BBeast

Dungeon Keepers

DR_TRAPEZOID said
That all looks good to me.I'm assuming we can still throw in our own little baby villages, to give us some resources outside of taking the massive settlements?

Yes. That is what is meant by
"With NPCs, feel free to control minor NPCs (eg. a village which you are raiding, random individuals, etc.). For larger NPCs (eg. a city, an entire army), you should probably consult us.
There are probably a lot of empty spaces in the description of the world. You are free to fill in those spaces (with-in reason, of course. Any major development, such as an entire hidden nation or artefact of great power, would need to run through us first)." (Ground Rules)
"There can be other lesser races inhabiting Cyrpus as well, in the corners of the land where the other races won't have wiped them out or assimilated them. However, they obviously wouldn't have the same level of influence as the aforementioned five." (NPCs)
and the one Gecko brought up.

Those little villages, at least those owned by the major races, will also be marked on the map. I shall look at real maps of small European countries to get a realistic spacing for the villages. It wouldn't do to have infinite villages within marching distance of your Dungeon.
EDIT: Oo, what a handy article. http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/demog.htm
EDIT2: Oh, it turns out we've got thousands of little villages.
EDIT3: No, wait, got the area wrong. Maybe just a thousand, plus or minus. ('just a thousand', what am I saying?)

Dungeon Keepers

Here's a section on the NPC nations we have. It is just a summary. The complete information, which you have all provided, shall be included also.

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NPCs:

In Cyprus, there are five nations and races of especial interest, The largest of them is the kingdom of the Cypriots, with the capital city of Amplus in the centre of Cyprus. The Cypriots, named so because they lay claim to ownership of this whole land, are mostly ordinary humans (by the standards of Cyprus, anyway), ruled by a monarchy. Their kingdom covers most land which is not held fiercely by the other races, and has been maintained by a combination of technological superiority, a greater population, and a mysterious absence of any political unrest. Quite likely your first forays as a Keeper will be into the villages of the Cypriots, and while it will be a challenge to penetrate deeper into their territory, if you can successfully conquer their kingdom you will definitely be the strongest Keeper in the land.

To the West, nestled in the mountains on the border of Cyprus, is the grand city of Monolith. In the centre of Monolith stands an artefact of great power, Providence, which powers the many untiring golem Workers which are the city's inhabitants. The Workers used to be people, drawn by the prospect of immortality and transformed into these beings, at the cost of never being able to leave the city and having to toil continuously. Watching over the city, and capable of travelling elsewhere, are the Travellers, who are more powerful. Monolith is a centre of manufacturing, and is a source of many of the weapons and tools of the Cypriots. While the Workers can not simply be captured as slaves to take back to your Dungeon, to capture Monolith would be to hold the greatest hub of manufacturing on Cyprus, and to cut critical supplies from the Cypriots.

To the South in the jungle are the Dragon Riders, a nomadic race of people who live in a symbiotic relationship with giant, poison breathing, flightless lizards, often referred to as Dragons. Little is known about them, for they do not have settlements or language. Instead, they are spread across the jungle, adding to the dangers already lurking there. The intelligence and trap-making skills of the Riders, combined with the sheers strength and power of the Dragons, makes them dangerous opponents to face on their home turf. While they are dangerous, they are in no way organised or united. To conquer the jungle would be to control the greatest source of lumber in Cyprus, as well as the greatest concentration of biodiversity. Who knows, you might even be able to find a use for the Dragon Riders.

To the North in the mountains is Kythnos, a frigid icy wasteland of unnatural cold locked in eternal snowfall. They are inhabited by the ice witches, who are actually ice demons in a thin disguise, and who have gathered a significant cult following. A jagged, crystalline city of ice twists through the mountains, but the majority of the city lies underground in ice caves. Save for the storms and the magic of the ice demons, the mountains are also defended by sheer cliff faces and pits leading to crystalline spikes. While this land is unpleasant, the ice demons may be useful allies in your quest for conquest. And if not, they have been storing up power for quite some time, which lies locked within the ice.

Just East of Kythnos is its polar opposite, the Ashlands, a land of volcanos and poisoned by ash. Few dare enter, for any water is toxic and the ground itself is treacherous. However, deep inside the Ashlands are the towers of the Warlocks, humans who have been shunned by the rest of humanity for their practise of necromancy and other dark magics. They are highly aggressive, sending out soldiers to raze settlements and capture slaves from the borders of the Ashlands. Aboveground, their settlements are quite dreary, save for their magnificent towers. However, they have made extensive use of subterranean caves and caverns to house slaves, fungal farms and so on. While the land is dangerous to enter, it is for this reason that the towns of the Warlocks are quite poorly defended, so if you can brave the Ashlands with a proper army you should find easy pickings of slaves. Alternatively, you could make allies with the Warlocks, perhaps taking advantage of the unrest rising among their ranks.

