[OOC] Legend of the Silver Legion Redux (Open)

[Darkspleen]

”I had a dream. A dream in which a great darkness from the East spread across the continent. This darkness was angry and hurt; its lust for vengeance was so great that soaking the entirety of Askor in blood could do little but whet its appetite. It is coming. I have seen it. But fear not, for I have seen how to stop it.”

It was these words that the Prophetess spoke to the lords and ladies of the continent of Askor when she had a vision of the future. At first she was ignored, but when her prophecies proved correct time and time again a sense of dread began to creep into them. They couldn’t help but suspect that she could indeed foresee the future. Perhaps more terrifying for these lords was the fact that their peasantry had come to believe in the divinity of the Prophetess and were demanding that she be aided in her quest to stop the Darkness.

Heroes and champions from across the continent answered the Prophetess’ call. Soon the Prophetess had a legion of these heroes and champions and they became known as the Silver Legion. The Prophetess and Silver Legion departed for the East, ready to fight the threat she had foreseen. The fight was a harsh one; ten years later the Silver Legion returned, two thirds of its men having passed away.

The continent of Askor had been subjected to droughts, famine, and terrible plagues during those ten years. Some of the people welcomed the Prophetess back as a true hero, their savior. Most viewed her as a terrible demon, the cause of all their pain and suffering over the past decade. The lords of Askor took advantage of this sentiment. They attacked the Silver Legion, killing it to a man, and captured the Prophetess. It is said that the Prophetess had one final prophecy as she was burned at the stake.

“Three hundred years will pass before you realize the terrible mistake you have made. Askor shall suffer through two decades of war before the East brings an even greater conflict. I pray that the heroes that rise in that distant future to save the continent are not subjected to the same terrible treatment as I.”

Background

Written history began in the ‘Era of Legends’. It was a time when the primordials and their close kin still walked amongst the mortals of the world. They were living gods, blessing their children with magic. When they disappeared in Year 2115 of the Era of Legends the mortals of the land turned to their offspring for guidance. For a time these beings were powerful enough to control the entirety of Askor, but by Year 2998 of the Era of Legends their power had waned, thus ending the Era of Legends.

It is now Year 521 of the Era of Heroes, a time in which a handful of individuals of great strength and skill can still change the fate of Empires, but not as common as in the past. The continent has been wracked with disaster after disaster. The rise of the Prophetess in Year 221 followed by a series of droughts. And then a series of major conflicts, famines, and other disasters from Year 500 to Year 521. Many have forgotten the Prophetesses warning, or threat as some would say, but some still remember, and they look to the near future with a sense of dread.

OOC

This world, in the event that you haven’t caught on yet, is a high fantasy one complete with magic, non-human races, and heroes who can change the courses of entire wars. It has been three hundred years since the passing of the Prophetess and her Silver Legion. The continent has seen its fair share of strife and peace since then, however the past twenty years has seen the entire continent embroiled in war, with all countries partaking in the conflicts. This has been, in large part, due to unknown entities influencing countries to wage war on each other. While this era of war seems to be coming to an end a new threat has arrived on the horizon: the Einherjar. As of the beginning of the RP they are an unknown entity: the countries of the continent do not know they exist and largely do not believe that there is a threat to the east.

Given the high fantasy setting technology will be that of the high middle ages (13th and 14th centuries), except more centralized governments will be allowed. In the interest of preserving the fantasy setting there will be absolutely no guns or gunpowder based weaponry. Magic will be a moderately common sight in the RP. In terms of combat strength the average magician is on par with several high quality warriors; the average mage can kill one or two foes per spell, but don’t expect your run of the mill mage to kill scores of troops with a single fireball.

Rules
1) Don’t be a child. Seriously, if you can’t act like a reasonable human being then this simply isn’t the RP for.
2) You are expected to post 1-2 times every 7 days. Any more and you are liable to burn yourself, and others, out and any less and the RP will move along too slowly. If you do not make a post within 14 days with no prior warning you will be dropped from the RP.
3) This is an advanced RP. I expect you have to correct grammar and spelling in your posts, at the very least. One or two mistakes per post is fine, and expected, but if I see ten “teh”s in your post we will have a problem.
4) Please don’t join if you are going to disappear after one or two posts. You know who you are.
5) Just in case you missed it in the above section: guns and gunpowder based weaponry are not allowed.
6) The age limit for player controlled intelligent creatures is about 200 years.
7) Any kind of crossbow or crossbow-like weapon that uses a clip-type system, is semi-auto, or is capable of rapid fire is banned (necessitated by tech creep concerns).

Notes on Magic
The ability to use magic is a trait that was passed down to the children and descendants of the Primordials. While still around the Primordials would commonly shapeshift and have offspring with the mortals of the world. Most commonly they would have children with humans and other intelligent races, but at times they would have offspring with non-intelligent creatures such as horses or lizards.

There are three factors that determine how able a being is at using magic: 1) The amount of primordial blood they posses, 2) the amount of mana throughput they have, and 3) their talent.

The amount of primordial blood determines how much mana they have access to. So the child of a Primordial and human would have about half the available mana as a full Primordial. Given that it has been several thousand years since the Primordials have disappeared the amount of Primordial blood has been thinned by quite a bit.

Mana throughput is how much mana a being can use at once. This is something that has to be trained and is done so simply by using a lot of mana.

Magical talent, or technique, is the actual processes of using mana to accomplish a task. This is the only three factors of magic that has actually improved since the Primordials disappeared.

Items can be enchanted by incorporating Primordial blood, or the blood of a Primordial’s descendant, into its construction. It is important to note that, unlike a living being, an enchanted item does not regain mana it has used and thus must be ‘recharged’ be someone with Primordial blood.

There are legends of magical weapons and armor from the ‘Era of Legends’ that would regenerate mana overtime. These items were believed to actually be alive. The methods to create items such as these have long been lost.

Necromancy does exist but is not available to players. Spoiler alert: only the Einherjar and those who align with them can use necromancy.

Notes on Technology
In general the technology of the continent is that of 13th and 14th century Europe

Armor such as plated mail, chainmail, lamellar, or simply leather armor are the most common forms of armor. It is also not uncommon to see soldiers using components of plate armor for protection, especially of the chest.

Full plate armor is actually around and was in use even during the time that the Prophetess was alive. It is important to note that full plate armor is very expensive, thus should be reserved heroes and a country’s more elite troops.

Guns, and blackpowder, do not exist in this universe.

The three-field rotation system for planting crops has already been developed (I doubt that’ll ever come up ICly but you never know!).

Notes on the Prophetess
No one knows what her name was. All documents written at the time she was alive refer to her simply as the Prophetess.

She is the only being known to ever possess precognitive powers.

There is lot of disagreement about what country she originated from. People also disagree on what race she was. For some reason most people believe she was of their race and came from their country. These disagreements seem to defy logic as beings of distinctly different races believe she was of their race.

While nobility tend to push the belief that the Prophetess was an aristocrat, there is no evidence to support that belief. Many, in fact, believe that she was an orphan.

Other Notes and Considerations
Aligning with the Einherjar IS a legitimate strategy and may be worth considering.

Do not expect to be able to hide on an island or the western-most corner of the map. You have been warned.

Players who interact with the Einherjar, be that by talking with them or trying to stab them, are more likely to receive boons ICly. On the flipside those who I feel are trying to ignore the Einherjar are liable to get hit with some nasty events.

At times I may use my own country, the Argentum Knights, to move the plot along or provide some kind of boon. While doing this I will make it clear that this is a GM event OOCly.

There are two calendar systems in use: the Era calendar and the Sibytte calendar.

The Era calendar uses epochs as its base and currently has two epochs, the Era of Legends and the Era of Heroes (the Era of Gods is an unofficial pre-history epoch). The Era of Legends was 2998 years long and the current Era of Heroes is in Year 521.

The Sibytte calendar uses the death of the Prophetess as its base with 1 AP (After Prophetess) as being the year of her death. The current year is 301 AP.

The city of Levine, were the Prophetess was burned at the stake, is considered a holy site to the people who believe she was of a divine nature. It has been under the control of the Argentum Knights since her death.


Current Political Map

[Goldeagle1221]

Fuck.

[GreivousKhan]

Lurks

[DracoLunaris]

The Emerald Empire

The Emerald Empire

Government

Government

Yaval, most ancient of Trees is effectively emperor in all but name. They are advised by 8 courts of lesser Trees based on the 8 other islands of their homeland that still support life. These courts have a very loose internal structure, but are generally ruled by the oldest and/or wisest (and the two are closely related) who in turn listen to all the other Trees on the islands. This system of government is relatively high level, working mainly about the ongoing survival of their race through diplomacy, war and the gathering of knowledge.

Local governances is left to their children, mainly because they are the ones who need to be governed. A Tree has few wants or needs other than good soil, rain and sunshine, while the Dryads have all those that regular people do. Individual groups and communities elect 3 officials, usually Dryads, to act as their leaders and 10 others who act as advisors and subordinates to the Leader. Based on the size of a group those 10 might have their own subordinates, but these are hand picked by the individuals rather than elected to prevent voting fatigue. These elected bodies server their community as best they are able, and are the ones who are entrusted to act upon any orders that come from Yaval and the courts.

The leaders are split between a civilian leader, a military leader and a tie breaker. Civilian and military leaders have unilateral authority over their aspect of society, barring orders form Yaval. However, due to the rotating system of military service employed by the empire, the military and civilian leaders swap positions once every 6 months. The tiebreaker is generally an elder figure in the community who is revered for their wisdom and is the position where it is most common to see a non Dryad fill the roll. Tiebreakers exist to intervene in situations when a problem or situation involves both aspects of Dryad life, where they will act as mediator between the two leaders and as the final decision maker if they cannot be brought to agree. In times of emergency all three leaders corporate as lead the defence of the community, with the tiebreaker once again holding final say over the course of action. The advisors are split equally between the war and civilian leaders, the tiebreaker needs no council, nor do they need others to carry out their will.

