Shadow of the Dragon: An 8-Bit Dystopia Quest

Princeps Dominare, 20XX
Welcome to humanity's second home. After escaping the onslaught of the alien Invaders and the horrific Crash, after journeying through uncharted and hostile space, after trying and failing to rebuild what they had on Old Earth, most of humanity now lives in the City of Light. A gargantuan, still-expanding urban sprawl, the home to some ten billion souls, or so they say. The utopian dreams of Thomas Light were extinguished with his untimely death, and the City's zones, infrastructure, and governing apparatus have long since been carved up and devoured by ambitious megacorporations. WilyCorp, MetPharm, and EggDyne lord over inconceivable amounts of people and treasure, while lesser corporations scavenge their castoffs and jealously eye the heights they could ascend to. The myriad cracks between corporate control are ruled by brutal gangs and radical cults, unfettered by the pretense of civility or the cold logic of profit. The City's polluted, neon-drenched streets are wretched, but inescapable – there is only the struggle to rise higher in its infernal hierarchy, or at least to keep your head down and survive another day, lest you fall, down into the chthonic layers where death or worse awaits.

What idiots. What blind idiots.

The City of Light covers some four-tenths of the planet's surface, a monumental achievement to be sure, unprecedented in human history. But the thing about that impressive number 'four-tenths' is that it still leaves six-tenths of Princeps Dominare independent land; not virgin soil ripe for exploitation, but independent in the active sense. There are people living here, towns, nations, both of the children of Earth, and the original inhabitants of this planet. Most of them are very much interested in preserving their independence.

In previous decades, there was little the Outlanders could do when the construction robots came for their land. But as programming decays and automated factories falter, the City's expansion has slowed noticeably. The Great Beast groans under the weight of its sins, cascading problems long-ignored by its rulers in favor of petty self-interest and short-term profit. The corporate overlords must now do more than lazily point at a map to get what they want. And if it were to come to a war, is the outcome as assured as those arrogant executives believe?

…As intriguing as such a showdown might be, it will not happen right away. For all that the Outlanders share a contempt for the City, they fight each other much more often.

Archanea, 20XX 36th year from the founding of the Holy Kingdom

Welcome, Questers, to the subcontinent of Archanea, divided into many small kingdoms of neo-feudal techno-barbarians, oft-troubled by conflict. At the current time, Archanea quakes in the wake of the Earth Dragon Medeus, who has declared a new empire. Its human powers scramble to respond. Who are you, and how will you face this new age?

[ ] You will play as Michalis of Macedon, newly-ascended king of a proud island nation. It was in Macedon's very heart that Medeus emerged, and it is a testament to your quick thinking that the kingdom has not been swept away entirely. You paid a dark price and yoked your star to his – but not permanently, oh no. Michalis of Macedon was not made to bow before another's might. One day, the Empire of Dohlr will fall, and Macedon will rise!

+ You have both pegasi and wyverns. Not only are they excellent as beasts of war, the advantages of flight in a region that lacks mechanized transportation, or even many roads, should not be underestimated. (Excellent Martial, unrivaled speed of travel and communication)
+ Many think that the Macedonians know nothing more than flying straight at the enemy screaming. Such fools fail to ask why the enemy never saw you until there was no time left to run. (Good Intrigue)
+ You, personally, are a proud dracoknight with a wyvern of your own. This bears repeating – from coolness factor alone, if nothing else. Given the example set by the true Dragons, who seem to be their progenitors, is it possible that your companion has potential yet unrealized?
- Macedonians love independence and self-sufficiency even more than your average Outlander. Your country's governing apparatus is…let's call it underdeveloped. (Problems with Stewardship)
- About half of your island has been claimed by the Dragon Emperor as his personal fief, including all the best land for farming. Feeding your people is now a major concern.
- You may be planning to betray him eventually, but for now, you need to keep the Dragon Emperor happy, because he lives right next door.

[ ] You will play as Camus of Grust, commander of the Sable Order and newly-appointed Governor of Pales. You are sworn to King Ludwik of Grust, and through him, Medeus. For its defiance of the Dragon Emperor, the so-called Holy Kingdom of Archanea has been humbled, conquered, broken, and it was by your hand. Now comes the much more difficult task, that of ruling and rebuilding. You are playing a delicate political game, one you are most unused to, but you have never fallen short of excellence and do not intend to start.

+ The Sable Order stands head and shoulders above the other warriors of Archanea. They are known for their honor, their discipline, and most of all, the matte black power armor salvaged from the initial colonization efforts. (Amazing Martial)
+ The Sable Order has a heroic reputation throughout the land. Even in the recent fighting, your men held back from the barbaric behavior shown by others. Many will trust your word. (Good Diplomacy)
+ The so-called Holy Kingdom has long been envied for its wealth, its learning, its technology – and now those resources are yours, to do with as you wish. There's even a functioning road network! (Greater access to technology and wealth)
- Grust guards its greatest assets jealously. Aspirants to the Sable Order forsake family ties and undergo a brutal gauntlet of tests, training, and psycho-conditioning to render them utterly loyal to the chain of command. No matter what you may think of them, you cannot disobey orders. If there's a way around this, you don't know of it.
- It's popularly believed that Knights of the Sable Order cannot lie. This is not true, per se, but…look, you stomp around in power armor for a living. You don't really know how to go about things subtly. (Problems with Intrigue)

[ ] You will play as Mostyn, King of Talys. An escapee from the City in your youth, you forged a kingdom from promises of independence and peace, promises you have done your best to keep. Your remote island nation has escaped Dohlr's notice for the time being, but that will surely not last for long. When the Dragon's gaze turns to you, will you be ready?

