DominatrNES IV: The Blood Dimension

[dominatr]

DominatrNES IV: The Blood Dimension
Orders are due: Friday, July 17, at 1:00 PM EST

Welcome to my fourth NES. This is a statistic-driven cradle NES set in an alternate dimension that features a planet much like our earth. This will be a fast paced, but detailed NES and I plan to update nearly every week. Since this is the IOT forums and not the NES forums, I will take greater care in explaining the mechanics of this particular NES along with NESes in general.

General
A Never Ending Story, or NES is basically a turn-based story game guided by a game moderator (me) and driven by player narrative and decisions. As a player of this NES, your basic way of controlling your civilization is through the sending of orders.

In your orders it is expected that you communicate what civilization you control and what turn it is (The game starts at Turn 1 and Update 1 is written based off of template submissions only, so no orders are necessary the turn you join). Since this is a statistic driven game, the investing of points are your way of improving your civilization. I will describe this process in detail in a later section. In your orders, you must also detail your plans for expansion, military conquest, exploration, and basically anything not covered by the point investment. The third thing that you can do in your orders is NPC diplomacy. Since I am the moderator, I sort of control all of the Non-Player Characters and you must negotiate them through your orders to me. Negotiations with other human players can be done in the thread or via private message exchanges. Finally, you can purchase technology advances, given that you have the funds to do so. Orders must be submitted by the date that will be below the title of this thread in the first post. Late orders will not be accepted without a day's notice in advance.

Sample orders:

Spoiler :

Civilizationland- Turn 2
Spending: Religion-5, Military-5, Agriculture-10 Economy-0, Technology-0
Plans: Increase manpower by 1. Attack southern peninsula of Empiresia with 100 men and attempt to siege Cityville.
Diplomacy:
To: Empiresia
We will spare your forces the agony of being decimated by our armies if you'd surrender Cityville to our empire.

Following the submission of orders, I will write a chapter to the story and you can once again write orders for the next turn.

Stats
You get 20 points to spend each turn (this number varies based on government, but the default is 20 until you have discovered a new government and switched to it). Every point invested in a stat equals an additional 10% chance of increasing by 1. This means spending 10 points into agriculture will cause agriculture to have a 100% chance to go up. A random number generator will be used to determine if the statistic increases. There are 5 stats you can invest in:

Agriculture- this value represents your population growth. A Agriculture value of 1 means your population increases by 1 units per turn (1 unit = 1000 people). When your Agriculture stat increases, all other stats have a 20% chance to increase immediately thereafter.

Religion- this value represents your culture growth. A Religion value of 1 means your Culture increases by 1 every turn. Culture is an effective way to take over other civilizations in a somewhat peaceful manner by converting them to your religion and way of life. Having a higher Culture value than your opponent means you can potentially try to convert their population to followers of your faith. Conversion are exponentially more effective if you have a religion that is detailed and original.

Economy-this value represents your treasury growth. An Economy value of 1 means your treasury increases by 1 gold per turn. Your treasury is not the same as your 20 points you have to spend each turn. Your treasury is money that can be used to lubricate diplomacy, trade for technologies, buy allies, pay tribute, make peace, and give gifts. You may also use future gold as a bargaining chip by offering a certain amount of gold per turn. This temporarily lowers your Economy value for the duration of the deal.

Military- this value is an amalgamate of several factors including leadership, combat experience, level of training, willingness to fight, and most importantly, military technology. A higher military value will increase the likelihood of military victories.

Technology-technology will be significantly different in this installation DominatrNES. Instead of a linear path, I have now created a technology tree to add an additional level of strategic depth. Technology is important because it allows you to access new functions like building a road or forming a long term trade deal. Technology value represents the amount of beakers you gain per turn. Beakers are the currency in purchasing technology. Beakers cannot be traded. Each technological advance has an associated beaker value and you may purchase technologies in your orders using beakers or trade for them with other players using your treasury.

