Post by llama on Dec 1, 2016 8:43:16 GMT -4
Note: I will be updating this thread throughout the RP, adding player-found areas and adding in more world building if I find it necessary. You don't have to read all of this info, just enough to get a grasp for each category. A lot of it is for reference.
Drawings for all the deities are coming soon!
Drawings for architecture within nations are plausible!
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It is 1575, blessed be the year of Yulesia, the Goddess of Life, and the continent of Pyre is in a peculiar position. The six major nations of the continent and the 'badlands' south of it are going through their developing stages of dark age to Renaissance with plenty of controversial advances being found by some and praise for the progress by others. The waves of magic have been blowing across Pyre since civilized beings have existed but it has only been within the past hundred years that this entity has been harnessed. Nevertheless, much has been done with this magic, it being seen has a malleable thing, one where it is up to the imagination of the caster within the respective field of magic.
The people of Pyre are as varied as the opinions; the south western peninsula is homeland to tree-living elves and sophisticated engineers in the form of orcs alike (the land of Frester). North of Frester is the blob of land known as Goodallia, populated primarily by humans. Northeast of Frester is Brugondia, a hilly nation home to halflings. Many rivers run throughout Brugondia, making it a nation of water-based industries and trades. East of both Frester and Brugondia is the massive nation of Freduleeia, hosting a weak central government with inner provinces that act more like independent nations than anything else. Further east of The Confederacy is the Dual Kingdom of the nations Orgien and Vanduo. Within the Dual Kingdom is the Green Kingdom, an autonomous goblin nation that considers itself independent. North east of the Dual Kingdom is the Mustowian Empire, a harsh land of steppe nomads and bitter cold. They are overall considered savages to the rest of Pyre; a nation of extremely pale people who make their living off of raiding others.
South of Pyre and divided by a narrow inner sea are the desert lands commonly referred to as Badlands, consisting of so many tribes and kingdoms that the average Pyrian would be given a headache even attempting about thinking about all of them. This headache can be communicated by everyone; the continent holds a common language, one claimed to be granted by a deity or multiple deities although a few races also speak languages unique to them. Some consider it a miracle that there is common language; others think it a terrible, terrible thing.
So here is Pyre, going full speed into a new era. Craving of this is hosted among many dissatisfied peoples of the continent, wanting to see what this odd time has to offer. You are one of them.
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-RACES-
Orcs: The most uncommon of all the races, their body form generally differs from either an extreme skinniness to obesity, the orange skinned humanoids known as orcs have been able to live a rather comfortable lifestyle for the past century. Two teeth jut out of their lower mouth, usually overcoming their lower lip, though the size of these teeth vary based on the orc. Their eyes are generally a faded white thanks to living in a sunny, desert biome since the race has existed. They lived a rather passive life before the recent century, struggling to get by due to an aggressive desert predator that would hunt down exclusively orcs (recently the species was supposedly put into extinction by a band of hired elven mercenaries). There are no gender roles in orc society due to there being no need for any; food was provided by easy to manage livestock and crops and the docile nature of the race never lead to any war. Due to this, nearly all orcs wear robes and have an okay amount of body hair. Leadership positions have been chosen by the smarts in the beginning and to modern days rather than the traditional early ways to seize power (through strength). Their physical strength isn't great but their creativity is known very well. Generally associated with the arts and almost poetical use of language, wherever orcs are sandstone cities rise and both tourism and culture flourish. The results of orcish architects create buildings that are admired for generations.
Elves: Considered one of the most, if not the most, influential race, elves are taller than everyone else as well as thin and while having naturally straight and long hair they lack any body hair. Their eyes wide and usually bright colors, their eyebrows are thin. Accompanying this are the signature high, pointed ears. Elves are responsible for the discovery of the newly harnessed magic as well as some being prominent engineers for factories and even some mechanical weapons. Due to a lot of them working some very hazardous jobs in industry, engineering, and magic, it's not uncommon to see elves with mechanical or magical prosthetic limbs, some even weaponizing what would be a handicap to most. As much as one out of three elves have prosthetics. Most elves' line of work requires them to be hunkered over a machine or studying the arcane so a majority of elves have extremely posture, some almost to the point of developing a hunchback. Due to this, good posture is seen as bad work ethic or extreme privilege.
Humans: The most populace of all the races and reknowned for their general escapee to violence rather than compromise, the skin color of humans vary based where their ancestors were on the equator. Many body types makes this race a malleable one for the gene pool.
Halflings: A race where 3'9 is considered fairly tall, the halflings have been taken advantage of by humans for most of their existence. A rather cheery and yet hardy race, they made good slaves for the rest of the populace of Pyre. Having rather chubby faces and a usually slouching stomach, these dexterous people try and find the best in their life despite the worst of situations.
Goblins: Considered a pest to the earth by some, these green skinned humanoids are about the same size as halflings. With elongated ears and generally a big nose and large eyes, this race is considered mischievous by many. Prideful of their species, goblins would fight life and death to keep a place to call home. They are surprisingly ingenious and despite conceptions by most other people, able to make the best out of limited resources.
Horopus: A robotic species originally designed by the great orc engineer Bartholomew, these skinny, humanoid looking mechanisms are powered by the magic within a stone, indented place in their stomach. Their legs and arms a spiral of wirey metalwork, they represent a fantastic blend of art and great craftsmanship. Originally planned to be used as slaves in factories and various shops, this proved quickly ineffective when Bartholomew's first creation was self aware and could express emotion. This resulted in the prospect of large production to go minute although some Bartholomew and others still produced many of them for the sheer novelty factor. Now, they primarily spend their times in the cities of Frester, living and maybe even loving like any other race.
(they look something like this img0.etsystatic.com/047/1/6161932/il_570xN.678247956_344a.jpg )
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-MAGIC-
Magic is a very malleable essence, one that uses one's life essence and thus physically exhausts those that use a large burst in a short amount of time. People have died from exhaustion enduced by excessive magic use but a skilled mage knows the limits of his craft.
There are different categories of magic but what you do with it us up to the magic user. In other terms, there are no set list of spells.. it is up to both the imagination and ability of the magic user.
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CATEGORIES OF MAGIC:
Earth: Used primarily as a craft, earth magic is more of a constructive magic. Fields can be plowed, ore transformed to metal, and buildings made. There is combative use for it by hurling rocks at your foe but due to the presence of heavy armor on a good bit of foot soldiers, battle mages generally pick fire over any other elemental magics.
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Water: One of the more utility based of the elemental magics, one can empower and use water for their own benefits. A minor denomination is ice magic but one could easily use both if they had the skill.
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Fire: The most destructive of the elemental magic, this category gets one of the worst wraps due to there being just about no utility uses for it; that is to say, it's just used for killing. There has to be, some say, some kind of non-destructive use for it.
Battle mages generally pick fire over any other elemental magic.
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Air: Considered useless by most of the mage community, air can use gusts of wind to change weather patterns and push people back. More utility than anything, a laugh is usually received upon one revealing they are an air mage.. that isn't to say that one can do extraordinary things with it. Air mages have found a decided niche for themselves in the transport industry, ensuring safe and expedient travels for expensive goods or important people. Often, these mages compensate for the relative futility of "blowing into the wind" with a thorough education on wind currents and the ability to project their sense and feel the wind.
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Healing: While non-magical healing still holds true in some societies where the emphasis of magic isn't as staunch, magic healing is predominate. With healing magic you can mend just about any injury as long as the person isn't too far along, the wound is caused by a magical force (some 'spells' can stop healing), or they are already dead.
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Combative: Considering an abomination by many clerics, combative restoration uses the aspects of healing restoration to harm others. From screwing with a target's eyes to make them blind, to cramping up muscles to make them unable to move, and even to setting off pain receptors on someone even though no actual harm is done to them. As well as traditional Combative healing, mending can also be applied with devastating effect: sealing someone's throat shut or messing with their internals to slowly kill them-- this is particularily destructive because it cannot even be healed, and Combative mending is nearly universally considered a great sin, on the level of Blood magic.
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Blood:
Considered one of the most dangerous magics and seen even as evil by some people, blood magic is a denomonation of water magic that works by messing with the water within the blood of various creatures. One could cause a blood clot, paralyze someone by stopping the blood supply to the spinal cord, or even make someone's heart explode. This magic is one of the most strenious on the user and takes significantly longer to cast spells than the average magic, but its lethality is not surpassed.
Elves are the main race to use this magic due to their racial knack with magic. It has been established that to amputate your right arm allows you to better harness blood magic, though the reason for it still has not been discovered. Due to this, one could spot a blood mage in a crowd based on if they have a prosthetic right arm or no right arm at all.
