The rules of Altor Nes 2: A New Age

Introduction

There was an abrupt flash of light, a huge boom and all sentient life vanished. The Gods and Goddesses looked upon the now empty world and set to work creating new beings to inhabit it. Their names are: Untor Falas (Servant of Untor God of good and light), Dan Aol (God of Fire), Dana Fiora (Goddess of Water), Dana Gaia (Goddess of Earth and Nature), Dan Lyft (God of Air), Dan Lagh (God of Law) and Khaos. They surveyed the land and chose the homes of their new races. Three thousand years have passed since that day and under the tuition of the gods empires are already beginning to rise but the Darkness stirs. It was banished for the third time and now it will have its revenge. Moriuntora and her servant came thundering back from the void. Khaos felt his mistress waken and the world trembled. The Darkness is coming! Will you lead your people to glory or will you fall?

Stats

Nation/Race/Player
Religion
Government
Gross income
Trade income
Domestic income
Corruption
Military
Army
Navy
Heroes

Nation/Race/Player tells you the name of the nation, the race that nation is predominately and the name of the player playing them.
Population kind of obvious. Affects income to some degree and also how many troops you can call up.
Religion tells you the name of the religion, if it has one, and the gods and goddesses worshiped in that nation. Gods and Goddesses will grant various boni and cons to your nation and may affect the way the world views you. Also drastically changing your religion without a reason will create dissidents and maybe a rebellion.
Government tells you the type of government this nation is running. This will give you boni and cons as well and will affect relationships with other nations. Changing this can lead to rebellion and dissidence.
Gross income the total income of your country. You can affect this in many ways and not all of them will be obvious. Experimentation is the key to riches. This is then broken down into two broad categories though other factors will be taken into account when this is calculated.
Trade income the amount your nation makes through trade. This can be affected by numerous factors such as war, raiding, boom times. Use common sense combined with a bit of lateral thinking to get the most out of this.
Domestic income the amount your nation makes through taxes and farming. Once again several factors affect this but one of the best ways to earn more is to raise taxes but make sure you have the support (or fear) of the population before raising taxes as you are guaranteed to have a popularity hit.
Corruption this is not related to trade at all before you ask. It is a measure of how much influence Moriuntora and her servant Fala Moriuntora have in your nation. Even if you worship these goddesses this is a bad thing and will have massive negative impacts if you let it climb too high. Worst still if the global level of corruption rises above 70% the final battle will of the Third Age of Altor will occur and this time Untor may not win. Living in a world dreamed by Mori = death.
Military this shows your relative military strength compared to other nations. The higher this is the better quality (or quantity) your armies and navies are. This will affect relations with other nations and is a good indicator of your chances against another nation but heroes and magic do not affect this so you can expect miracles (sometimes literally).
Army a complete breakdown of your army. This lists every soldier your nation has, mobilised or not.
Navy same as army but for ships.
Heroes figures of power and note that have offered their services to your nation. These guys have lives and agendas of their own and may not always do what you want. These, broadly speaking, can be divided into three classes: warriors, spell casters and others. Feel free to explore these figures in stories, in fact such stories are welcome. I am considering letting other players control these if this is popular.

Rules for races

May or may not be included

The standard races are as follows: Humans, elves, dwarves, halflings (or hobbits), orcs, the fay folk, gnomes, dragons and vampires. Each race is different and has its own feel however it is possible to have a peaceful cultured orc nation and a barbaric, brutal fay nation.

Humans

In this Nes humans are just the same as in real life, that is adaptive, survivors who are pains in the butt most of the time. We have no physical advantages but we are the best race at magic and one of the two races that start off with an understanding of black powder. We vary hugely and can be played in just about any way.

Elves

They live forever, have a huge knowledge of the world, excellent physical prowess, third best race at magic. What’s not to like about the elves? Well the fact that orcs and dwarves hate them; they are rather few in number and they’re not going to have a population boom anytime soon; the fact that you will have to be caring for a lot of dangerous and mentally unstable elves as they grow old (living forever has its downsides you know). For those of you who think the elves will be unstoppable think again I will be harsh on the elves when it comes to metal illness and population growth on purpose to stop them becoming superpowers.

Dwarves

Dwarves are another fantasy staple. They are short, strong, enduring and stubborn beyond all belief. These guys are walking tanks but generally weak at magic, with the exception of earth magic. These guys also produce the finest armour and weapons (elves don’t count they tend to make stuff with magic and not forge it!) but they are recluses and so they suffer diplomatic penalties and trade penalties to represent this. Gnomes tend to live with dwarves and form a minority group in their nations. The gnomes are brilliant inventors who discovered black powder giving the dwarves access to black power. If you wish to play as a Gnome nation PM me and I will give you the info on them.

Orcs

Wild, barbaric these are not your typical green-skins indeed most of them are not green-skins as they are rare and constantly hunted down. They are the lurkers at the edge at the edge of society and can be any race. Orcs actually benefit from corruption and the chaos it brings as a break down in order will not affect them and will bring the civilised nations down to their level. Living on the edge is hard so orcs are tough, strong and actually surprisingly wise about the natural world and natural magic but they lack civilised ideas such as cities, walls, personal hygiene, caring for the weak, anything above the most crude weapons and armour etc. The orcs are one of the hardest factions to play as and probably one of the most fun.

Fey folk

The fey folk are a variety of spirits most mischief loving, most magical, most nature loving and all charming. These guys can be split into three main races: the nymphs, the pixies and the daylan. Pixies are the magic users and are very weak in most other areas though they are quite charming. They are around two foot in height and appear as normal humans. Nymphs are the natural leaders of the fey being diplomatic, kind, natural commanders due to telepathy and incorruptible. They are very skilled at magic as well but the men of this race are no stronger than the average human woman so they are not very strong on the whole. The daylan are strong, not very good at magic and bad at diplomacy. They are the warriors of the fey without exception. They appear as three foot tall woodland animals almost without exception some daylan do not appear as woodland animals. Fey nations work differently to other nations as you cannot play them as a tribe or nation but rather as a sort of law force protecting the wild places of the world.

