Fantasy Roleplay Primer

• Be a decent roleplayer

• Has been active

• Has read the Driselbia roleplay rules, as well as this primer
  

In addition, if any participants in the fantasy roleplay show no signs of roleplaying, or have shown no interest in partaking in roleplay for two weeks, they will be removed from the roleplay. The roleplay moderators may allow a period of inactivity if notified beforehand, or a reasonable excuse is given, but don't expect for them to take it a second time. The Driselbia roleplay rules can be found here

Participants will also be expected to observe the standard rules, modified as needed to fit the roleplay. The quality of roleplay here will also be higher, and some experience with roleplaying is suggested before partaking in fantasy roleplay. The rules will also be tighter here as well. Storytelling, and roleplaying, is valued over powergaming, and such behavior is forbidden.

In order to claim a spot on the map, please contact Mazda-otta, who is our current map maker. Please provide the following information in your request.

• Name of your nation

• An image of your map claim (Use an image editing program to draw your claim. Blank maps, as well as purely geographical maps can be provided if needed)

• Background lore of your nation
  

In addition, you may not claim other player's lands, unless said player agrees with your claim. However, the moderators are lenient on this matter, and as long as they deem your claim as a reasonable size, it will be accepted. And finally, if claiming land from an AI nation, you will have to play as a state seceding from said AI nation. This is to preserve continuity of the history of the world, and to give incentive to expand and work for your nation.

The roleplay operates on a timeline. Each "year" in roleplay is 12 in game months, with 28 days in each month. This is further divided into four even seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. These seasons are each four months long, and have impacts on roleplay. In order to show the passage of time, moderators will announce the coming and going of seasons on the RMB when appropiate. For example, the seasons will not suddenly change if there is active roleplay occurring taking place within a smaller ingame time frame, such as an ingame week. However, the seasons will change if the roleplay itself is long ingame, such as a war.

While magic does indeed, exist in this world, there is still a sense of realism in this world. Magic is a privilege, and the moderators strongly advise you do not abuse this privilege.

If you have any concerns are questions, please ask Mazda-otta

So you believe you qualify for fantasy roleplay, and have been approved by Mazda to be placed onto the map? Well now is the time to "build" your nation. The fantasy roleplay has a defined lore and backstory, as well as notes about the geography of the world as well. As stated before, there are blanks and geographic views of the map available for study, by simply asking Mazda.

We give you relative freedom to build your nation as you wish, however, there are several constraints to this.

• You cannot contradict the base lore, but you may make your own lore, and even use the world's already lore

• Technology is capped at the age of pike and shot, as this is a low-tech fantasy roleplay. There are exceptions.

• Due to the number of nations that have copied already existing media, you must bring something original to the table
  

However, the moderators are lenient, and you may discuss your nation with a moderator to decide what is appropriate. However, the moderators are very trustworthy of the citizens of the region, and will trust that you are observing these rules. There are exceptions to these rules, and the moderators will answer your questions.

When building your nation, please take into account of the scale at the bottom right corner of the map. The scale is in kilometers. Unless you have some magical means of communication, one will find that their nation may become very difficult to control the bigger they become. This will be explained in more detail in other sections, but for now, keep in mind how your nation will be governed, how the people will be fed, and other such considerations. This of course, does not mean you cannot have something fantastic, pushing the realms of realism, as this is why it is called "fantasy" roleplay.

Again, if you have any questions, please ask the moderators.

This section will explain to you what to put in your factbooks. Yes, factbooks are required in fantasy roleplay. This is because the roleplay is of higher standard, and as a result, we must know the specifications of your nation. However, this should be relatively easy for you. You'll need

• Name of nation

• Population

• Description of nation

• Map of nation
  

The most important parts of your factbook is the description and the map, followed by population. Basic information such as rulers, government, and other information which is important to the roleplay, as well as providing "flavor" for your nation is needed. A "map" of your nation is also needed. A very simple map is needed, and you can make one by asking Mazda for a blank of the map with borders only. You can then simply snip out your nation, zoom in, and use paint or whatever image editing program you wish to add symbols to represent cities and other features which may be important to the roleplay. If that is not possible, you can also use descriptive language to acomplish the same thing. For example, "Kings Landing, the capital city, is located in the North-West of the nation, on the edge of the Neo-Finnic mountain range and right by the Shimmering Sea"
And finally, population is important. It includes your entire nation. Care should be taken into deciding population. You must grow enough food for your nation, or sustain them by some means. The land should be able to support your population with the farming practices your nation uses, and other such factors. You can ask the moderators for help.

