The Right to Rule Interest Check (High Fantasy A Tale of Romance, and Betrayal)

[Untamed Skies]

The Ordeal has Begun


As it is told a thousand years ago the lands of Rin was in a state of chaos over blood rights. Upon the death of a King the heirs to the throne would fight for rights. This lead to blood war after bloody war, even as generations passed you'd have blood right feuds and too often the blood of people of Rin would soil the ground. Cut down by the blades of their brothers and sisters. In her time Princess Katrielle was forced to watch as her uncles raised armies against her father. She outlived her immediate family and was thrust into the role of Queen far sooner then she should have been. However Katrielle proved up to the task, and commanding armies with a wisdom beyond her years was victorious over her uncles. She'd spend her time during her rule rebuilding the ravaged lands with kindness and diligence. Attempting to right the wrongs her bloodline's ambition and greed had caused to the lands. She was successful, and responsible for bringing the Lands of Rin into a new golden age. However not even Katrielle was immune from the passage of time and eventually it would be her turn to name a successor. The idea of the returning blood feuds was a fear of hers, and rather then continue to name one by birthright instead she gathered her most trusted advisers and The Ordeal was created.

Those that bore Katrielle's bloodline would all be given a equal opportunity to earn her crown. However in order to earn this opportunity every one of her kin would swear an oath of non violence against the victor. This agreement would be signed by the hand of all of them. If anyone tried to attack, raise an army, or do anything to harm the individual who won they would surrender their blood right to Katrielle and be labeled a enemy of Rin. This meant that their name would be removed from the family tree, their titles and holdings would be surrendered, their coin seized and unwelcome within the lands removing their ability to pay or feed their armies. Finally they would be branded a bandit a bounty placed on their heads dead or alive. Because they signed this of their own accord they would not be able to cry tyranny or treachery, and the whole of Rin would know.

In order to win the competition they were required not only to prove themselves worthy but select a worthy spouse to join them. This spouse was strictly forbidden from being blood related to Katrielle's bloodline. Thus The Ordeal would be open to every citizen of Rin. From the lowliest Peasant to the most honorable noble, they would all have the opportunity to prove their worth. The Ordeal would consist of trials and competitions to prove talent, cunning, and empathy, at the heart of which would take place a massive Melee tournament. Only after a pair had risen above the rest would the successor to the crown be named.

A thousand years has passed since Katrielle's rule, and King Thadius Amell sits on the throne. However just as Katrielle before him time has defeated him. His blade has dulled and so has his mind, he is no longer fit to lead The Lands of Rin and has declared The Ordeal has begun. Thus all kinds across the land are drawn to the capital, some vying for power, some vying for justice, all of them trying to prove they have the right to rule......


How The Ordeal Works

The path to rule is a competition in which men and women vying for the crown strive to earn merits of recognition that are marked as points. These points are earned in a number of ways, such as Services to the Kingdom, A Grand Hunt, Earning the favor and avoiding the scorn of judges, arranged contests of skill between other competitors, The Melee tournament, and most importantly a weekly vote held strictly by the men and women within The Ordeal recognizing the most deserving individual that week. This vote gives a significant advantage to the individual who wins, and forces the contestants to make alliances and prove their own cunning as they are not allowed to vote for themselves. Alliances are often short lived, as every man and woman must remember, in the end only one can win.

While points are vital to the ascension of the crown, in truth earning the most points is only half of the requirements to actually take a seat on the throne. No one can claim the throne alone, everyone is required to have a spouse to marry in order to claim total victory. Further in each pair one of them must be a descendant of Katrielle The Great, and the other must not have any blood relation to Katrielle at all. Originally there was a clear line of succession to her, but so many generations have passed that anyone can claim they are descended from royal blood and it would be impossible to prove them wrong. In order to prevent changing stories and claims anyone claiming to be of royal descent must declare so upon registration. They are then prevented from revealing their declared descent until later in the tournament, as such it's possible a aspiring pair might discover that they are unable to rule together and be forced to find new partners in order to win the throne. Often a budding romance is forced to decide between their love and their ambition, leaving many with broken hearts and nothing to their name.

