A Strange World: The Strength of Empires [OOC | Closed]

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 9:35 am

The Strength of Empires

The dawn has risen upon a new world - a world unlike that you may know. Shattered by a catastrophic impact not long after the extinction of the great thunder-lizards, Earth is not as it should be. This impact, a star falling to earth, changed not only the shape of all the lands, but also their contents. This star bore strange lights and queer crystals, changing and warping the planet on which mankind slowly arose. Continents were broken, minds shattered, even animals and plants twisted and changed. It is a strange world now - one in many ways hostile to humanity - but in the end, it is your world still.

You stand forward as one of the leaders of a growing empire of men. No longer mere tribes, nor polises, far greater than humble city-states; the mechanisms of nations in truth, of crowns and kingships and bureaucracy and the force of arms - all these things have been manifested upon the world. In fire and blood and bronze have the states of the world been forged, some using peace and the strength of their industries to grow and expand, others conquering at the point of the sword. No longer do men live in kindreds and humble hovels. Great cities of stone, populated by thousands, teem at strategic rivermouths, sprawling across fecund plains and in the passages of glowering mountain ranges. It is a time of instability, but also a strange promise. Man has come into his own, and his threat is no longer the dark things of the world, nor the brutes of the field, but his fellow humans of flesha and bone and arcane might. Will you lead your people to greatness in this new age of war, conflict, and competition, or falter and be forgotten by the histories? Come, and tell the tale of the Strength of Empires.

An emergent mechanics-based RP, focusing on civilizations and the men and women who rule them. Some basic things you might want to know about how this is going to be run:

New civilizations begin with a single settlement, and I am accepting a maximum of fifteen civilizations. You may (most likely will) want to erect more holdings across your lands, and claim new vistas for your people, for in growth is the security of one's lineage.

You should expect to make an IC post once every 48 hours or thereabouts IRL, but more will be encouraged. This is a nice, simple and straightforward expectation, with absolutely no strings attached. These posts correspond to the passage of a year's time, in-character, and will be resolved by yours truly to chart the course of your civilization.

Every new civilization begins with 3000 inhabitants, equivalent to three population units, and a variety of districts, quarters, and resources as are proper for the region they choose.

Civilization capitols are marked in hexagons, minor settlements in squares. Some minor settlements may be ruins.

Code: Select all: [box][align=center] [b][i]Civilization Name Goes Here[/i][/b] [b]Map Color:[/b] [b]Brief Description:[/b] [b]Starting Location:[/b] (Generalized description or specific location). [b]Civilization Specialization:[/b] [/align][/box]

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 9:36 am

Civilizations

The Many Mothers of Fastaqui: Stalwart sons of the Skazad, voyagers on the Mirror Sea, the Many Mothers are a matriarchal culture perhaps most known for turning back the forces of the Midnight Horde before their walls and by the blood of their many citizens. Only fighting tooth and nail street to street was the foe repelled, and so the hatred of the Many Mothers for the black skinned invaders is dark. From Fastaqui herself but a single settlement do the Mothers call home, south in the foothills of high mountains up the Skazad - Karowa of wealth and ore. Her wild and rambunctious ways are known throughout the East. Written by Olthenia, and graven in ochre.

The Arameri Dominion: Strange changed men and women of the Endless Ocean, the Arameri are mer, shaped by arcane forces of a thousand sons into creatures altogether like and yet unlike the stock of which they sprang. Insular by and large, but lovers of the sea, the thin white ships of the Arameri and their mages are common sights in ports of the west, though their numbers are few. Written by Novas Arcanum, and graven in gold.

The Stalheim Hierarchy: In numbers, the Stalheimadrin are most prevalent upon the coasts of the Endless Ocean - their ageless pale leaders at the head of hosts known from the frozen north to the humid south. Their cities, builded in stone bone-white and abyss-black, sprawl along the River called Great by the inhabitants of the capitol, Kharbarinth, the City of Bells. Masters of geomantic magic and creators of weapons and artifacts graven with runic enchantments, the settlements of the Hvasskyn, the Keen Folk, march from Cadmus in the distant north to even Steelsworn in the east. Artisans with few equals, their craft and shaping of metals is legendary in the wide world. Written by G-Tech Corporation, and graven in gray-blue.

Usir: Terrace farmers and mountain-cutters, the hierarchical society of the Mason-Masters flourishes in the southern mountains, living in isolation from its fellows since generations in the past. Flourishing under the eye of hero-god Djerhotep, the one who hewed fair Usir from the bones of the earth themselves, the Usir are builders and engravers without equal. Written by the Knights of Azorea, and graven in earth.

The Forge: An anarchic and insular people, content for many long life-ages of cities to live in isolation upon their island in the Endless Ocean - their working of the iron blood of their tropical home is formidable, as is their craft wrought large upon their island home. Little given to the social strictures and governmental structures of other lands, the Forge-Masters take their inspiration from the world around them, only scarcely forming a city due to the local presence of deep hematite veins. Written by the Gametopians, and graven in rose gold.

The Varevians: A shamanistic people of the deep forest, the sons of the woods of Ampen live in near complete isolation, primitive by the standards of many, but skilled in traversing their shadowed and labyrinthine home. A monolith circle of stones forms the heart of their civilization, harkening back to days of the distant past. Explorers and wayfarers, their knowledge of the breadth of the world around them is vast, though they seldom travel beyond their beloved forest. Written by Holy Tedalonia, and graven in dark gray.

Xcotl: Once dwellers in the deep desert, the migratory people of Xcotl forged a great city on the banks of a river they found after leaving their exile. Mages and seekers after the arcane, they have flourished despite a politically tumultuous existence, raising vast armies of the undead to fight their wars and farm their fields. One time enemies of the Midnight Horde, then vassals, then nearly destroyed when they rebelled, constant warfare has seen the desert spread into their homes, but Xcotl endures. Written by the Empire of Tau, and graven in regal purple.

The Uusharan: Exiles, blood-priests of Xcotl, Ancestor-Worshippers where such beliefs were nearly extinct. The Wandering Gray roam the far steppes of the known world, beholden to no man, sackers and pillagers inclined to slaughter more than diplomacy. A swarm in motion of undead and their masters, they seek immortality buoyed by an ocean of blood. Written by Ralnis, and graven in no circle.

Vranapola: A rigid caste-based culture based in angelic hero-ancestors, the plainsmen of Oveira range far and wide across the steppes of the north, horses and cattle in their numbers the wealth of a society. Traders when they can be, and not beholden to any man, their egalitarian society of the electorate is a curious one in the wider world. Written by Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States, and graven in oak.

The Honori: Stalwart sons of the sand and the Two Rivers, the matriarchal society of the Honori and their great city of Mara has seen blood and death, fire and sword, but she stands nonetheless resolute. Recently battles in her streets between peasant and ruler caused the pavingstones to be dyed red with the gore of the slaughter, but at long last her shackles are thrown off, and she owes no allegiance to any man. Her sister-sons, the cities of Eiki and Yurwa, populate the lands nearby in bountiful harvests. Written by no man, and graven in pale green.

The Puqina: Raiders and dwellers in the high mountains where other men would blanch, the Sons of Two are slavers and bloodthirsty warriors, their warbands sweeping down into the lowlands frequent troubles for the Desert Kindreds and the men of Nekhen and Mara. Ruled by soldiers and priests, and possessing temples stained near black by generations of bloody sacrifice, their appetite for war is ill to be sated. Written by Saxony Brandenburg, and graven in wine-dark purple.

Lordaeron: Stalwart warriors of the Light, men who have lived through deprivation and struggle with no complaint, only stony-eyed silence. Upon their peninsula they stand behind the fortress city of Brewnwall, their capitol of Stormwind secure against all but assault from sea. In their religious rituals and holy fervor they have stood the test of time, and now look to the waves of the Endless Ocean for their bounties. Written by no man, and graven in deep burnt orange.

The Great Zhou Imperium: Survivors and warriors, the men who serve the Zhou Empress are workers in bronze and iron, one-time vassals of the Midnight Horde, now free of their influence but having suffered for the privilege. In blood and sweat they wiped away their shackles, at the cost of many lives, arcane masters surviving where many perished. In their city upon the coast of the Endless Ocean in the cool northern tundras they persevere. Written by no man, and graven in rose.

The Pale Hunters: Barbaric folk of the North, living in the ice, remnants of many desperate men and warriors of savage gods of cold and death. In the tundra and storms of their homeland they are shadows few can face and live, save the Midnight Horde, to who they swear their allegiance as the superior sons of slaughter. Their bronze weapons are few, but their lack of technology atoned for by their survivalist lifestyle and surprising numbers, buttressed by a toughness of character and berserk ferocity few soft warmlanders can match. Written by no man, and graven in ivory.