Elections are held whenever the community as a whole believes that their membership or circumstances has been shaken up enough that the current leadership is potentially no longer representative of the community’s needs or desires. This sounds vague, but thanks to the Psychic Dreamscape that links all of the Dreaming Forest in the community this feeling of change is measurable within their collective consciousness. As a result there is generally little argument about whether new elections should be held. These elections are most often helded when groups merge, often for the purpose of war, or split up in events of crisis or emigration.

In the provinces the Empire has simply inserted itself into the position the kings and feudal lords used to hold, Dryad and Tree communities of governing a small area mostly independently, extracting wealth from the populace as they see fit. The only real difference is that instead of a complex web of deities and privileges, the land is now bound together by species loyalty and the presence of a living expedition of Yaval’s will growing at the heart of each of the Dreaming Forest Groves.

Geography

Geography

map

The Ever Green Isles:
A chain of islands that is the birthplace and homeland of the Dreaming Forest. These temperate misty isles are covered in thick woods and a near ubiquitous mist. A great part of that forest is made up of The sentient Trees that rule the empire. The land is mostly free of inhabitants or settlements apart from on the coasts, where large numbers of docks made from the roots of the Trees can be found. Around these settlements made of stone and living wood can be found, bustling with Dryads and the odd Ent enjoying the spoils of empire.

The Salted Groves:

The four islands closest to the mainland were rendered barren and lifeless in the first war between the Empire and the Kingdom of Shenra. Only the largest of the islands is occupied by a small settlement of humans and their Dryad masters, who perform mining operations and scientific/magical experiments to see if the damage can be undone.

Yaval: Named after it’s most notable inhabitant, the Island of Yaval is dominated by a single titanic Tree that is the ruler of the Emerald Empire. Yaval is truly ancient and is perhaps a direct child of the race’s primordial progenitor, though, because the race did not collectively gain sentience till long after the Primordial had left the islands, this fact cannot be known for sure, nor can Yaval’s claim to this semi divine status be said to be considered unique. What is unique is their size, which dwarfs even their closest rival by orders of magnitude. Yaval is so large that entire natural forests grow on the lower reaches of their trunk and roots and their upper branches brush the clouds in the sky as they pass by.

The Fractured Riverlands: The northern province of the empires mainland holdings runs from the border in the north to the river that travels from Lock Eshry to Fidgit Bay. The province is made up of most of the early acquisitions by the empire and as a result features both the mainland capital of Esterguile and the largest number of mainland Tree groves. It also contains the largest of those tree groves, a vast forest starting from the closest point to the Ever Green isles and stretching in land until it reaches large swaths of farmland at the end of the peninsula it occupies. The riverlands are a home to much of the Provincial agriculture and is as a result is sometimes referred to as the breadbasket of the entire empire. The region also has the highest population of humans and the Treekin are outnumbered four hundred to one as a result.

The region features three very long estuaries fed by two local lakes, and all of these estuaries feature at least one major port. As a result of this the region is the primary point of commerce of the whole empire, the docks filled with Living ships preparing to set off to distant lands loaded with exports, making them opposed to the homeland’s ports that are primarily import focused. The defensive nature of the estuaries and the large Tree population mean that this is the second largest source of new Living ships after the Evergreen isles themselves, and there are always a few new ships growing on the river banks and beaches of the region.

EsterGuile: Estierguile is the capital both of the Fractured Riverlands and of the Provinces as a whole. Built on the ruins of the human regional capital after the first invasion of the continent. The capital is a fortress of living wood, with many Trees growing together to form a formidable bastion out of which the rest of the conquest was launched over several subsequent wars. Growing on a bend in the estuary, the capital is surrounded on 3 sides by water, with the fourth facing the biggest Dreaming Forest on the continent. The only safe route to access the capital is via a large bridge over to the opposite side of the estuaries, made of the roots of a particularly large carnivorous tree. This makes the bridge itself both able to both fight and also able to withdraw by slowly curling those roots up against the shores of the capital. The capital is surrounded by root based docks like those found on the homeland and the whole area acts like the Evergreen isles in miniature, bringing in wealth and sending out armies via ship to gather more.

Forts like Shenrale and Merken follow the desighn of the capital, with densely packed tree trunks acting as walls and gates of living root restricting entrance. The most dangerous thing about the forts is that some of their component Trees charge defensive artifacts, can use magic or are actually sleeping Ents. This means that the fortifications of the nation are often much more sturdy and dangerous to assault than their wooden walls would infer.

The Grave of the Pioneers: The central Province consists of the land below the riverlands and above the river flowing from lake Sem to Crinwaley. Once home to an ancient Dreaming Forest, the province gets its name from their extinction at the hands of the Humans of the region. The province consists primarily of thick natural woodlands into which small young Trees have taken root. The region's primary produces are wild meats, fruits like apples and luber of the regular variety. Woe be to the lumberjack who can’t tell the difference between a fir tree and his new masters. Most of this wood is used by the Humans internally for construction and fuel, as the Dreaming Forest finding the usage of even non sentient trees in such a manner rather distasteful, though they make an exception for cooking.

The Glacial Marshes: the southern province is home to the, some say unnaturally, cold Frozen Cliffs and the quagmire of freezing swamps and marshes formed from the runoff of the glaciers that sleep on the mountains’ sides. The north of the region is home to some rather fertile farmland, centered around the town of Emway and Dreichport.

The Province also features border with the Empire of Matathran to the east, which has been fortified by the construction of forts and the planting of Carnivorous Trees and Plants. This is in response to the foreign Empire’s notable troop buildup near their borders after the conclusion of their internal conflict and rumors that they are seeking to take control of land with sea access by force if necessary. The Dreaming Forest see both danger and opportunity in the situation, for if they manage to repel the Empire, then a counter invasion could bring their first real territorial acquisition since the conquest of the Kingdom of Shenra.

The Frozen Cliffs: The very south of the empire's territories are the Frozen Cliffs, a mountainous region of jagged peaks and chasms hiding under a tarp of snow. Home to some hardy human farmers, a smattering of monasteries and a dangerous assortment of monsters and betial races. The region holds little interest for the Dreaming Forest as a source of wealth or food and as a result only the eastern and western areas, near Dreich-Port and the Matathran border area respectivly, are truly under their control. The rest is considered not worth the effort to conquer and as a result, any attempt to take the region is greatly undermanned and poorly supplied

In the center of these mountainous lands resides the last bastion of the Kingdom of Shenra. Home to Queen Rosabella the Third and her exile court, the small series of monasteries and villages high in the mountains is the source of much of the Empire’s internal conflict. The young Queen use it as a base to attempt to reclaim the throne, as have her ancestors before her. The freezing climate of the high mountains and the climb to reach any of the settlements mean that the Empire have simply given up on expelling their enemies and are content to let the royal line slowly dwindle into irrelevance. The enemy capital is a fortified monastery called The Holy Summit, appropriately situated near the top of one of the many peaks of the region.

Dreich-Port:the most southern of the Provincial ports, Dreich is also one of the smallest and least fortified. The city sits unwalled atop stilt platforms to protect itself from the spring floods that result from the thawing of snow and ice on the lower foothills of the Frozen Cliffs. Because of its proximity to the Kingdom it is the main port of call of their spies and informants and the last barrier of those attempting to flee up into the mountains. The general populace are the most unruly in the land thanks to whispers of freedom from servants of the kingdom, and they are more than happy to make some noise to distract the local Dryads if someone needs to slip in or out of the town. It also features a thriving black market run from smuggling operations performed using small fishing vessels smuggling goods across the Sea of lights or pack mules carrying goods up into the mountains.

Culture

Culture

The Dreaming Forest/Treekin

All Of The Different Trees That There Are

The dreaming forest is the collective name for the Trees and their various designed offspring who sit at the top of the empire. Only the static Trees are capable of reproducing, either naturally creating more Tree seeds or by carefully magically modifying their offspring to have them grow to be one of the other various subspecies, the mobile children among the subspecies being collectively known as Treekin . The collective name for the Trees and their children comes from an interpretation by a human of a description of the psychic dreamscape that binds them all together, a fuzzy mental landscape filled with the slow, deep thoughts of the Trees that are its source. All of the Dreaming forest species are highly magical in nature, but most of it is used to maintain their unnatural minds, motion and senses. They have difficulty using that energy for other tasks, and as a result improving mana throughput is much harder for them than it is for many other races.

Being plants, the only internal organ exhibited by the members of the Dreaming forest are the rudimentary digestive systems found in dryads and living ships. Lacking even a center of their minds and being made of sapwood wood covered in bark they are all unnaturally hard to kill. If one of the Dreaming Forest is cut in half the consciousness of the individual remains in the largest part while they also maintain a connection to the severed part, which is what allows Yaval to spread their influence through planting of it’s branches to form new growths. Therefore the only way to kill Treekin is to reduce it so that no part consists of more of a quarter of its mass, burning it or starving it, generally done by removing its ability to feed and then leaving it to die.

Ever since the great fire, a blaze caused by a lightning strike during a particularly dry year in the otherwise rain soaked isles, the Trees have had an understandable fear of fire. This fear has been passed down unintentionally to their offspring, though living wood is rather damp and is, as a result, somewhat harder to set on fire than might be expected. This fear is particularly notable because the treekin lack a fight or flight reflex found in animals, meaning that young Treekin are well know for picking overestimating their own ability when picking fights. They generally outgrow this fearlessness, either by being ought or learning from mistakes, something their tenacity fully allows.

The Trees
Ancient sentient trees that grow on the Evergreen isles that are rich with primordial essence. They can grow to ancient ages and immense sizes and can communicate telepathically with one another over long distances. The ones in their home islands can all stay in touch with the neighboring islands, but can’t reach far enough to stay in touch with the mainland. To facilitate staying in contact the great Tree Yaval has had some of it’s immense branches cut off and planted on the continent, where they have grow as smaller trees that are extensions of their own will. These can be found anywhere the Empire has settled in force, surrounded by groves of lesser Trees.

