In need of some help

[Scurron]

Hi there, I'm relatively new to these forums regarding posting stuff, but I've been reading things on here for quite a while now, and I figured this was the right place for me talking about some of my ideas. The setting I've been designing for over three months now is still nameless and is originally for a comic/story, but I see no reason for not turning into it into a RPG game one day, if I ever get the will to design and draw and learn how to do that properly.

Basically, the thing is set on one large, isolated continent with a varied climate: there are temperate forests and mountains in the east and vast, cold forested plains in the north, while the south and west are Mediterranean-like and the central area is one huge marsh (simply put of course). The world harbors four cultural groups: the Easterners (something like steamo-era Europe, think industrial revolution going rampant), the Westerners (ruled by sets of mages called magiocracies, based on Babylon, India and other old(er) nations of the world), the barbarian tribes in the north and the isolated island nation of Alchor past them. What I want from you, simply put, rather than cramming you with all the stuff I have (I'll do that in another thread when everything's planned out haha) I'll jump right to the place where I require some assistance.

There's five leading nations on the continent that I need help with fleshing out (two western and two eastern) referred collectively to as the Pentarchy, and they aren't mostly on good terms with one another due to different religions, geography, morals and the like.

Albia - the easternmost nation of white stone cities and rolling plains, Albia (or more commonly referred to as the "Baron's land") is the leading military power in the world and has a fleet of airships that could reduce a smaller defenseless country to dust in several days. Albia is the center of the Prohibition and is strictly against magic (and even religion to a degree as they think the various gods of the continent set people apart too much and go on par with their idea of a united *khm* enslaved *khm* continent) Albia is supposed to have two "castes": the landfolk, people who live in the cities and live their life as commoners and farmers, and the highfolk, people who live in the city-airships of the Baron (basically all of the military, the cities have their police forces to take care of them and a invasion via land is almost impossible) and who have almost never touched the ground. This is interesting to me as it has the potential of creating an awesome subculture which can be both liked and looked up to (the commoners would have a chance to move to the ships if they excel in a skill while young) and also hated (mostly from the rest of the world because they just sit in their airships and bombard everything, and I imagine outsider people would consider them quite ignorant and stupid too)

Illustria - the industrial, mountainous giant of the East, Illustria is a loose federation of several large city-states bound by the legacy of the Storm King's empire (some 500 years ago from when the story starts, the five capitals are: Candaber, Thail, Krovin, Varnoda and Eldon and they have quite a history regarding magical studies) It is the manufacturer of most of Albia's weaponry and home of some of the East's greatest mad men (inventors, we won't be rude) as well as many rebel mages, as the Prohibition didn't set in that well there as it did in Albia and the general pride and traditional values of the people. It is ruled over by something you could consider a mafia (which supposedly has aristocratic roots and totally does not manipulate the king they choose every seven years but dare you put that into question) and as long as you can keep silent and obey orders, you can live a pretty, almost modern-as-we-have-it-minus-the-internet life in their steamy cities. Illustria has two sides regarding it's society; the faceless mob of native Illustrians and immigrants from all across the world who mostly mind their own business, and the followers of the Church of Ade, the sun god, who are real bigots and preach against almost everybody who is not of Illustrian blood. I'm having issues as to what the head of Albia thinks of this cult, whether they just ignore them or actively encourage Illustrains to excommunicate them from their society.

Darun - The second largest country in the world, and the largest magiocracy, Darun has a rich and rather peaceful history of spreading their culture across the central marshes. They're not a warlike nation, being composed of many different peoples, they're quite tolerant and have very liberal views on life. Their patron goddess is Mikaila, the goddess of luck, creation and childbirth (also chaos and death and some other nasty things like leeches, but generally and most importantly luck) and their priests have diplomatic relationships with several other religions that built their centers in the great marshes, for example the followers of the nature goddess Drayla from the city of Fallun. All Darish have a slight tan to their skin (as do the other "magical" people of the West lol) and they're generally well-meaning, but somewhat ignorant people. While the country itself is isolated and connected from border to border by the waterways of the river Koa, the inhabitants far away from the capital know almost nothing of the war, the magiocracy and the happenings in the world, while those that live near the mages are very lectured and almost snobbish people. The city of Daurun itself is built under a large hill where the magiocrates take their residence on. I'm not sure how to explain why war has almost never come to Darun, but the country has a lot of magic going on on all sides which is almost alive (active runestones, ancient cursed towers, spells stored in rocks and things like that), and it is changing a lot of things, both in the natural world and the minds of the people, and I also might resort to history to find a few cultures who have not changed for millenia, as the Darish culture is supposed to be the remnant of a past, even larger empire almost a 3000 years old.

