Game of Thrones meets The Elder Scrolls

[Poeta Perdido]

OOC/SignUp

I have a few ideas swirling around inspired by elements of Game of Thrones and The Elder Scrolls. What I have in mind would be firmly placed in the TES world, but would introduce something new. The stories of the games would be canon and more of a backdrop, spoken about like history or mythology. You wouldn't need to know much about the world as the RP would begin like any TES game does -- with you a prisoner in a strange land without explanation.

What I have in mind would take place shortly after Skyrim with the wounds of the war still fresh. Like in the last game, two primary stories would lay ahead of us: one exploring the consequences of the Skyrim's Civil War on Tamriel and the other a more mystical journey reminiscent of Morrowind and Oblivion. The hunger for power and gritty take on fantasy seen in Game of Thrones are a great example of what to expect here too.

I know this is a rather brief description, so let me know your thoughts and I'll see if this is worth taking to the next step!

 

[Insomnant]

Count me interested, for sure! I love The Elder Scrolls and A Song of Ice and Fire, so the notion of combining them sounds incredible.

I would need more details though! Are you intending for this to be more action/combat oriented? TES is very magic-heavy, so combat is relatively consequence-free, while in Game of Thrones and the other books, a single sword wound can easily become infected and prove fatal without access to a maester. Are you wanting this to be more political focused? GoT also has extensive family trees and a heavy focus on diplomacy and alliances, nobles and smallfolk, intrigue and espionage, etc, while TES is usually more quest-based, running errands for others who have goals.

So... where would your game lie on those scales? Any additional information would be great!

 

[caligari]

I'm interested as well, I've always wondered about the socio-political consequences of the civil war depending on which side wins. Who did win, by the way? Kind of a important.
As far as the second aspect, do you have a bit more detail?

 

[Poeta Perdido]

Count me interested, for sure! I love The Elder Scrolls and A Song of Ice and Fire, so the notion of combining them sounds incredible.

I would need more details though! Are you intending for this to be more action/combat oriented? TES is very magic-heavy, so combat is relatively consequence-free, while in Game of Thrones and the other books, a single sword wound can easily become infected and prove fatal without access to a maester. Are you wanting this to be more political focused? GoT also has extensive family trees and a heavy focus on diplomacy and alliances, nobles and smallfolk, intrigue and espionage, etc, while TES is usually more quest-based, running errands for others who have goals.

So... where would your game lie on those scales? Any additional information would be great!

I'm glad another shares my attraction to the combination!

Magic is a clear reality in TES and it will be present, but held with more respect in this game. You'd do well to approach magic like any weapon. A talented mage is a fearsome opponent, while the inexperienced and overzealous are more likely to look a fool or seriously injure themselves. I imagine a battle against or between talented magic users would be similar to a firefight. Ignore the danger of a mage and you'll pray a healer is close-by.

Health and damage will be semi-realistic. I appreciate a gritty, high-stakes game, but I also recognize being too real can drain some of the fun. I'll put it the same way an instructor once did for me, stupid hurts. Wounds need to be treated, yet seasoned warriors are often aware of simple techniques to ward off infection. Players will be expected to avoid the absurd and if need be I'll step in as well -- though I'm not known for being an ass in such situations.

The politics serve as guide and background for quests. I find great inspiration in the way @Dervish has approached these games in past, where a player may dig into the political context, or simply move ahead gauging their actions by how a situation feels. You can expect that the aftermath of the war has stirred up the political pot, but like I said before, newcomers to TES won't feel lost. It's completely possible that many avoided the war or simply lived elsewhere. Ultimately, we will be more quest-based with quite a few opportunities to dig into the story and develop characters.

I'm interested as well, I've always wondered about the socio-political consequences of the civil war depending on which side wins. Who did win, by the way? Kind of a important.
As far as the second aspect, do you have a bit more detail?

Quite. I will reveal that the Empire won, but I will not be go into which side the Dragonborn took until the game officially begins. Their success will be directly tied to introduction to the game.

