It is the year that future generations will remember as ME 10, the beginning of the last decade of the Merethic Era.
Nirn is still young, and so are its peoples. The Mer, elves who fled their original homeland of Aldmeris to settle in Summerset Isle, have only begun to fan out across the Tamrielic mainland at the start of this Era almost 3000 years ago, colonizing the coasts and coming into contact with the natives of the continent: the 'Betmer' or Beast-folk found mostly in the south of Tamriel, and the 'Nedes' - a race of Men present across much of the mainland who, though numerous, are disorganized and not as technologically or politically advanced as the Mer. Sometimes the Mer were able to peacefully coexist with the natives they encountered, but all too often they warred with and exterminated or enslaved each other instead. Further complicating matters, in ME 1000 another race of Men known as the 'Nords' came to northern Tamriel from Atmora to wage unrelenting war against the Snow Elves who destroyed their first peaceful colony at Saarthal, and since then these Nords spread out from their new homeland of 'Skyrim' to aggressively expand against the other Mer (who they blame for killing the head of their religious pantheon, Shor/Lorkhan) as well as the native Nedes who will not kneel or get out of their way.
In western Tamriel, the lands that would be known to future generations as High Rock and Hammerfell are possibly the best examples of the chaotic warfare pitting a multitude of races against each other that the Late Merethic Era is becoming infamous for. The Aldmer have established a solid base for further colonial expeditions on & around the isle of Balfiera, where the Adamantine Tower - the oldest structure on the continent, said to have been built by the Aedra themselves at the conclusion of the previous Dawn Era - can be found. Their secretive and technologically-minded cousins, the Dwemer, are also present in vast underground cities beneath the surface of the vast deserts & mountains that the Aldmer call 'Hegathe' and the Nedes call the 'Deathland'. Those Nedes still populate most of western Tamriel, from the rocky & forested north (High Rock) to the mountains and searing deserts of the south (not-yet-Hammerfell): sadly, in the north those living along the coasts have increasingly frequently fallen prey to Mer slavers & colonists, while in the south they must contend with the Dwemer and yet more Aldmer, and should also be wary of the dangers posed by the mysterious dark-skinned Men of the 'Yokudan Empire' across the western seas. In addition to the Nedes, the warlike Nords settling in Skyrim have also begun to harass the northern & northeastern fringes of the region, bringing them into a collision course with all of the West's established peoples. And in the center of it all, the descendants of those Aldmer who remained loyal to the Aedroth Trinimac & were corrupted with him after he became the Daedroth Malacath are present in isolated communities: these green-skinned 'Orsimer' have yet to gain the attention of other, greater powers, but perhaps in time they too will be able to carve their names into Tamriel's history and forge a kingdom (perhaps they will call it 'Orsinium'?) for themselves too.
As a new dawn begins to break over Tamriel, where will you and your people stand by the time the Merethic Era ends? Will you rise to turn the West into their own empire? Will you only manage to muddle through into the next Era as a forgettable survivor? Or will you be destroyed by your enemies? The time to answer that question has come.
(please disregard the bits of Skyrim & Cyrodiil that I included here, trying to meet HR & Hammerfell's exact borders was such a pain that I ultimately just used the rectangle select tool)
Econ map
Last edited by Barry Goldwater; December 21, 2015 at 05:26 PM.
Please use the following format when creating your faction.
Name: Race: You can choose between the following races:
Nedes: The native Men of Tamriel, present as disorganized tribes all over the continent from High Rock to Black Marsh. They were later exterminated or assimilated in all of the provinces save High Rock & Cyrodiil, where they evolved into the modern Bretons & Imperials. Units are weaker but also cheaper & faster to train than those of other factions.
Nords: Ferocious humans from Atmora who have come to Tamriel's northern shores in search of glory and new conquests, and especially despise the Mer since the destruction of their first capital at Saarthal during the 'Night of Tears' (on top of worshiping gods who slew the head of their religious pantheon, Shor/Lorkhan). Their mages are also the Shamans of their pantheon and can use the mighty Thu'um in place of the conventional magics favored by their Mer enemies. Bonus to heavy inf & archers.
Yokudan: Dark-skinned humans, soon to be (in)famous as masterful warriors. Their homeland is to the west of Tamriel and hasn't sunk yet. Bonus to light inf & light cav.
Aldmer: Representing the 'pure' Mer on Summerset Isle & recent settlers on the mainland. Bonus to heavy cav & mages.
Dwemer: The 'dwarves', technologically-minded Mer who live in elaborate underground cities and fortresses beneath the mainland's surface from Morrowind to Volenfell. They replace the Mage unit with 'Dwemer Animunculi' which are weaker but cheaper & faster to train and Dwemer Centurions, which are the exact opposite.
