Paper Empires: A Sample Dynasty

All right, folks! Time to throw something out there which your own perusal might light upon with some sense of glee. In other words, here's a dynasty for you, in rough alpha form, for you to pick apart and enjoy! And, well, I guess I don't need much more to say than that.

The Dun Crow Donnoleys
The Dun Crow Donnoleys are a terrifying lot of seafaring scallywags, who've sworn to lay claim to the lands of the Ivory Ring Islands. They live to spread their reign of terror far and wide, burning and pillaging, keeping small settlements under duress. They've decided that they're going to do some settling now, making port towns for their own, to rake in more loot and become a major power in the Islands.

Signature Trait: Ruthless (one province per turn gains a +2 military bonus)
Signature Ability: No Quarter--when you use this ability, all provinces gain a +3 military bonus. Each province attacked by you this turn loses 1 population (limit once per province).
The Donnoleys are feared, because they are not known for mercy. It's a miracle, some say, if you survive, though maybe less so depending on your fate afterwards. Slavery under the Donnoleys is not always a pleasant manner, and neither is being held for ransom by them.

Cultural Trait: Clans (all provinces with 2 culture or more gain +1 happiness)
Donnoley blood sticks together, and where the Donnoleys have spread, there is also loyalty to the standard of the Dun Crow. Spread the offspring of the Donnoleys far and wide, and your empire will be much-pleased.

Unique Landmark: The Pale Banshee (all military dice rolled by this province reroll if the result is a 1)
The Pale Banshee is a rumor, some say, a tale to frighten off sailors who stray too near to the bounds of the Donnoley's islands. Others put much faith in its existence: a ship with a wailing crew, whose very sight calls death down upon visiting ships.


You'll notice a couple things about this. First off, there's a "Unique Landmark". This is a major building, legacy, cultural idea, or otherwise noteworthy but somewhat tangible thing which an empire makes. While landmarks can be made by every empire, each dynasty also has its own unique landmark, exclusive to it. The full game will include options and rules for constructing your own dynasty's personal Unique Landmark from scratch, and all settings will include sample Unique Landmarks. Second, of course, there's a major pirate theming to this. That's because this comes from *drumroll* one of the three settings that I'm planning on putting in Paper Empires...

• Dangerous Tides, inspired by the popular Pirates of the Caribbean series, mashing together make-believe pirate lore and swashbuckling action, along with a dose of the somewhat "unnerving and highly...unnatural-like".


• Mithril Muskets, a colonial fantasy world...because let's face it--RPG geeks always gotta stick fantasy in there somewhere.


• Imperialism, a somewhat historical recreation of Europe and its encounters with the New World, heavily inspired by the game Sid Meier's Colonization.

So, hang along for the ride! It oughta be fun.