Pirates - the Second Voyage

[Xathan]

[ooc]You asked for it. You begged for it. You sent me threatening letters for it. So, to make you happy and save my firstborn child, the CBG's one and only pirate focused setting is back and active! This is the second take on an old idea: the original thread can be found here in all it's glory. The new thread shall feature some of the old one's concepts, but not all (cannibal halflings are in, totem folk are out) as well as new concepts and ideas. I'm going to distance it from real world a bit more, but still leave the parallels in, since they are part of the fun. I'll be using my old discussion thread, located Here. Please direct all comments there.[/ooc]

Overview

[note=Terminology]Species: a distinct group of people capable of interbreeding. If two peoples can breed together and produce viable offspring, they are of the same species.

Race: a subgroup of a species that differs from other subgroups by way of geography, culture, or religion, often also varied by skin pigmentation, hair pigmentation and consistency, eye color, and other cosmetic features. Members of different races of the same species can produce viable offspring and are generally very similar, with the only variations being either cosmetic or cultural.

More coming as needed.[/note]  Welcome to Pirates, a high-seas adventure setting for the d20 system. This setting is focused on high seas adventure of larcenous intent, and will feature many exciting and fascinating places to explore, people to visit, sights to view, and then plunder all of them for material gain. Like it's original incarnation, this game will be low magic in the sense that no one throws around fireballs or mutters some words and flys or offers a quick prayer and shiny stone to bring back the dead, but it will be high magic in the sense that creatures of legend roam the high seas, shamanistic rituals summon forth vengeful spirits, angry deities can drag a ship to the briny deep, curses can grant a man tremendous power for an unspeakable price, and similar. Ghost ships, kraken, undead, fae; all are real threats the doubloon-seeking men and women who turn to piracy, as well as the more mundane threats of imperial navies and, of course, other pirates.

 Lands

The physical, material plane of pirates, known as Doath, is divided into 6 continents and three oceans. The continents are as follows:

The New World, Home of Wonder.
[spoiler=The New World Overview]A lush and fertile land, the New World was discovered, as far as the people of Oediam are concerned, by the aelfar explorer cid Vael el'Demilis, who was seeking lands beyond the eastern edge of the world. Instead, he found the large continent that, thus far, has not been named beyond The New World (many want to call it Vaelland or Demilisia, but official cartographers are waiting for Imperial decree for the name. It looks like one of those two names will win out, since that will cause the least tension among the Courts (see Oediam for details.)) Meanwhile, ships ferry between the new world, which actually consists of two separate landmasses, a northern temperate one and a southern tropical one, both separated by a large strait filled with a huge number of islands that stretch between them and actually follow a fault line towards Oediam, stopping about halfway. These islands are where most of the colonies exist as of now, and are fertile in their own right, as well as being a source of spices, minerals, and, most importantly, precious metals.

However, the New World was not and uninhabited. Several species claim this land as their home, including a race of aelfar, a new species of insects known as nuritik, a race of orc, several different races of a species known by the people of Oediam as halflings due to their diminutive stature, as well as more. They interact with the Oediamians in varying manners, some seeking open relationships while others seeking to drive the invaders from their shores. For their part, the Oediamians look down on these primitive races, who do not know the way of Light or follow the Truth, nor do they have the industry and civilization of Oediam. Some say they should be conquered, others say they should be educated, some say they should be enslaved (for their own good, of course) but very few voices say they should be left alone.[/spoiler]

Oediam, Court of Empires.
[spoiler=Oediam Overview]Oediam is a relatively small continent located in the western half of Doath surrounded by islands and is the seat of several of the worlds most powerful, and most expansive, empires. The five(?) states here (yet to be named) constantly fight amongst themselves for power, and the discovery of the twin continents of the New World have only sparked even more heat. Each state represents the principal area of a world spanning empire with colonies on every known continent, and, to keep destruction down, many of the conflict between the Oediamian empires takes place in their colonies, where only their subject peoples are at risk. This does breed much resentment, but against the power of the empires, only a few western powers can stand. The primary religion of Oediam is the Light and Truth, run from one of the larger islands off of Oediam. Anyone who doesn't follow Light and Truth is a heathen and therefore has severely limited rights, if any at all.  