Caldrea - the most powerful western country, with it's people living in subterranean cities which are ruled over by mages who are generally more open towards the people than those in Darun. Magic is a thing for everyone, it is even a subject in schools, but can be mastered only by a few chosen ones who posses the determination and will to do so. While the Caldrean culture (putting an emphasis on the importance of the human willpower over emotion) and way of life is in general a very positive thing, the East, especially Albia, looks at Caldrea as an aggressor and a bully due to false propaganda, but the downright terrifying tactics and magical constructs the Caldrean army uses do not help paint a pretty picture of the country. Also, some of the customs of the country come from the past influence of the church of Khoran, the god of Night and thieves (which wasn't very popular in the past to say at least(yes, the subterranean cities)). Today, the most popular cult in Caldrea might be the one of Latren, the god of good fun and feasts and humor and also literature.

Alchor - I've not yet really looked into developing this country. They're a powerful, now isolated warlike nation past the Barbarian steppes, with their people being naturally blonde or ginger and very viking-like in appearance. They have got a lot of knightly orders (almost every larger family is one) and are headed over by a king, who's an absolute monarch and spends most of the country's money on decorating his own castle(s). The poor situation of the economy (their income largely came from trade with other nations down the gulf of the Lake of Storms, but when they went into isolation food became scarce because of the general infertile land and lack of materials to improve the technology, they're now almost communist-like) forced people to move southwards, especially towards Illustria because of work and money, where now small districts of Alchorians exist in almost every city (think of little China-towns, only with a northern theme).

So, that'd be all I have to say about it now. Oh, and also, the western countries count time differently from the eastern ones. The west is currently in their 3002, and the east is in 1224. Alchor seems to be only gathering tales of great kings and is looking at its past this way.

[Everyl]

Looks like a good start to me!

I don't have time to say much right now, but I will comment on the Church of Ade in Illustria. I would expect the Church and the leadership of Albia to be have a great deal of tension between them, perhaps erupting into outright conflict, based on the short descriptions you've posted so far. Both groups are the sort who look down on those who are different from them, and they both have vested interests in influencing the culture of Illustria. The Church of Ade wants ethnically "pure" Illustrians and openly dislikes outsiders, while the rulers of Albia want those same Illustrians to keep manufacturing military gear for them. The Church's anti-outsider policies are a direct threat to Albia's military supply chain, while Albia's economic influence is a threat to the Church's influence over its "chosen" people.

Also, early in your post you say that there's five nations, but the rest of the post consistently refers to there being only four. Did one get dropped in the editing process or something?

[Scurron]

Thanks for the feedback!

Yes, I can imagine the church having a lot of fanatics who would openly go to "war" against Albia's dominion in Illustria (like blowing themselves up in front of embassies, verbally assaulting them and so on), but the only problem is that the countries form an alliance called Pax Albia (inspired by Pax Romana, also called the Eastern accord by non-Albians), and it encompasses all of the eastern countries minus one called Thornwall. It was formed by Albia's last surviving aristocrat, the Baron after a great global war which involved a lot of magical fatalities. Illustria's very unstable as it is, with a lot of local factions and groups pulling their own strings to get to money/power or whatever, and the Ade guys would most likely meet their end if they'd openly declare war against Albia, not because of it's military, but the very Illustrian moguls shutting them up, as the treaty mostly serves Illustria as another way of getting cash really quickly.
Albia mostly doesn't care about it's neighboring countries as they're all allied with her and fear her. They're at war with a country of the East already too, called Thornwall, and a territory of barbarians called The Swamps of Rand, so they have all hands full of stuff to deal with already.

