Genre: Medieval Fantasy, Dark Fantasy
Level: Advanced, see quote above.
Type: Sandbox with some linear events scheduled.
Player Flexibility: Players are allowed to create non-contradicting lore, history, and terminology as well as lead plots generally in the direction they will favor. GM's have only defined a little bit of setup information and construction.
Technology: Medieval ages, equivalent to the middle-to-high Middle Ages on Earth.
Magic: As a medieval fantasy, I want to not completely eliminate magic or magical creatures. However the like of powerful wizards and sorcerers are a "foreign" and "mythical" notion in Orlandis.

House Antar - Ruling house of the Kingdom-Republic of Voltaani, descended from the royal line of Old Voltaani refugees when they fled their homeland during religious crusades by their neighbors.

House Balkr - Ruling house of the Kingdom of Perhyr, descended from migrating vyntic tribes. @Gowi is playing this house.

House Caine - Ruling house of the Kingdom of Caelia, descended from the native sandborn tribes of Orlandis. HOUSE NAME MAY BE CHANGED BY A PLAYER IF WISHED.

@Heat is a interested party in this house.

House Crowe - Ruling house of the Kingdom of Reinoa, enemies of their Stormborn cousins and host to a large degree of resources such as iron and timber.

House Gahnt - Ruling house of the Kingdom of Erayis, hardy people of the highlands who persevere almost anything. HOUSE NAME MAY BE CHANGED BY A PLAYER IF WISHED.

House Hafrek - Ruling house of the Kingdom of Skavia, descended from migrating vyntic tribes; succeeded the first royal dynasty when they were murdered during Kristof the Zealot's crusade against the Northlands.

House Marlowe - Ruling house of the Stormbroken of Stormtir, raider culture whose thirst for war exceeds their ambition. HOUSE NAME MAY BE CHANGED BY A PLAYER IF WISHED.

House Tahren - Ruling house of the Kingdom of Gradiar, old allies of Terijas dating back to Dierk the Conqueror. HOUSE NAME MAY BE CHANGED BY A PLAYER IF WISHED.

House Thralon (Terian branch) - Ruling house of the Kingdom of Terijas, descendants of Dierk the Conqueror.

House Thralon (Euritian branch) - Ruling house of the Kingdom of Euritia, descendants of Dierk the Conqueror.

House Valian - Ruling house of the Kingdom of Veronia, honorable sorts who control the major breadbasket of the continent. @Gowi is playing this house.

Caelia

Lands
Stepped between a wall of desert from her enemies and gold-enriched cliffs and hills, the Expanse is named for the sands that you must cross to get to the “meat” of the northern peninsula. For all of the resources in Orlandis, the small territories within the Expanse hold the largest supply of gold on the continent making the nobles who own the lands quite rich and politically viable. In the southern lands of the Expanse you will notice flowing rivers and rolling fields that owes itself to great agriculture development: river mills, farmland, timberhouses, fisheries, and trade guilds are aplenty. The most densely populated areas are within the southern borders and the northeastern coasts. Within the Expanse’s influence is also the Isle of Anderis which is where not only gold is aplenty but decent installments of jewels and ore.

People
The People of the Expanse take a lot after their southern neighbors that they have had favorable discussions with for centuries thus making many people passionate, enduring, fairly diplomatic, yet due to the close borders to Veronia and Terijas find themselves fairly cautious and concerning despite no force being able to penetrate them by land or sea. However, instead of being paranoid they choose to use guile to make sure they are not desirable enough to invade as they make plenty of trade and marriage ties to make sure they are seen as a more useful ally rather than enemy. Though they are most certainly walking on thin lines considering they hold different values, religion, and ideals than the rest of Orlandis.

The men and women of the Expanse are a blend of practical and extravagant dress, though they do not tend to import much foreign fashion preferring to use their Exlandic roots of their culture instead, though sometimes fashion from The Verge sneaks into court.

Military
Due to the desert and mountain ranges, military culture based on population is limited and like their allies in The Verge, people in the Expanse tend to focus on using their wealth to buff their limited military ranks thus making hiresword companies very well-formed in the Expanse. However, even with the mercenary compliments it is clear that the military beyond that is competent enough as it was their desert guard and defensive naval line that held off the Conqueror of Etlasia from successfully breaching their territory centuries earlier.

