mpjama2

Our Dark Star

-Oops-

Our Dark Star

Rhymer said
I would have liked to see another knight or sorcerer but your character is fine. I like your characters motivation (redemption fits nice with Our Dark Stars theme) He suddenly has a change of heart about how he treats the average citizen-getting older and all that, but something big must have happened for him to change policy on his attitude towards the worker. How does this affect his company? Does he pay workers better than your average corp? Do they love him for it or distrust his intent after living a life of disinterest in the plight of the common man? Also you need to write a favor, thats a class feature of the nobility. Zamiel you can add orders this turn if you want. MPjama2 finish up your character sheet and you can send orders this turn too.

Okie dokie then, fixed my character sheet. Will post soon. I hope you don't mind if I dropped a production and threw it into charm since Green lowered the amount of hours of his worker's shift.

Our Dark Star

Name: Lord Robert Green
Class: Noble
Stats: Assets(start with 5) Power(0) Production(4) Influence (4) Charm( 3)
Class Notes: Robert Green is a captain of industry, and produces various mundane manufactured goods. Green Enterprises produces cans, utensils, paperclips, plates, nails, bolts, you name it. It is worth noting that Green Enterprises produces nothing more complicated or larger than a bread-box. The Logo of Green Enterprises is commonly seen throughout the city.

Robert Green has begun to treat his workers somewhat better than the norm. Instead of the 10-12 hour shifts most factories send their workers through, he has begun to give them 8 hour days, with the pay that he used to give them with a 12 hour day. Also he grants his workers 2 days off for the weekend, rather than only Sunday which is the custom for which no one of this age remembers. Most notably, he has banned child labor within his factories. This is due to the event that kickstarted Green's change of heart, which I will not describe in great detail, but it involves a young girl working on the line loosing both of her hands.

Favor: Priest Basilious was the priest who has heard Green's confession, he took sympathy in Green's cause, and promised he will help Green with this task. On the honor of a priest of Tallus, Green can call a favor of this high-priest.

Character Description: Robert Green is old, 94 years to be exact. He began his life as a poor member of the underclass and worked on an assembly line, and cut his way up to the top of the social ladder with brutal efficiency. He was able to beat out his competitors by cutting worker's wages and thus increasing his profit. While his workers suffered, he lived in luxury. Robert lived like this the majority of his life, until he reached the ripe old age of 92, and began to think of what would happen to him in the afterlife. While for the most of his life, Robert could be described as disinterested in politics, now he seeks to improve the lives of the average citizen as some sort of redemption, and has bought his way into the council with generous donations.

40K: The Pirate's Life

Freebootas allowed?

The New Empires

~Naaru Dominion, Deephome~
Deep within the ocean depths, where the sun never shines, there lies a city. The strange city was carved into the side of a volcano. This relatively tame volcano has gentle slopes and occasionally spews smoke. The city itself consists of little more than small hovels and large spires haphazardly thrown about the volcano. The most pitiful hovels were simply holes into the ground, and the greatest of the hovels stood a few stories high and feature many stone pillars in their construction. The large spires soar hundreds of stories upwards into the water and all spires without exception use great stone pillars within their construction. Amongst the large spires is one of red granite and towers over the rest, which stands out amongst the buildings made of the blackish basalt. Coral grows throughout the city, and even climbs up the spires. The inhabitants of this city have dubbed it "Deephome".

While the city is certainly strange, the inhabitants could be said to be even stranger. The inhabitants, who are called merfolk by the rare sailor that spots them and call themselves Naaru, have pale milky white skin. Their eyes are pitch black and well adapted to the depths of the ocean. They have arms with webbed hands, and a scaly fish's tail instead of legs. The merfolk are completely hairless. They are somewhat smaller compared to a human, and have gills on the side of their neck. They have sharp pointed teeth for tearing meat. They lack ears, and only have holes where they would be, and they also lack a nose. In all other respects they are similar to a human's appearance.

