Atm, I'm favoring a kingdom ruled by a monarchy, sort of the standard I suppose.
I'd prefer that enemies are not stuck to one standard race, such as the stereotypical "all goblins are evil and brainless" because in my opinion that way over used and is already old.
I would like it if we were a king's loyal subjects fighting in his army.
*All of these views are mutable ;p
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I'll bet you wish you had a non-unglued/unhinged card that shared your first name.
I would say we are either some sort of "King's Men" kind of group, like a special task force for the ruler, or we are mercs. I like the task force idea though. Clearly, I also favor a dictatorship, Kings and Queens and all that jazz.
As for everything else...I'll think on it.
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A standard monarchy is simple and easy to understand, and is probably a reasonable starting place unless someone is really drawn to another governmental system.
I like the trappings that come with being a mercenary company, as such an organization might conceivably employ anybody and take a variety of measures to solve problems. It also makes getting paid on a task-by-task basis feel more natural. (Unless people prefer a salary-style system.) New recruits could possibly be placed into an academy/basic training style setting for an adventure or two, under the tutelage of one or two "sergeants" (probably initially an NPC role, though players could move into the role eventually.) This has the advantage that new players would be in a sort of contained setting, and in addition to the sergeant teaching the character about the operation of the mercenary company and the recruit's place in it as well as the mechanics of the world, the GM or player operating the sergeant could be a simple, familiar place for the recruit to go with questions.
I think that a nation that's in between two nations that are on the edge of war sounds good, this way we get a plot for this (Trying to stop the war from happening, which is also good from project wiev, as an all-out war is really hard to handle.) and so on.
For type of government? Corrupted democracy with people that are getting bribes from the nearby nations battling over the control of the government. Players shouldn't be too closely attached to higher levels of control, but they should be able to have an effect if they wanted (Such as assasinating some congressman.). Both the nearby nations would want the nation we're in to their side.
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The Sage is occupied with the unspoken
and acts without effort.
Teaching without verbosity,
producing without possessing,
creating without regard to result,
claiming nothing,
the Sage has nothing to lose.
My 0.02:
I don't really want to see anything too structured, like moving up the ranks in knighthood, etc. It keeps things easy, but it's too simple. It would work better to have different titles for ranks of the same value, but in different categories. For example, a no character can rank higher than say, a king, but the standing of a knight may be considered the same as the standing as the leader of a band of rogues. Characters have different paths, and I don't think it would work very well to have every average person trying to become a knight for the sake of a higher rank. It just wouldn't make sense.
The idea that seems to have garnered the most favor and reasoned support is the idea that the actual PCs are members of a mercenary company. (This is discussed at some length here and in the original thread, but the primary reason for the idea is that it allows for a very broad range of character concepts and adventure possibilities.) I agree, it doesn't make any sense for the goal of every character to be knighthood or anything like that.
For some reason this thread has zeroed in on the question of what form of government the local area of the setting has, something that seems truly of secondary importance, since unless someone can produce compelling reasons why the PCs should be in the employ of the government or unless someone wishes to propose a governmental structure that has a profound effect on the nature of the setting, it's mostly just a backdrop thing.
****************
Here are some questions I believe might be worth focusing on:
What is the technology level of the setting, or at least of the starting/headquarters area? Is there steampunk-style technology?
What is the "base" culture of the local area? Standard British-style fantasy? A more Greek mythology setting? Something else? As the game world gets developed beyond the local world, of course, areas drawing inspiration from other real-world cultures can be incorporated.
Is the local area a massive city, or a chain of sleepy villages, one of which happens to house the initial PC organization?
What role does religion play in the local area? Is there one large, powerful church? Are there many, many deities (that is, enough that we could constantly incorporate new ones without it seeming weird), or is there a set number?
While opinions are helpful, it's best if you can support your answers with reasons as to why they will make for the best play experience for a wide variety of people. "It's different than what's usually done" is only a good reason if you can explain why it's beneficial to do something differently. Here's an example of a helpful setting contribution:
Quote from Helpful suggestion »
I feel as if the local starting area should be coastal. If it isn't coastal, there can't be naval adventures easily, and there's nothing really to be gained by deciding that the area is landlocked. Even if nobody really wants naval adventures initially, there's not much to lose by making the area coastal, and it keeps options open.
