Setting Expectations

Setting Expectations

You are expected to immerse yourself in a dark and brutal setting where self-interest, survival, and status trumps over virtue. Modern sensibilities in regards to justice, equality, and the like do not apply to this setting.

Do not treat this like your standard Space Station 13 server. This is a medieval dark fantasy world with some caveats made to fit gameplay and playability. You must adapt your perspective and how you approach the setting, and you must strive to create a more interesting and immersive experience, all while following the Rule of Interesting.

Expected Player Approaches:

• Distrust of outsiders or "otherness" exists organically (e.g., disdain for foreign customs, species-based tensions). Avoid conflating these dynamics with real-world identities. Focus instead on in-universe divisions like fantasy race divides, class divides, regional rivalries, clan loyalties, or magical corruption. Furthermore, avoid furry vs non-furry dynamics, as they cause too much OOC issues.
• Slavery exists commonplace within the setting, and characters should treat it as such. Unless your character is extremely forward-thinking, you should not act be in active opposition. Opposition would require unusual circumstances: religious conviction, firsthand trauma, or strategic advantage.
• Respect the hierarchy. While nobody says you cannot be a disrespectful peasant, those within the established hierarchy from the Church to the Inquisition to the Keep have a vested interest in maintaining the hierarchy. It is integral for them to ensure the nobility is respected.
• Brutality serves atmosphere, not shock value. Cruelty needs purpose: entertainment, intimidation, punishment, or showing factional ruthlessness among other things. Likewise, kindness can exist cautiously such as protecting friends and other relations, currying favor, and so forth. This makes acts of kindness stand out more vividly, especially in dark times like this, and makes it more impactful to the story.

Faction Expectations

This is the general expectation, but this will not be rigidly enforced. Do not admin-help, just because you are salty that someone betrayed you. It will solely be applied when the Rule of Interesting is clearly broken or in severe immersion breaks. As long as you work to add to the roleplay of one another, we prefer to be hands-off and will only get involved in extraordinary cases.

The Keep

Internal Politics

The Keep is the most flexible faction when it comes to morality. They may be evil or good. However, they should generally attempt to align with the Duke, at least on the surface. In theory, you were picked by the Duke himself or one of his subordinates to serve him. However, this does not mean you cannot undermine the Duke or beginning to scheme against him. Rather, be smart. Be subtle.

For instance, if you are sympathetic to Matthios and want to help said a captured bandit escape, you are allowed to do so. However, suddenly turning around and joining the bandits in the middle of battle for no real reason is frowned upon.

External Politics

The Keep should work to maintain good relations with the Church to uphold their legitimacy. Slaughtering the Church only weakens your hold on power, as your claim to power is from being anointed by the Prelate. The Inqusition could be persuaded to join your cause against the Church if all else fails in exchange for bribes or granting them power.

Courtiers

Lore Considerations: The Duke or one of his subordinates has chosen you to serve him directly. He is what gives your realm and your own position legitimacy. Other neighboring nations may see your ruler as illegitimate and may invade if you are too overt. Furthermore, it may encourage peasants to become uppity which puts your own power in jeopardy

Knights

Lore Considerations: The Duke has chosen you to serve him directly. You derive your honor, your legitimacy, and your wealth from him. Without him, no other lord will entrust you to them. Betraying him will make you an outcast among the nobility, even if he was hated, making you a "disgraced" knight. Only betray him if you think you must.

• Knights should remain relatively steadfast to the Duke. You are not a templar or a mercenary, therefore your main loyalty should lay with the Duke. This does not mean you must be his lapdog, rather you should be less keen on betraying him outright.
• You should be more loyal than your average courtier or retinue member, but that does not mean you are fully infallible. Full betrayal is only encouraged if the Duke's actions directly affects them to an extraordinary degree or in a highly personal way. This should only be done in extreme instances. However, this does not mean you need to always work to the Duke's benefit.
• This does not mean you cannot join in on schemes, given that you work to be discreet. However, you should risk-adverse, as you could be forever be labeled as being "dishonorable", thus shunning you and your family from higher society.
• You must actively participate in service of the Duke.

Retinue

• Regular Garrison members should generally be loyal to each other over outsiders. This does not mean they cannot treat each other poorly, but should be more likely to believe each other over an outsider.
• They should follow the chain of command, i.e. generally respect the members of court and their superiors on the surface, however, their loyalty is not expected to be as strong as the knights who have sworn oaths.
• Failure to be paid is sufficient reason to desert or to betray. They may also abandon their duties for any other serious reasons.