FFRPG: Setting Brainstorm

[Illeveun]

Zarok, land of the Ilchan Empire. One of the few nations to conquer an entire world, and hold it against any who try to take it away. Zarok is ruled by a conglomeration of a religious and secular government, both of whose ideals are enacted in various laws and mandates. The priests of Bangaa society hold their own council, with laws and such made, while those who want the government to be secular do the same. The common people of Zarok just choose which side they want to follow, and follows those laws, but if both sides ever agree on something, that law becomes inscribed in a tablet of stone and put in an archive, as such an agreement is usually rare, and only happens with major issues. Though this arrangement seems somewhat strange to all others, it seems to work for the Bangaa.
Zarok history is full of wars, and the Ilchan empire only took control of the world within the past 100 years, after a thousand years of planning and warring to complete their plans. As such, their military is one of the best in the universe, as a policy of militarism has rewarded them well.
Bangaa society revolves around how useful a person is. As such, leaders, priests, and warriors have the highest status, and common laborers the lowest, except for the Galka, who, for their unwillingness to fight, have a lower status than others of their profession.
Zarok interacts mostly well with the other worlds, and has a high export rate of essence, raw materials for weapons, and finely crafted weapons themselves. Other worlds do have a reason to be afraid of them, because all of their people are mainly united, and the Zarok have been, for some reason, building up their navy.

[JohnnyWeird]

Good call. I see them as being largely Mesopotamian in style - ziggaurats, cuneiform, big tubular hats, bronze or bronze-like metalwork, etc.

[Illeveun]

I'm not done yet with the Zarokians? Zarokites? Anyways, I was planning to go more in detail with all of the authority figures and major factions, and I'll do that when I have all of the information, so I can post it in one big chunk. The Mesopotamian works well when I visualize it.

Anyways, the main reason of this one post was to see what you think of this idea for the Big Bad. I'm thinking that in the World house there is one central chamber, with two large red membraneous(sp?) eggs. Inside of each is seen a silhouette. The Big bad is inside of one of those eggs. I see him as looking around 12 years old, in a black robe(like a monk's robe) and red tenrils that can extend from wear the veins on his wrist are. The Big Bad is one of the two who maintain the equilibrium of the universe, and both have slight power in manipulating events and immense foresight so they can see the outcome of actions. The Big Bad has served in this role for milennia, and thinks that it is time he gets his reward for doing so, which would involve him being at least the emperor of the world, if not having more power than that. He may or may not be behind the snatchers, but one thing that would be certain is that if he left the World Heart, the entire universe would fall apart. As of now, the Big Bad is trying to find a way to circumvent it, but he is selfish enough that if he can't get what he wants, he would bring the entire universe down with a bang. The other one who is in the World Heart sees this, and wants to prevent it,

[JohnnyWeird]

Zaroki - Zah-roh-kai.

It sounds like a good start. The BB's opposite could be immensely powerful, both personally and physically, as a counterpoint. The trouble is that with omniscience comes a sort of torpor, which has held it in check for so long. Conversely, BB is animated by hatred and ambition, which spurs him on. More on this idea later, actually.

I like the idea of the snatchers being a totally independent problem. They lure the PCs out into the wider universe, which gets them on the road to solving the ultimate problem.

[Illeveun]

yes, that would work well. More on the Zaroki are on the way. Anyways, have you come up with anything else on any of the worlds?

[JohnnyWeird]

Some Greatwood and Frostend stuff, mostly; a little on Elfheim, though that's a sad story in and of itself. I'll post when I've gotten them banged out worth a damn.

[Illeveun]

Have you come up with anything in the past weeks? I've come up with most everything for Zarok, and should post that Monday.

[JohnnyWeird]

Some solid Frostend stuff, though it needs a revision or two. Up soon.

[Illeveun]

Zaroki Figures of Authority

Oroka Bronzehelm The one who finally united Zarok under the Ilchan Empire, this rune knight is now close to death, but is still as vigorous now as he was in his youth. Although not technically emperor, he enjoys great influence among both the secular and religious side of government, and thus it could be said that he is the one being with the most power in Zarok. Oroka seems to want the best for his people, but he has been known to be both arrogant and quick to anger.

