OOC is up!
Welcome to a world scarred by history, to a world broken by the wars of ancients known now only as the Old Ones. Who or what they were is mysterious even to the most learned, for they destroyed themselves in ages so distant only confused myths and legends remain.
Some tell of a race of gods descended from the stars, others of kingdoms of devils that dwell still in the wastelands and in the many hells below the earth. Azoth is strewn with the ruins of these advanced and strange peoples, haunted by ghosts and demons, warped and mutated by magic; it is a wasteland-world covered in deserts, poisonous jungles, caustic seas, irradiated plains, and the endless ruins of forgotten nations. Millenia have passed since the fall of the Old Ones, and societies have risen and fallen in their wake, defying the harsh realities of life in the endless Azothi wastes.
It is now the Year of the Setting Sun 8,014, as reckoned by the astrologers of the Dratha, and a new age is dawning. The mighty Salished Empire- for centuries the unrivaled superpower of the Rainlands- is teetering, its ruling Priest-Smiths desperate to regain their hold on power. The discovery and proliferation of gunpowder weaponry- arquebus, cannon, pistols- has challenged the might of Salished arms, swords forged of enchanted Soul Steel and wielded by spellswords of unrivaled skill. As client states and old foes begin to buck against the yoke of Salished dominance, a new power is rising across the Godsfang Mountains, a great horde of beastkin and barbarians, intent on the plunder and riches of the Rainlands.
Yours is a nation that has lived in the shadow of the failing Salished. Perhaps a client state or vassal kingdom, perhaps an ancient foe much beaten but never broken by the great Empire, perhaps a neutral trading power that has long played a delicate diplomatic game. Whatever your nations' history, the future is uncertain as the hegemon begins to fail and new threats rise in the wastelands.
-GMs are @gorgenmast, @Kingfisher, @Pepperm1nts and @Flagg
-It is (grim)dark fantasy nation RP set in a harsh and unforgiving fantasy world living among the ruins of ancient, hyper advanced civilizations. Azoth is crawling with mutants and monsters. Resources are scarce. This is Lovecraft meets Tolkien meets...mad max?
-I'd like this to be an exercise in collaborative world building. That means that we want nations that feel like they inhabit a shared world. Players will collaborate heavily in designing their factions.
-It is low-medium fantasy: magic exists. It is powerful, dangerous, and rare. Rare.
-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 is wielded by many.
-It has original fantasy races
-Inspired by Tolkien, Warhammer fantasy and 40K, Lovecraft, China Mieville, Morrowind, Song of Ice and Fire, Mad Max Fury Road...looking forward to seeing what others bring to the table.
- Advanced writing standards.
Functioning Archeo-tech: found in the monster and demon haunted ruins of the Old Ones. Archeo-tech comes in a variety of forms due to the variety of ancient civilizations on Azoth.
Ichor: Some in the Scholams claim that our world has been cursed, impregnated by demons, and that Ichor is the seed of fallen gods and ancient monsters, seeping up from some vast, accursed womb. 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 despise the use of Ichor in magic as amateurish, but its effectiveness is undeniable. Warlocks among the beastkin are known to ingest raw Ichor, thus vastly increasing their power, though with often unpredictable results for themselves...
Unpolluted Fresh Water
Unspoiled Fertile Soil
...the desert is the country of madness...it is the refuge of the devil, thrown out to wander in dry places. Thirst drives man mad, and the devil himself is mad with a kind of thirst for his own lost excellence- lost because he has immured himself in it and closed out everything else. So the man who wanders into the desert...must take care that he does not go mad and become the servant of the one who dwells there in a sterile paradise of emptiness and rage.
MERTON, Thoughts in Solitude
MERTON, Thoughts in Solitude
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.
ELIOT, The Wasteland
ELIOT, The Wasteland
To Carthage then I came, where there sang all around me in my ears a cauldron of unholy loves.
AUGUSTINE, Confessions
Welcome to Azoth.
AUGUSTINE, Confessions
Welcome to Azoth.
Welcome to a world scarred by history, to a world broken by the wars of ancients known now only as the Old Ones. Who or what they were is mysterious even to the most learned, for they destroyed themselves in ages so distant only confused myths and legends remain.
Some tell of a race of gods descended from the stars, others of kingdoms of devils that dwell still in the wastelands and in the many hells below the earth. Azoth is strewn with the ruins of these advanced and strange peoples, haunted by ghosts and demons, warped and mutated by magic; it is a wasteland-world covered in deserts, poisonous jungles, caustic seas, irradiated plains, and the endless ruins of forgotten nations. Millenia have passed since the fall of the Old Ones, and societies have risen and fallen in their wake, defying the harsh realities of life in the endless Azothi wastes.
It is now the Year of the Setting Sun 8,014, as reckoned by the astrologers of the Dratha, and a new age is dawning. The mighty Salished Empire- for centuries the unrivaled superpower of the Rainlands- is teetering, its ruling Priest-Smiths desperate to regain their hold on power. The discovery and proliferation of gunpowder weaponry- arquebus, cannon, pistols- has challenged the might of Salished arms, swords forged of enchanted Soul Steel and wielded by spellswords of unrivaled skill. As client states and old foes begin to buck against the yoke of Salished dominance, a new power is rising across the Godsfang Mountains, a great horde of beastkin and barbarians, intent on the plunder and riches of the Rainlands.
Yours is a nation that has lived in the shadow of the failing Salished. Perhaps a client state or vassal kingdom, perhaps an ancient foe much beaten but never broken by the great Empire, perhaps a neutral trading power that has long played a delicate diplomatic game. Whatever your nations' history, the future is uncertain as the hegemon begins to fail and new threats rise in the wastelands.
About This RP
-GMs are @gorgenmast, @Kingfisher, @Pepperm1nts and @Flagg
-It is (grim)dark fantasy nation RP set in a harsh and unforgiving fantasy world living among the ruins of ancient, hyper advanced civilizations. Azoth is crawling with mutants and monsters. Resources are scarce. This is Lovecraft meets Tolkien meets...mad max?
-I'd like this to be an exercise in collaborative world building. That means that we want nations that feel like they inhabit a shared world. Players will collaborate heavily in designing their factions.
-It is low-medium fantasy: magic exists. It is powerful, dangerous, and rare. Rare.
-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 is wielded by many.
-It has original fantasy races
-Inspired by Tolkien, Warhammer fantasy and 40K, Lovecraft, China Mieville, Morrowind, Song of Ice and Fire, Mad Max Fury Road...looking forward to seeing what others bring to the table.
- Advanced writing standards.
Setting Details and Nation Sheets
Map
Map
Rare Resources
Functioning Archeo-tech: found in the monster and demon haunted ruins of the Old Ones. Archeo-tech comes in a variety of forms due to the variety of ancient civilizations on Azoth.
Ichor: Some in the Scholams claim that our world has been cursed, impregnated by demons, and that Ichor is the seed of fallen gods and ancient monsters, seeping up from some vast, accursed womb. 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 despise the use of Ichor in magic as amateurish, but its effectiveness is undeniable. Warlocks among the beastkin are known to ingest raw Ichor, thus vastly increasing their power, though with often unpredictable results for themselves...
Unpolluted Fresh Water
Unspoiled Fertile Soil
Races of Azoth
Nation Sheet