Five Sovereignties
is a role-play(the first one I've organized) set in the aftermath of my own Skyrim adventure, where the Last Dragonborn, Mordyn of Lainlyn, has formed a collective of independent city-states within the dominion of Skyrim using his authority as Thane of each of the nine holds, and even been granted full independence by the Tamrielic Empire using the sway of his dragon blood. The cities currently recognized in 4E 209 are as follows;The First Sovereignty, City of Greymoor: When the Stormcloak Rebels attacked Whiterun, and forced Jarl Balgruuf's hand, Mordyn used a large portion of his wealth to set the foundations of the City of Greymoor around Fort Greymoor, an Imperial garrison set up in the abandoned fort after the successful defense of Whiterun. Mordyn requested that the Jarl sign the 'Twin Cities Pact' that would make Greymoor an independent entity which swore to uphold the security and livelihood of the entirety of Whiterun Hold, while providing a refuge for the outcast and a home for the reformed. The city's population is the highest of any of Skyrim's cities in 4E 209, many of whom are local bandits seeking redemption, Khajiit fleeing Dominion rule, refugees from Orsinium, and even Redguards escaping Thalmor vengeance for battles in Hammerfell, and many others. The urban, cosmopolitan city sprawls just outside Whiterun, with meager wooden stockade walls to keep wildlife out, an airship dock for Mordyn's own private vessel, and a dragon who guards the city from attack. Many have compared Greymoor to a diverse, welcoming, and forgiving form of the Imperial City, whilst keeping an extremely authoritarian rulership. This is where the Sovereignties' armies are mustered.
The Crown Sovereignty, Noble Fortress of Riverhelm: When Mordyn appealed to the Elder Council for his peoples' independence, he also chartered a seat for this new governance. Riverhelm was born. A two-walled manor district of ramparts and fortifications with a central keep, bristling with catapults and soldiers, it was meant to be Mordyn's deterrent bulwark against the invasion of any of the Sovereignties. Riverhelm is situated between Riverwood and Whiterun, and was constructed there to solidify the Twin Cities Pact, providing a garrison of elite troops to defend the area. With the construction of such a citadel, and the deployment of Riverhelm's own army alongside Jarl Balgruuf's men, and with help from the Imperial garrison at Fort Greymoor, the majority of Whiterun Hold was wiped clean of bandits, cults, and all manner of threats to its citizens. With this, the Empire felt that its trust in Mordyn was well-placed, and his Sovereignty continued to flourish, with Riverhelm providing proof of the Five Sovereignties' independence. The small manor district within Riverhelm houses the elite of the Sovereignties, representatives from each city-state, and a number of investors hoping to profit from the city-states' prosperity.
The Northern Reach, Bujold's Retreat: Set up after Mordyn aided in reclaiming Thirsk during his expedition to Solstheim, this is where the ousted Thirsk natives resided until backed up by a morale-boosting expeditionary group under Mordyn's hire. After Thirsk was retaken by force from Riekling invaders, and a power struggle occurred amongst the reclaimers, Mordyn returned to where Bujold, the then-chieftain of Thirsk, made camp along the shore, and claimed the territory. Now, a small dockside village sits, populated by members of Mordyn's own original expeditionary party and various private organizations that Mordyn may call upon at any time. The village is actually a number of guildhalls housed in a stone wall. There is a lighthouse and a small dock, and usually some ships anchored within view of the settlement. In return for refuge in Bujold's Retreat, an organization must provide aid to the Sovereignties when called upon, or face exile and shame, or even permanent imprisonment.
The Seafarer's Rest, Seastone: Set up using investment funds from Haafingar Hold, a number of High Rock's principalities, and some from his own lands, the town of Seastone was constructed on the Seastone Islands north of Solitude, deep in the Sea of Ghosts. Gathering funding using light tariffs and its independent nature, it has been known to be somewhat of an underworld trading hub. No goods are illegal, all goods are documented, unless a special 'private commerce form' is signed and paid for, leading to a belief that it would become a pirates' den. In order to avoid this, Mordyn called for a convention amongst all national parties who would wish to use the port. Namely, Hammerfell, the Aldmeri Dominion, and the Tamrielic Empire. What was agreed upon prevented it from being a criminal haven, but in turn made it a place for corrupt officials to acquire or sell whatever they pleased, with agents of the three convening factions roaming the streets, paying heed to no one, except the Seastone Knights, who act as the local authority.