Atm, I'm favoring a kingdom ruled by a monarchy, sort of the standard I suppose.
I'd prefer that enemies are not stuck to one standard race, such as the stereotypical "all goblins are evil and brainless" because in my opinion that way over used and is already old.
I would like it if we were a king's loyal subjects fighting in his army.
*All of these views are mutable ;p
Agreed on all points. Except for the king bit, since I think a mercenary company has a little more freedom for all sorts of stuff. Good ideas, thyough.
A standard monarchy is simple and easy to understand, and is probably a reasonable starting place unless someone is really drawn to another governmental system.
I like the trappings that come with being a mercenary company, as such an organization might conceivably employ anybody and take a variety of measures to solve problems. It also makes getting paid on a task-by-task basis feel more natural. (Unless people prefer a salary-style system.) New recruits could possibly be placed into an academy/basic training style setting for an adventure or two, under the tutelage of one or two "sergeants" (probably initially an NPC role, though players could move into the role eventually.) This has the advantage that new players would be in a sort of contained setting, and in addition to the sergeant teaching the character about the operation of the mercenary company and the recruit's place in it as well as the mechanics of the world, the GM or player operating the sergeant could be a simple, familiar place for the recruit to go with questions.
I hate going with Monarchies despite how easy they are to run.
Anyway, first thing to decide is the alignment (for want of a better word) of the primary power base. Usually powerbases are Lawful (for obvious reasons), so Good, Evil or Neutral?
Evil seems a bad choice unless we want to be freedom fighters/evil, so I'll ignore that for now.
Good has its credits, but also disadvantages. A good kingdom usually is being attacked by Evil or in some sort of war against it. A neutral kingdom on the other hand doesn't have to get involved in conflict. It can regard its only alliance as to its people.
I vote neutral due to this.
On type of Government I vote money based republic, but I'll have to argue that case later.
This is a very good question. Corrupt or not? Shining city or dusky slum? That's what we need to focus on.
I think that a nation that's in between two nations that are on the edge of war sounds good, this way we get a plot for this (Trying to stop the war from happening, which is also good from project wiev, as an all-out war is really hard to handle.) and so on.
For type of government? Corrupted democracy with people that are getting bribes from the nearby nations battling over the control of the government. Players shouldn't be too closely attached to higher levels of control, but they should be able to have an effect if they wanted (Such as assasinating some congressman.). Both the nearby nations would want the nation we're in to their side.
That sounds like a good idea. That gives us a good first story arc, a good chance to get this going on a run (starting slow never seems to work), and we have ideas for the future.
My 0.02:
I don't really want to see anything too structured, like moving up the ranks in knighthood, etc. It keeps things easy, but it's too simple. It would work better to have different titles for ranks of the same value, but in different categories. For example, a no character can rank higher than say, a king, but the standing of a knight may be considered the same as the standing as the leader of a band of rogues. Characters have different paths, and I don't think it would work very well to have every average person trying to become a knight for the sake of a higher rank. It just wouldn't make sense.
That depends on if you want to powergame or not. I think we need to support any character/player that wants to advance to the highest point, while also supporting any character that has a specific goal (such as lieutenant) in mind. I think you'll find that we're not going to have the problem of too many people on one rank.
The idea that seems to have garnered the most favor and reasoned support is the idea that the actual PCs are members of a mercenary company. (This is discussed at some length here and in the original thread, but the primary reason for the idea is that it allows for a very broad range of character concepts and adventure possibilities.) I agree, it doesn't make any sense for the goal of every character to be knighthood or anything like that.
Agreed.
For some reason this thread has zeroed in on the question of what form of government the local area of the setting has, something that seems truly of secondary importance, since unless someone can produce compelling reasons why the PCs should be in the employ of the government or unless someone wishes to propose a governmental structure that has a profound effect on the nature of the setting, it's mostly just a backdrop thing.
