A New History of Midgard?

[Dark Shadows]

I like the style of the Imperial Republic, which makes them seem like the correct and proper faction to rule Midgard. Having the Imperials as invaders never really set well with me.

[Davin]

As I mentioned before, I'm not opposed to combining some of the extra factions and their benefits/capabilities together to provide more fun play, but I'd like to start the game with a number choices commensurate with the number of players.  IOW, I don't want 10 players trying to fill out 20 different factions.  If we can start with many players then I have no problem giving them more choices to choose from.  But I still don't want any faction to be boring enough that people won't want to play in it even when other good choices are available.  That's a tightrope that I'm trying to walk here with these redesigns.

[DreamWeaver]

Redesigned History:

The skies grew dark and a great ball of glowing red light steaked across the skies heading south over Midgard. It seem to hit the sea south of Midgard and north of Kalmar. At the point of impact, everyone was thrown off their feet. After the strike great waves came crashing inland and swept over the lands of Midgard. Many cities in the south were simply swept away. Meanwhile great earth quakes were felt across the lands everywhere and many cities were reduced to rubble and/or burned to the ground. Then those that managed to survive that had to endure a great long winter that lasted two years, leave many to die from the elements or famine. Much was lost and most people just tried to survive. That was from the times of our parents, and now people have started to reform and rebuild from the ruins of the past. Some of the former political organizations have reformed again and have started to via for political control of the lands once again. The Imperial invaders, and three great Midgard native Families of; the Boda, the Getham and the Roder.  Also some religions sects have reformed as well; The Banner, The Gift, and The Ring.  Other organizations are rumored to also have started up or come into existence but at this point they just seem to be rumors.

The Redesign of the Imperial's History of Midgard

The Imperials where born from a political faction of men that created an organization called a Republic. It was not a Noble family or Line, but a elected group of men to rule the Imperial Republic. They banded together as a group of representatives from each city to for a single ruling body called a Republic body. The Imperial Republic started in the north of Midgard and started to spread across  the lands. Sadly as this new organization started to coalesce into a real ruling body, the great Meteor struck in the south of Midgard. In the aftermath of the two year winter and great earthquakes with fires much fell into ruins. Most people just spent all their efforts to survive, and try to rebuild from the vast ruins. Recently many of the older people started to remember the past again and wanted to reorganize the Imperial Republic again. The people wanted to establish the Imperial political faction again, in the hopes to rebuild the Imperial Republic once again. It is through the old Laws that society could once again band together and become a great society again under the rule of the Imperial Republic. So they formed the Imperial Legates, and seek to build their offices across the lands of Midgard to bring back the old Laws that made up the Imperial Republic.

Now as they began to spread this idea again, they encountered other factions that were based from Noble House Families of Boda, Getham, and Roder. These great Families had existed within the Imperial Republic, but were apart of the Republic itself. It seems that these (3) Noble Families, have grown in power and each believe that they are better than the Imperial Republic and they should rule Midgard. Each seeks to control Midgard in their own way under their own rule.  So all (4) factions seek to win the support of all of the peoples of Midgard and try to via for the upper hand. None of them want open warfare with each other, but  they do feel that they are better to rule than the others. They see working together with each other but it seems for now they wish to try and win the support of the people and convert all population  centers to follow each of their own factional control.

The Imperial Republic was ruled by a Senate that was made up of a representatives called a Senators. Each city had one elected Senator that had a seat within the Republic's Senate. Now there were a number of Noble Houses within the Imperial Republic, that had concerns within many of the Cities of the Imperial Republic. Each of these Noble Houses also had a seat within the Senate as well, and so each had a single Senator as well in the Senate. Now of the remaining  Noble Houses that survived the ruin, only three remain. They are Noble House Boda, Noble House Getham, and Noble House Roder. Each of these Noble Houses had a special purpose within the Imperial Republic that they managed across the Republic in all of the Republic's many cities. When the Imperial Republic seem to fall after the great ruin, these three Noble houses seem to manage to keep going and grew in power. In place of the former Republic they filled that political void and became ruling Factions of their own and started to grow and take power for themselves.

Noble House Boda, which is now called The Boda Family:
The Boda were specialize in building weapons. After the ruin they kept their specialization and expanded on and became foot soldiers that pride themselves on their warrior ability on the field of battle.

Noble House Getham, which is now called The Getham Family:
The Getham were specialized in trade and commerce. After the ruin they kept their specialization and continued to expand and reform trade again across Midgard

Noble House Roder, which is now called The Roder Family:
The Roder were specialized in agriculture and mounts. After the ruin they kept their specialization and became mounted Calvary soldiers along with producing food for Midgard.

