[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/171263-blood-on-the-sands-azoth-at-war/ooc]OOC[/url]

[center][img]https://danielmb6.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/sunrise-at-temple-of-the-sun-temple-of-the-moon-capitol-reef-national-park-utah-7684-copy1.jpg[/img][/center]

[b]Welcome to Azoth.[/b]

Welcome to a world scarred by history, to a world broken by ancients known now only as the [b]Old Ones[/b]. 

Who or what they were is mysterious even to the most learned, for they were destroyed- perhaps destroyed themselves- in ages so distant only confused myths and legends remain. Some tell of a race of gods descended from the stars, others of kingdoms of devils that dwell still in the many hells below the earth. Azoth is strewn with the ruins of these advanced and strange peoples, haunted by ghosts and demons, warped and mutated by untamed magic. Millenia have passed since the fall of the Old Ones, and societies have risen and fallen in their wake.

[b]The Red Desert[/b]

It is now the Year of the Setting Sun 7,790, as reckoned by the astrologers of the Dratha.

The [b]Salished Empire[/b], a sprawling hybrid theocracy and feudal warrior-society, is gearing up for war with its ancient enemies, the loosely confederated city-states of the [b]Drathan Union[/b], merchant and slaver cities ruled by capricious and arrogant wizard-lords known as the [b]Dratha[/b]. Between the [b]Rainlands[/b]- homeland of the Salished Empire- and the [b]Ashlands[/b]- the volcanic shoreline on which most of the Drathan city states lie- is the Avanagashan Waste, known to most as the [b]Red Desert[/b]. 

[Center][img]http://www.discovermoab.com/images/canyonlands/c02.jpg[/img][/Center]

A harsh wilderness, filled with endless canyons, hostile beasts, and violent natives, the Avanagashan is bisected by only a few paths a major military force could use: the [b]Long Road[/b], a narrow canyon road which hugs the endlessly winding river known as the Green Water, the [b]Dust Way[/b], a fairly waterless merchant's road cutting through badlands, and the and seasonal [b]Sandshore[/b], a road along the edge of the Red Desert, where it bleeds into the [b]Great White Erg[/b], an endless, untraversable sea of white sand. The Sandshore blooms in the brief rainy season, when it is pocked with several oases and becomes a viable path with enough water to sustain major force.

Obviously control of the desert is of crucial importance to the two great powers, and the Avanagashan is pockmarked with Drathan outposts, independent merchant towns and Salished frontier forts. Native tribes are hired by both sides to serve as proxies and auxiliaries, and recently several Drathan-employed mercenary companies, most notably the infamous company of northern reavers (among many others who've joined over the years) known as the [b]Coward's Men[/b], have begun large scale operations in the wastes, preparing to disrupt and turn back the Salished invasion before it can reach the Ashlands.

[b]Welcome![/b]

Everyone will RP as a character or faction in the Avanagashan- mercenaries, tribesmen or others in the service of one of the great powers as they gear up for the looming war. The story will be built around the Coward's Men, a group of exiled reavers from the northern, norse-inspired [b]Broken Lands[/b] who have long been hirelings of the Drathan Union. You are welcome to play as one of the company, or as the leader (or member) of your own mercenary force or desert tribe, or as independent characters.

The culture, religion, history, geography, etc of the world- will be fleshed out by players, building on the foundations I've laid out above and will add a bit more (but not too much morE) detail to in the OOC. As always, I'm big on the collaborative world building and telling cool stories as a group of writers. If you're here to play Risk: the Text Edition, maybe this ain't the place to be.

[hider=More Setting Details (WIP)]

[h3]Factions:[/h3]

[b]Salished Empire:[/b] In spite of the fertility and wealth of its lands, the vast majority of the Rainland's inhabitants live squalid, depauperate lives as serfs and servants. In exchange for the protection of the land from the savage hordes from the unsettled world, these serfs toil all their lives to enrich the masters responsible for their safety.

