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[Ardas]

Welcome, foolish mortal, to You are King!

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

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.
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? See below.

This is the OOC thread which exists for discussing the rules, things that are happening, and asking to join the game.

Also, there is a Discord, which will be used for the game, ask me for link if you are a prospective player.

Discord will be used to handle character interactions in real time, after which the discussions will be posted in the IC. You are free to post actions or discussions in IC as well however. This hybrid model will be an attempt to keep the game alive and flowing at a decent pace, as I intend to keep it updated at least once a week.


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
- The King (mostly minor matters and small rolls)


Ruleset

Overview

The rules for YAK have always been simple, at least in regards to personal actions, and, to some extent, in regards to the combat of armies and navies. This allows for ease of movement, and adaptability to whatever the circumstances.
All rolls are based on 2d6s, with 2-5 being considered failures, 5 being a soft failure, with 6 and up being considered successes, however, on a hard twelve, a critical overshoot may happen at gm discretion and if it makes sense for the situation.

However, many situational modifiers exist, including traits, skillsets, and equipment, for which players will receive 4 Starting Points to spend as they please.

Spoiler: Skills (click to show/hide)

Logistics - Supplying an army is an artform, one that you have mastered. The upkeep for all regiments is 3/4ths of the original upkeep. 2SP

Tactician - A lifelong training in battlefield tactics grants a +2 to tactical maneuvers
 one might make. 2SP

Knifework - +2 is granted TO any attack that is not directly made. I.e backstabbing, as well as moving quietly and stealthily or to avoid detection. 2SP

Intrigue - Spies and double dealing are your forte, and you have a much easier time due to all your training managing spy networks, criminal rings and other shadowy organizations and acts. 2SP

Speechcraft - +2 is granted to all speech related rolls and other things based on speech, to show a lifelong training. 2SP

Armsman - +2 is granted to personal combat, to show a lifelong training in combat. 2SP

Administrator - A +2 is granted to acts involving administration and stewardship.. 
2SP

Mystical Inclinations -Through great labor, you have managed to find yourself in possession of arcane tomes, and some basic reagents. 2SP

Scholarship - You spent a long life learning, reading, and writing, giving you a +2 to any rolls involving the recall of knowledge, writing, or reading, as well as giving access to languages of old. 2SP

Lordsman - A life of being trained to fulfill a number of roles for your liege grants you a +1 to speechcraft and +1 to personal combat rolls. 2SP


Traits:
Attractive - +1 to diplomacy, speeches, and other things based on personal appearance. 1SP

Athletic - +1 to personal combat rolls, and shows of athleticism. 1SP

Observant - More details become apparent to you, and you can infer more information. Access to more details. 1SP

Southern Blood - By some odd coincidence or fate, the blood of the Laurelians is strong in you despite being so far north, making it easy for those who care to mark you as such. This gives you easier relations with Laurelians and other Imperials, as well as potential claims to the old Imperial land. 1sp

Kings’s Blood - The Blood of the Nordric monarchs is strong within you, giving you potential claims to the throne, but also marking you out as a potential rival and a target to others. 1SP

Northern Blood - The Blood of Northmen flows through your veins, giving you a paler complexion and blunt nose, but also making it easy for those who care to mark you as such. Your relations with them are easier as such, but you might be seen as an outsider barbarian by the Lowlanders. 1SP

Vast Recall - Once per turn, you may recall something you’ve read from the vast library of your childhood, giving you a +2 to any one roll. 2SP

Misc.
Family Heirloom Weapon - You have a weapon that was passed down through your family for many years, and many hands. It's in good repair. It gives a +1 to personal combat rolls, as well as gm fait to what else it might do. 2SP

Runeblade - One of the mighty blades forged by Imperial forgemasters or Nordan smiths for a warrior or a noble. The blade is edged in impossibly sharp, blue metal and many runes are carved on its surface in flaking red paint. Grants a +2 to offensive personal combat rolls. 4SP

Landed noble - you are part of the kingdom’s aristocracy. Be it a minor landholder or a great baron, you play part in the politics of the realm and have holdings that provide you with suitable income. Limited number of players can be nobility, most of them at the game start so choose well. 1SP

Character template:

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, it is based on the points above.]

