Describe somewhere in your world.

A place for jotting down and sharing aspects of your creation— buildings, cities, countries, anything.

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The West Arcadian League was established a century or so ago, and currently controls almost a third of its namesake continent. It's comprised of former colony states, originally founded by empires from across the sea. Certain events (involving trade embargoes and almost-wars) soured some colonies' relationships with their respective motherlands, which resulted in most of the Arcadian territories seceding en masse over the next decades. Most formed independent republics, but some banded together for mutual benefit; West Arcadia itself is a union of five provinces:

• Eiton, the northernmost province. The name translates to "highlands". Lots of hills, and heavily forested. ^* My protagonist, Aya, lives here, in a small coastal town.
• North Dromen and South Dromen, divided by Dromen Bay. The most populous region, with plenty of fertile valleys, rivers, and a few large freshwater lakes as you go further inland.
• Uteya, the largest and southernmost province. Lots of open plains, good for farmland. Uteya and South Dromen, while governed by two different empires at the time, were the first to sign the pact that resulted in the League.
• Phos, an island chain to the west (Greater and Lesser Phos, and assorted smaller islands). Settled as a point of connection to the mainland Uteya colony, the archipelago eventually became one of the richest ports in west Arcadia, aside from its rival cities along the coast of Dromen Bay.

At present, the five provinces mostly stay out of each others' business. Efforts to properly centralize and codify the League government are underway, but it's a slow process.

"I've come to the conclusion that this is a very stupid idea."

I'll share some exotic places that may look out of place in the real Earth:

Klazos Volcanic Plateau: A place where a volcano was blown up and cooled down 300 years ago. Volcanic geysers fill the ground and spew randomly. People risk their lives to mine crystals made from souls of people who died under the volcano, which grant high power boost to weapons imbued with them.

Traion Wind Crater: A giant hole which resulted from a giant meteor dropped onto the ground. The meteor was still stuck in the crater and random wind burst blow in the crater.

Roziant Shallow River: A river with water depth of 1cm which spans 6km length. It was said that lovers who lie on the river for 10 hours straight without eating or drinking would get blessing from the Gods to love each other for the rest of their lives.

Calsinta Frozen Desert: A snow desert which was a result of a war which blew up a mountain. Snowstorms are rampant and will bury people, but that does not prevent people from digging artifacts there.

Lorelei's Planet

A planet (slightly bigger than Earth but with similar mass and density), very far from Earth but not totally obscure. It is a planet settled by desert-dwelling (human- no aliens in this 'verse) refugees from a more autocratic, religious government somewhere closer to Earth. When they discovered a world covered in archipelagos and ocean, they set down and created a heavily maritime society, quite unlike the dry, harsh world they came from.

Lorelei's Planet's sun is similar to Sol, but the planet has a greater degree of axial tilt and thus more severe weather patterns. It has its ice caps and arctic regions which aren't inhabited. The Monsoon Cycle is a regular occurrence. Although there are some agrarian communities scattered inland, most "Loreleite" civilization is based around the coasts. Fishing and harvesting edible planets from the sea is their main source of nutrition. They regularly trade with Starfarers (people who live and work in space) and unlike most planetary civilizations, Starfarers feel they have much in common with the people on Lorelei's planet. Many Loreleites are nomads who live aboard their catarmarans, stopping at islands to trade or rest, much the Starfarers with their spacecraft. Although Lorelei doesn't really have a technical industry of its own, it's well known to traders. Since they are so friendly to offworlders, they have built a number of attractions like colorful boardwalks with games and shops (great place to leave the kids while the Starfarer clan elders are hammering out a deal). It's considered by Starfarers to be the closest planet to paradise in the galaxy, and the most beautiful. However during the Monsoon Cycle people mostly stay indoors, ground their boats, and there's not much going on for those couple of months. Then the Monsoons clear and the "Trade Season" begins.

Since they came here to escape religious dictatorship, the Loreleites practice a variety of different traditions, none of which have any official standing in any village. A number of Loreleites are agnostic or atheists. Loreleites value their freedom above all, especially in religious matters, given where they came from, and associate the open sea with that freedom.

Loreleites use the shells of a clam-like creature for currency. According to tradition, one must cook and eat the small mollusc before using its shells to make currency. Each shell is either carved, painted or gilded with precious metals to indiciate its value. They are considered a form of art as well as money. Loreleites have a strong affinity for stories, and are known to trade goods for new stories or songs.

Loreleites aren't anti-technology, they just don't welcome any tech that interferes with their ecologically balanced lifestyle. That doesn't make them Space Amish though, they just don't have a high value for technology in their society. They have things like radios to stay in contact with mariners and to make public announcements in the case of an emergency. They have landing zones for spacecraft with operating flight control towers to make sure no one crashes. They just have to trade for these things because they don't have the infrastructure to build this stuff themselves. What high tech they have is mostly for safety and to facilitate trade with offworlders. The colorful, attractive boardwalks are near the landing zones, which are usually located on the coast, since some spacecraft (like seaplanes) are designed to land and take off from the water.

