EMPIRE! CWBG XIV: To Heir is Human - To Faith 10, Divine

[Aedilred]

Sup, from the recruitment thread I'm kind of interested in giving Novrania or Sympolemou a go. Which one would be recommended to be newb friendly (because this nerb is quite convinced whatever he takes control of will descend into anarchy due to poor politicking)

Neither would be a bad choice strategically, I think. Both are part of powerful empires, although Sympolemou has less room to expand. It's largely a matter of taste, I think: do you prefer a cobbled-together kingdom of lost sailors with an colony in a land of giants, or a militaristic bunch of ratmen living in the land of blood and horror, convinced they're the master race and led by a madman in a metal suit?

Novrania does have the disadvantage that it's just been subjected to a surprise attack by a pirate which cost it quite a lot of its troops, but that's something you could probably get your liege(s) to help out with. The Sympol have been quiet for forty-odd years but did play an important part in the last major war when they lost a lot of troops and are still recovering from to an extent (especially as NPCs take longer to recover from wars than PCs).

I guess I'll leave Murgen and Tychris/Blade to make their pitches.

darn right I feel my sovereignty feels violated!
(just gonna go google what sovereignty means)

ah got it.

Sovereignty is a fun one, as its very use pretty much implies at least a quasi-Westphalian system of international relations which is pretty anachronistic (but then a lot of our international relations in this game are). I have been careless with slinging around the S-word myself at times but have tried to reduce my use of it after I gave the matter some thought, but realistically the way the game works it's a perfectly valid concern.

(See also: "nation", although that's even murkier).

[QuintonBeck]

If there was no planned action, it can be hosted event.
Probably something can be prepared.
[Fernbrake Monster Hunt!] Such a 'safari' is very dangerous, however the exotic west is exciting to visit!
[Ekbatana International Music Concert] Musicians from everywhere are invited for musical celebration in beautiful garden city of Sphynks.
[Uran Convention II] Promoting international aid and humanitarian law.
Maybe this kind of feeling?
Sometime it is hoped to make adventure [International Tellurian Railroad Adventure]. However, such a scenario can't be 2 weeks game.

However, if someone has desired event for this round, please declare! If there is such an intention, then I will not make preparation.


We are very proud of our Tellurian Games athlete, to achieve Foot Race 2nd place, Long Jump 5th place, Javelin Throw 3rd place.
Probably it is better to ignore other event results.
Thank you Rain_Dragon for your hard work!

Of course, thank you QuintonBeck for hard work for new round!

I'm in love with the idea of a Safari event.

Is there any way that I can change my picture? (so that I actually have one)

Dimple, until you consolidate your posts in the Lands thread your actions aren't approved to be counted.

[drack]

Dimp, he means in this post http://www.giantitp.com/forums/shows...3&postcount=92 if you hit "edit" at the bottom right hand corner of the post you can copy any information you wish to save. Above the box with the text you will find an option to delete the post. Check the check-box confirming you wish to delete it, click the delete button to the right of the check-box. Then you may place anything you choose to keep into the latter post by clicking the same edit button, adding the information to the text box, then clicking the "save changes" button.

[Rain Dragon]

Lolz, not marrying the wicked witch of the west?

Nah, I ask because diplomacy rules for nomads state that it takes a diplomacy action to move somewhere peacefully, so I didn't know if I should have it as an action for the region I'm starting out in.

Honestly I figure there aren't many nomad groups, so particularly the savage ones probably look like militant hordes whilst on the march. Figured I'd let you set the scene so to speak. Will there be legions with bows drawn, an envoy, ect. After all it's your nation not mine to dictate such for.

Nah, sorry, more that Haljans (which are the dominant race of my nation) don't marry and aren't capable of producing offspring with humans so diplomatic marriages aren't very useful. Not impossible. :p

You do not have to spend a Diplomacy action to move into your starting region, thankfully, so you're free to spend it on something else.

Indeed. My nation is not nomadic by the rules as they hold territory and don't move but they are nomadic within their territory so I figure some sort of understanding should be made a little easier by that.

And wordy as I am, I am just getting to sending some people to check out what's going on in Halja.

Hmm, that certainly would have been a cool way to go. I limited myself however to PCs that spoke up about wanting me to start with them and unclaimed NPS regions as those are the permissible starting regions for nomads, so I ended up choosing an underground location with the logic that that way it's somewhat less overly dramatic, somewhat more mysterious, and they could then still have come from pretty much anywhere. Conveniently enough as raindragon pointed out there is an unexplored underground region just two regions away meaning that if they didn't come from somewhere thematically dramatic they could even have been sleeping there. Alas, raindragon's already typed up half of his IC reply so I'll stick with where I'm at. Still, thanks for the thought and time you've put into this list for me. Indeed I do very much hope that the witches will soon visit all of these locations.

