Strategic Fantasy Crossover RPG

[PeZook]

My religion, like everything about my lands, is going to be seriously weird

Think crazy druids ritually breeding with gnarled witches, boar-eating strigas prowling the forests ,talking bears engaging in contests of wits before mauling and eating you, and deals with forest demons made just to be able to reach the next town.

[Setzer]

That's gonna make trade difficult, but invasion as well. What's to stop the people from just filling the talking bears with arrows?

[Norseman]

I am thinking of proud warrior sorceresses who need to subdue an attractive young feminine looking male in order to retain their power. The reason they wear leather is because... ah... it's not so cumbersome as metal armour... and the whip is to help in casting spells...

Yeah...

Okay gonna work on this.

[PeZook]

That's gonna make trade difficult, but invasion as well. What's to stop the people from just filling the talking bears with arrows?

Nothing, of course. People actually do live here, remember?

But you don't want to go around killing all the forest critters. Crazy druids, remember?

[Setzer]

Well, you seem to be going properly crazy, just like all the isolated inland kingdoms.

[PeZook]

Well, you seem to be going properly crazy, just like all the isolated inland kingdoms.

Yeah, I'd like to recreate the alien and weird feeling of the primordial Central European forests which made people think up some really fucked up shit over the centuries.

Like the matecznik, a mythical place deep inside the mighty forest, where no human could ever hope to dwell, where animals gather and confer with each other - mostly about how to make humans go away and leave them alone.

Of course, it won't just be forests and crazy animalistic magic. My people still have to eat something.

[PeZook]

The Fall

In 1095, pope Urban II called for Europe to rise in defence of the faith. Infidels trampled the Holy Land, stopping pilgrims from their god-given right to visit Christendom's holy places.

There were many who thought the Pope had another goal altogether with his call for war: European knights rampaged across the countryside, trying to find glory, fame and wealth in constant wars with their neighbors. Giving them a unifying cause would help alleviate the problem.

Whatever the real reason for the Pope's call, thousands answered it. A huge army marched towards the Holy Land, to fight the infidels and - in many cases - find wealth and personal glory.

The crusaders fought well, and quickly took Antioch and laid siege to Jerusalem. In a huge orgy of blood, death and violence, they took the city, slaughtering its inhabitants to a man.

The Lord's work was not done, however. After Jerusalem fell, a group of knights led by Ulrich of Hamburg, set out on a pilgrimage to Christ's grave. Quickly, they found out the cave locals pointed out to them was unremarkable in almost every way. While his Knights seemed satisfied, Ulrich himself was shocked at the utter lack of any spiritual experiences he felt during his visit there, and concluded that what they saw was not the real grave of Christ.

Thus began his quest: for years, Ulrich searched through arcande records and forbidden Muslim knowledge. Eventually, having spent much time and money on his investigation, he was rewarded with success: the real location of the Grave Of Christ was not some random cave, he managed to ascertain, but a tomb near the Dead Sea.

He gathered a retinue and mounted an expedition to the inhospitable place. They set out of Jerusalem and disappeared.

Nobody knows what happened during Ulrich's expedition. What is known is that the knights returned to Jerusalem eventually, but changed somehow.

They lost their weapons and armor somewhere ; They returned one by one, wearing tattered robes, covered in horrible boils, and completely blind, babbling about horrors untold and the coming doom of Man. Most were comitted to asylums where such poor souls waited to die, some were taken into care of their families. Ulrich himself left Jerusalem altogether, heading towards Constantinopole.

Barely two months after their return, mysterious things begun to happen in Palestine. Men disappeared during the night ; Entire families were found dead inside their homes, with no apparent wounds ; Strange creatures were spotted skittering on the streets. Priests went mad without rhyme nor reason, and foul heretical prophets appeared in ever growing numbers.

A special ecumenical expedition sent from the Holy See disappeared a day after coming to Jerusalem, later showing up throughout Europe, completely insane - much like Ulrich's knights.

Six months after the ill-fated expedition, a plague descended upon Jerusalem.

