Osetina is a feudal monarchy wherein practical autonomy is granted to the upper nobility in their domains, but ultimate authority resides in the crown. One third of the country is held by the crown in perpetuity, and the remainder is divided among the high nobility. The relationship between the high nobility and the crown is based upon the latter providing protection, stability, and law to the former in accordance with the rulings of the High Council of the Serene One.
The rulings of the sovereign are absolute in theory, though in practice convention dictates that the sovereign shall not impinge upon the rights of the high nobility to govern their respective domains how they see fit so long as that governance abides by the rulings of the High Council of the Serene One. High lords and ladies exercise near total autonomy under this convention, though they are in turn expected to pay tax proportional to their wealth and provide fighting men in times of war. While not strictly law, these conventions are entrenched to the point that their violation would be equivalent to undermining the state itself and earn harsh punishment.
When a king or queen dies their successor is considered to be whichever member of the immediate royal family was appointed to be the heir by the erstwhile sovereign. If the departed sovereign selected no heir all eligible heirs are expected to hold an election among themselves to select the next ruler.
With regard to eligible heirs, the princes and princesses of Osetina are granted temporary holds within crown lands which they may govern at the leisure of the sovereign. Meant to provide possible successors experience in governance the tradition also serves another purpose. On the occasion conflict breaks out among heirs that conflict may be resolved more expediently should the designated heir govern a larger share of the country. In cases where there is no clear successor eligible heirs often find themselves with lands of equal worth, making war a riskier proposition when election offers an easier avenue to command of the kingdom.
Geography
Osetina is dominated by a large mountain range broken in two by the Valley of Bones, a fertile stretch of land once contested by nearly every tribe on the peninsula. The climate in the mountains ranges from temperate in the summer to cool in the winter. For most of the year the foothills, valleys, and coasts can generally be described as mild, but wet.
Large forests in the north mark the border with Lynnfaire. Though largely thinned by agriculture where the land makes such a pursuit practical these forests dominate the northern mountains to the extent that they are often considered impassable without a local guide or a great deal of luck. The southern peaks are somewhat more amenable to travel, being carpeted by shrubs and wild grasses in the milder summer months.
The largest city on the Osetinan peninsula is Murno in south, the agricultural capital of the kingdom. Surrounded by fertile fields and near enough to the mountains to make the city a mining hub, Murno is the economic heart of Osetina. However, it is not the capital. That particular accolade goes to the honoured city of Otocres. Situated in the Valley of Bones Otocres was once the spiritual core of the peninsula, and it was there the First Prince declared his new kingdom.
Culture
Though ruled for centuries by a Lynnfairian upper class, the culture and society of Osetina is remarkably similar to what it was in the past. While largely human the nation is far from ethnically homogeneous. The largest division is between the denizens of the northern and southern halves of the country who share much, but still retain their own dialects and customs. Those in the north have long been exposed to the Lynnfairian customs by virtue of proximity, and that exposure has led to the old traditions changing in ways inconceivable to some in the south. Another division of note is the gap that exists between the people of the mountains and the majority people of the lowlands. Barbarous even by the standards of the lowest southern peasants, the mountain peoples are a brutish and mysterious lot. Speaking the old ritual tongue, some even keeping to the wicked religion, the mountain folk pay taxes only when they are forced to and it is not uncommon for that to be the case. Some call them the last vestige of the old Osetina, and others call them the perpetual thorn in the side of the new Kingdom.
As for the majority in the lowlands, custom is not so varied as some would insinuate. The southern folk still use the old titles of Chief, Witch, and so on, but though the names change in the north the roles stay the same. Whether they are called Chief or Mayor, one still comes to be the village elder through the old contests of strength. If a village man can best his better in whatever odd martial ritual is that regions custom then in most cases he is to be the new leader. That is not to say that such custom extends far beyond the rule of villages.
North or South, Lynnfairian rule has made anyone titled count or higher immune to challenge. Powerful lineages rule any settlements or fortresses of real note and in general they care little for the old ways. With the support of the Church the powerful ruling class is free to go about its business, their right to rule enshrined and made holy by doctrine.
Yet in the end the low folk think about their betters as infrequently as their betters think about them. They pay their taxes, live their lives, and attend the great multitude of odd pagan festivals that time has twisted the meaning of. Song, dance, merriment, the foundation of Osetinan culture is in what happens after the day is through. Family ties are strong, and though it is common to men to head their houses the reverse is not unheard of. Osetina does not vilify women, but neither are they given explicit honours.
That is, unless they carry the old blood. The Witches of Osetina are often seen as in a class of their own, above their male counterparts and aside from the social order. To practice magic as a female is to join an ancient sisterhood, one whose right to exist is explicitly guaranteed by the nobility. Small castles built and used by the Witches periodically dot the countryside of the south, and none ask their purpose.
The highest born live by Lynnfairian custom, but only where it pleases them. In truth the traditions of the nobility are unique, but only in the way they seem to blend foreign values and religion with native pragmatism. Answerable only to their peers, the rule of the nobility is unchallenged everywhere but the mountains of the interior.
Military
The soldiers of Osetina have grown to know the hills and mountains of their homeland, and it is in that environment they know how to fight. Fielding almost no mounted forces Osetina looks to dominate terrain where cavalry would be hard to deploy effectively. Short shorts, heavy armour, strong shields, and frightening masses of pike are what make Osetina a force to be reckoned with.
The fighting square is the preferred formation in Osetina. With Footmen to form the outer walls and Pikemen and Crossbowmen to form the inside, the formation is a minor fortress to itself. The shield heavy formations are ponderous and lack flexibility, but in rough terrain they are powerful as other normally mobile forces share their handicap.
