• Welcome to The Campaign Builder's Guild.
 

Endless Horizons - Racial Genesises

Started by Xeviat, January 14, 2012, 01:35:27 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Xeviat

This thread for work on my setting's ancient history. It will refer to facts and myths of the world, even though most of the facts will be obfuscated in the complete setting. I want to determine where each of the races is "created", how they migrate, and see where big conflicts would arise. I have thoughts on how I want things to be in the setting's present, but I'd like to see if I can't let some history naturally evolve.

---------

Real History
Terran is Earth, 50 million years in the future. The continents have moved, and many species went extinct in the interim. Humans narrowly escaped extinction. Leading up to the cataclysm, humans had created several subspecies of man through genetic engineering (these subspecies live on in the setting as Ferals, anthropomorphic animals, both true and lycanthropic), and they had also begun artificially evolving other animals (you know, for science). Several million years ago (referring to the setting's "present"; exact time uncertain since I cannot find research saying how long it took the Earth to recover from the KT event), a cataclysmic event nearly killed off the advanced humans. The cataclysm was an alien invasion, and the invaders became today's dragons and reptilian humanoids. OH, and there's magic too, but I'm not explaining that part (I suppose in my setting's alternate Earth history, magic was always there). The invasion was so intense that the denizens of the spirit world Avalon, the Sidhe, even ventured into Earth to help.

When the dust settled, humanity was nearly destroyed. Humans survived in small pockets dotting the globe, but they lost writing and most knowledge. The invader's victory was Pyrrhic, and some were stranded. The Sidhe closed the boarders between our planes to keep the invaders out, but in the process they trapped many Sidhe behind. These trapped Sidhe evolved into the Elves as they became more acclimated to natural nature. The dragons used their magic to create Giants from humans. Thus, the first ancient "peoples" of Terran were the Elves, the Dragons, and the Giants.

The war between the Dragons and Giants is the stuff of legends. Unable to match their might, Elves had little effect on how their war played out. Due to their slow aging and maturing, war was costly for the Dragons and Giants. As their numbers waned, other races which had hidden in their shadows were able to gain a foothold. Thus resumes the age of man.

Mythology
Long ago, Terran was ruled by the Ancients. Their magic was great, and they lived in cities of glass and steel towers which threatened to pierce the very sky. As their power grew, they forsook their gods, and it was for this they were punished. The last and most powerful of their gods, the great dragonness Zean, descended upon the Ancients and destroyed them. The battle was great, and even Zean had to rest, high in the heavens above Terran.

In her slumber, Zean birthed new life. The seven elements were born and began returning life to the scorched world. The first of their creations were the dragons, made in their own image. The dragons proved to be too prideful and too powerful to worship their creators, for they were gods in their own right. The second of their creations were the giants, who gladly worshiped their creators. Thus, jealousy was born, and the terrible war between the giants and the dragons began.

Galdenfeather and Vandek, the goddesses of Light and Dark, withdrew from creation, taking up residence in the sun and the moon. The four brothers (Daguyle, Air; Trannon, Earth; Firdel, Fire; and Sorndal, Water) learned creation from the seventh, Ivenodea, the Aether, and went out to create new followers who would prove better than the Dragons or the Giants. Daguyle created the Valkyrie high over the windswept planes. Trannon created the Dwarves, deep under the World Spire. Firdel created the Ifrit in the Burning Sands. Sorndal created the Tritons in the heart of the maelstrom.

While the brothers created, Terran created too. Humans were born from the world, though some believe Ivenodia allowed the Ancients to be reborn in man. As the giants and the dragons war destroyed both races, man and his brothers took over the world.

[spoiler=Terran Map with Biomes and Altitude][/spoiler]

[spoiler=Genesis]Here's a blank map, showing elevation only. I assume this map will prove handy to draw on for explanations.