Voltaani

Lands
The southernmost region of Orlandis, The Verge is aptly named for the renown it has for being the highway to the rest of the known world including the various merchant republics. The Verge is nestled in-between ore-drenched mountains that contain ample gold, silver, iron, tin, and precious gems; and soft lowlands that descend into the rocky shorelines. The various houses that take hold in the Verge descend from their ancestors that crossed the Atularis Ocean seeking refuge. Settlements can be found through the farming communities in the north end of the Verge and densely populated cities and towns in the south as well as fishing villages on each of the adjacent islands. As it is the furthest south, it is the warmest of all of the regions of Orlandis.

People
The people of The Verge are a passionate, resolute, and diplomatic sort; knowing when to use politics over brawn as well as knowing how to play their hand to benefit themselves. With that said, the people themselves are not selfish but rather neurotic as they worry that history will repeat itself if they don’t assert their role in the world in this way. Historically, the people of The Verge are from Voltaan or at least a good majority of their ancestors were as the ruling house of Voltaan, House Antar, has ruled The Verge as long as there have been kingdoms in Orlandis. The exodus marked in their history speaks of treachery from trusted neighbors and it speaks volumes that as a culture there are only a handful of remaining pieces of it including the Forlandic merchant republics. This is something few people on the continent have experienced and thus creates a kinship that even rivals men from the Northlands. In addition to such political aptitude therein also lies a sense of pride and liberty, which all of The Verge tries to play a role in.

The men and women of the Verge are as expected a mix of practical and extravagant dress as they import the latest fashion from the merchant republics as well as Sabobalia, and Fedos Plur. The nobility announces themselves even more than the merchant caste of which plays a huge role in the region as the merchant guild is almost as old as the Voltaani landing on the shores of The Verge several hundred years ago.

Military
Military culture in the southeastern peninsula of the Expanse & Verge is one dating back to their initial landing in Orlandis. Whilst rich military traditions existed back in Atularis the men and women found themselves at odds with the native population of their new homeland thus making a reliance of outside elements nessecary to preserve their culture. Gathering a large force of hireswords from Atularis they would systematically create the Verge’s mercenary culture as conflict after conflict plagued them. Even when the realm was secure ideas of paranoia and fear allowed this mercenary culture to flourish as they come to rely on them over their own landed military.

Outside of this preserved mercenary culture Voltaani also maintains some of the most ancient metalworking and battlefield tactics in the world. They are plentiful with skilled spearmen, cavalry archers, and endosi-style swordsmen.

Erayis

Lands
The lands of Erayis are plentiful with timber as well as large depths of mountains, hills, and valleys. Neighboring the Northlands the weather is also a bit colder than those south of the river that bridges them between the Stormbroken and part of the Kingdom of Reinoa. Within these mountains including the mountain range known as The Mythril Mountains, there exists superfluous minerals that include steady amounts of mythrite and even gold—though the latter does not equal to even half of the yield of the Expanse & Verge. The vast rolling hills are also well-known for massive capacities of animal herding (ranging from sheep, ram, cattle, and fowl), hunting (deer, bear, duck, and wolf), and general farming; though the winter seasons are harsher than that in the south of Orlandis so harvest seasons are much more regarded.

People
Rigid, but never faltering—the people of Erayis embody the culture of their ancestors unlike those in the neighboring Euritia thus continuing a cultural heritage that has persevered over the ages. In history the people of Erayis have known to defy foreign kings, and customs that are not their own out of a fear of their culture dying out since most of their religious customs have been forgotten since they have stopped being practice for about five centuries. Perhaps this is why the people of the region are somewhat xenophobic—latching on to a fear of change and lost pride.

Military
The military of the region is mostly devised between infantry and ram-based cavalry—archers are well regarded given altitude and hunting culture, but are not as esteemed as those in Reinoa or Veronia. With that said, the region has a staunch history for infantry combat; ranging from swordsmen skilled in the greatsword to skilled pikemen to counteract southern and northern cavalry that they are so accustomed to dealing with.

Euritia

Lands
The peninsula of The Arm is not as rocky or rough as the western fringes of The Highlands; though it has strong riverbeds and flowing hills alongside slight existences of steel mountain ranges and waterside cliffs. The minerals are rich in these selective mountain ranges with mythrite, iron, tin, gold, silver, and copper; but the true abundance of the lands is likely the rolling hills that are perfect for agricultural development, plentiful fish and fauna, vast arrays of northern herbs, the forests ample for timberhouses, and the tactical basis of the landmass.