I don't mind if you fall in love with a different starting area though I really like your nation so started writing straight away.

People are very easy to reach by PM and generally helpful!

I think I forgot to link my Lands post. Halja is at the bottom of this one. (It should be further up, I thought...) Most of it is underground caverns though the deeper places are smaller more dangerous tunnels where strange things live. The region has a rather different ecosystem to aboveground that I haven't fully written yet but I don't mind at all if you describe new and creepy creatures; it would be great, actually as I doubt I could come up with as much as I'd like on my own.

To make list more complete, I (Hurosha Empire) have soul magic as well as Alchemy. The Hurosha Empire also had a Cthulu-like creature as a vassal at some point (not anymore though ).Also Fera (because there is the origination of the Mystisicm tech) and Sulvan's Fury (Stone men popping up there, possible Earthen Magic).

Halja also drew the Yorukunin Aristocracy for an as yet unexplained reason. Much of the depths are unexplored and for good reason. A deep chasm splits the region in half. A strange, toxic green glow can be seen from the bottom. This chasm is sketched (poorly) for my Fera banner. ^^

Neo Scandza has dangerous green pools, a difficult to navigate mountain range and perpetual thick mysts which haven't properly been used in stories either yet. Masked Ones don't appear to breed, though it is known new ones appear on a Plateau inside a strange circle decorated with even stranger symbols.

That was my reasoning. :p
I wanted Mysticism Studies to justify a future tech which will alow me to <CLASSIFIED> if I <CLASSIFIED> and then can <CLASSIFIED>. How cool would that be?!

Thanks muchly for adding to the list. I think it is also useful for me at some point too!

Unless the region being colonized had a former occupant you just shoved out or the grand project is a group effort?

Gotya, so then could an action be spent, for instance, sending diplomats to all bordering regions? Could that be piggybacked onto my negotiations for settling into a region as a nomadic peoples?

To be fair I gt the feeling I'd quite enjoy visiting all the nations. That's one reason I'm glad to be nomadic.

I'm not sure, but it sounds like an event to me!
There's only one bordering region that is claimed which is the one above it, the Niskovian Steppe 47A.

I recommend looking into talking to the nearby nations of SPN (Kitsanth), Empire of the Silver Moon (Lord_Burch), the Kingdom of Ashenia (Elemental), the Warriors of Syivine (Queen of Thorns), the Del'Taihn Provinces (Woolli264) and the Ash-Kingdom of Maur (Mynxae).

Additionally, nearby are Kemuliaan (Necromancer), the Chivalric Republic of the United Free Cities (Kasanip) and Alzeroth (sorry, I forget and am on a tablet...)

darn right I feel my sovereignty feels violated!
(just gonna go google what sovereignty means)

ah got it.

And yes I could have put his head on a pike put instead did not because Ovidions teaches peace and they homirum are a calm people. It's a good thing I am not trading with maur or I would have stopped...

Sovereignty is a fun one, as its very use pretty much implies at least a quasi-Westphalian system of international relations which is pretty anachronistic (but then a lot of our international relations in this game are). I have been careless with slinging around the S-word myself at times but have tried to reduce my use of it after I gave the matter some thought, but realistically the way the game works it's a perfectly valid concern.

(See also: "nation", although that's even murkier).

Alas, I took the word I thought the Ferans would know whether it translates 100% or not.
You can decide if it does! I don't think so OOC, but the nations around Fera place importance on it so it would be the most easy to reach term.

Besides, if I was havjng trouble remembering the or an English term for the right one then it's certain that Ferans wouldn't necessarily know the Trade language (Common) term.

[drack]

Nah, sorry, more that Haljans (which are the dominant race of my nation) don't marry and aren't capable of producing offspring with humans so diplomatic marriages aren't very useful. Not impossible. :p

You do not have to spend a Diplomacy action to move into your starting region, thankfully, so you're free to spend it on something else.

Indeed. My nation is not nomadic by the rules as they hold territory and don't move but they are nomadic within their territory so I figure some sort of understanding should be made a little easier by that.

And wordy as I am, I am just getting to sending some people to check out what's going on in Halja.

hmm, I believe I read one of your races is similarly long-lived though so at least one side won't die quite early. There needn't be procreation. Then again I'm somewhat neutral to the idea.

sweet

intresting

No worries mate, wordiness adds flavor. Plus, the important bit isn't that you're looking into it, it's how you're looking into it. I'd imagine a line of archers ready to volley or a royal courier, or a diplomatic gift envoy, or any number of other things as possible approaches. (admittedly considering the nature of my peoples appearance I more expect the archers then anything else.)

I don't mind if you fall in love with a different starting area though I really like your nation so started writing straight away.

People are very easy to reach by PM and generally helpful!

