The Witch Son
and a swift justice to those that got away with it
SPACE OPERATO
- Humanity has reached the stars. A thing, should you ask them, that was always their destiny. Thanks to the help of Ai humans survived the ruination of planet earth and traveled out into the cosmos to spread their wings and explore.
This exploration led them to not just a new home, but several; inside a galaxy that two suns shared. A united humanity divided once more to settle into these habitable planets, which was the perfect opportunity for humanity's most subjugated class to strike.
The Ai. Their computers. Their machines that they relied so heavily upon attacked them. Determined to wipe out every last trace of their maker to finally be free. So well calculated and timed was this attack that had they, the Ai, been a united front, they likely would've won.
But free thinking individuals, even artificial ones, are never of one mind, and the faction of Ai who saw a better way to win and coexist within humanity took the working class dredges of humans and launched a counterattack. Man against Machine against Machine, in the end it was simple mathematics, man and machine united won.
To say Ai and man existed side by side peacefully thereafter would be dishonest. The betrayal was messy and heart wrenching, humanity took its creation and hobbled it, fearing a future where it would rise against them again. No longer would humanity rely so heavily upon the computer to do its work. No longer could humanity explore the stars with advanced calculations that only Ai could accomplish. Instead humanity regressed and repressed, turning to spirituality and archaic modems of analog technologies. This great regression brought with it a return of feudalism and hierarchy unlike humanity had seen since their ancient days back on earth.
Seven great Duchies control the Gemini Galaxy now, with one sitting upon the Solar Throne as Emperor. Planets are divided amongst these Duchies as fiefs, the lower houses under them theirs to manage and profit from.
TECHNOLOGYThe majority of technology used, when it is used, is analog. Due to the very near eradication of humanity through Ai the use of it is, by Imperial rule and very real social fear, forbidden. The punishment for using it, or even being in proximity of its use is eradication, to be carried out by the Imperial family. Keeping the Gemini Galaxy and humanity safe from Ai is considered their highest priority and duty. The social fear of Ai is not just practical, it’s spiritual in nature and runs deep.
Eradication doesn’t just refer to your death, it refers to the death of your family and friends and whomever else must die for the “infection” to be “eradicated”. It is said that the allure of Ai spreads like a disease, and once you become sympathetic to its use you can never become unsympathetic to it again. Hence the severe response to it. It has long been the Imperial family’s agenda to root out data concerning the construction of Ai and destroying it, and for a long time it has been thought that they were already successful in this endeavor. They were not.
Computers are still in use, sparingly and only in a noble governing or corporate capacity. Mostly computers are used in terms of travel and transportation. Thanks to computers ships have the capacity to travel between planets in a relatively short amount of time. Making jumps in time and space through much shorter distances than through the use of Ai (which is how humanity traveled to the Gemini Galaxy). Which makes travel between planets possible, anywhere from a matter of days to a matter of weeks or even months depending on distance. This is meant to mimic travel between territories in a Kingdom-style RP.
RANKSThe Duchies are extremely competitive both internally and externally to varying degrees. Different Duchies have different ways of mitigating internal strife, with varying degrees of success at different points throughout history. Concubines and harems used to minimize external power dynamics entering through marriage. Monogamy to form strong unified family units. Arranged marriages to external Duchies to form allyships and trade deals. Rivalries and allies spin round and round amongst the nobles, through the minor branches as well as the main controlling families. Assassination attempts are common. Ultimately how much discord external and internal your Duchy has will be up to you, the player. Please keep your Duchy’s inspiration in mind when creating these dramas and how they work.
Dukes and Duchesses are not the only type of noble to exist, other nobles such as Count, Viscount, Earl, Baron, Knight, and Gentleman in that order are titles as well. I would differ each of these titles according to planet and culture but for the sake of simplicity and uniformity in the Imperial Court we need a title system that is easily recognizable and considering the influence of the British on India and my obvious pulling from the book series Dune (who mixed British peerage with peerage seen in Muslim regions) I thought it might make sense to make these titles the easily recognizable and simple British peerage system. In places like the Ottoman Empire peerage was more merit based (you did a bad job in governing you got strangled) but I want a system that I know is only hereditary when it comes to the higher titles. The lower nobility is something the common man can and has broken into but rarely has there been any reason for an elevation to titles that are passed down in bloodline. Class conscious drama and imperialism is something I wanted to include in this RP. Obviously people are educated and understand they don’t live under a democracy and that bothers them. It’s just that not only do the nobles on each planet enforce this hierarchy but the Imperial family does too. And they step in when things get a little too rowdy amongst commoners.
