Dion

Who was Kangaroo to you? Friend or Foe

hated him

The Political Thread

@Andreyich seems my good friends in the EU haven't gotten that message yet

if they ever will. totally agree with u btw

The Political Thread

Tfw nordic social corporatism

@Andreyich

i hope the fuck not

unless you're ready for your system to collapse within a few generations because the burden on every subsequent generation gets larger and larger and the capacity to produce the funds for that burden becomes smaller and smaller

which sounds like an overall fun time because it allows you to literally import foreigners just to keep your shitty system going

unless you meant something else ofcourse

[ROLEPLAY LORE DUMP] BROACIEN.

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Permitte Divis Cetera

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Country name; Broacien
Capital city; Riverhall
Important location(s); Northpass
Stags' Rest
State-religion; Monarchism
Ruler; Harold Carley, the Young Stag
Other important figures; Gregar II, the Black Stag, Prince Pretender to the Crown and Faith
Princess Catelyn Carley, Riding Laugh, Princess Pretender to the Crown and Faith
Princess Anne Carley, Cradleborn, Princess Pretender to the Crown and Faith
Princess Csarina Carley, Princes' Fault, Princess Pretender to the Crown and Faith
Dowager-queen Matilde of Rosborough
Population; 899.749, latest census of the Faith

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Ever since the exile of the expedition for the banner of St. Friedrich, Broacien has faced a stagnant decline. Gregar I, first of his name, the Stag King, died in battle against the Khalyfate during a renewed period of conflict between Broacien and the Sawarim. He left behind a fractured kingdom, with his throne falling into the hands of Harold Carley, one of his two sons. Remaining estates that were previously in the hands of Gregar I were shared among the remainder of his children, as per the laws of gavelkind inheritance, and so the previously centralized power of Gregar I was diminished, and the war against the Khalyfate ended prematurely with the loss of the Red Sands keep. The keep was promptly renamed by the new Khalyf under the new name "Ghaliatan Ramal Al-Hamra."

Rather than order the Servants to ride forth and retake the keep, Harold Carley focused his efforts on his brothers and sisters, attempting to politically outmaneuver them in order to regain control of estates that should rightfully be his. In the eyes of the Servants, this weakened his position. Fortunately for Harold, he held the title of king, and according to the Broacien Monarchist faith, this made him God. While the Servants could not openly oust Harold from power, their growing support for Gregar II was noticed by all in the court, even the most inattentive.

The rise of the Raven King to the North, who had united the tribes and sent them forth to the far south to plunder and pillage, also did not go unnoticed. The many requests by Princess-Pretender Catelyn, wife to the lord of Northpass, to send Servants and soldiers to defend the border went unanswered. The establishment of a marauder stronghold in the islands to the north of Broacien only furthered to cause problems, and yet again these problems went unanswered in favor of internal political struggles.

It seemed that there was no end to the problems of Broacien. Following the loss of Redsand keep, the establishment of a new kingdom on their northern border, and the presence of northern marauders on their very shores, it was also apparent that the wife to King Harold would not produce heirs.

After being provoked countless times prior by Harold, Gregar II took this opportunity to seize power over the Servants, citing incompetence on the part of king Harold and proclaiming himself the true king, and as the true king, also true God. With the Servants on his side, and a large amount of soldiers from his private estates, he needed only solicit help from his allies, Princes-Pretender Catelyn and Princess-Pretender Anne, in order to secure victory.

Broacien seems on the brink of war with all its' neighbors, and civil war is looming.

[ROLEPLAY LORE DUMP] BROACIEN.

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From the cold rose a raven, with a quick mind and a strong body,
he united the tribes and commanded they build a fleet,
so they sailed south and burned the homes of their enemies,
and took their gains to be theirs now,
the golden pyramid was toppled and taken away,
the Raven cries for blood.

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Country name; the Thousand Tribes
Capital city; Ketillsborg, the first village in the North
Important location(s); Alfadirsted, home of the Godtree and religious capital
State-religion; the Northern gods, paganism
Ruler; Ketill the Hrafn
Other important figures; Najla Al-Ibn Wahad
Basim Al-Ibn Wahad
Population; Estimated 354.000, of which;
320.000 tribal nomads
2000 living in Ketillsborg
250 living in Fadirsbak
500 living in Alfadirsted
2000 thralls from Ye'inyani Mereti

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The justice system in the Northern tribes is the oldest justice system in existence in the known world. It's existence predates even the notions of modern states such as Broacien, the Sawarim state, and so forth. It finds it's roots in a gathering of all the tribes, or at least those that matter. These gatherings are called the althingi, and it occurs every 4 years. On these meetings, diplomacy is conducted as well as a gathering of the wisest seers among the tribes, who have memorized all the ancient laws by heart -- they must do so through oral tradition, because a codified system of writing does not exist outside of the runes, which only a select few can read, and would take too much space if they were used to codify laws.