Culturally the Trees see themselves as the wise philosopher kings of their kind, they thirst for knowledge and endlessly debate among themselves about high minded topics. Generally they only get involved with their children and subject’s affaires to give advice or when there is a threat to themselves or the empire as a whole. The trees are unquestionably loyal to the Empire, primarily because they have little to gain from leaving or undermining it. So long as a Tree’s own patch of ground and sky are unmolested they value the company of their kin’s collective consciousness over any minor improvement in status or living condition.

Trees have basicly the same life cycle as normal trees, however once they reach about 50 years of growth, be it natural or magically accelerated, they develop the potential for consciousness. This potential is stimulated through psychic connection with their neighbors, as the elder Trees mentally raise the young Tree to be a fully fledged sentient being. As a tree grows and ages it’s psychic and magical capabilities grow as it’s mind slows down. The oldest and largest of the trees are incredibly intelligent and wise, but can take hours to respond to inputs. The Trees sense the physical world though the psychic dreamscape, though the resolution is rather dull and puts a lot of priority on motion. They can also hitchhike on the eyes of their children, sensing what they sense, though they have some difficulty interpreting this alien input.

Carnivorous Trees/plants these Trees have been grown with violence in mind. Similar to their natural progenitors in that they are routed to the spot as plants should be, they have various animated limbs, vines and flowers all made to catch and kill unsuspecting lumberjacks. Most alive today are either survivors of the war that birthed them, peaceful living lives almost identical to the Trees, whereas those on the continent have been deliberately as planted guards or as part of a fortified position during or before a battle.

For the ability to fight the carnivorous plants sacrifice a lot of their psychic potential and some of their intelligence: the young carnivores are rather ferral and simple minded for the most part. Once they start to become very old and large, the plants slowly start to lose their ability to move their weapons until they end up as rather monstrous looking Trees. Time spent as a living weapon stunts their growth however, and so a former carnivore will generally be smaller than a standard Tree relative of the same age.

Carnivorous Plants are the younger version of Carnivorous Trees who, instead of having a solid trunk are instead 90% weaponry and are practically animals in their intelligence. This younger stage is often used to quickly reinforce defensive lines or create what are basicly minefields, the seeds can be carried by Dryads and grown to a useful sizes in a matter of hours, though the Dryads are naturally left vulnerable while doing this.

Both trees and plants are capable of disguising themselves in order to catch passing foes unawares. The trees use camouflage and a little inherent nature magic to make themselves look like a mundane tree, while the plants hide their armaments under the ground or inside neighbouring plants.

Ents: the second of The Tree’s weapons, Ents were the first attempt to make a mobile fighter to defend the Dreaming forest. They are large and have the same uncapped growth as the Trees themselves but also have the same issues as the Trees in terms of the speeds of their thoughts. Large Ents are incredibly strong and smart, but have poor reaction times. They also need to root themselves down in order to grow, absorbing nutrients from the soil during which they enter a hibernation like state that makes them almost the same as a regular Tree. Ents, unlike the smaller Dryads, do not have a particularly set shape and so, while vaguely humanoid is the most common form it is not the only one they can take: some ents are made in the shape of beasts with mouths full of thorns, others are wholly alien in appearance.

Smaller Ents associated primarily with the Dryads and some could indeed be mistaken for their kin, a bit mute and cruder in appearance. As they grow they begin to drift away from active life, becoming more permanent fixtures in the Tree Groves, only awakening to come to their home’s it’s defence. The rate of this growth is based mostly on the individuals, some deliberately slow or pause their growth while others hibernate for most of their existence in order to become as large as possible. As a result of their shifting from one group to the other, the Ents are the awkward middle children of the Dreaming Forests, not quite fitting in with either their stationary or mobile peers.

The Dryads
Humanoid creatures made from living wood, who can grow from heights of 4 - 8 feet. Appearance wise they resemble humans, but the accuracy of this resemblance varies based on how long the individual has to grow. Dryad born in peacetime look almost perfectly human in structure, while those hastily grown for war are often crude facsimiles, their bodies made from roots and branches rather than seamless wooden flesh. Dryads are either designed by a normal tree and then taken away to be planted somewhere or are grown trees specifically designed to produce only Dryad offspring. In either case, the seed sets routs and grows into a small tree which slowly takes on the appearance of a sleeping figure buried in wood. Once the Dryad is ready to be born, the tree forces all of it’s life force, energy and magic into the dryad, awakening it. The dryad then tares it way out of the shriveled cocoon of roots, trunk and branches. A newborn has about the intelligence capability of a human adult, but lack wisdom, which they gain from interacting with their kin and progenitors through their psychic link with them.

They are now the face of the empire and the driving force behind its expansion. They are the most warlike of their kin, and have a strong warrior culture where martial prowess is highly praised. The Dryads can only communicate telepathically if they are within range of one of their larger kin, but they have been given mouths with which to speak and thus are the only ones of their Genus capable of communicating with other races. 50% of the time this is used to hurl insults at foes, but some have become diplomats and merchants with, sometimes literal thanks to deliberate pigmentation choices, silver tongues.

Culturally they are primarily focused around war in all it’s forms and needs. What separates them from simply being a warrior cast is that they deal with not just fighting, but also preparing the materials of war such as armor, perform research into military technologies and are the face of diplomatic meetings to form military alliances. Beyond war they have a lot of interest in art, particularly the art of cooking. A Dryad’s normal diet consists of bland if nutritious fruits produced by The Trees of their home groves, The Trees maintain a meticulous control on the amount of children they produce, and as such food shortages are a rarity. This makes any and all other kinds of food a luxury and Chef’s are highly regarded among Dryad society for their ability to make eating interesting. This also makes those that go out to get food, be it viea taxation, trade or marauding, more highly valued by the Dryad’s than would be expected of warriors.

Dryads are technically full time soldiers, but outside of crisis periods only have to be on active duty for half of the year. Dryads are divided into 2 seasons, spring and autumn and get their season, plus half of winter and summer, off duty. When not on duty they engage in hobbies or professions like cooking, smithing, fletching, painting etc. or travel to receive instruction from famous warriors, mages, chefs or artists. The only real exceptions to this rota are the merchants and explorers who travel with the Living ships to far off lands, they are often away for years at a time on what technically counts as their duty. This distinction is not entirely rigid or binding, some Dryads simply swap season and remain in the military/civilian population full time, but adherence to the system is common, gives rhythm to the Dryad’s lives and is required if a Dryad wants to hold a leadership position.

Dryads live in and around Groves of their Tree parents. On the home islands this means they are rather disparate, living in small wandering communities that for the most part act as a garrison for the homeland. The only exceptions to this are the myriad of docks, into which the wealth of empire, conquest and trade flow. In the provinces they live in groves of young Trees planted around a planted branch of Yaval. These groves are generally located near major towns over which the Dryad’s act a feudal lords.

The Living Ships
Sentient Trees grown into the shape of ocean going vessels, propelled by leaf sails and animated oar like arms. So long as it can get sunlight the ship can indefinitely sustain itself and a small crew, and it can be repaired with magic and biomatter. The ship is it’s own captain, navigator and helmsman, the crew are generally along to repel boarding attacks, though the ship is not entirely helpless in this regard, to move cargo about and to act as envoys to land folk. There are three primary roles in life a ship may take. Some are part of a standing navy, bred for war and conflict they guard the isles and coasts. There are the transports who ferry goods and soldiers around and, as most of the internal trade and transport is done viea ship, they are always busy. The third are explorers, who go off far from the psychic contact with the rest of the Dreaming forest, carrying a small hardened crew they sail the oceans of the world to trade, talk and sometimes engage in piracy.

Living ships are made to a specific design by the Trees and are planted by the shoreline where they slowly grow into a fully formed ship while rooted to the earth. Unlike Dryads, the Ships are conscious during their growing period and learn everything the need to know as they mature, often getting to know or choosing the crew that is going to join them once they leave the shoreline. Once fully formed they carefully detach the roots that held them to the earth, which they will subsequently use as anchors, and slip into the water. Like the Dryads, the ships are capable of eating, though unlike their small kin they gain most of their energy from photosynthesising, and thus only really need it for elements that cannot be created from the absorption and splitting of Co2 and of water.

Like the Ents, some Ships are not content with the standard form of a boat. Some instead deliberately grow to resemble sea monsters instead, such as great whales, serpents or squids of bark, leaf and vine that are often terrifying to behold.

The Others

Human citizens
The subjugated citizens of the former feudal Kingdom of Shenra where once traders, raiders and explorers who sailed the seas on ships made from the wood of the Tree’s continental relatives. Now they live under the thumb of the Empire but for the average peasant and the poor, very little has changed, their lords simply now live in the dangerous forest rather than in splendorous manors. For the formerly well off, the Empire’s conquest has had a much bigger impact. The biggest change is that the private creation and ownership of ships is banned, which, thanks to the poor and dangerous state of the north south roads, restricts the freedom of movement of the native population and massively reduced internal and external trade, the old lifeblood of the kingdom. The only kinds of ship available are fishing vessels which don’t have the capacity to survive the open eas or long voyages. Despite this a thriving black market of trade exists using these small ships, most especially in and around the Sea of Lights and in the north where the small ships have a chance of reaching foreign shores with the wears of the populace.

Though it has been several generations since the Empire’s total conquest of the region tensions still run high, with both the Dreaming Forest and the humans looking down on another as inferior to themselves. The Dreaming forest consider the humans a useful tool for doing things like farming, mining or textile work, something few Dryad’s have any interest in, and consider themselves incredibly merciful for not committing genocide on the human population. The humans are resentful of not being ruled by their own kind, angry at the damage to takeover of their lucrative export economy and frustrated with the fact that the Empire does basically nothing to help the people they rule. In Fact they barely rule at all.

