The war of the gods and demons seemed already to have ended; and the gods were dead. The eagles were lost, the legions were broken; and in Rome nothing remained but honor and the cold courage of despair. - GK Chesterton, The Everlasting Man
Welcome to the world of Azoth.
It is the Year of the Sun 3014, as reckoned by the astrologers of the Dratha. Life continues as it has done for uncounted centuries. Peasants toil in fertile river valleys, ever wary of crocodiles and seasonal floods, nomadic tribes cross the dune sea, adventurers look for archeo-tech in the ruins of the Old Ones, mounted warriors fight for land and honor among the windswept steppes and highlands, priests make sacrifices to demons and gods, sorcerers peer behind the veil of reality, and kings and emperors wage wars of faith or wars of honor or wars of greed over food, water, Spice, Ichor, and archeo-tech.
You lead one of the peoples of Azoth seeking after glory or security, wealth or piety.
Azoth: The Setting
NOTE: Please use, but do not feel limited by, the details here. I will be updating this section based on details in players' NSes.
Here is a map with geographic and biome detail. Names of established locations have been placed.
This is the same map as the previous one, just without the names, designed to give everyone the ability to easily mark your locations/borders.
A blank map for reference
Water: In a desert, control over drinkable water is the key to power.
Food
Archeo-Tech: found in the ghul and demon haunted ruins of the Old ones. Types of commonly sought after archeo-tech includes: - Godsteel: a fabled blue-gray metal found in ancient ruins
Ichor: a black, viscous fluid with dangerous mutagenic properties in its unrefined state, Ichor is most frequently found among the ruins of the Old Ones and of course in the polluted waters of the Dread Sea. Refined Ichor in liquid and crystal form has an immense variety of uses, from powering archeo-tech to use as a key ingredient to many potions and spells. Some sorcerers, especially among the Dratha, despise the use of Ichor in magic as amateurish, but its effectiveness is undeniable. Warlocks among the ghul are known to ingest raw Ichor, thus vastly increasing their power, though with often unpredictable results for themselves...
Spice: the spore of several fungoid organisms that thrive in Ichor-rich environments, Spice is a powerful narcotic that can be refined in innumerable ways- forming cheap drugs for the poor to refined ingestives for the rich and powerful.
The Old Ways are a collection of astrological/magical religions and gnostic cults. It is less a unified cult than a collection of folk religions and more sophisticated theologies, philosophies and magical practices surrounding dieties variously known as the Celestial Powers, the Fates, the Astral Hierarchy, or the Old Gods. Much of Old Way practice revolves around dream interpretation and reading the stars for portents of the future and command over nature. The Old Ways are thoroughly non-moralistic, and societies can differ widely in their political arrangements. Among the Old Gods, the chief deity worshiped is the goddess Uan, Queen of the Moon and patron of Astrologers
Uan's holy city is Archeos. It is a city filled with temples to the Old Gods, as well as libraries, arcanums, orreries, and universities dedicated to philosophy and magic. The closest thing Old Way religionists have to chief religious authority is the Circle of Augurs, a council of sixteen seers and astrologers.
Azoth is a world filled with lurking spirits, mysterious intelligences, and haunted sites of power. Some of these- out of vanity or ambition or for other, more inscrutable motives- have set themselves up as gods. Many of these spirits are bloodthirsty, warlike, and feuding, often devouring each other when they become strong enough to do so. They grant their followers boons in exchange for blood sacrifices. The gods and demons making up the Red Pantheon are innumerable- it is not really known if they are all even one kind of thing- and most peoples and tribes who follow the pantheon worship one or a select few of the deities, though some worship the Pantheon as a whole, which they take to be symbolic of the fundamental nature of the cosmos- one of constant battle and unending appetite. Some of the red gods communicate and interact frequently with their devotees, while others remain aloof, answering prayers and rewarding sacrifices only occasionally and indirectly. Likewise, while some of the gods are tied to one specific holy site, others roam the world freely, manifesting themselves wheresoever they please.
They are frequently sought out by the ambitious or the desperate, who seek to create pacts with them in exchange for material gain, victory on the battlefield, success in love, magical power, or other boons. Some of the more commonly known and worshiped red gods include:
Jadas, the Scorpion Mother, depicted frequently as half-scorpion, half woman and often taken as the patron of pirates and slavers. She is not associated with any holy site, and it is a subject of debate among scholars whether she exists or is merely the name given to a range of demonic activity.
The Gorelord, a powerful spirit often invoked by warriors and ghuls. His holy site is known as the Blood Spring, found deep in the Dune Sea. It is a pilgrimage site for many ghul.