On an althingi, it is possible for anyone to bring forwards a legal question or concern, or bring forwards a case against another. For example, the head of a family could bring forwards a case where he accuses a neighboring family of stealing cattle. Both sides must prepare their evidence and defenses, and the seers will then consider it.

Although this sounds rather organized, it is not uncommon that during the process fights and brawls may break out. If this happens, then it is considered that the outcome of the battle settles the debt, whether it existed or not. Bloodmoney is paid based on whether anyone died in the brawl or fight, and a final verdict is delivered.

The Thousand Tribes are known for performing particularly brutal punishments, that outmatch even the lashings of the Sawarim sultanate in ferocity. One example is the judgement by cuts. In a judgement by cuts, a case can be brought forward in which there must be, first and foremost, a primary wrongdoer. In many cases this is a head of a family, or otherwise the person who stood to gain the most from a crime. Secondarily, for this type of judgement, at least 1 accomplice is required.

Whoever is the primary wrongdoer and who is their accomplice is determined by the person holding court (either at the althingi, or the konungr, and lastly it is also possible (but rare) for chieftains to speak law themselves).

Once these roles are determined, the accomplice is sentenced to a certain amount of cuts at the hand of a blade. The amount will depend on the severity of the crime, but can also differ per lawspeaker (ex. the althingi is typically more lenient than the king due to differences in personalities). The cuts will have the length of the middle finger of whomever is speaking law.

If the accomplice endures the full amount of cuts without dying, they will 'go free' and their debt will be considered settled. In this (rare) case, the primary wrongdoer is executed, but will have earned 'passage to the afterlife' with the alfadir.

In the case that an accomplice does not survive the cuts, the remainder amount of cuts will be translated to ice-water lashings for the primary wrongdoer. During this process the criminal is publicly brought outside in nothing but some pants, and is dipped into icewater entirely before being pulled up, where he will receive a single lashing. Then he will be dipped in again, pulled out, and the process will repeat.

If the criminal dies during the lashings, it will be considered that his crime was too great (the number of lashings is considered a direct representative of the severity of the crime) or that he was too weak to endure. In both cases he will not earn a place besides the alfadir, and will be doomed to die a nameless death, where people would only remember them for their crime.

Were he to survive the lashings, his debt will be considered 'settled' and he will be executed by placing his/her forehead against a strong, steady object (like a wooden pole) while a speartip will be pushed into the back of their head, instantly ending their life. Because they died at the hand of an implement of war, and because they were strong enough to survive the lashings, he will have earned a place at the alfadirs side (if the alfadir deems him good enough).

example

Haesteinn and his sons have stolen from a nearby farmstead without earning the plunder in combat. The farmer he stole from brings the case to the King, who determines Haesteinn to be the primary wrongdoer, and his 3 sons accomplices.

He orders a hundred cuts for each of the sons. The first son dies after 54 cuts, and so the executor marks down the remainder -- 46 cuts. The second son dies after 45 cuts, and so the remainder is once again marked down -- 55 cuts. The last son survives all hundred cuts, and his debt is settled -- he is allowed to go free and no extra cuts are marked down.

Together, the two sons that died 'left behind' 101 cuts, so Haesteinn will have to endure 101 ice-water lashings. He survives the process, so the debt is settled and he is put to death at the hand of a swift blow to the back of the head with a speartip. He can still enter the afterlife at the side of the alfadir, because he was strong enough to survive.

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Hospitality plays a central role in the Northern tribes, as life here is particularly harsh. As a guest, you are expected to abide by any and all rules and laws of the location you are visiting -- this used to be a task that was quite impossible, but with the unification of tribes, and the standardization of local customs into a more cohesive 'Northern' custom, knowing the laws and expectations has become easier. You are expected to come bearing gifts, if you are visiting a friend or family member, although not offering gifts but instead offering blótaheita (sacrifice-promises) is permissible. Offering blótaheita when visiting strangers is customary, as bringing gifts can be seen as treacherous due to the potential of negative seiðr (magic) being performed on them. Offering gifts to strangers is not only seen as a potential bad omen, but is also seen as a grave insult -- hospitality is meant to be given and received out of the kindness of a persons heart, and should not be bought.

When offering someone the hospitality of your house or tent, it is customary to offer food and drinks. A typical, if not required food, is a standard salt and bread. The salt is to work up thirst, and the bread is meant to fill. These are the basis of any act of hospitality, and if the situation permits (i.e. you are wealthy) it can be built upon. Offering a place next to the fire is a good way to start expanding upon it, as well as offering a sleeping place. A next step could be the offering of (simple) stew. The more luxurious these expansions on the base (salt and bread) are, the more prestige a host would gain.

A customary drink would be to offer mead, although this is not always possible - mead is expensive. If mead is present in the homestead, it is expected to offer it, but if it is not present it is permissible to offer water (made from boiled snow) instead.

The most important footnote to take away is that hospitality is measured at the hand of your capacity. If you have nothing but the clothing on your back, but you arrange for bread, salt and mead, you will be considered a great hospitable host, and you will certainly win renown with others when the word is spread.