One important statistic you can control directly is manpower. This is not something you invest in, rather something you detail in your orders. You can increase manpower by as much as 1 per turn to start. If your manpower exceeds 10% of your population, you will begin to be charged a support cost. Manpower can also decrease due to war casualties. 1 manpower represents 1000 armed men in your forces.

Stories
Stories are heavily encouraged and rewarded generously. While statistics are the backbone of the NES, stories are the meat on the bone. The rule of quality over quantity applies here. Player submitted stories greatly enrich the narrative. That goes for other forms of media: poems, drawings, maps, pictures, and songs. Stories show that you are engaged and interested in the narrative and wish to contribute to it, so I suggest being engaged, it will go a long way in keeping your empire on the map.

How to Join
Joining this game is very simple. You just fill out the template I have in the spoilers below and begin to send orders the following turn.

Spoiler :

Civilization Name: (both standard and plural form)
Capital City:
Leader Name: (Title and Name)
City List: (Short list of settlement names to be used in updates)
Person Names:
Societal Structure: (classes, how people live, jobs, etc.)
Religious Beliefs: (all civilizations start as animists, but you can still detail religious traditions and whatnot)
Economy: (What do your people produce)
Brief History: (Where do your people hail from, who are they descendants of, etc.)
Area on map: (please post an image of the political map with a colored dot indicating your selection. A place on the map with a red or black dot is already taken by a player. The color you use for your dot will be the color of your territory on the map.)

While this game is designed to sort of mimic our earth's history, it should NOT include real names or ideas taken directly from history. IE: If you name your civilization "Rome" I will ask you to change it to something original. If your leader is named "Hannibal" he will undergo a name change to fit the game's context. Be advised that your culture ought to fit the regional culture. (South coast: The far western rivers will mimic ancient India. The next two rivers will mimic Mesopotamia. The following two rivers will mimic ancient Arabia. The easternmost river will mimic ancient Egypt. North Coast: the culture groups from west to east are: Carthaginian, Spanish, Greek, Roman) I am willing to be a bit flexible with these boundaries, but a culture named Xinhuang placed in the "Mesopotamia" region will be incredibly out of place and will be torn to shreds by its neighbors. I reserve myself the right to move a culture that I deem out of place.

 

[dominatr]

Maps
(credit goes to North King for the incredible map)

Political Map:


Climate Map:


Key:

Spoiler :

Teal-Mediterranean
Tan-Semiarid
Orange-Arid
Green-Subtropical
Dark Green- Tropical

Place Names:

 

[dominatr]

Technology Tree



Animal Husbandry- +1 agriculture (3 beakers)
Cultivation- +1 agriculture (3 beakers)
Stone Working- +1 technology, military (4 beakers)
Archery- +2 military (4 beakers)
Shamanism- +1 religion (3 beakers)

City State- +1 economy (5 beakers)
Pottery- +2 agriculture, +1 economy (6 beakers) Can use SCOUT
The Wheel- +1 technology, +1 economy (6 beakers) Can use BUILD ROAD
Mining- +1 technology, +1 economy (5 beakers)
Warrior Code- +2 military (5 beakers)
Ceremonial Burial- +2 religion (5 beakers)

Caste System- +1 economy (6 beakers)
Despotism- (8 beakers) Can switch to DESPOTISM GOVERNMENT-22 points to spend at beginning of every turn
Fermentation- +2 economy (6 beakers)
Barter- +4 economy (8 beakers)
Masonry- +2 economy, +1 technology (7 beakers)
Bronze Working- +4 military, +2 economy, +2 technology (10 beakers) New BRONZE resource
Chariotry- +2 military (7 beakers) New HORSES resource
Mythology- +2 religion (6 beakers)

Mass Management- +1 economy (8 beakers)
Slavery- +4 economy, +2 agriculture (12 beakers)
Seafaring- +3 economy, +1 technology (11 beakers) May go on longer sea explorations, also attack over seas
Alphabet- +2 economy (8 beakers)
Horseback Riding- +4 military, +1 economy (12 beakers) can use mounted units
Mysticism- +3 religion (8 beakers)
Drama- +2 religion (7 beakers)

More to come

Please be aware that if you don't have the technology of Bronze Working yet, you can't use bronze. If you haven't learned Horseback Riding, you can't ride horses. Better to ask first than to write a story about iron knights when you're in the stone age.

