Do-Ze-Rahl

Wensleydale · December 02, 2006, 04:42:31 PM

Please post all opinions and comments in the discussion thread here.

"Let us observe, children, through the eyes of the eagle. Focus, focus... focus... do we all see? Good... now let us swoop downward... good... and we home in on our continent of Do-Ze-Rahl - you see the storms locking us inward? We are in a permanent eye of the storm. That is, of course, due to the influence of the Netherheart on the weather... or so many would have you believe... now... see the mountain range of the Urda Nation, and to the East, the Vashaan Desert of the orcs... now, we move downwards toward the inner sea and the boiling island, around which are the Zamir Princes... and now, my children, breathe deeply... for today... we shall enter the Labyrinth on the wings of a bat..."

Do-Ze-Rahl, a continent locked in an ever-spinning storm. Known by travellers from afar as the Jaws of the Snake, it is shaped alike to a pair of pincers, nearly closed. On the inside of the Pincers is the Inner Sea, around which lie several nations, the most famous being Verda, to the East - often considered the heart of culture in Do-Ze-Rahl - the Urda Nation - eclipsing the Urda and Valdahi mountain chains - and the Debelzi Empire, which dominates most of the more southerly 'pincer'. To the east, beyond the two great mountain chains, lies the unconquerable Vashaan Desert, ancestral home of both orcs and dwarves. Then... beneath the ground...

A Labyrinth of unmeasurable size, magical and ever-shifting, twists through the ground below. Spawned from the acidic blood of the daemon Nether, it still holds his pulsing heart, the source of all magical power running through the world. Although due to its magical nature it often offers a faster route than above-ground transport, it is the home of the Aelves and Duerg, suspicious, paranoid, and sometimes hateful of the surface races. It also contains horrific monsters of a type never seen in the world above...

[spoiler=Races]There are five common player races in Do-Ze-Rahl - the Aelves, Duerg, Dwarves, Humans and Orcs. Aelves are a dark and secretive race of the underground, cast down into the Labyrinth as a final act of vengeance by the daemon Nether, as are Duerg. Dwarves are a stout and hardy people of the East, famous for quick tempers and quicker blades. Humans are generally found in the West, among the westernmost areas of the pincers. Orcs are also mainly found in the deserts, where they wander in their thousands.

More information can be found under the RACES post.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Classes]I would suggest use of the Warblade, Crusader, and Swordsage from Tome of Battle as the melee classes (instead of fighter, barbarian, monk and paladin) in a Do-Ze-Rahl game, but apart from that, I have created classes to replace the Sorcerer, Wizard and Cleric - namely the Sorceror and Divine Channel.

More information can be found under the CLASSES post.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Languages]
[table=Languages]
[tr][th]Name[/th][th]Alphabet[/th][th]Spoken By[/th][/tr]
[tr][td]Urda[/td][td]Urd[/td][td]Inhabitants of the Urda Nation[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Delbez[/td][td]Delbez[/td][td]Inhabitants of the Delbezi Empire[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Delbezja[/td][td]Delbez[/td][td]Inhabitants of the Delbezi Empire[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Athurdis[/td][td]Delbez[/td][td]Inhabitants of the Southern Pincer[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Verda-In[/td][td]None (Delbez when written)[/td][td]Inhabitants of the Vashaani Desert[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Ordava[/td][td]Orda[/td][td]Inhabitants of Verda[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Mulhor Ordava[/td][td]Orda[/td][td]Inhabitants of Muldor[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Xahin[/td][td]Xahi[/td][td]Most Aelf and Duerg tribes[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Bastardised Xahin[/td][td]Delbez[/td][td]Traders to and from the Labyrinth[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Onthi[/td][td]Xahin[/td][td]Inhabitants of the Boiling Isle[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]Vass[/td][td]Vassi[/td][td]Daemons and their creations[/td][/tr]
[/table]
[/spoiler]

Wensleydale · December 02, 2006, 05:18:16 PM

Races

[spoiler=Aelves]
It is said that the Aelves and their allies the Duerg were the first races to resist the Daemon Nether, and the reason that the other races allied against the creature... and that with his dying breath he cast them down into the darkness together. Whether this is true or not, the Aelves believe it, and for hundreds of years they have held their heads high, keeping up the reputation and task their ancestors granted them. Now, however, they have a problem. Younger Aelves have become tired of the talk of their ancestors, and see the surface races as weak cowards who should have fought better. This, they say, is the reason why the Aelves are cast down - because they stood up for weaklings. Encountering them on a journey can be dangerous...

A normal male Aelf stands around six feet tall, with the females only slightly shorter. The species as a whole tends to have golden-yellow skin and albino eyes, although there are many different pigments. Their hair, too, tends to be shockingly white. Males over the age of twenty (culturally considered by most tribes the adult age for an Aelf) usually wear their hair in topknots, whilst females over the age of sixteen wear it long to show they are not yet partnered. When married, they (although this does of course change between tribes) tend to tie it back. The Aelves live in a tribal, mostly patriarchal society.

Stats

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Duerg]Duerg are small but powerfully built. An average Duerg, although only around 4 feet tall, weighs as much as a human and is as strong as one too. Most Duerg are totally albino and bald all over, and are extremely muscly and well-built for their height.

In Labyrinth Cities, Duerg serve as guards, engineers, workers and farmers. They share the fate of the Aelves, but they have long got over it. They no longer care about the Daemon Nether, except using his blood as magic. They are naturally adept magicians as well as being strong, and to round it all off they have a reputation for being excellent bargainers... Duerg will buy ANYTHING. Of course, surfacers find magic intensely sinister... and Duerg suffer a certain stigma because of this.

Stats

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Dwarves]Originally hailing from the deserts and, to a lesser extent, the mountains of the East, the dwarves are now spread throughout the continent. An average dwarf from the Urda Nation and many of the more western nations is stocky, well built and wears several braids in his or her hair - a sign of adulthood in the Urdish Religion (a combination of older and younger practices from around the deserts and mountains). Dwarves from the desert tend not to follow this practice - most will be heavily tanned and wear strange clothes of their homeland.
At present, dwarfish society is made up of two main groups - the Misr (direct translation something like 'people', a word from the religious language of Urdish) being the dwarves converted to Urdish, and the Vadd (Old, Elder, Follower of the Old Ways in Verda-In) being the dwarves still living the old ways in the desert. Both are mainly friendly towards each other, but there are extremists on both sides.

