Background: It has been a decade since the villainous scum of the English under the leadership of Edward the Third invaded the peaceful lands of France in a claim for the throne breaking the formal peace between England and France. The Duchy of Brittany and Crown of Castile have been the subject of many skirmishes and sieges but with the war dragging onwards and morale at an all time low within the English Army, Edward has turned south towards Paris. After seven months of long hard fighting and the death of Charles of Blois at the hands of John of Montfort near the city of Auray, the city of Paris was about to fall. However, with the death of Charles and the battle of Blois prolonging the siege, the time to claim the throne has expired and English morale broken. Bertrand du Guesclin, an English general from the Duchy of Britanny has betrayed his liege and now serves his most prestigious lordship Charles the Fifth. With their army broken and the siege of Paris lifted with the sudden twist of affairs, an uneasy peace has been brokered between the two great nations. With the unexpected end of the war, both sides have been left ravaged. Mercenary war-bands go unpaid and turn to banditry while roaming groups of traitors and disposed peasantry have become brigands. Under the orders of General Bertrand du Guesclin, commander of the French Army, martial law has been declared giving the French military full power in the provinces outside of Paris. At a small encampment on the outer edges of the city of Bordeaux, an old siege engineers workshop has been turned into a makeshift stopping point for travelers moving south towards Spain or fleeing from dispossession in the contested lands of Poitou and Anjou. Known simply as "Point Lookout" based off the ruined watchtower in the center of the camp, it has become a gathering ground for mercenaries, soldiers from both sides who have been dispossessed, and lower ranking nobles looking for another way to prove themselves. ____________________________________ Character Creation: You may choose a nobleman/woman from the following Kingdoms, Duchy, and/or Republics of standing no greater than Baron with GM approval, recommended to be a Knight or Dame; a mercenary from Italy, Teutonic Order, or Spain; a peasant displaced from the war or a specialist such as an apothecary or blacksmith. While there is no lock on choosing a female for most of these positions, sexism from the time period does apply. Kingdom of France Crown of Castile Duchy of Brittany (Blois) Kingdom of Scotland Republic of Genoa Kingdom of Bohemia Crown of Aragon Kingdom of England Duchy of Burgundy Duchy of Brittany(Montfort) Kingdom of Portugal Kingdom of Navarre County of Flanders County of Hainaut Duchy of Aquitaine Once you have a place of birth, set up a general overview in the following format: - Name: GM Example - Year of Birth: (Between 1320-1376 since this takes place after the Caroline War which ended in 1389) - Religion: Protestant, Catholic, Muslim (not-recommended) - Gender: Male/Female - Eye Colour: Any standard eye color, no weird mutations, you can be blind in one eye or both - Hair Colour: Same as above, none of that weird hair dye and definitely no neon colors. - Height: In meters or feet - Skills: Generic overview such as melee proficiency with a weapon family ie: Swords would include daggers, long swords, two handers, and rapiers, tracking, medicine, armorer, etc. Limit to three per character and do be realistic. A Baron wouldn't be an armorer and a physician (or very unlikely) - Fears: Choose a real life paranoia or phobia, must choose two - Personality: Brief description here - Appearance (Provide a picture if possible): A picture will help give a visual representation beyond words, anything in the public domain is fine even if it doesn't fully match. Brief description of physical appearance. - Equipment: A small list of armour and useful iconic tools/safe keeps unique to your character. For instance a Physician or Apothecary might have a satchel with different poisons and unique herbs. - Weapons: Any weapon that existed during the Hundred Years War - Overlord House (If applicable): If you choose to be a member of a royal bloodline that is NOT historically tied to the English or French throne, you would list that France or England is the overlord. If not, ignore this. - House: The primary house or bloodline you are bound to be oath and honor. You can be a bastard or adopted from another house in the RP. - Current Held Title(s): This is more for those with noble birthright and develops mostly after the character is created in game. - Claim(s): Leave blank/do not include at this time. - Honourary Title(s): Similar to Current Titles, an Honourary Title is bestowed by a noble of Lord or higher. Knights can receive these if they are a member of a Holy Order. - Vassal(s): Leave blank/do not include at this time. - Family: Optional, you can list living family members here if you want them to have a place down the line. - Friends: Optional, you can list other RPers here or made up characters that might show up in game. - Rivals: Optional, same as Friends - Character Biography (Short Summary): Generic backstory to your character as to how they came to be at Point Lookout. You can list anything else that may not have had a place above. Link to Manifest: Armory is mostly completed - still a WIP but good enough to go for now Link to Main Thread Link to Manual____________________________________ Goal: The overall aim is to provide a historically themed spin off of one of the longest regions of conflict in a century (despite the