It was no ordinary plague, however: the people afflicted by it did not die in the streets, withered and weak. They grew stronger and insane, and attacked others on sight. It spread like wildfire, with the city annihilating itself in an orgy of violence. Some survivors of this night claim they saw the Fallen Knights lead hordes of unholy monsters, wailing in the night in obscene tongues - tongues that made men go insane.

It only went worse from there. As the Fallen spread throughout Europe, death followed them. Strange creatures appeared in forests and fields ; entire town were devoured by man-eating beasts. Children were born with claws or ragged, sharp teeth, dead or otherwise malformed.

Order soon broke down, as a thousand insane cults sprung up everywhere. Constantinopole was almost destroyed in a manner similar to Jerusalem, when insane followers of the Fallen set fire to the city and begun murdering people in the streets ; plague followed, and horrendous monsters are said to have risen from the sea to claim the very souls of the people living there.

No place was spared ; insanity and death found its way to every corner of the world, and it seemed as if every fear, every legend which made people shiver at night and look out fearfully into the darkness, have come alive.

We are not sure how long ago this was ; But we learned to live in this world. While magic creeps the Earth, and strange beasts now live in our forests, our cities and even our rivers and seas, we've learned to live here with them, and in some places, they even dwell amongst men, treated as equals.

Yet the world remains a dangerous place, with horrors beyond imagination creeping in the dark.

Here you go! Short and kinda vague, but I like it this way. We can se the "current" date to, say, the 1700s. Several lands (us) have recovered from the death of human civilization by now, learning to live and thrive in the new world of magic and wonder, while others eke out an existence by sheer determination and strenght of will (barbarians). Yet others submerged themselves completely, like the crazy slavic druids I mentioned before.

Oh, and legends say that Ulrich's Fallen Knights still roam the Earth to this day, having left for the Orient long ago. So...we may have a bunch of recurring villains or maybe just panic-creating rumors to spread around the cities

[Setzer]

That works nice enough.

Kingdom of Sarreos

The Kingdom of Sarreos was formed some 400 years ago by King Nimaris I. Nimaris was a strong warlord, and people flocked to the protection his armies offered.
Over the years, his sons conquered more and more land, and their kingdom grew ever greater. Sarreos has unmeasurable potential. The land is rich in timber of all kinds, especially for building ships. There is good hunting in the mountains, fruit-bearing trees in the hills, and great amounts of wheat from the plains. Meadows are covered with flocks peacefully grazing, and there are lakes and rivers flowing with clean, drinkable water. The horses from Thessaly are reknowned for their utility as cavalry mounts, and other, darker powers, lie in the region as well. The land is rich in mineral deposits as well. Gold, iron, silver, copper and tin are all abundant, and its artisans work the metals with great skill.

ARMY: 13,600 points

Royal Guards: 1000 (1500pts)
Thessalian Cavalry: 3,000 (2,400 pts)
Scout Cavalry: 2,700 (1,000 pts)
Skirmisher Cavalry: 900 (360 pts)
Wallbreakers: 700 (560 pts)
Witches of Thessaly: 300 (500pts)
Shieldbearers: 8,000 (4,000 pts)
Spearmen: 2,000 (800 pts)
Regular Archers: 2,000 (800 pts )
Peltasts: 2,000 (800 pts)
Scorpions: 72 (240 pts)
Onagers: 30 (400 pts)
Ballistas: 30 (400pts)

NAVY: 11,230 points

Deceres: 3 (2,550 pts)
Quinquereme- 16 (3,680 pts)
Liburnian- 50 (5,000 pts)

Leaving me with an annual maintainance cost of 4966 income. Out of 8,000 total, that's a surplus of 3,050 income, if I calculated this right.

Levy Infantry- 20pts
Levy Skirmishers- 20pts
Levy Archers- 20pts
Levy Slingers- 20pts
Peltasts- 40pts
Regular Archers- 40pts
Spearmen- 40pts
Shieldbearers- 50pts
Wallbreakers- 80pts
Skirmisher Cavalry- 40 pts
Scout Cavalry- 40pts
Thessalian Cavalry- 80pts
Royal Guards- 150pts
Witches of Thessaly-250 pts
Scorpion (battery of 12)- 40 pts
Onager (battery of 6)- 80pts
Ballista (battery of 6)- 80 pts
City Taker- 500pts
Shadowbinders- 300 pts
Draco Targaryensis- 2500 pts
Liburnian- 100 pts
Quinquereme- 230 pts
Deceres- 850 pts

Light Infantry

Militia Infantry

Militia infantry are common peasants who train monthly with spear and shield.
They can handle bandits and some wild animals,
but will quickly be cut to pieces by a more dangerous foe.

