NDNESIV: A New World, A New History

Aotomites
Starting Location: Eastern Coast
Society: Most the people living in small farming communities along the coastline relaying on rains from the seas. A group of priests rule over and determine the direction of society. Strong despotic rulers are avoided and feared.
Lineage: Similar to western ways. A father's name is passed on to his wife and children.
Values: Piety, Hardwork, Wisdom
Religion(s): Dovodism is the name of the religion named after the prophet Dovod who led the people over the great northern mountains. The religion is largely monotheistic. It is believed that Dovod was told by God to lead the Aotomites over the mountains or they would all perish by the hand of a warlike tribe closely related known as the Ortomites. God promised them a small strip of land where they could farm and worship in peace surrounded by great deserts as natural protection. The priests however excercise a great amount of control over society as the only ones who can speak directly to God and the only who can read the sacred texts of Dovod.
Language(s): The peoples generally use the same language Dovodian. Writing is common among the merchant and priest class. A seperate religious alphabet is used by the priests created by Dovod. The commoners have developed their own alpahbet closely related the the religious one just out of necessity of a increasingly complex society.Mythos: Like explained in religion a nomadic group that crosses the northern mountains. Their name Aotomites means (Mountaincrossers) and the word Ortomites means (Origin). Dovod died before they reached the region. His sons continued the journey and each separated into different tribes once arrived. Daraites live in the north, Takilites live in the middle, and the Valmaites live in the south. Over time the tribes have migrated closer together for protection and greater efficiency.
Economic Base: Largely agricultural, small scattered fishing villages
Nation Names: There are really no "nations". Instead there is a scattering of small city-states and farming villages unioned in small confederations. Priests from each city usually provide guidance to the citizens and organize the people. Nations have begun to form out of the need for great organization and protection.
Person Names: Dovod (The Prophet), Famous priests and sons of Dovod (Aviah Dara, Gamaush Takil, Asirdor Valma)
Place Names: Tribal Names: Daran, Takila, Valaman. Kingdom Names: Valamand, Aotomia and Dovodia. Cities names are Ahak, Dovodia, Otom, Cradic, Gamarak
Other: While Kings or despots are generally not accepted some peoples have adopted them. Mostly due the arrival of other groups of people. The Valaman tribes are more prone towards war and nation building interperting the sacred texts as the need for securing their promised paradise. They have begun to generally dominate politics while the other two tribes dominate religion.

Starting Spot




Edit: Things in red I changed to better match what was requested. I apologize I did not mean to come off as selfish.
 
Farow, you don't really get to decide how big your countries get or where they are placed. :/ sorry. Plus, you made your starting location a little big. Could you please use a dot like everyone else to show where you are starting?
 
Neolitian Civilization
Starting Location: East Coast. . .. .. .. . off Farow.
Society: Seafaring gerontocracy, fishing villages, migration of young men between villages.
Lineage: Patrilineal
Values: Family, not necessarily blood relatives. Limited independence and sufficiency, interdependence acceptable and encouraged. Personal respect, though not necessarily trust or honor.
Religion(s): Shachar and Shalim, the opposed and co-dependent gods of the Rising and Setting Suns, are the main focuses of worship. Their parents, Melkart and Tyre, god and goddess of the underworld and the sky, are respected but not involved in mortal affairs. Lessor gods and nature spirits populate folklore. Khufurut is appealed to as a guide at sea, as he is a storm god.
Language(s): Alphabet does not include specific vowel sounds, and the language allows the use of different vowels to convey different shades of meaning to words.
Mythos: Melkart wished to court Tyre, the Sky Goddess, so he created a place where the sky and underworld met. Their children, the greatest among them Shachar and Shalim, live there. The dead, when unburned, go to Melkart, who uses them as servants. If the body is burned they go to Tyre, who reincarnates them as spirits. An ocean spirit, Khofarat, courted Tyre away from Melkart, and their children are humans.
Economic Base: Settled communities among the coasts fish, conduct trade with nomadic tribes in the desert and other civilizations in the shroud.
Nation Names: Pelese, Tjeker, Shekelesh, Denyen, Weshesh
Person Names: Agarit, Arka, Arwad, Barat, Betras, Gebal, Porph, Safita, Sarepta, Shachard, Sidon, Tripae
Place Names: Meh
 