Stats

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Humans]Humans, as the single native race of the warm, fertile pincers for about two-hundred years (ever since the Aelves were cast down) have had it extremely well. Although beforehand they were mostly primitive and tribal, after the downfall of the Aelves they spread out quickly and formed new kingdoms across their homeland. The first nations skirmished and attacked one another for a long time up until Debelz, greatest of the human kings, built a city named for himself and built up an army so strong that they destroyed all enemies in their path. The Debelzi Empire is still expanding, bringing its strict laws and great benefits wherever it goes.

Culturally, humans are split into two main groups within the southern pincer and the empire - the Zhia and the Vardi. These two are religious groups within the Dhuz religion - and they hate one another. Most religious violence is suppressed within the empire, but outside, clashes are frequent. In the northern pincer, there are still tribes - urbanised tribes, admittedly, but tribes. These tribes fall under one of three major tribal alliances - Zodeeb, Vathta, or Mohaz. Each have their own language, and they all dislike one another. Although in most civilised areas the violence is low-level and uncommon, the hate always smoulders away, ready to burst into flames...

Stats

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Orcs]Orcs are a strong and hardy people of the East. Wandering mountains and desert easily, they are solid, dependable and slow to anger.

A typical orc stands 8ft high, totally bald and with dark, tanned skin. Their eyes tend to be brown or green, although they have the same variation humans' do. They are heavily built, muscly and have slightly pointed ears. It is said that orcs can rip men in two. They are also totally carnivorous, seemingly having not yet caught up with the other human races. Of course, the killing of humans and dwarves is, at least among civilised orcs, unacceptable... just an old tradition...

The largest concentrations of orcs are in the Urda Nation and the Vashaan Desert, the latter being home to nearly 200,000,000 orcs. Unlike the dwarves, the orcs have not changed much in the transfer - they're still tribal and proud of it. Most follow the old beliefs even within the Urda nation, and those that don't are not considered different in any way.

Stats

[/spoiler]

Wensleydale · December 04, 2006, 12:46:56 PM

Legends and Places of the World

Of The Daemon Nether

It is said that once, the world was naught but sea, and then the Creator God Debelz spoke. He spoke the night, the day, the earth and the plants and the animals. But one thing he did not mean to speak was hatred, but somehow it slipped out, and grew.

For a long time the world lived in peace. The land was great - but Hatred grew. It grew into a creature - the first of the Daemons, Nether - and learnt the foul acts of magic. Nether was the first sorceror and the first evil. In the ancient tongue of Zaphos, now long forgotten but for a few words in our modern tongue, 'Nether' means Hatred.

The Daemon Nether waged war upon the sentient races and all they had the potential to be. Fire grew in his heart and magic lashed down upon the world. But the races banded together and fought off the Daemon, cutting out his black heart. As Nether lay dying, they cast the newly-christened Netherheart into a great crack in the ground. But Nether had one last burst of magic in him, and with his last breath sent the Aelves and Duerg, his most hated opponents, into the rift. The Daemon's body burnt to ash, but his heart remained, and it pumped out blood, melting through the earth and forming a writhing, magical, ever-changing mass of tunnels called the Labyrinth (in which the Aelves and Duerg make their home). As the Daemon's body broke into ash, the land around crumbled and the other survivors of the battle watched in horror as a great section of the continent collapsed into the rising water, forming the Inner Sea. But around the earth-gash into which the Netherheart had been thrown, no water would go - though it was at the bottom of the sea, water stopped within a mile of the point and boiled instantly into steam, leaving a beach of salt across the space. This became the Boiling Isle.

-The Debelzi Empire's Creation Myth

Of The Labyrinth

After the Daemon Nether's death, his blood began to seep through the ground. It formed what is to this day a shifting, twisting, magical and ever-changing world of the underground. It is mostly hidden, and although filled with thousands of magical and valuable minerals, rocks and other such treasures, it has remained nearly inaccessible for two reasons.

First of all, the Labyrinth is topped with an enormous, thick crust of rock that, logically, cannot actually exist - but does. It is immensely hard to drill through, and although there are many small entrances to the Labyrinth, only two are publicised and easily locatable - the Greengate and Z'hanthi, the Boiling Isle. This crust has been romanticised as a scab formed by the Daemon Nether's congealing blood, and is named, even by nonbelievers, the Scab.

Secondly, the Labyrinth is intensely magical and filled with magical creatures. Nether's blood infests the walls, and the tunnels change daily if not held down by powerful rituals which come at great cost. As if that were not bad enough, the conditions are horribly unpredictable and can change in a day, pure water from a spring becoming impure for no apparent reason, or cavern walls suddenly becoming extremely hot or extremely cold. On top of this, the areas closer to the Netherheart spawn random, horrific creations that have no end, often living for only a few hours before dying. Woe to those they encounter before then. The only permanently stable sites are those that the entrances from the upper world enter into.

The Labyrinth has been estimated to be around four miles high - a physical impossibility, of course. However, nothing much else in the Labyrinth obeys the rules of physical possibility, so this is considered about correct. The other widely accepted theory is that the Labyrinth is totally infinite, which might also be true. It is generally agreed by all that the Netherheart is in the deepest bottom of the Labyrinth.

Of the Greengate

The Greengate is the largest entryway to the Labyrinth yet discovered - or built, is probably more correct. Named after the Green River which pours down into its bottomless depths, it began as a small, cave-size hole, but Aelfin and Duergi traders quickly discovered it and began digging, diverting the once great river down into the Labyrinth and turning its old passage into a road. Now, in this city-sized area of 'neutral' territory (neutral, that is, to the surface nations), a large trading colony has been built. It takes the form of what is, essentially, a cap over the large hole into the Labyrinth below - a sprawling mass of trading-houses, residences, inns, warehouses and everything else a city needs. Best, it is on the coast, allowing it easy access to many rich trading nations throughout the Inner Sea. Beneath the trading town - where only a few Aelves and Duerg live permanently - crawls down a huge ramp, spiralling around the fall of the huge, diverted river, past small but seemingly endless levels of houses and bazaars and what is the REAL city. In fact, the Greengate is possibly the only true great city of the Labyrinth races.