+ If you're leery of playing as a villain, well, here's a heroic faction for you!
+ You sit on a sea route that leads to the City of Light. More easily than anyone in Archanea, you can trade with the Cityfolk…if you can trust them, or afford their prices. (Excellent Stewardship, easy access to all kinds of technology or characters).
+ You're not very impressive yourself, but you've always had a talent for making the right kind of friends. (Good Diplomacy)
+ A long time ago, you took some university courses. This actually makes you one of the more learned people in all of Archanea. (Good Learning – rather hard to come by in this Quest)
- Your daughter Caeda is the best fighter on the island, but that's not as much of a compliment as it seems. Talys has no military to speak of. You just make do with mercenaries, when need be. (Problems with Martial)
- This is absolutely the hardest start of all. You are a tiny nation surrounded by bigger fish. You don't even have Marth and his knights yet.

This Quest is set in the world of 8-bit Dystopia: Deluxe , a cyberpunk crossover of epic proportions developed collaboratively by many people. I encourage you to read the official setting documentation, but know that I retain the right to tweak things as I wish. This here is the history told by Outlanders to their children:

The Invasion
Since time immemorial, mankind has dreamed that we were not alone in the universe. Many who preached this were called mad, but in 1978 they were proven terrifyingly right, as an armada sent by an alien race known only as 'The Invaders' appeared before Old Earth. The Invaders began laying waste to our home. Even the desperate alliance of all Earth's greatest kingdoms could only slow them down. In sorrow, the decision was made to flee. The fighter ships of the Invaders were studied, and men of Earth learned how to build the great colony ships, each of which could hold thousands of people for a year-long journey. A brave few stayed behind to defend their home to the last. We do not know how they died, but die they did. In 1984, Planet Earth was destroyed in a terrible Crash that echoed throughout the galaxy, and the Invaders returned whence they came, their inscrutable mission complete.

Settlement
The planet of Princeps Dominare had been identified by the star-scientists of the old world as fertile and livable, so that was where the majority of the colony ships headed. It was a difficult journey, harassed by space pirates and troubled by internal strife. The humans of Earth were joined by robotic creations and uplifted animals, which they treated poorly. They struck upon the idea of sending these Uplifts to the planet first, to take on the dangerous, backbreaking early work of exploring unknown territory and setting up a settlement. However, the currents of witchspace betrayed them, and those ships landed instead in the Lylat system, where the Uplifts formed their own kingdom. Thus, the first colonists of this planet were mostly humans – the despised, the outlaw, the renegade.

Our ancestors.

These brave souls found a vast and forbidding world, unwilling to give up its bounty to strangers. Princeps Dominare has its own history and its own inhabitants, alien races who greeted the new arrivals with a mix of curiosity and hostility. The aquatic Zora, the lithoid Goron, the vegetal Deku. Territory was won from them, with great effort, and they retreated to their most fortified strongholds, where their resentment darkens with each passing year.

The survivors of that time were those brave and clever enough to come to understand their new home. Most of the seeds they had brought with them from Earth would not grow. So they learned how to harvest the Hylian rice, how to milk the pegasus, how to turn chu jelly into medicines or poisons. They explored the grand ruins of the vanished people called the Hylians, and defeated the traps to emerge with powerful artifacts. They followed the whispers of elemental spirits and pacted with them for magical power. They grew strong. Life was hard, but it was not as hard as before, and we were eager to show those who remained in space what we had learned.

The Dream Dies
When the main fleet finally descended, they chose a spot we had marked out for them as rich in resources. Dr. Light, the greatest of all scientists, thanked the frontiersmen who greeted him as heroes. Then he revealed the creations he had made so that they need labor no more: the great construction robots, hardy Mules to crack the earth open for resources and dexterous Lemmings to assemble those resources into buildings. Finally, he created the Sim, an artificial intelligence to direct the building of the city and provide for its inhabitants. The City of Light took shape, named after its hero and sage.

Settlers who did not have the fortune of living near the site chosen for the City were, naturally, not able to share in this bounty without making a dangerous journey. Some chose to chance it; others hunkered down. Promises spread across the tenuous communication networks: Once the City is established, stable; once vehicles are built and safe routes are mapped, the City will fetch you. Humanity will finally live together in one brotherhood, where no one need know want.

Then Dr. Light died. His laboratory was consumed by fire, and while it may have been a mere accident, his jealous rivals were suspiciously prepared for his death. The fledgling corporations seized control of the reeling city. Too paranoid and greedy to share power, they instead parceled the land into 'zones' which they rule like tyrants. The Sim was killed, its knowledge and power stolen so that each corp could run its zones how it liked. With no controlling intelligence, the Lemmings and Mules are running wild, expanding in random directions, building mazes of streets and tunnels that are decrepit from their first day. Corporations rise and fall in ruthless wars of profit. Those at the very top of the hierarchy live lives of unimaginable luxury, but the vast majority live in fear and squalor, dependent on the money and food their master corp deigns to give them.

As word of the City's decay spreads, fewer and fewer Outlanders are willing to make the journey. Instead, a trickle of emigrees heads out, willing exiles from the hell in neon.

The Land and People of Archanea
The land of Archanea, our new home, was named by Adrah, thief, prophet, and king. One of the very first colonists, he delved into ruins and amassed treasures of legend – the Spectral Sword of Wisdom, the Lance that Pierces Stone, the Bow of the Fiery Heart, the Staff of the Light of Creation…but it was during his final heist that he found something even more special. At a hidden temple somewhere in Archanea, he found the Fire Emblem, a shield with divine powers. Adrah claimed to receive a vision of the shield's creation by the Divine Dragon King, Naga, who forged it from one of His own fangs to protect the world from the horrendous Shadow Dragon, whom He sealed deep beneath the earth. Naga charged him with taking the shield and keeping it safe. In exchange for staying vigilant against the return of the Shadow Dragon, Adrah and his followers could live here in peace.

