Land of Despots

Author Topic: Land of Despots  (Read 15188 times)




Land of Despots is a game where you RP as your tribe to influence and control your surroundings. You want power, wealth, love, and all the finer things in life—But so do others, and they'll be more than happy to get you and your clansmen out of the picture to accomplish that. The focus is upon yourself, the leader, and how your decisions affect your tribe and other tribes around yours.



It is 1,000 years before a perhaps the holiest man was born in a land very far away. The world you know is situated on the northern shores of the great continent Iusa. People have inhabited this land for thousands of years, and it is now your turn at the levers of power. The winters are white and frigid, the summers are hot and humid. On top of that, with the wildlife out there—snow leopards, bears and wolves—nature isn't exactly holding your hand through it.





You play as the leader of your tribe—primarily. What do I mean by primarily, you ask? (Clarification). There are two modes of playing the game. You could either play as your tribe's leader (Example), or as the authority that the tribe represents (Example)—It all depends on what kind of narrative, story or picture you want to create.




Copy the below application and paste it into a reply. You may add any additional details if you like, but make sure that all the details in the template are included.
Replace the [FIELDS] with Information.
Code: (Player Application) [Select]
[size=15pt][TRIBE_NAME][/size]

[b]Population:[/b] [POPULATION(Minimum: 50, Maximum: 200)]
[b]Apparent Ethnicity:[/b] [APPARENT_ETHNICITY]
[b]Culture:[/b] [CULTURE(A summary of your tribe's culture)]
[b]Power Structure:[/b] [POWER_STRUCTURE(Saying "government" might be too much. How in charge is your ruler? Do you allow democracy or do you rule your people with uncompromising cruelty?)]
[b]Starting Location:[/b] [STARTING_LOCATION(Indicate where on the map you might like to start. Remove this when you have been added the the map in the OP.)]

[b]Leader Name:[/b] [LEADER_NAME]
   [b]Physical Description:[/b] [LEADER_PHYSICAL_DESCRIPTION]
   [b]Personality:[/b] [LEADER_PERSONALITY]




PLAYER                EMBLEM        TRIBELEADER
grunterdb1951      Haluti   Halut-dan Onn Feorla
Agent Legit 22      Kolyion Scars   High Khan Azared
SWAT One      Yndrys   Yaksha Tiwak te-Koh



  • No powergaming (Clarification).
  • No metagaming (Clarification).
  • Name your people, tribes, places, traditions, etc. originally.
  • Fair warning that people have the liberty to be as violent as they want, however, I please ask that overly graphic and descriptive detail of such be avoided. If this becomes a problem, and I hope it never does, I may ask you to dial it back or even to leave the game.
  • Don't be ridiculous so that I need to add more rules. We're here to have fun.
« Last Edit: July 10, 2018, 12:55:52 AM by SWAT One »



This is a place for the history of these lands to be chronicled. Hopefully, it will shine well upon you.


Haluti
The Coast Nomads

Population: 125
Apparent Ethnicity: Haluti (Khanty mixed with Koryak)
Culture: A semi-nomadic people, the Haluti are a defensive and trade-oriented people. Most at home near water, their travel routes hug coasts and rivers. As firm believers of a sea oriented religion, following a pantheon of a few abstract beings, it's a great taboo to travel too far inland except within a very few vague and situational circumstances. A sign that tells you've entered land where the Haluti are settling is the symbol of white waves against red painted across natural landmarks. Children go without names until they become 12. They are then named firstly after their profession, either a defining feature, childhood nickname, or in rarer cases an exceptional or humiliating feat, and their family name. Orphans or adopted outsiders given the family name Halut until they start their own families. Following that, the family name of their descendants is their name. The child is expected to follow suit with the father or mothers profession, unless granted an apprenticeship.
Power Structure: The structure of the tribe comes in 4 tiers. At the top is the head of the dynasty- only ever changing with succession following the death of current leader, called a Halut-dan. They boast a great amount of power, which under most circumstances is only ever able to be threatened by the Fau-dan. Once one becomes Halut-dan, they relinquish their personal identity in favor of becoming the head of the tribe. The second layer, called the Fau-dan, is comprised of three elders elect from the third layer. These are comprised of a seasoned warrior, a greatly accomplished fisherman, and a venerable shaman. These individuals act as advisors, and can pass minor 'laws' and acts past the Halut-dan following a unanimous agreement from them and the third layer. They also act as judges during trials. Each of these three govern the following bodies of the third layer: The third layer, called the Fau, is comprised of a dozen hunters, a dozen fishermen, and half a dozen shaman. They are usually in the middle-ages, with exceptions to very promising individuals. They act as jury during trials, garner more respect than the average member of the tribe, and vote on laws and acts attempted to be passed by the Fau-dan. The fourth layer comprises of the rest of the tribe, and is called the Halut. They are the bottom of the totem pole, and though they have very little political power, they benefit from a collection of rights that protect them from internal and outside threats. There are some individuals that have expertise in professions outside of the norm, such as shipwrights and other crafters. They are outside of the layers of the power structure, in a gray area between Fau and Halut. In this way, they have the same amount of respect as those as Fau, only without the political benefits.