Friends of the Forest: Every change in rulership has its Talleyrands, people who see the end coming and jump ship to the new regime before the old one sinks or just those that think it best to suck up to the new boss, same as they did with the old boss. The self proclaimed Friends of the Forest are a loose group of old and new powers who work to support the empire in order to get to the top of the bottom of the pile. Bureaucrats and taxmen who “streamline” things for their masters by acting as middle men, ruling the local populace in terms of law enforcement, handing out justice, planning public works and other mundanities that the Dreaming Forest does not have time for. Sometimes specifically chosen, sometimes self imposed and rarely elected, for the most part they are a corrupt and self serving lot, but they have their uses.

Reighneads: The seldom seen Merfolk of the Sea of Lights are the ones who give the waters their name, as their nocturnal magical ceremonies of moon worship form spots of blood red light can be seen from the shore of the empire on the night of a full moon. The bane of fishing communities and smugglers, the Reighneads are known to attack lonely vessels to kidnap their crews, either for human sacrifices or simply for food. The Empire really doesn’t care about this harassment, as the Fishfolk do not attack the mighty Living Ships due to the high risk and low reward of doing so. They can’t eat wood after all, and the buoyant Dryads are hard to drag down to be sacrificed.

Beasts and Monsters

Hivers: Large furred bees that can grow to about the size of a small dog. These are the primary pollinators of the Ever Green Isles, but they can also be found in most Dreaming Forests on the continent. Equipped with dagger sized stingers and a territorial attitude towards non plant life they are often used as the equivalent of guard dogs for groves of Trees. Some Dryads also keep them as pets.

Forest Hydras: Serpentine cousins of dragons the forest hydras live in small number in the larger forests throughout the Empire. Massive, aggressive and incredibly venomous most do their best to stay well clear of these hot blooded monsters. However almost every part of the beasts sells for a high price, so the Dryads make something of a sport of hunting them, through the Trees make efforts to stop them wiping out the species through overhunting.

Exports

The Empire produces furs, leather, lumber, wool/cloth, bee venom, hydra parts, whisky, truffles and various enchanted items.

Military

Military

Dreaming Groves and the Psychic Dreamscape

The most basic and fundamental unit of the Empire's military is a grove of Trees. Be they entire islands or a few young Trees on the frontiers, it is from these places that the the armies of the empire march out and they are the most important of the lands they hold. Because of Yaval’s many proxy offshoots and the Tree’s psychic abilities, the empire has communications capabilities that are centuries ahead of their time. Because of this connection, Yaval and the island courts of the ever green isles can and will make important military and bureaucratic decisions that can be instantaneously implemented day's worth of travel away. This communications advantage extends down to individual soldiers, and so while operating around Groves, the trees have a masterful advantage when it comes to coordination, information gathering and clarity of orders.

When away from their progenitors however, much of this advantage fades away. While Ents and Living ships can act as pylons for the Psychic Dreamscape, allowing communication between the army as a whole, this is a lot less of an advantage than that provided by the Trees themselves. Lacking the ancient wells of wisdom that come with a connection with the homeland, Yaval’s ability to force orders through the mental haze through sheer force of will and the Trees ability to process all of the information going in and out of the psychic collective consciousness leaves the Dreamscape a hazy, unreliable and vague impression of the state of the army.

As a result, Dryad commanders of armies on the field rely on traditional methods of control, using the state of the dreamscape as a touchstone to see how moral is doing instead of a control mechanism. A commander can tell which areas of a battle that the dryads believe they are winning, and in which areas they are scared, panicked or disheartened in. This might not give a clear picture but it gives them some indication of where to send reinforcements or to take command of personally. Order are often given via shouting, flags, word of mouth or instruments such as horns or drums. Ents make excellent platforms from which to give orders and so commanders can often be seen sitting atop the shoulder of an Ent for both order giving purposes and the sightline advantage it gives. If all the ents and ships in an army are routed or destroyed then the dreamscape collapses completely and the Dryads are left connected only to those nearby them. This is something most are wholly unused too and all too often the army will rout on mass in order to get back into contact with one another. Unlike most armies who break, a routing Treekin army is a panicked flight to somewhere rather than just an attempt to get away from the enemy, and the army will naturally regroup at the closest Dreaming grove.

As a result of the advantages of fighting near The Trees, the prefered tactic of the Dreaming Forest when attacking is to set up groves as they advance to act as relays back to a Yaval cutting. While this can be done faster than might be expected, the dryads and ents can be lead in week long ceremonies to accelerate the growth of Tree seeds by fueling their own energy into them, it leaves them vulnerable and makes progress slow. The creeping advance also puts Trees in potentially dangerous territory, and the death of one of them, no matter how young, is considered a great tragedy. Weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of this approach and carefully balancing when to extend the forest VS sending an army out away from it to rapidly respond to a crisis or potential advantage is a careful balancing act, one the empire is still learning the art of.

Dryads

He mainstay of the Empire's armies are the Dryads. These unnaturally tough Treekin (a dryad who’s head and/or arms are cut off can still run away and, if subsequently healed, could come back to fight that very same battle) are a force to be reckoned with, worth many times their own number. The empire itself is small however, and the land actually lived in by the Dreaming forest smaller still, so Dryads are almost always outnumbered by conventional armies.

For weapons, Dryads use blunt weapons like maces and hammers as their mainstay, forgoing shields in order to use both hands for attacking, relying on their tough bodies for defence. Swords are generally reserved for officers and notable warriors due to the skill required to make one. Axes are taboo for obvious reasons and spears generally do not suit the Dryad’s aggressive brawler fighting style. Dryad archers are literally born with their bows, the wood used to make it is taken from the refuges of the plant they grow out off to create enchanted short bows.

Dryads soldiers can be divided up into a number of subtypes:

Dryad Foot soldiers: The average Dryad wears an magically grown lightweight steel armor that's more carbon than iron, known as ironbark. It has about the same defensive value as chainmail while being lighter and having the advantage that it can be repaired by nature magic at the same time as the wearer. They make up the bulk of the standing army of the Empire, but are still far more dangerous than most warriors of flesh and blood.

Dryad Paladins: The empire doesn’t produce full plate armor, and as a result it's quite the sought after prize by the Dryads. Anyone seen wearing this has either strong enough to claimed it as a spoil of war, old enough to have looted it from the kingdoms armories or traveled far and wide to acquire it via shrew trading. As a result, these warriors are rare and also almost always exceptionally dangerous before their heavy armor is taken into consideration.

WarDancers: Warrios of what could be described as a cult, these Dryads forgo the armor of their kin and go into battle in wearing light dress and armed truly massive weapons. They undergo a rigorous training program to learn how to use mana to increase their agility and flexibility, as a result they move through the battlefield as a swift and beautiful death, scything down their foes and artfully dodging attempts to stop them.

Dryad Sprout Berzerkers: these are the bastard children of the Dreaming Forest. Rapidly grown via magic and then forced to uproot as soon as they can move, their mass appearance on the battlefield can only mean that the local Tree Grove has been spooked and has decided to rapidly grow reinforcements or an entire army to defend themselves. Feral, frenzied with the only the thought of war pushed haphazardly into their minds and armed and armored with weapons made from the detritus of their emerging they are expendable shock troops, fearless through ignorance of their own mortality. Any that survive will eventually be integrated into society, but the violence of their birth and their retched appearances often leave them as social pariahs.

Ents

Ent Warrior: standing at one to three times the average human the smallest of the ents could be mistaken for overgrown Dryads if they weren't quite so ugly. The youngest of the Ents fight somewhat similarly to their Dryad cousins, only with even more brute strength and a distinct lack of fitness or agility. Most are armed with crude weapons that they feel little attachment to, as they keep outgrowing them. they generally don’t wear armor for that same reason.

Bestial Ents: bigger, meaner, these ents have gotten to the point that weapons are just too expensive to make for them and as a result have turned to more bestail forms to fight. Sporting claws, fangs and more, the elder ent towers above the battlefield and is sometimes so heavy they resort to walking on 4 libs rather than two.

Monsters: Sometimes ents decide that the humanoid form isn’t dangerous enough and they go for something more exotic instead. Large animals like wolfs skirt the line between beast and monster, but ents in the shape of wyrms, dragons, shoggoths and other mythic beasts have been known to exist as have ones in the shapes of giant insects, spiders or crustaceans.

Armored Titans: Colossal siege towers that have reached the pinnacle of what an Ent can grow to while still remaining mobile. At this point weapons and armor become viable choices once again, though they are now works of architecture rather than craftsmanship, their equipment being predominantly stone in material. Such defences are necessary, because the Titan’s appearance almost always result in a “shoot the big ones” response from their enemies: if one shows up on the battlefield it will inevitably be the target for every mage and artillery pieces. This and fear are in part the point, the Ent is now so slow in its thoughts that even tightly packed formations have a chance to move out of the way while it winds up a strike. As a result they are best used to scare away enemies, walk straight through their lines to trample them or destroy fortifications rather than be used to stand and fight.

Magic

While all Dryads are innately magical thanks to the Primordial blood giving them life, actual spellcraft comes slowly to the members of the Dreaming forest as they are limited by having a much harder time raising their mana rate than other races. The process of becoming versed in spellcraft is a long and slow process that requires a lot of dedication. For a mage to even consider a potential acolyte worthy of teaching the seeker of magic knowledge must prove their commitment by raising their mana throughput to a realm that it is actually able to perform spellcraft. As a result, there are four stages of magical ability among the Dreaming Forest. The only exception to this are the Trees themselves as all of them learn, at the very least, enough magic to create the various subspecies using their own seeds.

Spell Swords: At the bottom of the totem poll are the spellswords. Any Treekin who wishes to increase their mana throughput starts of by acquiring some simple enchanted weapon or item that can be used to briefly augment their combat ability. By keeping these items that have relatively low mana requirements or capacities on hand and constantly refilling them, the Spellsword gradually ups their mana throughput over a course of several years.

Enchanters: once a hopeful has upped their mana rate sufficiently, they seek out either a more powerful artifact or, if they can get some training or literature on the subject, create their own. These more powerful artifacts generally allow the mage to perform one or more spells without having to learn all the specifics. They then use this as a primary weapon in order to train further. These generally make up the majority of spellcasters in an empire army, generally providing a specific, inflexible, function like healers, artillery support or firefighters.