Preaching the message of Naga, using the wealth and power gained through years of tomb raiding, Adrah forged himself a kingdom. Outlanders eagerly joined, attracted by rumors of a land that – for some mysterious reason – was avoided by the native civilizations. Uncontested territory. He named it the Holy Kingdom of Archanea, and indeed, at one point his ambitions ran to encompass this entire continent…but how can one man rule so much land as this? We Outlanders are independent folk, who do not bow easily. Adrah's uncontested rule did not last long, and now Archanea houses many nations:

The Holy Kingdom, first and eldest, still claims the greatest population, the most territory, the first, second, and third largest towns. Its wealth buys slaves from all over Archanea and beyond. It is a fervent center of Naga's worship. When the Dragon Emperor Medeus arose, the Holy Kingdom mobilized to fight him, led by Queen Artemis (daughter of Adrah) and King Caldas. They failed utterly, and their bodies were hung from the gates of the Millenium Court. Archanea is currently under occupation by Grust, and the country is in some degree of chaos.

Grust was founded soon after. It is said that General Ordwin of the Sable Order, one of the mercenary armies hired in the early days of Archanea, quarreled with King Adrah about his pay. When they could not come to an agreement, he simply left, staking his claim to the continent's westernmost peninsula. Grust is one of the most feared kingdoms despite its small size, for it is still guarded by the Sable Order, unbreakable knights in faceless black power armor. It is ruled today by King Ludwik, Ordwin's successor, who swore himself to Medeus and Dohlr.

Pyrathi is an archipelago to the east of the Holy Kingdom. When Adrah sent settlers there, they met with a strange old hermit of ambiguous species named Mannu, who claimed that the islands were already his. When the conflict escalated, Mannu destroyed an Archanean ship with powerful fire magic, and Adrah proved willing to let the matter rest. Since then, he has remained isolated from Archanean politics. These islands are populated by peaceful fisherfolk who wish for a land free from strife, but they are also popular with pirates – as King Mannu will not answer any human monarch's complaints or demands for restitution.

Khadein is an isolated city in the northwestern deserts. Founded by the mystic Gotoh as a place for the study of magic, it is defended by clever illusions as well as the harsh terrain. Aspiring mages from Archanea and beyond come here to improve themselves and share knowledge. It is governed by a council of sages who usually stay out of wider politics, but recently the Dark Bishop Gharnef seized power, forcing his students to lend their arcane might to the Dragon Emperor.

Macedon is the continent's largest island, with a fertile interior protected by harsh mountains. It was a popular destination for slaves fleeing Archanean tyranny. When the Holy Kingdom sent an army to retrieve them, they rose up in defiance, led by a man called Iote, who had discovered how to tame the native wyverns. Ever since, all nations of Archanea have known woe from the sky-reavers of Macedon, who strike swiftly with javelin and claw before disappearing with as much loot as their mounts can carry. On the eve of the Dragon's awakening, it was ruled by King Osmond, who received two emissaries: an Archanean envoy, and a cultist of the Earth Dragon King. Each appealed for Macedon's help in the coming war. When he sided with the cultist, the desperate Archanean assassinated him that very night. Osmond's son Michalis, enraged, took up the crown and swore himself to Medeus.

Altea was once a province of the Holy Kingdom, but gained its independence in Adrah's waning years, when his advisors squabbled over the matter of succession. The eventual victor was Caldas, who became King by marrying Adrah's daughter Artemis. In exchange, Anri, his greatest rival, was given dominion over the islands of the inland sea. Altea is a small and rural land that reveres Naga. It is currently under Gran occupation. Its king has been slain, and it is unclear what happened to the rest of the royal family.

The island of Gra, once the eastern half of Altea, declared independence in a subsequent succession dispute. Anri never sired children; his first heir was his brother Marcelus, but when Marcelus died, that title passed to Marcelus's daughter Elice, then but a child. Those who disagreed with this, led by Duke Jiol, established their own kingdom, dividing Altea in half. Despite this, relations between the two islands seemed cordial. They both answered the Holy Kingdom's call to arms…but when it came time to give battle, Jiol betrayed Anri, having made a secret pact with Dohlr. Altea's army was devastated, and unable to stand in Gra's way.

The island of Talys sits a little to the north of Pyrathi. Fourteen years ago, a small fleet fleeing strife in the City of Light beached upon its shores. Its leader, a man named Mostyn, declared that this would be their new home, free from the lies, pollution, and tyranny of corporate rule. Reality has not quite lived up to his promises – Talys's ties with the City are actually its greatest advantage, as its residents continue to trade with their old home, acting as brokers for mercenaries, advanced technology, and news of the outside world. Distance has given Mostyn time to plan his response to Dohlr's demands, and it is still unclear how he will side.

Aurelis is a young kingdom. The plains to the north of the Holy Kingdom were long uninhabited, considered too cold and unwelcoming. However, as Archanea's best land was claimed piece by piece, the ambitious had to look further afield for a fief. Ten years ago, King Caldas granted his younger brother Marlon title to whatever territory he could carve out of the wilderness, and, to everyone's surprise, he didn't return home in disgrace. A motely crew of exiles, aliens, and mutants call the plains home, and they are tough even by Outlander standards. Although King Marlon perished in the battle for Archanea, resistance in Aurelis has not died.

Dohlr, depending on how you define it, might not be a country at all. Or it might be an empire that covers all of Archanea. What is known is that, in the thirty-fifth year since Archanea's founding, cultists began to gather at a plateau in Macedon called the Dragon's Table. They delivered strange and terrifying prophecies, of the weakening of the seal and the awakening of their master. Then an enormous reptilian alien burst from the ground in an eruption of stone. This was Medeus, the Prince of the Earth Dragons, the Dragon Emperor; quickly identified by cultists of Naga as the dreaded Shadow Dragon. The rumors of his vast and terrifying powers spread all over Archanea. Medeus is no mere beast, but a canny, if brutal, leader. He acted quickly to compel obedience from the humans around him, and made dreadful examples of those who would not kneel. The northern and central parts of Macedon he claimed for his personal use, naming it the land of Dohlr. He has stated his intent to find and awaken other sleeping Earth Dragons, and establish a glorious empire in which dragonkind rules unquestioned over masses of mewling mortal slaves.