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Illusion: More than just hat tricks, illusion magic creates fake images and messes with your essence to trick others. Creating copies of yourself, changing and/or throwing your voice, creating sound, and much more is what illusion magic has to offer. While not an outright combative magic, paired with weapons or another kind of magic can make illusion magic quite valuable in combative situations.
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Levitatum: Still in the illusion magic family but to the point where it's so distinguishable and unique it needs its own category, levitatum magic uses the life essence of creatures to lift them. With a bit more energy one can also lift non-living objects. Primarily utility, some mages even becoming construction men, this is a rather underappreciated field of magic. While this is occasionally confused with air magic or some other field, Levitatum is considered its own field because it requires a fundamentally different process to achieve.
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Soulcasting: Soulcasting is another shady side of magic even if most governments do endorse it. Much like blood magic, soulcasting can physically inflict harm on a person by physically altering and damaging their soul. Some claim that in the process of soulcasting it alters the targeted's brain, sometimes making them a different person. Practical uses for this magic is capturing the souls of the executed so that their essence cannot continue to spread 'evil', managing the souls of the deceased so as to not haunt, among others.
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Luteus: A magic that could be used to support others or yourself, Luteus magic places buff upon yourself or others in order to improve their performance on various tasks. There are battlemages who practice Luteus magic, going into battle in full plate armor while using Luteus to place speed buffs and improve their strength. Be careful though, all the strength buffs you place on yourself won't help when you pass out from essence exhaustion.
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Tenvitae: A branch off of soulcasting that is so unique that magic users all over consider it as its own field, instead of damaging or controlling one's life essence, one actually edits the life essence of the living. Magical paraphernalia (voodoo dolls, effigies, etc), chants, curses, and hexes are among the tools tenvitae users can use to 'modify' their target. It has a rather bad rep because many people use this to corrupt one's life essence, doing a list of things (making one lose their voice, become permanently sickly, lose their hair, or even become perceptively more attractive to others are a few of many examples of what this magic can do) to literally change a person. The thing is that this form of magic takes a toll on the user; for example, if one puts a hex on a target they have to maintain the hex upon that person.. if not, the life essence of a person will repair itself. There is, of course, exceptions to this, like if one performs a hex upon someone that deals with the brain; intelligence, emotions, and the like are considered fickle even by the most seasoned tenvitae practitioners.
Due to the practitioner usually having to maintain spells on so many people at a time, various 'soul station' mediums are used in order to keep track and manage all of them without it killing the practitioner. These could be in the form of a glass orb, a headdress, or really any physical object, but if it is destroyed then all the spells maintained within it are broken. However, that isn't to say one could have multiple soul stations.
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-NATIONS-
Notes are tidbits of information that players find out about each nation. They will be added upon player discovery. Notes are only known to the characters that find out about them (unless they are obvious information, like the name of the current king) but it also helps the players of the RP get a better grasp of the world.
Frester
A rather large nation in land that has one of the smallest populations, Frester is rather peculiar geographically. It is on a peninsula jutting out of where Goodallia is. The westernmost border is covered by high reaching mountains, called the Blessing Range, blocking off the east blowing wind. This caused the formation of a large desert with orange sand that is the homelands of orcs. In these desert an ancient predator used to roam, named Yules, which were raptor-like animals with a shielded head and a maceball tail. They were carniviorous and the biggest thing above ground was the orcish population, which drove the orcs almost to extinction.
Further east was once a great forest but it has recently been cleared by elves to make their great cities. Frester hosts one of the most sophisticated road systems in the world.
The cities predominately occupied by orcs have a kind of Arabic and yet modernistic for the time compared to other cities. Domed buildings and towers dominant the cities' skylines, most of the sandstone walls being occupied by a beautiful mural or art display.
Their diet is considered peculiar by the rest of the nations; hundreds of recipes are made from two hearty food sources that they have perfected in slaughtering and harvesting. One is an extremely fat armadillo-like creature (named Rutters), its belly extending so far down that it lifts it off the ground half a foot, making it only able to crawl around by scraping its long tail and short arms along the arm. The other is a plant (called Bulbs), a plump, bulbous cactus-looking flora filled with seeds that are cooked like grains. Both of these things are commercialized and staples in the diet of orckind and those that live in predominately orc cities.
The cities predominately occupied by elves are considered ugly by everyone else other than the inhabitants of such cities. Plumes of pollutant smoke crowd the air of the city, producing a thick layer of smog to even the further outskirts of the cities. Within these hubs of industry, both weapon manufacturies and arcane supplies centers boom. They also have plenty of magic colleges dedicated to the different studies of magic.
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Prominent cities include;
Cultura, the largest orcish city settled at the foot of the Blessing Range, giving it a great defensive position. Ranches are along the outskirts and rooftop farms are not uncommon within it. It is considered the most beautiful city on the face of the earth.
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Jillan, considered the largest hub of industry within Frester. This city has higher emphasis on industry over magic, the opposite of Nillan. The most common cause of death within the city is lung disease.
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Nillan is the city to be if you want to study magic. Just about every field of magic has their own college here and there are plenty of research centers in the form of mage towers dotted along the city.
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Brunt is a city very close to the border of Goodallia. Here is generally where people first enter when going into Frester. The city is a mixture of orcish and elvish elements, showing off factories with art exhibits on them. Pollution isn't as bad here due to the city council being made up mainly of orcs who passed a bill to limit it. The city is generally talked about with good nature and as a wonder of the world, though not as much as Cultura.
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NOTES:
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Goodallia
To start, Goodallia is the third most hated nation on Pyre, next to the Mustowian Empire and the Badlands. This is a nation of lords and serfs, contrasted by the fantastical castles surrounded by slums of districts. Five percent of Goodallia's population own eighty percent of the wealth, showing a horrifying distribution of wealth. The serfs are all starving, looking like crowds upon crowds of skeletons working the fields or milling down the streets. Even sectors of cities are owned by lords to where everyone who owns a building or business in that district has to pay a percent income to them. When visitors from other nations trek across the sweeping fields of the giant nation, many extreme injustice, but the lords just laugh at this while their pockets grow fuller.
There are general divisions of the nation, all of them with names dedicated to the industry; Farming is the entire southern half of the nation, with roads going through the richer areas so those traveling from Frester or Xek will be shielded from the poverty of the district. To the northwest is the coastal reason of Fishfin, a financial and harbor district. The northeast district is referred to as Money, a district filled with riches, the homes of lords, and a literal city of gold.
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Prominent cities include;
Vandal is a city within the northern part of Farming. Here is where collectors of the lords live and where plenty of governmental and military outposts are hosted so as to enforce the feudal rule of Goodallia. It is a simple city of cobblestone roads and brick buildings but still much, much better than the other settlements throughout Farming.
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Parie, the jewel city of the world. This is the capital of Goodallia, the aforementioned city of gold. Marble streets and a wall of gold surrounding it, this is some of the 80% of the wealth liquified.
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Gratal is a city along the southern highway system that attempts to show a happier side to feudalism. With a massive castle set in the middle of the city, workers happily scythe the fields and work businesses with a smile on their faces. It is rumored that there is a lottery within Goodallia and the lucky few workers who win are sent to Gratal and subjected to much better conditions than the rest of the nation's workers.
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Vin is the main city within the district of Fishfin. Infested with crime, the crime network of Tort blushes at the brutality that goes on within this city.
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NOTES:
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Brugondia: A relatively new nation, Brugondia was formed in a brutal Civil War in which the people of the region, Brugons, felt they weren't receiving proper representation in the governmental systel of Goodallia. Sometimes referred to as the Freedlands, you cannot be anywhere in this nation without being near a body of water. Preferring canals over roads, even the major cities' road systems are made up of ferry ships going along various water alleys.
Predominately made up of halflings, Brugondia is the only nation that has outright outlawed slavery. Most other nations have very little practicing of it but at the same time find no reason to abolish it.
Outside the cities are plenty of drained swamps which host bazaars. Due to the Brugondia's trade and naval prowress, they can get just about anything from the sea so just about anything can be found in the bazaars outside major cities. In a few other drained swamps are rice fields which are happily worked slave-free.
There are plenty of constable stations throughout the small nation, cracking down on the possibility of Goodallian and Freduleeiaian spies. These people can be identified by their long black coats and bowler hats.
Prominent cities include
Byzan, also known as the Tent City. One day, a couple of halflings set up a tent in the middle of a remote drained swamp and sold turnips. A few decades, after many people just decided to set up shops and homes there, it is the largest bazaar in the world. Tents within tents, this complex city is the biggest economic and trade hub of the region and one of the largest in the world.