Militia Skirmishers
Skirmisher are light troops armed with javelins and daggers.
They have no armor, and only small shields for protection.
They rely on their speed to attack and flee.

Militia Slingers
Like the other light infantry, slingers lack armor. Their role in battle is to pepper the enemy with iron pellets.
When these are exhausted, stones will serve as well. A well trained slinger can hurl a stone as far as an archer can fire an arrow.

Militia Archers

Archery is strongly encouraged by the crown, due to the utility of skilled archers in wartime.
Men of military age with a certain income are required by law to practice archery several times each week.
They have a bow, a quiver of 40 arrows, and a leather vest for protection.

Peltasts

Peltasts are slightly heavier skirmishers.
They have large oval shields, axes, and heavy javelins, protected by Sarreosi helmets and leather vests.
This makes them light and mobile, but still able to engage in melee after their missiles have been thrown.

Heavy Infantry

Sarreos Regular Archers

Archers who exibit great skill are recruited for this unit. They are issued scale shirts and segmented steel helmets (called Sarreosi helmets), with bucklers strapped to their forearms.
In addition to their bows, they have small hand axes, but are not intended to join in the melee.

Sarreos Spearmen

Sarreos Spearmen are a hybrid of line infantry and skirmishers. They wield spears for fighting in a battle line, and have javelins for skirmishing purposes.
They are armored similar to a peltast, allowing them to move quickly to flank heavier enemy troops.

Sarreos Shieldbearers

Most Sarreosi soldiers fight as shieldbearers. They lock their teardrop shaped shields into a solid wall, the ranks holding firm against attack. The first three ranks carry long spears to halt cavalry charges.
All are armed with spatha swords and well trained in their use. Shieldbearers wear a Sarreosi helmet, and a lamellar cuirass over a chainmail hauberk.

Sarreos Wallbreakers

The Wallbreakers are a unit of specially trained assault infantry. They specialize in siege assaults, quickly scaling and securing city walls. They are all of noble blood and below the age of 35, which means each Wallbreaker is in peak physical condition. Each has a steel helmet, steel greaves and chainmail hauberk for protection.
Wallbreakers wield a spatha and javelins for scattering defenders.

Light Cavalry

Skirmisher Cavalry

Skirmisher cavalry have light armor, usually nothing heavier then a leather vest and a small wooden shield.
They fight by hurling their javelins and retreating on their fast horses. They possess a sword for close in work, but are not intended for cavalry charges.

Scout Cavalry

Scout cavalry are fast and lightly armored, and can quickly counter light enemies, either mounted or on foot. They are useful for chasing retreating troops or flanking.
The riders wear chainmail shirts, iron helmets and iron greaves. However, they are intended for quick hit and run attacks rather then shock charges.

Thessalian Cavalry

The plains of Thessaly are home to the Kingdom's horse herds. The best mounts and riders in the kingdom come from here.
The rider wears a Boeotian helmet, a chainmail hauberk, and bronze greaves. He is armed with a xyston lance, shield and spatha sword.

Royal Guards

These are the personal bodyguard for the King and his household.
Both horse and rider are protected by lamellar armor enscribed with runes to protect against enemy magic.
No expense was spared to ensure they were the best equipped soldiers in the kingdom.
Their skill in battle, be it with lance, sword or bow, is surpassed only by the greatest heros of our world.

Warships

Liburnian

The Liburnian is the smallest warship in the Sarreosi navy. They do not carry marines.
Instead, the 100 rowers are split into a top and a bottom rank, with the top rank rowing or fighting as needed.
Because of its small size, it is more maneuverable then larger ships.