I think I forgot to link my Lands post. Halja is at the bottom of this one. (It should be further up, I thought...) Most of it is underground caverns though the deeper places are smaller more dangerous tunnels where strange things live. The region has a rather different ecosystem to aboveground that I haven't fully written yet but I don't mind at all if you describe new and creepy creatures; it would be great, actually as I doubt I could come up with as much as I'd like on my own.

No worries, I know if I change my mind every time someone suggests their nation I'll never even get through diplomacy RP, let alone get a chance to properly take my turn knowing the results. I'll stick with you mate. ... and awesome, glad folks like it.

Yeah, but I figured I'd be stuck reading for days and still be unable to choose so I thought may as well just ask if anyone wanted me.

Yup, you included it, don't worry. Oh, and sweet, new creepy creatures. Still I'm hesitant to make up too much for my nation since I know in this game many things like that could count as resources or technology...

I wanted Mysticism Studies to justify a future tech which will alow me to <CLASSIFIED> if I <CLASSIFIED> and then can <CLASSIFIED>. How cool would that be?!

Sounds very cool, and like it would bubble nice and good in a cauldron too!

I'm not sure, but it sounds like an event to me!
There's only one bordering region that is claimed which is the one above it, the Niskovian Steppe 47A.

I recommend looking into talking to the nearby nations of SPN (Kitsanth), Empire of the Silver Moon (Lord_Burch), the Kingdom of Ashenia (Elemental), the Warriors of Syivine (Queen of Thorns), the Del'Taihn Provinces (Woolli264) and the Ash-Kingdom of Maur (Mynxae).

Additionally, nearby are Kemuliaan (Necromancer), the Chivalric Republic of the United Free Cities (Kasanip) and Alzeroth (sorry, I forget and am on a tablet...)

I was planning on it once I've officially secured a place to stay, but thanks for doing the legwork of gathering them all up for me.

Edit: mind you, you better finish that IC post soon though... (soon being measured in hours and days, not minuets, we don't stifle creativity with pressure here)

[Kitsanth]

Regarding that list of focal points of strange occurrences;

There is also Niskovia's extinct volcano, which is a nexus for weird occurrences.

[Mynxae]

Woolli and Dimple, you can consolidate all trades of resources and techs into a single action per round. I just generally use "Trade resources and/or techs with various nations" and have a spoiler labeled "sub-actions" or "trade" and put them in there. Also, try and possibly make note of the region the trade is being sent from and where it is being received. Otherwise Aedildred may get slightly cranky

[Elemental]

Elemental in Ashenia, which has just retaken control of Heargouger Tower from another mad wizard.

Another mad wizard? I'm pretty sure this is the first time... I mean, I don't think Hartigan (who has a last name I can't spell despite trying so very hard) actually had magic powers. He might have, but he never used them against my armies while they were putting an end to his despotic rule.
But yeah, Heartgouger's Tower is supposed to be a site so ancient that everything about it is shrouded in legend, even its construction methods. The best guess by engineers and architects trained at a secular university that does consider magic thing worth giving classes on because there are priests for that sort of thing is that it was built either by magic or divine power.


Edit: Just reading Mulahrum's currency...
A Bit is twelve Hammers and a Hammer is twenty crowns?
That means that a coin of less than fifty percent gold is worth two hundred and forty pure gold coins several times larger... I assume therefore that that's supposed to be a Crown is twenty Hammers and a Hammer is twelve Bits?

[Aedilred]

Edit: Just reading Mulahrum's currency...
A Bit is twelve Hammers and a Hammer is twenty crowns?
That means that a coin of less than fifty percent gold is worth two hundred and forty pure gold coins several times larger... I assume therefore that that's supposed to be a Crown is twenty Hammers and a Hammer is twelve Bits?

It might be a plot to devalue the world's gold... but from how Randy originally explained it I think your assumption is correct.

[Kasanip]

It was decided to decisively make the action of host event this round. I'm sorry for the trouble!
Actually this event is edit of TRPG original scenario to play with university friends last month. However, because time is very short in this game, I will do my best!
I am sorry Tychris1. It's impossible to allow Dunfel again for this scenario. m(_ _)m I will try next time for scenario for Tychris1's Dunfel participation!

Serpent Subjugation Safari

"Fair skies as clear after rain! It is my duty and honor to welcome you to the city of Fernbrake. I am Ilex of Neu, a Free Knight squire. I will be your guide on this adventure safari. Of course if you are interested in the resort, I would like to recommend the spas. Even though I am from Neu, please don't worry. As a Free Knight, I swear I will protect you and guide you properly. The monsters of Fernbrake are very dangerous, so let's be careful. I am sure you are excited to see them. If you are ready, let's go!"

[omnitricks]

a militaristic bunch of ratmen living in the land of blood and horror, convinced they're the master race and led by a madman in a metal suit?

Hah! That sentence did it for me but I guess I'll have to wait for the pitches?