There can be other lesser races inhabiting Cyrpus as well, in the corners of the land where the other races won't have wiped them out or assimilated them. However, they obviously wouldn't have the same level of influence as the aforementioned five.

For further information on each of these races, read the following entries kindly contributed by the people who shall be the primary controllers of those races.

Dungeon Keepers

I'll tweak that a bit, then.

Your nation is good. That's some ominous and challenging terrain.

Here, a new section.

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Rogue Beings:

If you choose not to be a Keeper, you can instead be a Rogue Being, also known as Rogue Constructs. Rogue Beings are powerful entities. They can be things like dragons, sorcerers, elementals, demons, monsters, ex-Constructs, etc. You have a diverse range of opportunities to be a unique and creative Rogue Being. The power of Rogue Beings lies between that of a Construct and a Keeper. While you are a fearsome force in any battle, you would struggle to overpower all but the weakest Keepers, and you lack the creative powers of Keepers, such as creating creatures or changing your physical form like Keepers do.

It is recommended that you find a Keeper to submit your services to. Most Keepers are quite familiar with the usefulness of Rogue Beings. Not only does that provide protection from anyone who might otherwise want to kill you, it also grants you access to the resources and forces of that Keeper. Of course, they'll want you to work for it, fighting in their wars and defending their Dungeon and so on, but that just adds to the fun.

If you are playing as both a Rogue Being and a Keeper, your Rogue Being may not partner up with your Keeper.

Dungeon Keepers

For major races, we have set it at those five, the four lesser tribes and the fifth large central nation. There is not much room for too much else. Although, there is no reason there can not be more minor races/tribes, living in the gaps and corners of Cyprus, but those do not need much pre-planning.

Edit: Here is the next section of the OP.

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Keepers:

As mentioned before, you exist through your Avatar, which is your physical body. As a Keeper, you can wield quite potent power and abilities, although greatness in one aspect generally requires trading off some other ability. While you could be an all-rounder, Keepers typically focus on a particular theme or element, which allows them to allocate more of their power to those abilities. You are free to modify your Avatar and develop new abilities in your Heart at any time, provided you have the power to do so.

Keepers gain power passively from the land and people under their control. The amount of power you have is determined by how much you have conquered, how big your Dungeon is, and how many slaves you have under you. Clearly, a Keeper who has only razed a few villages, lives in a hovel of a Dungeon and has only a meagre collection of slaves will be greatly outmatched by a Keeper who has conquered cities, lives in a fortress Dungeon, has numerous outposts and has whole townships of slaves. Now, a quick way to gain power is to conquer other Keepers, because in doing that you assimilate their Dungeon, slaves and conquered lands into your own and gain their power.

Should your Avatar be killed, that is not necessarily the end. Your creatures will likely be thrown into chaos and slaves all escape unless you have good Constructs to keep them in line, and your Dungeon operations will likely be crippled, but Keepers don't die that easily. Provided your Heart is intact, you are able to resurrect yourself and rebuild your Avatar in the Heart. This process is slow and will take a while, so in that time you just need to hope that your enemies don't come in to finish you off. However, if you die and your enemies have destroyed your Heart, then things go from bad to worse. Your armies will be dead or scattered, your Dungeon assimilated into your enemy's own domain, and resurrection will be difficult. Should you choose to stubbornly persist, you would be back to square one, as if you had come fresh out of the Void.

Sanctuary

So, we're escaping from Sovereign, that is clear. Where are we escaping to, though?

Dungeon Keepers

I'll have to write that some time. It may be some time, for I have things on this weekend, but I'll try to get that written some time, along with the rest of the OP.

Dungeon Keepers

That's fair enough. It was just a suggestion, after all. If Kangutso still wants it he can debate it with you.

Dungeon Keepers

Interesting to know.

In Australia we have the good fortune of cheap government-run tuition loans, regulated fees and government subsidies (not all of the cost, just keeping prices down) on the majority of courses. With any luck they'll continue and the government won't stuff it up.

Back on track, what do you think of the imps?

Dungeon Keepers

I beat you for lightest course load, Gecko. Here in Australia, school has finished for the year and I don't move up to university until March.

That doesn't mean I've got absolutely nothing on, though. I've got two days to finish figuring out who I'm going to vote for, and there are 15 parties and several independents to sift through.