These three Noble Houses, now calling themselves Family factions all grew in power and started to fill the void after the ruin and seemingly fall of the Imperial Republic. They each are trying to gain the upper hand and win the support of the people of Midgard, as well and get the many cities to declare for them. They each feel that their own faction is better suited to rule, but they do see the value of working together as well too. Now that they have encountered the rebirth of the Imperial Republic again, they look on the Imperials as another faction that also seeks to rule the lands again. They see the value of Law and Order that they bring and are willing to also work with them as well, but these four factions have a uneasy peace with each other. They all seem to have the same goals, to rule all of Midgard again under their own factional ways.

They all share the same enemies, and they would be the Barbarians, Skelts from the South of Midgard, Bandits, Pirates, and Religious Zelots of the Blood & Fire , Serkenar, and Cult of the Dark Ones.

To clarify about, after the Strike/Ruin...the Imperial Republic collapsed. All the cities and lands were in utter ruin and with no intercommunication...the Republic collapsed. In a few cities some of the former ideas remained in the minds of the people, and after a while some of them started to reform again. Now the Noble Houses of Boda, Getham, and Roder did somehow manage to reform faster and started to rebuild before the Imperial Republic started to stand up again. By the time the Imperial Republic did stand up and reform again, the Noble houses declared themselves Indepenent Families and started to spread their own individual political power. By the time the Imperial Republic Senate had reformed the former Noble Houses had already become as strong as the Imperial Republic. So now all 4 factions via for control of northern Midgard and control of all the cities.

[Davin]

That seems reasonable, apart from some trivial inconsistencies.  But I seem to recall that some other old players took exception to parts of this narrative.  Could we hear any alternate comments/discussions from them (or anyone else)?  Agreements from other players would be of value, too.

[DreamWeaver]

Ok then if we want to look at it that way, lets get rid of or not start with either the Getham, Roder Families and the Banner Religion

Thus lets redesign the Imperials to a kinder faction like the Imperial Republic, and the Boda Noble House. Let those two factions stand up as the two real contenders for the heart and body of Midgard. These two factions can both be at odds with one another. The Boda could be as I have stated a former Guild within the Imperial Republic that stood up faster and seem to survive better with coming together out of the ruins after the great ruin before the Imperial Republic could manage to reform itself again. They are not really enemies of each other but it is a land grab at this point, as they both try to collectively convince all the cities of at least northern Midgard to join either of their two causes instead of just remaining Independent. The former Roder and Geham Nobel Houses could be left in a state of Limbo as being out there talked about but just have not really stood up yet as well as others that are also rumored to also exist (gives room to maybe expand in the future if there are players to consider doing that).

Then that leaves room to set up a Barbarian culture of the Skelts within the deep forests of southern Midgard. These Skelts are enemies to both the Imperial Republic and Boda Noble House and will fight both of them on the spot. They don't want either of them in their lands of Sothern Midgard, and will raid the other two as well. The Cymru could have stood up in Kalmar as the People's Defenders against the Imperialisms of the Imperial Republic and the Boda Nobel House.

So that would give you the following factions then:

- Imperial Republic (at odds with the Boda and enemies of the Skelts)
- The Boda Nobel House (at odds with the Imperial Republic and enemies of the Skelts)
- The Skelts (enemies of both the Imperial Republic and the Boda Noble House, uneasy true with the Cymru)
- The Cymru (at odds with the Imperial Republic and the Boda Noble House uneasy truce with the Skelts)

As to the religious wars, well I think both the Gift and Ring have a place and would work great within the game. However I would take the Banner silent for now and add another Moorlock religion like either the Serkeanar or The Cult of the Dark One and keep the Blood & Fire silent like the Banner. So maybe do the following: The real Religous wars has not truly started yet and both the Banner and Blood & Fire are silent but not stood up yet. If in the future there are enough players with the desire then they can then be stood up and restarted.

- Gift (at odds with the Moorlock religion Serkeanar or Cult of the Dark One, allie of the Ring)
- Ring(at odds with the Moorlock religion Serkeanar or Cult of the Dark One, allie of the Ring)
- Serkeanar or Cult of the Dark One (enemy with the Gift and Ring, wanting to spread all across Midgard and Kalmar and trying to win the support of the people)

So this would mean then that you would open up both Midgard and Kalmar continents for game play with I would advise some rework of those maps a bit just to make them a little more different. Also it would make the Cymru being the People's Defenders of Kalmar, and slight odds against a religion that was not really for the benefit of the People. So their might be some uneasiness between them and any of the controlling Moorlock religions of the Searkeanar or The Cult of the Dark One.

[Steve Kort]

The asteroid struck the world south of Midgard and presumably on the continent of Kalamar.  A score or so of smaller asteroids struck the Midgard continent.  One, striking in southern Midgard, caused a massive earthquake, the land mass upon which the great Southern Imperial Preserve stood, sliding into the ocean within minutes.  Scores of ancient cities crumbled or were completely destroyed. 