Orsimer: The descendants of Trinimac's faithful, who were mutated along with their god upon his fall from grace. Bonus to spearmen & heavy inf.
Ayleids: Descendants of the Aldmer settlers in Cyrodiil who have converted to Daedra worship. Bonus to heavy inf & mages.
Provinces: Please make a copy of the blank map & color the provinces your faction controls. Everyone can have 1-5 provinces at the start: you may choose between 1 dark green province, 2 light greens, 1 light green + 2 blue/orange/red, a maximum of 4 mixed blues/oranges, or a maximum of five mixed blues/oranges/reds. Ruling family: Your faction's ruling family. You may have up to three members at the start of the game, and you can also pick one trait for each of them (outlined below). Spawning new characters is simple - just ask me to roll the odds of siring a new family member for any of your existing characters. You can ask for one birth roll per turn (NOT per character). A newly-birthed character must reach age 16 before becoming active (so you can deploy them & assign a trait to them), so no you can't have a 1-month old baby convincing rival petty kings to bend their knees to you. Religion: You can design your faction's religion here. Wanna worship the Elven Pantheon? Go ahead. Are you a follower of the Nordic Pantheon? Cool. Are you loyal to the Celestials like many Nedes are? OK. You can also follow other faiths' deities within reasonable lore limits: an Aldmer colony that exclusively worships Meridia or Nedes in High Rock who follow only Sheor are fine for example, Malacath-worshiping Nords who don't even live anywhere near the Orsimer...not so much. History & culture: Your faction's history and culture. I expect a minimum of at least one six-sentence paragraph, but really this can be as long as you want it. If you want to write a short novel chronicling the rise, triumphs and tragedies of your people, go for it, I might even rep you for it if TWC's Communist repping system permits
Traits for dynasty members
Master Warrior: +1 to combat rolls for all spearmen & heavy infantry under his/her command.
Master Skirmisher: +1 to combat rolls for all archers & light infantry under his/her command.
Master Rider: +1 to combat rolls for all light & heavy cavalry under his/her command.
Master Mage: +1 to combat rolls for all Mages under his/her command. Non-Dwemer only.
Master Crafter: +1 to combat rolls for all Dwemer Animunculi & Centurions under his/her command. Dwemer only.
Master Rider: +1 to combat rolls for all light & heavy cavalry under his/her command.
Master Architect: Halves building costs and times in whatever province s/he is assigned to. You can only assign one MA per province.
Ambusher: +1 to pre-battle rolls determining whether or not your character's army is able to ambush an opposing force (in the event that an ambush is successful, you will get to arrange your own deployment, but the enemy can't - instead I will handle their deployment for them & make it known to you).
Charismatic Recruiter: -1 point to all unit recruitment costs. Costs cannot go below 1 point, however. (so no free recruitment)
Fertile: +1 to birth rolls for this character.
Diplomatic Genius: Doubles the odds of making a successful diplomatic transaction with any NPC this character is assigned to meet. You may only assign one DG at a time to diplomatic missions.
Administrative Genius: Doubles the income & halves the time to upgrade the economy of whichever province this character has been assigned to oversee. You may only assign one AG per province.
Spiritually Attuned: +1 to rolls asking your divine patron to assist you (ex. granting a Daedric artifact, increasing economic prosperity, spawning Daedric/Celestial troops).
Last edited by Barry Goldwater; December 23, 2015 at 07:25 PM.
Your income will, as usual, typically come from your provinces, and will be measured in points.
Red: 1 point Orange: 2 points Blue: 3 points Light green: 4 points Dark green: 5 points
You can enter a trade agreement with a maximum of two other players, or one player and one NPC (only through a random event wherein another power sends diplomats to talk to you). Every agreement is mutually beneficial: both parties will gain extra revenue equal to half of the other's income at the end of every turn, rounded down. Breaking a trade agreement, with or without declaring war, will also hurt both: they will lose an amount of points equal to half of the other's turnly income, again rounded down. Agreements with off-map NPCs (ex. the Aldmeri back on Summerset, or Nords in Skyrim) will bring in a fixed income.
You can upgrade a province in 2 days for a cost equal to half their income (ex. 1 point to go from Orange to Blue), with a minimum baseline cost of 1 point (so it costs a full point, not 0.5, to go from Red to Orange).
Military rules
The following units are available for recruitment:
Light infantry: Tribal levies, slingers, javelineers and the like. They can attack with missiles (ranging from simple thrown rocks to actual javelins, slings, etc.) at short range & in dire cases, attempt to swarm the enemy with sheer numbers. 0.5 points & 1 day to recruit.