The black "7" in the water is marking a volcanic island chain. I haven't yet drawn it in.[/spoiler]

Now, I haven't yet decided if I should strive for each race to have multiple genesis points or for each to have single genesis points. I want all of my setting's races to have some presence on each continent (the Africa portion is Serian, while the Asia portion is Krellshah). I only am really heart set on two genesis points: one for humans and one for valkyries. The map posted below shows those points in color (I apologize if it's hard to see).

[spoiler=Human and Valkyrie starts][/spoiler]

Now for some quick thoughts on the groups I want to exist in the present. This should help others with ideas on where they should begin. Just writing it is helping me think:

Krellshah (western continent on map)
Human
The Republic of Hunerst: It grew out of the remnants of the Hunerst Empire, focusing on the tenants of Chivalry taught by the Knights, the saviors of humanity. They are honorable and intelligent, and hope to bring back the Empire's former glory without its corruption. While predominantly human, they are the most mixed of all civilizations in Krellshah.

The Highland Barbarians: The Hunerst Empire was large. When it fell after the Giant Wars, its remnants became individual feuding kingdoms during the great dark age. After the founding of the Republic of Hunerst, the people of the highland plains refused to join. They reject the chivalric tenants, and are more shamanistic in nature.

The Three Kingdoms: Far to the south, past the cold forests, lay the Three Kingdoms on the banks of a grand forked river. The humans here are dragon worshipers, lead by immortal kings who are gods in their own right. The three kings vie for supreme control. They are builders of grand marble monuments, and have a fascination with achieving immortality in death.

The Land of the Thousand Islands: To the north of Hunerst, through the thick jungles, is the land of the never setting sun. The people here are great warriors who rule the land and the sea. Some believe they are nothing more than pirates and pillagers, but they are a noble warrior people for whom the greatest glory is death in battle. Since the Hunerst Empire fell, the people of the thousand islands have become the dominant force in the exploration of Draconia across the maelstrom.

Dwarf
Mountain Dwarves: Residing under the Grand Spire mountains, the mountain dwarves live in great citadels carved into the heart of the stone. Long ago, when the Knights first defeated the Giants and sent them into isolation, the mountain dwarves chose to retreat into their halls and close the doors of their citadels. In recent centuries, they have resurfaced as their civilization has weakened in isolation. They are deeply religious followers of the Tyrannon, the God of Earth.

Hill Dwarves: When the Mountain Dwarves retreated from the giants, their lower class of farmers and surface dwellers refused to flee and instead joined with Humans in their war with the giants. They built a great wall to keep the giants back. Over the years, they adopted the human's faith of chivalry, and have been allies to the humans of the Holylands through the good and the bad.

Elves
Elves live in many of the wild places in Krellshah. Truthfully, I haven't come up with elven civilizations, but I think I may run with that. The elves time is past, and I think it may be fitting for them to not have many nations. I'll end up developing small groups eventually, but only one nation comes to mind.

Kino Rin: South of the Holylands is the forest of Kino Rin. There, three grand elven cities lay built in the bows of ancient trees. The Kino Rin is protected by three great gods (the wolf, the oak, and the stag), and these gods have lead to the prosperity of its people. In recent years, they nearly went to war with Hunerst.

Ifrit
Red Ifrit: In the northern jungles dwell the Red Ifrit. They live in great stone and metal cities built around temples built to look like volcanoes. Red ifrit are highly religious, worshiping Firdel the Fire God. They have ritual sacrifice (of beasts, and willing ifrit; sometimes unwilling ifrit), and they battle each other for the glory of Firdel.

Black Ifrit: Originally a splinter faith amongst the red ifrit, the black ifrit fled persecution and took up residence in the inland desert and badlands where they live as nomads. They believe that blood is so sacred that it should not be spilled in sacrifice, but only when it really matters. They do not worship the fire dragon, and instead worship their ancestors and the lesser nature spirits.

Halfling
City Halflings: Technically members of human civilizations, City Halflings are those who live within poor halfling districts. They are repressed, living in slums, and often willingly embody the worst stereotypes held against Halflings. While they share many traits of the civilization they are living in, they maintain their cultural differences.