 

[dominatr]

Statistics

Stats:

Spoiler :

Tech Tree:

Spoiler :

 

[dominatr]

reserved as well

 

[dominatr]

reserved. you may now post

 

[dominatr]

actually, one more for good measure

 

[Polyblank]

Kalasos
​

Civilization Name: Kalasos/Kalasi (People of the High Mountains)

Colour: Blue

Capital City: Timarios

Leader Name: Leves (Title) Maokus Haldes

Trait 1: Agricultural

Trait 2: Militaristic

City List: Timarios, Gaios, Desus, Sebrum, Eteros, Atim, Phomakos, Thiva, Sakritus

Person Names: Maokus, Velos, Kalengashius, Feres, Holeim, Pita, Eolka, Malka

Societal Structure: Because of the polygamy that is enforced by their religion, the Kalasos are not a society with a closed caste system and rigid structure. However, there are some societal classes of note.
The most powerful of them is the Leves and his family. The Leves' rule is absolute and final, but, in regards to which of his heirs will become the next Leves is decided by a council of warriors. The heir of a Leves carries forth the title "Levesioy", which translates to "Leves' son ", meaning that women are necessarily prevented from inheriting the throne unless in circumstances of great need . A Leves can have up to 4 wives.
Directly lower from the royal family are the warriors and their officials. While the warriors form a Council that elects the next Leves, only the most skilled and brilliant of warriors are elevated to the position of officials. In order for that to happen, a warrior needs to be given a part of the royal land to administer in the name of the Leves. But that administration differs from the administration of the realm, for while the throne is hereditary, once the official dies, the land is returned to the throne from where it can be re - distributed as the Leves wishes. An official can have up to 3 wives, while a warrior can have up to 2 wives.
Then there are those classes who do not have immediate power or influence but on whose work the prosperity of the Kalasoi depends. Those are the craftsmen, the farmers, the slaves, the merchants etc. They are employed directly by the Leves and the royal family and they work for them, while there is little opportunity for them outside of the palace due to the lack of major trade with other populations. A Kalasos from this class can have as much as 2 wives.

Religious Beliefs: The main religion of the Kalasoi is centered around the belief in the Sky Father and Mother. When the Sky Mother was impregnated by the Sky Father, she gave birth to the Cosmos (Kosa), and she in turn gave birth to the Earth (Ga) and the Stars (Astoi). The Earth with the Sun and the Moon gave birth to a new child, mankind.
In the religion of the Kalasoi people, polygamy is considered as the holiest way of living together. However, it is often that polygamy is focused on the male partner of a relation rather than the female, unless the woman in question is powerful or directly related to a person of importance (e.g. daughter of a Leves).
Although there are no structures of worship such as temples or altars, many of the faithful feast on mountains, as they are deemed holy. For this reason, the Kalasos traditionally bury their dead en - masse on hollow tombs that are later covered with dirt.

Economy: In the mountains which the Kalasos inhabit, there is not much to produce. Although they are primarily concerned with agriculture, they mostly have to rely on trade and especially raiding in order to survive.

