Rise of Empire

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Czernobog
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Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

Very, very important note: The base-map I used to create the map below is not my own, but the work of a poster on one of the alternate history boards I frequent called Rekjavik. I asked for permission to use it in a series of PM's, and he said that I was more than welcome to (saying the literal truth here). If you doubt my story's veracity, sign up at the message boards (just search 'alternate history forum' on google, you'll find it) and PM him about it.

Anyway, let's get to the meat here.

The Twin Empires

Image

The eastern world is dominated by the Twin Empires of the Romuli and Macharion Empires, the Macharion Empire fading as the Romuli begin their meteoric ascent into history. But there are other powers in this world. The Kingdom of Cartago, a great trading power, the Mazarri Sultanate, fuelled by the river Vitae that flows through its territories, the strange and exotic realm of Da'Qin and the realms of the Summer and Winter fey. There are also barbarians, the Gallii and Teutonii tribes, the horse-riders of the Great Horde and the feuding clans of the northern wastes of Asaheim.

And there are other forces in this world than mere mortals. The fey, the great Dragons of Earth and Storm and Fire, the Sandkin of the Ma'asharam Desert, the Shadowkith of the deep underground cavern-systems, and more, all inhabit a world bustling with life.

The World

This particular world is called Terra, in large part to distinguish it from our own, as the locals call it whatever their word for 'Earth' is. It is similar in most respects to our own - gravity, atmospheric composition, geological composition - but with one striking difference. It has one moon called Selene, and a ring around the equator, a scintillating ring of brilliant silver that is visible at night. This system fills the same niche as the moon, and has about the same effect on the tides and the world's axis. Its sun is called Helios, to distinguish it from our own son.



Magic

Magic is the main difference between the world of Terra and our own. It is first thought to have been developed by the fey and the nomadic tribes of the Ma'asharam desert (ancestors of the Mazarri). Magic is essentially forcing the universe to conform to your will. This can be done subtly, in essence 'hypnotising' reality, or un-subtly, commanding the universe to obey you by sheer willpower.

Magic is not presently known to harm the structure of reality, but can cause premature ageing in those that use it too frequently on themselves. Magic being an imprecise science, 'too much' is often a large amount of guesswork.

The caster must control immense amounts of power, channelling terrible energies in order to cast spells. Thus, he uses a focus to help him control the sun-smashing power of what he is unleashing. This focus can be words, an object, a thought - practically anything, but solid objects are best, due to them focusing the magic more easily.

Magic defies any attempts to classify it into a unified system of 'schools', as each culture has its own structure of magic and each downplays or puts in the forefront certain uses of it. The Romuli system is noted below.

Temporis

Temporis is the control of time, to view the future or the past, to manipulate time to your advantage. Users of this art can slow down time in a small area, more advanced casters can briefly stop or even rewind it. Temporis also allows users to teleport or create portals between different places.

Moritas

Moritas is the magic of life and death, and is seen as a neutral, albeit dark force amongst the majority of the populace in the Romuli Empire. It can do many things - re-animate bodies, give life to humonculi, heal, and even resurrect the dead, if one of its users manage to reach the body before the soul fully leaves. However, this last use falls under the principle of equivalent exchange - a life for a life, a soul for a soul - meaning that somebody must die in order to give the deceased new life.

Elementra

Elementra is magically manipulating the four elements - earth, water, air and fire - to achieve a given goal. It is often seen as one of the more destructive magical arts, as most magi using it are combat-magi. It is easy to see why this is, when Elementra is a powerful tool for destruction in the right hands. Elementra-users can also combine the elements to create lightning, for instance. Elementra is also a non-destructive tool, as it can be used to build great cities and works of architecture, stem floods and redirect lava flows, among other things.
Last edited by Czernobog on Sun Jan 17, 2010 10:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Heretic »

Interesting how magic plays a part in life. Problem is, now with magic for architecture and stuff, there would be no need for slave labor, or common laborers. And with magic not being an easy thing to use it seems, the laypeople will be out of jobs!
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Somes J »

A world without a moon is going to have climate problems. The gravity of the moon stabilizes our axis and basically keeps Earth from wobbling like an unstable top over millions of years. Without it the planet would go from periods where the axis tilt is less than today to periods where it's lying on it's side like Uranus with entire hemispheres experiencing months of continuous light and darkness over a period of hundreds of thousands or millions of years. I'm inclined to think the resulting climate swings would make it so difficult for life trying to get itself established on land that complex life would probably stay in the oceans.

