Empire!7 - Into the Depths: Out-of-Character Thread (CWBG)

[Aerin]

Can I keep the +1 to Titan Hunts while sponsoring.

Yes, and thank you for asking!

Region for review:

The Crawling Crags (Region 20)

Spoiler: Geography

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The Crawling Crags (Region 20)

A rocky expanse riven with shallow fissures, the Crawling Crags has little at first glance to entice long term habitation. That is, until night falls, and the faint glow coming through the cracks in the sea floor. Through those crevasses, a visitor would see the hidden world of the Crawling Crags, shallow caverns that play host to a wide variety of hearty corals and grasses, fed by geothermal vents and a series of dizzying currents that draw in unwary prey from the edges of the region. It is in these fragile bubbles of life that the inhabitants of the region, the Revenant Hermits, construct their dizzying spiral villages.

Spoiler: People

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Revenant Hermits

Reminiscent of bone-white hermit crabs, the Revenant Hermits stand three feet tall when in motion, though this belies a great deal of their mass due to their hunched posture and manifold limbs. However, unlike the smaller crabs with which they share a name they do not scavenge mollusc shells - instead, small family groups construct elaborate spiral shell structures from the chitinous resin secreted from a specialized gland in their underbelly. Disdaining large settlements, groups of Revenant Hermits range far afield, their hunters appearing above ground briefly, if ever.

Spoiler: Resource

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Carcinized Architects

Though they lack the large settlements that normally presage elaborate monuments in other cultures, the entirety of Revenant Hermit art is focused around architectural endeavor. To that end, their isolated homesteads are miracles of angle and curve, expertly crafted such that seemingly diaphanous supports can anchor structures of majestic scale. It is this expertise more than anything else that draws the eyes of outsiders to the Crags, and the Revenants profit greatly in plying their expertise as free masons.

Resource Requirement: Unskilled Labor

For all their expertise, however, the Revenant Hermits are not a profligate people, and architectural ambitions are too-often stymied by lack of labor. To solve this issue, some exceptionally sociable homesteads have begun seeking a source of “alternative labor,” that might be put to the backbreaking work of exceeding the greatest achievements of Revenants past.

Spoiler: Faith

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Spindleshrines: Isolationist by nature, the Revenant Hermits do not gather for conventional worship. Indeed, the faith of each individual Revenant is a deeply private affair, and they rarely express their faith even among family. Instead, each homestead maintains a fragile, luminous spindleshrine somewhere in the vicinity of their claimed cavern, where Revenants can travel at their own whim to contemplate the endless tides. As with their other structures, these spindleshrines are built as expressions of architectural excellence, with the grandest and most beautiful drawing the rare pilgrim from farther afield.

Approved! Please add it to the Waters of the World thread.

[Aerin]

Region Writeups

179 - Sunken Necropolis

Spoiler: Geography

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Geography

Deep beneath the surface of the ocean, an otherworldly world exists. Sunlight filters down through the water, casting a soft blue glow over the sunken city ruins that litter the seafloor. Ancient buildings, once grand and mighty, are now covered in coral and seaweed, their walls and pillars crumbling.

Ships and boats, long since abandoned, rest on the ocean floor, their masts and hulls encrusted with barnacles and shells. Schools of colorful fish swim through the streets and alleyways of the sunken city, darting in and out of windows and doorways.

As you swim through this underwater realm, you can't help but feel a sense of awe and wonder. The city, now forever entombed in the depths of the ocean, is a testament to the passing of time and the impermanence of all things. Yet it is also a place of great beauty, a haven for all manner of sea creatures. It is a place where the past and the present collide, a place where one can truly lose themselves in the magic of the sea.

Spoiler: People

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The Wetherwisps.

These ghostly creatures are native to the darkest depths of the ocean, where they dwell amongst the ruins of ancient cities. Water Wraiths are highly intelligent and can communicate telepathically with others of their kind. They are known to be fiercely protective of their territory and will attack any intruders with powerful psychic blasts. To whom the ancient cities belonged to is beyond the knowledge of the Wetherwisps. In terms of government, it is difficult to say as Wetherwisps do not really have a traditional government like other regions. It is possible that they may have some sort of hierarchy or social structure within their own kind, but this would be largely dependent on their individual personalities and the specific needs of their group. In general, it is likely that Wetherwisps operate in a more predatory or survivalist manner, focusing on securing resources and territory for themselves rather than working towards the greater good of a larger community.

Spoiler: Resource

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Weatherwisps

Weatherwisps are both the people and the resource of this Region. While Weatherwisps are essentially ghosts, it is possible to swallow a weakened ghost and allow oneself to be temporarily possessed - thus experiencing a euphoric high similar to a hallucinogenic drug.

Spoiler: Faith

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Heartsweepers

The central tenet of the Heartsweepers faith is the belief that the living are corrupt and unworthy of existence, and that it is the duty of the Weatherwisps to cleanse the world of their presence. According to the teachings of the Heartsweepers, the Weatherwisps are blessed with the power to purify the world through their powerful psychic abilities, which they use to attack and destroy any living beings that they encounter. The Weatherwisps believe that by cleansing the world of the living, they will be able to bring about a new age of peace and prosperity for their own kind. The Heartsweepers faith is a deeply nihilistic and destructive religion, and those who follow it are often feared and reviled by other underwater species. However, the Weatherwisps are fiercely devoted to their faith and will stop at nothing to spread its teachings and bring about the purification of the world.

187 - Marble Kingdom

Spoiler: Geography

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Geography

As you dive deeper into the ocean, the sunlight gives way to darkness and you enter a world of shadows and mystery. The water around you is icy cold and still, and you feel a sense of isolation and solitude as you swim through the abyss. But as you continue on your journey, you begin to notice openings in the rocky walls of the ocean floor. These openings lead to a network of caves and grottos, each one more beautiful and mesmerizing than the last. The caves are illuminated by a soft, glowing light that filters in from the surface, casting a warm and welcoming glow over the rocky walls and floors. Stalactites hang from the ceiling like crystal chandeliers, and stalagmites rise up from the ground like marble columns. As you explore these underwater caves and grottos, you feel as though you have entered another world, one that is hidden and unknown to most people. You are filled with a sense of wonder and excitement as you discover new nooks and crannies, and marvel at the beauty of the underwater world.

Spoiler: People

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Deep Dancers

These graceful creatures are native to the depths of the ocean, where they dwell in underwater caves and grottos. Deep Dancers are known for their shimmering, iridescent scales and long, flowing tentacles, which they use to swim and maneuver through the water with ease. They are highly social creatures and are often found in large schools, where they engage in elaborate courtship rituals and dance to the rhythms of the ocean. In terms of government, the deep dancers have a egalitarian and cooperative society, as they are known to be highly social and value harmony and cooperation. They may have a council of leaders that help to guide and make decisions for the group, but these leaders are chosen through consensus or democratic means rather than through a more hierarchical or authoritarian system. The deep dancers may also place a strong emphasis on personal freedom and individual expression, as they are known for their elaborate courtship rituals and dance to the rhythms of the ocean. This leads to a more decentralized and fluid system of governance, where individuals have a greater degree of autonomy and the group works together towards common goals.

Spoiler: Resource

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Stripdrill Hyphae

Stripdrill Hyphae is a type of underground fungus that has the ability to produce a powerful drug when ingested. The fungus grows in long, thin strands, which are typically harvested and dried for use. When ingested, Stripdrill Hyphae has a number of effects on the body, including increased energy and focus, as well as heightened senses and sensory perception. Some users have even reported experiencing hallucinations or altered states of consciousness when taking the drug. In addition to its use as a drug, Stripdrill Hyphae can also be used as a heat source. The fungus has the ability to generate a significant amount of heat when it is exposed to oxygen, making it a valuable resource for those in cold or inhospitable environments. The fungus can be burnt as a fuel source, or its heat can be harnessed and used to warm homes or other structures. Stripdrill Hyphae is a highly sought after resource due to its unique properties, and is often traded or sold on the black market.

Spoiler: Faith

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The Deep Dancers follow the faith of the "Eternal Communion" - however as was well known the teaching of this faith were wide a varied and rarely practiced the same way twice. According to the teachings of the Eternal Communion, as interpreted by the Deep Dancers, all living beings are connected and part of a greater whole, and it is the duty of each individual to maintain harmony and balance within the natural world. The Deep Dancers believe that through the practice of meditation and the cultivation of inner peace, they can tap into the collective consciousness of all living things and better understand their place in the grand scheme of things. They also place a strong emphasis on the importance of community and cooperation, and believe that by working together and helping one another, they can bring about a greater sense of harmony and unity within the world. The Deep Dancers view the oceans as a sacred place, and believe that they have a special connection to the spirits of the water. They often engage in ritual practices and offerings to honor and give thanks to these spirits, and believe that by doing so, they can maintain a strong and positive relationship with them. Overall, the Eternal Communion is a faith that promotes peace, unity, and a deep respect for the natural world. The Deep Dancers who follow this faith strive to live in harmony with the oceans and all the creatures that dwell within them, and believe that by doing so, they can bring about a greater sense of balance and harmony within the world.

Both: I'd like to see a description of how the regions have interacted with Deep Blue and/or OpenSEA and a rationale for the desired imports (Preservatives for 179, Toxins for 187).

Region 179: I like the abandoned city/shipyard aesthetic, very cool! Just keep in mind that boats in this setting would not be your traditional wooden sailing ship variety.
Please standardize the spelling of the natives between "Wetherwisps" "Weatherwisps" and "Water Wraiths."
Your description of the natives as ghostly psychic beings does not mesh well with Empire 7's biopunk focus. Consider fleshing them out more (literally).
I'd like to see some mention of the Wings of the World practices or holy sites in the faith section.

Region 187: Stripdrill Hyphae are currently being used as a Tools resource by the Seatide Confederacy, so please talk to Talis. I'm very skeptical of a resource that qualifies as a Tool, Drug, and Heat Source. Especially when the fluff for the heat source is "reacts violently when exposed to oxygen". I would not want to ingest that.

GP in Region 58 Proposal

Basilisk Protocols

The faith project was constructed by the Herring surrounding the Cathedral of Comprehension during Deep Blue's disastrous loss to Tadgceallachmarix. The hivemind upon its return to Coresite, began to refit it's faith nodes to follow the Stony teachings of the Gravekeepers - this inspired them to build their own statues through the dripping of silt cement deposited by thousands of herring over three years in the form of wavy patterns around the Cathedral. These waves acts as amplifiers of the Cathedral's effects towards a more martial interpretation of the Gravekeeper's initial tenets, after all this act of building upon the bones of the dead came from many bones of many dead. The Basilisk Protocols are thought to improve the Artificial Intelligence already in effect in Deep Blue by analyzing hypothetical situations. They are designed to improve decision-making abilities for Deep Blue and when active, the Basilisk will analyze all available information and present Deep Blue with the most optimal course of action for any given threat. The protocols, like the rest of Deep Blue, will continually update and improve its algorithms, becoming more efficient and effective over time.

The proposed ability is that a successful seek aid action allows the use the Child of Pearl's ability to roll twice on Maneuvering rolls without treasure expenditure.

The desired power level for Great Projects is +1 to a single type of roll within a single region. The GM team tried our best to adapt this suggestion to the version that is present in the opener.

Region 22 Neraka Berpasir

Spoiler: Geography

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The region is fittingly named by its distant devolved Siren settlers in years of yester yore for it is a massive and seemingly endless flat expanse of sand. The region is almost remarkable in how unremarkable and disorienting it is. The sole feature of significant note is the sand itself. The shape, coloration, and dissemination of the sand lend to a strange semi-hypnotic gradient pattern. When exposed to this for hours on end it can cause extreme vertigo, disorientation, and migraines. Sporadic structures jutting out of the ground are the only respite and welcome change in the horizon.

Spoiler: History

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Many many years ago a single clever Siren thought herself more treacherous and innovative than all the others. So much so she bragged about it constantly and was summarily exiled. Unrelatedly she chose to travel far to the south in search of the perfect stronghold and settled on... this. A sandy endless waste. She reached its border (What she thought was its border) and wept for she had seemingly no more worlds to conquer. The organization of sand-riding raiders and cutthroats that devolved from her carefully settled initial court has survived to this day. For years they worked in tandem with the strange creatures of the Unity, but then the light of Binar Fajar found them once more and the locals continue to pay their taxes and pay little attention to the goings on of far off lands.

Spoiler: Resource

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Sandfish

The mighty Sandfish is lord of these lands. In the endless hellscape of boredom and monotonous repeating colors this behemoth is the sole judge. Perfectly camouflaged with the patterns of the local sand and large enough to swallow even a Magaramachi whole these creatures are the apex of the local food chain. They are sometimes venerated by locals, who attempt to follow in their strange sand-shifting mannerisms, and live nomadically.

Resource Requirement: Hard Minerals

There's only sand here! With great burly monsters about and a ground that makes you want to scratch your eyes over time the locals need all the hard minerals they can get to provide structures and protection from the surrounding nightmares.

Spoiler: Faith

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No faith has a strong foothold in the region, for the local Kucen care more for material goods and dangers than supernatural or theological. Still, those who do congregate tend to do so in one of two locations. The Old Palace which the nameless ancient Siren once constructed as the heart of her "New" empire and The Sandfish Spawning Grounds because it is quite the sight to behold behemoths copulating under the sand.

Approved! Please add it to the Waters of the World thread. The mental image of some very bored kucen competing to lure the largest Magaramachi onto the sands amuses me.

Region 154
The Bloodripper Lands

Spoiler: Geography

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One of the powerful currents that bring salt to the Magaramchi Salination passes through this area. Over the years and centuries it has worn away softer rock leaving strange towers of granite and the like projecting from the landscape. The constant flow of nutrients from the current means that vegetation is lush but the constant scouring means it is largely low-laying, clinging to the seabed. The exception is leeward the various dunes that have built up of current-swept detritus where localised biomes flourish in what would be called a rainforest were it on land.

Spoiler: People

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The Bloodripper lands were colonised, and later named, by the Magaramachi somewhat accidentally and it takes a certain type of person to coonise strange new lands, even if those lands are only a couple of miles north of familiar old lands. The Magaramchi aren't famous for their scholarship or inquisitve nature but there is still variation in the race and by and large it was the more thoughtful (as in, they occasionally wondered what they were eating or from time to time paused attacking something to think about other ways of attacking it) individuals that made the trip. The de facto leader, Big-Brains endlessly circles the piles of tablets and other miscellania he has acquired, pausing only to drive off thieves, and the others have taken his lead Seperated from their ancestral spawning pools and the society built up over the generations, the Bloodripper colonists have become insular and rapacious, little more than a loosely bound group of individuals in endless semi-civil-war over the the collections of one another that are second only to size in their internal hierarchy. If they did any actual scholarship, the Bloodripper lands would be a land of reclusive scholars jealously guarding their stashes. But they don't, they just circle, guard and raid.

The most important area to them, and the closest to a holy site for the reclusive hoarders is Tablet Gully. You may think it's a gully, with tablets in. But youd be wrong. It's a gully where tablets used to be, all are now in the hands of individuals. But over the years the geography shaped powerful currents through the gully and it is still where a lot of detritus washes up. If they have sufficiently subdued their neighbours to feel safe leaving ther stash unguarded, most Bloodripper colonists make the trip here to see daily to see what the currents have washed up.

Relations are strained to the point of non-existence between the Bloodripper colonists and those Magaramchi which remained int he salination. The physical leadership style of the Magaramchi fades quickly with distance and the Bloodripper colonsts consider themselves a seperate nation. The Salination and whoever lays claim to it at the moment, predictably, doesn't.

Spoiler: Resources

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The lush vegetation could have given many potential resources and perhaps if the area had have been colonised by a different race then the Bloodripper Lands would be known for its medicinal herbs, or dyes, or foodstuffs. It would likely have a different name as well. But it was colonised by the Magaramachi and they were taken by the apex predators in this area, the Bloodripper Eels. Powerfully built eels, the largest around half a metre in diameter and three or four metres long with powerful jaws and enough internal musculature to choke prey by wrapping themselves round it, the bloodrippers are a source of food, amusement, danger and waste disposal for the Magaramachi colonists.

