Archon Basileus
First Post
PRELUDE
[sblock]
“Every wise man should know how to ask questions and give answers,
If he is to be known for his intelligence.” – Hávámal
“Eirik is dead and Avar has no ruler.”
Leif was brought back from his musings as his wife pronounced the fatal phrase. Leif tried to ignore the fact thus far, even as he watched the blazing longboat glide through the specular grey waters of the bay.
“And what will you have me do, woman?” – his visage was one of pain. Perhaps he lamented the death of his brother. Perhaps he did not want to deal with the inevitable.
“I will have nothing of you, my love…” – she responded with a cold whisper. “Fate, on the other hand, will take you for everything, lest you act now.”
Wrath ran through Leif’ veins, his raging nature fighting his reason. The ferocious warrior was tailored for the battlefield, not for the Thing.
“Let the wise deal with it.” – he muttered between his teeth.
“Wise, such as your caste niece?” – the man’s face turned red as she mentioned Torunn. Gudrun could never understand the man’s feelings for his niece, and that tasked her.
“Come, Leif! You can’t fail. She is not strong enough to lead. You know it.”
“Measure your words, woman!” – the exasperated tone of his voice betrayed him, despite the hushed ways of the conversation. “It is my flesh you talk about…” – for a second, Gudrun wondered. Hate overthrew her.
“Your blood… True. And that is why I beg of you, do what you must!”
“You do not understand, Gudrun…” – suddenly, he became complacent, almost childish in his ways. “They already talk… They say…”
“They say you’ve allowed him to die…” – she completed the phrase before he could. “I know that.”
“Imagine if I was to call a moot now, to declare my rights…”
“They’d call you traitor…”
“No doubt!”
“No doubt…” – she falls silent for a second. “Yet…” – he glances at her, curious. She wears the masks of concern and compassion with elegance unmatched. “Yet… Look at her, Leif. Look at how the leech Regnar clings to her now… Bishop Regnar.” – she studied his barbaric features, an indomitable spirit made for the back of horses and the openness of planes. “Look at how he covets her…” – his face twisted in irritation, she almost gave her disguise away. “He has killed before, remember? The former bishop… His heart giving out as he fed… His blackened lips…. Poison, my love…. Poison.” – his face turned to concern.
“Rumors, just rumors… …. You don’t suppose he might… would…”
“Who would inherit the lands, then? She is one of the sisters, after all…” – she observed in silence, apprehensive. His eyes turned to the demiurgian priests, where Torunn rose silent prayers for her dead father. For a second, he contemplated her figure, a rosy beauty lost amidst a mass of black furs, pure simplicity and harmony crowned by stoic habits.
“We call the moot.”
In that moment, Gudrun smiled a serpent’s smile.[/sblock]
This is the beginning of an idea I’ve been brewing for a while. I’m throwing it here to check for interest and potentially recruit some players.
Think ‘Vikings’ meets ‘Game of Thrones’. It’s a character-driven game (sandbox style) where players take the role of powerful political figures of heroic level (beginning at level 4). The objective is to survive the intrigues and power games of this Nordic-like world, while trying to reach the character’s individual goals (obviously defined by the players). The first act of the political dispute is the death of an important Jarl, the one that held on his hands a key location for trading and warfare. As interests around his legacy are revealed, entire factions are dragged down to conflict, such as the church of the Demiurge (a Christian-like religion) and the Pantheon (the equivalent of pagan traditions in this world).
Players are encouraged to build their own lineages, lands and interests, as well as factions, if they so wish.
SYSTEM: Pathfinder (I have more source material to support necessary adaptations)
SCENARIO: Homebrew/Nordic inspired culture
RACES: Any basic. Others might apply after “that talk”.
CLASSES: Any basic. Others might apply after “another talk”.
STARTING LEVEL: 4 (NPC’s won’t be too far from it; the idea is to look for a more grounded scenario, since we are aiming for politics, not epic; magic is perfectly acceptable in this scenario, though.)
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: up to 4.
UNCHAINED ALLOWED
GAME APPLIES BACKGROUND TRAITS
IMPORTANT NOTE: we will rely heavily on roleplay. There will be dice rolling and combat, but the main experience here is roleplaying. We will also need certain details on backstories (family ties, titles, power position, dirty little secrets, etc.). Also, sensitive topics might be brought up, so be advised that we all must enter this with an open mind.
SIDENOTE: I am also DMing Tideruler of Maran. The styles are going to be completely different. I took a known cultural pattern so I can reduce drastically the need for descriptions. That will also allow players to decide their political moves faster.
EDIT:
LINKS:
Link for the "book":
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...0m-Zwy1BI/edit
Link for the gallery:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthr...81#post6974681
[sblock]
“Every wise man should know how to ask questions and give answers,
If he is to be known for his intelligence.” – Hávámal
“Eirik is dead and Avar has no ruler.”