I don't really have enough knowledge about gravitational interactions to say whether a ring could serve the same function, but judging from the fact that it'd pull on all sides of the Earth equally and it'd probably have to be inside the Roche limit to keep from recondenscing into a moon I'm inclined to think things are going to be a lot more complicated than just subbing a ring in for the moon.

You might want to have a moon + a ring instead. Or maybe make the sun dimmer and move the Earth closer to it, so that the sun can perform the function that the moon does for Earth (though I'm not absolutely sure that would work, I can ask the question over at the SLAM section of SDN and see what they say).

PS, your (apparently) reversed Europe map immediately made me think of this. An "upside down" Earth could definitely be an interesting alternate history scenario to explore (if we entertain the conciet that humans evolve despite the different prehistory)...
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

Heretic wrote:Interesting how magic plays a part in life. Problem is, now with magic for architecture and stuff, there would be no need for slave labor, or common laborers. And with magic not being an easy thing to use it seems, the laypeople will be out of jobs!
Magic is rare - about 1 in 1000 people have it, and it spreads through bloodlines. Also, masters are even rarer. So not every Elementra-user can make a palace all by himself, not every Moritas-user can resurrect the dead, and not every Temporis-user can rewind time. So common people, slaves and labourers, are still needed.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

Somes J wrote:A world without a moon is going to have climate problems. The gravity of the moon stabilizes our axis and basically keeps Earth from wobbling like an unstable top over millions of years. Without it the planet would go from periods where the axis tilt is less than today to periods where it's lying on it's side like Uranus with entire hemispheres experiencing months of continuous light and darkness over a period of hundreds of thousands or millions of years. I'm inclined to think the resulting climate swings would make it so difficult for life trying to get itself established on land that complex life would probably stay in the oceans.

I don't really have enough knowledge about gravitational interactions to say whether a ring could serve the same function, but judging from the fact that it'd pull on all sides of the Earth equally and it'd probably have to be inside the Roche limit to keep from recondenscing into a moon I'm inclined to think things are going to be a lot more complicated than just subbing a ring in for the moon.
I know the problems now. Thanks for helping, and I'll have to think of a solution...
You might want to have a moon + a ring instead. Or maybe make the sun dimmer and move the Earth closer to it, so that the sun can perform the function that the moon does for Earth (though I'm not absolutely sure that would work, I can ask the question over at the SLAM section of SDN and see what they say).

PS, your (apparently) reversed Europe map immediately made me think of this. An "upside down" Earth could definitely be an interesting alternate history scenario to explore (if we entertain the conciet that humans evolve despite the different prehistory)...
A moon + a ring makes a lot of sense - it would be very alien, much like the effect I want to achieve. As for altering the star it orbits round, I don't want to do that, as I don't know the astronomical implications. And finally, the map is not my own, but it is based off Europe. I don't particularly want to explore alternate history right now - something I do enough on another board I frequent - but the idea is certainly interesting.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Heretic »

Magic is rare - about 1 in 1000 people have it, and it spreads through bloodlines. Also, masters are even rarer. So not every Elementra-user can make a palace all by himself, not every Moritas-user can resurrect the dead, and not every Temporis-user can rewind time. So common people, slaves and labourers, are still needed.
Ah, so there can be errors within magic. Not a perfect system I see. So, what type of timeline is this? Is this a medieval "knights and dragons" era, or more of a Sandalpunk mode, where Romans, Greeks, Assyrians, and other classical powers get some nifty stuff plus magic?
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

Heretic wrote:
Magic is rare - about 1 in 1000 people have it, and it spreads through bloodlines. Also, masters are even rarer. So not every Elementra-user can make a palace all by himself, not every Moritas-user can resurrect the dead, and not every Temporis-user can rewind time. So common people, slaves and labourers, are still needed.
Ah, so there can be errors within magic. Not a perfect system I see. So, what type of timeline is this? Is this a medieval "knights and dragons" era, or more of a Sandalpunk mode, where Romans, Greeks, Assyrians, and other classical powers get some nifty stuff plus magic?
This is a mix of those two genres, based essentially on the rise of the Roman Empire. So you have the Arabian Nights-esque Mazarri and the Roman-like Romuli right next to each other, with the Chinese-esque Da'Qin close to them. So it's essentially a classical/early medieval hodgepodge, which is just the way I like it.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

The Iron Legion

The Iron Legion is essentially a whole army of automata, essentially the Macharion version of Romuli humonculi. Automata differ from humonculi in several respects - for one, they are primarily made of metal, are mostly used in the Macharion Empire as artificial soldiers, and most certainly not treated with revulsion as in the Romuli Empire.