The Salished Dynasty came about in the Year of the Setting Sun 7,200, when a tribe of mountain folk known to history as the Saliszi descended from the Godsfang Mountains to invade the verdant Rainlands below. The Saliszi warriors fought with weapons forged from [b]Soulsteel[/b], a magic-resistant, hypersharp metal that the petty Rainlander kingdoms had never encountered before. Saliszi swords were immeasurably superior against Rainlanders armed with iron and even Drathan-enchanted weapons. By 7,380, the Saliszi had established dominance over the eastern Rainlands. There, the Saliszi king Mardok established the city of Nyssos at the confluence of the Nabal and Tashgad rivers - and remains the seat of power of the modern Salished Empire to this day. A mixture of cultures transpired in the new Salished kingdom, Salished warriors adopted the lamellar armor, archery tradiation, and chariots of the Rainlands, while the inhabitants absorbed the language, architectural motifs, and religious concepts of their occupiers.

Over the next two centuries, the Salished Kingdom expanded across the rainlands. The conquest of the southern kingdom of Moribon gave the Salisheds the exceptionally fertile Nabal Delta and unhindered access to the sea. 

Today, the Salished Empire is a sprawling bureaucratic state and is by far the most powerful nation on Azoth. United under the iron first of the Shashul, a warlord-emperor who commands the loyalty of a fearsome military machine, the true key to Salished strength is the Cult of the Forge: a monastic religious order devoted to cruel and hungry deities they believe reside in their Sacred Forges, where the Soulsteel is created. The gods, however, are ever-hungry, and require a constant stream of sacrifices in exchange for their boons. Virgins will do, but great mages and warriors are above all prized. 

[b]Drathan Union:[/b] A collection of city states and several lesser towns located throughout the Ashlands and Cinderlands, the Union is governed by the (often fractious) Congress of Masters, a coalition of extremely powerful mages hailing from the Great Clans of the Dratha. Magical inquiry thrives among the elite denizens of the Union, which is home to many of the most celebrated libraries and arcanums in known world. All forms of  magic, including necromancy, blood magic, and the other branches of dark  arts are permitted and indeed actively studied in the Union. 

Except for the relatively small members of the exclusively Drathan ruling caste, the denizens of the Union are deprived any of  political participation, though the Masters are generally laissez-faire rulers, interested more in their arcane pursuits and internecine feuds than actually governing and disinterested in the religion, mores or associations of their subjects. Most subjects of the Union are slaves, fishermen and grub-farmers toiling in the ashen mudflats along the Bay of Teeth, though there is a strong middle and upper middle class of artisans and merchants who appreciate the protection and low taxes afforded by the Masters. 

Militarily, the Union relies on mercenaries and on hordes of slave-soldiers, mostly beastkin and mutants purchased by the Masters from the slaver-tribes wandering the Ashlands.

[b]The Clans of the Broken Lands:[/b] Feudal confederation of northern reaver clans occupying boggy hill country known as the Broken Lands, across the sea to the north of the Rainlands. Many northmen leave their frigid homeland to serve in the mercenary armies of the Drathan Union.

[h3]People of Interest:[/h3]

[b]Daigon Shadow-Caller, the Coward[/b]: Leader of the legendary mercenary company known as the Coward's Men. Exiled Jarl of Gravemire in the Broken Lands, with the reputation as a skilled and seasoned commander. Daigon was known to have a knack for spellcasting and a taste for dark magic well before his exile to the South and his many years of service to Drathan wizards.

[h3]Resources:[/h3]

[b]Ichor:[/b] Some scholars claim that our world has been cursed, impregnated by demons, and that Ichor is the seed of fallen gods and ancient monsters, seeping up from some vast, accursed womb. A black, viscous fluid with dangerous mutagenic properties in its unrefined state, Ichor is most frequently found among the ruins of the Old Ones. Refined Ichor in liquid and crystal form has an immense variety of uses, from powering archeo-tech to use as a key ingredient to many potions and spells. Some sorcerers despise the use of Ichor in magic as amateurish, but its effectiveness is undeniable. Warlocks among the beastkin are known to ingest raw Ichor, thus vastly increasing their power, though with often unpredictable results for themselves...

[b]Archeotech:[/b] found in the monster and demon haunted ruins of the Old Ones. Archeo-tech comes in a variety of forms due to the variety of ancient civilizations on Azoth. 

[h3]Races:[/h3]

[b]Humans:[/b] pretty much...humans.

Common Ethnicities 
[list]

[*]Avanagashans: desert peoples of the Avanagashan Waste (details to be decided as players submit characters).

[*]Varyonese: non-Drathan human population of the Ashlands, they mostly have dark hair and eyes and light brown skin. 