Needless to say, it is within your interest to get rid of this bastard.

So…there are a lot of Fire Emblem games…
Indeed there are! Seventeen mainline, plus the two Warriors games, the mobile gacha, Tokyo Mirage Sessions, and whatever the romhackers are doing. So, what's eligible to appear in this crossover?

The cutoff date for 8-bit Dystopia is the fifth console generation – that is, the early days of 3D. The N64, Sega Saturn, and Sony Playstation, as well as the Gameboy Color. And the Dreamcast, I guess. What this means is that the first through fifth FE games are fair game. So is the obscure Satellaview game, Archanea Saga, which actually kind of slaps. Additionally, I am incorporating material from any remakes of those games – so, FE 11, 12, and 15. I might take inspiration from other games, but you shouldn't expect an exact match. For that matter, you shouldn't expect an exact match between any of the games and this quest, because the world and characters are all being reimagined to fit within the setting of 8-bit Dystopia.

The Jugdral games – 4 and 5 – are a special case. For several reasons – I haven't played them yet, their elaborate worldbuilding is very hard to square with a world where humans arrived only recently, and I want players to interact with non-FE elements as well – there will not be a continent of Jugdral on Princeps Dominare. Individuals from those games may be present, but they will be integrated into the lands of Archanea and Valentia. In other words, a pirate named Brigid might be operating out of Pyrathi, but don't expect her to be blessed by a dragon…unless she actually goes out and makes a blood pact herself.

The rules for other video game franchises that can cross over are similar. It must have come out on fifth-generation consoles at the latest, and if the series is a long-runner, more modern elements are to be used sparingly. This is a 90s show!

Welcome to the forefront of interactive fiction! Welcome to Sufficient Velocity, where a large pack of nerds will argue and vote about the actions of fictional characters in the most bizarre settings you've ever seen with deadly seriousness.

This is a CKII-based quest in the vein of GuzmaQuest, DoofQuest, and Rocket Quest. If you are familiar with all of those, then these rules will be mostly familiar to you, but I've added a Fire Emblem-themed spin on things, so skim over them regardless.

In this story, you will take on the role of a Lord, a single character who rules over a significant territory and thereby plays a role in the politics of Archanea. Through voting on personal and national actions, you will attempt to achieve your goals, shape the future of Archanea for the better, and keep your loved ones alive. This will not always be easy, as the other factions of this land and the will of the dice may oppose you. But take heart – no war is won without sacrifice, and mistakes can be recovered from.

Turns
Each turn, readers will compose and vote on a plan for that turn. A plan includes national actions – one per category, at first, although it will be possible to unlock more – and personal actions for the Lord and the Heroes.

National actions represent all the resources you command being bent towards a single vision. They are divided into six categories, as follows:
- Diplomacy: The forging of bonds, between people or nations. The ability to convince people. Negotiating a treaty or hiring a new talent would count as diplomacy actions.
- Martial: The skillful use of violence. The training and maintenance of an army. Training your soldiers in new weapons or leading a raid would count as martial actions.
- Stewardship: The mastery of logistics and organization. The accumulation of wealth. Reforming a legal code or adding a new district onto a city would count as stewardship actions.
- Intrigue: The art of doing things secretly, and of protecting yourself from the same. Setting up a spy network or developing a code for your letters would count as stewardship actions.
- Learning: The sciences pioneered on Old Earth and brought to ever further heights in the far-off City. The scientific method. Fixing a robot or formulating an effective fertilizer would count as learning actions.
- Occult: The strange and esoteric ways, discovered on Princeps Dominare or inherited from secretive sects of Old Earth. Figuring out how to slay a dragon or scrying the future would count as learning actions.

National actions all have a difficulty, represented as a number from 1 to 999. Sometimes the difficulty will be hidden. Some actions will also cost some of your resources (described below).

After a plan is selected, the Quest Master (me) will roll for each action chosen to see if it succeeded or failed. I also roll for the actions of the other factions in the quest. The results of your actions will be presented in the next update.

Each turn represents one season, with four making up a year. The four seasons of Archanea are Flostym, Avistym, Pegastym, and Wyrmstym, equivalent to spring, summer, autumn, and winter respectively. The season may affect what actions are available, or how much they cost – labor is a lot more expensive during Flostym, for example, because all available hands are needed for planting fields.

Other Factions
The Lord isn't the only character with influence on this world. The other powers of Archanea (and beyond) also get to take turns. Their actions will be chosen by me, secretly, while you guys are making your plans. Turns are simultaneous, which means that I will not change your rivals' actions in response to your plans. The results of their actions, and other relevant news, will be presented in the final update of the turn.

Success and Failure
As mentioned previously, the basic roll of this system is a d100, a hundred-sided die (not literally, I use two d10s – have you ever even seen a hundred-sided die in real life?). To check whether or not you succeed in your actions, I use the following formula and compare the result against the difficulty of the action:

D100 + Lord's relevant stat + Assigned hero's relevant stat + Any applicable traits + Support bonus + Experience bonus = Final result.

If the die rolls a 1, or the final result is less than half the difficulty, the result is a Critical Failure. The action went about as poorly as possible, and you will have to deal with some kind of consequence.

If the final result is below the difficulty, the result is a Failure. You lose whatever resources you invested, to no result.

If the final result is below the difficulty by 10 or less, the result is a Bare Failure. The cost of the action is refunded, and you may try it again next turn at half the difficulty.

If the final result meets or exceeds the difficulty, the result is a Success. You get the rewards you were promised.

If the die rolls a 100, or the final result exceeds the difficulty by more than double, the result is a Critical Success. Congratulations! You get the rewards you were promised, and something else special!

