The Broken World: Nations of Azoth

[Slamurai]

Gotcha, thanks. Anywhere in particular that might be a good place to stick people that resemble eastern Gallic or Celtic ethnicities?

[Pepperm1nts]

In terms of environments that would most resemble those where Celtic and Gaelic tribes lived... I'd say probably in the north, probably the areas east of the Rift, and/or around the Rift itself. You could also get away with setting up in the Rainlands, but because the Salisheds have influenced the cultures of the natives, you would have to come up with a reason for why they have kept their culture intact. Since the Salisheds seem to be centered around the eastern Rainlands, the western Rainlands would be best. I imagine the Rainlands would also resemble western (or more likely southern) Europe, so if you want to be near other players, it's probably the best choice.

[Slamurai]

@Pepperm1nts
Sounds good; I'm eyeing land between the Cinderlands and the Rift, northwest of the central Salished hub. Setting up near one of the few rivers that flow in/out of the Sea of Glass, probably.

[Pepperm1nts]

A note on the Sea of Glass: It's called that because there are large deposits of crystallized ichor there. I don't know what that would mean for anyone that sets up nearby (other than having a supply of it, and dealing with lots of ghuls and mutants that flock to the area because of it), so I'll leave the final say to someone else. I have a feeling though that anyone who sets up nearby may have to deal with some level of ichor pollution in the water and in general. Maybe not enough that life is impossible, but enough that you'd need to exercise caution.

[TheRedViper]

I was considering throwing down around wither the Cinderlands or the Ashlands, or possibly the Arm of Azoth. Any advice on what that could mean in terms of habitability?

[cider]

I'll mark my interest.

[Pepperm1nts]

@TheRedViper Well, the Cinderlands are exactly what they sound like. Volcanic. Lots of rock, lava, ash, ect. Not very habitable at all. At least not through natural means. The Ashlands also live up to their name. It's a land covered in ash. There would be more in some areas, and less in others. The areas that aren't totally coated in ash may be habitable in terms of fertile land, since ash fertilizes the soil, but the ash in the air would still be problematic. That's not to say it wouldn't be habitable though, just that you would have a few hardships to deal with. Think of Morrowind from the Elder Scrolls. That's basically the Ashlands. I believe the Arm of Azoth is kind of Mediterranean, so it would be perfectly habitable. The area north of it would be more fertile, but the Arm is not a bad place to be.

[Slamurai]

Is there going to be a Chatzy or other client to collab offsite, or will the OOC host all that?

[Pepperm1nts]

I think Flagg has a Chatzy. Personally I'm not a fan of them because they tend to distract people (and because they have a 10-person limit), but if Flagg decides to post it, we'll have that.

[Polybius]

Ok changing my concept. Now I'm building a City-State at the foot of the Godsfang Mountains, on the border between the Erg and the Rainlands. Here's a brief summary:

The Bickering City

Faction Name: The City of Lugal

Alias: The City of Bickering, The Erudite Tower , Zuag-Si

Rising from the low hills footing the ominous Godsfang Mountains and the scabrous wasteland Erg is the fortified merchant city Lugal, once a Cairn-Tower for long-dead Salished Rulers. From the lower quarters that house the sepulchers and tombs of long dead royalty, to the prospering merchant & mercenary quarters above, the city of Lugal has a multitude of conflicting populations, cultures, races and beings. The cities Masters, a trio of .. .

The city reaches into the sweltering sky, a tower of strange cyclopean architecture and improbable geometry, with cruel, pointed spires and thick tangles of barberous wire at its feet. The cities only gate is carved in the likeness of Zuag-Si, one of dozens of Warrior-Death dieties of the ancient Salished Empire, his black stone fangs threaten to gnash down at any who cross the threshold.

The lowest quarters of the city are walled with rough-hewn black stone, pulled from quarries along the Godsfang Mountains centuries ago. Some are carved with glyphs and runes of protection, the secret to activating long since lost...

The ancient, blood stained stone walkways of the terrestrial quarter are a labyrinthine complex of guarded tombs, graves and temples devoted to Salished Royalty. Many of these tombs were robbed centuries ago, but a few lay untouched, guarded by horrors even Lugal's masters fear. In the narrow corridors of the Slain Quarter a turf war has broken out between a particularly voracious Gobbler known as Stain and Abmen from.. .

[Vahir]

[Flagg]

Okay excited to have everyone on board. Look for the OOC tonight. The OP will be similar to the Int Check, but with more detail on the Salished Empire and some GM and NPC factions.

[Eyeruption]

Faction Name: Throne, The Corpse-City

Motto: One Man, One Vote(One Guilden Entry Fee, No Refunds, Enjoy Your Stay, Remember To Visit The Flesh Pits And Gutburster's Eatery)

Alias: Sitty Offa Fouzend Sure-Praises, as written in the official guide by the Guild of Beggars, Street Vendors and Bonepickers

Government Type: Meritocratical Tyranny(sic)

Faction Specie(s): All and any and all of them. Throne opens its gates to all who ask - even armies of foreign conquerors.

