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

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Not a GM, but TacMan in this Empire is priced at 1 point per +1.

If the GMs rule otherwise, sure, but I have good basis to believe otherwise, and if this is the new ruling I would like to understand the previous precedent set.

Looking at Artifacts, "War Palanquin of the Anointed Dead" gives +2 to Tactical Maneuvering, "Sus'iBaka" gives +1 to Tactical Maneuvering and +1 to Leader Loss, and "Essensio's Conch" gives +2 to Leader Loss, and "Sgimiwr Cyflym" gives +1 Tactical Maneuvering and -2 to effective region count for unit losses.

This combined with the fact that "+1 to a roll each turn" is the expected balance point for an Artifact, for example, that "Dragonstone of the Gathered" gives +1 to battle and +1 to effective unit count, with a condition, leads me to believe that Tactical Maneuvering is valued at a lower amount here than To-Battle.

[TheDarkDM]

If the GMs rule otherwise, sure, but I have good basis to believe otherwise, and if this is the new ruling I would like to understand the previous precedent set.

Looking at Artifacts, "War Palanquin of the Anointed Dead" gives +2 to Tactical Maneuvering, "Sus'iBaka" gives +1 to Tactical Maneuvering and +1 to Leader Loss, and "Essensio's Conch" gives +2 to Leader Loss, and "Sgimiwr Cyflym" gives +1 Tactical Maneuvering and -2 to effective region count for unit losses.

This combined with the fact that "+1 to a roll each turn" is the expected balance point for an Artifact, for example, that "Dragonstone of the Gathered" gives +1 to battle and +1 to effective unit count, with a condition, leads me to believe that Tactical Maneuvering is valued at a lower amount here than To-Battle.

I had my Tactical Doctrine priced out with the GMs this turn, Rocket. I was told what Tactical Maneuvering is valued at.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

I had my Tactical Doctrine priced out with the GMs this turn, Rocket. I was told what Tactical Maneuvering is valued at.

As stated, I'll accept that, and I'll take your word that's how they ruled it. I've already worked out an alternate pricing with the same tac doc maneuvering priced at +1 and slotted that in. Before your comment from my perspective (because I checked this ooc thread only just now to put said alternate pricing in), but after your comment from your perspective.

[Gengy]

Merfolk in the waters near Costa Sereia, I like it!
I would consider Luxurious Hides as luxuries, leather, and textiles, but not building materials.
Approved, please add it to the Waters of the World!

I have, at this moment, added things to the Waters of the World with the requested update to be textiles instead of building materials.

However, my thinking when listing it as a building material is that the Abhorrent Cimentos are so large, a Luxurious Hide can be stretched and used as a form of wall for a large hut, much in the same way that bison leather was used by the North American indigenous tribes originally. That's not to say that it isn't a textile, and couldn't be listed as such and still serve the same function, but I am attempting to elaborate on my intention to see if that helps make more sense as to why it's a building material as well.

[Grim ranger]

Let me just say that I absolutely adore all the stories everyone here is writing, and welcome to all the new (and returning) people! It is nice to have you aboard

One question of story nature I did have: can I write story for region 55 for what happened it post-DPB disappearance and maybe adjust the locale somewhat to that semi-post apocalypse situation?

[JBarca]

As requested, a proposed writeup for Region 70

Adain Uwchradd [Region 70]

Spoiler: Thalassography

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Adain Uwchradd is a region of dense forests, the southern reaches of which are frozen for much of the year. These forests range from thick, interweaving kelp to branching vines of a fruiting plant the locals call deep plum. In the north, the foothills of the massive crystalline shards of Raconensae break into smaller outcroppings. This natural divide between Raconensae and Adain Uwchradd creates a pocket of warmer water trapped in the leeward side where the deep plum thrive. The only open areas of the region lie in the west, where sand flats and clear waters create stunningly beautiful, if disconcerting, vistas.

Spoiler: People, Government, History

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Adain Uwchradd is home to two plurality populations. First are a branch of the siliike from Raconensae with hard, overlapping shell-like plates across their mantles and upper limbs. The other species is the Crwydro Fivrivirvs. These are an offshoot of the Tsy Fivrivirvs people recently dominated by Deep Blue, notable for their duller tusks and thicker, more armored feathers. A shared history of tense armistices punctuated by harsh conflicts is all that ties these two peoples together. Where the Crwydro Fivrivirvs are pastoral, passionate, and fiercely xenophobic, the siliike are relatively urban, possessed of an abstract and detached curiosity, and fond of adapting foreign practices as fashionable trends.

When the Residuum began to grow in power, their need for new environs to explore and engage with brought them to Adain Uwchradd. The siliike, quick to see for themselves an opportunity, made compact with the Draigiau. Bargains were struck and the Adainian siliike reorganized into a secondary wing of the Residuum government. With the backing of such a mighty neighbor, the whole of Adain Uwchdradd soon fell under the siliike sway. The Plautoc family has held power ever since.

Spoiler: Resources

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Export: Inkfang Worms. Between the Nautilites of Danabae, the two branches of the Fivrivirvs, and the Draigiau, the siliike are surrounded by naturally colorful species. As they themselves began to mimic these colorations, they bred the local Inkfang Worms. These worms feast on the deep plum for most of their adult lives, resulting in a vibrant purple pigmentation in their mucus and saliva which can be harvested to make a potent dye. The siliike quickly outproduced their need and, assuming the rest of the world would be as interested in the color as they are, began exporting. It was only after some enterprising trade partners tried to move the product full circle and use the saliva as a food coloring did the merchants and breeders learn the other use for the worms: their saliva, if quickly heated or combined with a small amount of acid, becomes incredibly toxic.

Requirement: Spices. The Plautoc family's international curiosity mostly manifests itself in the form of cuisine - they have traveled far and wide to try the foods of neighbors, strangers, and even foes. With the elites desiring exotic foods, the aristocracy and peasantry alike began following suit, and spices from waters far from home are always in high demand.

Spoiler: Faith

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Prior to the arrival of the Driagiau, the philosophy of the siliike was called The Silence. Little can be said about this mystery cult, other than that its true members went into hiding far more often than they were converted, but that they otherwise cause no problems. From what can be drawn out from converts, the Silence emphasized a modulated speaking pattern wherein one would communicate truths one word at a time, out of order, and each to a different person. Thus a profound truth might be whispered into thirty ears, leaving the disciples to piece the message together with their own restrictions in place. It was as much a logic puzzle as a meditation.
Grisial Wedi'i Chwalu: Two halves on a large crystal outcropping are broken into fractals at their peaks, creating an overhung tunnel in which one can hear sounds from great distances. From a certain point of view, the crystals look like spread wings.
Tir Pluog: For generations, the Crwydro Fivrivirvs buried their revered dead in one place, deep in a frozen forest. The nearby kelp has long since been cleared, leaving a spread of seafloor covered in brightly colored, solid plate-like feathers left as memorials to the fallen. This practice fell out of style when the Residuum's power spread here. The area is now only used for memory, contemplation, and silence.

[Grim ranger]

Slight re-write of Region 55, adjusted from Mystic's initial writeup to reflect the current situation of the region. Following JB's good idea, italicized text is directly from the original.

Spoiler: Region 55 - Artetchhue

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Spoiler: People

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There are two races in Artetchhue - the Chelonian Ortel and the Tetraodontid Orquig.

The Ortel are Chelonian race of hunters. They are exclusively carnivorous and subsist as a slow moving consumptive mass. These sharp toothed turtles eat almost anything, scavenger like in that they would eat bones and shells, but prefer good fresh meat. They are a tribal people, living in loose bands run by chiefs. The chiefs could be of either gender and sometimes the chiefdom is shared between two individuals, rarely even three. Importantly the chiefdom(s) are not hereditary – instead the strongest rule. It is not rare for Ortel to engage in brutal (yet leisurely) blood baths as rivals compete to eat each other to become the next chief, or to engage in horrifying (yet unhurried) coup attempts as a up and commers team up to take down the current chief by tearing them apart.

The Orquiq are a race of pufferfish – they are extremely unpredictable and volatile and often explode with little to no stimuli or provocation. Interestingly, they seem to share some genes with some species of eels and contain truly shocking about of electrocytes, specialized cells that generate electric charge and take up much of an Orquiq’s body. As an Orquiq expands by puffing itself up it builds and build electrical current until it reaches critical mass and explodes. Because of this tendency to explode, the Orquiq are a strict gerontocracy – those of them that live longer lead, the primary importance of a leader is to not explode. Much of the leadership decisions revolve around placating the younger Orquiqs and calming them down, informing them to just enjoy life and not to blow up.

The two races rarely interact, simply because while the Ortel would eat anything, it’s counterproductive trying to eat a pufferfish that would explode in a ball of electricity frying you alive as you approach it. The Orquiq, on the other hand, don’t swim close to the Ortel, because they know they would fly into a rage or a panic – either one of them might cause them to blow up – which might cause a chain reaction.

With the arrival of Kar-Nath Hegemony and its legions, the region has third competitive force, one that has clamped down hard on the dissent of the natives. The Nathi, the chitinous and scaled figures with long tails and pair of surprisingly dextrous claws, are reasonably unknown in the region just yet... but wary of the locals as they are of most new factors in their lives. As militant culture practicing more disciplined means of exhibiting martial surpremacy, the Nathi settling into the region are often disgusted by the savagery of the Ortel, and take special care of inflicting humiliating and crushing defeats on any would-be upstart trying to cause trouble. Of the Orquiq, they generally also steer well clear of, occasionally attempting dialogue...from reasonable distance.

This caution is only redoubled as the maddening influence of the Gate from nearby Kenaqua continues to wreck havoc across the seas, even smallest signs of impending violence having the local guards on edge and willing to act on their suspicions.

Spoiler: Geography

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The geography of Artetchhue is not anything special - it is cold and filled with the usual underwater sights of steep abyssal cliffs, corals, grottos, and sandscapes - however, an important fact of Artetchhue is that it holds no volcanoes, lavatubes or other heat vents - anywhere in the region leading to a remarkably cold region of water in an already cold region of the world. The frigid water seems just above the temperature one would expect massive ice sheets to form - and yet they do not. This glacial environment probably let to the strange development of those that inhabit the region - the Ortel, turned carnivorous - need warm blood to sustain themselves, while the Orquiq developed the ability to generate electricity, presumably for the warmth.

While lacking much in way of large settlements before due to the nature of the locals, the Nathi have brought some in with their arrival in form of Icecoral, a town built in a large grotto for proper civilization to gradually expand out of. While it is still a modest settlement and mostly simply the launch point of Hegemony's local peacekeeping forces, settlers are gradually moving into the area as well.

Spoiler: Resource & Requirement

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Resource: Chelonian Hunters
The main resource of Artetchhue are hiring or conscripting a pack of Ortel - one could always use a slow-moving garbage disposal for your enemies or the refuse of their society, and their bones. With the region conquered by the Hegemony, interest in these brutal hunters has quickly been sparked anew.

Requirement: Heat Sources
The main import of Artetchhue is a Heat Source - any heat source, as it would placate the Ortel which would stop eating everything to bask in the warmth and calm down the Orquiq and stop them from blowing themselves up. Although these threats of native population decline do not quite apply to the newcomers fo the region, the settlers of the Hegemony regardless require some protection from the relentless cold as well, as there are only so many that can effectively modify their bodies enough to not feel it.

Spoiler: Faith

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Both races of Artetchhue worship the Claw. The only doctrine of the Claw is that "The claw decides who will stay and who will go." This doctrine is shared between the races although their interpretations of what "The Claw" is widely differs. The Ortel believe the Claw refers to a giant Turtle who was their forbearer and that the Claw was called such because of it's giant claws. It was large enough to tear open icebergs and eat whatever was preserved within. This Giant ancestor determines where the Ortel travel and as such determine who would stay (those that the Ortel don't eat) and who will go (those that the Ortel do eat). On the other hand that Orquiq believe that the Claw refers to a sort of protective Goddess that would wrap an exploding Orquiq in her claws and stopping the internal cascade. She would therefor save the Orquiq by being a ground for them. In this fashion she, the Claw, determines who would stay (those she saves) and who would go (those that end up exploding).

Unfortunately, with the local spread of the Shroud from Kenaqua and the missionaries of Blossoming Sequence spreading their own faith with arrival of the Hegemony, the adherents of the Claw are soon in the minority in the region, caught between the two clashing religions. While little effort is made to surpress the faith, many of the locals are still swayed to try out new ways.