It's part backdrop, part part of the actual thing. You have to remember that everything in your setting affects everything else.
To put Joyd's questions a little more succinctly, please try to answer the following questions. Remember, this is for a Fantasy world.
What is the setting? Is this an island? A mountain kingdom? A floating city? A town in a vale? A coastal hamlet?
What is the technology level? Is this the dark ages? Magical mayhem? Technological wonders of a fantasy era?
What is the government of the region? Monarchy, militant, religious?
What is the basic religion? Very important for a dark ages-type setting.
What is the answer to all these questions for any (one or more) neighboring kingdoms?
While this is far from a complete answer, I'd be in favor of making the starting setting a more or less neutral place (not neutral in the D&D sense, but neutral in the "nothing dramatically unusual" sense) where most typical and traditional fantasy things would fit in. It's very easy to add things like "Egyptian-style Kingdom" or "Steampunk Wondercity" in later, first as just spots on the map that maybe a few characters and NPCs are from and later as more developed areas. The interest displayed in different areas will naturally lead to some being developed and fleshed out faster than others, proportionate to how much people care about them.
I'd be in favor of starting things out in or near what is at least a moderately-sized city, one big enough to be home to a variety of organizations and one where the local government can afford to hire a significant portion of the company for tasks over and over again.
I've given some thought to the "quality of life" issue; I'd be generally in favor of a fictionalized-fantasy account of middle ages life. There's less room for fun and adventure when day-to-day survival is a struggle for most people.
What is the setting? Is this an island? A mountain kingdom? A floating city? A town in a vale? A coastal hamlet?
A mercenary company is most likely to exsist on something near the coast. A place that makes for easy deployment anywhere. also it opens up the idea of a servace economy i.e. merchants and pubs. Let's face it, a mercenary group is founded on the idea that money is greater than life. The idea that there is no right or wrong just two arguing factions, and take advantage of that mislaid passion and make a profit. I would go w/ a bustling middle-class/merchant city positioned strategically in a defendable port.
What is the technology level? Is this the dark ages? Magical mayhem? Technological wonders of a fantasy era?
Ships
Sword
Bows
Carriages
Nothing more advanced than that has been proposed that I've seen.
What is the government of the region? Monarchy, militant, religious?
Not religious nor militant. It should be a melting pot of people to allow for the greates amount of chars. If it's to militant or religious the governmnet would try to influence the agency and control who can be trained. So republic would be my vote (ala greece) with outlying city states of different backgrounds and beyond that nations.
What is the basic religion? Very important for a dark ages-type setting.
Not my cup 'a tea. So someone else can answer
What is the answer to all these questions for any (one or more) neighboring kingdoms?
I'd say neighboring kingdoms would be a mish-mash of clashing ideas (perfect for a mercenary agency.) Different religions, ideologies and governments. And a lot of emotion.
Are the people happy?
They think they are. american esque-money driven happiness probably. the poor think their miserable and the wealthier you get the less satisfied you become.
What's the standard of living?
Good. No homelessnes nor insane poverty here. People make a living by grinding by. Little-to-no monopolistic merchants (at first anyway).
What is the setting? Is this an island? A mountain kingdom? A floating city? A town in a vale? A coastal hamlet?
What about.. A metropolitan, huge town in flatlands, built on both sides of a large river with huge farmlands covering it to bring food for the city. You wouldn't necessarily need to leave the city to adventure!
Quote from Nai »
What is the technology level? Is this the dark ages? Magical mayhem? Technological wonders of a fantasy era?
Ugh.. I don't want to make this too high fantasy, magic should be expensive and time consuming study, not something every third guy you meet is capable of. Technology on the other hand, should exist but it should be simple. Simple gunpowder weapons and simple bombs could be constructed by skilled alchemists, but again, not for everyone. Some parts of the recipe should be hard to come by, making it a valuable resource like coffee/cocoa/gold.
Quote from Nai »
What is the government of the region? Monarchy, militant, religious?