No one knows who are what "Lorelei" was. Some think she was an ancient priest. Others think she was an infamous prostitute. Scholars of religious history in my 'verse mostly think she was both.

edited 7th Mar '14 7:51:28 AM by fulltimeD

Tantalus II

The homeworld of one of my characters. It's a big, sprawling planet with cities, farms, etc spread across several continents. It was also an early colony of the inhabitants of the Rigel System (remember, no aliens, only humans). Its government is corrupt and influenced heavily by a major crime cartel on the planet usually just called "The Syndicate" which is how most people not from Tantalus II have heard about Tantalus II. The Syndicate is supposedly descended from an ancient rebel faction that went underground instead of disarming itself when the planet was unified. Although not controlled by the Rigel System, they maintain economic ties with them. Tantalus II has problems with petty crime and pollution, as well as social discrimination in the form of castes called "birthrites." For example, those born into the Laborer Birthrite are separated from other children and educated in factory-schools or on farming compounds, whereas the elite send their children offworld for a better education than can be found on Tantalus II.

Note that Tantalus II is as diverse a place as any, but is highly stereotyped as a "Gangster Planet" by non-natives who are mostly only aware of the corrupt government and the Syndicate. Also, most Tantalites who leave, other than the elite kids sent offworld for their education, are malcontents of one type or another, so those interactions feed the perception of a "mafia planet" which it is most definitely not.

Access to faster-than-light space travel is limited on Tantalus II. It's also known that there are other, lesser known colonies in that system that are more egalitarian and cosmopolitan, like Tantalus III, but they don't have reputations to match that of Tantalus II.

The "Birthrite" caste system doesn't do the planet's reputation ANY favors, since it and/or the Syndicate are the usual reasons that a Tantalite would leave Tantalus II, provided they can stow away or catch a ride with a friendly crew.

edited 7th Mar '14 7:52:49 AM by fulltimeD

Rio Azúl

Also known as "Blue River City" this is the capitol and most populated settlement of the Terran colony world of Tarsius in orbit around the star Sirius A. Rio Azúl is a modern metropolis situated on the eponymous river very near the base of the Sierra Del Mar mountain range with the prominent peak known as the Sentinel of the Sea clearly visible anywhere in town. (The sea itself being on the other side of the mountains.) The city itself has a very distinct Hispanic theme to it owing to its first occupants being of Hispanic descent with nearly all of its streets, districts and landmarks named in Spanish. The city is also known for its famous University of which students from all over Terran space come to attend. Rio Azúl University is situated itself just across the street from the Our Lady of Teresa cathedral, both of them just a couple blocks from the Tarsian Presidential Palace. The city's weather is temperate with that of occasional rain brought over the mountains from the sea but more commonly it is a warm and somewhat dry location owing to rain shadow. The mountains themselves become snow-covered in the winter months.

Kagonawa Mountains

The largest mountain range in known space both in physical area and in length. It gains its name because in the terraforming process of Candora by Preyarans the mountains were seeded by the Kagonawa spruce which quickly came to create a climax community forest for nearly the entire length and breadth of the region. The Kagonawa spruce of which the mountains gain their name have an edible fruit that is commonly eaten and fairly tasty. The mountains are also known for powerful snowstorms in the winter months.

"Allah may guide their bullets, but Jesus helps those who aim down the sights."

In central Arcadia, on the southern end of the arid plateau, lies the grand city of Arc◊. An arcology, built a few decades ago in an attempt to foster collaboration and solidarity between the Arcadian nations. While said nations have since gone their separate ways and left Arc to its own devices, the city stands strong and has become a regional power in its own right.

The city is very gearpunk in aesthetic and kept running via magitek. Nearly half of its area is underground, on top of the geothermal power plant that provides most of the city's electricity (the rest being generated by smaller wind/solar/aetheric facilities above ground). The massive gear at the top is the Node, a magitek engine which circulates aether into the city (already built in a relatively aether-rich region) to keep magic-powered devices running at peak efficiency.

There has been some public unrest in Arc lately, mostly surrounding the Urban Segregation between the upper and lower levels. In addition, the Arkhim government has recently been butting heads with neighbors Uteya, New Ibri, and Čeve. Some consider a military conflict (internal or external) to be inevitable, while others remain optimistic.

There are seven Founders credited with spearheading the Arc project. The youngest and last remaining Founder, Noah, has grown disillusioned with his and his comrades' creation and is willing to shut the whole city down with a magitek EMP, to prevent it from becoming a threat to the rest of Arcadia.

"I've come to the conclusion that this is a very stupid idea."

Starwatch Tower

Humanity's greatest architectural achievement. A multistory structure built of stone, wood, and brick, it took cooperation between all of the region's tribes several years to build. It's intended purpose is to act as a meeting house for inter-tribal discussions and meetings about important issues. It is still used that way, but the most common use is people going to the top to observe the night sky.

