The Battle for Astor (A medieval freeform RP)

[ILoveStories]

The Battle for Astor

The Concept

It is an unstable time in the kingdom of Astor. The plague had affected many in the kingdom, about a third of the population dead. But perhaps the most devastating of all the deaths were the death of the King and both of his sons. The Queen rules for now, but everyone knows that a woman can only hold the crown for so long. The line of succession is unclear and two of the King's cousins emerge vying for the crown. Now they command that everyone in the Kingdom, from dukes to peasants, must swear their allegiance to one of them. The battle is on two fronts. Half of it is won by swords in battle...but the other will be won in a bedchamber. For everyone knew that if a man were to wed and bed the Queen, he would have the best claim to the throne. Be that one of the dead King's cousins...or perhaps another man. Either way, the battle for the crown rages on and it is only a matter of time before things get bloody....and steamy.

What kind of game is this?

This is a systemless game that follows what I call a "semi-sandbox" format. That is, I do not wish to place any player in this game in a fixed linear path. However, I do want this to be an RP that is driven by plot primarily. That said, the scope of the plot listed above can and will surely expand based on what characters and ideas you all bring to the table. Perhaps someone wants to play the Queen's surviving daughter. Perhaps an assassin hired by one of the cousins. Perhaps a commoner who by some crazy happenstance gets caught up in all this. Or perhaps you want to try playing one of the cousins or the Queen herself. The choice is yours! I have also listed some subplots for us to work with below. I hope to expand those based on your ideas.

I will act as the GM of the game. That is I will control NPC's, environment, and most of all will focus on telling the overarching story. I will work with all of you to pull all the cool pieces you bring together to make one giant awesome story!

Subplots

Semper the sword of Astor

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

There is, however, one other way to become the King of Astor. Legends tell of the magic sword Semper, lost by time, that once belonged to the first ruler of Astor. They say that Semper has magic powers behind the imaginations of even the wildest storytellers. They also say that whoever finds Semper is destined to become the king of Astor. But, these are only legends, and few take them very seriously. Still, they make for good stories to tell our young ones.

The Rebellion

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

There is a rumor running around the kingdom. Some call it crazy. Others say it might as well be in the history books already. They say that there is an underground movement, a group of people who hate the monarchy and want nothing more than the kingdom to be ruled by the people. This group is primed to take advantage of the quarreling elites, and use this new chaotic time to take the kingdom on behalf of the commoner. Some even say that it wasn't the plague that killed the King and his sons....it was the rebellion.

The plauge

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

These fools. These warmongering fools. How can we be fighting one another when death itself knocks at our doors. There are a brave few in the kingdom who choose not to pick a side, but rather to dedicate their time trying to find a cure to the disease ravaging their world. Is the solution medicine? Magic? Or something a bit more...sinister? And perhaps they will find ancient secrets they never thought they would uncover. But, the real question is, can they find a cure before the Cousins make them pick a side and fight.

Rules of the world

This RP takes place in a medieval setting. Meaning from a technology perspective we are limited to that era of history. Magic exists in this world, but it is not in the forefront. Think less Lord of the Rings and more Game of Thrones (though please, no GoT spoilers, I'm in the middle of reading them lol). Those who have access to magic only have it though enchanted items. Each item can only do one magical thing. Perhaps an amulet allows on to shoot fire. Perhaps a dagger allows one to walk through solid objects. Or perhaps a dishrag lets one know when someone is lying. Point is, one must have these objects to use magic and these items can only perform one kind of magical task.

Sexual activity

Personally, I think sex on a site like this is an important aspect of storytelling. That said, plot and character are the main things that are driving us. This is not to discourage you from sex (sex is great!) but I encourage sex to come from a storytelling impulse first and foremost. It is also worth noting, you must have the consent of another player before engaging with sexual activity with their character. Even if in plot it in non-consensual, get consent from the player before writing the scene. This is a strict rule (one of my only strict rule).

What to include in your character sheet

I'm not going to be super prescriptive here. I want to give you some agency over what you feel is important for the group to know about your charecter (and maybe some things you wanna keep secret...for now). I will recommend that you include your character's appearance (through words or pic, either works), age, given circumstances (where are they and what are they doing as the story stars), some background info, and their relationship to the story. Also, if you do want to keep some information hidden (perhaps your character has a secret objective) I would love if you share that with me privately, just so I have a grip on all the puzzle pieces in our story.

If you are interested in this RP, let me know either below or by private message. I look forward to making a cool story with you!!

[RipTide]

I think I’ll tentatively throw my hat in. :)

[Love And Submission]

I'm always interested in a mundane medieval  game.

[ILoveStories]

Excellent! Happy to have you on board! I think it may be wise to wait a bit and see if we can get one or two more people involved before really getting into this (I think a small group is great! But I'm thinking 3-4 would be preferable to 2). In the meanwhile, though if you all have any ideas you wanna talk about (character ideas or otherwise) I'd be super down. I'm super pumped!!

[Vonandi]

I'd be interested as a lady mercenary, if such a thing is viable.

[ILoveStories]

That absolutely would be viable!! Welcome aboard. I can't wait to see what cool lady mercenary stories we have in store!

[Snake]

Would an assassin hired to covertly remove the queen, or  bed her be good? Is replace with a heir sired by a foreign power?

[Jack of Jacks]

I would love to join as one of the queen's knights sworn to protect her as a bodyguard of sorts. I have this idea of the knight secretly having feelings for the queen, and wanting to protect her from all these thotty suitors.