Halflings

Halflings are new on the scene this age and thus at a disadvantage. Halflings stand at around four foot tall and look like feral, small humans. They are more civilised than orcs and have laws though they tend to disregard the laws of others. They live in nomadic communities normally but recently the first towns and cities of the little folk have been founded. They are not physically brilliant and they lack a knowledge of magic so they are best played as opportunists using their spies and diplomats to manipulate other nations.

Vampires

Vampires in my world are not undead baddies instead they are a different line of creation, an experiment, that relies on absorbing the life force of others as they cannot produce their own. Vampires need to feed once a month on at least a litre of sentient blood or else they will starve to death however they can feed at smaller intervals in quantities far less unpleasant for the donor. Vampires naturally group together to survive the persecution that dogs their heels. Vampires are supernaturally strong, fast, hard to kill and immortal as long as they feed regularly. They can miss one feed and sacrifice these abilities to stay alive if they wish. They can regain them once they feed enough. Animals can sustain vampires for a while but not their abilities. It should be noted that vampire donors are normally well looked after and live for hundreds of years before dieing of old age. Vampires lack the ability to perform any magic though and this has its own boni and weaknesses. It should be noted that vampires are unaffected by religious symbols and daylight is not fatal to them in this world. However most vampires avoid daylight due to the pale complexion all vampires have. Sunburn is not a nice thing. Vampires also have a higher chance of developing a hyper-sensitivity to light than any other species.

@ Lord_joakim Yes you may use your zigglers from the original but not until the eastern lands are found that’s why they are not up here.

Creating your own race

Is simple. All you have to do is post a description like the ones I have up here and PM in a proper break down of the pros and cons of the race. Players will never now the pros and cons of a race except their own made up one and I may change them without telling you. This is a vain attempt to encourage IC behaviour.

Religion and Corruption

Religion plays a large part in this Nes namely because the gods are real and at the start of the Nes the accelerator that lifted the players from stone age to iron age in 1000 years (even the gods have their limits) also they give you divine magic that is very powerful and various boni if you worship them. You will want to, at least indirectly, worship a god or two. I would prefer it if only the elven and closely affiliated nations worshiped the gods directly using their true names. The Severn ‘good’ gods offer all offer these benefits: worshipping them increases happiness and reduces dissent in your nation; reduces corruption in your nation, will tend to improve diplomatic relations with NPCs and, if people are acting IC, PCs. Each one of the gods will offer his or her own booms but as the gods are real characters, NCPs of course, these will vary. Devoutness will also affect how the gods view. Khaos is a fickle god and one day you maybe enjoying watching your enemy's cities dissolve into riots and disorder and the next your own nation will become a chaotic mess. Be careful if you worshipping him or attract his attention in other ways. The two goddesses of Darkness are bad. DO NOT worship them unless you are ready to face near 100% corruption. This would cause regular famines, epidemics, natural disasters etc. Corruption is not a good thing. Even the most evil players will wish to avoid it, well nearly all. Corruption will turn nature itself upside-down in a nation, cause the most horrific beasts to roam the lands, maybe even, if you get corruption to 100% in your nation for several turns and are still alive, earn you a visit from Moriuntora or Fala Moriuntora.

Economic affairs

Are fairly simple in this Nes: there are no complex equations, no silly levelling systems just common sense and maybe some dice. In order to increase your income you can do several things: raise taxes, sign new trade routes, try out new products for trade, develop your domestic economy e.g. improve farming techniques. Experiment if you go wrong then there is a challenge to get out of and if you go right well good for you. I cannot write much here as I don't want to create an accurate simulation of an early Renaissance, late Medieval period I want to create a world of myths and epics. So be creative with your orders and see what happens and don't always rely on common sense. I will try to help you here if you seem to be barking up the wrong tree a lot. Oh and by all means to play as a trader state if you want just don't expect an amazing simulation. Final thing unlike in my last Nes gold is not standard instead PP (platinum pieces) is.

Military matters

Are what this section is about. Your military is a powerful tool for diplomacy and yes war. Now you will want to know what units or divisions you can recruit. The answer in this Nes is simple you can recruit into your army just about anything. Captured some ogres? Brilliant release and forget weapons just avoid charging for a couple of hours. Want some Samurai? Go invest in some katanas and a lot of training and you can have them. I will now give you a short units list of basic units but let your mind run wild.

Units

Spearmen: can have long or short spears or pikes. 1PP for 250 men.
Axemen: can be armed with one-handed or two-handed axes. 1PP for 250
Swordsmen: can be armed with any sword. 1PP for 200
Bowmen: can be armed with any bow. 1PP for 250
Horsemen: can be armed with swords, spears, axes, maces, flails lances and bows. 1PP for 150

Just a few unimaginative ideas. If you have a constant source of good quality wood then ship costs maybe reduced for your nation. I will inform you of this in PM.

Your navy is a bit more structured and has certain types of ships that can be constructed. These are at the moment.
Flagships: big, powerful, expensive 1 per fleet. 100PP for 1
Galleys: small, fast but hard hitting ships. Used as escorts for larger ships or as attack ships. 1PP for 1
Longboats: larger than galleys but still fast. They are well armed and a staple ship in most fleets. 10PP for 1
Warships: the largest ships in a fleet at the moment except for flagships. These guys pack a huge punch and two or three could easily destroy a small rival fleet. 50PP for 1.

Your military rating is out of 100 and is for me to know how to work out and you not to. It is influenced by the size and quality of your army and your population.

Heroes

Not really that complicated in this Nes. They are gifted individuals who emerge from your population and are normally skilled in a form of combat or magic however great bards, sages etc. can emerge and appear as heroes. They benefit your nation just by being there by slaying monsters or whatever that particular hero does but you will want to control them. You can do this be giving them quests (writing stories about them) to go do your bidding or by asking them to help you in some way for the good of their nation and cold, hard cash whether it be research or joining your army most heroes will obey your orders if you respect them and remember to pay them. Watch your heroes though they may turn traitor on you and serve another nation if they are offered enough or are not happy with the way they are being treated.