Corrupted Democracy, this is the most interesting one in my opinion, and gives most to the plot. Allows PCs to bribe someone to get something and so on, but it's a gambit. It's one of the few types of government that players could affect, but that couldn't be totally overcome by them.
Quote from Nai »
What is the basic religion? Very important for a dark ages-type setting.
The most common god is Morran, but only because he's so neutral about everything that anyone can say that he's following him and be understood. Some actually doubt does he even exist but his priests can cast spells, so one'd assume that he does. There are a lot of smaller religions though, and because they are competing from followers by arranging fests and parties, most of the people tend to worship whichever god's followers are arranging a party next.
Quote from Nai »
What is the answer to all these questions for any (one or more) neighboring kingdoms?
To the west there is a Monarchy ruled by an greedy (Not evil, greedy.) king who likes to have a bit more higher taxes than the people there would like to pay, instead of lowering them he decides to wage war on the other country (On east of us, we're in the middle.) because he thinks that if the people are distracted by war and promises of riches, they'll work harder.
To the east there's an heavily over-religious country ruled by monks of Nengar (God of Freedom.). These monks have monasteries all over the country and are by all respects in the lead. However the communications between two monasteries might not be perfect, and not all monks are totally honest, so communication proplems are common. However, the land holds a lot of riches so they can usually afford it.
To the north there are long highlands that turn into arctic farther you go. Few nomadic tribes live there, otherwise almost not worth of mentioning but their shamans wield powerful magic related with the four elements.
To the east there's an ocean, in that ocean lives an evil kraken that eats anything that goes too far there. No merfolk for you.
Quote from Nai »
Are the people happy?
This guestion is absurd, i refuse to answer it. I could ask you now "Are you happy" and i don't think you could give me an answer that would be totally truthful. Especially so if we're considering more people. Some obviously are, some are not.
Quote from Nai »
What's the standard of living?
A block of flats overstuffed with people of your family, who get food by doing whatever they do. A lot people are poor and have come to the town in hope for food. Then there's a middle class who have a good work and earn enough money to support a large family pretty well, and from there it's all the way to the extremely rich peeps who have their own gold mines etc.
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The Sage is occupied with the unspoken
and acts without effort.
Teaching without verbosity,
producing without possessing,
creating without regard to result,
claiming nothing,
the Sage has nothing to lose.
I'd rather see a less standard religion, like something with one god and one goddess.
Why only one religion? We should probably have at least one "light" god and one "dark" god (either could be a goddess instead) and perhaps a neutral god(dess).We could have more, but those are basic in factasy and make it easier to align a character.
Hey, is there anyone else on the forums going to Rice University in Houston? We could ALWAYS use more people in our Magic games. PM me if you want to play sometime
I find that if we're not making a single religion, multiple religions are best. People wage war in the name of religion, and it could be helpful to have many for this reason. That said, a pantheon usually has one very good god and one evil one.
Quote from Amadi »
This guestion is absurd, i refuse to answer it. I could ask you now "Are you happy" and i don't think you could give me an answer that would be totally truthful. Especially so if we're considering more people. Some obviously are, some are not.
The question isn't absurd at all. Think about it. If the people are happy, they're likely to keep the government they have. Happy people have a decent standard of living. They have some luxuries to keep them sated. They have entertainment, they have room to breathe. Their government isn't keeping them in a tight fist. Their voice is heard. There aren't unfair laws. Things like this.
An unhappy people are more inclined to a revolution, protests, or riots. Unhappy people also means the antithesis of one or more of the previous statements in the 'happy people' group.
I'm not asking if just one person or a group of people are happy. I'm asking if, on the whole, the population of our setting is happy.
I idea of grouping parties into mercinary camps is a great one. It could set up rivalries and unlikely alliances--both are great.
I think the natural progression of a bunch of mercinary camps is that the country (city, kingdom) is the "pearl" of the region. Through geographic (or just sheer) luck this is by far the most wealthy area that anyone has heard of.
The promise of prosperity and starting a new life draws people of all races and very different backgrounds to live in there. It has grown from its modest roots into a bustling metropolis.
