K
Kythera
Guest
Original poster
The year is 1455. England just lost the Hundred Years' War to France, causing King Henry VI to suffer a nervous breakdown. Discontented nobles were already gathering their forces to challenge the weak king's rule when Henry was struck down suddenly and inexplicably. Poison was suspected, but no one dared point fingers in the atmosphere of suspicion and uncertainty that descended on the court. With only two daughters left behind, a civil war seemed all but certain. The Queen fled to her native France, but her daughter and stepdaughter refused to follow her. The elder staunchly held her ground and claimed the throne, with a few family members and loyal lords lining up behind her. Her sister remained ensconced in her own house at Arundel Castle, neither supporting nor openly opposing her sister, but secretly plotting her eventual downfall. The Duke of York put in his own claim for the throne, based on his nearer relation to Edward III, and a variety of powerful families, mistrusting a female ruler, joined him.
Will the young Queen successfully hold the country together? Will her half-sister succeed in her schemes? Or will the Duke of York overthrow them both and steal the throne for himself? The rest is up to you…
This is an alternate history RP about power, rebellion, espionage, assassination, and pretty much any other kind of plotting and intrigue you can come up with! We diverge from history prior to the premise, and from there we can take it anywhere we want. Let's try to stay mostly accurate to clothing, speech, gender roles, technology, titles and estates, etc. of the time, though. You can make your own characters or use historical figures, whichever you prefer. There are 3 set "main" characters, one of which I will play, and then the rest of the followers of each camp or neutrals you can all fill out as you like. Double agents, mixed loyalties, and people who change their loyalties throughout the RP are all welcome. Don't just stick to lords and ladies – we need soldiers, spies, musicians, fools, guards, servants, etc. I also need some people who are willing to get their characters killed (cause, ya know, reality :P) - but I promise to only kill off those who mark that they are okay with it! And obviously in the end only one of the 3 mains will be left standing, so whoever plays those roles must also be willing to do a dramatic death scene at some point (probably quite late in the RP).
Co-GM: @Shayla
Initial Posting Order
2. Me as the Queen
3. @Gateman surprise NPCs
4.
6. Me as the Queen
7. @AceSorcerer Sir Balder
8.[BCOLOR=#993300] FREE FOR ALL[/BCOLOR] -- revert to rule that you wait for 2 other people to post before posting again with the same character
[btn=modf|https://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/war-of-the-roses-medieval-alternate-history-rp.143355/|self]Interest Check[/btn] [btn=modf|https://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/war-of-the-roses-sign-ups.143430/|self]Sign-Ups[/btn] [btn=modf|https://www.iwakuroleplay.com/threads/war-of-the-roses.144008/]IC[/btn]
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The New Queen – @Kythera
The Sister – @Shayla [note: also controls the sister's mother NPC via letters]
The Duke of York – @Justin The Mad Prince
Neutrals
- Guard - @Andy
- Lady in waiting (spying for the Sister) - @Thingtastic
- Knight/advisor - @AceSorcerer
- Noble doctor - @Shayla
- Master of the Hunt - @Pasiphae
- Uncle and adviser - @Unbound
- Assassin - @Gateman
- Duke of Cambridge - @derelict_lilyflower
- Guard - @Andy
- Adviser - @Gateman
- Captain of the Guard - @Thingtastic
- Assassin/spy - Ritual Lobotomy
- Lady-in-Waiting - @Kythera
- Gypsy dancer - Rin Mico
- Mistress/lady-in-waiting - @Pasiphae
- Guard - @Stryder
- Wife - @Emi
- Duchess of Cornwall - @Unbound (mostly at Queen's court)
- Assassin - @Emi
- Spy - @Ner0 (assigned to Princess's court)
- Advisor - Justin
- Archbishop of Westminster - @AceSorcerer
- Suspicious "noblewoman" - Justin -
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1. No Drama Llamas. Ain't nobody got time fo that. If you have a complaint take it to the GMs (@Kythera and @Shayla ), please don't harass the other RPers.
