Mare Eternus Q&A

[Elemental_Elf]

So my initial reaction is you've invented Space, filled it with Water and use the idea of storms and rough seas to allow for different 'worlds' to arise. Interesting.

Is there a Seabed or does it extend infinitely below and above as well?

Do people conquer/colonize other pockets or do they tend to stick to their own and send adventurers out to explore?

Do things live in the expanse's ocean (like Whales or Kraken or mermaids? What of plants? Are there infinitely massive kelp forests or coral reefs?

[Nomadic]

Is there a Seabed or does it extend infinitely below and above as well?

Do things live in the expanse's ocean (like Whales or Kraken or mermaids? What of plants? Are there infinitely massive kelp forests or coral reefs?
[/quote]
Heck yes. You have sentient species such as the Beral (ME merfolk) that call the ocean home in lieu of the worlds. I've even got a species of intelligent whale like creatures that drift upon the currents. There are of course endless populations of fish and crustaceans and more that live beyond the confines of the worlds. You also have some totally incredible creatures. For example I have the fantasy staple of gigantic sea turtles (hundreds to thousands of feet long). I won't lie to you, I named them Daggerhart Behemoths, they are of course totally awesome. In truth the ocean is likely going to take up a good chunk of the beastiary when I populate it. Oh and as for giant kelp forests, they actually are a big settling point beyond the worlds. Think tangled blobs of green many miles wide. Not a few have become back world havens for societies outcasts and eccentrics who build artificial homes within their forms.

[Kindling]

How frequent/fast/easy is inter-rock (for want of a better term) travel?

How big are the biggest submarines in general use?

Is there any form of travel between rocks which does not use submarines?

And, not so much a question as a request, I would like to see an at least semi-detailed description of one specific city or other significant settlement from Mare Eternus.

[Seraph]

The Question that sticks out in my mind is: How big are the worlds in question?  For the people inside near the top, how far do they have to go to get to water?

[Elemental_Elf]

How did the terrestrial species get to inhabit the pockets? Were they created by the gods or did they evolve on/in a pocket and emigrate outwards?

[Nomadic]

How big are the biggest submarines in general use?

And, not so much a question as a request, I would like to see an at least semi-detailed description of one specific city or other significant settlement from Mare Eternus.
[/quote]
How did the terrestrial species get to inhabit the pockets? Were they created by the gods or did they evolve on/in a pocket and emigrate outwards?
[/quote]
Who knows? I have quite purposefully left this out. Oh I have my own thoughts on the matter but I will never say what they are as I don't want to influence things. There are religious concepts and beliefs about the creation of the universe and its inhabitants but there is no way to prove that any one is more correct than any other. From the little information that has been cobbled together by scholars it does seem that the universe follows a cyclical pattern with life. Groups appear out of the woodwork, grow, develop, and inevitably some crisis eventually exterminates them or at minimum knocks them back to the stone age. Some last longer than others but nobody it seems has gotten past pre-modern (referencing earth modern) technology levels thanks to this.

[Elemental_Elf]

That's quite a devolution, being knocked back into the stone age and all.

Is there some race, or being(s) that record the history of all that was, is and will be?

[Nomadic]

That's quite a devolution, being knocked back into the stone age and all.

Is there some race, or being(s) that record the history of all that was, is and will be?

There could potentially be one somewhere, though it is unlikely. Records tend not to survive the cataclysms unscathed. That's not to say they get wiped clean, after all the scholars had to have pieces to put together. As an example the Kroa whom were highly susceptible to the Veiran Plague were quickly wiped out by it, with the last stragglers not having enough numbers to make a viable breeding pool. Thus the last cataclysm in The Expanse was quite nasty. It managed to kill alot of Nicu as well (and a few Maeri though they were largely immune). The chaos though resulted in a period of utter strife with the burning of cities and executions of thousands of suspected plague bearers. This included the burning of items that had been near the sick. The Kroa were probably the top record keepers of the time and with the burnings much of the knowledge of the time got wiped out. What remains is mostly Maeri records (though the Nua likely have their own surviving records as well). The only Kroan stuff that survived was their sculptures and carvings, some of which are quite grand (one of the current cities was once Kroan and if viewed from the air you will realize that the houses and alleys were carved out of rock in such a way that it forms the shape of a serpents head). Things like that often outlast the cataclysms and leave behind clues from the past but there are no unified records of all knowledge.

[XXsiriusXX]

I would like to hear more on artifacts.

[Nomadic]

I would like to hear more on artifacts.

The Spiralicus[/b]: The Spiralicus was created by the archivist Benjamin Grisbon, after which he immediately jumped to his death from the city walls of Laktoung. Grisbon had been driven mad by his thorough study of the clockwork in an attempt to understand it. His notes were quite thorough throughout the whole process, but as he went more and more mad they took a strange twist, showing bizarre diagrams and nonsensical notations up until the last page on which there is written only one sentence. The great work is complete, Spiralicus glory shall drive back the tides of the insane. From these notes were learned the little that is known about the artifact. It wasn't discovered thanks to its very secretive location for nearly a month. A member of the city guard uncovered it and reported it to the baron who quickly grabbed it and set it up as a heavily guarded defensive weapon. It was a cannon, about the size of a cannonade but with a slightly longer barrel and a strange energy generator of some form in its base. For many years it stopped all attacking forces in their tracks. The great weapon had a line of sight attack and so had to be set up upon a great armored tower above the rest of the city. Being fired it send forth a blinding cylinder of blue energy and a deafening boom. The shot was instantaneous in its travel, able to fire into armies approaching all the way from the great arch, twenty-five miles away. Upon impact the shot blossomed out into an explosive shockwave hundreds of feet across that incinerated anyone nearby. It was finally destroyed after a hundred years of defending the city when black hull raiders snuck in and attempted to steal it. A gunshot went astray and struck the generator and Spiralicus exploded, tearing apart the upper sections of the tower and killing everyone in range. The palace is still there, the tower still standing, and the upper portion has since been rebuilt, but every local recalls tales of the great artifact and how it broke armies with a single shot.