Applicants for the King position - unlike previous YaK games that were more freeform, this iteration will have king applications chosen by myself on the basis of quality. Alternatively, the game will start with a Kingsmoot for nobles to choose a king IC if no players put themselves forward before the start.

Combat:

Combat can occur on two levels - personal and battle.

Personal combat: You and your opponent square off against each other in a duel, with each starting with 12hp points, armor which reduces damage and weapon. Combat happens on basis of opposed dice rolls, with degrees of difference being the damage dealt to the loser of an exchange, minus armor.

Battles: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IsJJKQLlkwIFuL6CoWlHFohuGUuIM4VV_0YCRC6ZT-Y/edit?usp=sharing


Troops can be either recruited on permanent retainer, or called upon as levies from held land.

Economy:

The might of the kingdom, apart from relying on its knights, rests with its people and the lands it holds. The holdings and demesne of each noble lord is composed of upgradeable farms, mines, townships and other, which are held in their name by stewards, castellans but also handed out as fiefs to lords and barons, who serve as the bannermen in times of war and can be called to arms. Nobles can be landed of course or property seized, but both will have political impact.

Usually, each holding will allow a lord to summon one unit of troops as levies from that place, with associated upgrades of the locality adding to the quality of the summonable troops. Not all types of troops can be summoned as levies, they have to be directly recruited by the lord and subsequently maintained on retainer, or landed with a noble bannerman, who will keep the troop for you, but with a political cost of dealing with them!

Details will be handled with turns for the landed players.


The King

The monarch, of course is the central character of the game and the most important player - they will decide on all aspects of the life in the kingdom, but do not worry, the king can (and sometimes has to) delegate, as not all tasks can be completed by him single-handedly.

However, the king is still pretty much the lord and master of life and death of his subjects… as far as they allow him! At the start of the game the royal power is unchecked, with nobility of the land being the only thing that makes or breaks king’s power and keeps it in check. Subsequently, it is up to the politics of the realm to define what the monarch can and cannot get away with.

To help understand the role more, the king can do the following, among other things:

- Pass new laws (which can range from no effect at all if unenforced to changing nation’s life and economy if laws are followed through and are good)
- Fight wars
- Send other players on quests or missions, that cannot be normally rolled for or undertaken by an NPC
- Nominate ministers and grant titles

Delegation:

As seen above, some tasks cannot be completed by an NPC or by a royal action - these need to be put into life by another player, be it a courtier, knight or a noble. Most diplomatic actions, special quests, military actions and other. It is important for a monarch therefore to cultivate a court with nobles and people who are willing to follow their orders and to delegate matters of state to them, in exchange for recognition, rewards, land and other.

Majesty

Last but not least, the king must present himself in the best possible manner in order to sway the people to his decisions and make them obey. As such, the king must watch his Majesty rating, which broadly reflects the prestige and popularity of the monarch and serves as both the barometer for popularity as well as the score for the likelihood of the obedience of the NPCs - players are not beholden to it, but are reminded to keep note of it in their dealings with NPCs and among each other.
Majesty is affected by things like wealth of the court, ability to delegate (which represents king’s ability to get people to do his bidding), victorious wars, successful diplomacy (like marriages, alliances or inheritances) and prosperity of the land. Lot of it is roleplay, successful rolls but also GM discretion.

Turns

Turns will occur on a weekly basis, with smaller character actions or interactions being handled immediately or within the turn’s duration during the week.
Each turn will represent a season of the year (4 seasons), with incomes, troop movements and other long-duration actions being processed then. Things like winter might affect income and troop movements, while spring or autumn might affect trade ships. Take those into account while role playing and note the potential effects for their impact on your rolls.

