Beyond the Road of Kings, Season Six: Shores of Blood


Into the west, unknown of man,
Ships have sailed since the world began,
Read, if you dare, what Skelos wrote,
With dead hands fumbling his silken coat;
And follow the ships through the wind-blown wrack-
Follow the ships that come not back…

Beyond the Road of Kings presents; Shores of Blood.

Messantia, capital of Argos, the gateway to the western ocean, where the great Road of Kings sees its birth before winding its way through the Hyborian nations, eastwards to the shores of the Vilayet Sea. Here you may find yourself, at a time of turmoil and strife and opportunity. A young king, newly crowned, sits upon the throne, and those who would be his advisors circle like vultures above a corpse, each one seeking little but their own vainglorious advancement. But in Argos, those in power use others to do their dark deeds, and surely you might prove valuable to such corrupt and venal men and women.

There is coin to be earned here, and that is certain. Not just in the city, but out upon the western ocean, where the pirates of the Barachan Isles ply their crimson trade, and where Zingaran privateers and freebooters ply the same trade, and yet gild it with a pretty name, that they might purport themselves as gentlefolk, when surely they are no less given to rapine and murder than the pirates they name their enemies.

Upon the ocean, for the brave or foolhardy, there are riches undreamed of. The fabled Zingaran treasure galleons. The lost treasures of pirate kings, buried upon unnamed isles. Perhaps even relics dating back to the years before the waves swallowed Atlantis. A sturdy ship, a bloodthirsty crew, a swift blade; with these, a daring captain might win the plunder of the ages, though they may need to fight hard to keep it, for gold is ever elusive, and ever coveted by those who do not have it.

For those whose steps have carried them down darker paths, the port of Tortage, upon the Barachan Isles, may be your home. Here you may carouse as you please, paying for all manner of pleasures with coins stained with the blood of those you plucked them from. But do not let your hand stray far from the hilt of your sword or dagger, for Tortage is a wicked and lawless place, where death lurks in every benighted alleyway.


Welcome to the new season of Beyond the Road of Kings. We have been running the server for nearly two years and this will be our sixth season. With it we see a move from the Turanian frontier to Argos and the Barachan Isles. The new season will also allow for voyages to the coast of Nordheim in the far north and Ahket Isle off the Stygian coast. Our map will also cover the borders between Argos and Koth and Shem.

Given the seafaring focus of this season, our plots will often revolve around piracy and lost, fantastical treasures, in the style of stories such as “The Pool of the Black Ones”, “The Queen of the Black Coast” and “The Black Stranger”

To better emulate these tales, we have added a set of ship to ship combat rules to our unique and bespoke dice system. These rules play quickly and smoothly both against NPC enemies and other players and allow for many tactical choices.

So, what’s in it for you?

A bespoke RP dice system that focuses on dynamic characters and swift action resolution, written in a way that is deeply evocative of Howard’s work.

Although PVP is enabled we offer a unique system that takes advantage of mechanical PVP and/or dice based PVP.

Events may be mechanical PVE with staff members playing antagonists, they may be solely dice based or a mixture of the two.

An excellent suite of character customization, building and deco mods.

Our Steam Collection:

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City apartments! Don’t really love to build? Does the idea of living in the bustling city of Messantia, or the wild town of Tortage, with its player and admin markets and numerous RP opportunities appeal? A lovely selection of apartments in small, medium and large sizes are available for those who would rather not build. Each apartment comes with a chest containing all of the excellent mini stations from Beyond Stations so you need not worry that you are cheating yourself out of a workshop!

Have you always longed to play a thief or treasure hunter, nicking jewelry, coin and other valuables from the homes of the wealthy or being the daring treasure hunter prying the fabulous jeweled eye from an ancient statue in a dangerous ruin? Always found the options of stolen loot being hundreds of rocks or iron bars rather ludicrous? On Beyond The Road of Kings, thieves steal actual valuables and sell their ill gotten gains to fences. We offer a unique system for thieves and treasure hunters that is both challenging and provides roleplaying opportunities for both thieves and their victims. This system is completely opt in. If you never want to be bothered by thieves you don’t have to be. But in addition to thieving opportunities among players there are also those created by staff.

You also have the opportunity to own your own business within Messantia itself.

With this season’s focus on trade, sailing, piracy, and the machinations of the nobles and merchants of Messatainia and the boisterous and dangerous streets of Tortage where the Red Brotherhood clashes with the Crimson Tide and pirates feud and carouse, you have the opportunity to fully immerse your character into the world created by Robert E. Howard.

So how do we do it? Using the wonderful Savage Wilds map and a system of fast travel we have reimagined the map thus:


While our focus is on Argos and the Barachan Isles it is entirely possible to live in Shem, with the city of Murun in its center, (and we accommodate player apartments there as well) or live the life of a Shemite nomad in the desert.

