Empire! 8 - The Planets of Tekhum (Community Worldbuilding Game) (Waitlist available)

[Gengy]

I'm pondering whether to try joining the waitlist for this; and am wondering more about the gameplay:
How cutthroat is it? In particular how often do players war, and how often do players get fully wiped out by war?

IC, it can be a bit cut throat at times, especially dependent upon your playstyle and the people around you.
OOC? It's not cut throat at all, so long as you are actively communicating with other players, either here on the forums or in the optional Discord server.

Wars between players are not uncommon, but don't happen early, and especially not to newer players. It's kind of an unwritten rule that newer players are given time to get their feet wet and make their own mistakes before a [Military] war happens to them... with one exception. If the newer player starts something (aka, pokes the bear) then a response is likely. The level of that response is often equal in proportion to just how hard they poked.

Players do not often get fully wiped out. It has happened, but it's exceedingly rare in the prior seven Empires.

[BladeofObliviom]

I can only think of a scant few instances of a total wipeout, though there has definitely been cutthroat behavior. In my experience though most people are like to pay evil unto evil in this regard - it's quite common for people who prefer hugboxy gameplay to never be attacked at all if they avoid stepping on toes or picking fights, and very rarely do we see absolute conquests actually happen. It's much more common for victors in wars to levy peace demands than it is to resort to an honest attempt at total annihilation.

[Silent_Interim]

Hey all, just a brief note on a setting detail re: languages that came up on the Discord. This will be more formally recorded somewhere, but for now, it's here for anyone who's interested.

Spoiler: Imperial Languages

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Low Imperial, also known as Imperial Common or Imperial Standard, is the language of last recourse for Imperial traders, broadcasters, and low-level diplomats and clerks. Generally, the Empire prefers to tailor communications to the languages of those expected to receive them, but when this is not viable, Low Imperial acts as a fallback. Imperials stationed planetside or ringside are expected to have trained to at least a basic degree of proficiency with the language of the area they are expected to work, and most attain at least some degree of fluency. It is unheard of for citizens of Ophon travelling abroad not to speak Low Imperial fluently.

The name "Low Imperial" often leads to speculation that there is a High Imperial, perhaps only spoken on Ophon, but there has been no confirmation of this. There are no public records of such a language, and if it is spoken anywhere, it is not within the hearing of anyone outside the hallowed halls of Ophon. Higher level Imperial diplomats and officials tend to display a remarkable, even uncanny, facility with languages of all sorts, if they are not outright omnilingual. Where possible, they will prefer to communicate using the language of those they are speaking with, but failing that they will tend to speak whatever language is most unobtrusive for the situation.

[Syntax]

I would like to join the waitlist for this, please.

[Feathersnow]

I'm pondering whether to try joining the waitlist for this; and am wondering more about the gameplay:
How cutthroat is it? In particular how often do players war, and how often do players get fully wiped out by war?

War amount has varied wildly between iterations, but it is hard to get wiped out completely. There were a few wars in the last game, which was uncommonly peaceful.

[Minescratcher]

An announcement before I get to replies: Round 1 will open on Sunday, January 28th! Get ready

If you're already approved, or if you're being approved in this post, you don't need to do anything special (except post in the Planets thread and roll your ruler stats). If you have a Work In Progress writeup posted (lleban, Lady Serpentine, and Jade_Tarem), you have until the start of Round 1 to finish it and let me know you're ready for approval.

Salbazier, unfortunately due to the volume of interest and empty placeholder post you are moving to the waitlist with zlefin and Syntax. The first one of you to get a finished writeup posted will be approved for the last available player slot. However, if you don't post in time, there is still a very good chance you will be able to join partway through! Past Empire games have always had players who are unable to continue playing, for one reason or another, opening up spots. As previously stated, there is a single person whom contacted the GM privately via PM who currently holds the tentative #1 spot on the waitlist once the game begins; aside from them, I'll reach out to the waitlist players in the order that they posted in this thread.

I'm pondering whether to try joining the waitlist for this; and am wondering more about the gameplay:
How cutthroat is it? In particular how often do players war, and how often do players get fully wiped out by war?

First of all, welcome! As other players have noted, there's certainly a strong competitive element, but good diplomacy (and the out-of-character understanding that you're new and how much you avoid others' spheres of influence) will minimize the degree to which your country is targeted by other players. I can't remember the last time a player country was fully wiped out without it being a deliberate choice on the part of that player; people generally prefer that everyone stays in the game so the story can go on!

