History Roleplay / ThisSceptredIsle

* TheRedBaron: Plenty of characters bear titles, though special mention goes to:

This Sceptred Isle explores just that. It is set in a world where Harald Hadrada triumphs over the other contenders for England's throne and in the end emerged as the sole victor. It imagines a world where the Northman still retains their hold over the British Isles, and details the life, journey, and triumphs of the Hard-Ruler's successors.

It is the year of our lord, 1066, and the Kingdom of England is torn. A succession crisis is at hand, as Harold Godwinson, Harald Hadrada, and William of Normandy fight over England's throne. In our world, it was William of Normandy who eventually won out against his rivals and declared himself the King of Angleterre, forever enshrining his name into the history books.

Yet what if that wasn't the case? But what if instead, it went to another contender, one known to history as Harald Hadrada, King of Norway. What if instead of being under the rule of a French duke for hundreds of years, England was once again under the Northman's yoke?

[[caption-width-right:350:This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle, this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''"This royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle, this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England]]

Yet what if that wasn't the case? What if, through a stroke of fate, it was not William, known then as Guillaume of Normandy, who eventually triumph in the war for fair England's fate. What if instead, it went to the other contender, one known to history as Harald Hadrada, King of Norway, successor to Cnut? What if instead of being under the rule of a French duke for hundreds of years, instead, England was once again under the Northman's yoke?

[[caption-width-right:310:Death makes no conquest of this conqueror]]

** Magnus I's sponsored campaign in Egypt. Prince Edward, later Idward I of Alexandria, won so hard in fact that he was gifted the honor of ruling the newly conquered Kingdom.

** The Levant and Alexandria, ruled by the descendants of the Crusaders who invaded them.

* FounderOfTheKingdom: Idward I, 2nd son of Magnus I of Aenglund, is this to Alexandria. Also counts for Haakon 'Ironfist', the first Prince of Pomerania after it was conquered from the Wends and their previous rulers beheaded for being heretics to the faith.

** The Crusader States prior to their fall. Due to the actions of one particularly greedy and glory-hungry King, they attempted to invade Alexandria (Egypt), failed, were forced to retreat back to the Levant, were defeated in battle, and had to pay reparations. Then the Suri's came and knocked.

* PuppetKing: King Yacob of Alexandria ends up being this to his wife Sophia, owing to being a relatively weak-willed figure largely disinterested in politics.
** Osbald III, pretty much.

** Alexandria - Capital of Alexandria.

** Mentioned to have happened in Alexandria, though as to ''who'' the contenders were are a mystery.

Yet what if that wasn't the case? What if, through a stroke of fate, it was not William, known then as Guillaume of Normandy, who eventually triumph in the war for fair England's fate. What if instead it went to the other contender, one known to history as Harald Hadrada, King of Norway, successor to Cnut. What if instead of being under the rule of a French duke for hundreds of years, instead England was once again under the Northman's yoke?

This Sceptred Isle explores just that. It is set in a world where Harald Hadrada triumph over the other contenders for England's throne and in the end emerged as the sole victor. It imagines a world where the Northman still retains their hold over the British isles, and details the life, journey, and triumphs of the Hard-Ruler's successors. A world where the Northman once more sits upon England's throne, and the consequences therein.

* AdiposeRex: Magnus III at the tail end of his reign has become increasingly overweight and fat.

** Ethelreda - Daughter of the deposed King Einar. Since young Ethelreda had strived to reclaim her father's Kingdom for her own, and had done everything in her power to ensure she could.

** Aureliana - Bought the Basileia ton Rhomaion back from the brink and retook some of their core territories in Anatolia. Also kickstarted a golden age for culture and innovation. Oversaw the step-by-step dismantling of her Empire's rivals, and personally ensured they would never again have the chance to strike at the Basileia Rhomaion. [[spoiler: They still could]].

** Valerie - ''The'' quintessential example of the renaissance woman. Innovator, inventor, novelist, and the possible kick-starter of the coming Industrial Revolution.

** Caitlin to Sigurd - The latter is an isolationist, academic if boring King who severed much of Aenglund's ties with the rest of Europe to prioritize internal rebuilding and rejuvenation. Soft spoken, kind, and more of an intellectual than a King. Compare that to his daughter, and successor, Queen Caitlin. Tomboyish, rebellious, and martially adept. She not only broke with her father's policy of relative isolation, she also did so for the sole purpose of invading Ireland (or a 'crusade', as she would like to put it). Rash, hot-headed, yet fearless and loved by her men. The contrast between father and daughter couldn't be more noticable.
** Osbald III to Magnus V Pompey - The latter fought tooth and tail against the seemingly inevitable rise of the Huscarl's stratocracy, and though his efforts ended in failure. He is still remembered in history as one of the Northron monarch's who could've prevented the autocratic rule of the Huscarls had he been successful. Osbald III, on the other hand, pretty much gave up in his attempts to oppose the Heahcarl. Going so far as to leave Bryten to the caste just to escape the omnipresent grip of the Huscarl caste.

