The Watchers on the Wall - Westerosi RP [OOC]

[Argentumurbem]

A Night's Watch RP

The Night's Watch was created at the end of the Long Night, during the Age of Heroes, following the defeat of the Others. As such, it is the oldest organisation left in Westeros, surviving the Andal Invasions, the fall of the First Men kingdoms and the War of Conquest. During its heyday, the Watch maintained seventeen castles and ten thousand men-at-arms, experienced fighters defending the lands of the South from the nightmares Beyond the Wall. However, they have lost sight of their true purpose, considering the Wildlings the enemy they are meant to stand resolute against.

The Seven Kingdoms no longer pay due respects to the Wall and the black brothers who patrol its chilling heights, instead focusing on their political infighting. The Shieldhall does not possess as many sigils as it once did, no longer a rainbow of history and tradition and prestige. The castles are undermanned, the banners held aloft by the discarded and exiled of the Kingdom. An old man reigns as Lord Commander and the Wildlings are as numerous and bloodthirsty as ever. It appears to any observer that the realm itself is coming towards a great sundering and the brothers of the watch are in no position to stem the disasters coming towards them, riding an avalanche of icy desire and empty passion.

The Setting
This is a Night's Watch rp set a few years before the onset of the great civil war later known as The Dance of the Dragons, a conflict which saw an end to the dragons and gave rise to the possibility of a new dynasty assuming the throne. During this time, the Night's Watch must deal with a growing Wildling presence both beyond the wall and south of it, fighting on land and sea with an ever dwindling pool of resources. The Good Queen Alysanne has been dead for decades, and her gifts already spent. Fewer and fewer southerners consider the Watch a worth service and the recent summer appears to be slowly coming to an end.

Will the Watch remain resolute against the Wildling raiders who harry the North? Can the black brothers keep the Free Folk from uniting under the leadership of one of their fiercest warriors? And shall the outcasts be able to alter the events of the South, of keeping the court of dragons united despite the fierce jealous and ambition of great men and women?

You may app for a simple black brother in either three branches, a senior brother or indeed the command of one of the castles along the Wall

Code: Select all

NationState Name:
Name:
Age: 
Appearance:  (pictures or short paragraph)
Personality/Traits:
Religion:
Biography:
Skills:  (please do not go overboard, since these are not really going to be used except for big plot points, all have a maximum number of 20)
- Intelligence:  (general cleverness and perception, useful for reading people and exploiting opportunities)
- Charm:  (general ability to speak to people and win them, useful for making people trust you)
- Toughness:  (how much punishment you can take before being unable to get back up, useful for staying alive)
- Stealth:  (this represents how deft your hands are, how quiet your steps can be, and if your breath mists in the air)
- Weapon Proficiency:  (general aptitude for weapons)
- Survival Skill:  (used to survive in the wild and exploit mother nature's resources.  Allows you to make tracks, track tracks and be crafty)
Position:  (what are you in the Night's Watch?  Builder/Steward/Ranger and what rank have you attained?)
Years of Service:  (how long as your character served in the Watch for?)


Notes on Character Creation
- Please delete everything in parenthesis
- Please refer here for firstnames: http://oakthorne.net/wiki/index.php?tit ... rosi_Names
- Remember that commoners would not have surnames except for "of ..."
- Example: Endrew of Saltpans
- the older your character, the higher chance that you have of possessing a greater reputation (and therefore rank) among your brothers
- Remember for the biography at least two decently-sized paragraphs and please do not make it outlandish, a simple tale of how a poacher was sent to the wall is far better than how a blacksmith's son gained knighthood, took down a rebelling lord oh and did I forget he is half-targ? And if he has served for a long period of time do not forget to mention what he has done in the Watch to warrant his current rank
- The ranks below have been arbitrarily created due to little "canon" structure being offered. They are just "generalisations" so some senior rangers will follow other senior rangers and lordlings will find themselves serving commoners etc.