The grass is always greener though. It's no picnic in the city. Just because it is full of wealth doesn't mean that the funds are equally distributed. The vast amounts of wealth belong to a miniscule percentage of the populace--and most of them will stop at nothing to keep it that way.
The government is a parliamentary monarchy. In the last few decades the parliament (which consists mostly of that upper crust, or those that are bribed/controled by them) has quietly stripped away most of the power of the monarch and now most of new laws being passed are meant to keep the status quo and make sure that the rich get richer and the poor can be better exploited.
The middle class (which is about half of the population) still enjoys a life that is somewhat better than any other nearby country could give them and the poor are kept there due to the unspoken promise that the ruling class has given them: "If you work hard enough you too could get lucky and amass the riches that you deserve."
From outside the country many other nations are jealous of their fourtune and some have started thinking of alliances to knock the oppressive regime off of its pedistal.
--
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Listen to my M:tG flavor Podcast: Story Circle! (Newest episode is all about Innistrad previews.)
Also involved, are we in an academy? An adventuring party? A mercenary group?
My helpdesk should you need me.
I'd prefer that enemies are not stuck to one standard race, such as the stereotypical "all goblins are evil and brainless" because in my opinion that way over used and is already old.
I would like it if we were a king's loyal subjects fighting in his army.
*All of these views are mutable ;p
As for everything else...I'll think on it.
I like the trappings that come with being a mercenary company, as such an organization might conceivably employ anybody and take a variety of measures to solve problems. It also makes getting paid on a task-by-task basis feel more natural. (Unless people prefer a salary-style system.) New recruits could possibly be placed into an academy/basic training style setting for an adventure or two, under the tutelage of one or two "sergeants" (probably initially an NPC role, though players could move into the role eventually.) This has the advantage that new players would be in a sort of contained setting, and in addition to the sergeant teaching the character about the operation of the mercenary company and the recruit's place in it as well as the mechanics of the world, the GM or player operating the sergeant could be a simple, familiar place for the recruit to go with questions.
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For type of government? Corrupted democracy with people that are getting bribes from the nearby nations battling over the control of the government. Players shouldn't be too closely attached to higher levels of control, but they should be able to have an effect if they wanted (Such as assasinating some congressman.). Both the nearby nations would want the nation we're in to their side.
and acts without effort.
Teaching without verbosity,
producing without possessing,
creating without regard to result,
claiming nothing,
the Sage has nothing to lose.
I don't really want to see anything too structured, like moving up the ranks in knighthood, etc. It keeps things easy, but it's too simple. It would work better to have different titles for ranks of the same value, but in different categories. For example, a no character can rank higher than say, a king, but the standing of a knight may be considered the same as the standing as the leader of a band of rogues. Characters have different paths, and I don't think it would work very well to have every average person trying to become a knight for the sake of a higher rank. It just wouldn't make sense.
For some reason this thread has zeroed in on the question of what form of government the local area of the setting has, something that seems truly of secondary importance, since unless someone can produce compelling reasons why the PCs should be in the employ of the government or unless someone wishes to propose a governmental structure that has a profound effect on the nature of the setting, it's mostly just a backdrop thing.
****************
Here are some questions I believe might be worth focusing on:
What is the technology level of the setting, or at least of the starting/headquarters area? Is there steampunk-style technology?
What is the "base" culture of the local area? Standard British-style fantasy? A more Greek mythology setting? Something else? As the game world gets developed beyond the local world, of course, areas drawing inspiration from other real-world cultures can be incorporated.
Is the local area a massive city, or a chain of sleepy villages, one of which happens to house the initial PC organization?
What role does religion play in the local area? Is there one large, powerful church? Are there many, many deities (that is, enough that we could constantly incorporate new ones without it seeming weird), or is there a set number?
While opinions are helpful, it's best if you can support your answers with reasons as to why they will make for the best play experience for a wide variety of people. "It's different than what's usually done" is only a good reason if you can explain why it's beneficial to do something differently. Here's an example of a helpful setting contribution:
Agreed on all points. Except for the king bit, since I think a mercenary company has a little more freedom for all sorts of stuff. Good ideas, thyough.