Apprentices and Mages: A fully fledged mage is incredibly powerful, not just because of their now heightened mana throughput, but also because the mage is experienced, dedicated to their craft has seen many battles and is as a result, wise. Only the strongest and most committed endure the decades of work it takes to become an apprentice, meaning that only the cream of the crop manage to become fully fledged mages. Because the Treekin don’t die of old age and only get wiser as they get older they can potentially accrue much higher levels of power and knowledge than than mortal mages.

The favored magic schools of the Dreaming Forest are nature, water, and wind. Nature magic is used to rapidly grow vegetation, both their own and mundane, command the beast of the forests like Hivers and wolves to attack and also to heal wounds. Water magic is used to directly counteract fire magic and can also be used offensively near bodies of water or on the high seas. Wind magic is favored by the Living Ships, who use it to maneuver themselves and blow their enemies of course. Lone individuals or cliques are known to deviate from these 3 schools however, something that generally only happens when a mage acquires foreign literature that they want to study.

Navy

The Empire’s navy is one of its great strengths, the Living Ships that serve within it are a terrifying force on the oceans of the world. They can feel the currents and waves around them, effortless maneuvering through treacherous waters that would wreck normal ships. With their arm like branches and tentacle like vines they can physically assault enemy vesale all on their own ramming the constructed ships with its hardened bark body before tearing the crew to shreds or dismantling the ship board by board. Their Dryad crews who fight alongside them can take full advantage of the cramped confines of ships to avoid getting ganged up on by their more numerous foes. The ships can also easily sustain themselves and their crews on sunlight and water, the ship producing fruits for the crew to eat as they travel. The ship can also repair itself, growing to seal holes and breaches during a battle using magic or beaching itself to repair more substantial damage over time.

Perhaps more frightening than the standard ships are the monsters and mages. Monsters forgo the ability to carry crew or cargo to become dedicated weapons of terror, mighty leviathans out of myths and legend that can bite small ships in half. Almost as rare as these are the mage ships, having gone through the 3 stage training process like their land based kin and are either formidable magical artillery platforms or capable of rapidly growing armies of Sprout Berzerkers in distant lands.

Humans

Conscripts: poor peasants and workers rounded up and ordered to march with the Empire to defend the realm. Generally armed and armored with mail, spears and shields left over from the former kingdom they form local militias and auxiliary forces for the empire. Generally used to bulk out the armies to prevent the Dreaming Forest forces from being outnumbered and overwhelmed they are really only expected to hold the line with a spear wall while the treekin warriors do the actual fighting and killing. How good they are at this job really depends on who and where they are fighting. When defending their homes from northern barbarians or eastern slavers they can generally be relied upon. If they are far from home and against the forces of their rightful Queen they give up the field easily or worse, change sides in the middle of the fight.

Deer Riders: Filling the light cavalry roll for the Empire are semi professional troops mounted on deer back. Before the kingdom was conquered they used an equal number of the continents ubiquitous horses and the local tradition of deer riding, but transitioned to primarily deer for their better maneuverability in the groves of the Dreaming Forest. Come the conquest the deer has remained the primary mount of the warrior because of how well it works with the Empire's favored terrain. Deer work surprisingly well against other cavalry, having been taught to butt heads with their horses enemies. Unlike the Conscripts, the riders are semi professional in nature and are often employed as messengers in peacetime.

Friends of the Forest enforces: the enforces are effectively the provincial police force, but they can be called to war if the Empire needs them to. More often than not they act as officers for the conscripts, but they can be called up on mass to form their own units if so necessary, which is generally done when fighting the forces of the remnant of Shenra. They are loyal to the Empire, or rather loyal to the people profiting from the empire, and thus have much better moral than their conscript brothers. They tend to style themselves after the Dryads with hammer and mace usage, though they generally keep the traditional round shield of their people for safety.

Heroes

Heroes

Nyranda The Serpent
Nyranda represents a prototype for a possible fifth subspecies creation of the Dreaming forest, one that could soar through the heavens like awyvern. While still technically a monstrous Ent, Nyranda has grown herself and trained in magecraft in such a way as to break free from the bonds of gravity. Upon six wings of bark and leaf she soars through the heavens, held impossibly aloft by a combination of a mastery of the winds and telekinesis. The same magics that hold her aloft make The Serpent devastating in combat, as razor winds and telekinetic blasts cause chaos and disarray in tightly packed enemy formations.

At only 40 years of age, she is young for her size, having focused a great deal of time into her growth and magecraft. Her modifications now finally made she has only recently ebgun venturing out into the world once more to prove the effectiveness of her designees to her progenitors, hoping to convince them to make a new subspecies in her image.

Xuna the Brave and Yarvost the Bold
A dynamic duo of two unusually short Treekin that are famous, or infamous, for their part in the Empire’s various wars and subsequent romp across the continent as independent adventurers. The duo are a rare breed among the Treekin as they have entirely acclimatised to operating outside the psychic Dreamscape, which makes them excellent for any delicate operations that the Empire might need to be dealt with by a small team.

The pair were planted during the defence of the Evergreen Isles 23 years after its inception, having been created by the same Tree’s seeds. They are notable as some of the few Treekin who have survived all the conflicts since then who have not followed the standard path of aging of their kind, taking up a leadership position in Xuna’s case or retired to static living in Yarvost’s. Yavost is in fact incredibly notable for having not grown much at all since he first unrooted himself as a result of being almost permanently active. Both are infused with a unending restlessness, with a lust for glory, adventure and violence beyond even that of their instinctively aggressive kin. After the humans were expelled from the islands, they were part of the first Dryad inclusion onto the continent, and once the Empire’s conquest reached the borders of the Empire of Matatharan the pair simply kept going, breaking off from the victorious conquering armies to make their own way as wanderers and adventurers.

Since their departure they have wandered much of the continet’s most fascinating and dangerous places, including an expedition into the haunted vale where they found their signature 4 eyed masks. It is through these travels that Yarvost has acquired a collection of enchanted broadswords taken from fallen foes taken down by his ever increasing skill in swordsmanship. Xuna meanwhile has gained contacts with various officials and underworld dealers across the continent and has become an expert markswoman as the pair have partaken in mercenary work for locals of the lands they visit and espionage for the Empire against those same lands.

Letiana The Swift Wind
Founder and head of the wardancers, Letiana is a master duelist who wields a mighty Warhammer in one hand and a shortsword in the other. Forgoing the standard armor of the Dryads for a short dress, Letiana made her own form of combat during the invasion of the continent that has since spread among the Dryad’s as others either apprentice under her or attempt to emulate her. Instead of relying on their inherent toughness in battle, Letiana and her wardancers work tirelessly to push their magic powered bodies beyond mortal limits, performing feats of athleticism impossible to those limited by physical muscles while also wielding large powerful weapons to deliver swift devastating blows. As the creator of this style, Letiana is its unequivocal master who sweeps through a battlefield in a whirlwind of grace and devastation.

History

History

In ages past a Primordial decide that they wanted to spend several hundred years as a tree. Why this is the case has been lost to time, but as a result of its time on the Ever Green Isles it’s pollen spread to many of the trees and it sired many children. As time passed it’s essences spread throughout the forests until, thanks to the magic they inherited, the primordial’s decedents made up most of the forests on the 13 islands and unbeknownst to the island trees, some even spread to the mainland. As they conquered the lands a strange thing occurred, individual Trees began to link together, stimulating the magic within each other till eventually a dull intelligence gradually emerged within them all, intelligence that was partially intertwined from the nature of its formation. For the most part these Trees did little but watch the seasons go by and philosophise among themselves for hundreds of years. Those of other races that did come to the islands found the thickly wooded forests filled with hostile wildlife poor land to settle and most left as soon as they were able.

Then came the creatures riding their vessels made from corpses of their own kind. For the first time since the great fire the trees faced a threat to their collective continued existence, and it’s name was humanity. Due to the shear number of offspring produced by the primordial ancestor of The Trees, they have some of the least diluted ‘blood’ in the world and unfortunately the invaders had already discovered they could make enchantments from the wood of the trees and had come specifically to the islands for more of that magic wood. As their kin were cut down by the hundreds the Trees scrambled to find a solution to the problem. Initially lacking a leadership structure to organise their response, and the wild creatures proving insufficient to fight the humans, the trees eventually bowed to the ancient wisdom of Yaval. Under their guidance, the trees began to use magic to create and grow offspring to fight the invading lumberjacks. They resolved to create offspring more capable of fighting back than themselves, using their magic to mutate their seeds and increase the rate of their growth.

First they tried creating trees and saplings armed with grabbing arms and lashing vines that were rapidly grown at the edge of the woodsmen's territory, but the invaders brought in mages to hurl fireballs at them from a safe distance. The trees tried giving their creations legs, but the invaders bought in warriors who danced around their lumbering steps and used torches to light them aflame. At last, the trees took influence from their tormentors and the Dryads were born. As small as the humans and just as quick the dryads turned the skirmishing between the trees and the invaders into a full on war, as the humans finally caught onto the fact that it was all the Trees that were a danger, not just a few strange mutant ones. Thus began a war of extermination, the humans burning the forests down and magically salted the earth whenever they scored victory. Four islands were lost to the invaders, never to be reclaimed as their soil was left barren, till the trees made the innovation that won them the day.

The final creation of the war where ships of their own, trees that could survive drinking saltwater (a trick Yaval had learned long ago but was only now sharing), catch the breeze with their leaves and carry the Dryads away from the islands to disrupt the supply lines of the invaders. After a few naval engagements it became clear that the living were stronger than the dead, as the Tree ships tore the longships of the invaders to sunder, bringing peace to their fallen brethren. Cut off from supplies and reinforcements the humans were eventually defeated. From captives, the Dryads learned language and eventually, 50 years after the first Tree on the island was felled, an uneasy peace was forged between the Trees and the humans. It lasted for only 5 years.