Those same colonists are the most inquisitve and curious of an admittedly uninquisitive and uncurious race and the discovery of some ancient stone carvings left noone-knows-who has intrigued them. Each of the solitary Magaramchi guards a horde of carvings that they lack the eyes to decipher along with other trinkets that the currents have brought. Their thirst for other Esoterica is limitless, though unlikely to be fed.

Approved! Please add it to the Waters of the World thread.
"You may think it's a gully, with tablets in. But youd be wrong." A+, made the GM laugh.

Finally got it all together for the mil tech I'm planning on making next round:

Spoiler: Reanimation Colonies

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Originally envisioned by Arnel Belar to bring the ancient creatures who remains were found in the wastes back to a semblance of life, reanimation colonies are interdependent networks of engineered organisms, serving the purposes of muscles, organs and any other tissues necessary to make a dead body move again (the colonies don't quite work right with inorganic or plant matter), creating creatures Arnel refers to as the Reborn, directed through chemical commands picked up by specialised receptors, and sensory organs that are trained to recognise friend from foe. The science of bionecroengineering is still quite young, and thus far the creatures made from the colonies aren't particularly more effective than a normal soldier - Reborn using the titanic skeletons found in the wastes are slow, lurching things, finding difficulty in moving the heavy fossilised bone, and while they're mostly theoretical (the Cyphiri lacking the...raw materials to make them on any meaningful scale, and Arnel not particularly caring to try) Reborn made with smaller corpses may be a more agile, but still not much of a much for a trained army. They are, however, quite useful cannon fodder and forces paired with Reborn contingents can use them to avoid taking some of the losses that would have otherwise been taken by living, sentient soldiers.

Prerequisites: Graduated Symbiosis, Resource: Corpses/Skeletons*
Category: Mounts & Warbeasts
Effect: -10% to own casualties

*I'm personally planning on using this with the Ttianic Rune-Carved Fossils in the wastes, but given this is just a tier 1 tech it seems reasonable to have it more widely usable with smaller bodies - I seem to remember someone (the Riftlings/Riftborn, I think) mentioning planning on making a suitable resource at some point, and if someone really wants to get on the biotech necromancy train, they can always make a usable resource one I guess (putting the whole ethics factor aside - there's a reason the Cyphiri are using the long-dead besides the cool factor). And yes, fossils aren't typically actual skeletons, but the way it was described in the exploration result ("the bones of enormous dead creatures, some of whose skulls alone are larger than their ship, and all of which are etched with geometric patterns that seem to be unreadable runes") suggests there's still usable material and it's not all rock (at the least, going off that description was why I came up with this thing) - if that won't fly, let me know and I'll come up with something else.

Not directly needed for the tech approval, but for reference the relevant bit of the OASIS conference where I first mentioned the idea.

Approved! Just, like, don't put them in an amusement park, okay?

My proposed Miracle mechanics:

Change from Crimson Chant to Radiant Indah (RI)

Expand my Communion as Such

RI Followers only takes 0%/5% additional casualties from losing Maneuvering when one or both sides are attempting to use the Eel to their advantage.
RI Followers are not affected by the increased effective region count for distance losses and distance penalties where the Eel is present or Omnipresent
RI Follower Supports will not become Open in regions where the Eel Without End is omnipresent.
RI Head may attempt to shape what the Eel Without End converts Holy Centers to when it enters a region for the second time.
The Eel Without End will not Coerce RI Follower’s Trading Posts unless those are the only Trading Posts in the region.
RI Head may use a Faith action to try to direct the path of the Eel Without End each turn.
RI Followers may buyout TP's coerced by The Eel Without End against TN 14

Approved, with one change:
> RI Followers may buyout TP's coerced by The Eel Without End against TN 14 in regions where they have Mercantile Support.
Hopefully this is acceptable to you.

Not sure whether this goes here or in the discord but I'll just do it in both.

The Aristrocrats in region 66 should be owned by ESP now, given I impressed them and how a Reaved Aristocrat node is always a TN 13 according to the rules, it shouldn't be decaying reavedly from that node, and the fact that I got that node should be counted.

Fixed in both the opener and the tables. Thank you for pointing this out!

Region 160 - Neralam

Spoiler: Geography

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Traveling eastward, the expansive basalt plains of Rahakera slope downward; initially, quite gently before rapidly descending into the darkness of the depths of Neralam. Rising from the darkness are numerous white rock spires around which the local species gather, feasting on plants and corals that grow the nutrient-rich rock face. It is around these rock spires, known to the locals as the Menar, that Neralamese society gathers and flourishes. The Menar were carved over epochs by the fierce currents of the region that flow between, carrying in detritus and debris along with the occasional unwitting visitor. They now serve as beacons around which the many clans of the region gather and live.

Spoiler: People

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The Neralamese consists of numerous clans of Pertlan and Bertuaga, each controlling its own Menar, though some larger and more powerful clans have expanded to seize multiple Menar. The dolphin-like Pertlan make up a small majority of the clans, though the porpoise-like Bertuaga make up most of the larger and more powerful clans, including the preeminent Kuasa Clan. These clans are in perpetual conflict, refusing to make any alliances and only settling for the utter annihilation of their rivals. As a result, no earnest attempt to look beyond the depths of Neralam has been made, for all attention is focused inwards on enemies near rather than opportunities afar.

The Pertlan physique can be aptly compared to a small dolphin, being on average one meter in length and sharing similar tails, pectoral, and dorsal fins to dolphins. They have jet-black backs and bright white underbellies, with both colorations extending from the base of their beaks to the tips of their tails. Their beaks are wholly black but vary in shape and size between clans. Other variations from clan to clan include differing patterns of yellow spots just above the pectoral fins and varying tail shapes, with some clans having smoothly curving fish-like tails similar to bottlenose dolphins while others have sickle shaped tails. These features are central to the clans’ identities; a newly born individual whose features deviate significantly from the rest of its clan or worse yet, bear resemblance to a rival clan’s features, will be exiled from its clan, leaving it to die or join one of few colonies of Pertlanic and Bertuagan rejects that have formed in the deeper waters, away from the conflicts above.

The similarly clannish Bertuaga bear resemblance to porpoises, with jet black backs and tan underbellies. They tend to be stockier and larger than their Pertlanic rivals, averaging about one and a third meters long and weighing twice as much. There is less variation from clan to clan amongst the Bertuagan ranks, with the unifying feature of each clan being its distinct dorsal and pectoral fin shapes. The Bertuagan clans will similarly reject individuals whose features do not match the rest of their clans’ well enough.

Spoiler: Resources

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The preeminent Bertuagan Kuasa Clan frequently launches raids on rival Pertlanic clans, kidnapping and enslaving their civilians. With little else in the way of resources offered by the Menar besides what food is needed to sustain the local population, all the Kuasa can offer outsiders are these captured Blackbeak Dolphins, dead or alive.

Ever hungry for the downfall of their neighbors, the Neralamese clans are always searching for the means to bring this about. Any supplier of Military Equipment would be readily welcomed to assist in the clans’ constant skirmishing.

Spoiler: Faith

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Most of the Neralamese Clans adhere to local pagan faiths, whose most devout followers are known as the New Wardens. The New Wardens are believed to communicate with the Spirits of Menar, supernatural guardians each responsible for the protection of its own Menar. Most New Wardens believe their Spirit of Menar wishes for the doom of the other Spirits, driving much of the conflict between the clans.

The faith of the New Wardens originated from the seas north of Neralam where its previous incarnation, the faith of the Old Wardens, first appeared. Since that time, the Old Wardens’ faith drifted south into Neralam via the currents that carved the Menar. Much of the clans’ conflicts predate the arrival of the faith, being originally over resources or local control, but the moment the faith of the Old Wardens was introduced, the clans twisted and contorted it into the New Wardens’ faith to justify their conflicts with their rivals as being endorsed by the divine Spirits of Menar, demanding the destruction of the other spirit guardians and the clans that they protect.

This is great, and I'd love to see more about how the clans interact with the Peacekeepers of Surunung. How does governance work?

Region Writeup First Draft

Region Name: Verja (61), The Factory Of Thorns

Spoiler: Geography:

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A deep, deep region composed of two major atmospheres. The upper atmosphere is populated by a billowing mass of smoke, a foggy region with little in it but water and waste. At the bottom of this barren place, a treasure chest buried under the depths, is the Crown Of Avarice. Within it flows all of the malice and greed and desires of not just this region, but of all of polar. Coalescing into a black spot for Mawbel specifically to harness and direct. Its true appearance is something many desire to know, but something none but the Inky Industrialist herself has seen, and to tell the secrets of the Crown would spoil the value.

Deeper below is the true colony. At depths that would crush standard living organisms live plants that have accustomed to these depths and lifeless machinery that sprawls all throughout these lands. The once rocky, empty lands have filled up to the brim with useless metal that lingered just below the surface. Scrawled up by magic and held together by magnetism into a great factory that yearns for…

Better left unsaid.

Along this place lies thorns, a hedge of brambles, thousands upon thousands of them the size of tree trunks, some veins approaching the size of whales, masses filled with poisonous ink stretching out through the entire region and making even the light from the Crown Of Avarice dim in retrospect. This flora that makes up the outermost layer of seafloor terrain is best described as the Ruling Caste.

Spoiler: People

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There were people, once. They worshipped the Glacial Gods, perhaps entirely unknowing of the true Glacial God that lurked within their waters. MAWbel v2.5 [Songstress] has brought it to life, given it new cylindrical form, and even now its work continues. The people serve within this new religion, and even their forms have been shifted in indistinguishable ways. The process is selectively reversible, supposedly, but most of the denizens of this place have been converted into Burrowing Shrimp, with the intelligence of the Original Shrimp and the New Shrimp equalizing out into something productive, yet compliant.

Society here works towards the goals of the faith as it ever was, and life for those people has been, while diminished, otherwise left uninterrupted. The now-less-mindless Shrimp appreciate the change in hierarchy too, all have become one, and made their coves inside of their new metal alcoves and homes in this place where all light is artificial.

Medusa live here too, although now it is all iterations of Mabel, and all connected to the whole. Her thorns stretch to every corner, give off magnetic waves that the people have been attuned to hear, and is by scholars regarded to be a lower frequency, selectively applied method of Mawbel v2.XX’s singing. The otherwise confused and isolated shrimp-people of the region are easily corralled into efficient construction crews.

Spoiler: Resource

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Burrowing Shrimp. Shrimp that can burrow. Subterranean people. Mass amounts of them, thinking, and yet not supremely thinking. Enough to have their own commerce and society, but when examined on a micro level seem more akin to animals than people. Some of these shrimp are smarter than the others, and selectively breed with each other to preserve their comparative intelligence. Mawbel gives slight favoritism towards the intelligent breeds too, delegating them to the leads of tasks and making sure the collective brains don’t breed themselves into oblivion, also making sure that when she needs food or compost to select for the least intelligent of the lot.

The same traits that genetically grant intelligence are also those most suited towards surviving at more intense pressures, and are thusly not really equipped to survive at all at the looser pressures up above. They if anything prefer to dig deeper into the structures, and leave any typical ‘resource’ needs to their less ‘evolved’ brethren.

Spoiler: Faith

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The Eternal Communion, as headed by Mawbel v2.XX [Songstress]. There is a bigger Industry bent here than most, as it is what the entire evolutionary structure and ecology of the region is based on. There are even connections to the outside, although worship of the High Priestess is far different down below than above, and the shrimp rarely come above for worship. Tribute is given and collected in a different way, with The Crown being a constant beacon no matter the time, although Mawbel will still rise up on Holy Days to collect it and sing for herself.

Unlike other regions where the merits of the religion are held up for their own right, Verja’s culture is one of utmost practicality, and recognizes that commerce too is something to be channeled for the good of…

Better left unsaid.

Really enjoying the vibe here. Definitely matches the Titan of Industry. Nice use of the Magma Shroud.
A couple of small things, though:
Could you please not use the word "atmosphere" to refer to underwater sections? Strata, depths, or layers possibly?
I think you need to rework your use of the burrowing shrimp slightly. As you've written them, they might be able to satify the region's own desired import (unskilled labor).
Why does the region need unskilled labor in the first place? (I've got a good guess, but I'd like see you to write it!)
What do the different holy sites of the region look like?

Region 63 - Redselle

Spoiler: Geography

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A region with similar frozen temperament to the waters of neighboring Yor-sul Depths, Redselle is regardless widely inhabited. A thriving region of merchants long since adapted to combating the cold to practice their craft near the supplies required for their work, the region has long traditions and connections far to other regions of the frozen seas. Its geography possesses few larger underwater mountain ranges, the space between them forming valleys unusually lush for such a cold place. Numerous sorts of flora adapted to the cold and often long dark find a home in this region, he most distinctive of which is dark red reed after which the region has ultimately been named.

The region has many trading towns traveled by caravans hawking fresh discoveries from near and far, the largest of which is Zivia. White not in any way fortified, it is a jewel of the area, the dwellings of richest merchants each attempting to outdo each other in sheer opulence.

Spoiler: People

Show

The basic social structure of merchants banding together and various people working for them to eventually form large, competing enterprises forms the bedrock of the local hierarchy, and as a result of its extremely developed textile markets the region has long had a large standing army overseen by the richest of merchant families to protect the valuable wares of its inhabitants from foreign aggression. Mer form the bulk of the local population, although with the arrival of Nathi explorers the Nen-shor (or Burning people) have also begun to settle to the area in some numbers. Others come further still, lured in by prospect of rich trade.

Spoiler: Resource & Requirement

Show

Resource: Sheerspun Fabric

A traditional industry of the region, weaving has long been basis for Redselle's strong economy, and the area's sheerspun fabrics are akin to art by now. Woven from the abundant strands of Redselle's local red reed so finely that the material is somewhat see-through and soft as a dream, this luxury good is in high demand among higher class of merchant.

Requirement: Preservatives

With the production of fabrics being an operation that must be constant for trade to flow uninterrupted, some of the materials needed require means of preserving them further until they can be made use of, the gathering and transportation of large amounts of unprocessed plant matter opening up the very real possibility of spoiled harvests.

Spoiler: Faith

Show

The region has some prior religious practices united under the banner of Aging Occultism, which are quickly being superceded by the emergent mega-faiths of the Polar waters. So far, however, these larger religions have seemed to deem Redselle beneath their notice.

Looks great so far! Definitely wish I had some sheerspun fabric of my own. I'd just like to see some description of the region's two holy sites before approval.

[Tychris1]

Could one RI follower with Merchantile support assist a buyout on a TP and instead of granting the bonus to the roll enable it against the TN 14 for another?

[Czard]

Region 160 - Neralam

Changes: Added a History and Government section and made some edits to the Resources section.

Spoiler: Geography

Show

Traveling eastward, the expansive basalt plains of Rahakera slope downward; initially, quite gently before rapidly descending into the darkness of the depths of Neralam. Rising from the darkness are numerous white rock spires around which the local species gather, feasting on plants and corals that grow the nutrient-rich rock face. It is around these rock spires, known to the locals as the Menar, that Neralamese society gathers and flourishes. The Menar were carved over epochs by the fierce currents of the region that flow between, carrying in detritus and debris along with the occasional unwitting visitor. They now serve as beacons around which the many clans of the region gather and live.

Spoiler: People

Show

The Neralamese consists of numerous clans of Pertlan and Bertuaga, each controlling its own Menar, though some larger and more powerful clans have expanded to seize multiple Menar. The dolphin-like Pertlan make up a small majority of the clans, though the porpoise-like Bertuaga make up most of the larger and more powerful clans, including the preeminent Kuasa Clan. These clans are in perpetual conflict, refusing to make any alliances and only settling for the utter annihilation of their rivals. As a result, no earnest attempt to look beyond the depths of Neralam has been made, for all attention is focused inwards on enemies near rather than opportunities afar.

The Pertlan physique can be aptly compared to a small dolphin, being on average one meter in length and sharing similar tails, pectoral, and dorsal fins to dolphins. They have jet-black backs and bright white underbellies, with both colorations extending from the base of their beaks to the tips of their tails. Their beaks are wholly black but vary in shape and size between clans. Other variations from clan to clan include differing patterns of yellow spots just above the pectoral fins and varying tail shapes, with some clans having smoothly curving fish-like tails similar to bottlenose dolphins while others have sickle shaped tails. These features are central to the clans’ identities; a newly born individual whose features deviate significantly from the rest of its clan or worse yet, bear resemblance to a rival clan’s features, will be exiled from its clan, leaving it to die or join one of few colonies of Pertlanic and Bertuagan rejects that have formed in the deeper waters, away from the conflicts above.

