The Order of The Rose - Wield True Power as an Agent of The Empire

Hosted Games Works In Progress
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In the year 1145, following the assassination of the Empress Candor at the vile hands of the heretic known as the Black Prince, the Emperor Tiberius III set into motion the brotherhood that would become the Order of the Rose. Immune to all law save that of their elders, members of the Order are among the most powerful and influential people in the Empire. They have one directive; to root out and utterly destroy all forms of corruption, subterfuge, and heresy within the Empire. They are given the right to use any means necessary to do so, and no one, not even the royal family, are beyond their reach.

Only the best and the brightest may join their brotherhood, and they keep their number at exactly ninety nine active agents. Should one perish in the line of duty (or otherwise), the Grandmasters are deployed to their assigned territories across the Empire in search of new recruits. Once a potential recruit has been found, they are evaluated for their purity, faith, and honor. Then they are initiated into the Order under the wing of their Ringmaster. During this process, the mages of the Order perform transformations to the recruit, altering them until they become the apex of human capability and potential. Should the recruit survive the process, they are given the title of Inquisitor and assigned to a city and district.

Each Inquisitor of the Order is independent, operating however they wish, with access to nearly unlimited resources and power. The only person they answer to is their Grandmaster. How they do their job is up to them, and no questions will ever be asked.

An unwritten job of the iInquisitor is to inspire fear in the people. Give them something to be more scared of than the Black Prince and his army of foul Heretics. Most newly initiated Inquisitors are often surprised by the lengths people will go to avoid their scrutiny, but will eventually get used to it.

As well as the near unlimited wealth of the Order of the Rose, the Inquisitors also have access to the services of the Knights of the Rose. These men and women are considered the personal army of the Order, and employ their services to any Inquisitor in need of aid. However, should an Inquisitor in the field have need of an army, and there are no depositories nearby, then the Inquisitor may feel free to commandeer anything they need from the local government or authority.

In this game you will begin your journey as a potential recruit, one of five races, from one of thirteen distinct territories, each with different traits and mannerisms.

Please leave any suggestions and ideas you may have, and a demo is currently in the works. Thanks!

After a long hiatus I have returned and am more than ready to finally give this project the attention and care it deserved. It was always a favorite idea of mine and I plan to use what I’ve learned in my past few years of game development to make the best version of my vision. I hope you all will come along again for the ride and as always, feedback is appreciated.

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Oh this sounds so cool! I’m so excited! :smiley:

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Sounds awesome!
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Definitely sounds Awesome

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The only question that comes to mind - if the Inquisitors have such unchecked power, where’s the challenge?

I guess we’ll have to see when we actually find out what we (as in, the PC) are up against.

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Can’t wait for the demo!

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Interesting, are you planning on using the traditional fantasy races, or races of you own devisings?

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The challenge lies in more than just using the power that you have. There will be some situations where you can win by simply being more powerful than your opponent, but others require some work and preparation. For example, lets say your task was to travel to a small, isolated village in the freezing cold north where reports of recruiters for the Black Princes army were operating. You were told to make all haste by your Grandmaster. Currently you are in your keep, (all inquisitors have it, call it “home base” if you will, but it could be anything from a fortress built into a mountain to an underground cave in the sewers of a city), and you have your house guards, and thats it. The nearest Rose Knights are a weeks ride away, and you don’t have the luxury of that much time. So, you depart, taking your weapons, and maybe your companions(who most likely are not inquisitors). Already, the only power you have now is the fear your position(and your name if you’re particularly notorious) inspires. And your personal skill as well.

Arriving at the village, you find that the law enforcement there is practically nonexistent and sloppy. You find the sheriff drunk, and come to the conclusion that you are, once again, left to your own devices. From this point, the PC could do several things. They could take the most overt road and go around kicking down doors and whatnot, relying on the terrible town guard to help you out in a pinch. Or you could disguise yourself, choosing to act like a Black Prince Sympathizer, or just plain old Heretic. This could trick the recruiters into coming to you instead. Or you could use your ability to inspire terror to interrogate people around the town and get some answers and clues.

Each choice that you make would affect how people, and other Inquisitors view you. Are you known to be the Hammer of Justice, bringing down swift, brutal, and excessive punishment to those you deem worthy? Or are you the name that will be whispered in fear, and whose reputation can make grown men quake in their boots? Perhaps you will be the sympathetic Inquisitor, choosing to treat all with kindness, known for fairness and honor? Do you use the very dark magics you fight against, choosing to “fight fire with fire”? Or are you a devout follower of the True Faith, upholding the tenets and virtues of your gods? Do other Inquisitors view you as a radical, willing to do whatever it takes, or do they see you as a white knight, perhaps too “clean” for your own good?

I would like to make this game challenging, but not in the sense that I will run you in circles, make you tap through long stat-based battles, and the like, but rather make it a cerebral and character-relationship based story. I want to allow you to make your name feared or loved, respected or hated. I love in games when I can see other NPC characters react to my PC’s reputation and actions in a way that was my own choosing.