If you are very wealthy, but only offer bread, salt and water, despite having mead in a casket in your home, people will think you are an inhospitable host, which will reflect very negatively on you.

A failure to perform at a basic level of hospitality can even be considered such a great insult that a feud may be started, and it is possible that murder flowing forth from this could be declared justified by the althingi.

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For literal centuries the Northern tribals have lived in small communities consisting of several family units, trekking from place to place to satisfy their base needs. Besides the five islands, each of which holds a shrine to one of the many gods and goddesses of the Northern faith and have a nearby settlement where the pious and wise lived, there were only four other permanent settlements, the rest being only temporary shelters.

These four permanent settlements were small homesteads on the southern reaches of the Northern lands, where the land often gave enough time to plant a few crops before the winter came and made the land inhospitable.

Beyond these few people that managed to carve out a home of their own in the desolate, white winter wasteland were the tribals, who used rudimentary tools made with stone or, sometimes, iron from Broacien. They trekked around following the migrations of the animals they hunted. Life was harsh, unforgiving, and this life created a harsh and unforgiving people, who stood tall at an average of 6'2", and were said by the Broacieniens to be capable of commanding animals, perform witchcraft, and tear open rocks with their hands.

Far from the truth -- but it is easy to see where this stereotype came from. The Northerners prefered solitude and no monarch has been so bold as to invade them, because the armies would die of cold rather than swords, and the way to the tip of the peninsula was long. It was decided that it would be easier to cut them off, and in the following period of time a souther part of the Northern reaches was annexed by Broacien and a castle was built in the mountainpass that allowed passage from north to south, dubbed Northwatch.

The decrease in hunting grounds meant that a period of warfare between the tribes erupted, and many died during this time.

It would be easy to say that many magnificent things happened after that period of time, but the North was never a place known for it's innovations and they stagnated - the only form of progress was cultural, as skalds made their appearances and began a culture of poetry and story telling, and runestones were raised to honour the dead, living, and the gods.

The North stagnated and continued their decrepit existence until the arrival of the Hrafn, a man named Ketill, who would 'unify' the tribes and build a fleet of large, shallow ships that could fare up-river and raid the lands of those with more wealth than themselves. For this he gathered the tribes and made them contribute men, with the help of his spymaster and alleged concubine Najla al-Ibn Wahad, a former Sultana of the Sawarim Sultanate. Ketill was a former Servant in Broacien, marked with a red tattoo on his forehead, and held knowledge of the modern day practices in the rest of the world which he could use to aid the Northerners.

The Sultanate were the very lands they would sail through in the coming year.

Ketill's name soon became widespread and he was considered a chosen one of the gods, as he entered a fervent rage when he entered battle where he became an unstoppable force - berserkir - and with the help of his exotic concubine, who whispered in his ears and gave him advice, he would come to be the first Konungr -- king of the Northerners. The fleet he constructed sailed south through the free lands of the people beyond the mountains, where they established many forts and river outposts over the year to come, before venturing south to fulfill what Ketill had predicted in his visions years before that.

They sailed to the Ye'inyani Mereti, people with a charcoal skin and features that had never before been seen in Broacien. It was said they were so rich, their houses were made of gold, and their lands were so vast, they held more than any known kingdom. Their cities hugged the rivers, and made good use of the water, for their other lands were infertile, and because of this passage from Ye'inyani Mereti to the (new) Caliphate was particularly hard, as there was miles upon miles of no man's land between the two states of pure desert, that were impossible to cross.

However, the Northern fleet managed, utilizing the rivers the Ye'inyani Mereti had used for their growth against them. After bargaining passage with the Caliph that had ousted Najla's family in a coup, they passed through to the rivers of the Ye'inyani Mereti, and raided their capital.

Here they found a pyramid with a top of gold, which spread the sunlight around the city at noon, as the people of the Mereti worshipped the sun. Ketill toppled the top of the pyramid and melted the gold, and used parts of that gold to pay off the Caliph.

Now, the Northerners have ushered in a new era of supremacy -- they may be few, but they have a fleet unrivalled, and frequently raid all the countries around them.

[ROLEPLAY LORE DUMP] BROACIEN.

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1. The Thousand Tribes
2. Broacien
3. Khalafa Al-Suwaidi

The Political Thread

@tex you have to know a topic to read and summarize a few points now? I see

I guess I'll refrain from commenting on it then

The Political Thread

@tex you could do it too

Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator

A tool that many of us have wished for for a long time I imagine -- a map generator. And even better -- you can customize it, draw the landmasses yourself, and basically make everything you want to in a decent looking format. I present to you Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator.

Please share your maps in this thread -- I fucking love maps -- and explain a bit on what the story is behind it, like is it for an RP, is it just some random generated thing you built a story out of, or do you just like making maps?

Here's an in-progress map of mine based on my home-cooked universe, as an example of what you can do with the nifty little project.

RIVER GOBLIN'S AVATARS AND CHARACTER ART SHOP

@Goldeagle1221 draw your artistic impression of me

actually i meant @river goblin but goldeagle you can draw me too