Of the Boiling Isle

The Boiling Island, as it has been named by some, is supposedly the area of sea far beneath which the Netherheart still pumps. Although not actually an island as such, it is instead an area of the inner sea in which water, as soon as it enters a rough, mile-radius circle, becomes steam instantly. The steam swiflty disperses back into the water around, so very little water is actually lost... but of course, the water around the Boiling Isle is nearly totally pure of salt.

Where does the salt go? It ends up forming a thick, crystalline sheet across the floor of the Boiling Isle, which slopes gradually inwards...

Here, at the heart of the circle, is the largest gateway to the Labyrinth yet discovered outside of the Greengate. A small town of Duerg and Aelves has been founded here, and features that many guests find amusing are the tall towers and complicated arrangements of hoists which are built next to the wall of water surrounding the island - what for? Their purpose is, in fact, to serve as piers and launching-ramps for ships.

In recent years, small waves of immigrating Aelves and Duerg have been setting out from the Boiling Isle across to the Empire to seek their fortunes - in return for which, miners and explorers have been setting out for this nigh-legendary destination. Of course, there are easier ways to reach the Labyrinth - but they are often hidden or mythical, apart from the Greengate (of course). The Greengate, however, is guarded well and jealously by the Aelves and Duerg there, and visitors are given strict guidelines and face severe punishments if they do not keep to them. In the Boiling Isle, they face no such difficulties.

Of the Great Storm

A few years after the Daemon Nether died, strange weather patterns began circling the continent. Great winds sprung up where none should have been, rains unlike any natural ones had ever been before fell nearly constantly. Over time, sailors were driven back towards their harbours... and eventually, the Great Storm encircled all. It certainly seems magical - the winds can shatter a boat in seconds, and appear seemingly from nowhere - a great wall of falling water, mist, steam and cloud. The inhabitants of the continent are, effectively, trapped.

Wensleydale · December 04, 2006, 01:47:59 PM

Classes

There are two new classes in Do-Ze-Rahl - the Sorceror and Divine Channel. Whilst the sorceror is a powerful mage, his magical energy comes from the heart of the first and greatest evil - the Daemon Nether, and is thus corrupted and painful. The Divine Channel takes her power from the gods, be they beneficient or not, and is thus exempt from the pain, but she is weaker because of it.

[spoiler=The Sorceror]

HD: D6.
Class Skills: The Sorceror's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Profession (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex) and Weavecraft (Int).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int Modifier.

[class The Sorceror]
[levels=15]
[bab=wizard]
[will=good]
[special][1]Magesight, Aura[/1][13]Timeless Body[/13][/special]
[special=MP][1]8[/1][2]10[/2][3]12[/3][4]32[/4][5]40[/5][6]72[/6][7]84[/7][8]128[/8][9]148[/9][10]200[/10][11]220[/11][12]288[/12][13]312[/13][14]392[/14][15]440[/15][/special]
[special=Weaves Prepared][1]2[/1][2]4[/2][3]5[/3][4]7[/4][5]9[/5][6]10[/6][7]12[/7][8]14[/8][9]15[/9][10]17[/10][11]19[/11][12]20[/12][13]22[/13][14]24[/14][15]25[/15][/special]
[special=Max. Talent Level Known][1]1[/1][2]1[/2][3]2[/3][4]2[/4][5]2[/5][6]3[/6][7]3[/7][8]3[/8][9]4[/9][10]4[/10][11]4[/11][12]5[/12][13]5[/13][14]5[/14][15]6[/15][/special]
[special=Talents Known][1]2[/1][2]3[/2][3]4[/3][4]5[/4][5]6[/5][6]7[/6][7]8[/7][8]9[/8][9]10[/9][10]11[/10][11]12[/11][12]13[/12][13]14[/13][14]15[/14][15]16[/15][/special]
[/class]

Class Features: All the following are class features of the Sorceror.

Weapon and Armour Proficiencies: The Sorceror gains proficiency with the staff, the dagger and the longsword. He gains proficiency with light armour. He cannot wear armour with any iron component, as spellcasting becomes impossible for him.

Aura: From first level onwards, the Sorceror gains an aura of sickly power which varies as an aura of evil by level (see the Detect Evil spell description in the player's handbook). Normal characters may feel a slight feeling of repulsion towards a sorceror, but won't notice anything else, but other sorcerors and divine channels can see the aura automatically through their Magesight ability.

Pain in Power (Ex): Whenever she casts a weave, the Sorceror is wracked with pain. She takes 1 point of damage per talent level used in the weave unless she makes a will save against 15+the highest talent level used in the weave.

Magesight (Su): A Sorceror gains the ability to see magic at level 1. This manifests itself as a constant Detect Magic effect, as the DnD spell. A Sorceror may repress or activate this ability at will. She must concentrate to gain the greater effects of the spell, as if she had cast it herself.

Timeless Body (Ex): Using the flows of the Netherheart for long enough slows the process of aging greatly. A Sorceror reaching 13th level no longer takes physical aging penalties, and is essentially immortal for the purposes of a natural death (of age). She continues to accumulate mental bonuses because of age, but even if she reaches the maximum age for her race she does not die.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Divine Channel]

HD: D8.
Class Skills:
Skill points per level: 6 + Int Modifier.

[class=The Divine Channel]
[levels=15]
[bab=cleric]
[ref=good]
[will=good]
[special][1]Magesight, Divine Grace[/1][2]Lay on Hands[/2][15]Blessing[/13][/special]
[special=MP[1]8[/1][2]10[/2][3]12[/3][4]32[/4][5]40[/5][6]72[/6][7]84[/7][8]128[/8][9]148[/9][10]200[/10][11]220[/11][12]288[/12][13]312[/13][14]392[/14][15]440[/15][/special]
[special=Weaves Prepared][1]2[/1][2]3[/2][3]4[/3][4]5[/4][5]6[/5][6]7[/6][7]8[/7][8]10[/8][9]12[/9][10]14[/10][11]16[/11][12]18[/12][13]20[/13][14]22[/14][15]24[/15][/special]
[special=Max. Talent Level Known][1]1[/1][2]1[/2][3]2[/3][4]2[/4][5]2[/5][6]3[/6][7]3[/7][8]3[/8][9]4[/9][10]4[/10][11]4[/11][12]5[/12][13]5[/13][14]5[/14][15]6[/15][/special]
[special=Talents Known][1]2[/1][2]2[/2][3]3[/3][4]3[/4][5]4[/5][6]4[/6][7]5[/7][8]5[/8][9]6[/9][10]6[/10][11]7[/11][12]7[/12][13]8[/13][14]8[/14][15]9[/15][/special]
[/class]

Class Features

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: Divine Channels gain proficiency with all simple and martial weapons and no armour.