The Fergdal Freehold: Strong warriors of stone and stalwart hearts, loyal folk of honor. Prominent vassals of the black men of the Bloodright, foes of the Zhou Imperium, their jewel of a city has stood on the Northern River since time immemorial. Cunning are their crafts, and their totems to the spirits of the land are visible over many leagues from their walled home. In iron are their soldiers shod, and their professionalism and tenacity in the field is formidable compared to their neighbors. Written by no man, and graven in forest green.

The Folk of Orleans: Decadent mystics of the inner desert, riders upon the sandworm which stalks the shifting wastes. Their pleasure city is sought by man, but the harsh sun and baked land have claimed their own toll on those who would travel to Orleans to sate the desires of their flesh without a guide of the Wandering Kindred. The trade routes across the desert rely on their good will for passage, and even those martially inclined sons of Saladon and the Midnight Emperor fear to face them where grass gives way to the trackless wastes. Written by no man, and graven in shining silver.

Maelon: Mother of the living stone, burnt, devastated, but unbroken. In the shadows of mighty walls and ancient fortresses the diminished progeny of Maelon make their homes, having fought nearly to the last man against the foe that came against them, still secured by the work of their ancestors' hands. Their humble herds of goats and sheep range in the vales of the Spine, but a proud leader could turn them into a mighty city once more. Written by no man, and graven in violet.

Saladonia: Honorbound soldiers and traders, fearful of plague and vassals of the Midnight Emperor of well-known fealty. Their many gods and ancestors are honored in a thousand ways, and the fierce clan-bonds of the age still hold the many cities of the sundered tribes to Saladonia herself. A certain contingent of the Saladonians, called the Marchers, were unwilling to accept fealty to the Horde, and have wandered far in distant lands. Their arcane knowledge is quite advanced in some ways, though their mastery of the natural world less certain compared to those around them. Written by no man, and graven in amber.

The Kingdom of Serrith: Farmers and herders, surprisingly adept at trading in their neck of the woods which teems with small settlements. Their complex social structures of noble families have led to many power struggles over the years, a tradition which is thankfully usually bloodless. A reticent vassal of the Midnight Emperor, but faithful nonetheless due to the relative mercy the Horde showed to them during its conquest. Recently they have taken to the seas, and their light longships range as far south on the Wine-Dark Sea as fair Fastaqui, though trade with the Many Mothers is necessarily clandestine. Written by no man, and graven in sea green.

Gergan: A slave city known for the vast mines upon her cliffs and the stench of human misery in her markets, the Emerald Queen holds wealth beyond the reckoning of many, and her mercenary companies are known from Serrith to Ita. Behind high walls she has seen off many sieges by those whose kindred languish in her slave-pens, and her gem-sorcerers are understandably feared for the havoc they can wreak on an unsuspecting foe bent on a righteous crusade. Immoral, cunning, and quick to laugh, the men of Gergan hold few things sacred, and profit for it. Written by no man, and graven in emerald green.

The Freehold of Ita: Prominent masons, prideful in their civic duty and followers of many sacred traditions, the wayward sons of Ita value their freedom most highly, for long in the chains of the Midnight Emperor did their kindred languish. Many walled, but with scarce enough soldiers to man a tenth of her defenses, Ita mainly trusts in the strength of her reputation for her defense, and is a shrinking people. Still, their glory is not wholly forgotten, and in their cunning crafts and religious rites is a strength of character one would ignore at their peril. Written by no man, and graven in mountain bone.

The Kingdom of Nekhen: Necromancers, monument builders, an autocratic society that has spread beyond its river-valley home. Once the steppe-pyramid kings looked to the stars to guide their path, then they perished before a society of dark priests who raised the dead from their desert tombs to butcher the living. In bloody war they expelled the followers of the first necromancer, who fled into the utter north. Now they fear his return, but live day to day in their palaces and many tombs as did their ancestors, praying that day never comes. Written by no man, and graven in inky blackness.

The Folk of Ngolo: Sojourners from beyond the sea, smiths and warriors of repute, the religious kindred of the island paradise of Ankandriana live in relative isolation, fishing from small ships and hiding ashore from the fierce storms which occasionally wrack the region. Led by a king who can trace his bloodlines back to the prophet who saved the Ngolo from a life buried beneath inhospitable dunes where water was not known, they stand apart from the tribes of the mainland, but confident in their own strength. Written by Theyra, and graven in shimmering green.

The Bloodhounds: Savage men of the hinterlands, a civilization of blood and bone kept together on the back of strength and martial prowess. The cannibal-soldiers of the Bloodhounds worship the Dog, and venerate a variety of Ancestor-Gods who manifest as a variety of strange and twisted canine beasts, demanding blood sacrifices and ritual combat of their worshipers. It is rumored that the warriors of the Bloodhounds will even consume the flesh of their enemies, and wear armor crafted of the bones of fallen foes. Written by Alta Californians, and graven in rusted blood.

The Aled Aederyn: A formerly savage kindred, now finally risen to the bounds of civilizations on the banks of an immense river. The Aled Aederyn are a simple kindred, unaccustomed to war or bloodshed, in tune with the rhythms of the seas and the many spirits that make their homes in the wide world, in the trees, the fields, the mountains, and the sky. Written by Elerian, and graven in pale lavender.

The Institute: A war-torn nation of scholars and wise men, formerly isolationist, now opened to the world due to the realization that they will destroy themselves if they don't leave their homes for foreign lands at least to learn. Bureacrats, petty rules, and the weight of the administration are defining features of the Institute. Written by the Order of the Black Cross, and graven in brightest blue.

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 9:36 am

The World of Men

Basic Concepts

Population
The citizens of a civilization are her lifeblood; without them, she does not exist. For the purposes of this RP, citizens are referred to in units of a thousand men and women - a Population, or Pop. Populations by default do not possess a Specialization, but may indeed be Specialized as Artisans, Scholars, Soldiers, Settlers, and so on, allowing them to accomplish new and varied tasks.

Settlements
Settlements define the regions a civilizations control, and are where her population and citizens make their homes. Settlements have a variety of characteristics, such as the region type they exist in, the amount of fertile soil they compose, the resources they give access to, and the districts and quarters that have been constructed within them. Each Settlement has a separate population, which is tracked for that individual region, not the civilization as a whole.

Districts
Districts are the delineations within a settlement, and define how the citizens of that settlement can contribute to the wellbeing of a given civilization. Most Districts represent general categories of civilized life and material culture which provide small bonuses or resource incomes, but which may be improved by the construction of Quarters within their confines to improve these bonuses. By default, one District may be constructed in a Settlement for every Population. Districts also, by default, may contain up to four Quarters.

Quarters
In a word, the meat on the bones of Districts. Without Quarters, most Districts will struggle to be of great worth. Most Quarters occupy one section of a District, but some occupy more.

Food
Food is necessary to supply a populace - it is gained naturally from the resources around a settlement, but can also be specifically created with Agricultural Districts and Quarters. Every Population consumes one unit of Food, while 250 Soldiers consume 2, and each Small Squadron consumes 2. Unfed Population or military formations will rapidly decrease public order at a rate of -1 per Year per relevant unit and may defect or launch uprisings against an incompetent government. Population growth is also dependent on excess Food - a new Population will be created every time the amount of Growth (accumulated excess Food) in a Settlement reaches the capacity of five times the current Population size. Thus small Settlements with large food excesses will grow rapidly, while large cities even with large excesses will grow more slowly. Domesticated Crops give a +1 Food/year bonus to any settlement that possesses them, per each type. Growth is stalled for three years after a Population is moved from a city smaller than size 4. Note that, in the event of famine, Growth may not be consumed to prevent starvation - the excess food is stored in the form of the next generation, not an accessible source.

Resources
Resources are broadly divided into two categories: Food, and Materials. They have several different qualities, such as being Dangerous, Arcane, Fermentable, Ores, and so on. Understanding what these tags mean will help understanding how resources determine what a civilization can accomplish. Settlements draw resources from their home region only by default. Domestic Crops may be spread to other settlements in exchange for the labor of one Citizen and 10 Wealth, and Domesticated Animals likewise with an additional 2 Industry. Note that Domestic Crops and Domesticated Animals have preferred climates - spreading them outside of those regions will carry a risk of failure.