Limbo's Gate: One of the largest habs in the Kuiper Belt, this station is responsible for launching craft through interstellar space with its magnetic catapult. As the push beyond the solar system intensifies, its relevance has grown. It is now one of the most advanced magpults in space and hosts a population of well over 500,000. The station consists of two counter-rotating rings attached to each end of the magpult, with numerous freefall sections built all along the rest of the station. The central ring was originally built to rotate, but it remains stationary because it was inadvertently built to accommodate a freefall environment but not a rotating environment.

Despite its increasing relevance, it still remains very isolated from the rest of the solar system due to its distance from any major location. Light delay still remains an issue, so a self-contained entertainment industry developed to alleviate the boredom of living on the edge of space. One of the most popular sports is chessboxing, with hundreds of competitors from across the station. Although the sport has become a very serious pastime on the station, the station authorities have banned any unofficial tournaments and require players to upload onto tournament grade bioshells. Despite the enforcement of this monopoly, numerous groups have formed their own tournaments where only the barest regulations are upheld and fights to the death are expected. Chessboxing is serious business.

edited 7th Mar '14 11:47:43 AM by MaxwellDaring

INSIDE OF YOU THERE ARE TWO WOLVES. BOTH OF THEM WANT YOU TO SHOOT ELVIS.

Elysium City

"The One Percent Paradise" as its known by some usually in a derogatory manner, this city on the planet Elysium is one of the most major trade hubs in all of Terran space. The planet it resides on has attracted a vast amount of corporate activities and many among the rich of Terran society owing to the planet's almost paradise climate (there are no arctic climates). Elysium City being no exception with a very amiable temperate climate. That, and the fact Elysium City resides in Epsilon Eridani star system a relative "center" for all Terran colonies and in very close proximity to Earth. Couple these factors with the abundant resources of the system and money has just flowed in like a river pouring into a lake.

Elysium City like several other locations on the planet are home to record-setting skyscrapers often utilized as corporate headquarters for various companies.

After the Dusk Wars and the conclusion of the Endless Conflict, the city like the rest of the planet realized the need to diversify its industries and needs away from being a trade hub and tourism destination. Mostly on account of so many of its assets being destroyed during the Dusk Wars. That and most of its population being purged by the Vyron.

"Allah may guide their bullets, but Jesus helps those who aim down the sights."

From the scifi setting (GURPS campaign I alternately GM and play in):

Anekis: Founding world of the Alliance. Anekis combines limited geological activity (i.e. it's flat) with a large, close moon (big tides) and an orbital position somewhat closer to its sun than Earth's (intense weather), resulting in a planet where the only permanently dry land is man-made. Most of the planet is covered by shallow ocean, what isn't tends to be primordial swamp that is only slowly being colonized by the native ecology. The oceans are teeming with life somewhat resembling Earth's Silurian period...fish-analogues are the dominant form of metazoan life, but arthropoids are running a close second, some of them reaching rather disturbing dimensions.

The humans of Anekis tend to live indoors, in huge arcology-blocks that shelter them from the near-constant rain and storms battering the cities. Each block is a largely autonomous city in its own right, with residential, business and recreational districts (many contain sizeable parks, for example) and many citizens (particularly the less affluent) spend all their lives in the same block they were born in.

Anekis is governed as a corporation, with a CEO as its President and citizens being shareholders. This has its roots in the colony's origin as a joint venture between six up-and-coming imperial corporations that joined forces to strike out into the newly-settled frontier areas where they would suffer less pressure from the massive megacorporate giants dominating the imperial economy. Over time, the original six corps were joined by six more, each "buying in" and receiving a share of the planetary corporation's stock. This system works quite well for those within the planet's corporate structures. Independents tend to have a rougher time of it, and a sizeable underclass of non-shareholding inhabitants have no representation whatsoever.

The economy of Anekis is heavily focused on three sectors: Finance (the Alliance's three largest banks are all Anekis-based), shipping (no, not that kind) and the pharmaceutical industry. Products of the latter are highly popular among the citizenry as well, with many recreational drugs being perfectly legal under Anekis law. The youth of the corporate elite are known for partying hard, and the lower classes frequently spend what limited resources they have on an hour or two of chemically-induced happiness. Anekian drugs are also exported to numerous other worlds along with their medical products, bringing in considerable revenues. This frequently causes conflict with the more socially conservative member worlds of the Alliance.

Anekian society is at least theoretically liberal and egalitarian. There is no discrimination by race (a fairly old-fashioned concept in the 2600s, anyway), species (Anekis has the largest number of non-human citizens of any Alliance member, and they are found throughout society from the factory floor to the boardroom), religion, gender or sexual orientation...but there is an ugly tendency towards prejudice against non-shareholding second-class citizens. Anekians are also known for their tradition of genetic matchmaking, where citizens looking to reproduce will hire experts to find them the ideal sperm or egg donor. A citizen's desirability in these partnership exchanges is an important indicator of social status.