[*]Saliszi: Warrior elite of Salished society, whose ancestors swept down from the Godsfang Mountains and conquered the Rainlands in the name of the Forge Gods.

[*]Rainlanders: Smallfolk of the Salished Empire.

[*]Northmen: Hardy clanfolk of the distant Broken Lands in the North.
[/list]

[b]Old Ones:[/b] Who or what these ancients were is mysterious, for they destroyed themselves in ages so distant there remain only confused myths and legends. Some tell of a race of gods descended from the stars, others of kingdoms of devils that dwell still in the wastelands and in the many hells below the earth. Azoth is strewn with the ruins of these advanced and strange peoples. 

[b]Red Gods[/b]: Azoth is a world filled with lurking spirits, mysterious intelligences, powerful beasts and haunted sites of power. Some of these- out of vanity or ambition or  for other, more inscrutable motives- have set themselves up as gods.  Many of these monsters and spirits are bloodthirsty, warlike, and feuding, often  devouring each other when they become strong enough to do so. They grant  their followers boons in exchange for blood sacrifices. The gods and  demons making up the Red Pantheon are innumerable- it is not really known if they are all even one kind of thing...some are corporeal, others not-  and most peoples and tribes who follow the pantheon worship one or a select few of the deities, though some worship the Pantheon as a whole, which they take to be symbolic of the fundamental nature of the cosmos-  one of constant battle and unending appetite. Some of the red gods communicate and interact frequently with their devotees, while others  remain aloof, answering prayers and rewarding sacrifices only  occasionally and indirectly. Likewise, while some of the gods are tied  to one specific holy site, others roam the world freely, manifesting  themselves wheresoever they please. 

They are frequently sought out by the ambitious or the desperate, who seek to create pacts with them in exchange for material gain, victory on the battlefield, success in love, magical power, or other boons. Some of the more commonly known and worshiped red gods include: 

Commonly Worshipped Red Gods:
[list]
[*]Jadas, the Scorpion Mother, depicted frequently as half-scorpion, half woman and often taken as the patron of pirates and slavers. She is not associated with any holy site, and it is a subject of debate among scholars whether or not she is merely the name given to a range of demonic activity.

[*]The Gore Lord, a powerful spirit often invoked by warriors. His holy site is known as the Blood Spring. It is a pilgrimage site for many beastkin.

[*]The Mountain Wisdoms are monstrous crones said to lurk high in the Godsfang Mountains, often sought out by those seeking hidden knowledge.

[*]Horned Huntsman, a legendary beast often depicted as a wolf with prominent horns and a great spear. Feeds only on warm flesh and blood, and so do his servants. Said to prowl the Witchwood, where his main shrine lies. He is the patron of cannibals and hunters.[/list]

[b]The Dratha:[/b]  An ethno-cultural subgroup of abhumans, the Dratha are a bloodline of sorcerers who engage in careful eugenics to ensure the purity of their race. Few in number, a Dratha is known by his or her black eyes, pale skin and intricate, curling tattoos in ancient script. They have a natural affinity for magic, and are famous for their magical academies, their skill at enchanting and their legendary arrogance and disdain for custom and piety. They venerate the memory of their founder, Othman Dratha, who in popular lore is said to have used cunning and treachery to steal the secrets of magic from the god of the moon (some legends say he ate the moon-deity's heart). Few Dratha believe such superstitious nonsense, but tales of Othman's ruthlessness and ambition illustrate the guiding tenets of Drathan society. While there are Dratha living throughout Azoth, they are most common in the powerful confederation of city states known as the Drathan Union. 

Located throughout the Ashlands, Cinderlands, and the Red Desert the Union is governed by the (often fractious) Congress of Masters, a coalition of extremely powerful mages hailing from the  Great Houses of the Dratha. Magical inquiry thrives among the elite denizens of the Union, which is home to many of the most celebrated libraries and arcanums in known world. All forms of  magic, including necromancy, blood magic, and the other branches of dark arts are permitted and indeed actively studied in the Union. 

Excluded from the exclusively Drathan ruling caste, the humans who form the vast majority of the Union population are deprived any of  political participation, though the Masters are generally laissez-faire rulers, interested more in their arcane pursuits than actually governing and disinterested in the religion, mores or associations of their subjects. Most subjects of the Union are fishermen and grub-farmers toiling in the ashen mudflats along the Bay of Teeth, though there is a strong middle class of artisans and a plutocratic circle of merchants families who appreciate the protection and low taxes afforded by the Masters. 