** Notable mention goes to the Eastern Roman Empire who, through the effort of one zealous Byzzieboo (a person wholly obsessed with the Byzantine Empire), managed to magic its way out of multiple nation-ending events. To the annoyance and complaints of the other players.

** The Army of Northumbria, led by Weyland Cottar, coming to Lunden's aid against the terrorizing forces of Draco Campbell and his Army.
* BodyGuardBetrayal: How Harald VI is killed.
* TheButcher: Well, Osbald I. He got the epithet after he torched Tabor, and other Bohemian cities, after they refused to surrender. Also applicable to Draco Cambell, the Earl of Argyll. Who launched a bloody insurrection on western Bryten against the forces of the Folkist revolutionaries, Radical Lilids, and the government.

** Harald IV’s coup against his own nephew, the child King Edmund III, could be described as such.

** Attempted by the remaining Totalist Huscarls against the second Diarchy. Their coup against the Heahcarl succeeded, their attempts to depose the government, did not.

** Lord Graerborg to Marshal-Executor Aldraic-Kane. Lord Graerborg is so loyal in fact that even after the Marhal-Executor's death he still endeavoured to ensure his legacy is secure and his family is safe.

** Magnus I's sponsored campaign in Egypt. Edward, later Idward I of Alexandria, won so hard in fact that he was gifted the honor of ruling the newly conquered Kingdom.

* CultColony: The Enochites escaped total decimation in Bryten by fleeing to Avalon.

* DragonAscendant: Morgernsteirne, the zealous Catholic inquisitor of Harald VI, became the Earl-Minister and de-facto leader of the North Sea Empire as Harald fought his war to reclaim Norway.
** Johaness Magnusson was the former Heahcarl of the Northron Empire. A highly disciplined, organized man, he has had many successes in his tenure as Heahcarl of the Empire. Most notable among them his success in severing Norway from the Swedish Empire. However, with his failure to sufficiently deal with the ongoing problem regarding Northron Avalon, and his gross mishandling of the issue. He was ousted, with the permission of the King, by a cabal of plotters and forced to step down from his post. All of this lead to the rise of Haakon Aldraic-Kane to the position of Heahcarl of the Northron Empire, and the Empire was never the same since.

* ElectiveMonarchy: The HRE (HGE, currently) de-jure. But de-facto they're pretty much a hereditary monarchy.

* EyePatchOfPower: Sigismund II the Old Pretender, blinded when young by an assassin sent by Magnus II, leads an invasion of Bryten to depose Magnus III. A badass general with a badass eyepatch to match.

** Any King during the Wyrmcrieg era, really.

* HegemonicEmpire: The HRE (Now the Holy "German" Empire after the Pope revoked their blessing) in Europe, the Suri's in the near-east and India, and the Zhou (now Xu) in East Asia.

** Inverted by the titular city after which the trope is named after, which remains to be named Constantinople.

* NotActuallyHisChild: It is implied in the story that Louis X of France may not be Louis IX's true son, but of Edmund III of Aenglund's due to his fling with Margaret of Provence, Queen of France and wife of Louis IX.

* ThePhilosopherKing: How Magnus III saw himself as.

** The Hellenic Revolution is even moreso. With the added caveate that they also tried to export their revolutionary ideals to their neighbouring nations ala Napoleon.

** France and Hungary are other examples after Occitania seceded during the European Civil War and Hungary was curb-stomped in the mid-16th Century. France in particular has suffered from this since the Black Plague wiped a massive portion of their population.

It is the year of our lord, 1066, and the Kingdom of England is torn. A succession crisis is at hand, and 3 men (Harold Godwinson, Harald Hadrada, and William of Normandy) has thrown their hats into the ring, fighting for the golden price that is England's throne. In our world, it was William of Normandy, the Bastard Duke of the Normans, who eventually won out against his rivals and declared himself the King of Angleterre. Snatching the crown away from the hands of his rivals and into his own. Earning the epithet of 'The Conqueror' for this feat, forever enshrining his name into the history books.

* AChildShallLeadThem: Magnus I ascended to the throne of Aenglund when he was still a child upon his father’s death. Other examples include Einar I, who got deposed before he could rule; Harald V, the son of Harald IV, the man who deposed Einar; Sigismund II, son of Cnut IV and deposed by Magnus II.

** Aureliana - Bought the Basileia ton Rhomaion back from the brink and retook some of their core territories in Anatolia. Also kickstarted a golden age for culture and innovation. Oversaw the step-by-step dismantling of her Empire's rivals, and personally ensured they would never again have the chance to strike at the Basileia Rhomaion [[spoiler: They still could]].