The Iron Legion was constructed in the age of Macharios IV Alexandros, a military man who lived 200 years ago and saw the effectiveness of the Terracotta Corps of Da'Qin during a diplomatic visit. He ordered all his sorcerers and magi to create a similar army, one that would be effective in putting down rebels and handling invasion.

They laboured for many days and nights, working their spells of animation and control as the Priests of Kairos blessed each and every single metal statue, until the work, of 5,000 individual automata, was complete.

To describe the full glory of the Iron Legion is to describe a wonderful sight. 5,000 soldiers wrought of iron, 100 'Talos' gigantic automata wrought of silver and gold, chariots of iron drawn by golden horses, cavalry and pikemen and hoplites, although the majority are on foot and wield tower shields and short, stabbing swords.

Unfortunately, the full glory of the Legion is long gone. Automata have been destroyed or damaged, and have been replaced, but the replacements are nowhere near as beautiful or as terrible as the originals.

The Iron Legion is an army that never tires, never stops, until its orders have been fulfilled. It never panics, it never fears, it never slows. It is a terrible foe to face, and although individuals or groups of automata may be destroyed by massed firepower or magic, the Legion as a whole will not stop until every single enemy on the battlefield is dead.

Their flaw is simple - they are mindless and simple, and will obey all their orders literally, without thinking. This may be used by a wily commander to defeat them, as was the case at the Battle of Alsarra Gate, where the Summer Fey out-thought and defeated a much larger contingent of the Iron Legion.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

Sapient Races

The Fey

The Fey, or 'elves' as some call them, are divided into two subspecies - Summer and Winter. The Summer Fey most commonly have hair in varying shades of blond and sky-blue eyes, although some have other hair and eye colours, and the Winter Fey most commonly have black hair and red-glowing eyes.

Both subspecies of Fey are stronger, taller, and have better reflexes than the majority of humans - however, these advantages are slight, and a fight between a fey and a human is on generally even grounds. Fey magi are much more common than humans, forming aproximately 1 in 500 of the population. However, since they live long, they are slow to have children, and as a result humans outclass them in sheer numbers.

The Fey are, some say, the first race on Terra to reach sentience. For hundreds of years they enslaved humans on the continent of Aquilia (the continent of the Romuli Empire) until the ancestors of the Romuli and Macharion peoples developed their own magic, which they used to rebel and defeat the Fey. The Teutonii peoples developed magic later.

The Fey split into two bands - one headed north to the far north-west and became the Fey Kingdom of Winter, one headed east to the Dawning Coast and became the Fey Kingdom of Summer.

Humans

Humans are the most populous race on the Continents of Aquilia*1, Mazarria*2 and Serica*3, owing to the facts that they breed fast compared to other races, and that they are a jack-of-all-trades - generalists compared to the specialists that some other races are.

Humans first developed in Southern Mazarria, and migrated north to the River Vitae, the wellspring of civilisation. From there they sailed to the Aquilian mainland, which was at the time dominated by the Fey, and rebelled from their slavery there approximately 5,000 years ago. Ironically, the revolters soon adopted the Fey attitudes of civilisation, quickly adopting farming, the wheel, and fortifications.

However, the lands where the Romuli Empire now sits were soon colonised by the Macharion and Mazarri peoples, far older civilisations, although these colonies never amounted to anything much, and essentially remained small trading outposts, with only a few cities.

But then, came Romulus Aurelian, a warlord after whom the Romuli people are named. He drove out the Macharion and the Mazarri, and embarked on numerous wars against the Teutonii. However, his empire fell soon after his death, until it was re-united by his descendent Solarian the Great.

But that is another tale, for another time.