Also would be interested in that tasty Semper sword subplot UwU

[ILoveStories]

Snake and Greydreamer, those both sound like lovely additions and I would love to have you on board! And Greydreamer, I would love to craft a situation where you get to be one of the Queen's Knights, and get you involved in the Semper plot. Ohhh this is exciting! So, I think we have enough people now that we can start making character sheets (and of course we'll welcome anyone else who wants to join). If you wanna chat about any ideas you have for your characters I would love to. If you prefer to just craft them and show them off when their finished, that's sounds good to me too. Happy writing!!

[Snake]

The semper sword idea gives me a fun idea. The assassin seeks it too, but to destroy it or kill anyone seeking it cuz his own country plots invasion and keeping Astor at war with itself makes it weaker.

[Jack of Jacks]

The semper sword idea gives me a fun idea. The assassin seeks it too, but to destroy it or kill anyone seeking it cuz his own country plots invasion and keeping Astor at war with itself makes it weaker.

is your assassin a part of the rebellion plot?

[Jack of Jacks]

Snake and Greydreamer, those both sound like lovely additions and I would love to have you on board! And Greydreamer, I would love to craft a situation where you get to be one of the Queen's Knights, and get you involved in the Semper plot. Ohhh this is exciting! So, I think we have enough people now that we can start making character sheets (and of course we'll welcome anyone else who wants to join). If you wanna chat about any ideas you have for your characters I would love to. If you prefer to just craft them and show them off when their finished, that's sounds good to me too. Happy writing!!

will probs pm you

[Deathnote]

Hmm... I’ve an idea for a gravedigger who’s currently researching magic items in an effort to deal with the plague.  His research would (by coincidence) include the semper sword, of course.

[ILoveStories]

is your assassin a part of the rebellion plot?

Ohhh I love this idea Greydreamer. Is that a direction you'd be down for Snake, or did you have something else in mind (we could also run with your "foreign threat" angle. Or maybe fuse the two?). And yes, I would love to chat via pm. If anyone wants to message that way I'd be super down.

[RipTide]

I like the idea of playing the Queen’s daughter. I’ll need to think on it more this evening, but I’ll likely send you a PM about it, Stories.

[Vonandi]

Being a merc I suppose My character will be serving whoever has the most money, namely the queen. But I suppose she could be taking money from the rebels since she refuses to work with the queen. I think the latter is more interesting.

[Snake]

Sure. I'd be up for that :3 you can Pm me anytime to hatch out details

[ILoveStories]

I like the idea of playing the Queen’s daughter. I’ll need to think on it more this evening, but I’ll likely send you a PM about it, Stories.

Great! Can't wait. I think that will be a juicy character to play with.

Being a merc I suppose My character will be serving whoever has the most money, namely the queen. But I suppose she could be taking money from the rebels since she refuses to work with the queen. I think the latter is more interesting.

I think there are a lot of cool ways to go with this. A merc fun funded by the rebels. A merc for the Queen. A merc for one of the cousins. This all seem viable, go with what you think would make the most compelling story (and of course, what you think would be the most fun to play.

Hmm... I’ve an idea for a gravedigger who’s currently researching magic items in an effort to deal with the plague.  His research would (by coincidence) include the semper sword, of course.

I LOVE THIS IDEA!!! The flavor of the gravedigger really excites me. I can't wait to see what you make of it.


There are some amazing ideas here. I can't wait to see some character sheets. Again, if you want to chat about it, just PM me. Take care!

[Deathnote]

So, I have a few questions:

1. How long has the plague been going on?

2. How long ago did the king and his two sons die (and how old were they)?

3. How closely are we following historical accuracy?  I can’t figure out if gravediggers were employed by funeral homes, the church, or whatever during this time period.

[ILoveStories]

So, I have a few questions:

1. How long has the plague been going on?

2. How long ago did the king and his two sons die (and how old were they)?

3. How closely are we following historical accuracy?  I can’t figure out if gravediggers were employed by funeral homes, the church, or whatever during this time period.

Good questions!
1. The plague has been going on for 5 years now. Enough time has passed that it is now a part of life that everyone knows (and most families have been touched by it one way or another). But it is still recent enough that most remember a world without it. It is still mysterious and daunting.

2. It has been almost a year since the King has died. Meaning there is more and more pressure for the Queen to marry. The King was in his mid 40's, not young but not an old man yet. He was also surprisingly fit for his age. He could still command an army if they needed him to.

3. We can be flexible in terms of historical accuracy. I think working for the church is perhaps the most interesting way to go (we can also explore how religion functions in our world). Though like most medieval cultures I think Gravediggers are pretty low on the social ladder, which I think could be fun to play with.

[ILoveStories]

Good questions!
2. It has been almost a year since the King has died. Meaning there is more and more pressure for the Queen to marry. The King was in his mid 40's, not young but not an old man yet. He was also surprisingly fit for his age. He could still command an army if they needed him to.

Oh, and I forgot, the King's sons were 22, 19, and 17. All were at the proper age to take the throne, but none survived.

[Cirus]

I am curious about this what does "the party" need?

[ILoveStories]

I am curious about this what does "the party" need?

Hello Cirus! There are a lot of directions you could go, but for my money what we need most right now is someone associated with one of the Cousins. A right hand man, a severnt of there's with greater ambition, or you could even play one of the Cousins!

[ILoveStories]

Hey everyone! Just letting you all know, I'm having some computer issues (this is being done via phone) so I'll be able to communicate but not super long form. But, hopefully by the time I get CPU back while have some amazing characters! I've gotten some kick ass character sheets via message that I'm so excited to work with, and I'm equilly excited to see what the rest of y'all are gonna come up with. Take care, and happy crafting!

[Cirus]

I can do a right hand man, perhaps even a guard a right strong arm. Perhaps the cousins have hired their own guardsman?