Tirein

[Poseptune]

I figured I've been here long enough I should post something. I wrote this up as my thoughts flowed about a month ago and haven't come back to it. This is a first draft and has not been cleaned up at all, so there may be grammatical errors.

I just want to know am I on the right track? This is the furtherest I have gotten on a nation or anything really. Normally I end up hating and trashing whatever I do. Should I continue and finish it up or trash it?

Tirein

Capital:
Population: 1,240,000 (56% Human, 18% Half-orc, 10% Orc, 7%Gnome, 5% Halfling, 2% Dwarf, 1% Half-Ogre, 1% other)
Exports: Wheat and grains, processed ore, tools, metalwork, and mercenary services.
Languages: Common, Orc, Gnome, Giant

[spoiler=History]It all started when a few small villages decided to join together for their own betterment. They each elected a representative for their villages and those representatives would consult with each other to make trades and laws that benefited each of the villages. With this system in place the villages began to develop, and within a couple hundred years the villages had grown into small cities and some had expanded. A permanent capitol was built so that the representatives could work year round and as new cities popped up more and more representatives were elected.

For almost six hundred years, this system brought a peaceful existence, but one of the generals in the Tirein army lusted for power. He rallied his men into a murderous rage, with promises of wealth and power. He took control of the capitol and killed all the representatives. Since he controlled most of the military there wasnâ,¬,,¢t much that the rest of the people could do. Some tried to rebel, but they were put to death quickly. Once he had the nation under control, he began to once again lust for power. He built his army and began to conquer other villages and cities, expanding Tirein. The closer the Tireinean border got to their own borders the other nations banded together and demanded the general stop his violent campaign. Being a tactical man and seeing that the odds were vastly in the banded nations favor, he stopped his advancement. His second in command, a dual axe wielding human named Felmar, saw this as a weakness and challenged the general for leadership of Tirein. Felmar defeated the general in single combat and took the reigns of Tirein.

A year later, Felmar continued the Tireinean expansion. The other nations once again banded together and threatened Tirein with war. Felmar used stall tactics too keep them at bay, but never stopped conquering cities and villages. Tired of waiting, the banded nations declared war on Tirein. The war raged on for eleven years, before Gregor, a human warrior who wanted peace for the nation, defeated Felmar and took control of Tirein. He proposed a treaty with the other nations and ended the savage war.

For seventeen years Tirein was a peaceful dictatorship and the people of Tirein were finally happy. Gregor kept the military strong, to ensure the peace. He defeated everyone that challenged him for leadership of the nation, until an argument over the dwarflands lead to his friend challenging him. Mâ,¬,,¢orkur, a half-orc, killed his friend to win the dictatorship, and with his new found power, he declared war on what was left of the dwarflands that were already surrounded by the Tirein border. His hatred of the dwarves led to a two year that ended when the dwarves were completely destroyed.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Industries:]
  The recent destruction of the dwarven homes has provided Tirein with an abundant source of metals. The dwarves that survived the war have been enslaved and made to mine the gold, and adamantine that can be found in the mountains. The adamantine is usually sold in its raw form or forged by the Tireinean weapon and armor smiths. Since the mines have come under the control of Tirein, artisans have started migrate to Tirein and craft items from the precious metals. The weapons and armor that are sold in Tirein are some of the best in the world. These smiths keep the Tirein military well equipped.

 Various farms dot the Tireinean country side. The wheat is used to make a powerful vodka that is coveted by the soldiers in the Tirein military. Outside the borders of Tirein, the vodka is very rare. The government of Tirein decided that the vodka would not be allowed out of the country, because outsiders did not deserve it. Non-Tirein taverns, inns and private collectors only have a bottle because it was either a gift, they were able to get a special permit from the Tireinean government or it was smuggled out of the country. [/spoiler]
[spoiler=Life and Society:]
 For the common folk life is hard and lived in fear. The military is given free reign over the country. Anything they want must be handed over, or the offending party could be brought up on charges of treason. The military presence is greater in the cities than it is in the farming communities that dot the landscape.