The Ordeal lasts as long as the Melee Tournament with each round representing one week. In the final two weeks of The Ordeal the men and women are forced to commit to a single individual to recognize as their chosen spouse. Those unable to find a spouse are eliminated from The Ordeal. From there the competition continues to the conclusion of the final week of the tournament. The individual who receives the highest score earns the crown, and at the end of the week a ceremony is held to marry their partner. The winner is recognized as the High or True ruling monarch who's word is final in the land, however should ill fortune befall the winner, the spouse would then assume the crown. When both the winner and their spouse die or grow unfit to rule a new Ordeal is called and the cycle begins anew once more.

A tale of Romance and Betrayal

While the competition is the driving point of the story, the human drama and fallout from it is what the focus of the game should be. No one can win the throne alone, and thus must strive to find those among the other players they feel that they can trust. However even as they form friendships and perhaps even romances, every player should remember that everyone is in the competition because they want to win. Ideally there will be moments where characters have to consider what means more to them, the crown? Or their personal affairs, and perhaps who they can really trust to reach it. The price of the crown is a high price and characters will be forced to make decisions they might not be proud of, there is a high price for the crown whether the characters are aware of it or not at the start. No character should exit The Ordeal quite the same as when they entered. Of course romance is encouraged, but the hope is that players don't simply break into their own corners to focus solely on their relationships, and are instead interacting with the other contestants. Forging alliances, making allies, creating schemes, sabotaging their opponents, making enemies, and doing whatever they can to ensure they earn the right to rule.

There will be general events I include to create a few extra wrinkles, a NPC here or there to add conflict or spice as may be needed, but the narrative will be player driven, and I will be open to plots, world building ideas, and events that the players might think of. 

Outside of the competitors players will be allowed to create individuals taking advantage of The Ordeal in other ways. Bodyguards, assassins, spies, friends, family and everything in between will be allowed to further add flavor and variety. Just because a character is marrying someone, doesn't mean they won't have a mistress or two that holds their true passion. Each player may have up to 3 PC characters, though only one will be allowed to be apart of the ordeal.

There will be magic in the game, however I'm taking inspiration from Konami's Suikoden Series and restricting it to in the form of runes. Runes will have a limited number of uses based on a character's Magic skill. Runes also will be banned from having any mind control powers.

Finally in order to fairly decide who should win what in terms of head to head competitions, the melee being the most obvious. I will have a simple system in place to keep everything fair. Players will be given a pool of 40 points to distrubte between 9

stats

Melee Skill, Ranged Skill, Dexterity, Magic, Stealth, Perception, Fortitude, Larceny , Performance

and we'll roll a D20 on dicebot with a bonus being whatever number the stat in question is.

For example if in the Tournament Player A has +6 in Melee skill and rolls a 14 on his D20 then his final score is 20.

For now this is a interest check, I will release more information about the world, rules, and character sheets and the like if there is enough interest.

[Untamed Skies]

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have, I'll answer them asap.

[Auctor]

I'm interested

[Untamed Skies]

Great, you are  welcome of course

[Lady Sakura]

What time zone is this? I assume back in the medieval times?

[Untamed Skies]

Well I envision it being in a High Fantasy setting, so the world itself would contain humanoid creatures, (elves, dwarves, etc.) with fantastic creatures, and some magic all included.

[Lady Sakura]

Would the creatures have to hide themselves? Or can they sport their skin all natural?

[Untamed Skies]

Unless there was something specifically about the race that needed it to hide, no. They might face prejudice and their own trials in it as they try to take the throne, but beyond that unless they're like a undead or something exotic like that they shouldn't have to hide.

[Auctor]

Would a bird hybrid or angelic creature be ok? I'm thinking like Bird Person or a Valkyrie.

[Untamed Skies]

Sure, though immortal creatures that may win are treated a little different. After what is considered a average lifetime for a ruler (50-70) years, they would need to prove they are still the most suited to rule