History LessonFor those who don't know what the Crusades and Jihads were, they were events from the time of High Middle Ages. The First Crusade 1096-1099 A.D. The final Crusade (the Ninth Crusade) lasted from 1271-1272 A.D. Other minor conflicts continued after the last Crusade.
It began when the Seljuk Turks, a nomadic Muslim people, conquered Palestine. Palestine was known as "The Holy Land" by Christians. Pilgrims faced religious persecution and the Byzantine Empire was threatened by the Seljuk Turks. When the Byzantine Emperor called for help to Pope Urban II in Rome, the pope replied by a call to arms throughout Western Europe. Thousands and thousands of Christian (mostly Catholic-Christian) soldiers answered the call to reclaim the Holy Land for Christianity. Other reasons followed besides just religious faith. Many Europeans sought to gain wealth in the Holy Land. Italian merchants who brought crusaders to the Holy Land became wealthy with Arabian goods they brought back to their cities.
This RPG takes place during the Third Crusade, which lasted from 1187-1192 A.D. During this time period, the holy city of Jerusalem is under constant threat from the Saracens, a newly formed Muslim power led by the strong leader, Saladin. With the growing threat of a Muslim invasion, the King of Jerusalem tries to maintain peace between the Christians and Muslims. This is hard, however; many Christian military factions wish to wage war on the Muslims and the Saracens are also ready for a fight and to retake the city of Jerusalem. Between Saladin and King Baldwin, peace is still trying to be held. If a war is to be waged, Saladin has 100,000 men in Damascus alone to fight the war. Should a conflict arise, Kind Baldwin and the Christians would ultimately lose Jerusalem.
This is where your character steps in. Since this is an RP, history can be altered slightly. SLIGHTLY. Other races however (Elves, Orcs, Dwarves) are NOT TO BE USED. Humans only please.
Here is the room:
[link] Character Sheet (Descriptions)Name: (Please be a bit unique with your name. Such as, along the lines of a language in which the country your character is from. French, French name; Spanish, Spanish name; etc.)
Age: (I highly encourage adults in this RP. People from like twenties to forties or what-not. Too many teens and kids kind of bum me out)
Gender: (Male or Female, please)
Nationality: (Learn your history, because I need you to choose a country/nation/region/etc that existed at the time)
Physical Description: (Be creative, please)
Clothing and Armor: (Again, learn your history.)
Armament: (Contrary to popular fiction, European Crusaders did not use two-handed swords. Almost all of the swords were one-handed. But, I’m willing to let the two-handed swords slide in this RP. Have a decent array and include any forms of defense, such as shields or bucklers.)
Affiliation/Membership: (There were a lot of military and religious orders at the time)
Religion: (OK. Protestant denominations never existed back then. The only Christians there was were the Roman Catholics of Western Europe and Orthodox in Russia, Greece, and the Byzantine Empire. Baptists, Mormons, Methodists, etc never existed until the Reformation which was a few hundred years later. Atheism, Agnostics, Islam, and other religions can be used also. And please, if you choose a religion like Islam, don't screw up with the culture and make mistakes)
Biography: (Please be a bit unique and descriptive)
Other Info: (Likes and dislikes, family, culture, etc)
Character Sheet (Copy and Paste) Name:
Age:
Gender:
Nationality:
Physical Description:
Clothing/Armor:
Armament:
Affiliation/Membership:
Religion:
Biography:
Other Information:
My Sample Characters Name: Carlo Vallisneri
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Nationality: Italian, from the Republic of Genoa
Physical Description: Short brown hair, green eyes. 6'1"; 237 lbs. Medium muscle tone. Light tan skin. A thin goatee around his mouth.
Clothing/Armor: Casual- sometimes wears brown trousers with a maroon and white tunic. Sometimes wears a white cloak
Armor- Regular chain mail armor, leather vest and quilted armor. Maroon and white are the colors of his family house.
Armament: A crossbow, dagger, picked war hammer (
[link]), and a pavise (large shield).
Affiliation/Membership: Family member of the House of Vallisneri and also an ex member of the Genoese Crossbowmen.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Biography: Born in the Republic of Genoa, Carlo Vallisneri came to the Holy Land aboard an Italian merchant’s ship. His family court, the House of Vallisneri, is a rich family of merchants and sailors. He left with his uncle to the Holy Land after his uncle gained land there. His father and older brothers all still reside in Genoa, handling the bustling trade that the family had much power over. His mother is also still home. Currently, he serves as a man-at-arms in his uncle’s fief and stronghold.
Other Information: Likes- target practicing, fruit, resting in the shade.
Dislikes- the heat, sand in his boots, stupidity.
His use of the long-range crossbow gets him looked down upon by knights and melee fighters, due to the fact that long-range fighting is considered only for cowards. He tries to look over these assumptions and stays true to fighting with a crossbow more often.
Name: Franco Bertrand
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Nationality: French, born in Metz.
Physical Description: white skin, green eyes, short blonde hair. 5’11”; 224 lbs. Light muscle tone. Thick goatee around his mouth.
Clothing/Armor: Casual- being a religious man, Franco usually wears a black robe bearing the Knights Hospitaller cross.
Armor- chain mail with a quilted tunic that is navy blue and bears the white Knights Hospitaller cross. His helmet is bucket-shaped with a foldable nose guard.
Armament: a hand axe and two-handed sword passed down to him by his father.
Affiliation/Membership: member of the Knights Hospitaller
Religion: Roman Catholic
Biography: Born in the Metz region of France, Franco Bertrand joined the Order of the Knights Hospitaller after realizing his role as a priest was too “boring”. His first roles in the Third Crusade were taking care of sick and injured pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land. As conflict became more heated, Franco began to escort pilgrims through popular routes. He was in occasional conflicts with the Knights Templar over political reasons, and he survived many skirmishes with them and Muslim raiders. Being educated and a social person, Franco has made many friends among the nobles and the higher ups in the clergy.
Other Information: **Too lazy, you shouldn’t be**
Name: Akil al-Hammad (alias and secret identity: Jean de Metz)
Age: 15
Gender: Male
Nationality: Mixed. Born to a Saracen father and French mother. Born in Jerusalem.
Physical Description: Dark tan skin; short, thick, wavy black hair. Dark brown eyes. 5’10”; 190 lbs.
Clothing/Armor: Casual- wears traditional Arab robes and garments along with Muslim head dresses. Sometimes wears European garbs for his alias “Jean de Metz”
Armor- being a trained spy and assassin, Akil wears light leather and quilt armor. When out on his missions, he wears a maroon cloak and tunic with a black sash around his hips.
Armament: an Arab scimitar, dagger, and an Arab bow.
Affiliation/Membership: member of the Falcone Order, a secret special guild headed by an English lord, Jonathan Blackmoore.
Religion: Torn between Islam and Roman Catholicism. Note that he openly practices both.
Biography: His father was a Muslim and his mother was a French maid. When Akil was a baby, his father was hung for false accusations by members of the Knights Templar. His mother, under secret reasons, was sent back to France. Before leaving, his mother gave him to a family friend--Lord Blackmoore, an English lord who owns a large fief outside of Jerusalem. Akil was raised by Blackmoore and his vassals and knights through education and combat. Akil joined the Falcone Order, which was a secret assassin’s guild mixed with Jews, Christians, and Muslims. When out in public, he goes under the alias of a French-raised Muslim by named Jean de Metz.
Other Information: fluent in French, which he speaks through his alias—Jean de Metz. Also fluent in English, Arabic, and Italian.
New Screen Name
Tired
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