Ninja Dude said:
Farow, you don't really get to decide how big your countries get or where they are placed. :/ sorry. Plus, you made your starting location a little big. Could you please use a dot like everyone else to show where you are starting?
Click to expand...

Well, just put me on the peninsula. It doesn't really matter how big I am it works either way. I also do not have countries so I think you misunderstood. There are three priests who lead three different tribes, one in the north, the middle and the south.That was just an explaination of my mythos or origin. I just used the colors to help understand that the rough estimate of where each tribe settled. You can alter it or whatever you need to do. I just wish to be an odd confederation of tribes that are largely peaceful united by a common religion. So you can make it a lot smaller then I did.

Edit: I will make some changes to make things easier
 
Ik
Starting Location: YOUR FACE!
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Society: The Ik have a rather simple family structure. The oldest male is considered the head of the family, which is usually defined as anyone he has direct blood relations with. Adoption is common and adopted sons or daughters are seen as being related by blood after adoption. This patriarchal family structure has influenced the rise of the first royal blood lines. A strong focus is on agriculture and the development of ways to better agriculture, hence a strong affinity has been garnered between the Ik and the Land, which in some cases can be considered sacred.

Lineage: Paternally

Values: Simplicity is perhaps the most valuable thing in Ik culture. The simplest solution is seen as the best. This emphasis on simplicity has done away with ornamental decoration for the most part and instead function is valued over something that looks good.

Religion(s): The Ik call their religion Bo, named after the god that they worship. The Bo religion developed as agriculture developed. It triumphed over forms of animism and spirit worship mainly because the main tenant of Bo is to proselytize. The spread of Bo is considered the duty of the Ik. The god Bo is a rather shapeless god, not particularly characterized by any specific animal. Instead Bo is an all encompassing entity who is the creator of all things.

Language(s): The Ik language reflects Ik cultural ideals, in that they are simplistic. Most Ik words are only 1-2 syllables long. In writing the Ik have developed a rudimentary form of writing, based off of numerical markings used originally for farming and tallying up crops. Eventually it evolved into a phonetic based signs and a crude alphabet.

Mythos: Bo is considered the creator of the Ik people. The most prevalent myth of this creation is that Bo was originally a singular being, however Bo, lacking any company what so ever, went about creating things to entertain him. After his first creations, those being the animals of the San (The name for the earth) he perfected his art of creating life with humans. Hence humans, for the most part, are seen as perfect beings, or at least the embodiment of the true will of Bo.

Economic Base: The economy of the Ik is mostly compromised of a mixture between fishing and agriculture. However agriculture makes up a larger portion of the economy.

Nation Names: Gorin, Diko, Sanik, Taik, Ikno, Wa-ik

Person Names: Sen, Hadri, Bonki, Charl, Moki, I, Loom

Place Names: Diarbi, Sonki, Hanik, Yiko, Dosrobi, Ta-ik
 
Sadhilim

Starting Location: Nomadic; Somewhere in the desert (doesn't matter where)

Society:
Strong clan/tribal system, no real central organization/goverment; dozens of local chieftains rule over their own domains, however intertribal wars are rarely more than displays of strength or ceremonial affairs, as they are governed by a complex system of ritual hospitality. Sadhilim are much more prone to attacking Borilim, "those who suffer assault," or "foreigners," due to a universally negative view of foreigners' abilities. At the same time, foreigners who display martial prowess (either in strength or cunning) or else rhetorical excellence are generally accepted as Sadhilim.

