"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.
Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea."
- Opening paragraph of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
As good a description as one could want of Earth Prime. However, this is not primarily study of Earth Prime, this is a study of AE32, Alternate Earth 32, or as its inhabitants call it, Herat.
[note]I've just started working on this world recently, it is very much "in progress." I have a number of big ideas, but not much is unchangeable. So, if you see something that doesn't make sense, and you think it might need to be changed, just say so.[/note]
For now, I'm just going to give a vague outline of important concepts. I have more specific details, but I'm going to work a little more on them before I post them.
The World
There are four civilized continents in Herat; the West, the South, the East, and Central Herat. Each of these areas are "civilized" and inhabited.
[note=Brief Overview of Continents]The West is run primarily by Humans and High Elves, the East is inhabited by the Dwarves, the South is home to Desert Elves and their Orc slaves, and Central Herat is the homeland of the Gnomes.[/note]
There are other large regions of Herat that do not fall under any of these four continents.
- The Wastes are located just to the east of the West, confusing though that might be.
- The Frozen Plains are located between the East and the Wastes; this area is the home of the great Gnoll tribes.
At a later date (like after I have a better map) more areas may join this short list.
Deities
Each continent (except for Central Herat) has its own pantheon of deities.
- The peoples of the West generally worship the Gods of the West, or Hera's Children. Individual gods favor different philosophies on life. They are similar in nature as own might find throughout Prime Earth's mythological pantheons.
- The Dwarves of the East follow the teachings of the Ascended. The Ascended teach that the secret to life is found within oneself and reached through solitary meditation and studies.
- The Desert Elves of the South revere the Primordials. The Primordials each represent a strong presence in Herat, things like the Sun, the Moon, the Sky, the Seas, and the Earth (seemginly an avatar of the world).
- The Gnomes of Central Herat do not worship higher beings, but rather philosophize on high concepts like good, evil, law, chaos, life, and death.
Similarities to Earth Prime
Herat, as well as all other Alternate Earths, shares several characteristics of history. However, unlike the majority of other Alternate Earths, where one event changes the outcome of history, Alternate Earth shares many historical events with Earth Prime.
The Desert Elves of the South have, for instance, built great pyramids similar to those of the Ancient Egyptians of Earth Prime. The empires of the Dwarves of the East resemble ancient Chinese and Japanese feudal cultures.
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That's all I'm going to post for now. Not much, I know, but I am interested in what you all think of what I've got up now. Feel free to comment in this thread. Eventually, once I've gotten everything together, maybe I'll make a single thread where it can all be organized and one for comments, but until then, feel free to comment in this thread.
Once more, at this point, its not too late to revamp a lot of the core concepts. There's not a lot on this page that I'm married to. In any event, I have more information I'm working on, and once I've finished nice little chunks of it I'll start posting them.
I encourage you to post some more. Thus far it sounds like a good start but doesn't really tell us what this world is like...as with most it has political/racial/religious divisions. What is it about this world that intrigues you and makes you want to write about it?
Nice start. I'll keep an eye on this project?
How about the North? Or did you mean that the setup is that the West, East, and Central are all towards the north?
Hmm... I think what makes me interested in this world is that it reflects some of both the great conflicts and great periods of change throughout Earth's (Prime) history. I've mentioned a few, the wars between the Gnolls of the Frozen Plains and the Khani Empire & the pyramids of the South. I have a few more examples that are not quite ready for posting. A lot of the mroe interesting conflicts are based directly off of historical events and people. For instance, a Halfling explorer set out into the Western Sea with three ships in order to find a trade route to the East that didn't involve sailing all the way around the South. However, that was years ago, and neither she, nor any of her three ships have been seen or heard from since.
Since this is an Alternate Earth, it contains a lot of odd similarities like that, though it isn't known why such a different place (Elves, Dwarves, magic, monsters) would have such similarities (oriental culture, the pyramids, Columbus-like voyage).
As to the north of Herat, it's mostly the Frozen Plains. The people of the West and the East tend to ignore it, travel thruogh it is difficult because of the great mountain range that separates it from the West, and the many dangerous Gnoll tribes that live there. Once I've got a map I can scan onto the computer, I'll post it.
looks interesting. Not much more I can really say until there's some more material...
Quote from: Stargate525looks interesting. Not much more I can really say until there's some more material...
I know, and I appreciate your comment anyway.
However, here I have a short description of one of the pantheons and three of the gods therein.
The Gods of the WestThe Gods of the West are a fairly traditional D&D pantheon, except that they are very few in number. There are no deities for each race, though some races occasionally to revere one deity over another. They are led by Hera, the Mother of the Gods. All of the Gods of the West, with the exception of Hartur and Hera herself, are siblings.
HeraThe Mother of the Gods of the West, she is a compassionate and kind woman, though she does occasionally have a strict side when it comes to infighting between the other Gods. Common people often revere Hera for her kindness and compassion. When someone is helped, they often reply with â,¬Å"May Hera watch over you.â,¬Â
HarturThe weakest of all the Gods of the West, but among the most popular. He was once a mortal king of Angâ,¬,,¢Tel, and it is widely agreed upon that he was the greatest king that Angâ,¬,,¢Tel has ever had. He is typically worshipped by leaders, who seek his insight and wisdom to help them with their own decisions. The common people also revere Hartur, because he is proof that even mortals can become worthy of deityhood.