Nomadic Halflings: Wandering the roads, waterways, and other trade routs are the nomadic halflings. They travel with their birds and pack animals, living off eggs, milk, and the vegetables they trade. Thought of by many as thieves and opportunists, they are story tellers, performers, and craftspeople who carry all they own upon the backs of their livestock. Names have power to them, and they never share their real names with outsiders, often holding different names in the various places they travel.

Tritons
Sea Tritons: Inhabiting the waters around a large volcanic island chain between Draconia and Krellshah, the sea tritons once had a thriving united nation. Long ago, the Hunerst Empire destablized the sea tritons' nation in their misunderstanding of triton ways. As the nation collapsed, it instead was replaced by multitudes of individual settlements, ranging to as small as individual ships. Sea tritons are pirates at worst, and shrewd businesspeople at best.

Island Tritons: When the sea tritons' nation fell, the tritons of the Four Kings Isles closed their boarders. They developed weapons of war in preparation for an attack that never came. When the Hunerst Republic was formed, they reopened their boarders, but distrust for humans still remains. They now choose to deal with humans through valkyrie and dwarf intermediaries.

Valkyries
Holy Valkyries: The valkyries say they were born far to the south, at a grand mountain that pierces the clouds. As their numbers rose, the sparse hunting became insufficient to support their population. They began to migrate to the north, to the plateau above the Mountain Dwarves' home. Over the years, less and less valkyries chose to make the summer migration south. Those that continued to became the chosen of Daguyle, the Air God.

Highland Valkyries: The valkyries who live in the plateau of the Grand Spire are the highland valkyries. They live in family groups within great settlements. Hunting parties hunt game during the spring and summer, but they sell their skills as mercenaries to other nations. Highland Valkyries have participated in every war in Krellshah for as long as history remembers.

------------------

Serian
Serian exists to the East of Krellshah, considered a separate continent but separated by a wide desert and unscalable mountains.

Human
X - The first human civilization, X existed while humans in Krellshah were still slaves to the giants. The empire first grew in the northern jungles, but slowly began expanding. They came to blows with the Ifrit in a war that lasted centuries. The war cost both empires everything. The survivors of the war held onto much of their culture, but their fall remains a cautionary tale to their hubris. X worship the heroes of old, and now strive for individual greatness over national greatness.

Y - Some humans who fled X during the Great War formed Y in the southern lands. Their nation grew large and populous, building off the ample resources of their new land. In recent centuries, the empire having grown large and fat, the empire suddenly ceased. Unlike so many others that have fallen, Y simply broke apart. The emperor closed off his city and disbanded all but his personal army. This left provincial governors to lead their provinces, which now became new kingdoms. They worship their ancestors.

Z - During the height of the Hunerst Empire in Krellshah, a colony was established on the western coast of Serian. When the Hunerst Empire began to fall in the Giant Wars, the imperials were recalled, with their dwarven allies remaining behind. Those who refused the call home fled the dwarves and lived in scattered communities. Recently they have reformed as the Z nation, forsaking imperial chivalry for individual freedom.

Dwarf
Iron Dwarves - When the colonial Hunerstians left Serian to defend their homeland, the Hill Dwarves they had brought along remained behind. They followed the tenants of chivalry intently, and with them the code evolved even more of a warrior bent. The Iron Dwarves have become an insular nation, steeped in honor and tradition. They have deep seeded distrust for the humans of Z, holding a grudge for their ancestor's desertion.

Deep Dwarves - While the Mountain dwarves of Krellshah claim to be the first dwarves, the deep dwarves contend that the Mountain dwarves left the deep dwarves' subterranean home long ago on a pilgrimage to find the heart of the world. The deep dwarves lived far from the surface for so long, until they encountered a gateway to Avalon. Goblins overran their kingdom and they were forced to the surface. Centuries have passed, and the locations of their citadel entrances have been lost to legend. Now they reside in the highland forests in the south, sharing tales of their former glory.

