Political RP at the Domain level

This is a combined interest check and application thread.

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I really want to run a game where the players RP nations rather than characters. Sure, there will still be important characters that come up that you'll want to name and describe, but those are just components of your nation; it's the nations that will have the stats and will be the true characters.

Here's how I think this can work. Each player will start with a small fantasy nation in the ruins of a massive empire that vanished a couple of generations before. No one knows WHY, they just know that one day, all troops were called home, and when the governor of your province eventually died, no one was sent to replace him. Local decisions had to be made, so... they were. Eventually, old factions and rivalries reasserted themselves and it was almost like the empire never existed in the first place.

You'll pick a place on the map in secret, and I'll give you territory there. Your beginning stats will be obvious, but the way you got them will NOT. You don't know how big or prosperous you are compared to everyone else until you send out your envoys to meet them.

You're also going to want to expand your territory and develop what land you already have. To do that, you'll make an RP post. I'm thinking there will need to be a minimum word count, and there will be a maximum expansion/development per week.

This is a project for people who love to write. This isn't something where you'll get by with a ten-word post on why you suddenly control 5 new provinces.

If you're interested, please don't just say, 'I'm interested'. Give me a proposal for the type of nation you'd like to run. I do NOT have races picked out yet, so feel free to insert your own, with the caveat that the world needs to be congruous, so if someone picks out shadow orcs and someone picks out sparkle vampires, I'm going to have to drag it toward the middle. If you pick sparkle PONIES I will drag you somewhere else entirely.

Once you've given your pitch, you can apply HERE to alert me.

The forums are HERE.

That is a really interesting concept.

The nation of Drakmar is a mountain nation, where ~70% of the population are mechanical in nature (warforged inspired)
The remaining 30% are human/dwarf like.
Main commodities are oil, tar, and chemicals like sulfur gathered from volcanic sites around the nation.
This is, in a fantasy world, a high-tech state, that houses a university and one of the biggest collection of written knowledge, hidden away inside "the mountain of wisdom". A real mountain carved out for increasing accumulated knowlege (With more closed off to-dangerous-for-man-to-know areas then a curious adventure could handle)

uh! Got a flag / crest

I would be 100% down for this. I've sent you a PM with kingdom details because I'm mischievous and like to keep secrets.

Just writing it!

To sum it up in a few words before I begin: quasi-democratic meritocratic empire.

In the face of overwhelming force, the council failed us. While they argued, we bled and died. Any plans made were too little too late, the hordes marching practically unopposed into the capital and establishing themselves.

Now, at this point, it would be correctly guessed that we were destroyed, why am I describing the end? The answer, this isn't the end. To be more specific, this isn't the end for our nation, this is the end of the government before ours.

A lot of us survived, the hordes had underestimated our tenacity. A devasting guerilla war started.

At first, it seemed futile, we had been beaten so handily the first time. We were disorganised, pockets of resistance around the country. Most of these met with failure, though some persisted.

Turns out, this was the Empire. They mostly left us alone, only demanding things and the puppet government sent everything they desired.

Though, eventually, after years of fighting with no land of our own, running from place to place, the demands stopped.

The empire seemingly disappeared.

In the confusion, we took control, cementing our ideas in the minds of the public. The reason we had to give everything to the Empire was because democracy was too limiting and we had incompetent leaders. For that reason, we made a meritocracy. All leaders would be vetted by an independent body and then the people would be given a vote from the selected candidates. A leader was voted in for life, or until the independent body elected him out of office with reasons.

Our army, due to our experiences in the war, was focused on preserving the lives of the individual soldiers and on assymetrical warfare.

Are you planning on making the game public? I think the idea is really interesting and I would like to see how it'll go.

I don't see why not.

Much of this game, btw is writing, so I'm not going to limit the number of players that want in on this. The busier the map, the more fun it will be, probably.

Oh boy, this is a huge untertaking, I do believe I am in. Total stealth bomb going via the writers shop, brah.

It's less of a RPG and more like a 4x game done over text. I'm actually kind of tempted to try and set up something similar for sci-fi but then I'd, basically, have to convert Master of Orion or Stellaris to PbP format and . . . that sounds like work.

I'm interested...

