The Holylands: The first region of the Three Worlds Campaign Setting

[Xeviat]

Hunerst Republic[note=Is Xeviat posting again?]Wow, this thread is a year and a half old. Nomadic has been helping me work on my setting's map, and now that I've finished enough of it I'm able to start working on the more important issues: regions, history, and demographics. I will be starting a new campaign in March taking place in my setting (after nearly a one-year hiatus), so now I'm mapping out the Holylands region. Soon I'll have a map with all of the cities named and dots for the towns, towns which I'll be able to name as the players go through them. Take a look, even if it seems familiar; actual new info will be coming.[/note]
Capitol: Hunerst
Population: 94,304,320 (?% each race)
Government: Republican Theocracy
Religions: The Chivalric Code, Ancestral Worship
Imports: Luxuries, Raw Materials
Exports: Knowledge, Gold
Languages: Krellish (Common)
Alignment: LG, LN, N, LE

The Hunerst Republic grew out of the ruins of the Hunerst Empire, which fell into disarray after it was attacked by the combined armies of the giants. The Empire never recovered from the devastation, and several oppressive kingdoms were formed from the wreckage. One warlord, Kor'Nar, nearly succeeded in bringing the land under the control of his iron fist, but the peasantry rose up, lead by a man named Daerk and backed by the House of the Red Knight. Soon, the Holylands Republic was formed, with the Chivalric Code as its guiding principals and the echoes of the fallen empire to remind them of their follies.
Industries
It is a time of wonder and prosperity for the Holylands. Education is at an all time high, and knowledge is the chief industry of the Holylands. Of prime interest are the ruins of the Hunerst Empire and the even rarer ruins of the Ancients. Museums and libraries fund expeditions in search of these ruins, and they pay hefty rewards to adventurers who bring back any artifacts or knowledge from these sites.
   The republic also serves as a trade center for much of the rest of the world. Land and river trade throughout all of Krellshah is funneled through Hunerst, the great river delta capitol of the Holylands. Hunerst's ports welcome ships from all the other continents. The Republic has done much to reestablish trade with the Old Empire's colonies, and it expends much energy in diplomacy and establishing trade with other nations. Even though the Holylands has little material goods to export, taxes and tariffs ensure that plenty of gold fills the government's coffers.
Life and Society
Life in the Holylands is a new experience; it has only been 60 years since the Republic was founded, so many of its people are not yet used to the freedoms and responsibilities. Young people receive free public education, studying primarily history and religion (which are often one and the same), until they are 14, and then they typically enter into apprenticeships or private universities. The middle class has grown extensively since the establishment of the Republic, fueled primarily by the growth of the merchant class.
   In spite of the progressiveness, the Holylands exists within a loose caste system. Knights and Priests make up the top of society, and they are professions that earn much honor. The middle class is made up of the merchant, craftsmen, and soldier castes, where established families follow traditional roles. The lower class is made up of farmers, laborers, and servants. Last, there are the noble and monk castes. Nobles are traditionally part of the middle class, but their wealth and political influence has placed them in the upper class. On the opposite spectrum, Monks are traditionally part of the upper class, but they live as if they were part of the lower class; while they are afforded the respect of an upper class caste, they choose to not influence politics. The tenants of Chivalry established this order and dictate behavior within each caste; the tenants also establish how one is to treat those above them, and how one is to treat those below them. Ideally, the tenants encourage respect for higher castes and dignity and protection for lower castes.
