Fantasy NES: Sekai

[kkmo]

did you role for me yet, kkmo?

I rolled a 2 for you, which means you get to start out with 2 characters. Sorry for the delay there, for some reason I thought I already rolled for you.

 

[Neverwonagame3]

bestshot9, how about we work together? I'll agree that we both have equal say in what the band does, thus giving you 50% of 6 characters instead of 100% of 2.

 

[kkmo]

Or you know, I'm willing to give both of you guys 4 characters, too. I don't think I should be limiting you players because, after all, you do just have characters.

So anyone that has a band of characters, you can play as 4 of them for sure, if you would like. 1-4 characters is okay.

The reason I made rolling for parties was because I wanted some players to have to find new characters, but I suppose that is okay for you guys anyway, especially if your characters die. And I'm sure some of them will.

 

[Neverwonagame3]

The deal still stands.

 

[dldnjstjr]

I'll be on-hold for this NES. I'll jump in after the first update.

 

[bestshot9]

Its alright neverwonagame, i'll stay with the 2 he gave me, cuz mine have a specific goal, yours seem a bit undecided, and it might be hard to coordinate orders with another person. also, if we're both just controlling 3 characters, what's the real difference?

also, ninja, just wanted to know cuz your nation is so close to the undead, and my band is humans who are out to destroy any undead they come across. i couldn't remember if they were gobs or humans, if they were humans then it would have made sense to start out my people in your kingdom, but it seems it might not be able to work that way, maybe we can work some deals with the goblin king though

Okay so my characters are:

1. Halden Kohl - Human Warrior
2. Edorin Naga - Human Ranger

I'll make some back stories for them when someone makes a suitable kingdom/city state for them to belong to, or at least start out from.

 

[Neverwonagame3]

The difference is we can coordinate a more powerful group together. If you don't want to it though, that's fine.

 

[das]

I think I've just found out some interesting facts about my location:

1. If this undead army is coming from the desert in the nothwest like I think it is, there is a good chance I'm going to be the first line of defense for everyone.


2. Same thing as the undead except if Kandoran decides to travel into poor little Sekai. There are a little better chances that I won't be he only one fighting them though since the Dwarves can saok up some damage before I step in.

Hear that world? Your first line of defense against the evils of the world are a bunch of evil green midgets that may or may not betray you all in the end. I hope you can sleep at night now.

Since both you and the undead are thankfully far away and whatever battle occurs is likely to destroy one of you and badly weaken the other keeping either of you from inflicting any harm on the rest of us, I think that sleeping soundly at night is exactly what we're going to do.

 

[kkmo]

bestshot, das has a Half-Elven kingdom that is quite powerful to start out with, maybe your band of humans would be well-off starting there. Or, there are Dwarven and Gnomish kingdoms in the Western Mountains that you could ask. Many possibilities. If you really need a human kingdom, I can make an NPC one.

Here is my next incarnation of the map. This time with borders.

Spoiler Map of Sekai :

And another take:

Spoiler Map of Sekai :

 

[bestshot9]

Well, if no one makes the human kingdom, then I'll make my people start out in your NPC one, will you provide a background for it, though?

 

[das]

I think it would be better to have more different colours. Other than that it's all good.

Also, to clarify: the Economy represents our spending for every one turn (week), as opposed to income or the current (depletable) treasury, correct?

EDIT: Additionally, are we supposed/allowed to make some initial pre-NES purchases, in order to start with an army and some basic infrastructure? Or should that only happen in the NES itself?

 

[Massive Attack]

Sorry to pester... still would like to see a basic naval unit?

 

[Lord_Iggy]

A Brief History of Dorovel

In Elder Days, generations before this time, Thorgrimm Ironside and his clan, the last survivors of a Goblin War which had destroyed the once-great Kingdom of Rhaz-Kazil, settled in a natural cave system in the western mountains of Sekai. Thorgrimm, as legends go, singlehandedly constructed the grand gatehouse to the caverns.

Over the years, dwarven settlement in the caves, christened 'Dorovel' by the Ironside clan, grew. Great underground chambers were carved into glorious halls, deep mines perforated the underground realm. The entire economy of Dorovel based itself around the valuable metals in the mines- within the deep halls, they were collected, purified, and forged into tools and weapons, all of the finest craftsdwarfship.

It was in the 312th year after the founding of Dorovel, during the reign of Thorgrimm II Ironaxe, that the Goblin King Blazgig rose to power in Turtanbar. The two subterranean nations, who had been at peace for all of their histories, were most unexpectedly thrown into war.

The war began when a huge group of goblins, disguised as a merchant caravan, suddenly revealed weapons and began to assault the great markets, one of the upper caverns of Dorovel. 'Backstabbing Blaz', certainly earned his name in this event. Hundreds of dwarves were cut down before guards and armed civilians managed to drive the goblins off, killing several of their party.

