TVTropes builds a campaign setting!

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New ballot tomorrow.

Noname

As a mortal, they were a rather extreme individual, obsessively seeking to control their environment. Their journey made them into a homeless vagabond and hermit, obsessively seeking out every superstition and ritual of the lands. This was before the first gods really took life, before Elena's birth caused the expansion of the world. Supposedly, Noname, as they came to be called, is partly responsible for the explosion.

When they gathered all the knowledge, they had documented it, categorized it and put it neat little ledgers, they put this knowledge to practical test. Part of why they are called Noname is what they went through for it, they left their home, gave up their identity and through horrific ritual mutilation in search for knowledge the rendered it impossible for any to tell who they had been at all, race or even sex.

They became the first full practitioner of mysticism, the First Mage. They were responsible for the dissemination of all this knowledge and through their work their nameless name grew, Noname the Faceless One. Eventually, First One status became full on Terrestrial God status, favored of the gods of knowledge and of power.

It was Noname that first postulated the possibility of sorcery and wizardry but it wasn't the first to achieve it. Once it had been done though, they exploded the knowledge exponentially. They used a grand ritual to rocket their ascension to the Celestial by hijacking the fetus in potentia of the unborn god of magic, becoming the God of Magic.

It is worshiped by nearly all practitioners of magic, some superstitions wrongly claiming that it is the source of magic. It has merely become the collected source of all magical knowledge and it is always obsessed with expanding that knowledge. Its symbol is like its eyes in life, said to number in three, demonic red left eye, an angelic blue right eye and set in its brow a bestial yellow-green eye, often simplified to a triangular set of colored dots on a purple background. Its image is that of an androgynous being shrouded in a purple cloak with purple gloved hands with long spindly fingers and a blackened face save for its eyes.

Do you want this to replace the other entry?

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

Yep

Hello, all. It doesn't look like anyone's come up with any cultures for the Brownies yet, so I guess I'll make a couple.

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Contea

As far back as the history of Contea records, the residents were surrounded by larger and stronger predators and tribes, and had to rely on cunning and apparent harmlessness to survive. Even after the discovery of tobacco and the invention of fireworks, both of which swiftly boosted their prosperity, this heritage has a profound effect on their culture. Not only are Contea's legendary heroes almost entirely clever individuals triumphing over brute strength, Contea boasts that there are no weapons within its borders. That many residents of Contea own items such as axes that are never used for chopping wood, "shovels" never used for digging, and beekeeping gear that bears an uncanny resemblance to armor is entirely inconsequential. Similarly, fireworks, despite their manufacture being a closely-guarded secret, are strictly used for entertainment, not combat. Any suggestion otherwise is absurd.

Contea is also known for the quality of its cooking and the corresponding enthusiasm of its eaters. Its (in)famous nine daily meals are believed to have originated in an outsider's joke that the Conteans near-universally considered an excellent idea.

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Principe

Principe is a collection of city-states ruled by a magic-using elite. Between the restricted enrollment of the wizard colleges and the aristocratic families' genetic tendency to produce sorcerers, magic has been concentrated in the hands of powerful families since time immemorial. However, the status quo is currently being thrown off by the rise of nouveaux riche merchants whose wealth and technology, though gained from trade rather than noble birth, has allowed them to match the power of the aristocrats. With the normal Principe games of intrigue and assassination increasing in tempo in response to these developments, none can say what the future may bring.

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Conteans are based on Tolkien's Hobbits, made a little more adventurer-friendly by the fact that they do have weapons and warriors, and everyone knows they do, they just pretend they don't because it's traditional. Principe is Renaissance Italy with emphasis on the magic vs. technology theme.

I dig the shit out of both of those.

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

I didn't know you made latrines, Exel!

A-HEM!

New ballot!