   For most people, birth determines one's caste. Moving to a lower class is the result of grand financial hardship, while moving to an upper class requires great fortune. Even with the small amount of class mobility, a family who has recently established itself in a higher class will be treated as its former class for generations until it can earn the honor it is afforded. This isn't the case for the Knight, Priest, and Monk castes, as the divine calling can fall upon anyone; while there are Knight and Priest families, many are drawn from the middle and lower classes, and the Priests spend much effort searching out others with the calling. It is possible to marry into Nobility, and the Monks take anyone seeking enlightenment (though not all are able to attain it).
Government and Politics
The Holylands Republic is made of two separate governing bodies; the senate and the courts. The senate, made up by elected representatives and led by a Prime Minister chosen by the senators, writes the laws of the land, while the court, made up by the Chivalric priests, enforce the laws of the land. Knights, the chosen warriors of Chivalry, are the chief law enforcers, though not all guards are knights. Government and Religion are inseparable.
   As of late, the senate has been concerned with securing the Holyland's boarders. Their greatest focus has been relations with the Highlanders, the humans living in the northern hill-lands; the Highlands used to be part of the Old Empire, and many within the Holylands wish to see the Highlands brought into the Republic. The northern border is tense, with minor battles taking place frequently. Otherwise, the senate has been establishing trade laws and pandering to the various merchant and craftsman guilds who wield much influence among the people.
History
THE AGE OF SERVITUDE
The Holylands people's first memories are of servitude to the giants; three-thousand years ago, the Holylands was the dominion of the Giants, and humans were their slaves.  Humans tended to the giant's livestock, worked in their mines, made works of art too delicate for the Giants to craft, served in their homes, and were even sometimes pets. It is not known exactly how far back this ran, but humans were in servitude to the giants for at least one-thousand years.
   The oldest known texts were genealogical records, tracking people's ancestors back as far as could be remembered. The Giants did what they could to keep humans from learning magical or martial skills, so any shamans or warriors were quickly rounded up and given hard labor to prevent them from studying. Most humans had resigned to their fate; after all, the Dragons had birthed the Giants themselves, so who were they to refuse children of gods?
   The first humans to rebel were the Monks, humans who learned to fight unarmed or with innocuous weapons. They had developed their combat styles in secret, and one day attacked the Giant King during a royal procession. The Giant King was wounded, and many of his guard were slain, but the Monk rebellion was crushed. The Monks who were able to escape fled to the mountains, establishing the first monastery and teaching their art to the Valkyries who resided there.
   Three thousand years ago, the Holy Black Knight, Huner, was born to a woman who personally served her the Giant God-King. Huner was half-giant, so he was raised by his Giant father, and was even put in charge of the royal iron mines. It didn't take long for him to grow enraged at the sight of his human brothers and sisters toiling at the ends of their master's whips; it stunk of injustice. Gathering his conviction, the Black Knight forged five grand swords, one for himself and the other four for his knights. The Black Knight chose and trained four of the miners, granting each of them one of the blades. To the Gold Knight, Heind, his heart without fear, he granted a golden longsword and paired shield. To the Blue Knight, Kadir, her prowess unmatched, he granted a versatile shortsword which had the power to become two. To the Green Knight, Hein, her sense of fairness and honesty unwavering, he granted a swift rapier capable of always striking true. To the Red Knight, Baldor, most loyal of all, he granted a mighty greatsword capable of cleaving all in its path.
   Together, the Five Legendary Knights waged war upon the Giants. They had many successes, but soon they had to face the God-King, the Black Knights' father. In the final battle, the Red Knight took a mortal blow for the Black Knight, saving his life. A house slave, Thaien, picked up the Red Knight's sword and shield, joining the battle. When the God-King was slain, the Black Knight felt that he had abused the Red Knight's loyalty, asking him to do what he was unable to. To punish himself, the Black Knight took his own life, paying the ultimate price for justice. Due to its immense size, the Hunur's sword was used as a lance by the next Black Knight.
