The Losing Peace A Witcher GSRP (Cancelled)

[Dovahsith]

The Losing Peace
A Witcher GSRP


Aen Ithlinnespeath, Ithlinne Aegli aep Aevenien's prophecy
Verily I say unto you, the era of the sword and axe is nigh, the era of the wolf's blizzard. The Time of the White Chill and the White Light is nigh, the Time of Madness and the Time of Contempt: Tedd Deireádh, the Time of End. The world will die amidst frost and be reborn with the new sun. It will be reborn of Elder Blood, of Hen Ichaer, of the seed that has been sown. A seed which will not sprout but burst into flame.

Ess'tuath esse! Thus it shall be! Watch for the signs! What signs these shall be, I say unto you: first the earth will flow with the blood of Aen Seidhe, the Blood of Elves...​

- Ithlinne's prophecy, Recorded utterings of the Elven Seer Ithlinne


"I'll give you a prophecy and it's going to be a bloody accurate one. If you don't stop serving me this pig-piss you call beer and give me something worth the money I'm paying for, I'm bloody well going to take my custom elsewhere!"

- The Poet Dandelion, Date unknown.

It is the Year 1265
Over 1000 years since the Conjunction of the Spheres,
500 years since the first humans settled in the Northern Realms,
3 years since the Invasion of Nilfgaard and the Massacre of Cintra
2 years since the Last Stand of the Northern Realms upon Sodden Hill
1 Month since the Insurrection of Ebbing was crushed utterly and Nilfgaard's gaze began to drift northwards once more....






Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, Deithwen Addan yn Carn aep Morvudd, The White Flame Dancing on the Barrows of his Enemies was defeated at Sodden Hill, his unrelenting advance into the Northern Realms halted by the desperate defiance of a united alliance of Northern Kingdoms under the leadership of King Vizimir II and the overwhelming power of the Conclave of Mages, acting under the leadership of the sorcerer Vilgefortz just barely stopping his offensive. Yet stop it they did. With domestic intrigues, newly conquered territories to bring to order and his finances straining, the Nilfgaardian Emperor chose to negotiate a peace with the Northern Kingdoms rather than bring forth fresh reserves.



This was shown to have been a wise decision, for without a existential threat to unite against, the Northern Realms swiftly found new reasons to be at one another's throats. Redanian and Temarian patrols seizing one another's merchants as tensions rise from a swiftly escalating trade war despite the apparent wisdom of their King's Vizimir and Foltest, Aedirn looks nervously towards their northern neighbor Kaedwen as King Hensalt begins to ponder King Demavend's inability to quash the persistent insurgency of Elven guerrilla's, the rebels beginning to spread across to other Nordling kingdoms. Disputes of power, prestige, research and ego within the Conclave spark new feuds and rivalries as those whom consider themselves independent from the politics of the Royal Courts find themselves under scrutiny from those empowered by Royal Patronage.

And all the while, Nilfgaard plots, spreading its tendrils northward as it prepares. For it was the battle that was lost and though there is peace for now, the war is far from over.

---

The States of Northern Realms​

Nilfgaard (NPC Steamroller)
The Eternal Sun

​

The Nilfgaardian Empire is a powerful and ancient realm in the far south. Its capital is the city of Nilfgaard, located on the river Alba. The Empire arose through conquests, assimilating nearby kingdoms. Only the inhabitants of lands near the river Alba have the right to call themselves Nilfgaardians. A significant amount of elven blood runs in the veins of the people, while their language is a variant of the Elder Language. The Empire is aggressive and willingly invades neighboring lands. Its war with the Northern Kingdoms ended five years ago, yet in spite of the peace treaty, Nilfgaard has failed to give up its claims on the northern territories.

With new Generals, such as Field-marshal Menno Coehoorn , a flourishing spy network under Vattier de Rideaux and viscous killers at the Emperor Emhyr var Emreis's disposal like the Imperial Coroner Stefan Skellen, perhaps it will not take so long for the Empire to act upon these claims....

Temeria
The White Lilies

​

"Temeria, the jewel of the North, has silver lilies on a black background as its emblem. The kingdom, always powerful, has gained even more prominence in recent years under the wise rule of the good King Foltest, ever advised by powerful sorceresses such as Kiera Metz and Triss Merigold, guarded by the ever dependable Jan Natalis, Constable of Temeria. Redania lies to the north, across the Pontar river, while mountain ranges can be found to the south and east. One of them is Mahakam, a stronghold of dwarves and gnomes, past which the lands of Lyria and Aedirn lie. The capital of Temeria is Vizima, located on the shores of Lake Vizima. Maribor is the realm's second largest city."