Several of these merfolk darted in and out of the many spires of Deephome, carrying onwards with their daily business. An outsider may hear lots of song and singing emanating from the city, but in truth it is just everyday speech. It is simply more practical for the Naaru to speak in a way that doesn't separate its words with pauses, as ours does, because it would be harder to understand within the ocean. If one was able to understand the singing, one would hear a chaotic mess of merchants haggling their wares, some screaming at one another for some wrong done to them, and others were laughing in mirth.

Swimming above this chaotic din, was a merfolk surrounded by three guards. The woman was almost completely covered in pale white shells, while her guards had simple wrappings of seaweed and wielded spears tipped with bone. She raised her arm, signaling the guards to stop, and darted into a large chamber filled with several merfolk. As she entered the spire, she was met with a scolding in the merfolk's tongue: "[You are late, Ghassa.]" The voice emanated from the Naaru resting on a throne carved from the skull of a whale. The Naaru who sat on the throne was adorned with shells of vibrant color and strings of pearls that lazily hung about in the water. She gripped the spear of bone that was lain across her lap as her curled her face into a snarl: "[If I didn't know any better, I would think that you don't take my summons seriously.]" The rest of the merfolk in the chamber remained deathly quiet.

Unfazed, Ghassa took her place amongst the crowd and said: "[I apologize High-Mother Danassa, the currents were against me. I truly desire to learn what beasts have been encroaching on my territory and devouring my fish, perhaps more than anyone present.]"

The false display of anger faded from Denassa's face and she released her spear, she liked to keep her subjects fearful of her in case they stepped out of line. Danassa replied in the Naaru's tongue: "[Very well then Ghassa.]" The crowd breathed a sigh of relief, and Denassa continued: "[I believe I have left your curiosity unsatisfied for far too long, it is time for you all to learn what has been causing the schools of fish to slowly dwindle.]" The high-mother lifted her spear and pointed it at a member of the crowd: "Rise Rha, and tell the Naaru among you what you went through."

And so Rha rose ten feet into the water, he dared not refuse. Rha was a man who wore simple garments of seaweed, and nervously wrung his hands together in the presence of all of these mothers and fathers of great Naaru broods. He began to tell his tale with the entire room's eyes on him: "[I am Rha, I am a fisherman by trade. Not more than a few moons ago, I was near the end of the water in the Northern Fish Fields]", he nodded to Ghassa paying respect to the Mother of those waters and continued,
"[when I saw something strange skimming along the top. It was large and brown, and I believe most of it skimmed along the surface, although I didn't get much of a good look for reasons I will shortly describe. The beast cast its great net into the waters, and was gathered the school of fish I was hunting myself. I got caught in its net, and at one point was forced to breach the surface, and the cruel sunlight made it hard for me to see the skimming beast that captured me. Fortunately, I had my knife with me, and without it, I doubt I would be speaking with you today. Fearing my life, I fled into the depths.]" He sunk below once more into the crowd. The crowd murmured amongst each other, asking questions about what it could be and what they are going to do about it. Several hounded the poor fisherman for answers. After some time of this debate, Ghassa rose from the crowd exclaiming: "[I don't care what the beast is, I am going to kill anything that steals our food!]"

A far older merman, who's milky skin wrinkled said from the crowd: "[Let's not enter the mouth of a whale, we should learn more about the beast before we attempt to drive it from our waters. It could be extremely dangerous as our friend Rha has told us. What say you High-Mother?]"

The High-Mother thought for a short moment before declaring: "[Your words ring true, Shaa. Clearly old age has not taken away the sharpness of your mind. I will send several of my children to observe these strange beasts, and after a few moons we will drive them from our waters.]" After Danassa declared as such, there was no debate to what happened next. Although many held dissenting opinions, there was no defying the High-Mother. To outsiders, merfolk sightings raised from extremely rare to an uncommon occurrence within the Naaru Dominion.