The similarly clannish Bertuaga bear resemblance to porpoises, with jet black backs and tan underbellies. They tend to be stockier and larger than their Pertlanic rivals, averaging about one and a third meters long and weighing twice as much. There is less variation from clan to clan amongst the Bertuagan ranks, with the unifying feature of each clan being its distinct dorsal and pectoral fin shapes. The Bertuagan clans will similarly reject individuals whose features do not match the rest of their clans’ well enough.

Spoiler: History and Government

Show

For most of its history, Neralam was ruled by the Pertlanic Republic of Neralam for which the region was named. The Republic originated as an ad-hoc decision making council amongst the Pertlanic tribes of the region; the Bertuaga at that time had yet to settle in the region. The council steadily gained influence over time as more and more tribes joined it until it proved more influential in the day-to-day lives of the Neralamese than their tribal leaders, at which point it was formally reorganized and evolved into the Republic of Neralam with the voting council becoming the Neralamese Senate. Control of the Menar was central to political influence in the Republic; each seat in the Senate of the Republic corresponded to a Menar, whose residents would elect a Senator to represent them. The Senators in turn would elect a Consul to serve as head of state. Though impoverished, the Republic was peaceful for a time.

However, clans would begin to emerge from the families of the senators of several of the Menar. These clans would intermarry into neighboring clans, creating larger clans controlling multiple Senate seats. The influence of a handful of clans would come to dominate the Senate much to the disapproval of the rest of the Republic. A string of tyrannical Consuls elected by the same dominant clan would eventually lead the rest of the Senate to pass reforms to reduce the Republic’s power as whole, returning authority to the tribal and clan leaders of each Menar. As the Republic grew more feeble, disapproval of it rose as the Neralamese believed its growing inefficacy to be caused by incompetent legislators.

At the height of the Neralamese animosity towards their own government, Bertuagan migrants began arriving in the region from the north and colonizing some of the derelict Menar. These migrants were peaceful, but the Pertlanic Senate deliberated on whether or not to grant them seats. While the small clans and tribes pushed for seats to be granted to the Bertuagan tribes as consistent with the law, the ruling faction, not wanting their majority hold over the Senate threatened, ultimately denied the Bertuaga any seats. At this time, the small clans and tribes abandoned their Senate seats in protest and withdrew from the Republic, believing it only now served as a means for the dominant clans to increase their own authority over their neighbors. Armed conflicts between the clans broke out, as larger clans tried to wrangle smaller ones back into the Republic. Some of the large clans began attacking the Bertuagan migrants, trying to expel them from Neralam, bringing the Bertuaga into the conflict. The large clans took this era of chaos as an opportunity to attack their other large rivals and seize their Menar. With all cooperation between the clans in the virtually defunct Republic breaking down, the last of the Republic’s influence disappeared from Neralamese life.

The Republic would continue to exist ceremonially for a while after it enacted its last piece of legislation, unable to exert its authority or generally function. It soon would meet its end, however, at the fins of the Bertugan Kuasa Clan. The origin of the Kuasa is unknown to the Neralamese; they are speculated to have been a powerful aristocratic faction in a sea to the north who unsuccessfully tried to seize power in their region, but were expelled. Regardless, they one day arrived in Neralam from the north, battle hardened and more experienced then their native opponents, and proceeded to seize numerous Menar, including the Grand Menar where the Senate resides. The Kuasa proclaimed the dissolution of the Republic with their conquest of the Grand Menar, but the conflicts between the clans continued despite there no longer any political bodies to vie for influence in.

This state of strife would continue for some time until the Surunungese invasion from the west. While some clans saw the threat from Rahakera coming and signed a truce to join forces and expel the incoming armies of Kejatara, others ignored the threat or even prepared to welcome the Surunungese, hoping they might prove useful to the clans’ battles. Despite a fairly determined resistance, the Kejatara swept over Neralam like a tidal wave and laid the clans low. The Surunungese captured each of the clans’ leaders and escorted them to Kejakota, where they were offered seats in the Peacekeepers’ Assembly in exchange for their loyalty. The Neralamese leaders accepted and returned home to the Menar, where they were quick to resume their squabbling under the watchful eyes of the Kejatara, for they would be free to fight to their hearts’ content so long as they maintained loyalty to Kejakota. To further incentivize loyalty, the Surunungese would provide arms and resources to clans who contribute greatly to the goals of the Peacekeeper's Assembly, turning the clans' animosity for one another into engines to forward the realm.

Spoiler: Resources

Show

With the preeminent Bertuagan Kuasa Clan being the dominant force in the region and posing an existential threat to every other faction in the region, its rivals have been forced to resort to desperate measures to ensure their own survival. As the Menar yield little resources beyond the food needed to sustain the region’s inhabitants, many of the Pertlanic clans have decided to offer their services as a resource to outsiders in order to bring in resources and money to the clans’ coffers. These Blackbeak Dolphins will prove useful when hired either as mercenaries or laborers by foreign powers.

Ever hungry for the downfall of their neighbors, the Neralamese clans are always searching for the means to bring this about. Any supplier of Military Equipment would be readily welcomed to assist in the clans’ constant skirmishing.

Spoiler: Faith

Show

Most of the Neralamese Clans adhere to local pagan faiths, whose most devout followers are known as the New Wardens. The New Wardens are believed to communicate with the Spirits of Menar, supernatural guardians each responsible for the protection of its own Menar. Most New Wardens believe their Spirit of Menar wishes for the doom of the other Spirits, driving much of the conflict between the clans.

The faith of the New Wardens originated from the seas north of Neralam where its previous incarnation, the faith of the Old Wardens, first appeared. Since that time, the Old Wardens’ faith drifted south into Neralam via the currents that carved the Menar. Much of the clans’ conflicts predate the arrival of the faith, being originally over resources or local control, but the moment the faith of the Old Wardens was introduced, the clans twisted and contorted it into the New Wardens’ faith to justify their conflicts with their rivals as being endorsed by the divine Spirits of Menar, demanding the destruction of the other spirit guardians and the clans that they protect.

[Feathersnow]

I have an idea-

After years of studying the inner workings of artificial, emergent, vertebrate, arthropod, and mollusk brains, a way was found to directly transmit thoughts between minds

Cathedral of Communion
Great work- Intrigue 5
Requires- Child of Pearl status

Once per round, a Child of Pearl may replace the stat increase from a faith action to benefit any other stat

[Grim ranger]

Looks great so far! Definitely wish I had some sheerspun fabric of my own. I'd just like to see some description of the region's two holy sites before approval.

I have edited in some details for them :)

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Alright, I've edited up to the Second Draft here. I think that should address all of the issues.

I'll change the term on Atmosphere to Strata, and have no issue with it, though I am curious as to the reasoning.

Put in holy sites, and I put in a reasoning for them to not supply the unskilled labor for themselves too, and I think unless I missed something that should be everything for revisions.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Titan Of Industry related questions
Projects:
Can multiple copies of the same Titanic Project be built within the same region?
If a region is uninhabitable or beyond a border that cannot be crossed (Toxic), can a Titan Of Industry still build/work within it? Either to build Dump Sites, or in general?



Pollution:
Does a region becoming uninhabitable affect/destroy/negate any Holy Sites or Trading Posts within the region? Or merely render it unowned?
If a Dump Site is sacked or disabled, is the pollution retroactively reverted to the region where it originates from? Either immediately or with a time delay?

Sacks:
Does a 'Destroyed' Titanic Project from a sack require 2 actions to recreate, or does it need to be rebuilt/replaced entirely? Aka, is a "Great Success" for a Sack in an unowned region equivalent to a Sack within an owned region?

Energized Extraction:

Owned TPs in region count double;

Does this stack additively or multiplicatively with owning Merchant Support in a region? Does this stack additively or multiplicatively with owning multiple copies of Energized Extraction in the same region? Does this apply for people who own the TPs themselves, or just for the Titan Of Industry?

Mantlecracker Research:
Am I correct in assuming I'm generally allowed to / expected to propose "Industrial Technologies", as if they were an Eco 10 or a Mil 10? (If there's a list of Mantlecracker technologies for me to research I don't know where they are). Where does the Industrial Research Pollution get distributed, given that (I'm guessing) the Factory is the actual building and a separate entity?
Does Industrialized Research count as 'region specific', either for my capital or for whatever region I'm giving the Pollution to?


Vault Depot:
Does this increase the treasure cap for the Titan Of Industry, for the region owner, the owner of the Merchant Support, or any combination of the above?

[Kythia]

Probably gonna be finishing my great project next turn. Does this work? Also, is it possible to not get the PRS increase from it? My reasoning is because its a sub branch then its less prestigious

Magaramchi Branch of the Mercenary Exchange
This is a sub-branch of the Pyl Garet-based Union Mercenary Exchange. If that is destroyed or otherwise rendered defunct, this exchange is also rendered defunct. If the Union Exchange is restored, a Diplomacy action can be taken to restore this Exchange by either the owner of Region 10 or the owner of the Union Mercenary Exchange.

The owner may spend 3 Treasure to recruit an additional unit when they take a Recruit Units action, once per round for each of the Aristocratic and Mercantile Supports they possess in the Magaramachi Salination (10) (possessing at least one of the two is required to use this option).

Having Aristocratic Support the Magaramachi Salination (10) grants a +1 bonus to any Military action you take in the region if at least one Treasure is spent on it, and allows for attempting to Coerce Trade Posts in the region even if the Mercantile Support is owned by someone else.

Any country may hire mercenaries from the Exchange at the cost of 1 treasure per unit. For each such unit hired, roll a d6. On a 6 two units are gained as one shows up for free as they've heard there might be something to eat. These units are always lost first if units are lost for any reason due to the Magaramachi's prodigious hunger making distance losses more dangerous and their penchant for charging in recklessly meaning they take higher casualties.

Treasure so earnt is held by the Exchange in a seperate pool to that of the owner of region 10. If region 10 is attacked, the mercenaries will aid in its defense, providing two units for each treasure held by the Exchange. At the GMs discretion the Exchange may also use its holdings or troops for other purposes.

---

Also probably gonna be doing an E10. Does this work:

Shallow Sea Colonies
Pre-Req: Supernatic Propagation
Effects: Allows colonisation (but not settling) of Fathomless regions.
Write Up: With enough skill at so-called "dry" bioproductivity a small but self-sufficient group can survive without access to the sea floor. There is a limit to how many can be supported in this way without access to the depths but a small colony is possible.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Alpha Ex Machina

Fluff: The original, the first. A monument in name only and yet it somehow feels significant, despite being a tiny speck of steel small enough for a Herring to gobble down as a morsel. Maybe it will spur others on to the path? The work continues all the same.

Mechanics:
As a non-action during your turn, or as a sub-action as part of an action or non-action used to create or obtain this artifact, you may activate its effects as a bundle package. These effects persist even if you lose possession of this artifact.

Craft one Paperclip for every unit of Treasure you create.
Create a running counter of how many Paperclips you have crafted.

[mystic1110]

For a Size 3 Faith Bonus, would it be OK for DPB to copy Titanic Recruiting (as a faith or Mil action, up to GMs) - fluffwise, the AI that is DPB is copying (which is does through Black Mirror for example) its most recent and greatest adversary - learning from it and it's own mistakes.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Also screw it, I'll toss up a hypothetical Mantlecracker Technology, which may be coming as soon as next turn. (This is under the presumption that Mantlecracker Technologies are things I create and submit).


Gaiden Deployments Tier 1
Fluff: The magnetic song of Mawbel v2.XX [Songstress] is something creatures, living or otherwise, can enjoy. Creatures of lower intelligence often have difficulty heeding the call, due to their minimized understanding of structures. A persistent wavelength and altered refrain can help with that, and swell the ranks of those deployed to Mercenary Ends.

Mechanics: +1 to Battles and Maneuvering if using Artificial Units (Ex: the units produced by Merchant Marinecess from Treasure Spent in a combat.)
Requirement: One active Mercenary Beacon.
Slot: Mounts and Warbeasts

Mercenary Beacon [Songstress]
Construction Requirements: Within an area possessing a significant volume of organic lifeforms.

[Aerin]

Could one RI follower with Merchantile support assist a buyout on a TP and instead of granting the bonus to the roll enable it against the TN 14 for another?

Sure, that makes sense to me.

Region 160 - Neralam

Changes: Added a History and Government section and made some edits to the Resources section.

Spoiler: Geography

Show

Traveling eastward, the expansive basalt plains of Rahakera slope downward; initially, quite gently before rapidly descending into the darkness of the depths of Neralam. Rising from the darkness are numerous white rock spires around which the local species gather, feasting on plants and corals that grow the nutrient-rich rock face. It is around these rock spires, known to the locals as the Menar, that Neralamese society gathers and flourishes. The Menar were carved over epochs by the fierce currents of the region that flow between, carrying in detritus and debris along with the occasional unwitting visitor. They now serve as beacons around which the many clans of the region gather and live.

Spoiler: People

Show

The Neralamese consists of numerous clans of Pertlan and Bertuaga, each controlling its own Menar, though some larger and more powerful clans have expanded to seize multiple Menar. The dolphin-like Pertlan make up a small majority of the clans, though the porpoise-like Bertuaga make up most of the larger and more powerful clans, including the preeminent Kuasa Clan. These clans are in perpetual conflict, refusing to make any alliances and only settling for the utter annihilation of their rivals. As a result, no earnest attempt to look beyond the depths of Neralam has been made, for all attention is focused inwards on enemies near rather than opportunities afar.

The Pertlan physique can be aptly compared to a small dolphin, being on average one meter in length and sharing similar tails, pectoral, and dorsal fins to dolphins. They have jet-black backs and bright white underbellies, with both colorations extending from the base of their beaks to the tips of their tails. Their beaks are wholly black but vary in shape and size between clans. Other variations from clan to clan include differing patterns of yellow spots just above the pectoral fins and varying tail shapes, with some clans having smoothly curving fish-like tails similar to bottlenose dolphins while others have sickle shaped tails. These features are central to the clans’ identities; a newly born individual whose features deviate significantly from the rest of its clan or worse yet, bear resemblance to a rival clan’s features, will be exiled from its clan, leaving it to die or join one of few colonies of Pertlanic and Bertuagan rejects that have formed in the deeper waters, away from the conflicts above.

The similarly clannish Bertuaga bear resemblance to porpoises, with jet black backs and tan underbellies. They tend to be stockier and larger than their Pertlanic rivals, averaging about one and a third meters long and weighing twice as much. There is less variation from clan to clan amongst the Bertuagan ranks, with the unifying feature of each clan being its distinct dorsal and pectoral fin shapes. The Bertuagan clans will similarly reject individuals whose features do not match the rest of their clans’ well enough.

Spoiler: History and Government

Show

For most of its history, Neralam was ruled by the Pertlanic Republic of Neralam for which the region was named. The Republic originated as an ad-hoc decision making council amongst the Pertlanic tribes of the region; the Bertuaga at that time had yet to settle in the region. The council steadily gained influence over time as more and more tribes joined it until it proved more influential in the day-to-day lives of the Neralamese than their tribal leaders, at which point it was formally reorganized and evolved into the Republic of Neralam with the voting council becoming the Neralamese Senate. Control of the Menar was central to political influence in the Republic; each seat in the Senate of the Republic corresponded to a Menar, whose residents would elect a Senator to represent them. The Senators in turn would elect a Consul to serve as head of state. Though impoverished, the Republic was peaceful for a time.

However, clans would begin to emerge from the families of the senators of several of the Menar. These clans would intermarry into neighboring clans, creating larger clans controlling multiple Senate seats. The influence of a handful of clans would come to dominate the Senate much to the disapproval of the rest of the Republic. A string of tyrannical Consuls elected by the same dominant clan would eventually lead the rest of the Senate to pass reforms to reduce the Republic’s power as whole, returning authority to the tribal and clan leaders of each Menar. As the Republic grew more feeble, disapproval of it rose as the Neralamese believed its growing inefficacy to be caused by incompetent legislators.