Magesight (Su): A Divine Channel gains the ability to see magic at level 1. This manifests itself as a constant Detect Magic effect, as the DnD spell. A Divine Channel may repress or activate this ability at will. He must concentrate to gain the greater effects of the spell, as if he had cast it herself. The Divine Channel can see a Sorceror's aura using this ability.

Divine Grace (Su): A Divine Channel gains half his wisdom bonus as a bonus to her AC.

Lay on Hands: A Divine Channel can heal a number of hit points per day equal to his class level x5. Using this ability requires a standard action and for the Divine Channel to touch his target. He may spread out these hit points through several or one target.

Blessing: Depending on a Divine Channel's god, he gains a special blessing at level 15. A Divine Channel of Debelzism gains a fly speed of 40ft as his belief in his god raises him from the very ground. A Channel of the Urdish Faith or of one of the desert religions gains the once-a-year supernatural ability to reincarnate instantly on death (as the reincarnation spell).[/spoiler]

Wensleydale · December 06, 2006, 11:53:12 AM

Religions

[spoiler=Debelzism]The Inhabitants of the Debelzi Empire believe in the all-powerful Creator God Debelz. He is believed to have created the entire world and bestowed a series of prophets - beginning with Ishamayl and ending with Azzahad - with the mantle and powers of his Son on Earth. Ishamayl led a great migration of the Vuhuz - renamed by themselves the Debelzi - across the Terez Gap (the wide stretch of water between the ends of each pincer) and into the beautiful lands of the Southern Pincer, where he conquered the natives by Debelz' might and formed the Temple of Debelz. Azzahad, the last true prophet, formed the Debelzi Empire from the many conquered and tribute-paying nations and crowned himself emperor shortly before dying of old age. Vizih, the first real emperor, formed the Debelzi Empire into an actual empire rather than a conglomerate of small nations. Nowadays, the Temple of Delbez remains as the centre of Imperial life.

There are three main types of priests within Delbezism: Lay Priests, Vaaha and Sonyanti. Lay Priests are normal men (and some women) who are, to be crude, part-time priests. They assist with the running of the temple in exchange for a small fee, and most live outside the temple (although they are welcome to take lodging there). Most full priests spend time as Lay Priests before being fully ordained. Vaaha are male priests who live within the temple and are full members, spending all their time there, praying, healing, and selling small spells for a fee in the case of the Channelers. Vaaha must remain celibate. Sonyanti - literally meaning 'woman-blessed' - are female priestesses with the gift of divine channeling. Only females who can channel are accepted into the priesthood, those without the gift are turned away.

A normal service consists of giving meat or drink to Delbez, set in silver cups and on a silver platter. The silver is enchanted using Channeling to resist heat, and thus the lay people see it as a miracle when the food burns away and the silver is unharmed. Lay Priests chant in different languages and grant blessings using holy water on the hand whilst one or more Vaaha lead the service. Sonyanti stay within the temple and worship and pray, only being seen on holy festivals or by those so sick they require magical healing - a lucky few.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Urdish Faith]Urdism, or the Urdish Faith, is a complex religion which relies on the concept of four worlds, as one but separate. AÃ'Â¸Ã˜Â´h (Azuh, in Urdish 'Holy') is the gods' domain, InnÃ'Â¸Ã˜Â´ (Innuh, Urdish: We, us) is this world, VuÃ'Â¸Ã˜Â´h (Vuzuh, Urdish: Unawake, Asleep) is the world of the Travelling Dead and LuÃÂ¹Ã'Â¸Ã˜Â´a (Luaua, Urdish: Spirit, Soul) is the world of spirits and magical creatures.

First of all, all creatures have a potential in each world. Your shape might be different - for instance, in Innuh you might be a human, but in Azuh you will probably be a formless servant, in Luaua you might be a spirit and in Vuzuh you have no form at all, just a wisp of smoke or rippling air. As you die, your forms change - your human form might become an elephant or a tiger, and you will lose control of it, another personality taking over. You will then circle to the world of the Travelling Dead, where you will wander until your bad luck and bad deeds have been paid for in time. Eventually, your death on that world will come and you will be reincarnated as some form of spirit in Luaua. Finally, you will taste paradise on the realm of the gods. Then you return to Innuh... reincarnated as whatever your luck and deeds have gained. This process is called 'VÃ'Â¸Ã˜Â´nu' - pronounced Vaunu, and meaning something akin to reincarnation. All creatures and objects go through this process. The only way to achieve heaven permanently is to become a demigod - earn so much prestige and luck in life through good and holy deeds that you become permanently affixed in the realm of the gods, Azuh.

There are few priests in the Urdish religion - there are spiritual guides and holy men, but mostly the religion is conducted by the people themselves. Urdish (the language) originally began as a sparse collection of holy words with its own writing system only using letters not used in Urda, impossible to speak in constantly, but the works of many holy men and monks on the subject has reformed it into a beautiful, full language in which constant speech is easy and useful. Holy men, scribes and the educated elite use it as their language of choice. It uses three extra letters.
[table=letters]
[tr][th]Urdish[/th][td]ÃÂ¹Ã'Â¸Ã˜Â´[/td][td]Ã'Â¸Ã˜Â´[/td][td]ÃŽÂ°[/td][/tr]
[tr][th]Debelzi[/th][td]Au, 'ow'[/td][td]zuh[/td][td]vhe, vay[/td][/tr]
[/table]
[/spoiler]

Wensleydale · December 06, 2006, 03:46:52 PM

The Terez Gap and Dov'hura Gates

As the inner sea tapers toward the ends of the pincers and culiminates in the wide stretch of ocean known as the Terez Gap, a strange thing can be observed on the furthest points of the gateway to the open sea. Two huge stone towers, burnt and shattered at the tops but still standing, probe high into the mountain sky, and two huge, shattered moving walls lie scattered across the land between and in the sea below. These walls once hinged upward into the towers - believed to be a relic from the Za'had Empire or some other long-forgotten institution. Ruined fortifications lie all around. It has been found that Labyrinth entryways fill the bottoms of the towers, although many of them are clogged or open only into pits impossible to scale or descend. It is thought that the Daemon Nether's blood shattered the gates and collapsed the foundations.

