Empire is a British LRP system run by Profound Decisions since Spring 2013. (source)
. Characters are the heroes, movers and shakers of an Empire attempting to pull its way out of a period of decline. The game started shortly after the death of the latest Empress.
The game itself centres around summits held four times a year on the Solstices and Equinoxes in the town of Anvil. Contingents are sent by each of the nations that make up the empire to trade, do politics, discuss magic and religion, perform powerful rituals, and for the great heroes of the Empire to use the Sentinel gate (see Stargate) to make surgical strikes against barbarian forces and turn the tide of conflicts that occur during the downtime.
The Nations each possess unique traditions, histories and material culture, with the distinctiveness of their heritage being magically preserved by Egregores; essentially spirits of a nation (see Uncle Sam or Brittania) that inhabit certain players who exemplify their people.
Dawn is based on Arthurian and similar medieval fantasy. They have a large emphasis on the concepts of glory and True Love, both of which are hotly debated in nation. People in this nation live in Houses, where they are either nobles if they have passed their Test of Mettle or yeofolk if they have not (whether they're working on it or have chosen not to).
Highguard is aesthetically based on the crusaders, but are far less so in how they act. They believe that they are the founders of the Empire, and are proud of their orthodoxy when it comes to the Way (the religion followed in game), with many of them holding congregations to influence the religious politics of the setting.
Navarr are made of the ancestors of a civilisation called Terunael, which current knowledge says was a powerful nation with what would be considered highly advanced technology. For reasons unknown, there was a large Spring ritual cast that unleashed the vallorn, and now many of them work to try and end its threat. They are now a semi-nomadic culture with hints of celtic influence.
The Marches are named for the people, Marchers, who quite literally marched out of Dawn to found their own land when the yeofolk(peasant class) demand for equality was rejected. A nation of working class heroes with a merry old england aesthetic with a healthy dose of folk horror. Think hobbits crossed with the village from the Wickerman.
Varushka is inspired by Eastern European fairytale and also slavic aesthetics. Their homeland is filled with monsters who work off bargains and deals, and a stern but hospitable people who have grown used to the rules required to make a life there.
Wintermark composed of three sub nations in the cold north. The cunning Suaq are based on the Saami, and wear coats painted with great stories and fables. The wise Kallavesi are mystics, often covered in Raven feathers. The bold Steinr are inspired by Anglo-Saxon Viking.
The League are Hanseatic league style traders, with Swiss and German aesthetics. They also make clocks. Their fighters often look like landschnekts. More likely to rip you off than the Brass Coast.
The Brass Coast are a colourful nation of seafaring traders. Adorned with bright colours, silks, turbans, jewelry, they have a vaguely Morrocan aesthetic. Known as the freeborn, they got fed up with highguard and left to found their own trading communities. Whilst still competitive traders, they're more likely to decide they like you and cut a good deal.
Urizen is a nation of ivory tower academics, philosophers and mages. They focus on the idea of arete and controlling your emotions so they can be let out at the perfect moment. Classical Greece aesthetics with some influence from asian monasticism. Fighters often seen in hoplite gear.
The Imperial Orcs are a fiercely loyal warrior people earned their status as the tenth nation during a slave rebellion against the Empire. They hear the voices of their ancestors, who are frequently less than pleasant to descendents.
Tropes
- Annoying Arrows : Averted. Anyone armoured in anything less than a full steel suit of plate or chain immediately drops to 0 hits and starts to bleed out when hit by an arrow shot by an archer. Played straight by any player that happens not to notice the arrow, however.
- Armor and Magic Don't Mix : Downplayed. Rituals and spells can't be cast while wearing regular armour, but by taking Battlemage, a magician can wear mage armour, which offers less protection than regular armour but allows you to wear it while casting spells and rituals.
- Blood Magic : Can be a way to cast rituals, most common in Varushka and Navarr (who put a big emphasis on it being blood given willingly).