The system of Anekis (the planet Anekis is technically Anekis II) also contains a number of other colonies: Anekis I Ia, the moon of the main world, houses most of the system's industry. Anekis III, known as "Boreas" is a cold but still inhabitable world of spectacular mountain ranges that, due to successful terraforming efforts, is starting to see a lot of tourism (and owning a vacation home on Boreas is quite the status symbol for affluent Anekians as well). Anekis VII ("Cania"), the outermost planet, is a Neptune-type ice giant and home to a large prison facility housing some of the Alliance's most dangerous criminals.

Reality is for those who lack imagination.

An old story of mine uses magic as a building material, with fine control of it being limited solely to the user's imagination; it's 'permanent' once 'layered'. Builders and contractors essentially just use themselves as a source of this magic, so the home/property owner doesn't have to. This is not mandatory, but the tech and knowledge (if that's the right word) to do so is widespread and not limited to building materials.

This is a world with magic-built computers that have perfect heating control and power usage. Public mass-transit consists of high-speed maglevs (the tracks and super-cooled magnets being trivial to make and lay), and cars can be custom-built, running as efficiently on alcohol as they ever could on gas (the idea being that it's the cheapest fuel in the setting, not necessarily the most effective).

It's a golden age - it hasn't lasted long enough to suffer from creative sterility - and war is seen as completely hypocritical by the masses. Weapons are rendered anywhere from useless to morally repugnant (a 'bullet' to actually kill someone requires so much force behind it that creating and using it takes more magic than simply creating the thing the user wanted in the first place - there is next to nothing that can be gained with a nuclear weapons program that couldn't have also been created through the materials used in said program).

And then the magic goes away. Buildings collapse, killing billions. Weapons that weren't 'magic' to begin with accomplish very little, as there's no longer anything to gain.

In short, a zombie apocalypse without the zombies.

From Zaran il Legio/Legion War.

• Erednashizzar, capital of Legio Ered'nash: the largest city of Legio Ered'nash, it is built around the fortress of the Overlord, located on top of a large extinct volcano. The origin of the city dates back the the Fae Wars, when the fortress was established as a garrison to guard a strategically important passage going through the Great Dividing Range. During the First Legion War the fortress was taken as the base of the Overlord of Legio Ered'nash, and a city grew around it. The city is laid out in concentric rings with the Overlord's fortress and the associated garrison at the center. As the city expanded over time, progressively newer rings were built around it, with old city walls being left to divide the rings, often partially cannibalised for building material or having holes knocked into them to allow for easier movement. The appearrance of the city is very anarchic, with buildings of all manner of different styles clustered tightly together with no thought given to things like building codes. The Overlord's fortress, Ered'nash'ramas, is a marvel of architecture from the ages before the Legion Wars. The entire mountain it sits on is honeycombed with tunnels, gunnery emplacements, aethership hangars and the like. The fortress itself sits ontop of the volcano's peak. Over the millenia, many areas of the fortress have falled into disrepair, and even with massive support beams holding up the sides of the fortress, sections of it have been abandoned due to the floor being in danger of collapsing. Still, even in its current state it is an extremely imposing structure, a clearly visible sign of the Overlord's power for the inhabitants of the city.
• Romanth'dis, the highest city and seat of the Demon King. A flying city hovering high above the land, Romanth'dis, or dis for short, is not controlled by any Legion. Instead it is percided by the Council of Regents, officially controlling the city in place the Demon King, untill a new king has been selected. Considering the Overlords have been fighting for the title for thousands of years, in practice the Regents are for all intents and purposes the rulers of the city. The city consists of a floating island, resembling an upside-down mountain, with the city built on top of it. The island is mostly hollow and filled with chambers containing the magically powered generators that keep it afloat. Surrounding the island are numerous platforms that serve as extensions of the city, connected to the island with huge chains. Romanth'dis was originally a Fae city (as evidenced by the ruined crystal spires many of the current buildins have been constructed around), which fell the Demons near the end of the Fae Wars, and served as a major staging point for during the last years of the war. The city was mostly destroyed in the cataclysm following the deplyment of the Ultimate Weapon, and forgotten untill a group of Demons settled the ruins and stumbled upon a cache of artifact and arcane lore that had managed to survive the destruction. They struck a deal with the warring Overlords, sharing their finds with all of the Legions in exchange for protection, and promising to submit to whoever would be crowned the new Demon King. While the Overlords were busy fighting among themselves, Romanth'dis grew and prospered, and its inhabitants used the knowlege they had gained from studying the artifacts and lore to advance their understanding of magic and technology. Wary of the Legions turning on them to gain their secrets, they used powerful spells and magitech to levitate the entire city off the ground, out of the reach of enemy armies. The city has remained floating over the continent for thousands of years, trading with the Legions and acting as a neutral party and safe meeting place in negotiations between the Overlords.
• The Lava Sea: an enormous lava lake surrounded by volcanic fields dominates much of the southwestern area of the continent. The area around the Lava Sea is home to hundreds of active volcanoes which blanket the land with sheets of ash, and the ground is wracked with constant earthquakes (mostly minor ones, but occasionally large-scale faulting will cause great chasm to open in the earth). Though hard to believe, this hellish place was once a verdant and beautiful land, home to the greatest city of the Fae. During the Fae Wars all attempts by the Demons to invade the city were met with failure, and it seemed their invasion had finally lost momentum, breaking against the impenetrable defences of the Fae capital. The Demong King knew inability to take the city would mean losing the war and that its defenders could survive any siege long anough for the Fae to push his forces back. In order to win, he had to come up with another plan; Using the skills of their greatest arcanists and the information and technology they had acquired from the Fae they had conquered, the Demons would create the Ultimate Weapon, capable to laying waste to even the greatest city of the Fae. They deployed the weapon during a massive invasion against the city, led by the Demon King himself. Unfortunately for everybody involved, the weapon worked too well, destroying not only the city but also annihilating the Demon army and causing a massive cataclysm that destroyed both the Demon and the Fae civilisations (the Demons managed to barely survive while the Fae went extinct, so they did technically win the war). Of the Fae capital nothing remained, except an enormous crater that quickly filled with magma oozing from the cracks in the continental crust like blood from an open wound. Even now, thousands of years later, the sea of boiling lava remains and is showing no signs of cooling down.