Edit: And just for fun, re-write of Region 77, my capital. Decided to make it all nice for purposes of refurbishing my out of date post in Waters of the World

Spoiler: Region 77 - Glacier Crag

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Spoiler: Geography

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The waters of the Hegemony are a place of extremes, the expedition that had originally led to its creation having braved dangerous environment in search of new resources and notable discoveries. Covered on the surface by icebergs that extend deep into the depths, the terrain of their home reaches deep into the cold rock below via series of deep gorges, forming lanes dictated by obstacles both above and below. As the territory is dominated by cold rock, ice and lack of rich soil, the plants and creatures both are forced to adapt to survive. Most have become uniquely suited to dealing with the extreme challenges of the environment: silver-scaled trout, camouflaged hunter eels and packs of voracious seals that attack from the ice are only a few of the inhabitants of this dangerous land.

The core of Nathi civilization is worked into the charms in stone and expanded by drilling into some of the more stable icebergs, lanterns of cold blue crystals lighting the network of entrances, spires and nets stretching into the chasms. The deepest chasm of the area, The Glacier Crag, is a metropolis of ice and stone worked onto the edges of the massive pit... and within, wonders can be found. War monuments for achievements, massive markets of goods from all across the sprawling realm ruled by the Frozen Court, schools both academic and militant. The days of Nathi being only rugged survivors are long gone, the glow of the metropolis within the rifts of seafloor now shining ceaselessly throughout the area, acting as a beacon for weary travelers who have made their way all the way south to the most inhospitable regions of Polar seas.

With the rising cultural significance of the capital, Kar-Nath Hegemony has gone out of its way to protect it. The iceberg fortress of Cold Harbor hangs over the waterways of the capital, massive network of chains swaying idly in the currents and waiting for the command to pull the icy walls closed around the city. Office of Chain Wardens, in turn guards the capital from within, seeking out agitators and spies that might pose a threat to the rule of the Frozen Monarchs.

Spoiler: People

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The people making up the bulk of the population of Glacier Crag are the Nathi. An odd race, the closest resemblance to them is that of an eel covered in thick plating and sporting claws, but the people have begun as crustaceans. Their jaws have expanded from their original grab-like arrangement, the mandibles growing more vestigial as the teeth behind them have lengthened. Their shells cover the main body while leaving the eel-like tail swaying with only small ridge of carapace on it, often coming in colors of stone or ice in contrast to the silvery scales of the body underneath: the rare few Nathi who have shell coloration of rare crystals or more stark things still are believed to be individuals of particular significance, often rising to the higher strata of the Hegemony as a result of their blessed birth. The tri-tipped claws are located at the forefront of the body, allowing for fighting and tool-use with relative ease. On the whole, Nathi tend to range from six to eight feet from claws to tail without additional modifications.

While preferring meat in their diet, Nathi are omnivores, their society unable to leave much to waste thanks to the harshness of their frozen home. As the more delectable sorts of food are a rarity, meals are held as particularly sacred occasion to the race, rejecting offer of one or disrupting the meal of someone else with nefarious purpose carrying steep social stigma.

The familial units of the race are often smaller, ranging from two to four individuals: no Nathi would wish to bring offspring into the world without planning and preparing for it, for to do so would be to invite the possibility of forcing them to starve. They are extremely kin-minded, the expression of two Nathi being "under single shell" representing deep bond. While not lightly expressed towards outsiders, winning respect of Nathi will cause them and their kin to defend the one that has won their trust as one of their own.

The harsh environment has guided most Nathi to embracing a rugged sort of practicality in clothing, their attires seeking to be the most practical choice for the task at hand. Those who raise in their position attempt to retain this style despite often spoiling themselves with more luxurious trappings of imported coral or other finery, as coming across as too far removed from their peers can often lead to accusations of selfishness and needless hunger for power.

Apart from this curious race, the region sports large population of Mer, some Lacertis and Unin, and a great many Gravetenders. Each race is gradually welcomed into the fold of the local society as far as they are willing to adopt its trappings themselves, and Gravetenders in particular are held as friends and neighbors of high esteem by the Nathi population due to the long shared history of them and this curious neighbor.

Spoiler: Resource & Requirement

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Resource: Rimestone

The center of its power built within a massive crag in seafloor, the Hegemony has long extracted Rimestone from the frozen depths. This curious material seems to forever remain cold without thawing, its uniquely exotic properties useful in defense and storage of food... and who knows, perhaps someone can pry out further utilities for such exotic material? The Hegemony certainly tries, and often incorporates the curious stone into objects of particular importance or religious reverence, as well as construction of important structures.

Requirement: Exotic Food

The inhospitable environment and general culture of the Nathi brings about a pressing requirement for food, with specific focus on new and exotic dishes. Proper meal is not only requirement for survival, but also for any event of any importance: to lack such might show disinterest or outright derision towards the importance of said event, something blood feuds have began over more than once. As such, steady supply of suitably impressive foodstuffs is essential to stability of Hathi people, especially the families with greater influence.

Spoiler: Faith

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The state religion of Kar-Nath Hegemony is the Blossoming Sequence, and nowhere across the territory of Frozen Court is the influence of its clergy felt more keenly than in the capital itself. The Grand Schola (HS 1) has great many of the more studious Gravetenders staffing it, debating matters of philosophy and faith, The Rime Gorge (HS 2) is often studied by them for its ritualistic purpose of empowering few lives at expense of many unfortunates who do not come back from their dive within, and the Temple of Dark Currents (HS 3) was peacefully overtaken by adherents of the faith from its original inhabitants. It is hard to deny the fact that faith spearheaded by Gravetenders is everpresent within the lives of Hegemony's citizens, the two polities having grown a strong symbiotic relationship.

Former faiths of the Nathi, lessened as they are, regardless persist. The former state religion, Voice of Jaarn, still has great many devout adherents dedicated to older Nathi ways of pantheonic worship... and the Followers of Deep Ways continue their pursuits into the matters arcane even without their temple, attempting to commune with horrors lurking in the deeps for power and secret ways across the seas of the world.

[Corona]

I have decided, for the reason of not enjoying it much, to quit Empire!7. Anyone (except those currently playing another country ) may take over LOL if they volunteer until the end of this round. LOL is a country with many assets at its disposal, and its internal happenings are a bit of a mystery, available to retroactively fill in to your liking, since I didn't write much about them in the last few rounds. To the person taking over I will provide the small script that translates English to Lojanese, if desired.

It is missing from the tables, but LOL has a fortress in Lojan (9), see https://forums.giantitp.com/showsing...&postcount=293.

[Aerin]

Weeping Stone- I had hoped for an exception given the weak and niche nature of the effect, but I appreciate your desire to avoid the precedent. I withdraw the request and will just build a Holy Order, which is a better option in almost all ways, anyway. This Artifact, as conceived, was just a holy order with extra steps. (Given the fact Holdfasts and Holy Orders both protect against sacks)

Special 5- noted. I already fixed this in my turn report. I would point out that, irl, abruptly rationalizing things and converting away is usually what apocalypse cultists do once the deadline is up and they probably haven't heard about "Something Sneaky" yet, given it's many territories away and they fled a warzone into a Bunker before it surfaced in any recognizable way.
But, frankly, i like the idea, OoC, that the Finalists are still there, waiting it out, because, mechanically, I can ignore them unless they actually do something.




Understood on Cartomancy. I withdraw the entire concept. I had been operating under a mistaken paradigm regarding how techs should scale.


As for Apotheosis: (pardon my verbosity)

You are basically correct. This is an over-complicated way to get an immortal ruler. I have trouble doing it any other way, sorry.

The rub is: under E7 rules, all I need to do to have an immortal leader is not actively choose to turn over or let them be assassinated. This Miracle allows them a method of refreshing special actions. There are a few ways I could ask for this, this being a modified version of my first idea.

I would point out- this Miracle fundamentally changes a key tension of the game. Players can sit on 10s and be good at things, or turn over and get more special actions. This Miracle changes that by making it impossible to sit at 10s, while simultaneously altering action Economy in a way that is hard to easily quantify.

This is why just asking for more specials, in addition to being unsustainable, would be too powerful. The alternative, not getting more specials, is antithetical to my preferences as a player. Thus, a method of earning more without truly "Turning over."

Fluffwise, the World Garden ascends to a Nöosphere, where thought and information is transmitted between individuals by MRK, blurring the borders of both mortality and individuality, creating a sort of punk version of the Gnostic idea that individuality is an illusion created by the World to trap souls in the cycle of reincarnation. Now Gardeners live one life in communion with MRK and their minds join into her afterwards using Nacre Tech.

My core concept is/was that I democratize my society into a psuedo-Communistic hive mind and no longer have a singular ruler, but, rather, each stat is tracked separately, representing monastic orders working in parallel under the direction of MRK. They work towards specific projects, and, when completed, they start anew. (Gaining special actions) but are occasionally undercut by funding issues with other orders (the stat penalty)

When originally pitched way back when, the simplest version "each stat turns over separately when i use a special 10" was seen as too powerful, so a malus was proposed for using special 10 actions. The original version was -1d3 to all stats not being "turned over" but turn over was only mandatory when I actually used a special 10 action. It was unclear, but the wording I submitted suggested I might be able to use two special ten actions when I, before, might only be allowed one.

This new wording clears up ambiguity, eliminates randomness, eliminates the ability to sit on 10 stats, and clarifies what special actions i get access to and when.

Points of obvious tweaking if the concept is somewhat workable but not acceptable as written- 1) getting only 1 special 5 and one special 10 when a stat hits 10. 2)altering numbers. 3)eliminate the idea of banking special actions. 4)reduce the special 5 actions gotten at 10 to 1

My Miracle suggestion would be to do what the Empire veterans have suggested (thanks Silent and Dark). The Miracle would allow you to turn over without changing rulers (though you could optionally flavor the turnover as an upgrade in software or a change in focus), not change Organization rep for turning over, and gain +1 Faith every time you turn over. This would be substantially easier for the GM team to handle.

If the GMs rule otherwise, sure, but I have good basis to believe otherwise, and if this is the new ruling I would like to understand the previous precedent set.

Looking at Artifacts, "War Palanquin of the Anointed Dead" gives +2 to Tactical Maneuvering, "Sus'iBaka" gives +1 to Tactical Maneuvering and +1 to Leader Loss, and "Essensio's Conch" gives +2 to Leader Loss, and "Sgimiwr Cyflym" gives +1 Tactical Maneuvering and -2 to effective region count for unit losses.

This combined with the fact that "+1 to a roll each turn" is the expected balance point for an Artifact, for example, that "Dragonstone of the Gathered" gives +1 to battle and +1 to effective unit count, with a condition, leads me to believe that Tactical Maneuvering is valued at a lower amount here than To-Battle.

Partially due to this conversation and confusion, Role and I worked out some new rules for Tacdocs that were in the last opener. Hopefully they have cleared up this matter.

I have, at this moment, added things to the Waters of the World with the requested update to be textiles instead of building materials.

However, my thinking when listing it as a building material is that the Abhorrent Cimentos are so large, a Luxurious Hide can be stretched and used as a form of wall for a large hut, much in the same way that bison leather was used by the North American indigenous tribes originally. That's not to say that it isn't a textile, and couldn't be listed as such and still serve the same function, but I am attempting to elaborate on my intention to see if that helps make more sense as to why it's a building material as well.

In my experience, hides wouldn't suffice for most things that require building materials. But, as you point out, for some things they would! I think whether or not you can use your Luxurious Hides as a building material is going to depend heavily on what you're building.

As requested, a proposed writeup for Region 70

Adain Uwchradd [Region 70]

Spoiler: Thalassography

Show

Adain Uwchradd is a region of dense forests, the southern reaches of which are frozen for much of the year. These forests range from thick, interweaving kelp to branching vines of a fruiting plant the locals call deep plum. In the north, the foothills of the massive crystalline shards of Raconensae break into smaller outcroppings. This natural divide between Raconensae and Adain Uwchradd creates a pocket of warmer water trapped in the leeward side where the deep plum thrive. The only open areas of the region lie in the west, where sand flats and clear waters create stunningly beautiful, if disconcerting, vistas.

Spoiler: People, Government, History

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Adain Uwchradd is home to two plurality populations. First are a branch of the siliike from Raconensae with hard, overlapping shell-like plates across their mantles and upper limbs. The other species is the Crwydro Fivrivirvs. These are an offshoot of the Tsy Fivrivirvs people recently dominated by Deep Blue, notable for their duller tusks and thicker, more armored feathers. A shared history of tense armistices punctuated by harsh conflicts is all that ties these two peoples together. Where the Crwydro Fivrivirvs are pastoral, passionate, and fiercely xenophobic, the siliike are relatively urban, possessed of an abstract and detached curiosity, and fond of adapting foreign practices as fashionable trends.

