The Rise of a Dark Lord (extreme, M for F)

[Davikk]

... and already taken!

Probably won't take another unless you've got something really killer lined up.


A few caveats and disclaimers up front.

•   I’ll promise one post a week. I will try for more than that, but more often than not, it’ll be once a week.  If this is a deal breaker, I understand.

•   Reply via pm, not here in this thread.

•   I’m going to be extremely  picky about this.  If I decline to play with you, it’s not personal.  I just only have so much free time, and this is something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time.

•   That said, if more than one person comes up with an interesting idea, I’m willing to entertain the possibility of more than one game in the setting.

•   The pictures you see below are not requirements.  It’s just to set the scene.  Feel free to use different pictures, if you like.

•   This game is going to be intense, brutal and unsentimental.   What passes for “romance” is going to be your character earning respect for how much she can endure, and how far she’s willing to lower herself.  If you have any hard limits, best to say them up front.  And to be honest, the fewer the better.

•   This is for a fantasy world type setting.  So that means swords, not guns.  And it’s not this world, so try to keep references to real world stuff to a minimum.  Every time I play a fantasy game and someone talks about wearing jeans, I’m pulled right out of the game.

So here we go.

This is Midrin

Once a green and beautiful land, Midrin has been stripped of most of its beauty, left a hostile and inhospitable land.  [/center]

Life on Midrin is harsh and brutal.   For all but a privileged few, mere existence is a struggle.  For the majority of Midin’s inhabitants, there is no such thing as luxury, no hope for anything beyond subsistence.  Food is scarce and competition fierce.   Life is a nasty thing, to be endured.  Survival is elusive, and in the end, Midrin claims more life than it sustains.

There are three types of people who live in Midrin.

At the top are the Nobles

Each noble owns a vast estate, called his House but this is more than a mere home.  Each House is an enormous tract of land, spanning the breadth of half a continent or more.  The nobles of each House control every valuable asset and resource.  With the assistance of their soldiers and constables, they enforce their will upon the non-nobles who dwell within their houses.   Nobles alone live lives of luxury and plenty.

Which does not mean noble life is easy.

With the scarcity of resources, noble Houses are always in a state of war with one another.   

And then there is the fact that there is one to whom all Houses must pledge fealty - The Metabaron

He is ruler of all Houses is called the and his is the ultimate power. He alone commands the Houses, and he alone can raise a man to the position of noble, or consign a house to the dust. 

But the Metabaron’s life is not easy.  For all want the power that he wields, and assassination is the only recognized method of succession.

Below the Nobles are the serfs

A serf’s life is unpleasant, for they do the bulk of the work.  They are the soldiers, the farmers, the merchants, the men and women who do every unpleasant job that sustains the House.  They can gather no riches, for the taxmen are always searching for every stray coin. 

But serfs, so long as they remain useful, are guaranteed things.  They are given what remains of the food after the nobles have feasted.  They are allowed to rent permanent dwellings from their noble landlords.  They are afforded a modicum of rights, though those rights end at the whim of a noble.

Still, better to be a serf than the lowest of the low.

They are called Waste

To be waste is to be nothing at all.  The lowest of the low.  No permanent home, no recognized talent or skills.  Most of those who live on Midrin are waste who hope that one day, they might be taken as a serf, for even the thinnest veneer of protection is better than the life of constant degradation that is the existence of the waste.

Here is where the story begins.

It begins with Kaval, of House Darkspire

The fifth and youngest child of his House, there is little chance that Kaval will ever reach very far.  The rulership of his own House is doubtful.  And how could a noble with such a low birth rank ever think to one day become Metabaron.

But unlike other nobles who’ve grown soft and complacent, assured of their place within the hierarchy, Kaval is an ambitious man, not content to rest on his laurels.  Ruthless, Kaval rebelled against his families wishes, as he joined the military, not as a preening officer in a sharp uniform, but as a soldier. A soldier who fought ruthlessly and brutally.  Who earned the medals bestowed upon him.

Kaval is determined to rise. First to the top of his House, and then to the title of Metabaron. 

But his ambitions require, if not a partner, than someone who is more than a mere pawn.

She is Waste, but Kaval could make her more.

She is among the lowliest of her caste.  No family, no friends.  Even the other Waste look upon her with contempt.  Her life is spent on her knees, servicing men for a few shaved bits of copper.  Just enough to earn her a bed of soiled hay in a barn and half a glass of wine to wash the taste of her “lovers” out of her mouth at night.  She has no prospects, no chance of ever rising above her station.  She is desperate and vulnerable.

She is perfect for his plans.

Kaval needs someone who will open doors for him. Someone who does not flinch debasing herself.  Someone who will do anything to serve his desires.  This girl, this waste, seems to be it. She is already living a desperate life.

At least, in serving him, she will have three meals each day.


This is the game then.  A series of encounters where Kaval uses your character to unlock doors, get him access, etc.  Things will, as I said, be extreme.  It will require someone who is willing to sacrifice her flesh and her dignity for the sake of the man who now claims her as his own.

I’m definitely open to ideas for scenarios.  I see this lasting a good long while, as one incident leads to another.  I don’t have a set road map so much as a general sense of what I want to do.

So, if any of this is interesting, please PM me.