fact it lasted longer than 100 years). In this alternative realm, allegiances are constantly withdrawn and the future of France hangs in the balance. Will you follow history and drive the English out of France, aide the English and help Charles make his way to the throne to become King of two Kingdoms, or will you carve out your own territory with the help of adversary and friend alike. ____________________________________ Notes: I'll post a more fleshed out manifest for skill sets, equipment from the time frame, additional overview of royal lineages if people end up choosing them, though I would prefer that most players be of the lower tiers of medieval hierarchy, closer to Wednesday when I have more time. Estimated launch date: second week of March. ____________________________________ What to assume: Gunpowder has arrived in Europe and while muskets are rare, hand cannons and bombards have begun to make their way into all militaries. Italian mercenaries are better equipped than everyone else and are in large number with several Italian officers having become no more than bandits ravaging the nearby towns. You will most likely remain in France for the entire Roleplay, historical maps from the time period will be provided to show where locations are on Wednesday. No one is rich from the players point of view, even nobility displaced here have lost almost everything and are looking to make a claim for themself. The current currency is the French livre or gold and silver coins liberated from English, Italian, and the super rare Muslim troops. The lower your class is on the social ladder, the less equipment you will have and the poorer condition it would be in. For instance, a peasant in the militia would not have any armour at all and would be issued with a decently designed pike or spear. Swords are reserved for mercenaries, dedicated infantry of either army, nobles, and family heirlooms. Religion and superstition is abundant in the region, being a Protestant in Catholic France may have repercussions in certain regions while the opposite may be true the closer you are to Normandy. The English are not truly defeated but are on the retreat back to Normandy, the farther North you travel past Paris, the more likely you will run into them. The French military dominates the area surrounding Paris and the southern and eastern regions. The English Navy still controls the coastline and any city is either blockaded or controlled by the English. Italian and Imperial mercenaries are abundant and with the uneasy peace, should be treated as no better than well armed brigands. King Charles of France is in power although is still asserting his rule. Not all vassals and lands in France that are French will answer to him. Taking sides early will have repercussions. You will have the ability to earn titles, land, and even marry (depending on how long this goes on) Your character can die to disease or old age. Remember that if your character is older than 40, every year the roleplay drags on in game may bring about a chance to die of natural causes. In general, combat will follow logical progression of counters and skill. In the case of PvP, no final ruling will be dictated outside of the GMs discretion which means no kill wounds without allowing the other player(s) to respond first unless agreed upon beforehand. This is to limit griefing over a players death.
Been receiving some PMs regarding equipment. My response at this time would be that what for the Manifest around Wednesday if you're still confused as to what they would normally have if you are unsure. Some references would be: Maria the Virgin Witch: excluding the fact it does have a fantasy side to it, it transpires during the same events and has one of the highest historical accuracies to infantry and medieval social life you could expect. So long as you overlook the fantasy side to it that is. The link is to a person I find to be a good resource of historical arms and armaments. GATE: another anime series which while for some obvious reasons is not true to our universe, still has a surprisingly high attention to detail of combined infantry arms fighting, weaponry and equipment, and social classes of a medieval time period. It also contains aspect of the Roman Empire. MedievalWarfare: A better source than some to finding basic information for additional research and illustrations, diagrams, or photographics of relics from the time period. While it does encompass the entire general progression of the Medieval Ages, it generally all is relevant.
How high of a rank are the interested thinking of playing? I am kind of torn between a sergeant or a officer.
Still thinking, but I was considering possibly a full fledged knight? Unless you mean like knight sergeant or knight lieutenant?
Yeah I don't know what happened with that Astra Militarum RP, it just sort of went down the drain somehow. Anyway, again for those who have posted their characters in a PM already, know that you have the option to alter your submission before the RP starts in one-two weeks after I post the Manifest. The original posting was rushed to have it out there and not everything was quite clear. I'll do my normal job with providing a detailed Manifest in addition to ruling houses. There will be a reputation system assigned with having a house or being a freelance. Most of the professions will be listed along with ranks, maps of the region that will be playable, a detailed breakdown of the noble houses applicable and to whom they hold their overall allegiance to: ie: the houses of Normandy would owe allegiance to England.