Brief History: TBD

 

[Exhera]

​

Civilization Name: Pyrakhiti(both)

Capital City: Ukunet

Leader Name: Aphokht Kuailu

Trait 1: Commercial
Trait 2: Seafaring

City List: Tilakiqa, Porphanen, Kuhital, Qa'Haruk

Person Names: Male: Agairiku, Jaunet-Ru, Yivphetamon / Female: Yulukaiai, Harneti, Du-Amoni

Societal Structure: The structure of society in the small peninsula is very strict. The only way to escalate the ranks of social status is through military means. And though it does not provide much opportunity for the people, the Pyrakhiti have accepted this way of life. At the top of Pyrakhiti society is the Aphokht. The Aphokht is always a woman and deals with most issues. Below her is the seven princes, or Hithamen, who each own their own trading company. They each have a clan backing them up, and are regularly feuding with one another. The Aphokht manages these feuds so that they do not escalate to violence. Below the Hithamen are the Uluaphai, or priests, who conduct rituals, ceremonies, and all the such. Below them are merchants, or Lusheph, who are employed by the Hithamen. Below the Lusheph are craftsmen and artisans, who are called Guadluphei. Finally, laborers are at the bottom. They are workers who mine, herd, farm, and all the boring tasks that are the fundamentals of civilization. Unlike most ancient civilizations, the Pyrakhiti have mostly equal rights for men and women.

Religious Beliefs: The Pyrakhiti religion is simplistic, with a spirit, or Kikhliti, that guards each object, and they can harm or help humans.
Future Beliefs

Spoiler :

The Pyrakhiti religion is based on the seven gods represented by the seven Hithamen. Though there are many more gods for mostly everything, the main seven are most regularly worshiped. The seven are Udu, Elu, Paph, Mu, Aqi, Neut, and Sai, which are the gods of sky, sea, the afterlife, farming and herding, metalworking and construction, animals, and wealth, respectively.

Economy: The small area in which the Pyrakhiti reside in is minuscule, and all land south is arid, and therefore bad for agriculture. While farming provides a little for the people of the peninsula, trade is the primary industry.

Brief History: Many years before, a group of people, ancestors to the Pyrakhiti, migrated from the eastern river, where life was lush, but people too abundant. People from the central rivers also mixed and blended with the Pyrakhiti, though their culture was not integrated much with the first Pyrakhiti. The small amount of land and large amount of water caused sailing and trade to prosper. After several wars and disputes in the peninsula about government and rulership, a religion emerged that attracted many followers because of its more democratic beliefs, and the peasants forced the present government into power.

Color: 255, 174, 201

 

[dominatr]

Great submissions from both of you, just keep in mind that your civilizations have yet to discover polytheistic worship. All civilizations begin as animists, typical for most nomadic societies that have just settled down.

 

[dominatr]

I am noticing that there has been very little interest initially here, the lowest I've ever had for one of my NESes in the first day. It might be the fact that I am running it on the IOT forums or maybe there are a lot of other games running right now and mine is not getting any attention; I don't know.

However, I still plan on running the NES as planned because I have stake in its longevity and consistency. Please try to get your friends to join. I'd really like to have a few more players before I begin preparing the first update.

 

[Immaculate]

Civilization Name: Mim’amu
Capital City: Amu’toumu
Leader Name: “The council”
Trait 1: Sea-faring
Trait 2: Scientific
City List: Manama, Muharra, Ta’oum, Nearoumantou, Asaabat
Person Names: Taavi (f) Ferdows (f) Nima (f) Jamshid (m) Roozbeh (m) Zartosht (m)

Societal Structure:
Stratocratic oligarchy with no real distinction between the army and formal government. Leaders are a sort of ‘council of strongmen’ with varying degrees of influence and power arising from the shifting alliances and powers these have.

Despite this the Mim’amu aren’t particularly militant.

Religious Beliefs:
Animists to start but going towards this:
Three goddesses each with their own cult. The goddesses are sisters and are renown for their meddling in the affairs of mortals. Formalized priesthood lead prayers and offer sacrifice (usually animals or food)

Culture:
A particularly unique element of the Mim'amu culture are its philosopher-scholars. Like the philosophers of our own timeline's greece, the Mim'amu philosophers are usually provided patronage by some wealthier member(s) of society who in turn expect tutelage for themselves and their children. The philosophers practice at 'academies' which attract both brilliant minds and lazy minds pretending to be brilliant. The academies often compete with one another and often visit one another to compete in discussion and theorizing.