** Ethelreda to Edmund III. Whilst Edmund III tolerated and even empowered the Witan, Ethelreda worked to actively relegate them into irrelevance by attempting to remove their right of choice of the next monarch. Predictably, this caused some discontent and even prompted some of their ranks to rebel. Ethelreda's brutal repression of the dissenters, however, was what truly drove the rest of their ranks into open rebellion. Supporting Alfred "II"'s claim to the throne as one of the last scions of house Wessex.
** Osbald III to Magnus V Pompey. The latter fought tooth and tail against the seemingly inevitable rise of the Huscarl's stratocracy, and though his efforts ended in failure. He is still remembered in history as one of the Northron monarch's who could've prevented the autocratic rule of the Huscarls had he been successful. Osbald III, on the other hand, pretty much gave up in his attempts to oppose the Heahcarl. Going so far as to leave Bryten to the caste just to escape the omnipresent grip of the Huscarl caste.

** Tyffa I and Philippe of France - Well, Tyffa was quite adamant in securing an alliance with the resurgent French Kingdom. And what better way to foster goodwill and trust by offering the highest authority in the NSE to wed the crown prince of France?

* AwesomeButImpractical: The Caesarcannon, the gigantic cannon made specifically for Cnut IV. It killed him on its unveiling.
* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: Harald Hadradas' conquest of Aenglund. There's also Harald IV's war to conquer Norway, Magnus I's sponsored invasion of Egypt, and let's not forget Haakon Ironfist's defeating of the Wends in Pomerania.
* BackFromTheBrink: Hungary. Hungary went from one of Europe's punching bags and being dismembered for choosing the wrong side during the Atlantic War of Succession to being a new rising power, defeating Poland-Bohemia and reclaiming some of their lands lost and allying with the Germans in hopes to reclaim the rest.

** Alfred II during a play which detailed his eventual defeat. It even had a name drop!

* BigDamnHeroes: The Coalition army which consists of the remnants of the Crusader States, the forces of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Ruthenians, and the Papal Armies meeting the Suris in the Great Battle of Constantinople, finally halting the Suri's nigh-unstoppable march west and saving the ERE from total collapse.

** France. Oh, poor France. First suffering a devastating plague ala the Black Death which wiped out a significant portion of its population, then got de-facto dismembered by the Holy Roman Empire when their German dukes started to rule French duchies. Then, when it seemed as if they were on the verge of recovery, they got entangled into a continent-wide succession war, ending in their defeat and Louis the Black ascending to the throne. Who subsequently proceeded to backtrack any and all tolerant laws issued by the Northron Bourbons and is adamantly trying to tie back France to the Church in Rome. Then, finally, as they reached the breaking point and were about to explode in revolt, the Occitans and Cathars revolted, dismembering the French Kingdom in half and causing the eventual downfall of the monarchy. At least with the ascension of Signorie, France bounced back a bit into relevance, being known as the 'Lily Nation' for the beauty of their dresses and richness in culture. And then the d'Arc Doyens of France dragged the nation back into war by involving themselves in the Northron war of Succession, with France currently being invaded by the Germans and facing an internal revolt by a discontented peasantry and scheming nobles.

** Louis the Black, later Louis XIII.

** Another example of this is the Suri invasion of the Crusader States from the Crusader perspective, considering the Suris were the largest empire in the known world with a powerful and efficient military machine while the Crusaders had just been defeated by Egypt and had a woefully obsolete military.

* ReligiousBruiser: Harald VI, in particular. The man's a devout Chalcedonian Catholic through-and-through, whilst being a skilled general to boot. Able to make the Swedes run for their money in his campaign in Norway, which was done whilst his realm in Bryten was in turmoil and social and religious anarchy.

** The reason why Castille was dismembered by Leon and Aragon. Turns out if you run out of Kids and married most of your family into your neighbor's, bad things could happen.

** Somewhat Averted. The Eastern Roman Empire, the classical example of this trope lasts longer in this world and is still present in the “present-day” of the timeline, though they are certainly no longer the powerhouse they were in the past.

* ActionGirl: Multiple rulers in the game count, but special mention goes to:
** Ethelreda I - The sole daughter of the deposed Aenglisk King Einar I who went on and reclaimed her father's Kingdom.
** Caitlin I - Who launched a 'crusade' whilst pregnant, during the Black Death. Without the support of the Huscarls, the backbone of the Kingdom's army.
** Tyffa I - Managed to woo the crown prince of France and created the NSE's standing army.
** Aureliana - Bought the Basileia ton Rhomaion back from the brink and retook some of their core territories in Anatolia.

** Aureliana - Bought the ''Basileia ton Rhomaion'' back from the brink and retook some of their core territories in Anatolia.

** Valerie - The quintessential example of the renaissance woman. Innovator, inventor, novelist, and the possible kick-starter of the coming Industrial Revolution.