Heavy infantry: Well-armored & armed soldiers who are meant to fight in melee. 1 point & 1 day to recruit.
Spearmen: Defense-oriented warriors who can use their pole weapons to keep opponents, but especially cavalry, at bay. 1 point & 1 day to recruit.
Archers: Warriors armed & trained with ranged weapons, who can pepper the enemy with projectiles from a safe distance (certainly longer than the light inf). 1 point & 1 day to recruit.
Light cavalry: Unarmored or lightly-armored riders & charioteers meant to scout, harass and/or flank the opposition instead of attempting to crush them with a head-on charge. 2 points & 1 day to recruit.
Heavy cavalry: Armored riders or charioteers whose primary purpose is to crush the enemy in a glorious charge. 3 points & 2 days to recruit.
Mages: Ranged fighters who employ their knowledge of magicka & lore to deadly effect on the battlefield, but are just as (if not even more-so) vulnerable in close combat as conventional archers. 3 points & 2 days to recruit.
Shamans: Nord replacements for the Mage, these 'Tongues' are equal parts sorcerers & religious leaders who use the power of the Thu'um, the Dragons' 'storm voice', to harm their enemies (or in the case of especially skilled Shamans, literally shout them to pieces). 3 points & 2 days to recruit.
Dwemer Animunculi: A Dwemer-only unit replacing the Mage, Animunculi are steam-and-magic-powered automatons mass-manufactured by the 'Deep Elves' for a variety of purposes ranging from helping in mundane tasks to security. 2 points & 1 day to recruit.
Dwemer Centurions: A Dwemer-only unit replacing the Mage, Centurions are specialized Animunculi that have been built to fight. Even one of these hulking robotic sentinels is a match for multiple lesser men or Mer. 4 points & 3 days to recruit.
And as for naval units...
Dhow: A small vessel traditionally used for commercial enterprises that can be pressed into service as cheap & expendable military transports or raiding boats. 1 point & 2 days to recruit.
Bireme: A galley armed with a ram & two decks of oarsmen, the bireme will be dwarfed by the vessels of the future, but now it is still the standard warship of the still-primitive Merethic Era nations. 2 points & 3 days to recruit.
Trireme: The largest warship in the Merethic Era, the trireme is a triple-decker galley capable of cleaving smaller ships in half or even capsizing them at full speed. 3 points & 3 days to recruit.
As for the size of each unit...let's say no more than 1000 men or Mer/conventional unit, no more than 50 mages/magical unit, and no more than a dozen Centurions & thrice as many Animunculi/Dwemer unit. After all, we're still in a time & age where Tamrielic societies are pretty disorganized and small-scale.
Nedes have their costs & recruitment times halved (with a 1-day minimum for recruitment time) as per their racial bonus.
Unit upkeep is, as usual, 1/2 the original cost of the unit.
Building rules
You can build certain, well, buildings in your holdings. To keep things simple, there are only three building types this time around, all of which are fairly straightforward:
Port - 2 points, 2 days - Allows recruitment of naval units.
Fort - 4 points, 3 days - Forces the enemy to either assault or starve the fortress into submission before they can take the province, as opposed to just walking in or fighting a pitched battle with your field army. If you don't have an army present to garrison the fort when an enemy army attacks, I'll spawn a garrison with a maximum of 6 units, determining the number & composition of the troops with a 1d6 roll.
Guild Hall - 4 points, 4 days - You can build a Mages' Guild, Fighters' Guild, Archers' Guild or Riders' Guild. Each guild provides a +1 to combat rolls for all of your mages or shamans, heavy & light infantry + spearmen, archers, or heavy & light cavalry respectively, but you can only have one guild for your entire faction. You can call your guild whatever you want & describe it however you wish as long as that description still matches its basic purpose, since as I recall formalized guilds aren't a thing until the Akaviri Potentate? (ex. an Orsimer Fighters' Guild could simply be called the 'Shield Brotherhood of X', a Nedic Mages' Guild could be called the 'X Circle of Warlocks', an Aldmer Riders' Guild could be called the 'Order of Sun in Splendor', etc.)
Last edited by Barry Goldwater; December 23, 2015 at 07:56 PM.
Hey guys! BF told me about this and had to take a look myself
So I am tempted to ask if I could claim the Direnni. I am considering a Nordic or Orsimer faction, but I am not sure. I know I definitely wanna claim the Direnni if I can. BF knows I am a huge Altmer/Ayleid fan (besides loving the Empire and Imperials). If not, that's fine. Glad to see a TES setting btw! I have been aching for one for awhile.