When the Residuum began to grow in power, their need for new environs to explore and engage with brought them to Adain Uwchradd. The siliike, quick to see for themselves an opportunity, made compact with the Draigiau. Bargains were struck and the Adainian siliike reorganized into a secondary wing of the Residuum government. With the backing of such a mighty neighbor, the whole of Adain Uwchdradd soon fell under the siliike sway. The Plautoc family has held power ever since.

Spoiler: Resources

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Export: Inkfang Worms. Between the Nautilites of Danabae, the two branches of the Fivrivirvs, and the Draigiau, the siliike are surrounded by naturally colorful species. As they themselves began to mimic these colorations, they bred the local Inkfang Worms. These worms feast on the deep plum for most of their adult lives, resulting in a vibrant purple pigmentation in their mucus and saliva which can be harvested to make a potent dye. The siliike quickly outproduced their need and, assuming the rest of the world would be as interested in the color as they are, began exporting. It was only after some enterprising trade partners tried to move the product full circle and use the saliva as a food coloring did the merchants and breeders learn the other use for the worms: their saliva, if quickly heated or combined with a small amount of acid, becomes incredibly toxic.

Requirement: Spices. The Plautoc family's international curiosity mostly manifests itself in the form of cuisine - they have traveled far and wide to try the foods of neighbors, strangers, and even foes. With the elites desiring exotic foods, the aristocracy and peasantry alike began following suit, and spices from waters far from home are always in high demand.

Spoiler: Faith

Show

Prior to the arrival of the Driagiau, the philosophy of the siliike was called The Silence. Little can be said about this mystery cult, other than that its true members went into hiding far more often than they were converted, but that they otherwise cause no problems. From what can be drawn out from converts, the Silence emphasized a modulated speaking pattern wherein one would communicate truths one word at a time, out of order, and each to a different person. Thus a profound truth might be whispered into thirty ears, leaving the disciples to piece the message together with their own restrictions in place. It was as much a logic puzzle as a meditation.
Grisial Wedi'i Chwalu: Two halves on a large crystal outcropping are broken into fractals at their peaks, creating an overhung tunnel in which one can hear sounds from great distances. From a certain point of view, the crystals look like spread wings.
Tir Pluog: For generations, the Crwydro Fivrivirvs buried their revered dead in one place, deep in a frozen forest. The nearby kelp has long since been cleared, leaving a spread of seafloor covered in brightly colored, solid plate-like feathers left as memorials to the fallen. This practice fell out of style when the Residuum's power spread here. The area is now only used for memory, contemplation, and silence.

DM me to receive one word of a profound truth.
Love this! I hope you don't mind if I add it to the Waters of the World with all credit to you.

Slight re-write of Region 55, adjusted from Mystic's initial writeup to reflect the current situation of the region. Following JB's good idea, italicized text is directly from the original.

Spoiler: Region 55 - Artetchhue

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Spoiler: People

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There are two races in Artetchhue - the Chelonian Ortel and the Tetraodontid Orquig.

The Ortel are Chelonian race of hunters. They are exclusively carnivorous and subsist as a slow moving consumptive mass. These sharp toothed turtles eat almost anything, scavenger like in that they would eat bones and shells, but prefer good fresh meat. They are a tribal people, living in loose bands run by chiefs. The chiefs could be of either gender and sometimes the chiefdom is shared between two individuals, rarely even three. Importantly the chiefdom(s) are not hereditary – instead the strongest rule. It is not rare for Ortel to engage in brutal (yet leisurely) blood baths as rivals compete to eat each other to become the next chief, or to engage in horrifying (yet unhurried) coup attempts as a up and commers team up to take down the current chief by tearing them apart.

The Orquiq are a race of pufferfish – they are extremely unpredictable and volatile and often explode with little to no stimuli or provocation. Interestingly, they seem to share some genes with some species of eels and contain truly shocking about of electrocytes, specialized cells that generate electric charge and take up much of an Orquiq’s body. As an Orquiq expands by puffing itself up it builds and build electrical current until it reaches critical mass and explodes. Because of this tendency to explode, the Orquiq are a strict gerontocracy – those of them that live longer lead, the primary importance of a leader is to not explode. Much of the leadership decisions revolve around placating the younger Orquiqs and calming them down, informing them to just enjoy life and not to blow up.

The two races rarely interact, simply because while the Ortel would eat anything, it’s counterproductive trying to eat a pufferfish that would explode in a ball of electricity frying you alive as you approach it. The Orquiq, on the other hand, don’t swim close to the Ortel, because they know they would fly into a rage or a panic – either one of them might cause them to blow up – which might cause a chain reaction.

With the arrival of Kar-Nath Hegemony and its legions, the region has third competitive force, one that has clamped down hard on the dissent of the natives. The Nathi, the chitinous and scaled figures with long tails and pair of surprisingly dextrous claws, are reasonably unknown in the region just yet... but wary of the locals as they are of most new factors in their lives. As militant culture practicing more disciplined means of exhibiting martial surpremacy, the Nathi settling into the region are often disgusted by the savagery of the Ortel, and take special care of inflicting humiliating and crushing defeats on any would-be upstart trying to cause trouble. Of the Orquiq, they generally also steer well clear of, occasionally attempting dialogue...from reasonable distance.

This caution is only redoubled as the maddening influence of the Gate from nearby Kenaqua continues to wreck havoc across the seas, even smallest signs of impending violence having the local guards on edge and willing to act on their suspicions.

Spoiler: Geography

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The geography of Artetchhue is not anything special - it is cold and filled with the usual underwater sights of steep abyssal cliffs, corals, grottos, and sandscapes - however, an important fact of Artetchhue is that it holds no volcanoes, lavatubes or other heat vents - anywhere in the region leading to a remarkably cold region of water in an already cold region of the world. The frigid water seems just above the temperature one would expect massive ice sheets to form - and yet they do not. This glacial environment probably let to the strange development of those that inhabit the region - the Ortel, turned carnivorous - need warm blood to sustain themselves, while the Orquiq developed the ability to generate electricity, presumably for the warmth.

While lacking much in way of large settlements before due to the nature of the locals, the Nathi have brought some in with their arrival in form of Icecoral, a town built in a large grotto for proper civilization to gradually expand out of. While it is still a modest settlement and mostly simply the launch point of Hegemony's local peacekeeping forces, settlers are gradually moving into the area as well.

Spoiler: Resource & Requirement

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Resource: Chelonian Hunters
The main resource of Artetchhue are hiring or conscripting a pack of Ortel - one could always use a slow-moving garbage disposal for your enemies or the refuse of their society, and their bones. With the region conquered by the Hegemony, interest in these brutal hunters has quickly been sparked anew.

Requirement: Heat Sources
The main import of Artetchhue is a Heat Source - any heat source, as it would placate the Ortel which would stop eating everything to bask in the warmth and calm down the Orquiq and stop them from blowing themselves up. Although these threats of native population decline do not quite apply to the newcomers fo the region, the settlers of the Hegemony regardless require some protection from the relentless cold as well, as there are only so many that can effectively modify their bodies enough to not feel it.

Spoiler: Faith

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Both races of Artetchhue worship the Claw. The only doctrine of the Claw is that "The claw decides who will stay and who will go." This doctrine is shared between the races although their interpretations of what "The Claw" is widely differs. The Ortel believe the Claw refers to a giant Turtle who was their forbearer and that the Claw was called such because of it's giant claws. It was large enough to tear open icebergs and eat whatever was preserved within. This Giant ancestor determines where the Ortel travel and as such determine who would stay (those that the Ortel don't eat) and who will go (those that the Ortel do eat). On the other hand that Orquiq believe that the Claw refers to a sort of protective Goddess that would wrap an exploding Orquiq in her claws and stopping the internal cascade. She would therefor save the Orquiq by being a ground for them. In this fashion she, the Claw, determines who would stay (those she saves) and who would go (those that end up exploding).

Unfortunately, with the local spread of the Shroud from Kenaqua and the missionaries of Blossoming Sequence spreading their own faith with arrival of the Hegemony, the adherents of the Claw are soon in the minority in the region, caught between the two clashing religions. While little effort is made to surpress the faith, many of the locals are still swayed to try out new ways.

Edit: And just for fun, re-write of Region 77, my capital. Decided to make it all nice for purposes of refurbishing my out of date post in Waters of the World

Spoiler: Region 77 - Glacier Crag

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Spoiler: Geography

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The waters of the Hegemony are a place of extremes, the expedition that had originally led to its creation having braved dangerous environment in search of new resources and notable discoveries. Covered on the surface by icebergs that extend deep into the depths, the terrain of their home reaches deep into the cold rock below via series of deep gorges, forming lanes dictated by obstacles both above and below. As the territory is dominated by cold rock, ice and lack of rich soil, the plants and creatures both are forced to adapt to survive. Most have become uniquely suited to dealing with the extreme challenges of the environment: silver-scaled trout, camouflaged hunter eels and packs of voracious seals that attack from the ice are only a few of the inhabitants of this dangerous land.

The core of Nathi civilization is worked into the charms in stone and expanded by drilling into some of the more stable icebergs, lanterns of cold blue crystals lighting the network of entrances, spires and nets stretching into the chasms. The deepest chasm of the area, The Glacier Crag, is a metropolis of ice and stone worked onto the edges of the massive pit... and within, wonders can be found. War monuments for achievements, massive markets of goods from all across the sprawling realm ruled by the Frozen Court, schools both academic and militant. The days of Nathi being only rugged survivors are long gone, the glow of the metropolis within the rifts of seafloor now shining ceaselessly throughout the area, acting as a beacon for weary travelers who have made their way all the way south to the most inhospitable regions of Polar seas.

With the rising cultural significance of the capital, Kar-Nath Hegemony has gone out of its way to protect it. The iceberg fortress of Cold Harbor hangs over the waterways of the capital, massive network of chains swaying idly in the currents and waiting for the command to pull the icy walls closed around the city. Office of Chain Wardens, in turn guards the capital from within, seeking out agitators and spies that might pose a threat to the rule of the Frozen Monarchs.

Spoiler: People

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The people making up the bulk of the population of Glacier Crag are the Nathi. An odd race, the closest resemblance to them is that of an eel covered in thick plating and sporting claws, but the people have begun as crustaceans. Their jaws have expanded from their original grab-like arrangement, the mandibles growing more vestigial as the teeth behind them have lengthened. Their shells cover the main body while leaving the eel-like tail swaying with only small ridge of carapace on it, often coming in colors of stone or ice in contrast to the silvery scales of the body underneath: the rare few Nathi who have shell coloration of rare crystals or more stark things still are believed to be individuals of particular significance, often rising to the higher strata of the Hegemony as a result of their blessed birth. The tri-tipped claws are located at the forefront of the body, allowing for fighting and tool-use with relative ease. On the whole, Nathi tend to range from six to eight feet from claws to tail without additional modifications.

While preferring meat in their diet, Nathi are omnivores, their society unable to leave much to waste thanks to the harshness of their frozen home. As the more delectable sorts of food are a rarity, meals are held as particularly sacred occasion to the race, rejecting offer of one or disrupting the meal of someone else with nefarious purpose carrying steep social stigma.

The familial units of the race are often smaller, ranging from two to four individuals: no Nathi would wish to bring offspring into the world without planning and preparing for it, for to do so would be to invite the possibility of forcing them to starve. They are extremely kin-minded, the expression of two Nathi being "under single shell" representing deep bond. While not lightly expressed towards outsiders, winning respect of Nathi will cause them and their kin to defend the one that has won their trust as one of their own.

The harsh environment has guided most Nathi to embracing a rugged sort of practicality in clothing, their attires seeking to be the most practical choice for the task at hand. Those who raise in their position attempt to retain this style despite often spoiling themselves with more luxurious trappings of imported coral or other finery, as coming across as too far removed from their peers can often lead to accusations of selfishness and needless hunger for power.

Apart from this curious race, the region sports large population of Mer, some Lacertis and Unin, and a great many Gravetenders. Each race is gradually welcomed into the fold of the local society as far as they are willing to adopt its trappings themselves, and Gravetenders in particular are held as friends and neighbors of high esteem by the Nathi population due to the long shared history of them and this curious neighbor.