Every family must send their first born son to serve in the military, when he reaches his twelfth birthday. The boy is examined by soldiers, mages, and clerics, and then placed into training. Some train as clerics and combat medics, while others are taught the arcane ways of the sorcerers, wizards, and warmages, but the majority are sent to the archers, infantry and cavalry. They are required to spend twenty years of their life in the military. When they are finally released from service, many do not remember their families. Volunteers are also accepted into the military, but they may leave the service after ten years of service.

Women in Tirein are treated as inferior creatures, by the military. The government sees women as servants and nothing more. They are not able to join the military and are never allowed to pick up a weapon.

A festival is held once a year to allow the different platoons to compete against each other for special metals and prestige. Different competitions challenge the different groups in the platoons, from the infantry to the mages. Joust and mounted archery competitions test the cavalryâ,¬,,¢s capabilities, while other such competitions test the others. The final event is a war game that pits each platoon against each other. The winners are given special awards. Some of the individual event winners are asked to join the Elite Guard.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Government and Politics:]
Since the democracy was destroyed and replaced with a dictatorship, Tirein has seen four new leaders. Each of those was challenged countless times and was only replaced when they lost in singles combat. Mâ,¬,,¢orkur is the current leader of the Tirein government. He has a feud with dwarves that has stemmed from his childhood, so he used his position of power to enslave what was left of the dwarven nation within the Tirein borders. Knowing he could be challenged for leadership, Mâ,¬,,¢orkur made a new ritual for the challenge. The challenger must now survive an extraordinarily dangerous dungeon and then defeat him in singles combat. So far none have survived the dungeon, and if anyone assassinates him, the assassinator will be put to death and the next dictator must survive the dungeon, before taking the reigns of the country.

Mâ,¬,,¢orkur gave his military the power to do as they please as long as they do not kill the citizens without merit, so that they would not rebel during this time of peace. He also created the festival, to keep the military from becoming soft and complacent.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Power Groups:]
Tireinâ,¬,,¢s Military: The military is the ultimate power in Tirein. The officers make sure that their presence is known. Most enjoy making life hard for the citizens. The military claim wives, food, and quarters for their soldiers without much though to what the common people think. The uniform consists of a red tunic that is usually covered in red dyed armor with black breeches. Those in full plate armor wear red plumage in their helmets and drape a red cloth over their shoulders bearing the countries symbol.

The Elite Guard: The Elite Guard keeps the military officers in check. The fear that commoners feel in the presence of regular soldiers, the soldiers feel in the presence of this group. They are the dictatorâ,¬,,¢s personal army, and wield more power than the military. Only the best of the military are recruited to the Elite Guard. A member of the Elite Guard is known by the guisarme and bastard sword that they carry, but some carry a composite longbow and a bastard sword. Each of these weapons has their wood or hilts stained orange, by a berry that only grows in the mountains near the capitol of Tirein. The weapons match the orange tunics that make up their uniform.

The Rebels: Rumors have been spread that a small group of women have trained themselves along with their husbands and any sons they have left. They usually make small surgical strikes against the military in various cities.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Religion:]
I donâ,¬,,¢t have anything for this right now. I donâ,¬,,¢t know if I am just going to use the core pantheon or not.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Major Settlements:]
Tirein Capitol (Metropolis 420,000)
The Tirein Captiol was once the seat of democracy. The old senate building has been improved upon by each of the leaders since the senateâ,¬,,¢s slaughter. Slowly it has built up to a large palace.  Four stories, and the west wing of the fifth, are finished. The base is the size of a small town.  The first floor host public offices. Mâ,¬,,¢orkur grants audience to citizens and military officials in the ruling chambers. Guilds and other organizations rent space on this floor and in the great hall vendors can buy special permits that allow them to set up a small stand. Outside, peddlers try to pawn their wares off on passing visitors without buying a permit, but are usually chased off by the wandering patrols, when the patrols are feeling cruel.

  The largest population of the military and elite guard can be found here during peacetimes and even during times of war there is a large division of military present. The east wing of the second floor is setup as a barracks for these soldiers. The military soldiers walk the first and second floors in patrols of ten. The Elite guard can move freely between any floor except the fourth and usually remain in groups of two, though more is not uncommon.