TL;DR+Map of the Naaru Dominion

TL;DR There's a civilization of merfolk underwater, and they're pissed cause 'something' is taking their fish. That 'something' is fishing boats, and they are investigating the boats as of the present. Merfolk can now be seen above the water much more commonly than before within the Naaru Dominion, which happens to be this area:

The New Empires

Nation Sheet

Position on Map - (A quick note, even though it is quite expansive amount of territory, the merfolk have loose control of the territory, and if not at war a ship can get through unmolested.):

Name - Naaru Dominion
Flag - None.
Capital - Deephome: An underwater city carved into the side of an active volcano, it houses 100,000. Its primary industry is manufactured goods.
Other Major Settlements - Trenchtown: An underwater city carved into the side of a trench, it houses 50,000. Its primary industry is pearl-gathering.
Plaintown: An underwater city buried into the ocean floor, houses 20,000. Its primary industry is fishing.
(Most of the population lives in rural areas)
Population - One Million (The area they inhabit is sparsely populated)
Races - Merfolk or as they call themselves, Naaru

Culture - The Merfolk of the Dominion have quite a different set of values than your average land-dweller. They value individuality to the extreme, most would consider them to be extremely narcissistic and self-absorbed. While this is true, most merfolk embody a "If you don't bother me, I won't bother you attitude" and for the most part don't attempt to cause any trouble. Merfolk for the most part are extremely carefree, unless it involves what one considers their territory. This is because merfolk subsist off of the fish of the ocean, and encroaching on one's hunting grounds is taken very seriously.

They are born in clutches of a hundred of more, into what they consider families. They feel somewhat loyal to their families, but this loyalty is fickle. Whenever their first family is conquered by another, most simply are adopted into the new family without much consequence. Most in the depths spend their little free time singing, playing games with one another, or engraving artwork on stones.

Their individualistic nature has discouraged the spread of an organized religion, however most believe in 'spirits of the depths', who according to superstition are responsible for the ocean around them and the fortune and misfortune of particular Naaru.

Crimes - Merfolk don't take a very tough stance on crime, most crime is considered a personal matter. If a thief stole something from you, its your responsibility to deal with it. While Merfolk consider most crimes to be a personal matter, cannibalism is seen as perfectly acceptable. However, crimes committed against a leader of a family is perceived to be a crime against a family, which the family will deal with in their own way. The merfolk are not willing to waste bones or meat. Thus Merfolk get a reputation for being immoral. The only crime Merfolk take a tough stance on is territorial disputes, if one member of a merfolk family breaches another family's territory, the Merfolk is either disowned or the families go to war.

Government type - Feudalism. Several individual families of merfolk rule portions of the ocean depths, but they all swear fealty to the High Mother of the Briny Deep.

People in power -
-Danassa, High Mother of the Naaru Dominion and Mother of Deephome. She unified the Merfolk for the first time under the Naaru Dominion. She is a cunning ruler, and seeks to end surfacers fishing on the ocean of the Merfolk. She is 13 years of age, which is middle-aged by Naaru standards.
-Shaa, Father of the Trench of Pearls. Took over the Trench of Pearls from his wife. Is a cutthroat who takes any opportunity to make a profit. He joined Danassa because he feared her armies. He is 19 years old, and approaching death.
-Ghassa, Mother of the Northern Fish Fields. She leads the Fish-Fields, and wants to route the surfacers from the Naaru's waters at any cost. She joined Danassa because she believe that Danassa would drive the surfacers from their waters. She is 5 years of age, and is a young adult by Naaru standards.

Industry -
-Bonecarving: While considered completely useless to civilized surfacers, bone is the most practical and readily available material to the merfolk for weapons and tools.
-Fishing: Merfolk live off of fish, and most people take this occupation.
-Stonecarving: Slabs of stone and chisels are used to read and write under the ocean. A merfolk stonecarver is the equivalent of a scribe.
-Pearl-gathering: The most lucrative industry by far of the merfolk, the merfolk with their knowledge of the waters are able to harvest an astounding amount of pearls.

Military -
-Schools: A recent invention by Danassa, these are 3 dimensional formations of merfolk who are disciplined and armed with long spears. They decimate unorganized troops underwater.
-Militia: Most merfolk families rely of militias, untrained soldiers who attempt to swarm the enemy with short spears and speed. They lack discipline and are inferior to the Schools.