edited 8th Mar '14 2:30:05 PM by Nomic

Not particularly relevant to my current story, since it's on a different continent, but it is important to the world: the city of San, in its heyday, was the seat of power of a vast empire. Its artists and scholars were considered some of the best of their time (historical bias notwithstanding), and the architectural style of its buildings and monuments were mimicked all across the empire and beyond. The empire fragmented for various reasons, and San has since lost much of its past glory; however, much of its stored art and knowledge remains intact, and its influence on history is well-documented.

A large portion of the world speaks some derivative of the Sanim language (the most common being Sanim^* morphed considerably over the centuries— compare a modern English novel to Beowulf, Vaishim, and Ibrihim)^* compare Latin to Italian, French, and Spanish; in addition, the Arcane language conforms to Sanim phonology and syntax (though the language itself arose from an attempt to recreate a lost lingua franca once spoken throughout Arcadia, and is based on a native lexicon).

edited 8th Mar '14 11:14:52 PM by Blueeyedrat

"I've come to the conclusion that this is a very stupid idea."

Dracaina is the homeland of the Draconics, a humanoid dragon species and the migrant species, elves. It is very varied in its geography with volcanoes in the north-east, mountains in the north, highlands in the east, coast in the west and plains in the south. The majority of its residents have slit pupils and are adapted to survive its harsh weather.

RIP Leonard Nimoy 26/03/1931 - 27/02/2015

Approximately a quarter of mainland Arcadia is unclaimed by any regional power, mostly because of environments deemed uninhabitable and/or Wild Magic that no one really wants to deal with. The no-man's-land is generally viewed as three distinct, simply-titled regions:

- In the very center of the continent lies the Arid Plateau. Primarily desert and badlands, with occasional dry grassland. A few mining towns sprang up on the plateau during a wave of colonization, but most were abandoned shortly after. A noted exception is the city of Arc, founded directly underneath an aetherial hotspot.
- To the north is the Deep Forest. A thick boreal region, full of uncharted lakes and rivers. It's believed that a once-powerful civilization took root in the area, supported by the discovery of city ruins reclaimed by nature. Many a brave soul has ventured into the woods searching "The Capital", but most have been repelled by all sorts of unpleasant magical creatures that reside within.
- The greater continent actually also includes the world's north pole (a frozen, rocky wasteland), but "Arcadia" itself ends at the Wall, a titanic mountain range that divides the entire land mass. Like the other unclaimed territories, attempts have been made to colonize the other side of the Wall (usually wherever a relatively safe passage through the mountains is found), but most are short-lived. Currently, only one such inhabited area exists: the city of Edge, a port that can be accessed by sea for less than half of the year.

"I've come to the conclusion that this is a very stupid idea."

DEADROCK

Deadrock, AKA Pitstop, is a Starfarer outpost. Like all Starfarer outposts it is carved into a hollowed out asteroid rather than being located on a planet. This particular asteroid is rogue, adrift, not part of a solar system. It is one part Atlantic City, one port Mos Eisley, and one part truck stop. It has extremely minimal "administration" (government) and it's said that the only market there is the black market. It is the furthest outpost of humanity, located in the Sagitarius Dwarf Satellite Galaxy, at the edge of what's considered "habitable space."