Location: Thought about having it situated between the two rivers left of the Sea of Glass.

Faction Religion/Ideology: Everyone is permitted to believe anything they want - as long as those believes do not conflict too much with others'. In case a conflict escalates, the parties are ordered to settle it through a personal public duel to death, without any other variants. As such, most problems are often taken care off quietly, quickly and without alerting the authorities.

Faction Description: There is too much to describe in a few words - one biggest common factor that unites the people of Throne is the great desire for every new day to be exactly like the previous one and readiness to defend this and many other of their interests with swords and purses in hand.

Faction History: Too tired to write out a long thing rn so short version - some travelers happen upon a side of a gigantic beast sticking out of the earth and discover that it's rotten eyes and blood are pure Ichor, it's tissues are as soft as the day it died, it's meat whilst petrified becomes chewy and tough but nutritious snack if heated and shattered - and decide to settle. Time goes, city grows, bridges are built, in comes Mister Glitter who turns a ragtag bunch of people trying to make a living into ruthless and savvy merchants and moneymongers. City grows even bigger and more advanced by the minute, eating people, goods and resources and churning out Civilization.

Important Characters: Mister Glitter - Supreme High Tyrant of Throne. An ancient spirit personifying the best traits of Old World's commerce and capitalism and trying to mould this world into the form he remembers. His usual form is that of a man of solid gold dressed in 19-century England's White Tie clothing complete with cane, monocle and a cylinder. His true shape however is a gigantic whirlwind of razor-sharp precious gems like rubies, sapphires and diamonds and leaden and golden coins spinning at incredible speeds. He possesses powerful magic, a cunning mind for business, psychology and negotiations and rules the city with a golden fist, ready to sacrifice all that he has for his vision and peoples' stability. It was he who came up with the "One Man, One Vote" words - the catch is that HE is that One Man and it is His One Vote.

Theresa Garcia-Sciavolla Cassini - Lady Whore and mistress of flesh pits. Greatest rumormonger and socialite in the city.

Gutbuster Gob - Head of the Charnelworkers, Butchers and Skinners Cabal, tasked with carefully exploiting the Corpse's innards and digging it's nigh-infinite carcass out of the earth.

Grand-Greater Slaymaster Deathlord Warking Krestislav - lord of the High Arcana Society.

Whip-It-Quick - minor spirit, mascot and patron and head of the Thieves' Consortium.

Suffer-Not-Injustice - Mr. Gitter's personal one-legged, one-armed, one-eyed and sixty-seven-eared(he amassed a really big collection of those in his active duty days) hound and the city's Marshall-Provost. He and his guardsmen are tasked with rooting out the REAL crime - that which is wrought for evil rather than good of the city and can topple the Throne. He realizes the irony of his job but also knows just how vital it is.

More to come.

Important Holdings/Territory/Possessions: to be done

Relation to other Factions: WE love everything about our neighbours - but most of all we love their gold and their water. Please tell us what do you want for those and we will give it to you. And if we don't have it we will steal it for you. And if we can't steal it for you we will at least make it up.

[Pepperm1nts]

With the OOC coming soon, everyone should feel free to place their claim on the map. Just place the location of your city-state(s) and important fortifications and such. No hard borders, since the world is too dangerous for any nation to have solid, secure borders.

[Eyeruption]

Would it actually be okay for the two rivers to be my nation's main hard borders? It's not a great lot of territory and those are kinda easy to protect and observe.

[Pepperm1nts]

If you are settling in or around the Sea of Glass, your lands would not be very secure. The Sea of Glass, being a region with large deposits of crystallized ichor, would attract a lot of mutants. That area would be one of the most dangerous areas in the world in terms of mutants and barbarians (and Ichor pollution). That said, any nation nearby is unlikely to have anything resembling a secure border of any kind.

[TheRedViper]

I assume the Smouldering Mountains are volcanic? If so I think I have an idea for them. Otherwise, I was aiming to place my cities around the northern mountain range near the Broken Coats, the small outstretch in the northwest by the Ashen Coast, or the westernmost, almost valley-like stretch of the Godsfang Mountains. Did anyone else have any sort of preference for any of those areas?

[Pepperm1nts]

The Smoldering Mountains are volcanic, yes. That (and the Cinderlands) is likely where all the ash in the Ashlands came from.

A note on the area near the Broken Coast: that really tall structure to the northwestish of the mountains is an insectoid hive, so you would have NPC neighbors.

[Eyeruption]

@Pepperm1nts
Are Mutants and Barbarians completely mad, feral, animalistic and unable to speak a language? If not, they can coherently speak. If they can coherently speak, they can be reasoned with. Tell me more.

[Pepperm1nts]

That is a question for Flagg to answer. But I imagine they are a lot like the orcs from LoTR, except they don't answer to a dark lord (although sometimes they may be acting on behalf of a Red God or some other sinister force).