Kushiel

[HairyHeretic]

From chatting with a couple of people, it seems there would be interest in starting up a game based in the world of the novels Kushiels Dart and its sequels (whose names I can't remember, cos I'm still on book1 )

For those who don't know it, its a Rennaissance era world, based roughly on Europe, and from what I've seen so far, low magic, but a fair bit of intrigue and social goings on.

I can post more when I have more time about the world setting, but for those already familiar with it, would you be interested in playing? And what sort of game would you like ?

It will likely be a few weeks yet before we get round to setting anything in motion ... this is more to judge interest, and start talking through ideas.

[Elandra]

I would be interested the game, though I would like to play one in the world and not play the characters that exist in the novels, they can exist but I would want them to be a backdrop.

For the record, the title of the books by Jacqueline Carey:

First series about Phedre (Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen, Kushiel's Avatar)
Second series about Imriel (Kushiel's Scion, Kushiel's Justice, unnamed as of yet)

[HairyHeretic]

Yes, we'd be using the world, but not playing the characters.

[MagicalPen]

I've read the first book (two years ago) and am somewhere in the second book. Dont get to read nearly as much as i'd like, but i found the books to be rather intriguing. I'm usually not a fan of the point of view it was written in, but it works well for the series. So i would be interested.

[Cherri Tart]

i would deninately be intersested, and yes, i agree - i hate playing canon characters, so we should just use the world as a backdrop. :)

[HairyHeretic]

Cool. So, what kind of game would people like to see? Any particular time period, setting, character types, plots etc?

I just want to toss some ideas around, see what people are looking for at present, and see if we can craft something that everyone wants to play with :)

[Cherri Tart]

i'm kind of fond of all the intrigue from the book - i'd like to see at least some of that involved.

[HairyHeretic]

I've been running the City of Lies for L5R the last 18 months or so .. intrigue I can do  ;D

[Cherri Tart]

lol - yes, where no one quite knows where they stand with everyone else... wheel and deal in PMs even, so that no one knows who to trust *Grin*

[HairyHeretic]

Or if you feel you can keep IC and OOC knowledge separate, do it in open threads. That way everyone can enjoy the intrigue.

[Cherri Tart]

Or if you feel you can keep IC and OOC knowledge separate, do it in open threads. That way everyone can enjoy the intrigue.

*smiles*  yes, this is true - and i can do that without problem

[HairyHeretic]

I think most people can. Thankfully I've not had to deal with too many munchkins in my gaming that would try abusing IC/OOC.

[MagicalPen]

Intrigue is always a good idea. I imagine there ought to be some sort of political upheaval that throws things askew.

[HairyHeretic]

You thinking at a local or national level?

[Swedish Steel]

Hmmm. I love intreague, but don't know the setting. Sounds a bit like A Game of Thrones though. Love those books.

[MagicalPen]

Well, depends which city it takes place in. Not really sure, perhaps local level would be best otherwise its too cliche (Heir is dead, who will take his place?)

[HairyHeretic]

Well, if we go with the capital local and national events are fairly well entwined :) Plus there's plenty of opportunities for mischief  ;D

[NightBird]

I have absolutely adored this series from the first book that came out, and I was thrilled that she went back to the setting after Godslayer and Banewreaker, which weren't nearly as powerful, IMHO. It's quite a bit different from A Game of Thrones, though, much more sybaritic and lush. Wikipedia has some great summary setting info, and this is a good page to start from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Carey

Personally, I avoid fanfic with canon characters like I would bird flu. We trespass on the borders of intellectual property using a setting created by an author who hasn't given permission for fan fiction or gaming, but I think taking over an author's characters is just... wrong. There are a lot of character possibilities, I'd think, in the City of Elua, between the Palace, the Night Court, and the city streets themselves. The fuller introduction to the Unseen Guild in the fourth book adds some cool potential, too.

What about the time part of the setting? Something older, well before the stories could be interesting. Maybe that with a focus on smaller events could keep it fresh. Something stolen or lost during the longest night, leading to blackmail, say, could lead to a group of friends trying to fix the situation.

[Goblinmoon]

oh blast!!

I had just promised myself that I wouldn't join anymore games!  This is one of my fav series! I agree with NB that in scale its similar to the Cycle of fire and Ice books from GRRM, but I honestly feel after reading Scion that JC has managed to keep more consistent quality to the books than he has.

I was lucky enough to have lunch with her and while she personally doesn't have any problems with fanfic etc, she's been told by her publishers to not come out and say sure!  lol of course she didn't say don't do it either.  Actually using the world is copyright infringement technically too since she did create the world, but that sort of things is kind of just out there nowadays. 

I'd be all about intrigue as well, but intrigue on all levels, personal, family wise, national wise, but that might be harder to pull off in this scale.

[HairyHeretic]

Given that we're not trying to profit off her world, I can't see her setting the lawyers on us  :)

National intrigue does make for a good story arc, but I suppose it depends on how structured people want things to be. I've run book campaigns with firmly defined plots, and I've run player driven ones, where I'm about 2 steps ahead of the PCs and scribbling fast  ;D Actually thats not quite true ... I rarely write anything down in that style, I just wing it.