1 - Europe
2 - Africa
3 - Asia

Dragons

Dragons are the greatest, most majestic beings that people can see. However, the 'dragons' that most people think of, great beings that can overshadow whole towns, are only the end state of their life cycle. They begin as comparatively small, flightless creatures, known as 'drakes' that are about the same size as a man and cannot fly owing to their wings not being able to take their own weight.

They develop flight as a natural consequence of their instinctive magic, their natural control of Elementra allowing them to manipulate the air in order to make flight easier.

Their ability to breath fire is also provided by their control of the element of fire, again through their natural instinct for elemental magic.

The greatest dragons are known as Elders - they are often the leaders of whole Flights (a term for a group of dragons, similar to, for example, 'a murder of ravens').

Dragons are divided into three sub-species - Storm, Earth and Fire. Fire dragons prefer volcanic environments, Earth dragons prefer the great deserts, and Storm dragons fly between the islands of the Eastern Sea, far out of sight of land.

Sandkin/Anubians/Jackal-kin

The Sandkin are yet another strange race in the world. They resemble humanoid jackals, and are known as Anubians by some after one one of the old gods of the Mazarri Empire (now the Mazarri Sultanate), having a flourishing civilization in the northern reaches of the Desert of Storms, near the river Ushur and the Lake of Glassy Water. They are isolationist and distrustful of outsiders - few are allowed to enter their cities and live.

They build great subterranean tomb-complexes for their dead kings, guarded by living statues they call 'Shabti', meaning 'servants' in their tongue.

Shadowkith

The Shadowkith are bat-like beings that dwell in the deepest, most forgotten caves. They have little civilisation and primitive minds, having just emerged into sapience. They have no eyes, and use echolocation to locate their prey - they are carnivorous. They do not fear darkness, but loud noises can disrupt their extremely sensitive ears.

Most people have no idea they even exist, as they dwell out of sight and out of mind.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
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Order. Unity. Obedience.
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And we shall do so again.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

Major Polities

This is a general list of important polities and a short description of each. Each will get a full article when I get round to it.

The Romuli Empire

The Romuli Empire is a rising star among nations, an empire that already reigns over much of Aquilia. The only things that stand in its way to total dominance, are the Empires of Da'Qin and Macharion, and several other kingdoms. Its history dates back 150 years, to the time of Romulus Solarian the Great.

The Macharion Empire

The Macharion Empire was founded by Macharios I, a great warrior who conquered vast territories in Aquilia and Mazarria. But the later kings became decadent and rested on their laurels, the old martial bloodlines fading and declining. Before long, they were at a desperate struggle against the Fey and the Kingdom of Cartago. Now, they are fading from their former dominance.

The Empire of Da'Qin

The Empire of Da'Qin was founded 2,000 years ago, in the continent of Serica, and has reigned those years under the glory of three dynasties - the Sun, the Qin and the Huang. As one of the earliest civilisations, they are a proud and arrogant people, claiming that all other peoples are barbarians, something that has caused more than one war.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
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Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Siege »

Look, Kamin, I'll tell you what my problem is. This is your seventh attempt. You already have Colliding Empires (which hasn't seen new content since September), you used to have Imperial Wars (which after a mere three threads ended up in the Archives), and in the space of about three months you've gone through proposals for Infinite Powers, A Thousand Years, World War Weird and The Drums of War, all of which were abandoned after a few days or weeks.

Why should I assume the fate of "Rise of Empire" will be any different? It's no crime to come up with an idea that ultimately doesn't work out, or to lose interest after a while, but six in three months? That makes me think these proposals are more like random brainstorming sessions than actual settings that you're prepared to expand into a full-fledged universe. And if that's the case, I'd be wasting my time creating this universe for you when you'll just abandon it after a week or two. And far worse than wasting my time, too many dead universes and this website ends up looking like a graveyard of half-finished ideas. That's not what I'd like us to be.

So here's the deal: convince me that you're actually going to expand this into something that has a fair chance of standing the test of time and I'm willing to give you a shot. But I want to see some measure of dedication before that happens.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

Siege wrote:Look, Kamin, I'll tell you what my problem is. This is your seventh attempt. You already have Colliding Empires (which hasn't seen new content since September), you used to have Imperial Wars (which after a mere three threads ended up in the Archives), and in the space of about three months you've gone through proposals for Infinite Powers, A Thousand Years, World War Weird and The Drums of War, all of which were abandoned after a few days or weeks.