People
A true synthesis of two cultures—the people of what is known as The Arm are the cultural amalgamation of the people from the Midlands who occupied the land under imperial decree, and the native people of the Highlands who were initially abrasive of said occupation. However, unlike the western Highlands the locals took well to their foreign lords, perhaps due to the kindheartedness of the descendants of Torvic Thralon or other cultural factors; whatever the case may be the people of Euritian recognize both cultural roots as many can trace their lineage back to both the Midlands immigrants and the natives of the Highlands.

Military
Much like Terijas, Euritia is skilled in the art of war ranging from siege, archery, infantry, and cavalry—however northern horses are fewer in number than those in their ancestral lands, so the nobles of Euritia are stuck with a dilemma: import them, or adapt to a new sense of fighting. The latter was the choice one of the older Kings of Euritia decided upon as he switched from offensive cavalry to defensive troops in general to protect the peninsula of the Highlands they occupied—The Arm. Favoring strong walls and ranged units such as the Euritian crossbowman (a recent development), they have kept any more Highlander aggression invade the peninsula granted by Dierk ‘the Conqueror’ that had since become their livelihood.

Reinoa

Lands
Collectively known as “the Ironbasket” throughout Orlandis, the Hinterlands are known for an extensive supply of iron and other minerals within the rugged hills and mountains that they owe their namesake towards. Given Reinoa has held the majority of The Hinterlands (The Stormbroken only occupy a small portion of the region), there is also ample room for agricultural development.

The birth of resources is slim but is very well regarded for its supply of strong timber, iron, tin, and copper. In terms of non-minerals however there does exist extensive herbs and fruit born for the colder climate of northern Orlandis.

People
Stuck between their unreformed cousins, The Stormbroken, and the prestigious nobles of Terijas and Erayis—it seems that, socially, the reformed hinterlanders would always remain fearful of their neighbors no matter what. However, this does not make the people of Reinoa craven cowards but rather strong and cautious. They know playing politics is essential to survival and they know a good detail of the continental economy relies on their support thus they have always strived to be prepared for anything and anyone. The degree of coin that the Kingdom earns allows the people some degree of financial abundance and there are many who use it to introduce new fashion and invention to the world.

The larger population is concerned with mineral mining, agricultural development, and timber mills.

Military
Perhaps due to their height advantage with the Hinterlands rough but sprawling hills and their plentiful timber due to vast forests it comes as no surprise that the people of Reinoa are excellent archers, some touting them as the best in all of the known world. This can be asserted by the origin of the Reinoaian Longbow made from dense woods like pine and birch. – With this in mind, the longbowman is an integral part of the military and is a great defense against the charging raiders of The Stormbroken behind sturdy walls on a well-placed elevation.

Stormtir

Lands
Much like most of northern Orlandis, the lands of Stormtir are known for a populous stretch of woodlands and rocky mountains as well as jagged cliffs. What sets Stormtir apart from the rest of the Hinterlands or even the neighboring region known as The Highlands is perhaps the close cluster of steep inclines and lowlands—there is not a lot of room though it does allow it a type of defensibility that has granted the Stormbroken from not being purged or converted by foreign threats for centuries.

The birth of resources is slim but is very well regarded for its supply of strong timber, iron, tin, and copper. In terms of non-minerals however there does exist extensive herbs and fruit born for the colder climate of northern Orlandis.

People
The people of Stormtir are famously abrasive, yet some say if they had not their barbaric practices of human sacrifice and raiding culture they would perhaps be the most forward thinking people in all of Orlandis. This is of course based on the fact that females are not second class citizens under the laws of the dominion—it is said that “all are equal under the will of the gods.”

Whilst their “heretical” cousins in Reinoa are fearful and cautious, the Stormbroken are the opposite being brave and careless. The concept of fear is fairly lost to them given either a sense of apathy or belief that if one dies then “they die”. Similar to their more northern neighbors they also don’t regard espionage and intrigue very favorably and likely don’t practice it at all. If somebody wants something, they take it—a common saying in Stormtir.