Okefenokee, also known as the Stilt City. This is a massive city on a massive boardwalk on the undrained swamp of Oke. The population are very friendly and the buildings made of pretty much any available resource.
The city of Open is contradictory to its name. It is inside the massive hill of Nep. With walls of dirt, crops and other vegetation grow on them. The whole place stinks to high heaven though it is said if you're there long enough you'll get used to it.
NOTES:
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Freduleeia
The Confederacy of Freduleeia has come across many problems, ones that do spring up when four large to medium states and an unmanageable amount of mini-states vying for territory and dominance are supposed to be ruled under one weak central government.
Brutonnia, a metropolis of a city spanning the length of some small nations on the continent of Pyre. Its coastal district, Setal, encompasses a large amount of shipping. Further inland was a more scholarly area, away from the flood of pubs and brothels that are destined to spring up along the coastline of a city. Brutonnia is the only state within Freduleeia with a large amount of coastline, all the others being landlocked, with the singular exception of the eastern bordering Yteria, which has a single city on the coastline. The seemingly never ending city state that might as will just be called a nation of Brutonnia. wonder how such a place could have been founded and maintained in the first place; a lot of magic and general coincidence is the verdict of most people upon this societal phenomenon. Two months of traveling, stopping by various sectors of the city and catching up with some academia friends, has brought you to Gurtel, name of the belt of surrounding settlements around Brutonnia. Some of the nation's city is grown here while a majority of it is imported from the more open sections of Freduleeia.
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Tuft is a rather horizontal nation south of Brutonnia. This nation generally hates everyone that isn't them. Sending an expedition to Jillan some time ago, they recruited dozens of elves to set up a major arms industry within the nation. Small in population but hosting an elite army, the population of Brutonnia are known for their brutality and warlike spirit. It seems at time Tuft is the only thing keeping Brutonnia from rolling over all of Freduleeia.
Two nations are south of Tuft, split in half and going vertically down; Xek and Ploove.
Xek is the western of the two, it bordering Goodallia and stretching along its borders. A nation of rolling hills, they are considered the mediator state by outside nations, the one who tries and keeps relative peace between the four nations. With a rather weak military, their master diplomacy seems to be the only thing keeping them from being annexed by Tuft or Ploove.
Speaking of Ploove, this is a nation of aristrocrats. Modeling the feudal system of Goodallia, fantastic noble calvarymen are often seen going through poor farming districts, showing a shocking difference. They even went so far as to have a castle city modeled after Goodallia's captial, Parie.
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Prominent cities include;
Yteria, the trade hub of Freduleeia. Officially apart of Brutonnia, Yteria manages its independence by the large amount of money circulating in it and bribes to statesmen in Killan.
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Gurtel, a belt of settlements surrounding Brutonnia. The farming industry is very large here which sends plenty of food to Brutonnia.
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Hywole, the primary industrial city of Tuft. This city rivals Jillan in their industrial capacity.
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Killan, the capital of Xek. This is a city of statesmen and governmental buildings. Red tape bureaucracies run rampant here, having permits for everything from owning a horse to collecting rain water.
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Paris, a limitedly fantastic city with a large castle and slums surrounding it. Seems nearly identical to Parie.. it almost seems like you're in Goodallia when you're in Paris. This makes both Paris and Ploove the butt of many jokes around Freduleeia, jesting about how if they like Goodallia so much why don't they just join them.
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NOTES:
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Dual Kingdom
The Dual Kingdom of Ogien-Vanduo was a place of rapid change in 1575. The agreement between the two nations was made for the following reasons about a decade before; the two nations couldn't take on the growing threat of the expanding Mustowian Empire (to the east) separately, the kingdoms already had very close royal relations in the form of a matching dynasty, and the fact that it would make them one of the most powerful nations in the entire continent of Pyre. The two nations had independent dilemmas that were immediately solved once the Dual Kingdom was formed, including Ogien having overpopulation while Vanduo having far too much land, Orgien having a growing weapon industry with no raw materials to support it while Vanduo having the revered, currently untapped, Metal Mountains, and both nations having a growing problem with peasantry demanding representation in the government which, upon the Dual Kingdom being founded, The Council of the Many was introduced. Its name held up to it; thousands of citizens stand in a giant stadium, shouting out suggestions and waving their hands and doing anything to try and get noticed, and one of the court's wizards would use his magic to randomly pick out sentences among the screams. These sentences would then be orated to the crowd, and based on the decree of approval or fury (it was often very hard to tell which was which), the new suggestion could be enacted as a law.
That isn't to say everything is suddenly dandy. Bandits are raging along, Mustowian raids constantly happen, and other intricacies happen everyday in this odd kingdom. The life of the average Ogienian or Vanduoian isn't too great either; with the constant wars in Freduleeia and the pressing issue of the Mustowian Empire, tens of thousands of young men and women are sucked into a war machine to either be mercenaries in Freduleeia or help protect their borders against the Mustowian raiders.
The Dual Kingdom is one inhabited primarily by humans, though there is a home to another race here. The green Kingdom; a sector in southern Orgien that many of the goblins claim as their own nation. Many go about performing functions of government as if it indeed was independent. The central government of the Dual Kingdom hasn't seen the goblins as a serious threat and the area they occupy isn't worth all that much, so they've just let them be, attending to more pressing issue.
Prominent cities within include:
Hale, the capital which hosts many arcane towers and a heavy emphasis on magic.
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Tort, a sin city where every form of debauchery, including illegal, can be found.
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Shine, a mining settlement on the foot of the Metal Mountains.
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Greatitity, a city that's name brings laughs from foreigners and the immature, is the Dual Kingdom's main port city. It is in the north.
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NOTES:
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Mustowian Empire
Not much is known about this nation. It is a large community of steppe nomads who make their living raiding both the Dual Kingdoms and unknown lands far east. Their skin rough and hair matted, some Pyreians consider them to be the last remnants of uncivil times.
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NOTES:
Not much is known about this nation. More will be added if a player character decides to explore it.
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Badlands: Not that much is known about this desert nation, or rather groupings of tribes and nations. The people here have a distinct accent, one that is hard and accentuative. The tribes and nations throughout the Badlands have an extremely negative view on all outsiders much to the point where public executions of them are not uncommon. They worship Great.
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NOTES:
Not much is known about this nation. More will be added if a player character decides to explore it.
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-RELIGION-
The continent of Pyre generally practices a polytheistic religion, one with overarching reaches of deities' domains. An example for this would be how both Yulesia, the Goddess of Life, and Buer, the God of Exchange, both have claims in the subject of fertility. Due to this, people generally devote themselves to multiple deities based on what holds importance in their lives. At the same time, no one deity is seen as more important than another and no primary deity damned by another.. except in the case of obscure deities.
There is still some doubt of the presence of deities on the continent of Pyre. Miracles have happened, but that is more often than not just accredited to the newly harnessed 'miracle' of magic. Some say that Gods and Goddesses have come down from the heavens and personally speaked to them, sharing a drink or going on a beachside walk with them, but again, most people dismiss these people as people just seeking attention. Everyone supposedly has equal influence over the deities, therefore one personally speaking to you being seen as talltale. Due to this view point, a common train of thought for doubters of the deities showing themselves on Pyre is, "If Xerces wanted to talk to you about the newest philosophical book, why wouldn't he want to talk to all of us about it?"
The afterlife is considered nonexistant in the religion of Pyre; those who die pass their life energy or essence to their family or friends, empowering them and overall making their lives better. Murder isn't as common as it could be out of fear of people sending their energy to an angered friend who goes and seeks revenge on the killer.
What is commonly accepted about the deities is that they live in a place known as The Realm or just Realm. There the deities, on equal standings, interact with on another.. at times romantically. When two deities have a child, they are placed down upon the earth as any normal person would be. As they grow older, it will become evident they have special skills related to the parents. As well as having these skills, their parents are said to at times come down to Pyre in order to indirectly help out their kid, like convincing a statesman to give their child a seat on the council. Unlike mortals, when the children of deities die they are reincarnated into yet another human due to their life essence not having the ability to go with their family up in the Realm. Many prominent figures have claimed to be children of deities but, due to skepticism and lack of evidence, no solid proof for such a claim can ever be confirmed.. for now. This also supports the theory that there are deities other than primary ones, considering how the disproportionate gender ratio could mean there are more male deities who are undiscovered or just considered obscure.
If descriptions of the deities are not supplied it is unsure what their physical appearance looks like.
