The Heirs of Sasan
Presented by Imperator1993
Presented by Imperator1993
Welcome all to another of my attempts at an SPT style forum game, this time the setting is Sassanid Persia in the year 309 when the newborn Shapur II was crowned Shahanshah, King of Kings. The players will create a character and attempt to navigate through the world of Sassanid Empire, will you lead the Empire's armies to glory, became rich off of Eastern trade, serve the prophet Zoroaster, or attempt to become King of kings yourself? Only you can make those faithful decisions.
Short History of the Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid dynasty was founded by a man named Sasan. His grandson, Ardashir I overthrew the crumbling Parthian Empire and restored Persian rule to Persia for the first time since the Achaemenid Empire. Ardashir's successor, Shapur I, won a great victory over the greatest rival of the Sassanids, the Roman Empire, capturing and killing the Emperor Valerian. Shapur's victory over Rome was finished when Emperor Philip signed a treaty, giving the Sassanids a great tribute. Another great event that happened during Shapur's reign was the rise Mani and his faith of Manichaeism, which greatly influenced Shapur and one his subsequent successors, Bahram I. Bahram I however was forced to kill Mani under pressure from the powerful Magi (the Zoroastrian priesthood). Bahram II succeeding his father, was friendly to the interests of the priesthood and continued persecuting the followers of Mani. During his reign the Roman's sacked the Imperial capital amd the empire lost Armenia. Bahram III's reign was short was he succeeded by Narseh, who suffered defeat at the hands of Rome. His successor Hormizd II faced many obstacles to his rule but crushed all the rebellions before dying at the hands of Bedouin tribesmen while hunting. His was succeeded by his son Adhur Narseh who was a tyrant and was deposed and killed. Now the infant Shapur II is the Shahanshah.
Sassanid Society
Sassanid society and civilization were among the most flourishing of their time, rivaled in their region only by the Roman civilization. The amount of scientific and intellectual exchange between the two empires bears witness to the competition and cooperation of these cradles of civilization.
In contrast to Parthian society, the Sassanids renewed emphasis on charismatic and centralized government. In Sassanid theory, the ideal society could maintain stability and justice, and the necessary instrument for this was a strong monarch.
Sassanid society was immensely complex, with separate systems of social organization governing numerous different groups within the empire. Historians believe society comprised four social classes:
Priests (Persian: Asravan)
Warriors (Persian: Arteshtaran)
Secretaries (Persian: Dabiran)
Commoners (Persian: Vastryoshan)
At the center of the Sassanid caste system the Shahanshah ruled over all the nobles. The royal princes, petty rulers, great landlords and priests, together constituted a privileged stratum, and were identified as Wuzurgan, or nobles. This social system appears to have been fairly rigid.
The Sassanid caste system outlived the empire, continuing in the early Islamic period.
Sassanid government
The Sassanid empire was highly centralized, with the Shahnashah having absolute control of the Empire. On a smaller scale, territory might also be ruled by a number of petty rulers from the Sassanid royal family, known as Shahrdar, overseen directly by Shahanshah. Sassanid rule was characterized by considerable centralization, ambitious urban planning, agricultural development, and technological improvements.Below the king, a powerful bureaucracy carried out much of the affairs of government; the head of the bureaucracy and vice-chancellor, was the "Wuzurg framadār". Within this bureaucracy the Zoroastrian priesthood was immensely powerful. The head of the Magi priestly class, the Mobadan, along with the commander-in-chief, the Eran Spahbed, the head of traders and merchants syndicate "Ho Tokhshan Bod" and minister of agriculture "Vastrioshansalar", who was also head of farmers, were, below the emperor, the most powerful men of the Sassanid state.
Joining the Game
The game can be joined at any time.
All players must join the game as either a bureaucrat, noble, priest, or a soldier.
To join, simply make a post in the following format:
Name:
Birth Year:
Religion: (Zoroastrian, Christian, Jewish, or Manichean)
Field: (Must be bureaucrat, noble, priest,or soldier)
Biography: (Short background story for your character)
Stats
In The Heirs of Sasan, the Characters have three Stats: Income, Wealth, and Influence. Wealth is measured in Drachm and represents a character's material's worth. Income is measured in Drachm per year, and represents the net tithes or income a character has. Influence is measured in clout, and is representative of the sway, friends, piety and favors a character accumulates over time.