Wensleydale · December 06, 2006, 04:06:11 PM

DO-ZE-RAHL

Wensleydale · December 06, 2006, 04:28:50 PM

The Urda Nation

The Urda Nation stretches across two huge mountain ranges and the beautiful, rich plateaus and plains in between. The area that it now covers was sparsely populated until the great dwarf migrations from the Vashaan Desert - a lot of orcs and dwarves stayed with their brethren in the mountains. However, even after the migrations the tiny tribal kingdoms were divided - warring on one another over matters of religion, land, or language. And then, the Shah (Prophet) Ovahad arrived.

Ovahad was an orc and an intelligent one, wise in the ways of the world. He and his followers composed the Nine Books of Urdd - the holy texts of the Urdish faith. He created the Hundred Urdish Words - starting a language in itself for use between holy men in secret. He was not a warmaker, but he did spread his words to most of the mountains and brought them all under one generic faith, converting hundreds of thousands. He died after naming his heir. The new Shah was similarly wise - Ojadi the Fair-Minded - but he was also militaristic. Within twenty years the Mountains of Urd had been renamed the Urda Nation, and he was head of it. Six Shahs later there is a dwarf on the High Seat, and a weak one at that. Most of the outer regions beyond the Viddis Valley do what they feel like and have their own local rulers. It can only be hoped that Shah Vahis' son is stronger than he is. The Urda Kingdom is a difficult place to live for humans, simply because of its height - Bazaar-U-Ijaaz-Liss, the Market of the Prophecy-Voice, is the lowest heavily-populated area in the mountains at only 3000 feet above sea level - the average living height is 6000-13000 feet above sea level, with the highest mountains reaching around 25000-29000 feet ASL.

The Viddis Valley is the site of the political capitol of the Urda Nation, but the religious and economic capitols are elsewhere. The first, the Tijai Cathedral, is an amazing stepped pyramid-temple built upon the heights of the 18000ft Reddarim Mountain. The second is beyond the Viddis Valley - as the valley slopes upward, it culminates in a wide plateau, flat as a seabed, surrounded by mountains and the source of several holy rivers. Here rests the wide and rich city of Velavez, Population 200,000 - a huge city indeed, and the largest in the nation. The plateau rests near to the furthest peaks of the mountains and is, if not directly on the route through the mountains to the Delbezi Empire, near enough. Through the closest mountain has been cut an enormous tunnel-gate sloping down to 3000ft above sea level and opening out onto the snowless slopes of the Vashaan Plains which swiftly in their own way open out into the Vashaan Desert.

[spoiler=Important Settlements]
Viddis: (pop. 50,000) Set in a lush and beautiful valley (by Urda standards), Viddis is the political capitol of the Urda Nation. The site of the Amar Palace, a wide and expensive building constructed by the vain Shah Hadd, Viddis is small and rarely-visited except by nobles and dignitaries. The current Shah spends most of his time here.

Tijai: (pop. 75,000) A highly-religious and monastic town, Tijai is sometimes called the 'second capitol' of the Urda Nation. Although its population is small for a town of its size, Tijai is rich and filled with constant waves of pilgrims. The town itself consists mostly of stairs and caves, with snow-packed streets at the higher levels. It is an impressive sight - rope bridges stretching across gaps 6,000 feet up from the valley below between streets and buildings carved directly into the mountainside. Farmers live in the low valleys, feeding the higher reaches. In the central mountain of Reddarim live most of the monks of the valley, meditating or humming and chanting constantly through the day in the well-heated caves. Tijai is famous for its hot springs, and in the monastery these are utilised for heating. The top of the mountain is carved exquisitely to form six stepped plazas, around which have been built pillars and balconies to form a beautiful, palace-like construction. The top plaza of the Moon is open to the stars and restricted to the monks only.

Velavez: (Pop. 200,000) 'The Gateway to the Empire' - Velavez is a merchant and trading city situated on the very edge of the mountains, within the Vela wall (mountains which separate the Vashaan plains from the Urda Nation. It's the one large and easy entryway into the Debelzi Empire and also the Urda Nation itself, and is a stopping-point for hundreds of migrants from Vashaan. A huge tunnel was cut through the rock of the Vela wall, ending on the Vashaan plains, allowing easy access for carts and other means of transport. Even for those rich enough, magical or air-travel is not an option - for the former, there are few magi powerful enough, and for the latter, airship pilots refuse to travel across the Urda Nation - the mountain peaks are much too high and the altitude sickness can be immense. The Velavez road crosses nearly half of the Urda Nation, heading towards Delbez.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Stats: Urda Sherpa]
Medium Humanoid (Orc)
HD: 1D8+3 (7HP)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft. (5 squares)
Armor Class: 11 (+1 Shield (Buckler)) Touch 10, Flat-Footed 11
Attack/Grapple: +1/+4
Space/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Attack: Spear +4 (1D8+3/x3)
Full Attack: Spear +4 (1D8+3/x3)
Special Abilities: -
Special Qualities: Powerful Build
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +0, Will +1
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Climb +10, Jump +7, Survival +2
Feats: Skill Focus: Climb
Challenge Rating: 1/2
Possessions: 3D6 GP, Cold Weather Outfit, Spear, Buckler.
Fluent Languages: Urda

Special Abilities

Saves: An orc has a +2 racial bonus on saves against environmental effects.

Skills: An orc has a +2 racial bonus on survival checks.

Powerful Build: The physical stature of orcs lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger.
Whenever a orc is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the orc is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him.
A orc is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creatureÃ¢,¬,,¢s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A orc can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subjectÃ¢,¬,,¢s size category.

[/spoiler]

Wensleydale · December 07, 2006, 12:49:30 PM

The Debelzi Empire

Formed by religion, shaped by religion, and still to an extent ruled by religion, the Debelzi Empire was once an equivalent of the Urda Nation. However, it is much older, much richer, and much more powerful.

The story of the Debelzi Empire begins with the Prophet Ishamayl. He led the people of Debelz in a mass migration from Debelz-Jahal (Debelz' Temple) in the Northern Pincer and across the Terez Gap long after the war of the Netherheart. He formed a kingdom there, and his successor formed it into an empire through conquest. His successor truely formatted the empire, making it what it still is today.