Magic

I could write an essay on magic but I don't want to so here is a short summary. Magic is bending the laws of nature using energy left over from creation (arcane) or using the power of a god directly. A mage's life-force is 'burned' to use magic but divine magic requires far less input, in terms of energy, from the caster. Rituals are used for large spells as they reduce the amount of energy required from a spell caster to cast a spell. Magic is a powerful force but it has rules which no-one actually knows the limits of. It is known however that magic allows for huge individuality and creativity.

Mod notes: Races may not be made available to players. Please discuss in the dev thread. They will instead be NPC. The Rules of Magic are my way of stopping it getting too out of hand. All of this is subject to change at any time and requires player input please. A simpler way of putting corruption: Corruption is basically a way of stopping powerful players from being gamebreaking. Raising corruption is easy; all you have to do is cause war, human suffering etc. and the effects include well anything from pandemics to massive famines to complete break down in order in a nation. Once the global level gets above 70%. Boom! A Godswar breaks out and the world becomes hell (not literally that happens if anything survives the Godswar). As for what level it takes effect well it is always there causing a crime here and there, making sure wars drag on as long as possible. It first serious effects will be felt around the 20% mark.

DO NOT POST!

Segvaar/Dwarves/DarthNader
Population: 9,800
Religion: Indirect worship of Dana Gaia and Dana Fiora in the form of the Moradinian Circle (Polytheistic)
Government: Absolute Monarchy with King Valazgar reigning
Gross income: 5PP (2PP banked)
Trade income: 2 PP
Domestic income: 1PP
Corruption: 10%
Army: 60 Colonial Militia, 230 Axemen
Navy: 10 Longboats, 2 Galleys
Heroes: None
Backstory: The Segvaarian dwarves are a hearty folk from the cold, northern reaches. They have established themselves as excellent sailors, since their home consists mostly of islands.

Men of the Wilderness/Humans/Charles Li
Population: 10,000
Religion: Indirect of Gaia and Fiora
Government: ?
Gross income: 5 PP
Trade income: 2 PP
Domestic income: 3 PP
Corruption:8%
Army: 100 Herdsmen, 200 Torgrats
Navy: N/A
Heroes: None
Backstory: The Men of the wilderness slowly grew in population. Adopting horses and trappings of civilization they are met by a legendary group of sorcerers who sent them on the path of unification. Now on that land they are aggressive and still hold the sign of brutal past but are important as they slowly fought orcs out of their lands.

NPC stats

Alvalon/Human/NPC
Indirect worship of Untor Falas and Dan Lugh as Lord Telgon
Population: 29,250
Government: Absolute monarchy with King Hal ruling
Gross Income: 10PP
Trade Income: 5PP
Domestic Income: 5PP
Corruption: 10%
Army: 50 Knights of Telgon, 10 Men-at-arms and 10 Crossbowmen.
Navy: 10 Sloops
Heroes: The Divine Inquisitor

Larthorn/Elven/NPC
Direct worship of the Severn.
Population: 9,850
Government: Absolute monarchy with King Saor ruling.
Goss income: 13 PP
Trade income: 5 PP
Domestic income: 8 PP
Corruption: 2%
Army: 75 Warders, 25 Battle Mages
Navy: N/A
Heroes: The Iubhar

The Grey Lands/Elven/NPC
Direct worship of the Severn
Population: 20,000
Government: Absolute monarchy with an unknown ruler
Gross income: ?
Trade income: ?
Domestic income: ?
Corruption: 0%
Army: 200 Mistlanders
Navy: N/A
Heroes: none

Danleon or Lords of Courage/Human/NPC
Indirect worship of Dan Lugh as The Guardian
Population: 5,100
Government: A war council
Gross income: 7 PP
Trade income: 2PP
Domestic income: 5 PP
Corruption: 14%
Army: 500 Pass Guards, 125 Pathfinders
Navy: N/A
Heroes: Archmagus Dalius, Magus Enzor, Magus Kaiya, Magus Geth, Magus Talon

Uint/Fey Folk/lord_joakim
Religion: Dan Lyft worshippers, they preach for their winds to be calm, but strong.
Government: Caste System, lead by the nymphs while the pixies are lower and the daylan as the hardworking lowest class. The queen is named Daiyna.
Population: 10,000
Gross income: 5PP
Trade income: 0PP
Domestic income: 5PP
Corruption: 5%
Army: 100 bog standard troops
Navy: N/A
Heroes: None
Background: The Feys of Uint are somewhat peaceful creatures - they seek the wisdom of the spell and the secret of the wind. Compared to other fey nations, the uints have an integrated caste system where the workers are the stronger daylan while the magical aristocracy runs the lot. Spells are seen every day in their world of tree cabins, and they have developed a thriving society.

Orders Deadline


Friday 9th January 2009. Saturday 10th January 2009 is the absolute latest. Any orders send after midday Saturday will be ignored unless you are lucky and I have done no work on the update. If I have altered so much as a single stat your orders will be invalid

News

Update Zero is up. I will put up a link at a later date. We have a new offical cartographer DarthNader who has very kindly provided both a climate and political map. He has been awarded with an extra starting PP for his hard work.


Maps

Climate map
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh285/diet_coke1942/AltorNES2Geographical_map.jpg

Key
Light green=jungle
Dark green=forested or woodland areas
Light brown=plains. Also includes shrubland and savanna.
Dark brown=mountains and hills.
Yellow=desert
Dark blue=rivers
Light blue=sea
Sky blue=tundra

Political map
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh285/diet_coke1942/AltorNES2Political_map.jpg
Key
Brown=Segvaarians
Light blue=Uint
Maroon=Men of the Wilderness
Red=Danleon
Gold=Alvalon
Green=Larthorn

Post away.

Happy New Year.

Yeah...

Can i do what i had asked in PM?