Quinquereme

The Quinquereme is named after the 5 banks of oars used to propell it. It has one elevated fighting tower and two ballistas. The crew is 230 men. 170 are rowers, 20 are sailors, and 40 are marines

Deceres-

The Deceres is the heaviest Sarreosi warship. It carries 570 rowers, 30 sailors, and 250 marines. Its ram is hardened bronze, and it boasts 2 fighting towers and 6 ballistas. The ballistas can fire ordinary darts, or harpago grapnels that can spear and reel in enemy ships for boarding. The Deceres measures 40 meters in length, with a 2 meter draught and is 6 meters wide. The oar outriggers extending this to 8.5 meters

Special Units

Witches of Thessaly

The Witches of Thessaly are a group of magic users that serve the Sarreosi king. They have a number of magical disciplines that are of use on and off the battlefield.
magic specializes in controlling the weather, such as controlling storms or high winds. This can be used to speed ships along, dry out lands for ease of marching, or subduing an enemy with lightning and storms.
They also have limited necromancy talents. They can trap the souls of recently departed beings and compel them to answer three questions.

Shadowbinders

Shadowbinders are magic users with the ability to manipulate shadows. This makes them exceptional in night raiding and similar activities. They are more combat oriented then the Thessalian Witches, but are something of a blunt instrument skill wise.

Scorpions are small dart throwers. They can be wheeled about the battlefield to put fire on distant targets.

Onagers are engines used for hurling stones, firepots, and other large projectiles. They lack accuracy, so they are typically used for targeting city walls or large formations of troops.

Ballistas are larger versions of scorpions, firing large, man sized harpoons.

City Taker

The City Taker is a large, self propelled siege tower. It is covered with bronze plates to protect against fire. Inside the body are scorpions for shooting at defenders, and the top of the tower is a drawbridge that serves to let troops attack the city walls from the top. A City taker is a large and expensive piece of siege equipment, but with capable troops it is invaluable in a siege.

Draco Targaryensis

These are monstrous beasts, bred for war by Queen Meda. Though they are only the size of small dogs when hatched, they grow to massive size in less then a decade's time. They require human sacrifices to quicken the eggs, and they can grow large enough to swallow oxen whole. Their hide is thick enough to stop arrows and thrown spears, and their firey breath can reduce an armored knight to ash in seconds.

Later, I'll get into details on House Nimarid.

[Akhlut]

I'm thinking for my religion a confluence of Orthodox Christianity and Greek Mythology, with a little bit of Mithraism thrown in for good measure. Probably something like Mithra Christ, son of Zeus deal. But, one thing's for certain: no fucking filioque clause.

[Setzer]

I imagine we'll have more interesting things then theological debate to occupy our time.

[Akhlut]

Alright, quick history now, orders of battle within the week. And, since I'm new at this, would someone midn giving me a hand when I start assigning points to units, just so I know I'm not under or over-valuing them?


The Crimean Republic was founded shortly after the Fall. The Crimea, under the control of the Byzantines, was thankfully separated by the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and the Danube from Constantinople, and while the insanity finally came upon them, they were warned and had some time. Yes, they had fallen, but not as far. Many Venetian merchants from Constantinople had fled here, and their talk about Republic, along with Cherson's practice from the old Hellenic Empire of electing Archons, made a distinct impression upon the populace. They had decided that if no Emperor could save them, then perhaps the leader should be elected whom they thought could save them. Further, the religion of the people had morphed, with Jesus being conflated with Mithra, and the reverence for the old gods returning. Some even started to believe that Jesus was not son of Jehovah, but of Zeus! This spread throughout the Republic, offering some hope, but not the salvation that they knew wasn't coming.

The Governors of the new Crimean Republic started to build their lands up, trading with what was left of the Byzantine Empire. To defend themselves against the monsters, they built up the Crimean peninsula, fortifying the isthmus beyond measure to prevent land attacks, and building up their capital, Chersonesos. However, they were still plagued by sea monsters ravaging their ocean trade. Eventually, using foul magic, they summoned the beasts harming them, and called upon their temporal leader, Dagon. They bound him in a magical pact, creating an alliance, saving the Republic on the sea.