[Ardas]

HUMANS

The three kingdoms of Predain, Harmondale and Risstan exist as successors to the great kingdom of Nordric. The kingdom itself was a successor and a former province to the declined Laurelian Empire in the south, which fell to the Orcish invaders, who killed the last Nordric kings. Following the partition of the kingdom into various states and infighting that destroyed the unity of land, the sacred vestments and Crown of the North have been bequeathed to the monks of Sacred Flame in the high Reaches of Whitepeaks, to be kept and protected until a worthy inheritor to the kings of old arises.
Despite Orcs, plagues and infighting, the land is swelling with population seeking safety within borders of the kingdoms and relative peace.
The old Nordric is surrounded by Whitepeaks in the North and East, Arcturian Sea to the West, Old Laurelia to the South (shattered into kingdoms and states as well) and Orc Wastelands to the Southeast. The country is guarded by Stone Gate Pass from the Badlands approach.
 
Humans of Nordric are a feudal culture that arose after the withdrawal of imperial troops from the country. The land was settled by the Nordans from Whitepeaks, with the Nordric kingdom in the fertile lowland, and the clannish Nordans who remained behind. 
Nordan is one of the few known sources of blue ore - metal with qualities similar to iron, but superior in strength and weight to steel after processing, and possessing residual magic properties which can be preserved and enhanced with right processing and inscription of runes. It is blue ore that is used to make enchanted weapons and armour. Currently, only the Highland Nordans themselves know how to smelt blue ore correctly. The only other place that smelted ore into magic metal was near volcanic Mount Pallus in Laurelia, before Orc invasions. Many artifacts and weapons of old are made from Pallan steel, with Laurelian inscriptions that are but unreadable to most, save for the Fire Mages and monks of Illos, God of Fire and Light, patron of order and human civilization. 

------

Old Laurelian Empire

The empire was the dominant power on the continent until its gradual decline and eventual collapse some 60 years ago by the invading Orcish tribes. With its capital in Laurentis and encompassing most of the fertile western territories of the continent, Laurelian Empire created the foundations for most of present civilization, albeit the destruction of their empire led to a massive loss of material and cultural wealth.

Laurelia was also the creator and practitioner of thaumaturgy, magic based on coaxing and forcing of supernatural entities to do one's bidding. Some claim that it was this abuse of magic that brought about the downfall of Laurelia, as they put more faith in their increasingly abstract and arcane powers, as opposed in arms. 

Worship of Illos originates from Laurelia, after the faithful fled from the increasingly magocratic and profane society, which is often pointed to as one of the reasons for the imperial fall. However, monks of Illos preserved much of ancient knowledge of the empire and seeded it wherever they went.

Laurelia itself is divided into North-East occupied by Orc Grods and human ducal South-West, which resisted Orcs. Many fled to the imperial colonies in the North, chief being Novelia across Arcturian Sea, where independent kingdoms arose. Despite common conception of lack of seafaring capabilities by the Orcs, recently their crude ships began their pirating and plundering of sea lanes between Nordric and Novelia.

Human Trivia

Orcbane - Usually a long two-handed sword, adapted to fighting with the oversized Orcs. Best orcbanes are made from blue ore, which allows humans to wield them as easily as normal swords and gives them strength to cut through Orcish armor. Combined with heavy cavalry and increasingly more powerful crossbows, these weapons even out the odds of human warriors against aggressive Orcs.

Predain - Western kingdom, access to the Arcturian Sea. Contains the important port of Caelden and the old capital of Nordric, currently also the capital of the kingdom, Altheim.

Harmondale - Middle kingdom, player start. Setting to be established by players. Important Abbey of St. Harmonius is placed there.

Risstan - Eastern kingdom, more forested and larger than the other two, also the place where Stone Gate is located. 

Spoiler: Religion (click to show/hide)

Illos - Cult of Illos forms one of the most organized and culturally important faiths among humans, carrying with it the knowledge of old Empire, but also of magic - higher-ranking priests are also Fire Mages, blessed to carry the gift of Pyromancy with them - unlike Imperial Thaumaturgy or Orc Shamanism, Pyromancy is a divine power to bend the energy of fire and its effects to shape the world. Being exclusively of divine origin, it protects its wielder against darker entities and can be used to fight them. One cannot become a Mage without ascending through hierarchy and vice-versa - magic talent can sway one's odds in favour, but without a blessing and divine dedication it matters little. Notable individuals with divine blessing however, are sometimes granted power that surprises even the most learned of clerics and mages. Such individuals are said to carry "Sacred Flame" (the divine power of Illos) and are often called saints after their deaths, called upon to carry the Flame even after their deaths as servants of Illos.