Spoiler: Resource & Requirement

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Resource: Rimestone

The center of its power built within a massive crag in seafloor, the Hegemony has long extracted Rimestone from the frozen depths. This curious material seems to forever remain cold without thawing, its uniquely exotic properties useful in defense and storage of food... and who knows, perhaps someone can pry out further utilities for such exotic material? The Hegemony certainly tries, and often incorporates the curious stone into objects of particular importance or religious reverence, as well as construction of important structures.

Requirement: Exotic Food

The inhospitable environment and general culture of the Nathi brings about a pressing requirement for food, with specific focus on new and exotic dishes. Proper meal is not only requirement for survival, but also for any event of any importance: to lack such might show disinterest or outright derision towards the importance of said event, something blood feuds have began over more than once. As such, steady supply of suitably impressive foodstuffs is essential to stability of Hathi people, especially the families with greater influence.

Spoiler: Faith

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The state religion of Kar-Nath Hegemony is the Blossoming Sequence, and nowhere across the territory of Frozen Court is the influence of its clergy felt more keenly than in the capital itself. The Grand Schola (HS 1) has great many of the more studious Gravetenders staffing it, debating matters of philosophy and faith, The Rime Gorge (HS 2) is often studied by them for its ritualistic purpose of empowering few lives at expense of many unfortunates who do not come back from their dive within, and the Temple of Dark Currents (HS 3) was peacefully overtaken by adherents of the faith from its original inhabitants. It is hard to deny the fact that faith spearheaded by Gravetenders is everpresent within the lives of Hegemony's citizens, the two polities having grown a strong symbiotic relationship.

Former faiths of the Nathi, lessened as they are, regardless persist. The former state religion, Voice of Jaarn, still has great many devout adherents dedicated to older Nathi ways of pantheonic worship... and the Followers of Deep Ways continue their pursuits into the matters arcane even without their temple, attempting to commune with horrors lurking in the deeps for power and secret ways across the seas of the world.

Fantastic! Thanks a ton for writing these. Would you add them both to the Waters of the World thread? Replacing your old capital writeup with this one would be great.

I have decided, for the reason of not enjoying it much, to quit Empire!7. Anyone (except those currently playing another country ) may take over LOL if they volunteer until the end of this round. LOL is a country with many assets at its disposal, and its internal happenings are a bit of a mystery, available to retroactively fill in to your liking, since I didn't write much about them in the last few rounds. To the person taking over I will provide the small script that translates English to Lojanese, if desired.

It is missing from the tables, but LOL has a fortress in Lojan (9), see https://forums.giantitp.com/showsing...&postcount=293.

We're sorry to see you go, but if you're not enjoying it then that is 100% the right call. I enjoyed having Lojan around and reading your actions and region writeups immensely!
No bites so far for anyone to take over, so could I get that translation script?

[Grim ranger]

Fantastic! Thanks a ton for writing these. Would you add them both to the Waters of the World thread? Replacing your old capital writeup with this one would be great.

Oh, the pleasure was all mine. They are already added under the new writeup, link to which is now in my original post.

[JBarca]

DM me to receive one word of a profound truth.
Love this! I hope you don't mind if I add it to the Waters of the World with all credit to you.

My mind is truly blown. Thank you.

And go for it!

[Silent_Interim]

Region write-up of the new Ornzol colony for consideration.

198 – Scorners’ Rest

Spoiler: Geography – Not As Nice As It Seems

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On the surface, Scorners’ Rest is a beautiful section of ocean. Much like Ornzol, the seafloor is rolling sands from the high shoals down through the rocky edges that lead out into the deeps, stony tide pools at the highest points, wide, colorful reefs.

But where Ornzol is quite conducive to easy living, Scorners’ Rest is a lurking nightmare. Named for the huge number of Scorners who died in the initial colonization efforts, the Rest is almost unbelievably lethal for the unprepared. Reefs that look similar to the ones in Ornzol are sharp, and release toxins with narcotic effects that leave a victim unprepared for the swarms of sharp-toothed fish that will flock to anyone foolish enough to get cut. The tide pools are treacherous, rapidly filling and emptying in unpredictable patterns. Even the sand is host to lurking predators, carnivorous rays and buried threats.

Spoiler: People – It Was Better In The Old Days

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The Ornzol are, despite appearances, generally quite content with their lives. Their cultural mores are... unusual, to outsiders, but by and large the Ornzol are pleased to live in a society where cutting remarks are the primary means of determining social standing. Those who aren’t won’t say anything for fear of ridicule.

In Scorners’ Rest, the culture has taken a turn for a different art form- complaints. Forced to a degree of cohabitation and crowding that necessitates greater co-operation, the conditions bred a new kind of competitive wordplay- insulting the world around them. The art-form has even begun making waves at home, a whole new vista of insults. And conveniently, those most outspoken about the issues of their new home waters are also motivated community leaders with a strong vision for improvement.

Spoiler: Resources – Desperate Scrabbling

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Transparent Toadstools are an oddity, seemingly unique to the most dangerous patches of Scorners’ Rest. Highly efficient detritivores, this fungus spreads out in colonies across underground mycelium networks into the preferred hunting grounds of larger local predators, where they greedily absorb any leftover remnants of kills, replacing their transparent visage with blood red and bone white. The toadstools themselves are, technically, edible, but taste awful, and given their proximity to danger, are more often used by the locals as indicators of where not to go to look for food.

The people of Scorners’ Rest lead difficult lives, and a hard season can mean death. They have a desperate need for Preservatives to maintain their often scarce stores year to year and ensure the security of their food supply.

Spoiler: Faith – Making Way In Desperate Seas

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Is it possible that there is... a better path to communication? A path... not founded on insults?

...

No, of course not. Such musings are ridiculous. But the Ornzol are not idiots, and necessity breeds adaptation. As hard living forces them to deal more with outsiders and trade for what they need to survive, and as their culture shifts away from insults towards complaints, the residents of Scorners’ Rest have become softer towards foreigners. Not, perhaps, pleasant, but there is a definite change in the tenor of their rudeness. The locals are more... Open.

[Gengy]

Thank you to the GM Team for working hard to get the Bane of Sargasso title available to players.

I have some questions, to ensure that my reading of the Title rules are correct. Things is bold are direct quotes taken from the Bane Title rules.

1. Colonization of a Hunting Grounds region is an opposed Military roll against the controlling Bane, and the controlling Bane receives a +4 to resistance if they have a Leviathan Ark within 4 non-waste regions of the Hunting Ground.
   
   To clarify, is this (+4) resistance for each Leviathan Ark within the target area, or just a single (+4)?
   .
2. Each Leviathan Ark is an offensive mobile region controlled by the Bane of Sargasso. The Bane of Sargasso’s first Leviathan Ark starts with the same Holy Sites, Fortress, City, and faction status as their capital region and no Trade Posts.
   
   As Holy Sites (and factions) move with the Leviathan Ark, and the Leviathan Ark moves, for anyone attempting to convert or claim the HS/faction support, are they targeting the region it is currently in during the round for purposes of Distance Penalties?
   .
3. For purposes of Distance Penalties, as the majority of my capital is now within The Riptide, for non-Leviathan Actions do I continue to figure out Distance Penalties based on location to 138, or is it based on where The Riptide is? I think the way I'm reading it is that my capital region remains 138, for purposes of rules related to such, but I want to be sure.
   .
4. As Trade Posts do not come with the Leviathan Ark (thanks Dread Harvest!) I assume that ownership of TPs remains with whomever currently controls them. How does that work for Mercantile Support to a TP (Assist/Hinder/Coerce, etc) if the Faction is with the Ark, but the TPs are tied to the region?
   .
5. AFAIK, World Wonders cannot be built in regions that have existing Org Bases (without GM permission). However, my World Wonder is now part of The Riptide. Does this mean that an Org base can be built in 138?
   .
6. Cities located on Leviathan Arks provide a [Bane’s Nation] Marauders resource.
   Is this in addition to the resource they provided, or in place of what the resource was?
7. What exactly is a [Bane's Nation] resource, or is that defined by the Bane of Sargasso when they have a city on their Leviathan Ark?
8. Can a Bane of Sargasso use an Economy 5 special action to add a City to a Leviathan Ark, if it does not already have one?
   .
9. A Bane of Sargasso may support a limited number of Leviathan Arks based on their number of controlled Hunting Grounds + number of vassals (including vassals of vassals). Insufficient Hunting Grounds to support the Arks will result in an increasingly Unruly crew. Any Ark which has all three of its factions become Unruly will mutiny and be lost to you.
   
   A list of required regions then follows. As written, however, I need to clarify. If I have two Hunting Grounds and one vassal, does that mean I can support (2) Arks, or - as written - do I still need (3) total Hunting Grounds regions?
   .
10. Can a Vassal, of their own accord and with help from a Bane of Sargasso liege, create a Hunting Ground in their territory? (Or allow their liege to create a Hunting Ground in their territory?)
    .
11. A Bane may begin a project to find, repair, and populate an additional Ark at any time, but the Ark cannot be completed until the Bane has enough Hunting Grounds to support a number of Arks greater than they presently possess. This project requires [2*# of controlled Arks] Military Prepare Ark Actions.
    
    As part of acquiring the title, I had to do a Project. This required rolls at each step. Do Prepare Ark projects require these rolls as well at every step, or are they treated as just normal (non-rolled) project actions?
    .
12. As part of the above initial Project, with permission and confirmation from Aerin, I was not effected by the DNA (Rank -1) to projects. It was, after all, something that the DNA would likely not be 'indifferent' towards, and GTZ was working on it on as much of the downlow as possible. Moving forwards, will Prepare Ark projects receive the same treatment, or now that the DNA is more aware of what I am doing, will they actively hinder my Prepare Ark projects (thereby applying the penalty)?
    .
13. This project requires [2*# of controlled Arks] Military Prepare Ark Actions.
    As the current '# of controlled Arks' I have is (1), this means that my second Leviathan Ark will take a total of 3 Prepare Ark actions, but my third Ark will take a total of 6 Prepare Ark actions, correct? (and so on and so forth)
    .
14. Armored Assault: When a Bane uses a Leviathan Action to attack a region, they suffer no distance losses, gain a bonus of +4 to rolls to avoid being Intercepted, and may use the Despoliation Tactical Doctrine (+1 to Battle for each Trade Post on board the Ark, +1 Tactical Maneuvering, the region’s aristocracy becomes Reaved upon Tactical Maneuvering success).
    
    Can Despoliation become a Perfected Doctrine?
    .
15. The Bane may use a Leviathan Action to move an Ark up to 4 regions.
    Is this a non-action, a Military action, a Diplomacy action, or...? Just trying to figure out cost. All other Leviathan Actions seem tied to an existing Action, or have clearly defined rules written in (such as Prepare Grounds). Move Ark seems like it's a way to reset or slowly move an Ark around, so making it a non-action makes sense to me. After all, you move the Ark the round prior to any of the other Leviathan Actions being possible so doing that as a non-action works. Especially when a Bane of Sargasso has more than one Ark. Requiring an action for each Ark to just move and not do anything else seems expensive. To be fair, the other abilities are very powerful so I can understand the expense, but (in theory) a Bane could have [3] Arks, and spend [3] of their actions that round just... moving. From a game design stand point, there's pluses and minuses to requiring it be an action, but the 'is it fun?' question of just a whole move action for this type of game is one where I would answer 'no'.

Annnnd that's enough questions for now. I'm sure I'll have more as situations arise!

[Aerin]

Thank you to the GM Team for working hard to get the Bane of Sargasso title available to players.

I have some questions, to ensure that my reading of the Title rules are correct. Things is bold are direct quotes taken from the Bane Title rules.

1. Colonization of a Hunting Grounds region is an opposed Military roll against the controlling Bane, and the controlling Bane receives a +4 to resistance if they have a Leviathan Ark within 4 non-waste regions of the Hunting Ground.
   
   To clarify, is this (+4) resistance for each Leviathan Ark within the target area, or just a single (+4)?
   .
2. Each Leviathan Ark is an offensive mobile region controlled by the Bane of Sargasso. The Bane of Sargasso’s first Leviathan Ark starts with the same Holy Sites, Fortress, City, and faction status as their capital region and no Trade Posts.
   