I agree with you here, as usual.
This is a very good question. Corrupt or not? Shining city or dusky slum? That's what we need to focus on.
I stated in other threads why I dislike this academy idea.
That sounds like a good idea. That gives us a good first story arc, a good chance to get this going on a run (starting slow never seems to work), and we have ideas for the future.
That government is also a good idea.
That depends on if you want to powergame or not. I think we need to support any character/player that wants to advance to the highest point, while also supporting any character that has a specific goal (such as lieutenant) in mind. I think you'll find that we're not going to have the problem of too many people on one rank.
Agreed.
It's part backdrop, part part of the actual thing. You have to remember that everything in your setting affects everything else.
To put Joyd's questions a little more succinctly, please try to answer the following questions. Remember, this is for a Fantasy world.
What is the setting? Is this an island? A mountain kingdom? A floating city? A town in a vale? A coastal hamlet?
What is the technology level? Is this the dark ages? Magical mayhem? Technological wonders of a fantasy era?
What is the government of the region? Monarchy, militant, religious?
What is the basic religion? Very important for a dark ages-type setting.
What is the answer to all these questions for any (one or more) neighboring kingdoms?
Are the people happy?
What's the standard of living?
My helpdesk should you need me.
I'd be in favor of starting things out in or near what is at least a moderately-sized city, one big enough to be home to a variety of organizations and one where the local government can afford to hire a significant portion of the company for tasks over and over again.
I've given some thought to the "quality of life" issue; I'd be generally in favor of a fictionalized-fantasy account of middle ages life. There's less room for fun and adventure when day-to-day survival is a struggle for most people.
A mercenary company is most likely to exsist on something near the coast. A place that makes for easy deployment anywhere. also it opens up the idea of a servace economy i.e. merchants and pubs. Let's face it, a mercenary group is founded on the idea that money is greater than life. The idea that there is no right or wrong just two arguing factions, and take advantage of that mislaid passion and make a profit. I would go w/ a bustling middle-class/merchant city positioned strategically in a defendable port.
What is the technology level? Is this the dark ages? Magical mayhem? Technological wonders of a fantasy era?
Ships
Sword
Bows
Carriages
Nothing more advanced than that has been proposed that I've seen.
What is the government of the region? Monarchy, militant, religious?
Not religious nor militant. It should be a melting pot of people to allow for the greates amount of chars. If it's to militant or religious the governmnet would try to influence the agency and control who can be trained. So republic would be my vote (ala greece) with outlying city states of different backgrounds and beyond that nations.
What is the basic religion? Very important for a dark ages-type setting.
Not my cup 'a tea. So someone else can answer
What is the answer to all these questions for any (one or more) neighboring kingdoms?
I'd say neighboring kingdoms would be a mish-mash of clashing ideas (perfect for a mercenary agency.) Different religions, ideologies and governments. And a lot of emotion.
Are the people happy?
They think they are. american esque-money driven happiness probably. the poor think their miserable and the wealthier you get the less satisfied you become.
What's the standard of living?
Good. No homelessnes nor insane poverty here. People make a living by grinding by. Little-to-no monopolistic merchants (at first anyway).
Sigil: an MMORPCCG ">Mexus: An MMORPCCG
What about.. A metropolitan, huge town in flatlands, built on both sides of a large river with huge farmlands covering it to bring food for the city. You wouldn't necessarily need to leave the city to adventure!
Ugh.. I don't want to make this too high fantasy, magic should be expensive and time consuming study, not something every third guy you meet is capable of. Technology on the other hand, should exist but it should be simple. Simple gunpowder weapons and simple bombs could be constructed by skilled alchemists, but again, not for everyone. Some parts of the recipe should be hard to come by, making it a valuable resource like coffee/cocoa/gold.
Corrupted Democracy, this is the most interesting one in my opinion, and gives most to the plot. Allows PCs to bribe someone to get something and so on, but it's a gambit. It's one of the few types of government that players could affect, but that couldn't be totally overcome by them.
