That all looks good to me.
I'm assuming we can still throw in our own little baby villages, to give us some resources outside of taking the massive settlements?

I believe that is indeed what is meant by "Quite likely your first forays as a Keeper will be into the villages of the Cypriots".

So, who's going to start where?

I'm going to begin my attack in a town of Cyprus, far larger than a simple village, but nowhere near the glory of Amplus. Probably on the northern or western parts to make it so the jungle is not my natural second invasion point.

I'll probably throw my Keeper somewhere in between Monolith and Cyprus. Gotta stay away from my icy friends, but my keeper will also be driven away by the savage dragon riders. Should be enough small, prospering towns in the trade routes between Monolith and Cyprus for me to torment.

Ooh, we might be pretty close to each other, as I was thinking of fun ways my faction could mess with Monolith.

DR_TRAPEZOID said
That all looks good to me.I'm assuming we can still throw in our own little baby villages, to give us some resources outside of taking the massive settlements?

Yes. That is what is meant by
"With NPCs, feel free to control minor NPCs (eg. a village which you are raiding, random individuals, etc.). For larger NPCs (eg. a city, an entire army), you should probably consult us.
There are probably a lot of empty spaces in the description of the world. You are free to fill in those spaces (with-in reason, of course. Any major development, such as an entire hidden nation or artefact of great power, would need to run through us first)." (Ground Rules)
"There can be other lesser races inhabiting Cyrpus as well, in the corners of the land where the other races won't have wiped them out or assimilated them. However, they obviously wouldn't have the same level of influence as the aforementioned five." (NPCs)
and the one Gecko brought up.

Those little villages, at least those owned by the major races, will also be marked on the map. I shall look at real maps of small European countries to get a realistic spacing for the villages. It wouldn't do to have infinite villages within marching distance of your Dungeon.
EDIT: Oo, what a handy article. http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/demog.htm
EDIT2: Oh, it turns out we've got thousands of little villages.
EDIT3: No, wait, got the area wrong. Maybe just a thousand, plus or minus. ('just a thousand', what am I saying?)

Maybe our unrealistic expectations would be more fun than a realistic simulation? :P

Still, if that's what you want to roll, it will make my factions strengths all the stronger, mwhahahahaaa....

Well, unless we take an unrealistically sparse country, then we would have no shortage of villages. Of course, many of these villages probably have less than 100 people, but that makes them all the more vulnerable to enslavement.

Here we go, the full entry for the Cypriots. After this, I just need to make an entry describing Cyprus itself and Cyclone needs to finish the Warlocks of the Ashmarch, then we'll have a complete OP and can make an Interest Check.

---

To anyone visiting Cyprus, we, the Cypriots, are the dominant power. Our territory spans most of the arable land in Cyprus, and is rich in farming villages and fortified towns. All the settlements are well maintained, and it is rare to find a person who is hungry. Just about all of us are happy under the rule of our monarch.

History tells that hundreds of years ago a small town in the then-divided land of Cyprus gained a great and magnificent ruler, Reginaldus the First, who led a glorious revolution and expanded their town into a kingdom with the vision of a united Cyprus under one ruling power. This revolution met with surprising success, as a foothold in the land was established and the loyalty of the revolutionaries did not falter even after many years. As the kingdom expanded, its power grew, and it was able to expand further until the races who could not be assimilated into the kingdom were pushed to the boundaries of Cyprus.

Today the expansion has slowed somewhat, as the remaining races now stand strong in their respective bastions. However, the armies of the Cypriots still stand strong. They are highly organised and trained, and well equipped with weapons and armour produced both locally and in the manufacturing hub of Monolith. Foot-soldiers, archers, knights, cavalry, mages of various creeds, as well as siege engines, ships, cannons and musket-men all compose the armies of the Cypriots. Their technology, strategy and tactics, as well as their size which outstrips that of any army the lesser races could gather, makes them a force to be reckoned with. If any enemy makes too bold a stand against the Cypriots then they can be sure to face the wrath of our armies.