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-PRIMARY DEITIES-
Yulesia, Goddess of Life: Yulesia is an elf, pale skin and wild and flowing blonde hair that goes down to her back. She wears a headpiece with a jewel in the center.
She is considered the most beloved deity, due to her domain. Churches of Yulesia are all over Pyre although many believe you worship Yulesia just by living a full life and improving the lives of those among you. Yulesia is commonly paired with Fredul and Buer.
Xerces, God of Knowledge: Xerces is an orc, one on the skinnier side of the spectrum. He has short, curly dark hair, pointed and blocky eyebrows, and a rather strong body build. His face is almost squished together around his eyes and nose and yet some kind of symmetry is still present. His eyes are a pure white, uncommon even for an orc.
All that is learned is associated with Xerces. Considered the smartest being known, even though is no evidence of his existance in the first place, scholars are known to dedicate time within their studies to praising Xerces for his spreading of knowledge upon the continent. It is said that the time when civilazation emerged on Pyre is when Xerces finally smiled upon the world. Xerces is commonly paired with Buer and Gratalda.
Fredul, Goddess of Balance: Fredul is a human, one of perfect symmetry. Fredul is one of the few deities that has been confirmed to have lived; when she did live and even after, she is considered the most beautiful person known to the history of the world. She doesn't have any outstanding qualities in appearance but everything just fits together to be appealing to the eye and just.. right. The specifics of her appearance and both her birth and death place are up to debate.
Much like Yulesia, in order to worship Fredul you must live in her image. Take not excess and do not sell yourself short. Those who follow Fredul say that once you find balance in her, everything else will work out for the best. Fredul is commonly paired with Gratalda.
Gratalda, Goddess of Humility: Gratalda is less of a deity you worship and more of one you pay respect to through your deeds. Often depicted as an old woman, she favours those who commit selfless acts to help others and honours those who are loyal, dedicated, unselfish and humble over other people, sometimes blessing them with gifts such as good luck or fertility, depending on what situation they are in. Gratalda is often paired with Xerces.
Buer, God of Exchange: Shown as a grinning, straight back, frat boy elf, Buer somehow makes that look professional. Long, brown hair put back in a pony tail that goes down to his rear end and intricate robes that would be seen as professional garb in all societies, Buer is a man who can make you an offer that you can't refuse.
Not just dealing with money, Buer deals with the exchange of seed, of conversation, of knowledge. Shrewd dealings are sometimes claimed to be done just to appease the witty Buer much to the victim's distraught. Buer is commonly paired with Yulesia, Xerces, and Youfre.
Youfre, Goddess of Festivities: Youfre has consistently been shown as an extremely voluptuous human woman. Wearing a toga too small, she is shown in taverns all across Pyre with her fair skin and blond hair handing baskets of fruits and trays of alcohol to celebraters.
While the mortal interpertation of Youfre could be exaggerated, it is recorded that she was a beautiful woman when she was alive. Akin to parties and general good times, Youfre is a favorite patron god for the young and adventerous. Youfre is often paired with Yulesia and Buer.
-OBSCURE DEITIES-
note: Some of these will be added upon a player's 'discovery' of them. These are not known by the common man unless explicitly said so within the deities' description. Of course, if someone 'discovers' an obscure deity the other players don't know about it until it appears in their thread.
One of the defining features of obscure deities is the uncertainity of whether or not they are truly a deity. Many claim that these are just indivisuals made up by attention seekers or power hungry people or those who have been claimed to ascend to godhood are actually just normal people.
Another detail is that obscure deities can do inner fighting against other obscure deities as well as primary deities while primary deities hold an oath to not have feuds with one another. This doesn't mean that some primary deities hold grudges against one another, but the idea is that the primary deities are supposed to be more harmonious than obscure deities.
Great, the One Which is Everything: The religion of the Badlands and considered a scrouge of the earth by generally everyone who doesn't practice it, Great isn't a person, but rather an essence. Similar to the concept of life essence, Great is every aspect of life, a type of monotheistic religion talking of the great singularity of everything. No one can talk directly to great because they would be talking to themselves; organized churches of Great are non-existant because it is believed you experience and worship it just be living your life.
Ploofteem, Lord of the Clearing of Karma: Ploofteem was a prominent statesman in Ploove, having relations with the founding family. He was a moderate, holding true to the standard policies of Ploove until what was described as a 'sudden bout of madness' by some struck him. With this, he urged all peasants, and even the upper class, to through down their scythes and the upper to jump off their thrones and explore the world, taking up a variety of positions in order to see all that life as to offer. Needless to say, this didn't go down very well in Ploove, so he was exiled and found a new home in Tort. From there he continued preaching until his unfortunate death of being stabbed at a corner in broad daylight while preaching his philosphies.
In the words of one of the indistinguishable priests due to them wearing magical robes that mask their appearance, face, and voice as well as matching boots and gloves. Those who have not embraced Ploofteem are referred to as Debets. This is what one priest thinks of Ploofteem;
"Ploofteem is you and I, he is that which looks upon intrigue and follows the path less traveled. Karma is not a matter of good or bad, no Debet, but rather of the radical and the status quo. This radicalism is not proposing progressive social reforms or making statements with decapitations but rather the radicalism of going the road less traveled.. the one idea which is not even entertained by most. Redemption is had by entertaining and, if you're brave enough, taking action to this oddness. To go and not be comfortable with what you have now.. not necessarily constant self improvement, but rather constant shifting perspective.. poverty one day and riches the next. Cowardice to courage."
Nirlana, God of Burying the Dead: A rumour started by old house wives claimed that if you didn't bury your dead correctly then they would never truly be at peace and the bad karma would have a backlash effect on your whole family. The only way to reverse this was to offer tribute of something you "couldn't live without" to the supposed God of the Dead "Nirlana" who would look after your loved ones once they had passed on. This tradition is not believed by many and the ones who do believe it take it rather seriously.
Slaniple, Lady of Demure: Used as a symbol of innocence but also a battering ram for young people to keep in line, Slaniple was the embodiment of what a holy person should be like, especially with young women. Funnily enough she's not that popular due to the way she's used to pressure youth and some have even taken up to destroying paints/tributes of her likeness.
Lie-ang, Goddess of Potency: Lie-ang is a goddess which finds its home in the hearts of soldiers and warriors. Prayer to Lie-ang is blood and strain, struggle and win. Prayers to Lie-ang is done before battle, drum beats and weapons together to envigorate and prepare troops. Although existing largely in a military context, Lie-ang does appear in rather quotidien environments as well. Everything from war to confessions is her domain.
Axyagi, God of Lies and Evil Intentions: While the classical artwork depicts him as a nimble, cloaked fellow with hands clasped behind his back, Axyagi manifests in many different ways: a dishonest salesmen, a scheming petty bureacrat, or maybe just a run-of-the-mill trickster. Most of his followers are tricked into joining the club, or, very rarely, enter of their own volition. So they are characterized as being exceedingly mischevious...or exceedingly naive. As spiteful and disingenuous as Axyagi is, his vices end there. His evils are confined to simple pettiness, and everyone engages in pettiness.
Neve, Duchess of Ignorance: Neve was once a, you guessed it, Duchess of the city of Yteria in Freduleeia. She was the laughing stock of the city and even around the nation, most people mistaking her lack of knowledge with stupidity. After a particularly brutal bash against her by a gathering of teenagers outside her castle hurdling insults at her, she simply couldn't take it and committed suicide. While most laughed at this incident, a few claimed she ascended to be a deity and with this newfound power would enact revenge upon the cruel world she had inhabited. The way she would do this is to have as many kids as she can with the other deities and have those children and the rebirths of those children start up sham cults that ultimately lead to the self-sacrafice of the members.
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-GAMEPLAY-
The Odd and Slightly Dangerous Adventures of Life is a high fantasy roleplay that will be played through interconnected ISRP threads. That is to say, what someone does in one thread can lead to very real affects in another. Due to this interconnectivity, if one remains inactive for too long I will use my best GM judgement to what your character would do; I will notify you and give you an appropriate amount of time before I would do this.
One of the things that I dearly request from my players is that they don't give me one-liners for replies. I will do my best to put as much detail as possible in each post so I expect you not to have your replies be extremely short. There are instance where one/two sentence posts are appropriate, but a majority of the time is not applicable.
Another thing that I have strong a strong distaste for is metagaming. In other words, it is where you as a player knows something that your character doesn't know but your character does it anyway. If you do this a ridiculous amount bootings will be in order.
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-RULES-
Please, as always, do not godmod/metagame/powerplay.