There are many traits that have the effect of increasing or decreasing the level of success by one step. These effects cannot improve a critical success or worsen a critical failure; these already represent an action going as well or as poorly as possible.

Heroes
There aren't too many true heroes in the world of 8-bit Dystopia, but, hey, everyone's a hero in their own eyes, right? Heroes are the major characters, the ones who stand out from the crowd to stride across the stage of history at your Lord's side. They all come with their own stats and traits, their own histories and hangups. They can lend their expertise to National Actions, open up new plot threads, and make the story so much more interesting! In many ways, your Lord functions as a hero with extra bits, so much of the following information applies to him, too.

They can be recruited to your cause in a variety of ways – as rewards for rolling well, hired with cash, or hidden behind more elaborate requirements. You will start with two heroes, but can gather many more. You can also lose heroes, if a mission goes badly, or their relationship with the Lord gets strained enough. That's just how life is when you play on Classic Mode. No use crying about it.

Well, if you insist…Legends speak of a magical staff that can restore the dead to life, somewhere in Archanea…but how would you ever find that?

Stats and Traits
Each hero (and Lord) comes with six stats, in the familiar categories of Diplomacy, Martial, Stewardship, Intrigue, Learning, and Occult.

There's more, though – to represent their unique specialties and foibles, each hero has one or more traits. Each trait is a significant facet of their character with an accordingly significant impact on gameplay and story – that is to say, they all have effects more impactful than '+1 Diplomacy, +1 Martial.' Traits may be hidden, in the case of some heroes with secrets to keep.

Each hero also has a list of Likes and Dislikes. These don't usually have a mechanical impact, but they may provide hints to a character's hidden depths and who they can build support with. And, of course, a hero who is consistently ordered to work on tasks they dislike might consider seeking employment somewhere else.

Personal Actions
Each hero has the option to take a personal action each turn. These are much lower-stakes and lower-scale than national actions – things like making a present for a sweetheart, going shopping, or researching a personal interest. They don't have a difficulty, but I may roll to determine the outcome, if necessary. These seemingly-mundane actions can have significant outcomes, from increasing stats, to providing early warning of upcoming events, to affecting the difficulty of national actions. Then again, sometimes it's just an excuse for me to write cute slice-of-life scenes in between the gritty violence.

Alternatively, a hero may lend a helping hand with one of the national actions, adding their stat, trait, and support bonuses to the roll. It's your choice which option seems most useful at the time, although I will advise that most heroes appreciate getting some downtime now and again.

The Lord, uniquely, has four personal actions, to represent the readers' greater involvement in his life. You may wish to make use of all four, or you may wish to spend three actions' worth of time on giving a project your special attention this turn. This allows you to roll twice for a single national action, taking the results of the higher roll. A useful option, when there's an action you really don't want to fail!

Trainees
Some people have more enthusiasm than experience, and a lot of room to grow. A Trainee is a special type of hero. They have generally low stats, but an easy time increasing them – almost any action they take can earn them a stat increase or a new trait. Choose their actions based on what you want them to get better at, and marvel as they grow their legend!

After gaining 20 stat points, the hero will settle down and lose Trainee status.

Supports
Did you know that spending time with someone improves your relationship with them? Working with someone you like and understand has further benefits, too! Think of a Support as a representation of the relationship between a Lord and his heroes, or between heroes themselves. Supports come in three ranks:

C: Someone you're beginning to understand.
- This level is easy to unlock – if it's not there by default, a single personal action spent hanging out together should do the trick.
- Heroes who support the Lord add one-tenth of their relevant stat (rounded down) to national project rolls to which they are assigned.
- During a Paralogue, heroes add one-tenth of the relevant stat of each support partner of this rank present to their rolls.

B: Someone you can count on if you're in a tough spot.
- To reach this level, a pair needs to cooperate against some problem or other. Some personal actions might count, or they could participate in a Paralogue together.
- Heroes who support the Lord add two-tenths of their relevant stat (rounded down) to national project rolls to which they are assigned.
- During a Paralogue, heroes add two-tenths of the relevant stat (rounded down) of each support partner of this rank present to their rolls.

A: A deep and enduring bond between partners.
- A-rank Supports are rare, with idiosyncratic unlock conditions that the QM will determine for each pair.
- While it is not possible to grind your way to an A-rank Support simply through standing next to each other, spending a personal action to meet with a support partner can lead to hints on what is required to take the Support to the next level.
- Heroes who support the Lord add three-tenths of their relevant stat (rounded down) to national project rolls to which they are assigned.
- During a Paralogue, heroes add three-tenths of the relevant stat of each support partner of this rank present to their rolls.
- During a Paralogue, heroes may step in to save their partner from the consequences of a failed roll. A hero can perform this save once per Paralogue.

It should be noted that some people simply have nothing in common, or a deep-running enmity, or nothing for the author to write about. These pairs cannot build support.

Resources
Outlanders reckon value in their own way. Corporate-backed scrip, for example, is completely worthless out here. Gold and silver coins are accepted most anywhere, but other items can also work as a medium of exchange – fine metalwork, healthy cows, bottles of dye. To simplify things, your stockpile of liquid wealth in the form of various valuable goods (and livestock) will be represented as Goods. Many actions will involve spending Goods to buy something or other, and all Lords have access to some sort of income. Macedonian kings do not levy taxes from their subjects. Instead, there is a tradition of gift-giving during the winter months. The clans of Macedon will usually send a representative to the Aerie with an offering for the king, to signal their support of him. At the end of the season you will be notified of how much you received in gifts; please note that the result is highly dependent on how satisfied your people are with your rule. Traditionally, raiding is your kingdom's main source of wealth; you will get to keep all the resources captured from any raids you lead.

Even more precious than material wealth, Tech represents the parts, batteries, and fuel needed to build and maintain the wonders of science – from guns to solar panels. Such inventions can be incredibly powerful, but invoking them usually costs some Tech. If you ever find yourself in urgent need of liquid wealth, one Tech can be converted into four Goods.