Because of their vast wealth, the Oediamians are the most common target of pirates, who usually target ships headed between a state and it's colony, laden either with money or goods. Some pirates also go out of their way to attack Oediam slave ships, recognizing that freeing the slaves can often grant them a totally loyal crew, and that slave ships often contain vast amount of money. Pirates are often idealized and even hero-worshipped as slaves because of this behavior, but the pirates, many of whom are from Oediam, do not save them out of altruism or for virtue, but rather because of the benefit these former slaves can provide them: and also, enough rescued slaves can give the pirate the crew needed to man a second ship, allowing him to begin every pirates dream of forming a small fleet and taking his or her place at [note]I need new names for both the Court and Pirate Lord, because right now it steals too much from Pirates: At Worlds End.[/note] Court as a Pirate Lord.[/spoiler]

Benalic, the Savage Continent.
[spoiler=Benalic Overview]Benalic is the largest landmass on Doath, though the combined landmasses of the New World are greater. It has an ancient history, and it is often believed that civilization started there, back in the dawn of time. The inhabitants of Benalic are a very culturally advanced people, though they fall behind the people of Oediam in two areas: technological development and unity. Because of these lacks, large portions of Benalic are colonies Oediamian empires, their primary exports being minerals, especially diamonds and other gems, food, which the vast plains allow for, and people, with 70% of the worlds slaves being drawn from Benalic. The majority of them are orcs, their hardy frames making them ideal workers, a view which is aided by the fact that, as herbivores, orcs are simply cheaper to feed than peoples who require meat in their diets.

However, the majority of this takes place on the coastal areas and up to a hundred miles inland. Beyond that is the Savage Heart, an area of untamed wilderness that is host to creatures as terrifying as the beasts that are spat out of the depths of the sea. The natives of the Heart fight against Oediamian invaders using strange, powerful magics and riding beasts that are horrible to behold. The only areas to have major interests in the heart are not Oediamians, who believe the place to be forsaken by Light and Truth entirely. Instead, the Kamoti empire of Shinub and the mysterious Velgurum of Dor'Shabbot deal with these natives fairly, exporting beasts and rare artifacts in exchange for weapons and supplies to battle the Oediamians and survive in the Savage Heart. The only reason the Oediamians venture there at all is because of the Ogres who make their home here, a powerful and huge species that, because of their stature and strength, make ideal slaves once properly broken. The aelfar recognize, however, that Ogres are hard to break and doing so is distasteful, so, along with the Shinubi, they hire Ogre workers and mercenaries as servants from among the more outer tribes, many of which go along to explore the world beyond the Heart: though these Ogre servants are far less common than broken slaves.[/spoiler]

Dor'Shabbot, Land of Horrors.
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Kamoti, Shrouded Mystery.
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Drakan, The Barren North.
[spoiler]Drakan is the continent that occupies the northernmost reaches of Doath. It is rumored that, if one walks far enough north, one would actually be able to walk over the edge of the world, though others argue that the northernmost edge of Drakan is in fact a fourth ocean that, like all others, spills eternally off the world. None have ventured far enough to see which is true and returned to tell the tale. Regardless, what is known about Drakan is plenty. It is a barren land, though not totally covered in trundra: forests do exist, as does game and civilization. The people of Drakan are hardy and hard, and their members survive off of naval trade or piracy, depending on if they have acess to resources they can trade. Drakan furs are highly sought after by the people of Oediam for their thickness and quality.

The most noteworthy of Drakan's species are the dwarves, a hard folk who live a warriors life. To a dwarf, the greatest shame is to die of old age or illness, and there is no greater glory than to die in battle. This attitude shapes their entire culture and much of the continent, as dwarven raids put everyone at risk. Dwarves also raid their southern neighbors, both Kamoti and Oediam. To protect against their raids, the nations of the two continents will often hire independent ships, including pirates, to hunt them down or, to make matters easier, put a bounty on anyone who can prove they sunk a dwarven raider, usually by providing its colors. The aelfar offer pardons as a bounty for dwarven colors, meaning pirates stockpile them and present them if captured to escape the gallows.

The other force of Drakan is a sprawling empire known as Tsputir, a nation of humans that thrives on orcish slaves as much as Oediam. However, they are not a true power, lacking any colonies of their own, and must purchase slaves in Oediam markets or from smugglers and pirates who find the profit margin high enough. Tsputir is often in conflict with Oediam, partially because a schism of the Light and Truth makes it's home in Tsputir's capital. While Tsputir cannot match the empires of Oediam in military might, it makes up for it in sheer size, virtually conquerable because of its massiveness.[/spoiler]

Species

[note]This list is not complete or final[/note]Humanity, the Young Upstarts
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Aelfar, the Fae Folk
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Cephaliths, Children of the Kraken
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Halflings, the Brutal Savages
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Orcs, a People Enslaved
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Dwarves, The Frigid Warriors
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Vadylik, Beautiful Savages
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Nuritik, The Wise Insects
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Sea Devils, The Deep Scourge
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Ships and Technology
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Religion and the Seas Beyond the Edge
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Magic and Wonder
[ooc]Coming Soon![/ooc]
Monsters

Of the Deep
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]

Of the Lands
[ooc]Coming soon![/ooc]