Also, the Church of Ade is largely based in another smallish country called Valenta, which a city state on the eastern shore near Illustria that has never been conquered by the Storm King and is currently running a religious purge on their own lands. They're very well aware of Albia's views, though, and some say they just wait for the Peace to fall so they can get their own piece of the cake.

I'm pretty sure I mentioned all five countries. I think you were confused by Alchor maybe? It was a superpower of the world before it went into isolation due to the long war, and the people still consider it one because of it's strong still existing navy that patrols the seas and general accomplishments in history. It isn't western nor eastern in origin, but much younger and directly of barbarian origins.

[Scurron]

Okay, it's time that I talk about how the magic works, and because I have no idea what magic is, neither do the people of the world, but they try to explain it by ancient cosmology and spiritism.

So let's talk about the cosmology and religion a bit. All the gods of the continent were part of the same ancient pantheon, which is now only still present in the northern barbarian tribes, so all religions are cults and all of them share the same roots. As cities began accepting certain gods as their protectors and patrons, the various cults began to spread their influence.
Ancient tales say that all of existence is a neutral space created in the battle between the gods and legions of demonic spirits. As their opposite natures collided, they reduced each other to nothingness, but some parts remained and everything that can be seen in the night sky is a part of a god/demon, with the sun and the stars being the torn flesh of the gods and planets, comets (that's why comets are considered a bad omen) the moons and even the world the people're inhabiting is considered a part of past demons. It's important to note that the ancient peoples of the continent had a vast astronomical knowledge (magically enhanced telescoped, astral travel into the orbit and so on) and that the even more ancient tales were manipulated to fit their ideas.

Magic itself is hard to explain. It is thought that it is the energy that is derived from when a spirit clashes with the human soul, and as such it has several sources and different effect on the user. Magic won't allow the impossible, but simply extends the will of the person who's using it on the world around them. A mage is the name for magic users in the west, while the east calls them sorcerers and witches, albeit now in a insulting manner.

Demon magic - this type of magic is thought to come from demon spirits who are living in another dimension called the Underworld. The magic is very easy to get to as demons constantly seem to thirst to enter the mortal world and virtually everyone who calls out for their power is able to get it through a simple Ritual (which is needless to say illegal in the East and looked down upon in the West). Demons, however, pass directly through the soul of the caster and with time the person will start getting increasingly insane and violent and after enough exposure to demonic energies a demon might actually posses the sorcerer, or preferably, kill him, as curing a possession is not possible. It's important to note that demons posses no ego of their own and are more like savage beasts of the spirit world, and up until the point of being possessed a caster will have had thousands of demons pass through their soul. Some people are born with natural affinity for demon magic, mostly the children of other demon magic users, and require no ritual to call upon their power. Prolonged exposure to demons might also turn a non-magical person into a mage. Demon magic is also removable through a reverse ritual.

Holy magic - a rare type of magic which is considered, well, sacred almost everywhere on the world. There's no ritual to get to it; people are born with it or develop it on their own during their lifetime, and they're referred to as being god-touched. It's very powerful and people who have it have exceptional abilities which are rarely destructive to the world, which doesn't mean these mages aren't dangerous as they can separate a person's soul from their body with a mere thought. They're generally kept locked away by their respective faction as a link to their god, which doesn't mean they're necessarily that and they often manipulate religious orders from within. This sort of magic seems to be only beneficial to both the user and the people in their nearness and has no known drawbacks.

Soul magic - the most common magic in the world which almost all Westerners are born with. This sort of magic comes from a person's own reserves and is to be trained with time, so it's not as powerful as the other two kinds, but can be if the person's really gifted. People approach it somewhat like sportsmen do; you need to train regularly and get a lot of rest if you want your powers to increase, and also to give your soul time to recover from intense usage as it might erode it, leave the person with holes in their mind or even kill them. Considered dangerous in the East, it's of course illegal, but the courts are generally more sympathetic to these sorcerers as they can't do anything about it. This has lead to some really dangerous demon mages evading the removal of their powers by convincing the people it was soul magic. Soul mages usually inherit their powers from their parents.