2. No God-modding or Meta-gaming! This is very important in this kind of RP – you will, obviously, be doing stuff to other characters at some point, so make sure you are working with your fellow writers to develop those scenes in a way that is acceptable to everyone. And stuff will be done to your character, too! Nobody is invincible, and drama and intrigue is what keeps the story going, so you have to be willing to be spied on, attacked, etc. at some point, too. Be very careful to separate what you know versus what your character knows. Some rules on specific situations:
a. Spying/eavesdropping: Not possible in a private room (bedroom, office, closed meeting room, etc.) unless one of the conversing characters has let your char in (or you've worked something out with the writer whose character owns that room to allow your char to overhear).
i. Always possible in public places (gardens, ballrooms, churches, streets, etc.) BUT you MUST have established that your character is in that location BEFORE the conversation starts (e.g. – your character is on the bowling lawn when two other characters walk into the adjoining garden. Your char can dive into the hedges and overhear their convo). Your char cannot teleport across London just because you know the Queen is whispering something important to her guard.
b. Arrests/fights/deaths: MUST have the other person's agreement in advance.
c. Intercepting letters or messengers: another char (or yours) MUST have seen the letter given to the servant or heard where it is going. And still get the letter writer's permission ahead of time – maybe their messenger knows crazy kung fu or something and could fight you off :P Obviously if your character is given the letter directly s/he can open it or send it to a different place than instructed.
d. Put "A rose by any other name" at the bottom of your CS if you've read the rules.
3. Activity – There's no minimum, but just make sure you're keeping up with the flow of the RP and your character isn't getting left behind. Totally understand if RL comes up, but try to let us know if you have to disappear for a while.
4. For initial posts wait for everyone to post their first one; after that wait at least 2 other posts before posting again with the same character.
5. Quality over quantity, but no one-liners please. Other than that, so long as you make sure your character is actually doing something and moving the plot forward I'm not concerned about min or max length. Do use a spell-checker, though – I'm not going to be the grammar police, but if a post becomes unintelligible I may ask you to review it and make it more understandable for others.
6. This is a non-libertine RP, so any sex scenes must be part of the natural plot progression, and hidden in spoilers. (Remember - you can only do sex scenes with people in your same age group).
7. Try to stay time-period appropriate with clothes, activities, locations, gender roles, technology, etc. You don't need to write in old English (in fact, please don't!), but try to avoid distinctly modern words and phrases. The one exception is racism and other bigotry – I don't care if it would've been said back then, it's not going in this RP. Some degree of period-appropriate sexism is okay, but don't take it too far. If anyone feels offended by anything written just let the GMs know and we'll ask the writer to scale it back. I'd much rather have everyone feel included and loved than have a perfectly accurate setting.
Locations [WIP]
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Where the Queen holds court and lives most of the year. Also home to Parliament, and Westminster Abbey, presided over by the Archbishop of Westminster.
Used for coronation celebrations and grand feasts or banquets.
Primarily used as a ballroom or reception hall for formal events.
Where we eat! You can pretend those benches are chairs, though. Almost all meals at Court are held here, though sometimes the Queen eats in her own private dining room and does not join the public meal.
The chapel inside the palace. Cause we're all too lazy to walk out back to the Abbey.
A public room open to all. Filled with scholarly works, histories, maps, religious works, etc.
Where the Queen meets with her advisers and officials.
This is the first room visitors come to in the series of rooms leading to the Queen's apartments. Most guests can't get past this room. Many guards are stationed at the entrance to this room, and the exit into the public apartments, hence the name.
After the Guard Chamber are the Public Apartments, where the Queen meets more formal visitors, and where any nobles or important families can visit her during the day. Nobles resident at court will usual gather in this room after dinner every evening for dancing, music, drinking, etc.
After the public apartments is the Painted Chamber, or the Queen's private apartment, where she sits with her ladies-in-waiting and meets with advisers and officials during the day. Guards stand outside the doors, determining who can enter the private apartment. All her official advisers, and lords and ladies resident at court would be able to come in at any time, but visitors, servants, and other attendants would need to be expected or get the Queen's permission to enter.
A private study attached to the Queen's private apartments where she conducts business, writes letters, or meets one-on-one with close advisers.
For the Royal Family when they want to dine alone. Attached to the Queen's private apartments.
Finally, at the end of the Painted Chamber and attached apartments, is the Queen's bedchamber. The only person allowed in here without the Queen's explicit permission is her maid. But that doesn't mean close relations and friends wouldn't try to impose on her and come in anyway...
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Presided over by the Archbishop of Westminster. Where the actual coronation ceremony is held, and the new monarch is crowned by the Archbishop. Also the burial place of many past monarchs.
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Home of the Queen's half-sister, where she holds a mini-court when she isn't at the Palace.
More Coming!
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Coming soon!
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