I think to start with, city wide intrigue is probably going to be enough to keep people occupied. Politcal maneuvering between individuals, houses, guilds, factions or what have you. The social combat of the word softly whispered behind a languid fan, with perhaps occasional more direct activities.

For a kick off ... perhaps the big midwinter festival? Thats an excuse for people to mingle, attend gala events, etc etc

[HairyHeretic]

Question the second ... what kind of characters would people like to play. No sense coming up with a detailed elaborate setting if the players have something entirely different in mind :)

[NightBird]

I'm thinking an adept of either Valerian or Eglantine, leaning a bit more to the former.

[Seereous]

Great series.  I've read every book in the original trilogy twice and Kushiel's Scion once.  Great series.  Oooops...said that already.  I'm actually surprised that this game hasn't found it's way here before now. *shrugs* Oh well.

Given how some like to be tied up, etc, etc....my one piece of advice would be don't go overboard with the number of anguisettes.  *shrugs*  Then again I'm not the one running the game. *smiles* Just a humble suggestion.

While I thoroughly enjoyed reading these books, I'm afraid that I'm a bit too vanilla for such a world.  I know that the book had people of every orientation and taste, and I would love to play in the setting, but I don't think that I would do it justice.  Never know, I may try and give it a shot anyway.

[Cherri Tart]

and on that note, i would love to play an anguisettes - hmm.. not sure if that would be considered role playing or not... *wink*

[HairyHeretic]

I've an idea for a disgraced Cassiline.

[MagicalPen]

Aww shucks! Thats what i was just thinking! Especially after just watching 300! SPARTANS!  Yeah...i love the movie. Hmph.

[NightBird]

Great series.  I've read every book in the original trilogy twice and Kushiel's Scion once.  Great series.  Oooops...said that already.  I'm actually surprised that this game hasn't found it's way here before now. *shrugs* Oh well.

Given how some like to be tied up, etc, etc....my one piece of advice would be don't go overboard with the number of anguisettes.  *shrugs*  Then again I'm not the one running the game. *smiles* Just a humble suggestion.

While I thoroughly enjoyed reading these books, I'm afraid that I'm a bit too vanilla for such a world.  I know that the book had people of every orientation and taste, and I would love to play in the setting, but I don't think that I would do it justice.  Never know, I may try and give it a shot anyway.

There's definitely room for someone less extreme! What about a young Tiberian noble sent to make an alliance with a noble house of Terre d'Ange? Remember how there was both fascination and discomfort for Lucius with the d'Angellines?  *smiles*

And I agree that anguisettes shouldn't overwhelm the game. They were rare. That's why I opted not to play one.  ;)

[HairyHeretic]

Aww shucks! Thats what i was just thinking! Especially after just watching 300! SPARTANS!  Yeah...i love the movie. Hmph.

Whats your concept? If its different enough from mine, no reason we both can't do what we want.

[Seereous]

There's definitely room for someone less extreme! What about a young Tiberian noble sent to make an alliance with a noble house of Terre d'Ange? Remember how there was both fascination and discomfort for Lucius with the d'Angellines?  *smiles*

And I agree that anguisettes shouldn't overwhelm the game. They were rare. That's why I opted not to play one.  ;)

Alliances within noble houses were usually made through marriages.  Something that was seen through the books, and is something that was realistic and I applaud.  That however would require a counterpart to play against. 

My main worry is that I would be bore.  I think that everyone should be able to enjoy the games they are in.  I couldn't be responsible for someone not enjoying themselves.  That would make me feel bad.

[MagicalPen]

I think we definately need to work out the kinks.

My concept was that he had been assigned to protect and had failed to do so. His charge was killed despite the fact that he killed all their assailants. He dispatched the last one before realizing his charge was dead. He finds shame in that fact and that he wasn't killed himself.

[HairyHeretic]

Slightly different to mine.

The standard background .. middle son from a noble family, given over to the brotherhood at 10 or so, rigorous training, and a fairly decent end result. One of his early charges (say within a couple of years of becoming a full brother) is an arrogant, obnoxious prick of a noble brat. The kind that can make enemies simply by sitting quietly in the next room 

Eventually he pisses off the wrong person badly enough that a contract is put out on him. My Casseiline stops one or two 'accidental' encounters, so the gloves come off with a full scale assault. He fights, kills a bunch, but eventually falls, and the noble brat is killed, probably in a pretty bad way. When the resulting carnage is found, my character is still somehow clinging to life. He should by all rights be dead, and its months before he can even rise from a sick bed.

The brats father wants his head, wants someone blamed for his sons death, and even though my character did his best, political pressure sees him cast out of the order in disgrace. Continued pressure from the noble means that he can't find any other jobs, and drifting downwards through society, he ends up in the Night Court.

