Building a Dynasty: Introduction

The world:

Centuries ago great and powerful magical civilizations ruled the world with absolute power over nature and man alike. It seemed that this would be the state of things for all time until a great war between two of the great powers broke out for reasons long since forgotten to history. As the war spread across the world the toll in lives and the land grew ever steeper until finally the world could take no more. Mere decades after the great war started civilization collapsed into the great cataclysm which shattered nations and reshaped the very world in ways none could have previously thought possible.

For centuries after the cataclysm mere tribes and city states were all that remained of mankind while outside their walls monsters roamed the skies, the seas and the land with equal impunity. This slowly changed as cities and tribes bound together for common good and mutual survival and as it is with all things in time with mankind there were those that sought more power and control leading to ever larger kingdoms and nations forming.

Foundation of Hanshen 225: In the year 225 AC the Hanshen Empire was formed by the great General Min Hau Fang who united many lords and ladies beneath him to drive out the hellspawned beasts roaming the country and devouring the land. With the great demonic creatures defeated and the many warring lords united under his rule Hau Fang did not see an end but rather the chance for new conquests. For the rest of his life Hau Fang conquered province after province expanding he Empire and creating the most powerful nation in all of Tellendra.

His son Dao Fang walked in his father's footsteps conquering ever more land and bringing more and more people into the great Empire until at last he had overstretched his power in his blind ambition nearly bringing ruin to all of Hanshen.

The Great War 250-60 AC: Dao Fang had underestimated the ambition of many of his own lords as his own blind thirst for power saw him stretching ever further outwards from his own center of power. Finally in the year 250 AC many of his lords seeing the Empire spread thin chose to seize their own chance at power creating the war now known as the Great War.

After ten years of war Dao Fang knowing he was growing ill from a wasting disease and sensing that his power was at its limit finally sought an end to the great war. The great Lords who had rebelled came together under a banner of truce and agreed to divide the lands of the once vast Hanshen Empire creating the Kingdoms of Eastern and Western Wu named for the two brothers who lead the coalition against the Hanshen. As the treaties went through the kingdom of Qen was given to Lou Bu Qen the single most powerful lord of the coalition.

Buffer zones were agreed upon between the four great kingdoms allowing Dao Fang to see peace at last before his illness took him.

The Qen Split 275 AC: The kingdom of Qen was split in two during a terrible civil war between two heirs apparent when the great lord Lou Bu Qen mysteriously died on his 65th birthday. The maps mark the two kingdoms as Greater and Lesser Qen as the elder and younger brothers seized what they could of their father's realm and fell back into an uneasy peace.

Today 285 AC: The Hanshen is a shadow of its former glory under the rule of the Divine Emperor Min Lu Fang the Empire has ceased expansion to the point of nearing absolute stagnation leaving the borders a dangerous place to be for the common Hanshi citizens. Unlike his grandfather and father before him Lu Fang is no great warrior or statesmen and refuses to leave the safety of the Imperial Palace leaving much of the day to day affairs of the Empire to his Four loyal Banner Lords.

The world is once again heading into tumultuous times: Nomadic tribes raid border villages, petty warlords run rampant, pirates roam the seas plundering ships and coastal towns and whispers spread of monsters again rising from the pits of hell to torture the living. There is unease among the seven great kingdoms of the mainland as they eye one another for land and resources, political schemes and plots abound in all corners of the land.

The player's role You take on the role of a provincial Lord within the Hanshen Empire, how you choose to survive and expand is up to you but beware this is going to be a competitive SD where politicking, trade and warfare may well see your ambition brought to naught as your lands are burned and your people enslaved.

The structure of the Empire: The Divine Emperor: Currently Min Lu Don the Divine Emperor is the absolute head of state and rules the Hanshen Empire.

The Four Banner Lords: Directly below the command of the Divine Emperor are the four Banner Lords which rule over each banner of the Empire. The Red Banner Lord rules in the North, the White in the South, the Green in the East and the Yellow in the West, each of these men commands a powerful army of their own and has the capacity to call up every lord beneath them in times of war or great need.

Red Banner Lord: Fa Ozai, an older man who remembers the days of Hanshen greatness and finds much dissatisfaction with the current state of the Empire which he sees as weak and decadent.

White Banner Lord: Min Shen Wong, a cousin to the current Emperor he is fanatically loyal to the Divine Cult of the Emperor and considers himself the truest and most loyal of the banner Lords.

Green Banner Lord: Li Hong, he was a general during the Great War and believes that peace and prosperity should be preserved even in exchange for some power.

Yellow Banner Lord: Su Wong, the only female banner lord many claim in whispers that she was appointed by the Emperor because he fancies her beauty though none would dare say it wear she might over hear them as her wroth is well known throughout the Empire.

The Golden Army: The Golden army is the force which answers directly to the Emperor himself, they are absolutely loyal to the Emperor and will follow his commands without question. Currently the Golden Army consists of 20 field armies, 3 Imperial Guard Armies and the elite Imperial 10,000 Riders cavalry army which acts as the Emperor’s personal guard when he is on travel or outside of the Imperial City.

Golden Fleet: The Golden fleet like the Golden army is the personal force of the Emperor. Their primary mission is to protect the Empire from pirates and external raiders. The fleet currently consists of three large fleets stationed at crucial points within the Empire and several smaller patrol fleets elsewhere.

The Four Banner Armies: Each of the four Lords commands a personal army beyond those armies of the lords beneath them. The armies vary in size and equipment from Banner to Banner and whether or not the Empire is under threat. Typically the Banner lords have preferred to preserve their own wealth by using the armies of the lords beneath them instead of calling up their own forces.

The Provincial Lords: The lower rung of nobility is the provincial lords which rule over the many provinces of the Hanshen Empire. Each Lord is required to govern their own territory effectively as well as maintain their own armies and fleets for protection from outside attack. Politics among the provincial lords can be bloody as many political factions have formed within the Empire each with their own goals and interests. Players take on the role of a provincial lord at the start of the Game.