Valkyrie
A - (I am going to make a group of valkyries inspired by the Tengu of Japanese legends. The main thing I know about them is they're supposed to be swordsmen who trained the greatest heroes, but that is intrinsically tied to their relationship to humans. I'll have to research more.)

Others
Truthfully, I haven't thought too much about Serian until now, aside that it was going to be "asia" in my setting. I want to make sure there are more than just one group of each race, lest the region somehow feel smaller. Now, since most of my work has been done centered around Hunerst, I'll run with it and use that as the core of my setting, but I still want to know about the rest of the world before continuing.

-----------

Before I continue rambling, I'll let this percolate for a little.
Endless Horizons: Action and adventure set in a grand world ripe for exploration.

Proud recipient of the Silver Tortoise Award for extra Krunchyness.

sparkletwist

I'm not sure what you gain by giving the setting any tie to the current Earth, but what you lose is a certain amount of creative license. You say the setting supposedly takes place 50 million years in the future, but it has humans-- humans supposedly unchanged after what would presumably be 50 million years of evolution? I'm not sure what the saying is, but it's something along the lines of "people will believe the impossible but not the implausible." It seems to me you could just as easily make this arbitrary fantasy planet X (and leave human origins unexplained or with a creation myth or whatever just like all the others) and get over this problem without any real negative fallout.

That large gripe aside, I like what you're doing here, with a genesis point for each race where you consider its expansion and what kind of cultures would develop. About how many years has civilization (or whatever you'd call it) existed on this planet at the point that you're thinking of making your canonical "present day"?

Xeviat

Considering the setting itself doesn't talk about the actual history that leads up to the present, and doesn't mention that it's Earth in the future, it basically is "fantasy planet X". That part of the history is for me, as a world builder, to have structure. It's how I built my map. Perhaps "the ancients", as the world knows humans before the cataclysm, had become very different from modern humans. Perhaps to protect themselves from the cataclysm, they set up some type of Arc project that saved humans, but they had to regress them to a more "primitive" stage so they could survive the rigors of the post cataclysmic world.

I could cut out a lot of baggage, but either way I'm going to end up thinking of Terran as Earth 2.0 anyway. It's a fun exercise and it gives me tons of resources (Future Evolution books are real fun to read).

For the timeline, I'm looking at between six-thousand and two-thousand years, leaning towards the shorter. I want the world to be young. I came to six-thousand years because that's about the time form the first pyramids in Egypt till the Renaissance in Europe (which is the highest development anyone's reached on Terran yet). I know that's not enough time for regional differences to evolve, which is why I started thinking that singular genesis points may not be possible (unless migrations happened due to something like ethnic cleansing, which could heighten physical differences between groups).
Endless Horizons: Action and adventure set in a grand world ripe for exploration.

Proud recipient of the Silver Tortoise Award for extra Krunchyness.

sparkletwist

Your first line is "Terran is Earth, 50 million years in the future." So I didn't know the actual setting didn't talk about it. :P
It makes sense, now, though.

One thing that can help is that there can be a long period of migration and such before "civilization" gets started. So, by the time you're seeing your first agriculture, monuments, and all of those good things, people have already spread themselves all over the planet and a large number of interesting ethnic groups (with their own proto-languages, cultures, and such) have all already started to develop.

Weave

Xeviat, I didn't know if you actually intended to take this seriously, but when you mentioned "playing a game of Risk" with your races, that could actually be really, really awesome and provide a genuine-feeling of racial spread across the world. Granted, I don't know if Risk would be the best game for this type of thing, but with some alterations you might be able to create a cool game you and your friends could play that, at the end of it, could provide you with a neat basis for the modern era and where races ended up. Just some food for thought!

EDIT: I know you mentioned that somewhere... but I can't seem to find where. Either I'm blind or it just vanished.

Mason

I love how you have the human race broken up into genetically modified sub-races and the naming scheme of xyz is incredibly appropriate. Do they consider themselves to be the same race? Are they aware of their history? Would they unite against a larger more threatening foe?