The capital city is called Amplus, and is the most populous city in Cyprus. It is the hub of operations for the Cypriots, with much of our army and local manufacturing centred here. The whole city is in perpetually good condition, with many people employed for the purpose of keeping the city clean and well-maintained. It has numerous tiers of wall, made to both encircle the ever-growing city and as additional lines of defence, and behind all the walls is the palace, which combines stunning architecture with effective fortification.

Very rarely leaving the palace grounds is Reginaldus the Fifth, King of the Cypriots, who resides within the palace walls and is only seen by outsiders during public addresses. Despite that, he rules over us with incredible efficiency and is at times miraculously able to respond to our needs before we have to tell him. Some nay-sayers claim that our wonderful King is not as he appears, but instead say that he is a powerful, immortal sorcerer who controls us through our dreams, but any good Cypriot knows that such claims are lies and such men are crazy. Besides, if such men ever get too rowdy one day we wake to never hear from them again, and good riddance.

In terms of our relationships with the other races in Cyprus, we have an alliance and trade agreement with Monolith, which is where we export raw materials to by river and import manufactured goods, such as our weapons as well as tools and other things. We have our borders heavily guarded against the two abominations to the North. And the Dragon Riders of the jungle do not take kindly to us chopping down their trees. But while they, the Ice Witches, the Warlocks and the Dragon Riders, all hide behind their hellish terrain, we stand strong by our own might. We are powerful. Others shall fall, but we shall endure.

Looks shexy. Can't wait to begin.
I should probably write some stuff up about my keeper.

Dragon Riders: We aren't hiding. We just like it here.

Heh, cool, I'll see if I can't get my keeper write up soon.

Glorious Cyprus, the only real country. Monolith, a city state, and everywhere else was a hellish landscape with inhabitants too stubborn to move. Amplus, the shining light of Cyprus, barely has an underclass, the king making sure to employ almost the entire population and prevent slums.

Barely.

It was 17 years ago today, my people, my culture fell. I say "my" but I hardly know it. A mountainous tribe with quaint ways carried from over the desert and preserved in isolation. Almost all I know of my culture was passed down from my mother. My father drunk himself to sleep and never woke up, a coward too afraid to fight to defend our village and too afraid to face the reality of his choice. I bear his sword at my side, for her sake, she tells me the sword is the pride of our ancestors. Truly, it's a blade unlike those of Cyprus, a graceful curved thing, graying out with slow rust and age. It'll last long enough to assuage my mother, but not pass to my children, I think.

I stubbornly peddle the art of my culture. It keeps us alive, and it warms my mother's heart to see me carry on the family legacy. But I cannot help but wonder, is this what was meant for our culture? To be sold quietly and then die to those who destroyed it? I hardly know the truth of what we once were, I wish I did.

I have so many dreams of what it might have been, that I hardly wish to wake. But the weight of the sword reminds me that I have to care for what little family I have left, my sister and mother. I will rise, and whittle and paint, and peddle away a heritage I do not know.

~~

My mother did not wake this morning. The sleeping sickness claimed another. It runs rampant through the districts ascribed to refugees. No help arrived to wake her, but the day had hardly reached noon before the guards and civil servants had arrived to claim me and my sister and clear away the things of our house to make way for a brighter family. I am old enough to serve as a civil-squire to the military, and she will be taken to a school. I have no doubt it's for the best of the city.

Damn the city. Damn the military, damn their school. I bound the scroll of ancestors about my hilt, and grabbed my sister. I told her, "We are going home, Xao." I'm a liar. I don't know the way home. I was too young when we were taken. But we are leaving, before they find us.

~~

I... I think I know what my father felt. Xao doesn't wake anymore, and I can tell my nights are growing longer and more desperate. My body is so stiff and cold when I wake, a strange sweat covering me. I didn't see this symptom in the others, but I suppose this is my body fighting it and staying alive longer. But do I still want to fight?

Everyone I cared about is gone. My fight meant nothing. Had I stayed, I would have had to face not seeing Xao again, to serving those I hated. But running was no better.

Perhaps... To end in the dreams I once cherished, would not be such a bad thing. To fall asleep aside Xao. Father, forgive my hatred. I didn't know what it was like to have to choose between surrender and a hopeless battle.