If anyone could be said to be the victor of the Northern War, it is Temeria. With its great southern rival Cintra destroyed and Verden, Brugge, Upper Sodden and the Dwarven Vassal State of Mahakam beholden to Temeria for protection and leadership and despite the ever present border skirmishes with its fellow Northern Kingdoms, its only true threats come from within, the general xenophobia towards non-humans bringing tensions to a head as the Scoia'tael raids increase in frequency, spreading westwards from Aedirn.

Redania
The Great Eagle

​

Redania, named after it's founder Roeden, is a wealthy realm which profits from trade and agriculture and one of the Four Kingdoms. The capital city of Redania is Tretogor. Other prominent cities are Oxenfurt, with the largest university in the Northern Realms and the free city of Novigrad. It is famed for its high quality cavalry, vast grain farmlands and of course, its ruthlessly effective intelligence service under Sigismund Dijkstra and the ever present Court Mage, Philippa EIlhart.

None can argue that the Northern War's victory was due to the wisdom of King Vizimir II, known as "The Just". Through his diplomacy he gathered together the fractious Nordling rulers under a single banner and thwarted Nilfgaards invasion. Even now, the Free City of Novigrad listens to the commands of the King of Redania, for once and when he speaks, his fellow rulers listen. Yet not all is well, for the nobility of Redania have begun to look towards their own interests, motivated by greed and ambition. Spies haunt the corridors, skirmishes break out on the Pontar River as trade with Temaria becomes troubled, Redania's economy stuttering to a halt as it is flooded with cheap goods from Nilfgaard. And all the while, Nilfgaardian Banners can be seen from the horizon.

Kaedwen
Dynasty of the Unicorn

​

Kaedwen is the largest of the Northern Kingdoms (and the second largest country in the Continent, next to Nilfgaard). Its main cities are its capital, Ard Carraigh, and the city of Ban Ard, famous for its sorcery school, to whom the celebrated adventurer, mercenary and later world renown Mage Vilgefortz can be counted amongst its alumni, to the annoyance of the Royal Adviser and Mage Sabrina Glevissig. Known for its cold and unforgiving climate, along with the many forests within its borders.

King Henselt frequently quarrels with neighboring Aedirn, mostly over the ownership of the Pontar Valley which once belonged to the Kaedweni, or so he claims, though the legitimacy of his claims are hardly beyond dispute. And with Aedirn weakened by Elven insurgency, it is looking ever more likely that Henselt intends to act upon his claims.

Aedirn
Crossroads of the North

​

Aedirn, adjacent to the mountains forming the western border of the continent, was one of the latest areas colonized by humans. Unfortunately, aversion to other races still exists, especially the elves, whose remnants still inhabit the dense woodlands and mountain valleys, including nearby Dol Blathanna. In contrast to it, the situation of dwarves is rather good; many of them live on an even keel in Upper Aedirn, near their homeland, the Mahakam Mountains, both dangerously close to the capital of Vengerberg.

Ruled by Demavend III, the Kingdom is currently feuding with Kaedwen about the land called Lormark or Upper Aedirn, depending on the interested party's political persuasion. These lands have been disputed for ages, with Kaedwen laying claim to them as well. And with the recent uprising of free Elves and Nilfgaard far too close to the southern border for comfort, it's weakness is showing.

Lyria and Rivia
The Twin Crowns

"Lyria and Rivia were either at war with each other or conjoined by personal union."
- Anonymous
​

Recently the kingdoms are conjoined once more via the marriage of then Princess Meve of Lyria to Rivia's king, Reginald. On becoming queen, Meve took care of ensuring that both nations had equal representation despite their differences. She continued to rule after her husband's death and became one of the most important political figures of the Northern Realms, ruling despite her sons reaching adulthood, generally regarding them as even greater dullards than her husband.

The Island Clans of Skellige
Sea Wolves of the Coast

​

Skellige, commonly referred to as the Skellige Isles or the Isles of Skellige, is an archipelago and one of the Northern Kingdoms. The group of six islands is situated in the Great Sea, off the coast of Cintra and southwest of Cidaris and Verden. It's legendary, famous for the unrivaled corsairs and swift longships that sail many seas.

Its people are united under the King of the Skellige Isles, who's elected by the jarls of the seven major clans during traditional moots. In practice, however, the kings are from the same clan or at least related.