If you're having trouble creating a good description of your nation, use this resource below
link

This is the real part of the primer. Here, you will learn how roleplaying is handled in fantasy roleplay, as there are some differences. Some not so obvious.

To start, your nation is most likely small, and most likely, you have also successfully seceded from any nations which your claim happens to cover. Or you happened to claim unclaimed land. Either way, you must realize the limitations of as a nation. Even though magic exists, the magic section will explain their limitations as well. So, most problems must be solved as they were in "ye olden" days. Agriculture is vital to a nation, as it feeds the population. Natural disasters such as famines will heavily affect you. With the presence of cities and other urban areas, disease is easily spread. Your population can only be as big as the land can support. You must also take into consideration of a number of other factors. Many, such as geography, political factors, and other variables, which vary depending on your situation. However, the moderators can help. However, it seems population is the number one thing most people struggle with.

Since the highest one can go in terms of technology is around the 1600s, this means transportation and communication is limited. Due to magic, this problem is alleviated, but there are limits to magic, such as the power of the spell caster, which will be discussed in more detail in the magic section. It may take multiple RP turns to move an army, or construct something. This is why earlier, we asked you to take into consideration your nation and how practical it is. One good method of travel is by water, so it may be strategic to control a river. Even then, it may take ingame months to reach a destination. So, keep in mind of the limited technology you may have when playing, and do not expect to mobilize an entire nation.

Which brings us to military. Military is a large part of fantasy roleplay. Wars in fantasy roleplay are far different than from regular roleplay. It will take multiple roleplay turns to assemble an army and fight a war. In fact, usually, it takes one roleplay turn to muster an army, another turn to organize them, and another turn to begin moving. And it may take many turns to get to your destination, depending on distance, how large your enemy is, geography, and other factors. So keep this in mind. This is a valuable resource, click this link here in order to learn more.

Wars are also more costly. Disease and attrition is a slow killer and your armies will suffer from it, as keeping several thousand men in one place for an extended amount of time breeds disease.
Another factor is size of armies. This is a problem, as many people moving from modern to fantasy usually set their population and army size too high. Most armies take place in the 1k to 40k range depending on how big your population is, however another rule of thumb is that most nations will be able to enlist between 0.1 and 0.5% of their population in a standing military, while short-term conscription can net over 10% of the population or more, but risks devastating famine and mass desertion.. It is highly suggested you do your research. One popular resource is here.

Other resources are also advised. If you base your nation off an existing culture, do your research, take the time to learn. More often than not, the number one danger to fantasy roleplay is the ignorance of people.

Wars take their toll on nations in more than one way. If you used the link provided earlier, you'll see that an army requires men, and this means less people working in the fields. As you draft more people, that means less people working. A long and extended war will take its toll on the people, with working men dying. The cost to maintain an army is also a drain on a nation's budget. Most people here use soldiers which can be divided into three categories. Peasant levies, drafted from the population, untrained, but can be used to bulk up an army. Requires no pay and works during peace time. Part-time soldiers are part of the militia, and usually take on their duties as soldiers for some period of time, before returning to work. The most expensive option is a full time army, which will require maintenance, and constant pay, which would be very expensive on a very large scale. See the moderators if you have more questions.

Continuing on the topic of wars, they are fought in much greater detail. Simply stating that you are "invading" is unacceptable. Detailing the movement of soldiers is vital. This is where player made maps come into play. Armies will move, militia mobilized, and battles fought, in great detail in context of the player maps, as it allows for specifications of where castles, fortresses, and cities are, adding a layer of strategic play to the roleplay. When it comes to fighting battles, the fantasy roleplay community is more close knit. Battles will be settled through multiple roleplays. An example to describe this will be a battle between two nations, player A, and player B.

While relatively vague, undetailed, and a poor example of a battle in roleplay, it does get the point across. That battles are more detailed, and require a sense of strategy. Of course, the moderators trust the players will be realistic and fair in their assessment of their own troops, knowing when they would break or hold strong. Not everyone can be a winner, but sometimes, losing provides a better roleplay opportunity than a victory.

Another method of roleplaying battles is a collaboration roleplay, where two people discuss the battle over telegram, creating one large roleplay describing the battle. Choose whatever style you like really, some people like one way more than others, but please be kind to your fellow players.

