NATIONAL INFORMATION:-Population: 35 million people
-Faction: Justinian
-Capital: Zatherop
-Government Type: Council of representatives
-Government Description: The Council of 13: This consists of the 12 most influential members of the many disparate groups that now occupy the nation and a head priest sent from the west as a deliberation and instrument of Justinian’s will. The council members are often not actually present however, generally busying themselves with whatever sub group they represent, be they city, species or organisation. As a result, other than the head of the Oratorium and Ruler of the capitol, most members are represented by envoys or messages, be they mundane or magic. Generally only in times of war will the council convene in person.
How members are chosen varies from seat to seat, some done democratically, some by blood relation to a founding clan and some by seniority in an organisation. Which organisations are represented has fluctuated and as the titles are linked with the sitter and not with the seat they hold.
-Heads of State: In rough order of influence
Voice of Justinian: Gwendolin Sliverton. (F, Human, Sacrosanctian (and by extension the city of stage) representative on the council, head of the Oratorium)
High Shaman: Rorshash Fi-Fold (F, Goblin, head of the local priesthood)
The Capital: Trin Log-Set (F, Goblin: mayor of Zatherop, the capital)
Head Alchemist: Neser Zagrad (M, Scaven, leader of alchemists guild and representatives from Barby)
Shaper of Spells: Klin Kast (M, Kenku, elected representative of the mage association)
The (un)Lucky One: D‘ave (M, Kuo-toa, Chosen by lottery to represent R’lyeh)
Bulwark of the East: Randeir Nast (M, Scaven: warden of Enrilth and Norsal, the fortress cities in the north on the border with Evernyx)
Chief of Clan iron Fang: Dref Met-Zog Spine Snappa (M, Goblin, blood line, head of central and northern forest tribes)
First of the Wingless: Krawk Kensu(F, Kenku, spiritual leader of Kenku and Bainligor races, leader of Roc-port’s merchants)
The Sunkissed: Bestion (M, Kobold, first to reach the top of mount Sunscraper on midsummer's day, Kobold spiritual leader and representative of Orthenhim and Shelraht)
Big Boss of the Savanna: Vondir (F, Gnoll, chief of largest southern nomad tribes)
Voice of the Displaced: Reston Fairheart (M, Elf, elected representative of immigrants, converted elfs and low population races)
-Currency: Gold: The union is still working on making an official currency, so most trade is done via how much gold is in whatever coins have ended up in the Union. Via trade and migration.
-Language(s): Aemarine, Various species/clan specific Tongues
-History:The land that the union now controls was up until about 170 AWH an Elven Yuwan nation near the center of the world. It was for a long time one of the bulwarks against the advancing Justinian forces. It’s powerful navy was the bane of the northern Justinian coastal cities and its land forces expelled attempts to surround the Turquoise domain.
That same navy made attacking the nation by sea next to impossible and the the marshy and densely wooded borders allowed the native elves to cripple any invading ground force before they reached secluded forest temple cities. Most of the land not directly controlled by the Elves was infested by various vermin races that they hunted for sport and used as sacrifice fodder, these raced did not take kindly to outsiders marching through their lands and would often raid supply convoys or kill scouting parties.
After many years of failed attempts to take the nation some of the Justinian priests made an attempt to deal with one of the problems they were facing, namely the unaligned goblins, Kobolds and other pest races that resided in the jungles, plains and forests. A blight to invading forces despite their distaste for their Elven overlords, the missionaries sought to turn them away from their red gods and to the Justinian cause to direct this nuisance towards their foes.
These attempts where, after a few false starts, incredibly successful. The possibility of being set free from their short and brutal lives resonated highly with the “lesser” races, who had for most of creation been the bottom of the species totem pole. Satisfied that they had solved at least one problem the vermin were left mainly to their own devices once more after a few were given the necessary training to give tribute to Justinian in return for power and instructions to begin working against the elven nation. Nobody actually wanted to associate with the runty savages, they were happy to just be left alone by them.