At the height of the Neralamese animosity towards their own government, Bertuagan migrants began arriving in the region from the north and colonizing some of the derelict Menar. These migrants were peaceful, but the Pertlanic Senate deliberated on whether or not to grant them seats. While the small clans and tribes pushed for seats to be granted to the Bertuagan tribes as consistent with the law, the ruling faction, not wanting their majority hold over the Senate threatened, ultimately denied the Bertuaga any seats. At this time, the small clans and tribes abandoned their Senate seats in protest and withdrew from the Republic, believing it only now served as a means for the dominant clans to increase their own authority over their neighbors. Armed conflicts between the clans broke out, as larger clans tried to wrangle smaller ones back into the Republic. Some of the large clans began attacking the Bertuagan migrants, trying to expel them from Neralam, bringing the Bertuaga into the conflict. The large clans took this era of chaos as an opportunity to attack their other large rivals and seize their Menar. With all cooperation between the clans in the virtually defunct Republic breaking down, the last of the Republic’s influence disappeared from Neralamese life.

The Republic would continue to exist ceremonially for a while after it enacted its last piece of legislation, unable to exert its authority or generally function. It soon would meet its end, however, at the fins of the Bertugan Kuasa Clan. The origin of the Kuasa is unknown to the Neralamese; they are speculated to have been a powerful aristocratic faction in a sea to the north who unsuccessfully tried to seize power in their region, but were expelled. Regardless, they one day arrived in Neralam from the north, battle hardened and more experienced then their native opponents, and proceeded to seize numerous Menar, including the Grand Menar where the Senate resides. The Kuasa proclaimed the dissolution of the Republic with their conquest of the Grand Menar, but the conflicts between the clans continued despite there no longer any political bodies to vie for influence in.

This state of strife would continue for some time until the Surunungese invasion from the west. While some clans saw the threat from Rahakera coming and signed a truce to join forces and expel the incoming armies of Kejatara, others ignored the threat or even prepared to welcome the Surunungese, hoping they might prove useful to the clans’ battles. Despite a fairly determined resistance, the Kejatara swept over Neralam like a tidal wave and laid the clans low. The Surunungese captured each of the clans’ leaders and escorted them to Kejakota, where they were offered seats in the Peacekeepers’ Assembly in exchange for their loyalty. The Neralamese leaders accepted and returned home to the Menar, where they were quick to resume their squabbling under the watchful eyes of the Kejatara, for they would be free to fight to their hearts’ content so long as they maintained loyalty to Kejakota. To further incentivize loyalty, the Surunungese would provide arms and resources to clans who contribute greatly to the goals of the Peacekeeper's Assembly, turning the clans' animosity for one another into engines to forward the realm.

Spoiler: Resources

Show

With the preeminent Bertuagan Kuasa Clan being the dominant force in the region and posing an existential threat to every other faction in the region, its rivals have been forced to resort to desperate measures to ensure their own survival. As the Menar yield little resources beyond the food needed to sustain the region’s inhabitants, many of the Pertlanic clans have decided to offer their services as a resource to outsiders in order to bring in resources and money to the clans’ coffers. These Blackbeak Dolphins will prove useful when hired either as mercenaries or laborers by foreign powers.

Ever hungry for the downfall of their neighbors, the Neralamese clans are always searching for the means to bring this about. Any supplier of Military Equipment would be readily welcomed to assist in the clans’ constant skirmishing.

Spoiler: Faith

Show

Most of the Neralamese Clans adhere to local pagan faiths, whose most devout followers are known as the New Wardens. The New Wardens are believed to communicate with the Spirits of Menar, supernatural guardians each responsible for the protection of its own Menar. Most New Wardens believe their Spirit of Menar wishes for the doom of the other Spirits, driving much of the conflict between the clans.

The faith of the New Wardens originated from the seas north of Neralam where its previous incarnation, the faith of the Old Wardens, first appeared. Since that time, the Old Wardens’ faith drifted south into Neralam via the currents that carved the Menar. Much of the clans’ conflicts predate the arrival of the faith, being originally over resources or local control, but the moment the faith of the Old Wardens was introduced, the clans twisted and contorted it into the New Wardens’ faith to justify their conflicts with their rivals as being endorsed by the divine Spirits of Menar, demanding the destruction of the other spirit guardians and the clans that they protect.

Approved! Thanks for making the edits. Please add this to the Waters of the World thread.

I have an idea-

After years of studying the inner workings of artificial, emergent, vertebrate, arthropod, and mollusk brains, a way was found to directly transmit thoughts between minds

Cathedral of Communion
Great work- Intrigue 5
Requires- Child of Pearl status

Once per round, a Child of Pearl may replace the stat increase from a faith action to benefit any other stat

This is a bit too much for a Great Project, which typically is a +1 to a single type of roll within a single region. If you're looking to tie effects into Child of Pearl status, I would recommend studying the Anamorphic Canon (which is a particular and specific project to pursue). This is the built-in improvement method for the DNA title.

I have edited in some details for them :)

Approved! Please add the region to the Waters of the World.

Alright, I've edited up to the Second Draft here. I think that should address all of the issues.

I'll change the term on Atmosphere to Strata, and have no issue with it, though I am curious as to the reasoning.

Put in holy sites, and I put in a reasoning for them to not supply the unskilled labor for themselves too, and I think unless I missed something that should be everything for revisions.

Approved! Please add the region to the Waters of the World.

Titan Of Industry related questions
Projects:
Can multiple copies of the same Titanic Project be built within the same region?
If a region is uninhabitable or beyond a border that cannot be crossed (Toxic), can a Titan Of Industry still build/work within it? Either to build Dump Sites, or in general?



Pollution:
Does a region becoming uninhabitable affect/destroy/negate any Holy Sites or Trading Posts within the region? Or merely render it unowned?
If a Dump Site is sacked or disabled, is the pollution retroactively reverted to the region where it originates from? Either immediately or with a time delay?

Sacks:
Does a 'Destroyed' Titanic Project from a sack require 2 actions to recreate, or does it need to be rebuilt/replaced entirely? Aka, is a "Great Success" for a Sack in an unowned region equivalent to a Sack within an owned region?

Energized Extraction:

Does this stack additively or multiplicatively with owning Merchant Support in a region? Does this stack additively or multiplicatively with owning multiple copies of Energized Extraction in the same region? Does this apply for people who own the TPs themselves, or just for the Titan Of Industry?

Mantlecracker Research:
Am I correct in assuming I'm generally allowed to / expected to propose "Industrial Technologies", as if they were an Eco 10 or a Mil 10? (If there's a list of Mantlecracker technologies for me to research I don't know where they are). Where does the Industrial Research Pollution get distributed, given that (I'm guessing) the Factory is the actual building and a separate entity?
Does Industrialized Research count as 'region specific', either for my capital or for whatever region I'm giving the Pollution to?


Vault Depot:
Does this increase the treasure cap for the Titan Of Industry, for the region owner, the owner of the Merchant Support, or any combination of the above?

I'll leave these questions for Role to answer.

Probably gonna be finishing my great project next turn. Does this work? Also, is it possible to not get the PRS increase from it? My reasoning is because its a sub branch then its less prestigious

Magaramchi Branch of the Mercenary Exchange
This is a sub-branch of the Pyl Garet-based Union Mercenary Exchange. If that is destroyed or otherwise rendered defunct, this exchange is also rendered defunct. If the Union Exchange is restored, a Diplomacy action can be taken to restore this Exchange by either the owner of Region 10 or the owner of the Union Mercenary Exchange.

The owner may spend 3 Treasure to recruit an additional unit when they take a Recruit Units action, once per round for each of the Aristocratic and Mercantile Supports they possess in the Magaramachi Salination (10) (possessing at least one of the two is required to use this option).

Having Aristocratic Support the Magaramachi Salination (10) grants a +1 bonus to any Military action you take in the region if at least one Treasure is spent on it, and allows for attempting to Coerce Trade Posts in the region even if the Mercantile Support is owned by someone else.

Any country may hire mercenaries from the Exchange at the cost of 1 treasure per unit. For each such unit hired, roll a d6. On a 6 two units are gained as one shows up for free as they've heard there might be something to eat. These units are always lost first if units are lost for any reason due to the Magaramachi's prodigious hunger making distance losses more dangerous and their penchant for charging in recklessly meaning they take higher casualties.

Treasure so earnt is held by the Exchange in a seperate pool to that of the owner of region 10. If region 10 is attacked, the mercenaries will aid in its defense, providing two units for each treasure held by the Exchange. At the GMs discretion the Exchange may also use its holdings or troops for other purposes.

---

Also probably gonna be doing an E10. Does this work:

Shallow Sea Colonies
Pre-Req: Supernatic Propagation
Effects: Allows colonisation (but not settling) of Fathomless regions.
Write Up: With enough skill at so-called "dry" bioproductivity a small but self-sufficient group can survive without access to the sea floor. There is a limit to how many can be supported in this way without access to the depths but a small colony is possible.

I think you may be confusing World Wonders and Great Projects. Wonders can only be built by nations who have reached Prestige Rank 4, and each nation can only ever build one Wonder. The Union Mercenary Exchange is a Wonder. Great Projects can be built by everyone, but they have far less powerful effects, typically on the order of a +1 to a single type of roll within a single region.

Because MGM has not reached PRS rank 4, you are not eligible to build a Wonder. Your Magaramachi Mercenary Exchange can still have all the same fluff, but the mechanical effects need to be scaled down considerably. Apologies for the lack of clarity that lead to this misunderstanding.

As for the tech, I really love the fluff. Funky little unique colonies in inhospitable places have a special place in my heart. But ultimately, this would be a mechanical headache for the GMs to maintain. There's no reason you'd have to get rid of the surface colony once the depths are explored, and we want to avoid having mechanically multilayered regions as much as possible.

Alpha Ex Machina

Fluff: The original, the first. A monument in name only and yet it somehow feels significant, despite being a tiny speck of steel small enough for a Herring to gobble down as a morsel. Maybe it will spur others on to the path? The work continues all the same.

Mechanics:
As a non-action during your turn, or as a sub-action as part of an action or non-action used to create or obtain this artifact, you may activate its effects as a bundle package. These effects persist even if you lose possession of this artifact.

Craft one Paperclip for every unit of Treasure you create.
Create a running counter of how many Paperclips you have crafted.

Could you remove the "or as a sub-action as part of an action or non-action used to create or obtain this artifact" clause? Other than that, I think this is cute and clever. Also I refuse to be the one to track your literal paperclips. Have fun!

For a Size 3 Faith Bonus, would it be OK for DPB to copy Titanic Recruiting (as a faith or Mil action, up to GMs) - fluffwise, the AI that is DPB is copying (which is does through Black Mirror for example) its most recent and greatest adversary - learning from it and it's own mistakes.

The desired power level for a size 3 Faith bonus is about the same as a tier 1 tech, typically +1 to a single type of roll. Titanic Recruiting is essentially a free recruit action every turn, which is far outside the scope. I think the flavor of copying one's foes is neat, but you'd need to dial it down mechanically somehow.

Also screw it, I'll toss up a hypothetical Mantlecracker Technology, which may be coming as soon as next turn. (This is under the presumption that Mantlecracker Technologies are things I create and submit).


Gaiden Deployments Tier 1
Fluff: The magnetic song of Mawbel v2.XX [Songstress] is something creatures, living or otherwise, can enjoy. Creatures of lower intelligence often have difficulty heeding the call, due to their minimized understanding of structures. A persistent wavelength and altered refrain can help with that, and swell the ranks of those deployed to Mercenary Ends.

Mechanics: +1 to Battles and Maneuvering if using Artificial Units (Ex: the units produced by Merchant Marinecess from Treasure Spent in a combat.)
Requirement: One active Mercenary Beacon.
Slot: Mounts and Warbeasts

Mercenary Beacon [Songstress]
Construction Requirements: Within an area possessing a significant volume of organic lifeforms.

Also tossing this to Role.

[mystic1110]

The desired power level for a size 3 Faith bonus is about the same as a tier 1 tech, typically +1 to a single type of roll. Titanic Recruiting is essentially a free recruit action every turn, which is far outside the scope. I think the flavor of copying one's foes is neat, but you'd need to dial it down mechanically somehow.

Using the idea that a Tier 1 tech may create a great success worth one free action for an action that does not have a great success, how about - "Imperfect Titanic Mimicry: When using a Raise Unit Action roll using Mil. Upon a Great Success of TN 18, Raise an additional Unit"

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Could you remove the "or as a sub-action as part of an action or non-action used to create or obtain this artifact" clause? Other than that, I think this is cute and clever. Also I refuse to be the one to track your literal paperclips. Have fun!

Sure thing. Does mean I have to wait one turn before counting, but I can manage that. I'm also fine keeping track of these things and noting it in my post, it's a fun little minigame to start up.

[Kythia]

I think you may be confusing World Wonders and Great Projects. Wonders can only be built by nations who have reached Prestige Rank 4, and each nation can only ever build one Wonder. The Union Mercenary Exchange is a Wonder. Great Projects can be built by everyone, but they have far less powerful effects, typically on the order of a +1 to a single type of roll within a single region.

Because MGM has not reached PRS rank 4, you are not eligible to build a Wonder. Your Magaramachi Mercenary Exchange can still have all the same fluff, but the mechanical effects need to be scaled down considerably. Apologies for the lack of clarity that lead to this misunderstanding.

Ah, truthfully that wa a little confusing. No problemo, what about this then:

---

Magaramachi Branch of the Mercenary Exchange
This is a sub-branch of the Pyl Garet-based Union Mercenary Exchange. If that is destroyed or otherwise rendered defunct, this exchange is also rendered defunct. If the Union Exchange is restored, a Diplomacy action can be taken to restore this Exchange by either the owner of Region 10 or the owner of the Union Mercenary Exchange.

Having Aristocratic Support the Magaramachi Salination (10) grants a +1 bonus to any Military action you take in the region if at least one Treasure is spent on it, and allows for attempting to Coerce Trade Posts in the region even if the Mercantile Support is owned by someone else.

---

Attempting to balance the opportunity to coerce trading posts with the requirement to spend treasure on the roll.

As for the tech, I really love the fluff. Funky little unique colonies in inhospitable places have a special place in my heart. But ultimately, this would be a mechanical headache for the GMs to maintain. There's no reason you'd have to get rid of the surface colony once the depths are explored, and we want to avoid having mechanically multilayered regions as much as possible.

No worries - I can't really see why I'd want to keep the colony but sure, better to prevent that. Back to the drawing board.

[Rolepgeek]

Titan Of Industry related questions
Projects:
Can multiple copies of the same Titanic Project be built within the same region?

By default/with your current technologies, Magma Shrouds and Energized Extraction are limited to 1 per region. The others may have multiple per region as long as you're willing to deal with the Pollution, though once you get your first Mantlecracker tech we will revisit/explain a bit more about Factories. However, you cannot have multiple partially completed Titanic Projects of the same type in a region (to simplify tracking) - additionally, after some discussion with the rest of the GM team, Dump Sites will be getting a point of clarification added that they cannot be built if the local Pollution is already 0, which will help simplify tracking Pollution.

If a region is uninhabitable or beyond a border that cannot be crossed (Toxic), can a Titan Of Industry still build/work within it? Either to build Dump Sites, or in general?

If you cannot access the region, you cannot build any Projects there, let alone Titanic Projects. You can, however, access regions you control without crossing intervening borders through the normal mechanics for such. It may be worth trying to acquire or create a technology to allow you to cross Toxic borders, as a result.

Pollution:
Does a region becoming uninhabitable affect/destroy/negate any Holy Sites or Trading Posts within the region? Or merely render it unowned?

Do you mean a region becoming Contaminated from Pollution? It will have negative effects on Supports, Holy Sites, and Trading Posts in the region over time, but it does not instantly set all of them to Open. If the region is owned, then it will not count as being owned while so Contaminated, but depending on how quickly that is cleared up, it will probably go back to it's original owner once the Contamination is dealt with.

If a Dump Site is sacked or disabled, is the pollution retroactively reverted to the region where it originates from? Either immediately or with a time delay?

If a Dump Site is disabled, then the normal effects of pollution reduction/relocation will fall away rapidly. I'm not going to say it's all at once, because I don't want a simultaneous sack of three Dump Sites instantly ruining a region without any chance to respond, but it will not be very drawn out, either.

Sacks:
Does a 'Destroyed' Titanic Project from a sack require 2 actions to recreate, or does it need to be rebuilt/replaced entirely? Aka, is a "Great Success" for a Sack in an unowned region equivalent to a Sack within an owned region?