Ranks and Positions of the Watch
Castle Black Command
These are the leading figures within the Watch, stationed at Castle Black and responsible for the running of the Night's Watch and their perpetual fight against the Wildlings
- Lord Commander of the Night's Watch: ~ reserved ~
- - Lord Steward:
- - First Ranger:
- - First Builder:

Castle Commands
The greatest and worst of the Watch have found themselves placed in command of one of the twelve castles along the wall. Badly undermanned and ill-supplied, the near future of all but four of these fortifications is in doubt. Expensive to maintain and nigh-impossible to expand, each castle is a silent witness to the fading glory of the Night's Watch.
- Westwatch-by-the-Bridge:
- - Garrisoned by fifty men rotated every forty days with the men stationed at the Shadow Tower. Westwatch is notorious for always suffering at least a single death every rotation
- Shadow Tower:
- - Garrisoned by four hundred men who are responsible for the recent victories against Wildling raiders under Othell the Forest-Knight
- Greyguard:
- - Houses almost two hundred men, ill-reputed for the high casualties sustained by the soldiers there.
- Stonedoor:
- - Fifty black brothers, mostly builders, call the crumbling keep home. The most likely castle to be abandoned next
- Deep Lake:
- - Fifty members of the Night's Watch are garrisoned here.
- Queensgate:
- - Renamed in memory of their friend Alysanne Targaryen, Queensgate has had its garrison redoubled to two hundred strong. This is also where the majority of new recruits are trained, making it one of the more influential postings for a senior commander.
- Castle Black:
- - just over a thousand men call the central keep of the Wall home. This is the seat of the Watch's primary command
- Woodswatch-by-the-Pool:
- - Eighty crows are stationed here at any one time
- Sable Hall:
- - Seventy-five Watch members are posted at Sable Hall, recently recaptured from the Wildling raiders of Chief Tormund Greatson
- Greenguard:
- - Fifty black brothers call Greenguard home.
- Eastwatch-by-the-Sea:
- - Five hundred brothers are stationed here, responsible for the safety of the vital sea trade lanes between the Wall and the rest of the world

Senior Ranger
- - A commoner who has served many years in the Watch patrolling the far north, given authority over their fellow brothers. Depending on their reputation and service, they can be granted command of hundreds of brothers and are the usual candidates for the position of castle commander.
- Ranger
- - A man assigned to the militant branch of the brotherhood, rangers are the eyes and fists of the Watch, ranging beyond the safety of the Wall in search of the enemy.
Castle Steward
- - An accomplished man of words and letters who is the personal assistant and adviser to the castle commander. Sometimes has the honour of being named second-in-command. They are also the personal stewards to Watch commanders
- Steward
- - Administrators and logistical support, the Stewards ensure that records are maintained, clothes mended and food supplied. Without them the Watch would cease to be.
Senior Builder
- - A man who has learned pretty much everything that is necessary for the maintenance of the castles defending the Wall, this man is given the dual authority and responsibility for overseeing the servicing of a section of the Wall.
- Builder
- - Without the builders, there would be ruins in place of castles, ditches in place of barracks. They are also responsible for arming the brothers in the face of enemy aggression.
- - Recruit
- - - Not yet completed their training or taken the vows, these men come from across the realm, from a myriad of differing backgrounds.

Note: Those men of noble birth, derogatorily named "Lordlings", can expect to be granted a position of authority as soon as they have completed their vows. As such, they are considered "Senior" from their induction whereas commoners need to be promoted through the ranks.

[Argentumurbem]

Roster
Abelard Frey, Lord Commander
Gwayne of Molestown, Senior Ranger

F&Q

[Austria and Bavaria]

Tag

[Austria and Bavaria]

WIP

NationState Name: Austria and Bavaria
Name: Ryon Bolton
Age: 38
Appearance:

Personality/Traits: Cunning, Ruthless, Dedicated to the Watch, Soft-Spoken, Stubborn and Secretive.
Religion: Old Gods
Biography:
Skills:
- Intelligence: 16 Ryon is noted to be among the more cunning members of the Watch.
- Charm: 9 Ryon is not the friendliest of people, due to his cold nature and reputation for ruthlessness.
- Toughness: 11
- Stealth: 16
- Weapon Proficiency: 12
- Survival Skill: 9
Position: Commander of Queensgate, Senior Ranger.
Years of Service: 18 Years.