[Rain Dragon]

It might be a plot to devalue the world's gold... but from how Randy originally explained it I think your assumption is correct.

It's possible to devalue gold in Telluris?

No worries mate, wordiness adds flavor. Plus, the important bit isn't that you're looking into it, it's how you're looking into it. I'd imagine a line of archers ready to volley or a royal courier, or a diplomatic gift envoy, or any number of other things as possible approaches. (admittedly considering the nature of my peoples appearance I more expect the archers then anything else.)

Yup, you included it, don't worry. Oh, and sweet, new creepy creatures. Still I'm hesitant to make up too much for my nation since I know in this game many things like that could count as resources or technology...

Edit: mind you, you better finish that IC post soon though... (soon being measured in hours and days, not minuets, we don't stifle creativity with pressure here)

Funny enough, I read this after writing the last bit...

This is something I'm also a bit hesitant about, but as far as resources and technology the difference seems to be scale. So for example, if I have a resource of Absinthe in Halja this doesn't necessarily mean that the people in Fræzeid who have access to all of the ingredients can't also make Absinthe, they just cannot export it in large quantities. As for technologies, the rules thread explains them better than I could.

It's finished enough for now, just not polished if that makes sense. Counting time in minuets sounds interesting... (I realise it is probably a typo)

It was decided to decisively make the action of host event this round. I'm sorry for the trouble!
Actually this event is edit of TRPG original scenario to play with university friends last month. However, because time is very short in this game, I will do my best!
I am sorry Tychris1. It's impossible to allow Dunfel again for this scenario. m(_ _)m I will try next time for scenario for Tychris1's Dunfel participation!

I was wondering how major the hunting element of this safari is? Due to the Ferans' relationship with their own territories and their culture, they would feel very uncomfortable with hunting (except for food) and thus likely not attend. The description mentions it only once or twice, but the title is 'Serpent Subjugation Safari' so I'm unsure.

EDIT - I also realise one could stay in the resort if one wished!

[lt_murgen]

I guess I'll leave Murgen and Tychris/Blade to make their pitches

Hah! That sentence did it for me but I guess I'll have to wait for the pitches?

Well, you can always PM a person to discuss things behind the scenes.

I have no problem taking on a PC vassal. You would be part of the Seaborne Confederation, which in turn is part of the larger Salterri Imperrium. All that means is that you are entitled to voice your opinion to your liege, and their liege. The Confederation is based on the United States Articles of Confederation, which means powerful member states and weak central government. This allows the member states a good deal of freedom. Novrania went to war without so much as a "mother may I" to the Confederation. This will, of course, come back to bite a new player early on- at least symbolically.

Novrania is, at the moment, stongly pro-Imperrium. Their king's lineage even has a dragon, and follows Panshen, the Imperrium religion. All of this leads to a good narrative reason for a new leader to rise up. Perhaps a younger duaghter/son of the king (or younger brother/sister?) resents the official censure from the Confederation and wants to pursue a more aggressive policy. Or perhaps she/he sees the loss of their troops as the King's hubris in not involving their liege lord and uses the anger of the loss of men to propel him/her to the throne.

[TheWombatOfDoom]

Any who are interested, I'd love to have another PC vassal to plot with! One of my favorite parts of having an Empire is the amount of interaction I can have with the players working with me, and plotting things to assist each other in our own ultimate goals. I'd say I have a pretty nice track record, and you can speak to SamBurke, Snowfire, Philote, XII or ZapDynamic to see how it is in the Empire of Dawn, though the final two on the list are harder to talk to about it. Zap no longer plays, and I haven't heard from XIII in a few rounds...

[SamBurke]

If you want to start a new ruler rather than continue with the NPC one (probably wise in your case since I think the current king is rather old) yes.

wooli If you want to go ahead and put actions up in the IC thread you're free to do so (saves me from doing 3 actions for them as an NPC this round)

m9 Mormaer Ogier is no longer Mormaer, his son Alikai is. The NPC vassal actions from last round are the up to date mechanical info (barring stat/army increases from the actions taken in that post) under the Razdis section. It also has links to all the previous NPC actions with round's numbered beneath the title which should help though Reggie can probably help you more with their more recent history and TheWombatofDoom can help you more with their newer stuff. With Reggie's nation the Faedas Freehold signing on as a vassal to Wombat's nation the Kingdom of Serendel this round and bringing Razdis along that means they're both your liege (Direct and Ultimate liege respectively) so you should be in a good position to get information and help from experienced players who have an invested interest in helping you.

M9, Guilder (the land directly above you) would like to welcome you and yours to the game. Razdis and Guilder have a number of long standing relationships, and I'd love to extend those further.

Spoiler: Unrelated to Empire, but Related to the people who PLAY Empire!

Show

My apologies if I have in any way annoyed anyone with my talk of my Master's Degree for the past few months since I joined this game.