Even though their relations with most of the North were always tense, to say the least, they were longtime allies of Cintra, due to the marriage between Queen Calanthe and Eist Tuirseach of Skellige. After King Eist's death in the Battle of Marnadal, the Islanders under the new King Bran Tuirseach, brother of the slain Eist and his nephew Jarl Crach an Craite, have concentrated their raids on the Nilfgaardian Empire in an act of revenge.

The Blood of Elves
So eager to be spilt

​

Racism and deep-seated discrimination against non-humans inflamed a great hatred of humans amongst non-humans in the Northern Kingdoms. Most of the Squirrels were elves, however it isn't uncommon to find halflings and dwarves among them. Scoia'tael were divided into commandos (considered to be a gnomish term) comprised of several fighters.

It is rumored that Nilfgaard has promised the Elves a homeland for their loyalty, that under their victory, they will be given licence to murder and torture humans to their hearts content. But what is certain, is that many an Elf wields a blade of Nilfgaardian steel into battle and there is only one realm benefiting from it's neighbors bleeding themselves dry quelling the insurgency within their forests.

On the Matter of Cintra....

​

"Despite rumors, popular ballads and folktales to the contrary, any rightly thinking person can agree that Princess Cirilla, the Lion Cub of Cintra, Granddaughter and Heiress of Queen Calanthe died during the massacre that incurred during the Nilfgaardian sack of Cintra. Though stories persist that the young girl escaped, only peasants and fools would put any stock in such nonsense like her being spirited away to safety by a Witcher of all beings, whom we can all agree are charlatans and murderers at best!"
- Hector Lendemfolt, Scholar and Professor of Political Sciences, University of Oxenfurt

Cintra itself is now occupied territory, abandoned by the Northern Kingdoms as the new border was set upon the Yaruga River to its north, placed under the stewardship of a Nilfgaardian Governor and now subject to the Empire's tyrannical rule. That is not to say there isn't any resistance. Many a noble fled to the hills during the occupation, patiently awaiting the time of liberation and many more fled north, now serving under Marshal Vissegerd and his Free Cintran Army. Yet though many wish for their nation to be independent once more, without the Heir of Calanthe, who will sit upon the throne?

---

Mechanics

There will be no dice rolling in this game, and the results of battles shall be determined based on narrative and a direct comparison of plans. There are, however, a couple of basic mechanics to consider, all of which I have stolen and then adapted from several other games. Including this explanation of the mechanics with credit due to @Maugan Ra

Influence

The player characters in this story are men and women of means. When they speak, the world listens… but they cannot be everywhere, and their will is not unquestionable. Each player is therefore assigned a number of "Influence" points, representing a mix of their prestige, their influence and their sheer personal charisma and force of will. 5 Influence might represent a mercenary commander or the Mayor of a prosperous town, while 100 Influence is reserved for figures that cast a shadow across the world like Emperor Emhyr var Emreis at the height of his power and authority.

As this suggests, your Influence score is not static; undertake actions that improve your power and standing, and you will have more influence in the following turn. See your fortunes undermined by jealous rivals or poorly conceived schemes and your score will fall. There is otherwise no penalty to spending all of your Influence in a given turn, and no advantage to be gained in hoarding it.

If you want to accomplish something that is more political than economic military, you need to declare the action in your plans and assign a number of points of Influence to seeing it done. If you don't assign any, it just won't happen. Precisely how much Influence one should invest into a given action is highly variable, but the following examples should serve as useful benchmarks:

• 5 Influence- Sway a prominent guild to your way of thinking, bring a particular topic to the attention of the court, make modest changes to a particular law or political situation.
• 10 Influence - Sway a useful number of minor nobles to support a particular cause, win the favour of a knightly order or other local sub-faction, introduce legislation that will impact a considerable portion of your state or the people within it.
• 20 Influence - Sway a major noble and all associated allies to your side, get the blessings of a particular faith on your name and endeavours, forge a diplomatic pact with a major foreign power you are otherwise uninvolved with.
• 30 Influence - Press a claim to the throne of another State worthy of consideration, force through major legal reforms that affect your entire state, attempt to deal with the rampant xenophobia against non-humans...

Beyond these general guidelines, the most important reason to dedicate more capital to a project is to overcome opposition - when two players submit actions that conflict with each other, the relative amounts of influence spent by each player is the first point of reference I use when deciding which one is victorious. It should also be noted that major NPCs will have their own influence scores, which can be used to reflexively oppose actions that infringe on what they consider to be their interests.

