Unconquered Realm: The Anatomy of a City

[Nomadic]

This is a look at the City States of Karros. What it is like to live in and around them, and the reasons behind their formation into the last great bastions of humanity on the continent.

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Human culture throughout modern recorded history has preferred grand edifices to open plains. To ask what draws them to such places is to ask a question about the very fundamental nature of reality. Indeed it is just as much an ingrained nature as it is the skies nature to be blue (and indeed as the sky can be other hues so can some humans seek solace in the open realms... yet that is not the focus of this particular text).

A social creature is man and a user of tools that pull forth grand creations from the very base elements themselves. And while pride is one of man's greatest downfalls, it cannot help but be evoked when he gazes upon his creations. At first the great cities were nothing more than they sound. They were a testament to the power of man over nature, his ability to bend and shape the world as he willed. The social aspect of humanity was drawn to this, a place to be in the company of others. Others whom shared this mighty power over the world. The cities grew in both size and splendor, to delight the eyes of all who gazed upon their towering spires. Man came to Karros and as ever began his grand conquest of nature. Yet he did not expect that nature here would be so capable of fighting back. The great folly of humanity was to awake a dormant terror. The cities of grandeur, a symbol of human supremacy fell before the onslaught of nature. Now those that survive, have become not a tribute to might, but a bulwark against something shown mightier. Cities separated by great distance forced to gain their own sovereignty to survive cling yet onto their own points of safety.

The great split ruptured man's overarching unity and has fractured his grand dominion into small shards of its once former glory. The stress has forced humanity into routes it did not expect to take and an entirely new realm has risen. Yet that which from the outside might be viewed as a safe haven from ever cruel nature, is but a breeding ground for another type of cruelty. That which is inherent in man himself.

[Nomadic]

-coming soon-

[Nomadic]

-reserved for more-

[Snargash Moonclaw]

Picture looks pretty good - but appears as if it's only partially loaded/rezzed, esp. bottom right corner. Is this intentional?

[Ninja D!]

I like it, I love it, I want some more of it.

[Nomadic]

Picture looks pretty good - but appears as if it's only partially loaded/rezzed, esp. bottom right corner. Is this intentional?

Yes that is intentional... it is supposed to look worn and rough

[LordVreeg]

the barracks looks great ad defensible.  Who would attack such a place?

[Ninja D!]

Great images and very nicely written.

[Nomadic]

Thank you. Yes indeed I would not want to charge down a barracks building. They are designed with fortification in mind. The images are all pretty straight forward. I just took various things off Google and photoshopped them to make them look a bit old and worn/artsy. The first picture was an artist's rendition of Gondolin (from the Silmarillion). The wall is Hadrian's Wall while the next image is somewhere in the middle east (Jerusalem maybe) and the last one is an old barracks building in the UK.

Anyhow thanks for the support I plan on putting up more soon when I have time. Next up is agriculture and afterwards I may move into detailing daily life (skimming over trade though as I already handled that in detail in another thread... which I will link to). Towards the end I expect to add a section going over what travelers to the city might notice and experience. This is to give any future DMs a source to look through (and to give everyone else an overarching feel of what it means/feels/looks like to enter a Karrosian city).

[Ninja D!]

I look forward to the next update.

[lionrampant]

This appears very "Points of Light."  Is this setting intended for a specific game system, or is it intended to be generic?

[Nomadic]

Thanks as always ninja. In regards to the points of light thing. It only appears that way. However I haven't yet gotten to the society aspect of this yet. It is little to no safer inside the cities then it is outside them. Just the threat inside comes from something else.

Within the cities assassination, mugging, general murder, and much else is a regular part of life. It happens to those in power by their opponents and to those without power by those wishing to exert power over them. Unless you can intimidate, bribe, or talk your way out of things well you are likely going to get into alot of trouble. You could very well end up face down in an alley, a knife in your back. This is what happens when the governments powers are in constant flux and generally corrupt. There has been nobody with a strong enough position to crack down on crime and infighting since the awakening many years ago.

To the setting thing, it is designed for the UR game system. That is basically a modified version of the guild school system used by Lord Vreeg's Celtricia. It will be changed around a bit to better fit the UR setting.

[Nomadic]

Rural life is up, next up is information on crops, livestock,  and general farming information.

[Ninja D!]

Very well done.  Are you making this up as you go or copy pasting stuff you already had?

[Nomadic]

Kind of a mix and match there really. I already have all this stuff like I want it. It isn't written down though (its in my head). So I am just now actually putting it to text.