• Veritas, Celestial God of Truth
• The Dreamscape
• The Shrine
• Realm of Dreams
• Dream Academy
• Matilda, Celestial goddess of dreams
• Eleniis of Treasured Family and Family's Jewels
• Location: Forgegate
• Contea
• Principe

And special thanks to Rikalous for his contributions!

edited 21st Jun '12 8:10:26 PM by Sijo

My pleasure.

• Veritas, Celestial Goddess of Truth: yes
• The Dreamscape: yes.
• The Shrine: no. For one thing, the writeup on its own isn't very clear about what the deal is with it. For another thing, I don't see why the Amenity is the only god kept from being born. There's a whole lot of other YMMV stuff in the world.
• Realm of Dreams: yes
• Dream Academy: yes
• Matilda, Celestial goddess of dreams: yes
• Eleniis of Treasured Family and Family's Jewels: yes to all the PG-13 gods in the post
• Location: Forgegate: yes
• Contea: yes, of course
• Principe: yes, of course

Oh, and a no on the informal vote on Non-Mammal Mammaries. They don't make sense for a non-lactating species, and attractive Orcs can be done with other things like facial structure.

@Exelixi:

Elemental Branding is illegal in the Black Empire except in the case of Hrod's Elemental Brigade. Mind you, if you got it illegally, but turned out fine and are now working for him, he'd be willing to bend the rules out of sheer pragmatism.

@Sijo: I'd ask you list each of those gods individually.

edited 21st Jun '12 11:20:57 PM by God_of_Awesome

. . . I improvised.

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

I like the way you think.

—-

I'm pretty sure I made it so that branding is something that needs to be maintained. Similar to real world tanning you don't build up a base tan once and it lasts you your whole life. I wish that were the case.

Unless you went for the pseudo-half-elemental variety.

—-

• Veritas, Celestial God of Truth - yes
• The Dreamscape - no
• The Shrine - no
• Realm of Dreams -Yes
• Dream Academy - Yes
• Matilda, Celestial goddess of dreams - yes
• Eleniis of Treasured Family and Family's Jewels - No, even if they were listed out one by one I feel the descriptions aren't detailed enough.
• Location: Forgegate - yes
• Contea -yes
• Principe - yes, and I have a feeling several countries in the TED would love to be trading partners with them :3
• Non-Mammal Mammaries on orcs: I don't think they need breasts, also even without them aren't they still technically mammals?

edited 22nd Jun '12 8:31:57 AM by Vyctorian

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I considered listing the fetish deities separately, but since there was some controversy about their being included *at all*, I felt it was better this way. What do the rest of you think?

Oh, and I don't care about the Non-Mammal Mammaries either. It isn't like I have those kind of fantasies involving Fantasy.

Ahh yes, I forgot the Non-Mammal Mammaries. Added that in with my thoughts on it :3

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Sijo: More for art purposes than anything. I'm commissioning a Norwegian friend to illustrate, so I need directions to give him. And no, Orcs aren't mammals. They're reptiles, strictly speaking.

Voting will happen soon on my end.

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

I feel not all of them are 'fetish deities'.

Are they cold blooded? Because if they are that be problematic for orc characters in colder climates.

Also orc or orcs?

edited 22nd Jun '12 7:43:47 PM by Vyctorian

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It seems like there's enough low-level magic available in the world for orc-sized "Make-You-Warm-Enough-To-Function" cloaks to be within a rookie adventurer's price range. Probably not going to be any orc settlements in cold areas without a very compelling reason, though.

Oh I know. I pitched them as something that is mundane in cooler climates, the poor may not have them but anyone who could afford a metal weapon could afford one.

But that would still be a hindrance to non-adventures and such and even then I'd like to explore those implications better. It would easily explain certain cultural exceptions from non-orcs who live in colder climates if they'd only seen a hand full in there life.

If that were the case it would also in my mind alter of a orc/mimic relationship would work. As the primary reason for a mimic to form a relationship with the orc, "warmth" would be gone.

If they did so it would likely be based less in survival and more on something deeper, which is very appealing to me from a story-telling standpoint.