Another goal of mine is to allow your character to make real relationships, and to see your companions react to you dynamically. Some companions may not appreciate your actions and they will vocalize their opinions, and so on and so forth.

Another note - The Inquisitors are known for infighting quite a bit. Some of the challenges of the game will revolve around maneuvering the political landscape of the Order of The Rose.

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i will b using races of my own creation. Give me a moment, and I will post a summary of their traits and differences.

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Races

Humans- The most common of the races, I don’t think I need to describe them.

The Hyrgen - The average member of this race has a delicate build, and are a little shorter than the average human male. They have dark turquoise skin and are completely hairless. They have large, dark pink eyes, and wear complex, ornate robes and jewelry. Hailing from a temperate climate, they reside in the southern portion of the Empire. They are known as exquisite craftsmen and unmatched dancers. Their fashions are coveted by the rich and noble, as are their weapons and armor. They hold patriotism and honor in high regard, and their leaders are known to never get involved in disputes between other races.

The Borgen - Very tall and grey-skinned, the Borgen are known for being fierce warriors and master tacticians. They have bony plates on their shoulders, back, chest, legs, and forearms that act as a natural armor. As a substitute for hair, they possess a bony spines that protrude from the top of their skull, like mohawks. This is a way that Borgen males express dominance over others, and the size of their “crest” usually denotes their rank in Borgen society. Every year, they grow another spine out the top of their head. When they duel other Borgen, the loser usually has all his spines snapped off, as a sign o subservience and to humiliate him. They hail from the desert, but have made their homes all across the Empire, usually making work as guards, soldiers, or mercenaries.

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I expect possible uprising and us being corrupt
And it sounds like the new DA coming out
Sounds awesome though!

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@TheWoodSprite Sound interesting so far, I’ll definitely play they wip demo when you’ve made it.

Will the MC’s race be selectable?

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Ooooh sounds really good! I can’t wait to see some of it!

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(continued list of playable races)

The Hir’sokk - average members of this race are very tall and slender, with four arms, two legs that are reverse-jointed at the knees, and a tail that ends in a tuft of fur. Their skin can change color, and other than the fur at the tip of their tail, they are completely hairless. They have three fingers on each hand, and also have larger versions of their hands for feet. Their eyes are solid colors, ranging from burnt orange to fire red, etc. in pigmentation. Those eyes also let them see in the dark. They lack a nose on the front of their face, instead having two nostrils that protrude from the top of their head. They also don’t have ears, just two slits on the sides of their head. They are known to be the stealthiest and most clever of the races, and they are also unbelievably fast. Another trait is their love of water. Since they are amphibious mammals, they enjoy swimming, and their capitol city is located underwater. Immune to most poisons, diseases, and ailments, their diet is mainly fish and fruit.

They are divided (culturally) in two. There are the Hir’sokk that choose to inhabit the land, and those that stay primarily in the tropical oceans. The ocean-dwelling Hir’sokk see themselves as more honorable than those on land, and they follow the old traditions and beliefs of their ancestors. Large groups of them have been known to attack fishing boats and capsize them, or crawl aboard at night and kill the crew, or toss them overboard. They never keep anything of value that was on their ship, and it is rumored that uncountable wealth has been lost this way.

The land-dwellers are much more progressive than their counterparts, and usually hire themselves out as spies, assassins, and thieves. They like to inhabit large cities, and are distrustful of other members of their race.

They do not differentiate between genders the way humans do, and it is theorized that they never developed the words for male and female in their language because they use smell to identify each other instead. As a result, only the land-dwelling Hir’sokk have names.

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@WulfyK -Yes, the races I am posting right now are all races that the MC can choose to play as.

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Voken - This race is known for their magical prowess, and have strange psionic powers. Though any race can use magic, the Voken are the only race capable of using psionics. They do not have mouths, choosing instead to communicate telepathically. They are capable of “shouting” this way by sending out a thunderous wave of psychic fury.

Not very physically gifted, the Voken have arms that reach down to their knees, and they usually are about six feet tall. Their skin is pure white, with feathers on their head and forearms. The feathers rise and bristle according to their current mental state. The feathers on their head allow them to “feel” sound rather than hear it. They are also blind and have no eyes, instead seeing with their mind. They can however still see color as well.

Another feature of their race is their ability to remember almost anything with perfect accuracy. They are commonly peaceful, but are a force to be reckoned with if enraged.

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How do they eat and drink without a mouth?

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Crap, forgot to write that in. They actually use photosynthesis, fanning out their feathers in the sun to catch light. They like to live in forests a lot, and abhor the destruction of nature, especially by humans. They can also communicate with plants, and its thought that they may actually be a form of plant life as well.

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This sounds pretty interesting. :smiley: I look forward to trying the demo once you have it ready.

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That sounds like a pretty nice list to me. I find the Voken the most interesting. I can’t really get an image of them in my head though.

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