   The Five Legendary Knights traveled the land, fighting off the remaining giants and freeing the brothers and sisters from bondage. Once all of mankind was freed, the Knights left to the edge of the world to grow and learn and spread the light of honor.
THE BIRTH OF HUNERST
   When the Knights returned to the Holylands, generations had passed. The Five Swords had been passed down through the generations, now wielded by new Knights. The Knights had even amassed followers, and came bearing the first Black Knight's teachings, the Code of Chivalry, to enlighten the land. But the land's new human tyrants would hear nothing of it. Once again, duty fell upon the Knights to rid the land of tyranny; the new Knights conquered the land and overthrew the corrupt kings and queens. Thus was born the Hunerst Empire, named for the first Black Knight.
   The Empire reigned well for 2,000 years before disaster struck. An army of giants and wyrms the likes never seen again descended upon the Empire. The war was long and hard, lasting for 100 years. Much of the empire was destroyed, and all of the new Knights, except for the Red Knight, fell in battle and their swords were lost. A vision came to the Red Knight while he slept the night the Red House was under siege, a vision that showed him how to craft a mystic amulet.
   Knowing not the purpose of the amulet, the Red Knight still forged it and wore it into battle. The Red Knight was struck down in the battle, but when the amulet came into contact with the Red Sword, a grand phoenix was released. With the strength of the phoenix on their side, the remaining knights of the Red House won the battle. So great were the giant's losses that they abandoned their conquest, confident in the Empire's ruin.
THE RISE OF THE REPUBLIC
   In the wake of this destruction, the Empire decayed into corruption. With two of the Knight's Houses destroyed, and one severely weakened, the Knights lost their influence with the Imperial line. Where there was order, now there was tyranny, with the tenants of Chivalry being twisted into a weapon for the privileged to wield against the weak. This went on for the reigns of three Emperors, two dark centuries. The colonies were the first to revolt, eventually overthrowing Imperial rule and establishing their own states. The Empire put many resources into trying to keep the colonies, which weakened the mainland. This weakening allowed the peasantry to revolt, lead by a Blue House Knight named Daerk. Daerk overthrew the Empire, made easier when the Emperor committed suicide. He then helped the Red and Blue Houses establish a Republic and reform the Gold and Green houses, and became the first Prime Minister of the Hunerst Senate.
RECENT HISTORY
   The Holylands Republic has only existed for 60 years, but it has already faced its share of hardship. 8 years ago, a warlord priest named (NAME) united the Ogre tribes and Goblin nation with the northern Barbarians under the banner of Vandek, the Dragon Goddess of Darkness. In fact, (NAME) was Vandek's vassal, acting on her desires. Many heroes were born in the resulting conflict, and on such group traveled far to the western lands to retrieve Goldenfeather, the Dragon Goddess of Light. Upon their return, Vandek and Goldenfeather battled. The two dragons knew that they could not kill the other without killing themselves, for the two sisters were bonded in balance, but Vandek fatally struck anyway, knowing the world would be a darker place without her sister.
   Since the Goddesses' death, tensions have been high in the region. The Goblins and Ogres of the region were devastated by the War, and have been trying to rebuild. War with the elves of the southern Kino Yurin forest was narrowly averted, a war orchestrated by those still serving Vandek. The Dwarves of the (western mountains) have grown more isolated and defensive. The Tritons have recently resumed relations with the Republic, but the Senate is unsure of their motives. The Valkyries have taken advantage of the conflicts in the Highlands and have lent their mercenaries to aid the Highlanders, while tensions with the Ifrit rise as humans explore their land for the ruins of the Ancients. And lastly, the Republic is trying to bring the Highlanders into the union without starting a war.
Religion