Intertribal conflict is not always bloody, as tribes often meet for a series of contests including traditional displays of martial prowess (horseback riding, spear throwing, wrestling), as well as contests of rhetoric and speech.

Slavery is widespread and accepted. Slaves are humans, but, unless they display some form of excellence, either in combat or in rhetoric, they are considered sub-Sadhilim.

Lineage: Patrilineal, monogamous, with a paradoxical obsession with genealogy

Values: Strength, Excellence, Wit

Religion(s): The Sadhilim believe that there is a distant God who does not speak to them, that they have sinned against Him in ages past and that they, though once his chosen people, have fled from their responsibility. They now converse solely with lesser deities, themselves created by the greater God, and deal with them as they would deal with any human, attempting to appease, anger, bribe, trick, and cheat them as they can.

Language(s): The word "sadhil" (sa-DTHEEL) comes from the verb base group "s-dh," which means "to instigate a duel." Thus, a sadhil is "one who instigates a duel," whereas sadhilim are "those who instigate duels." In other words, the only word the Sadhilim have for their people can be roughly translated to "those who initiate conflict." The Sadhili language essentially lacks true nouns, which are all replaced by participles. That is to say, the Sadhilim do not understand how a person can be other than what he does, and the act and actor are one and the same. Insofar as there is ever a demand for writing, it is usually little more than official graffiti, as they are fond of leaving the name of the tribe, as well as a short list of the tribe's exploits, chiseled on the rocks when an enemy village is sacked.

Mythos: In ages past, before the world became dry and water scarce, the Sadhilim were known by another name, now long forgotten, and did not make war, but walked with God in Paradise. Sadly, the ancestors of the Sadhilim sinned before God's eye and fled in shame, lest they be confronted by God. Over time, they forgot the true name of their people and now the knowledge of who they once were is all but lost.

Economic Base: Nomadic raiding, intertribal warfare, semi-agrarian (semipermanent settlements near rivers and oases conduct subsistence level farming)
Nation Names: Na-Dhrudilim, Na-Sakilim, Na-Gamanilim, Na-Tothdilim
Person Names: Ma'aladil Na-Dhrudil, Daodhdail Na-Sakil, Benyanil Na-Gamanil, Tothdil
Place Names: Durnik, Malaleutik, Na-Drudhilimik, Rahalilik

Notes: Just as there is no real name for the people, neither is there a name for the religion or the language. They simply are, and there are no others worthy of consideration.
 
Tokatya
Starting Location: mountains surrounding the river in the northwest

Society: Tokatya are organized into various Gurtuke (clans). Gurduke typically are made up of Shadine (families) who trace their lineage back to a common ancestor. Gurduke are ruled by a Boran (council) made up of each god's Valayad (high priest) and the eldest males from the Shadine, and from amongst themselves they elect an Atokan (king) to rule the clan. The Oraboran (great council) is a gathering of each Atokan and the Valayade (high priests) from all the Borane. The Oraboran elects from amongst themselves an Atokoran (High King) who rules over all the Gurduke, though his power is limited by the councils beneath him. If an Atokoran is found to be either ineffective or unjust, he may be deposed by the Oraboran and replaced. The Valayade also elect a Valoran (priest king) to advise the king and rule over religious practice. There is no caste system except for a division between priest and common man. There is no standing army, though all men are trained in warfare before they learn a trade such as farming, mining, or craftsmanship.

Lineage: Lineage is traced primarily through the father.

Values: Intelligence, duty (to family especially), and courage

Religion(s): Tokatyans believe in a pantheon of six main gods: Atyal, god of light; Udora, goddess of darkness; Naris, god of fire; Bedu, goddess of earth; Elyar, god of air; and Inesha, goddess of water. They believe that Atyal and Udora wed and brought forth the world and the four younger gods. Generally the people sacrifice and pray to the gods for specific outcomes; for example one might sacrifice wine and crops to Elyar and Inesha to request rain, or a young man and a young woman from a new High King's family will be sacrificed to Atyal and Udora to request divine favor for his coming reign. The afterlife is a great city ruled by the gods in Aikod (the outer Void) where each receives possessions according to his deeds and his manner of death. If one dies in battle, in worship, or of old age, it is a glorious death. To die in an accident, or on account of stupidity or weakness is inglorious.