This is answered already in the Titan of Industry rules text, but a Great Success Sack means it's 2 actions, yes - this is separate from being destroyed, as Titanic Projects are not Trading Posts.

Energized Extraction:
Does this stack additively or multiplicatively with owning Merchant Support in a region? Does this stack additively or multiplicatively with owning multiple copies of Energized Extraction in the same region? Does this apply for people who own the TPs themselves, or just for the Titan Of Industry?

It stacks multiplicatively with owning Merchant Support in the region. It only works for the Titan of Industry's owned TPs. You cannot have multiple copies of Energized Extraction in a region - any further upgrades to such enabled by Mantlecracker Technologies would be called something else.

Mantlecracker Research:
Am I correct in assuming I'm generally allowed to / expected to propose "Industrial Technologies", as if they were an Eco 10 or a Mil 10? (If there's a list of Mantlecracker technologies for me to research I don't know where they are). Where does the Industrial Research Pollution get distributed, given that (I'm guessing) the Factory is the actual building and a separate entity?
Does Industrialized Research count as 'region specific', either for my capital or for whatever region I'm giving the Pollution to?

Industrial Research is done in a specific region - think of it as the research and factory maintenance facilities. So yes, it's region-specific. As for available technologies, you are certainly allowed to make suggestions and/or attempt to get specific avenues of research, but generally when you complete an Industrial Research Project, you'll be presented with a few options to choose from for your next one.

Vault Depot:
Does this increase the treasure cap for the Titan Of Industry, for the region owner, the owner of the Merchant Support, or any combination of the above?

I will admit that I hadn't thought about this previously, which means it needs to be adjusted slightly to account for this: Vault-Depots give the region-owner +2 Treasure Cap, and if a Titan of Industry owns the local Merchant Support, that Titan of Industry gets +3 Treasure Cap.

Also screw it, I'll toss up a hypothetical Mantlecracker Technology, which may be coming as soon as next turn. (This is under the presumption that Mantlecracker Technologies are things I create and submit).

Gaiden Deployments Tier 1
Fluff: The magnetic song of Mawbel v2.XX [Songstress] is something creatures, living or otherwise, can enjoy. Creatures of lower intelligence often have difficulty heeding the call, due to their minimized understanding of structures. A persistent wavelength and altered refrain can help with that, and swell the ranks of those deployed to Mercenary Ends.

Mechanics: +1 to Battles and Maneuvering if using Artificial Units (Ex: the units produced by Merchant Marinecess from Treasure Spent in a combat.)
Requirement: One active Mercenary Beacon.
Slot: Mounts and Warbeasts

Mercenary Beacon [Songstress]
Construction Requirements: Within an area possessing a significant volume of organic lifeforms.

This will not work as a Mantlecracker Technology in its current form. This is in part because the Mercenary Beacon's construction requirements are far too vague/broad/lax for what it's doing/what Factories are supposed to need as inputs, and to lesser extents because a. the flavor for it seems much more occult than it does industrial and b. a Mercenary Beacon is not a Factory.

This might be interesting as an M10, but I don't think it's suitable as a Mantlecracker Technology, at least at this stage. I think you would need to do some more basic research into automated/industrialized occultism first.

[Minescratcher]

Writeup for 123.

* * *

Region 123
Kral-Katena, the Leveled Seas

Spoiler: Geography

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The waters east of Cyph-Arel and north of the Emerald Tidelands are surprisingly barren for their proximity to such modern centers of power. The only landmarks in this endless expanse of sand are the hamlets and villages that dot the seascape. Even the waves above seem weak and flat, except in the east of the region, where the brutal teeth of Death’s Passage jut upwards from the sands and swirling storms batter the sea. No creature stirs up the sand, and the only disturbance overhead are the herds of Malruses, nibbling at the drifting plankton and seagrass.

Spoiler: People

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The people of Kral-Katena are divided into two groups: the native Katena villagers and the Greenwater Clansfolk settlers. The Katena are a sedentary people, resembling gobies with small eyes and a pinkish color. They have notable cultural and linguistic similarities to the Cyphiri, though the exact nature of their relationship is unclear. Large extended families form small hamlets where they can, spreading out as much as possible over the region, which are divided into baronies ruled by what is at this point, through generations of intermarriage, essentially a single, massive noble family. Specialization runs counter to day-to-day survival, and so the primary privilege of the nobility is simply the ability to devote themselves to a single thing at a time, for as long as they want.

The Greenwater Clansfolk are Mer, refugees from the silt wave that destroyed their home region, led by the Redtail Clan Speaker, Blaithin Redtail. They have made an effort to preserve all of their traditions in as exact a form as possible, and their life is not that different from that of the pre-collapse Greenwater, though the lack of any real kelp forests does impose some constraints.

Spoiler: History and Government

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Never a densely populated region to begin with, a series of devastating Reaver attacks left Kral-Katena teetering on the verge of collapse. The noble barons who survived the raids immediately began plotting to seize each other’s titles, but so few able-bodied Mer were available that they could barely fill their own bodyguards, much less even hire assassins to hunt down their rivals. When an army of raw Greenwater Clans recruits under Yura Darkwater marched into the region, it was left entirely defenseless, and most of the Katena villagers simply ignored the change in government – though the nobility was not so lucky.

However, the situation was not stable for long; in the silt-tide that destroyed the Greenwater, some of the clans fled north, braving the tumult of the kelp forests’ destruction and the dangers of the Deepheart to reach safer waters. A few other clansfolk had already settled in Kral-Katena after Yura Darkwater’s conquest, and together they formed a substantial exodus community. Even after Yura was captured by the Gotezhar force sent to secure their northern borders, the Redtail clan maintained the only meaningful retinue in the region, making the Clansfolk the de facto rulers. Speaker Blaithin immediately used his advantage to secure more territory for his Clansfolk, pushing many of the Katena out of their villages in the process.

His expansion did not last long either, its end coming at the fins of the Order of Orders, in the famed Knight Commander Amlaigh Tolmach’s last battle before his death. Despite their rough numerical parity, the Redtail forces broke formation after only a brief bombardment with Giantsbane missiles, and were quickly overrun and defeated. Tensions between Katena and exiled Clansfolk are at a peak with Blaithin having been left in power as Speaker, and for now the Order of Orders seems more interested in the region’s strategic value than in forming any kind of stable government, importing not governors but sages to investigate establishing a sapling of the Regalis Arbor. Only time will tell how Kral-Katena will weather the years to come.

Spoiler: Resources

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The Malrus is the largest creature in Kral-Katena. A nonsapient mammal with a somewhat disturbing resemblance to the Gloucesties, they are speculated to be the result of metabolic modifications designed to breed a primarily herbivorous species of walrus, and feed largely on seagrass and plankton. The Katena themselves have no memory of a time when the Malruses didn’t exist, and they provide meat, clothing, and – most significantly as an export - Malleable Blubber, an insulating material that is extremely flexible and resilient. The Cyphiri Union has long had contracts for blubber production, but the recent pillaging of the region by the Pojanese nomads has set their production schedules behind.

Though nutritious, Malrus meat is neither particularly flavorful nor texturally interesting. Imported Spices are necessary to find any enjoyment in the meal.

Spoiler: Faith

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Organized religion has never held much appeal for the Katena, but a stone ring outside the village of Shenet is commonly believed to grant wishes to those who perform rituals within it, the exact steps required varying with the teller; the place has been identified by Middish sages with the wish-granting ring supposedly established by Saint Jean of Akko. The Greenwater refugees have likewise begun construction on a large coral building based on the House of Shallow and Depth, though progress has been slow due to the lack of local building corals.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

First off, a question that's probably better suited to the whole GM team, but what in Polar, if anything, would qualify as "Filter Feeders"? I have a Toxic crossing technology already that requires that resource, but I don't know what that resource really is.

additionally, after some discussion with the rest of the GM team, Dump Sites will be getting a point of clarification added that they cannot be built if the local Pollution is already 0, which will help simplify tracking Pollution.

I presume the spirit of this is that any Dump Sites could still be built if they are being built along side something that produces pollution. Aka, if I'm building 3 Factories in a turn, I could also build 3 Dump Sites to mitigate them. A little sad I can't build in redundancies as sack-insurance, but probably better from a balance perspective.

[Rolepgeek]

First off, a question that's probably better suited to the whole GM team, but what in Polar, if anything, would qualify as "Filter Feeders"? I have a Toxic crossing technology already that requires that resource, but I don't know what that resource really is.

Filter Feeders are oceanic life forms that acquire their energy by straining food out of the water, usually by passing water through specialized filtering structures. Bivalves, sponges, and tunicates are classic examples of sedentary/anchored filter feeders; krill, baleen whales, manta rays and certain sharks (the ones without teeth), certain jellyfish (to varying degrees), and most forage fish (the most common prey animals for medium-sized predators, think the tiny fish that form massive schools together) are all mobile filter-feeders. I would ask bc56 whether it has to be the sedentary type or not, as PGL made the technology in question.

I presume the spirit of this is that any Dump Sites could still be built if they are being built along side something that produces pollution. Aka, if I'm building 3 Factories in a turn, I could also build 3 Dump Sites to mitigate them. A little sad I can't build in redundancies as sack-insurance, but probably better from a balance perspective.

No, this is a flat thing - you need at least one Pollution before you can build a Dump Site. That sort of exception makes the tracking/Pollution management something which can be manipulated by weird build orders in a way we just don't want to deal with. Industrialization is an ongoing process - you can do it quite quickly, but it's still building the machines to build bigger machines to build better machines and so on. Try not to overload on High Pollution stuff all at once.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Can Adhesive Urchins and Maleficent Jellyfish count for Filter Feeders?

My guess is very likely yes, thanks to google and other answers, but I figure I'll ask for the specific TPs and get confirmation.

Also, while I'm here, I should check if I can use Ivory Legionnares as Unskilled Labor? And/or Herrings for that task, either or would help tremendously.

Edit: Can I use Phosphoric Crystals or Degraded Superpolymers to satisfy Precious Minerals?

Can I use Degraded Superpolymers or Unblemished Wreckage to satisfy Luxuries?

[Kythia]

Hey all

I was looking for something and it was hard to find so I made this. Hopefully it helps at least one other person. I can practically guarantee there's at least one copy/paste error in there so if you find it shout up and I'll address it.

Round One Orgs
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Round Two NPC
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Round Six NPC
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Round Nine Start
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Round Ten Start
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Round Eleven Start
Round Eleven Start Addendum and Orgs
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Round Twelve Start
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Round Thirteen Start
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Round Fourteen Start
Round Fourteen NPC
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Round Fifteen Start
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Round Sixteen Start
Round Sixteen Titans
Round Seventeen Start
Round Seventeen Unrest
Round Seventeen NPC
Round Seventeen Orgs
Round Eighteen Start
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Round Eighteen NPC
Round Nineteen Start
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Round Twenty Start
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Round Twenty One Start
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[Talis]

Proposed new Tech:

Megafauna Caravans (Civilian Tech): Reduce distance penalties by 2 for Economy actions. Requires Megafauna Tailoring, Food Resource.
As the volume of trade around Seatide expands exponentially, breeders begin developing new strains of pack animals capable of hauling more goods greater distances. Breeds such as the Hijack and Blackray dwarf their earlier cousins in scale and can carry dozens of tons in a single shipment, vastly reducing transportation costs over long distances. But while these breeds are highly efficient as adults, they require enormous amounts of food during adolescence to reach their full size.

[MappyPK]

Region for review:

Region 150

Spoiler: Parikao

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Spoiler: Geography

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The shallow sand and clay seafloor of Aniwana just marginally begins to encroach into Parikao, at which point a stone base covers much of the borderlands. This stone takes a steep angle downward and seemingly continues until a flat seafloor is once again reached, returning to a sandy covering. The cliffs traveling downward are covered in a vast array of corals, which are often plucked from their bases and brought home to decorate gardens back in Kanapa. Artists and tourists from the big city often find themselves desiring to take a look at the rainbow shelves of Parikao.

The depths contain a continuation of the same greenery as Aniwana, but in much lesser density. Indeed, vegetation is scarce, limited to basic leafy greens including seagrasses and kelp. Taikans have attempted to import some more exotic options for their gardens, but have been relatively unsuccessful without the installation of bioluminescent technologies to provide more light. Indeed, the villages on the seafloor in Parikao are lined with photospore organisms to ensure that the people living there can see in the dark that encroaches. It does, however, lead to some spectacular displays that provide a modern twist on the traditional Taikan garden, attracting some to live there for just this purpose.

Spoiler: People

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Although small, the population of Pojanese that inhabit the region, including its depths, are highly militaristic and are not fond of outsiders entering their territory unless good reason has been provided. Their preferred transportation method is, of course, sharkback, allowing people to quickly travel through the area. However, having been paid for hire by the Taikan elite for many years, they have warmed up to the presence of the people of Miru Miru, who have quickly been moving in large numbers into the region. Indeed, a mutual understanding of sorts has been reached, in which the two groups have realized that they are better off together. The reckless and dangerous Pojanese raiders can defend the region and gather resources, while the Taikans can generate income and lead the area to greater prosperity.

Currently, the proportion is approximately two households of Taika for every Pojan, and a handful of Mer on the shallow border with Aniwana. According to initial reports, the Miru government has reason to believe that some unincorporated Taikans may have been living in the coral walls, unbeknownst to the larger civilization just next door. Just as extravagant in terms of abodes, though, as those living in Aniwana, so they truly are kin.

Spoiler: Resources

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The people themselves are the primary strategic resource of the region. The Pojanese Raider Bands for hire across Parikao’s waters are quite greedy, and can easily be convinced to join a higher power’s ranks with some careful economic coercion.

However, these people require a greater variety of Tools than they currently have access to, in order to help smith more weapons for an advantage on the battlefield. The Taikans moving into the region for the first time also need these tools to construct new buildings, especially in the depths.

Spoiler: Faith

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Many of the Taikan colonizers still hold onto their religious indifference or Cyphiri Way beliefs, but the different native groups of Pojanese have their own traditional beliefs, split primarily into two major groups.

Those that live somewhat further down follow a variety of Ascendent Teachings, a sort of traditional moral code that prioritizes the needs and desires of the individual, rather than as a group. If you only live once, surely you should be allowed to live your lifetime to its fullest, no matter the cost to others. Those who follow these long-lived traditional teachings feel a certain affinity with the recent arrival of the Taikans, who do indeed have a similar taste for luxury. The students of the Teachings have shown the Taikans one of their favorite places for plundering, the (HS1) Lost City of Garo, in which treasure can often be found. Exploring the City is considered a right of passage for young Pojans in Parikao.

The less prominent of the two, Sunlight Reverence, is a monotheistic celebration of the light that falls down onto the warm waters. It is said that a winged deity hides behind the Sun, pushing it across the skies on the regular so that the people below can achieve the perfect balance of wakefulness during the day and rest while the seas are dark. On the longest day of the year, followers gather near the surface at a circular stone formation known as (HS2) The Sunstone, where they must endure the heat of the waters to prove their loyalty to the Sun Deity. The followers of this faith find themselves trying to live on the short stretches of seafloor before the massive cliff-faces the region has been named after. Additionally, they are extremely wary of the Eel, who has slithered dangerously close to the Sunstone in recent years.

Of interest to some religious communities is a site on the southeastern cliff face in which the corals are entirely absent, instead replaced by what appears to be a colorful selection of crystals poking out from the side. Dubbed the (HS3) Mata Tiota, it is revered for its seemingly unnatural beauty.

[mystic1110]

Updated Region Writeups

179 - Sunken Necropolis

Spoiler: Geography

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Geography

Deep beneath the surface of the ocean, an otherworldly world exists. Sunlight filters down through the water, casting a soft blue glow over the sunken city ruins that litter the seafloor. Ancient buildings, once grand and mighty, are now covered in coral and seaweed, their walls and pillars crumbling.

Ships and boats, long since abandoned, rest on the ocean floor, encrusted with barnacles and shells. Schools of colorful fish swim through the streets and alleyways of the sunken city, darting in and out of windows and doorways.

As you swim through this underwater realm, you can't help but feel a sense of awe and wonder. The city, now forever entombed in the depths of the ocean, is a testament to the passing of time and the impermanence of all things. Yet it is also a place of great beauty, a haven for all manner of sea creatures. It is a place where the past and the present collide, a place where one can truly lose themselves in the magic of the sea.