Leif was brought back from his musings as his wife pronounced the fatal phrase. Leif tried to ignore the fact thus far, even as he watched the blazing longboat glide through the specular grey waters of the bay.
“And what will you have me do, woman?” – his visage was one of pain. Perhaps he lamented the death of his brother. Perhaps he did not want to deal with the inevitable.
“I will have nothing of you, my love…” – she responded with a cold whisper. “Fate, on the other hand, will take you for everything, lest you act now.”
Wrath ran through Leif’ veins, his raging nature fighting his reason. The ferocious warrior was tailored for the battlefield, not for the Thing.
“Let the wise deal with it.” – he muttered between his teeth.
“Wise, such as your caste niece?” – the man’s face turned red as she mentioned Torunn. Gudrun could never understand the man’s feelings for his niece, and that tasked her.
“Come, Leif! You can’t fail. She is not strong enough to lead. You know it.”
“Measure your words, woman!” – the exasperated tone of his voice betrayed him, despite the hushed ways of the conversation. “It is my flesh you talk about…” – for a second, Gudrun wondered. Hate overthrew her.
“Your blood… True. And that is why I beg of you, do what you must!”
“You do not understand, Gudrun…” – suddenly, he became complacent, almost childish in his ways. “They already talk… They say…”
“They say you’ve allowed him to die…” – she completed the phrase before he could. “I know that.”
“Imagine if I was to call a moot now, to declare my rights…”
“They’d call you traitor…”
“No doubt!”
“No doubt…” – she falls silent for a second. “Yet…” – he glances at her, curious. She wears the masks of concern and compassion with elegance unmatched. “Yet… Look at her, Leif. Look at how the leech Regnar clings to her now… Bishop Regnar.” – she studied his barbaric features, an indomitable spirit made for the back of horses and the openness of planes. “Look at how he covets her…” – his face twisted in irritation, she almost gave her disguise away. “He has killed before, remember? The former bishop… His heart giving out as he fed… His blackened lips…. Poison, my love…. Poison.” – his face turned to concern.
“Rumors, just rumors… …. You don’t suppose he might… would…”
“Who would inherit the lands, then? She is one of the sisters, after all…” – she observed in silence, apprehensive. His eyes turned to the demiurgian priests, where Torunn rose silent prayers for her dead father. For a second, he contemplated her figure, a rosy beauty lost amidst a mass of black furs, pure simplicity and harmony crowned by stoic habits.
“We call the moot.”
In that moment, Gudrun smiled a serpent’s smile.[/sblock]
This is the beginning of an idea I’ve been brewing for a while. I’m throwing it here to check for interest and potentially recruit some players.
Think ‘Vikings’ meets ‘Game of Thrones’. It’s a character-driven game (sandbox style) where players take the role of powerful political figures of heroic level (beginning at level 4). The objective is to survive the intrigues and power games of this Nordic-like world, while trying to reach the character’s individual goals (obviously defined by the players). The first act of the political dispute is the death of an important Jarl, the one that held on his hands a key location for trading and warfare. As interests around his legacy are revealed, entire factions are dragged down to conflict, such as the church of the Demiurge (a Christian-like religion) and the Pantheon (the equivalent of pagan traditions in this world).
Players are encouraged to build their own lineages, lands and interests, as well as factions, if they so wish.
SYSTEM: Pathfinder (I have more source material to support necessary adaptations)
SCENARIO: Homebrew/Nordic inspired culture
RACES: Any basic. Others might apply after “that talk”.
CLASSES: Any basic. Others might apply after “another talk”.
STARTING LEVEL: 4 (NPC’s won’t be too far from it; the idea is to look for a more grounded scenario, since we are aiming for politics, not epic; magic is perfectly acceptable in this scenario, though.)
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: up to 4.
UNCHAINED ALLOWED
GAME APPLIES BACKGROUND TRAITS
IMPORTANT NOTE: we will rely heavily on roleplay. There will be dice rolling and combat, but the main experience here is roleplaying. We will also need certain details on backstories (family ties, titles, power position, dirty little secrets, etc.). Also, sensitive topics might be brought up, so be advised that we all must enter this with an open mind.
SIDENOTE: I am also DMing Tideruler of Maran. The styles are going to be completely different. I took a known cultural pattern so I can reduce drastically the need for descriptions. That will also allow players to decide their political moves faster.
EDIT:
LINKS:
Link for the "book":
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...0m-Zwy1BI/edit
Link for the gallery:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthr...81#post6974681
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I just haven't been very active the last couple of years. I'm still playing in a couple other games here, but they have slowed to a crawl. But this place is certainly a great community for RPGers.