Yes that is allowed. I will work out stats for you in the morning. Night all!

Joining. I'll PM a made-up race later.

I will be joining here, even though I didn't do much development. :) It turned out quite well. Zigglers it is.

I will join this. All it needs is a template...

A template sir. Sorry I have been distracted lately. I will do NPCs tomorrow and a map (thank Abbadon for telling me how I screwed up the first one). Your starting locations will have to wait and if you want to take an NPC or break off from one do so but be ready to change if needed. Actually I may not have time tomorrow as I have a whole family gathering. I will focus back on this now it looks like it won't die and have the NPCs and a map done very soon. Good backstories will be rewarded with reduced corruption, higher starting income and other things besides. LJ you may want to set up a tempory faction until the eastern lands are found as I don't want to spread players across vast seas just yet. Sorry.

Nation/Race/Player
Population:
Religion:
Government:
Gross income:
Trade income:
Domestic income:
Corruption:5%
Military:
Army:
Navy:
Heroes:
Backstory:

Damnit. :p Then I'll play Feys then. Nation description coming up later.

I will add other kingdoms as you find them but the major ones are up. Now I will try to make a new map but for now this will have to do.

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/9942/altorgu9.jpg

To be honest, I am really having trouble reading the map.

I know but Abby said he will start working on a better one so please just post templates and let's get started in some way before I decide this is dead and close it.

I guess I'll play this.

Segvaar/Dwarves/DarthNader
Population:
Religion: Indirect worship of Dana Gaia and Dana Fiora in the form of the Moradinian Circle (Polytheistic)
Government: Absolute Monarchy with King Valazgar reigning
Gross income:
Trade income:
Domestic income:
Corruption:5%
Military:
Army:
Navy:
Heroes:
Backstory: The Segvaarian dwarves are a hearty folk from the cold, northern reaches. They have established themselves as excellent sailors, since their home consists mostly of islands.

Nation/Race/Player: Uint/Fey Folk/lord_joakim
Religion: Dan Lyft worshippers, they preach for their winds to be calm, but strong.
Government: Caste System, lead by the nymphs while the pixies are lower and the daylan as the hardworking lowest class. The queen is named Daiyna.
Gross income
Trade income
Domestic income
Corruption
Military
Army
Navy
Heroes
Background: The Feys of Uint are somewhat peaceful creatures - they seek the wisdom of the spell and the secret of the wind. Compared to other fey nations, the uints have an integrated caste system where the workers are the stronger daylan while the magical aristocracy runs the lot. Spells are seen every day in their world of tree cabins, and they have developed a thriving society.

Vert... what's going to hapen with my Civ?

DarthNader I have changed the map just to make it clear there are no islands in the northern wastelands just a slight oversight on my part. Sorry but you can still have maritime dwarves. There are hundreds of islands dotted around Altor and I will add them if needs be. Thomas you now have your stats. I will do LJ's and Darth's now.

That's fine. We will establish some land kingdom at some point.;)

Also, for the navy, unless you have your own units, we will have longships (think Vikings).

Longships, fine. I think I will use that name instead of sloops. Oh and you may want to name your bog standard troops. Update zero will come today or tomorrow.

Men of the Wilderness/Humans/Charles Li
Population:
Religion: Indirect of Gaia and Fiora
Government:
Gross income:
Trade income:
Domestic income:
Corruption:5%
Military:
Army:
Navy:
Heroes:
Backstory: The Men of the wilderness slowly grew in population. Adoping horses and trappings of civilization they are met by a legendary group of sorcerors who sent them on the path of unification. Now on that land they are aggressive and still hold the sign of brutal past but are important as they slowly fought orcs out of their lands. (Sons of Lin :D sorry for being so late!)
__________________

I have just realised before I post the first update I need to know where you all are.
So where are you all (roughly)?

Hello anyone there? I have asked a question and I need answers to update! Or should I just declare this dead in the water and go back to the drawing board?

Well, you know where the Wilderness are last NES, that is where my nation is.

The islands in the northern ocean, and small settlements along the coast.

@ Charles Li: Where in the Wilderness? It is a big place where most new nations will start out. The only nations that won't start out in are splinter factions (which players can create by the way.)

@DarthNader: I will add some islands for you as soon as I get the final version of the map from Abbadon otherwise fine.

@ All: You should all have 5PP as your gross income for this turn. I will add rules for matinence of troops with the update as I just realised I forgot them. Your gross income may go up or down after Update Zero depending on your location and other factors just to warn you. A quick reminder that good backstories will earn various rewards and stories and diplo are allowed. First update will be on Tuesday evening or a few hours after LJ posts his location.

Hey, since I am primarily a sea bearing faction, wouldn't it make sense if I had more ships, and less foot soldiers?

I have given you 100PP worth of ships and you want more? Anyway assuming your stardard infantry are something along the lines of spearmen or axemen the numbers wouldn't work out if you trade infantry for ships as it would be 1PP for around 200 troops and you only have 100 to trade. Hmm.. maybe I should give the other players more land troops?

I wasn't trying to be offensive...just wondering if I could have a different ship to soldier ratio. If it doesn't work out that way, then its fine.

There was no offensive caused. I was writing what I would say in RL and forgot that it is very hard to work out the tone of written words. Silly me. Moving on I surpose I could give you more ships and give the others more soldiers to compensate and reduce your own number of soldiers however I would advise you keep your troops for you have no idea what is lurking in the far north. I assume you are north of Danleon if not then most of what I just said does not apply.

I would like to be in the areas circled in brown (and to be brown if possible).
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh285/diet_coke1942/BLARG.jpg

Good choices actually because dark green indicateds forest so these areas are easier to live in than the surrounding tundra.