Language(s): Tokatyagil has an alphabet for everyday use. It is simple and typically learnt by all children either through teaching or picking it up from those around them. However, all religious lore and ritual is written in a code known only to the priests. Tokatyagil means "given from Atyal"; likewise Tokatya "children of Atyal."

Mythos: The Tokatya believe that they are descended from the Iltoke (First Children), the first humans upon the earth. In order to celebrate the creation of the world the Shedin (Six, i.e. the six gods) had a great feast in the Aikod (Outer Void) and the crumbs of this feast fell into the mountains and became the Iltoke. Other nations are the crumbs of subsequent feasts celebrating other deeds of the gods. Each of the Iltoke gave rise to a Gurduka (clan) which is part of the Tokatya.

Economic Base: Barter system. As a mountainous people they do mine and forge metals, and sheep provide clothing and food. Corn is the main crop grown in the river valley, along with grapes for wine.

Nation Names: Alkene, Durgate, Nume, Idorene, Naiside, Shakite, Drue, Lothane, Bedoke

Person Names: (Names ending in vowels are female) Dogen, Lokar, Morgatya, Kolal, Naita, Alkin, Tergal, Borel, Vaduken, Kalva, Atogal, Natya

Place Names: Dura, Idoltan, Velaya, Arka, Ethagon, Iraden, Aktash, Shatyala

While there is a High King, the clans do not have a sense of nationhood as such, simply as a group of clans descended from a group of legendary Iltoke. Tokatya is the language given to the Iltoke by Atyal, and this is what binds the clans together, a combination of language and religion. Therefore language is held as a sacred thing, the first gift of the gods to man. Politically, this means that the High King rules over a confederation of clans. The offices of Atokoran and Valoran are said to have been established by the Iltoke as they conversed with the gods.
 
Iu (Plural, Iun) (ee-OO) (ee-OO-un)
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Society: A simple people, the Iun emphasis balance in all aspects of life above everything else. Gender does not dominate any particular matter and it is common to find both male and female in any position so long as it benefits their tribe. The collection of tribes, 6 in total, are ruled by one king and one queen from a seventh 'royal' tribe believed to be Gods-on-earth. Independence is largely frowned upon while adhering to traditions and striving to be no better than your neighbor is a cultural norm.

Lineage: Linage and bloodlines are extremely important to the Iun. Depending upon which of the major six tribes your mother had belonged to determines who you are in the eyes of most Iun. While no particular job is assigned to someone due to their blood, the Iun still try to doggedly follow the footsteps of their forebears so it is not entirely uncommon to have the son of a farmer amount to little more than a farmer and his son be nothing more than a similar farmer and so on and so forth.

Values: The community is the foremost concept in any Iun's mind, exactly what 'community' means, however, differs from Iun to Iun. To some it means the Iun as a whole, all six tribes excluding the seventh as they are seen as something more and not entirely mortal, to other Iun it is their specific tribe or even more specific their immediate family- though whatever the definition it is generally held that the success of one's self depends on the success of their community.
Second to communal ties would be the Iun belief of fundementalism. Change, in the eyes of an Iun, is something to be avoided while traditions are to be upheld at all costs. Because of this the Iun are very slow to move in most things beyond necessities or barring a significant crisis and if change comes it comes slowly and gradually.

Religion: Iun faith revolves around the seventh tribe, called the Scaar'a meaning 'Sacred' in the Iun tongue. Each and every member of the Scaar'a are to be treated as Gods-on-earth and the word of any member of the tribe is considered law. Beyond this simple reverence of the seventh tribe the Iun have yet to develop complex rituals or divine tenets and lack any notion of an organised religion.