The Empire is, in all ways, a melting pot of civilisation. A hundred different languages, a hundred different skin shades and examples of all the races of the world can be seen here. It has conquered so many lands that the original language has changed so much it is considered a different tongue - Delbezja, or New Godspeech. The original tongue, Delbezi, is still spoken by a large amount of people in the western areas and also in the outposts and reservations of Debelz-Jahal. The other language commonly spoken in the area is Athurdis, an unwritten speech which has borrowed many lendwords from Delbezi and adopted its alphabet, as well as words and grammar from the hundreds of languages native to the lands around. Most inhabitants of the empire speak one or the other, with translators readily available for hire. Other languages from all around the world can also be heard here, courtesy of the transport available in the form of airships and boats. Large craft of both kinds travel to everywhere in the world bearing and recieving goods, currency and people.

The Debelzi Empire covers most of the Southern Pincer and also holds a strong presence in Debelz-Jahal, a 'colony' which was the original homeland of the Debelzi people. The primitives who remain there are herded into reservation land or join the empire, whilst Debelzi forts, outposts and mines spring up all over the country supposedly separate from the empire.

The Vahaad Assassins and Guards are two supposedly mythical organisations within the Empire - both famed for officialy dressing in red, the first Njadha - Spies and Assassins - and the second the bodyguards of the Emperor. They are said to be fanatic warriors and capable of taking on six men at a time. Whether any of these facts are true or not is unknown.

Acting as the military arm of the empire are the Red Guards, named for their distinctive red tunics and capes. Vast and sprawling, they are known for their conscription rates and harsh training regime as much as for their military might.

[spoiler Important Settlements]
Muhmad: (Pop. 2,000,000) The largest city in the world, Muhmad is huge and sprawling, built within a beautiful, lush valley in the centre of the Empire. It replaced the old capitol, Vuhz, three-hundred years ago and has now completely taken over as religious and political centre of the kingdom. Emperor Vuhudd rules in splendour from his palace here, which resides in an artificial paradise, built upon a hill, fed via aqueduct by two rivers from outside the city. The very same rivers come all the way down from the Urda Mountains, and are one of the reasons that the Eastern Debelzi Empire is so fertile and muddy. The Great Temple of Debelz is here, its eight domed spires rising from the eastern end of the Palace's garden - larger, in fact, than the palace, and much more full. A majestic flight of stairs extends downward from the main end of the temple and sweeps into the Square of the Sunlit Mountains, where congregations await before entering the temple itself. Although the temple is connected to the Palace by underground and overground passageways (in fact, a great cellar extends beneath both of them) only high-up clergy are allowed to enter the Paradise and all but the highest are disallowed from entering the palace through the underground routes.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler Stats: Debelzi Translator]
Medium Humanoid (Human)
HD: 1D6+0 (3hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft. (5 squares)
Armor Class: 12 (+1 Dex, +1 Shield (Buckler)) Touch 11, Flat-Footed 11
Attack/Grapple: +0/+0
Space/Reach: 5ft/5ft
Attack: Quarterstaff +0 (1D6+0)
Full Attack: Quarterstaff -2/-2 (1D6+0/1D6+0)
Special Abilities: -
Special Qualities: -
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +0
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 12
Skills: Speak Language (Bastardised Xahin) +12, Speak Language (Xahin) +7, Speak Language (Ordava) +7, Speak Language (Mulhor Ordava) +7, Speak Language (Verda-In) +12, Speak Language (Onthi) +7.
Feats: Linguist (+5 on SL checks with Bastardised Xahin), Linguist (+5 on SL checks with Verda-In)
Challenge Rating: 1/2
Possessions: Quarterstaff, Buckler, Traveller's Outfit, 2D6 GP.
Fluent Languages: Debelzi, Debelzja, Urda, Athurdis

This man is fluent in the common languages of the Empire and is well-versed in common conversational topics in the two most common immigrant and trading languages, Bastardised Xahin and Verda-In. He is also relatively skilled in other immigrant languages. He charges 1SP per hour.
[/spoiler]

Wensleydale · December 07, 2006, 06:33:47 PM

Debelz-Jahal

The homeland and ancestral nation of the modern Debelzi people, those from this land are considered primitives by most of the empire (ironically, though, those among the empire who can trace their family tree back to the original pilgrimage away from here are held in high standing). Debelz-Jahal translates as something like Debelz' Temple, and the people here follow a more primitive version of Debelzism. However, in modern times the Debelzi Empire has been crossing the Terez Gap and reoccupying its homeland - those travelling there now will find it a very different location than they would have found twenty years ago. The Debelzi have 'granted' the natives large tracts of land, and taken the rest for themselves - large mines, woodcutting industries and outposts not officially affiliated with the empire have sprung up there. As there is no major political grouping or ruling system in Debelz-Jahal, the natives have shown little resistance to this fact. Other nations, however, are becoming uneasy, and it's possible that for the first time in hundreds of years the Empire might be challenged by another land.

An airship and shipping service have been set up connecting Azhur, a town on the Debelzi coast, and Vahr, the major 'unaffiliated' town in Debelz-Jahal. Small contingents of Debelzi troops have been posted in the area, and although nothing more than minor skirmishes with disillusioned natives have ever occurred in the nation there seem to be increasing numbers of Red Guards moving across the Terez Gap. There are many theories surrounding the subject, but the most likely one is that the Empire is moving to officially declare its ownership of the nation and make it part of their lands.

[spoiler=Major Organisations]
Vahisi Durnan: The Vahisi Durnan are a group of profiteering merchants with a vision for Debelz-Jahal - a vision which doesn't involve the Empire getting an official grip on the land's resources. The Vahisi want to dominate supplies of silver and adamantine, rare in the Empire but common in Debelz-Jahal, but if the Empire officially occupies the province they'll have freedom to close down all the mines, logging companies and other business enterprises in the area and take them over. They are wielding all their political and economic strength in a bid to prevent official control of the province - but it seems like their efforts are going to waste.