There's also alchemy which was basically an attempt to cure the effects of demon magic to the human soul, notably the possession, and while it has found ways to prolong the human lifespan and turn metal into gold, it's original purpose was never achieved and has almost been forgotten.

[Scurron]

Time for writing down every country I've got so far :D

Valenta - the second smallest country in the world, Valenta is a sea-facing city-state and is the home of the Ade sun cult. They're very militant and fanatical about their religion, and often send out missionaries to other lands to convert people there. They have a rather powerful navy and the world's largest prison, Vestilla.

Illustria - an industrial mogul and a cunning diplomat, Illustria's a force to be reckoned with. Not as strictly governed as its neighbors, Illustria enjoys a rather unstable political scene with many shifts and turns on a weekly basis. It's rather large historic capitals hold a myriad in surprises and people say you can find everything you want if you search for it hard enough in the shady markets of the darkest alleys.

Albia - the leading power of the East, Albia is a war machine with as many tricks up her sleeve as guns pointing out. Known to be at war with at least five countries and different barbarian territories. It has the world's largest fleet of airships which function as cities, while the old, white cities of past kings are left to agriculture and manufacture.

Thornwall - a large, isolated Easterner country which has been at war with Albia for the past ten years. It's ruled by a succession of queens, and is named after the large, living wall of thorns surrounding and crisscrossing the lands of the country. The people are thought to be capable warriors and scholars, albeit a bit gloomy and maybe even weird.

Irvakuz - a small island kingdom off the shores of Albia, Irvakuz enjoys a stable economy due to the increasing number of trade routes to the West and Albia's royal colonies. It's always been a place of culture and art, but it wasn't until recent that the dusty streets awoke teeming with life from all over the continent.

Chiral - the smallest country in the world, it's a single valley between the Lake of storms and the great Almar sea. It's ruled over by a democratic assembly of the inhabitants of the valley that want to ensure the independence of the valley. They're so trivial that Albia doesn't even bother and just forgets to write the name of the country on maps from time to time.

Malestyr - once a place of Alchorian colonization and a leading military giant, Malestyr is now a backwater of rolling hills, sleepy woods and idle farmlands. The people here are devoted to many gods which form a pantheon many view as a sect.

Kaelstyr - an old Alchorian colony, it wasn't until the recent 300 years that the Incardeon family returned life into these mountainous parts. Since then, its capital Black Falls has been a center of many things, mostly arts, and the world's greatest musicians saw the beginning of their days mostly here.

Alchor - isolated and self-centered as it now is, Alchor has a declining economy and an increasing number of immigrants. It's mostly a magic-less icy wasteland with now dead trade capitals close to the southern shores. Most of the population is located in the capital city; Gunnershim, where the king currently resides and spends all of his money on decorating his own palace.

Darun - a peaceful Western country placed roughly in the middle of the continent, the Darish are protected by their swamps and magic all the time and have little to fear. Several large cities exist across the river Koa, including Darun itself, but these are more of an exception as the most of the country remains a borderless wilderness. Darun is ruled by a council of mages presided by the "all seeing" Oracle.

Caldrea - very weird stories exist of Caldrea, even among their ally countries, because of their weird customs. Most of the country is a wasteland due to experimentation with magical weaponry, and the settlements are all subterranean, except for the capital city, Dammakion (literally "a platter of souls"), which pokes the Albish like a thorn in the eye. They're very provocative and like to inflict fear upon their enemies.

Barbarian steppes - a large portion of forested land north on the continent where all the tribal people live. Sometimes they come down to plunder villages, but there aren't so many left close to the civilized world anymore so nobody really considers them a threat.

Swamps of Ran - the southernmost barbarian territory, but the largest, considering they all make up one tribe. The Rans are Albia's fierce enemies and use every opportunity they can to make their colonization of the surrounding lands a pain.

Royal colonies - sometimes called Bleak heaven, these lands were won by Albia in the past 20 years. They're full of people that were unwanted where they came from, criminals, people of all classes who wanted to escape their past, adventurers, wannabe sorcerers and so on. Most of them work for either Albish or Illustrian companies as cheap labor.

They're more blank territories on my imaginary map, though... bettergo back to fleshing it all out. :P