As Macedon, you've just lost your breadbasket, so you will have to worry about producing enough Food to feed your citizens. Food can be obtained in a variety of ways – growing it, trading other factions for it, raiding other factions for it, running a racket whereby you threaten to raid other factions for it…However you choose to go about this, the goal is to accumulate a reserve of Food that's above a certain threshold by the time next Wyrmstym rolls around. If you don't have enough Food, people will starve and die in proportion to how great the gap is between what you need and what you actually have. This will also spread dissatisfaction with Michalis's reign, and his people will lose confidence in him, potentially resulting in emigration or rebellion. Obviously, the Macedonians eat food year-round, not just during the winter. This system is a simplification meant to be easy for me to administer and you to grasp.

Random Events
Princeps Dominare is a strange and chaotic place. Each turn, I will role a d100 to select from my table of random events; there is nothing you can do to affect this roll. These events may affect lands near or far; they may bring about new problems, new opportunities, or just a little bit of weirdness. Generally, higher numbers are more desirable for you.

Paralogues
Not everything can be appropriately covered from the bird's eye view. Sometimes you need to be there. Sometimes the right person, in the right place, at the right time, can make a world of difference.

A Paralogue tells the story of one or more heroes, trying to accomplish some sort of objective in a new setting. It's more intimate than a national action and more high-stakes than a personal action. Oftentimes, you will be presented with a choice of paths to take to achieve your goals. Each Paralogue will test the heroes' personal stats with a variety of challenges, although some will predominate according to the context – for example, a masked ball will primarily ask heroes to use Diplomacy and Intrigue. A single failure will never cause the Paralogue to end prematurely – it will simply push your goals a little further out of reach.

Sending a hero to a Paralogue uses their personal action for that turn.

Rolls made during a Paralogue use the following formula:
D100 + Hero's relevant stat + Any applicable traits + Support bonus + Relevant situational modifiers + EXP bonus = final result

The rolls will often be affected by situational modifiers. On these adventures, sometimes stats and traits aren't the only factors at hand. For example, the Stewardship roll to navigate a crumbling ruin will be much easier if the heroes managed to obtain a map beforehand, and the Intrigue roll to escape a sinking ship will be much more difficult if the ship is also on fire because your fire mage went ham in the preceeding battle. Thus, you should consider carefully which team of heroes will be best suited to each Paralogue.

Resolving Conflict
During a Paralogue, your heroes will often come into conflict with opposing forces. When someone tries to do something, and someone else tries to stop them, that's represented by opposed rolls. These will most often be used for combat, but opposed rolls can determine the outcome of other contests too, like who shows up to a party with the coolest outfit.

When two characters fight, the attacker makes a roll, followed by the defender. Success and failure are determined by comparing their results:

If the attacker rolls a 1, or the defender rolls a 100, or the attacker's result is lower than the defender's by 90 or more, the attack is a Critical Failure. The attacker completely fails whatever they were trying, and the defender gets closer to their goal or injures them with a counterattack.

If the attacker's result is lower than the defender's by 40 or more, the attack is a Solid Failure. The attacker fails to so much as inconvenience their opponent.

If the attacker's result is lower than the defender's by 10 or more, the attack is a Failure. The defender manages to dodge or deflect the attack.

If the attacker's result is lower than the defender's by 9 or less, the attack is a Bare Failure. The attack almost succeeds, but is deflected at the last moment.

If the attacker and defender end up with the same result, they Tie. Time advances, and they remain at a stalemate. Sometimes, if one party is trying to stall, this is all they need.

If the attacker's result is higher than the defender's by 9 or less, the attack is a Bare Success. The attack connects, but is partially deflected.

If the attacker's result is higher than the defender's by 10 or more, the attack is a Success. The attack connects, and puts the defender on the back foot.

If the attacker's result is higher than the defender's by 40 or more, the attack is a Solid Success. The attacker lands a telling blow, and the defender is pushed away from their goal or injured.

If the attacker rolls a 100, or the defender rolls a 1, or the attacker's result exceeds the defender's by 90 or more, the attack is a Critical Success. The attacker completely succeeds, and the defender will likely be defeated outright.

As with national actions, many traits have the effect of increasing or decreasing the level of success. These effects cannot improve a critical success or worsen a critical failure.

After a round of combat, the defender, if able, will make a counterattack. Thus the roles will switch, with the defender becoming the attacker and the attacker becoming the defender.

Defeat
Heroes are not invincible. After taking enough punishment, they will come to their limits. A defeated character can no longer contribute to their side. Defeat may mean outright death, but it can also represent capture, crippling wounds, or collapsing from magical exhaustion. A character's exact fate will depend on the narrative. Sometimes enemies are fighting to kill; sometimes there's a healer nearby who can give immediate medical attention.

Magic
Princeps Dominare is a magical place. Outlanders know and accept this, even if many Cityfolk don't. In Archanea, war mages are uncommon and highly respected; healers are more common, and more beloved. Most mages in Archanea obtain their magic by entering a deep mediation in a place of power. In the twilit land that most people cannot see, they meet with a spirit and form a pact; then they inscribe the words and sigils of the pact into a specially prepared tome, or, for healing spells, a staff. Subsequently, by chanting an incantation, the mage can channel the spirit's power through the tome or staff into the waking world. It's said that very experienced mages can dispense with the chants, or modify the effects of their spells somewhat. The disadvantage of Archanean-style spellcasting is that it's inflexible. The more spells you have in your repertoire, the more equipment you need to carry around, and this quickly grows both cumbersome and expensive. Thus, most mages will focus on mastering only one type of magic, cultivating a relationship with their patron spirit and learning how to channel ever-greater amounts of power.