Militarily, the Union relies on Broken Lander, aelg, and beastkin mercenaries as well as  hordes of slave-mutants purpose-bred for war by the Masters. 

[b]Aelg:[/b] A race of broad-shouldered abhumans with pointed ears, sharp fangs, olive skin and brutish faces, the aelg live in nomadic tribes as reavers, slavers and hunters indigenous to desert, ashland and mountains. The aelg are renowned as trackers, huntsmen and warriors, and their society- often derided as brutish by more stationary peoples- is united by a sophisticated monotheism and highly intricate oral traditions going back thousands of years. Many aelg tribes are allied with Drathan city-states, whom they serve as mercenaries.

[b]Aboriginals, the Nyr'kiin:[/b] sentient insectoids that come in a variety of phenotypes, the Aboriginals are among the oldest races of Azoth. Individually sentient, Aboriginals are psychologically scarred by the ancient memory of the unity of their species under the long lost Hive Mothers, destroyed eons ago but now worshiped as gods by many Aboriginals today. They are extremely susceptible to collectivist politics and demagogues, which many scholars theorize is a result of the psychic trauma caused by the ancient deaths of their Queens. Aboriginals are hyper-sensitive to psychic phenomena and magic, able to detect its use from some distance away. Stronger than humans, they make excellent soldiers, workers and slaves. Most members of the species can lay eggs and reproduce sexually or asexually, but scholars believe that in ancient times the Aboriginals reproduced like ants and bees through the Hive Mothers. Aboriginal larvae are known to many as nyrworms, and take 1-3 years to reach maturity. They are considered a delicacy by Drathan wizards.

Aboriginals are common in the Ashlands, where many live in vast hives that are mere shadows of their former glory, though others live in smaller nests and large populations can be found in the Bug Districts of human cities. The hives live mostly in peace with the Drathan Union, exporting their own kind to the wizard-lords as slaves in exchange for delicacies and luxury goods produced only by the wizards. 

Nyr'kiin hives are rare in the Red Desert, and they were wiped out of the Salished Empire many centuries ago by the genocidal holy wars of Shashul Davguld II the Bug-Burner.

[h3]Points of Interest:[/h3]

[h3]Geography:[/h3]

[/hider]


[b]About This RP[/b]

-It is dark fantasy nation RP set in a harsh and unforgiving fantasy world living among the ruins of ancient, hyper advanced civilizations. Azoth is crawling with mutants and monsters. Resources are scarce. This is Lovecraft meets Tolkien.
-I'd like this to be an exercise in collaborative world building. That means that we want factions and characters that feel like they inhabit a shared world. Players will collaborate heavily in designing their factions.
-It is low-medium fantasy: magic exists. It is powerful and dangerous. 
[hider=More on Magic, Races and Cosmology]

A note on Magic: 

I like the Tolkien/GRR Martin approach to magic and religion. Magic is real, mysterious, and powerful, but for the most part takes place 'off-screen', and is for aesthetic purposes somewhat subdued or indirect. I am not a big fan on fixed magic rules or magic systems. I do want to stress that this is low(ish) fantasy. That means no armies of reanimated dead or golems, no legions of fireball casters, balrogs, etc. We're going to err on the side of how the LotR handled magic rather than say, D&D.

Likewise, the RP will take the GRR Martin approach to religion: there are as many religions as we can come up with here, but we will leave it an open question as to whether any of them are true. Conflicting mythos and cosmologies and visions of god(s) are encouraged.[/hider]
-It is vaguely Renaissance tech. Cannons and arquebus are new military technology, only really likely to be wielded by elite Salished troops.
-It has archeo-tech from a lost, highly advanced civilization. Salvaged/repurposed Old One tech is common in many places across Azoth. Old One ruins are very common all over the world.
-It has original fantasy races. More detail to come in the OOC. [b]GM approval needed for non-human races.[/b]
-Inspired by Roman and Persian proxy wars in Arabia until the rise of Islam, Tolkien, TES: Morrowind, Warhammer fantasy and 40K, Lovecraft, China Mieville, Song of Ice and Fire...looking forward to seeing what others bring to the table.
- [b]Advanced writing standards.[/b]
- Setting details have been developed (mostly) by [@gorgenmast] and me