Often, for undaunted courage,
fate spares the man it has not already marked.
- Beowulf
So every bondman in his own hand bears
The power to cancel his captivity.
- Casca, Julius Caesar
I shivered oddly in the cold, thin air,
And wondered where I was and how I came,
When a cloaked form against a campfire’s glare
Rose and approached, and called me by my name.
Staring at that dead face beneath the hood,
I ceased to hope—because I understood.
- A Memory, Lovecraft
fate spares the man it has not already marked.
- Beowulf
So every bondman in his own hand bears
The power to cancel his captivity.
- Casca, Julius Caesar
I shivered oddly in the cold, thin air,
And wondered where I was and how I came,
When a cloaked form against a campfire’s glare
Rose and approached, and called me by my name.
Staring at that dead face beneath the hood,
I ceased to hope—because I understood.
- A Memory, Lovecraft
Welcome to Azoth.
Welcome to a world scarred by history, to a world broken by the wars of ancients known now only as the Old Ones.
Who or what they were is mysterious even to the most learned, for they destroyed themselves in ages so distant only confused myths and legends remain. Some tell of a race of gods descended from the stars, others of kingdoms of devils that dwell still in the many hells below the earth. Azoth is strewn with the ruins of these advanced and strange peoples, haunted by ghosts and demons, warped and mutated by untamed magic. Millenia have passed since the fall of the Old Ones, and societies have risen and fallen in their wake.
The Broken Lands
It is now the Year of the Setting Sun 7,801, as reckoned by the astrologers of the Dratha.
Aigoth Stone Foot, High King of the Crooked Isles and all the Broken Lands, is dead.
Aigoth II, a mere boy ruled over by his mother, stands in line to replace him.
The Jarls, Princelings and Kings of the Great Clans grow restless: some call for a Kingsmoot and a new High King elected, others seek the throne, others independence, others still allies in the face of the looming threats from north, where pale-men of have begun raiding and despoiling the sons of men once more.
To the South...
The Salished Empire, the mightiest nation in all Azoth, has signed a new armistice with the with its ancient enemies, the wizard-lords of the Drathan Union, ending the Third War of Priests and Sorcerers. With the Drathan city of Zar Vorgul now firmly in his grip and his border fortified, the Shashul is now free to strike at the Broken Lands from the south. His legions are ready, they await the Shashul's command.
Welcome!
Everyone will RP as a Clan or faction in the Kingdom of the Broken Lands, a (very) loosely norse-inspired confederation of tribes and peoples in the world of Azoth. You will design your faction- one of the Great Clans, headed by a Jarl or lesser Kings. The High King, to whom all Clans owed feudal obligations, is now dead, a power vacuum created just as the powerful Salished Empire to the South begins to turn its attention northwards.
This will be lowish fantasy, and while norse-inspired, we shouldnt feel particularly limited by that in creating the setting.
I would like all Clans to be mostly human, but I'm ok with demi- or non-human characters and elements (eg, perhaps your Clan is allied with a giant tribe or your royal bloodline are implied to be werewolves, etc).
The culture, religion, history, etc of the Broken Lands- and indeed, the world- will be fleshed out by players. As always, I'm big on the collaborative world building and telling cool stories as a group of writers. If you're here to play Civilization: the Text Edition, maybe this ain't the place to be.
About This RP
-It is dark fantasy nation RP set in a harsh and unforgiving fantasy world living among the ruins of ancient, hyper advanced civilizations. Azoth is crawling with mutants and monsters. Resources are scarce. This is Lovecraft meets Tolkien meets Skyrim.
-I'd like this to be an exercise in collaborative world building. That means that we want factions and characters that feel like they inhabit a shared world. Players will collaborate heavily in designing their factions.
-It is low-medium fantasy: magic exists. It is powerful and dangerous.
-It is vaguely Renaissance tech. Cannons and arquebus are new military technology, and would be very very very rare in the Broken Lands, which are generally barbarous and backwards.
-It has archeo-tech from a lost, highly advanced civilization. Salvaged/repurposed Old One tech is common in many places across Azoth, though the Broken Lands are backwards in this respect as well. Old One ruins are very common all over the world.
-It has original fantasy races. (GM approval needed for original races, which can be allied/part of your mostly human Clan)
-Inspired by Tolkien, Warhammer fantasy and 40K, Lovecraft, China Mieville, Morrowind, Skyrim, Song of Ice and Fire...looking forward to seeing what others bring to the table.
- Advanced writing standards.
-Discord
Map (courtesy of @gorgenmast)
Setting Details