The most common god is Morran, but only because he's so neutral about everything that anyone can say that he's following him and be understood. Some actually doubt does he even exist but his priests can cast spells, so one'd assume that he does. There are a lot of smaller religions though, and because they are competing from followers by arranging fests and parties, most of the people tend to worship whichever god's followers are arranging a party next.
To the west there is a Monarchy ruled by an greedy (Not evil, greedy.) king who likes to have a bit more higher taxes than the people there would like to pay, instead of lowering them he decides to wage war on the other country (On east of us, we're in the middle.) because he thinks that if the people are distracted by war and promises of riches, they'll work harder.
To the east there's an heavily over-religious country ruled by monks of Nengar (God of Freedom.). These monks have monasteries all over the country and are by all respects in the lead. However the communications between two monasteries might not be perfect, and not all monks are totally honest, so communication proplems are common. However, the land holds a lot of riches so they can usually afford it.
To the north there are long highlands that turn into arctic farther you go. Few nomadic tribes live there, otherwise almost not worth of mentioning but their shamans wield powerful magic related with the four elements.
To the east there's an ocean, in that ocean lives an evil kraken that eats anything that goes too far there. No merfolk for you.
This guestion is absurd, i refuse to answer it. I could ask you now "Are you happy" and i don't think you could give me an answer that would be totally truthful. Especially so if we're considering more people. Some obviously are, some are not.
A block of flats overstuffed with people of your family, who get food by doing whatever they do. A lot people are poor and have come to the town in hope for food. Then there's a middle class who have a good work and earn enough money to support a large family pretty well, and from there it's all the way to the extremely rich peeps who have their own gold mines etc.
and acts without effort.
Teaching without verbosity,
producing without possessing,
creating without regard to result,
claiming nothing,
the Sage has nothing to lose.
Why only one religion? We should probably have at least one "light" god and one "dark" god (either could be a goddess instead) and perhaps a neutral god(dess).We could have more, but those are basic in factasy and make it easier to align a character.
Hey, is there anyone else on the forums going to Rice University in Houston? We could ALWAYS use more people in our Magic games. PM me if you want to play sometime
The question isn't absurd at all. Think about it. If the people are happy, they're likely to keep the government they have. Happy people have a decent standard of living. They have some luxuries to keep them sated. They have entertainment, they have room to breathe. Their government isn't keeping them in a tight fist. Their voice is heard. There aren't unfair laws. Things like this.
An unhappy people are more inclined to a revolution, protests, or riots. Unhappy people also means the antithesis of one or more of the previous statements in the 'happy people' group.
I'm not asking if just one person or a group of people are happy. I'm asking if, on the whole, the population of our setting is happy.
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I idea of grouping parties into mercinary camps is a great one. It could set up rivalries and unlikely alliances--both are great.
I think the natural progression of a bunch of mercinary camps is that the country (city, kingdom) is the "pearl" of the region. Through geographic (or just sheer) luck this is by far the most wealthy area that anyone has heard of.
The promise of prosperity and starting a new life draws people of all races and very different backgrounds to live in there. It has grown from its modest roots into a bustling metropolis.
The grass is always greener though. It's no picnic in the city. Just because it is full of wealth doesn't mean that the funds are equally distributed. The vast amounts of wealth belong to a miniscule percentage of the populace--and most of them will stop at nothing to keep it that way.
The government is a parliamentary monarchy. In the last few decades the parliament (which consists mostly of that upper crust, or those that are bribed/controled by them) has quietly stripped away most of the power of the monarch and now most of new laws being passed are meant to keep the status quo and make sure that the rich get richer and the poor can be better exploited.
The middle class (which is about half of the population) still enjoys a life that is somewhat better than any other nearby country could give them and the poor are kept there due to the unspoken promise that the ruling class has given them: "If you work hard enough you too could get lucky and amass the riches that you deserve."
From outside the country many other nations are jealous of their fourtune and some have started thinking of alliances to knock the oppressive regime off of its pedistal.
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Keep in mind, my friend, that we're not talking separate mercenary companies, really. We're talking one company that's rather large.
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