Ferstaal:
Seasons of Intrigue

Overview

Ferstaal: Seasons of Intrigue is an online play-by-post style roleplaying game set in the fictional kingdom of Ferstaal. Players take the roles of members of the court of the aging king during a time of impending crisis in the kingdom.

Ferstaal is a freeform, cooperative, honor-system game. What do we mean by that?

Freeform: There are no character statistics or dice-rolling. You decide what your character can or cannot do within the framework of the setting. The fate of your character is in your hands, and the fate of the story is in the hands of the players as a whole.

Cooperative: The goal here is the story. There are no “winners” or “losers” in this game. We work together to make storylines that are fun for our fellow players.

Honor-system: As happens in these types of stories, characters will get into conflicts, sometimes violent ones. The character’s player decides the fate of his/her own character. If you want to fight another player, you decide when your own character is hurt based on the writing done by you and your opponent. It is suggested that players not experienced in this style of play communicate out-of-character before writing the scene so that they can work out what the end results are going to be. If you get into a dispute, try to work things out with the other player. If you are absolutely at odds about a situation, you may call on the GM to make a ruling, but please be willing to abide by that ruling.

Time Structure for the Game

Ferstaal is played in “Seasons”. Each season takes six months of real time, and represents about half that time in-game. At the end of each season there will be a one-month hiatus while the GM plans upcoming plotlines for the next season and makes changes in game structure based on player feedback. Although new characters can be brought in at any time, the between-seasons period is a good time for players who want to try something new to consider switching characters.

There will be a one-month character-creation and recruiting period before the start of the first season to allow time to bring a good number of players on board and so that the GM has time to answer players’ questions and make sure they are set with their first characters.

Character Generation

There are twelve major factions vying for power in Ferstaal. Ten of these are noble houses; the other two are the Church and the Engineers’ Guild. Most characters in the game will belong to one of these factions. When character selection opens, there will be a listing of leadership positions available in the different factions. A few of these (the king, the crown prince, etc) will be filled in by NPCs. The rest are available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you see a faction that you like and the position is open, your character can be the leader of that faction, the leader’s second, the faction’s captain-at-arms, or the faction’s steward. You can also play a member of the faction who does not hold a leadership position, or your character might not belong to any faction at all. If you’d prefer to play a servant, a guard, a mercenary, a rogue, a merchant, or a minor politician, you’re welcome to do so. You just need to create a character with a reason for being at the king’s court.

To create a character:

1. Come up with a character concept, choose a faction (if desired), and a position in that faction (if desired).

2. Name your character. People in Ferstaal have a given name and a family name. If you choose to be a member of a noble house, then your family name is the name of that house. If you’re not part of one of the noble houses then you need to make up a family name as well as your given name. No silly names, please.

3. Write a physical description of your character as he or she would be typically seen at court. This description will be posted on the game website for other players to view.

4. Write a “known history” of your character. This is the general information known about your character in court. This will also be posted for view by other players.

5. Write a “full history” for the eyes of the GM only. This should include a summary of your character’s skills and abilities, along with any deep dark secrets and the like. Basically any material that you put here is fair game to be incorporated into plots down the road.

6 (Optional). Make up several rumors about your character which will be circulated through the court. These may be true or false (even better is part true and part false!).

7. Email steps 1-6 to the GM.

8. The GM will then approve your character, discuss any ideas or changes that need to be made, and you’ll be ready to go.

Multiple Characters

A player can play more than one character if he/she so desires. Additional characters are created using the steps outlined above.

Player-Created NPCs

During game play, players can create NPCs as they write about the actions of their characters. These NPCs can be servants, family members, friends, accomplices, or whatever. Player-created NPCs may be controlled by the player who created them or by the GM. If you want a character that you create to be under your exclusive control, then write the it up as an actual character as outlined above.

When you create a named NPC, please send an email to the GM with basic information about the character so that the NPC can be added to the roster.

Specific Types of Characters

Magic-users: Ferstaal is a world still steeped in magic and superstition, and certain individuals are capable of wielding supernatural powers. If you want to create a character with magical powers, please read the article on magic in Ferstaal on the website and design your character’s powers based on the archetypes described there.

Nonhumans and foreigners: During the first season, non-human characters (orcs, dwarves, trolls, and ogres) exist only as NPCs. There are also foreign diplomats in the king’s court. Again, these are NPCs only. These character types may be opened up to players after the conclusion of the first season.

Ferstaal Pages

Main Ferstaal Page - Introduction/Directory

Player Directory - Faces Behind the Characters

Characters - Master List of Characters in Ferstaal.

Game Rules - Rules of Play and Guidelines for Character Creation.

Map - Map of the Kingdom of Ferstaal.

Calendar and Timeline - The Ferstaal Calendar and timeline of events.

Church - The Church in Ferstaal.