Advanced Concepts

Governance
In general terms, it is the duty of the state to ensure that its population is well fed, housed, and secure. A government that fails to accomplish this duty will eventually find its citizens abandoning it for more hospitable polities. The ability of a government to accomplish this goal can be augmented with research and societal advancement.

Warfare
Warfare is conducted by Soldiers and Squadrons, upon land and sea. Their strength in combat is determined by a combination of their Military Expertise and their equipment, which is manufactured at a Smithy in a Military District, or at a Shipyard in a Harbor District. Military Expertise may be raised by assigning soldiers or a navy to train at a relevant staffed District (Military or Harbor), where each relevant unit (250 Soldiers or a Small Squadron) will generate one tick of Expertise. Military Expertise Tiers take ten ticks to advance, with an additional ten for every Tier beyond the Tribal Warrior - Militia transition. Military Expertise degrades by one tick by default if a civilization has no armies or navies in existence.

250 Soldiers may be trained for 6 Food and 4 Wealth - they do not cost Population, but their cost in Food is high. All Soldiers take three Years to raise, two if a Military District in the Settlement they are being raised in is full of Quarters of any type. The Capitol of any Civilization may by default always raise up to 250 Soldiers at a time, regardless of the possession of a Military District or any Barracks. Any Soldiers being recruited must have their recruitment cost paid for in the first year they are being constructed. Every 250 Soldiers consume 2 Food per year in maintenance.

Armies of any size may patrol up to 4 regions from their base of operations. Fleets, 8. Aership Squadrons, 12. Each military unit may patrol less than this maximum range, and the chance of intercepting an opposing force in the patrolled region is equivalent to 1/(Number of Patrolled Regions). Units only damaged or partially destroyed may be retrained or repaired for a percentage of their cost minus 25% - so a unit reduced to half strength (50% losses) will only require 25% of their cost in time and resources to be raised back to full strength. From this perspective, it is wise to withdraw from battle if victory cannot be achieved where possible.

Expansion
Establishing new Settlements is very simple - all it requires is a vacant region, and Settlers, who can be created from any Population in exchange for the value of ten Food for each existing Settlement within a Civilization, as well as 20 Wealth. These new Settlers can travel to that vacant region, and will there establish a new Government District. Population may always be moved into these new Settlements, or between existing Settlements, but keep in mind that this form of forcible relocation will decrease Public Order by five for every Population moved, and so should be used sparingly. Each Settlement beyond the first also automatically decreases local Public Order by one every year.

Public Order
A civilization relies on social cohesion for its integrity - if men and women no longer feel that there is any reason for them to listen to orders from their leaders, either at home or far afield, that civilization will soon fragment. As such, specifically cultivating feelings of solidarity and kinship in a populace is of great importance to most governments. A positive Public Order has no particular benefits, by default, but if Public Order every falls to -10 Population growth will be halved, and at -20 a Settlement will rebel. Take care your Settlements do not sink to such levels of discontent. Public Order also falls by one for every Population that does not have Housing during a year.

Technological Advancement
Specialized Scholars will push the bounds of human knowledge, and thus give great boons to those who engender their services. They slowly generate Science, at a rate of one per year per Scholars, which can be used to either purchase technologies from the list below, or create new technologies of greater utility. Technology may be shared, if both parties in the transaction agree to such, and is then studied at double the normal rate.

The Mystic Arts
Many schools of Arcana exist, which empower and aid their practitioners in navigating the strange vistas of the world. Learn these schools, and their benefits will be revealed. Each School costs a base 10 Science, but an additional 10 Science are necessary to access every new School after the first. Thus the ability to acquire some form of Arcana is simple, but the ability to master many is rare.

The School of Sunstrength: A newer and gentler form of Magicks compared to many, Sunstrength is a simple rite, allowing users to take for themselves each day a tiny portion of the heat and light the sun blasts onto their bodies and store it within themselves as a coil of hardened energy. Though practitioners must rest long periods between using this power, when it is released it costs the user little save exhausting their reserves of Solar Energy. Sunstrength mages naturally generate one Solar Energy per year by default.

Sunfire: The simplest method of the School of Sunstrength, a user channels the stored power out of their bodies in one great burst, a ball of flame and heat which can sear men or even slay them if they are unlucky. This takes four Years to train an Army in, and increases their Ranged Combat strength in the initial Ranged Combat phase by 50% when used. Requires 2 Solar Energy to use. 15 Science
Method of Channeling: A secondary Sunstrength ability, this Method allows multiple Mages to combine their skills into greater efforts than any could achieve alone. Each additional Mage amplifies the effect of a collaborative ritual by 20% using this Method, and training Mages in this Method requires 6 years. 20 Science
Method of Externality: This secondary Sunstrength ability allows the user to impart Sunstrength to others, or even to portions of the world around them. Though normally a waste, when transferred to other Mages this allows multiple mages to move through their recharging period at a geometric rate. Training Mages in this Method requires 5 Years. 20 Science
Method of Intensity: A secondary Sunstrength ability, this Method increases the effect of other Sunstrength Methods by 25%, and requires 4 Years to train for a Population or Army. 10 Science
Method of Reshaping: A potent Primary Sunstrength ability based in the Method of Externality, the Mage reshapes an element of the world through a generous application of Arcane energy, twisting bone and blood, altering inheritance under the assault of the power of the Sun. Precise effects are negotiated on a case by case basis. Training a Mage in this Method requires them to know the Method of Externality first, and 4 Years. 25 Science.
Method of the Sun's Fury: A potent Primary Sunstrength ability based on Sunstrike, many Mages working in concord focus the power of the sun within their breasts into a firestorm of surpassing destructive potential. This firestorm either causes considerable damage to a military unit, or may destroy a District. Learning this Method takes a generation, and using it consumes 20 Solar Energy. 20 Science, Method of Intensity.

The School of Geomantic Magick: Primarily concerned with the construction of edifices to channel the natural power of the webways of the Earth's ebb and flow of mystical energies, Geomancy is as a rule non-portable, and concerned with physicality over mystical outcomes.

Ley-Line Mapping: Creates between one and five Power Points in a region, necessary for erecting Geomantic structures without poor efficiencies. Takes one Scholar one year to complete. 5 Science
Ley-Line Amplification: Enables drawing more energy from the Ley-Lines of the Earth, increasing the number of Power Points in mapped regions by 2. Enables the construction of the Leyline Cruiser. 25 Science.
Geomantic Binding: A primary Geomantic effect, Geomancers lace a portion of earth with small structures designed to draw energies into the soil from the depths and so fill the land with life. Costs 15 Labor, 20 Wealth, 20 Industry, 5 Stone, and 2 years of Enchanting, as well as a Power Point. Doubles the Food output of a single Agricultural District and her Quarters. 25 Science
Geomantic Strengthening: A secondary Geomantic effect, Geomancers construct a Pylon on a Power Point to increase the efficiency of another Geomantic structure. Costs 30 Wealth, 5 Industry, and 5 Stone. 25% Bonus to Effect, or -50% Upkeep. 10 Science
Geomantic Inspiration: A primary Geomantic effect, this edifice spurs those about it on to greater feats with less rest. Two Artisans or Scholars in this Settlement produce +1 Industry or Science. Costs 40 Wealth, 10 Industry, 10 Stone, 5 Arcane Material. 4 Scholar-Years of upkeep every 10 Years. 15 Science
Geomantic Intensification: A scholarly aspect of the School of Geomancy, a better understanding of the earth and her forces. Reduces the upkeep of all Geomantic edifices by a Year in the form of recirculating shapings. Allows the construction of the Earthspun Citadel. 35 Science, Ley-Line Amplification, Geomantic Strengthening
Geomantic Gateway: A primary Geomantic effect, this edifice can send men or resources across great distances without having to travel through the intervening space. A normal Gateway allows for one Population or Army, or three Resource Sources, to be moved up to five tiles in a year with no cost in upkeep or Public Order. Costs 60 Wealth, 20 Industry, 20 Stone, 20 Arcane Material. 6 Scholar-Years of upkeep every 10 Years. 20 Science
-Great Gateway: Double capacity compared to normal Gateway, and range. Can be used in both directions temporarily. Costs 80 Wealth, 40 Industry, 30 Stone, 20 Arcane Material. 4 Scholar-Years of upkeep every 10 Years. Requires Enhanced Geomantic Travel. 20 Science
Geomantic Healing: A primary Geomantic effect, this edifice significantly improves the survivability of serious wounds in combat for those men who make use of its powers. A normal structure with this attunement will allow 20% of combat losses in this region to be taken as casualties instead of deaths. Costs 15 Wealth, 5 Industry, 5 Stone. 2 Years of maintenance per generation. 10 Science
Geomantic Might: A primary Geomantic effect, this edifice enhances the physical stamina of those citizens who it effects, rendering them both stronger and in possession of greater endurance. A normal structure with this attunement will increase Attack Strength for an Army by 15%, or the Industry output of 1 Population of Artisans by 3x. Costs 30 Wealth, 10 Industry, 10 Stone, 5 Arcane Material. 1 Year of maintenance per generation. 15 Science
Geomantic Sight: A primary Geomantic effect, this edifice allows men to see across great reaches or even communicate with those many leagues distant. Only one variant may exist within one structure. The former prevents population loss from raiding in a region. The latter grants a +1 Public Order bonus to a chosen Settlement, if linked with a Capitol Government District. Either costs 20 Wealth, and 15 Industry. 1 Year of maintenance per generation. 10 Science
Geomantic Fecundity: A primary Geomantic effect, this edifice channels the power of the earth into reaches of crops and herds, preventing disease and expediting agriculture. Grants +2 Food to any Quarter in a targeted Agricultural District that already produces Food. Costs 5 Labor, 30 Wealth, 15 Industry, 20 Stone. 3 Years of maintenance per generation. 25 Science
Geomantic Empowerment: A secondary Geomantic effect, edifices designed for this purpose reinforce the shaping of other arcane constructions nearby. Though they must be constructed on a power point, they enhance the benefits of two other Geomantic constructions in their region by 50%. Costs 20 Wealth, 10 Industry, 20 Stone, 5 Arcane Material. 4 Years of maintenance per generation. 10 Science
Geomantic Resurrection: A primary Geomantic effect - the dying may be pulled back from death's door with the strength of this edifice. If population or men are lost in this region when a Resurrection Pylon is active, half of their deaths may be averted at the cost of this Pylon's integrity. Costs 10 Wealth, 5 Industry to erect. Destroyed upon use. Must be activated by a Scholar prior to use, whereafter it is active for three years. 20 Science

