The world is a tidal-locked, low magic world, more in the style of GRRM than Tolkien. There are 3 major countries, and 3 major religions (those three sets don't necessarily map onto one another).
The following is three of the 5 major cities on the continent-state of Bann, known collectively as the Free Cities. As usual, any feedback is most welcome!]
Lindesfarn
Patron God: Kapsa
Prime Exports: Foodstuffs
Current Governor: Krater
Current Free Council Rep: Cahill
Population Rank: 1st
Military Strength Rank: 5th
The easternmost of the Free Cities, Lindesfarn enjoys a very warm, tropical climate. This has made the region prime for farming, and Lindesfarn grows the majority of food that the continent of Bann enjoys.
The city itself is very disorganized, as its growth was mostly unplanned and thus is notoriously hard for non-natives to navigate. Its people are also notorious for being as fierce and strong-willed as its climate, and they are proud that their patron god is Kapsa herself. For this reason, Lindesfarn has almost no standing military to speak of. Instead, the city boasts a proud tradition that whenever the city is threatened, every able-bodied man (and sometimes women) will take up arms to protect their homes. This has caused friction in the past when fellow Free Cities has requested assistance and few Lindesfarnians have chosen to answer the call, but the Lindesfarn pride means they don't believe they would require help if their own city was threatened.
Some of the best chefs and cooks come out of the region, since they are accustomed to very fresh products from all the farms in the area.
Because of the ease of acquiring food, Lindesfarn also boasts the largest population of Bann, although Abglanz is a close second. The city has no problem acquiring things it needs, since it easily trades food for what is requires.
Janaki
Patron God: Ouran
Prime Exports: Zeppelins, Horses, Other transports such as wagons
Current Governor: Vane
Current Free Council Rep: Pointe
Population Rank: 3rd
Military Strength Rank: 4th
Although Janaki has a small port, the majority of the city extends onto the large, flat plain on which the city rests. Long ago large, wild herds of horses travelled these plains, and the natives long ago domesticated these herds. Nowadays such herds roam still, but are all owned by various business based out of Janaki. The city continues this transportation tradition still: in addition to selling the best horses, Janaki craftsmen were the original designers of the modern zeppelin, and the vast majority of them are produced there still. Other craftsmen produce wagons, carriages, and boats, and it is rare to travel on a vessel that doesn't bare the distinctive Janaki mark.
Most of the metal is transported by wagons from the mountain range to the east of the city, whereas most of the wood is ferried by boat up the river from the forest at the southern tip of the continent. This means that although Janaki has a decently large population, it is spread out over the region much more than others, and the city itself is much more decentralized and dispersed. Because of this the city finds it hard to keep a standing military force, instead relying on its constantly drifting airship fleet to act as a subtle threat against attack.
Directly east of the city lies Cross Fields, the largest airfield in Alastia. In addition to the construction and repair yards, many privately owned vessels will dock there when no passengers are currently taken on.
The people of Janaki are known for being more independent and self-reliant than the citizens of many other regions, and because of which the rules and regulations the city has are far fewer than other cities. In general, if you do nothing to threaten or disturb other citizens, you can do whatever you please in Janaki.
Abglanz
Patron God: Nero
Prime Exports: Woodcraft, Freelance armies, Domesticated farm animals
Current Governor: Berkhan
Current Free Council Rep: Ruas
Population Rank: 2nd
Military Strength Rank: 1st
Located at the mouth of a bay, the city of Abglanz wraps around the tip of the bay and expands outwards. Ancient stone walls divide the city into increasingly larger circles, which in the past has made sea invasion incredibly difficult as any invading army must bypass larger and larger amounts of fortifications. This is further amplified by Abglanz's large population, and the fact that it out of all the Free Cities maintains the largest standing ground force to man the walls. After serving mandatory service, occasionally soldiers take a liking to the lifestyle and join one of the many freelance armies that base themselves out of Abglanz. The city permits this with the understanding that these freelancers swear to never take up arms against the city, no matter what price offered.
On the other end the city is bordered by the large forest of Glanz. The city does rely on the wood for many purposes, and hunt often in the forest, but because of its ancient allegiance to Nero the city has decreed hat balance must be maintained. Thus a tree is planted for every cut down, and the amount of hunting allowed is strictly regulated.
The areas not forested are reasonably fertile farmland, and so between this, the forest, and the ocean Abglanz is extremely self-sufficient, although most of its metal must be imported from Kalnidor. It also keeps a small fleet of its own, although it is dwarfed by Nyet's.
If nothing else, Abglanz is known for being a very "well-balanced" city. It doesn't boast anything super exceptional, but amongst its large size and population almost anything can be found for sale.
You know, I hadn't noticed exactly what it was until now, but this has totally been bugging me since you started this chain of posts: You start out with describing the project as "more in the style of GRRM than Tolkien."
ReplyDeleteBut here's the thing: Middle Earth is actually a low magic setting, by all reasonable definitions. It's only considered High Fantasy and not Low Fantasy because almost all High Fantasy that was written afterward (and there is a LOT of it) draws directly from it. But magic in Middle Earth is nearly as weird and inscrutable to most races as magic in Westeros.
Therefore, the only real differences I can come up with between settings are:
-Westeros' only sentient species with substantial representation is humanity. Middle Earth has some diversity in this regard, though most species are overwhelmingly human-like.
-In Middle Earth, you have a chance of prevailing if you have the determination to carry the day, despite the terrible odds or the daunting foes. In Westeros, "abandon all hope, ye who enter here," because sooner or later, GRRM is going to get you. No exceptions.
So, my overarching point is: are you guaranteeing a first session TPK? And, if so, send pics.
That's a really interesting point, and I hasn't considered it really before. With that said, I think my point is still valid. Alastia is also almost entirely humans, with the majority of other species having been wiped out in the past and most non-humans being subjugated or treated as second-class citizens.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, I never understood Middle-Earth to have as strong of national presences, international rivalry and diplomatrolling, etc. that is central to Martin and we're also adopting with our triple states.
In terms of the hopefulness, the initial goal is to be fairly ruthless (I think?) but the first few sessions will be not as bad considering we have some new players, and to some extent it will depend on what the players want.
If nothing else, I have read all of the LotR (+the Hobbit) and all of aSoIaF, and vibewise we're going to definitely be much more in the latter camp.
Another question, slightly unrelated: is there going to be true* resurrection in this setting?
ReplyDelete(I qualify "true" because I would not consider resuscitation via, say, chest paddles or equivalent, to be "resurrection" in any meaningful sense, even if it's done by magic).
(Completely unrelated) No old PC names in the cities / states / Gods?! HERESY.
ReplyDeleteLooks great otherwise though!
@Max: No, we're using our traditional (well, I guess your traditional) stance on resurrection. I completely agree with your views on the matter, as does Matt, so we'll be going that route.
ReplyDelete@Kory: I'm always tempted, as you know but the majority of players in this campaign wouldn't get the reference. Which isn't to say it won't eventually happen, as only the major cities have been named (also, I think I'm the one who tends to reuse name and Matt did most of the naming)