   As Holy Sites (and factions) move with the Leviathan Ark, and the Leviathan Ark moves, for anyone attempting to convert or claim the HS/faction support, are they targeting the region it is currently in during the round for purposes of Distance Penalties?
   .
3. For purposes of Distance Penalties, as the majority of my capital is now within The Riptide, for non-Leviathan Actions do I continue to figure out Distance Penalties based on location to 138, or is it based on where The Riptide is? I think the way I'm reading it is that my capital region remains 138, for purposes of rules related to such, but I want to be sure.
   .
4. As Trade Posts do not come with the Leviathan Ark (thanks Dread Harvest!) I assume that ownership of TPs remains with whomever currently controls them. How does that work for Mercantile Support to a TP (Assist/Hinder/Coerce, etc) if the Faction is with the Ark, but the TPs are tied to the region?
   .
5. AFAIK, World Wonders cannot be built in regions that have existing Org Bases (without GM permission). However, my World Wonder is now part of The Riptide. Does this mean that an Org base can be built in 138?
   .
6. Cities located on Leviathan Arks provide a [Bane’s Nation] Marauders resource.
   Is this in addition to the resource they provided, or in place of what the resource was?
7. What exactly is a [Bane's Nation] resource, or is that defined by the Bane of Sargasso when they have a city on their Leviathan Ark?
8. Can a Bane of Sargasso use an Economy 5 special action to add a City to a Leviathan Ark, if it does not already have one?
   .
9. A Bane of Sargasso may support a limited number of Leviathan Arks based on their number of controlled Hunting Grounds + number of vassals (including vassals of vassals). Insufficient Hunting Grounds to support the Arks will result in an increasingly Unruly crew. Any Ark which has all three of its factions become Unruly will mutiny and be lost to you.
   
   A list of required regions then follows. As written, however, I need to clarify. If I have two Hunting Grounds and one vassal, does that mean I can support (2) Arks, or - as written - do I still need (3) total Hunting Grounds regions?
   .
10. Can a Vassal, of their own accord and with help from a Bane of Sargasso liege, create a Hunting Ground in their territory? (Or allow their liege to create a Hunting Ground in their territory?)
    .
11. A Bane may begin a project to find, repair, and populate an additional Ark at any time, but the Ark cannot be completed until the Bane has enough Hunting Grounds to support a number of Arks greater than they presently possess. This project requires [2*# of controlled Arks] Military Prepare Ark Actions.
    
    As part of acquiring the title, I had to do a Project. This required rolls at each step. Do Prepare Ark projects require these rolls as well at every step, or are they treated as just normal (non-rolled) project actions?
    .
12. As part of the above initial Project, with permission and confirmation from Aerin, I was not effected by the DNA (Rank -1) to projects. It was, after all, something that the DNA would likely not be 'indifferent' towards, and GTZ was working on it on as much of the downlow as possible. Moving forwards, will Prepare Ark projects receive the same treatment, or now that the DNA is more aware of what I am doing, will they actively hinder my Prepare Ark projects (thereby applying the penalty)?
    .
13. This project requires [2*# of controlled Arks] Military Prepare Ark Actions.
    As the current '# of controlled Arks' I have is (1), this means that my second Leviathan Ark will take a total of 3 Prepare Ark actions, but my third Ark will take a total of 6 Prepare Ark actions, correct? (and so on and so forth)
    .
14. Armored Assault: When a Bane uses a Leviathan Action to attack a region, they suffer no distance losses, gain a bonus of +4 to rolls to avoid being Intercepted, and may use the Despoliation Tactical Doctrine (+1 to Battle for each Trade Post on board the Ark, +1 Tactical Maneuvering, the region’s aristocracy becomes Reaved upon Tactical Maneuvering success).
    
    Can Despoliation become a Perfected Doctrine?
    .
15. The Bane may use a Leviathan Action to move an Ark up to 4 regions.
    Is this a non-action, a Military action, a Diplomacy action, or...? Just trying to figure out cost. All other Leviathan Actions seem tied to an existing Action, or have clearly defined rules written in (such as Prepare Grounds). Move Ark seems like it's a way to reset or slowly move an Ark around, so making it a non-action makes sense to me. After all, you move the Ark the round prior to any of the other Leviathan Actions being possible so doing that as a non-action works. Especially when a Bane of Sargasso has more than one Ark. Requiring an action for each Ark to just move and not do anything else seems expensive. To be fair, the other abilities are very powerful so I can understand the expense, but (in theory) a Bane could have [3] Arks, and spend [3] of their actions that round just... moving. From a game design stand point, there's pluses and minuses to requiring it be an action, but the 'is it fun?' question of just a whole move action for this type of game is one where I would answer 'no'.

Annnnd that's enough questions for now. I'm sure I'll have more as situations arise!

1. Single.
2. Yes.
3. Your capital remains 138 specifically because a mobile capital was too much headache for me. I might recommend changing it to a region with an actual population.
4. When you yoink a TP with Dread Harvest, you gain control on the version on the Ark and the original is destroyed (as per normal Sack rules on a great success). TPs on Arks cannot be bought out, coerced, etc.
When you create a new Ark, the TPs remain in the region just like it was an Open Waters region. There are no longer any factions associated with those TPs. There is no association between the faction on the new Ark and the TPs in the Hunting Ground.
5. No. 138 is essentially Open Waters. Org bases cannot be built in Open Waters.
6. Leviathan Arks do not have any TPs or provide any resources by default. 138 has a resource, and the TPs for that resource will remain in 138. If you had a City in 138, it would produce Conglomerate Marauders instead of whatever 138 produces when it was moved onto the Ark.
7. In your case it will be Conglomerate Marauders. Your city will give you extra population that you can use as a resource to fulfil labor requirements.
8. Yes.
9. Two HGs + 1 vassal = 2 Arks. 3 HGs + 1 vassal = 3 Arks.
10. No. Your vassal does not have access to any Leviathan Actions. Your Prepare Grounds actions can only target regions you own.
11. Normal non-rolled project actions.
12. Prepare Ark projects are not affected by the DNA penalty.
13. Your second Ark will take 2 actions. Your third will take 4. Etc.
14. No.
15. From the title text: "At the start of every round, each Leviathan Ark will move to occupy the region where it last performed a Leviathan Action." This is intended to be the primary way by which your Arks move. Prepare Grounds, Dread Harvest, and Armored Assault will all move your Ark to the targeted region. The "Move Ark" action is for the case in which you need to move your Ark without performing one of those three actions. It's deliberately costly, because you should be performing those other three actions as much as possible. It should specify that it is a Military action, thank you.

I've changed some of the text in the title to clarify many of these points, hopefully!

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Region 50 Write Up, First Draft

Spoiler

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Region Name: Diamond Brick Road
Region Number: 50

Geography: Paved, pushed, forced into a shape. All built with a singular purpose; facilitate supply transfer between Magma Falls and Town Square. Quite a bit of work went into flattening the geography and placing all kinds of glittery reverberating rocks into a shape that could hold rolling gear technology.

They shine with slightly captured light even when late, the waters above are empty, and the region itself is sparse. Wildlife is shaken away and the eels that once lived here are a rare delicacy to be found and consumed, rather than the prime inhabitant of the region.

People: Merchants, colonizers, really any and every sort of riff raff is welcome. Even the poor especially the poor. There are plenty of housing caves built into the mountains that used to be here to store them, and every species can reside. Though for the moment these areas are moderately empty, there are plant to fill them up soon enough.

Faith: Eternal Communion
The major holy site of the region is the wide spanning, far traversing, Eternal Diamond. Which despite the name, is not a single diamond, so much as it is all manners of diamonds made of specially sharpened and jeweled gems along the road itself. Built in with a structural integrity unrivaled, surprisingly hard to pry back out, held there by the power of Industry itself. These are practically a sign of worship, and help project and remind people all during their work what they toil for, and the profits that will inevitably fall into their fins.

Resource: Reverberating Conundrum

Glowing. Singing. Plentiful. Infused with some magnetism to make them ideal building blocks for any purpose, from entertainment to efficient structure. They are what make up the giant road the region has become, and there are plenty more to be found all throughout in the mountains, yet to be harvested.

Well, that's what putting the natives to work is for, right?

[MappyPK]

Tech proposals:

Economy - Paru Para Bunkers
Prerequisites: Photospore Signalling
Effect: Allows for the creation of Wastes Outposts as an economy/faith/military three-action project. These actions occupy a specialized ship.
Fluff: Years have passed since the scientific breakthrough known colloquially as the Deepwater Survival System. Since then, major advancements have been slow, with the Miru government pushing its funds toward the exploration of the waste seas. Eventually, however, Professor Paru Para of The Blubba School of Expeditions and Depths releases his newest invention: a self-sufficient structure with many waterlocks and filtration systems that can support a small number of researchers and laborers even in far off hostile environments, such as those of the Wastes. Generally composed of pressure-resistant glass molded into one or more vertical cylindrical tubes atop a stone foundation, these structures are usually comprised of multiple floors, each for its own purpose (most commonly, a treasury, housing, research, and a dockyard modeled off the one at the Splendiferous University, but sometimes modified to include a place of worship or other unnecessary vanities). The architecture of the structures, known as Paru Para Bunkers, is extremely precise and quite costly, but the economic and scientific benefits of manning one of these stations cannot be overstated.

(to be made next round)
Military - Sticky Slime Torpedoes
Slot: Sappers & Siege Weapons
Prerequisites: Slime Technicians
Effect: +1 Battles
Fluff: By launching gloop carefully molded into the form of a torpedo toward the intended path or fortifications of the enemy, the foe can be slowed down immensely as the sticky substance attaches itself to their propulsion mechanisms, namely fins, tentacles, or fans, and fills up the sea around them. These torpedoes can be launched similarly to an air-powered speargun, and when angled properly, can make an effective siege weapon, enveloping massive volumes of water and many surfaces with slime.



(not making for now but leaving here so i dont forget it)
Economy - Pneumatophoric Ballast Tanks
Prerequisites: Tools or Building Materials
Effect: Allows buyouts to route through wastes regions. This occupies a specialized ship, once per action as normal.
Fluff: Inspired by the take down of the Sizzling Siphonophore, researchers at the Docks of the Splendiferous University design a system for stabilizing ships as they travel through the rough seas of the Wastes. By filling a hollow zone of the ship with an appropriate amount of content -- usually a gas, but sometimes a solid -- the boat can more easily stabilize itself in the water column. This can be meticulously adjusted to carry cargo.

[Talis]

Darkwell [Region 80]

Spoiler: Thalassography

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The ocean shelf drops off abruptly over the vast depths of Darkwell, creating a great pit that descends far into inky blackness. Reaching the surface of the depths, travelers find the ground coated in a layer of fertile silt fed by a constant rain of organic matter from above, while strange stone spires rise out of the landscape like pillars or trees. Geological study indicates that the spires are natural formations created by volcanic activity in the distant past, before the fault line moved and Darkwelllost its vital heat. Now the depths are dark, cold, and vast.

To survive in these treacherous depths, the Pepsin settlers have set up hundreds of waystations across the region. Each station is marked by bright, bioluminescent tower-stalks that shine for miles in the depths. Each station is stocked with supplies, navigational information, and a growth of deep kelp loaded with oxygenating microbes. Bioluminescent highways connect these waystations with dim, glowing routes that constantly flicker with semaphoric messages sent and received.

The capital of Darklamp rests in the depths at the edge of the shelf, acting as the gate in or out of the Region. So named because of its myriad gleaming lights, the city glows bright in the pitch black waters.

Spoiler: People, Government, History

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Darkwell's current residents are all settlers from Seatide: Pepsin herdsfolk seeking to escape the overcrowded waters of Seatide and the rigid land claims of the big Drifts. This has given Darkwell a more frontiers-like spirit, with many small and medium-sized Drifts making their home there and proudly resisting any efforts towards consolidation. But it would be a mistake to assume the region was pioneered by small-time entrepreneurs: Deepdrift bankers and financiers are heavily invested in the region, and are responsible for fronting the vast sums of money necessary to build Darkwell's infrastructure. Without those investments, the region would remain uninhabitable.

Politically Darkwell is treated little differently than the rest of the Confederacy: the local Drifts are allowed to send representatives to the Council in the same manner as Seatide's residents. The "Darkwell Caucus" is a minority, but their decisions can often swing close votes, earning them no small amount of privilege. Due to the distance from Deepwell, an appointed representative of the Judge - approved by the Council - Governs from the capital of Darklamp and handles the day-to-day administration of the region.