The Mountain Wisdoms are monstrous crones said to lurk high in the Godfang Mountains, often sought out by those seeking hidden knowledge.
[players should invent and run with the red pantheon in any direction they please. it is a catchall term for demons and monsters that some peoples might worship.]
Humans: Humans come in many races, ethnicities and cultures, and have found diverse methods of adapting to the harsh environs of Azoth.
Dratha: An ethno-cultural subgroup of humans, the Dratha are a bloodline of sorcerers who engage in careful eugenics to ensure the purity of their race. Few in number, a Dratha is known by his or her pale skin and intricate, curling tattoos in their ancient script. They have a natural affinity for magic, and are famous for their magical academies, their skill at enchanting and their legendary arrogance and disdain for custom and piety. They venerate the memory of their founder, Othman Dratha, who in popular lore is said to have used cunning and treachery to steal the secrets of magic from the god of the moon (some legends say he ate the moon-deity's heart). Few Dratha believe such superstitious nonsense, but tales of Othman's ruthlessness and ambition illustrate the guiding tenets of Drathan society.
The Ghul: Abhumans and mutants warped by prolonged exposure to unrefined Ichor, the Ghul are everywhere the scourge of civilization and are almost universally despised. Violent tribes roam the vast, empty wastes, haunting especially the ruins of the Old Ones. They are frequently led by wizards, warlords, and the occasional red god. They come in an immense variety of shapes and sizes, most vaguely humanoid, and are occasionally used by other factions as slaves or mercenaries. Occasionally a Ghul warlord or sorcerer-priest will unite several tribes and pose a significant danger to more civilized peoples.
The Red Gods: Whether they are demons or gods or something else entirely, or whether they are even all one kind of thing, is a subject of considerable debate among philosophers and theosophists. See the religion tab for more information.
TBA
WHAT IS THIS RP?
-It is (grim)dark fantasy set in a harsh desert landscape with scarce resources. This is Lovecraft meets Tolkien meets...Mad Max? -This to be an exercise in collaborative world building. That means that we want nations that feel like they inhabit a shared world. Players should collaborate heavily in designing their factions. -It is low-medium fantasy: magic exists. It is powerful, dangerous, and rare. Rare.
A note on Magic: I am not a big fan on fixed magic rules or magic systems. I do want to stress that this is low(ish) fantasy. That means no armies of reanimated dead or golems, no legions of fireball casters, balrogs, etc. We're going to err on the side of how the LotR handled magic rather than say, D&D. Meaning, it is present and powerful, but mysterious and often indirect.
I prefer what I call the Tolkien/GRR Martin approach to magic and religion. Magic is real, mysterious, and powerful, but for the most part takes place 'off-screen', and is for aesthetic purposes somewhat subdued or indirect (eg- no undead armies or mages throwing fireballs around). Likewise, the RP will take the GRR Martin approach to religion: there are as many religions as we can come up with here, but we will leave it an open question as to whether any of them are true. Conflicting mythos and cosmologies and visions of god(s) are encouraged.
-It is vaguely Renaissance tech. Cannons and arquebus are new military technology. There are a few exceptions to this. -It has archeo-tech from a lost, highly advanced civilization -It has original fantasy races -It is inspired by Tolkien, Dune, Warhammer fantasy and 40K, Lovecraft, China Mieville, Morrowind, and Mad Max.
RULES - Writing standards are advanced - Have fun, act like a human being, and remember this is a vehicle for story telling and world building and not a competitive strategy game. If you want that, try Civ or Total War. They're fun. - Respect the judgment of the GMs. - Please try to post once a week. If you can't, that's no big deal at all, but check in here to let the GMs know you're still with us. - One more note on posting: everybody gets writers block, or burned out, or is unsure how to proceed once in awhile. If that happens, nbd- but maybe try to find other ways to stay active? Help flesh out the history of the world, or invent a new subfaction or religion. Worldbuilding might prompt a solid IC post. Let's keep this alive and awesome.
NOTE: this sucker is long. Fill out first the bits that are important for your faction and to you. Feel free to re-jigger this format to suit your faction.
Also, please post your WIP NSes in the Characters Tab with UNAPPROVED at the top until I give it the all-clear.
