The Magic Lands are ours - Interest Check/Sign Up

Inspired by Parable’s (Who is my Co-GM) Space Politcs RP I decided to make a fantasy politics RP. The players will each create a nation populated with a people of their choice in the world called, in its lingua franca, Alkenia, in which, as far as everyone knows, there is only one major continent called Eun, as well as some islands around it.

One thousand and five hundred years have passed since the great Dragon Empire fell to internal strife and corruption, allowing for many new kingdoms and nations to arise to power. Only a single city of the old Draconic glory, Malkarath, remained. Acting as a neutral zone, diplomats and ambassadors from the entire continent and its surrounding islands come to Malkarath to negotiate and scheme for their nation.
Now a guild of adventurers was also hired for a job that will take them across the entire continent... If Fate lets them.

You, the players, will be creating your own nation and its representatives — a diplomat and a member of the adventurers’ guild.

When making your nations you are pretty much free to do them as you wish. Eun is as big as we need it to be; just don't make it too outlandish so it does not fit in with the rest. Technology is not allowed to go beyond early gunpowder, though quite advanced clockwork is permitted.

Nation sheet

• Name: (How is your nation called?)
• Government: (How is your nation governed? Is it a kingdom? A republic? Maybe something democratic?)
• Capital: (What is the name of the capital and how big is it?)
• Ruler: (Who currently rules your nation? Who are they?)
• People: (Who are the people that live in your nation? Are they human? If not, what are they?)
• History: (When were your nation founded and what has happened to it until now?)
• Infrastructure: (How well-developed is your nation and how many lives there? Do they excel in producing a certain kind of good? How advanced is their technology?)
• Geography: (How does your nation look like? Mountainous or forested or something else? How many cities are there and how big are they?)
• Culture: (How does the nation’s culture look like? What do they place value in? How do they dress? And so on.)
• Military: (How powerful is the military and how does it work?)

Diplomat/Adventurer Sheet

• Name: (Obvious.)
• Age: (Also pretty obvious. Please note their age relative to a human as well in case they come from a different race — a fifteen-years-old elf is not the same thing as a human of the same age. Anyone submitting a loli will be brick’d.)
• Gender: (Also obvious, unless they come from a race that has something different than the standard male/female thing.)
• Nation/People: (‘Nation’ applies only to adventurers; diplomats are assumed to belong to the nation they represent.)
• Appearance: (Either a picture or a description.)
• Skills: (No heavier than Super Weight 3, and no Game Breakery abilities such as time manipulation, mind control, et cetera.)
• Items/Equipment: (Keep this reasonable; unless your character has a Bag of Holding or a pack mule, they can’t carry too much.)

Dat interest.

I'll bite, sounds fun.

Interested.

Adding to the in-trest.

Interested, though I am not sure if I can brainstorm so much.

Interest here!

Awesome with all the interest! Well, it's just to make a Nation then

I'll make something later, but might I ask what you mean by "advanced clockwork" for technology?

Well, a garden where if you walk on certain stones clockwork birds start chirping and animatronic animals move (This was infact a real thing that existed in real life.)

Oh. Alright.

I'll...make my nation after I see someone else do it.

This could be interesting. I might make a civilization, if time/inspiration allows.

Working on the Elven Isles. Should I post what I have and make it a work in progress or wait until I have it all together.

I have a few ideas:

• Centaur tribes akin to Mongolian steppe raiders
• Some kind of Aztec/Mayan/Inca style theocracy; probably human
• A newly liberated human colony on an island archipelago not unlike Dutch Indonesia; humans living alongside the native hobbits/halflings and trying to assimilate them into their culture.
• Babylonian/Neo-Assyrian style desert culture with fairly advanced technology.

edited 17th Jun '14 1:11:34 PM by Locoman

I have a vague idea for some sort of underground-dwelling race. I'll most likely flesh it out once I write up the thing, but just wanna see how the application plays out..