Major Settlements

Important Sites

Adventuring

Demographics

[Ravenspath]

Looks good!

Couple of questions. What lies to the east? Another sea?  What makes the north temperate but then be bordered by the 'Scalding Sands"? Hunrest was built by giants-was it built to the scale of giants? What are the differences in the Chivalric orders? I really like the history of how they were formed by the way.

What happened to the Houses that fell in the Dragon Wars? I mean their lands and such, who got them? How did the Imperial line come to power originally. It seems that the Orders where kind of in control after the revolt. Did they pick someone?

 

The strength of the new nation was tested when the Sylph nation of the southern jungle joined with their Undine enemies, united by a foreign barbarian king. This King was the vassal of Vandek, the Dragoness of Darkness, who sought to corrupt the fledgling, which she saw as a potential pinnacle of light

Think you forgot the word nation after fledgling.

So are the original Knights revered as semi-dieties? If I am reading it right the schism is now about some wanting to worship the Knights and others the spirits of the swords. That is an awesome schism. I really like the House vs. Personal aspect of the schism too. Could make for some interesting game play.

Very well written. I look forward to more detailed history.

[Xeviat]

What happened to the Houses that fell in the Dragon Wars? I mean their lands and such, who got them? How did the Imperial line come to power originally. It seems that the Orders where kind of in control after the revolt. Did they pick someone?

So are the original Knights revered as semi-dieties? If I am reading it right the schism is now about some wanting to worship the Knights and others the spirits of the swords. That is an awesome schism. I really like the House vs. Personal aspect of the schism too. Could make for some interesting game play.[/quote]

The setting is animistic; everything has a spirit. Vastly powerful spirits are deities, and are worshiped. These deities might be nature spirits (spirits of natural things, such as the spirit of a forest, or a sea) or ancestral spirits (the spirits of lost heroes and villains). So yes, the original Knights revered, but indirectly; the reverence was always put on their Swords, as they existed in the here and now. It is this reverence that may have created the spirits of the swords (if a million people revered a rock, that rock's spirit would grow in power too), or the spirits of the swords could be the Knight's themselves, or the spirits could be ancient (I won't tell which is true; heh).

And yes, the traditional faith reveres the Knights and their teachings, while the new denouement sees divinity in the spirits of the swords.

Thanks a bunch.

[Tybalt]

That's COOL. Nicely original regional setting--I love the giantish architecture and the half giant hero. One thing I encourage here is the simplicity of the names and the clarity of the history. Keep up the good work, I'm now looking forward to seeing descriptions of the other regions.

[Xeviat]

I won't be detailing the other regions until this region is complete. What would you like to see further development on here?

[Tybalt]

I would like some idea of how ordinary people live in the area and also what opportunities for adventure exist there.

[Xeviat]

I would like some idea of how ordinary people live in the area and also what opportunities for adventure exist there.

I'll write this off the cuff, true stream of conscious stuff, to see if any new ideas come to me.

Daily Life
Hunurst is quite modern, with a large middle class and urban dwelling citizenry. While the countryside is still littered with farms in every acre of usable land, most of these farmers own or rent their land rather than being serfs on it. In the cities, all tax paying citizens are afforded public education to the age of 12, when most go on to apprenticeships and the wealthy go on to private schools (and then off to university). Education is highly valued by the people of Hunurst, with a focus on History and Art.

The people of Hunurst feel quite safe. The Republican Shield, the national army of Hunurst, keeps the boarder lands and the coast well guarded, giving the general citizenry much peace. The shadow of the War of Darkness and Light still looms in people's memories, and relations with the Sylphs in the North are still tense. Local Salamander tribes from the deserts are held at bay by the Hill Gnomes, furthering Hunurst's security.

Adventurers
Warriors will find much adventure in the employ of the Republican Shield, or from within one of the Knight's Houses. Such adventurers may deal with bandits and protecting trade routs at lower levels, and they may deal with boarder conflicts or minor wars with independent city-states.

The true adventure in the Holylands comes through exploration; either the exploration of Imperial or Giant ruins, or the exploration of nearby Draconia (where a new colony is budding). Terran has an ancient history, and when it breaks to the surface it affects many.

Adventures from my Campaigns or Novels
In my first campaign, the players unknowingly intercepted a large gemstone that contained the remnants of Goldenfeather's essence. A Sylph tribal leader still loyal to Vandek had located the temple fortresses that contained the essences of Goldenfeather and Vandek. His half devil son had acquired one such stone, which was stolen by a PC. Their campaign consisted of the discovery of the stone's mysterious energy (while it seemed to have no magical properties, it registered off the chart through detect magic), the quest to find a diviner capable of identifying it, and the subsequent retrieval of the second stone. The party learned that the Sylph leader was reincarnating the deceased deities, with the intention of having Goldenfeather reincarnated as three separate Dragons, while having Vandek reincarnated as only one, thus strengthening Vandek's position. The party was able to kill the Sylph and destroy the dragon eggs so that Vandek wouldn't be reborn.