Unbeknownst to the Justinians, those first converted tribes began to spread the message of Justinian to their kin, far and wide. Their message was a somewhat altered from the original, having interpreted the missionaries instructions to overthrow the Elves as the entirety of the necessary steps to achieve utopia. While this was eventually rectified it initially drew masses of the downtrodden races of the world to those fist tribes banners. From forest dwelling goblins, to former Kobold slaves, to the Skaven that infested the sewers of many cities, to the Kenku thieves guilds, to the ocean dwelling Kuo-toa and many others, they all flocked to the small nation. Once the influx began to outweigh their native host's ability to sustain them they turned on mass against the elven cities. Almost overnight almost every city in the nation was overrun, as spider riding goblins and Kenku burglars climbed their walls, secret entrances were opened by slaves or the cites ever present Skaven, temples and focuses of magical power were swallowed up by the earth as their foundations were sabotaged, their northern coastal cities where swarmed by amphibious horrors and chaotic magic powered by the sheer number of casualties who were under the sacred Vow managed to overwhelm the mages who managed to rally to defend their cities.
After a few weeks of shock the Justinian powers came to terms with the existence new Justinian nation of chaotic minorities and sent back the original missionaries to try and organise the masses into something that looked vaguely like a nation to prepare for the continued assault further eastward. In this manner was formed the council of 13 and the migrated populace were directed to rebuild and inhabit the fortifications they had taken.
In the 130 years since the Union has changed from an unorganized occupying horde to a heavily entrenched but only slightly more organised horde.
UNIQUE ATTRIBUTE INFORMATION:Positive: Nation of the downtrodden: They effectively stand as one of the few powers that specifically care about those races and people who have been given the short end of the stick. As a result they draw in a lot of those people from across the known world and have an affinity to those of their kind who have not yet come to them. Many nations across the world have Skaven below their cities, goblins in their countrysides and kobolds in their mountains, these communities are often susceptible to the union's brand of Justinianism and can often be convinced to migrate or act as informants, saboteurs etc.
Rapid breeders: most of the races making up the nation already had pretty short life spans and had a rapid birth and development rate to compensate. They are capable of replacing and sustaining much larger populations due to this. This also makes them rather reckless in war and in their experimentation.
Magic Machines: wizards take a long time to train and the nature of most of the races lack of survival instincts means that casters often get themselves killed during training. While there are plenty of replacement initiates this makes the casters that can do the biggest magics rather uncommon and valuable. To solve the issue of potentially losing them in the the chaos of battle the Union has made extensive work of Artifact creation. Things like lightning cannons, transmuted magical war beasts, buff delivering bells and other creations are a mainstay of their armies. These creations are, while powerful, a carefully controlled chaos that can easily run wild if damaged or misused. Common artifacts have a tendency to miss fire or explode violently without warning.
Many magical traditions: drawing from their diverse populace, the Union has access to many different forms of magic. Unfortunately the lack of unified training leaves the nature of their magical support rather unpredictable for the Union's leadership. A general who requests magical support basically has no idea if he is getting, it could be fireballs chucking Kobolds, Goblin healers, water manipulating Kuo-toa, plague spreading Skaven or any number of things. Now that the magical communities are intermingling, species and faction are getting to be even less of an indicator as to a mage's capabilities.
Negative:Vermin: Externally, the union is seen unfavorably by many races, their habits disgusting, their appearances ugly. Diplomatic relations with fairer folk are generally poor and often conducted by human missionaries instead of the actual populace.
Disorganized: being a nation of many disparate groups whose ancestors lived mainly in small groups they have not taken to bureaucracy or national governments well. The council of 13 is technically in charge of the nation, but really they rely on their individual members relations to various sub groups to get anything done. Agriculture, tax collection, infrastructure and other necessities are handled poorly. They are trying, but there is a lot of waste and untapped potential resources that could be achieved with reforms and national censuses, things that are difficult to do while you are at war. The only thing that thing that can be relied upon is the massing of militias to see off invasions or attack enemies.
Poor craftsmanship: the majority of their equipment and construction efforts are crude and prone to failure as a result of their rush to secure their new nation against counter attacks.
