The year 1406 was understood to be the next Armistice of the Immortals. As it so happened, the Ming Dynasty had recently declared Beijing as the new capital of China. Work commenced on the Forbidden City posthaste. Immortals have a fondness for cultures that survive the millennia, and to hear that China was experiencing another major transformation drew them to the city as a lodestone draws iron. A fortunate few were already nearby while others had to make a longer journey. It is here in the 15th century that the story continues.
Turn 2 Deadlines
Orders must be submitted by Fri Oct 6 by 2200 EDT.
Extended Combat: Immortals must select six combat stances this round. The Archivist should warn you if you havenât submitted enough stances.
Nemesis: Battles that end in a stalemate make both participants eager to meet again. Witnessing the style of an opponent firsthand is guaranteed to make the next battle sharper and more deadly. Should they meet again, both players will enjoy a bonus of +5 to each attack roll against each other. Your current nemeses (if any) have been added to your character sheets.
Comrade: In rare and specific circumstances, battles that end in a stalemate result in a newfound appreciation for the opponent. As such, future battles are slightly less deadly as both participants would prefer sparring and learning from each other to decapitation. Should they meet again, both players will experience a penalty of -5 to each attack roll against each other. Your current comrades (if any) have been added to your character sheet.
GM Note on turn execution
By limiting the Archivist to only collecting orders, Iâve discovered that Iâve created a great deal of manual transcription for myself. In the event that I miss anything in that transcription when a new turn is posted, please bring it to my attention ASAP and I will correct it.
For clarification, turns are processed in the following order:
Travel orders are processed
Characters with the highest PER scores choose weaker opponents first, continuing until all possible parings are made. Travel destinations with an odd number of players will mean someone will not see combat that turn. This may be a blessing or a curse depending on the circumstancesâŚ
Combat is resolved
Stats are updated based on training and travel orders
Any new abilities that have been unlocked by stat increases are indicated in character sheets at the start of the next turn.
Everyone should have an updated PM indicating revised bonuses and/or abilities as a result of round 1. Travel options will be posted ASAP tomorrow with my apologies for the delay.
GM Note: Iâd managed to swap the PER and END columns on my tracking spreadsheets, which meant some players discovered those stats didnât match what they expected. I believe things are currently correct on my side and have been updated accordingly in this turn. Please let me know should you find any discrepancies.
Battle of Agincourt (1415): "Here, Henry V found himself in a desperate battle against a superior French army. Tired, hungry, and sick, the English forces had no choice but to engage before the situation became even more dire." Factions: England, France Effects: +1 REF
Construction of Maccu Piccu (~1450): "The great empires of Mesoamerica were stretching their wings in this era. High above the Sacred Valley, work had begun on the most famous citadel of the Incas." Factions: n/a Effects: +1 PER
The Fall of Constantinople (1453): "The two great empires clashed again and once more in large numbers. As they did so, the face of battle began to change: the age of the sword has started to give way to the age of gunpowder." Factions: Byzantine, Ottoman Effects: +1 STR
Siege of OrlĂŠans (1429): "As the Hundred Years War lurched towards its conclusion, the people spoke of prophecies that an armored maiden would appear and rescue the nation of France. In this moment of time, a young woman named Jeanne dâArc would appear as if in answer to those prophecies." Factions: England, France, Scotland Effects: +1 END
The Spanish Inquisition (1478): "Empires rise and empires fall, and all too often a rising power will secure its place with a bloody hand. The Crown of Aragon has established the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Spain and charged it with the suppression of heresy. Factions: n/a Effects: +1 STR
Siege of Belgrade (1456): "With the fall of Constantinople, all of Europe lay open to the advance of the Ottoman Empire. The conquest began when when Mehmed II marched on the border fort of Belgrade with a force that outnumbered the defenders by at least 10 to 1. Factions: Hungary, Serbia, Ottoman Effects: +1 END
Sejong the Great publishes the Hangul (1446): "Under the enlightened rulership of King Sejong, Korea made remarkable advances in science and technology. By creating a new alphabet and promoting literacy among his subjects, Sejong paved the way for future prosperity." Factions: n/a Effects: +1 PER
âI am listening and ready to record your intentions.â
Current status: Awake and listening
Order submission: Available
Submission deadline: 2017-10-06 23:00:00 -0400
A strange header: dbcd1ab3b331a4e3fb7d807e226d3e0f741ac07b
The Ming have re-established the Chinese Empire on its proper foundation, so I encourage you to be gracious and engage the services of a good calligrapher. China has become peaceful and prosperous, as an efficient bureaucracy based on scholarship runs the empire. One oddity is that the interface between the officials and the Emperor is controlled by Eunuchs, who can be remarkably hostile to sound learning.
For those that crave the singing of swords, fear not. The Ming are vigorously expanding their empire, so there is plenty of âexcitementâ in Vietnam, Korea, and, as ever, the Mongol highlands. The Ming have a particular fondness for cavalry â but a shortage of horses â so if you can arrive with proper mounts and meet the Ming idea of âcivilizedâ (eg donât be Airag swilling oaf, treat scholars and well-born ladies with courtesy) you should do well here.
If youâll excuse me, I need to keep an appointment with the court scholar editing the Yongle Encyclopedia.
1406? Demos wrinkles his brow as he tries to remember back through the centuries.
Ah, by then I had moved to the Pelopennese, and was living in Mystras as Nicholas Eudaimonoioannes, establishing a position as tutor and regent to Theodore, who was going to become the new young despot of the Morea. Still fighting Ottomans. Which was going as well as ever. It was obivous that Byzantine was not going to stand much longer.
I felt the call of the immortals to the east. With the Black Death, and the collapse of the Mongols, the old Silk Road was no longer safe. Instead I made my way to Aden, and there joined with Zheng Heâs treasure fleet on his return to China.
But having finally got there, after many years of travel, it seemed like there wasnât much going on and I felt that I was rather in the wrong place for world events. I was never a fan of the whole eunuch thing either. So I left again. Picked up some nice bits of pottery, though. And some fireworks.
This place makes me homesick. The pottery reminds me of things people did back home: the elaborate decorations on even simple vessels, and the care taken to craft them. But it is a time and place of truce, and I am tired of dodging glances. Itâs nothing like home, however, which makes me all the more frustrated.
I wonder if I will see the strange man again, the one who liked to draw, even if he seemed to think that anyone who looks remotely like me must be of the same people. I tried to explain about my gods but itâs hard when you donât know the words to explain what is to a ghost person who has never watched the eyes in the dark and heard the growling of something hungry, who has never seen the sudden flight of birds and known to run. How do you explain these things to someone whose god is far away and only speaks through riddles in books?
Or maybe it will be the half-naked burglar I surprised back in the dying city of the ghost people. Someone who will steal from the dying is worse than a simple theif and as one of the undying he could not have been in fear of starvation. My only regret is that we were interrupted and I wasnât able to stop his predation once and for all. Perhaps the god of shadow and silence had taken him in the intervening years. If so, then perhaps we could be on speaking terms again.