- Citadel City : Holberg, a city so strong it has never fallen to an invader (even to the Empire - it joined by treaty). That was pretty useful during the thirty year siege.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience : The major orc barbarian tribes all wear different colours - the Jotun wear red, the Grendal purple, the Druj green and the Thule blue.
- Colony Ship : These brought the Highguard to the lands of the Empire - before there was an Empire, of course.
- Coup de Grâce : Possible through the use of an Execute call when someone has lost all their hitpoints and is on their bleed counter.
- Dark Is Not Evil: The Eternals of Night are actually pretty nice - at least they can be. They can still be a problem for the Empire though - they encourage people to follow their passions, whether it is to fight to protect the Empire, or spread the heretical words of the false virtue of Hope.
- Disposing of a Body : The ritual "Turns the Circle" speeds up the natural process of decay until there is nothing left but a patch of vegetation. This has two uses: it works to Hide the Evidence of a murder, and allows the character playing the dead body to get up and go make a new character.
- The Dung Ages : It's not Dung, it's LAND and the Marchers are very proud of it.
- Enchanted Forest : Varushka is filled with these, of the 'everything here can and will kill you' variety.
- Everybody's Dead, Dave : Empress Britta dies in a Curb-Stomp Battle one month before the start of the campaign along with anyone who held any official imperial position.
- Eldritch Abomination: Some of the Eternals (Extraplanar magical beings) are pretty much these. The Day realm in particular is known for Go Mad from the Revelation as a side effect of mistakes. Or certain big offensive rituals.
- Eldritch Location The Black Plateau, an giant obsidian Pleateau which posseses some kind of intelligence and drives those nearby insane by its mere presence. It has recently Awakened.
- Experience Points : You get one experience point for the first and third event you attend each year, which can be spent on new skills for your character.
- The Federation: Despite its name, the Empire is this. It is a union of ten (previously nine) nations, who each control different territory and elect senators for their territory in unique ways. The nations are - The Brass Coast, Dawn, Highguard, The League, The Marches,Navarr, Urizen, Varushka, Wintermark and the Imperial Orcs.
- Fighting for a Homeland: When Empress Britta died, the Imperial Orcs had no land to call their own, but could raise as many fighters as almost any other nation. After a few years, they were finally given a territory to call their own.
- Flat-Earth Atheist: The Way of Virtue (the Imperial Religion) claims that while a creator spirit does exist, it has no control over humanity, and it is up to humans to claim their destiny themselves. It accepts powerful beings like Eternals exist (and often deal with them) but they're not considered gods - and worshipping them or anything else is grounds for being convicted of idolatry.
- Full-Contact Magic: Spellcasting requires the caster to be close enough to touch the target in order for it to take effect. Combat spells require the caster to physically hit their target with a weapon in order to deliver the spell.
- Green Thumb: Spring magic involves controlling the primal forces of nature. This can give bountiful growth and healing, but also can cause storms and plagues to ravage the land.
- Glory Seeker: The entirety of Dawn.
- Higher Understanding Through Drugs: All priest skills are powered by a state-produced drug.
- Honesty Is the Best Policy: The Brass Coast think so. In fact, they're so brazen and willing to speak the truth it gives the name of the nation.
- Interrogating the Dead: Mages have two ways of communicating with the characters who have died: The spell "Voice for the dead" allows for talking to someone who has only just died while the ritual "Whispers through the Black Gate" summons the spirit of someone who died less recently.
- Knight Errant: The nation of Dawn is full of these. As one can only join the nobility by completing a Test of Mettle, a quest chosen by a houses leader to prove their glory, plenty of Dawnish go out wandering to find monsters to slay and quests to complete.
- Mage Tower: The spire is the standard settlement of Urizen - an airy tower on a mountain, where magicians can master their skills. Though they also the centres of Urizen agriculture and industry as well.