You guys have been an outlet for me, though, and I wanted to say thank you. It's done. I shouldn't talk about it (much) anymore. You guys are my little corner of the internet that I want to celebrate my real life achievement with, though. Thanks for giving me something awesome to do in the little free time I've had these past twelve months (six for this game, six for other games with some of you).

Thanks guys. You guys rock. I am tired, but very satisfied.

Just as a reminder, if you wanted trades this turn with Praeclarus, PM me.

Late on the congrats train, but that's pretty awesome news. Good work, friend!

I don't care personally, our players from the start of the game will know I don't look down on fabricating war against otherwise peaceful neighbors. That being said Trandar will be waving its potential next round Cur 10 around as a bribe to anyone willing to come defend them.

Inigo turns over in his grave and starts drooling.

QB in Ahmeskharras, which recently unsealed an expansive necropolis known as the Gelded Halls only to lose some of their explorers in the deepest levels. This is my recommendation if you want to start in an established nexus of weirdness, as the culture in the area holding the Gelded Halls was intensely tribal in a way that would mesh with a lost tribe of witches, and whose taboos against disturbing the Gelded Halls may have to do with an ancient curse that has only recently lifted, giving you a ready made explanation for how your coven is showing up now.

As former player of the Clanships (renamed to Ahmeskharras), I fully, \ support your showing up there. There are a wide number of tribes with histories that tie in, and as no one has ever even looked at the ruins from a distance for a century or three (other than said orc incursions), you could very well have been living there in cursed ignorant bliss.

I must admit to some perplexity on how this is supposed to work. Perhaps it is because the existing aerial harness is relatively poorly-understood (which is probably my own fault): it's essentially just a system for arming and armouring winged humanoids in such a way that they can fly and fight unimpeded. While someone in a glider jumping off a high place might be able to attain the same height as a naturally-flying person, they won't have anything like the same manoeuvrability and can't gain or regain height under their own power.

Since the harpy mercenary resource only exists (OOC) to enable the technology and tech adaptations are more onerous than they were when the tech was introduced, I would be perfectly happy with a revision of that resource requirement to include any kind of "powered-flight"-capable humanoid without the need for adaptation, especially since no other such resources yet exist even though there is potential for them (what with our angels, Cloudiz, birdmen, etc.) so that it requires only a single Cur5 rather than the currently-onerous two.

But I do think the ability to fly under the soldier's own power is a fairly key element of the technology, and is a large part of what makes it useful, especially where terrain is otherwise very flat and there aren't high places to jump off. Adapting "athletes" to it - who can't by default fly - at least without any bridging technologies or the like (e.g. jetpacks, powered-flight suits, my thoughts on high-tech stuff notwithstanding) seems a bit of a stretch to me, rather like adapting pegasus-riding to work with horses because the horse is apparently strapped into a hang-glider.

Well, the idea was that they leapt from their mounts at high altitudes, they would get the height necessary to move around. With added thermals and low size, theoretically they could move around for a lot.

That said, I have another, easier way to go for Harnesses; I just thought it was less fair and less cool than this.

[zabbarot]

Any who are interested, I'd love to have another PC vassal to plot with! One of my favorite parts of having an Empire is the amount of interaction I can have with the players working with me, and plotting things to assist each other in our own ultimate goals. I'd say I have a pretty nice track record, and you can speak to SamBurke, Snowfire, Philote, XII or ZapDynamic to see how it is in the Empire of Dawn, though the final two on the list are harder to talk to about it. Zap no longer plays, and I haven't heard from XIII in a few rounds...

Zap still enjoys talking about Empire, or at least Raaneka, if anybody had questions for him Snow and I still consult him now and then.

[Snowfire]

Zap still enjoys talking about Empire, or at least Raaneka, if anybody had questions for him Snow and I still consult him now and then.

Zap actually sends me a message every three to four months to talk about the current state of affairs and give advice when I explain where things are. He's a good dude. And Wombat is very much a good person to have as a liege, speaking from experience. Good place to start for sure

[PepperP.]

This looks super fun, Kas! Can't wait to subjugate those serpents!

It was decided to decisively make the action of host event this round. I'm sorry for the trouble!
Actually this event is edit of TRPG original scenario to play with university friends last month. However, because time is very short in this game, I will do my best!
I am sorry Tychris1. It's impossible to allow Dunfel again for this scenario. m(_ _)m I will try next time for scenario for Tychris1's Dunfel participation!

Serpent Subjugation Safari

"Fair skies as clear after rain! It is my duty and honor to welcome you to the city of Fernbrake. I am Ilex of Neu, a Free Knight squire. I will be your guide on this adventure safari. Of course if you are interested in the resort, I would like to recommend the spas. Even though I am from Neu, please don't worry. As a Free Knight, I swear I will protect you and guide you properly. The monsters of Fernbrake are very dangerous, so let's be careful. I am sure you are excited to see them. If you are ready, let's go!"