For the next several years, Dorovel was under constant siege, goblins pouring in at all entrances. Slowly but surely, the defenders, led by Thorgrimm II Ironaxe, were forced deeper and deeper into their caverns. Food from the underground city's massive stores began to run low, and to many it seemed that the end was near. However, fortune was on the side of the stoic dwarves.

On the eighth year of the siege, the goblins began to pull out, following the death of Blazgig. Turning on to the offensive, the dwarves pursued their invaders out, and sealed many of their entrances to the outside world. Following their 'victory', the drastically depopulated city of Dorovel began to repair itself. The defilement of the upper chambers by the invaders would took years to repair, and the population would take centuries to regain its original size.

Blizgag, the second great Goblin King of Turtanbar, attempted to resume the siege, but could not break into the now heavily-fortified and militarily-prepared dwarves of Dorovel. He made repeated attempts, then eventually was assassinated himself. None of his successors made significant attempts to conquer Dorovel again, though there would always remain bad blood between the two races, who would fight many skirmishes between their two rival nations.

In the years after the Great Sieges, Dorovel made many moves to improve its defensibility. Gates were built at all entrances, most of which remained shut. Traders now only came in through the great main gate in the south. A professional army was maintained, maintaining constant vigilance. Possibly most important of all was the start of significant subterranean agriculture and aquaculture projects, should the city ever be cut off from the upland farming meadows again.

Today, Thorgrimm III Goldshield rules the Halls of Dorovel. The subterranean city is repaired, but the memories are still fresh in the collective memory of the dwarves. Forgiveness has never been given, though there has been a peace of sorts with the Goblins to the north. Whatever may come in the future, however, Dorovel will stand ready.

 

[bestshot9]

I change my mind, I want to be a group of dwarves from Dorovel, if that is okay with Lord Iggy? I'm going to change the characters, too. For sure a Dwarf Warrior, but I don't know about the second one, I'll work on it tomorrow or the day after.

 

[Fuschia]

Name: Unas-gnor
Player Type: City-state
Species: Gnome
Location: Hex G-12
Economy: 500 spending points
Advantage: -1* for all techs (excluding 1* techs), +1* for all magic
Background: A small gnomish city-state located within the mountains of Sekai, it is intensely suspicious of all outsiders and eschews the use of magic in nearly all cases, believing those who use it to be tools of the gods.

Ruled not by a single individual but by a powerful group of inventors and builders, Unas-gnor uses technology and innovation to make up for its lack of magical talent, and it now sports some of the deepest living spaces of any group within Sekai. The slight xenophobic tendencies of the state have also led to the elimination of all but one above-ground entrance into its caverns, one that is both heavily guarded and well hidden.

----

I need approval for the advantage and the rest of it, so I hope you can get to it as quickly as possible. Also, I apologize if the hex is off a bit, but it should be located in the center of the southern branch of the northern mountain range.

On another note, will their be a population stat for kingdoms and city-states?

 

[kkmo]

Also, to clarify: the Economy represents our spending for every one turn (week), as opposed to income or the current (depletable) treasury, correct?

Yes, it is the Economy as a whole, and not your depletable income.

EDIT: Additionally, are we supposed/allowed to make some initial pre-NES purchases, in order to start with an army and some basic infrastructure? Or should that only happen in the NES itself?

I will be approaching this issue when we have our first turn. Everyone will get a head start of sorts.

Sorry to pester... still would like to see a basic naval unit?

Its coming... I have a lot on my plate right now.

On another note, will their be a population stat for kingdoms and city-states?

Population numbers are up to you guys and have no game mechanic effect, but do provide good atmosphere.

And that is an acceptable advantage.

 

[das]

I decided to write out a backstory for the Malthen Kingdom, but it turned out to be quite impossible without going into some detail about the history of the Half-Elves themselves. Hopefully you (and any other interested players) wouldn't mind it much.

---

The rise of the Half-Elven race is shrouded in mystery, the exact point of its first appearance being even more difficult to discern than that of more ancient races. That is because it was not accompanied by any grand metaphysical events, but rather occured gradually and over time, in the great human cities and the more cosmopolitan of elven settlements. At first, the Half-Elves had no unified identity at all; they were few and far between. Some faced discrimination from both humans and elves; others managed to endear themselves somehow to the communities where they lived, usually thanks to their useful skills or great achievements. But as time went on, the Half-Elves grew greater in number, and so began to be seen as a genuine problem. They were ostracised by the elves and persecuted by the humans, often having to settle outside of the main cities. It was there and then that their common identity first began to emerge.

The tensions between the Half-Elves and the humans simmered as the cities grew and sprawled. Eventually, a powerful mage named Draugel had emerged as a community leader in one of the largest Half-Elven suburbs and launched an uprising, briefly forcing the municipal council to grant the Half-Elves nearly equal rights. But this and the subsequent rebellions led to an eventual powerful reaction. The humans, assisted by a major faction in the Pantheon, struck back in force, destroying Half-Elf settlements, enslaving the population and killing Draugel in one of the last battles of the abortive rebellion. Some of the Half-Elves tried to escape towards the forests, but found no refuge there, as the elves slaughtered them, having little need for slaves.