Deadrock's delicacies include fried onioncakes (the "onions" aren't real, they're actually a kind of fungus), fungal honeybroth, and nightbloom berry juice made from an unusual orchid-like flower that grows in the relative darkness of Deadrock's interior. Living space in Deadrock varies from networks of small habitat modules to elaborate, multi-tiered homes carved into the rock. There are huge tunnels lining the passages that lead to the airlocks where mostly freighters dock. From space, the asteroid looks luminescent from all the light sources just beneath its surface layer, as glowing web-like and grid-like patterns.

Deadrock can be a dangerous place for those without the Starfarer equivalent of street smarts. As is often said of undesirable places, "No one vacations on Deadrock." It's specifically run and frequented almost entirely by "Indie" starfarers, freighter crews and Starfarer clans.

edited 13th Mar '14 6:35:43 AM by fulltimeD

The Gray Desert of Seidas is a barren area composed mostly of slate. Winds can reach up to 100 miles an hour on a regular basis, blowing thin shards of slate at lethal speeds. The Vakomi, a race of tall, gray skinned humanoids, are the only humanoids that can survive in the desert, due to their thick, practically bullet-resistant skin.

Uruk is the only naturally habitable planet in the Euphrates system, with a breathable nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere (at a higher oxygen level than Earth's, in fact) and a native ecology that is fairly compatible with terran life. Due to its peculiar geology, it is a very arid world...most of the water is locked away in underground reservoirs, giving the planet the character of a planet-sized desert studded with oases. These oases, where a reservoir is close enough to the surface for plants to get at it, are teeming with life, most of which appears insectoid. The best-known of these are the Ziggurat Ants, eusocial animals whose mounds of hardened mud were mistaken for the buildings of sapient natives by the first surveyors to reach the planet. Ziggurat Ants range in size from about the size of a terran ant to 30cm in the case of the biggest species, and some of the bigger ones can be rather dangerous to humans due to the front claws of the soldiers working like those of Mantis Shrimp.

The humans of Uruk are the descendants of numerous rivaling bands of pirates, smugglers and outcasts who spent close to a century raiding each other for supplies before something resembling peace was restored. As a result, the Uruk Confederacy is the only member state of the Alliance that is composed of individual nation states of its own. Each state has its own government and security forces, while the federal government largely exists to keep the peace between them (and has control of all space-based forces for that purpose). About the only thing all Urukan member states do together is send a soccer team to the Alliance Cup every few years, as the sport is highly popular on the planet and its active league produces a lot of highly-skilled players.

Uruk itself is not a mineral-rich planet by any stretch of the imagination, but other worlds of the Euphrates system are rich enough in heavy metals and rare earths to fuel a sizeable system economy. In addition to high-quality electronics, Uruk is known for producing reliable and efficient vector-thrust aircraft popular for commuter traffic on many other earthlike worlds, ranging from aircars to transonic suborbital liners. Meanwhile, careful management of the subterranean water supply along with a high concentration of nitrates and phosphates in the soil has resulted in a large food production surplus on Uruk, which feeds several industrial colonies in nearby systems in addition to the whole of Euphrates.

edited 15th Mar '14 4:28:54 PM by MattStriker

Reality is for those who lack imagination.

Isacar:

The city of Isacar is located on the edge of a continent spanning desert where the rivers Isacar and Misthium join. While it is built on a cliff overlooking the vast swamp and estuary the two rivers form its position between two great rivers and the desert, as well as its easy accessibility from the Seventh Sea, located only a few miles away down the joined river, has turned it into a trading hub.

The city itself had a long history dating back before recorded history, and so has changed hands countless times. Recently its power has begun to fade as a variety of small dictators have taken over and been overthrown in turn. While it does tolerate most cultures, the unstable combinations of diverse people that meet in its streets mean most of the time the strongest factions are the territorial gangs. Much of the city has fallen into ruin and disuse

Divided by two rivers, a variety of weed-choked canals and the cliff itself Isacar is divided into a variety of neighborhoods. These include the Masked Quarter, the Mwara Alley District, the goblin-populated Green Quarter, the Temple District and the filthy anarchy of the Bend.

ITS BEHIND YOU

The southernmost region of Arcadia is a large peninsula. Further south, across the Strait of Kolo is a large subcontinent (less than a quarter the size of mainland Arcadia) and several smaller island chains, known as Devera. Most of this area is tropical or subtropical, and Devera in particular contains a jungle large and biodiverse enough to keep scientists happy for a long, long time.

Politically, the region is controlled by four independent powers: New Ibri, Čeve, Kolowen, and Dever. New Ibri holds the west half of the peninsula, Čeve holds most of the east, Kolowen surrounds the eastern Strait of Kolo, while Dever controls a majority of the subcontinent.

Over a century ago, the entire area was a vassal of Ibri, a powerful empire from across the sea. While most of the Arcadian settlers got along well with (read: bribed) the existing native populations, the New Ibri colonists took the conquistador approach. After generations of Ibrihim rule, the eastern half of New Ibri rebelled, sparking the first (and currently, the only) large-scale war in post-colonial Arcadia. In spite of inferior numbers and supply, the Čeveya and Devera forces struck hard and fast, and won huge gains before finally being fought to a standstill by the Ibrihim armada.