Why should I assume the fate of "Rise of Empire" will be any different? It's no crime to come up with an idea that ultimately doesn't work out, or to lose interest after a while, but six in three months? That makes me think these proposals are more like random brainstorming sessions than actual settings that you're prepared to expand into a full-fledged universe. And if that's the case, I'd be wasting my time creating this universe for you when you'll just abandon it after a week or two. And far worse than wasting my time, too many dead universes and this website ends up looking like a graveyard of half-finished ideas. That's not what I'd like us to be.

So here's the deal: convince me that you're actually going to expand this into something that has a fair chance of standing the test of time and I'm willing to give you a shot. But I want to see some measure of dedication before that happens.
I understand where you're coming from, Siege, but the lack of attention span comes from another problem: lack of comments. When I receive comments, I get motivated to write more - no comments, and I begin to lack motivation. This also happens with my stories, mind you. I need to know what people's views are on what I write, what they feel about it and so forth, or I just give up.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Siege »

Kamin997 wrote:I understand where you're coming from, Siege, but the lack of attention span comes from another problem: lack of comments. When I receive comments, I get motivated to write more - no comments, and I begin to lack motivation. This also happens with my stories, mind you. I need to know what people's views are on what I write, what they feel about it and so forth, or I just give up.
A few things, then: first off, whilst we're not exactly running on a quid pro quo basis you'll find that if you drop a few comments on what other folks are working on, they'll in turn be more inclined to pay attention to your own work. I haven't seen you doing much commenting around here, so that might have something to do with the perceived lack of comments on your own work

Secondly, I say 'perceived' because frankly you're not giving us the credit we're due. Your Infinite Powers universe proposal attracted plenty attention and comments. In fact it reached up to three pages; The Drums of War even reached six pages of comments and lively discussion. That's more than any other universe proposal in the history of this website. The only thing that ever came close was a collaborative universe, in fact. Yet these two ideas of yours died just like all the others. So obviously there's far more to it than a lack of input from other people.

This neatly brings me to a third and final point: when you're going through universe proposals the way you're doing, you're not exactly convincing anyone you're going to stick by them. If you're going to abandon the idea a week from now anyway, why should we bother commenting?
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Magister Militum »

Siege wrote:A few things, then: first off, whilst we're not exactly running on a quid pro quo basis you'll find that if you drop a few comments on what other folks are working on, they'll in turn be more inclined to pay attention to your own work. I haven't seen you doing much commenting around here, so that might have something to do with the perceived lack of comments on your own work
To be somewhat fair, most members as of lately (as in from the time we switched boards) have become somewhat apathetic when it comes to new universes/'verses they have little knowledge of, something I think really needs to change. To give you an example, there are really only two 'verses were most of us participate in: Comix (which is collaborative) and CSW (which, while not collaborative per se, still manages a sort of active participation of sorts). Others, like TEG or TE, have their own (small) core of adherents, while the rest may be lucky to get a comment once and a while. Frankly, when a person at least strives to give some feedback on other 'verses but gets nothing for his own work it can really turn off the creative juices.

Of course, on the other hand, if you never bother to comment on other 'verses and whatnot then don't be surprised if no one returns the favor.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Siege »

Oh, I'm right with you on that one. I too would like to see people read and critique each other's work more. I don't think it's a new problem though; I distinctly recall we encountered the same issue on OZ too. There's no easy solution though: we can't after all force folks to read each other's work, nor for that matter should we even if it were possible to do so.

The best ways I've found so far to get others to read ones work is to first comment on theirs (which seems to at least encourage a certain measure of reciprocality), and to regularly generate new content once a "fan base" has been built.