Character sheet:
Name:
Age:
Appearance:
Skills (magic, swordplay, intelligent, etc.):
Weaknesses (two will do):
Bio (can be short):
Religious affliation:
Preferred starting nation (can go as far to include region/city if you'd like):
Drawings for all the deities are coming soon!
Drawings for architecture within nations are plausible!
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It is 1575, blessed be the year of Yulesia, the Goddess of Life, and the continent of Pyre is in a peculiar position. The six major nations of the continent and the 'badlands' south of it are going through their developing stages of dark age to Renaissance with plenty of controversial advances being found by some and praise for the progress by others. The waves of magic have been blowing across Pyre since civilized beings have existed but it has only been within the past hundred years that this entity has been harnessed. Nevertheless, much has been done with this magic, it being seen has a malleable thing, one where it is up to the imagination of the caster within the respective field of magic.
The people of Pyre are as varied as the opinions; the south western peninsula is homeland to tree-living elves and sophisticated engineers in the form of orcs alike (the land of Frester). North of Frester is the blob of land known as Goodallia, populated primarily by humans. Northeast of Frester is Brugondia, a hilly nation home to halflings. Many rivers run throughout Brugondia, making it a nation of water-based industries and trades. East of both Frester and Brugondia is the massive nation of Freduleeia, hosting a weak central government with inner provinces that act more like independent nations than anything else. Further east of The Confederacy is the Dual Kingdom of the nations Orgien and Vanduo. Within the Dual Kingdom is the Green Kingdom, an autonomous goblin nation that considers itself independent. North east of the Dual Kingdom is the Mustowian Empire, a harsh land of steppe nomads and bitter cold. They are overall considered savages to the rest of Pyre; a nation of extremely pale people who make their living off of raiding others.
South of Pyre and divided by a narrow inner sea are the desert lands commonly referred to as Badlands, consisting of so many tribes and kingdoms that the average Pyrian would be given a headache even attempting about thinking about all of them. This headache can be communicated by everyone; the continent holds a common language, one claimed to be granted by a deity or multiple deities although a few races also speak languages unique to them. Some consider it a miracle that there is common language; others think it a terrible, terrible thing.
So here is Pyre, going full speed into a new era. Craving of this is hosted among many dissatisfied peoples of the continent, wanting to see what this odd time has to offer. You are one of them.
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-RACES-
Orcs: The most uncommon of all the races, their body form generally differs from either an extreme skinniness to obesity, the orange skinned humanoids known as orcs have been able to live a rather comfortable lifestyle for the past century. Two teeth jut out of their lower mouth, usually overcoming their lower lip, though the size of these teeth vary based on the orc. Their eyes are generally a faded white thanks to living in a sunny, desert biome since the race has existed. They lived a rather passive life before the recent century, struggling to get by due to an aggressive desert predator that would hunt down exclusively orcs (recently the species was supposedly put into extinction by a band of hired elven mercenaries). There are no gender roles in orc society due to there being no need for any; food was provided by easy to manage livestock and crops and the docile nature of the race never lead to any war. Due to this, nearly all orcs wear robes and have an okay amount of body hair. Leadership positions have been chosen by the smarts in the beginning and to modern days rather than the traditional early ways to seize power (through strength). Their physical strength isn't great but their creativity is known very well. Generally associated with the arts and almost poetical use of language, wherever orcs are sandstone cities rise and both tourism and culture flourish. The results of orcish architects create buildings that are admired for generations.
Elves: Considered one of the most, if not the most, influential race, elves are taller than everyone else as well as thin and while having naturally straight and long hair they lack any body hair. Their eyes wide and usually bright colors, their eyebrows are thin. Accompanying this are the signature high, pointed ears. Elves are responsible for the discovery of the newly harnessed magic as well as some being prominent engineers for factories and even some mechanical weapons. Due to a lot of them working some very hazardous jobs in industry, engineering, and magic, it's not uncommon to see elves with mechanical or magical prosthetic limbs, some even weaponizing what would be a handicap to most. As much as one out of three elves have prosthetics. Most elves' line of work requires them to be hunkered over a machine or studying the arcane so a majority of elves have extremely posture, some almost to the point of developing a hunchback. Due to this, good posture is seen as bad work ethic or extreme privilege.
Humans: The most populace of all the races and reknowned for their general escapee to violence rather than compromise, the skin color of humans vary based where their ancestors were on the equator. Many body types makes this race a malleable one for the gene pool.
Halflings: A race where 3'9 is considered fairly tall, the halflings have been taken advantage of by humans for most of their existence. A rather cheery and yet hardy race, they made good slaves for the rest of the populace of Pyre. Having rather chubby faces and a usually slouching stomach, these dexterous people try and find the best in their life despite the worst of situations.
Goblins: Considered a pest to the earth by some, these green skinned humanoids are about the same size as halflings. With elongated ears and generally a big nose and large eyes, this race is considered mischievous by many. Prideful of their species, goblins would fight life and death to keep a place to call home. They are surprisingly ingenious and despite conceptions by most other people, able to make the best out of limited resources.
Horopus: A robotic species originally designed by the great orc engineer Bartholomew, these skinny, humanoid looking mechanisms are powered by the magic within a stone, indented place in their stomach. Their legs and arms a spiral of wirey metalwork, they represent a fantastic blend of art and great craftsmanship. Originally planned to be used as slaves in factories and various shops, this proved quickly ineffective when Bartholomew's first creation was self aware and could express emotion. This resulted in the prospect of large production to go minute although some Bartholomew and others still produced many of them for the sheer novelty factor. Now, they primarily spend their times in the cities of Frester, living and maybe even loving like any other race.
(they look something like this img0.etsystatic.com/047/1/6161932/il_570xN.678247956_344a.jpg )
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-MAGIC-
Magic is a very malleable essence, one that uses one's life essence and thus physically exhausts those that use a large burst in a short amount of time. People have died from exhaustion enduced by excessive magic use but a skilled mage knows the limits of his craft.
There are different categories of magic but what you do with it us up to the magic user. In other terms, there are no set list of spells.. it is up to both the imagination and ability of the magic user.
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CATEGORIES OF MAGIC:
Earth: Used primarily as a craft, earth magic is more of a constructive magic. Fields can be plowed, ore transformed to metal, and buildings made. There is combative use for it by hurling rocks at your foe but due to the presence of heavy armor on a good bit of foot soldiers, battle mages generally pick fire over any other elemental magics.
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Water: One of the more utility based of the elemental magics, one can empower and use water for their own benefits. A minor denomination is ice magic but one could easily use both if they had the skill.
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Fire: The most destructive of the elemental magic, this category gets one of the worst wraps due to there being just about no utility uses for it; that is to say, it's just used for killing. There has to be, some say, some kind of non-destructive use for it.
Battle mages generally pick fire over any other elemental magic.
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Air: Considered useless by most of the mage community, air can use gusts of wind to change weather patterns and push people back. More utility than anything, a laugh is usually received upon one revealing they are an air mage.. that isn't to say that one can do extraordinary things with it. Air mages have found a decided niche for themselves in the transport industry, ensuring safe and expedient travels for expensive goods or important people. Often, these mages compensate for the relative futility of "blowing into the wind" with a thorough education on wind currents and the ability to project their sense and feel the wind.
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Healing: While non-magical healing still holds true in some societies where the emphasis of magic isn't as staunch, magic healing is predominate. With healing magic you can mend just about any injury as long as the person isn't too far along, the wound is caused by a magical force (some 'spells' can stop healing), or they are already dead.
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Combative: Considering an abomination by many clerics, combative restoration uses the aspects of healing restoration to harm others. From screwing with a target's eyes to make them blind, to cramping up muscles to make them unable to move, and even to setting off pain receptors on someone even though no actual harm is done to them. As well as traditional Combative healing, mending can also be applied with devastating effect: sealing someone's throat shut or messing with their internals to slowly kill them-- this is particularily destructive because it cannot even be healed, and Combative mending is nearly universally considered a great sin, on the level of Blood magic.
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Blood:
Considered one of the most dangerous magics and seen even as evil by some people, blood magic is a denomonation of water magic that works by messing with the water within the blood of various creatures. One could cause a blood clot, paralyze someone by stopping the blood supply to the spinal cord, or even make someone's heart explode. This magic is one of the most strenious on the user and takes significantly longer to cast spells than the average magic, but its lethality is not surpassed.
Elves are the main race to use this magic due to their racial knack with magic. It has been established that to amputate your right arm allows you to better harness blood magic, though the reason for it still has not been discovered. Due to this, one could spot a blood mage in a crowd based on if they have a prosthetic right arm or no right arm at all.