A second element of the Mim'amu culture is its use of stone. They are very accomplished stonemasons and much of their art can be seen in the statues, sculpture, stelae, and temples they raise which are often intricately carved with various depictions of local animals, scenes from everyday life, or more rarely, the three goddesses.

The Mim'amu are accomplished weavers and users of dye and their clothing is often intricately made and brightly dyed.

These people are generally optimistic and loud, valuing social interaction (and wine) as well as good-natured competition (and athletics). They enjoy argument but disdain violence. They have a musical tradition centered around both huge and much smaller lithophones which they assemble from local ringing rocks.

Economy:
Food agriculture (limited wheat, greater quantities of various appropriate fruit, probably olives, grapes, dates and that sort of stuff, sheep and goats), Commercial agriculture (mostly cotton, also some dyes), Wineries, Stonework (homes are almost entirely made of stone- wood being reserved for ship-building), Pottery, Extensive fishing (including pearl diving industries), Textiles (cotton) and soft leathers from goat and sheep, Mining (copper), Ship-building (probably pretty limited initially depending on timeframe), Trade (export: olive oil, wine, salt, pottery, pearls, cotton, import: other metal (finished and raw), rarer dyes, heavier leather goods (from cattle), occasionally grain depending on local harvests)

Brief History:
Don't know where we hail from. As far as we know we've always been here.

Area on map:

I am noticing that there has been very little interest initially here, the lowest I've ever had for one of my NESes in the first day. It might be the fact that I am running it on the IOT forums or maybe there are a lot of other games running right now and mine is not getting any attention; I don't know.

However, I still plan on running the NES as planned because I have stake in its longevity and consistency. Please try to get your friends to join. I'd really like to have a few more players before I begin preparing the first update.

Glad to hear that. I for one am excited.

 

[Lord_Herobrine]

Still very much interested. Been busy with work lately, but have been working on my application. Will post my app when I get home.

 

[LDiCesare]

Hi.
Expressing interest but :

Oligarchy, monarchy, caste system, slavery, shamanism, are all barred from the beginning.
So are irrigation and fishing. You mention seafaring in the traits but not in the tech tree...

That is, unless I start with the tech trait, which gives me 20 beakers, that is:
Fishing- +1 to agriculture (3 beakers)
Irrigation- +1 to agriculture (4 beakers)
Wood Working- +1 to technology, military (4 beakers)
Herbalism- +1 to agriculture (3 beakers)
Stone Working- +2 to technology, military (6 beakers) (total 20 beakers)
Total 20, for +3 agriculture & +3 military (for instance, but it's more flexible than that).
It's ridiculously overpowered compared to agriculutral or religious.
Also, selling techs sounds lame in my opinion,particularly if you can broker them away.

So I don't understand why you ask to fill in religion, societal structure etc. when at this point none of the proposed civs fit because they don't have the right techs researched 'monarchy, stoneworking, classes of crafters when you know neither wood work norpottery nor fishing).
Shouldn't each nation start with one or 2 techs researched?
You're basically saying that religion and social structure are set. I don't get why settling-down nomads would have to be animists in the first place. I'm interested in any material that would corroborate this idea. Nomads tended not to write, so I'm puzzled as to where this assertion comes from.

 

[Lord_Herobrine]

Civilization Name: Keweenai (both standard and plural form)
Location:

(Ignore the color on the map, go with the color detailed below instead.)