It should be noted that while Influence is not required to conduct military actions, it can certainly make them more successful; convincing the nobles to lend knights to your efforts is the most obvious method, but you could also use it to flip enemy officers and officials in the target area to your side or otherwise undertake acts of military espionage.

Similarly, while Influence is flexible and abstract, it is not unlimited. The King of Kaedwen could spend 30 influence fermenting civil war within the Kingdom of Temeria, but unless he has some kind of pre-existing connection and power base in that land his efforts are liable to come to nothing. If, on the other hand, he had spent influence over the preceding turns to establish diplomatic ties and an espionage network…

Capital

You'll get more with a kind word and a sack of coins than a kind word alone. As the rulers of major states or organisations, every player likewise has a regular income of 'capital' points, used to represent all the money, debt and material goods that their plans require to function. Most factions will also start with a defined 'reserve' of banked points; unlike influence, capital accumulates over several turns if not expended.

Like influence, the precise amount of money represented by a point of capital is left vague for the purposes of easy reference. A given faction will start the game with a set amount of 'banked' capital and a turn-by-turn income, representing everything from a village's annual tax revenue to the tariffs placed on international trade.

If you want to accomplish something relying on money and material goods, then your orders for the turn must indicate that a specific amount of capital has been allocated to the plan in question. The following scores would represent useful benchmarks:

• 2-3 Capital - Purchase a significant item of value (A dwarf-made weapon), initiate a local construction project like improvements to the city walls or a major cathedral to keep a particular faith happy.
• 4-8 Capital - Fund a major upgrade to the equipment available to your troops, begin a construction project that is either spread across several major settlements or involves hiring Witchers for a severe Monster problem.
• 9-15 Capital - Infrastructure projects of staggering scope or grandeur (a palace or citadel worth the name), anything that requires more gold than sense to render possible, usually by bribing a mage with more greed than survival instinct.

As with Influence, your Capital income can be improved or decreased depending on the actions taken by you and other players during a given turn.

Armies

The military forces available to a feudal ruler can be broadly divided into two camps; the professional troops and the militia.

Outside of Nilfgaard, a professional army have not been formalized yet, but most of the states maintain some form of standing army in the form of personal retinues or city guards. Equipped at the Ruler's expense and committed to terms of several years, these professional soldiers are the backbone of your military forces and not easily replaced. They are the knights, the men at arms, the troops you have patrolling your roads and guarding your gates. Each of the faction breakdowns contains a list of how many divisions of professional troops each faction has at its disposal at the start of the game.

• Each state will have a maximum total number of armies that it can field, with richer and more populated states able to support a large body of troops. If you are not currently at your maximum, it is possible to raise a new force for a basic cost of ten capital, which buys you several thousand troops of middling quality and equipment. An army must spend an entire turn being recruited, and thus cannot be employed in military operations in the same year it is being raised.
• Maintaining your forces in battle ready state has a fixed cost of five capital per army per turn, with the different requirements of different kinds of troops abstracted for the purposes of this game. If you don't pay, then you're left with the rather dangerous problem of several thousand professional soldiers presented with sudden doubts about their loyalty.

The Militia are the more informal part of your armed forces, and are drawn directly from the civilian population in times of need. Hunters, retired troops and local paramilitary forces, they are capable warriors but poor soldiers, and will generally provide skirmishers and archers for your traditional standing armies.

• Calling up the militia has a flat cost of four capital per 'army', but is instantaneous, with the troops called upon able to be used in the same turn. However, they will return to their homes at the end of the turn, and must be mustered anew the next turn.
• Losses among the militia can be absorbed by your base population to a certain degree, but will have impacts on your economy and political stability if allowed to grow too excessive.

Magic, though devastating to behold, is not commonly utilized in warfare for the same reason most armies don't rely on sentient weapons of mass destruction. Mages often have thoughts, motivations and ambitions of their own. It is common knowledge that it is a foolish and often short lived ruler who fails to take that into account.

RULES​

1. Please abide by forum rules at all times when either in discussion or if things get heated. Discord is a great place to talk quickly and with a lot less restriction, but be respectful!
2. Avoid metagaming, powergaming, and min/maxing. Wikidiving though discouraged for the purposes of gaining an advantage can be forgiven. I think we all agree that its difficult to get a general picture of a world just from a season of Netflix and an admittedly fun video game.
3. You get from me what you give, that means flag-posting, or barebones to: from: posting is discouraged in favour of writing more intrigue or just general worldbuilding as it builds up the story of the game, and it keeps game morale up.
4. Applications are to be made for a chosen faction/kingdom with a justification to show you have a general idea of who they are and what you intend to do with them. No excuses for ghosting and stating "you couldn't think of anything to do." If you fail to do this, then I will assume you haven't read the rules and will be ignored.
5. A discord will be set up shortly once it ceases to confuse me. In addition, anyone interested in forming a writing team, just let me know via PM.
6. Nilfgaard will not be playable for the same reason firearms are frowned upon during paintball. You will lose friends.

