In reply to Kwyna (msg # 117):

The house history generator from A Song Of Ice And Fire Roleplaying would only give us the general tenor of the major events which shaped our House — Ascent, Catastrophe, Conquest, Defeat, Descent, Doom, Favor, Glory, Infrastructure, Invasion/Revolt, Madness, Scandal, Treachery, Victory, Villain, Windfall — the details would be up to us. System-related details would be totally meaningless in a 2D20 context.

In reply to Loyxo (msg # 116):

Microscope and Universalis are certainly collaborative tools I have considered, though we needn't anything so structured necessarily. SIFRP's house history would only give us a rough idea of events and the order in which they occurred, and we can always opt to order the events to our own liking if the rolled events make more sense that way.

Ascent: An advantageous marriage, a great deed for a liege lord, or heroism in a decisive battle can all improve the fortunes of a noble house. If this is your first historical event, it indicates that your house was raised from the commoners by marriage or through some great act that warranted your elevation to a noble house. Otherwise, ascent indicates that your house participated in some key historical event that improved their fortunes.

Catastrophe: A result of catastrophe usually indicates a natural disaster, such as an outbreak of plague, blight, or drought, any of which can diminish your population and ability to control your lands. If catastrophe is your first historical event, it means your family may have gained their status through dubious or tragic means, perhaps replacing the previous lords who were wiped out during the catastrophe or were a lesser branch that rose in station as they inherited the holdings of their kin.

Conquest: Your family fought and defeated an enemy, annexing their lands and holdings to their own. With such a victory comes the trouble of old loyalties, weakening your house’s hold and influence over the commoners. If conquest is your first historical event, you gained your noble status by defeating another lord or landed knight.

Defeat: Your family fought a war or smaller conflict but was defeated, losing status, precious resources, and influence. If defeat is your first roll, your family might have been swallowed up by another house and forced to marry into a lesser branch until your original bloodline became all but extinct.

Descent: Whether from a poor marriage, a downturn in trade, or a series of tragic losses in a conflict, your house entered a period of decline. If descent is your first roll, your house was probably born from a poor marriage—a desperate lord wedding his daughter to a merchant prince—or of a major branch becoming extinct, leaving the holdings to a lesser branch to rule.

Doom: Easily the worst possible result, your house suffered a terrible series of mishaps, disasters, and tragedies that nearly erased your family. Depending on the era, doom might be of a technologic origin — enslavement by the thinking machines or falling to the Omnius Scourge. In more recent eras, doom would be purely natural, combining the results of several downturns into one catastrophic setback. For a first historical event, your family might have clawed their way out of the ashes of a destroyed house, maybe being loyal retainers or even just commoners that seized the old lord’s holdings.

Favor: Your family gained the favor of some powerful individual or body. As a result, their fortunes improved, and they climbed in standing. This favor might also result from the naming of a family member to high rank in the Army Of The Jiaad or attaining a directorship in CHOAM. Should favor be your first historical result, the Emperor likely raised your family to nobility.

Glory: A family wins glory through a military victory, personal achievement, or by a great act of heroism. Glory is similar to ascent, but it focuses on one figure in your family’s past. The result of this individual’s deeds advances your family’s standing in the eyes of its peers. Generally, glory as a first historical event should imply that your house was formed as a reward for the great acts of their founder.

Infrastructure: Infrastructure describes a period of peace and prosperity, a moment in your house’s history remembered for growth and expansion. If infrastructure is your first result, your house was born during a period of expansion under your lord or king’s rule.

Invasion/Revolt: An invasion or revolt marks a period of collapse, destruction, and ruin. Most of these results come from an external invasion by an enemy house, but it can also stem from a period of inept rule that led to a widespread revolt by the commoners. Invasion/revolt as a first historical event means your house was born from the strife and came to power in the aftermath.

Madness: Inbreeding, fell secrets, disease, or mental defects can produce derangement and madness among any people of Westeros, including its rulers. A madness historical event indicates that a particular figure suffered from some insanity, producing unpredictable results, with positive or negative outcomes. If this was your first result, your family was instead raised by an insane individual as appropriate to the period of your first founding.

Scandal: Your family was involved in some disaster, a scandal that haunts them still. Good options include insurrection, failed conspiracies, and so on. In the case of your first roll, the scandal created your family as a way of covering up the crime.

Treachery: Either you suffered the results of treachery or you were involved in committing a treacherous act. In either case, the historical event stains your family’s name. Should treachery be your first result, you gained your house by means of some dark deed, possibly betraying another lord or noble.

Victory: You family achieved an important victory over their enemies. Foes could include pirates, slavers, thinking machines, or a rival house. In any event, your family rose in prominence and power because of their victory. As an initial historical event roll, this victory was so great that your family was raised to nobility.