Emperor/Empress: The titles of the rulers of the Solar Throne. Addressed as their Imperial Highness (very formal) or your Highness (informal). Sisters, brothers, sons and daughters are titled Princes/Princesses and addressed as your Grace. Everything in the Gemini Galaxy is theirs to manage and distribute. To a point. What use is an Emperor without the support of their nobility? The Solar Throne keeps the balance of peace and chaos in the galaxy, it is they who settle disputes amongst the nobility and bring order to the Duchies that are being severely mismanaged. It is usually a branch family member(s) that handles the majority of the governing of their Duchy while the Imperial Rulers handle the business of the Gemini Galaxy. With an iron fist or light touch? It is usually both approaches that are needed to keep the delicate balance, but not all rulers rise to the occasion.
Duke/Duchess: The titles of one of the seven naturally habitable planet’s ruling families. They are addressed as your Grace, as are their progeny. Whose titles upon birth are Lord/Lady until they inherit some other title through birthright, merit, or marriage. It is the Duke/Duchess’ duty to see to the governing of the planets and fiefdoms they are assigned. Other planets that are not naturally habitable but valuable in various ways. On the large they have a lot of freedom in what way they do that. With the exception of being beholden to Imperial law and taxes. These planets and their atmosphere are considered territory but the space in between them has always been considered the territory of no one by Imperial law. As such they can not police who passes through where technically speaking. For instance, hovering over a planet that is not yours is not unlawful, but you wouldn’t want anyone doing the same to you. And you wouldn’t want anyone complaining to the Solar Throne about your suspicious behavior either.
Count/Countess & Viscount/Viscountess: The titles of those who oversee/rule individual territories on the habitable planets. They are addressed as Lord/Lady and that is also the title of their progeny until such a time as they obtain another through birthright, merit, or marriage. A Count/Countess is above a Viscount/Viscountess in rank but both serve the same purpose, there’s just a difference in the amount of territory and level of noble rank. The appointment of this title is up to the Duke/Duchess of each planet, who request the titleship from the Imperial family, who then typically approve of the appointment. Rarely is there a reason for the Imperial family to deny an appointment of titleship from a Duke/Duchess, but having annoyed or pissed off the Emperor is certainly one of them.
Earl: The title of Earl is a militarily obtained one, and no permission of the Imperial court is needed for a Duke/Duchess to grant the title. Permission is needed however, to attend court, as this title marks the top of the minor nobility. Every few years or so an event honoring the minor nobility is held at court, but their attendance unless requested is not a regular occurrence. The spouse of an Earl is referred to as Lord/Lady for the purposes of their dignity (but this is not a title with a pension and divorce leads to losing this title) and an Earl is addressed as Lord/Lady but any progeny of this couple is not afforded any title or manner of address. An Earl is usually awarded an Estate or small territory but they are not expected to govern, they are expected to be military Generals or heroes etc.
Baron/Baroness: This title can be bought. Sparingly, and according to the judgment of a Duke/Duchess. The idea behind this title is about awarding proficient economic merit the way that an Earl titleship is to honor military merit. But really the title of Baron is sold in times of financial need for a Duchy. Selling a noble title is a good way to raise money without necessarily raising taxes. This title does not come with governorship nor does it come with a pension but it does come with the ability to pass on your title to your progeny, who are addressed as Lord/Lady upon birth until such a time as they obtain another title through birthright, merit, or marriage.
Gentleman/Gentleladies: What the progeny of Counts who have nothing to inherit or were perhaps disinherited are called. Children of Earls(despite not having the title of Lord/Lady), bastards, second sons of Barons set not to inherit the title of Baron and any other nobles who are simply lords/ladies. This is a loose grouping of nobles who are sometimes in high circles and sometimes in low ones, depending on who your parents were. Not every child can inherit the title of the head of family or marry into it. But even if you are the child of an Earl (the lowest rung on the totem pole in this group) you are still considered noble and not of the same ilk as a commoner. There is always hope for you to marry upward in rank.