~~

~Awaken, great dreamer.~

Who's there?

~I am the dream of hope and the haunt of vengeance. The spirit of your ancestors, their anguish at the future and their memories of the past, called me to this place.~

Dream of hope? Haunt of vengeance? Are you evil, spirit or are you good?

~No being is of one without the other. The hope of justice is a steel forged in the fires of vengeance. But I understand the deeper question, I will show you the answer. You need not trust me. Trust what I pass onto you from your answers.~

I.... That is my father.. when he was young.. and his father... and before him... I... All these pasts, our culture.. My heritage..

~It is much to assimilate. It will take you years. But though you might have such time, Xao does not. AWAKEN.~

~~

I awoke, and my body was on fire. Energy coursed through me, and the scroll of my ancestors burned into my skin. Xao was beside me, still as death. I reached a hand to touch her cheek. Cold as the air around us. Too late.

~She is dead, yes. But her spirit yet lingers out of affection for you, despite the grievous assault Reginaldus forced upon it. Lay your palm over her heart.~

"That is..."

~No crude necromancy is this. It is spiritualism, another art of your forebears. You do not bind an unwilling spirit to you, but grant a willing soul a place to reside until a new body can be found.~

I closed my eyes, and laid my hand upon Xao. I felt the power surge ever greater, and heat blossomed through Xao, before I heard her voice.

~Thank you, brother... It is good to speak to you again..~

"Xao...."

~I'm going to rest for awhile, but I'll be back, wait for me..~

I would have waited until the mountains crumbled, till the thought struck me. The one this world hinged on. "Wait, you said Reginaldus."

~Assaulted her? Yes. And your mother and father as well. Your people did not assimilate well, and so he began their destruction. The sleeping sickness is no sickness. It is a spell. He watches dreams and steals lives.~

"He will pay." I spoke through clenched teeth. My fist tightened around the burning sword in my hand, and I rose, the heat growing ever brighter. I swung the sword of my ancestors, and the topsoil was cleaved, as though a thousand swords fell at once. Trees fell apart as though they were made of sticks and a light breeze had raised.

The burning subsided, I felt exhausted. I had just destroyed a circle of 30 feet of landscape, with a sword stroke.

~It will not be easy, it will require guile, and art, and patience. But you will have your vengeance. Walk with me. You shall be Taote, and I shall be Laozi.~

"I am ready."

~~

So easy it was, to inspire a little paladin to fight for a cause he believes is his own. Vengeance for his parents. Hope for his sister. The best lies are always the truth.

Rough Draft 1. I'm almost certain it's not clear yet, but "Laozi" is pulling a Clotho and enhancing a human from behind the scenes rather than appear directly.

That's brilliant. You even depicted the Cypriots brilliantly. With disappearing, I had originally been thinking of some kind of medieval version of the Thought Police, but that is much better. Much stealthier and more befitting of a dream-sorcerer.

An important question, though- should we maintain the 'just post in the IC' method of joining, or should we be a little more structured, perhaps request that they propose a draft first?

Thanks. Glad I made a good impression for you. :)

Mmm... Depends on their portfolio? :P

I think it's a good idea that we have people write up a draft first- maybe something as simple as writing up a compendium post for their Keeper/Rogue/Whatever.

Something which at the very least describes the concept they are going to give. Should we have them post it in the OOC or send it via PM to a GM?

I don't see why we couldn't keep it in the OoC. The only problem with that is they might get drowned out by our incessant chatter. Still, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

DR_TRAPEZOID said
I don't see why we couldn't keep it in the OoC. The only problem with that is they might get drowned out by our incessant chatter. Still, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Won't be a problem if we grab the permalink of each one.

Having no character sheets has been a trademark feature of the DK roleplays all the way back, to my knowledge. I cannot remember us ever having problems with it, so I oppose making changes. What would it improve, anyways?

Edit: And sorry to keep the OP waiting; I should have time to finish up the nation description tomorrow.

We're not asking for a character sheet. We're asking for your compendium entry up front.

BBeast described it as a "rough draft".