I was considering something similar to Locoman's archipelago, except for the part that it's owned by varying pirate groups.

Interest. Working on a kingdom of demons that live around a volcano in a fiery wasteland. Their main defense is that nobody wants their land because it looks like hell.

Dibs on the desert elf civ.

I think I'll go with the Mesoamerican idea I had.

Dibs on the savage but noble viking expys

Hmmm, at least three possible island nations including mine. Of course they don't all have to be near each other.

Does magic come under the category of "technology" mentioned in infrastructure?

edited 17th Jun '14 5:30:55 PM by tricksterson

Yups. And all concepts so far sound viable

Hi, I'm Parable and I'll be your co-GM for this game! I guess I'll go make a nation first so everyone can get an idea of what you can do for your own sign-up! Yours can be longer or shorter, but just make sure to get the main ideas down so others can work with what you provide.

• Name: Onogo, better known as the Island Empire
• Government: Monarchy
• Capital: Onogo Ui, population: 300,000
• Ruler: Emperor Jonah
• People: Human
• History: Old legends say that the Islanders first came by boat from the direction of the rising sun. They were a hungry and desperate people looking for a new home after famine and forced them out of their own. One day a young man, named Mafatu dreamed of a riding a giant feather, which took him high into the sky and carried him to a beautiful group of islands that boasted great resources and land aplenty. Mafatu woke and told the others of the little boat fleet of his dream, but they merely scoffed at him. The laughing stopped when a seagull landed atop the boy's head and then flew off to the west whenever anyone came near. It did this seven times before the Mafatu's coaxing convinced the others to turn their sails to the west. Sure enough, they found their island paradise. The people scattered and settled, forming their own tribes and kingdoms over the centuries. To this day, the Islanders use the gull as their emblem.
  • The Island Empire was formed by an alliance of three island kingdoms, Onogo, Oamos, and Tavana during an era of constant strife, war, and raiding. The allied kingdom conquered their remaining enemies and subjugated the other people and powers of of their vast archipelago, bringing and end to what was later called the Island Wars era. Over time, Onogo came to dominate the others, whose co-rulership was gradually reduced to merely being influential governing authorities. Still, many islands retained a great deal of autonomy and have varying cultures that differ from island to island. From these kingdoms, great cities were established, with ports and light houses and trade houses and thriving populations. Sailors by necessity, the Islanders became renowned for their seamanship and lovingly crafted vessels. The Islanders met with the mainland frequently, establishing a strong presence on the coastal regions. Military expeditions had their successes and failures, proving that while the Island Empire could train a good army, distance and numbers could cost them victory just as often as the enemy did. A committed navy, however, has won the empire the distinction of being one of the strongest and safest territories on the sea. Contemporary Island Empire has put a lot of effort into trading with its neighbors and keeping the peace between smaller kingdoms whose wars could interrupt their vital overland trade routes.
• Infrastructure: The Island Empire boasts an modest population, most of it spread out across the islands in small towns and villages. Many of these practice substance living, producing enough to survive on and selling whatever it left over. What ever else they need they get through trade from abroad or with other islands. The larger cities are a different scenario altogether, where much business and building is done. Wood and stone buildings dominate these urban areas, where markets are open all day and ships come and go constantly. Larger islands have well kept roads connecting cities and villages with each other while smaller ones you find it more likely to sail to the other side than to go through the jungle area.
  • The Island Empire grows most of its own food, but wheat and meat products are in high demand from the mainland. Metal and glasswork are also imported from other countries. Fruits, rice, and sugar, silk and color dye, and stone, wood, and obsidian related products are its primary exports.
• Geography: As the name implies, the Island Empire is made up of hundreds of islands. It is located in a subtropical region around the continent and is home to extensive jungles which surround dormant and not so dormant volcanoes.
• Culture: Islanders like to dress with lots of colors on loose clothing. Intricate patterns are weaved into clothing as a means of identification for families or locality. Families typically consists of an adult couple and their children, with the eldest taking care of the parents in their senior years. Depending on the island, housing can consist of anything from tent structures to buildings as fine as those on the mainland. Islander religion teaches in the power of a single god, who speaks to the people through his emissaries, such as the gull that guided the Islanders to their home in the first place. Sacrifices are made at religious ceremonies and festivals around the year to honor their divine lord. Priests are responsible for schools, hospitals, and orphanages around the empire. Islanders generally follow a policy of working long most of the week and spending a day or two doing nearly nothing, leading some travelers who come on the wrong day to mistakenly assume Islanders are incredibly lazy.
• Military: Most islands within the empire maintain their own local forces for defense. The Islander army, however, does maintain garrisons on tactically important island in case of attack by raiders and pirates. The navy, on the other hand, is a large beast which the Island Empire uses to extend its reach far beyond its borders. Sail ships form a large fleet ready to take on any challenger by bombarding, boarding, or ramming, if need be. Smaller vessels patrol the coastline and hunt for seafaring enemies.