However, less than thirty years had passed before the embittered Half-Elven population rose up again, this time with the help of divine backers of their own. Having mastered powerful magics, they were able to exact revenge on the elves and the humans alike. Elven forests burned until the elves agreed to leave them to the rebels; many human cities were destroyed, and their kingdoms were thrown into anarchy. Thus, at the end of the second rebellion, neither humans nor elves could hope to exercise supreme authority in the central plains and woodlands of Sekai, and the Half-Elven magocrats found themselves in an unexpected position of hegemony. Wary of foreign threats - both from their former oppressors and from other races - the Half-Elves decided to use this unique situation as well as they could. They created an extensive empire, the Lainiand, founding fortresses that eventually grew into cities and organising themselves along regional and military lines. The entire population was imbued with the iron discipline necessary to survive the onslaught of powerful enemies. The gifted were trained in combat magics from their very youth.

For a while, the Lainiand was virtually unchallenged in the central regions, partly because the surviving elves and humans were also forced to fight for their very survival against several chaotic races. With time, however, the empire began to shrink, as new threats emerged and pushed it back. What's worse, the unity enjoyed by the Half-Elves early in their history did not last for all that long, and so the Lainiand began to gradually disintegrate into smaller city-states and kingdoms that waged war upon one another. Meanwhile, the ancient enemies of the Half-Elves have managed to recoup their losses, and so managed to inflict several painful defeats. Between them and the orcs, the entire western half of the empire had fallen two centuries before the end of the Second Age. The eastern half enjoyed a very brief renaissance around the city of Ost-Letha; however, eventually it too was put on the brink of destruction. It was saved partly by a judicious use of both diplomacy and battle magic, but mostly by the new influx of barbarians and orcs that heralded the beginning of the Third Age.

Having thus weathered the storm, the princes of Ost-Letha had declared themselves to be the rightful successors to the Lainiand of old, proclaiming the creation of the Golden (Malthen) Kingdom. While still small, it has already established itself as a notable regional power, though the arrogance of its rulers, even if tempered with a certain pragmaticism taught by adversity, would likely make the revival of Half-Elven hegemony even more difficult than it is by default.

 

[Ninja Dude]

Since both you and the undead are thankfully far away and whatever battle occurs is likely to destroy one of you and badly weaken the other keeping either of you from inflicting any harm on the rest of us, I think that sleeping soundly at night is exactly what we're going to do.

Or I might betray the rest of the world, ally myself with the undead for a little whle, then attempt a couple assassinations to weaken the undead and I end up coming out on top.

Or I get steam-rolled and my entire kingdom becomes zombie chow.

 

[Cannae]

Name: Tangirzara
Player Type: Kingdom
Species: Huorin (aka: A mishmush of Goblin, Orc and Human)
Location: I will show later
Economy:
Advantages: They have all the qualities of all three races but only dulled down. Some more qualities so than others.
Background: A kingdom that was initially completely human alone. But there was a steady stream of goblins who needed to live within the confines of the city to be able to conduct trade. These goblins over time became more assimilated into the main stream and became more human like in behavior until they mixed in with the majority of the human population.

The second wave of migrants came when the orcs were needed as mercanaires to serve in the already human/goblin army. Overtime, these orcs became more settled into the home nation and when they brought in more of their kind in they just naturally began to change their ways (and gentics) untill the population their poulation became indiquinsable to the main populance. Which, thus created a population that has human, goblin and orc gentic roots.

Is this ok with you kkmo?

 

[Fuschia]

History of Unas-gnor

Unas-gnor and the characteristics that compose its outlook upon the world began to form near the end of evolution for the race of gnomes. The god whose influence had been the main guiding force behind their creation established control over his creations.

The gnomes were treated poorly, as pawns in the god's infinite game of chess. Those favored by the god were taught magic, and these pieces were more valuable, but still pieces; often, they were more thoroughly controlled and used than the ordinary members of the race.

When the gods left Sekai, the gnomes that were to found Unas-gnor were members of a larger gnomish kingdom. Their outlook, however, was not one of loss at the absence of their god as the other gnomes viewed it, but one of freedom. Most importantly, their views differed when it came to magic; the founders of Unas-gnor believed that the use of magic allowed the power of their god to trickle back, slowly but surely.

This led to a rift, and the gnomes left to found their own state. While small, they took many great technological minds with them, as these were the gnomes who led them against magic, which they considered nothing more than a method by which the god controlled their race; this has allowed them to produce quickly a proper city, within which the state's entire population lives and works for the betterment of their kind without the aid of magic.

---

I would hope this to be acceptable, as it merges more or less directly with the backstory. If any aspects need to be changed, please let me know.