Heroes
To hold the position of High Witch is not an easy thing, and few have held it as long as Imogen. Born to a lesser noble family in the south Imogen wanted for little when she was young, and when it became apparent she could use the old blood in her veins to bend the laws of creation she wanted for nothing. Yet even the high position in the Witches guaranteed by her power and noble birth was not enough. By seventeen Imogen had already risen in the ranks to be one of the youngest Great Witches, and by twenty five she had usurped leadership of the ancient order. Imogen may not be the most powerful witch in memory, but her ambition and cunning make that an afterthought.
History
The very earliest of Lynnfairian records all speak of the menace to the south, that land of tribal barbarians and their cruel eldritch gods. For centuries the strange people of that jagged land plundered and laid to ruin the fertile plains of Lynnfaire in defiance of countless punitive expeditions, all of which crumbled upon the southern mountains. Yet in year x of the Age of Heros that all changed. An unremarkable Lynnfairian third prince sought the blessing of his father and the church to embark on another expedition, one with merely a third of the resources of its predecessors. Though all thought him sent to die, he would usher in a new era.
Marching south with his south the prince at first saw little resistance, like all who came before him. All that seemed to remain of the forest's inhabitants was tracks, a notable lack of game, and the unearthly sensation of being watched by unseen eyes. The price knew they would bide their time until he was well into the northern mountains before they struck, but rather than
1. crazy fucking heathens be pillaging 2. our expeditions keep dying on shitty mountains 3. useless third prince volunteers to lead another expedition 4. useless prince leads a smaller expedition and crosses the mountains without staving or getting caught up in a long formation and ambushed 5. prince encounters a tribe in the central valley and treats with their chieftain 6. chief seems to dig the serene one and rather than sacrifice his rather powerful witch daughter offers her to the prince 6. the chief and prince lead a homebrew crusade against the old gods and rally more tribes under their banner 7. after years of war prince unifies the peninsula, the chief dies before the war ends and as he is married to the witch he is seen as the new great chief 8. prince is pronounced first king of Osetina by acclaim 8. a new expedition is sent after years of assuming the prince is dead and the raids not really stopping until recently (decentralized tribes, news is slow) 9. prince marches to meet the expedition
Just to recap @Darkspleen The whole premise was they were the direct offspring of the last primordials and weren't into the whole mortality thing, so they found a way to sacrifice others with primordial blood to stay alive. The ritual slowly warped them into eldritch monsters with powerful magic, but an ever decreasing humanity. 1400 years later they were just gradually weakening animals fed by a fearful populace that honoured them as gods. The Founding Prince came around and led the rebellion that united the tribes and slaughtered the old 'gods' who were powerful by the standards of the mages 200-300 years ago but by that point so starved that they were basically just extraordinarily powerful magical animals.
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.
Osetina is a feudal monarchy wherein practical autonomy is granted to the upper nobility in their domains, but ultimate authority resides in the crown. One third of the country is held by the crown in perpetuity, and the remainder is divided among the high nobility. The relationship between the high nobility and the crown is based upon the latter providing protection, stability, and law to the former in accordance with the rulings of the High Council of the Serene One.
The rulings of the sovereign are absolute in theory, though in practice convention dictates that the sovereign shall not impinge upon the rights of the high nobility to govern their respective domains how they see fit so long as that governance abides by the rulings of the High Council of the Serene One. High lords and ladies exercise near total autonomy under this convention, though they are in turn expected to pay tax proportional to their wealth and provide fighting men in times of war. While not strictly law, these conventions are entrenched to the point that their violation would be equivalent to undermining the state itself and earn harsh punishment.
When a king or queen dies their successor is considered to be whichever member of the immediate royal family was appointed to be the heir by the erstwhile sovereign. If the departed sovereign selected no heir all eligible heirs are expected to hold an election among themselves to select the next ruler.
With regard to eligible heirs, the princes and princesses of Osetina are granted temporary holds within crown lands which they may govern at the leisure of the sovereign. Meant to provide possible successors experience in governance the tradition also serves another purpose. On the occasion conflict breaks out among heirs that conflict may be resolved more expediently should the designated heir govern a larger share of the country. In cases where there is no clear successor eligible heirs often find themselves with lands of equal worth, making war a riskier proposition when election offers an easier avenue to command of the kingdom.
Geography
Osetina is dominated by a large mountain range broken in two by the Valley of Bones, a fertile stretch of land once contested by nearly every tribe on the peninsula. The climate in the mountains ranges from temperate in the summer to cool in the winter. For most of the year the foothills, valleys, and coasts can generally be described as mild, but wet.
Large forests in the north mark the border with Lynnfaire. Though largely thinned by agriculture where the land makes such a pursuit practical these forests dominate the northern mountains to the extent that they are often considered impassable without a local guide or a great deal of luck. The southern peaks are somewhat more amenable to travel, being carpeted by shrubs and wild grasses in the milder summer months.
The largest city on the Osetinan peninsula is Murno in south, the agricultural capital of the kingdom. Surrounded by fertile fields and near enough to the mountains to make the city a mining hub, Murno is the economic heart of Osetina. However, it is not the capital. That particular accolade goes to the honoured city of Otocres. Situated in the Valley of Bones Otocres was once the spiritual core of the peninsula, and it was there the First Prince declared his new kingdom.
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.
That's generally how I'd like to do mine too. I have vague ideas but I need to collaborative with people and figure out some basics before getting too involved in my history.
Lord Zee
yoshua171