[Argentumurbem]

Example App:
(says don't go outlandish but goes outlandish )

NationState Name: Argentumurbem
Name: Abelard Frey
Age: 61
Appearance:

Personality/Traits: Proud, to an extreme state of vanity. Quick-tempered and foul mouthed, he is a very unlikeable man well past his prime.
Religion: The Seven
Biography: Born a Frey, destined to become Lord himself, Abelard never had any intention of giving up his rich seat in favour of a cold life on the Wall. Trained by knights, tutored by maesters, he was brought up as a man of honour and integrity. A skilled horseman and deadly with axe, he was the Crossing's finest entrant in to the tourneys which sprang up across the realm. From the golden arches of Lannisport to the ivory tilts of King's Landing, the young knight rode against the finest of horsemen. Earning gold and fame for himself and his family, the nobleman married Lady Sybella Darry. Together, the couple went on to have several children, the eldest being named Forrest Frey.
However, disaster was to befall the lord. Sybella was murdered at the command of Abelard's brother, an act which threatened to rip the House itself apart. Driven by anger and paranoia, Abelard culled his own family. This act branded him a kinslayer, a sinner so heinous in nature as to turn all those he knew against him. While others would have held their title, defying their lessers to take it from them, Abelard understood what his wife would have wanted for him.
The Watch accepted him and a score of Frey men, exchanging the grey and blue for black and black. Assigned to the Rangers, commanding a detachment from out of Castle Black, Abelard proved himself as being a fast learner. He listened to the men beneath him, took on board what they had to say and seemed to care for them as if they were his own children. For years he guarded the Wall and ranged The Haunted Forest, killing Wildlings and burying brothers as the winds snapped at him. The death of Lord Commander Harys Corbray left a vacancy, the apparent heir Tymon Swann long missing on a naval patrol around Skagos. So instead Abelard found himself able to win enough votes to become the Lord Commander.
As Lord Commander, Abelard found himself once more a lord of a holding, even if this one was not technically a lordship. He found bonding with the other officers harder now, believing that he needed to set an example. So Frey became aloft and distant from his men, dismissing casualty reports in favour of the latest sightings of Wildlings. Wanting to create a legacy his dead wife would be proud of, and his traitorous family envious of, Abelard has spent over a decade striving to remake the Watch in to what it used to be. As such, his energy has been sapped, his mood fouled and his age heightened.
Skills:
- Intelligence: 10 - used to be quite quick, however age and a poor personality has robbed him of a good deal of his sense
- Charm: 10 - while he is known for the quantity of his words, their quality is seriously lacking
- Toughness: 12 - an old man, Abelard still stubbornly clings to life, unwilling to give up what he has gained
- Stealth: 5 - beyond putting key in to lock, his fingers are too stiff to do anything.
- Weapon Proficiency: 14 - once a skilled fighter, if brutal in its execution, the heavy weight of age is pressing down on him
- Survival Skill: 15 - although he has not needed to forage himself, the Lord Commander still commands an impressive arsenal of hard-earned knowledge for keeping alive in the snows
Position: Lord Commander, formerly Ranger
Years of Service: 34

[The Brand New Salvatagard Republic]

Reserve(I no longer say tag, reserve, because I found out that tagging is also spamming.).