Military
The military specialty of the Stormbroken is a type of sailing frigate that announces itself with great defensibility without sacrificing maneuverability thus the soldiers and sailors tend to refuse to rely on heavier vessels instead focusing on higher population of their lighter vessels. This lends to a society bred upon naval aptitude and with large numbers makes them a particular danger on the battlefield. It has been once said that—“The Stormbroken are the best naval society on the western coast of Orlandis, and perhaps all of the continent.”

Outside of their naval presence, the Stormbroken pride themselves on their light-foot infantry that has an arsenal of experience with short spears, axes, and crude swords including a great sword of some renown. Tactically, most of these infantry are free-willed independents following little leadership direction—though even with a lack of organization they are as strong as they are quick, something of a hinterlander staple.

Veronia

Lands
Known for the stretch of rolling hills, long fields, and fields of rivers surrounded by the mountainous nature of the Midlands, the Lowlands is plentiful in pretty much everything. It is no surprise that it is one of the ruling giants of the continent of Orlandis and rightly so. The mountains the Lowlands have access to are plentiful in iron, copper, silver, and gems which compliments the massive supply of agriculture it needs to defend thus with every farming barony lies a fortress to defend it from raids by tribal nomads and the seaborn people to the islands to the north. Settlements can be found all over the Lowlands—cities and towns can be densely populated and several hamlets exist to the eastern part of the region.

People
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Military
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Gradiar

Lands
Home to a large riverbed and various mountains as well as rough terrain that occupies many forests, the southern Midlands (or northern Lowlands, depending on who you ask) are an abrasive residence but just like those in harsher environments further north, it is suffered. Gradiar is home to plentiful silver, tin, copper, and small amounts of platinum. Wildlife ranging from horses, cattle, deer, and fish are well known of.

People
The people are much like those in the northern half of the Midlands, fringing on honor and deceit. Historically, the Kingdom of Gradiar had been sworn allies to Terijas; having several marriages throughout the year’s in-between the royal lines. The people outside of nobility are hardy, simple, and determined as they make their living on rough hillsides hunting dangerous creatures alongside the mundane. It is said the dangerous “webwood” exists near the northwestern mountains for one said example—but it is one to take note as dire spiders are far from easy to coexist with or hunt down.

Military
The military traditions of Gradiar are not different than those of Terijas or Veronia, lying somewhere between its two neighbors. In history, the military of Gradiar was known to be “second look” to their neighbors in non-mounted archery and mounted infantry—but were quite well-regarded as a sort of middle ground of the two as they found skill in the hunters of their rough and ragged hillsides within mountain hamlets centuries ago who used Gradian horses (a sub-breed of horse native to Orlandis) that was hardy and tough for the mountainous environment. Thus Gradiar became the first to put archers on horseback and not lose their sense of accuracy or skill. This tradition continues today with the unit known as the Pferdjager.

Terijas

Lands
The northern midlands is the perfect balance of soft rolling hills and jagged mountain ranges, thus sort of existing as a middle ground between the neighboring lowlands and the rocky Hinterlands/Highlands. Given so, the opportunity is aplenty for agriculture development as well as for mining valuable gems and minerals ranging from gold, silver, iron, mythrite, and tin. In addition to the “wealth” of the region there also exists various defensible approaches from the southern and northwestern edge thus creating several choke points for invading neighbors—something Terijas had taken full advantage of.

People
The people of the Midlands are as they come in the Lowands; some honorable, some deceitful, and others in-between either. However, unlike their neighbors in the Lowlands—the people favor intrigue and politics over honor and duty making them the natural antithesis of the people of the Lowlands. Instilled as well in people is a sense of pride and greed as history had proven that they were the smartest and the strongest of the three major kingdoms of the past and were the only ones to forge an empirical kingdom that dwarfed six regions and had them all under their foot. It is with this sense of entitlement that people of the Midlands are naturally hostile or full of themselves which causes much conflict. Despite such arrogance there is a sense of order that the Midlands people strive for—mostly due to the major religion of the day, the Word of Aavaar, was founded in the Midlands itself thus making the religious identity of these people greatly defined.

Military
Those in Terijas are skilled in matters of siege, archery, and infantry—but most importantly, cavalry units called Companions. This aforementioned cavalry unit is one utilizing the southern horse population of Orlandis alongside long swords—deadly, swift, and smart on their feet; the companion cavalry are known as the most perilous units within the military of not only Terijas, but Euritia as well given the traditions are similar.