Villain: Your family produced a character of unspeakable cruelty and wickedness, a villain whose name is still whispered with dread. Such a character might have committed terrible crimes in his home, killed guests under his roof, or was simply just a bad person. A villain as a first roll usually wins this position by dint of his evil, possibly murdering a rival and seizing his identity or birthright.

Windfall: A windfall is a boon, a blessing that catapults your family into fame (or infamy). Possible results could be an advantageous marriage, a gift from the Emperor, discovery of new resources on one’s lands, and more. If windfall is your first historical event, you won your lands by attaining a victory at a tournament, performing a great act, or something else of the like.

This message was last edited by the GM at 18:27, Thu 18 Apr.

Like player-characters, our House has five skills:

Battle is the military power of the House. It represents the quality of the training and equipment of the House’s soldiers, spacecraft, and weapons, etc. But it really represents the tactical skill of its lieutenants and generals and how well-placed and positioned its military.

Communicate is a measure of the House’s diplomatic reputation and the favors it is owed. It also represents the acumen of its various envoys, spies, and diplomats across the Imperium. It is used when trying to exert influence in the court or the Landsraad.

Discipline shows the loyalty of the people and forces at its command. If it cannot trust its people, there is a strong chance the House will not have the support it needs to act. It will also make it easier for the enemies of the House to plant false information, spies, and rumors. How the House maintains this loyalty is up to its ruler. Both House Atreides and House Harkonnen command high levels of Discipline from their subjects. But where the Atreides are loved by their people, the Harkonnens are feared. Discipline might be used just before any House action to ensure there are no internal problems that will endanger the mission.

Move is a measure of the House’s response time for any crisis. It is determined by the amount of well-placed agents and resources across the Imperium. The ability to Move is not restricted to weapons and war. A well-placed diplomat can respond to allegations made against the House quickly before they become more damaging.

Understand shows the level of academic excellence the House can rely on. This might be in terms of new scientific research or advanced art and craft. It is a vital skill when developing a new project or trying to upgrade and improve the technology the House has available.

Skill values are chosen from the array 8, 7, 6, 5, 4. Each value can only be assigned to one skill.

Off the cuff, I might assign values this way:

8: Understand

Our primary domain is highly technical, and one of our frontier secondary domains will entail a great deal of applied research.

7: Move

Generations of our house have had to contend with the mercurial and violent natural conditions of Osimir. We have internalized this state of being and treat the greater imperium as though it were equally complex and threatening.

6: Communicate

To some extent, our primary domain is commoditized. Our ability to work the other houses of the Landsraad is a critical x-factor to grow our economic position.

5: Discipline

Perhaps a necessary trait for those who survive the natural environment of Osimir, our people are relatively entrepreneurial and value some amount of sanctioned autonomy.

4: Battle

Probably a controversial choice, but my rationale here is that we are an economic power and Osimir is a relatively easy planet to defend. The double edge is that we may be safer from assault but also less inclined to develop our military capabilities.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:40, Thu 18 Apr.

A random roll dates our House's origins to around the time of the Rise Of The Great Schools. The event rolled is Windfall. My suggestion is that our House's elevation to noble status came as a result of the Venport Holdings' dissolution in the Galactic Civil War. Its lucrative suspensor-production assets were gifted to our House's founders by Emperor Roderick Corrino, along with the rights to use all Venport suspensor patents free of licensing fees in perpetuity.

The next significant milestone occurred during the Establishment Of The Guild Peace. The event rolled is Victory. I suggest that our House had to defend their patent rights against a rival House seeking to seize our House's production capability. A legal battle in the Landsraad was won by our House, leading said rival House to attempt a full-scale invasion. However, they were thwarted by the Spacing Guild's refusal to transport their troops.

The next significant milestone occurred during the time of the Salusa Incident, the first major test of the Great Convention. The event rolled is Treachery. I suggest that our House gave succor to those members of renegade House Tantor seeking to elude justice for their horrific act of nuclear terrorism. Whatever our reasons, that treacherous act is still remembered and held in contempt by some members of House Corrino and the Landsraad.

The next significant milestone occurred circa 5,700 AG when our House was joining its leige's to celebrate the completion of Osimir's terraforming. The event rolled is Catastrophe. The ruling lineage of our House, of which we were originally but a cadet branch, disappeared under unknown circumstances. The fate of the vanished families remains unknown to this day, although investigation proved our cadet branch was innocent in the matter. Our branch was elevated to the ruling lineage of House Kirish in full and retained possession of the siridar fief of Osimir.

No comments or questions regarding msg #125, msg #126, msg #127, and msg #127?

In reply to Shai Hulud (msg # 129):

I'm stewing in the history, but I thought I should give others the chance to post about msg #123 before I go further

Our primary is the applied domain, whereas that secondary is more theoretical in nature. Breakthroughs in Holtzman Effect research haven't really occurred since the days of Norma Cenva 10,000 years ago.