Spoiler: People

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The Wetherwisps.

These ghostly creatures are native to the darkest depths of the ocean, where they dwell amongst the ruins of ancient cities. Wetherwisps are highly intelligent and can communicate telepathically with others of their kind. They are not quite ghosts or phantoms, but instead paranormal vibrations similar to the ones that are considered Mammos. While Mammos is fueled by faith and it's associated magic, the phenomena of the Wetherwisps is more akin to Deep Blue itself - a naturally occurring non-biological entity, except while Deep Blue is a memetic personage, these are more akin to physical vibrations. That is, they are intelligences that don't exist in a visible light spectrum, and instead one feels them as an invisible shaking - the water around a Wetherwisp is constantly churning white, which is generally how others view them - they look like wraiths made of rapids, while in actually, they are non-visible and the white people see are the moving waters around them.

They are known to be fiercely protective of their territory and will attack any intruders with powerful psychic blasts - they do not seemingly need food, and they seem to take great pleasure and compete among themselves in knocking out intruders and collecting them for their own curious purposes.

To whom the ancient cities belonged to is beyond the knowledge of the Wetherwisps. In terms of government, it is difficult to say as Wetherwisps do not really have a traditional government like other regions. It is possible that they may have some sort of hierarchy or social structure within their own kind, but this would be largely dependent on their individual personalities and the specific needs of their group. In general, it is likely that Wetherwisps operate in a more predatory or survivalist manner, focusing on securing resources and territory for themselves rather than working towards the greater good of a larger community.

The Wetherwisps role in OPENsea, is primarily as spies and soldiers, not surprisingly Deep Blue has found that it's own non-biological make up to be a selling point in appealing to the Wetherwisps and convincing them to join its causes. Through it's own logistical powers it was able to teach a select few Wetherwisps to calm down, and thus have the waters that roil around them slow down enough for them to essentially actually be invisible - a useful service. The Wetherwisps themselves find the lead of Deep blue curious and interesting as they have more opportunities to collect material for them to preserve and hoard.

Spoiler: Resource

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Wetherwisps

Wetherwisps are both the people and the resource of this Region. Wetherwisps are paranormal vibrations , it is possible to allow oneself to be temporarily possessed by a lone Wetherwisp, and temporarily sync to their frequency - thus experiencing a euphoric high similar to a hallucinogenic drug before the vibration passes and the phenomena is expelled.

Required Resource: Preservatives

Fitting with their ghostly mythology, the Wetherwisps seemingly need Preservatives to remain alive - they almost act as if they are dead and that they need to be preserved - to prevent decay. This is almost a fiction - the Wetherwisps do need preservatives but not to stay alive, not that they are dead and decaying in flesh, there is no flesh and they're not dead to begin with - instead preservatives are needed to maintain a Wetherwisps victims from decaying. Wetherwisps, do not eat - so instead they collect biological specimens and keep them in a state of static seemingly out of spite.

Spoiler: Faith

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Heartsweepers

The central tenet of the Heartsweepers faith is the belief that the living are corrupt and unworthy of existence, and that it is the duty of the Wetherwisps to cleanse the world of their presence. According to the teachings of the Heartsweepers, the Wetherwisps are blessed with the power to purify the world through their powerful psychic abilities, which they use to attack and destroy any living beings that they encounter. The Wetherwisps believe that by cleansing the world of the living, they will be able to bring about a new age of peace and prosperity for their own kind. The Heartsweepers faith is a deeply nihilistic and destructive religion, and those who follow it are often feared and reviled by other underwater species. However, the Wetherwisps are fiercely devoted to their faith and will stop at nothing to spread its teachings and bring about the purification of the world.

Wings of the World is a minor religion in the region, primarily practiced by Nomads that pass through the Necropolis. The Necropolis is a useful region for religious minorities given its mysterious nature - it's hidden spaces - and its position in the world as a bridge from Polar regions to temperate.

187 - Marble Kingdom

Spoiler: Geography

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Geography

As you dive deeper into the ocean, the sunlight gives way to darkness and you enter a world of shadows and mystery. The water around you is icy cold and still, and you feel a sense of isolation and solitude as you swim through the abyss. But as you continue on your journey, you begin to notice openings in the rocky walls of the ocean floor. These openings lead to a network of caves and grottos, each one more beautiful and mesmerizing than the last. The caves are illuminated by a soft, glowing light that filters in from the surface, casting a warm and welcoming glow over the rocky walls and floors. Stalactites hang from the ceiling like crystal chandeliers, and stalagmites rise up from the ground like marble columns. As you explore these underwater caves and grottos, you feel as though you have entered another world, one that is hidden and unknown to most people. You are filled with a sense of wonder and excitement as you discover new nooks and crannies, and marvel at the beauty of the underwater world.

Spoiler: People

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Deep Dancers

These graceful creatures are native to the depths of the ocean, where they dwell in underwater caves and grottos. Deep Dancers are known for their shimmering, iridescent scales and long, flowing tentacles, which they use to swim and maneuver through the water with ease. They are highly social creatures and are often found in large schools, where they engage in elaborate courtship rituals and dance to the rhythms of the ocean. In terms of government, the deep dancers have a egalitarian and cooperative society, as they are known to be highly social and value harmony and cooperation. They may have a council of leaders that help to guide and make decisions for the group, but these leaders are chosen through consensus or democratic means rather than through a more hierarchical or authoritarian system. The deep dancers may also place a strong emphasis on personal freedom and individual expression, as they are known for their elaborate courtship rituals and dance to the rhythms of the ocean. This leads to a more decentralized and fluid system of governance, where individuals have a greater degree of autonomy and the group works together towards common goals.

The Deep Dancers found themselves under the rule of Deep Blue and part of OPENsea under mysterious circumstances - but they haven't found much change in their lives as of yet. The hiveminds use of decentralized management fits their prior governmental structure. That said, Deep Blue's conversion to an opposing faith does strike them with concern and their is rumbling over remaining the subjects of their strange overlord.

Spoiler: Resource

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Stripdrill Hyphae

Stripdrill Hyphae is a type of underground fungus. The fungus grows in long, thin strands, which are typically harvested and dried for use. Stripdrill Hyphae can also be used as a heat source. The fungus has the ability to generate a significant amount of heat when it is exposed to oxygen, making it a valuable resource for those in cold or inhospitable environments. The fungus can be burnt as a fuel source, or its heat can be harnessed and used to warm homes or other structures. Stripdrill Hyphae is a highly sought after resource due to its unique properties, and is often traded or sold on the black market.

Required Resource: Toxins

Toxins are required for the growth of Stripdrill Hyphae - the Fungus feeds on poison to grow, without which it dries up and shrivels.

Spoiler: Faith

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The Deep Dancers follow the faith of the "Eternal Communion" - however as was well known the teaching of this faith were wide a varied and rarely practiced the same way twice. According to the teachings of the Eternal Communion, as interpreted by the Deep Dancers, all living beings are connected and part of a greater whole, and it is the duty of each individual to maintain harmony and balance within the natural world. The Deep Dancers believe that through the practice of meditation and the cultivation of inner peace, they can tap into the collective consciousness of all living things and better understand their place in the grand scheme of things. They also place a strong emphasis on the importance of community and cooperation, and believe that by working together and helping one another, they can bring about a greater sense of harmony and unity within the world. The Deep Dancers view the oceans as a sacred place, and believe that they have a special connection to the spirits of the water. They often engage in ritual practices and offerings to honor and give thanks to these spirits, and believe that by doing so, they can maintain a strong and positive relationship with them. Overall, the Eternal Communion is a faith that promotes peace, unity, and a deep respect for the natural world. The Deep Dancers who follow this faith strive to live in harmony with the oceans and all the creatures that dwell within them, and believe that by doing so, they can bring about a greater sense of balance and harmony within the world.

[Feathersnow]

Region 108
The Shoals of Umbergy

Spoiler: Geography

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Umbergy is a series of barren mud flats with volcanic rocks sticking out at odd intervals. These rocks are oases of life, making up city-reefs for the inhabitants. They are the hubs of shrimperies that feed the people but provide little for export.

At times, the mudflats give way to kelp prairies. These have small tribes of archaic Otterians living among them undisturbed by the urban rock-dwellers.

There are also mines that provide the most notable resource if the area- mud diamonds, extremely hard volcanic crystals.

Spoiler: People

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The people of this region are giant spiders that survive indefinitely underwater by creating artificial air pockets out if silk and using them to respirate through their gills that inexplicably can't filter water in its unrarified state for more than a day or so at a time without physiological distress. This has led to a deep emotional attachment to specific places where they have access to "Sky ."

These Spiders, who call themselves simply "the Remainder," are about the size of a Mer and have a nasty venom that causes numbness and paralysis in other arthropods and anaphylaxis in most other orders of animals. Their legends say they once lived above the Sky, but were driven to the Sea hundreds of years ago. Archeological records are ambiguous on the plausibility of this. Surely the relics kept in their vaults seem to match Nacre designs, and there is nothing strictly impossible about their claims, but genetic links to other sea spiders and old settlements may indicate Remainder civilization came from. The seas and attempted to colonize dry land before being driven back.

Their culture is surprisingly compatible with Sakura-Jin sensibilities apart from a utter loathing of The Nacres. They use body paint instead of clothing and raise young communally. This may be in part because most Remainder are sterile workers, (females and sexually ambiguous individuals that do not develop pronounced characteristics) with the few drones and fewer fertile females suffering severe physiological distress from reproduction. They seem another prime ground for conversion if their theological differences can be overcome.

Spoiler: government

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The Finalists are a dark mirror of the Sakura-Jin. Apart from the many areas where they are identical, they are bitter opposites. They are ancestor worshippers who define their identity in terms of the "Queen" who spawned their "Clan". A Clan is a group of 100 or so peers that are likely full siblings, though the it is often the case that more than one Drone attempts to fertilize a female, and, by the numbers game, a few will succeed from each mating. These drones almost never survive to meet their offspring as sapient pre-adolescents, when they aren't simply ritually sacrificed on the death of their mate, whose life expectancy is tiny after laying her eggs. Non-Remainder Finalists are adopted into a Clan, and foresake their old families.

Each Clan has a Senator in their House of government, always a Drone who takes a Vow of abstinence to preserve himself as a leader of his Clan. The leader of this region is Senator picked among his peers.

Spoiler: Religion

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The Finalist Religion holds that the world will end again, and soon, and only those who are prepared will survive to the next age. They blame the Nacres in part. In any event, this is in direct opposition to Sakura-Do that teaches the World is on an upward, hopeful trajectory.


Finalist religion is based around worship at a temple, in the core of a reef city. Large civic ceremonial rites are held there regularly. These generally involve much singing but curiously do not involve feasting. Spider biology is such thst eating is a rare and deeply involved procedure that does not lend itself to group activity.


The one extant holy site in Umbergy is The Cenotaph, a great genealogical libraryof previous and current clans, containing tissue cultures of notable individuals. These are reserved for mass cloning should the Remainder ever need to repopulate the World following a secobd Cataclysm.


The Final Bunker is holy site 1, since destroyed. It is holy to The Finalists and they want it back!

Spoiler: Resources

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Umbergy has lots of valuable rocks, most famously Mud Diamonds, very hard shiny brown stones.

The people love spices. They eat as little as once a week, and each meal is a grand production. It is important it be as enjoyableas possible.

[Talis]

I've got a proposal for the Intact Titanic Dragon Molt I acquired from Tad. I would like to erect it within the bank as a magical monument to bless the bank's dealings. Maybe as a 2 or 3 action Project. End result: Bank members get a +1 to resist sacks and coercion rolls against TPs within bank territory?

[Aerin]

Using the idea that a Tier 1 tech may create a great success worth one free action for an action that does not have a great success, how about - "Imperfect Titanic Mimicry: When using a Raise Unit Action roll using Mil. Upon a Great Success of TN 18, Raise an additional Unit"

Responding to this for completeness. Mystic and I discussed this over Discord, and the new version of Imperfect Titanic Mimicry was in the Round 19 opener.

Ah, truthfully that wa a little confusing. No problemo, what about this then:

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Magaramachi Branch of the Mercenary Exchange
This is a sub-branch of the Pyl Garet-based Union Mercenary Exchange. If that is destroyed or otherwise rendered defunct, this exchange is also rendered defunct. If the Union Exchange is restored, a Diplomacy action can be taken to restore this Exchange by either the owner of Region 10 or the owner of the Union Mercenary Exchange.

Having Aristocratic Support the Magaramachi Salination (10) grants a +1 bonus to any Military action you take in the region if at least one Treasure is spent on it, and allows for attempting to Coerce Trade Posts in the region even if the Mercantile Support is owned by someone else.

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Attempting to balance the opportunity to coerce trading posts with the requirement to spend treasure on the roll.



No worries - I can't really see why I'd want to keep the colony but sure, better to prevent that. Back to the drawing board.

If you drop “allows for attempting to Coerce Trade Posts in the region even if the Mercantile Support is owned by someone else,” then this would be great. Thanks for your understanding!

Writeup for 123.

* * *

Region 123
Kral-Katena, the Leveled Seas

Spoiler: Geography

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The waters east of Cyph-Arel and north of the Emerald Tidelands are surprisingly barren for their proximity to such modern centers of power. The only landmarks in this endless expanse of sand are the hamlets and villages that dot the seascape. Even the waves above seem weak and flat, except in the east of the region, where the brutal teeth of Death’s Passage jut upwards from the sands and swirling storms batter the sea. No creature stirs up the sand, and the only disturbance overhead are the herds of Malruses, nibbling at the drifting plankton and seagrass.

Spoiler: People

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The people of Kral-Katena are divided into two groups: the native Katena villagers and the Greenwater Clansfolk settlers. The Katena are a sedentary people, resembling gobies with small eyes and a pinkish color. They have notable cultural and linguistic similarities to the Cyphiri, though the exact nature of their relationship is unclear. Large extended families form small hamlets where they can, spreading out as much as possible over the region, which are divided into baronies ruled by what is at this point, through generations of intermarriage, essentially a single, massive noble family. Specialization runs counter to day-to-day survival, and so the primary privilege of the nobility is simply the ability to devote themselves to a single thing at a time, for as long as they want.

The Greenwater Clansfolk are Mer, refugees from the silt wave that destroyed their home region, led by the Redtail Clan Speaker, Blaithin Redtail. They have made an effort to preserve all of their traditions in as exact a form as possible, and their life is not that different from that of the pre-collapse Greenwater, though the lack of any real kelp forests does impose some constraints.

Spoiler: History and Government

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Never a densely populated region to begin with, a series of devastating Reaver attacks left Kral-Katena teetering on the verge of collapse. The noble barons who survived the raids immediately began plotting to seize each other’s titles, but so few able-bodied Mer were available that they could barely fill their own bodyguards, much less even hire assassins to hunt down their rivals. When an army of raw Greenwater Clans recruits under Yura Darkwater marched into the region, it was left entirely defenseless, and most of the Katena villagers simply ignored the change in government – though the nobility was not so lucky.

However, the situation was not stable for long; in the silt-tide that destroyed the Greenwater, some of the clans fled north, braving the tumult of the kelp forests’ destruction and the dangers of the Deepheart to reach safer waters. A few other clansfolk had already settled in Kral-Katena after Yura Darkwater’s conquest, and together they formed a substantial exodus community. Even after Yura was captured by the Gotezhar force sent to secure their northern borders, the Redtail clan maintained the only meaningful retinue in the region, making the Clansfolk the de facto rulers. Speaker Blaithin immediately used his advantage to secure more territory for his Clansfolk, pushing many of the Katena out of their villages in the process.

His expansion did not last long either, its end coming at the fins of the Order of Orders, in the famed Knight Commander Amlaigh Tolmach’s last battle before his death. Despite their rough numerical parity, the Redtail forces broke formation after only a brief bombardment with Giantsbane missiles, and were quickly overrun and defeated. Tensions between Katena and exiled Clansfolk are at a peak with Blaithin having been left in power as Speaker, and for now the Order of Orders seems more interested in the region’s strategic value than in forming any kind of stable government, importing not governors but sages to investigate establishing a sapling of the Regalis Arbor. Only time will tell how Kral-Katena will weather the years to come.