And great for building ships ;)

Update Zero
The Dawn

It was a beautiful dawn in the far North; at last a sign that the darkness of winter is over. It was a crisp, cold morning with a covering of virgin snow on the ground and a clear sky. Yet despite the beauty of this morning, this dawn no-one was outside for the far North is the playground of evil, of chaos, death and despair. Only fools walk outside the high city walls of Danleon or the sheltered forests of the Segvaar dwarves. Danleon is, as always, the subject of large scale raids and attacks by the orc tribes in the far North but as always the Path Guards, who are guardians of the mountain passes, repulsed the onslaught. The Kingdom seems stable for now and her people are not happy but rather filled with a grim determination to destroy every last orc tribe in the North. Now let us turn our attention to a far more interesting nation. The Segvaar dwarves. These dwarves have only just been encountered on the mainland as they set up several colonies to produce the timber required for their mighty warships. These colonies are guarded by 100 stout dwarves skilled with axe and bow while the home isles are guarded by a navy that is second to none. So far the Segvaar have remained undetected by any major orc tribes and avoided too many major raids on their colonies. The Segvaar people are happy with King Valazger and are pleased by the fact that their ships are best in the known world (not that there are many other navies that they know of to compare against). The colonies are not quite up and running yet though so no shipments of wood or food have arrived from the mainland. Reports indicate that the colonies will be up and running next spring but they grow fearful as winter sets in and the daylight fades. They can only pray to Dana Gaia and Dana Fiora and hope that they survive the night.

As we move down south the weather moves away from the pleasant if lethally cold weather of the north to vicious thunderstorms and constant rain. Even as summer rolls by the storms continue on a regular basis and only let up with the arrival of autumn. This has wiped out the roads of many kingdoms and ruined crops causing large scale famines in the south that affected every kingdom except for the fey folk of Uint. The fey folk are a strange bunch divided into three races; normally these three races live in harmony with nature and each other looking after the natural world in their own way. This way of life, and their small population, does not lend itself to villages yet along an actually unified nation under one leader. Yet this is what has happened in Uint, part of the Great Forest that dominates eastern Altor. Here the fey folk have formed their first nation and fey have flocked from far and wide to become part of it. The most numerous part of the population is the Daylan and they are the worker/soldiers of Uint, the nymphs, in all of their magical glory, as the aristocracy and the pixies as a sort of merchant middle class that balance the two. This kingdom has huge potential with a determined people and a strong government ready to prove to the world that the fey folk have stepped out of the storybooks and are ready to become a major force in shaping this world. The next nation we encounter as we head westward is the Men of the Wilderness a hardy folk who have only just better than orcs. Master horsemen these people live a semi-nomadic lifestyle moving whenever it looks like orc tribes are going to overwhelm them or they are running out of food in their current location. They appear to be divided up into tribes and have no real central government. The famine did hit them hard but not as hard as other more developed kingdoms to the west of them. For the Men of the Wilderness still remember the days when they were nothing more than barbaric hunter-gatherers and they are still able to live off the land.

The last two nations in our journey are some of the most developed and some of the most hungry. The kingdom Alvalon has a dense urban population that has suffered hugely due to famine and disease that followed. Their suffering was only increased when the river burst its banks flooding the capital city of Hal (the king was named after the city not the other way round) and the isolation of many other cities due to flooded roads. Their military forces were also affected badly and as a result Alvalon lost land to barbarians and orc tribes. The people now look to their King to guide Alvalon through this difficult time. Larthorn wept as they watched their allies and friends starve but they could spare no food for the citizens of Alvalon for their own crops had failed as well. Larthorn did, however, fare much better than Alvalon did this year mainly due to its small population and the shelter its forests provided to its people and agriculture.

Mod notes: LJ you must confirm you are still in this by posting on the thread or sending orders otherwise you will be NPCed. Overall a good start for all your nations, not so good for my NPCs, At the moment Uint is in the strongest position and the Men of the Wilderness the weakest but it is all very close between you guys. With any luck I will be able to attract some more players with this update. I will expect orders done by Friday, Saturday at the lastest so I have the weekend to update.

@ Any lurkers that maybe listening; for pity’s sake stop lurking and start playing I need more players!

NPC diplomatic messages

From: King Hal
To: The Men of the Wilderness

I am willing to begin trading with your tribes. Alvalon needs your mighty horses to mount our knights and in return we will give you fine iron tools and weapons. I also personally beg you to help us deal with the current crisis by providing food or military support for us if you can.

From: Danleon
To: The Segvaar dwarves

Welcome little friends! We seek to trade our iron weapons for well anything really. What do you make of our offer?

Update Zero is away!

Can we get an up-to-date map please? Also, can we have unit costs?


From: Danleon
To: The Segvaar dwarves

Welcome little friends! We seek to trade our iron weapons for well anything really. What do you make of our offer?

From: Segvaar
To: Danleon

Just to set the record straight, we are not the Segvaar dwarves. Our land is named Segvaar, and we prefer to be called Segvaarians. Our government is to be addressed, not our citizenry.

We will trade with you, trading iron weaponry (for now) with lumber useful in land structures. In the future, we would like to exchange iron weaponry for just iron, so we can forge it into specific items more useful to us. Also, we would like to request your assistance in helping us secure our mainland colonies. In return, we will assist you with Orc bands to your north.

Yes I was just coming to that but supper got in the way.

OOC: Duely noted Darth.

From: Danleon
To: The Segvaarians

Apologies friends. I warn you trading in just iron will be difficult in the near future as all of our natural resources are being channeled into the war effort. We shall try and assist the mighty Segvaarian dwarves in sercuing their colonies if we can get through our own mountain passes to assist them! Fear not for our trade though for we can trade be sea at least.

See above. Triple post.

See above. Triple post.

Holy triple post Batman!

From: Segvaar
To: Danleon

Well, perhaps you could point us in the direction of possible iron mines later then. Also, our scouting parties never noticed you had any shoreline when they searched for a good spot to colonize. How do plan to use sea trade when you have no ports or sea access?