I read your question about the second aspect as the second quest. Apologies if I read incorrectly. While one side of the story follows more of the political ramifications, the other will surround a rising threat shown very briefly in Oblivion and Skyrim. This quest will incorporate quite a bit of espionage, discovery, and magic. One way to think about it is storyline surrounding the aftermath of the war will be grittier and more down to earth. You'll feel very GoT on these missions and the risks will feel likewise close to chest. The other will explore the mystical, and while it'll definitely be risky, it'll be the kind of risk felt exclusively when diving into the unknown. I'll offer a more finite description to both in the OOC ;).

 

[Justin]

I am in for this since I love GOT, but going to bed, will look over everything tomorrow and put up questions if I have them. I love TES as well but GOT like wow XD

 

[Pahn]

Oouuhh depending how/where this goes, I might be interested!

 

[Insomnant]

Yup, I shall definitely check out the OOC when you post it! No promises on joining, obviously, but I am certainly intrigued. :3

 

[Artorias]

I am definitely interested

 

[Poeta Perdido]

OOC will be up before Monday evening. Below is a Q&A I have currently drafted. Please let me know what other questions you all I have and I will include them (and answers) in the OOC for everyone!

~~~​

1. You said this game is Game of Thrones meets The Elder Scrolls. Where's my GoT, brah?

Blades in the Night is based squarely in the world of The Elder Scrolls. Elements drawn from Game of Thrones include the political alliances, gritty semi-realism, and the idea that information is both valuable and slow to travel for most of us. This will be immediately important to our story as well as to characters who may have fought for the side.

2. How is Game of Thrones semi-realistic? A little cut gets infected, but I take ice spikes in stride in TES.

Semi-realism for our purposes means violence and damage is grounded in reality. Our characters are flesh-and-bone, they bend and bruise and pushed hard enough so too will they break. The decisions you make should take into account that any battle could have long-lasting effects on your well-being or that of the world. I like to sum this up with a phrase an old instructor of mine once told me, "Stupid hurts." Every character will get banged up, scratched, or bruised during combat. Unlike in Game of Thrones, I do not expect resurrection to be a common practice.

There's a good chance we will have one or two who know how to at least keep wounds from spoiling in our party. Don't be too afraid, but respect the dangers of violence.

3. Okay, so tell me about magic then. Will a fireball turn me into a roasted snack for the trolls?

Think of magic like any weapon. In the hands of someone learned and experienced magic is indeed powerful enough to cause great havoc. Individuals with this level of power are typically found in the halls of the College of Winterhold, though some others work throughout Tamriel and a few use their skills to take advantage of others. Inexperienced magic users are more likely to harm themselves than anyone else without guidance. Most people in Tamriel do not practice magic and depending on their culture may in fact fear the mystical arts. It's not uncommon for a layperson to know how to summon a spark, though.

When encountering a magic user it's best to assume they are the powerful sort until proven otherwise. Fighting a mage is not unlike engaging in a firefight or exchanging arrows. A single fireball or ice spike can cause devastating damage, but if you keep cover and make well-timed movements a direct shot will be difficult. Consider too some armour may be very helpful too -- a small ice spike probably wouldn't penetrate tempered steel.

4. That sounds pretty cool. Can I be an epic magic user then?

In the Character Sheet you will assign skill points to certain areas. You can undoubtedly stack these points toward being a powerful magic user, but you'll be sacrificing other abilities. Because magic takes many years to master and usually requires formal training, your character will probably be on the older side as well. Remember, no overpowered characters. Every strength has a drawback and if you are very skilled with magic I'd expect to see your path to such in the biography.

5. Speaking of skills, do I need stuff like athletics, acrobatics, and all that? How about speech?

Nobody will be jumping over massive walls here. Despite some of the more absurd aspects of these skills, they are helpful if your character is notably agile. The native bosmer accustomed to running from branch to branch and the thief skillfully scaling the gate are only two examples of how these skills may be applied. These are skills that some lack entirely.

Other skills are more about perfection. I would assume every character is capable of speaking, wearing armour, or throwing a punch. Applying points to these areas tells us more about how effective your character is in that area. One skilled in speech may avoid violence entirely, one accustomed to heavy armour will know exactly which blows to block and which to take, while one stacked toward hand-to-hand would be comparable to a martial artist.

Avoid becoming overpowered, but have fun with these skills. This is a world perfect for all playing styles.