In my first novel, the War of Darkness and Light appears to not be over. The novel follows the dual paths of a remorseful Sylphen assassin who was leading the plot to instigate a war between the Sylphs and Humans of the Holylands, and a Half-Sylphen princess whose family was killed by the assassin and is now on a quest to kill him. It is a story of redemption and corruption, and eminent war.

My second novel deals with the Knight's Swords, and a villain's attempt to acquire them all. The villain intends to sap all the power from them to deify himself. I'm still not sure when the story will take place, but it may be written as a CRPG.  

[LordVreeg]

so what is the makeup of the senate and the politcal scene below the Prime Minister?  How much power does the Senate have vs. the Executive office?  What kind of local laws and local administration can we expect?
Who runs courts and administers laws?
Only divine magic?  Or by what mechanism are other types taught?

BTW, I too love the mythic quality of the 1/2 giant Black Knight, and the story hinted behind it.  Very Titanesque.

[Xeviat]

In the Senate, the Prime Minister is just another Senator. The only difference is that the Prime Minister gets the final decision in the case of ties, and the Prime Minister has full military authority.

Locally, laws are going to be your typical western laws; I want this setting to be as accessible as possible. Since the Holylands are in their Renaissance, the law will be slightly more fair than in your typical medieval setting. Aristocracy and landowners still have more power, though, and landowners will probably be the only allowed voters in most regions.

I'm not sure about Courts. I don't want the Holylands to have a full fledged three part government, so the courts will probably be held by law enforcement, and possibly even by the senators in the case of crimes against the state.

In the world, there are three different spellcasters: Priests, Sorcerers, and Wizards. Priests get their magic from the deity they follow, Sorcerers get their magic from themselves, and Wizards get their magic from the ambient magic in the world around them. Due to the power of the Knight's Code in Hunurst, formal Priest training will be quite common. I will eventually detail the local nature deities (such as the spirit of the river Hunurst lies on, or the spirit of the desert or any other large land feature), as well as ancestral deities. The Knight's enemy, known only as the Chaos, also exists as an evil, underground deity, but I haven't mentioned it yet because I haven't fully detailed it.

Wizardry will be taught at wizard schools (of which there will be several), or by individual masters. Sorcerers almost never have formal training, but some have a master to guide them. Priests don't require formal training; some simply hear the call.

And thanks about the Black Knight. One thing I like about him is that his sword is used by the modern Black Knights as a lance, and they specialize in cavalry. Unlike the other Knight traditions, the Black Knight did not ride a mount; his sword was a large sized greatsword. But the spirit of the Black Knight's sword is a black horse, which will probably have an unicorn's horn and six legs, to give it a fantastic look.

[LordVreeg]

Hmmm.
I'm going to have to wrap my head around your religions.  My questions are more on the intitutions themselves, and how religion affects the people directly.  The Knight's code seems to be both an institution in itself and a religion, so one wonders if the current knights are the priests themselves, or do they serve the church?  I see the schism and the teachings mentioned, I'm just trying to see it from the groundling's point of view.

[blockquote=the Captain]Locally, laws are going to be your typical western laws; I want this setting to be as accessible as possible. Since the Holylands are in their Renaissance, the law will be slightly more fair than in your typical medieval setting. Aristocracy and landowners still have more power, though, and landowners will probably be the only allowed voters in most regions.

I'm not sure about Courts. I don't want the Holylands to have a full fledged three part government, so the courts will probably be held by law enforcement, and possibly even by the senators in the case of crimes against the state.[/blockquote]
Do knight's then administer justice?  Might be the way to go, have most outlying areas jutice colered by which variation holds sway.

[Xeviat]

Hmmm.
I'm going to have to wrap my head around your religions.  My questions are more on the intitutions themselves, and how religion affects the people directly.  The Knight's code seems to be both an institution in itself and a religion, so one wonders if the current knights are the priests themselves, or do they serve the church?  I see the schism and the teachings mentioned, I'm just trying to see it from the groundling's point of view.