Gaming Director for the Gaming Staff
Gaming Director for the Play-by-Post Subforum and the RPG Shed
Name: Orsimer of Malacarth Stronghold Race: Orsimer: The descendants of Trinimac's faithful, who were mutated along with their god upon his fall from grace. Bonus to spearmen & heavy inf.
Provinces:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Ruling family:
Religion: Worship of Malacath History & culture: WIP
Last edited by Pericles of Athens; December 21, 2015 at 05:01 PM.
Name: The Direnni of Adamantium (a.k.a. the Direnni Hegemony) Race:Aldmer (Impure Altmer) - Representing the 'pure' Mer on Summerset Isle & recent settlers on the mainland. Bonus to heavy cav & mages. Religion:Auri-El (Aldemri Pantheon) History & culture: The Direnni Heremony, also known as the Direnni Clan and the Direnni Bloodline, is known as one of the most influential Altmer dynasties within the history of Tamriel. Their origins trace back as far as Cygnus Direnni, who came upon the island and founded the ancient Adamantine Tower. Cygnus claimed it for her family and, for the past several generations, her descendants have endured and held the Tower. The Direnni have styled themselves as Adamant Kings and hopeful, yet ambitious, hegemons that seek to expand and subjugate High Rock. Yet their numerous attempts have only brought failure, leaving the Direnni with the isle that has been their home for several generations. They have remained the most prominent family of their home, mingling with local Breton families to ensure loyalty from among their subjects; both Elven and Human.
It is a known practice that the Direnni Kings claim the most beautiful of Breton maidens upon their island and seek such fair ladies throughout High Rock; in fact, even their fellow Elven vassal lords sought to compete with the Direnni by amassing great harems of beautiful human concubines. During the reign of Sauril Direnni, the great grandson of Cygnus, laws were established that gave elven nobility permission to mate with any human they desired. Yet despite this tradition, the Direnni Kings still seek an elven bride to be their Queen; if none is found, then the King takes one of his human concubines and elevates her to the throne as his Queen.
Provinces:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Ruling family:
Last edited by Lucius Malfoy; December 21, 2015 at 05:27 PM.
Gaming Director for the Gaming Staff
Gaming Director for the Play-by-Post Subforum and the RPG Shed
It was mentioned in lore since at least TESII Daggerfall, but hasn't actually been shown on maps I think until either Skyrim's release or even ESO perhaps; ESO actually features the island, though I've never played it, but supposedly has Orsimer living on it in 2E.
EDIT: Oh wait, brainfart; it was actually in Daggerfall, of course
Last edited by Dirty Chai; December 21, 2015 at 05:33 PM.
Oh, Barry, I suppose if Nords are allowed as eastern invaders, so should I think Ayleids from Cyrodiil - it seems mentioned that Ayleids attacked Deathland Nedes as well.
It was mentioned in lore since at least TESII Daggerfall, but hasn't actually been shown on maps I think until either Skyrim's release or even ESO perhaps; ESO actually features the island, though I've never played it, but supposedly has Orsimer living on it in 2E.
EDIT: Oh wait, brainfart; it was actually in Daggerfall, of course
Hah yeah, that's what I was thinking. Without Betony and the war around it, we'd have had no TES2 at all
Just note that they're in the same boat as the Nords, I guess, so we don't have Ayleids living on Betony or something
Also, apparently beastfolk once lived in Hammerfell? "When the Ra Gada first arrived, they landed at modern-day Hegathe. The area was inhabited by beastfolk, whom they drove off."
And I shall claim these three provinces for the glory of my yet undisclosed faction.
We've got no information on the native Beastfolk of Hammerfell at all beyond that mention, so unless we can find such information I'll have to say that they're unplayable. At most I might roll some dice to determine what animal the local Betmer are based on & write up something short on them if you wander into a province & we need to shake up the encounters.
The original Orsinium was founded as a refugee for all Goblin-ken, an umbrella term for a number of beastfolk including Goblins, Ogres, and Gremlins. Orcs are nominally included in this group, even though they are actually corrupted Mer. Malacath looks on this entire group as his little siblings/children and takes care of them, in return they all worship him in some way which is the main thing that "ties together" the group (that and systematic oppression). Some time after Orsinium was sacked and rebuit it became a home for Orcs only.
Edit: I tried to put in hyperlinks to related articles but it doesn't seem to be working, sadly. Ogres were present in Oblivion so if you skipped that entry you may have missed their existence.
Last edited by Pericles of Athens; December 21, 2015 at 10:28 PM.
They could be counted as light or heavy infantry that you can gain through provincial events (ex. walk into a province, negotiate with/beat down the local ogre/goblin chief into submission with a chance to not just gain the province but also gain a light/heavy inf troop).
Dawn over Tamriel - The Merethic Era RP-IH
Originally Posted by Bastard Feudalism