[Argentumurbem]

Happy holidays to all. Now get to writing your apps for some wonderful adventures in the name of the Watch

[Caralia]

NationState Name: Caralia
Name: Gwayne of Molestown
Age: 35
Appearance: Gwayne stands around six foot three, a brown beard grown half-wild covering most of his lower face, the rest covered by a grim smile and two staring green eyes, remarkably warm despite their owner. Brach is a broad, rough man, resembling a wildling in most aspects presentable asides his more military demeanor. The watch has been his life since he could think to call it such, and the wall has shaped him, his skin an alternating mottle of searing and freezing. His hands are coated in callouses, a single wooden ring on each ring finger, engraved with the name of the commander who trained him, and the other with the name of his mother, scratched out and replaced with an inscription of ''The Watch''. He generally fights with an axe when possible, and takes a perhaps slightly more than is normal enjoyment in using it.
Personality/Traits: Optimistic, Friendly, Dedicated to the Watch, Loyal to the extreme, Occasionally undisciplined.
Religion: The watch takes primacy, but the Old Gods bore witness to his vows.
Biography: Gwayne was born in Molestown, a scarce few hours walk from the wall, with the looming leviathan present throughout all his days. As soon as it could be allowed he joined up, as an aide and a squire at the age of eleven. He grew up in the castles of the wall, swearing his vows when he turned fifteen, and joining the rangers, serving with loyalty and duty for the years of his early manhood, and serving with enough distinction to eventually reach the rank of Senior Ranger, despite his common birth. He seemed to fit into the network of brothers almost unnaturally well, with friends nigh on everywhere, and a constant willingness to lend a hand where possible. At current he is eager to do his duty as best he may, and he does his very best to ignore the slowly decaying wall, though doing his utmost to cease or slow it's fall.
Skills: (please do not go overboard, since these are not really going to be used except for big plot points, all have a maximum number of 20)
- Intelligence: 7 (He isn't bright. He can count men on an upcoming hill well and good, but he couldn't tell you how many types of horse live in Dorne, or what Dorne is other than a place cold people would rather be.
- Charm: 14 (He's a friendly, Optimistic fellow, fitting into military camaraderie as if he'd never known anything else, mainly because he hasn't. People trust him rather instinctively, because most know he'd never care to do anything about that.)
- Toughness: 16 (He's a rough bastard to be sure, he's never known a life other than the frozen wilderness, and it seems utterly incomprehensible to him to even really complain of it.)
- Stealth: 4 (Couldn't sneak through a butcher's shop when the butcher's not home)
- Weapon Proficiency: 13 (He's a damn fine axe-man, and has a fair skill with a bow, a hammer or a longsword, but the dagger eludes him, and crossbows don't fit well with his rough hands.)
- Survival Skill: 15 (He can tough it out in the wastes as any ranger should be able to, and he has a good deal of skill in tracking, hunting, and generally fighting beyond the wall.)
Position: Senior Ranger.
Years of Service: At least nominally twenty five years, though only technically twenty one years.

[Argentumurbem]

NationState Name: Caralia
Name: Gwayne of Molestown
Age: 35
Appearance: Gwayne stands around six foot three, a brown beard grown half-wild covering most of his lower face, the rest covered by a grim smile and two staring green eyes, remarkably warm despite their owner. Brach is a broad, rough man, resembling a wildling in most aspects presentable asides his more military demeanor. The watch has been his life since he could think to call it such, and the wall has shaped him, his skin an alternating mottle of searing and freezing. His hands are coated in callouses, a single wooden ring on each ring finger, engraved with the name of the commander who trained him, and the other with the name of his mother, scratched out and replaced with an inscription of ''The Watch''. He generally fights with an axe when possible, and takes a perhaps slightly more than is normal enjoyment in using it.
Personality/Traits: Optimistic, Friendly, Dedicated to the Watch, Loyal to the extreme, Occasionally undisciplined.
Religion: The watch takes primacy, but the Old Gods bore witness to his vows.
Biography: Gwayne was born in Molestown, a scarce few hours walk from the wall, with the looming leviathan present throughout all his days. As soon as it could be allowed he joined up, as an aide and a squire at the age of eleven. He grew up in the castles of the wall, swearing his vows when he turned fifteen, and joining the rangers, serving with loyalty and duty for the years of his early manhood, and serving with enough distinction to eventually reach the rank of Senior Ranger, despite his common birth. He seemed to fit into the network of brothers almost unnaturally well, with friends nigh on everywhere, and a constant willingness to lend a hand where possible. At current he is eager to do his duty as best he may, and he does his very best to ignore the slowly decaying wall, though doing his utmost to cease or slow it's fall.
Skills: (please do not go overboard, since these are not really going to be used except for big plot points, all have a maximum number of 20)
- Intelligence: 7 (He isn't bright. He can count men on an upcoming hill well and good, but he couldn't tell you how many types of horse live in Dorne, or what Dorne is other than a place cold people would rather be.
- Charm: 14 (He's a friendly, Optimistic fellow, fitting into military camaraderie as if he'd never known anything else, mainly because he hasn't. People trust him rather instinctively, because most know he'd never care to do anything about that.)
- Toughness: 16 (He's a rough bastard to be sure, he's never known a life other than the frozen wilderness, and it seems utterly incomprehensible to him to even really complain of it.)
- Stealth: 4 (Couldn't sneak through a butcher's shop when the butcher's not home)
- Weapon Proficiency: 13 (He's a damn fine axe-man, and has a fair skill with a bow, a hammer or a longsword, but the dagger eludes him, and crossbows don't fit well with his rough hands.)
- Survival Skill: 15 (He can tough it out in the wastes as any ranger should be able to, and he has a good deal of skill in tracking, hunting, and generally fighting beyond the wall.)
Position: Senior Ranger.
Years of Service: At least nominally twenty five years, though only technically twenty one years.