Cultural friction: the various species and factions are still getting used to living with one another, there is a lot of tension and many complications caused by lack of cultural unity.
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:Zatherop City: Capital
Enrilth Fortress: large fortress built in the north to defend from and launch attacks into Evernyx. The bones of a dragon who used to live in the nearby mountains adorn this fort.
Shelraht: City of Its swamps that are host to most of the nation’s BullyWugs. It was once a vital defensive point of the elven nation but is now a trading hub between the north and south.
Orthenhim: Orthenhim is home to much of the Kobold population due to it’s closeness to Mt Sunscraper, it is the primary entrance point for western troops to the territory.
Sunscraper: tallest mountain and site of the Kobold leadership race.
Fort line: A line of forts built across the border to the Turquoise domain. Hosts Sacrosanctian mages who have waged a war of attrition against the domain since the Union’s inception. Mixed Sacrosanctian and Union construction.
Stage: A massive temple fortress that hosts the Sacrosanctian’s largest rituals and foreign soldiers who are there to fighting against the Turquoise domain. Command and control point for the fort blockade. Built in part by the Sacrosanctians and home to many Union species.
Barby: Site of weapons testing and home of the alchemist's guild. Largest of the line forts and the only one not hosting the Sacrosanctian military. Built by the Union to defend from the beasts emerging from the CHASM OF INEFFABLE ODDS. Features an extensive
underground defense network in addition to its above ground fortifications.
Insmaw and Roc Port: coastal cities that host the Union’s navy. Roc Port is the more traditional navy. Insmaw is the focal point of coordination efforts with the city of R’lyeh’s aquatic forces, it is also rather constantinople in its defences, the peninsula it is built on is walled off from the mainland in and its ample oceanic supply sources make it difficult place to take.
Norsal: a relatively small fortress that contains tunnels leading down to a vast underground cavern and ancient Dwarven hold that is now home to scaven and Bainligor. Recently has gained a population of Kuo-toa as a result of the Union’s operations to attempt to take the nearby river source to get access to the ocean on the other side of the land mass.
R'lyeh: undersea city of the Kuo-toa
Dragon Lairs: 2 current dragon holds that need to be dealt with located in the southern and center-eastern mountains
RACIAL(species) INFORMATION:-Races: Goblins 25%, (1 M, 25Y) made as antagonists by a long dead god to challenge his people, goblins are short, ugly, vicious and can survive basically everywhere. After the inevitable death of their creator they have spread like the plague across the world and can found in may out of the way forests and marshes.
Skaven 15%,(1.2M 35 Y) initially made as literal lab rats by a powerful mage, the Skaven where tormented for decades before they killed their creator through trickery. They attempted to take his power for themselves but accidentally destroyed his wizard spire in their own experiments. They were then scattered to the winds and can now be found scrounging beneath places of power, still hungry for knowledge and power.
Kuo-toa (1.1M 30Y) 15% Believe they are the Children of a sleeping horror who has put itself in stasis to await the world destruction. They are very happy with all this world ending help they are getting. Noramly ocean dwelling, some have migrated inland.
Kobolds 10%,(0.8 M 20Y) see lore for history. The union is a place for those Kobolds who wish to end their kinds curse through Justinian's un-making of the world.
Kenku (1.3M 40 Y) 10% Believe they were once the angels of a now dead god, they where striped of their flight and position when they gave in to the sin of greed.
BullyWugs (0.9M 20 Y): 5% an Inland dwelling cousin of the Kuo-toa
Bainligor (1.2M 40Y) 5% Deep cave dwellers who have been mostly culturally assimilated by the Kenku due to the similarity of their flightless state. Often act as envoys between under and overground communities.
Gnoll (1.6M 40Y) 5% Native denizens of the savannas of the world and seem to have been so since time began. Notably adverse to the recording history of any kind, it makes them a nightmare for the union's fledgling bureaucracy.