Spoiler: Resources

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The Malrus is the largest creature in Kral-Katena. A nonsapient mammal with a somewhat disturbing resemblance to the Gloucesties, they are speculated to be the result of metabolic modifications designed to breed a primarily herbivorous species of walrus, and feed largely on seagrass and plankton. The Katena themselves have no memory of a time when the Malruses didn’t exist, and they provide meat, clothing, and – most significantly as an export - Malleable Blubber, an insulating material that is extremely flexible and resilient. The Cyphiri Union has long had contracts for blubber production, but the recent pillaging of the region by the Pojanese nomads has set their production schedules behind.

Though nutritious, Malrus meat is neither particularly flavorful nor texturally interesting. Imported Spices are necessary to find any enjoyment in the meal.

Spoiler: Faith

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Organized religion has never held much appeal for the Katena, but a stone ring outside the village of Shenet is commonly believed to grant wishes to those who perform rituals within it, the exact steps required varying with the teller; the place has been identified by Middish sages with the wish-granting ring supposedly established by Saint Jean of Akko. The Greenwater refugees have likewise begun construction on a large coral building based on the House of Shallow and Depth, though progress has been slow due to the lack of local building corals.

Approved! Please add it to the Waters of the World. Fantastic job incorporating the Greenwater Clans.

Can Adhesive Urchins and Maleficent Jellyfish count for Filter Feeders?

My guess is very likely yes, thanks to google and other answers, but I figure I'll ask for the specific TPs and get confirmation.

Also, while I'm here, I should check if I can use Ivory Legionnares as Unskilled Labor? And/or Herrings for that task, either or would help tremendously.

Edit: Can I use Phosphoric Crystals or Degraded Superpolymers to satisfy Precious Minerals?

Can I use Degraded Superpolymers or Unblemished Wreckage to satisfy Luxuries?

The Filter Feeders do not need to be the sedentary type. Many nations have been using non-sedentary ones for decades now. It just needs to have a filter-feeding apparatus that can be grafted onto something else.

Adhesive Urchins are definitely not filter feeders. Urchins mostly scrape algae off other things and eat fallen detritus.

Maleficent Jellies also probably not? Most jellyfish aren't, especially the ones with more stingers/venom for ensnaring prey.

Ivory Legionnaires would work for unskilled labor, but not Herring (though that is a funny mental image, thank you). I'll update the unrest warnings post.

Piezo-Phosphoric Crystals would work as a precious mineral, but not Degraded Superpolymers.

Neither Degraded Superpolymers or Unblemished Wreckage are luxuries.

Hey all

I was looking for something and it was hard to find so I made this. Hopefully it helps at least one other person. I can practically guarantee there's at least one copy/paste error in there so if you find it shout up and I'll address it.

Round One Orgs
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Round Two NPC
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Round Four Start
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Round Five Start
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Round Ten Start
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Round Eleven Start Addendum and Orgs
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Round Seventeen Start
Round Seventeen Unrest
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Round Nineteen Start

I cannot stress enough how useful this is, thank you! I’ve already been using it a lot.

Proposed new Tech:

Megafauna Caravans (Civilian Tech): Reduce distance penalties by 2 for Economy actions. Requires Megafauna Tailoring, Food Resource.
As the volume of trade around Seatide expands exponentially, breeders begin developing new strains of pack animals capable of hauling more goods greater distances. Breeds such as the Hijack and Blackray dwarf their earlier cousins in scale and can carry dozens of tons in a single shipment, vastly reducing transportation costs over long distances. But while these breeds are highly efficient as adults, they require enormous amounts of food during adolescence to reach their full size.

As discussed privately, you’d need to reduce it to -1 distance penalty (instead of -2). Out of curiosity, what species are these pack animals?

Region for review:

Region 150

Spoiler: Parikao

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Spoiler: Geography

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The shallow sand and clay seafloor of Aniwana just marginally begins to encroach into Parikao, at which point a stone base covers much of the borderlands. This stone takes a steep angle downward and seemingly continues until a flat seafloor is once again reached, returning to a sandy covering. The cliffs traveling downward are covered in a vast array of corals, which are often plucked from their bases and brought home to decorate gardens back in Kanapa. Artists and tourists from the big city often find themselves desiring to take a look at the rainbow shelves of Parikao.

The depths contain a continuation of the same greenery as Aniwana, but in much lesser density. Indeed, vegetation is scarce, limited to basic leafy greens including seagrasses and kelp. Taikans have attempted to import some more exotic options for their gardens, but have been relatively unsuccessful without the installation of bioluminescent technologies to provide more light. Indeed, the villages on the seafloor in Parikao are lined with photospore organisms to ensure that the people living there can see in the dark that encroaches. It does, however, lead to some spectacular displays that provide a modern twist on the traditional Taikan garden, attracting some to live there for just this purpose.

Spoiler: People

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Although small, the population of Pojanese that inhabit the region, including its depths, are highly militaristic and are not fond of outsiders entering their territory unless good reason has been provided. Their preferred transportation method is, of course, sharkback, allowing people to quickly travel through the area. However, having been paid for hire by the Taikan elite for many years, they have warmed up to the presence of the people of Miru Miru, who have quickly been moving in large numbers into the region. Indeed, a mutual understanding of sorts has been reached, in which the two groups have realized that they are better off together. The reckless and dangerous Pojanese raiders can defend the region and gather resources, while the Taikans can generate income and lead the area to greater prosperity.

Currently, the proportion is approximately two households of Taika for every Pojan, and a handful of Mer on the shallow border with Aniwana. According to initial reports, the Miru government has reason to believe that some unincorporated Taikans may have been living in the coral walls, unbeknownst to the larger civilization just next door. Just as extravagant in terms of abodes, though, as those living in Aniwana, so they truly are kin.

Spoiler: Resources

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The people themselves are the primary strategic resource of the region. The Pojanese Raider Bands for hire across Parikao’s waters are quite greedy, and can easily be convinced to join a higher power’s ranks with some careful economic coercion.

However, these people require a greater variety of Tools than they currently have access to, in order to help smith more weapons for an advantage on the battlefield. The Taikans moving into the region for the first time also need these tools to construct new buildings, especially in the depths.

Spoiler: Faith

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Many of the Taikan colonizers still hold onto their religious indifference or Cyphiri Way beliefs, but the different native groups of Pojanese have their own traditional beliefs, split primarily into two major groups.

Those that live somewhat further down follow a variety of Ascendent Teachings, a sort of traditional moral code that prioritizes the needs and desires of the individual, rather than as a group. If you only live once, surely you should be allowed to live your lifetime to its fullest, no matter the cost to others. Those who follow these long-lived traditional teachings feel a certain affinity with the recent arrival of the Taikans, who do indeed have a similar taste for luxury. The students of the Teachings have shown the Taikans one of their favorite places for plundering, the (HS1) Lost City of Garo, in which treasure can often be found. Exploring the City is considered a right of passage for young Pojans in Parikao.

The less prominent of the two, Sunlight Reverence, is a monotheistic celebration of the light that falls down onto the warm waters. It is said that a winged deity hides behind the Sun, pushing it across the skies on the regular so that the people below can achieve the perfect balance of wakefulness during the day and rest while the seas are dark. On the longest day of the year, followers gather near the surface at a circular stone formation known as (HS2) The Sunstone, where they must endure the heat of the waters to prove their loyalty to the Sun Deity. The followers of this faith find themselves trying to live on the short stretches of seafloor before the massive cliff-faces the region has been named after. Additionally, they are extremely wary of the Eel, who has slithered dangerously close to the Sunstone in recent years.

Of interest to some religious communities is a site on the southeastern cliff face in which the corals are entirely absent, instead replaced by what appears to be a colorful selection of crystals poking out from the side. Dubbed the (HS3) Mata Tiota, it is revered for its seemingly unnatural beauty.

Approved! Please add it to the Waters of the World. I really love the holy site and faith descriptions.

One thing I’d like to see (although it’s approved regardless) is how the Pojanese raiders relate to the Shark King’s nomads. Especially since you chose to go with shark mounts for the Pojan, rather than another species. Are the two groups descended from the same population in the past? Do they get along or fight each other? I think there’s a lot of potential here for you and mystic to collaborate on something interesting.

Updated Region Writeups

179 - Sunken Necropolis

Spoiler: Geography

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Geography

Deep beneath the surface of the ocean, an otherworldly world exists. Sunlight filters down through the water, casting a soft blue glow over the sunken city ruins that litter the seafloor. Ancient buildings, once grand and mighty, are now covered in coral and seaweed, their walls and pillars crumbling.

Ships and boats, long since abandoned, rest on the ocean floor, encrusted with barnacles and shells. Schools of colorful fish swim through the streets and alleyways of the sunken city, darting in and out of windows and doorways.

As you swim through this underwater realm, you can't help but feel a sense of awe and wonder. The city, now forever entombed in the depths of the ocean, is a testament to the passing of time and the impermanence of all things. Yet it is also a place of great beauty, a haven for all manner of sea creatures. It is a place where the past and the present collide, a place where one can truly lose themselves in the magic of the sea.

Spoiler: People

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The Wetherwisps.

These ghostly creatures are native to the darkest depths of the ocean, where they dwell amongst the ruins of ancient cities. Wetherwisps are highly intelligent and can communicate telepathically with others of their kind. They are not quite ghosts or phantoms, but instead paranormal vibrations similar to the ones that are considered Mammos. While Mammos is fueled by faith and it's associated magic, the phenomena of the Wetherwisps is more akin to Deep Blue itself - a naturally occurring non-biological entity, except while Deep Blue is a memetic personage, these are more akin to physical vibrations. That is, they are intelligences that don't exist in a visible light spectrum, and instead one feels them as an invisible shaking - the water around a Wetherwisp is constantly churning white, which is generally how others view them - they look like wraiths made of rapids, while in actually, they are non-visible and the white people see are the moving waters around them.

They are known to be fiercely protective of their territory and will attack any intruders with powerful psychic blasts - they do not seemingly need food, and they seem to take great pleasure and compete among themselves in knocking out intruders and collecting them for their own curious purposes.

To whom the ancient cities belonged to is beyond the knowledge of the Wetherwisps. In terms of government, it is difficult to say as Wetherwisps do not really have a traditional government like other regions. It is possible that they may have some sort of hierarchy or social structure within their own kind, but this would be largely dependent on their individual personalities and the specific needs of their group. In general, it is likely that Wetherwisps operate in a more predatory or survivalist manner, focusing on securing resources and territory for themselves rather than working towards the greater good of a larger community.

The Wetherwisps role in OPENsea, is primarily as spies and soldiers, not surprisingly Deep Blue has found that it's own non-biological make up to be a selling point in appealing to the Wetherwisps and convincing them to join its causes. Through it's own logistical powers it was able to teach a select few Wetherwisps to calm down, and thus have the waters that roil around them slow down enough for them to essentially actually be invisible - a useful service. The Wetherwisps themselves find the lead of Deep blue curious and interesting as they have more opportunities to collect material for them to preserve and hoard.

Spoiler: Resource

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Wetherwisps

Wetherwisps are both the people and the resource of this Region. Wetherwisps are paranormal vibrations , it is possible to allow oneself to be temporarily possessed by a lone Wetherwisp, and temporarily sync to their frequency - thus experiencing a euphoric high similar to a hallucinogenic drug before the vibration passes and the phenomena is expelled.

Required Resource: Preservatives

Fitting with their ghostly mythology, the Wetherwisps seemingly need Preservatives to remain alive - they almost act as if they are dead and that they need to be preserved - to prevent decay. This is almost a fiction - the Wetherwisps do need preservatives but not to stay alive, not that they are dead and decaying in flesh, there is no flesh and they're not dead to begin with - instead preservatives are needed to maintain a Wetherwisps victims from decaying. Wetherwisps, do not eat - so instead they collect biological specimens and keep them in a state of static seemingly out of spite.

Spoiler: Faith

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Heartsweepers

The central tenet of the Heartsweepers faith is the belief that the living are corrupt and unworthy of existence, and that it is the duty of the Wetherwisps to cleanse the world of their presence. According to the teachings of the Heartsweepers, the Wetherwisps are blessed with the power to purify the world through their powerful psychic abilities, which they use to attack and destroy any living beings that they encounter. The Wetherwisps believe that by cleansing the world of the living, they will be able to bring about a new age of peace and prosperity for their own kind. The Heartsweepers faith is a deeply nihilistic and destructive religion, and those who follow it are often feared and reviled by other underwater species. However, the Wetherwisps are fiercely devoted to their faith and will stop at nothing to spread its teachings and bring about the purification of the world.

Wings of the World is a minor religion in the region, primarily practiced by Nomads that pass through the Necropolis. The Necropolis is a useful region for religious minorities given its mysterious nature - it's hidden spaces - and its position in the world as a bridge from Polar regions to temperate.

187 - Marble Kingdom

Spoiler: Geography

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Geography

As you dive deeper into the ocean, the sunlight gives way to darkness and you enter a world of shadows and mystery. The water around you is icy cold and still, and you feel a sense of isolation and solitude as you swim through the abyss. But as you continue on your journey, you begin to notice openings in the rocky walls of the ocean floor. These openings lead to a network of caves and grottos, each one more beautiful and mesmerizing than the last. The caves are illuminated by a soft, glowing light that filters in from the surface, casting a warm and welcoming glow over the rocky walls and floors. Stalactites hang from the ceiling like crystal chandeliers, and stalagmites rise up from the ground like marble columns. As you explore these underwater caves and grottos, you feel as though you have entered another world, one that is hidden and unknown to most people. You are filled with a sense of wonder and excitement as you discover new nooks and crannies, and marvel at the beauty of the underwater world.

Spoiler: People

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Deep Dancers

These graceful creatures are native to the depths of the ocean, where they dwell in underwater caves and grottos. Deep Dancers are known for their shimmering, iridescent scales and long, flowing tentacles, which they use to swim and maneuver through the water with ease. They are highly social creatures and are often found in large schools, where they engage in elaborate courtship rituals and dance to the rhythms of the ocean. In terms of government, the deep dancers have a egalitarian and cooperative society, as they are known to be highly social and value harmony and cooperation. They may have a council of leaders that help to guide and make decisions for the group, but these leaders are chosen through consensus or democratic means rather than through a more hierarchical or authoritarian system. The deep dancers may also place a strong emphasis on personal freedom and individual expression, as they are known for their elaborate courtship rituals and dance to the rhythms of the ocean. This leads to a more decentralized and fluid system of governance, where individuals have a greater degree of autonomy and the group works together towards common goals.

The Deep Dancers found themselves under the rule of Deep Blue and part of OPENsea under mysterious circumstances - but they haven't found much change in their lives as of yet. The hiveminds use of decentralized management fits their prior governmental structure. That said, Deep Blue's conversion to an opposing faith does strike them with concern and their is rumbling over remaining the subjects of their strange overlord.

Spoiler: Resource

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Stripdrill Hyphae

Stripdrill Hyphae is a type of underground fungus. The fungus grows in long, thin strands, which are typically harvested and dried for use. Stripdrill Hyphae can also be used as a heat source. The fungus has the ability to generate a significant amount of heat when it is exposed to oxygen, making it a valuable resource for those in cold or inhospitable environments. The fungus can be burnt as a fuel source, or its heat can be harnessed and used to warm homes or other structures. Stripdrill Hyphae is a highly sought after resource due to its unique properties, and is often traded or sold on the black market.

Required Resource: Toxins

Toxins are required for the growth of Stripdrill Hyphae - the Fungus feeds on poison to grow, without which it dries up and shrivels.

Spoiler: Faith

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The Deep Dancers follow the faith of the "Eternal Communion" - however as was well known the teaching of this faith were wide a varied and rarely practiced the same way twice. According to the teachings of the Eternal Communion, as interpreted by the Deep Dancers, all living beings are connected and part of a greater whole, and it is the duty of each individual to maintain harmony and balance within the natural world. The Deep Dancers believe that through the practice of meditation and the cultivation of inner peace, they can tap into the collective consciousness of all living things and better understand their place in the grand scheme of things. They also place a strong emphasis on the importance of community and cooperation, and believe that by working together and helping one another, they can bring about a greater sense of harmony and unity within the world. The Deep Dancers view the oceans as a sacred place, and believe that they have a special connection to the spirits of the water. They often engage in ritual practices and offerings to honor and give thanks to these spirits, and believe that by doing so, they can maintain a strong and positive relationship with them. Overall, the Eternal Communion is a faith that promotes peace, unity, and a deep respect for the natural world. The Deep Dancers who follow this faith strive to live in harmony with the oceans and all the creatures that dwell within them, and believe that by doing so, they can bring about a greater sense of balance and harmony within the world.