Worse was to come.

Following the destruction by Gift and Boda engineers of the last Imperial Preserve in the month following, the skies darkened and an almost endless winter descended on the remaining people.  For five years they struggled to survive made worse when the Blood and Fire descended upon the few remaining Gift enclaves, putting them to the fire.  With their remaining forces too scattered to offer any effective support, the other One True God religions could only look inwards all the while owing revenge.  Thus the remnants of the Gift Religion accepted the offer from the Getham Family to join with them. 

It is into this world, a world of competing factions and shifting balances, that you now find yourself.  The Imperials, their Preserves gone and many of their Forts battered, are in decline.  The Boda and Roder Families struggled in the post asteroid strikes to hold on to what remained of their own holdings (albeit the Boda took out several smaller Imperial towns early on).  The remaining One True God religions have stabilised what they have but are yet to exact their promised revenge.  As for the Blood and Fire, their forces still range from their fortress of Fanglan.  Providing support to their other holdings and descending with wrath and fire upon unbelievers.

I like this idea but go a bit further mention what I said in another post.

This is why I would place the game 60-100 years in the future after another meteor strike, which could have even been religiously motivated like the destruction of the followers of Moorlock.  Explaining the non-existance of the Blood & Fire and Serkenar in the game.  Also further feeding the Banner as religious zealots of the One True God.  Their need to stomp out those of any other faith to prevent this from happening again,  as the One True God struck done the defilers.  This then makes any Heretics a major threat and whether you officially create the Cult of the Dark One as an active faction or the unknown forming faction that the Banner is looking to stomp out.  Rumors of Hidden Shrines and stuff will keep them running all over the place.

While everyone suffered leave the Imperials as the big major enemy invaders of this land.   They are taking resources from this vital land and sending it back to the Homeland only further upsetting people in this land.  This keeps things as a continuing story of midgard not an alternate world of midgard.  If your going to completely redesign the world and the history then simply build a completely new world and call it something new do not say your bringing midgard back.  Minor modifications are one thing but completely redoing things leaves no value in calling it midgard.

[Steve Kort]

My whole concept here is build on the Midgard that others have played otherwise the value of the name is worthless. Also use the time and incident to further the reasons of why these groups have issues or problems with each other. I would go into further detail on the Gift/Getham merger that many of the Getham Leaders had children that were in the preisthood and that the events forced the Getham to use their wealth to help the Gift build hospitals and things to save the people and with the conditions so poor they were forced to combine to make the most out of their resources. This effectively gives you a religious order of engineer/merchants, while a one true god religion it would simply be tolerated by the Banner as it is more accepting or tolerant of non-one true god religions.

[DreamWeaver]

I do not like hat design at all, and I am sorry but the Gift are good the way they were designed. But why destroy the Gift, to save the Getham? Do that and no one will want to play either of those factions, let alone the combination Sudo-Bogus new faction. I say drop the Getham all together. I know I would not play in that faction.

[Steve Kort]

I do not like hat design at all, and I am sorry but the Gift are good the way they were designed. But why destroy the Gift, to save the Getham? Do that and no one will want to play either of those factions, let alone the combination Sudo-Bogus new faction. I say drop the Getham all together. I know I would not play in that faction.

Then drop them both the Gift was never a major faction and never had numbers.  The only reason anyone ever played a Gift clan was it counted as an engineer and they got a added build order.  The fact is they really did not fit in.

[Davin]

While everyone suffered leave the Imperials as the big major enemy invaders of this land.   They are taking resources from this vital land and sending it back to the Homeland only further upsetting people in this land.  This keeps things as a continuing story of midgard not an alternate world of midgard.  If your going to completely redesign the world and the history then simply build a completely new world and call it something new do not say your bringing midgard back.  Minor modifications are one thing but completely redoing things leaves no value in calling it midgard.

If you can come up with some different conflagration that will take the Imps down to everyone else's level, that seems reasonable.  But that also seems difficult to manage in some ways.  For one thing, I'd rather not have the Imps being everyone's worst nightmare, so I don't see that I can let them be so powerful (as a group) as they were in the past.  Perhaps you can come up with a reasonable explanation for this?

I agree that I don't want to create an entirely new game -- that would rather defeat the purpose.  That's one of the reasons I suggested using the same base factions as before.  But I don't have a problem with a little bending of reality -- I think (and hope) that the players would go along with a few changes in the interest of making it a more enjoyable game.  All we've really been talking about so far is adjustments to the behavior of factions and the history (or future) that explains those behaviors.  That doesn't really sound like "a whole new game" to me.  I'm trying to keep it as close to what the players (as a group) want and still be fun and playable.