The Zahaddi: A loosely affiliated mercenary guild which grants training, supplies and lodging at lower costs to its members whilst viciously striking out at competitors, the Zahaddi are now mostly working for the Vahisi Durnan. Their role in the conflict between state and merchants is to act as assassins and grunts - they kill or maim officers, threaten soldiers, and carry out the dirty work. The Zahaddi's leader, Vohar al-Arrim, was recently threatened by the Red Guards officially that if he didn't leave the country he would be executed. He left, but all this has done to him is give him an opportunity to set up an illicit smuggling ring via airship which also carries messages and orders from him. He's also set up a branch in Inner Talanti, from which he runs the entire organisation. He has sadly had to shut down the Zahaddi's operations in the Empire - or at least make them more subtle.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Important Settlements]
Vahr: (Pop. 8,000) A small town on the Terez Gap, Vahr is many things - gate to the Temple, as it is sometimes known, for one. For another, it is of course the staging point for the military operations into Debelz-Jahal.
[/spoiler]

Wensleydale · December 08, 2006, 12:00:49 PM

Talanti

Talanti was formed through war and riches equally. Gold is amazingly common in the eastern areas, but the Vidda tribes living here, as in Debelz-Jahal, did not develop any mining industry. After thousands of them left with the Debelzi or moved into the old Debelzi lands, the now overpopulated Northern Pincer poured into the Vidda lands. Those whose ancestors had occupied what was now the inner sea needed land, and found it here. They were skilled miners, and this frontier nation was lawless for a long time, unconquered despite four warlords' attempts to do so. Then the Talanti Horsemen, a huge Orc people once living in the Urda Mountains and now fleeing to search for lands of their own, arrived - and shattered the defences. Talanti was formed as a new nation. It became extremely rich and powerful, exporting gold and importing everything else... until the split. The last King of Talanti had two twin sons who hated one another absolutely - both wanted to be ruler. One, Vahtar, killed the other, Baelthazar, but then fell into a war with Baelthazar's wife, a cousin of the twins named Aerwha. Aerwha eventually took a large section of the north for herself and Vahtar took the south. They renamed the lands Inner and Outer Talanti, and remain so to this day.

The northern people will spit on the name of Vahtar, cursing him in their tongue, as the southerners will for Aerwha. Both put one anothers' people through a lot of suffering for what the people see as a petty family feud - but this seems all they CAN agree on. Both sides hate one another intensely, despite sharing the same religion - a mix of what seems like some Urda traditions and Debelzism.

Nowadays, the North is ruled by Queen Thindri, a direct line descendant from Aerwha, whilst the south is ruled by Prince Varaan, a merchant who won the kingdom in a fierce skirmish. The southerners hate Varaan nearly as much as they did the old king, but civil war has not yet begun - although it smoulders, and small-scale rebellions occur everywhere. Despite this, both nations still vie for the title of largest exporter of gold in the world, and although they surpass all others with ease, they can't seem to beat one another.

[spoiler=Major Organisations]
The Zahaddi: As in Debelz-Jahal, this group of mercenaries wields considerable influence in both halves of Talanti, especially in the South. The leader, Vohal al-Arrim, controls the organisation from Inner Talanti (where he also runs a profitable smuggling organisation via his own private fleet of airships). The Zahaddi fight for both rebels and crown indiscriminately - war is profitable, after all.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Important Settlements]
Adhal: (Pop. 300,000) The capitol of both Inner and Outer Talanti, Adhal is an infamous trouble spot, split down the middle by a wall for a long time. Few people are allowed through the wall, and the Two Palaces, once the Winter and Summer homes of the crown and now the homes of each ruler, stare at one another over the high parapet, patrolled by Zahaddi mercenaries from other nations alone, securely in the pay of each side equally. Occasionally attempts are made by stirred-up mobs to scale the wall, but these tend to end on the spearpoints of the Zahaddi.
[/spoiler]

Wensleydale · December 08, 2006, 12:35:39 PM

Vunda

Vunda exports fruit - its largest produce next to rice - and rice - its largest produce. Vunda hasn't really changed very much since the end of the Netherwar so long ago. It still has its tribal beliefs and tribal culture, with the Zodeeb, Vathta and Mohaz still fighting one another and hating one another with prejudice. The one other thing it exports, of course, are mercenaries. Vundan warriors are famous for their skill with a spear and dagger, no matter what tribe they come from - they are deadly knife-fighters.

Vunda isn't really ruled - it's mostly split up into small unnamed territories controlled by princes, warlords or tribe leaders. A colossal merchant network keeps the tribes and princedoms connected, so that trade and communication can continue even during war - the Merchant Princedom, at the centre of Vunda, is often considered the capitol. However, Vundans may hate one another, but they hate invaders even more. Vunda is known to be extremely difficult to conquer - they even fought off the orcish Talanti people, who fled into what is now their nation.

Vunda isn't very up-to-date - they can make steel, and that's the cutting edge of their technology. They have one airship dock, in the merchant city of Alafar, and very few airships travel there unless carrying goods which Vundan merchants might be interested in.

[spoiler=Important Cities]
Alafar: (Pop. 105,000) A town to any other nation, Alafar is the largest city in Vunda. It mostly consists of storehouses, markets, merchants' houses and caravanserai. It makes up most of the Merchant Princedom. Battles are not permitted here.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Major Organisations]
The Zahaddi: The Zahaddi don't sell much here - they're here to buy. They recruit many high-quality mercenaries from Vunda, who they can then sell on as bodyguards and horsemen, or, of course, thugs.

The Merchants: Although not an official organisation, the merchants wield immense political and, indeed, economical power in Vunda. Merchants might hate one another, but if one of their number is spurned by a prince, that prince might find himself without goods or trade until he repents and apologises. Also, although there is no official hierarchy, merchants defer to more powerful, richer, or more intelligent merchants in many cases. This network has its heart in the city of Alafar, from which it controls banking, trade, and military power throughout the nation.
[/spoiler]

Wensleydale · December 09, 2006, 06:52:20 AM

The Sword Marches

A long-contested nation, the Sword Marches used to be a colony of Muldor. Then the Talanti came. six-hundred thousand of them stayed here and set up their own lands here.