edited 17th Jun '14 6:01:58 PM by Parable

ignore

edited 18th Jun '14 8:13:53 AM by Locoman

And now, demons! Surprisingly not Always Chaotic Evil.

• Name: Daemuun, The Demon Kingdom
• Government: Monarchy
• Capital: Searruk, The Black City. A large, walled town built on the foot Mt. Hellfire. The walls and all the buildings are made of magically-fortified obsidian, hence the name. At the center of the city is Great Devil Palace, a terrifying piece of architecture with twisted spires and spikes jutting out of it.
• Ruler: King Zyuul
• People: Demons, horned humanoid reptilian people with coal-like black hides. They are impervious to fire and heat, regularly bathing in lava, and breath fire. They are also resistant to poison, owing to the sulfur-tainted waters of their homeland. They are also far stronger than humans, and live several centuries.
• History: Born in a land habitable only to terrifying things, the demons are said to be ancient lizards that began to walk on two legs. In olden days, the Wastes were not a place of fire, merely a more temperate, rocky area and Mt. Hellfire was a normal mountain. But despite this, they did not get along well with other races - they would burn crops and taint rivers to make them more like those of their homeland, and could not understand why others did not wish the same. Eventually a war broke out, and they were driven back to their wasteland. Choosing to stay there and ignore the others that despised them, they began to build a great walled city to keep others out. Some were not content to even let the demons live, however, and a small army of mercenaries attacked the city of Searruk in its infancy. The first king of demons, Tyrannis, called upon the wrath of demonkind and bid the fires within the mountain smite the invaders. The top of the mountain burst open, and liquid fire drowned the land. When the onslaught ended, only the demons survived, their land now a burning ruin. Thus goes the tale of the First Eruption.
• Infrastructure: The demon population is currently about 500,000. Their main export is Devilstone: a pitch-black rock that can burn for years, useful as an energy source. They don't rely on technology all that much. Most of their buildings, tools, and weapons, including their ignidile-drawn carts, are made of stone.
• Geography: The region around Mt. Hellfire, an enormous active volcano that erupts every five years or so, is known commonly as the Scorched Wasteland. This is the demon's home, a place of fire and rock and little else. The few rivers that run through the Scorched Wasteland are yellowed with sulfur amongst other acids, and are nearly devoid of life, containing only toxic algae. The largest river of the region, ten feet across at its widest, is the River Styx, which runs through Searruk. Apart from the capital, there are scattered demon settlements, usually along major roads and on the Styx, but none comparable in size to Searruk.
  • The Wastes are home to few creatures. Among them are Lava Wurms, the main food source of demons, giant serpentlike beasts that swim through the lava flows of the area and breath fire. According to legend, they are a breed of dragon that gave away their wings to strengthen their fire, though this has been dismissed as myth by most. The wurms are known to break through the rocky surface of the wastes in search of food, creating temporary lava pools. Also inhabiting the lava flows are giant Iginidiles, dark grey rocky crocodiles adapted to extreme heat, which serve as the Lava Wurms prey and the demons' beasts of burden. Despite their fierce appearance, they are mostly harmless, as they eat rocks. Though they prefer high temperatures, they can survive in most non-arctic conditions. Cold, however, will kill them rapidly.
• Culture:
  • Demons are separated into three social classes, based on height: Imps, Fiends, and Devils. A demon born as one of these species may actually be placed in a different social class, if they are abnormally short or tall.