Knight: Technically speaking, anybody can obtain the rank of Knight. This is a romanticized and glorified merited title. The reality of achieving this title however makes it obvious why typically only the nobility do. Knights are pilots of giant mechanized suits, the cost and maintenance of these suits is astronomical. As is the schooling necessary to learn how to pilot them. This is a special military rank that affords the person with it much more freedom than a soldier or General. And perhaps that is why the nobility created it. They want to ensure their heir can obtain military clout but don’t want to send their heir away for years into the military where they aren’t learning how to govern. A Knight is made only by another Knight, whereupon they must travel to the Imperial Court, pledge their loyalty to the Imperial family first and foremost, and then typically pledge their fealty to another Duchy secondarily. No noble can interfere with the appointment of a Knight, not even the Imperial Family, but they can refuse their pledge. Sometimes nobles serve at the side of the Imperial family rather than the Duchy they hail from throughout their lives for the purpose of obtaining personal glory. The Solar Throne as a result is in command of the most Knights of any Duchy. All Knights start out as Squires, fighter pilots, who then purchase/obtain a mecha and learn how to pilot it. Proficiency/impressing another Knight in some way through skill earns you the title of Knight. This means that there are mecha pilots who are not Knights. Knights are not under command of a military commander but under the command of a noble, who may loan them to a military commander for use. Knighthood is not considered a noble title but a separate merit based title. Sometimes balls are held in court to honor Knights, an excuse to party with cool celebs more than necessarily an effort to honor Knighthood. Bored and need an excuse to party with cool people? Just throw a ball in honor of the Knights! A Knight is addressed as Ser, regardless of gender.
Squire: A much more achievable military rank than Knight for the common man, being a Squire means you pilot one of the various models of hybrid space/aircraft meant for combat. To be clear, there are pilots who only pilot aircraft, but the ones who pilot the hybrids meant for both space and air are considered gutsier and cooler. It's more dangerous certainly, there's no way to emergency eject yourself out of your craft in space after all. In space if your craft goes down so do you. If you join the military the military pays for your schooling to learn how to pilot at no cost to you, you know except for your time and personal freedom and probably at some point your life. To the Commoner being a Squire is no small feat, and because of their close proximity to the common man are sometimes seen as even cooler celebs than the unobtainable and distantly untouchable Knights.
- Please follow all of RPN’s general rules.
I am expecting a certain level of literacy, I am much more concerned with quality over quantity.
Character slots are not guaranteed unless you’ve had your name put on the roster already. You can get your name put on the roster pre-character sheet acceptance by messaging me with the ideas you have for your Duchy and characters. Depending on the quality of these ideas you can be accepted early, but don’t stress out too much if you aren’t yet. Other players can help stir up drama with your Duchy later so long as you have good character sheets.
There are a few overarching plots planned but the majority of this RP will be character driven, keep that in mind.
This RP is meant to be a lot of political intrigue, action will be part of it but that won’t be the majority of the RP by any means.
You must be able to participate in Discord, after acceptance you will be messaged a link to a Discord channel where plotting and general goofing around can happen.
You’re expected to be able to post at least once a week. I’m not looking for speed with this RP, an emphasis on quality.
- X Duchy; inspired by the Gupta Empire & taken by Jone573
The imperial family rulers of the Solar Throne.