Of course, the Muldori weren't happy. As the rest of the Talanti Horde rode on, the Muldorians brought their large army back to bear. The result was a conflict that continued for several decades, on and off. Eventually the Sword Marches was partitioned by an immense frontier line built by the Muldori, giving the Talanti a small section of land whilst Muldor kept the rest. The Talanti still have a deep-rooted distrust and hatred of their neighbours, and small skirmishes occur frequently. Most recently, Drai To-Chen, an extremely agressive Talanti chief, has risen to the position of Warlord Ultimate. Much of the Talanti community fears another full-scale war and thus hundreds of refugees are beginning to migrate into the west - to Vunda and Talanti.

The great wall splitting the country might be an impressive, unscalable wall of rock in some places, but in others it's little more than hills and fences sparsely manned - it is likely that the Talanti could break through in some points and the Muldori troops wouldn't know until hours later - a reason for fear in the more competent of the Muldori upper ranks. Sadly, many of the Muldori chiefs hate one another, or are incompetent drunkards. Due to the lack of men in this section of the nation, the chiefs have been hiring mercenaries from the Dahalvh Gomph, a vicious group of veteran warriors from around the world. Attempts by the Dahalvh contemporaries, the Zahaddi, to enter the country are failing miserably. The high chief on the Muldori side is Atari Vohansson, a hasha-smoking noble completely incompetent at all things military.

There are very few large settlements on either side of the border.

[spoiler=Major Groups]
Dahalvh Gomph: This violent mercenary group have their own code of morality, sufficiently altered from everyone else's, of course. They will not kill women, unless the woman is armed, they will not kill children, they will not kill pregnant women at all. They do not betray their employers unless said employer is threatening the safety of the Dahalvh as a whole, and they look after their own. The leader of the group is named, enigmatically, Ahalza, which literally means 'old killer' or 'veteran'. They operate almost exclusively in the Sword Marches, Muldor and Verda, and have an ancient, unexplained rivalry with the Zahaddi.

Tribe Vishaad: A clan within the Sword March Talanti, Tribe Vashaad are powerful and famous. Drai To-Chen, a famously violent and patriotic orc, has risen to the mantle of Chief of both Vishaad and the Sword March Talanti as a whole.
[/spoiler]

Wensleydale · December 09, 2006, 07:25:19 AM

Verda and Muldor

Once two separate nations, Verda and Muldor were forced to merge after a rebellion in both coincided with the Talanti Horde's arrival. The nations have always been friendly, and have a common history - originally they were both one land anyway. They split over land disputes, but fifty years later they had become as friendly as before. They were peaceful, and nearly as one on a peasant level - very few people saw themselves as of one land, but instead saw themselves as of both. Strange, then, that they remained distant.

The reason for the distance revealed itself, eventually. The royal families of both were horribly inbred (with one another) and hated one another. So, no matter what the peasants thought, the royal families held themselves distinct.

Then came the war. As the Talanti Horde poured out of the jungles of the Princes, a group of violent and patriotic young people saw this as their chance. They had the entirity of both royal families executed, from the oldest to the youngest. A bloody sacrifice, but necessary for the rebellion. As the Talanti left, a combined nation rose up, with the new city of Verda-Mul as its capitol. It had been struck badly by the war, but Lord Kush, the newly appointed leader, rebuilt the country and stabilised its treasury. In the past hundred years since the invasion, Verda and Muldor has only become stronger. Only the colony in the Sword Marches remains separate - it still thinks of itself as Muldori only. Its financing isn't great any more, partially due to this fact.

The nation is currently ruled by Lord Ddaddhi, a human as all the lords have been. It has a national flag - a white cloth with the horse's head of Muldor in the upper right hand corner and the lion of Verda in the lower left hand corner, split by a double line of red. It has a small population of orcs and dwarves, as well as a negligible group of Aelves and Duerg only usually seen at night.

[spoiler=Important Settlements]
Verda-Mul: (Population 800,000) A large city by all accounts, Verda-Mul is built across a wide lagoon. Huge platforms have been constructed on islands, atop which houses, markets and other buildings stand precariously, whilst boats travel swiftly through the network of tunnels and waterways beneath the city itself. Houses are actually built on bridges - although originally the platforms were supposed to be the only place to build, the beautifully made official bridges are now squeezed in between classic stone affairs with quickly-built slums constructed atop them. Of course, the waterways in the poorer districts smell awful... boats travel along them still, though - boating is a lucrative trade somewhere where reaching work every day would involve crossing through packed and often blocked roads across misty and smoky islands which look mostly alike to one another. The under-roads, as they are nicknamed, are a useful transport service for those willing to pay.
[/spoiler]

Wensleydale · December 10, 2006, 08:20:14 AM

Zamir Princes

As Verda and Muldor teper away, you enter another nation - a nation of war and peace both. The Zamir Princes are a group of native orcs, humans and dwarves who carve out their territory from this band of jungle and marshes. This wide land is mostly rainforest - it recieves the same amount of heat that the Vashaan Desert does, but its sheltered position and many rivers have meant that instead of a desert, it has become a jungle of rivers, swamps, and of course trees.

Nobody is quite sure when the Zamir forests were first inhabited - it is thought that clans of orcs and dwarves from the Urda Mountains were driven down into the treeline by rivals and took this new land for their own. Whenever it happened, soon the clans began fighting one another. After what was, seemingly, a long war of stops and starts, the clans proclaimed a meeting they call 'Greymount'. Here they agreed on certain territories to be theirs, and although not all were happy, they were, for now, at peace. Although for a long while the self-proclaimed princes have been in a tenuous ceasefire, recently mountain and desert dwarves and orcs emigrating from their old homelands have stirred up old rivalries and the whole jungle is beginning to look distinctly dangerous again.

Due to the conditions in the heated rainforest, the Princes have remained mostly untouched by outside influences from other nations. However, Verda and Muldor and the Debelzi Empire in particular are always looking for new sources of income, and it seems only a matter of time before they turn towards the jungles...

[spoiler=Major Organisations]
The Varda-Miqa: A particularly violent Princeling family, the Varda-Miqa control a large section of Zamir. Led at present by Prince-Chief Agaadi Mtaad, they are extremely rich (by Zamir standards) and a large contender for absolute ruler of Zamir if war breaks out. They are mainly orcs, with a few dwarves.

The Adra-Miqa: Solemnly and heavily tattooed, the Adra-Miqa have mastered the art of the Killing Blow - to behead an enemy with a single blow of a sword. This is the most pure form of killing - to them, death must be swift and pure. They are an equal split between orcs and dwarves, with a few humans.
[/spoiler]

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