Now, on to reviews:

U.N.N.C.L.E
United Neural Networks Confounding Limitless Exigency
Requested Region: 3

I missed this yesterday, apologies. Please give me a name for your faith and state whether it's a plurality or majority, and also categories for your resource (I'm assuming Construction Materials, but please state explicitly). I see a "More to come" in your Faith section and I'm looking forward to it, but I don't see any problems with what you have so far. Once you've fleshed these things out, you're approved in Region 3.

The Kingdom of High Ishtahnos
The Highlands of Ishtahnos
Region 60
By the Light of the Sun, His Royal Highness, John IV, High King of Ishtahnos, Lord of the Clans, Chief of the Silverfang, King of the Five Mountains, Grand Marshall and Defender of the Small,
Elect of the Empire and Loyal Servant of His Grace the Emperor

I would love to be a tourist in Ishtahnos! Gloriously detailed. Approved in Region 65 (post-map edits).

The Ethen Guard (ETH)
Requested Region: 86 (Mekhala) (Backup: 72)

I appreciate the expansions you've made here. If you're not taking Vacuum Adaptation, please make that explicit, then you're approved in Region 93 (post-map edits).

[Lt-Murgen]

[SIZE=5]
I missed this yesterday, apologies. Please give me a name for your faith and state whether it's a plurality or majority, and also categories for your resource (I'm assuming Construction Materials, but please state explicitly). I see a "More to come" in your Faith section and I'm looking forward to it, but I don't see any problems with what you have so far. Once you've fleshed these things out, you're approved in Region 3.

Resources changed to Construction Materials as a category. Fluff text is the same
Faith is a Majority, now Called "Human Paragonism". I will update the faith section to include relations to other faiths & 'holy' sites.

[zlefin]

Is there a version of the maps which shows where the players are? There's so many numbers that it's a bit hard to tell which places are taken, and moreso which places aren't so near existing players. The one in the op here doesn't seem to have the data on player locations; elsewhere I did find one with some data, but it may not be the most recent data with the newest additions, and they don't appear on the map in any rate, only as a list of numbers taken.

[Volthawk]

Is there a version of the maps which shows where the players are? There's so many numbers that it's a bit hard to tell which places are taken, and moreso which places aren't so near existing players. The one in the op here doesn't seem to have the data on player locations; elsewhere I did find one with some data, but it may not be the most recent data with the newest additions, and they don't appear on the map in any rate, only as a list of numbers taken.

Arein's been keeping an updated map with claims and approvals going on the discord. As it stands, this is the most current version.

[zlefin]

Ah, that's very helpful. Hmm, you can take me off the waitlist, looking it over the player density is really high; and neither of my 2 nation concepts fit well anywhere on it with how the setup looks at present.

[Syntax]

The Wicklund Salvagers
Requested region: 40

Spoiler: Geography

Show

The region is a vast desert bordered by ocean. Most of the area is uninhabited, but there is one major city, Davis Port, on the western ocean. There are also various temporary salvage operations going on at any given time, usually making camps under rocky ridges. The mountains to the northeast are unexplored, due to being far from the Port and requiring vastly different equipment to survey than the rest of the desert. The desert itself is mostly sandy with the occasional rocky outcrop and bush. No large animals are known to inhabit the region, but small lizards and birds are common sights. A discovery of a large ruined city was made around 10 years ago near the mountain foothills, known officially as Salvage Site 5317 and colloquially as Domeland.

Spoiler: History and Government

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This region was settled relatively recently, as the desert proved difficult to settle in after the War of Eternal Bombardments. Eventually, the high quantity of salvageable materials left in the desert drew in the Davis Salvage Operation, who built shelters from the salvage they couldn't find a way to sell. Although the Davis Salvage Operation is now defunct, the name was carried to the town it eventually grew into: Davis Port, still the only major settlement in the region. At first, the region was run by the Davis Salvage Operation, however, they found themselves unable to handle the pressures of governing a city and incoming competitors and broke down. In the panic left in their wake, power was seized by the Wicklund family of mages. It is currently run as a monarchy, with Erika Wicklund as the queen.