Eventually peace treaties were signed, and Ibri ceded control of Devera and the east peninsula— sans a portion of territory the rebels failed to capture, which would later become the state of Kolowen. That state (and New Ibri itself) would later gain their autonomy through peaceful means... of course, one of Kolowen's first actions upon gaining independence was to form an alliance with the two rebel states, but that's another story.

edited 16th Mar '14 7:56:37 PM by Blueeyedrat

"I've come to the conclusion that this is a very stupid idea."

Let me share my more exotic locations:

The Valley of Cattle

High up on the highland of Haoraz lies a valley filled with skyscrapers. It was a place build by the third generation of gods so that humans could prosper and procreate to be devoured by the dragons once they awoke. It was a rich city and the faithful followers of the gods happily embraced their new home. But the dragons never woke up and these gods have been struck down. And with the gods' death a flood of poison dragged the residents into the depths of the valley where they were mutated into vile creatures. Only a few people wander around the gray canyons, searching for divine artifacts and forgotten treasures.

Brazengraal, city of the gods

A well hidden place, enormous even to the giants. The city has been abandoned, yet still stands on the highest mountains. A mere human cannot see the walls or ceilings of the great halls where the gods gathered as darkness has fallen upon the city. Only in the great hall shines the light of what is said to be a second sun.

The Abyss

A long rift in the ground of the Dark Below, it's two sides only connected by strings of the arachnae's cobweb, barely thick enough for a human to walk upon. But once a year the crystals that grow from the stone illuminate the dark and let one see one eye of the First One Truly born, reaching from one horizon to the next. It endlessly stares into an unseen sky and it is told that those who withstand it's glare will relive their memories and find their full strength in them.

And these are on the continent Dagun on the southern hemisphere:

The Bone Mountains

the was fields where the undead armies of Paradox gathered all the dead flesh of their fallen foes and comrades to create new undead with. While most of their captives are killed immediately are some woven to machines of rotten flesh, forced to procreate again and again until they become flesh like the rest. The babies are immediately killed and their parts are used to build new undead creatures. Even after their leaders have vanished and all sentient beings left, the primitive beast that oversee the mountains keep their work growing and so the mountains still grow.

Stormwatch

The once proud capital of the kingdom Kalkassa, throning over the Great Northern Canyon. It has been taken over by the undead and clad into a cocoon of flesh. Though the Bone Mountains will soon swallow the city some adventures still face the undead to save old treasures.

Black Heart

Technically a part of the old kingdom of Alyvros, but the hazardous lands south of the Wolkenflucht(=escape to the clouds) mountain range are undiscovered. No one but the most desperate tries to cross the mountains and expeditions along the western coast of the continent are often crushed by the harsh sea. Sea from the East have managed to cultivate a small valley where many outlaws seek haven. Only a few know about the flying islands on the southern end where ancient fortresses stand. And even then, it's only stories to them.

The Dividing Sands

The great dessert that divides the north and the south of the continent Dagun. Only nomadic tribes of Zorsae(Orcs) live in this region where they hunt the great sand wyrms. Teams of up to ten people hunt their prey up to a week until it is exhausted. In the center of the dessert lies an entrance to the Dark Below that is guided by the glass nests of fire wyrms and has bin taken over Aspis.

More Legion War

• The Pilars: This place is located in the middle of the arid badlands on the eastern side of the continent. It is composed of two black rune-covered pilars, one of which has long since toppled over, surrounded by ruined buildings.The runes are written in the demonic language, but are of an arcane, clearly very old dialect. Not many outside of particularly brave and curious arcanists and historians travel to the site, not only because of its remote location, but because it si considered to be cursed. The area contains unusually high amounts of magical energy, and according to arcanists who have studied it there are countless small tears in reality around the site. Whatever the reason, spontaneous storms of magical energy, ghostly apparitions and other strange sites plague the area. While the truth is only speculated about by arcanists and historians, this is the site where the Demons first entered the world, the pilars having been built around a gateway in space and time to stabilise it and allow the armies of the Demon King to pass through. During the Cataclysm, the gate collapsed, destroying the garrison built around it and creating a huge magical storm. The storm has long since died down, but the aftereffects of the gate's collapse still linger.

