FFRPG: Setting Brainstorm

[JohnnyWeird]

I'm also thinking of establishing some features of the homeworld. For aesthetic purposes I'd kind of like a nation at the level of Enlightenment Europe (sailing, gunpowder, mercantilism, clockwork, etc.) - both for the clothes and for the image of the Watchmaker.

[Illeveun]

Yeah, that seems good. Also, for things like clockwork and gunpowder, it could be that things like that work well on their own, but the essence can enhance it to make it better, and that, so leather and mail armor don't become obsolete, I think we've also said something about enhancing with essence makes them strong enough to stand up, at least in part, to bullets.

[JohnnyWeird]

The Greatwood ' Unlike most of the Known Worlds, the Greatwood is spatially complex. The enormous concentration of magical energy makes travel sometimes quite difficult; travelers caught in a false leyline might wander for days and cross only a few miles, while those passing through the wrong glade might cross half of the world in minutes. This essence-rich plane has had much commerce with the Homeworld, both friendly and hostile, but that relationship is limited; within a few years the Greatwood will pass out of contact distance. Much is being done, therefore, to make the most of this vast and magical place.

New Oltaer: Lavosia's most far-flung colony, this town represents the ultimate frontier for the Homeworld. Profiteers, explorers and dreamers come to the fledgling settlement to seek fame and fortune, or simply to escape their circumstances back home. Shepherded by Moogle caravans or escorted through the incredibly powerful Essence Gates, settlers gather rare lumber and farm alchemical herbs and materials to be exported back to Lavosia. Problems of taxation became largely irrelevant as the locals' knowledge of modern techniques of metalwork and engineering became currency to exchange with the native Nu Mou, who covet such secrets with unabashed curiosity. Relationships with the Vierna have proven more strained; certain areas of the Greatwood go uncharted for very good reason. Taru are likewise to be avoided, as their titanic power and childish impulses make them dangers to all species involved. New Oltaer's current Governor, Strephon Lock, is a scientist of the highest caliber and was recently summoned to appear in the upcoming Thing (see below).

Nu Mou: This long-lived sagacious species is spread throughout the Greatwood in communal settlements ruled by Master Crafters. The most skilled artisan or sage in the community functions as the leader and speaks for the community in the biannual Thing, a gathering of Master Crafters where matters affecting all Nu Mou are discussed. Pacifists by nature, they move largely unmolested through the Greatwood by either Vierna or Taru. For this reason, their antipathy to the Moogles remains a matter of widespread confusion. This enmity means few Nu Mou travel the Worlds, and as such their crafts and books, products of centuries of refinement and technique, are valued highly anywhere things are bought or sold.

Vierna: The mysterious rabbit-women of the Greatwood make their homes in mysterious villages few non-Vierna ever see. They are isolationist by and large, preferring secrecy and solitude to trade and diplomacy. In spite of this (or perhaps because of it), the Empire of Jing on the Homeworld has close ties to them ' most spectacularly, three members of the Mikado's household are Vierna, one serving as a Consort. Vierna found wandering the Worlds make few friends, and defend those with almost suicidal passion. Their ties to plants are strong, and the greenery of their home plane remains a constant ally. The Vierna hunt the Taru for sport in an attempt to control their dangerous tendencies and their prolific numbers.

Taru: Taru gather in villages, though rarely for long. They are capricious, short-lived and explosive in their anger or joy. They get into everything.

Exports: Wood, Alchemical Herbs, Essence of all kinds, Nu Mou crafts

[Illeveun]

Good, very good in fact. I should be having some stuff up for Atonga up shortly.

[JohnnyWeird]

I'll have some Elfheim and a chunk of the Homeworld done soon.

[JohnnyWeird]

Homeworld chunk the first! The following is the first bit regarding the nation of our character's origin, at least the nation they begin in. More to come!