Spoiler: People

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The people of the region are extremely varied physically, coming from all over in search of profit or escape. Culturally, the lack of most raw resources has led to repairing and tinkering being highly valued. The primary magic learned by those in the region is temperature-based. A basic application would be to keep a room or camp at a comfortable temperature in the thermally fluctuating desert, and more advanced applications can be used to reshape metal, melt sand, and fracture various materials. Salvage operations are done with small crews of around ten: two to three surveyors, two to three mages, and four to six machine operators. The vast majority of the population are permanent residents of Davis Port.

Spoiler: Faith

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No one faith can be said to have a major backing in the region: in the Davis era, settlers brought diverse faiths to the region, and the Wicklund family has not yet chosen to support any of them. Churches of different denominations are not uncommon in Davis Port. A focal point for religious activity is the Platinum Square Temple, which does not have a fixed faith, but allows religions too small to have a permanent building to rent it out and congregate.

Spoiler: Resources

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Their primary exports are Salvaged Components (Conductors and Circuitry, Construction Materials).
The local mountains and desert provide mineral resources, but it's hard to grow crops due to the harsh conditions.
Desired Import: Fruits and Vegetables

Spoiler: Technology

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As the cost to reclaim salvage has been growing over the years due to nearby salvage dwindling, they have been looking for ways to keep up trade; the latest push is to completely repair salvaged vehicles and spacecraft to sell at a much higher price. While they have not yet mastered this, they have learned some of the principles governing their construction.
Starting techs: Pseudogravity Engineering, Wet Navy Ships

[Minescratcher]

Resources changed to Construction Materials as a category. Fluff text is the same
Faith is a Majority, now Called "Human Paragonism". I will update the faith section to include relations to other faiths & 'holy' sites.

Thank you!

Ah, that's very helpful. Hmm, you can take me off the waitlist, looking it over the player density is really high; and neither of my 2 nation concepts fit well anywhere on it with how the setup looks at present.

Acknowledged. As of writing, the waitlist now contains only Salbazier.

---

Approvals:

The Et Cetera Trading Company (ETC)

Requesting Region 84 (Mekhala)

Love the concept! I'm assuming that Rest in Prosperity is a Majority and Gold is in the Precious Minerals category, but please confirm this. Also, you need to pick starting techs, and I can't quite tell what the desired import of Starsand physically is - is it a specific rare material, or is it just referring to space dust? Sort these things out and you'll be approved in Region 91.

The Twilight League

Capital Region: Vesper (Limbo, The Wheel, Purgatory) (Region 58)

Excellently (and disturbingly) detailed. Approved in Region 58.

The Wicklund Salvagers
Requested region: 40

No objections to anything here, but I would really like to see more details on... everything before approval. If you need ideas, some elaboration on local flora/fauna/landmarks or on the inhabitants would be good.

[Blossom]

I would like to be added to the waitlist if possible.


WIP

Spoiler: Geography

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wip

Spoiler: People

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The people of Tir Buwch all equally share the shores and hills of their country, they are not the most united front. Instead, people tend to gather within their local faction that pertains most to their ways of life and honor their chosen goddesses. One, focusing more on agriculture and animal husbandry, one on medicine and magic, and one on trade and development. Cooperation between factions is essential to maintain such a dedication to their interests. Each factor in a community provides their expertise and goods to the others so that others practice new magic, improve in architectural structures, or cultivate the nature around them.

Spoiler: Faith

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The faith originates from a much older lunar cult that has changed over the years.... WIP

Spoiler: Resource

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The greatest resources of Tir Buwch are a large breed of cows that are characterised by large horns and a thick coat of wool. They are said to be the most beloved creature by the goddesses and provide everyone with meat, milk, leather, bone for tools, and wool for fabric.

The vast hills and valleys of Tir Buwch are beautiful but bereft of trees. Wood is in constant need for all aspects of life.

[Minescratcher]

Waitlist is now Salbazier and Blossom.

The Federation of Badalian Chaebols(FBC)

Good work! I'm assuming Psycho-Capitalism is a Majority and Loans are Information and Data, but please confirm this explicitly. Also, please pick your starting techs. After that, you're approved in Region 12.

The Wicklund Salvagers
Requested region: 40

Thank you for expanding a bit! Approved in Region 40.