Ellanor: Controlled by the Pearl Way, Ellanor is the shield maiden of Tenajvel. It was crafted a mere 70 years ago by the artisan Ellanor deBarlym, a giant carving in the shape of a beautiful woman. It stands now in the center of the city upon a great guarded pedastal that rises a hundred feet above the ground. Ellanor sought a way to inspire peace with the clockwork, hoping to find within it a great work of art to use for that goal. She did find it, but only when the madness took her. Unlike most artificers, the madness actually drove her away from her creation and she was last seen leaving the Under-Road deep within Atumnoh. It was claimed by The Pearl Way and after some experimentation they discovered what it did. It was promptly built a home upon the great pillar and set there with heavy guard. Ellanor is called the shield maiden for a reason. She puts forth a field of some form, not quite understood. Yet for whatever reason she can detect projectiles in flight and stop them. Arrows, Bolts, Lead Shot, Cannonballs, all such things fired at or within the city are simply erased from existence. Strangely enough Ellanor exhibits some form of intelligence as she can differentiate between hostile fire and projectiles fired in defense of the city. While no attacking force can harm Tenajvel with weapons fire, the city is fully capable of firing at them. This fact has completely stopped any attacks upon the city for the past 50 years and its guardsmen have grown a bit lazy because of this.

Gragoran's Fist: The only recorded artifact submersible, Gragoran's Fist, was discovered by the Nicu Fenis Gragoran, abandoned and floating within the veld, and added to the Nicu fleet. It wasn't especially large for a submersible, but it was reported to be unhittable by any weapon. Torpedoes exploded before impact, shockwaves flowed around it, ramming did nothing but cause the ramming ship to disintegrate. When the Nicu split during the war of separation it was the colonist minded forces that took control of the fist and used it to lay waste to entire enemy fleets. It was finally destroyed when a suicidally brave Kroan mercenary by the name of Llamour Laghast swam up to it in the heat of battle and pried open one of its airlocks in a desperate boarding attempt. The captain had become cocky though, thinking nothing wold ever breach his hull and so all inner bulkhead doors (including the inner airlock door) had been left open. They all drowned, and when the cold sea water hit the boiler the resulting explosion destroyed the legendary vessel.

[LordVreeg]

WOrship/faith?
Churches?
Gods?  Saints?  

I mean, you've kind of set the clockwork-ness as God...

[Nomadic]

Worship/faith?
Churches?
Gods? Saints?  

I mean, you've kind of set the clockwork-ness as God...

Gray Circle Order[/b]: Believe that life can be lived to the fullest through the removal of conflict in ones own daily walk. Neutralists take to the philosophy of viewing others, even enemies, not as a point of conflict, but as another accepted part of the universe. They strive to see things from the other person's point of view, to recognize that there is a reason for everything and to be accepting of it as outside their control. This does not mean they do not have adherents within the adventurers walk. Adventurer Neutralists often take the roles of healers and protectors, mastering the practices of defending those who can't defend themselves (through defensive martial practices and healing arts).

Shrine of the Perfect Mind: Believe in the ultimate power of wisdom and knowledge and the sacred obligation of passing down knowledge. Wisards maintain great libraries and archives and see to the acquiring and protecting of such things. Wisards are quite common adventurers as many of them are always on the hunt to find more knowledge. Additionally their view of sharing knowledge means that they regularly pursue the life of the instructor.

Ardialan Path: Ardents Believe that the Clockwork is an intelligent and all knowing being who created and maintains the endless ocean. Respect is given daily to it and prayers for guidance. In addition some are chosen as listeners, people who spend small amounts of time connecting with the clockwork and listening and viewing it. These holy men then translate its messages for the common believers. Ardents view the clockwork as holy and actively seek out those that would defile it (clockwork harvesters).

Pure Light Devotees: Believers in the two truths, Ferrhos and Genalla, Purists seek to guide others towards the ultimate truths of the lights. They believe that the universe was created by the two truths and is watched over by them. Purists pray to the light for guidance, collecting water at the ending of the fading period, sprinkling it on the ground where the kneel before prayer. At the days end they pour out the water and thank Ferrhos and Genalla for blessing them with another day to live.

Wandering Way: Wandering Way Journeymen believe that all life is a journey along a road, and that those that have already made that journey have the wisdom to guide new travelers. Ones ancestors are said to be able to help you along your path through life if you will but listen. For those that do listen they may find themselves directed in any number of path and there are not a few explorers that practice the wandering way. Journeymen were also the ones to unlock the reality of the existence of the soul and the creation of soul binding items.

[LordVreeg]

are common folk expected to worship?   Are there commmon religions?  How does it affect the game, or common living within the game?

[Nomadic]

Are there commmon religions?

How does it affect the game, or common living within the game?
[/quote]
Not sure what you mean, religion in ME is similar to the real world. There has been both great good and great evil done in the name of it. Beyond that there's not much more I can say.

[XXsiriusXX]

So is there a way to create an artifact without going completely insane or dying?

How about a person creating multiple artifacts?