SetereshOne of the most hated and feared of the Gods of the West, Seteresh is often associated with monsters. In his basic form, he is a were-jackal, a humanoid body with a tail and the head of a jackal. Because of his lycanthropic nature, he is often worshipped by other lycanthropes. While heâ,¬,,¢s not actually evil, because of his fearsome look, he and other lycanthropes are often considered evil and dangerous.
I'm still working on a much more detailed history of Hera's Children (the Gods of the West), but it depends on a couple of other things I haven't worked out yet.
I've decided to increase the similarities between Herat and Earth Prime. I think it both lightens the sense of the game, for those that can recognize the similarities, and makes it more tense, because I'm including dire moments in Earth Prime' history.
Deities
Hera ~ Hera (Come on, obviously)
Seteresh ~ Set
Lokar ~ Loki
Nations and Places
- Ang'tel ~ Industrial England
- Gallia ~ Pre-Napoleonic France
- Dwarven Empire of Khani ~ Ancient China
- Newlands ~ The New World (The Americas)
- The South ~ Africa
- The West ~ Western Europe
- The East ~ Eastern Asia
- Central Herat ~ The Middle East
- The Frozen Plains ~ Russia/Mongolia
- The Wastelands ~ Eastern Europe/Ural Mountains
- Western Sea ~ Atlantic Ocean
People & Groups
- King Hartur ~ King Arthur
- General Leo ~ Napoleon
- Genghis Khan and the Mongol Hordes ~ Singeg Nok and the Gnolls of the Frozen Plains
- Krystal Kelembess (Hobette, Pint-Sized, Saint Merry) ~ Christopher Colombus (Nina, Pinta, Santa-Maria)
- Desert Elves of the South ~ Ancient Egyptians
- Omega ~ Professor James Moriarty (Omega is likely to be the main villain of any campaign that takes place. He's involved all over Herat and has world-wide plans)
Included Events
- Mongolian Invasion
- Napoleon's Takeover/Napoleonic Wars
- Holmes-esque Crime Wave
I'm thinking of more, and if anyone else has any other ideas that might translate well into Herat, feel free to contribute. Era is nearly irrelevant. The Mongolian Invasion is taking place at nearly the same time as the Napoleonic Wars (their Herat equivalents, anyway). I'm looking for anything really, events, nations, people, etc.
QuoteKrystal Kelembess
lol.
I agree, the direct relation of names/places can help the mood you are trying to create.
Quote from: Paranoid AndroidI've decided to increase the similarities between Herat and Earth Prime. I think it both lightens the sense of the game, for those that can recognize the similarities, and makes it more tense, because I'm including dire moments in Earth Prime' history.
*snip*
I'm thinking of more, and if anyone else has any other ideas that might translate well into Herat, feel free to contribute. Era is nearly irrelevant. The Mongolian Invasion is taking place at nearly the same time as the Napoleonic Wars (their Herat equivalents, anyway). I'm looking for anything really, events, nations, people, etc.
I like it. Very nice. I forbid you to have Omega witrhout some sort of Holmes counterpart. How about Shylock and his assistant Dr. Chime. (Kudos to whoever can figure out my train of thought on the assistant.)
Interesting. Reminds me of certain aspects of my world (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?24955). For instance, the use of historic deities.
Why is the queen figure of the Greek gods (Hera) mother of an Egyptian deity (Set) in your world?
Okay, Lokar is based off Loki; what does he do? Is he mildly naughty Loki that gives birth to Sleipnir? Is he rotten bastard Loki who kills Balder? Both? Neither?
How about a little more depth to the history. I find that's a fun thing to write. What about you? There's a Mongol invasion of Gnolls; what does that mean? Who is it affecting most? There's a Napolean-type guy; who is he exactly? What's he going to do? Is he going to fight the Mongols?
Quote from: khyron1144Interesting. Reminds me of certain aspects of my world (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?24955). For instance, the use of historic deities.
Why is the queen figure of the Greek gods (Hera) mother of an Egyptian deity (Set) in your world?
Okay, Lokar is based off Loki; what does he do? Is he mildly naughty Loki that gives birth to Sleipnir? Is he rotten bastard Loki who kills Balder? Both? Neither?
How about a little more depth to the history. I find that's a fun thing to write. What about you? There's a Mongol invasion of Gnolls; what does that mean? Who is it affecting most? There's a Napolean-type guy; who is he exactly? What's he going to do? Is he going to fight the Mongols?
All of Hera's Children are based off of Earth Prime mythological pantheons. In Herat, they're all part of the same group. Thus Lokar (Loki), Seteresh (Set), Hera, and more are all related.
Lokar is definitely the "rotten bastard Loki who kills Balder?" Though, his story is a long and complex one that I'm not quite finished with yet.
I enjoy writing the history too. However, this is a relatively new setting, and I'm still working out the details. For now, the Gnoll Invasion hasn't affected the West directly, but it has stopped overland trade with the East. General Leo (I'm thinking of changing his name to Leon instead) is, as we speak, plotting his coup of Gallia's government. He has dreams of conquering the West and ruling it all himself. But since I haven't fully fleshed out the nations of the West, I don't have a lot of specifics yet.
Thanks to everyone for the comments. I'm still working on more information, as when I get more, I'll make another post.
I think "General Leo" will always remind some of Final Fantasy VI. Since a lot of people into gaming may have played that, I'd go with Leon, at the least.