Leader Name: Halut-dan Onn Feorla
   Physical Description: A wiry man standing at five feet and ten inches. He has broad shoulders, and his body is tattoo'd with tentacles stretching out from the center of his chest and back to wrap and entwine around his limbs.
   Personality: The first (Onn) Halut-dan of the Ferola dynasty is an extremely religious man. He is determined to find his people new migration paths following being forced from their home by outlanders, and hopes to ensure the saftey of the next generation.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2018, 06:09:40 AM by grunterdb1951 »


Kolyion Scars

Population: 130
Apparent Ethnicity: Kolyian
Culture: The Kolyion Scars are a tribe of peoples who believe that speed is key in warfare, however politics are most important to them at home. Often times the man is a politician, however a single woman may be a politician. In warfare, they mainly focus on horse-mounted Archers and Calvary in their army. They try to go as fast as they can in warfare, completely surprising the enemy in the field or in their villages with fast-warfare tactics, never wavering in their assaults.
Power Structure: There are four main tiers of the Kolyian 'government'. There is the High Khan, who is essentially king of the tribe, the Council of Uriben (Wise) who advise on the Khan's actions, and give the Khan advice when asked. The High Chief, which rules over one village, essentially a governor, and the people, who are essentially politicians.

Leader Name: High Khan Azared
   Physical Description: High Khan Azared appears to be at around a height of 6'1", with a stocky build. He wears tribal wear such as wildlife skins and such, however not wavering in how it makes him look rather royal. He has a large black beard, accompanied by long hair.
   Personality: The High Khan is a stead-fast man, and an excellent tactician in his tribe. As much as he loves the thrill of battle, he also loves the droll of politics in his tribe.
« Last Edit: May 21, 2018, 05:12:47 PM by Agent Legit 22 »

Both accepted. Also I apologize for the later notice, but I would appreciate it you could indicate starting village location.

Spring.

The days finally begin to grow longer. Snow still covers the landscape, and sometimes still falls from the sky, but you know that it is only a matter of a month before the snow will turn to rain.

The High Khan Azared has his first rousing speech of great conquest of the Stepps. The frigid cold doesn't stop him from his speech, however, and he rouses the populous to his goals.

A quiet grunt escapes the Halut-dan's lips as he feels the needle dig further into the back of his head. The quietly taps of wood echo throughout the longhouse, interrupted by the crackling of the fire, as his servant quietly goes to work with working the ink under his skin. A man sits across from him, seated upon sprawled out furs and with his white beard twisted together into a long unkempt braid.

"How many children surfaced, Rogal?" asks the chieftain, his wandering from the man to stare into the fire. "Less than half." Echoes the shaky voice, strained by age. "How many?" the Halut-dan asks again, looking back at him with a twitch of his brow each time the tattoo needle digs into him. The elderly Rogal's eyes shift downwards, "Eight. And one is the one with the side-ways feet.". The Halut-dan sighs, his brows furrowing. "It didn't drown? Odd. Maybe it traded walking for gills." He shifts in his seat, one leg rising to cross over the other. "Only eight, hm. That's less than the last two years.". The elder speaks up, "You're surprised? It was little more than two months that we arrived here. They were raised under sails, and food was scarce. It was a blessing we had as many as we did."

Rogal's words only seem to make the Halut-dan's expression sour even more. "The pickings for shamans are slim. And were the circumstances better, one of them is a reject that would've been left to be claimed by the tide." The Halut-dan rolls his shoulder, much to the frustration of the servant tattooing him. "I want them reading off of water grass within the month.". Rogal's brows rise somewhat, seeming confused. "The month? A month? We both know that's ludicrous-" The Halut-dan's hand rises, and by instinct the elder is silent. "The Fau are growing old. There is no guarantee that when winter comes they will walk among us. The times are dire, and without shamans there's no telling what lies ahead of us." The look Rogal receives is one he's familiar with. A stubborn, set mind. "A month." he says, and then his hand motions the man off.