Access is restricted to the third floor. Part of the second treaty that was signed, the third floor was turned into an embassy of sorts. Each nation has a set of rooms set aside for their dignitaries. A large ballroom and dining hall was added during Gregorâ,¬,,¢s reign. The ballroom doesnâ,¬,,¢t get used much nowadays, but the dining hall is frequented with feasts.  Mâ,¬,,¢orkur and his servants occupy the fourth floor.

 This is the largest city in nation and it is just as large and impressive as the palace. Many different shops can be found in the capitol, but the major money makers are the taverns. The soldiers donâ,¬,,¢t pay for their drinks; the government pays for each soldierâ,¬,,¢s tab. Mâ,¬,,¢orkur found out that a few tavern owners were taking advantage of this system. He sent non-uniformed guards to find out if the rumors were true. The offending taverns are now under new management and only one of the previous owners was seen. He was forced to fight in the arena about a year ago, and lost to a well armed bugbear.  None have tried since. The arena can be found not far from the palace.

Dwarven Mines (?????,  60,000)
The mines were once a great kingdom of the dwarves. After the war any dwarf that survived was forced to work 18 hours a day in the depths of the earth. The minerals are shipped to the small city to the east. Some are processed for the many artisans, but much of it is sold in its raw form to neighboring nations. The dwarven strongholds were gutted at the end of the war. All but the smallest traces of their dwarven heritage were destroyed, while the slaves watched helplessly. The slave drivers give the dwarves just enough nourishment to allow them to mine.

About two months ago, a cave in was caused by the rebels, during which they were able to free about twenty-three slaves. Four died on the journey to safety, but they died free. The guards left the workers to die, because the vein they were working was all but dried up. It would have cost more to dig them out than that branch would have produced. The slave master was also heard saying that it was less mouths to feed.

[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Important Sites:]
The Arena: The arena is located near the Tirein capital. This is where the festival competitions are held. Once a month prisoners or dwarven slaves are brought to the arena and are made to fight against each other or against other beasts.  Soldiers can also enter the arena to prove their worth, hoping to be recruited into the Elite Guard. All battles are fought to the death, with no exception. Mages are used to alter the terrain of the arena to please the rulers and sometimes their guests. A permanent wall of force protects the audience from attacks from the competitors. The wall was installed when one of the prisoners that was competing shot an arrow into the crowd. The arrow killed an ambassador from a neighboring country.
[/spoiler]

[Hibou]

I like it. Very brutal and different. Don't trash it :)

An idea for your religion would be to make it small and based off of important trades and resources. The real pantheon could certainly be very big, but for now you could just stick with a few gods. Gods like a deity of agriculture and the harvest, a deity of the sun, a deity of the moon, and a deity of mining and the mountains. But since the state of the place is less than what some would call benevolent, perhaps you also have a god of oppression and war (or whatever else you choose) that is mightier than the other gods (who might be more good in nature than he/she), and that could be the reason why there is not much divine aid in the state that folk live in. Or maybe your revered deities are spirits of important figures of the past.

But I'm rambling again. Good show :)

[Poseptune]

I'm not too worried about religion right now, until I know what I am doing for entire setting. I still haven't decided whether or not I want the Gods to be active or passive. I'm leaning towards passive.

[Poseptune]

Only one hit, so do the other 20 something people that have viewed it think I shoudl trash it?

[Numinous]

Looked, but not actually read, sorry man...  There's this guy named xathan, and he's distracting me :P

EDIT: The little bits of history that are scattere dabout are nice, especially the bit about the arrow and the ambassador in the arena spoiler.  I'd like to see more on this, and perhaps on the setting, as you show great skill at creating the litle things that put life in this world.  I'd suggest being thorough with this city, and providing more information on the hooks you've already mentioned to expand upon the setting.