Both approved! Please add them to the Waters of the World. The Wetherwisps in particular turned out really cool. Thank you for being willing to rework them.

Region 108
The Shoals of Umbergy

Spoiler: Geography

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Umbergy is a series of barren mud flats with volcanic rocks sticking out at odd intervals. These rocks are oases of life, making up city-reefs for the inhabitants. They are the hubs of shrimperies that feed the people but provide little for export.

At times, the mudflats give way to kelp prairies. These have small tribes of archaic Otterians living among them undisturbed by the urban rock-dwellers.

There are also mines that provide the most notable resource if the area- mud diamonds, extremely hard volcanic crystals.

Spoiler: People

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The people of this region are giant spiders that survive indefinitely underwater by creating artificial air pockets out if silk and using them to respirate through their gills that inexplicably can't filter water in its unrarified state for more than a day or so at a time without physiological distress. This has led to a deep emotional attachment to specific places where they have access to "Sky ."

These Spiders, who call themselves simply "the Remainder," are about the size of a Mer and have a nasty venom that causes numbness and paralysis in other arthropods and anaphylaxis in most other orders of animals. Their legends say they once lived above the Sky, but were driven to the Sea hundreds of years ago. Archeological records are ambiguous on the plausibility of this. Surely the relics kept in their vaults seem to match Nacre designs, and there is nothing strictly impossible about their claims, but genetic links to other sea spiders and old settlements may indicate Remainder civilization came from. The seas and attempted to colonize dry land before being driven back.

Their culture is surprisingly compatible with Sakura-Jin sensibilities apart from a utter loathing of The Nacres. They use body paint instead of clothing and raise young communally. This may be in part because most Remainder are sterile workers, (females and sexually ambiguous individuals that do not develop pronounced characteristics) with the few drones and fewer fertile females suffering severe physiological distress from reproduction. They seem another prime ground for conversion if their theological differences can be overcome.

Spoiler: government

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The Finalists are a dark mirror of the Sakura-Jin. Apart from the many areas where they are identical, they are bitter opposites. They are ancestor worshippers who define their identity in terms of the "Queen" who spawned their "Clan". A Clan is a group of 100 or so peers that are likely full siblings, though the it is often the case that more than one Drone attempts to fertilize a female, and, by the numbers game, a few will succeed from each mating. These drones almost never survive to meet their offspring as sapient pre-adolescents, when they aren't simply ritually sacrificed on the death of their mate, whose life expectancy is tiny after laying her eggs. Non-Remainder Finalists are adopted into a Clan, and foresake their old families.

Each Clan has a Senator in their House of government, always a Drone who takes a Vow of abstinence to preserve himself as a leader of his Clan. The leader of this region is Senator picked among his peers.

Spoiler: Religion

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The Finalist Religion holds that the world will end again, and soon, and only those who are prepared will survive to the next age. They blame the Nacres in part. In any event, this is in direct opposition to Sakura-Do that teaches the World is on an upward, hopeful trajectory.


Finalist religion is based around worship at a temple, in the core of a reef city. Large civic ceremonial rites are held there regularly. These generally involve much singing but curiously do not involve feasting. Spider biology is such thst eating is a rare and deeply involved procedure that does not lend itself to group activity.


The one extant holy site in Umbergy is The Cenotaph, a great genealogical libraryof previous and current clans, containing tissue cultures of notable individuals. These are reserved for mass cloning should the Remainder ever need to repopulate the World following a secobd Cataclysm.

Spoiler: Resources

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Umbergy has lots of valuable rocks, most famously Mud Diamonds, very hard shiny brown stones.

The people love spices. They eat as little as once a week, and each meal is a grand production. It is important it be as enjoyableas possible.

Approved! Please add it to the Waters of the World. I'd like to add that holy site 1, the one that was destroyed by the Trawling Beasts and kicked off the rebellion, is named the Final Bunker.

I've got a proposal for the Intact Titanic Dragon Molt I acquired from Tad. I would like to erect it within the bank as a magical monument to bless the bank's dealings. Maybe as a 2 or 3 action Project. End result: Bank members get a +1 to resist sacks and coercion rolls against TPs within bank territory?

I could certainly see this as a 3-action project. The mechanics are good, but I’d like to see more fluff than “it’s magic.”

[Czard]

Region 159 - Jyorjyuh

Spoiler: Geography

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What can only be described as quite possibly the most aggressively average sea in all the world’s waters, the sandy plains of Jyorjyuh have few if any remarkable qualities. The water is lukewarm; fairly comfortable, but not quite ideal. The water is clear, though the flat expanse offers few features to allow one to fully appreciate the benefit of the high visibility. Small coral reefs are scattered throughout where diverse communities of species from nearby regions gather, forming peaceful societies where minimal strife exists, though decadence and great wealth are nowhere to be found.

Spoiler: People

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The Jyorjyan population is mostly made of the local variety of Mer, as well as some groups of Pertlan and Bertuaga. Jyorjyan Mer are, of course, average size and physical ability for a Mer. Contrary to their southerly relatives in Neralam, no organized clans or groups of Pertlan or Bertuaga exist in Jyorjyuh. A general attitude of relaxation is prevalent throughout the region, with not an ounce of ambition to be found amongst its leaders. Most residents of the region subsist off a trade passed down through their lineage, be they artists and sculptors, farmers and ranchers, smiths and masons, or a whole host of other professions. Those who stray from their familial line of work are generally considered to be strange and rebellious by the greater community, so such divergence is uncommon.

The most common professions in the region are kelp farmers and anemone ranchers; the Jyorjyan Homing Anemone is an uncommon species with several desirable qualities that make it valuable to foreign traders. The Giant Jyorjyan Sea Snail, an ox-sized mollusk unique to the region, has been tamed by the kelp growers to pull their plows and clean the sandy seabed of algae and undesirable plant species that would compete with the growing kelp.

Spoiler: History and Government

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No powerful unified state or government had yet existed in Jyorjyuh prior to its invasion. Since the region was first settled, it has been made up of many small, independent, peacefully coexisting towns and villages ruled by a handful of mayors and city councils. Some small incursions from hostile neighbors would lead to the formation of a Council of Defense that would help plan and organize military affairs for the region’s defense, but this council held no power otherwise and only met in times of crisis.

Such a time would be during the Surunungese invasion of Jyorjyuh, where each town’s garrison was rallied together into a single, formidable army in an attempt to repel the invaders, but to no avail. Within a couple years, the Jyorjyan army had been nearly completely destroyed and the region largely occupied. The remnants of the Jyorjyan army surrendered, giving Surunung control over the region. The Surunungese had little intention of introducing any changes to the Jyorjyan lifestyle, much to their liking. Some of the mayors of the larger towns were given seats in the Peacekeepers’ Assembly and a Kejatara division was added to each town’s garrison, but Surunungese rule did little to make itself known in the public sphere otherwise. This afforded the Jyorjyan general public the luxury of simply not caring about the whole situation, for not much seemed to have really changed and it would take too much effort in their eyes to return to the way things were before.

Spoiler: Resource

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Many Jyorjyans have spent their whole lives as ranchers, herding exclusively just one singular species; the Jyorjyan Homing Anemone. This small, pale pink Anemone is highly mobile, frequently detaching from whatever surface it is clinging to and making a beeline for its prey, swimming at up to 20 meters per second in a short burst before catching and engulfing its target. The Homing Anemone wields some moderately toxic venom that makes it dangerous to handle, though because it only preys upon smaller aquatic animal species, it will generally ignore anything larger than a few centimeters long. While the Homing Anemone is valued for its usage in pest control, it sees far more use as a food. Homing Anemones grow fast, yield nutritious meat that can be easily prepared without risk of poisoning the consumer, and have a distinct and mysterious peachy taste.

Homing Anemones have a propensity to aimlessly wander and explore, much unlike typical anemone, and seek to cling to every hard surface they come across. If anemone ranchers do not provide enough of such surfaces to keep the anemones occupied, they will become bored and wander off their pastures and into towns and communities, causing havoc. As such, these ranchers are in frequent need of more Hard Minerals to serve as surfaces to hold the anemones’ attention.

Spoiler: Faith

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There are three prominent faiths of Jyorjyuh; the Faith of the Old Wardens, Fate Spiral, and the infamous Diverse Opinions. The Faith of the Old Wardens is a pagan belief with its core tenet being that the Giant Sea Snails of the region are the servants of the gods, sent to assist the Jyorjyan people as a blessing and reward for their lack of greed and ambition. While only a minority of Jyorjyans subscribe to the Old Wardens’ faith, it was, at one point, the preeminent faith of the region and its influence can be still observed to this day. Its core principles of generosity, humility, and being satisfied with one’s circumstances still permeate the greater Jyorjyan culture even as its religious teachings recede. It is called the Faith of the Old Wardens because the giant sea snails, which are at the center of the faith, are referred to as the Wardens and so as to distinguish it from its corrupted version to the south; the Faith of the New Wardens.

Fate Spiral is a religious philosophy that professes optimistic nihilism as its core belief. The soothsayers of Fate Spiral preach that the world is spiraling towards its final doom in the near future, and because nothing can be done about it, it is useless to despair or regret this final fate. The followers of Fate Spiral stress the importance of the present over the past or future, the harm and vanity associated with those who prioritize their legacy and reputation over the needs of the day, and that the primary focus of every individual’s life should be the happiness and comfort of themselves and their global community. Fate Spiral originated as the personal philosophy of a group of bargoing farming buddies who one day questioned the purpose of worshiping a bunch of snails.

Diverse Opinions is regarded as a cultist faith in Jyorjyuh. Its followers generally conceal themselves amongst the public to avoid persecution. The followers of Diverse Opinions believe that their creator god gave every rational organism its own soul and values, resulting in its own unique thought and beliefs that do not exactly match that of any other organism. However, the forces of evil have dispatched demons across the seas to possess and corrupt the souls of the people, turning them against their communities. This possession is imperfect, however, for when someone becomes possessed, they lose their values given to them by the creator god. To remedy this, the possessor copies the values from another person, creating an exact match of opinions between two people and inadvertently allowing their possession to be revealed when two people who hold identical beliefs are discovered. When a follower of Diverse Opinions meets and befriends someone who shares nearly all of their beliefs and or has very similar beliefs to someone else they know, that follower will sound the alarm amongst the Faithful. Some time down the line, the two people suspected of having identical opinions will be kidnapped and brought to a secret underground ritual known as the Dehomogenization. There, both will be sacrificed in order to purge the evil, for death is the only way to destroy the demon and determining which of the two is possessed is impossible. Disappearances in Jyorjyuh are commonly attributed to Diverse Opinions cultists, who are widely feared as a result.

Tactical Doctrine: Spears of the Menar
+3 to Battle Roll (3 points)
-30% to Own Casualties (4 points)
-40% to Enemy Casualties (-3 points)
+12 to Enemy Leader Loss (-2 points)

Spoiler: Fluff

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The Kuasa Clan's signature battle strategy, the Spears of the Menar is more about inspiring fear than it is winning a fight to the death. Having thrived in an environment with little resources where every casualty matters, the Bertuga developed these tactics to minimize casualties and prevent their armies from becoming depleted in needless combat after victory is all but certain. Highly stealthy and mobile Bertuagan fighters encircle a larger enemy force and begin applying pressure to the enemy formation from all sides as a heavy frontal assault slowly approaches. While the enemy force could punch through the encirclement, the feeling of defeat incurred by simply having been encircled is often enough to demoralize the opposing army into a quick surrender for fear that the battle is already lost and fighting on would simply result in needless casualties.

[Volthawk]

Carr-Narin (Region 121)

Spoiler: Geography

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As the name suggests (Carr-Narin roughly translates as "the desolate wastes owned by the Carral"), the landscape here is a lonely one - the seafloor itself is quite flat and featureless, particularly after the Trawling Beasts trampled through it, and after the disinfection protocols threw the ecosystem out of balance, there is little life on the surface. Survivable yes, if only barely, but just that. The salvation of the Carral came when they searched the region more closely, and found that the seafloor was not all this place had to offer. There were large cave systems here, and it was there that the Carral established their settlements, taking advantage of the ecosystems there having survived the disinfection a little better than those above, and the resources found down there.

Spoiler: People

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The residents of Carr-Narin are primarily Cyphiri, members of the Carral family who moved here from Kral-Katena in the southwest after attacks by the Shark People did significant damage to their businesses there and the family's leaders secured their claim to this stretch of ocean. There are also a large amount of Katena here, those that established ties to the Carral during the decades the family was focused in Kral-Katena and who came with them as they changed focus, and as always with the Cyphiri there are the Kalan hired to protect the family and its interests, and a mixed bag of other species adopted into the family to serve various roles ill-suited to the Cyphiri - most commonly, miners. The Carral have always been a very mercantile-focused family, one of the first families to really strike out into the waters outside Cyph-Arel and establish themselves, and so a great amount of effort has gone into figuring out how to make their unorthodox settlements work as trading posts. As such, small clusters of buildings have been erected around the main entrances to the below-ground settlements - built in the traditional Cyphiri style - a framework of structural poles with walls made of thick woven mats (and the occasional boarded wall where needed for actual structural support) - to serve as obvious places for visitors to go, and to better conduct business with them.

When it comes to the settlements themselves, the materials the Carral had brought with them were picked with the assumption that they would be used for the kind of buildings they have above ground, so the Carral have found themselves having to use them in unexpected ways as they've adapted the caves to serve as a home. The caves are large enough that the Carral can split them up into separate areas to provide privacy and organisation using their materials, with few actual buildings, using patterns woven, dyed or otherwise attached to the walls to indicate what each area is for and where private spaces are (the fact that one family owns it all has made the matter of allocating space a little easier). Natural light is valuable, and also where newcomers enter the settlement, so the areas that get the most sun are in high demand - as a matter of prestige for the wealthy and powerful, as the best spot below ground for merchants to do business they can't above ground, and by the Carral's retainers for security purposes - while those lower-ranking family members further out have to make do with various artifical light sources.

Spoiler: Resources

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One of the main reasons why the Carral have settled down below is the stone they've found down there - Unworked Serpentine. Dug out to expand the caves, it has an appealing colour to the Carral, and they've found that chunks of it can be fairly easily carved and shaped as they wish, and polishes up well. That, and it's also a lot of raw stone, and that sometimes has a use all of its own. For now, the Carral mainly focus on collecting it up and selling it on to artisans from elsewhere, rather than establishing an industry themselves, although some are arguing that their priorities should lie in using the serpentine themselves.
(OOC note: That last line is referring to the fact I'm strongly considering refining this into a luxury good - high quality statues and the like that they make here and export)

However, their lifestyle does have one major drawback - lack of access to crops. The soil here is not good for agriculture - while some suggest that the disinfection protocols ruined it, or a byproduct of the original microbial infestation, the main theory by Carral agricultural researchers is that it is just the soil itself, a side effect of the large amounts of serpentine in the area - so any soil used for growing is typically brought in, an occasional affectation by the high-ranking Carral family members being a garden in a sunlit area of the caves. As such, most prefer importing their food, leading to a great demand for Crops - the Cyphiri are naturally omnivores, but unlike the Pylet of Pyl-Garat the Carral have never gotten the taste for meat, instead preferring to stick with the vegetables they're used to as their main food, with animal meat from the area sometimes complementing but never replacing vegetable-based meals if they can help it.

Spoiler: Faith

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As with most Cyphiri, the Carral family is primarily made up of followers of the Flowing Way. The Memorial is the largest structure they've built above-ground, and serves as a focal point for those dedicated followers of the Way, trying to draw their attention to the land around them and the role it serves in the Way. After all, few places undergo quite as many changes as this place, and while there are no sentient souls here to tell the Cyphiri of the history of the region, it's still worth investigating - how the disinfection changed things, how the Trawling Beasts changed things, perhaps even how the original algae and mold changed things, and how things were in a distant past when the region was full of life (if such a time ever existed). The Cyphiri dedicated to investigating this have had to change up their methods a little from the normal asking questions and telling stories, but those who take up the challenge find the more scientific approach quite interesting.