Landscape/Terrain -
-Deephome, an underwater volcano that is where the capital resides right in the middle of the dominion.
-Trench of Pearls, an underwater trench that provides the Dominion with its pearls. It sits at the south of the dominion.
-Northern Fish Fields, the best fishing grounds in the Dominion, naturally it resides in the Northern part of the dominion.

History (Dates are labeled Moons, when is the first Moon? Nobody knows. I left it vague on purpose in case if you have anything else to add)
-Pre-Dominion
This is the vast majority of Merfolk History. For the most part the Merfolk would form their own families, and those families would fall to others. In this period bone weaponry and tools were discovered, and for the most part Merfolk have left the surface world alone.
-Era of the Dominion (Present Era)
This era begins with Denassa's birth. She was able to unify the families with diplomacy and brute force. She claimed that the developing empires of the surface were depleting their food supply (which is somewhat true), to claim that the families need to unite to deal with this threat. And Denassa used Merfolk in formation to shatter any resistance who did not submit to her rule. In a few short years Denassa was able to expand her territory from Deephome to the entire Naaru Dominion. Now, the Merfolk who are unified for the first time in their history look skyward to deal with an alien threat.

-Races Sheet

Name -Naaru (Merfolk)
Appearance - Their skin is milky white, their eyes are pitch black and well adapted to the depths of the ocean. They have arms with webbed hands, and a fish's tail instead of legs. The merfolk are completely hairless. They are somewhat smaller compared to a human, and have gills on the side of their neck. They have sharp pointed teeth for tearing meat. They lack ears, and only have holes where they would be, and they also lack a nose. Otherwise, they are similar to a human's appearance.
Natural abilities:
-Waterbreathing: Can breathe underwater for a time, but can only breathe air for 15 minutes at a time and breathing air is somewhat exhausting.
-Navigation: Merfolk are extremely good navigators in water, able to find their way with the way of the tides and pull of the moon. They rarely get lost in the sea.
-Watersight: Merfolk can see extremely well in even the murkiest water, a downside is that they find it very hard for them to see in the harsh glare of the sun.
Lifespan
-20 years, but they mature at 2.
Homeland
-Naaru Dominion.

Lᴀʙʏʀɪɴᴛʜ ᴏғ Lʜɪᴠᴏʀɪᴀ

John Bigfeet was quite interested in what the flyers had to say. They seemed to be pretty important, since the king's men themselves put them up. However much John tried to read the fliers, he could not. Like most peasants, John did not know how to read. Besides, there wasn't ever a Bigfeet that was a scholarly man, it wasn't in their blood. Some say they are the kin of giants, since Bigfeet are bigger than other folk but not quite as bright. But, the fact that John couldn't read didn't really matter in the end, since the town crier read the flier to the townsfolk. John listened very carefully, but some of the words the crier used made John stroke his mutton-chops in an attempt to understand. He did understand the gravity of a wish, it could cure his sick mum. Sick was what, John didn't know and neither did the village doctor. What was clear was the illness was very serious, and she could die. So John set out to the kingdom proper, with plenty of bread, some water, and a big stick he uses to chase foxes away. Once he arrived, it was clear how much he stood out of the crowd. He was a foot taller than most, with a big smile on his face and a large club over his shoulder.

The Walking Dead - Survival: New Orleans

Frank slowly weaved through the abandoned cars, pistol drawn. He had just come off the highway, and he was walking though where people would stop and get some grub after traveling towards New Orleans. Of course, those days were long ago. At least they seemed long ago to Frank, in truth it had only been a year and a half. He had been traveling along the side of a semi-truck, a bit curious if there was anything of value inside. As he turned the corner, he saw one of the dead staring him in the face. It made an inhuman growl, and shambled toward him. Frank pointed his silenced pistol at the walker and pulled the trigger. With a thwip, the walker fell backward onto a nearby Porche, cracking the windshield. A loud car alarm echoed throughout the area, and the growls of the dead could be heard. Before taking off, Frank peered into the trailer and snarled. The entire truck was picked clean. The shuffling of the dead became audible, even over the car-alarm. Frank's eyes widened under his shades, and he took off in a dead sprint toward an apartment complex.