An excellent observation. And even with advanced prediction and control capabilities, weather remains chaotic at best. No systems or models are 100% accurate, even on a garden world like Old Earth before it was glassed. On worlds like Osimir or Arrakis, opposite climatological extremes, things stay... interesting.


Good and valid points.


Plus the surfing is tubular. Like, bitchin'. Totally rad.


The defensibility of Osimir is its strength militarily. The same satellites that dampen the cyclonic forces can also be used to heighten them, making invasion difficult at best. Anyone not a part of the House armed forces is part of the House militia, akin to Britain's Home Guard during the Second World War or the US's National Guard.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:43, Fri 19 Apr.

I've been dealing with a sick cat all week, sorry for the delay.

125/126: We have the founding of our house via windfall at the end of the galactic civil war, rise of the guilds.  Within century later we achieve a great victory.  Maybe the windfall was military tech?  It's far enough in our history to not matter so much.

127.  I'll come back to this one.

128.  Yes a significant branch of the house should absolutely disappear at that time in a Roanoke-like incident.  Given it's timing with the completion of terraforming it seems like a good idea to tie in the storms on the planet with this.

Perhaps the terraforming did not subdue the storms as well as expected and our original fortress home on the planet was lost without a trace (even the landmass was gone) in the first two years.  This is why our house stronghold is now able to relocate itself with repulsors.

This event shifted our houses former military focus to a more economic one.

I am here, mulling over the rolls and the fact we're not really who we say we are (which matters little of course). But I don't have much to add honestly.

In reply to Farok (msg # 132):

Hope the kitty feels better soon, the poor thing!

Our House's focus has never really been military in nature, given its domains involving consumer suspensors, Grand Prix racing, and theoretical physics. The suspensor-related windfall ties in with our House's primary domain and establishes what we're most famous for. A legal victory can certainly be just as important as a military one.

The original fortress home, all the settlements, were found completely intact. No evidence of violence or disaster, natural or otherwise. The people just vanished for no apparent reason. The mystery may factor into the campaign, should the player-characters seek answers.

In reply to Kwyna (msg # 133):

Not who we say we are? In what way?

The total population of Osimir is somewhere between two and three million people, best estimate. The US state of Utah is at the top end of that range, by way of comparison; the US city of Chicago is roughly in the middle. Is that our House's total population, or are they somewhat smaller with the remainder made up of vassals and/or independents?

Well, how dense do we want our population centers on the various islands? Are we going Hawaiian tranquility, or Hive city, due to lack of space? That would dictate the overall population of the planet, no?

It would make sense to have a combination.

Hive City for the middle and the biggest moving center and most people, while there could be smaller "flying cottages" all over the place for people who either want tranquility, prefer it, or their job involves large areas of water.

Great place to hide Black Ops labs...

In reply to Kwyna (msg # 138):

So-called 'flying cottages' are far too expensive and unstable to be practical. Doesn't mean building such a palace is out of the question, though it's more a matter of conspicuous consumption than anything else. Only the nobility have that kind of disposable income, and any reasonable architect would call it folly to think such an edifice could survive Osimir's storms if weather control ever failed. The energy cost to raise one to a sufficient altitude to escape cyclonics is prohibitive, to say the least. Solid ground and shields are the default. After a few thousand years' experience on the planet, underwater would be safer.

In reply to Shai Hulud (msg # 139):

The next significant milestone occurred circa 7,200 AG. The event rolled is Doom. Natural disaster, human folly, and freak chance collided, nearly resulting in the eradication of our entire House. A malfunction of Osimir's weather-control network whips an otherwise-unremarkable tropical storm into a self-sustaining hurricane of apocalyptic proportion. Inept response to the developing crisis nigh transforms it into an extinction-level event. A lone young scientist repurposed an early, failed prototype of Holtzman's — the alloy-resonance generator — to destroy the orbiting satellites and ultimately the storm.

The last significant milestone occurred roughly twenty-five years ago. The event is Glory. Whilst visiting Kaitain on business with the Landsraad, a member of our House foiled an attempt to assassinate the Imperial family at great personal risk. The Imperial heir recalled this event on the occasion of his ascension to the Golden Lion Throne three years ago.

If you haven't launched your kiteboard off a 400 meter wave in the middle of a bomb cyclone, have you really even touched the ocean?

On population density (msg #136, #137, #138):

I picture at least one high density city - like a Taipei - and relatively sparse settlements everywhere else. It seems like there needs to be at least one high-density urban center to support our Holtzman Effect-related industrial endeavors.

On flying accommodations (msg #138, #139):

My earlier thought was that it would be the ostentatious aspect of our House palace/castle/etc. (probably not something that the common people would have access to). Our wealth would probably afford us this conspicuous luxury, and it would be a striking display of the technology we are in the business of selling.

That said, an underwater palace (or even a city?) sounds intriguing as well.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:19, Sat 20 Apr.