There's also the issue that universes high up on the list will naturally attract more attention than those further down the page, but barring things like promoting active universes 'up the ladder' over inactive universes (something I'm currently experimenting with) I don't think much can be done about that -- it's pretty inherent in working with this medium, I'm afraid. If you or anyone else has an idea how to make the site better I'd welcome the input, although it might be better if we discussed the matter in its own thread.
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Off naked Chatham show,
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Kingmaker »

First of all, that map is real mindfuck. Some kind of cartographical uncanny valley-just enough like the Mediterranean to be familiar, just different enough to drive you crazy. ;)
It has one moon called Selene, and a ring around the equator, a scintillating ring of brilliant silver that is visible at night. This system fills the same niche as the moon, and has about the same effect on the tides and the world's axis. Its sun is called Helios, to distinguish it from our own son. [sic]
This is a minor quibble, but you probably don't need to give the sun and moon unique names (not that Selene and Helios would leave anyone guessing) unless they are actually different in nature in a way that is relevant to the story/setting (i.e. if the sun is really a giant fire elemental, but no one actually interacts with it, it doesn't matter). Not that big a deal, though.
Magic is rare - about 1 in 1000 people have it, and it spreads through bloodlines. Also, masters are even rarer. So not every Elementra-user can make a palace all by himself, not every Moritas-user can resurrect the dead, and not every Temporis-user can rewind time. So common people, slaves and labourers, are still needed.
What role do magic users play in society? If reality bending powers are extremely rare, it would be easy for magic-users to set themselves up as the rulers of society, as there would be no one to challenge them. What role does religion play in magic, or vice-versa? Since magic does not appear to play a noticeable role in the life of a peasant, a master magic user could probably set themself up as a god or god-emperor. On the other hand, magic-using priests might go around performing miracles to build up the credibility of their religion.
The Fey
snip
How frequently do the Fey interact with humans? I would expect the two groups to not get along very well.
they are often the leaders of whole Flights (a term for a group of dragons, similar to, for example, 'a murder of ravens').
Quibble: a murder is a group of crows; a group of ravens is a conspiracy or an unkindness. ;)
Yes, I'm a dork.
ut the lack of attention span comes from another problem: lack of comments. When I receive comments, I get motivated to write more - no comments, and I begin to lack motivation.
Some of this is a chicken and egg problem, I suspect. Some of it-and I'm not trying to be nasty-is that a number of your universes are extremely bland to start out with, and when you stop developing them, you lose the opportunity to inject something unique and interesting into them. Just pick one or two and focus on them. It's okay to start over on them in a fit of artistic pique, but pick something and focus.
When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Heading said: "Stick to the Devil you know."
-Rudyard Kipling
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Czernobog
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

Kingmaker wrote:First of all, that map is real mindfuck. Some kind of cartographical uncanny valley-just enough like the Mediterranean to be familiar, just different enough to drive you crazy. ;)
Yes, that is true.
It has one moon called Selene, and a ring around the equator, a scintillating ring of brilliant silver that is visible at night. This system fills the same niche as the moon, and has about the same effect on the tides and the world's axis. Its sun is called Helios, to distinguish it from our own son. [sic]
This is a minor quibble, but you probably don't need to give the sun and moon unique names (not that Selene and Helios would leave anyone guessing) unless they are actually different in nature in a way that is relevant to the story/setting (i.e. if the sun is really a giant fire elemental, but no one actually interacts with it, it doesn't matter). Not that big a deal, though.
Magic is rare - about 1 in 1000 people have it, and it spreads through bloodlines. Also, masters are even rarer. So not every Elementra-user can make a palace all by himself, not every Moritas-user can resurrect the dead, and not every Temporis-user can rewind time. So common people, slaves and labourers, are still needed.
What role do magic users play in society? If reality bending powers are extremely rare, it would be easy for magic-users to set themselves up as the rulers of society, as there would be no one to challenge them. What role does religion play in magic, or vice-versa? Since magic does not appear to play a noticeable role in the life of a peasant, a master magic user could probably set themself up as a god or god-emperor. On the other hand, magic-using priests might go around performing miracles to build up the credibility of their religion.
Yes, most royals do have quite a bit of magic in them, since it's primarily concentrated around the upper classes, because they are descended from the original leaders of the revolt against the Fey. As for priests using magic to spread their religion, it defonitely happens a lot.
The Fey
snip
How frequently do the Fey interact with humans? I would expect the two groups to not get along very well.
Yes, they definitely do not get along well, and most of their interactions are border skirmishes and other such things, as the Fey are isolationist./
they are often the leaders of whole Flights (a term for a group of dragons, similar to, for example, 'a murder of ravens').
Quibble: a murder is a group of crows; a group of ravens is a conspiracy or an unkindness. ;)
Yes, I'm a dork.
Yeah, I got that wrong.
ut the lack of attention span comes from another problem: lack of comments. When I receive comments, I get motivated to write more - no comments, and I begin to lack motivation.
Some of this is a chicken and egg problem, I suspect. Some of it-and I'm not trying to be nasty-is that a number of your universes are extremely bland to start out with, and when you stop developing them, you lose the opportunity to inject something unique and interesting into them. Just pick one or two and focus on them. It's okay to start over on them in a fit of artistic pique, but pick something and focus.
I know, and this is why I'm planning to flesh this one out as much as I can. I'm already writing one big article and have plans for several others.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