A nod, a bow, and Rogal climbs up to his feet and readies his walking stick as he heads out. The Halut-dan watches him for a moment or two before he looks over his shoulder at the servant. The young man looks back, nodding before the Halut-dan speaks to him. "Find Hoki. Tell him to take two canoes of men and head down the river, and come back to tell me what he finds down there." The servant nods, sets his instruments aside and wraps them up in hide before grabbing his measly cloak and hurrying out.

Now alone in his hall, the fatigue shows on the Halut-dan's face, his left hand coming over to rub his fingers into the side of his head as he sinks back into his seat. "I beg you sea, make these days just a little bit easier."



The swing of his axe comes down with a sharp sound through the air as he splits wood. Hoki grunts, his right hand coming up and over to rub the sweat gathering at his brow, inviting the cold of the early spring air. He hears the calling of a voice come from behind him, and one of the Halut-dan's servants comes running along. There is a brief relaying of the message and orders, and with a nod Hoki heads off visiting a collection of tents gathering around the edge of the village. With every tent he visits and leaves, another body begins following after him.

Eventually him and a dozen others head over to a grand collection of canoes tied up at the coast- the work of some docks having begun as they pile into some and push out into the water. When they arrive, some supplies enough for a fortnight are set out for them, which they load into their canoes before heading down the river and inland to begin mapping it out.

A group of scouts are tasked with scouting the surrounding wilderness in search of deer by the Khan himself. However, he is unable to attend due to politics back in the tribe.

The canoes scout up the river and find no shortage of wildlife along the river. Various rabits and deer scurry away from the boats as they make their slow progress upriver.

On the third day, the river becomes rocky and the current swift. Some large fish labor against this flow, persistently trying to make it upriver. Various pieces of fish also float back—scales and fins, even mutilated nearly-whole fish. In no time, the party spots the cause. Several bears are wading in the water and catching fish. None seem to have noticed you.




The deer in this area are moderately plentiful, but seem to take up residence in forests more than anywhere else.
« Last Edit: May 21, 2018, 09:46:32 AM by SWAT One »

The canoes scout up the river and find no shortage of wildlife along the river. Various rabits and deer scurry away from the boats as they make their slow progress upriver.

On the third day, the river becomes rocky and the current swift. Some large fish labor against this flow, persistently trying to make it upriver. Various pieces of fish also float back—scales and fins, even mutilated nearly-whole fish. In no time, the party spots the cause. Several bears are wading in the water and catching fish. None seem to have noticed you.

Hoki's hand rises, balling into a fist and the others on the canoe do the same until their paddles reach out and guide them over to the riverbank to bring themselves to a stop. Hoki leans forward, his brows furrowing before a young warrior behind him leans in, "What should we do?". Hoki doesn't answer just yet- appraising each of the beasts. They're different from the ones he's seen before. Their pelts are shaggier, and are nearly a quarter larger. Hoki looks back, "Nothing. We wait." he says, looking between those at his canoe before looking over to the next. "Tell them." he says, patting the young man on the shoulder who passes the command back, who then passes that on until it gets tot he next canoe.

The on seemingly in charge at that canoe gives a thumbs up, and Hoki looks forward. The group has come to a halt for now, opting to simply wait for the bears to finish and move on while taking some time to map out the details of what they've found this far down the river. Should the bears leave, they'll opt to continue along up river.

The bears continue their fishing for another 20 minutes or so before they spot the canoes. Most remain fishing, but others walk in a quickened pace, not a run, gallop, or even a trot, downstream on the western side of the riverbank.

The ones that approach grunt and sniff the air, ambivalent of the humans' presence. They remain on the other side of a small marsh of frozen reeds.
« Last Edit: May 21, 2018, 11:51:06 AM by SWAT One »

The scouts return home and return their findings to the hunting guild. However another group is sent on the lake to scout it for fish

The bears continue their fishing for another 20 minutes or so before they spot the canoes. Most remain fishing, but others walk in a quickened pace, not a run, gallop, or even a trot, downstream on the western side of the riverbank.

The ones that approach grunt and sniff the air, ambivalent of the humans' presence. They remain on the other side of a small marsh of frozen reeds.

Hoki crosses his arms after a while of watching the bears, his brows furrowed as he watched east to he beast go about their business. As the some of the bears begin to come down, towards them- he turns his head back to the others, giving them the murmured order to remain calm. It's passed along from one canoe to the next, and eventually as the bears come along and begin to take interest in them, the men keep to themselves and simply stare back and keep at ease. Albeit with a bit of difficulty and effort from the younger members of the group.
 
They continue to wait for the bears to pass and move out of the way to continue upstream.

They cannot see through the layer of ice coating the frozen lake.

After several hours, the bears leave, but nightfall will be soon upon them.