-Faction name: -Faction Type: (nomads? guild? church? kingdom? empire? mercenary company? All sorts of factions allowed) -Flag/Banner:
NATIONAL (if applicable) -Capital: -Government Type: -Currency: -Population: (absolute max of ~5 million [a little over estimates of ancient egypt's population] which would require a great deal of two very rare things: water and food. Most factions will be considerably smaller, given the harshness of the setting.) -Unique Trait #1: (Created by the player, needs to be approved by me) -Unique Trait #2: (Created by me) -Unique Flaw #1 (Created by the player, needs to be approved by me) -Unique Flaw #2 (Created by me)
GEOGRAPHICAL -World-Realm Map: -Major Cities: -Major Castles: -Buildings of Interest: -Geographic Features of Interest:
RACIAL -Majority Race: (Please avoid the bog-standard D&D fare here. If using versions of fantasy races pls give them your own twist, and please find ways for different factions to include races created by different players.) -Majority Race Appearance: -Majority Race Characteristics: -Minority Races: (If any)
NATIONAL DRAMATIS PERSONAE -Head of State/Monarch: -Ruling Dynasty (If applicable): -Constable Of The Army (If applicable): -Religious Head (If Applicable): -Persons of interest:
CULTURAL -History: -List of Historical Grievances -Relations -Cultural Notes
RELIGION, MAGIC and ARCHEO-TECH -State Religion: (If applicable. Either create your own local religion or take on a major religion. If creating your own, I will need to approve.) -Religious Information -Religion Demographics: -Holy Relics In Possession: -Holy Sites Under Control: -Magical Information -Archeo-Tech: (I'm going to regret this, but I will allow factions to utilize recovered ancient tech found in the ruins of the Old Ones, an ancient space faring civ. I will allow players wide discretion in inventing types of archeo-tech, but this tech has to fit the setting (eg, no mech suits with missiles capable of taking on entire armies), and used as appropriately. I will need to approve archeo-tech details. See more under the tech tab above.)
MILITARY -Total Military Size -Military Details (Unit Types and distribution of numbers)
Chat for collaboration Please keep this Empires of Sand focused, and recall that this is to serve the IC. Chats, while useful, occasionally tend to take away from IC posting.
Oh well, here goes a quick doodle for a guild of slavers since I want to do something small for once.
-Faction name: Slavers of the Azure -Faction Type: Slave Trading Guild -Flag/Banner: (A cyan diamond at the center of a black-grey-black banner)
GEOGRAPHICAL -World-Realm Map:TBA -Major Cities: N/A -Major Castles: Their only castle is a trading post turned fortress called the Azure. It is pretty much in the middle of nowhere and it is where they secretly hide their weapons and wealth in a massive vault hidden away in a dark dungeon full of putrid monsters. Said vault is never to be opened, not even by the mysterious leader of the guild. -Buildings of Interest: -Geographic Features of Interest:
RACIAL -Majority Race: (Please avoid the bog-standard D&D fare here. If using versions of fantasy races pls give them your own twist, and please find ways for different factions to include races created by different players.) -Majority Race Appearance: -Majority Race Characteristics: -Minority Races: (If any)
NATIONAL DRAMATIS PERSONAE -Head of State/Monarch: -Ruling Dynasty (If applicable): -Constable Of The Army (If applicable): -Religious Head (If Applicable): -Persons of interest:
CULTURAL -History: -List of Historical Grievances -Relations -Cultural Notes; Slavers
RELIGION, MAGIC and ARCHEO-TECH -State Religion: (If applicable. Either create your own local religion or take on a major religion. If creating your own, I will need to approve.) -Religious Information; N/A -Religion Demographics: -Holy Relics In Possession: The energy staffs are considered holy relics by the slavers. -Holy Sites Under Control: N/A -Magical Information: No magic other than sigils and runes they have attained from other factions in their trades. -Archeo-Tech: They have energy staffs, origin is lost to time. They are very ceremonial in design. There's a few staffs that jolt a burst of energy which disintegrate targets. They seem powered by the sun and are few in circulation. Some say the staffs speak to those who weld them, compelling the warlords who weld them to be ever merciless.
MILITARY -Total Military Size -Military Details (Unit Types and distribution of numbers)
Oh well, here goes a quick doodle for a guild of slavers since I want to do something small for once.