[Ivor_The_Mad]

The Barren World of Esh'Klek

The gateway to the abyss

Starting Tech!
Void Adaptation and Arcane Amplification

Spoiler: Geography

Show

A floating, inhospitable chunk of rock, hurtling through space at a speed of 46,590km/s,

Esh’Klek
Classification: SCO (scattered-disc object)
Location: Outer Mekhala Belt
Diameter: 956 km
Speed: 20.828 km/s
Atmosphere: N/A
Temperature Range: 31 °K - 53 °K
Mass: 6.58x10^21 kg

Description: Situated right on the edge of the Great Gulf, Esh’Klek is a large, oblong, celestial body composed of an ultramafic igneous rock with a high concentration of iridium and platinum metal. Its dusty gray surface is speckled with craters and fissures. Beneath this barren unassuming interior, the asteroid hosts a maze-like network of tunnels ranging in size from a few feet to thousands of feet in diameter. Looking at scans of this object's interior, it would look similar to the twisted tentacles of a jellyfish with larger wavy oral arms winding between. Some believe that it may even be part of the fossilized remains of some massive medusa. Deep within the tunnels, sprawling complexes have been constructed to support life. Very simple and practical in architecture, they seem to value practicality over comfort. Most of the facilities are devoted to laboratories while smaller, pod-like facilities act as housing for the citizens. On the dark side of the celestial body, there lies a sprawling network of imaging and observation equipment with telescopes and dishes rising from the ground like a forest. Below this, there is a much more secluded section of tunnels which are home to the native population of Esh’Klek. These tunnels appear on no maps and have never been observed or described to outsiders.

Spoiler: People

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The most predominant people on Esh’Klek are the Lucht Siúil Réalta usually called the Siúlóir. Composed of a wide variety of species, most all humanoid in appearance, their origins are a little bit of a mystery. The most descriptive records merely state that they arrived on a ship 300 years prior. Since then more have joined the colony through travel back and forth between nearby settled areas. Their culture, while muted, is a hodgepodge of other cultures. Inside living quarters, you may find subtle remnants of family history such as small heirlooms, notes, or pictures. On a whole however a new, homogenized culture has formed centered around research and the void beyond their world. Simplicity is respected and reflects the emptiness of the Great Gulf as well as simple colors, existing on a grayscale. Day to day life is fairly routine and doesn’t involve much in the way of recreation beyond what is necessary. They much prefer the thrill of discovery, innovation, and research.
The other species are the Vrahssshi. A tall race of vaguely humanoid creatures and the native species to the asteroid. They mostly keep to themselves and rarely if ever leave their tunnels. Their somewhat terrifying appearances do not reflect their calm meditative disposition. Their tall slim bodies narrow to form a head with a face that protrudes out slightly. Their sunken eyes are inky pools and lie just above their mouths which open horizontally to reveal rows of very sharp teeth and a long slender tongue. Their skin is a shimmery ashen gray like the asteroid which allows them to become nearly invisible. Instead of legs their body spreads out into 5-7 arms, each with 5 joints, connected by semi-translucent membranes. Through the membrane, a flowing network of bioluminescent ripples can be seen though it can be switched on and off. The end of each arm terminates in a two pronged claw. Innate magical abilities have been observed and remain unexplained such as their ability to hover above the ground and navigate the asteroid passages with no sense of gravitational orientation. In addition they seem to have no trouble floating through the freezing void of space without the need to breathe or eat.

Spoiler: Resource

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The barren wastes of the asteroids are void of any useful natural resources save for rich veins of metal alloy. Limited in its usefulness, the Siúlóir, learning from the Vrahssshi, look to the void for their needs. The tunnel networks inside the core of this asteroid seem perfectly made for capturing a strange and mystical form of energy. The Siúlóir have taken to collecting and utilizing this energy through siphons that automate special Vrahssshi rituals. The Vrahssshi call it N’ixexk but the Siúlóir just call it Void-Blood. The actual details of these processes are known to very few outside of a small hand-picked group set to design and maintain them. This energetic magical substance can be condensed and trapped into a non-newtonian form and stored in small vials in a process known as bleeding. Larger storage units have been tested but quickly were eaten away and the concentrated essence dissipated, not before causing widespread damage and a few grisly deaths. Its main use is in the thin, life support suits that the Siúlóir wear to allow them to move and survive in the cold vacuum of space. These suits appear to be silver and black hooded cloaks with a thin, bubble-like face shield, tinted purple to block UV radiation. The cloaks are made of a special synthetic fiber, soaked in Void-Blood, in a process inspired by Vrahssshi tradition.