Xeviat

Weave, while I didn't mean specifically playing risk, I have really been considering using Civilizations V or another game like it to help.

Sarisa, X/Y/Z are placeholders because I just came up with the races. Those are just nations, not subraces, and their nations will have real names eventually.

Sparkle, that's what I think is probably going to actually happen, just like us. Civilization didn't start in Mesopotamia and then spread from there, it spread from Africa and then started in multiple locations. The two million years since the cataclysm gives me enough time to spread things around and let diversity start; that's as old as the modern human species is, isn't it?
Endless Horizons: Action and adventure set in a grand world ripe for exploration.

Proud recipient of the Silver Tortoise Award for extra Krunchyness.

Xeviat

#7
I altered the first post, making it clear what is the mythology of the world, and what is the "actual history" used to construct my premise.

I have to explore some inspiration for more cultures for Serian. And I am starting to think that Tritons could have really gotten around, what with their ability to swim and live in the ocean. Valkyries too, with their ability to fly. Both races should be dotted all over, though perhaps not possessing many grand cultures.

-------------

I was reading up on things to help me come up with a few new cultures when this hit me: with the general cultural advancement of humans circa the 1400-1500s, do you think it would be fitting to have a few multi-racial nations in existence?

I have been looking at my map, and that large island off the coast of Serian keeps drawing my attention. It is separated from the rest of Serian by ocean, and it's continent-facing side has a high mountain range. Any invading force would have to sail all the way around. The more I look at it, the more it looks like a prime place for the Tritons to build a nation. But while the Tritons can live inland, they really don't like to. They suffer from dehydration quickly if they are unable to submerge in water frequently. The size of the island makes me think they could have formed an alliance with another race, using a land race to mine and farm the land with the Tritons patrolling the water.

This group of Tritons would have metal and other resources in abundance compared to other Tritons. They could be a maritime superpower. And while humans are an obvious choice for the second race, I'd like to see if anyone thought of a different race as they were reading my thoughts.

I'm thinking this could be a very "Atlantean" culture, but part of the mythos of an atlantean culture is being long ago.
Endless Horizons: Action and adventure set in a grand world ripe for exploration.

Proud recipient of the Silver Tortoise Award for extra Krunchyness.

Polycarp

Regarding the "Risk game," I don't find it particularly helpful to have the endpoint in mind when you start.  I realize that you want to end up with these distinct polities, but you can always cross that bridge at the end of the world-generating process, because most of them are vague on geographic details.  To a certain extent, organization can give you clues about geography - a mountainous land is often broken up into smaller communities and states - but this isn't necessarily true.  If I proclaimed that broad, fertile river valleys always gave rise to centralized states, someone could easily bring up the fiercely independent city-states of medieval/renaissance northern Italy and make me look like a chump.  You'll be able to tweak the results of your "game" to fit the nations you want to have, and the very process of conducting that process might give you different ideas and opinions on the nations you've set out here.

One category of information that should be covered more is how these people live.  In our world, humans have figured out how to live essentially anywhere, but that may not be the case in this world and it may not be the case for non-humans in this world.  Do Ifrit farm, or gather exclusively?  What kinds of things do Elves eat?  Do nomadic Halflings have ponies/riding birds, or are they strictly walking nomads?  Are there creatures that make certain regions or biomes particularly dangerous?  Are the ruins of the Ancients still around - and if so, to what extent to modern people use them, and does this play an important role in where they choose to reside?  Knowing how these cultures lived, and how their ancestors lived, is key to understanding why they came to be where they are and who they are.  For instance, modern Hungarians are not nomadic herdsmen, but the reason they live in the Carpathian basin is because their ancestors were, and the basin is the westernmost outpost of the Eurasian steppe.  If they hadn't adopted that way of life, they would still be hanging around in the taiga with their cousins the Finns.