The School of Dao: A mystical practice drawn from religious roots, Daoists focus not on consuming the strength of the world around them, nor increasing their own arcane potential, but rather reshaping the power within toward various purposes and efficiencies. As such they mainly alter the practitioner themselves, and little touch the wider world. Such reshapings are slow to cultivate, but ultimately good for slowly strengthening the wielder.

Dao of Structure: The first and most humble of Dao, the Dao of Structure coils the chaotic energy of man more tightly, allowing it to be made into a form worthy of reshaping. Enables Tier I Dao Cultivations. Takes 2 Years to Cultivate. 10 Science
Dao of Regeneration: A humble Tier I Dao of great worth. Practitioners can close minor wounds on their bodies with thought alone, and live through trauma which would slay others. Grants a Daoist 20% Regeneration in combat. Takes 4 Years to Cultivate. 15 Science
Dao of Resilience: A combat orientated Tier ! Dao. Practitioners momentarily harden their skin and flesh with imbued energy, becoming all but impervious to weapons for a brief time. For one chosen combat phase of a battle, Practitioners gain a bonus 20% Defense Rating. Takes 6 Years to Cultivate. 25 Science

The School of Blood Magick: Drawn from the life energy of living beings, animal or man, Blood Magic is concerned with the preservation or twisting of flesh and bone to the needs of its practitioner. Requiring only skilled mages and sorry souls to conduct, it is one of the more effective and portal of the Schools of Arcana, though in some regions despised for its bloodthirsty nature.

Dark Passages: The Dead are never truly gone - they echo around us, and those who are willing to pay may speak to them. If exerted by Scholars, Dark Passages allows the sacrifice of a Population in order to gain 4 Arcane Knowledge, or 2 Science. A Region known to another civilization may also be automatically explored in this way, provided the practitioners have contact with that civilization. Food gained from animals may also be used in place of a Populace, 20 Food achieving a similar effect. 15 Science
Mystic Control: Turning minds to the purposes of the wielder is not easy, but may be done. Mainly achieved via concentration and the blood sacrifices of the practicioner, Scholars may, for a time, control Beasts in a region they stand within - a year of labor is necessary for every three years of control, an additional year for every degree of Rarity of the creatures controlled. Controlled Beasts do not contribute Danger to a region, and instead provide food and Wealth as appropriate. 10 Science
Raise Dead: The bodies left behind by the ancestors are not so far gone that they are of no use to their descendants. Through ritual and spell, they may rise against to serve the living. In exchange for the sacrifice of a Citizen, two Undead may be raised to serve - they function as Peasants which require no food and do not count against the Population Growth cap. Undead last for five years, but may be maintained by Scholars in order to last beyond that point. Undead Armies raised from these Undead fight with decreased strength compared to human warriors (75%) but do not need food to continue in the field. 20 Science
Necromantic Infusion: Mere undead are of great use, but through the use of more complex rites and darker sacrifices, they can be returned even closer to the veil of life, partially intelligent and able to partake of more mundane sustenance. These Ghouls can work as normal Peasants, but will not expire as long as they are fed normally. Transforming 2 Undead into 2 Ghouls costs 20 Food or a Population. 20 Science
Bloodrite Twisting: Men may be given strength and shaped into something that is more than human, though such an unnatural transition requires constant maintenance. For a blood sacrifice or the slaughter of twenty Food worth of animals, a Citizen may be Twisted. Twisted Citizens produce one additional Labor, and up to 250 Soldiers may be raised from a Twisted Citizen who gain +20% Combat Attack. The Blood Sacrifice must be repeated once a generation, or the Citizen will perish horribly. 25 Science, Necromantic Infusion
Sacrificial Rituals: Through knowledge of the Gates of Death, skilled Blood Magicians may ease the passage of energies from the living to expedite their spells. A knowledge of Sacrificial Rituals allows one more Scholar to be assigned to any Blood Magick Arcana - if such an assignment is done, the cost in lives or blood to achieve that spells effect is reduced by 25%. 20 Science
Slaughter of Storms: Blood tinged air and iron scent rain - soot and ash and death. These things the Blood Mage can call into existence with the deaths of many, lashing a battlefield or region with cataclysmic storms which can slaughter hundreds and devastate fertile lands. All that is required is the deaths of a thousand men, women, and children. 40 Science

School of the Wyrd: A catch-all term for rituals and rites related to the strange and mystically attuned materials that come from the Cataclysm and their utilization. Mainly related to effecting the world through the integration of these stones and strictures into existing creations.

Arcane Refining: A necessary part of the School of the Wyrd, powerful energies drawn from the School of Geomancy allow the concentration and refinement of certain arcane materials into more potent forms. Necessary for the construction of the Earthpyre. 20 Science
Arcane Consolidation: Allows the creation of Mystical Alloys at an Earthpyre. Unlocks the creation of Shimmersteel from Bloodsilver and Starmetal. 30 Science, requires Arcane Refining.
Arcane Infusing: A minor section of the School of the Wyrd, Arcane Resources with the Distillate property may gain additional properties depending on their characteristics when processed at a District with an Earthpyre and Distillery. Variable results. 25 Science, requires Arcane Refining.
Nightsoot: A potent granular mixture, generally used for alloying with common metals and the creation of wards when mixed with volatile substances. It is produced by refining Blackstone at an Earthpyre, and reduces the impact of arcane assaults directed against items warded by its integration by a dramatic (75%) extent. Blackstone Comprehension, 10 Science.
Aetherium: A refined psuedo-metal, drawn from the veins of Floatstone's crystals and rubble under immense heat and mystical control. Its ability to defy the bonds of the Earth is much enhanced compared to its precursor, and so it is necessary for many applications. Produced at the Earthpyre from Floatstone and Iron or Silver. Floatstone Comprehension, 10 Science.

The School of the Divine: Empowered by belief in a powerful deity, pursued by faith, this school is often weaker than those that rely on sacrifice or the consumption of the physical world - but still of worth to its practitioners. Perhaps proof of a higher power, perhaps proof of the power of man's capacity to believe, the School of the Divine is nonetheless practiced by many.