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Illusion: More than just hat tricks, illusion magic creates fake images and messes with your essence to trick others. Creating copies of yourself, changing and/or throwing your voice, creating sound, and much more is what illusion magic has to offer. While not an outright combative magic, paired with weapons or another kind of magic can make illusion magic quite valuable in combative situations.
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Levitatum: Still in the illusion magic family but to the point where it's so distinguishable and unique it needs its own category, levitatum magic uses the life essence of creatures to lift them. With a bit more energy one can also lift non-living objects. Primarily utility, some mages even becoming construction men, this is a rather underappreciated field of magic. While this is occasionally confused with air magic or some other field, Levitatum is considered its own field because it requires a fundamentally different process to achieve.
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Soulcasting: Soulcasting is another shady side of magic even if most governments do endorse it. Much like blood magic, soulcasting can physically inflict harm on a person by physically altering and damaging their soul. Some claim that in the process of soulcasting it alters the targeted's brain, sometimes making them a different person. Practical uses for this magic is capturing the souls of the executed so that their essence cannot continue to spread 'evil', managing the souls of the deceased so as to not haunt, among others.
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Luteus: A magic that could be used to support others or yourself, Luteus magic places buff upon yourself or others in order to improve their performance on various tasks. There are battlemages who practice Luteus magic, going into battle in full plate armor while using Luteus to place speed buffs and improve their strength. Be careful though, all the strength buffs you place on yourself won't help when you pass out from essence exhaustion.
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Tenvitae: A branch off of soulcasting that is so unique that magic users all over consider it as its own field, instead of damaging or controlling one's life essence, one actually edits the life essence of the living. Magical paraphernalia (voodoo dolls, effigies, etc), chants, curses, and hexes are among the tools tenvitae users can use to 'modify' their target. It has a rather bad rep because many people use this to corrupt one's life essence, doing a list of things (making one lose their voice, become permanently sickly, lose their hair, or even become perceptively more attractive to others are a few of many examples of what this magic can do) to literally change a person. The thing is that this form of magic takes a toll on the user; for example, if one puts a hex on a target they have to maintain the hex upon that person.. if not, the life essence of a person will repair itself. There is, of course, exceptions to this, like if one performs a hex upon someone that deals with the brain; intelligence, emotions, and the like are considered fickle even by the most seasoned tenvitae practitioners.
Due to the practitioner usually having to maintain spells on so many people at a time, various 'soul station' mediums are used in order to keep track and manage all of them without it killing the practitioner. These could be in the form of a glass orb, a headdress, or really any physical object, but if it is destroyed then all the spells maintained within it are broken. However, that isn't to say one could have multiple soul stations.
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-NATIONS-
Notes are tidbits of information that players find out about each nation. They will be added upon player discovery. Notes are only known to the characters that find out about them (unless they are obvious information, like the name of the current king) but it also helps the players of the RP get a better grasp of the world.
Frester
A rather large nation in land that has one of the smallest populations, Frester is rather peculiar geographically. It is on a peninsula jutting out of where Goodallia is. The westernmost border is covered by high reaching mountains, called the Blessing Range, blocking off the east blowing wind. This caused the formation of a large desert with orange sand that is the homelands of orcs. In these desert an ancient predator used to roam, named Yules, which were raptor-like animals with a shielded head and a maceball tail. They were carniviorous and the biggest thing above ground was the orcish population, which drove the orcs almost to extinction.
Further east was once a great forest but it has recently been cleared by elves to make their great cities. Frester hosts one of the most sophisticated road systems in the world.
The cities predominately occupied by orcs have a kind of Arabic and yet modernistic for the time compared to other cities. Domed buildings and towers dominant the cities' skylines, most of the sandstone walls being occupied by a beautiful mural or art display.
Their diet is considered peculiar by the rest of the nations; hundreds of recipes are made from two hearty food sources that they have perfected in slaughtering and harvesting. One is an extremely fat armadillo-like creature (named Rutters), its belly extending so far down that it lifts it off the ground half a foot, making it only able to crawl around by scraping its long tail and short arms along the arm. The other is a plant (called Bulbs), a plump, bulbous cactus-looking flora filled with seeds that are cooked like grains. Both of these things are commercialized and staples in the diet of orckind and those that live in predominately orc cities.
The cities predominately occupied by elves are considered ugly by everyone else other than the inhabitants of such cities. Plumes of pollutant smoke crowd the air of the city, producing a thick layer of smog to even the further outskirts of the cities. Within these hubs of industry, both weapon manufacturies and arcane supplies centers boom. They also have plenty of magic colleges dedicated to the different studies of magic.
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Prominent cities include;
Cultura, the largest orcish city settled at the foot of the Blessing Range, giving it a great defensive position. Ranches are along the outskirts and rooftop farms are not uncommon within it. It is considered the most beautiful city on the face of the earth.
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Jillan, considered the largest hub of industry within Frester. This city has higher emphasis on industry over magic, the opposite of Nillan. The most common cause of death within the city is lung disease.
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Nillan is the city to be if you want to study magic. Just about every field of magic has their own college here and there are plenty of research centers in the form of mage towers dotted along the city.
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Brunt is a city very close to the border of Goodallia. Here is generally where people first enter when going into Frester. The city is a mixture of orcish and elvish elements, showing off factories with art exhibits on them. Pollution isn't as bad here due to the city council being made up mainly of orcs who passed a bill to limit it. The city is generally talked about with good nature and as a wonder of the world, though not as much as Cultura.
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NOTES:
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Goodallia
To start, Goodallia is the third most hated nation on Pyre, next to the Mustowian Empire and the Badlands. This is a nation of lords and serfs, contrasted by the fantastical castles surrounded by slums of districts. Five percent of Goodallia's population own eighty percent of the wealth, showing a horrifying distribution of wealth. The serfs are all starving, looking like crowds upon crowds of skeletons working the fields or milling down the streets. Even sectors of cities are owned by lords to where everyone who owns a building or business in that district has to pay a percent income to them. When visitors from other nations trek across the sweeping fields of the giant nation, many extreme injustice, but the lords just laugh at this while their pockets grow fuller.
There are general divisions of the nation, all of them with names dedicated to the industry; Farming is the entire southern half of the nation, with roads going through the richer areas so those traveling from Frester or Xek will be shielded from the poverty of the district. To the northwest is the coastal reason of Fishfin, a financial and harbor district. The northeast district is referred to as Money, a district filled with riches, the homes of lords, and a literal city of gold.
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Prominent cities include;
Vandal is a city within the northern part of Farming. Here is where collectors of the lords live and where plenty of governmental and military outposts are hosted so as to enforce the feudal rule of Goodallia. It is a simple city of cobblestone roads and brick buildings but still much, much better than the other settlements throughout Farming.
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Parie, the jewel city of the world. This is the capital of Goodallia, the aforementioned city of gold. Marble streets and a wall of gold surrounding it, this is some of the 80% of the wealth liquified.
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Gratal is a city along the southern highway system that attempts to show a happier side to feudalism. With a massive castle set in the middle of the city, workers happily scythe the fields and work businesses with a smile on their faces. It is rumored that there is a lottery within Goodallia and the lucky few workers who win are sent to Gratal and subjected to much better conditions than the rest of the nation's workers.
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Vin is the main city within the district of Fishfin. Infested with crime, the crime network of Tort blushes at the brutality that goes on within this city.
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NOTES:
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Brugondia: A relatively new nation, Brugondia was formed in a brutal Civil War in which the people of the region, Brugons, felt they weren't receiving proper representation in the governmental systel of Goodallia. Sometimes referred to as the Freedlands, you cannot be anywhere in this nation without being near a body of water. Preferring canals over roads, even the major cities' road systems are made up of ferry ships going along various water alleys.
Predominately made up of halflings, Brugondia is the only nation that has outright outlawed slavery. Most other nations have very little practicing of it but at the same time find no reason to abolish it.
Outside the cities are plenty of drained swamps which host bazaars. Due to the Brugondia's trade and naval prowress, they can get just about anything from the sea so just about anything can be found in the bazaars outside major cities. In a few other drained swamps are rice fields which are happily worked slave-free.
There are plenty of constable stations throughout the small nation, cracking down on the possibility of Goodallian and Freduleeiaian spies. These people can be identified by their long black coats and bowler hats.
Prominent cities include
Byzan, also known as the Tent City. One day, a couple of halflings set up a tent in the middle of a remote drained swamp and sold turnips. A few decades, after many people just decided to set up shops and homes there, it is the largest bazaar in the world. Tents within tents, this complex city is the biggest economic and trade hub of the region and one of the largest in the world.