6. What happens if my character is a Stormcloak, an assassin, or some other unsavoury sort?


I welcome characters who are not easy to play in this world. It's entirely possible your character was placed in jail for being a Stormcloak, or captured weeks prior after killing a target, or is simply a skooma addicted gutter-shite left to rot. No one else in the dungeon knows your history or allegiances. They may come up later in the game, but for now, everyone stands on even ground.​

 

[Insomnant]

If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion, one thing that might drastically help the tone of your RP is to change how healing magic works. If restoration spells worked by (greatly) accelerating the body's natural healing capabilities instead of outright instantly fixing any damage, it would go a long way toward ensuring the sort of impactful, gritty atmosphere that you're looking for. If you can literally duck around a wall and zap away a trio of arrow wounds, you aren't going to care much about getting shot. But if on the other hand a healing spell means that you can recover from an arrow wound in 12 hours instead of 12 days... you're going to try your best not to get hit with an arrow so that you aren't out of action/in danger of getting murdered all the way during those 12 hours! But it will still allow for a much greater element of recovery and decreased downtime than realistic portrayal of wounds would require, such as in Game of Thrones (Cat's cut fingers took sooo long to get better and even then they were never as strong as they were...)

 

[Poeta Perdido]

So it is suggested, so it shall be!

 

[Justin]

All the questions I was going to ask are already answered XD so now I just wait for ooc and sign ups XD

 

[Poeta Perdido]

Who needs pretty pictures? Here's the OOC + Sign-Up. I would like to get a strong group of 5 players before we open up the IC.

If you all find you still have questions give me a shout.

 

[Insomnant]

Appearance: A detailed description of what your character looks like and a picture or screenshot, if possible. Please, for the love of The Nine, no anime.

Aaaaaand you lost my interest. Have fun.

 

[Poeta Perdido]

Aaaaaand you lost my interest. Have fun.

To each their own, but if I might ask, is the request for a non-anime image your sole reason to turn away?

 

[Insomnant]

To each their own, but if I might ask, is the request for a non-anime image your sole reason to turn away?

Indeed. I have a rule not to play with people who make such a request. Any of the potential reasons for it are a sign of poor character: micro-managing, or control freak, or intolerant, etc. Not exactly someone you'd want to engage in a long-term project with.

Not saying that you are any of those things, of course. Just observational musings.

 

[caligari]

I do have one question: I made my chracter with the knowledge that he must start behind bars, but I have trouble understanding how you will introduce political intrigue with a set of characters that are all ex-cons. Are we going to eventually create a second set of characters or is the entire story actually a fantasy adventure where our characters are onlookers at the socio-political nightmare that follows a civil war rather than people who actually have influence and are located close to the power vacuum that followed the dethroning and replacing of several jarls?

 

[Poeta Perdido]

I do have one question: I made my chracter with the knowledge that he must start behind bars, but I have trouble understanding how you will introduce political intrigue with a set of characters that are all ex-cons. Are we going to eventually create a second set of characters or is the entire story actually a fantasy adventure where our characters are onlookers at the socio-political nightmare that follows a civil war rather than people who actually have influence and are located close to the power vacuum that followed the dethroning and replacing of several jarls?

Don't worry about the ex-con status. What is coming to pass will dwarf each character's personal miseries, forcing them to respond to the threats on a much larger scale than the individual. As with any large threat, they will not be the only party to notice. Others of power will take note and wonder how to shift the situation into an opportunity to their benefit. These others are likely to need agents to work in their service, perhaps a few our characters, and when the others get what they want the agents are likely to grow in their own influence. I know it may seem odd to imagine our characters having any sway on the world of politics at first. However, consider how many leaders began as community organizers, activists, and soldiers. Often it is great need that allows these sorts of people to transition into positions of greater influence. Our characters are those people and Tamriel is in great need.

I should mention that this rendition of the Dragonborn is not the all-powerful either. As you might gather from a hero that drops their sword when their leader dies, she is unquestionably human with limits. The successes of the Dragonborn are a fraction of those possible in-game and aside from resolving the Dragon Crisis, she is largely a great hero in once Stormcloak lands. With her being captured and Ulfric dead the power vacuum you mentioned is truly great. I'd wager a great many seeking power are positioning themselves now.