Healing Light: Exerted by trained Scholars or Artisans, reduces casualties by 5% in combat if those trained mages are assigned to an ongoing combat. 5 Science
Sunflare: The conjuration of power from a man's hands, focused into strikes of flame and righteous wrath. These strikes disorientate foes, and cause minor injuries. Scholars with this ability assigned to combat alongside Soldiers decrease an enemy's Attack Power by 5%, and buff their own by 5%.10 Science
Righteous Sword: An advanced form of Sunflare, directed into weaponry rather than exerted externally, Righteous Sword can only be used by trained Soldiers who call upon the strength of their deity for power. If trained for 5 Years in this technique, Soldiers with this ability gain a 10% Charge Bonus in the first round of melee combat. 10 Science

The School of Runecasting and Runecrafting: A study of nuance and subtlety compared to more flashy disciplines, Runesmiths focus on reinforcing or augmenting the existing natures of the material world through the integration of magical force directed by man. Conventionally weak and difficult to implement, masterfully forged runes can contain strength equal to most other magicks.

Rune Control: Careful manipulation of the spiderwebs of power that manifest from Runes is necessary to get the most virtue out of their arcane patterns. Runesmiths with knowledge of this technique take one year less to inscribe Runes. 20 Science
Rune of Wellness: Sinuous and enfolding, Wellness focuses the energies of men naturally, reinforcing their intrinsic order and keeping at bay both age and disease to a small extent. When inscribed on a Quarter or Housing District, it adds a passive +1 Growth per year. Inscription requires two years of labor from an Artisan or Scholar. 10 Science
Rune of Preservation: Bespelled to resist disintegration and corruption, contained and channeled to hold fast against the passage of time, the Rune of Preservation is mainly used to help stop food from spoiling and infection from spreading in wounds. Grants 5 Food holdover after Population Growth. Armor engraved with this Rune allows 10% of casualties taken to be injuries instead of deaths, and takes two years of Artisan labor to inscribe. 10 Science
Rune of Protection: A mystical cloak cut in clever symbols, the Rune of Protection garbs its wearer in an invisible layer of mystical energy which can turn swords and hold back spears, for a time. Though it will fail rapidly under great assault, Armor inscribed with this Rune will negate 50% of all casualties in the first combat phase of a battle - either ranged, or melee. Walls inscribed with this Rune will also prove more difficult to breach. Two years are required to inscribe this Rune on Armor, five on walls. 20 Science
Rune of Siphoning: A greater Rune, designed to bridge the gap between the School of Geomancy and the requirements of Runecrafting. Shaped cleverly in such a way as to feed off of the Geomantic energy of a region to avoid the destruction of the material it is inscribed upon, it is dangerous but useful for applications on rare materials or in circumstances where replacing the material is impractical. Reduces Material maintenance of a Rune set by 75%, after taking four years for a Scholar to inscribe. 20 Science, requires Geomantic Binding and the Rune of Strengthening.
Rune of Strengthening: A small and subtle Rune, easy to enact but slow to grow in power - the Rune of Strengthening consumes materials fed to it, mystically adding their strength to that of the surface upon which it is engraved. Though it necessitates the same material as its fabrication, material joined to the Rune either enhances the strength of that item, or prevents it from decaying. Each Resource so consumed adds a 2% bonus to the Armor or Weapon it is joined to, at the cost of an Artisan's labor at a Smithy or Earthpyre. 25 Science
Rune of Shielding: An extension of the Rune of Protection, the Rune of Shielding physically manifests the other Rune's protective abilities, consuming more arcane energy but also providing more permanent effects. Identical benefits to the Rune of Protection, but across an entire engagement. Benefits decline by 10% per combat phase. Engraving requires 4 Scholar years. 30 Science, Rune of Protection.
Rune of Illumination: Steady light, for working at night or in dark places. Particularly useful when applied to hard metals, and in the mines. In exchange for three Scholar or Artisan years, a Quarter may be inscribed with this Rune - if supplied with 1 Timber every 5 Years, this District will produce one additional Resource if it is a Mine, or one additional Wealth if it already produces Wealth. 10 Science.
Rune of Fire: An outgrowth of the Rune of Illumination, intensifying the energy emitted to be useful for tasks which require large amounts of heat to be applied with great precision. If applied to a Forge or Smelter, these buildings gain +1 Wealth when processing metal ores. Takes 3 Artisan years to inscribe. 20 Science, Rune of Illumination.
Rune of Externalized Power: A variant of the Rune of Strengthening, the blood-rites of this Rune require it to be cut into living flesh of either man or beast, to tap their arcane energy for the use of the Runesmiths. If such a ritual is enacted, at the cost of the labor of a member of the Population, or a Domestic Animal, the inscription of another Rune may be accelerated by one year, or the Rune of Strengthening reinforced for free. 15 Science, Rune of Strengthening

The School of Gem Magic: Akin to the School of the Wyrd, though focused particularly on extracting arcane energy from the consolidated ancient energy of the earth, Gem Sorcerers consume valuable crystals in their rites, the internal light of these complicated materials devoured by their rituals. An immense wealth of materials is necessary for gem-sorcerers to flourish.
[blocktext]Crystalline Energetics: An entry level Rite, the quantification of Crystalline Energy, or CE, is necessary for Sorcerers to get the most out of their work. A Gem is necessary to conduct this research, and this research may be repeated on various gemstones to reveal their CE quotient. 30 Science
Gem Animus: A strange working of Gem Magic, the encapsulated energy of the molten earth works alongside complicated inscriptions upon an artificial carapace, animating it into a facsimile of life. Allows for the creation of the Gemstone Golem, an artificial population unit - they work analogously to Peasants, and consume 2 CE per year. Construction requires 6 Labor, 15 Industry, 20 Wealth, and 6 Years of Enchantment. 30 Science.

Trade
Wealth, but not Industry, may also be moved between Settlements - a single Population can transport 5 Wealth up to six regions in a year, at the cost of their time to move those Wealth. A single Population may also transport 2 Resources up to three regions in a year, at the cost of their time. These Resources are available to the destination region, but do not generate Wealth like trade.

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 9:36 am

Population Roles

Peasant: Humble citizens of any civilization, free but unskilled, suited for farming, gathering resources, and the like. They are the mainstay of your civilization, and will accomplish the majority of your tasks, as well as compose all population growth outcomes. May operate: Mining District, Harbor District, Agricultural District, Forestry District, some Unique Districts. By default generate one Labor or one Food per year.

Artisan: The educated workers, craftsmen, smiths, potters, jewelers, farriers, and the other men and women who run the fundamental measures that separate civilization from barbarism. They must normally be educated at a School, but a Peasant may be converted into an Artisan every twenty years from the regular populace in the capitol of a civilization. They may operate any District aside from the Government District. By default generate one Industry per year. Idle Artisans may generate one Wealth in addition to their Industry output.

Scholar: Bureaucrats, scientists, mages, archivists, scribes, and priests - they are the upper crust of most societies, existing in very small numbers, but vital to its governance and flourishing. They must normally be educated at a School, but civilizations without any Scholar may educate one at their capitol in place of their normal Artisan, if they so choose. They may only operate Military, Industrial, Housing, Temple, Government, and Harbor Districts. By default generate one Wealth and one Science per year. They generate one more Science per year, and one Public Order per year, if assigned to a Government District. If necessary, they may exchange their one Science generation for the labor of Enchanting in a year.

Serf/Slave: The enslaved folk and indentured servants of those citizens willing to bind prisoners of war or their own in chains. They require no education, but can be seized or created via special interactions. They may only operate Districts Peasants may also operate, but if assigned to a region which generates resources, provide double quantity of that resource produced by a single Given Quarter. By default they produce two Labor per year, but may never be educated unless freed. Creating a new Serf/Slave costs two Public Order, and Slaves may only be created at a rate of one per year per civilization. Civilizations without Slaves or Serfs will not accept servitude in their midst without the relevant Advancement being researched, generating -1 Public Order per Slave per year.

Settler: These are pioneers and frontiersmen, sojourners and second sons who venture into the wilderness to learn of its vagaries, and tame its riches. They are not trained or educated as normal, but may be drawn from any Population at any time in exchange for an amount of Food and Wealth equivalent to ten times the number of existing settlements in a civilization. They may also only be trained every ten years, at most. Settlers do not have to be immediately expended to create new Settlements, but may also be dispatched into the wilderness to explore new regions. By default they draw five Food per turn as maintenance, and cost 15 Wealth every time they explore a new region. If in an unsettled region, it costs no additional resources to create a new Government District in that region and add a Settlement to your civilization.

The Strange World

(hilariously long. Don't bother looking here unless you really need to reference something.)

