The Surnan Proposal

The Great War is over; nearly a year and a half has passed since a group of heroes entered the Black Tower and slew the monstrous avatar of Shar, and the land has begun to recover. The Talibarian Empire, supreme for nearly 600 years, has crumbled, the last vestiges of Imperial power retreating to the east, centered in the city of Cramiche. Out of the ashes comes an emergent new power, a collection of nobles and feudal lords christened The Confederacy. The City of Surna, weakened from the devastation of the war, is forced to join as a theoretically independent state.

With the Confederacy comes changes, both good and bad. Thousands of refugees from the devastated south flock to the perceived security of the Confederacy, and Surna is forced to take on hundreds of new citizens. In response a new, ramshackle district of the city has sprung up, composed of makeshift houses and hovels, housing the disparate newcomers. Surna sags under the weight of these newcomers, as poverty and crime become rampant. Gangs take to the streets, including the remnants of the Imperian Nova Cartel, which quickly takes to funneling illicit substances to the desperate and miserable citizens.

Under the Confederacy, the guard undergoes a radical restructuring. Local law is replaced by Confederate Common Law, and Confederate-sponsored officers replace locally recruited ones. Infamous Commander of the Guard Thorn Razel is forced to stand down, taking the lofty but ineffectual position of 'Liason to the State' as compensation. These new officers often seem to care less about Surna's well-being than a good report to their superiors. The new law reintroduces the outlawing of the dark arts and the punishment of dark creatures, including vampires and werewolves. Despite these new laws, the followers of darkness seem none the worse for wear, dark creatures still prowling the forest and the darkened streets. Some even seem to follow a new purpose, united under some new, insidious banner.

Despite the setbacks, the Confederacy has brought a good deal of renewed prosperity. Though the roads are still lawless, caravans and traders are protected by mysterious, powerful metallic constructs. How the Confederacy came to acquire such a number in such a short time remains, as of yet, a mystery. Regardless of origin, these silent warriors have done a good job of restoring a steady trade between the states of the Confederacy.

Spoiler:

This is the most current version of events should we retcon back to Surna. Liable to change.

I like it. The Confederacy will probably pop up some conflicts with the real Surnanas.

Not that my endorsement matters.

Vote 2/3 to bring this idea to fruition.

Must see the other argument for swamp land.

I think this is a good idea, it makes me feel a bit better about Ara'Ki and all my lore going poof. It also gives Scars something to fight against, again. And maybe something to fight with. So I can agree with this plot line.

A question about the guard force: are all the old guards now jobless? That's the feeling I got from reading this.

I mean not that I care work for a witcher is never limited, just curious.


Thouroughly support this new plot structure either way.

Phry wrote:

A question about the guard force: are all the old guards now jobless? That's the feeling I got from reading this.

I mean not that I care work for a witcher is never limited, just curious.


Thouroughly support this new plot structure either way.

Not necessarily. Most of the guards would probably be allowed to stay, though it's possible some might leave with the management change.

If we did go to Surna ara'ki wouldn't go poof, we can always take it up at a later date. As for the guard basically sergeant and below would be free to do what they want Lieutenants and up would either get the 'promotion' to Liason services (a fancy cushy government job designed to keep them out of the game, as it were) or be forced to fight an uphill losing battle to keep their current positions..

I really liked the stuff we were doing in Ara'ki, but this does sound interesting. Still, the fact that we'd be going back to Surna is a concern. I don't like being in a comfortable environment, and by that, I mean an established and managed city, where we're all generally on the same side. There's not much room for outside conflict, or leeway to risk internal conflict. You would need fire starters, like powerful rebellious characters, to open up conflict opportunities on a regular basis.

If we were to go ahead with this, I would suggest Surna in particular would have suffered considerable damage, so it's not hard to get in or out of the city if you're a crook or stray evildoer, or random creep or monster, etc. And of course, I'd enjoy having several separatist factions present in the city. Loyalists to Talibar, Ex-Guard rebels, and Revolutionaries looking to gain independence.

I just don't want the adventure of Ara'ki to be lost when we return to Talibar. It's just not the same unless the old world really gets ruined, and there's room for fresh stuff. This would also mean a new, more fitting map, y'know.

And those are my initial thoughts... more thinking to do. Not yet ready to cast a yay or nay.

Well, there's plenty of room for conflict. For one, there's a massive amount of refugees, almost all of which are poor. Amongst them is the Nova Cartel, the largest Crime group that existed in Imperia, looking for a new place to set up shop. Not only that but the new Confederate guard is far more hands off than before, those two factors contributing to a large hike in the crime rate.

I do assure you that there will be a Talibarian Loyalist faction or IC group, amongst other rebel groups. Not only this but dark magics and such have been outlawed under Confederate decree, pushing all those guys into the shadows, possibly into forming their own group. As it is it's pretty easy to get in or out of the city undetected, what with the massive influx of refugees and soforth.

Alright, good to hear. What about things outside of the city? Will there be ruins of Surna, and hostile territory out in the forest- and for that matter, will the outlying lands have changed? Like, less forest and more open ground from the damage incurred by Shar?

I'd like to see those things included, too, because that will give us room to make opportunities for exploration, adventure, development, all the good rp stuff.

Inb4:

>Dark magics and characters outlawed
>No room for bad guys to roleplay in
>Bad guys wandering among everyone just like before
>Essentially nothing happens

I'm not sure I like the idea of retconning too much, but if we do... Eh, I suppose I'd be alright with this plot. Plenty of beggars to nom.

Oh there'll still be evil guys. Plus, Surna's looking it's weakest in a long time. It's an ideal time to strike for certain previously brooding...parties.

Necromancers used to be outlawed back in the day, but that didn't stop them from getting loads of rp. If anything they got MORE rp when they were outlawed from when they were made legal.

Rutabega wrote:

Necromancers used to be outlawed back in the day, but that didn't stop them from getting loads of rp. If anything they got MORE rp when they were outlawed from when they were made legal.

Cause people go 'derpderp i'm special / im a badass' if they play chars like that. :I

EDIT:
not necromancers, 'outlawed' shit.

I heart this idea, in all it's awesomeness

Necromancers THE REBELS WANT YOU!

If this is chosen, I'll be trying to encourage faction roleplay and divisions among faction lines. One problem Surna used to have was that everyone in town used to belong to the same, homo(geneous) blob that, regardless of race, creed, or ability. I'm hoping that faction rp and otherwise will split the playerbase enough to get some conflict going.


Note that, while the law now forbids dark magic and creatures, the Guard is now weaker than before because of the influx of refugees. If you keep yourself low key in the presence of guards, you should be able to slip under their radar. Even if you should attract the attention of the guards, guard reinforcements will be limited to the number of guard player-characters in the area; no more guard NPC zerg rushes, unless you decide to be an idiot and murder someone inside or right outside the Keep. Even if you were wanted by the guard, there's plenty of places hide out ICly, with the swarm of refugees and the new ramshackle refugee district.

Did somebody say District 9?

no shut up


Even though that was a really good movie

Fookin prawns man.

I like the idea of dark creatures / races being outlawed. Truly.

However... I'm an Ara'ki man.