In order to help organize fantasy roleplay posts on the RMB, you are required to include the word, "chanticleer" at the end of every fantasy roleplay posts. You are forbidden from discussing this word, or using this word on the RMB outside of fantasy roleplay posts.

Any questions about roleplaying a fantasy nation, please refer to the moderators, preferably Mazda or me, Mazda.

Writing this primer has been an adventure for me, and reading it must have taken a while. But this is the final section, Magic, the more sensitive part of the roleplay.

To really understand why we have the system we have now, I think it's good to talk about what we had previously, in Krumpelberg, as Fantasy Roleplay first originated in Krumpelberg. Magic was originally introduced to Krumpelberg's roleplay by Mazda. It was freeform, and had no rules and regulations at all. So, after several arguments, Mazda set about writing rules for roleplay. However there were several problems with them.

1) Nobody used them

2) It all boiled down "Don't be a jerk"

So, the last iteration of Mazda's magic canon has been absorbed into this primer. Instead of writing rules that won't be used, the primer will instead, explain the ingame mechanics of magic in the world.

To begin, lets with the basic rules of magic

• In theory, everyone can use magic

• Magic feeds off physical energy

• Magic is everywhere

• Magic can be used to enchant things

• Magic can be countered
  

In theory, everyone can use magic. However, in practice, no, as not everyone is created equally. Which leads us into the next bullet.
Magic feeds off one's physical energy, in that when spell casters "cast" a spell, its the action of concentrating your mind and will, and expending physical strength in order to surrounding magic to their will, allowing them to cast spells.

This means that spell casters can get "tired" from casting spells. Concentration and a strong "willpower" are needed in order to "bend" magic to your will, and a greater concentration and willpower would allow for greater spells. The greater the spells, the more complex they will get, and therefore, will sap one's energy faster.

If a spell caster gets overwhelmed, the following can happen
They can die instantly from the sheer power of the spell as it takes all the energy from their body. If a spell caster has a slip in his concentration as they cast the spell, they may have a miscast, which is the sudden and uncontrolled release of magical energy, which may have disastrous effects depending on how powerful that spell was.

With those things in mind, that means a novice spell caster will find it impossible to cast a large and powerful spell, whatever that may be. However, by combing the power of several low skilled spell casters, they could combined their power to cast something very powerful.

Magic can be used to do anything, breaking the rules of the natural world. However, with all this freedom, the moderators also trust that you won't abuse this.

Magic is always present in the world, and you cannot "run out" of magic, however, you can run out of strength to cast spells. However, like the tides, magic is tied to the moons. A full moon is when magic is most powerful and most abundant. This means that spell casters will have their powers magnified by the power of the moon. However, on a new moon, spell casters will find their powers severely drained. They will still be able to use magic, but their powers will be limited with a sudden decrease in magic.

The next bullet, Magic can be can be used for enchantments, means that the action of imbuing an object, inanimate, or living, with magical energy, can give it certain magical properties. For a general idea, look to video games and literature, where you will find plenty of enchanted objects. In this roleplay, you can enchant objects using the soul of a creature, and using it to bind a spell to the object. The soul will then power the magical properties of the object.

And finally, magic can be countered. When a spell is cast, a spell caster has put effort into taking magic, bending it to his or her will, and the spell then takes effect. The magic used to create the spell is slowly released as the spell takes effect, and its the slow, controlled, release of magic, which gives the spell power. So, a rival spell caster can his their own magic to "dispel" the spell, undoing the binds on the magic spell and releasing all the magical energy, rending the spell useless. In terms of enchanted items being countered, if the object is destroyed, the enchantment is rendered useless, and all the magical energy used in creating the enchantment is released.

- - -

With the conclusion of the fantasy roleplay primer, you should now be able effectively roleplay in the fantasy setting. For world related information, please refer to The Fantasy Roleplay World Compendium. Thanks to The whermacht, you can also check out his essay on Fantasy Roleplay in, My guide to effectively joining and playing the Fantasy Roleplay, based on what I have learned and observed: an Essay

Complete list of resources approved and frequently used by Mazda-Otta and The Great Houses of Morrowind
Name Generator
Ethnographical Questionnaire
Realistic military sizes
Realistic demographics* May not fit your nation or technology level
Kingdom population calculator
Kingdom population calculator
Historical books resource
World building resources
Medieval Beastiary
Random name generator
Collection of religious texts
History of Warfare

Maps*:
Paintable Geography Map
World Map
City Map

*Paintable Geography Map is small so as to assist those with slow internet

Calendar:

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