The worshippers often found various orders, either under the name of a saint or various divine aspects, with specialized tasks picked as their chief duties.
Apart from temples and Orders, majority of clerics and mages live in monasteries and abbeys, placed in special sites, either of magical, historical or religious significance, tending to the lands around them and helping the population at large.

Hierarchy 

Novitates (or Novices for short) - lowest rank of Church members. Forming majority of the formal members of the Cult, they perform bulk of ordinary tasks, and services during rituals.
Those with little prospect of advancing or not seeking to ascend further, take on the titles of monks or ministers. Despite that, quite few saints were Novices, showing the importance of faith and humility.

Clerics – also known as priests, they are formally ordained to look after shrines, temples and the people around them, they are also superiors in monastic settings. This is also the first rank to be given access to the Mysteries of the Sacred Flame, allowing them to cast basic spells of limited power. Clerics are also responsible for teaching and securing knowledge as librarians and copyists.
There are few honorary clerics among nobility, but without an ability to ast spells.

Mages – Standing above most of Cult members, these individuals are fully inducted into the Mysteries, with various Circles of Magic, which are ranks of advancement in the Mysteries and spells.

Archmages – the select few that from the Conclave of the faith, the wisest and most experienced mages among them all. Selected for their talent, achievements and experience, archmages head various temples and larger abbeys, and they are also responsible for identifying and raising the Grandmaster to his post.

Grandmaster – the head of the Cult of Illos, blessed by the Sacred Flame and identified from the ranks of the Archmages to head the faith. Living in the Fortress-Monastery of Righteous Flame on the Eastern Slopes of Whitepaks in Risstan, the grandmaster is perhaps the only authority in the land that can deny kings their rights and rites and can rally the land under his banner if a crisis arises. However, the grandmasters usually try to steer clear of overt politics and remain neutral in most disputes.

----

Spoiler: ORCS (click to show/hide)

After the fall of old Laurelian Empire, Orcish Horde took over the land of the humans and established their own holds in their lands.

Grod Badaan – Main stronghold of the Warchief, established amid the ruins of Imperial capital of Laurentis

Grod Vradaan – chief stronghold in the northern ruins of the empire, a short distance from Stone Gate Pass

Grod Tosaan – Seaside town, built on ruins of Imperial harbour of Grasimar

Grod Soggan – Oldest existing stronghold, the starting point of the invasion and standing on the border between Laurelia and eastern Badlands.

Orcs are on average a head taller and more muscular than men, with skin that ranges in tinge from greenish to coppery, with black hair. Eye colours range from brown to reddish and grey, but never blue or green. They also possess enlarged and thick canines, that sometimes become visible beyond mouth and become tusks, which sometimes push out upper teeth to keep the jaws working. Despite their resilience and stature, the average lifespan is around 50-60 due to high mortality and aggressive metabolism that allows retaining strength and vitality into late in life, with no menopause but gradual decline in fertility . Due to metabolic morphology as well as reproductive variance, humans and orcs do not interbreed.

The society is semi-matriarchal, with strong women position at home and household keeping and equal military access, as well as exclusive control over shamanistic and priesthood roles, but only males can be chiefs and they retain majority of roles when women are busy with child-rearing. Orcish society is a warrior culture based on honour and clan relations, where the Horde is divided into tribes and each tribe into clans, where tribes are treated like super-clans of the Horde. Each clan is then composed of family units, which are treated as solid and stable as long as clan accepts it and the pair maintains their responsibilities (which includes raising whelps). There is little in way of formal marriage, with clan duties and natural jealousy enforcing their roles.