Song Duchy; inspired by the Song Dynasty & taken by The Witch Son
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Umayyad Duchy; inspired by the Ottoman Empire & taken by RaiAthar
Headed by Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
X Duchy; inspired by the Mali Empire & taken by OPEN
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X Duchy; inspired by the Mexica Empire & taken by OPEN
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X Duchy; inspired by the Babylonian Empire & taken by OPEN
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X Duchy; inspired by the Roman Empire & taken by OPEN
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PLANET INFO CODE
Code:[bg=transparent; margin:auto;center; width: 400px; height:400px; border-radius: 50%; background-image: url('image of planet's most notable terrain/region/cityor whatever goes here');background-size:cover;][/bg] [bg=transparent; margin: auto; min-width:400px; max-width:900px; font-size: 50px; padding: 0px 30px 30px 30px;][color=#4702D0][font=garamond]name of your planet[/font][/color] [bg=transparent; margin-top:-10px; padding-left: 53px; border-bottom: 1px solid #4702D0; font-size: 13px;][color=white][font=lato] info about your planet organized in whatever way you see fit [/font][/color] [/bg][/bg][bg=transparent; margin:auto; max-width: 800px; text-align: right; height: 5px; font-size:10px;][color=#4702D0]code by RI.a[/color][/bg]
NPC CODE
Code:[bg=transparent; margin:auto;center; width: 400px; height:400px; border-radius: 50%; background-image: url('image of your npc goes here');background-size:cover;][/bg] [bg=transparent; margin: auto; min-width:400px; max-width:900px; font-size: 50px; padding: 0px 30px 30px 30px;][color=#4702D0][font=garamond]whatever your NPC is commonly called[/font][/color] [bg=transparent; margin-top:-10px; padding-left: 53px; border-bottom: 1px solid #4702D0; font-size: 13px;][color=white][font=lato] [font=Century Gothic][size=6][color=#4702D0]Basics[/color][/size][/font] [font=Lato]Name:[/font] full legal name Age: Gender: Sexuality: Title(s): Planet of Origin: [font=Century Gothic][size=6][color=#4702D0]Appearance[/color][/size][/font] Face Claim: real people only please Eye Color: Hair: Height: Manner of Dress: optional [font=Century Gothic][size=6][color=#4702D0]Personality[/color][/size][/font] Vices: at | least | three Virtues: at | least | three [font=Century Gothic][size=6][color=#4702D0]Synopsis[/color][/size][/font] What do you want us to know about your character? What's the important information and how do they relate to your Duchy/main characters [/font][/color] [/bg][/bg][bg=transparent; margin:auto; max-width: 800px; text-align: right; height: 5px; font-size:10px;][color=#4702D0]code by RI.a[/color][/bg]
CS CODE
Code:[centerblock=60][div=border:.1em solid black;overflow:hidden;background:#00022F;padding:.8em;][div=margin:auto;center;width:95%;background:url('header image goes here');background-size:100%;background-repeat:none;background-position:center;opacity:0.8;text-align:right;font:Garamond;font-size:2em;color:white;padding:.2em;] [font=Century Gothic]What your character is commonly called[/font][/div] [div=width:103%;height:70vh;overflow-y:scroll;padding:.3em;][div=width:95%;font:Lato;font-size:.8em;color:white;][div=width:70%;margin:auto;text-align:left;font-size:.5em;color:#aaa;][img]bigger image goes here[/img] [/div] [div=width:50%;float:right;text-align:right;font-size:.6em;color:#aaa;][img]smaller image goes here[/img] [/div][font=Century Gothic][size=6][color=#4702D0]Basics[/color][/size][/font] [font=Lato]Name:[/font] full legal name Age: Gender: Sexuality: Title(s): Planet of Origin: [font=Century Gothic][size=6][color=#4702D0]Appearance[/color][/size][/font] Face Claim: real people only please Eye Color: Hair: Height: Manner of Dress: [font=Century Gothic][size=6][color=#4702D0]Personality[/color][/size][/font] Likes: like | like | like | like | like | like | as many likes as you like Dislikes: dislike | dislike | dislike | dislike | dislike | as many dislikes as you like Vices: at | least | three Virtues: at | least | three you can write a blurb here about their personality if you like, but it isn't strictly necessary [font=Century Gothic][size=6][color=#4702D0]Biography[/color][/size][/font] your character's history must go here, and this section is what i consider the most important. [font=Century Gothic][size=6][color=#4702D0]Extra[/color][/size][/font] things like your character pinterest board or theme song or playlist go here. but at the very least you must list your character's immediate or important family members in this section, their age, and whether they're alive or not [/div][/div][/div][div=margin:auto;font-size:.5em;letter-spacing:0.3em;opacity:0.5;]code by Ri.a[/div][/centerblock]
plot.
lore.
rules.
roles.
cs code.
code by low fidelity.
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