[Xathan]

Nope, if I thought you should trash it I'd say so. :P

Honestly? It looks really, really good so far. Very brutal, as WitchHunt said, and created a very nice feel, espcially the democracy replaced by dictatorship. I like the fact that the women compose the rebel forces, a very nice twist. I want to see more, so I can go over it more indepth. :)

[Poseptune]

I added the first major settlement of the nation. Again it is only a rough draft, but I figured I'd post it.

 I don't know how you guys come up with name for things. If any one has suggestions for the Capitol, Elite Guards and anything else you see I would appreciate them.  

[CYMRO]

Capital suggestions:
Bezighaven
Piata

Elite Guard suggestions:
Gruegarda
Durvact

[Poseptune]

Added second major settlement (Dwarven Mines), though I don't know if I am finished with it. Again just a rough draft. If I ever finish the map I'll put it up.

[Xathan]

Tirein Capitol (Metropolis 420,000)
The Tirein Captiol was once the seat of democracy. The old senate building has been improved upon by each of the leaders since the senateâ,¬,,¢s slaughter. Slowly it has built up to a large palace. Four stories, and the west wing of the fifth, are finished. The base is the size of a small town. The first floor host public offices. Mâ,¬,,¢orkur grants audience to citizens and military officials in the ruling chambers. Guilds and other organizations rent space on this floor and in the great hall vendors can buy special permits that allow them to set up a small stand. Outside, peddlers try to pawn their wares off on passing visitors without buying a permit, but are usually chased off by the wandering patrols, when the patrols are feeling cruel.

The largest population of the military and elite guard can be found here during peacetimes and even during times of war there is a large division of military present. The east wing of the second floor is setup as a barracks for these soldiers. The military soldiers walk the first and second floors in patrols of ten. The Elite guard can move freely between any floor except the fourth and usually remain in groups of two, though more is not uncommon.

Access is restricted to the third floor. Part of the second treaty that was signed, the third floor was turned into an embassy of sorts. Each nation has a set of rooms set aside for their dignitaries. A large ballroom and dining hall was added during Gregorâ,¬,,¢s reign. The ballroom doesnâ,¬,,¢t get used much nowadays, but the dining hall is frequented with feasts. Mâ,¬,,¢orkur and his servants occupy the fourth floor.
 [/quote]This is the largest city in nation and it is just as large and impressive as the palace. Many different shops can be found in the capitol, but the major money makers are the taverns. The soldiers donâ,¬,,¢t pay for their drinks; the government pays for each soldierâ,¬,,¢s tab. Mâ,¬,,¢orkur found out that a few tavern owners were taking advantage of this system. He sent non-uniformed guards to find out if the rumors were true. The offending taverns are now under new management and only one of the previous owners was seen. He was forced to fight in the arena about a year ago, and lost to a well armed bugbear. None have tried since. The arena can be found not far from the palace.[/quote]

I like that justice is done through combat. I would love to hear more about that, how people are put into the arenas for crimes, what crimes they are tried for and in what manner (are all arena worthy crimes against the government? What creatures do they use in the combat? If they win, are the given a clean bill? Etc.)

Great stuff, and Iâ,¬,,¢ll check out the dwarven mines next. Iâ,¬,,¢m lovin it. :D

[Xathan]

Dwarven Mines (?????, 60,000)
The mines were once a great kingdom of the dwarves. After the war any dwarf that survived was forced to work 18 hours a day in the depths of the earth. The minerals are shipped to the small city to the east. Some are processed for the many artisans, but much of it is sold in its raw form to neighboring nations. The dwarven strongholds were gutted at the end of the war. All but the smallest traces of their dwarven heritage were destroyed, while the slaves watched helplessly. The slave drivers give the dwarves just enough nourishment to allow them to mine.

About two months ago, a cave in was caused by the rebels, during which they were able to free about twenty-three slaves. Four died on the journey to safety, but they died free. The guards left the workers to die, because the vein they were working was all but dried up. It would have cost more to dig them out than that branch would have produced. The slave master was also heard saying that it was less mouths to feed.[/quote]

Thatâ,¬,,¢s interesting. I would love to know more about the rebels and how they operate. Sure, they are dwarves, but they are also dwarves going against the social norm, so they are the kind of dwarves I like. Great stuff, as always. :D

[Poseptune]

The largest population of the military and elite guard can be found here during peacetimes and even during times of war there is a large division of military present. The east wing of the second floor is setup as a barracks for these soldiers. The military soldiers walk the first and second floors in patrols of ten. The Elite guard can move freely between any floor except the fourth and usually remain in groups of two, though more is not uncommon.