[Aedilred]

It's possible to devalue gold in Telluris?

Relative to other minerals and items of exchange... certainly. At least in theory: practice makes fools of us all. Dumping large quantities of gold on the market cheaply should force the overall price down, as here by issuing low-value pure gold coins. The problem that is that unless the gold price can be kept low, you just make a stinking loss, and everyone who receives such a coin melts it down and later sells it as bullion, making a profit at the expense of the crown. It's also not clear what benefit a government would make from deliberately crashing the gold market unless it had sufficiently diversified resources that it would make more of a profit elsewhere as a result than it would from the loss on the gold, or was trying to bankrupt a rival government that relied more heavily on gold.

(It also depends on the scale at which you're operating. Crashing a globalised gold market is rather different to just dumping gold in your own country, especially if there are protectionist trade policies in place or high bullion exchange taxes - which could also help to mitigate the loss of dumping the gold in the first place if enforced properly. But the Tellurian economy is pretty globalised, and even if it weren't, the gold would still find its way out somehow).

It's also possible of course that the metals with which the gold is alloyed or replaced are worth more than the gold itself, and thus a smaller gold alloy or other metal coin might genuinely be worth more than a pure gold one. As the stack distribution seems to indicate that gold is actually more common than silver on Telluris (it's been the case for a while, but the ratio is now more than 2:1) and much more common than platinum (more than 4:1), a higher face value for a coin of such metals (or electrum) might not be inconceivable.

I'm pretty sure though the intent was as Elemental suggests for crowns to be worth twenty hammers and hammers to be worth twelve bits, rather than going the other way round.

Event stuff

I too am interested in the serpent subjugation part of the proceedings. I'll send someone along, I think, though I haven't decided who yet.

[zabbarot]

In before "Serpent Subjugation" is code for assassinating Nezetkhamun. I always knew Kasa was a sneaky one.

[BladeofObliviom]

Hah! That sentence did it for me but I guess I'll have to wait for the pitches?

Er, hey there. I usually don't do pitches, to be honest. (Full disclosure: I get a little uncomfortable whenever a new player comes in and five people chime in with "ooh, play my vassal! Serve me!" But I guess you're actually asking about it so it's a bit different in this case.)

Anyway, I'll give you fair warning; this is a hard start. There isn't much room to expand, there's a lot of history already, and the Sympol are an old and recognizable enough civilization that almost everyone's interacted with them at least a little: They have trade ties spread fairly far and wide, and they've fought wars against half of their neighbors. (Notably they've been attacked from the sea twice, though both times they successfully trounced the attacking fleets.) They have a bit of a reputation for going insane at the drop of a hat too, though of course that's a stereotype. Apparently "Crazy Sympol" has become something of a stock character.

Here's the most up-to-date version of the region post, even if that was January. It's been in relative stasis though, since it only gets one action every two weeks in its current state as an NPC vassal. If you're interested I can put some effort in this week to fix inconsistencies, though.

As others have mentioned, the Sympol are built upon a vaguely Prussian/Spartan model with a heavy emphasis on social hierarchy and some level of social Darwinism (and given the almost absurd danger of their homeland, perhaps actual Darwinism too). While their leadership tends to subscribe to militaristic doctrine and they maintain an army, in practice they've been mostly isolationist. One (somewhat floaty and poetic) name for their lands is "The Kingdom of the Iron Doctrine", referring to the first Ironfang's "Iron Doctrine" that has been lightly enforced historically. (Basically imagine the Monroe Doctrine written by rat-men, and focused on the eastern continent.) They have some influence from Warhammer's Skaven, though their culture is quite dissimilar.

The Iron Doctrine's probably due to change considering that most of the Continent has been explored and it turned out to be the same landmass as the Western Continent though.

In any case, despite it being technically a kingdom, Ironfang takes the style of Duke, preferring to emphasize his holdings in the capital region, the Duchy of Sympolemou. Its other regions are Aimplach, an underground region with its own strange things going on, and Krepida, a more lightly populated polar region to the north. Sympolemou's core region is absurdly dangerous: Its forests are mostly unexplored and filled with extremely hazardous wildlife, random pools of boiling quicksand are strewn about some areas, and even the nicer areas tend to be uncomfortably hot or cold.

The current ruler is Sympolemou is Ironfang III. The last ruler who wasn't an Ironfang was Duke Bloodfang, who grew corrupt and was overthrown by his son Virmiscus after he survived being thrown from the window of the high tower due to a doctor who arrived in time and improvised with prosthetics and steel. He christened himself Ironfang after taking the throne. Now the Iron suit is seen as a symbol of office, of the burdens and weight of rule, and as a reminder to never again become as cruel and depraved as Bloodfang was in his final days.