-Faction name: Slavers of the Azure -Faction Type: Slave Trading Guild -Flag/Banner: (A cyan diamond at the center of a black-grey-black banner)
GEOGRAPHICAL -World-Realm Map:TBA -Major Cities: N/A -Major Castles: Their only castle is a trading post turned fortress called the Azure. It is pretty much in the middle of nowhere and it is where they secretly hide their weapons and wealth in a massive vault hidden away in a dark dungeon full of putrid monsters. Said vault is never to be opened, not even by the mysterious leader of the guild. -Buildings of Interest: -Geographic Features of Interest:
RACIAL -Majority Race: (Please avoid the bog-standard D&D fare here. If using versions of fantasy races pls give them your own twist, and please find ways for different factions to include races created by different players.) -Majority Race Appearance: -Majority Race Characteristics: -Minority Races: (If any)
NATIONAL DRAMATIS PERSONAE -Head of State/Monarch: -Ruling Dynasty (If applicable): -Constable Of The Army (If applicable): -Religious Head (If Applicable): -Persons of interest:
CULTURAL -History: -List of Historical Grievances -Relations -Cultural Notes; Slavers
RELIGION, MAGIC and ARCHEO-TECH -State Religion: (If applicable. Either create your own local religion or take on a major religion. If creating your own, I will need to approve.) -Religious Information; N/A -Religion Demographics: -Holy Relics In Possession: The energy staffs are considered holy relics by the slavers. -Holy Sites Under Control: N/A -Magical Information: No magic other than sigils and runes they have attained from other factions in their trades. -Archeo-Tech: They have energy staffs, origin is lost to time. They are very ceremonial in design. There's a few staffs that jolt a burst of energy which disintegrate targets. They seem powered by the sun and are few in circulation. Some say the staffs speak to those who weld them, compelling the warlords who weld them to be ever merciless.
MILITARY -Total Military Size -Military Details (Unit Types and distribution of numbers)
Looking good. the energy staves are the kind of thing I had in mind with the archeo-tech stuff.
If I seem to vanish for a week or so, it's because I am one to wait and see how other factions develop first. (I.e other players w/ nation apps)
My guild needs places to base themselves and costumers. It goes without saying that slaves are a important commodity in the desert be it for bone tools, sacrifices, hides, cleaning the house, being food for large hungry dungeon creatures or simply as pleasure in some local noble's harem. The Azure deliver for all purposes.
Our sources come from distant lands **other factions who are not important customers of the Azure guild**.
@all: Ok! So I filled out the religion, race and resources tabs a bit. Please note that these are not meant to limit your creativity, and you are in no way bound to use anything found therein, though you are encouraged to.
@Chairman Stein Looking good so far. No criticism, except to maybe not go the whole pseudo-ottoman hog?
@gorgenmast Likewise looking good. Note Dratha is a name of an ethnic group, not the name of the world or desert. Just Ctrl F and change all the "Dratha" to "Azoth" and you're good. My bad for not making that clear in the OP.
Has anyone made plans to make some assyrianesque civilization?
Or at least some civ based on ancient sumerians?
I can't help but imagine this RP setting is perfect for such a brutal and harsh empire to thrive that has a very long and complex judicial code with most of the punishments being some arbitrary and horrible death.
I'd do it, but I don't want to spend too much of my freetime on RPing. Not to mention I just want to go around on horseback raiding for slaves and disintegrating people with magical staffs, all the while act like i'm running a business.
@Chairman Stein I read that your city is on a trade rout (Widow's Tears). Would you be okay if my civilization was also on this route? They would mostly export silver, gold and sandstone from the cliffs near the city.
The city would also be at the edge of a river if that's okay.
I have an idea that may be a little unconventional. Essentially a small city state run by a sect of Astrologers or at least founded by them, tucked into a mountain in a corner of the map. They are there, with the Observatorium built around a massive artificial recess in the mountain, blocked by an impossibly strong door. I thought it best to ask what you feel is best to explain said door? Archeo-tech seems to be the 'thing'.
Anyway, for reasons they have divined there to be great green pastures beyond said door, and first moved there centuries ago with aim to use the stars to figure out the door's mysteries. However, with time came nonchalance and now the door is little more than a physical metaphor for what is essentially an Aristocracy of astrologians. I'd like to leave room for (insert epic foreboding name for door here) to have option of being an actual plot/talking point or purely a fluff background piece.
To that end, it isn't a nation, it's an organisation so a lot of the sections in the NS are going to be redundant? Either way that's the very basic, very crudely written explanation of the concept, and I'd appreciate feedback before diving right in and continuing with the concept!
Disclaimer: Yes I stole Destiny's Trials Of Osiris banner. It's a giant yellow and black mystical eye? Did you expect me to not do so?
My critique so far (for the purpose of trying to guide the RP down th right path) is that maybe we ought to tone down the merchant/trader states. If we have too many, it's going to be counterproductive to the theme of a harsh, desert world where everyday survival is a main priority to most people. As far as I can tell, we have two, with a third being considered.
My critique so far (for the purpose of trying to guide the RP down th right path) is that maybe we ought to tone down the merchant/trader states. If we have too many, it's going to be counterproductive to the theme of a harsh, desert world where everyday survival is a main priority to most people. As far as I can tell, we have two, with a third being considered.
Agree with this personally.
Though that said, The College doesn't care who brings it water, just as long as you know, their magic door is spooky. Very spooky.
Well, if it's worth anything, I won't be contributing a merchant empire, but rather just a resource-rich slave empire. Which may or may not worship cthonic un-things from between the stars.