Okefenokee, also known as the Stilt City. This is a massive city on a massive boardwalk on the undrained swamp of Oke. The population are very friendly and the buildings made of pretty much any available resource.
The city of Open is contradictory to its name. It is inside the massive hill of Nep. With walls of dirt, crops and other vegetation grow on them. The whole place stinks to high heaven though it is said if you're there long enough you'll get used to it.
NOTES:
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Freduleeia
The Confederacy of Freduleeia has come across many problems, ones that do spring up when four large to medium states and an unmanageable amount of mini-states vying for territory and dominance are supposed to be ruled under one weak central government.
Brutonnia, a metropolis of a city spanning the length of some small nations on the continent of Pyre. Its coastal district, Setal, encompasses a large amount of shipping. Further inland was a more scholarly area, away from the flood of pubs and brothels that are destined to spring up along the coastline of a city. Brutonnia is the only state within Freduleeia with a large amount of coastline, all the others being landlocked, with the singular exception of the eastern bordering Yteria, which has a single city on the coastline. The seemingly never ending city state that might as will just be called a nation of Brutonnia. wonder how such a place could have been founded and maintained in the first place; a lot of magic and general coincidence is the verdict of most people upon this societal phenomenon. Two months of traveling, stopping by various sectors of the city and catching up with some academia friends, has brought you to Gurtel, name of the belt of surrounding settlements around Brutonnia. Some of the nation's city is grown here while a majority of it is imported from the more open sections of Freduleeia.
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Tuft is a rather horizontal nation south of Brutonnia. This nation generally hates everyone that isn't them. Sending an expedition to Jillan some time ago, they recruited dozens of elves to set up a major arms industry within the nation. Small in population but hosting an elite army, the population of Brutonnia are known for their brutality and warlike spirit. It seems at time Tuft is the only thing keeping Brutonnia from rolling over all of Freduleeia.
Two nations are south of Tuft, split in half and going vertically down; Xek and Ploove.
Xek is the western of the two, it bordering Goodallia and stretching along its borders. A nation of rolling hills, they are considered the mediator state by outside nations, the one who tries and keeps relative peace between the four nations. With a rather weak military, their master diplomacy seems to be the only thing keeping them from being annexed by Tuft or Ploove.
Speaking of Ploove, this is a nation of aristrocrats. Modeling the feudal system of Goodallia, fantastic noble calvarymen are often seen going through poor farming districts, showing a shocking difference. They even went so far as to have a castle city modeled after Goodallia's captial, Parie.
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Prominent cities include;
Yteria, the trade hub of Freduleeia. Officially apart of Brutonnia, Yteria manages its independence by the large amount of money circulating in it and bribes to statesmen in Killan.
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Gurtel, a belt of settlements surrounding Brutonnia. The farming industry is very large here which sends plenty of food to Brutonnia.
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Hywole, the primary industrial city of Tuft. This city rivals Jillan in their industrial capacity.
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Killan, the capital of Xek. This is a city of statesmen and governmental buildings. Red tape bureaucracies run rampant here, having permits for everything from owning a horse to collecting rain water.
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Paris, a limitedly fantastic city with a large castle and slums surrounding it. Seems nearly identical to Parie.. it almost seems like you're in Goodallia when you're in Paris. This makes both Paris and Ploove the butt of many jokes around Freduleeia, jesting about how if they like Goodallia so much why don't they just join them.
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NOTES:
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Dual Kingdom
The Dual Kingdom of Ogien-Vanduo was a place of rapid change in 1575. The agreement between the two nations was made for the following reasons about a decade before; the two nations couldn't take on the growing threat of the expanding Mustowian Empire (to the east) separately, the kingdoms already had very close royal relations in the form of a matching dynasty, and the fact that it would make them one of the most powerful nations in the entire continent of Pyre. The two nations had independent dilemmas that were immediately solved once the Dual Kingdom was formed, including Ogien having overpopulation while Vanduo having far too much land, Orgien having a growing weapon industry with no raw materials to support it while Vanduo having the revered, currently untapped, Metal Mountains, and both nations having a growing problem with peasantry demanding representation in the government which, upon the Dual Kingdom being founded, The Council of the Many was introduced. Its name held up to it; thousands of citizens stand in a giant stadium, shouting out suggestions and waving their hands and doing anything to try and get noticed, and one of the court's wizards would use his magic to randomly pick out sentences among the screams. These sentences would then be orated to the crowd, and based on the decree of approval or fury (it was often very hard to tell which was which), the new suggestion could be enacted as a law.
That isn't to say everything is suddenly dandy. Bandits are raging along, Mustowian raids constantly happen, and other intricacies happen everyday in this odd kingdom. The life of the average Ogienian or Vanduoian isn't too great either; with the constant wars in Freduleeia and the pressing issue of the Mustowian Empire, tens of thousands of young men and women are sucked into a war machine to either be mercenaries in Freduleeia or help protect their borders against the Mustowian raiders.
The Dual Kingdom is one inhabited primarily by humans, though there is a home to another race here. The green Kingdom; a sector in southern Orgien that many of the goblins claim as their own nation. Many go about performing functions of government as if it indeed was independent. The central government of the Dual Kingdom hasn't seen the goblins as a serious threat and the area they occupy isn't worth all that much, so they've just let them be, attending to more pressing issue.
Prominent cities within include:
Hale, the capital which hosts many arcane towers and a heavy emphasis on magic.
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Tort, a sin city where every form of debauchery, including illegal, can be found.
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Shine, a mining settlement on the foot of the Metal Mountains.
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Greatitity, a city that's name brings laughs from foreigners and the immature, is the Dual Kingdom's main port city. It is in the north.
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NOTES:
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Mustowian Empire
Not much is known about this nation. It is a large community of steppe nomads who make their living raiding both the Dual Kingdoms and unknown lands far east. Their skin rough and hair matted, some Pyreians consider them to be the last remnants of uncivil times.
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NOTES:
Not much is known about this nation. More will be added if a player character decides to explore it.
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Badlands: Not that much is known about this desert nation, or rather groupings of tribes and nations. The people here have a distinct accent, one that is hard and accentuative. The tribes and nations throughout the Badlands have an extremely negative view on all outsiders much to the point where public executions of them are not uncommon. They worship Great.
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NOTES:
Not much is known about this nation. More will be added if a player character decides to explore it.
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-RELIGION-
The continent of Pyre generally practices a polytheistic religion, one with overarching reaches of deities' domains. An example for this would be how both Yulesia, the Goddess of Life, and Buer, the God of Exchange, both have claims in the subject of fertility. Due to this, people generally devote themselves to multiple deities based on what holds importance in their lives. At the same time, no one deity is seen as more important than another and no primary deity damned by another.. except in the case of obscure deities.
There is still some doubt of the presence of deities on the continent of Pyre. Miracles have happened, but that is more often than not just accredited to the newly harnessed 'miracle' of magic. Some say that Gods and Goddesses have come down from the heavens and personally speaked to them, sharing a drink or going on a beachside walk with them, but again, most people dismiss these people as people just seeking attention. Everyone supposedly has equal influence over the deities, therefore one personally speaking to you being seen as talltale. Due to this view point, a common train of thought for doubters of the deities showing themselves on Pyre is, "If Xerces wanted to talk to you about the newest philosophical book, why wouldn't he want to talk to all of us about it?"
The afterlife is considered nonexistant in the religion of Pyre; those who die pass their life energy or essence to their family or friends, empowering them and overall making their lives better. Murder isn't as common as it could be out of fear of people sending their energy to an angered friend who goes and seeks revenge on the killer.
What is commonly accepted about the deities is that they live in a place known as The Realm or just Realm. There the deities, on equal standings, interact with on another.. at times romantically. When two deities have a child, they are placed down upon the earth as any normal person would be. As they grow older, it will become evident they have special skills related to the parents. As well as having these skills, their parents are said to at times come down to Pyre in order to indirectly help out their kid, like convincing a statesman to give their child a seat on the council. Unlike mortals, when the children of deities die they are reincarnated into yet another human due to their life essence not having the ability to go with their family up in the Realm. Many prominent figures have claimed to be children of deities but, due to skepticism and lack of evidence, no solid proof for such a claim can ever be confirmed.. for now. This also supports the theory that there are deities other than primary ones, considering how the disproportionate gender ratio could mean there are more male deities who are undiscovered or just considered obscure.
If descriptions of the deities are not supplied it is unsure what their physical appearance looks like.
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-PRIMARY DEITIES-
Yulesia, Goddess of Life: Yulesia is an elf, pale skin and wild and flowing blonde hair that goes down to her back. She wears a headpiece with a jewel in the center.