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 9:36 am

The Nomadic Horde

Many of the civilizations of the wide world do not live in settlements, in places of brick and mortar and wood, but upon the high plains of the wilds. Their lifestyle is less permanent, less interested in creating things of beauty and industry than most, but it focuses on the simplicity of violence and the plains, and can offer many advantages in war compared to more settled agrarians. Only times of grave crisis may force a Settled faction to become Nomadic, determined by impending rebellions, extended starvation, or multiple defeats in the military arena.

Hordes do not construct Settlements - rather, they subside on the resources of the lands they cross, constructing less permanent infrastructure and instead focusing their efforts into training their people and creating tools to reach their goals. As such, Hordes:

Do not generate passive income. Their people are focused on actively herding and migrating, not subsistence farming off of the land. As such, their Peasants are only so many bodies, save where they are related to Herds. Scholars and Artisans still maintain utility, but without passive income, they are mainly useful for working specialized Horde Infrastructure.

Herding
Pastoralists depend on their animals and livestock for the milk and cheese and meat that sustains their diet. As such, Herds are a special Horde resource. They may be reproduced for 5 Food each, and worked by a Population to gain a default 1 Food and 1 Wealth. Herds are limited in size by the amount of Population in the Horde, to one per Population.

Resource Harvesting
Horde Populations can harvest most resources at a rate sedentary civilizations would consider rapid, due to being more wasteful as they will simply move on if the resources are exhausted. All Resources can be harvested by up to 2 Populations, producing 3x the base amount of that Resource. So Horde Populations harvesting a Llama resource will produce 6 Food every turn, a Copper Resource, 6 Copper, and so on. This amount declines by 1 every 2 turns as easily accessible resources are exhausted.

Horde resource harvesting tears food and minerals and valuable things from the land with abandon, and so is not coherent with a sedentary lifestyle. If a Horde is in a region with a Settlement, that Settlement suffers a 50% penalty on all passive resource generation.

Migration
As resource income from a territory declines rapidly to zero, it behooves a Horde to move ever onward, seeking new lands to sustain their growth. By default a Horde may migrate once every ten years, slowly grazing its herds across the region, but this process may be sped up through motivation from the government. If one Food or Wealth is paid for every Population, the Horde may choose to move immediately.

Horde Implements
Taking the place of traditional Settlement Infrastructure, Implements are moved with the Horde from region to region, providing bonuses but also slowing down the movement of the nomads. By default, each Implement costs 1 Wealth if the Horde seeks to move immediately, like a population.

Becoming a Horde

Settled Factions which have had two Settlements rebel in the last ten years, starvation in a Settlement for more than three years, or been conquered twice in the last century, may transition to being a Nomadic Horde. If such a transition is declared, two things happen immediately and irreversibly: one quarter of the Population of all of their Settlements flees, disagreeing with the decision and migrating elsewhere; all Public Order is set to 0.

Then, a Horde is generated for every Settlement the Settled Faction previously possessed. They keep all of their technologies, and take with them all of their accumulated Wealth, as well as generating one Herd per Settlement per Type of Domestic Animal. By default, Settlements are merely abandoned by their former owners, with all Quarters and Districts left intact for future resettlement, but, if desired, a Horde may elect to loot their former homeland for resources as they flee. For every turn spent razing the former Settlements, up to two Districts may be destroyed per Horde per year, yielding a quarter of the resources they took to build for the Horde, and a new Herd of the Horde's choice for every destroyed Agricultural Quarter.

Settled Factions which have taken to Nomadic life may not resettle for twenty years of sojourning, at minimum. Each new Horde also gains 250 Soldiers with no weapons or armor as they take to the wilds.

by **Olthenia** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 10:15 am

Yessss. It lives. It lives!

EDIT: The Many Mothers have arrived.

by **Ralnis** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 12:22 pm

Don't know how to make a horde a civilization. Would it be a nomadic civi or what would you consider it?

by **Novas Arcanum** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 2:11 pm

The Dominion rises from the waves

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 2:20 pm

Ralnis wrote:Don't know how to make a horde a civilization. Would it be a nomadic civi or what would you consider it?

If you’re really interested in a Horde, I’ll certainly put together something for you

by **Ralnis** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 2:56 pm

G-Tech Corporation wrote:
Ralnis wrote:Don't know how to make a horde a civilization. Would it be a nomadic civi or what would you consider it?

If you’re really interested in a Horde, I’ll certainly put together something for you

Yes I am, someone has to overthrow the Old Midnight Empire.

by **Novas Arcanum** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 6:10 pm

First app!

Nada

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 6:42 pm

Novas Arcanum wrote:First app!

Civilization Application
Map Color:Gold/black
Brief Description:
The story of the Arameri begins centuries ago in the fabled lands of Cadmus their origins traced to the mysterious and long dead order known as the Magnum Opus. Initially founded in the Old Cadmian Republic, the wizards of the Magnum Opus were powerful mages dedicated to the study of magic. After the dreaded Day of Darkness, that brought Cadmus to her knees. The mages fled using the Circle of Arkane, teleporting far across the world to the lands of Xcotl, City of the Dead. There they offered their services to the Magorcracy in exchange for a place in their society.

They where experts in all fields of magic of their native homeland and dedicated to the study of the arcane. Their Academy was a center of the arcane arts across the world and hosted a vast reservoir of magical knowledge now lost to the dunes of time. The guild was devoted to the advancement of magic, mages writing scrolls full of magical spells learned and studied throughout the centuries.

So wise where the Wizards of the Opus that they were reluctantly voted rulers of Xcotl by decree of the Gate Council. For years the Magnum Opus ruled Xcotl, and learning and scholarship flourished in the Land of the Dead. The Wizards of the Opus studied the eddies of the arcane in search for that fabled state of being prophesied centuries ago by the scholars of Cadmus and they embarked on their quest to become the Chosen of Arkane. Yet a disaster stroke that burned everything that they had to the ground. Hard from the East, the locust waves swarmed Xcotl, Land of Wisdom, and Mother of Temples. The Horde came and destroyed everything in their path, hundreds of the Magnum Opus where butchered likes lambs to the slaughterhouse, woe to all that opposed the Lord of Earth.

Yet Lady Fey brave leader of the guild led one hundred mages from the burning fires of Xcotl and fled west to the forests. There they communed with the spirits and became one with Lord Arkane. The prophecy set forth centuries ago was fulfilled at long last.

Has the Magnum Opus transcended to Elvenhood the scripture of Arkane, was written in a new language gifted to this new species. Arkane as claimed the Arameri as his chosen people on Earth. Born anew in a bright explosion of light and power the first Elves walked the earth. They are tall, taller than men in height. Their skin tones range from various shades of brown to gold, their hair color, white, black, and red, with white being the rarest of the Bright Folk.

They are radiant and youthful, showing no signs of aging, no blemishes, no imperfections, and even as they grow old, they will scarcely show signs of aging. In human eyes they are beautiful. The Bright Folk walk with a particular purpose determination on this world that others mistake as arrogance. They have a natural glow that surrounds them, that distinguishes them from humanity. Their language High Elven or Merish is a song, that pleases the ears, flowing like the rivers, and rising like snow-capped mountains on the face of the earth.

It is said that the Elves stride with the tide, moving with the flow of time rather than against it like men. Thus they live on for hundreds of years, they will see human civilizations rise and fall like the dust of the earth, lives of man will grow and blossom like flowers, only to wither and die in the winter but the Elves they will live on.

Let it be known that they are Meri, Mer not Man. While they may look similar to humans, as stated above they are taller on average towering above man. They have pointy ears, and their eyes are all colors of the rainbow some stranger. Elven mating is similar to human coupling, passionate physical contact, supple connections but when an Elf mates he/she chooses their mate for life. The physical lovemaking that accompanies sex is later joined by a dance called the Melding where the Elven lovers will unite both physically and mentally for a moment becoming one, the ultimate form of passion. In this supernova of love and passion, the lovers will learn everything one can about their lovers past, emotions, and experiences. Thus they become one for a time.

Elves being the Chosen of Arkane, and Humans the Chosen of Lorkai they are for the most part incapable of having children. The composition of Elves making them incompatible with humans. This is for the best for Elves would surely be overwhelmed by their human counterparts if they where related. It is said that rarely when the stars are set upon the tapestry of the heavens, a half-breed may be born but it is exceedingly rare, but such children are bestowed with the traits of both human and elven parents.

Elves are born with an internal reservoir of magic known as mana. Thus they do not draw on their life force like humans to cast spells a blessing of Arkane to his children. This reservoir is said to be tiny star adrift in the soul of the elf. When Arkane the Architect crafted the world, he and his helpers tore portals in reality. These are said to be the stars and the sun itself from which mana flows from Aetheria or the arcane plane. Thus every elf is born with a gateway to Aetheria from which they get their energy from.