Anyway, if you're interested, feel free to ask further questions and/or check with Tychris too.

[SamBurke]

They have some influence from Warhammer's Skaven, though their culture is quite dissimilar.

I was trying to explain/sell this game to a Warhammer player, and I ended up just saying, "And, yeah, Skaven are a thing." He got interested in a hurry, but I don't think he'll follow through.

[Zayuz]

QQ: Now that Alzeroth has colonized Under-Bastet (142B), do I make a page/post/Update the "fluff before the crunch" thread? (Using the supplied info already given such as resources and that the population cannot see in the dark)

[Aedilred]

QQ: Now that Alzeroth has colonized Under-Bastet (142B), do I make a page/post/Update the "fluff before the crunch" thread? (Using the supplied info already given such as resources and that the population cannot see in the dark)

Basically, yes. There are guidelines on creating a region in the rules post and obviously plenty of examples in the Lands thread.

[drack]

It was decided to decisively make the action of host event this round. I'm sorry for the trouble!
Actually this event is edit of TRPG original scenario to play with university friends last month. However, because time is very short in this game, I will do my best!
I am sorry Tychris1. It's impossible to allow Dunfel again for this scenario. m(_ _)m I will try next time for scenario for Tychris1's Dunfel participation!

Serpent Subjugation Safari

"Fair skies as clear after rain! It is my duty and honor to welcome you to the city of Fernbrake. I am Ilex of Neu, a Free Knight squire. I will be your guide on this adventure safari. Of course if you are interested in the resort, I would like to recommend the spas. Even though I am from Neu, please don't worry. As a Free Knight, I swear I will protect you and guide you properly. The monsters of Fernbrake are very dangerous, so let's be careful. I am sure you are excited to see them. If you are ready, let's go!"

Afraid my nation is at the moment socially isolated. I figure I'll wait a round or so before jumping in on events.

Funny enough, I read this after writing the last bit...

Heh.

This is something I'm also a bit hesitant about, but as far as resources and technology the difference seems to be scale. So for example, if I have a resource of Absinthe in Halja this doesn't necessarily mean that the people in Fræzeid who have access to all of the ingredients can't also make Absinthe, they just cannot export it in large quantities. As for technologies, the rules thread explains them better than I could.

No I mean in the sense that if I fluff up something like broomsticks that fly (which admittedly I'm not sure I care to make at the moment anyways), then it would be thematic fluffwise, but if it's there mechanically it should be there as an invention that enables arial units to be equipped. If I fluff that witches tend to grow "gemstones of the heart" along their travels which are oft used to enhance spells and poultices and fluff what exactly such a stone is, then that should probably be a "resource" mechanically speaking, of which I believe we should only have so many (2-3?), if I fluff a mighty spellcaster then they're a mighty spellcaster and should probably be risen to such via a miracle action. I find myself unsure how much freedom to give myself as a result and find myself tentative to fill in more fluff to my nation as a whole...

It's finished enough for now, just not polished if that makes sense.

Okey dokie then.

[Aedilred]

No I mean in the sense that if I fluff up something like broomsticks that fly (which admittedly I'm not sure I care to make at the moment anyways), then it would be thematic fluffwise, but if it's there mechanically it should be there as an invention that enables arial units to be equipped. If I fluff that witches tend to grow "gemstones of the heart" along their travels which are oft used to enhance spells and poultices and fluff what exactly such a stone is, then that should probably be a "resource" mechanically speaking, of which I believe we should only have so many (2-3?), if I fluff a mighty spellcaster then they're a mighty spellcaster and should probably be risen to such via a miracle action. I find myself unsure how much freedom to give myself as a result and find myself tentative to fill in more fluff to my nation as a whole...

It's kind of a judgment call, but there's a fair amount of leeway. In principle, pretty much anything is ok fluffwise (so long as it makes a kind of sense, and preferably doesn't completely upset the balance of the rest of the game) but if any mechanical benefit is going to be gleaned from it then there needs to be some kind of mechanical basis. To give an obvious example, the Cloudiz (Way's people) can fly and breathe underwater, but they still need technologies in order to be able to create aerial units and aquatic units. I played rather coy with the harpies for a long time so that there was an IC reason for the gap between their introduction and their gaining a mechanical effect, but they were around in the background for ages before they became actual flying troops capable of affecting battles.

So if you want to give your witches the ability to fly fluffwise (for instance), there's no inherent problem with that, but if you wanted to be able to deploy that in such a way that it affects your gameplay, you'd need to take the appropriate steps mechanically. If you're starting underground you couldn't raise aerial units anyway, so it would even make a kind of sense.

There is of course a common sense limit, and if you wanted to create a superhero spellcaster that would probably require a miracle even fluffwise, as otherwise things might start to get a bit wonky. But someone capable of minor feats of magic, or relatively secretive characters who can supposedly use magic but it's not clear exactly what's going on and will be explored/powered up with use of later miracles/Luck actions, etc. would probably be fine.