The most necessary resource to the Siúlóir is food and water. Neither are found on the asteroid but are necessary for most of the citizens of Esh’Klek. While the Siúlóir have implemented systems for growing food and reclaiming water, they are far from self-sufficient and must make frequent trips outside of the system to keep food and water stores stocked up.

Spoiler: Faith

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While they seem to have no real central faith, the Siúlóir have picked up some practices and habits of the Vrahssshi. Conveniently the Vrahssshi faith aligns well with the primary research interest of the Siúlóir, that being the Void, known as the Great Gulf. The Siúlóir spend most of their efforts probing the void for any signs of life or objects or new forms of energy. They believe that there is more there than meets the eye and want to figure out what. The primary influence on their culture is the ancient religion of the Vrahssshi. Known as Zheh’nix Thxr the Vrahssshi religion focuses on the Great Gulf and the belief that it is a gateway to worlds beyond, filled with horrible godlike beasts. They see the Great Gulf as a being and worship it for the energy it gives them. Not too much is known about the intricacies of the Vrahssshi religion since most of it is practiced deep inside the asteroid beyond the prying eyes of outsiders. Some ancient texts have been uncovered but have yet to be deciphered. Many show imagery of nondescript, shadowy creatures floating past solar systems and galaxies. Their reverence for the void has rubbed off on the Siúlóir and helped inspire their research into it. They even go as far as to occasionally make offerings of thanks on special occasions or after breakthroughs in research. It has also somewhat influenced their dress codes, greetings, and other aspects of day to day life.

[HalfTangible]

It is legitimately a treat to see that Empire is still going strong enough for a waitlist. Posting interest.

EDIT: I will take zab's contact with me as a 'no' and move on.

EDIT2: Had a longer chat with zab. There was some misinterpretation and I apologize for lashing out. Feel better, said what I wanted to say. Happy 10 years of Empire.

[Ausar]

It has been a while! I'd love to join the waitlist for Empire! 8.

Old Tavisham



Capital Region: Ebon Cove (38)
Leader: Headmistress Elsith Relg

Spoiler: Geography

Show

The Ol' Tavisham Academy is one of Sansar's oldest magical institutions, by their own reckoning. Built on a tiny island off the coast of the Ebon Cove, the Academy is a squat limestone fort, stolidly staring out over the surrounding sea. Dotted with towers and pitted with arenas and ampitheatres, the Academy is served by myriad small fishing villages and craft towns along the coast, and by three mines high in the Gilded Mountains. The plains around the coast are covered by grass the would tower over an ordinary person, grass that sways and waves like an ocean all its own. The boats that ply the Ebon Cove are mirrored by wheeled sail-craft that tack across the Hollow Vale. Lying dormant and derelict to devour the unwary are the entrances to sprawling catacombs and tunnel systems, remnants of the times before the War Eternal.

Spoiler: People

Show

The denizens of Old Tavisham are primarily ratfolk, furred creatures standing three to four feet tall, the descendants of the survivors of the War Eternal upon Tavish Isle. The mages of the Academy garb themselves in leather and woad, dying both their hide clothing and their fur in line with their rank within the strictly hierarchical institution. The fisherfolk of the Cove itself are legally restricted to simple garb, to coarse linen and woven grass, for the mages of the Academy work tirelessly to ensure their authority is self evident and complete before magic is even necessary, and use these clear gulfs in appearance to reinforce their inherent superiority. The navigators and sailors that ply the Hollow Vale and the Ebon Cove are permitted to wear green or blue facepaint respectively, as acknowledgements of their station. The mines of the Mountains are operated almost entirely by magic, supervised by a small cadre of higher mages.