To: The Segvaarians
From: Danleon

We do have a small strip of land connected to the sea that is suitable for ports and indeed has a couple of lightly populated fishing towns along it. Having no navy is not a sign of a nation being landlocked or primative is it? We have far greater concerns on land and so should you if you wish to remain on Halsaoi (Land of Warriors. The name of the actual contient you are on). As for iron mines there are many deposits of iron in and around the Shield Mountains (mountains that form the northern edge of Danleon's territory). Before you ask any iron you find is yours to keep and you have unrestricted access. Just don't mine from our mines!

Something I would like all players to look at is on the front page namely the announcement of our new cartographer DarthNader and his new maps.

From: King Hal
To: The Men of the Wilderness

I am willing to begin trading with your tribes. Alvalon needs your mighty horses to mount our knights and in return we will give you fine iron tools and weapons. I also personally beg you to help us deal with the current crisis by providing food or military support for us if you can.

to King Hal

First of all, we are free men but are willing to trade.
Horses for Iron, a good trade. I agree to this.
Also, you beg for food? We will give you this favor as a symbol of our friendship. (1PP)

To: The Men of the Wilderness
From:King Hal

Excellent thank you. Alvalon is truely in your debt. You have given strangers who you know little of hope. Words cannot express my graditude and the graditude of my people. We shall remember your kindness till the end of days and we shall repay it in kind one day.

OOC: Charles Li could you explain your form of government to me please. From your description I thought you were a tribal society is this correct? If not then what are you? Thanks.

42 hours left till orders are due in and I have none. Please get them in before midday on Saturday GMT. Thomas as you know this does not apply to you but I still have don't have complete stats for you please send them to me tomorrow so I can update you.

Yes. And I don't want to be a horde yet do I?

You can play as a tribal group if you prefer. It will affect some things for good or for ill. You wouldn't become a maurding barbarian horde if you didn't want to be one. Maybe you could write a story explaining.

LESS THAN TWENTY FOUR HOURS TO GO! Please start asking for an extention NOW or SEND me those ORDERS. I currently have NONE!

Well, it is like the Iroquois Confederation if you know what I mean.

There are a few main towns and villages where nomads restock then they go out to their homesteads and hunt/herd/do whatever.

I thought I sent orders. Didn't you get them Vert?

I got them at the time you send them which was after my post. I now have one set of orders. Charles Li please send orders. Anyone know where LJ is? Any ideas on how to recruit new players you may be as rude and critical as you feel you need to be.

Although I am not saying I want this closed down, maybe you should have put more "publicity" in the pre-NES, making sure you had some definate people on board before starting. The only thing I think you can do now (besides actually asking people) is write an excellent, extremely good update. That update might convince any lurkers watching to join.

True but I did think more of the players from my old NES would drop in at that time. Clearly I was wrong. Darth I will keep this going as long as I have players. I intend to write the best update I can.

Progress report: I have already written 677 words just about you Darth and I will write an awful lot more. You have no idea what you have caused Darth. Charles don't worry I will get to you eventually. You may wish to skip the first one thousand or so words of the update however.

OOC: Gods war already? OMFDA. HFD.

Should I be scared or happy? Or was this all about my major screw up in making the maps?

No Gods War for goodness sake but you should be fairly scared DarthNader. I warn you though this update will not be up today as I have a history essay to write for Thursday. I would say maybe Wednesday, school work allowing. Do you want to fix the map or shall I do it when I get the update done?

Yea, I can work on the map...but I am gonna really overhaul so it looks good. It may come after the update though.

Progress report: Sorry for the slow progress I had a week of non-stop homework. I have nearly finished the whole issue with Darth though there are a few things left to resolve. I will try to finish Darth tonight and Charles tomorrow morning. I will get the update up tomorrow come hell or high water. That is a promise.

Sorry do bring bad news. Hell and high water make not have come but Grandparents did for lunch and afternoon tea thus scuppering my plans for finishing the update. I am nearly done and will finish it. I promise.

Fingers crossed.

OK, I am a bit of a rookie, but I am going to join this game, because Vertinari asked me to.

Gárnata/Human/Milarqui
Population:
Religion: Indirect worship of Untor Falas and Dana Gaia as Índalo (name given to the sun) and Baza (name given to the "planet" people live), who are considered to be husband and wife in the legends of the nation of Gárnata.
Government: Absolute Monarchy under the rule of King Giancarlo and Queen Sophia. The laws of Gárnata establish that only a married prince can become king of Gárnata.
Gross Income: 5PP (at least, that was what Vertinari said we were getting for starters...)
Trade Income:
Domestic Income:
Corruption: 5% (if too many civs join this game, the level of 70% established as being enough to bring Moriuntora to this plane of existence would be a given)
Military:
Army:
Heroes:
Starting place: Light Green in the political map.
http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/6475/altornes2politicalmapzg1.jpg
@Vertinari: I'm going to need your help with understanding a few things.

For corruption: if that every were the case I would use common sense and tweak the rules. It is basicaly a way of stopping players trying to destroy everything in sight like they normally do. It also encourages role play if you want to play as a cult who wan tht eend of the world you can.

5PP is what you get for starters that then goes up or down.

Send me a PM if you don't understand any other things. Also a backstory, name for your first basic unit in your army and some clarification on your starting posistion would all be good.

Backstory:
The brown-skinned men of the jungle were nomads, walking around the Gashak Jungle and living from what Baza gave them. Until a few years ago, when a group of them stablished themselves in the shores of a river, creating the first of their cities. Now, the Garnatinan people are expanding through the jungle, starting to build farms and houses for the living people. Some time later, they were already organising an army to expand the formal borders of their nation. It is now that they have made themselves known to the rest of the world. Their ancient looking carvings are very much liked in the other nations. Their army is perfectly trained to fight in the jungle, with their axes and slingshots being very much used in their fights against any enemy that is stupid enough to try to enter the jungle.

Unit:
Hostigador de la Selva: They are armed with one big axe, several smaller ones than can be thrown and a slingshot they use with a lot of experience. Many wild orcs who dared to enter the jungle have fallen in front of one of these fast, agile warriors, be it from the axes or from a rock hitting them in the forehead.

@Vertinari: can I have more than 1 special unit?