Predominantly carnivores, Orcs survive by hunting, foraging, planting of low-yielding barley and goat farming. They brew weak alcohol from barley, but there is a strong preference for human-distilled spirits which they themselves don’t manufacture. They are however excellent craftsmen and smiths and they usually dress in leather, furs and strong armor as well as live in sturdy cabins and tents with rich decorations. Tattoos are common too and are an important record of social position and deeds which are observed by all clans, with greater leniency on jewellery and piercings for decoration.

Raiding forms a large part of income with human slaves and human goods being the most sought-after products, but raiding other clans in small skirmishes is looked at the other way when it happens. Most orcs wield most great weapons and spears, but are unable to ride on horseback as their smell scares off and frightens horses. They managed to domesticate desert canines which serve as their hounds. Their great size allows them to use heavy bows that usually outperform human weapons and were one of main weapons of conquest of the old empire.
Economy is based around inter-clan and inter-tribe barter, with human goods often being used as medium of exchange when they are of high quality, but some clans tend to specialize in something to enable barter more easily. Orcs are not merchants so trade is a necessity of resource management and not of growth or wealth accumulation. Human slaves are used to craft finer goods or look after farms where higher-quality meat from captured livestock is raised.

Since most of witchcraft and shamanism is monopolized by females, they tend to dwell in magic, which is based around appeasing and coercing spirits to do their bidding. Unlike magisters of Laurelia who tried to brute-force their way to arcane power, orc shamans have created and adhered to age-tested rituals and methods that have resulted in fairly reliable and powerful, but laborious and fragile spells. They also look after health and wellbeing of their people and advise their chiefs.

Orcish Lexicon and trivia

Bladaak – little paleskins (humans)

Grod –stronghold/settlement

Korran – method of recording information by tying knots and beads of different colours and in different arrangements on ropes or strings – what humans mistake for decorations often is a record of history or of a message, as well as badge of distinction on many warriors, who use them in their hair.

Gruda – “People”, self-name for Orcs

Orc – Old Laurelian name, derived from Laurelian legendary demon Orcus

“Toch l’ach bladaak!” – common warcry, meaning “destroy all paleskins”

Karrdak - Warband, usually named after their stronghold or chief, also a name of an unfortified camp or tribal village

[Ardas]

Reserved again

[Shootandrun]

Spoiler: Alric Falbrand (click to show/hide)

Player: Shootandrun

Position: Landless courtier

Full name: Alric Falbrand

Bio: Raised at court in a duchy of Risstan, Alric was born the last heir to the Falbrand family, one of the dynasties claiming to have royal blood still flowing in their veins. He had a relatively sheltered childhood, with his father - the duke - intending to only introduce him to rulership proper once he came of age. He was nevertheless trained in combat and speechcraft, as befits a proper noble, and would have learned a lot about history and other academics if he had paid any attention to those lessons. Surrounded by indulgent servants unwilling to risk the wrath of the ducal heir and with little time to spend with his ever-busy parents, he had a happy - if slightly lonely - childhood. While he learned to be careless and entitled, however, his father was pursuing royal ambitions which soon cost the family almost everything when the king descended upon their court.
The Falbrands chose exile rather than death, and fled Risstan when Alric turned sixteen. A few years were spent in the court of a border baron, with some hopes on his father's part to regain their holdings, and in that time Alric learned to live with far humbler means than he had once been used to, though he resented every second of it. His father's last dreams turned to dust when disease swept through the court, a few years after their arrival; Alric's parents both succumbed to it, and the young man decided it was time for the Falbrand dynasty to abandon Risstan for good. He left at the age of twenty-two for the King's Court in Harmondale, and resided there for the two following years, his father's old rank and family's descent buying him enough goodwill to remain as a courtier.

Traits or resources: King's Blood, Attractive, Lordsman.

Every good king needs a good diplomat.