When an Elve dies, a physical body is not left behind. Instead, the elven body dissipates to light. It is said that their souls travel to Aetheria, where they live as angels of Arkane and sing the divine song for all time.

Lady Fey prophesies that an island beyond the Continent is to be the Holy Land of the Elves. It is believed that a great city will be founded sometime in the future Myth Allannar. The city is envisioned by Fey to be a city of light, surrounded by pristine waters where the Elves will live. The Lady is to lead her people to this home of elves as decreed by the God of Magic. There are many trials ahead, but the Lady determined that the Arameri will achieve this quest.

The first one hundred years have been an epic journey for the Elves. They have acquired great wealth and set forth for a glorious expedition to the Land of Arkane. The Mer have found their homeland on the virgin island known for all time as Aramera. Lady Fey has been made High Queen of the Arameri Dominion, a great task to guide her people in this brave new world.

Through the past century as the Arameri Civilization, has arisen from the waves of time, a Magestrium is formed from the various Elven Houses. The most powerful mages make up this ruling body of the Mer, the wisest and most gifted of their race.

Civilizations rise and fall through the ages, but the Arameri live on. Lady Fey the Younger, ruler of the Elves, guides her people with a firm and righteous hand under the glory of her God Arkane. To help friends in peace and destroy enemies in war. The Arameri Dominion will survive the ravages of time, the High Queen of the Elves wills it.
Starting Location: The western island
Civilization Specialization:Navy? We plan to have a big boi navy

This all seems to be in order - and so I am happy to accept it.

by **Ralnis** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 7:12 pm

Guess I'll throw up an app for the horde.

by **The Knights of Azorea** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 4:27 am

Civilization Application Usirian
Map Color: Brown or Yellow.
Brief Description: The Usirians are a people little akin to their distant cousins in other lands. Where the Midnight Empire and the ravages of time and war have preyed upon other folk, the isolated valley home to this strange folk has been left mostly untouched. Whether thanks to the blessing of mighty Ptra, the Eagle of the Sun, or simply to their remoteness, the folk of Usirian have been left to develop in their own peculiar way. Ruled neither by kings nor by priests, Usirian is a city and indeed a land ruled by its craftsmen and masters. In the distant past this tradition, the rule of the Artisans, came about out of the conditions of the valley of Usir; in order to survive local villages needed to carve terraces into the slopes of the valley in which to grow their crops. The men who co-ordinated these terraces naturally accrued power, and ever since it has been the masons and the artificers who rule in Usirian, with master craftsmen coming together in the temple of Djerhotep, the deified architect who founded the city of Usirian itself.

In the modern age, life in Usirian is rigidly ordered and hierarchical in a system of castes through which a man may rise only by decades of artifice or the production of fine masterworks. The lowest caste, the Shesu, are the rural farmers of the valley, kept as serfs bound to individual terrace-gardens, who may not even enter temple precints, or foul any building of fine dressed stone by their presence. Above them are the Petroi, unskilled labourers who are not bound to the land and who provide much of the menial work and who are therefore allowed to enter the city and to kneel on the rough-stone platforms of temples. Above these are the Khenty, the apprentice craftsmen, then Mentiu or journeymen, those who are skilled in their craft but have yet to learn from several different masters and finally the Hesiu, the Masters of the city, those who know their craft by decades of practice and experience. For the purposes of the caste system soldiers are considered to be either Khenty or Mentiu, while priests are at a level of sanctified respectability just beneath the Hesiu Masters. As one rises up through the artisan castes, specializations and sub-grades are constantly passed and achieved to determine what clothing one may wear, which areas one may enter and which religious mysteries one may learn of.

The Hesiu, to a man, are equal under the law. No craft is above any other. The word for a city, in the sacred dialect of the temple, is equivalent in meaning to the phrase "Home to all crafts under Ptra". If, however, one were to pick a craft to be first among equals, it would be masonry, the pride and joy of Usirian. The distinction between rough, smooth and dressed stone is a central aspect of life in the city, and those capable of working stone are held in exceptionalyl high regard, with the highest prestige of all going to masters of statue-carving, who, since they carve the icon-avatars of the pantheon, are the only people in the city with the immensely ritually important ability to "touch" the gods. The city of Usir throngs with statues, silent and still sentinels over stone streets, though there are some, masters of the delicate arts of harmonics and mathematics by which the universe is ordered, who dream that their stillness shall soon come to an end.
Starting Location: A mountain river valley, or just somewhere in the mountains. Remoteness is highly preferable.
Civilization Specialization: Masonry and stonecraft.

by **Olthenia** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 5:18 am

Civilization Application
Map Color: Pink or ochre.

Rᴇʟɪᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴜᴘᴏɴ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀs
Is ᴡᴇᴀᴋɴᴇss ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛʀᴏɴɢ
Bᴜᴛ sᴛʀᴇɴɢᴛʜ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴇᴀᴋ.

Brief Description: Have you never heard of Fastaqui? Oh, sweet summer child - of course you have. You just didn't know that you did. Those tales you heard of a city in the far East? That floats upon the surface of a vast, spirit-haunted swamp? That is Fastaqui. The city whose moorings are lined with copper beasts, and laws are pictured in great, glorious metal plaques for all to see and know? You know of such a city. The city where children are gods and all men are ruled by women? Where every licentious vice and perversity loved by the wary and wicked alike are practiced openly? This is the city ruled by the many Mothers. The Queen of the Skaz river. She who rejected Midnight. Fastaqui.

In the swamps and bayous beyond the great river Skaz, there live the Many Mothers. In their stilted villas in the great city of Fastaqui, they live humble lives of peace and prosperity. They have tamed the bleating camel to their will, they have forged great wealth from copper, and fed their children with the fruit of earth and tree – apples and quinoa. Their smiling sons have traded great wealth with their neighbors and earned greater wealth for it in return. They have minted laws for their children forged of mercy and common sense, and in the Tiers of their assembly they have raised their voices as one and found prosperity. And yet they hunger. For knowledge. For safety. For a freedom from uncertainty only wise action can grant, and none can escape.

With their homes safe and their children fed, the Many Mothers have begun to look beyond their familiar bayous. Already a sister-settlement has taken root in the sanded foothills of the far south; Karowa, it is called – and from her mines and millworks will surely flow great wealth. But what of the ‘morrow? As days tumble after days and become the arcs that form the years – the Many Mothers know that the time when Fastaqui could stand apart and alone is over. To that end then, preparations must be made. If the children of the Many Mothers are to have futures as bright and free as they deserve, then Fastaqui must be armed. Steeled. War-forged. All fear and worry will be forgotten then, as Fastaqui takes firm hand of the reins of its destiny.

Clench your hand into a fist. Feel your fingers dig into your palm. That is Fastaqui in this day and age - a fist clenched. Trembling in anticipation. For no war can last forever, and even the Many Mothers know that bloody conflict is best avoided. At least to an extent. Change is coming to Fastaqui, and all her children sense it. For with bronze comes weapons, with weapons comes an army, and with an army comes conquest. And Empire. There are daggers, some say, in men's smiles - and daggers too in unknown futures. The Many Mothers sense this, as Fastaqui senses it, yet are powerless to avoid it - if only by sheer necessity. The Queen of Skaz, slumbering in her muddy delta, is maturing - flowering - into adulthood. But how that will play out, none can say with certainty.

Wɪsᴅᴏᴍ ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴀʟᴀɴᴄᴇ ʟɪᴇ ɪɴ ᴋɴᴏᴡɪɴɢ
Yᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ ɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴛɪᴍᴇ.
-The Book of Bronze

Starting Location: Fastaqui sits where it has always sat, its roots firmly planted in the swamps of the Skaz river delta.
Civilization Specialization: Licentious living.

by **The GAmeTopians** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 6:44 am

Civilization Application
Map Color: Brown and Gold
Brief Description: The Forge is not simply a location, a tool for the trade of men born for the hammer. The Forge is not simply a workplace, nor something that one leaves behind at the end of the day. No. The Forge is everything. It is the heart of the people. It is the city. It is life.

A sprawling city-state known only as "The Forge" sits peacefully in lands far to the west, untouched by the prying fingers of other men. They quietly contemplate the ways of the hammer, content to hone their craft - at least for the moment. Any who might discover their presence will find plenty of wares for sale, of only the finest quality - for the right price.