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Checked through Trope Page, Hadhism and Oblivionism are same thing.

Herm. I guess really the best thing to call them is dinosaurs. They're warm blooded, they give live birth, and they have hair on their heads; however, they do not nurse their young.

Duly noted and sorted.

edited 23rd Jun '12 9:41:35 AM by Exelixi

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-

I'm just saying that I'm just going to have to go back and relabel things, myself.

Andakishnu God of Heroes

A Celestial God made from the overall concept of the hero, from other people's idea of a hero, of men and women they admired and looked up to and ideals and pedestal they place upon those people. In the Dreamscape, he takes the form of a young slightly androgynous man handsome and beautiful in gleaming armor and resplendent robes, with four arms. In each he hold an item of significance, a scepter which he raises and brings calm and peace and all listen to his voice, a book wherein lay all the right answers, a shield with which he will never let anything hurt you and a sword to fight back evil.

His shadow is animated on its own and takes grotesque forms, sometimes shrouding him like a cloak of darkness. Andakishnu's Shadow is a nascent unborn godling, the Spirit of Disappointment.

Veritas, Celestial God of Truth Yes

The Dreamscape Yes

The Shrine No I've got a different idea

Realm of Dreams Yes

Dream Academy Yes

Matilda, Celestial goddess of dreams Yes I will take to expanding on her and connecting your dreams and my dreams

Eleniis of Treasured Family and Family's Jewels This deserves an expanded ballot for each individually. Yes to all them, though I would have possibly said no to some if I could.

Location: Forgegate Yes

Contea Yes

Principe Yes And welcome

Exe: is their skin is it thick due to being leathery like a mammal or leathery like a reptiles?

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Flesh Duegar

A breed foreign to Iropa and the Black Empire, they are more commnonly known by the Eastern Dominion and some of their outlying neighbors where a few nations of them dwell.

These Duegar lack of elemental aspecting, made purely of flesh throughout their whole lives. They do not a Loci stage. They do fall apart though as the innate power that keep them together loses cohesion, but not in the same way. As they become bigger and bigger, they rely more and more on innate magic to sustain the impossibility of their huge frame, much like drake and dragons do. However, Flesh Duegar have a unique problem.

Flesh Duegar are also known as Void Duegar. They are perhaps more of the material then their elemental kin, for they sustain an anti-magic field as soon as they enter the 'Dwarf' stage that becomes more potent as they grow and what it begins to do at the 'Titan' stage is actually begin to counter it own innate magic that sustains its now impossible frame, causing it to die. What a Flesh Duegar can do is sustain themselves, fighting back that erosion by force of will and those that do become absolutely massive. They are known as 'Behemoths' when they reach a certain height, usually big enough to accidentally trample through a village, squashing building under foot.

At this point, they have completely and impossibly internalized their self sustaining magic, such that they no longer need to feed themselves. These Behemoths are worshiped as gods by quite a few but because of their nature cannot become gods. Eventually, they will turn so inwards that they will no longer see the point and then after so long of letting themselves live, they will find somewhere comfortable and die. When their own anti-magic field snuffs out their life, it will collapse and their will be a massive burst of magic energy. The Flesh Duegar's corpse is consumed by rainbow light and then they are gone, completely gone.

Errata #1 Name Change: Titans, Ogres and Giants

Switch the Duegar's 'Giant' stage with their 'Titan' stage and make the Promethean Men 'Ogres' and the Dire Men 'Titans'. That way Titans are the bigger guys of the Ogre-Titans and of the Duegar stages Giants are more giant but Titans are still big. Ogre Ophaenum will become Odalym Titanus.

edited 23rd Jun '12 9:06:30 PM by God_of_Awesome

I don't like that concept. Ogre is not a positive word, and we want Prometheans to be portrayed in a positive light, what with being the ancestors of most of modern Humanity.

Honestly, "Promethean" is and always was literally the best possible name for these guys.

Mura: -flips the bird to veterinary science with one hand and Euclidean geometry with the other-