 

[Dovahsith]

Kingdom	Ruler Name	Player Name	Influence	Capital Per Turn(Banked)
Redania
Kaedwen
Temaria
Aedirn
Lyria and Rivia
Skellige

 

[Dovahsith]

And this

 

[Karen]

pretty good, good luck pal

 

[Mannerheim]

Looks amazing.

 

[Mortis Nuntius]

Skellige Irish Themed pirates? Yes. Yes. Yes. They are really cool. Think I will enjoy playing as them.
Temeria seem a cool faction, only one I know remotely anything about. Big bois.
Redania filler.

 

[Hyvelic]

Cintra - I want to be a rebel without a heir and less focus on intrigue as the other groups.

Blood of Elves - I don't feel like being nice, and hoooo boy, getting to go around doing whatever sounds like a good change of pace

Aedirn - doesnt seem important really so it's a great target for everyone early game, so will be interesting to see how I fare

 

[Dovahsith]

A Link to the DISCORD has been created.

 

[averagename]

Redania- their medieval kgb offers so much potential for stupid shenagins.
Cintra.- I'm here to kill nilfgardians and uphold the queens justice ... and those nilfgardians killed the queen.
Skelige - cause who dosen't want to be Viking?

 

[DeMarcheese]

1. Temeria.
Great fan of Foltest. I aim to change his cruel fate if possible.

2. Lyria and Rivia.
The Queen is an interesting character as portrayed in "Thronebreaker" and I would like to see if I am up to the challenge of resist the Empire as a "frontline kingdom".

3. Kaedwen.
No one seems interested in it, despite being the most powerful and large kingdom so I may as well take it and use it if no one else does.

 

[Furrybacon]

1. Kaedwen - obviously, the above map is wrong, and must be corrected. See, Pontar is Kaedwen clay, not Aedrin.

2.Redania - I like money and need some Intruige practice.

3. Skelidge. Vikings are awesome, that's about all there is to it

 

[comradepitrovsky]

1. Scoia'tel
2. Squirrels
3. Sciurus carolinensis

I literally just cracked open Time of Contempt this morning for this first time, so great timing. So excited!

EDIT: Okay, why the Aen Sidhe? They're a really fascinating people. They're fighting this desperate war, believing themselves on the brink of extinction, and raising hosts of dwarves and half-elves and such to their cause. They fight brutally and horrifically, and in their turn the humans act brutally and horrifically upon them - and it's all basically for nothing. Who are the great winners of the Scoia'tel's war? Filavendrel, the last free elf, starving to death on the edge of the world? Francesca, the only elf with any power, but who derives it in spite of her species, not because of it? Iorveth and Isengrim, who were little better then mercenaries? No.

The elves are acting out the last gasp of their species before their extinction. The Aen Sidhe are dead, and were dead ever since Aelirenn led her great host into death all those centuries ago. Despite their long lives, almost all the elves are infertile. There won't be baby elves - almost all of the new elves will be half-elven, raised among the humans and without any elven culture. The ruins of Shaerrawedd are emblematic of the elves: beautiful, well tended, and yet only slipping deeper and deeper into decay.

And I'm not sure that much can be done by the time of the books and the games. Saskia and Iorveth were doomed. Filavendrel was an idiot. Francesca might have had a chance, but that depended on Emhyr's sufferance, and he would have had no more mercy then Radovid or Foltest. And, really, I think most of the Aen Sidhe know this. The sane ones, the smart ones, are content to assimilate. They're whores and thugs and moneylenders, the dregs of society, even less accepted then the dwarves, halflings and gnomes, but they're alive. They might have kids, they might preserve a syncretized, assimilated elvish culture. But the proud ones, the angry ones? They raise Aelirenn's standard, pin a squirrel tail to their hats, and fight to the death. It's tragic, and fascinating.

 

[comradepitrovsky]

Also! Happy to help write reports for GMing.

 

[Dovahsith]

I'm sorry about this, but i'm going to say its not happening. I thought I was up for GMing considering I really enjoy the setting, but i'm too tired and burnt out right now to give it the effort and attention it deserves.

Hopefully I can try this again at a later date, but for now, I think i'm going to take a long break.