The world is animistic; every object, land feature, and even some concepts have a spirit. The more people the object/feature affects, the more powerful the spirit; likewise, the more people that revere it, the more powerful it gets. A river that runs through a number of settlements, and thus provides water and fish for those people, is going to have a more powerful spirit than a similar sized river that runs past no communities.

Current Knights (those with the "Knight" prestige class) serve the church; the church has its own priests (who would rarely take the "Knight" prestige class). For the most part, most people do not follow one deity over another, except in the case of enemy deities. Followers of the Knight's Code follow the Code as a way of life, but the Code doesn't forbid giving offerings to other spirits. The Knights don't hold claim to the creation of any people (the Dragons created the demihumans, while the World itself apparently created Humans), so their authority comes through that their teachings create stability and order.

Their dogma is very chivalristic in attitude. It has tolerance for weakness (not everyone is strong enough to be a knight), but it has little tolerence for anarchy and rebellion (it took some time for the Knights' Houses to side with Daerkholm during the rebellion against the Empire). But, the Knight's Code does say living by the Code does offer great benefits when it comes to reincarnation; the Code teaches that followers will have greater lives ahead of them (a meek farmer coming back to be a powerful knight, a servant coming back to be a noble ...).

Do knight's then administer justice?  Might be the way to go, have most outlying areas jutice colered by which variation holds sway.

In some areas, the Knights' Houses have enough control over law enforcement that they would administer justice. The Republic is trying to be fair and not give the Knights' Houses favor over other faiths, but the power and influence of the Houses makes this nearly impossible. The threat for Civil War is growing as the schism divides (think the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland).

I could get away with having the Holylands be more of a Theocracy, which would help inject some more conflict into the setting. In fact, I will. The Knight's Houses will largely control law enforcement and the courts, while the Senate makes laws, and the Prime Minister commands the military. The military is kept separate from the Knight's Houses, but many Knights have sworn fealty to Hunurst, and thus take their place amongst the military. Some people of the new faith fear that the Knights' Houses might make a play to take over the Republic.

[Xeviat]

Hey everyone. I'm posting again! I've updated the first post with a more full writeup of the Hunerst Republic, the main nation of the Holylands region.

Here's the map of my region as it is right now:

 

Again, thanks Nomadic for all the help with the map. I'm going to be placing cities and such, and slowly working at upgrading the picture for the larger resolution it is at now.

[Xeviat]

using the dice roller

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[Ghostman]

The republic seems to be inhabited mostly by humans. When dealing with other races, do they try to impose their social classes on them or do they have some other way to decide how courteously an outsider should be treated?

A bit more information regarding the highlanders would be nice. Is it simply a political tension between them and the republic or are there ethnic and/or religious undertones to it? Are the people in general in favour of absorbing the highlands or is it just an ambition of the upper classes?

[Xeviat]

The republic is mostly human. When dealing with other races outside of the republic, there is a lot tension stemming from religion. Inside the culture, other races are treated the same humans by the law. Halflings and orcs are the only races that are largely discriminated against; halflings because of their reputation for thievery and orcs because of their reputation for barbarism.

Outside of the holylands, there is great tension with the Tritons. It was the Hunerst Empire which inadvertently caused the dissolution of an entire Triton nation, forcing the other Triton nation into isolation. Only now are Triton diplomatic emissaries coming to the Holylands.

As for the highlanders, the tension is both political and religious. The highlanders are largely tribal, and prefer their freedom; they don't appreciate the southerners coming into their land and telling them how to organize their government. The distance between the republic and the highlanders is also aided by the shamanistic faith the highlanders follow.

The people of the Holylands are largely in favor of absorbing the highlands for three reasons:

*the highlands are an under defended front (the red ifrit live in the jungles on the other side of the highlands), so the republic wants to be able to build walls and forts along the boarder of the jungle;*there is a desire amongst the nobility to extend the boarders of the republic to encompass the local boarders of the former empire (largely in a desire to "spread democracy");*The church wants to spread the faith, because chivalry fosters order.

Thanks for the questions.