She is considered the most beloved deity, due to her domain. Churches of Yulesia are all over Pyre although many believe you worship Yulesia just by living a full life and improving the lives of those among you. Yulesia is commonly paired with Fredul and Buer.
Xerces, God of Knowledge: Xerces is an orc, one on the skinnier side of the spectrum. He has short, curly dark hair, pointed and blocky eyebrows, and a rather strong body build. His face is almost squished together around his eyes and nose and yet some kind of symmetry is still present. His eyes are a pure white, uncommon even for an orc.
All that is learned is associated with Xerces. Considered the smartest being known, even though is no evidence of his existance in the first place, scholars are known to dedicate time within their studies to praising Xerces for his spreading of knowledge upon the continent. It is said that the time when civilazation emerged on Pyre is when Xerces finally smiled upon the world. Xerces is commonly paired with Buer and Gratalda.
Fredul, Goddess of Balance: Fredul is a human, one of perfect symmetry. Fredul is one of the few deities that has been confirmed to have lived; when she did live and even after, she is considered the most beautiful person known to the history of the world. She doesn't have any outstanding qualities in appearance but everything just fits together to be appealing to the eye and just.. right. The specifics of her appearance and both her birth and death place are up to debate.
Much like Yulesia, in order to worship Fredul you must live in her image. Take not excess and do not sell yourself short. Those who follow Fredul say that once you find balance in her, everything else will work out for the best. Fredul is commonly paired with Gratalda.
Gratalda, Goddess of Humility: Gratalda is less of a deity you worship and more of one you pay respect to through your deeds. Often depicted as an old woman, she favours those who commit selfless acts to help others and honours those who are loyal, dedicated, unselfish and humble over other people, sometimes blessing them with gifts such as good luck or fertility, depending on what situation they are in. Gratalda is often paired with Xerces.
Buer, God of Exchange: Shown as a grinning, straight back, frat boy elf, Buer somehow makes that look professional. Long, brown hair put back in a pony tail that goes down to his rear end and intricate robes that would be seen as professional garb in all societies, Buer is a man who can make you an offer that you can't refuse.
Not just dealing with money, Buer deals with the exchange of seed, of conversation, of knowledge. Shrewd dealings are sometimes claimed to be done just to appease the witty Buer much to the victim's distraught. Buer is commonly paired with Yulesia, Xerces, and Youfre.
Youfre, Goddess of Festivities: Youfre has consistently been shown as an extremely voluptuous human woman. Wearing a toga too small, she is shown in taverns all across Pyre with her fair skin and blond hair handing baskets of fruits and trays of alcohol to celebraters.
While the mortal interpertation of Youfre could be exaggerated, it is recorded that she was a beautiful woman when she was alive. Akin to parties and general good times, Youfre is a favorite patron god for the young and adventerous. Youfre is often paired with Yulesia and Buer.
-OBSCURE DEITIES-
note: Some of these will be added upon a player's 'discovery' of them. These are not known by the common man unless explicitly said so within the deities' description. Of course, if someone 'discovers' an obscure deity the other players don't know about it until it appears in their thread.
One of the defining features of obscure deities is the uncertainity of whether or not they are truly a deity. Many claim that these are just indivisuals made up by attention seekers or power hungry people or those who have been claimed to ascend to godhood are actually just normal people.
Another detail is that obscure deities can do inner fighting against other obscure deities as well as primary deities while primary deities hold an oath to not have feuds with one another. This doesn't mean that some primary deities hold grudges against one another, but the idea is that the primary deities are supposed to be more harmonious than obscure deities.
Great, the One Which is Everything: The religion of the Badlands and considered a scrouge of the earth by generally everyone who doesn't practice it, Great isn't a person, but rather an essence. Similar to the concept of life essence, Great is every aspect of life, a type of monotheistic religion talking of the great singularity of everything. No one can talk directly to great because they would be talking to themselves; organized churches of Great are non-existant because it is believed you experience and worship it just be living your life.
Ploofteem, Lord of the Clearing of Karma: Ploofteem was a prominent statesman in Ploove, having relations with the founding family. He was a moderate, holding true to the standard policies of Ploove until what was described as a 'sudden bout of madness' by some struck him. With this, he urged all peasants, and even the upper class, to through down their scythes and the upper to jump off their thrones and explore the world, taking up a variety of positions in order to see all that life as to offer. Needless to say, this didn't go down very well in Ploove, so he was exiled and found a new home in Tort. From there he continued preaching until his unfortunate death of being stabbed at a corner in broad daylight while preaching his philosphies.
In the words of one of the indistinguishable priests due to them wearing magical robes that mask their appearance, face, and voice as well as matching boots and gloves. Those who have not embraced Ploofteem are referred to as Debets. This is what one priest thinks of Ploofteem;
"Ploofteem is you and I, he is that which looks upon intrigue and follows the path less traveled. Karma is not a matter of good or bad, no Debet, but rather of the radical and the status quo. This radicalism is not proposing progressive social reforms or making statements with decapitations but rather the radicalism of going the road less traveled.. the one idea which is not even entertained by most. Redemption is had by entertaining and, if you're brave enough, taking action to this oddness. To go and not be comfortable with what you have now.. not necessarily constant self improvement, but rather constant shifting perspective.. poverty one day and riches the next. Cowardice to courage."
Nirlana, God of Burying the Dead: A rumour started by old house wives claimed that if you didn't bury your dead correctly then they would never truly be at peace and the bad karma would have a backlash effect on your whole family. The only way to reverse this was to offer tribute of something you "couldn't live without" to the supposed God of the Dead "Nirlana" who would look after your loved ones once they had passed on. This tradition is not believed by many and the ones who do believe it take it rather seriously.
Slaniple, Lady of Demure: Used as a symbol of innocence but also a battering ram for young people to keep in line, Slaniple was the embodiment of what a holy person should be like, especially with young women. Funnily enough she's not that popular due to the way she's used to pressure youth and some have even taken up to destroying paints/tributes of her likeness.
Lie-ang, Goddess of Potency: Lie-ang is a goddess which finds its home in the hearts of soldiers and warriors. Prayer to Lie-ang is blood and strain, struggle and win. Prayers to Lie-ang is done before battle, drum beats and weapons together to envigorate and prepare troops. Although existing largely in a military context, Lie-ang does appear in rather quotidien environments as well. Everything from war to confessions is her domain.
Axyagi, God of Lies and Evil Intentions: While the classical artwork depicts him as a nimble, cloaked fellow with hands clasped behind his back, Axyagi manifests in many different ways: a dishonest salesmen, a scheming petty bureacrat, or maybe just a run-of-the-mill trickster. Most of his followers are tricked into joining the club, or, very rarely, enter of their own volition. So they are characterized as being exceedingly mischevious...or exceedingly naive. As spiteful and disingenuous as Axyagi is, his vices end there. His evils are confined to simple pettiness, and everyone engages in pettiness.
Neve, Duchess of Ignorance: Neve was once a, you guessed it, Duchess of the city of Yteria in Freduleeia. She was the laughing stock of the city and even around the nation, most people mistaking her lack of knowledge with stupidity. After a particularly brutal bash against her by a gathering of teenagers outside her castle hurdling insults at her, she simply couldn't take it and committed suicide. While most laughed at this incident, a few claimed she ascended to be a deity and with this newfound power would enact revenge upon the cruel world she had inhabited. The way she would do this is to have as many kids as she can with the other deities and have those children and the rebirths of those children start up sham cults that ultimately lead to the self-sacrafice of the members.
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-GAMEPLAY-
The Odd and Slightly Dangerous Adventures of Life is a high fantasy roleplay that will be played through interconnected ISRP threads. That is to say, what someone does in one thread can lead to very real affects in another. Due to this interconnectivity, if one remains inactive for too long I will use my best GM judgement to what your character would do; I will notify you and give you an appropriate amount of time before I would do this.
One of the things that I dearly request from my players is that they don't give me one-liners for replies. I will do my best to put as much detail as possible in each post so I expect you not to have your replies be extremely short. There are instance where one/two sentence posts are appropriate, but a majority of the time is not applicable.
Another thing that I have strong a strong distaste for is metagaming. In other words, it is where you as a player knows something that your character doesn't know but your character does it anyway. If you do this a ridiculous amount bootings will be in order.
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-RULES-
Please, as always, do not godmod/metagame/powerplay.
Character sheet:
Name:
Age:
Appearance:
Skills (magic, swordplay, intelligent, etc.):
Weaknesses (two will do):
Bio (can be short):
Religious affliation:
Preferred starting nation (can go as far to include region/city if you'd like):