The idea is eventually all the units will be player made. The Hostigador de la Selva are good but maybe not as your starting force. 100 of these guys would be a bit unbalanced. I mean Darth and Charles only have militia (horse)men.

I'm going to keep the Hostigadores in the roster, because they are good. I'm not sure of how would I get a horsemen militia, as my guys live in the jungle, which isn't exactly the best place for a horse. However, I think that I can have them, as my guys have been cutting down several trees, which could help them train the horses. This might be a good unit:

Unit: Jinete Invisible: they owe his name to the fact that they run so fast and silently, dodging every tree they find without ever hitting one (unless they are training). Their ability on a horse is so good that they are able to ride it without using their hands, which they take advantage of by using two swords or a short bow. They can strike down loads of enemies with their fast attacks, although they lack of protection against lancers and their horses are only lightly armoured.

Sure but they don't have to be horses that was just an idea. That's why I put it in brackets as only Charles plus a NPC have horsemen at all. That is fine for your starting 100 troops.

OK, then my 100 first soldiers are going to be Jinetes Invisibles.

From: Gárnata
To: Men of the Wilderness, Alvalon, Larthorn

Our dear neighbours, we are willing to start trade with your nations. The use of the Genile River (unless someone else has already named it, it's the river where I start) is a given, as it will allow trade to flow faster from our country to yours, and it will give both of us many money. What do you say?

@Vertinari: when will I be able to create units that use black powder? Also, how does one rise the Domestic Income? Do I have to tell you in the orders to spend X PP to make it grow?

That is one way but like in all neses give a bit of detail such as what you want the money to be invested in. Stories are another way to boast most stats if I think they are good enough but these won't be game-breaking. Troops will only be awarded in special circumstances like the Darth one is in at the moment. The answer is when you develop enough to be able to produce enough black powder. At the moment you, Alvalon, Charles and Darth all know how to make it but only Alvalon and Darth can actually produce in any large amount. In fact I have just decided you and Charles don't know how to make it as you both are playing as 'uncivilised' nations so are unlikely to have had the right environment to do scientific research. But its not all bad for you you will discover the benefits of being 'uncivilised' as you play.

Whelp, that settles it. All my troops are armed with blunderbusses.

Danleon uses her Magi to open a time portal to the future and steal hundreds of nuclear warheads, ICBMs and lanuch platforms. It then destroys the world using these weapons and Untor wakes up.

The above statement was a joke for those slightly special nesers who do not realise this.

Money please. Also I said CAN not ARE that implies you are able to but you are not doing so at the moment and you still need to manufacture the rifles. Anyway blunderbusses are more dangerous for the user than the enemy.

Update One:
Rise and Fall

So we return to the north and another spring has rolled in and the first true war of the North has begun. The spark of violence that began the war was a series of raids carried out by the Segvaar; they attacked orc settlements along the eastern shore of Halsaoi raping and pillaging. The coastal tribes were devastated over six hundred orcs were butchered. Humans, elves, dwarves: the dregs of civilisation all died. No discrimination, no mercy, only death by the blade of an axe. The raids were a stunning success: well planned, well executed, complete surprise and shock for the orcs but this was no great surprise to any spectators. The surprise was the retaliation. A few days after the raids had ended, as the sea near the coast began to freeze over, the survivors crawled from their holes back into the light of day and banded together. They numbered only fifty but they were determined to get even no matter what. A month after the raids and each one of this small band was a tribe chief and every one of those tribes banded together. No-one knows where the survivors drew their strength from but they were mighty: pain and fear were unknown to them, wounds that would slay the ordinary they survived, cold that would embrace even the artic wolves and never let go felt warm to them. They were destined for greatness. Some whispered they had been chosen by the Dark Lady herself to further her cause. Their cruelty and abilities would suggest so. Another month passed and nearly every major tribe in the North was under the control of the survivors subdued by promises of glory and blood or by the bloody spear. They served with a loyalty only real respect and fear could bring. The combined might of these 50 chiefs totalled at nearly 2,000 warriors eager for human and dwarvish blood. The blow did not fall at once however. They waited till the twenty-eight of April, the day before the start of spring, the eve of dawn then they struck. Hard. The Segvaar colonies were surrounded by baying warriors. Luckily the defence forces had been upgraded from just militia. One hundred axe dwarves stand with the militia. The Segvaar were also lucky as all two hundred and fifty militia dwarves were there for some were due for transfer back to the home isles when the dawn came. So the scene is set for a Dwarvish massacre you think well it is not. Danleon does not forget her friends...

The Council decided to uphold their bargin and a team of 50 Pathfinders were send through to assess the situation and see if a clearance operation (the Danleon regularly drive off tribes that get too close to the mountain passes) was needed before the Danleon moved to help the Segvaar. At first reports came back clear and then they stopped. The Pathfinders had expanded considerably and soon 150 were sent through. They reported a couple of small war bands had been guarding the passes and that they were destroyed with minimal losses. The troops of Danleon poured through: pathfinders, guards and the 5 Magi. This force totalled at 805 men and moved across the tundra attacking the tribes that are not survivor influenced and stayed near the passes. They heard whispers from captive orcs of the Great Ones who are unifying the tribes. The Danleon forces stopped their regular clearance operations and began to interrogate every single captive orc they held. They learnt of what the Segvaar had done and the planned retribution and they began to move as fast as the could towards the Segvaar colonies but it was already April 27...

The attack on Hazgar (main city in the colonies along with two smaller ones. Feel free to name them DarthNader) began and 40 orcs were felled by the archers and ballistae on the walls as the rams closed in. By the time the rams were in range the archers had time for just one volley of flaming arrows before five rams reached the wooden walls and gates and, while these had recently been reinforced, they would not last long against the rams. Dwarves are not natural archers and this makes their feat even more impressive: four of the rams burned before the militia troops. The final ram reached the gates and the militia troops on the walls quickly descended to join the shield wall before the gates. The gates began to splinter on the first blow; the second broke some of the supports. Prayers to the Earth Mother were coming thick and fast now but no dwarf ran. Some brave civilians piled timber furniture before the gates and erected make-shift barricades in the streets for the soldiers to fall back to. Some of the fitter men and boys even picked up their hunting bows and skinning knifes to join the ranks: they numbered about 90 in total. The gates splintered again and the hinges groaned. It would not be long now...