Additionally, my location also means I've got no clue what this AP business is. I'm guessing its some kind of college thing. Here we don't have college. We have six years primary school, six years secondary school, then if we want a higher education we go to university or a Technical and Further Education school (TAFE) and get a degree/diploma.

Sanctuary

From the air Zachary witnessed Nekros' dark ritual, the rending of the earth, the pouring forth of the undead and the relentless melee down below. Zachary was quite glad that he was not down there, for he was in no way equipped or trained for such a fight. What he did have was the biggest guns the Mercenaries had, and he knew he had to use them. Into the rift he fired a stream of plasma pulses, and while that seemed to strike some of the undead as they were forming it did nothing to dent their numbers.

"That's not working," he muttered to himself. But then, as lightning-infused rods arced into the fray of Mercenaries, he knew what would. Arming the smokescreen, Zachary launched a veil of smoke between the Mercenaries and the base, inhibiting the ability of the ballistae to target the Mercenaries. As soldiers poured out, it would also serve as cover for the Mercenaries when they go for the charge.

With the zombies now intertwined with the Mercenaries, Zachary turned his attention and his fire to the base. At around the same time, with the Mercenaries blocked from their view, the ballistae also turned their attention to Zachary. He deftly piloted the shuttle to strafe a couple of lightning bolts as he charged the splinter cannons. Once charged, he unleashed both at a single ballista, and the projectiles tore through it and turned it into a mangled heap of metal. Zachary shouted a victorious cry as he saw his target destroyed.

Zachary continued strafing but one bolt hit its mark as Zachary heard rending metal and an explosion behind him and the lights of the shuttle flickered. He was able to identify that the bolt had torn a hole in the bottom of the hold, and while the shuttle acted as a Faraday cage protecting him from the electric shock the circuitry of the shuttle was still susceptible to damage from electromagnetic induction as the current flowed through the hull for those milliseconds. He had lost his speedometer and the left gravity core current regulator in that blow. The shuttle shuddered and lurched and threatened the fall until Zachary quickly bypassed the regulator, so the gravity core received power directly. To compensate he pushed the right gravity core to full. The situation was less than ideal, with greatly reduced freedom in vertical motion, but at least he could still strafe.

He fired another pair of splinter shots at another ballista, mangling it too beyond recognition, when the Vanguard and soldiers lined up outside the base with Nekros. Easy pickings, Kaa'is said. Still high on his kill of the second ballista, Zachary did not question it and released a relentless barrage of plasma, interspersed with a few splinter shots. Soldiers were burned and vaporised by the plasma and mutilated by the fragmenting splinter shots. Those who hadn't been hit ran for cover as the barrage continued. While the armour protected the Vanguard from the indirect damage of the splinter shots, it did nothing to save them from the plasma. Although their armour held firm, it simply conducted the heat and melted their skin onto the inside of their armour, condemning them to a slow and torturous death. But Zachary did not care, for he was laughing maniacally as he rained death from the heavens. He even overlooked the disappearance of Nekros into a flock of crows, sparing him from the barrage. But before he could kill all the soldiers he was torn prematurely from his ecstatic frenzy by a lightning rod tearing into the left of the shuttle.

The bolt had critically damaged the left kinetic focus, which directs the power of the kinetic core into useful thrust. Without that, the shuttle listed dangerously. Zachary scrambled to fix it, and he put the remainder of the excess spirit he had received from Yugeto earlier into bending the sheared metal back into place. This restored minimum thrust to that side of the shuttle, but any more would just tear the focus apart again.

"I don't think I can keep it in the air much longer," Zachary said over the comms.

Hector, who had begun his charge towards Nekros, barely had time to look back, noticing the shuttle's state. "GET BACK TO BASE," he yelled, still yelling to overcome the sounds of battle. "HELP EVACUATE ANYONE LEFT THERE! GO NOW!" Hector had been too busy to notice the damage that Zachary was dealing up ahead, but it was without a doubt crucial to the plan, as were it not for the shuttle fire, his men would have been picked off easily.

Zachary made no hesitation in fulfilling that order to retreat. Before he parted ways he fired the smokescreen again, refreshing the Mercenaries' cover from the ballistae and also covering the area between them and the soldiers, so that when the Mercs emerged at the soldiers they would have the element of surprise, critical for their close-quarters combat. He also fired a parting shot from the two splinter cannons at a third ballista, although this time his aim was too high and the splinter shots sailed over the ballista and burst on the ground somewhere behind it with minimal effect. Then, arming the smokescreen one last time, he covered the shuttle in smoke, causing another lightning rod to miss, and by the time the smoke had cleared he had managed to get the shuttle turned around and flying back towards Sector Zero.