[Digital Hellhound]

Spoiler: Master Constantine Logos Valerian and the Knights Resplendent (click to show/hide)

Player: Digital Hellhound
Position: Master of the Knights Resplendent
Full Name: Master Constantine Logos Valerian
Bio:
Constantine is a tall, olive-skinned man in his 40s, muscular and battle-scarred. His angular, sculpted features and a beak of a nose mark him out as a Southerner. He has a calm, refined manner befitting of a nobleman, though touch on subjects such as the Empire or the Orcs and you will find him a very passionate and outspoken soul indeed. Constantine dresses well and richly - perhaps too richly for a Northern court - both out and in his armor. Ceremonial sashes in the colors of the rainbow circle his breastplate, while elaborate icons and decorations can be found everywhere on him. The azure eagle of Laurentis is prominently worked into his chest. His helm bears a figure of a woman with fire in her hands, a depiction of an Illosi saint from his homelands. Yet compared to most of his predecessors, Constantine's appearance is downright spartan.

To understand Constantine, one must understand the Knights of Laurentis, or the Knights Resplendent. In the glory days of the Laurelian Empire, countless orders of knights served the realm faithfully and steadfastly against all enemies. Even as enemies dwindled, the orders retained their prestige, wealth and influence. They became a powerful force in Laurelian politics, one much more beloved by the common people than the distant mage-lords. A handful of those houses stood above all others: the Knights Sanguinary, the Knights Tempestuous, the Knights Stalwart... and the Knights Resplendent.

If not the greatest of knightly houses when it came to skill at arms or faith, the Knights Resplendent were perhaps the most beloved, and certainly the most wealthy. The brothers of the order spent that wealth on themselves and their chapter-houses, adopting colorful banners, decorated armors and personalized helms and weapons among other things - but also on extravagant public festivals and ceremonies. It was not unusual for entire districts of Laurentis to flock to the streets to follow a procession of the Knights, mothers even offering up their sons for a chance to join the esteemed order. One could be forgiven to equate such luxury with decadence or weakness, but time and time again the Knights would prove their worth on the battlefield as well.

It would not be enough against the Scourge, as the Orcish invasion would come to be known. The Knights of Laurelia rode out to meet the enemy in a massive force of the houses united. The old Masters relished the chance to destroy the savage threat and once more be hailed as heroes of the Empire. That the beast-race could be of any true danger was inconceivable. The Knights had sat long on old glories and endless victories.

In the Battle of the Imperial Pass, nearly ten thousand knights, the elite of Laurelia's forces, charged into a pass occupied by a small Orcish force. As always, the enemy broke in the face of such splendor and martial excellence. The great army pursued - and quite suddenly found the pass collapsing closed behind them. Thousands died in the rockslides alone, but the true blow was yet to fall. The 'fleeing' Orcish forces suddenly came to a halt and turned back towards their pursuers. From their ranks the elite of the Orcish horde emerged, while Orcish siege engines and mages on the mountainsides began flinging death down at the trapped knights. The general of the Knights, an ancient grandmaster of the Stalwart Order, could not come to grips with the changing situation. Indecision and infighting brought even more chaos into the desperate situation. Attempts at charges out through the Orcish elite found extensive defenses prepared for them.

The battle lasted for hours, and it was a slaughter. Thousands of knights escaped, but the great army was obliterated. They took many Orcs down with them, but it scarcely mattered. There were always more to replace the fallen. The Knights of Laurelia had been destroyed, and they could not so easily be replaced.

The Knights Resplendent escaped a shadow of its former self. Though its wealth was safely locked in chapter-houses around the Empire, the order's numbers had been severely reduced. They could not stop the Scourge from overtaking their beloved Laurelia. Many of the older knights never recovered from the double blow to their numbers and their pride, turning into living dead going through the motions for the rest of their lives.

After the fall of Laurelia, the Knights wandered the Imperial remnants for some time. It was from one of these remnants that Constantine of House Valerian was found - an able and sharp-minded squire who took well to the Knights' ethos and discipline. His rise in the ranks was not swift, but it was steady and relentless. At age thirty he was the second-in-command of the order. His master was an old, bitter man, who had never recovered from the shock of the Battle of the Pass. His acerbic tongue and arrogance led the Knights into political troubles in the remnant duchies again and again. During one petty war where the Knights had ended up on the losing side, he met his end - death in an honorless, insignificant battle over scraps of land somewhere - and so Constantine Logos Valerian became Master of the Knights Resplendent.