    • Imps are the smallest, standing at 3-4 feet tall, and serve as laborers and footsoldiers. They are the most populous class of demon, laying twice as many eggs as the other groups on average. It is usually taboo for an Imp to give an order to a Fiend or Devil, or for an Imp to argue with a superior from one of the taller groups. Many of the settlements outside of Searruk are Imp settlements, owing to their strict work ethic and strong cooperation. Imps hold family and friends dear, and will accept most anyone as an ally, regardless of race.
    • Fiends are in the middle, standing 5-7 feet tall, and are the most proficient mages and scholars. They are commonly teachers and supervisors of Imp workers. They aren't quite as common as Imps, but still far outnumber the Devils. Unlike Imps, Fiends can insult their Devil leaders without much repercussion, and can hold positions of command in the military.
    • Devils are the rarest and the tallest, standing 8-12 feet in height, and are the nobility of Daemuun. They control the other classes of demon through sheer strength. Traditionally, Imps and Fiends live in the same manor as the Devils that they serve, and most treat their servants reasonably well. Four Devils serve as the King's Claws, a group of advisers. Currently: The Nameless Count, his mate Countess Catharsia, Duchess Dementia, and Baron Balazar.
  • Demons are creatures of fire, and as such hold it sacred. Every five years they hold a festival to honor the eruption of Mt. Hellfire, in which they light Searruk on fire and dance and mate in the streets. During this festival, the Wurms may come and go freely in Searruk without fear – creatures of fire may not be harmed for the day. All food is prepared in advance. Demons worship the demon god Kalazar, god of fire, battle, and fertility, and consider the lighting of a fire to be a suitable offering to him, as wasting food is a great offense to demons.
  • Because wasting food is an offense, demons ritualistically eat their dead. After a winning battle, demons will gather the corpses of the fallen of both sides and feast upon them. The elderly, too, may choose to be sacrificed and eaten when they no longer have the strength to go on.
  • Demons do not usually wear clothes, due to the heat of their homeland. Because they are reptilian, and as such lack any external genitals, this is not immediately obvious and is generally not considered indecent. In addition, demons are very sexually open, considering neither blood purity nor gender to be at all important, and will care for children of their own group regardless of relation. Even succeeding the throne requires one to simply defeat the current ruler in combat, and is only limited to the ruler's child by tradition. Of course, any given ruler could have numerous children wandering about the world - demon kings and queens are known to be particularly promiscuous.
• Military: Led by the Supreme Commander, second to the king (currently Baron Balazar), the demon army is split into battalions, headed by a Devil or Fiend and consisting mostly of Fiends and Imps. All demons are trained to fight, and can be recruited at any time, unless they have a suitable reason for declining, such as having young children to care for or an injury that makes them unable to serve. Because most demons can defend themselves, the army does not usually serve as a defense force, instead rallying itself only when war is declared. Though demons prefer melee combat, Imps fighting with their claws and taller demons wielding poleaxes and spears or massive swords for the advantage of reach, they can also fight at range by spitting fireballs. They do not ride Ignidiles into combat, instead fighting solely on foot. Commonly, the Fiends and Devils will throw the Imps, who cloak themselves in flame to burn whoever they latch onto. Demons will follow a retreating enemy for up to a mile, attacking them along the way, before heading back to scour the battlefield.

edited 11th Jul '14 1:27:33 PM by Kagescorpionakki