Lavosia: Centered on the capital city of Oltaer, the kingdom of Lavosia is a large and powerful mercantile empire. The most technologically advanced nation of the Homeworld, it enjoys comparative advantage over its rivals in wealth and military might.
Government: In the last few centuries it has moved away from absolute to constitutional monarchy. Though the elderly king Galen IV is still beloved by his people, it is the Parliament which wields true authority. Headed by Prime Minister Jasper Dolba, or 'œOne Farthing Jasper', the three-chambered legislature makes the laws of the land. Parliament includes the Noble House, the Common House and the House of Guilds, and the three bodies are as likely to counter one another as work together as one. Membership in the Noble House is hereditary, while Common-House Parliamentarians are elected by citizens of their districts and Guild Parliamentarians by their fellow tradesmen. All citizens and journeymen in good standing may vote in elections, held once every two years.
Political Parties:
'¢ Most powerful in the current government is Dolba's own White Sun Party. Holding a majority in the Noble House and a slim coalition with other smaller parties in the House of Guilds, this group takes its name from the heraldic symbol of Rasmus, the Royal Family. Originally founded as loyalists to the crown, White Sun has evolved into the party of fiscal conservatism and strong inter-world commerce. The Prime Minister's nickname comes from his rallying cry in the last general election, 'œOne Farthing in tax breaks honest men's back!'
'¢ Most influential in the Common House is the National Alliance Party, which favors a strong infrastructure at home and discourages '˜foreign entanglements'. Some of its members are openly xenophobic, but most are honest advocates of the Lavosian educational system, which has produced a larger body of literate citizens than any other Human civilization. Many of the national papers, including The Daily Philosophe and The Clarion, are owned by NAP supporters.
'¢ A newly-formed coalition party known as the Young-Lands Compact has emerged in the years since the establishment of colonies abroad. They hold that the discovery of a new continent, untouched and unmarred by civilization, offers the possibility of a new paradigm in Human culture. It calls for, among other things, a treaty of peace-in-perpetuity with the Empire of Jing, a new system providing medicine and food to all Lavosians, and the repeal of laws barring xenians from citizenship. Growing in popularity in the House of Guilds and the Common House, this new group struggles under the weight of its many members, who range from religious pacifists to outright socialists.

[JohnnyWeird]

Elfheim: Glorious and base, exalted and profaned, risen and fallen. The world of the Elves, outward from the World-Heart, is a place of tragedy, where the end is past and denial remains. Beneath the red sun, its few survivors battle over scraps in the shadow of the greatest empires in known history.
It has been nearly a century since the death of the Elf-King Larys, Thousandth of His Name. He passed without an heir, leaving the succession open. Each of his three Consorts ' Neva, Tali and Miro ' claimed rulership, and the ensuing civil war rent apart a society that had been teetering on the edge of collapse for centuries already. Elfish civilization is almost incomparably ancient ' structures and artifacts remain from dynasties more than a million years dead ' but generation after generation of in-fighting has reduced that civilization to a constant multi-sided conflict amidst crumbling cities of unspeakable grandeur.
As Elfish birth rates declined, some elves became dark, drawing life from their magical artifacts, enchantments and spells. Others, those with family histories of fertility, became the ferocious and Byzantine consort-houses, whose representatives stole the crown from one another for centuries. Now, the forces of the last three houses battle the dark elves to preserve what remains, even as they conspire against one another for personal power.
Elfish infrastructure is functionally nonexistent ' the Consort-factions have become mobile courts, companies of nomadic warrior-courtiers fighting back and forth through the crumbling cities. Aia, the Radiant City of Splendor, is today a ruin stripped of enchantments, its lower levels infested with dark elves and its spires fought over viciously.
Besides species that prove immediately useful and pleasing to the Elves, no life continues to exist in Elfheim. Ancient documents and records indicate that the world once boasted great biodiversity and at least one other sentient race, but the arrogance and bloodlust of the Elves have long since exterminated all that did not suit their whims.
Lotan is the almost-ubiquitous pastime ' sets of the game are the only artifacts even the dark elves refuse to damage ' and the game was long thought to be Elfish in origin.

Exports: Lore, ancient artifact diagrams, spell schematics.

[Illeveun]

Sorry I have not posted up Atonga yet. I lost my USB drive, and I don't feel like doing all that work again, unless I can't find it again soon. If I can't find it in a week, I'll just rewrite it.

[JohnnyWeird]

No sweat. Hope everything's okay so far.

[Illeveun]

Okay, I give up. I haven't found the USB drive, so I'll try to get Atonga retyped over the weekend.