These 'spirits' take many forms, from wandering ghosts to genius loci to figures from Earth's mythology. In particular, the Divine Dragon King Naga seems willing to grant healing magic to anyone who asks, and so most of the land's healers have Him to thank for their powers. This is definitely a contributing factor in the popularity of Naga's worship.

In the land of Valentia, to the west, mages tend to cast without tomes or staves. This takes a much greater toll on their stamina; a general rule of thumb is that they can only cast their most powerful spells two or three times in a single day. The advantage of this style is flexibility. Valentian mages tend to know a variety of spells, including more situational ones that Archanean mages would dismiss as not worth the effort. They improve themselves by collecting new spells and improving their casting stamina. Many of them also carry mundane weapons, so they do not have to rely entirely on magic for self-defense.

When a character attacks another with magic, the attack and defense both depend on the Occult stat; when an attack is physical, the attack and defense both depend on Martial. Thus, even a character who doesn't cast magic can still benefit from high Occult when it comes to fighting mages (Or, in FE terms, your Magic stat is also your Resistance, and Strength is also Defense).

Omakes and EXP
Quests thrive on reader engagement. Authors thrive on reader engagement. In order to encourage participation, I promise to reward posts that contribute to the thread in a significant way, whether they take the form of fanfiction, fanart, detailed analysis of the story, helpful criticism, or a joke that makes me laugh out loud. The poster will get EXP, which they may then spend on future rolls to increase the final result.

Between the time a plan is voted in and turn results are posted, anyone with EXP may choose to spend it. Just make a post in the thread announcing how much, and what action you want to apply it to. 100 EXP boosts a result by 1. A maximum of 1000 EXP (so, +10) may be applied to any single roll.

If a reader-written story meets my standards of quality, complies with the setting limitations of 8-bit Dystopia, and doesn't conflict with my plans for the quest, I may canonize it! If there's a character you want to see, for example, try crafting a compelling vision of how they fit into this world. If that piece becomes canon, they really will be out there, and might cross paths with the main story.

Other Policies

1. We're all here to have fun. While individual definitions of 'fun' differ, of course, please don't try to ruin somebody else's fun. Likewise, please assume that others are posting with good intentions.
2. I roll the dice myself, for all actions. I promise to honestly report the results.
3. In the event of a tied vote, I will serve as tiebreaker. I will generally break ties in favor of what I find more interesting or dramatic.
4. This story is going to be gritty, not grimdark. Life is tough, but the people of the Outlands think it's worth fighting for. Wonder, beauty, and heroism do exist, somewhere. Maybe that somewhere is inside you.
5. You can expect this story to touch on various dark and mature topics. There will be vulgar language. Sex will be alluded to, but not described graphically. Violence will be described a lot more. Sexual violence will not leave the realm of subtext.
6. The narrative takes precedence over stats and dice rolls. You cannot slay Medeus with a spork, no matter how high you roll, and sending a guy with high Martial to guard someone he hates is unlikely to be effective.

This is the map I'm going with; forgive the Japanese names. Pyrathi is the group of islands to the east of Port Warren.

You do not think you will ever tire of seeing Macedon from the air. Every season has its own character; Wyrmstym's is a rare and ironic beauty, offered only to those strong enough to brave it. The frozen forests, coating the lower slopes like a silver-green pelt; the glacial rivers, spangling the landscape like silver ribbons; the snow-clad mountains, slumbering under their winter blanket. The familiar sights are enough to rejuvenate you (and, more importantly in this instance, your wyvern) for the home stretch of your tiring journey back from Archanea.

Your joy is spoiled, however, by the fact that much of this land is no longer Macedon, but 'Dohlr'. It's an insult, but one you and your people will have to bear. For the time being.

The Aerie approaches, an oddly-shaped mountain honeycombed with holes and terraces, in which human shapes are rapidly resolving into view. This, you can still view with pride. No other nation on the planet can boast its like. You descend toward one of the smaller ones, a private landing platform connected to the royal apartments. You hardly have the energy to land lower on the mountain and climb all the way back up.

As claws scrabble on stone and wings beat to bleed momentum, a figure rushes out from the outer portal. "Michalis!" comes the excited cry of your younger sister. Clad in the white of a devotee of Naga, your sister shows her royal status by the embroidered ribbons garnishing her dress, the violet sash around her waist, and the gold jewelry pinned to her clothes and hair.

"Ho, Maria," you greet. Without needing to look, your fingers are undoing the ties that hold you to the saddle. It takes a minimum of time before you can dismount. Maria comes forward to help you unbuckle and lift off the heavy saddle – a multi-layered apparatus of leather, semi-flexible plastic, and some sort of cushiony foam lifted off a Talyan merchant. Your wyvern stays still throughout the process, though you sense, in the prickle of your implants, her eagerness to be done with this. Indeed, as soon as it's off, she's slinking away, to the sheltered den on the far side of the terrace. A red-scaled snout pops out to give her an exploratory sniff; she responds by batting it away with her claws, and disappears into the shadows.

"Minerva beat me here, I see."

"You know how they hate to fly during winter. I think they went as fast as possible to get it over with."

A common trait of the red wyverns. Not for the first time, you're glad you chose to bond the breed you did:

[ ] White Extremely rare, white wyverns were thought by some to be a myth before this one hatched from one of the Aerie's breeding pairs. Your companion is surely a sign of your great destiny. (Brings interesting times)

[ ] Black A bulky, heavily armored breed. They are slower and less agile flyers, however.
[ ] Violet A sinuous, highly intelligent breed, violets also have a reputation for curiosity and getting in trouble.
[ ] Blue A breed with high endurance. Notably, they lack the distaste for cold shared by most wyverns.
[ ] Red A highly aggressive breed that tires easily – what? You're not being a hypocrite; it's just that you're better at getting your mount to push her limits.