Color: [RGB] 34, 177, 76
Capital City: Hiawatha
Leader Name: Keidari (Title) Talvi Sielu
Trait 1: Scientific
Trait 2: Seafaring
City List: Seeney, Calumet, Traverse
Person Names: Juhn, Emers, Eiten, Tirmun, Ayon

Societal Structure: (classes, how people live, jobs, etc.)
Keweenai society is comprised of an open caste system. Sublevels within the caste system include a peasant class, a merchant, a noble, and finally an omnipotent leader position.
The peasant class, or Pulhn, comprises about 65% of the population and is the soul of the state. Much of the culture comes from this class and therefore helps to keep the people in goods spirits during times of crisis.
The merchant class called the Nume, 30% of the population, makes up the numerous traders and entrepeneurs and is considered the lifeblood of the Keweenai, like blood through veins.
The noble class, called the Nurmein, makes up the rest of people. This class is designed to prepare the nobles for ruling the state someday, but the Keidari is ultimately decided upon by a sign of nature.
The Keidari is an almighty being that rules with a spiritual right. Each is chosen from the nobles and rules for a lifetime or until something profoundly spiritual causes all faith in the ruler to be lost.
All of the classes are built to be able to ascend through the caste system, from peasant to noble. Although it is possible, most peasants do not make it to even the merchant class, let alone noble. It requires extraordinary determination and succesive accomplishments to do so, then a sign of nature for them to succeed to Keidari.

Religious Beliefs:
Guran {Gah-Ron} is the Keweenai people's belief that trees are a sacred part of the spiritual realm. They believe that trees are connected with a particular "Spiritual Road" that can give them peace in the afterlife. Several traditions have been passed down from generations, one of which is the symbolic planting of a conifer tree. Whether it be the majestic redwood for a great occasion or a simple pine, these trees now dominate the mountains around Hiawatha from countless ceremonies of years past. Despite have reverence for trees, they are still needed for fuel and building materials. When a tree is felled for its timber, saplings are planted in its place to reestablish the connection that was lost.

Economy:
The Keweenai people have historically been a trading folk that dabbled in local inland and coastal trade routes. Prosperous waters just off the coast have begun to feed the masses and provide a profitable trade. Although traditionally focused on utilizing the sea and farmland, there has been movements made towards an industrious work inland and throughout the surrounding mountains.

Brief History:
The people of Keweenai cannot trace their lineage to a particular region. Over time word of mouth has mystified the homeland, but there is still mention of a great river in the north that protected the earliest ancestors. Their contact with other cultures through trade has influenced their own, leaving some titles or settlements culturally complex.

 

[Tycho]

Expressing interest. Will have something here later today, hopefully.

 

[Everblack]

Am here to tell you that i will be interested in joining and I will have something up by tomorrow.

 

[dominatr]

Hi.
Expressing interest but :

Oligarchy, monarchy, caste system, slavery, shamanism, are all barred from the beginning.
So are irrigation and fishing. You mention seafaring in the traits but not in the tech tree...

That is, unless I start with the tech trait, which gives me 20 beakers, that is:
Fishing- +1 to agriculture (3 beakers)
Irrigation- +1 to agriculture (4 beakers)
Wood Working- +1 to technology, military (4 beakers)
Herbalism- +1 to agriculture (3 beakers)
Stone Working- +2 to technology, military (6 beakers) (total 20 beakers)
Total 20, for +3 agriculture & +3 military (for instance, but it's more flexible than that).
It's ridiculously overpowered compared to agriculutral or religious.
Also, selling techs sounds lame in my opinion,particularly if you can broker them away.

So I don't understand why you ask to fill in religion, societal structure etc. when at this point none of the proposed civs fit because they don't have the right techs researched 'monarchy, stoneworking, classes of crafters when you know neither wood work norpottery nor fishing).
Shouldn't each nation start with one or 2 techs researched?
You're basically saying that religion and social structure are set. I don't get why settling-down nomads would have to be animists in the first place. I'm interested in any material that would corroborate this idea. Nomads tended not to write, so I'm puzzled as to where this assertion comes from.