- Magic Music: Music of the Spheres, one of the ritual traditions. A caster uses a different scale for each realm of magic, and maintain specific notes to define the purpose of the ritual.
- Mana : Personal mana is used to cast spells. A magician starts out with 4 personal mana (which can be refreshed with potions, staying in a place that has been enchanted by certain rituals and refresh naturally each day), but they can get more by spending xp.
- Mirroring Factions: The Jotun orcs are expansionist conquerors, who have taken human lands and suppressed the native humans, preventing them from practising their religion. However, they do offer status to those who fight for them, and are honourable on the battlefield when it suits them. This could be a word a word description of the Empire, with humans and orcs reversed.
- Our Orcs Are Different: They can't access the past life's that humans can. Instead they hear their ancestors all the time. Some say this means they don't have souls. Orcs disagree. Recently, Orcs have been allowed to join the formerly human-only nation of the League.
- Past-Life Memories : The State Religion has been developed from a succession of these, experienced while under the influence of Phlebotinum Pills.
- Ritual Magic : Possible to do in game. There's 6 realms of magic, each of which you can take points of lore in, giving you the ability to cast the rituals of that realm.
- Sacred Hospitality: Varushkans take it very seriously, and will take in strangers despite the dangers of their lands. But they have good reason to - many a monster disguised as human cannot change shape if they are treated as the role they take, so treating them as an honoured guest prevents them from harming you.
- Wintermark also have a tradition of one night's mandatory (for the host) hospitality.
- Shining City : The city of Bastion fulfils this role, being the centre of the state religion. It's essentially a city of monuments to the nation of Highguard.
- Smart People Build Robots : Urizen have the Ushabti, special robots that only work in their territories as a result of their hearth magic.
- Smoking Gun Control : If there is an off-screen, especially magical, way for the militia to prove the guilt of a player character then the lead will turn out to be a dead end.
- Sorcerous Overlord: The powerful magicians Dragons (who are orcs) lead the Thule, barbarians from north of the Empire.
- Tainted Veins: Briars and draughir can manifest visible green or black veins respectively as an effect of their lineage.
- Teleportation: There's only one of them, and the Empire uses it to drop PCs behind enemy lines for small-scale fights.
- The Theocracy: Downplayed. The Synod (the general body of priests) has the ability to investigate people for lack of virtue, veto motions and removed generals, senators and even the Empress, but it doesn't actually get to make the decisions itself.
- Vestigial Empire: The Navarr. Once, their cities stretched across all of the lands now held by the Empire and beyond. But after the Vallorn destroyed their cities, they are now reduced to a few forest towns and many disparate groups wandering across the Empire.
- Downplayed with the Empire itself. It has lost territory in the last generation, but it has reclaimed a lot of that now, and it is still by far the greatest power in the region.
- When Trees Attack: The Navarr used to have cities. Now they're wandering traders and scouts in the Empire. This can be traced back to a magical accident that turned all their cities into homicidal forests.
- The Empire can also cause this albeit temporarily with a Spring ritual.
- World-Healing Wave: Double Subverted. A powerful spell of Spring magic sweeps across the war torn, poisoned land of Reikos - resulting in villages being swallowed up by forest, farmland turning to fields of mushrooms, and old buildings and relics crumbling away to nothing. However, the magic also removes the poison from the water, breaks the curse on the land and turns the battlefields lush and beautiful again.
- Utility Magic: Ritual magic can bless farms, give wealth to businesses, enhance trading vessels and boost mines. It can also send messages, rot or preserve corpses, and has many divination rituals.
- Unobtainium : Ilium. It's metal that falls from the sky, which has incredible magical properties (it's used to make permanent magical rituals and artefacts). It's so valuable that a ring's worth of it can be compared in price to a tonne of mithril (which is also insanely valuable).
- True Liao. It can make priest ceremonies permenant and allows a person to have a past life vision. One in about ten thousand doses of regular liao turns into the stuff and there's only ever around 5 doses produced at the start of each summit.