Access is restricted to the third floor. Part of the second treaty that was signed, the third floor was turned into an embassy of sorts. Each nation has a set of rooms set aside for their dignitaries. A large ballroom and dining hall was added during Gregorâ,¬,,¢s reign. The ballroom doesnâ,¬,,¢t get used much nowadays, but the dining hall is frequented with feasts. Mâ,¬,,¢orkur and his servants occupy the fourth floor.
 

Huh, what do you know I forgot to put down his personal guard (hand picked form the elites) are also found on this floor. They consist of mages and mundane fighters. He isn't as dumb as his half-orc brethren. The name came from a character in one of Raelifin's games on the WotC boards. is name is Moruk and I had replied to the game just before I needed a name so I made a variation of it. It sound brutish, so I kept it and I am begining to like him more and more. I might right up a small blurb (apparently this is my word for the night) on him. No statistic other than classes, just why he hated the dwarfs so much and maybe a little about his childhood.

I like that justice is done through combat. I would love to hear more about that, how people are put into the arenas for crimes, what crimes they are tried for and in what manner (are all arena worthy crimes against the government? What creatures do they use in the combat? If they win, are the given a clean bill? Etc.)

I'm torn between the Roman gladiatorial system, where they become slaves and fight for as long as they are entertaining and alive, and trying to figure out a different system. With the gladiatorial system they would have an easier life the more entertaining they are, with the possiblity of winning their freedom at some point.

So far if you've ticked off M'orkur you'll be sure to end up in the arena as well as those who commit major crimes. I might left the victim or victim's family choose from a list of opponents based on the severity of the crime. Petty criminals aren't sentenced to the arena, but if their victim wishes they can settle the dispute with a duel.

Opposition can range from normal animals to magical beast, guards trying to make a name for themsleves or even other slaves.

[Xathan]

I'd go with combinging the Roman Gladitoral System and Trial by Combat, so people who commit major crimes are put against foes to see if the gods stand on their side. Of course, M'orkur will put people who he believes should be guilty up against Manticores and Chimeras, while those he wants to get off against wolves. Meanwhile, slaves and professional gladiators are put in there for entertianment battles. Just my two cp. :D

[Poseptune]

The dwarves are enslaved, forced to work constantly, and have their entire culture ripped away? You just made my night, dude. Thatâ,¬,,¢ll teach them for being short, hairy, and traditional!

Seriously, I always thought dwarves would make a great slave race. Hardy and good at carrying large loads, but not very fast, so trouble escaping. I like it a lot.

Thatâ,¬,,¢s interesting. I would love to know more about the rebels and how they operate. Sure, they are dwarves, but they are also dwarves going against the social norm, so they are the kind of dwarves I like. Great stuff, as always. :D
[/quote]

The rebel's leader is actually a human woman. Used to be a farmer until she lost both her husband and first born son in the war against the dwarves. She has sworn to take out M'orkur and his reign, but the rebels still aren't quite large enough or well organized yet to pull it off. She learned to use a sword with the help of some of her friends sons and husbands, the ones who survived the war and were discharged from service. Her other son is the leader of the group that freed some of the dwarves. I haven't figured out the rest for them, so I haven't updated their power group section.

[Poseptune]

I'd go with combinging the Roman Gladitoral System and Trial by Combat, so people who commit major crimes are put against foes to see if the gods stand on their side. Of course, M'orkur will put people who he believes should be guilty up against Manticores and Chimeras, while those he wants to get off against wolves. Meanwhile, slaves and professional gladiators are put in there for entertianment battles. Just my two cp. :D

That is the where I was probably going to end up. This way they would have gladiators that could fight when the crime rate was low, during special events.