Yes, I have intentionally barred governments off in the beginning because players will be able to swtich to certain governments to gain bonuses. This prompts players to shift towards more complex systems of governing and guide the game along a historical trend toward complex government.

You may have missed it in the rules, but the civilization traits have bonuses that change over time. This means, new bonuses will be applied for the traits in later stages of the game. While Scientific seems quite powerful in the early stages, bear in mind that the Technology value is the same, so any other civilization can invest in technology and catch up quite quickly because Beakers are a cumulative value. Bonuses are still subject to change leading up to the fist update, so the traits may be more balanced.

Despite limiting technologies, I am still asking players to be creative with their submissions through prompts such as class, structure, religion etc. because I want the player civilizations to develop their identities right out of the gate. As for the starting with techs researched. Nations will invariably have technologies right out of the gate if they choose to spend their beakers on the first turn after chapter 1. (Because why would you wait to spend beakers when you can collect compounded bonuses immediately)

The game is intended to begin when civilization is at its simplest, and as far as I see it, that means starting right at the end of nomadic activities, animistic beliefs, and simple forms of government. If you want to question the technological progression I have proposed, consult Civilization III, for that is where I drew my inspiration. Bear in mind that this is the first time I am implementing a technological tree and civilization traits and I am always trying to find a balance. Hope that provided a little clarity.

 

[dominatr]

The current strength of the Scientific trait has been adjusted to a more reasonable 16 beakers. That will roughly work out to Scientific civilizations being 1-2 technologies ahead rather than 3. Remember, traits can fluctuate in power. While Industrious may seem trivial now, it may pay to lay railroads much faster than anyone else later on. While Diplomatic may seem limited in use, having the upper hand in alliances when a world conflict is building can be priceless.

Also Populations will begin at 1 rather than 10. (Remember that means 1 thousand people, not 1 person)

Happy to see the interest expressed as well.

 

[Jehoshua]

Civilization Name: Senartis (Senari People).

Map: gold: Senari initial sphere of influence/expansion

Spoiler :

Colour: Gold

Capital City: Senartis (located at the southern tip of the northern peninsula above the straits, as noted on map)

Leader Name: Basat Phenaros Senatir (Basat being a title)

Traits: Seafaring and Religious.

City List: Senartis, Rasentis, Senaton, Thearion, Ephentis, Atamartos, Photis, Riva, Sacerophis.

Person Names: Phenaros, Velen, Martyas, Timaros, Senna, Arathea, Phosentia, Mara.

Societal Structure: Senari society is governed by an aristocratic and monarchical constitution. The hereditary Basat (Divine King) governs with the princes (heads of clans) and nobility under him in the senate of senartis and through a meritocratic bureaucracy. The Basats rule is absolute in theory, and yet in practice he acts in concert with the clans under the influence of the bureaucratic and senatorial apparatus, with each organ of state serving to temper the excesses of the other and maintain social order and harmony. Socially, the Senari (being related to the Kalasi people of the interior) are a relatively free society without a closed caste system. This relative freedom, unlike the Kalasi however is maintained by strict monogamy (which prevents the powerful monopolising women in harems) with the exception of the Basat who is allowed 4 additional concubines in addition to his queen to guarantee heirs for the throne, and by openness of the nobility to the merchant class (being often involved in commerce themselves). Functionally Senari society can be considered divided between the Nobility, the Merchants, Craftsmen and the Peasantry. Slavery is frowned upon, but tolerated as a de-facto state of affairs when it comes to foreign captives (it being considered an abomination for a Senar to enslave another Senar)