He's torn at this point. Part of him wants to hold to his oaths. Though released from his vows when cast out of the order, they're all he has known for his formative years, and they mean something to him still. Another part of him wants to throw it all away. If this is his reward for faith and honour, why bother?

Thats kinda what I have in mind.

[Goblinmoon]

The Night Court alone has huge variations in them, much of the sex is very vanilla...  If you get a chance look up the houses... I'll see if I can find a list that I have somewhere.  There's only two houses where D/s and s/m are really a part of things.  hell one house even has special skill money wise, and then there's the artisans, the healers etc.  Its a shadow world for a reason.

I'm perfectly happy to not play an anguisette. I could play someone from one of the other houses, or a noblewoman easy enough.  There's the rest of the world too.

[NightBird]

Here's a helpful list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Night-Blooming_Flowers

And here's info on the places in the series:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_in_Kushiel%27s_Legacy

An overview of the series is here including links to info on the major characters:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushiel%27s_Legacy

Here is the 'pantheon' of Terre d'Ange:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elua_and_His_Companions

And this listing of minor characters might offer character concept ideas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_Characters_in_Kushiel%27s_Legacy

I hope that helps!  :D

[Cherri Tart]

Actually, i'm seriously considering playing a member of Eglantine - poets, bards, actors... i think that might be fun... after all, i already play plenty of anguesette type characters in other settings on the board.  Or, she doesn't even have to be a member of a house... is everyone planning on playing house members?  just a wondering minstral with too much curiousity then is good for her...

[NightBird]

I'd imagine that a young noblewoman might take lessons in dance or music or poetry from an Adept of Eglantine House, which might lead to an interesting sort of rebellion. Am I remembering correctly that the nobility used to become Servants of Naamah centuries before the books? That could be intriguing, too, though I'm sitll leaning to a youngish Valerian House Adept.

[Cherri Tart]

That would make sense - as in the 1800's when young ladies were expected to know how to dance and play piano - and i'm sure that one would hear all sorts of things hanging out with musicians and such.

[Goblinmoon]

Yep perfectly reasonable to take lessons from the adepts!  Or be one! either way.  Yep NB you're right, the implication that a noble shouldn't give up their rightful place to become a Servant of Naamah.  Since at that point everything you take with you becomes property of the house until your marque is paid off.

It has the feeling of noble women joining convents.  Their property became the church's.

I'm currently leaning toward a noble woman myself, but not sure entirely.  Sigh I don't need another game... I still owe a character to someone.  I just love this world...

Thanks for the links NB, I knew I had those somewhere.

[Seereous]

Sure...this would be the one game where my usually good ability of making characters and whatnot totally fail me.  :'(

[Cherri Tart]

Need some inspriation?  i'm not very inspired tonight either... tommorrows another day, tho :)

[Seereous]

I'm not even sure that I'm going to play yet.  I would like to, but I'm not sure if I can pull it off.

[HairyHeretic]

What do you feel is holding you back?

[bloodrose]

I'm interested, but haven't read the books.  I've managed to get hold of the ebooks, (dart, chosen, avatar, and scion) so i'm rapidly trying to catch up on the reading!  From what I've read in this thread I'd be very interested in playing, although I might need some help until i've got up to speed with the setting.

Seereous, you mentioned an alliance through marriage?  Perhaps we could work something out together?

[Seereous]

What do you feel is holding you back?

I'm not much into intrigue and all that.  Shadows within shadows just isn't my game.  I'm kinda like the nobles from Camlach, I'm have a tendency to think with my sword.  Hmmm....maybe that can work its way into the reason of a political alliance.  Interesting.

I'm interested, but haven't read the books.  I've managed to get hold of the ebooks, (dart, chosen, avatar, and scion) so i'm rapidly trying to catch up on the reading!  From what I've read in this thread I'd be very interested in playing, although I might need some help until i've got up to speed with the setting.

Seereous, you mentioned an alliance through marriage?  Perhaps we could work something out together?

Sure, sweetie.  PM me and we can work something out I'm sure. :)

[HairyHeretic]

I'm not much into intrigue and all that.  Shadows within shadows just isn't my game.  I'm kinda like the nobles from Camlach, I'm have a tendency to think with my sword.  Hmmm....maybe that can work its way into the reason of a political alliance.  Interesting.

No reason you can't do that in the game. I doubt my character will be much of a politcal animal either.

[Seereous]

i'm guessing that there is still interest in this?

[HairyHeretic]

Yup. As I said though, it will be a while yet before we're ready to kick things off. This was to get an idea of interest, what people wanted from the game etc.

[Cherri Tart]

ok, i really want to be involved in this... thing is, i think i'm way to involved in too many games already - had a panic attack at opening my new replies to threads today, so i think, ultimatly, it would be wise if i bowed out - sorry, but it's getting to be a little too much to keep up with at times :/

[HairyHeretic]

No worries. As I said already, its going to be a little while before we kick this off, so maybe by that time you're list will have lightened somewhat.

Besides, thats the price you pay for being popular ;)