QuoteThis group of Tritons would have metal and other resources in abundance compared to other Tritons. They could be a maritime superpower. And while humans are an obvious choice for the second race, I'd like to see if anyone thought of a different race as they were reading my thoughts.
What this brought to mind to me was Carthage, a civilization that existed almost exclusively on the coast, but drew much of its resources and military power from subjugated and allied people further inland (Numidians, Mauri, Balearics, Iberians).  Though they didn't always get along, when it worked it was almost a symbiotic relationship, where the inland folk served the seafaring merchants as warriors and supplied them with goods that the Carthaginians could then have a virtual monopoly on.

None of the other races seem to fit your specific need very well save dwarves.  I assume dwarves aren't much for seafaring themselves, but perhaps they came to the isle initially as captives; it was common practice in the ancient world to round up the craftsmen and artisans of your enemy and deport them all to your homeland to service your country's needs, and perhaps the predecessors of an inland dwarven nation could have arrived there in much the same way.  Escaping from the island obviously wouldn't be practical, and the Tritons reap the benefits since the dwarves (or whoever ends up living there) have no other viable trading partners.  As far as desiring something with an Atlantean feel, perhaps other dwarven nations could have legends of some mighty citadel or dwarven nation that fell to invasion and ruin long ago, its inhabitants sold into slavery never to return, nobody suspecting that their descendants are thriving in a strange land far away...
The Clockwork Jungle (wiki | thread)
"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." - Marcus Aurelius

Xeviat

Poly, I'm going to address your questions point by point, because they're very helpful.

Do Ifrit farm, or gather exclusively?
-The Red Ifrit farm. They have burned swaths of the jungles down for their farms, but retain jungles around the settlements for the protective barrier and for their ritual hunts. Ifrit are almost entirely vegetarian, except for the meat they ritually eat. The Black Ifrit also farm the badlands and high planes they live in.

What kinds of things do Elves eat?
-Elves are vegetarian, largely living off fruits and nuts. Small elven tribes get by through gathering, but larger tribes and settlements have converted parts of their forests into orchards. If you're exploring a forest and all of a sudden you notice the tree spacing suddenly becomes more regular, you're in elven land.

Do nomadic Halflings have ponies/riding birds, or are they strictly walking nomads?
-They have riding birds and large woolly rodent pack-animals. These provide the milk and eggs that are the base of their diet; the gather other fruits and vegetables, and trade for the rest. They're nomadic largely to graze their animals, and because they are a large base of the land trade.

Are there creatures that make certain regions or biomes particularly dangerous?
-The wilds are dangerous, especially the drakes (which range as large as dragons to as small as dogs).

Are the ruins of the Ancients still around - and if so, to what extent to modern people use them, and does this play an important role in where they choose to reside?
-Most of the ancient ruins, such as the sites that were their cities, are simply iron mines now; think of the iron deposit that Beijing would provide. There will be other ancient ruins, but they'd be smaller places that wouldn't have been targeted in the cataclysm. Using an ancient ruin will allude to the true history, so I want to use them sparsely.

-------------

I assume humans won't be living everywhere since there are other powers vying for those lands. Looking at our history, it seems like the more powerful civilizations arose in areas considered to be "temperate forest" biomes. I suppose this is due to the resources that the forest provides, and the general fertility the climate and soil need to support for a forest to grow.

Dwarves prefer to live in hills and mountains, but there's nothing that says they have to. They are strict carnivores, and they farm to provide food for their livestock. Larger citadels cannot support themselves with their farms alone, so they trade with outlying settlements, much like human cities work. I may end up utilizing some type of magitrophic "plant"-life that could allow for entirely subterranean settlements.

Elves are wild, and their nature runs a fine line between being fey and being natural. They are intrinsically tied to nature and dislike changing nature. Their orchards are the closest thing, but I presume they slowly replaced the trees as others died. They've been around for a long time, so they could have done this. They're also the most inhuman of the races, so their psychology can be very different, allowing them to justify not pursuing a more efficient lifestyle.