The Republic also gleefully added any new members to its Republic as it could. Descendents of vikings, the Iorikids, came down the rivers from Scandinavia, and began trading and living in the Republic, eventually becoming full-fledged members. In the nearby, new volcano Surt, fire giants lived and started trading, and they, too, became integrated with the Republic. Other, lesser peoples and races were also integrated in this manner, forming the modern Republic.

[Setzer]

I just want to clarify, the Surt are giants with an affinity for fire, right? They aren't giants made of fire are they?

[Akhlut]

I just want to clarify, the Surt are giants with an affinity for fire, right? They aren't giants made of fire are they?

Yeah, just big guys who are immune to and have an affinity for fire.

[Setzer]

What about storms and the like? My witches can control the weather to a degree, and if we're allied, I don't want to accidentally snuff your heavy hitters.

[Akhlut]

Rain's an annoyance to them. It pisses them off, and might demoralize them a bit, but it doesn't actively take away from their powers. It might also have a real effect on the Fire Guard and Fire Shamans, since they use actual fire.

However, the Deep Ones absolutely adore storms.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Just a question, how are points allocated?

[Setzer]

Well, we agreed troops would be purchased by the hundred. Ordinary men are 40 points, my militia troops are 20, wheras my elite spellcasters are 250 and 300 points. A ship's point cost are based on the crew. So my small Liburnians are a hundred points, and my massive Deceres are 850.

[SisterMiriamGodwinson]

Yeah. I'm going with Rhiathamism.

[Akhlut]

I think I can figure out how much my humies are worth, but what of the Deep Ones and Surtites? I'm thinking rough values of about 60 for my Deep One Predators (because although awesome in the water and coast, they are completely worthless inland) and maybe 80-120 for my Surtites. Do those values sound acceptable?

And I'm thinking about 1000 apiece for Dagon and Kraken.

[SisterMiriamGodwinson]

My OOB:
Warriors of Right:
300(SPAAAAARTAAAA!!!) 3000 points
Knights:
1,000, 5,000 points
Mages:
500(5,000 points)
Citizen's Defense Force,
2,000(4,000 points)
Population:
50,000 (5,000 points)
Alchemy Towers 10(300 points each.)
They slowly produce points.

The population accept the very large military because of their proximity to sea creatures that can come out of the water and raid the towns. They also accept that their neighbors to the south may decide to come to Iceland as something other than visitors.

[Setzer]

I thought we were cutting the gameplay element where you upgraded your provinces.

[Darkevilme]

We have. Did anyone tell Miriam?

Also i've forgotten which colour on the map is who.

Also, woohey i have a coastline...hmmm, should probably get some ships of some kind.

Hmm. In progress draft of my introduction part of the OOB.

The Starfall Dominion

The lands that became the Starfall dominion were hit hard by the fall, dissolving into barbarity and chaos. Tribes squabbling amongst themselves and fighting against the strange beings surrounding them.
Then out of the dark 'They' fell upon falling stars to the lands of Hrun, Kagnay and Orik. The children of the stars uniting the three tribes through might of magic and gifts of wisdom before crushing the surrounding tribes with their control of strange beasts and establishing their dominion in the name of The Purpose.
And so it was that the Land was civilized and freed of and the monsters that plagued them were driven out or destroyed.
The Starchildren are still very much a mystery even to the ones within the dominion, their purpose is unknown though their actions seem benevolent. Though the Starchildren chose not to rule directly nor intervene in day to day affairs their advice is always heeded, their guiding hand behind the three thrones of the Dominion.
The Starfall Dominion has never ceased to expand since the day the children fell, constantly consuming nearby tribes and assimilating them into its increasing strength. Word has now come that there are others out there, others who managed to forge kingdoms and order from the chaos since the fall and without the help of the Children. Perhaps these civilized peoples will accept the guiding hand of the Children, or maybe they shall resist it like the savages that the dominion knows so well.

[SisterMiriamGodwinson]

What so you mean we just have war in this game? No building?

[The Romulan Republic]

I hope theirs decent diplomacy. I like the prewar manuvers as much as the fighting itself.

[RogueIce]

What so you mean we just have war in this game? No building?

I think they were talking about just RPing that stuff rather than it being some fixed points system.