When the War Eternal ended and the vast forests that covered the Hollow Vale were pulp-verised, few upon the mainland survived. Those that did descended into petty feuding and chaos. Tavish Isle, in a quirk of administrative and bureacratic confusion, had been incorrectly marked as seventeen miles further east on survey maps, and so survived the conflict mostly unscathed. Unfortunately there was very little upon the isle but a small limestone lighthouse, the haven for a reclusive band of mystic mages obsessed with the manipulation of air currents. These they used to steer oncoming vessels away from the isle, keeping it an enigma to the mainlanders for decades as they slowly came to realise the apocalyptic extent of Sansar's destruction. From this isle they came, always but a few, in small boats that always had the run of the winds, to assert their dominion over the fishing villages that had sprung up along the Cove's shores. In time, they probed further, crafting wheeled cradles to allow their boats to transit the Hollow Vale too, and eventually making inroads into the Mountains, founding the mines to bring stone back to the isle, beginning a millennia long process of expanding their burgeoning academy high and low, until today, it covers almost half of the small isle. A people tolerated warmly by the Empire for their open reporting and excellent record-keeping, the mages of Old Tavisham are still wild about air magic, and dream of crafting space-going ships slung along at speeds unseeable by solar winds.

Spoiler: Resource

Show

The Gilt Limestone of the eponymous Gilded Mountains is a soft white-green rock pierced with interminable intricate patterns of green, gold and deep purple crystal. Found in large deposits high amongst the peaks, the stone is visually dazzling, as the patterning along each cut block can be seen to the horizon in the sun, and even in the moonlight is illuminated and visible for miles around. The Academy is caked in the stuff, and is a beacon day and night for all around.

The mages can never get enough lumber. The destruction of the forests of the Vale has never been recovered fully from, and the boats both land and seagoing are entirely dependent on trade, trade that the mages are not renowned for their adeptness at. As such, many of their craft are in dangerous states of disrepair or aging. Without their sailcraft, what would air mages do to get around?

Spoiler: Faith

Show

The mages have made themselves and their Academy the objects of veneration and worship within Old Tavisham, likening themself to the populace of the villages and craft towns as demi-gods to the faithful, manipulating the divine forces as only those part-divine can. Each village has their own version of this cult, devoted to both the winds and those that wield them. The mages for their part view the wind as semi-divine, and the vastness of space as the abode of the gods, their residence on this earth as a purgatory of sorts, a punishment for being too blind and powerless to roam those skies themselves - for now.

Spoiler: Factions

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The government at present is the secret council of the Academy, a conclave of the most powerful members of the academy's broader teaching staff. Its members are unknown to all but the Academy's headmistress, Elsith Relg. Mercantile control is exercised by the Intrepid Archons of Land and Sea, the mages responsible for manipulating the trade winds that move ships across Vale and Cove. Banned from being members of the secret council, these Archons guard jealousy the routes of least resistance they use to bring boats to and fro. The branch of the academy responsible for media control, in their context and parlance the relations with and and continuing control over the commonfolk of the region, and interfaculty cooperation, is the Lighthouse Initiative, based out of the edifice that survived the War Eternal. The politics inherent to such a group permeate the Academy, and their charter gives them great sway over happenings within Old Tavisham.

Starting Technology: Wet Navy Ships, Arcane Amplification.

[Minescratcher]

It has been a while! I'd love to join the waitlist for Empire! 8.

Old Tavisham



Capital Region: Ebon Cove (38)
Leader: Headmistress Elsith Relg

Spoiler: Geography

Show

The Ol' Tavisham Academy is one of Sansar's oldest magical institutions, by their own reckoning. Built on a tiny island off the coast of the Ebon Cove, the Academy is a squat limestone fort, stolidly staring out over the surrounding sea. Dotted with towers and pitted with arenas and ampitheatres, the Academy is served by myriad small fishing villages and craft towns along the coast, and by three mines high in the Gilded Mountains. The plains around the coast are covered by grass the would tower over an ordinary person, grass that sways and waves like an ocean all its own. The boats that ply the Ebon Cove are mirrored by wheeled sail-craft that tack across the Hollow Vale. Lying dormant and derelict to devour the unwary are the entrances to sprawling catacombs and tunnel systems, remnants of the times before the War Eternal.

Spoiler: People

Show

The denizens of Old Tavisham are primarily ratfolk, furred creatures standing three to four feet tall, the descendants of the survivors of the War Eternal upon Tavish Isle. The mages of the Academy garb themselves in leather and woad, dying both their hide clothing and their fur in line with their rank within the strictly hierarchical institution. The fisherfolk of the Cove itself are legally restricted to simple garb, to coarse linen and woven grass, for the mages of the Academy work tirelessly to ensure their authority is self evident and complete before magic is even necessary, and use these clear gulfs in appearance to reinforce their inherent superiority. The navigators and sailors that ply the Hollow Vale and the Ebon Cove are permitted to wear green or blue facepaint respectively, as acknowledgements of their station. The mines of the Mountains are operated almost entirely by magic, supervised by a small cadre of higher mages.