During this time the trees fretted about what to do with their children, bred for war, now that here was peace. While their parents endlessly, and slowly, debated about what to do the Drayds formed a society that was, worryingly in the Tree’s opinions, based rather somewhat on the invader’s own. They set out into the world on their living ships and returned with tales and bounties of the vast world and it was through this travel that the Dryads gained their first desire. Before the explorers returned the Dryads had lived off of rather tasteless fruits provided by the Trees, but after their first expeditions the Dryads discovered the joy (and occasional dangers) of cooking. It was the lack of available farmland and tradable resources on the Tree covered islands that eventually sparked the second war, as a crew of Dryads docked their ship next to a human village and began to extort them for food. The human military's responded and attempted to kick out the dryads. In response the Trees and Dryads sent reinforcements to defend their kin and so the second war was on.

Over the next 97 years, sporadic wars were fought and the Human kingdom slowly lost more and more land to the newly named Emerald Empire. While the human Kingdom of Shenra did manage some victories against the invaders, they never again managed to set foot on the Empire’s homeland. After a series of consecutive defeats during the year 242 AP it became clear the kingdom could no longer hope to oppose the empire. The Royal family and their court were forced to flee the Empire’s forces as they occupied most of the kingdom's territory. Over the past 50 years the empire has consolidated their holdings on the continent and have now turned their attention further afield, both on land and across the waves.

Relations

Relations

The Kingdom of Shenra: at war
Empire of Matatharan: tensions on the border are high, the land locked empire has had it’s sights on the ports of the southern Emerald lands for some time and it has not gone without notice that they have recently begun moving troops to the border between the two nation. The Dreaming Forest has responded in kind and tensions are brewing as the two empires prepare for the inevitable clash between expansionist powers.

Characters

Characters

Lord Enzar and Lestarn The Magnificent
The General and his Ent bodyguard have been a mainstay of the southern empire’s forces for years now. Sprouting near the end of the conquest of the Kingdom of Shenra, Enzar began his rise to prominence at the battle of Lake Sem, where he single handedly slew the hero Sir Glenway and his bodyguards, causing a rout in the right flank of the Kingdom’s army that lead to victory in the battle. He has had a steady rise in influence since that day and is at present time one of the most prominent leaders of the western border with the Emerald-Matatharan border.

Lestarn meanwhile is an accomplished Ent nature mage who has grown close with the general and working together the pair are both as accomplished commanders and a dangerous force on the battlefield as they lead from the frontlines. Enzar and Lestarn are the current co-electorates of the border grove, with a cohort of Trees acting as the tiebreaker, though they are rarely needed as the pair see eye to eye on most issues.

Selzona The Cold
A prominent General of the north, Selzona is the Empire’s expert on the Tarkiman tribes. Warden of the northern border, Selzona parries raids from their northern neighbours with the aid of local Living Ships and her armies of Dryads and human auxiliaries. As well as fighting them, Selzona also attempts to navigate tribal politics when she is the civilian leader, attempting to both curb their aggression and claim more land by forging alliances and creating infighting where at all possible. Selzona is a rarity among the mages of the empire for her practicing of Ice magic, an art she learned in her younger days during an expedition into the Frozen cliffs far to the south of her current posting, where she learned using the teachings of a Dyvolf mage mercenary and arcane tomes seized from a Witch's hut.

Tenzin the Discerning
The premier Diplomat of the Empire, Tenzin is the face and mouthpiece of the Tree’s overall goals and objectives. Accompanied by a glamorous entourage he has traveled to the various courts and palaces of the continent’s nations in order to secure recognition for the new Empire among their new peers. Accompanying them at all times is a small pot holding a cutting of Yaval, through which he and his court can stay in contact with the homelands to acquire advice and guidance, though with the distances they sometimes traveled, the connection often became tenuous and Zenzin had to ely entirely on his own judgments. His continued holding of the position proves the soundness of those personally made decision.

Yaval
Obstensily Emperor of the Emerald Empire, Yaval is as much a place as they are a person, and as such you should refer to locations for details about them.

The Kingdom of Shenra

The Kingdom of Shenra

Government

Government

The kingdom is, or was, ruled via a feudal system, with the Queen/King as it’s head and a series of lords who served as local governors over various estates, bound to their king by various treaties, obligations and agreements. Most of this is gone now, as the Empire has conquered most of the Kingdoms lands, what remains of its governance is the court of Queen Rosabella the Third. She and the few surviving noble families rule over the various mountain towns and monasteries found in the frozen cliff region. For the most part, each town is independently governed by a mayor or head priest and they are obliged to supply soldiers and food to the court. In return the court organises and runs the small but skilled army protecting the region, keeping the emerald empire out as well as dealing with the various local monsters and hostile native races.

Geography

Geography

The Kingdom controls a series of villages and monasteries on the south side of the Frozen Cliffs. Spread around in various hidden valleys and isolated peaks situated on the backs of the 3 massive mountains of the region. The capital is a fortress monastery, called the Holy Summit, that hosts the court and it’s forces. Sat atop a particular inhospitable peak, it looms high above the various villages and lesser religious installations that feed it.

The land itself is unnaturally cold for the region, even when the altitude of the area is taken into account. Glaciers slumber against the sides of the mountains, howling snowstorms make traveling difficult and the sky is perpetually shrouded in cloud. Life is only possile thanks to a nuber of cravases and vallys that shelter those within from the worst of the weather, and in which farming is possible. Connecting the villages and monasteries are are various footpaths and staircases carved into the rock, all hopelessly impractical for military movement without extensive local knowledge.

The kingdom also controls various villages in the foothills near the southern border. The Empire has found the passageways to them, through or around the mountains, far to treacherous, as a result of both Shenran harassment tactics and weather, for them to consider them worth exploiting or settling nearby. These communities are however less attached to the Kingdom than their mountain brethren are and would prefer to be left alone than fight in the Royal’s war over land they will never see. Still, they pay their tithes and only occasionally have to be reminded of who is in power in the region.

Culture

Culture

Humans

The peoples of the remains of the kingdom are primarily farmers, goat herders and priests, they have little time for anything that does not involve survival or god and the two are intertwined heavily in the region. Those that do not harvest food or pray join the ranks of the kingdoms army as soldiers fighting for the restoration of the monarchy and human dominance in the region. The only ones not in these three professions are the Queen and her nobles, who are often away from the region, where they travel to foreign lands to beseech others for assistance in casting out the empire from the lands that are rightfully theirs.

Harpies

Allied with the kingdom but not nominally part of it are the harpies. Natives to the region, they have a thorny history with their allies due and the reduction of prey available caused by the humans arrival and the subsequent poaching of the humans livestock by harpies. The emergence of the Empire has forced the two groups together, as neither wish to live as servants to uppity firewood. The harpies live in high altitude tribal villages they call roosts, where they are ruled by a council of elders. Contrary to the common belief among the Shenrans that Harpies do not have menfolk, or that they don’t let them leave the roosts, the truth is that it is very hard to tell the two sexes apart due to the species’s sexual monomorphism.

beasts and monsters

Snow Lions: Winged Lions twice the size of their savannah cousins, these beast live in and around the frozen cliffs. Seemingly immune to the cold, the regal beasts fly swiftly through the air on nearly silent wings while they hunt deer, goats and men alike.

Dyvofls: Twinheaded Wolf-mosnters that are un-aligned with either side of the region's internal conflict, the Dyvofls are what the Harpies used to be, a constant nuisance and danger to anyone who isn’t them. Living in nomadic pack based societies the Dyvolfs are a primitive if strong people who are used as mercenaries by both the Empire and the Kingdom, often by both sides simultaneously.

The Watchers: beings so rare they are thought of as myths by most, these icy beings live at the heart of the Frozen cliffs around a temple made from Millennia old ice . Little is known about them but the myths and legends of the locals, for they rarely leave their domain and when they do the elements mask their travels. Their home is thought to be the origin of the unnatural cold permeating the land and they are also whispered to be the source of the Ice Witch traditions.

Military

Military

Royal Lion Guards the elite of the kingdom's forces are the personal bodyguard of the Queen. Armed with halberds that are more often used as axes than they are as spears, these warriors must prove their worthiness to join the ranks of the Guard by acquiring the traditional Snow Lion head headdress of the Guard. This can be done either by slaying one of the beast to make their own or claiming one belonging to an existing member, either through a dual or being judged worthy by the holder to have it handed down once a guard retires.

Human Infantry clad in thick clothes, plate and mail, the mainstay of the Kingdom's armies fight much the same way as their conquered relatives to the north. The warriors heavily favor two handed axes, both for their simplicity to make and their effectiveness vs their wooden foes, whereas the humble spear is almost entirely absent from their arsenal. Swords are used, but primarily as status symbols of officers and lords rather than as main weapons. Any shields used are predominantly light wooden ovoid shields used to protect from arrows as the blunt impacts of Dryad weapons are hard to block properly.

Harpy auxiliaries The harpies of the frozen cliffs generally wear light leather armor and are traditionally armed with two handed swords or axes. Some have recently begun carrying light crossbows to harass foes with before or after a charge. The heavy metal bolts, assisted by gravity, are one of the few handheld ranged weapons effective VS the Dreaming Forest, capable of crippling limbs or heads with their heavy impacts. All these choices are made with their flight in mind, metal armor and bulky shields reduce their prized mobility, while two handed weapons are extra effective when gravity is used to add extra forces to the blow. They act as a kind of light cavalry for the most part, a roll that is difficult for traditional horsemen to fill in their mountainous homeland.

Snow Witch(Cryomancers) There are some who have tapped into the frozen heart of the mountains and have learned to do terrible damage with the already dangerous elements. Just as often as they are spearing invaders with shafts of Ice they are worsening the already terrible weather, shattering an army’s will to fight before they even reach the battlefield. Both humans and Harpies have members skilled in this art and while there are some other types of mages in the mountains, the wielders of ice and snow are the most common.

FireBrands(Pyromancers): While the local tradition is mastery of the cold, the nature of the kingdoms hated enemies mean that fire magic is the second most common type of spellcraft in the land. Firebrands are almost always loyal to the kingdom above all, as opposed to the witches who are more likely to be loyal primarily to their local community if they aren't recluses. Fireballs and gouts of flame are the most common of their tactics, but some have been known to empower the weapons of themselves and allies with burning coatings of flame instead.