Or you might settle in the trade center of Stygia, Akhet Isle, where foreigners are permitted. And while building is not allowed on the Isle it is possible to have an apartment there as well. Immerse yourself in a traditional Stygian cultural area filled with temples of many of Stygia’s gods and bustling trade. Have a drink at The Purple Carp near the docks or seek the more refined atmosphere of The Serpent’s Head Inn.

Or you can build your Aesir or Vanir holding in the snowy wastes, a lawless area contested by the Vanir and Aesir and where those who fit in with neither seek to carve out a place of their own. For those of you familiar with Savage Wilds’ Last Refuge, while the NPCs there are Cimmerians, for our purposes this season it is considered to be a mixed community of Aesir and Vanir and others who have found their way there where they live in relative peace.

Lastly you might choose to settle in the dangerous jungles of Kush, far from any civilized area, and carve out your own stronghold or community.

Server Location: Georgia, US
Dedicated server on physical server, not a virtual server, for better performance.
Server Capacity: 40
Discord: Beyond the Road of Kings
Text based RP
XP Rate x1
Players may choose to start their characters at level 1 or to receive an instant boost to either level 30 or level 60

Gathering Rate: 1.0
Drop Equipment on Death: No

God Avatars Enabled: No

Containers Ignore Ownership: No

Purge Activated: Yes

Peak Play Times: Varied. We have a good mix of European and US Players. Peak Times tend to be from 8pm UK time to 7am UK time/5:00 PM to 1:00 AM EST

7 Likes

I had entirely given up on RPing, having found nowhere I felt comfortable or where the admins worked hard to balance RP mechanics with player enjoyment. Then a friend recommended Beyond the Road of Kings to me and now I frankly refuse to go anywhere else.

If you’re looking for a place to RP and truly immerse yourself in a world you cannot do better than here.

3 Likes

The staff team is competent and very nice. Application is smooth and quick. Overall a pleasant server. The dice system is uinque and quite fun to mess around with.

2 Likes

I’ve played CE for a long time, and have been around some of the top servers. BTROK is by far one of the top servers in my opinion. The staff are great, the community is great, and the map is incredible (admin/player towns). Stories and roleplay galore. Don’t think twice, join us on Beyond the Road of Kings!

2 Likes

Wonderful server and lovely staff, but most of all a fully fledged world in the spirit of Robert E. Howard that really immerses you from your first entry to the server, long before you meet your first encounter, and for years to come when it comes to the stories you can think back on. The inspiration I get for RP and writing when I log on is amazing and truly a treat. I should also mention that the players on the server are good RPers, respectful, kind and helpful to boot.

2 Likes

A warm and welcoming server that accept all role players, from those that have never heard of Robert E. Howard to the ones versed in his words.

The admins on the server are always ready to help you with anything you need, whether it be to help decorate your build, or help you through the dice system.

One of the top servers <3

1 Like

It’s still early in our new season but we are going strong and having a blast! Pirates carouse in Tortage drinking and gossiping about the next rich prize they hope to take and scholars spend hours in the great library of Messantia investigating an eerie mystery or at the games in the arena… or having coffee at an adorable player run cafe or perhaps sitting to have their portraits painted at a player run art studio.

One of the things we offer that few others do is the chance to engage in deeply cultural RP. For while the cultured city of Messantia and the lawless hive of scum and villainy that is Tortage are thriving, there’s still plenty of room to explore and even live in Shem, Kush, Nordheim and Stygia on Akhet Isle.

For more info please see our full ad at CE RP Beyond the Road of Kings

1 Like

This season brings a whole new level of custom admin build creations and immersive gameplay. I’ve been playing on BTROK for nearly 2yrs of the 6 I’ve been playing and I won’t ‘main’ anywhere else. Our community, our staff, the stories that bring you back day after day for hours on end. It’s addicting! One of my biggest complaints within varying communities has been ‘cold admins’ or ‘toxic community’. You won’t find that here. Our admins go above and beyond to assist new and existing members, the storytellers pick up on the rp going around and look to elaborate on it and try to include everyone across multiple time zones. The community here is top notch with friendly, welcoming players who are more than eager to come collaborate with you. Come give Beyond the Road of Kings a chance, you just might never leave! ~ Livia/Calico

1 Like

I just want to mention here that Akhet Isle, created using one of the lovely off map islands of Savage Wilds, is ripe for Stygian cultural roleplay. Player housing (customizeable!), the Serpent’s Head Inn and the Purple Carp as well as several temples to Stygia’s many gods, make it the perfect place for immersive Stygian RP. It’s a little known hidden jewel of our server and we hope to see it utilized and thriving. We might even give you a free pet snake if you’d like to come try it out! :slight_smile:

We’re still here and still having fun. Come get your pirate on… or enjoy city living in Messantia and maybe even open a business. Join an IC dungeon delving and exploration group or become a scholar with Messantia’s famed library. Maybe even gain access to the restricted section!

Is this pirates only or can you build kingdoms as well and rule through monarchy?