When the War Eternal ended and the vast forests that covered the Hollow Vale were pulp-verised, few upon the mainland survived. Those that did descended into petty feuding and chaos. Tavish Isle, in a quirk of administrative and bureacratic confusion, had been incorrectly marked as seventeen miles further east on survey maps, and so survived the conflict mostly unscathed. Unfortunately there was very little upon the isle but a small limestone lighthouse, the haven for a reclusive band of mystic mages obsessed with the manipulation of air currents. These they used to steer oncoming vessels away from the isle, keeping it an enigma to the mainlanders for decades as they slowly came to realise the apocalyptic extent of Sansar's destruction. From this isle they came, always but a few, in small boats that always had the run of the winds, to assert their dominion over the fishing villages that had sprung up along the Cove's shores. In time, they probed further, crafting wheeled cradles to allow their boats to transit the Hollow Vale too, and eventually making inroads into the Mountains, founding the mines to bring stone back to the isle, beginning a millennia long process of expanding their burgeoning academy high and low, until today, it covers almost half of the small isle. A people tolerated warmly by the Empire for their open reporting and excellent record-keeping, the mages of Old Tavisham are still wild about air magic, and dream of crafting space-going ships slung along at speeds unseeable by solar winds.

Spoiler: Resource

Show

The Gilt Limestone of the eponymous Gilded Mountains is a soft white-green rock pierced with interminable intricate patterns of green, gold and deep purple crystal. Found in large deposits high amongst the peaks, the stone is visually dazzling, as the patterning along each cut block can be seen to the horizon in the sun, and even in the moonlight is illuminated and visible for miles around. The Academy is caked in the stuff, and is a beacon day and night for all around.

The mages can never get enough lumber. The destruction of the forests of the Vale has never been recovered fully from, and the boats both land and seagoing are entirely dependent on trade, trade that the mages are not renowned for their adeptness at. As such, many of their craft are in dangerous states of disrepair or aging. Without their sailcraft, what would air mages do to get around?

Spoiler: Faith

Show

The mages have made themselves and their Academy the objects of veneration and worship within Old Tavisham, likening themself to the populace of the villages and craft towns as demi-gods to the faithful, manipulating the divine forces as only those part-divine can. Each village has their own version of this cult, devoted to both the winds and those that wield them. The mages for their part view the wind as semi-divine, and the vastness of space as the abode of the gods, their residence on this earth as a purgatory of sorts, a punishment for being too blind and powerless to roam those skies themselves - for now.

Spoiler: Factions

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The government at present is the secret council of the Academy, a conclave of the most powerful members of the academy's broader teaching staff. Its members are unknown to all but the Academy's headmistress, Elsith Relg. Mercantile control is exercised by the Intrepid Archons of Land and Sea, the mages responsible for manipulating the trade winds that move ships across Vale and Cove. Banned from being members of the secret council, these Archons guard jealousy the routes of least resistance they use to bring boats to and fro. The branch of the academy responsible for media control, in their context and parlance the relations with and and continuing control over the commonfolk of the region, and interfaculty cooperation, is the Lighthouse Initiative, based out of the edifice that survived the War Eternal. The politics inherent to such a group permeate the Academy, and their charter gives them great sway over happenings within Old Tavisham.

Starting Technology: Wet Navy Ships, Arcane Amplification.

It's good to see you again, Ausar! You'll be second on the waitlist, behind Zayuz.

However, for you, and for anyone else interested in joining the waitlist, I have an important announcement.

In light of the persistent server issues GITP has been experiencing, Round 2 and all subsequent rounds will be hosted on Myth-Weavers. The link to the game can be found here. More detailed instructions for joining the Myth-Weavers game can be found on our community discord server.

[WaylanderX]

*Cough* *Cough* Damn, lots of dust on this here account.

Happy 10 years everyone! After a bit of musing, I'd like to voice my interest for the waitinglist!

Also hello to everyone from the first two games!

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Prowess