Heroes

Heroes

Queen Rosabella the Third: Rightful of the lands now held by the Emerald empire, the Queen seeks to reclaim the throne that is rightfully hers. Riding atop the back of a snow lion named Sanja she has raised since they both were young, she often personally leads her armies from atop her steed against the hated Empire. In battle she wields the Treecapitator, a witch bane axe that draws strength from killing those of Primordial blood. In her case, this means the Trees and their children.

The weapon was forged shortly after the Royal court arrived in the mountains as a collaborative work between the kingdoms FireBrands, may of whom were among the refugees from the Empire, and the local Ice Witches. The twin blades were built around a bo-staff artifact that was held by the monastery and given to the king as a gift on his arrival. Over the years it has been continually worked on and improved as it has slayed the hated enemies of the Kingdom, and its latest contributors are the Harpy mages Hajnal and Faizya.

She took the throne after the death of her parents at the battle of mt Sethren at the age of 14 and in the 8 years since she has shown herself to be shrewd diplomat and skilful warrior, having bdefeeted an atempted invasaion by the empire and having made an proper alliance with the Harpies, to replace their previous vague enemy of my enemy agreement they had previously, that has held up for 6 years. Charismatic if a bit headstrong, she fully believes she can succeed in her task, of only she can get the proper foreign assistance.

Hajnal the Frozen angel: Greatest of the Ice Witches, Hajnal is a 4 winged mutant of the Harpy race. Such individuals are believed to be touched by the divine by his people, which has given his considerable influence among the various harpy tribes. He acts as the closest thing the harpy tribes have to a leader or spokesperson for their collective interests. It was through a friendship formed between him and the young Queen that the humans and harpies were brought together for the first time in a formal alliance since humans arrived in the mountains. There have been whispering among the Tribes about a possible royal marriage to cement the alliance, a line of planing hampered somewhat by the fact that the humans don’t realize/understand that Hajnal is male.

Faizya the Phoenix: A former Ice witch who has devoted herself fully to the art of the firebrand since the alliance between the harpies and the humans was forged. This rejection of tradition has alienated her somewhat from her kin, and the harpy has effectively joined the joined the royal court as a result. The young Firebrand is known to dote on Hajnal, much to his annoyance and the confusion of the court. For her part, the queen has grown fond of the brazen harpy who has adopted her people's ways to fight the Empire as effectively as possible despite the grumblings of her elders.

History

History

The Kingdom of Shenra once occupied most of the lands that now make up the Emerald Empire’s continental Provenances but after a series of wars the empire slowly forced the Kingdom to ceded more and more land until eventually a final invasion was launched to take the remaining territory of the Kingdom, that was now 40% of it’s original size. After a series of battles, the kingdom's forces were left in ruin and the current king was forced to flee. The king, his family and a few surviving noble families eventually found themselves chased into the Frozen cliffs, but loyal locals gave them refuge. The Dryads following them quickly grew sick of the weather and gorilla attacks made by the locals and abandoned the chase.

The royals and nobles ended up setting up court in the holy summit monastery, from which they began to plan to reclaim the rest of the kingdom. Subsequent attempts by the Empire to oust the court failed due to repeated underestimation as to how difficult such a task would be. By the time the Empire learned their lessons the court had managed to organise a proper military that narrowly defeated the invasion force in a pitched battle thanks to a flanking maneuver performed thanks to local knowledge. Since then there has been a stalemate, with both sides failing to make serious headway in breaking into the other’s territory.

Relations

Relations

Emerald Empire: at war
Empire of Matatharan: with the war between the Emerald and Matatharan empires looking inevitable, the kingdom has been in talks with Matatharan over a joint campaign against the Dreaming Forest’s southern holding. Matathran wants the Southern coast, but they do not care about anything up North. Once the annexation is over, they have promised to not invade the mountains, to set up favorable trade accommodations and the right to a share of the spoils. Once the port is claimed, Matathran would then support future military endeavors on the kingdom’s part to reclaim the Northern regions.

Characters

Characters

[Sigma]

Tarkima/WIP

Clans of Tarkima

Government

Each of the Clans of Tarkima are ruled by their respective Chieftains and their inner circle of lieutenants, the Chieftain's rule is absolute, their word and blade law. If the current-sitting Chieftain were to meet an unfortunate fate, the selection process of succession often is done so in two ways. If the Chieftain was slain in a duel of honor against his opponent, the challenger would then by right, become the new ruling chieftain. If the Chieftain was to die of natural causes, or slain in battle, the new ruling chieftain would then be decided in a grand fighting tournament, the best warriors of the Clan would gather to battle in fierce arena combat for the right to rule the Clan.

Geography

The Lands of Tarkima while varied, they are rugged and harsh, ranging from cool, breezy plains and forests in the far north, green highlands, plains and rolling hills making up the central regions, the volcanic ashlands of Rothgul to the east, and the snow-covered, frigid mountainous regions that stretch across the southern border. These Mountains have been referred to by the Tarkimans as Jotanu's Gate, Followers of the Earth Primordial Lord revere it as his supposed magnum opus and those who lack respect for the mountains or are ill prepared will no doubt perish in the Gate's perilous jagged labyrinth. Jotanu's Gate has a quite obvious strategic purpose as well, forming a natural border wall between Tarkima and the rest of the Continent.

Culture

The many peoples of Tarkima are one of battle, honor, family, and for the select, pure savagery. Strength and skill above all else is highly valued to the People of Tarkima, with only the strongest of them all being able to lead the Clans or die. Religion in Tarkima centers around the worship of the mythical Primordials as Gods, several Primordial Lords and their Offspring once reigning over these savage lands. There also exists growing order that reveres the long dead Prophetess as a Divine Messenger of the Gods, a sentiment not too well shared to wider Tarkiman Society. When the Primordials had vanished from the face of Askor, it was said that the Gods had ascended into a higher plane of existence, out of the reach of their followers, the reason told by the many clergies that the Gods themselves saw fit to craft a new paradise for the devout, a life after death, a realm beyond the mortal world.

Mages are quite a uncommon sight in Tarkima, those found are declared Blessed, their bloodline tracing back to the Primodrial Lords. Mages found will find themselves in high positions in Tarkiman Society, either as members of the respective Priesthoods of the Gods, as specialized warriors in the warband, as close Advisors to the Chieftains, some Mages even become Chieftains themselves.

Crime is wide spread like in any other region, how it is handled in Tarkima is rather unorthodox. In determining one's innocence or guilt, the Tarkiman Clans will have the accused go through the Judgment, Trial by combat. The Accused will be made to fight the fiercest beasts or warriors that Tarkima has to offer, if they survive, their innocence is guaranteed if not, well they've met their brutal end. The Land of Tarkima is ruled by hundreds of Clans, but in actuality, the land is ruled by the three greatest of Clans, Ardir, Fervari and Brakor.

Human

Grogar

Grogar Males


Grogar Female

Drimor

Military

With the exception of Ardir, the armies of the Tarkiman Clans are a rather disorganized rabble compared to the ordered and structured armies of more civilized kingdoms, the rank beyond Chieftain being meaningless. Tarkiman warriors of any race typically are organized into Warbands, said Warbands vastly differ depending on function, a Warband making up up a dozen or so warriors, to hundreds to thousands of warriors. Leaders of these Warbands are often hand-picked by the Chieftain himself or members of his Inner Circle.

Warbands of the Three Great Clans quite differ from one another, each Clan adopting their own style and tactics. The Fervari for one, are by far the most militaristic and Industrial of the Clans, favoring swarms of well-armored warriors and beasts, as well as employing the use of strange war machines churned out by the Foundries of Rothgul. Warriors of Brakor, while lacking the industrial might of the Fervari, make up for in numbers and savagery, the Clan of Brakor favoring hordes of swift, lightly, if crudely armored warriors and beasts, a typical trait of the more smaller clans.

Clan Ardir however, is a far different beast compared to the other two, the warriors of Clan Ardir, or the Kingdom of Tarkima as they've arrogantly refer to themselves, being a more ordered and disciplined lot compared to Brakor, Fervari, and numerous other clans, replicating more civilized military formations like their southern counterparts. Although despite this, old habits die hard, and as said, their formations, attitudes, and tactics are just that, mere replication, their barbaric tendencies flaring out in the form of their still crudely built weapons and armor, only a small core of their army being fitted with more finely crafted equipment befitting of a regal military force.

Fervari

Fervari Warriors


Forgeborn


Berserkers


Clan Auxiliaries

Brakor

Brakor Warriors


Berserkers


Shield Maidens


Oathsworn


Allied Auxiliaries

Ardir

Ardir Soldier


Ardir Royal Guard

Beasts of War/Burden

Dire Hound

One of many beaats native to Tarkima, the Dire Hounds are a somewhat large canine species that, for most of recorded tarkiman history, have been seen as faithful companions to tarkimans of all walks of life, often serving as hunting beasts or as terror weapons, whole packs unleashed upon the enemy to rip and tear to shreds.

Troll

Monstrous creatures of legend, Trolls once ruled the lands of Tarkima, numbering in many thousands, keeping the people in constant fear of a herds arrival, that is, before the Primordials arrived. Once the Primordial Kingdoms rose, the trolls had quickly found themselves no longer at the top of the food chain, and were subsequently subdued by their former prey. In the present day, trolls now number in the hundreds, many now enthralled by the clans as living siege engines.

Horse

The most common beast to be found in all parts of the world, the mighty Horse is no exception in Tarkima, their role no doubt similar to their more civilized counterparts.

Heroes

Superior Hero

Mornog the Horned Troll

A wild, yet powerful troll that roams Tarkima and surrounding lands.

Hero 1

Undvich Krac

Chieftain of Clan Fervari.

Hero 2

Firgus Holen

Chieftain of Clan Brakor.