Zilcheck This man is not a person, but a title given to the high priest of Zarokian religious society. It is unknown who exactly becomes Zilcheck, as at random intervals groups of people disappear, most of them priests. Anyone of them could be Zilcheck, or none of them. It is unknown, but this current Zilcheck seems willing to work with both Oroka and his counterpart in the secular government for the betterment of Zarok.

Renek The only Galka who has a significant position in the government, Renek has fought long and hard to get rid of the stigma against Galka, but to no avail. He views the Bangaa as brothers, and is frustrated each and every time they enact a law that discriminates against the Galka. Renek's official position is Head of Zarokian Affairs, the highest anyone can raise in secular society. He is somewhat ambivalent towards both Oroka and the Zilcheck, as their policies help Galka sometimes and discriminate against them at other times.

Zaroki Places of Interest

The Pylons The capital city of Zarok, The Pylons are named because of the distinctive design of the city. Unlike other Zaroki cities, The Pylons, or Pylons for short, is built entirely of stone towers, tempered with essence to be strong, lightweight, and durable. These towers are carved in runes and pictographs which both identify each building and help channel the essence and strengthen its bonds.

Lake Altmeral
The only major body of water on Zarok, all of the water in this world comes either from this lake or from water essence, most of which also comes from Lake Altmeral, as it is a congregation place for water spirits of all types, from the most power titan to the weakest sprite.





I think that this is really all that we need from Zarok for now, until the players actually go there, or one of the players is a Bangaa. I will be createing a map for it though, and a timeline.

[JohnnyWeird]

Frostend ' A young world, composed primarily of steep mountain ranges and vast reaches of glacial ice. Oceans, such as they are, float continent-sized blocks of ice that jostle into each other with mighty crashes that resound for miles in every direction (and spark icequakes and avalanches that make over-glacier travel a constant struggle). What water there is on the surface flows in rivulets between these mammoth glaciers or beats against dizzying fjords and cliffs of stone. Though the vast expanses of clouds often obscure the sun, it is clear that the ice age is coming to a close.

Cremiere:
The coming thaw has tempted the Cremiere from their lairs for the first time in living memory. From outlying burrows to the deep warren-city of Skyshore Rest, these diminutive beings have spent the dark times growing wise, crafty and strong. Lacking many of the amenities of life on other worlds (regular sunlight, for instance), they have become crafty, using stills that burn firedamp to melt ice, negotiating with earth elementals to hollow out tunnels and weaving clothes from mosses and spider's silk. Seeing a world vast and bright before them, the Cremiere have applied that craftiness to the problem of transportation; their airships are stone as thin as paper and are born aloft by a complex web of air essence.
As a preliterate race, the Cremiere have no schematics for their devices, relying instead on '˜crafter's chants' that double as instructions and time-keeping tricks. This also applies to their navigation ' the Finder's Chant will help you fly anywhere in Frostend or beyond, but no pilot could plot the course on a map.

Yetis:
By nature reclusive, these powerful humanoids once wandered in small bands across the frozen waste unhindered. As the warmth returns, however, they have retreated further and further, becoming rarer by the day in the lower peaks and fjords. Little is known of these beings, save that some of their number wander the Worlds as powerful mercenaries and enigmatic sages, speaking little and revealing nothing of their society. They often abstain from the use of magical items.

Ronso:
While Crimiere and Yeti dominate the land, the glaciers and ocean belong to the Axe Rovers. Roving in war-parties across the ice and canoeing across the waters, they hunt the great ice bears, the mighty ice demons, the rare and dreadful krakens that emerge from the Waters Beneath. The largest tribes, the Red Claw and the Icequake Riders, have been known to war, but such conflicts are short for all their brutality. The two remain hostile, though it has been many years since the last war.
In community structure these parties differ little from the tribes of Atonga, save where environmental necessity divides them. Like the Atongan Ronso, they have legends of World-Walkers that predate even the Codex Kupo, though the details are indecipherable in layers of myth and metaphor. These Ronso also hold the Yeti in reverence approaching worship; an enemy of the Yeti has a fierce foe in the Axe Rovers.
The Ronso also play Lotan ' sets have been found the predate contact with the Known Worlds. They use pieces of ivory for tokens and thin rolls of parchment in place of cards. The game's origins stretch as far back as their legends, though few live who can tell more.

Exports:
Airships, ice and earth essence, Ronso and Yeti mercenaries, Crimiere objets d'art