Accepted.

[Argentumurbem]

I have decided that all players can have up to four characters. However you cannot have more than one castle commander, or three in the same branch. Furthermore, any and all characters within the same branch (if apping for two rangers, for example) cannot start in the same location.

There are Five initial starting points where the characters will be plunged straight in to some sort of conflict. This does not mean that all players need to start here, but it is recommended.

- Eastwatch-by-the-Sea: After receiving word of smugglers traveling north to trade with Wildlings, the Night's Watch fleet, under the command of the steward nicknamed "Hunchback Royalty", is being readied to intercept. The pride of the Night's Watch's fleet has been seconded to this mission, five galleys newly purchased from the dockyards of Lannisport, the "Watch's Pride" squadron. With a detachment from Castle Black already on their way to bolster the crew complements, it is not long until they set sail. What they do not know is that these smugglers are not interested in the trade of goods, and their vessels were furnished for war.
- Castle Black: In the heart of the Night's Watch's primary outpost, a recent batch of recruits have completed their vows before the Seven and are being divided between the branches. As the small ceremony takes place, a heavy column of riders are scouted approaching from the south. Banners fly by the dozen, of giants and starbursts and a flayed man. The men beneath them are bloodied and bruised, their frowns deep burrows cut in to their faces. The Watch has failed them, and they have come for answers.
- Sable Hall: Recently reclaimed, Sable Hall is still undergoing vital maintenance. However, under the initiative of the castle commander and in agreement with the garrisons of Woodswatch-by-the-Pool and Greenguard, a column of sixty Watchmen have gone out in order to capture or kill the fleeing Chief Tormund. Leaving their respective keeps severely undermanned, the hunting party hope to claim their kill within days, a few weeks at most. What they have underestimated is the tenacity of the Free Folk and their knowledge of the forest.
- Westwatch-by-the-Bridge: With the rotation's death still to be claimed, the garrison's high spirits after their victory over Othell has once more been reduced by the stress of the knowledge that one of their number was sure to die. Their commander a former steward who has spent most of his career tending to the food stores, the garrison is about to be ordered to send out a ranging party in order to survey the land. With reinforcements from Shadow Tower already on their way, the men are about to become the instigators of a costly series of clashes between the Watch and the nature of the Far North itself.

[Austria and Bavaria]

So....should my character not be commander of Queen's Gate?

[Argentumurbem]

So....should my character not be commander of Queen's Gate?

No that is perfectly fine, your character will simply not be thrust straight in to the "action" without any freewill.

[Argentumurbem]

I didn't, I didn't nudge this did I?