Spoiler: Resources

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Darkwell is populated by vast swarms of Sour Krill that migrate across the open waters above, subsisting on nutrients from rainfall and runoff from the surface, and serving as the lynchpin of an open-water foodchain. These Krill are as numerous as they are delicious, providing a satisfying crunch and a delightfully sour kick when eaten. The sourness can be amplified by pressure-cooking the krill in their shells, creating a powerfully concentrated flavor. Darklamp is home to numerous cookeries devoted to doing exactly this, cooking them in organic pots bred for the purpose, then crushing the cooked krill into a powder for easy transport.
Requirement: Bioluminescence. The dark depths of the region require a vast infrastructure of bioluminescent plants and tools for navigation. Thus, a constant supply of bioluminescents is required to repair and renew old or damaged infrastructure and maintain the region's productivity.

Spoiler: Faith

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The colonists of Darkwell brought their Tidal Sequence faith with them, setting up shrines along waystations and in Darklamp proper. Many pilgrims travel to the Swirling Spire, an enormous rock spire with a swirling current that flows around it in an invisible dance. Seers argue that the rotating movement of the water is a reminder of the cyclical nature of the Tides, which are all connected in a vast web of moving waters.

[Gengy]

Spoiler: Previous Answers

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1. Single.
2. Yes.
3. Your capital remains 138 specifically because a mobile capital was too much headache for me. I might recommend changing it to a region with an actual population.
4. When you yoink a TP with Dread Harvest, you gain control on the version on the Ark and the original is destroyed (as per normal Sack rules on a great success). TPs on Arks cannot be bought out, coerced, etc.
When you create a new Ark, the TPs remain in the region just like it was an Open Waters region. There are no longer any factions associated with those TPs. There is no association between the faction on the new Ark and the TPs in the Hunting Ground.
5. No. 138 is essentially Open Waters. Org bases cannot be built in Open Waters.
6. Leviathan Arks do not have any TPs or provide any resources by default. 138 has a resource, and the TPs for that resource will remain in 138. If you had a City in 138, it would produce Conglomerate Marauders instead of whatever 138 produces when it was moved onto the Ark.
7. In your case it will be Conglomerate Marauders. Your city will give you extra population that you can use as a resource to fulfil labor requirements.
8. Yes.
9. Two HGs + 1 vassal = 2 Arks. 3 HGs + 1 vassal = 3 Arks.
10. No. Your vassal does not have access to any Leviathan Actions. Your Prepare Grounds actions can only target regions you own.
11. Normal non-rolled project actions.
12. Prepare Ark projects are not affected by the DNA penalty.
13. Your second Ark will take 2 actions. Your third will take 4. Etc.
14. No.
15. From the title text: "At the start of every round, each Leviathan Ark will move to occupy the region where it last performed a Leviathan Action." This is intended to be the primary way by which your Arks move. Prepare Grounds, Dread Harvest, and Armored Assault will all move your Ark to the targeted region. The "Move Ark" action is for the case in which you need to move your Ark without performing one of those three actions. It's deliberately costly, because you should be performing those other three actions as much as possible. It should specify that it is a Military action, thank you.

I've changed some of the text in the title to clarify many of these points, hopefully!

More Questions!

Prepare Grounds If the Bane completes a new Leviathan Ark in the round after preparing the Grounds, transfer all Holy Sites, Holy Orders, Cities, and Fortresses in the region to the new Ark. Otherwise, the infrastructure of these structures remains in the region, but they become nonfunctional.

1) Can Prepare Grounds and Prepare Ark be completed in the same round, or must Prepare Grounds be finished the round prior to Prepare Ark?

(Previous #5 Answer) Org bases cannot be built in Open Waters.

2) Does this mean that if a Hunting Ground and Prepare Ark are finished for a region that contains an Org base, the Org base is added to the Ark?

Hunting Grounds Colonization of a Hunting Grounds region is an opposed Military roll against the controlling Bane, and the controlling Bane receives a +4 to resistance if they have a Leviathan Arks within 4 non-waste regions of the Hunting Ground.

3) Though this would cause me to lose a Hunting Ground (which would effect the number of Leviathan Arks I can control), could a Bane of Sargasso attempt to Colonize their own Hunting Ground, using Colonization rules to do so?

There is no quote.

4) Hypothetically, if a Bane of Sargasso had an F10 Miracle to spare, could it be used to turn a Waste Region into a Hunting Ground? (or even just part of a Waste Region into a Hunting Ground)

---

That's it for Bane of Sargasso questions (for now!) but I've got an upcoming Economy 10 Technology that I would like to get approval on.

Gotezhar Professionalism
Requires: Ennean Professionalism, Building Materials

Effects:
If you have at least 10 Aristocratic Supports controlled by your nation, Projects in the regions with those Supports cost 1 less action. Projects in regions owned by another player requires the region owner's non-action permission for this tech to take effect.

For decades, Gotezhar and the rest of the Builder's Union that make up a majority of the Stormcloud Conglomerate have had to find their own ways around shipping and handling of various goods and services; things normally facilitated by the Divine Nacres. Though there was no animosity in the Nacres not providing aid, it still fell upon the Gotezhar to find methods to ensure their constructions were finished on time. And they always did. They always found a way. They made allies, established connections, forged new paths, and never once failed to complete a project they accepted. This is becoming recognized as Gotezhar Professionalism; once their word is given, they get it done. This trust alone, in regions with friends, is enough to help speed things along.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Some questions about TPs:

Can Chelonian Hunters satisfy Unskilled Labor?

Can Heat Sources count as Fuel?

Can Woven Seaweed, Warped Shells, Unblemished Wreckage, Degraded Superpolymers, or Dragon Scales count as High Quality Construction Material?

Can Unblemished Wreckage, Gold, Ferromagnetic Polyhedrons, Degraded Superpolymers, or Silver Ore count for Hard Metal?

[Volthawk]

Finally getting my mil tech in for review:

Spoiler: Cognition Colonies

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Slot: Mounts and Warbeasts
Requirements: Reanimation Colonies, Resource: Living Animals

Effect: -10% own casualties, +1 to Battles

Between hearing the experiences of other countries using Reborn in war, and their own recent battles, the Retainer Guard were becoming very much aware of the limitations of the Reborn, the war creatures made from a network of interdepedent and specialised organisms using a skeleton as a base for their new bodies. While some of those limitations still semeed insurmountable for the time being - primarily an issue of raw strength and muscular control - there has been a recent breakthrough in dealing with other limitations, primarily mental in nature. The addition of a true nervous system, harvested from donor animals, and a brain-analogue (made of a mixture of donor brain tissue and component organisms) leads to a Reborn that is smarter than the originals (who relied on simple sensory stimulus/response loops to identify allies or respond to preset orders without any ability to actually think), more capable of being trained and responding to situations in the world that they were not prepared in advance for. Once again, the technology was not intended for war by its creator, Arnel Belar still working to recreate the creatures whose bones were found in the wastes (this time trying to make them act the part of ancient beasts), but once his wishes are once again ignored the advance is quite promising for military purposes, and the Retainer Guard are hopeful that these Reborn will be useful as more than simple fodder and can serve as a strong element of the army in their own right.

[Gengy]

"Region" for approval!

The Riptide
(Region 202)

Spoiler: People

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Within the revived Leviathan Ship, given new life, an entire region's worth of people live. All the nuven of what once was Ezcorher have been moved into The Riptide, as it roams the new Hunting Grounds. Mer from other regions of the Stormcloud Conglomerate have also moved into the Leviathan Ship, and are quite welcome. In observance of the Gotezhar needs, scouts are constantly moving along the surface waters, looking up at the various clouds. Whenever rain is spotted, The Riptide moves to allow for Accumulation. While it took a lot of convincing to allow the sharing of water from various Clouds, it was the Mer whom finally hit upon the new truth: the Accumlation and Growth for the People of the Rain mentions nothing of Greed. "When you find yourself bountiful, share the bounty" was an old Afluente teaching, and it still holds true for those of the Middish Way within The Riptide. Now, the entire population of what once was Ezcorher has become officers, marauders, and arkwrights aboard the restored mobile fleet base.

Spoiler: Ship Design (Geography)

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The Riptide is a mighty beast of a mobile fleet base. Though it looks similar to Reavers' raiding vessels, in that it is of a titanic size, and made from materials that are difficult to define, it's specific shape is unique. If observed from far enough away, The Riptide is similar in shape to an unmoving, slightly malformed, manta ray. Certainly, the original builders must have been inspired by the uncommon animal, as the 'wings' of the ship make up the majority of the body, flaring in such a way as to be both defensive while still being aerodynamic within the waves. The 'head' of the ship is a long point to help with guidance, and the 'eyes' are actually the primary way to enter and exist the ship for quick forays to whatever target has caught The Riptide's attention. Multiple spots along the back and belly of the ship are actually weapon emplacements, but they further give the illusion of a manta ray.

From the interior, things are quite different. While the bulk of the ship is meant for military needs, the 'body' of The Riptide is a residential area. It is here that the majority of off-duty personnel swim and mingle. There are large, empty sections, just awaiting the appropriate... appropriation, but everywhere else is a carefully laid out design. The Riptide was a broken vessel before the Conglomerate began to work upon it, and they made significant changes to the interior to ensure that it follows a more logical sense, even if some of the things inside would not be considered conventionally 'pretty'. Roads and currents were the first things laid out in design, to ensure swift travel inside, and almost no deviations of any kind were allowed. Not even for the Alto Feytor's home.

The only exception was for the absolute center of the ship: The Gathering Tide Warehouse. It took years to move all the parts from the Wonder of construction alone, and figuring out how to get it to fit within the pre-laid out roads was deemed too difficult. Instead, the currents were shifted to go around the Warehouse, rather than try to rebuild the Warehouse in such a way that it could still be guarded and protected.

Spoiler: Riptide Far Away Image

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Spoiler: Resource

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Export: Pending Acquisition
While the interior of the Riptide has room for Trade Posts, none have yet been... acquired.

City Resource: Conglomerate Marauders (Skilled Labor, Mercenaries, Military Labor)
Currently just a trained strike team for eventual military purposes, the Conglomerate Marauders have hopes to expand someday...

Required Resource: Building Materials
Repairs to the ship are uncommon, but will become more frequent as The Riptide engages in combat scenarios. Add this to the natural inclination of the (former) Ezcorher Gotezhar to horde such things, and it is no wonder that Building Materials are still needed.

Spoiler: Faith

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The Flowing Way - Following the formed faith of the Flowing Way has allowed for many benefits and much development to the Gotezhar. There was no reason not to continue this trend within The Riptide.

Holy Site: "The Tail"

At the rear of the ship is an observatory, allowing many to see where the Leviathan Ark has been. Joontar have taken over the Tail, as it's called, to use as an administration, bureaucracy, and contemplation area.

Holy Site: "The Right Wingtip"

All the independent thinkers of what once was Kashowira have moved into the Right Wingtip of the Ark. They are still thrill seekers, but they are also devout followers of the Flowing Way.

Holy Site: "Fee-yuria's Fin"

The left wingtip was claimed by all the many nuven that once lived under the storm of Fee-yuria. They were the last to join, and the strongest hold outs, but are strong observers of their faith, and could not be left behind. They were promised a whole area of their own to ensure their cooperation.

[farothel]

Region 35 write-up
Name: Atharis

Spoiler: Geography

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The region mostly slopes down towards the deeper parts of wider environment. It's also mostly featureless. There are some rocks and on those there is life, but most of the region is sand and while there is some life on the sand, it's not much.

Spoiler: People

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The Athari are jellyfish-like creatures that use their tentacles to attach to other fish and steer them with chemicals. They communicate with each other with either chemicals or low-level electric fields. They travel in groups, attached to different fish, although families are often attached to the same (larger) fish. When the children become adults, they will detach and search their own fish.

The most important people in their society are the ones who manage to tame the biggest Shyraena.

Spoiler: History and Government

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The Athari live mostly in nomadic tribes, but they have a few villages near their northern border. They have a central government, but it's very weak and most of the power lies with tribal chiefs, with the king elected from those tribal chiefs. About the only power the central government has, is that they can call for the army (each tribe has to provide a certain number of troop in case of national emergency).

Due to the low resource value of the ground, the region can't support a lot of people at the moment. They survive mostly because of food that comes in on the currents that flow from the deep regions. As these are seasonal and not always plentiful, so there were periods of growth followed by periods of decline when the currents don't bring as much food as needed. The periods of decline also caused a lot of infighting in the region.

Spoiler: Resources

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They export tamed Sphyraena fish, bred for war (used as mounts or as draft animals). With their chemicals they can easily tame those fish and the ones they don't use for themselves, they condition as mounts for war.