You start with three resources. Adding additional resources is a Curiosity 5 special action performable once/ruler, up to a maximum of four resources per region (or per group in your case), up to two of which can be of Great quantity. It seems that the rules on how to create a region were lost in the transfer, but they're here and remain essentially valid, with in your case the modifications for nomads from the nomad rules:

Spoiler: Creating a Region

Show

Describing Your Country
When a new player enters the game, they first must claim a region and describe it in fluff. If there currently aren’t any claimable regions, or there are people on the waiting list, prospective new players are put on the waiting list to await their turn. Some regions are of a special type, which you can find below under "regions and region types".

Population: A new region starts with a population of 300,000 + (10d10 x 10,000). Underground regions start with 150,000 + (8d10 x 10,000). Polar regions start with 30,000 + (3d10 x 10,000). If you take over an existing country from a retiring player, you don’t have to reroll Population. Population is increased by the GM every few rounds. War decreases the amount population is increased by, while having variety in food resources (in your region and imported) increases the amount.

Terrain: Describe the physical features of your selected region, including three major landmarks—no more, no less. You may divulge a bit more on general landscape, and you are entirely free in amount of towns or cities you wish to have—provided that the amount suits well with the population the region has.

People: Describe what the people in the region generally look like. You are free to throw in little details about their culture as well. What race are they? What do they do in their daily lives? It might be a good idea to see what your neighbours’ people are like, because yours and theirs are likely similar in some ways, or at least have some interesting interaction possibilities.

Resources: Describe three major resources that can be found in the region, as well as at least one resource the people will have to import from outside out of necessity or desire (for religious rituals or cultural reasons). You can have something that doesn't exist in the real world as a resource, such as special metals like mithril or adamantium, or things that would be great for alchemy or chemistry or certain technologies, but to start using these requires a technological advance of its own. It can prove hard to get it at first, but most things that are hard to acquire are very much worth it. These three resources start at [Good] quality. The import necessity will not be automatically satisfied; you have to strike a deal with a player who has it as a resource to trade it with you.

You can trade resources with other players. If a resource is Good you can trade it resource with up to 3 other players and if the resource is Great you can trade it with up to 6 other players. Effectively, this means a Good resource has 4 ‘stacks’ of that resource, whereas a Great resource has 7 ‘stacks’ of that resource that can be used in that round. If you trade with other players, you effectively give them one stack of your resources every round in return for one stack of one of their resources (or in return for a service). One of these stacks always remains in the region it originates from. You cannot stockpile resources for later rounds.

Religion: Religion is very important in EMPIRE! When a player enters the game, their people are either pagans (animist, shamanist, druidist, unorganised religions involved with spirits, ancestor worship) or followers of an organised religion adherents of the Lord of Fire. The Lord of Fire is the god of a monotheistic religion with the Blazing Avatar as its head, who resides in a temple city in the mountains. The Blazing Avatar is said to channel the Lord of Fire himself and is an important figure throughout the continent, but cannot directly interfere. Gaining his support can be helpful or have unusual effects. Players can introduce their own religions with a special action if they have a Faith score of 5 (see below), raising an existing spiritual cult to official status, introducing something entirely new, or making a major change to an existing religion in their region.*

Besides these things, regions also have a list of Technologies available in the region. The technology level at the start of the game is roughly early Medieval times, so things like plate armor, book-presses and complex siege weapons don't exist yet. Players can introduce new technologies through their actions (see below, under Curiosity).


*It is still possible to start with the Lord of Fire as your religion and the information there remains valid, but it is no longer the only option: players can now select any organised religion provided it makes sense for them to have encountered and converted to it.

[drack]

Yup, one notion that occurred to me since I figure I'm going to end up with a number of "powerful witches" any way I spin it, is to write them up and "bring them online" so to speak at times I find myself with special actions to spare. That sound alright?

Admittedly, to jive with the whole just seems to have popped up on the world's radar theme I figure I'll hold out on publicly posting the equivalent of a "royal family" or 'important political figures" for a bit. Should make for interesting RP ay?

[woolli264]

If i take an action to see if there is anything below me do I roll curiosity?

[Aedilred]

If i take an action to see if there is anything below me do I roll curiosity?

You don't have to roll to explore for a region, no, although you do have to spend a Curiosity action.

I would admittedly be surprised if there was anything under Cantroth, as relatively flat coastal regions do not tend to have underground counterparts. But you won't know unless you check, I guess.

Also you might want to move that image into your signature rather than having to add it manually, which you can do in the settings panel

[HalfTangible]

I can't believe I only just now thought to look up images of pegasus knights.

... There's some good ones online. Mostly of warhammer figures.