The forces of Commander Saoi moved throughout the day and night of the 27th but they were still over twenty miles from the city of Hazgar where the enemy would surely strike first. They could here the sound of fire and splintering wood through the thick forests around them. The pathfinders were sent ahead to scout out the enemy and assist the Segvaar defence force if they could. The pathfinders came back about four hours later reporting a massive orc host of over two thousand breaking down the gates. Even with the Dwarves inside they would be outnumbered out least two to one but Commander Saoi did not mind. It is reported he said "It no fun when you are evenly matched."

The actual gates are now gone and the barricade of furniture and timber would topple to the ground soon if the orcs continued ramming but they have stopped. Dare the Segvaar hope that the orcs lost their nerve and ran? That question was soon answered as the pile of timber started crackling and glowing. The orcs had set fire to it hoping that the dwarves on the other side would die from burns and smoke inhalation. Civilians quickly set up a bucket chain to douse the wood and combat the flames. The orcs threw oil on the fire to make it burn faster and more fiercely. The civilians stepped up the bucket chain with nearly every one in the city now involved. The fire was put out but the barricade collapsed and orcs poured in. Hundreds of innocent dwarves died in the tide but thousands more escaped as the Segvaar closed in. The orcs numbers were partly neglected by the narrow gate with only four orcs able to stand abreast in it. The first and most important battle of the war had well and truly began.

The initial surge of orcs killed nearly hundred dwarves and the line bended like a bow but it held and after the momentum was gone from the orcish charge the orcs were beaten back. At that moment the orcs were cut down from behind. Danleon had made it and the entire army pounded into the rear of the orcs. The orc ranks may just have held that day if it had not been for the five Magi and their magic; crushing minds, burning flesh, freezing bones and generally causing mayhem. The orcs routed from the field but their leaders survived. The Battle of Hazgar was the first key battle in a series of battles through the war. That was still raging as autumn came to a close.

The war took its toll on the Segvaarians. A Colonial Tax was introduced originally as a temporary measure to kick start the colonies now funds supplies and equipment for the entrenched colonists. The war ravaged colonies put a huge drain on the Segvaarian economy. Luckily Danleon still sent iron even though they knew they would get nothing in return and Segvaarian troop quality has improved somewhat. The Segvaarians themselves are split: there are those who, while they may not like it, agree that the new taxes and general drain of resources away from civilians is a necessary measure to ensure the survival of the mainland colonies; meanwhile on the other hand there are those who condemned the raids in the first place and believe that the king should smarten up a bit and not force them to pay for his mistakes. There is a slightly uneasy status quo in Segvaar at the moment but this may change. As for Danleon situation politically. It is much the same as usual.

Moving south the state of Unit seems to have mostly dissolved with the fey going about their normal business as they always have: alone. Moving west now we find the lands of the Men of the Wilderness. The first thing they did as spring came by was to begin trading with Alvalon as well as sending food to help feed the starving people. They traded livestock for iron goods ranging from the fearsome sabres of the Torgrat to the farmer’s hoe Alvalon would trade almost anything for livestock and food. The wild men set up official trade routes with hefty tolls and used their mounted herdsmen (militia quality troops) to ensure only the official routes were used to the grievance of many an Alvalonian trader. They also began to expand northwards slicing through the scattered bands and small fiefdoms of the Badlands that occupy the centre of Halsaoi once again using their agile cavalry forces to great effect. Their forces were made all the more agile due to the fact the wild men had begun a breeding program to try and create the perfect horse, oxen, goat, sheep, the list goes on. They were met with mixed success and many animals produced by the breeding programs were almost useless but many more were greatly improved.

Mod’s notes

I will add you later today Milarqui I have literally run out of time:sad: but I want to get this up. A bad year for Darth but nothing crippling I hope. I have decided to remove the military stat as that a good idea but ill thought out. I may bring it back when I have thought of a way to do it properly. NPCs will also be finished off after Milarqui later today.

From: Segvaar
To: Danleon

Thank you for your support against the Orcs, we would have been destroyed if it weren't for your assistance.

Shadows of the Past
Glory of the Present
Part 1

"Father, who are those people," asked a small boy in an exploration trip.

"They, my son, are the Badlands People," said the hooded man, looking back upon his seven sons. "They, in small tribes, try to dominate the badlands but year after year... they fail..."

"Father, why don't they work together to achieve their dream?"

"They don't trust each other, even though they all passed down from the Hunters of Gaia, their only mates are the tamer orcs and slowly they lost some civilality, although not all. They trust each other to a point, but a meditator is often needed to settle disputes..."

The Young boy looked back, his brothers behind him and eyes pearing out of the shrubs before he heard faint footsteps as they went to report. His eyes suddenly burned with tears... he must do something to help them...


Yan Tain woke up, he was in his large hut. He looked arround. This is a new day, I had made my decision and will keep it! he thought, but his mind slowly slid back to his hometown's Leader's lougue as he prepared to organize another raid...

As this doesn't seem to be moving, I think that I am going to leave this NES. You can NPC my nation, Vertinari. Sorry for that.

I am sorry too Milarqui. It's hard to find the time to sit down and write an update at the moment except at weekends. I guess I should have waited for the holidays before running a nes again and without a lot of players there is not much drive behind this. I will return to this nes as soon as I have the time to run it. I will finish the update at the weekend and then suspend the nes for a while. Sorry guys GCSEs go first.

@DarthNader: I will add some islands for you as soon as I get the final version of the map from Abbadon otherwise fine.


Its aBaDDon.

@Adabbon: :lol: :lol:

I'm currently interested in this NES, but only for lurking purposes.