The Arcane Garden, Reachwind: The last Sovereignty to be constructed, built on the Reachwind cliff, neighboring Dushnikh-Yal, the small settlement of Reachwind was built with the hopes of teaching others a degree of Mordyn's mastery in all things magical and scholarly. Mordyn left two Elder Scrolls there that he acquired on his travels, keeping them under heavy guard for use in teachings of esoteric knowledge. It is said that there is also a library of Black Books hidden somewhere underneath the town. What draws most controversy over the site is the presence of a very large 'Sleeping Tree', supposedly planted there, and grown through arcane works very quickly by Mordyn himself. Obscure rumors say that an Argonian mage was spoken to by the tree, and vanished sometime later.
Where is it that you would fit in, you ask? Well, there are a number of roles available to play. However, be warned, this does not play out as a normal roleplay. I, the writer, will do the dice-rolling, on a basic six-sided die. You, the player, have ten 'action points' to 'bet' on your own actions during an encounter, which will not be regained until the end of the 'time of action', or until you or one of your fellows does a proper action that would restore them (healing, potion-drinking, salve-applying, battlecries). You may perform an action when a 'time of action' is indicated by my storytelling. In all other circumstances, your character may do whatever they please, aside from violence against non-players. There shall be no infighting using action points between any of you. IC arguing and such are allowed, even scuffles. Killing other players is allowed, but it must be agreed upon between the two of you, and I must be informed ahead of time. You may notify each other and myself through posting or messages, but please try not to clutter this up with OOC.
Now, as for how your character will function in encounters. You may select your character's stats, this does not include HP, MP, stamina, etc. This is essentially just skill sets, such as things to be used when needed. This goes into deciding what the outcome of an encounter or obstacle is. For example, if you have a high Magical Prowess, you may be able to blast through a magical barrier or burn down a wooden structure during an indicated 'time of action'. A powerful Arms Master would be able to cleave a lock off a door in the stead of lockpicking. You will have six skill points to spend. The more skill points put into a specific skill, the higher its base value will be when being called upon. IE, if you swing a sword at something, and your skill in Arms Mastery is four, you'll instantly have a base roll of four, increasing your odds of successfully doing your action. The maximum level for any stat is six. The skills available are as follows:
Arms Mastery, used for fighting in melee, both offensively and defensively, also for scaring people.
Ranger Discipline, used for long-range combat, survival skills, and wildlife interaction.
Shadowstalking, used for stealthing, stealing, stabbing, lockpicking.
Mystic Knowledge, used for advanced magical issue resolution (enchanting, healing, conjuration, etc.)
Magical Prowess, used for regular magical issue resolution (fire-blasting, illusion-casting, reanimation, etc.)
Silver-Tongue, used for persuasion, minor coercing, bribery, morale-boosting.
As for character death, this will be extremely difficult to have happen, as long as your comrades, or Mordyn (who need not roll any dice), are willing and able to help your character. First, you must either run out of action points in a single encounter and then be harmed by the environment, enemies, status effects, etc. Second, other players must fail to revive/protect you using their own skills. There is also a third way to ensure that you survive. You may call upon one of your skill sets to pull yourself through and endure, at the cost of three points from that stat, but you may only call upon a stat that has at least three points in it. This incurs a status effect for the remainder of the quest where you may not revive yourself. In order to recover your lost points, you will need to spend time out of action in bed rest, study, meditation, w/e.
As I know I have left many details out, I ask that you ask any questions you have below. Once everything is settled, we will begin the roleplay! Also, any suggestions or help you could provide would be appreciated, as this is the first RP I've ever organized(as is probably quite obvious).