• Idraasa'garad, capital of Legio Balad'yaris. Legio Balad'yaris (bloodied spear) controlls the southeaster area of the continent, bordering Legio Ered'nahs in the north. Their capital, named after their current Overlord lady Idraasa, is an old Fae city located on a large island in a major fork of the continents largest river. The city was a major trading post, known for its wealth and art, but was unprepared for the sudden Demonic invasion. While still considered one of the greatest sights of the continent and the crown jewel of Legio Balad'yaris, the city has suffered much in the millenias of Demonic rule. The ground the city is build is composed of soft marshland, and unchecked building combined with excessive pumping of groundwater has led to the city slowly sinking into the swamp. Ancient Fae towers and palaces, once shining pristine white but now showing the signs of disrepair and millenias of exposure to tropical climate, stick out of the water, surrounded by Demon-made buildings contructed ontop of rafts, stilts or submerged buildings. Canals and networks of bridges are used to move around the city. While this gives Idraasa'garad an unique and according to many beautiful appearance, the slowly rising water level poses a problem for the inhabitants. So far the only large-scale efford to stop the sinking has been focused on the Overlord's palace, which has had its foundations heavily reinforced and an artificial island built around it. Even so large amounts of the original palace, the former seat of the Fae rulers of the city, is below the current water level. Truth to be told, as long as her palace does not sink any further lady Idraasa doesn't particularly care what happens to the homes of her subjects, so they'll have to deal with the problem on their own.

edited 17th Mar '14 2:56:25 PM by Nomic

Sturgeon's Planet

Considered one of the underarms of the galaxy. This pesky little place barely has access to its own FTL spacecraft and relies on trade extensively, especially since the two halves of the planet don't speak, except when they choose to scream at each other. For about 70 years most people on Sturgeon's Planet have been subjects of one or another "Federation," The Northern and Southern Federations. The Northerners are like Canada, with a semi-socialistic democracy. The South is more Laissez-faire, and both sides have built up a planetary military force locked in mutually assured destruction.

It has an unremarkable gray sky, almost no climate variation except near the poles, and it rains a lot in the Southern Hemisphere. It has no cultural, linguistic, or ethnic distinguish features that would make it of any interest to anyone. More advanced spacefaring societies tend to leave Sturgeon's Planet alone and secretly hope its two superpowers blow each other up eventually.

As is frequently said of undesirable places, "Nobody vacations on Sturgeon's Planet."

Sturgeon's Rock, an asteroid at the edge of the system, serves as a Starfarer outpost, which is considered neutral by citizens and officers from both Federations.

Due to paranoia about nuclear weapons and the use of the few independent nations as proxies, Intelligence is a booming business. Intelligence agents are the firefighters of Sturgeonite society. It's the ideal of civil service.

Both Federations are rather corrupt; the Drug Enforcement arm of the Southern Federation in particular impounds spacecraft by classing certain cyber-organic systems like the organic fluids used by biocomputers as narcotics and confiscating these organic systems components, especially as newer vessels have upgraded to subsystems based on biotechnology. The Southern "Feds" frequently target these spacecraft while turning a blind eye to small time drug smugglers.

edited 18th Mar '14 1:43:55 PM by fulltimeD

Gravesworld

A Cemetery Planet.

The Assembled Forces of the Corps of Liberators came here at wars' end to bury their dead. A small group of marines and former officers pledged themselves to defend the cemeteries from looters, and burned their spacecraft. It was the biggest mass funeral the Milky Way Starscape ever saw.

The planet is an exotic one, slightly chilly, with a breathable atmosphere with nitrogren, oxygen, argon, xenon and trace gasses. It was terraformed but geologically dead and a low priority for colonization. The "Guardians" number approximately 500,000 and are camped all over the planet in small, heavily armed units on constant patrol. It has rock formations that are shades of purple and blue, and is rich in metallic deposits, but these resources, like the cemeteries, are protected by the Guardians and thus off limits.

The blue coloration is also present in the planet's salt deposits, due to minute amounts of cobalt in the deposits. The blue salt is traded as a valuable commodity, but due to the nature of its particular isotope and the cobalt levels even in small concentrations, cannot be consumed safely by humans.

Those who buried someone on Gravesworld typically took with them a blue pebble from one of the rivers there.

edited 21st Mar '14 6:44:04 AM by fulltimeD

Terra Primus

Formerly Known As Earth

And the Origin System

The Origin System over thousands of years of interstellar colonization became more isolationist and less tolerant of divisive elements in society, like money and religious extremism, and expelled them both along with all the other malcontents into space on colony vessels in order to establish a more "balanced" social order with a post-scarcity economy that maximizes the public good.

After fighting and surrendering a war for the "Pacification" of the Galaxy, some kind of coup took place and the Pacification Forces were recalled.

The Earth people, not having been seen for thousands of years, and interacting with colonial humans using AI only, decided to wall themselves off, sliding the entire Origin System into a pocket universe whose walls acted as a kind of Dyson Sphere-like structure.

Homo sapiens terrestrialensis, the inhabitants of Earth, are a bio-cybernetic gestault collective. They find communication with Homo sapiens difficult and prefer to communicate through A.I.s. Their default form is a seamless, partially organic metallic shell covering the entire planet, which is capable of splitting off and morphing into different types of AI "Nodes" (individuals formed from the Gestault).

edited 21st Mar '14 6:39:50 AM by fulltimeD