorly liked in his youth, left in an orphanage and subject to beating's and teasing, Ssyrith had grown incredibly hateful towards the world, however he showed great skill in basic alchemy, often finding and/or stealing many plants to create nasty concoctions for his fellow orphans (unfortunately non-lethal). This skill caught the eye of Yverr when he stopped by and after a few small tests he took Ssyrith in as his apprentice at the age of 18. Never forgetting his orphanage years, Ssyrith has taken a preference to the more lethal aspects of alchemy in his teaching, poison's and the like. Though he was skilled in the more practical arts of alchemy, he never scored well in his masters test of his magical abilities, getting the basics down only with great struggle, as such Ssyrith turned instead to technology. Over the next seven years relations between master and pupil continued to grow tense, with Ssyrith's cold personality, his preference for poisons and his growing disdain for the magical side of alchemy clashing with his teacher. However Yverr kept him due to his skills, often calling him a natural alchemist who looks in the wrong direction.

Eventually Ssyrith left his master and began selling his wares, primarily in the underground selling off his poisons for rather hefty prices whilst maintaining a stock of regular mixes for a more stable supply of wealth, using the funds to fuel increasingly elaborate fusions of alchemy and technology, it being rumored that his goal was to create airborne poisons, though these were never confirmed. When Yverr died mysteriously of an illness two years later Ssyrith took the blame, though he had kept his underground dealings rather secret he hadn't made his proficiency for poisons a secret, and it was well known that after leaving his master relations between them had grown increasingly sour. So Ssyrith was forced to flee, taking what research he could and destroying what he could not, eventually coming to the human lands to sell off his wares to them. However he has found that humans are far less accepting of poison making as a professional career, and this combined with his being a Hatcuri saw him repeatedly driven out of his labs and bases for the next three years.

He has joined this kings rebellion in the hopes of finally securing a safe and stable base from which to continue his experiments, giving his services to them primarily as a healer, though his poisons have found their way into the bloodstreams of more than a few occupation leaders. On the side of science over magic, he has a few simple spells up his sleeve (though none suited for combat), and presses more for the merging of the two arts rather than the eradication of one, though in this merging he refers mostly to his own alchemist skills and modern technology rather than the more commonly seen forms of magic.

[micelus]

It'd be a pleasant change to see someone besides myself go Hatcuri every time this game comes around.

Spoiler: Absolutely not a secret Hatcuri. Nope. Not at all. (click to show/hide)

Name: Ambros von Hoffenburg
Description: A man appearing to be 26 of age, Ambros has an olive complexion and dark brown eyes. His hair is arranged in 'whatever is deemed currently acceptable by the court' and 'with the least effort needed to set'. In way of clothes, Ambros wears a Korlanese grey-and-white military coatee with the national emblem - a boar- removed from his chest. He of course wears the matching trousers and boots, as befits his rank. Ambros rarely takes off his uniform even in court or in the city; 'it is tradition' one would hear him say. Any

Background: Then name von Hoffenburg is associated both with infamy and glory. On one hand, they spent more than three generations exiled to distant Hatcur for crimes against the Archduke. On the other hand, they ensured that the Dragon Empire never breached Korlan's borders throughout the War for Johnny's Beard (known as the 2nd Dragon Invasion of the Storm Coast amongst more scholarly circles). Ambros himself is a born and raised Korlanese, inheriting his family's career in the military as well as a love of the written word, especially history. Throughout his six years of service he served personally in skirmishes throughout the Storm Coasts, especially against would-be invaders seeking to plunder Korlan's mineral wealth. Had the Archduchy not been abolished late last year, due to the 'Scarlet Revolution*', Ambros would probably still be serving. Now, with the nobility exiled and the so-called Triad now running the nation, Ambros seeks to find employment with the recently deposed monarch of Elbereth in the hope of gathering forces to reverse the Revolution and bring back the ancien regime throughout the Coast.

*so called due to the large amounts of blood spilled on the Schönheit, the central gardens of the Korlanese capitol.

Starting resources: Your background and fluff will determine your starting resources and skills.

[Ghazkull]

side information: While we start in a Steampunk/Industrialized Setting we are at the very beginning, some countries still haven't modernized at all and still field knight batallions. Others like the Storm Coast Confederacy are highly industrialized nations with Regiments of Riflemen and Cannons. Rumours of even big hulking giants being integrated into the Confederacy military are so far only that...rumours.

Rifling so far is rather scarce and only the Confederacy possesses that Technology, while Steam Engines are well known and many countries have already built one or two railroad lines.
Magic while stilll scarce has thanks to the population explosion associated with Industrialization become more prevalent although only two COuntries are known to field Battle-Mages: the Dalannur Alliance and the dudes which name i forgot again across the nothern mountain range.

Just so you guys get a bit of a feel. Most Nations are about 18th to early 19th century tech. So still Musketeers and Line Infantry but no rifling, railroads are there but seldomly mroe than one railroad line per country and some countries (like Eastern Brighthall) still occasionally rely on Medieval Knights.

Im ambivalent on Hatcuri, personally i wouldn't mind having ONE around but i defer on that decision to Ardas.

[micelus]

Edited my background a bit since giant death robots are apparently not common.

[Ghazkull]

giant death robots do not yet exist...YET.

[Deny]

Is what I have created acceptable? Also you guys decide on our starting resources based on our background right?