Halflings didn't have the chance to build a big civilization on their homeland, as their homeland is home to many great beasts that made permanent settlements inadvisable. They were also not united, living in small tribes. Their development is slow until they encounter the other races.

Ifrit drink very little water, and are technically cold blooded, so they can both reside in areas other races would have a hard time with and they require warmer climates. The jungles and deserts great places for them. As their civilizations grow, they need to shift to farming, and thus they'll still collect around water sources. Their aggressive and overly emotional natures would cause much conflict between settlements.

Tritons can live fully in the sea, and aren't bothered by temperatures approaching freezing. They are carnivorous, and have learned to build artificial reefs to supply their food. They net in the reefs, keeping large predators out, and hunters patrol the water to pick off any predators that make their way in. They live on islands and the coast, even pushing inward in swampy areas and rivers. In deeper waters, they create artificial islands by roping ships together, and small "settlements" exist singularly on large ships. I can see them being an early super power, having the ability to explore the world when the other races were more landlocked.

Valkyries are carnivores. They tend to live in flocks, groups of related females that follow a matriarch. Males are rarely born, only 1 in 10 eggs. In Highland and Holy Valkyrie cultures, males are protected and coddled. In Highland culture, young males are traded between flocks to gain favor and prestige. In Holy Valkyrie culture, the males are all given to the church. When times are tough, when local hunting is bad and when their livestock supply is low, many Valkyrie leave in mercenary and hunting parties, thus easing pressure on the settlements. Their ability to fly long distances means they could have spread widely early on as well.

-----------

I like the idea of Tritons enslaving Dwarves to build their island nation. I could also see them utilizing Halflings, as they could have likely been the first to encounter Halflings on their island continent.
Endless Horizons: Action and adventure set in a grand world ripe for exploration.

Proud recipient of the Silver Tortoise Award for extra Krunchyness.

Humabout

One comment off the top of my head is that with a 10:1 female to male ratio for the Valkyrie, they should reproduce fast enough to make rabbits stop and stare.  That alone should give them a good edge on empire-building; there may be droves and droves of them.

I like the ideas conjured by the tritons, too.  I get this weird mixture of phonecian traders and southeast asian pirates coming to mind, and I'm not sure why.  Additionally, I could even see Atlantis-like myths originating from ancient floating cities that sprang leaks.  So far, I'm certainly interested.
`\ o _,
....)
.< .\.
Starfall:  On the Edge of Oblivion

Review Badges:

Xeviat

About Valkyries, their numbers are stemmed at 1 egg per year; they are only fertile in the late winter, and lay their eggs in the spring with chicks hatching in the summer. That means they can reproduce as quickly as humans do, but there's more females so it will be compounded; you're right. Early on, their violent culture would have reduced life expectancy, but I suppose that would have to fade away as the culture grew more progressive. They do travel and wander a lot, so their numbers could be large but well spread.

About Tritons, they're one of the most interesting races for me to write. They are effectively genderless, being male while young and only turning to female as they get very old. They spawn in pools with no physical contact between male and female necessary. Thus, they truly lack all concept of family, romantic love, or gender. This alone makes them very alien. They also heal very quickly, and are capable of regrowing limbs, which has fostered a very physical bent towards conflict resolution; like hockey players, their guards/police allow fights to run long, to let off steam, before they step in to stop it. You typically have to purposefully kill a Triton, or do some serious damage to their head or torso to accidentally mortally wound them.

Your vibe of Phonecian traders and pirates is a good one. The island culture has some Greek theming to its imagery; actually, their architecture looks like Greek ruins, with pillar walls and no roofs as they like to be open to the weather as weather, especially on the coast, is partially attributed to the water spirits. They don't have to wear much clothes, so togas make a good image as well. The sea tritons, who many live in communities on ships, are traders at best and pirates at worst.

Do you have any suggestions on materials to research to get good pieces for these races?
Endless Horizons: Action and adventure set in a grand world ripe for exploration.

Proud recipient of the Silver Tortoise Award for extra Krunchyness.