Fully aware that they were not welcome in the victors' lands and disillusioned with the lordlings squabbling over the Empire's corpse, Constantine decided to lead the Knights on a new course entirely. He would seek a more worthy ruler to follow north, where the Orcs did not yet rule. The remnants of the Knights Resplendent, seeing the potential for a fresh start, chose to follow him to the strange foreign lands. And so the Knights came to Harmondale, searching for a realm they could once more pledge their banners to. The colorful, gilded southern knights must be a strange sight in these lands, but given the chance they will prove just why they were the Empire's elite.

Traits or resources: Southern Blood, Lordsman, Landed Noble (Knightly Order)

We are the Pretty Boy Knights and we are here for honor and for glory!

[Roboson]

Would a mage position of some sort be available to players?

[Ardas]

Very much so, ask if you have any questions about the lore that are not in the posts above.

[Roboson]

Ok, is grandmaster alright then? Or would you prefer to keep that an NPC position?

[Ardas]

It is an NPC role, as it is equivalent to the King's position. All players have to start within the kingdom and either apply for the king or lower.

[Ghazkull]

Spoiler:  Domnall, Nordan Highlander (click to show/hide)

Player: Ghazkull
Position: Wandering Adventurer/Mercenary/Sellsword/Bandit/Pirate/You name it we have it
Full name: Domnall
Bio: The son of one of the legendary Nordan Runesmiths, Domnall grew up pretty much as anyone else among the Highland Nordans would. A clanswarrior, smith by trade and wandering sellsword by Choice, Domnall has seen much of what once was the Laurelian Empire. Now however he has set his eyes on serving the Lords and Kings of the Lowlands. A towering giant of a man, years a the runeforge of his father, has made him powerful, hunting in the highlands quick and enduring and years as a sellsword deadly with a blade. Quick to anger, an excessive lust for drinking and his general character would mark him as a terribly cliché character in any Lowland Play. In reality it makes him a violent, unstable, braggart and drunk with a keen tongue and a keener blade.
Traits or resources: Armsman, Athletic, Attractive (the three big As)

[Roboson]

Spoiler:  Archmage Luwald (click to show/hide)

Player: Roboson

Position: Archmage

Full name: Luwald Armiles IV

Bio: Luwald was an exemplary mage from the beginning of his career. Born as the son of a powerful baron, and royal noble, Luwald had little to care for. His young years were spent studying and it was quickly discovered he had magical talent that would serve him in his later career. He had a strong grasp of magical principles that certainly gave him an edge over the competition. At first it appeared the Luwald would be unable to climb the hierarchy very far at all. His magical talent removed the need for him to study and work as hard as others. His devotion was occasionally painfully lacking, and his superiors were convinced he would never have what it takes to climb the heriarchy. This frustrated Luwald and he spent a great deal of time travelling the various abbeys, temples, and holy sites. Along this journey he gained some level of humility and gained a greater sense of purpose and awe for the Cult of Illos. It was not however until he began to see the darkness that Luwald finally gained the devotion he was sorely lacking. After a terrible encounter with an impossibly dark entity, Luwald found his devotion. He had seen evil, had watched it destroy his fellows while he was too weak to fight it, and it had looked back at him with its unholy eyes. Luwald was forever a changed man, and with newfound devotion and dedication, he rose to the position of Archmage. Later though his father passed away and Luwald inherited not only his family's land, but also their political involvement. Though Luwald was ultimately dedicated to the Cult, he found politics intriguing and would occasionally dabble when appropriate.

Traits or resources: Landed noble, Scholarship, Kingsblood

Was considering taking magically inclination as a trait, but it seemed as though it was one of the few traits that could be gained IC as opposed to solely during character creation. Can you elaborate a bit on the use of these tomes?

[Ardas]

So far, all apps look good, and we still have some space to spare.

[chubby2man]

Oh this looks interesting, if I get some free time I may post, or I may just watch. Either way, looks pretty cool!

[micelus]

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[Ardas]

Hmm, it can work, if you mark your start as a landed noble - there are trade buildings and fiefs that you can own in the economy system, so your character works just fine.