So how are they useful? Well, each turn your income generates more wealth from you. And then wealth can be used on different orders, like buying more land and estates, or mercenaries etc. Influence is gained by having position, winning battles, courting favor among, and so on, and will make your orders, actions, and plots generally go smoother.
Orders
Orders cost wealth to carry out, and plots use influence to increase their chance of success. If you are low on wealth, you can spend Influence on orders, but not vice-versa. If you plan to do this, note it in your orders.
Every character gets one personal order per turn. This can be anything, though you may want to make it useful. For instance, if you are short on wealth, getting favor from an official would be smart so you are granted more land. If you are looking to carry out a plot, visiting noble families and currying their favor would be a good idea. This should be limited to a single action, and should take up no more than four lines in the message box.
In addition to their personal order, all players get an an administrative order. This is used to carry out their duties for the Empire, such as handling administration, or drilling troops, etc. The Shahnashah and the Regents have one of these, and he is to use it for administering the Realm (i.e. if he wants to improve the army, build specific buildings, etc.) The administrative order can have multiple actions in it so long as they are related, and should take up no more than six lines in the message box.
Note that the personal order is for actions that help your character, and the administrative order is for doing the duties that a character is tasked with doing by the Realm or other organizations.
You can use an administrative order to help yourself, but you must make it reasonable.
Finally, the Shahnashah and the Regents get an additional Realm order on top of their administrative and personal orders. This is used to do Realm actions such as granting titles, promoting (or demoting) characters, etc. The Realm order can have as many appropriate actions as the Shahnashah/Regent wishes in it, and it will have no limit for length.
Orders should have a subject of “Heirs of Sasan - Your Character’s Name, Current Year”. So, for example:
To: Imperator1993
Subject: Caliphate on the Edge - Cyrus, 309
Message text:
Personal Order:
Lots of fun stuff.
Administrative Order:
Even more fun stuff.
Realm Order:
The most fun stuff.
War Order:
Lots of fun war stuff (only to be used when attacking/raiding/etc. For recruitment/training, use other orders)
Plots
Plots are group covert efforts, for example assassinations. These will be treated as a special kind of order. Players are free to secretly plot, gather influence, etc. without GM approval. When the plot leader feels he is prepared to act, he must send the GM a PM detailing the plot goal, its plan, and those who back it. Any requests for NPC support (such as the Roman Emperor, Arab/Nomadic tribes, etc.) can be directed to me. Once I confirm the people that back the plot, it will be considered an order. A plot serves as the player’s personal order for the turn he decides to launch it, as well as for all those backing the plot. The greater the combined influence a plot has, the more likely it is to succeed.
Note that any assassination of a higher ranking Realm member, or the ruler himself, will need a VERY powerful plot backing to succeed.
Updates, Events, and War
There are two types of updates. These will contain the results of orders, events, and other important happenings. The first type of update is a Main Update. It will cover a year in-game, and will contain the results of all the orders sent in, among other events that happen that year. The second type of update is a Mini Update. It will highlight or cover a specific event during the year.
Events are significant happenings (such as a war, a new ruler in another land, a natural disaster, or an unexpected benefit) that will usually cause a headache for the Shahnashah and Regents, though sometimes will bring them or other characters joy. The majority of Heirs of Sasan will be player-driven, but the events will provide the substance for you as a player to create this content.
Once an army goes to war, its commander will send me the general war plan. The war plan must include the commanders (either players or NPCs) for the right and left flanks, as well as the composition of forces for the center and the flanks. The army's commander will command the center, and guide the strategy and overall tactics of the army. The flank commanders will detail in their orders the individual tactics of their flank during a battle.
I will write up mini updates for major battles, and perhaps if you are a soldier or an officer commanding a flank, you will be noted in such a mini for commendable service to the Shahnashah and your faith.
Well, that is it! If you still have any questions regarding the rules, or if some part of them is unclear or badly written, not the best at stetting things up, contact on Forums. Have fun with The Heirs of Sassan!
IRC Channel
I don't know how to set one up, if someone is willing to share theirs I will be grateful.
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(will post a character bio once home) ))