Starting Location: The U-shaped island to the west of Hvasskyn, yet untouched by any men other than the Forgers. Ideally the Forge is located on the coast, in the top middle of the U.
Civilization Specialization: Industry, with a focus on Metalworking, though they'd likely have at least some investment into naval endeavors considering their location.

by **Holy Tedalonia** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 11:06 am

Civilization Application
Map Color: Grey, dark grey, or black are preferred colors if you need a more colorful palette dark blue is fine.
Brief Description:
In the deep forests of Ampen, lives a great tribe called the Varevgi. These Varevians prefer they're life had enjoyed their peaceful solitude and rarely dealed with foreigners. But a great belief in claiming the rest of the great forest and even beyond has quickly removed their isolationist tendencies. A call for the Heilige Eroberung, calls to them.

A fundamentally religious tribe, their center of worship is a opening in the forest, where a great circle of the ancestors was made. This pious location adds a new stone to the circle every one hundred years. Four great stones sit in the center representing the great founders and it is believed that the great one will be summoned into this world if given the finished construction of the great circle and the ritual used on the completed great circle is completed.

The settlement in which the Varevians dwell is nothing more than a advanced primitive society, and has barely advanced thanks to it's relative isolation. It however has left a wide expanse for the Varevians to take as their own, and by pushing it's borders hopefully it will find neighbors to have as allies or as the conquered.
Starting Location: forest with a river, and deeply inland.
Civilization Specialization:
Expansion. Focusing on things like population increase and cheaper expansion into new lands.

by **The Empire of Tau** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:24 pm

Civilization Application
Map Color: Purple and black
Brief Description: Xcotl has undergone a lot of change from it early years to today. First was the Magocracy Council then the Magnum Opus and then to the The Shambling Legion. The Magocracy-rule lasted only for 12 years before the Magnum Opus took control for 40 years with the Shambling Legion taking over as the Midnight sieged the city of Xcotl. The Magnum Opus was booted and now Khadan Ulm Bahadur took over the City of the Dead. A very hectic history. Because of my lazy ass, that’s what I got for Xcotl’s history. I'll write out a whole timeline and its description for it sooner or later.
Starting Location: https://i.imgur.com/3bB9vLm.jpg
Civilization Specialization: The Occult & Agriculture

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:34 pm

Everyone who has posted so far appears to be in order - I should have most of the mechanics and reserved posts filled tomorrow and an updated map tomorrow evening, with luck.

by **Holy Tedalonia** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 9:13 pm

G-Tech Corporation wrote:Everyone who has posted so far appears to be in order - I should have most of the mechanics and reserved posts filled tomorrow and an updated map tomorrow evening, with luck.

When will the map colors come into play? Would like to know where my civilization will pop up.

by **Novas Arcanum** » Sat Sep 07, 2019 3:31 am

Will we be getting our scenarios today or tommrow?

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Sat Sep 07, 2019 4:00 am

Novas Arcanum wrote:Will we be getting our scenarios today or tommrow?

Today, with a small dose of luck.

Holy Tedalonia wrote:
G-Tech Corporation wrote:Everyone who has posted so far appears to be in order - I should have most of the mechanics and reserved posts filled tomorrow and an updated map tomorrow evening, with luck.

When will the map colors come into play? Would like to know where my civilization will pop up.

That should be on the new map.

by **Ralnis** » Sat Sep 07, 2019 12:02 pm

Civilization Application
Map Color:Grey
Brief Description:The Uusharan are an offshoot of Xcotl slaves and mages that either escaped prior or after the destruction of their city by the Midnight Empire. Some even have lineage far before, when the Magnum Opus controlled the city and established a short-lived kingdom. Such people cast themselves across the winds of the known world. Such people sought to further their studies of blood magic in hopes of conquering death and even grew to have mixed their blood with others in order to make what would became known as the Uusharan.

Those whose blood was mixed are from those of a lich cult and of their enemy who had breed them in all sorts of ways. The only things that maintained its general purity was their lore of blood magic and their worship of the dead and their Ancestor-Spirits. The advise of Lakmal the First and Xu the Wolf Tamer had led them to bring back and keep the culture alive. However something was wrong with them, even their Ancestors started to see it.

They started to raid other settlements for slaves and people to sacrifice, using the lifeforce to fuel their magics and further their power to one day bring down the Midnight Empire that made them scatter like this and conquer death once and for all. They have become nothing more as a horde nowadays, one that is powered by undead puppets and slaves soon to be used for all sorts of experiments or holdings of blood magic. Their minds addled by a mystical grip on their minds. The Midnight Empire itself has taken some notice of the Grey March of the East that could be a potential threat against their rule.

Time will tell if the dead of Xcotl and this offshoot horde can lead their blood magics to victory over the Night and take back their homeland by a new, immortal Gate Council.
Starting Location: In the eastern half of the known world, near civilizations and whatever's over there.
Civilization Specialization:Blood Magic and being a horde, but blood magic is the specialization

by **Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States** » Sat Sep 07, 2019 1:27 pm

Civilization Application
Map Color: Brown
Brief Description: "Oveira" is what the denizens of Vranapola call this world. The word means 'land' in their language, but also 'a conquest', the meaning to be determined by context. This world is just one of many, a conquest in the endless war between good and evil. Its defences are manned by angelic beings, whose strength is bolstered by virtue and weakened by sin of the world's inhabitants. Every time a world is conquered by evil, its life is extinguished and burned, and when the angels reconquer it life is rekindled, inhabited by those angels who were 'wounded'. Wounded, in the sense that they lost their angelic nature, and became human due to some demonic weapon. The same goes for animals. Horses, steeds of the angels themselves, were of course the highest among the animals.

This mythical past gives rise to the rigid, complicated and religiously inspired caste system which exists in Vranapola. Both people and animals are divided into casts, based on the virtue of their angelic fallen forefather. The caste you live in determines what work you are allowed to do, especially what animals you are allowed to care for. The lowest of the lowest care for goats and pigs. The highest casts care for the cattle, which is used as a signifier of enormous wealth, and horses. The ruler of the city is a warlord, elected by a weighted delegation of each of the castes upon the death of the previous incumbent. Of course, one of the highest cast of horse-breeders always gets chosen to this role, although there is always financial support from the wealthy cattle owners, who are the richest caste of the society.

Starting Location: Something with pastures and grassland, if at all possible, and close to mountains/hills
Civilization Specialization: Animal husbandry (Mainly horses and cattle)

by **Saxony-Brandenburg** » Sat Sep 07, 2019 2:44 pm

Civilization Application
Map Color: Burgundy Red
Brief Description:

Oh young ones, gather 'round and hear the spun-tale. A tale of a people, proud in their traditions, proud of their freedoms. Yes, down below us - between the sisters Eiki and Yurwa, stands their city. Their Patron Goddess Lunda still looks down upon them - but the people we know as Marans are not as we once knew. It seems as the old cloth used to weave their fate grew to an end, it must be cut to weave anew. A people who once knew war all to well, now stand they as arbiters of diplomacy and peace. From once a bloody strife for independence, now with less a claw. No fires devour Honori and Home alike. No suicidal stand for independence - nay. A new dawn has finally arrived.

The Matriarchal society is far less rigid and egalitarian than in previous timelines, with a queen-priestess ruling over her people, passed down from her mother by birthright. The society is cast into dozens of lesser "tribes", all of whom squabble with the remaining power untaken by their monarch. Founded upon the most fertile of plains, where the rivers have covered her banks in the nutrients of upstream, the Honori people have been able to weather the years with relative stability - cementing many castes into their place as above or below them. Even still... it is not as brutally oppressive as other castes go, and even the lowest of rungs of society would be appalled at the concept of slavery, and exploitation is regularly challenged in regular meetings of family Matriarchs in a diet before their queen, voicing complaints and calling upon their high priestess to act. Polygamy and Polygyny is not uncommon, with marriages closer to joining another household than an act of love - with arranged marriages common between the tribes to keep the peace.

Most lands and even quarters in their capital city of Mara are divided between the various tribes, who administrate them as they see fit. In many areas, particularly those more rural, almost all land is held in common, with a tradition of only truly owning your tools and seeds, and often not even so in smaller communities and villages.

Some may call them backwards - but the Honori would think themselves more tied to tradition than anything else. Although not excelling at the likes of war or technology, their value of tradition and philosophy has seen them carve a decent living amid the floodplains they call home.

Starting Location: The southern desert - upon the coast, where the two rivers meat the sea.
Civilization Specialization:
Agriculture

A Strange World: The Strength of Empires [OOC | Closed]

A Strange World: The Strength of Empires [OOC | Closed]

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