They would like to develop the sandy areas to attract more wildlife to have more food for themselves and for the fish they breed. But for that they need loads of fertilizer to develop the area.

resource: Sphyraena Fish-At-Fins
desired import: Fertilizers

Spoiler: Faith

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Their belief system is based upon honour. Honour is extremely important in the region, where there are many rules on how to comport oneself in just about any situation. A man or woman who loses his/her honour is nothing in the eyes of the other Athari until he/she redeems.
There is one site near a small village where according to legend the first Athari tribal leaders came together to hammer out the code of honour that with very minor changes survives to this day. A shrine has been build on this location where many Athari come on a pilgrimage, for instance if they have an important decision to make.

[Aerin]

Region write-up of the new Ornzol colony for consideration.

198 – Scorners’ Rest

Spoiler: Geography – Not As Nice As It Seems

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On the surface, Scorners’ Rest is a beautiful section of ocean. Much like Ornzol, the seafloor is rolling sands from the high shoals down through the rocky edges that lead out into the deeps, stony tide pools at the highest points, wide, colorful reefs.

But where Ornzol is quite conducive to easy living, Scorners’ Rest is a lurking nightmare. Named for the huge number of Scorners who died in the initial colonization efforts, the Rest is almost unbelievably lethal for the unprepared. Reefs that look similar to the ones in Ornzol are sharp, and release toxins with narcotic effects that leave a victim unprepared for the swarms of sharp-toothed fish that will flock to anyone foolish enough to get cut. The tide pools are treacherous, rapidly filling and emptying in unpredictable patterns. Even the sand is host to lurking predators, carnivorous rays and buried threats.

Spoiler: People – It Was Better In The Old Days

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The Ornzol are, despite appearances, generally quite content with their lives. Their cultural mores are... unusual, to outsiders, but by and large the Ornzol are pleased to live in a society where cutting remarks are the primary means of determining social standing. Those who aren’t won’t say anything for fear of ridicule.

In Scorners’ Rest, the culture has taken a turn for a different art form- complaints. Forced to a degree of cohabitation and crowding that necessitates greater co-operation, the conditions bred a new kind of competitive wordplay- insulting the world around them. The art-form has even begun making waves at home, a whole new vista of insults. And conveniently, those most outspoken about the issues of their new home waters are also motivated community leaders with a strong vision for improvement.

Spoiler: Resources – Desperate Scrabbling

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Transparent Toadstools are an oddity, seemingly unique to the most dangerous patches of Scorners’ Rest. Highly efficient detritivores, this fungus spreads out in colonies across underground mycelium networks into the preferred hunting grounds of larger local predators, where they greedily absorb any leftover remnants of kills, replacing their transparent visage with blood red and bone white. The toadstools themselves are, technically, edible, but taste awful, and given their proximity to danger, are more often used by the locals as indicators of where not to go to look for food.

The people of Scorners’ Rest lead difficult lives, and a hard season can mean death. They have a desperate need for Preservatives to maintain their often scarce stores year to year and ensure the security of their food supply.

Spoiler: Faith – Making Way In Desperate Seas

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Is it possible that there is... a better path to communication? A path... not founded on insults?

...

No, of course not. Such musings are ridiculous. But the Ornzol are not idiots, and necessity breeds adaptation. As hard living forces them to deal more with outsiders and trade for what they need to survive, and as their culture shifts away from insults towards complaints, the residents of Scorners’ Rest have become softer towards foreigners. Not, perhaps, pleasant, but there is a definite change in the tenor of their rudeness. The locals are more... Open.

I'd like to complain about the lack of example complaints in this writeup. (joking)
Fantastic spin on the Ornzol! Please add it to the Waters of the World.

Region 50 Write Up, First Draft

Spoiler

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Region Name: Diamond Brick Road
Region Number: 50

Geography: Paved, pushed, forced into a shape. All built with a singular purpose; facilitate supply transfer between Magma Falls and Town Square. Quite a bit of work went into flattening the geography and placing all kinds of glittery reverberating rocks into a shape that could hold rolling gear technology.

They shine with slightly captured light even when late, the waters above are empty, and the region itself is sparse. Wildlife is shaken away and the eels that once lived here are a rare delicacy to be found and consumed, rather than the prime inhabitant of the region.

People: Merchants, colonizers, really any and every sort of riff raff is welcome. Even the poor especially the poor. There are plenty of housing caves built into the mountains that used to be here to store them, and every species can reside. Though for the moment these areas are moderately empty, there are plant to fill them up soon enough.

Faith: Eternal Communion
The major holy site of the region is the wide spanning, far traversing, Eternal Diamond. Which despite the name, is not a single diamond, so much as it is all manners of diamonds made of specially sharpened and jeweled gems along the road itself. Built in with a structural integrity unrivaled, surprisingly hard to pry back out, held there by the power of Industry itself. These are practically a sign of worship, and help project and remind people all during their work what they toil for, and the profits that will inevitably fall into their fins.

Resource: Reverberating Conundrum

Glowing. Singing. Plentiful. Infused with some magnetism to make them ideal building blocks for any purpose, from entertainment to efficient structure. They are what make up the giant road the region has become, and there are plenty more to be found all throughout in the mountains, yet to be harvested.

Well, that's what putting the natives to work is for, right?

Ma'am, I think you submitted a road instead of a region. (joking)
Love it! Please add it to the Waters of the World.

Tech proposals:

Economy - Paru Para Bunkers
Prerequisites: Photospore Signalling
Effect: Allows for the creation of Wastes Outposts as an economy/faith/military three-action project. These actions occupy a specialized ship.
Fluff: Years have passed since the scientific breakthrough known colloquially as the Deepwater Survival System. Since then, major advancements have been slow, with the Miru government pushing its funds toward the exploration of the waste seas. Eventually, however, Professor Paru Para of The Blubba School of Expeditions and Depths releases his newest invention: a self-sufficient structure with many waterlocks and filtration systems that can support a small number of researchers and laborers even in far off hostile environments, such as those of the Wastes. Generally composed of pressure-resistant glass molded into one or more vertical cylindrical tubes atop a stone foundation, these structures are usually comprised of multiple floors, each for its own purpose (most commonly, a treasury, housing, research, and a dockyard modeled off the one at the Splendiferous University, but sometimes modified to include a place of worship or other unnecessary vanities). The architecture of the structures, known as Paru Para Bunkers, is extremely precise and quite costly, but the economic and scientific benefits of manning one of these stations cannot be overstated.

(to be made next round)
Military - Sticky Slime Torpedoes
Slot: Sappers & Siege Weapons
Prerequisites: Slime Technicians
Effect: +1 Battles
Fluff: By launching gloop carefully molded into the form of a torpedo toward the intended path or fortifications of the enemy, the foe can be slowed down immensely as the sticky substance attaches itself to their propulsion mechanisms, namely fins, tentacles, or fans, and fills up the sea around them. These torpedoes can be launched similarly to an air-powered speargun, and when angled properly, can make an effective siege weapon, enveloping massive volumes of water and many surfaces with slime.



(not making for now but leaving here so i dont forget it)
Economy - Pneumatophoric Ballast Tanks
Prerequisites: Tools or Building Materials
Effect: Allows buyouts to route through wastes regions. This occupies a specialized ship, once per action as normal.
Fluff: Inspired by the take down of the Sizzling Siphonophore, researchers at the Docks of the Splendiferous University design a system for stabilizing ships as they travel through the rough seas of the Wastes. By filling a hollow zone of the ship with an appropriate amount of content -- usually a gas, but sometimes a solid -- the boat can more easily stabilize itself in the water column. This can be meticulously adjusted to carry cargo.

Paru Para Bunkers: Approved! I greatly enjoy how a place of worship is an "unnecessary vanity" to the Miru Miru, but they devote an entire floor to a treasury to hold their wealth. Great worldbuilding.
Sticky Slime Torpedos: Approved! Simple but effective.
Pneumatophoric Ballast Tanks:
Mechanics: I think this is a rare case of a player submitting a tech proposal that's not powerful enough. Rather than applying to only buyouts, I'd approve a tech that allows all non-battle actions to route through wastes (occupying a specialized ship and subject to distance penalties). This tech could then be the basis for a T2 that would allow specialized ships to carry ~3 units per ship.
Fluff: I love how you've incorporated the Siphonophore! This fluff suggests a bonus to buyouts or expeditions to me. For a tech focused on crossing over large swaths of wastes I'd like to see fluff focused more on making the specialized ship able to endure a longer journey. Perhaps on-board hydroponics, ways of reclaiming and purifying nutrients from the toxic waters, solar-powered propulsion mechanisms, novel ways of keeping the crew entertained, etc.

Darkwell [Region 80]

Spoiler: Thalassography

Show

The ocean shelf drops off abruptly over the vast depths of Darkwell, creating a great pit that descends far into inky blackness. Reaching the surface of the depths, travelers find the ground coated in a layer of fertile silt fed by a constant rain of organic matter from above, while strange stone spires rise out of the landscape like pillars or trees. Geological study indicates that the spires are natural formations created by volcanic activity in the distant past, before the fault line moved and Darkwelllost its vital heat. Now the depths are dark, cold, and vast.

To survive in these treacherous depths, the Pepsin settlers have set up hundreds of waystations across the region. Each station is marked by bright, bioluminescent tower-stalks that shine for miles in the depths. Each station is stocked with supplies, navigational information, and a growth of deep kelp loaded with oxygenating microbes. Bioluminescent highways connect these waystations with dim, glowing routes that constantly flicker with semaphoric messages sent and received.

The capital of Darklamp rests in the depths at the edge of the shelf, acting as the gate in or out of the Region. So named because of its myriad gleaming lights, the city glows bright in the pitch black waters.

Spoiler: People, Government, History

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Darkwell's current residents are all settlers from Seatide: Pepsin herdsfolk seeking to escape the overcrowded waters of Seatide and the rigid land claims of the big Drifts. This has given Darkwell a more frontiers-like spirit, with many small and medium-sized Drifts making their home there and proudly resisting any efforts towards consolidation. But it would be a mistake to assume the region was pioneered by small-time entrepreneurs: Deepdrift bankers and financiers are heavily invested in the region, and are responsible for fronting the vast sums of money necessary to build Darkwell's infrastructure. Without those investments, the region would remain uninhabitable.

Politically Darkwell is treated little differently than the rest of the Confederacy: the local Drifts are allowed to send representatives to the Council in the same manner as Seatide's residents. The "Darkwell Caucus" is a minority, but their decisions can often swing close votes, earning them no small amount of privilege. Due to the distance from Deepwell, an appointed representative of the Judge - approved by the Council - Governs from the capital of Darklamp and handles the day-to-day administration of the region.

Spoiler: Resources

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Darkwell is populated by vast swarms of Sour Krill that migrate across the open waters above, subsisting on nutrients from rainfall and runoff from the surface, and serving as the lynchpin of an open-water foodchain. These Krill are as numerous as they are delicious, providing a satisfying crunch and a delightfully sour kick when eaten. The sourness can be amplified by pressure-cooking the krill in their shells, creating a powerfully concentrated flavor. Darklamp is home to numerous cookeries devoted to doing exactly this, cooking them in organic pots bred for the purpose, then crushing the cooked krill into a powder for easy transport.
Requirement: Bioluminescence. The dark depths of the region require a vast infrastructure of bioluminescent plants and tools for navigation. Thus, a constant supply of bioluminescents is required to repair and renew old or damaged infrastructure and maintain the region's productivity.

Spoiler: Faith

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The colonists of Darkwell brought their Tidal Sequence faith with them, setting up shrines along waystations and in Darklamp proper. Many pilgrims travel to the Swirling Spire, an enormous rock spire with a swirling current that flows around it in an invisible dance. Seers argue that the rotating movement of the water is a reminder of the cyclical nature of the Tides, which are all connected in a vast web of moving waters.

Seatide really loves their Spires, huh? Love the bit about the Darkwell Caucus!
Approved! Please add it to the Waters of the World.

More Questions!

1) Can Prepare Grounds and Prepare Ark be completed in the same round, or must Prepare Grounds be finished the round prior to Prepare Ark?

2) Does this mean that if a Hunting Ground and Prepare Ark are finished for a region that contains an Org base, the Org base is added to the Ark?

3) Though this would cause me to lose a Hunting Ground (which would effect the number of Leviathan Arks I can control), could a Bane of Sargasso attempt to Colonize their own Hunting Ground, using Colonization rules to do so?

4) Hypothetically, if a Bane of Sargasso had an F10 Miracle to spare, could it be used to turn a Waste Region into a Hunting Ground? (or even just part of a Waste Region into a Hunting Ground)

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That's it for Bane of Sargasso questions (for now!) but I've got an upcoming Economy 10 Technology that I would like to get approval on.