Hero 3

Rogi Gelen III

Chieftain/King of Clan Ardir

History

Millennia ago, Tarkima was once a untamed and savage land, moreso then present day Tarkima. The peoples of the land were grouped into small tribes, struggling to survive a harsh land filled to the brim with monstrous beasts, invading armies from beyond the shores. However on one fateful day, Tarkima was blessed with the arrival of a group of Primordials, whom would later become revered as Gods to the Tarkimans.

The Primordials, with their vast power had managed to carve up their own little kingdoms within this ancient, it was a long lost Golden Age for Tarkima. The monstrous beasts that once roamed the land freely had fled, the Primordials blessing their new subjects with wondrous weapons and warmachines to hunt, would-be conquerors were chased from the shores as the Tarkimans became more organized under the guiding hand of the Primordials. For generations they ruled, some benevolently, others not so, however, these Divine beings had given the gift of civilization to this savage land. Unfortunately, after they had vanished from the world, their Children had remained to steward the lands in their stead, if only temporarily until they too would wither away, giving rise to a free Tarkima.

Upon the dawning of the Era of Heroes and onward to the present day, Tarkiman Civilization had quickly collapsed upon itself once the Primordials and their offspring had "Ascended". The old Kingdoms had broken asunder, Clans both large and small forming to fill in the void left by the Gods.

The Era of Heroes would be known to the Tarkimans as the Age of War. The next five centuries would be follow countless wars among the clans, invasions of neighboring kingdoms, and to some extent, exploration. Tarkiman Clans, seeing new bounties beyond their homeland would set off further south, claiming lands that would be of the Emerald Empire, their descendants having long since lost traces of their barbaric lineage. Others would dare to venture further, many to never return.

Kingdoms bordering Tarkima would feel the unending wrath of the Clans, wars, skirmishes and raids fought on and off throughout the centuries. However, as of a century before the present day, something would change. A hundred years before the present day, Missionaries from the Serene Kingdoms had landed on Tarkiman shores, at first, the neibhoring clans were hostile to the foreigners. Some even actively hunting them, however, one clan, Ardir, lent its ear to the missionaries, becoming aware of the Serene One for the first time, many among their ranks were angered by the blasphemous words of the Missionaries, the Chieftain among them. However, a small group of warriors were more open to the fact that their "Gods" were flawed beings, the missionaries point of view was made realized as they converted these renegades.

Eventually, the Renegades challenged the Old Guard, overthrowing the Chieftain and his warriors, the leader of the converted proclaiming himself the rightful king of Tarkima, choosing by the Serene One itself. Clan Ardir, for the last hundred years, launched a crusade to claim all of Tarkima for the Serene One.

All the while, other Clans made similar power plays, devouring small clans as they're territory grew larger and larger. Now the land if divided among the three great Clans, Ardir, Feverai and Brakor, only a portion of the land remaining free from the three clans, yet, the smaller clans of the region remain at their mercy.

Relations

Emerald Empire: For the past centuries since the Dawning of the Age of Heroes, the Kingdom of Shenra, followed by it's conquerors, the Emerald Empire, have been in a near constant state of war with the Tarkiman Clans, often fending off raiding parties and large warbands occasionally. In recent years however, Clan Brakor under their new Chieftain have taken a more profitable and less bloody approach to the Empire. In exchange for wealth and resources, Clan Brakor would put a cease to all hostilities, their warriors as well as having the choice of taking up Mercenary work within the Empire.

Clan Ardir, or the Tarkiman "Kingdom" are more cold towards the Empire due to their more heretical beliefs, however, they would not turn away from a potential trading partner, but remain distant. The many smaller Clans and the Fervari however reject any sort of peace, and continue their own raids upon the Empire.

Utyre: Like the Kingdom of Shrena, the land of Utyre has been among the preferred targets of the Clans, and in recent times, Clan Fervari is the chief opponent for Utyre, they and their vassal clans often launching incursions and raids in Utyren lands.

The Crossroads: The relationship between the Crossroads and bordering clans is that of a school of leech fish hunting slow prey, clans both large and small often venture off deep into these battle scarred lands, looting long abandoned weapons and pieces of armor, often for the purpose of melting down aforementioned loot and reforging them into more fitting gear, of course, such looting ventures do not go unpunished, and often are made a target of the Crossroads less then enthused inhabitants.

Characters

Ardir

Gartnir Torbin

A famed general of the "Kings" army. He, like many Grogar within Ardir lands are a far different breed to what is expected Grogar behavior, The General carries an air of civilized nobility, the barbarism breed out after generations of Serene Rule.

Morella Nurri

A rather petite Drimor that serves as King Gelen's top assassin.

Tolaal Gelen

Crown Prince of the "Kingdom" of Tarkima.

Fervari

Brakor

Olaf Tarin

An aged Mage, eldest member of the Brakor Inner Circle and good longtime friend of the current Chieftain.

Asgorgh Gormk

Chief War Master of Brakor's Warbands and trusted lieutenant to the Chieftain.

Elina Holen

Sole Daughter of the Current Chieftain and aspiring warrior.

Farald Hengus

A recent, eager addition to the ranks of the Brakor Warbands and the betrothed of Elina.

[GreivousKhan]

Dark purple shall be pirate cove land. Arrr.

[Brithwyr]

I am interested. I'm thinking Orcs with a twist.

[GreivousKhan]

I am interested. I'm thinking Orcs with a twist.

@Brithwyr

Can never go wrong with orcs.

I look forward to enslaving a few for my armies and mines.

[Brithwyr]

<Snipped quote by Brithwyr>

Can never go wrong with orcs.

I look forward to enslaving a few for my armies and mines.

@GreivousKhan

And I look forward to stealing all the loot the corpses of your raiders will bring us

[Sigma]

I am interested. I'm thinking Orcs with a twist.

@Brithwyr

Cousins!! *squeezes brith* :P

I have an race of Orc-like people too, the Grogar, with a dash of troll/ogre likeness in that gene pool.

[salamimike]

Beakon

Beakon

Government
The country is in open rebellion with (PINK COUNTRY NAME), the wealthy have brought up arms with the help of the common folk. The country is run by these wealthy traders.

Geography

This should be more just a claim of your location. Talk about the climate, terrain, and important locations in your country. Specifically mention major cities and your capital. Bonus points if you have an internal map that includes highways.

Culture

Much like the government section, don’t drown us in details, though feel free to add more info under a hider or something. Is your country culturally homogenous or a mixture of ethnicities? Are your people humans or some other race? If you have various ethnicities, how do they interact with each other? What are your people’s values? Bonus points for adding insults they use to refer to the people from countries they have been at war with. A note about nonhuman races: do not simply make them arbitrarily superior to humans, if they are better than humans in one way then they will be inferior in another way.

Military

How do your people fight? What strategies and tactics do they usually employ? What sort of equipment do your troops use? What’s the emphasis of your military? Try to be somewhat unique here. If a pre-existing country makes heavy use of heavy infantry and shield walls, for instance, don’t do the same yourself. I am not interested in numbers or percentages, so don’t use them.

Heroes

Each country gets one superior hero and three normal heroes. In terms of combat strength expect a superior hero to be on par with about 150 men and normal heroes to be on par with 100 men. (Yes, this is the only place in the sheet where there are actually numbers) Basically these are the badasses of your country that you can use for point of view characters if you want. At absolute bare minimum you need a name and one line description of what your hero is good at; however, ideally this should be the largest section of your sheet. You can use any explanation you want for why your heroes are stronger than normal people. For example using magic, being blessed by a divine entity, or simply being very skilled with their weapons. Also keep in mind that if a hero dies you can replace him or her with a new one.

History

A brief history of your country is fine, so long as you cover the last 20 or so years. I’m looking for more of a summary of important events than list of dead monarchs.

Relations

How does your country interact with its neighbors. I am not looking for a list of exports and imports, but feel free to add them if you want. At bare minimum I want a listed rival here, another country that yours viewed as an enemy and actively worked against during the past twenty or so years.

Characters

Optional section. Put any info about any characters here. Examples of this would be your kings or queens, military leaders, and non-hero “badasses”. You can also put more detailed info of your heroes here as well.

[Brithwyr]

<Snipped quote by Brithwyr>

Cousins!! *squeezes brith* :P

I have an race of Orc-like people too, the Grogar, with a dash of troll/ogre likeness in that gene pool.

@Sigma

Mines are more like Orc Pygmies, really short with big hammers.

[Slamurai]

<Snipped quote by Sigma>

Mines are more like Orc Pygmies, really short with big hammers.

@Brithwyr

[Brithwyr]

<Snipped quote by Brithwyr>

@Aristo

More like

[Sigma]

@Brithwyr I can see the vast difference between the two races indeed :)

[Brithwyr]

@Brithwyr I can see the vast difference between the two races indeed :)

@Sigma

Ours also breeds like bees - many female warriors and workers and a handful of males, all lead by broodmothers. Dunno if yours are anything like that

[Slamurai]

Are they going to have an insane sexual dimorphism in which the males are ugly ad brutish and the females are all sexy?

[Sigma]

@Brithwyr Sort of, although not like a beehive, it sort of depends. Traditional Grogar Families make up the Matriarch, her mini-harem of mates, and then of course, the children. Although in more recent times, it's just one male and female pairing and children.

[Brithwyr]

Are they going to have an insane sexual dimorphism in which the males are ugly ad brutish and the females are all sexy?

@Aristo

No, no. Though the men are quite a bit taller than the women, and far rarer, they generally look quite similar.

@Brithwyr Sort of, although not like a beehive, it sort of depends. Traditional Grogar Families make up the Matriarch, her mini-harem of mates, and then of course, the children. Although in more recent times, it's just one male and female pairing and children.

@Sigma

Mine are kind of the opposite. Though most leaders are female, men are so rare that they kind of have to have harems. Its not uncommon for one man to be married to a orc girl and all her sisters. Higher ranking orcs might have the traditional one man, one woman thing.

[DELETED32084]

Before I dig through the character sheets, and because there is no geographic map, do we have a desert race yet?