At any rate, she can take care of herself from here. "Have a nice rest…"
[ ] (Write-in a name, preferably of Latin or Greek origin)

Your sister clings to you as you pass through the gate, shake snow off your cloak in a covered vestibule, then pass through another gate. The warmth of the inner chambers hits you almost like a blow, softening your muscles and tempting you to head directly to your bed. The saddlebags drop from your hand with a thud.

Maria gives you a look. "You must be very tired, brother."

"What? Nonsense." Belatedly, you remember that your hair is still tied up; you reach back and undo it, letting it fall to its rightful place at your mid-back. You try to look around for Minerva, but Maria is in front of you, hands on her hips, looking something very close to fierce.

"You haven't mentioned your promise at all. You do remember your promise, right?"

"Of course I do," you scoff, and to your reliefe, you remember what she's talking about halfway through your sentence. Reaching down to the discarded saddlebags, you retrieve a package wrapped in protective plastic, but pause before giving it to her. Raising an eyebrow, you say, "I thought you to be concerned for my health, but instead you turned out to be motivated by greed. Perhaps you're not yet ready for this."

Her lips part in outraged disbelief. "Michalis!" She snatches at the package, but it's no use – you're a good two meters tall and she only comes up to your sternum. "MICHALIS!"

"This behavior is very unbecoming of a holy woman, you must admit," you continue, unable to keep a smirk from your lips.

"You…bastard!" she lets out, in a sweet voice unused to swearing. That only gives you more ammunition.

"Tut, tut. Who's been teaching you such language?"

A muffled reply comes from one of the further doors: "I am trying to FUCKING sleep here! Will you two be QUIET!"

"Uh…" Maria glances back at the door, deflating. She wrings her hands, before saying, "It's not exactly Minerva's fault. I'm fourteen, you know. I hear things…we should go somewhere else. Want some food?"

You accept her peace offering, and as you devour hunks of bread smeared with pegasus cheese, she unwraps the gift. An adorable squeal escapes her lips at the sight of the book inside. A hard plastic cover cut from some sort of sheeting is painted with the words The Universal Message of a Universal Deity, and inside are several hundred typeset pages.

"This must be the first copy in all of Macedon! Thank you, thank you so much!" She pauses in the midst of flipping through it to look back at you with suspicious eyes. "Michalis, you didn't steal this, right? You promised…"

"It was purchased from a cathedral, dear sister. With money. The people I slay on the battlefield seldom carry heavy texts with them, after all." Your flippant words conceal a certain amount of irritation and, admittedly, worry. You didn't think you would make a profit from this campaign at all, thanks to that Grustian general, a far-too-handsome fellow who had reacted to your inquiries about looting rights as though you had just offered to fuck his mother.

It never rains, but it pours. You finish your homecoming meal and sigh. Well, you would have to put your worries aside for a few hours. Trudging to your bedchamber, you stop resisting the call and fall into the embrace of a deep and dreamless sleep.
---
Minerva meets you the next morning in the Vault, one of the Aerie's inner chambers, with a purpose made obvious by the name. Behind tightly-fitted doors wait the chests of silver and trays of batteries that compose your kingdom's reserve of wealth. You resist the urge to anxiously recount them and focus your gaze on a certain chest, with its many locks, and the gray-bearded priest slowly unlocking each one.

Minerva taps her foot, just as impatient as you. Your younger sister is out of her armor, a rarity; instead she wears a red tunic trimmed with black and a heavy cloak to protect against the cold that infiltrates these lesser-used spaces of the mountain. Her heavy bangs frame her face, free from the headband she wears when flying.

The priest says, "King Osmond always intended to pass these onto you when he grew too old to use them. Alas, that the treacherous Archaneans stole him away from us so early."

"They have ever hated the idea of a Macedon that wasn't theirs," Minerva replies. Her eyes are burning with anger.

"Well, they know their folly now," you say with some relish. It is easy to summon up; the loathing between Archanea and Macedon is mutual. But there is something deeper there, a bitterness that makes you grit your teeth.

For your father's folly, you killed him. The Archanean envoy was merely the poor stupid patsy you used to steer Macedon back on the right course.

Your gaze flickers to Minerva. She doesn't seem to notice.

"Your Majesty, your Highness. It was a pity that you could not be here for the funeral, but you were out seeking vengeance for him, I suppose. Here they are, finally ready to find new wielders. The regalia of Macedon."

The lid falls open, and your gaze lights upon them: a golden axe, and a red gem surrounded by several thin coppery flanges.

[Iote's Shield: A strange device that projects an energy shield that slows fast-moving objects. If someone makes a successful attack against your person with a non-magical ranged weapon, the attack is downgraded to the next lowest tier of success.]
[Hauteclere, the Golden Axe: A shining axe that seems to fill its wielder with endless energy. +5 Martial. When you are defeated in battle, flip a coin. On heads, a sudden second wind gives you the energy to make one more attack.]

The room is silent for a moment as you take them in. "Vengeance…that's right. Our father can rest easy now. So, which one?" Minerva says warmly. "I'm partial to the axe, but I'll yield if you feel strongly about it."

It's a matter that you've thought long and hard over, even during the campaign in Archanea. It's not just a matter of whether you would prefer offence over defense. It's a matter of what Minerva would prefer, and what would make her more powerful, and what would make her too powerful.

The fact of the matter is, your sister is currently the best alternative to you, if your people became interested in a new monarch. If she really tried, you're not sure you could beat her in a straight conflict. And were she to take the throne…well, she would be an awful queen. She doesn't really know how to do anything except fight, and that's not the solution to Macedon's current issues. She would face endless rebellions and desertions before eventually falling.

And that would be the end of Iote's legacy.

It's a curious kind of precarity. Your strongest supporter is potentially your greatest enemy. Any gift you give her could be used against you.

It would be possible for you to claim both of them, you suppose. But Minerva is your sister, not your slave, and expects an appropriate amount of respect. You are familiar with the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Which inheritance will you choose?
[ ] Hauteclere
[ ] Iote's Shield