Sorcery and Pact-Magic

Sorcery

First on, the easiest subject.

Sorcery is the magic of ritual, of summoning and banishment. Unlike normal magic, it is possible for anybody to learn sorcery and participate in its rituals, although prior magical experience is required to lead the rituals of sorcery and channel the immense energies generated. Sorcery can generate much larger amounts of power than normal, and can channel it more efficiently and safely.

Most rituals require 7 to 13 casters, one (or more) to channel the magic, and several to help prepare the ritual and raise the power. Most of the time the power comes from raw life-force being converted into energy, from a (not necessarily human) sacrifice.

There is little difference between 'black' and forbidden sorcery and 'white' or tolerated sorcery - mostly, it just comes down to the choice of sacrifices or the intended effect.

Pact-Magic

Pact-magic is the most dangerous, forbidden type of magic. It involves making deals with shadowy, malicious creatures called Eidolons, offering your soul in exchange for magical power. However, each use of this power racks up a debt with the Eidolon in question, a debt that must be paid in souls. If this debt is not paid, the Eidolon gets angry. If it is sufficiently angered, it will possess the sorcerer, or devour his soul, leaving him a mindless shell, or drag him bodily into its own realm, for whatever terrible fate awaits him there.

It is for this reason that pact-magic is forbidden, and using it is a capital offence in most nations.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
You have little of account to show for your efforts.
Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by speaker-to-trolls »

Some of this is a chicken and egg problem, I suspect. Some of it-and I'm not trying to be nasty-is that a number of your universes are extremely bland to start out with, and when you stop developing them, you lose the opportunity to inject something unique and interesting into them. Just pick one or two and focus on them. It's okay to start over on them in a fit of artistic pique, but pick something and focus.
As poorly qualified as I am to speak about keeping up with ones projects, I think this is good advice, personally I thought The Drums of War and A Thousand Years (at least after Somes J posted the Transingularity religion) had the most interesting potential.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

The Desert of Storms

The Desert of Storms is a hellish place, second only to the Lands of Fire or the Blasted Plains. Its sky thunders with an eternal lightning-storm, but not a single drop of rain ever falls. The noise and light of the eternal storms makes it hard to sleep, even as the burning heat of the day and the cold of the freezing night make it incredibly hard to endure.

Entire armies have been swallowed up by its sands, and it is hard to find one's direction through it due to the eternally shifting sands. But more dangerous are the creatures that dwell in it. Swarms of samaqh'ar, giant centipede-like creatures that tunnel under the sand to hunt their prey, attack unwary travellers, their scythe-like limbs ending most confrontations in moments.

As men progress deeper into the desert, the wildlife gets more and more bizarre, or so some fantastic stories claim - gargantuan spiders of living glass the size of steeds, swarms of gigantic sand-scorpions and huge flesh-eating scarab beetles larger than horses, all are claimed to exist near the centre. Spikes of rough blue glass rise out of the shifting sands in the outer reaches of the desert, where pieces are chipped off and sold to eventually become luxury items.

Some Dragons of Storm and Earth also live here, and are extremely territorial.

Occasionally, the remnants of lost cities long buried under the swirling sands rise up, abandoned for thousands of years. None know who built them, and no-one is willing to guess.