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But seriously, I'd love to play a game of Statecraft. As for me, I'd like to...

I'm adding people as I see the pitches. If you're wondering why you haven't gotten accepted yet, it's probably because I haven't seen the pitch yet. If I miss it, I'm sorry, just poke me. If you want to keep it a secret, send it to me in a PM.

GG, you're in. Cep and Valdus, if you're in I haven't seen pitches yet.

Here's my pitch!

This sounds so interesting but unfortunately I have no writing skills so this will be a good game to watch.

Pitch time!

I'm still looking for two or three more to join, although we're going to get started either way. If you're interested in writing though, join up. YOu dont' have to be an excellent writer, you just need to have stories you want to tell.

Heh, I've been thinking about running a game similar to this for a while. An excuse to get some regular writing done would be great. Here's my pitch:

The nation of Teloch almost collapsed after the withdrawal of the Empire, as the Telochian nobility squandered the fertile region's wealth on petty wars of dominion, ignoring the plight of their starving peasantry. Uprisings were brutally suppressed as the nobles brought in foreign mercenaries to bolster their armies, only for the troops to leave once the coffers were empty. When tales of a far more sinister threat began to spread from holdings at the edge of the Great Forest, they were dismissed as doomsayer nonsense. When the undead horde emerged from the forest and sacked the city of Macara, the truth could no longer be denied... but the depleted nation was no longer able to mount a defence against this supernatural army of death.

The reports coming back from the warzone were strange, however. Scouts reported that the undead were rebuilding the city's walls and buildings, and even that living people seemed to be working amongst them. Eventually, some of these surviving Macari began to leave the city, travelling across Teloch. Everywhere they went, they spread a message.

"Teloch is dying. The lords are a cancer that is killing our once-proud nation with their greed and cruelty. They must be cut out, so that we can heal. Our ancestors have returned to help us end this tyranny. Honour them, and they will not harm you. Death comes for the nobility, and for them alone."

The reception to this news was mixed. Many of the noble families fled with whatever they could, while others tried to fortify their strongholds and fight. The common folk were fearful of the undead, but as it became clear that there was no duplicity in their message - the shambling hordes would sweep through a holding, killing any who opposed them, but leaving all others in peace - ever more frequently the common soldiers would simply lay down their arms when the undead approached. Unlike the mercenary armies the low people had become resigned to as a constant threat, the undead did not pillage, rape or steal.

One by one, the nobles were systematically purged from Teloch. In the wake of the undead, communities were left suddenly directionless and chaotic, without clear leadership. Into that vacuum stepped the Eternal Priesthood.

Clad in simple grey robes, these men and women summoned and directed the magical forces that animated the undead. They could have been a new caste of tyrants, but bound by secret oaths, they eschewed wealth and temporal power. Instead, they positioned themselves as servant-leaders, helping communities to self-organise and rebuild, and providing tireless undead labour for construction and agriculture.

Over time, life in Teloch reached a new equilibrium. The people came to rely on the undead, who performed most of the simple and menial labour, which in turn gave the living more time and freedom to pursue wealth, leisure, and their passions. The living population is small, but the nation is now comparatively wealthy, and the standard of living is very high. The fertile plains of Teloch grow vastly more produce than the population requires, and it is renowned for the number of dedicated artisans producing all manner of high-quality goods for trade. Its doctors, surgeons and medical facilities are probably the best in the world.

Visitors from other nations are usually unnerved or horrified by undead openly walking around the streets of Teloch's cities. Once that shock has passed, they normally move on to question how, if there are no powerful rulers, anything manages to get done. The locals will usually laugh, shrug, and say "If you want something done, convince people it's worth doing. When enough people agree, it gets done, because people care about seeing it finished. What could be simpler?"

The constant presence of death in Teloch is a reminder that life is short and should be lived fully, but also that everyone is ultimately equal. It is a matter of honour that no matter their status in life, all citizens come to serve their country in death. Telochians are generally direct, exuberant, artistic, respectful, collaborative, and fiercely opposed to hierarchal authority.

That's not only a good pitch, it's a good intro post, too. I've added you, just need to ask you a few questions about your nation in the game forums.

We've got nine players, I'm open for a couple more if anyone is still interested.