Religion: The main religion of the Senari people is centered around the belief of a primordial, eternal, and inaccessible creator, who created and constantly sustains the universe through his general providence, and also directly created mankind. From this inaccessible God, emanate many deities (good and evil) of varying degrees of power, with the highest being the gods Sentis and Shotar, who embody the binary forces of the universe (life-death, generation-destruction, growth-decay), beneath whom stand the celestial purities who are considered to guide the souls of men to salvation, these being Arsatos, Imratos, Harenis, Taran, Phenetas, Athanaris and Helein (gods of truth, purpose, righteousness, victory, purity, immortality and dominion). Yet other gods stand of middling rank, these being the terrestrial gods (compared to the heavenly gods of higher rank) considered to be in the world proper, these including gods such as Dipatar (The Earth God), Pasaris (The Sea God), Makaris (the god of trade, human relations and civilisation) and Ioten (the sky god, analogous to the Kalaroi sky father). Below even these are numerous nature spirits, genii loci, hallowed ancestors and angels given due veneration by the Senari. Various demons within Senari theology include Aita (Demon of Lies) Talatar (Demon of wrath) and Ophoris (Demon of Vanity).

The heavenly and terrestrial gods are propitiated and given due honour by various priesthood (the higher ranks of which are reserved to nobles), with worship being conducted in temples and shrines, through sacrifices, libations and offerings, and through the recitation of ritual chants and the conduction of music. There are also maintained regular public religious festivals, feasts and processions. Of particular religious importance is the Temple of the One, devoted to the primordial creator, here the Basat acts as high priest on the holiest of ceremonies, and is considered a direct bridge to the supreme and inaccessible deity being considered the living image of the God on earth, an earthly reflection of the supreme heavenly sovereignty of the nameless One in his role as sovereign of the earthly court governing the Senari state. In the home fathers act as maintainers of the family cultus to ancestors and tutelary gods, in accordance with patriarchal principles with father as priest and king of his household.

In terms of morality, the Senari religion commands monogamy, and forbids murder and the usual obscenities. It also maintains a philosophy which exalts as of the highest importance truth, and the continual never-ending journey towards human perfection in concord with the divine order of existence as reflected in the harmonious movement of the heavens and the intelligible order of nature on earth. Through fulfilment of the telos (ultimate purpose) of the human person, the Senari believe that they can obtain purity, pardon for sin, and sublime union with the supreme being.

Economy: Being located on key maritime trade routes, and in a Mediterranean climate, the Senari economy is predicated upon trading. Farming is conducted with olives, wheat and numerous other vegetables being farmed, and sheep, goats and cattle herded in the less fertile parts. Fishing is also of strong importance economically.

Brief History: The indigenous people of the northern peninsula (Senaras), the Senari were pushed to its southern extremity and the northern coast of the southern continent across the strait in primordial time, by the migration of the Keweenai to the northern part of their ancient territories from their fabled homeland in the unknown north.

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OOC Notes:

The whole idea of traits seems a bit strange to me, people and nations don't have traits in real life apart from their agency. Ergo I think that the "national character" of countries would be better established if its left as a reflection of player actions and investments (in military, religion or whatever) in the game, rather than as part of a traits system. Abolishing traits would incidentally also eliminate all issues (including the inevitable unforseen ones which will come up if they are retained) related to balance regarding them.

Incidentally, the tech tree seems weird in places and the whole concept is generally quite clunky and odd. For example seafaring rather than coming off of the related fishing (which requires boats) comes quite far down the line after bartering and is apparently a more advanced development than the establishment of sophisticated city-states.... Likewise writing seemingly comes after Alphabet, when logically the reverse is more apt (one must already have writing to develop an alphabet). I would suggest that a possible alternative would be simple "technological phases" which one progressively enters into as ones technology level (beakers as a statistical unit) increase through a) autocthonous investment and b) contact with more advanced civs. This would also allow room for player elaboration on specific details of their cultures material development as they advance (what kind of weapons they use and whatever).

One last thing, if you do maintain the tech-tree system there is a strong likelihood methinks that the game will be stuck in a Neolithic rut for far too long. It would be far better I think to have faster development and game-progression (at least until the classical period when it should slow down) so that the game doesn't end up going at a snails pace with the accompanying boredom that would entail.