At the centre of the dark desert, it is said that there are the remnants of a great city, untouched by time or the sands. It is said to contain riches beyond compare, and is called 'the City of Wonders'. However, none dare venture deep into the Desert of Storms, so such stories will have to remain rumours for now.
Last edited by Czernobog on Wed Jan 27, 2010 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Shroom Man 777 »

I like the giant spiders made out of glass. Presumably this place also has craptons of resources and stuff, making going into it a very dangerous temptation. Hell, slaying some of those monsters and bringing their parts to the outside world as trophies or something could fetch for a hefty price. Monster Hunters!
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

Shroom Man 777 wrote:I like the giant spiders made out of glass. Presumably this place also has craptons of resources and stuff, making going into it a very dangerous temptation. Hell, slaying some of those monsters and bringing their parts to the outside world as trophies or something could fetch for a hefty price. Monster Hunters!
It has lots of resources, like almost any place where adventurers tend to go. ;)

As for slaying the monsters and taking their parts as trophies, lots of people go out to try. Almost none come back.
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Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Czernobog »

Wildlife

Flying wildlife

Aquilae

Aquilae are gigantic eagles with a wing-span of ten feet. They have enough strength to fly at a decent height when carrying an armoured man, and have a maximum altitude of about a kilometre, not carrying a passenger. They are not suitable for mass transportation, only carrying one at a time, but are quite fast while flying and easy to domesticate.

They often live in high altitudes.

Phoenixes

Phoenixes, or Benu as the Anubians call them, are large hawks with red and gold plumage, and the ability to burst into flame as a last-ditch attack. Although this attack puts them into a death-like state, they quickly recover when in warm and dry conditions. They are difficult to domesticate, and quite unruly when not given a supply of fresh meat.


Land creatures

Behemoths

Behemoth are large, rhino-like beasts with thick armour plates on their heads and all around, except for their underbellies. They are hard to kill owing to their tough natural armour plates, but have a natural weakness in their underbellies, which are unarmoured and thus much weaker than most of their bodies.

Ghul

Ghul are desert hunters, carrion-eaters and scavengers that feast on dead bodies. Although humanoid in shape, they have only about the same intelligence as apes. They only attack the weak, but come in very large numbers. If a sufficient show of force is made, they will flee to fight another day.

Raptors

Raptors are large reptilian creatures, with two legs and two arms, and a tail which they use to balance. They are not intelligent, but display an animal cunning and often hunt in packs. They are unique to tropical regions, and are rarely seen in the Romuli Empire.

Samaqh'ar

Samaqh'ar are centipede-like creatures that tunnel beneath the sands of the Desert of Storms. They track prey by vibration, and are particularly sensitive to the movements of sand-ships. The most often seen of them by their prey, is a centipede-like upper body, and a flurry of scythe-like limbs that can cut through bone.

Salamanders

Salamanders are beings of fire, and enjoy hot and dry climates. The salamanders most commonly seen, the fire-breathing quadrupedal reptiles, are the 'soldier' variant, dedicated to defence of the hive. There also exist 'workers' that excavate tunnels and bring in food, and 'king' variants that can be the size of the greatest dragons at their greatest (queens exist only for breeding purposes and stay almost entirely underground). All variants of salamander share the same basic body plan and can breathe fire.

Giant Scarabs

Giant Scarabs, are large and terrifying creatures. The size of horses, they have acid blood sufficient to dissolve steel, and their mandibles can break through stone. They are carnivorous, and will eat humans if no other prey is available.

Sea Creatures

Leviathan

Leviathan are immense squid, about a hundred feet long, fifty feet wide, and with large circular maws. Luckily for humans, they are mostly harmless, living off of deep-sea plankton and only rarely venturing to the surface, most often simply to breed.
You have ruled this galaxy for ten thousand years.
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Order. Unity. Obedience.
We taught the galaxy these things.

And we shall do so again.
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Shroom Man 777 »

Which ones are edible? :P

I do like the idea of carrion-eating carnivore monkeys though. I mean, they're not zombies, they're apes, and they're out to eat your brains!
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Re: Rise of Empire

Post by Blackwing »

Shroom Man 777 wrote:I like the giant spiders made out of glass. Presumably this place also has craptons of resources and stuff, making going into it a very dangerous temptation. Hell, slaying some of those monsters and bringing their parts to the outside world as trophies or something could fetch for a hefty price. Monster Hunters!
I liked the glass spiders (and the general description of the landscape) better in the original game.
So Einstein was wrong when he said "God does not play dice". Consideration of black holes suggests, not only that God does play dice, but that He sometimes confuses us by throwing them where they can't be seen. ~ Stephen Hawking
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