The Kingdom of Versaillia is one of the great powers of the Old World, a realm of both wealth and military might. For decades, the Kingdom has been at war with the Avalon Empire, their neighbor and seemingly eternal rival. Battles were fought across both Versaillia and Avalon, and as far away as their distant colonies in the New World.
Now, after a decisive Versaillian victory in the battle of Alais, a treaty has been signed to bring an end to the long conflict. People across both lands rejoice at an end to the bloodshed. Unfortunately, this victory came at great cost. King Larvane XI, the beloved and respected ruler of Versaillia, passed away only a few weeks after the peace treaty was signed, after a wound he received in battle became infected.
King Larvane’s heir, Crown Princess Elaia, is just barely twelve years old. Though she will be crowned Queen shortly, crown law calls for a regency to lead the kingdom until her sixteenth birthday. Rather than appoint a single regent, King Larvane chose five individuals to act as a council to guide his daughter and lead the kingdom during this tumultuous time. The new regents have been sent missives and asked to gather at the Palace of Mirrors in Luteia, to prepare for the difficult task of leading the realm in the days ahead.
With the long war at an end and the Kingdom’s beloved ruler dead, Versaillia faces a period of deep uncertainty. Nobles plot and scheme, looking for ways to achieve influence over the royal heir and the newly formed regency council. The people talk of disgruntled peasants threatening to revolt, protesting the high taxes brought by the war. Others claim that the king’s death was not brought on by a mere war wound, but was the result of poisons or dark magic. Still others whisper that such may be the price the king paid in a dark pact to ensure victory over Avalon. Things often are not as they appear in the Palace of Mirrors.
OOC Information:
This game is a modified version of an earlier experimental game. The player characters will often be in conflict with each other and will often be pursuing their own agendas. This is a game of Machiavellian intrigue and plotting. You are strongly encouraged to let your subplot drive your character’s actions. Plotting with your fellow players is certainly encouraged, but plotting against them is also encouraged. It will be necessary to form coalitions to work with characters of different views and backgrounds in order to accomplish much.
All player characters in this game will be members of the regency council. Many of the challenges in this game will not be traditional obstacles with strong and weak outcomes, but will only be resolved when a majority of the council agrees on a single course of action. Challenges with strong and weak outcomes will generally only reward strong results with additional information to be used in deciding the best course of action.
Versaillia, while oppressive in many regards, practices absolute primogeniture. The sexes are essentially equal. Please feel free to play a character of any gender in any role.
This is a low fantasy setting. Magic and fantastic creatures exist, but are exceedingly rare. Most people are uncertain about what is real and what is mere legend when it comes to the supernatural. Versaillia is loosely inspired by pre-revolutionary France, so assume a late 18th century level of technology.
There will be a cap of five characters for this game. I intend to leave applications open for a few days. I will be trying to pick characters with a strong variety of backgrounds and goals, so take a look at other submissions and try to come up with something unique. Feel free to create your own nature, strength, weakness, and subplot cards in addition to those provided. Please include an explanation for why your character was chosen for the regency council as part of your application. Please include an avatar image with your application.
Hosted and narrated by:
Meg Doughty (Greymalkin)
Started 09/24/14.
Scenes played: 19
License: Community License