Language: The Iun language is comprised of a few long, often times rambling sounds with slight variations determining the exact meaning of what they are trying to say. An example of this would be the two Iun phrases 'Aiyuasntrouquidsgfqun' and 'Aiyuasntrouquidsgfqan', meaning 'I wish you a day filled with bountiful pleasures' and 'I wish you a day filled with terrible misfortunes' respectively. The simple change of the 'u' in the final strand '-qun' to an 'a' changes the entire meaning to something negative. It is not uncommon for any outsider learning the language to blunder with the subtitles and make fools of themselves.
Written language is a thing exclusive to the seventh tribe. It is a script composed of over 5,000 characters, each representing some base statement which when altered slightly represents a somewhat similar, though different sound. These characters are strung together in long lines to create words similar to the Iun's spoken language.

Mythos: The Iun believe that they are little more than the machinations of the seventh tribe, created eons ago by a simple whim. Unlike many other ancient cultures the Iun believe that they were created before the universe as they now know it and that it was with the labor of the six tribes under the guidance of the Scaar'a that the world was made.

Economic Base: Very little trade occurs in Iun society and most communities are self sufficient. The Iun culture is still currently an agrarian one based around acquiring only what is needed and little more- if trade were to occur it would only be because of some catastrophic event that tipped 'The Balance' to one end.

Nation Names: Aahee, Neia, Uuuleeialk, Wunome, Uea, Eoo, Woo, Uoai, Neelu, Eepoi, Eepi

Person Names:
(Names of the Six Tribes; These Names Serve As Surnames for All but the Greatest of Iun) Eune (Tribe of the Moon), Pouo (Tribe of the Sun), Ihae (Tribe of the Soil), Iwe (Tribe of the River), Haau (Tribe of the Storm), U (Tribe of the Drought)

Male Names: Naem, Ieet, Hoogo, Mee, Lulak, Weapea, Ioiuio, Akouiat, Owuwu
Female Names: Neam, Phea, Pheedru, Neieiki, Aaammaa, Eweia, Niwa, Oaki, Kaalapa

*Members of the Scaar'a Tribe have no surnames as they are considered to above such identities.

Place Names: Onoo, Luoopi, Peoo, Ooea, Ipoloo, Nooioioo, Ophooul, Liooua
 
This is not crowded at all, I have no idea what you all (read: some of you) are talking about.
 
Nonsense! Compare this to the ancient Middle East. Anyway, Ninja, how long do I have to design a culture?
 
I'll make the deadline for cultures Thursday. We've already got a ton of players, but I think a few dozen more won't hurt much ;)

Getting pretty crowded, but should be interesting nonetheless! Any news on Update 0, ND?
Click to expand...

I'll try to get the update up either this next week, or maybe even during this weekend if time allows it.

I'll try to read over the cultures and starting points today and tommorow and see if I can find any problems. hopefully nothing is wrong and we can continue to the update quickly.

Speaking of the update, here's what I have planned so far in terms of these first few updates:

This update is basically going to be an introduction. The cradle will expand a little bit, and there will be some conflicts, but nothing too major.

The next two updates will be fairly long, covering long periods peace and war. The cradle will expand rapidly and mighty empires will rise and fall. Many cultures will come into contact with each other, some conflicting, others mxing. After these updates, we'll start having 20 year ITs until further notice. Any objections?
 
Mm, I kinda imagined continually attempting to unite the Spiich city states through ancient warfare, but the initial BTs kinda don't let me. Although, it's not that big a deal.

I just like expanding/investing/exploring myself, that's all. I'd rather a small ancient era round (4 turns, or more, or less) then a couple of long BTs. But that might just be me.

EDIT: Read: attempting to unite. I hoped for the Spiich to be a pain in the ass to unite/conquer. Medieval Germany/Ancient Greek-ish. :p
 
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