Gotezhar Professionalism
Requires: Ennean Professionalism, Building Materials

Effects:
If you have at least 10 Aristocratic Supports controlled by your nation, Projects in the regions with those Supports cost 1 less action. Projects in regions owned by another player requires the region owner's non-action permission for this tech to take effect.

For decades, Gotezhar and the rest of the Builder's Union that make up a majority of the Stormcloud Conglomerate have had to find their own ways around shipping and handling of various goods and services; things normally facilitated by the Divine Nacres. Though there was no animosity in the Nacres not providing aid, it still fell upon the Gotezhar to find methods to ensure their constructions were finished on time. And they always did. They always found a way. They made allies, established connections, forged new paths, and never once failed to complete a project they accepted. This is becoming recognized as Gotezhar Professionalism; once their word is given, they get it done. This trust alone, in regions with friends, is enough to help speed things along.

1. It can be the same round. I'll edit the Bane of Sargasso document to make this clear. Do note that since both of those are Leviathan actions, you cannot do both in the same round unless you have two Leviathan Arks.
2. That's a great question. No, they're not added to the Ark. None of them particularly make sense as a part of a mobile ship. Especially the Smoking Gardens, which are literally volcanic vents. Those don't really work well when disconnected from the seafloor.
3. Sure, I don't see why not.
4. This is similar to your question about directly converting an Open Waters region to a Hunting Ground; there needs to already be a population there for you to transfer/enslave/predate/whatever your preferred fluff is. You'd have to come up with some sort of fluff justification for where the folks are coming from in this case, as obviously there would not be natives in the waste region. But mechanically, I have no problem with that. Just one note: past Miracles that have carved regions out of the wastes have created Contaminated regions. This would be similar, but upon decontamination the region would become a Hunting Grounds rather than Open Waters. Additionally, depending on where you target, the created region may be deep/brackish/toxic/etc.

Tech: I talked with Gengy privately. Changes: Applies only to Military projects. Requires a Labor resource.

Some questions about TPs:

Can Chelonian Hunters satisfy Unskilled Labor?

Can Heat Sources count as Fuel?

Can Woven Seaweed, Warped Shells, Unblemished Wreckage, Degraded Superpolymers, or Dragon Scales count as High Quality Construction Material?

Can Unblemished Wreckage, Gold, Ferromagnetic Polyhedrons, Degraded Superpolymers, or Silver Ore count for Hard Metal?

Can Chelonian Hunters satisfy Unskilled Labor? - No, but they'd count as Military Labor

Can Heat Sources count as Fuel? - Yes

Can Woven Seaweed (no), Warped Shells (no), Unblemished Wreckage (yes), Degraded Superpolymers (no, they're literally degraded), or Dragon Scales (yes) count as High Quality Construction Materials

Can Unblemished Wreckage (no), Gold (no), Ferromagnetic Polyhedrons (no), Degraded Superpolymers (no), or Silver Ore (no) count for Hard Metal?
Rule of thumb: if the region doesn't have an ABS base, it can't produce hard metal. Exception: Raninoida (192)

Finally getting my mil tech in for review:

Spoiler: Cognition Colonies

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Slot: Mounts and Warbeasts
Requirements: Reanimation Colonies, Resource: Living Animals

Effect: -10% own casualties, +1 to Battles

Between hearing the experiences of other countries using Reborn in war, and their own recent battles, the Retainer Guard were becoming very much aware of the limitations of the Reborn, the war creatures made from a network of interdepedent and specialised organisms using a skeleton as a base for their new bodies. While some of those limitations still semeed insurmountable for the time being - primarily an issue of raw strength and muscular control - there has been a recent breakthrough in dealing with other limitations, primarily mental in nature. The addition of a true nervous system, harvested from donor animals, and a brain-analogue (made of a mixture of donor brain tissue and component organisms) leads to a Reborn that is smarter than the originals (who relied on simple sensory stimulus/response loops to identify allies or respond to preset orders without any ability to actually think), more capable of being trained and responding to situations in the world that they were not prepared in advance for. Once again, the technology was not intended for war by its creator, Arnel Belar still working to recreate the creatures whose bones were found in the wastes (this time trying to make them act the part of ancient beasts), but once his wishes are once again ignored the advance is quite promising for military purposes, and the Retainer Guard are hopeful that these Reborn will be useful as more than simple fodder and can serve as a strong element of the army in their own right.

Very descriptive, love it! Approved!
A word of warning: pursuing this technology may have unintended consequences.

"Region" for approval!

The Riptide
(Region 202)

Spoiler: People

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Within the revived Leviathan Ship, given new life, an entire region's worth of people live. All the nuven of what once was Ezcorher have been moved into The Riptide, as it roams the new Hunting Grounds. Mer from other regions of the Stormcloud Conglomerate have also moved into the Leviathan Ship, and are quite welcome. In observance of the Gotezhar needs, scouts are constantly moving along the surface waters, looking up at the various clouds. Whenever rain is spotted, The Riptide moves to allow for Accumulation. While it took a lot of convincing to allow the sharing of water from various Clouds, it was the Mer whom finally hit upon the new truth: the Accumlation and Growth for the People of the Rain mentions nothing of Greed. "When you find yourself bountiful, share the bounty" was an old Afluente teaching, and it still holds true for those of the Middish Way within The Riptide. Now, the entire population of what once was Ezcorher has become officers, marauders, and arkwrights aboard the restored mobile fleet base.

Spoiler: Ship Design (Geography)

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The Riptide is a mighty beast of a mobile fleet base. Though it looks similar to Reavers' raiding vessels, in that it is of a titanic size, and made from materials that are difficult to define, it's specific shape is unique. If observed from far enough away, The Riptide is similar in shape to an unmoving, slightly malformed, manta ray. Certainly, the original builders must have been inspired by the uncommon animal, as the 'wings' of the ship make up the majority of the body, flaring in such a way as to be both defensive while still being aerodynamic within the waves. The 'head' of the ship is a long point to help with guidance, and the 'eyes' are actually the primary way to enter and exist the ship for quick forays to whatever target has caught The Riptide's attention. Multiple spots along the back and belly of the ship are actually weapon emplacements, but they further give the illusion of a manta ray.

From the interior, things are quite different. While the bulk of the ship is meant for military needs, the 'body' of The Riptide is a residential area. It is here that the majority of off-duty personnel swim and mingle. There are large, empty sections, just awaiting the appropriate... appropriation, but everywhere else is a carefully laid out design. The Riptide was a broken vessel before the Conglomerate began to work upon it, and they made significant changes to the interior to ensure that it follows a more logical sense, even if some of the things inside would not be considered conventionally 'pretty'. Roads and currents were the first things laid out in design, to ensure swift travel inside, and almost no deviations of any kind were allowed. Not even for the Alto Feytor's home.

The only exception was for the absolute center of the ship: The Gathering Tide Warehouse. It took years to move all the parts from the Wonder of construction alone, and figuring out how to get it to fit within the pre-laid out roads was deemed too difficult. Instead, the currents were shifted to go around the Warehouse, rather than try to rebuild the Warehouse in such a way that it could still be guarded and protected.

Spoiler: Riptide Far Away Image

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Spoiler: Resource

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Export: Pending Acquisition
While the interior of the Riptide has room for Trade Posts, none have yet been... acquired.

City Resource: Conglomerate Marauders (Skilled Labor, Mercenaries, Military Labor)
Currently just a trained strike team for eventual military purposes, the Conglomerate Marauders have hopes to expand someday...

Required Resource: Building Materials
Repairs to the ship are uncommon, but will become more frequent as The Riptide engages in combat scenarios. Add this to the natural inclination of the (former) Ezcorher Gotezhar to horde such things, and it is no wonder that Building Materials are still needed.

Spoiler: Faith

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The Flowing Way - Following the formed faith of the Flowing Way has allowed for many benefits and much development to the Gotezhar. There was no reason not to continue this trend within The Riptide.

Holy Site: "The Tail"

At the rear of the ship is an observatory, allowing many to see where the Leviathan Ark has been. Joontar have taken over the Tail, as it's called, to use as an administration, bureaucracy, and contemplation area.

Holy Site: "The Right Wingtip"

All the independent thinkers of what once was Kashowira have moved into the Right Wingtip of the Ark. They are still thrill seekers, but they are also devout followers of the Flowing Way.

Holy Site: "Fee-yuria's Fin"

The left wingtip was claimed by all the many nuven that once lived under the storm of Fee-yuria. They were the last to join, and the strongest hold outs, but are strong observers of their faith, and could not be left behind. They were promised a whole area of their own to ensure their cooperation.

This is exactly what I was looking for in this somewhat unconventional region writeup. You've adapted it perfectly. Thank you! This will make it significantly easier to describe any interactions with the Riptide going forward. Approved! Please add it to the Waters of the World.

Region 35 write-up
Name: Atharis

Spoiler: Geography

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The region mostly slopes down towards the deeper parts of wider environment. It's also mostly featureless. There are some rocks and on those there is life, but most of the region is sand and while there is some life on the sand, it's not much.

Spoiler: People

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The Athari are jellyfish-like creatures that use their tentacles to attach to other fish and steer them with chemicals. They communicate with each other with either chemicals or low-level electric fields. They travel in groups, attached to different fish, although families are often attached to the same (larger) fish. When the children become adults, they will detach and search their own fish.

The most important people in their society are the ones who manage to tame the biggest Shyraena.

Spoiler: History and Government

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The Athari live mostly in nomadic tribes, but they have a few villages near their northern border. They have a central government, but it's very weak and most of the power lies with tribal chiefs, with the king elected from those tribal chiefs. About the only power the central government has, is that they can call for the army (each tribe has to provide a certain number of troop in case of national emergency).

Due to the low resource value of the ground, the region can't support a lot of people at the moment. They survive mostly because of food that comes in on the currents that flow from the deep regions. As these are seasonal and not always plentiful, so there were periods of growth followed by periods of decline when the currents don't bring as much food as needed. The periods of decline also caused a lot of infighting in the region.

Spoiler: Resources

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They export tamed Sphyraena fish, bred for war (used as mounts or as draft animals). With their chemicals they can easily tame those fish and the ones they don't use for themselves, they condition as mounts for war.

They would like to develop the sandy areas to attract more wildlife to have more food for themselves and for the fish they breed. But for that they need loads of fertilizer to develop the area.

resource: Sphyraena Fish-At-Fins
desired import: Fertilizers

Spoiler: Faith

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Their belief system is based upon honour. Honour is extremely important in the region, where there are many rules on how to comport oneself in just about any situation. A man or woman who loses his/her honour is nothing in the eyes of the other Athari until he/she redeems.
There is one site near a small village where according to legend the first Athari tribal leaders came together to hammer out the code of honour that with very minor changes survives to this day. A shrine has been build on this location where many Athari come on a pilgrimage, for instance if they have an important decision to make.

I love the Sphyraena and their riders! Approved! Please add it to the Waters of the World.
My only note would be that since you acquired the region through diplomatic claim, it would be nice to see a description of the characters/ruling structure involved, and how the region now fits into the Hymenocera Expanse's government.

[Epinephrine_Syn]

Rule of thumb: if the region doesn't have an ABS base, it can't produce hard metal. Exception: Raninoida (192)

In regards to this, given my World Wonder, would be possible to GP or Prospect or Develop Resource or something to region 47 to change its resource into a Hard Metal?

[farothel]

I love the Sphyraena and their riders! Approved! Please add it to the Waters of the World.
My only note would be that since you acquired the region through diplomatic claim, it would be nice to see a description of the characters/ruling structure involved, and how the region now fits into the Hymenocera Expanse's government.

I've not done that for any of the regions I've added to the Expanse (except the one colony), but I feel it would be a bit like the Tamuli Empire from David Edding's Elenium and Tamuli series. Leaving most of the local structures in place (and the local customs), appointing a regional governor to work together with the local rulers and having the army to back the governor up in case of trouble. And of course using trade and prosperity to keep the people happy and therefore not willing to rebel. They can also vote for the advisory council of the Expanse, so they have a voice (to avoid the 'no taxation without representation' thing) and people from the regions can also be appointed as scribe-priests (after training of course). Some cross-marriages between the aristocracy (not going into detail on how a jellyfish and a shrimp should breed), having people from the new regions join the trade guilds and it will quickly be integrated.

[Feathersnow]

Proposed Sakurado 20HS holy bonus-

Barren Fruitfulness-
A Sakurado state receives 1 treasure at the end of any turn they succeeded on a roll without spending treasure to influence it.