Elf (former dominant race) 5% see lore for history. now either in clustered in holdouts or are citizens of the Union who were former member of secret Justinian cults that are now free to have their beliefs in the open. There are also some who converted to save their own skin.
other(Human, Dwarf, Gremlin, naga etc) 5%
2 dragons (hostile)
RELIGIOUS INFORMATION:-State Religion: Heterodox Justinianism
-Patron Deity: Justinian
-Religion Demographics: Justinian: 86%, Yuwan: 8% (various holdouts and lairs), Red Gods 6% (unconverted tribes, Turquoise marauders)
-Major Holy Relics/Artefacts in Possession: Screaming Bell: a massive bell mounted at the very top of Enrilth. Its main purpose is to rouse the populace of the city and the savannas beyond it to defend the eastern border of the Union, it’s recently added magical purpose is a curse applied to all those bound by the consensual curse. It numbs pain and fear in the Justinian warriors, making them able to keep on fighting even after they normally would have succumbed to the pain of their injuries.
-Holy Sites under Control: None
-Notable Magical Institutions: Alchemist's guild: The only organised magical training institute is one made primarily to find ways to merge magic and machinery to mass produce minor Relics. They have a particular interest in gunpowder, artillery and transmutation.
The Mage's Association: a loose coalition of the various magic wielders from the various Union member's former societies. Most mages stick to their own groups apart from a few times a year where cites host conventions where mages from across the new nation get together and share knowledge and elect a representative.
-Religious Interpretations/Culture : There are a lot of minor deviations and cultural baggage that has been brought by the Unions many species. Every clan and minor faction has their own traditions that have been interwoven into their worship. The nation is trending towards Orthodox at a slow rate as corrections are made. Notable widespread deviations are shown below:
The Kenku still enact material sacrifice to atone for the sins that they believe lost them their wings, symbols of wealth and greed are ritually sacrificed like souls would be and then given to the poor. The problem is that they have to amass every year to perform these rites, something that gets in the way of the Justinian anti materialism standpoint. Some Bainligor have taken up this ritual due to their similarly flightless nature.
While the Kuo-toa do not worship their sleeping progenitor like a red god, as the Kuo-toa history specifies it is not a Celestial, There is some debate over the fact that the being is never explicitly specified to be mortal either. Seeing as nobody but the Kuo-toa can go check what lays in their deep sea city this is let slide by the local church. The Kuo-toa who undergo the epiphany don’t appear to have spread much additional light on the issue and so there is friction between the Kuo-toa and the hard line Justinians on the issue.
The Epiphany of the Perfect World experience is not as widespread as it is in other Justinian nations due to a lack of temples and priests capable of performing it. Most in the major cities have partaken in it but the tribes who live in the surrounding lands are less likely to have done so. It is also quite possible to simply avoid doing it if someone desires too due to the chaotic mess taht are Union cities.
Implementation of the Oratorium is slow due to the young nature of the centralized ruler-ship. The institution exists but does not have the absolute authority that it would in other nations, Inquisitors from the capital often end up arguing with the local priesthood and often end up on trial if they act without the local authority's permission. Disparate groups often have their own version of the Oratorium who come into conflict when their jurisdictions overlap with the Capital’s efforts.
MILITARY INFORMATION:Total Military Size: 200,000 standing, 800,000 potential militia
Listed Heroes: (The names of your active heroes in a list. Does not require character profiles though it is suggested that characters you use often in IC posts should go in the Dramatis Personae while others are either just super-elite soldiers or ‘heroes of another story’. Players have a maximum of 15 heroes unless certain exceptions are given, such as holders of holy cities or given close divine mandates/oversight which may allow up to 20-25 heroes)
-Military Doctrine: varies from general to general but generally either wave attacks or gorilla warfare
-Military Units: Militia horde: the vast bulk of the union's forces are the self equipped and trained masses, wielding anything they can get their hands on, be it stolen swords, tribal weapons or farming equipment and clad in mail, leather or rags, these fanatical swarms take down opposing forces by sheer weight of numbers. Due to the Consensual Curse, these hordes are a massive source of sacrifice for the Union’s mages.
Matchlock gunners: Gangs wielding poorly made firearms make up the bulk of the nation's non magical ranged firepower, primarily because it is a lot easier to train someone to fire a gun than it its to get them to shoot arrows. Produced on a relatively large scale for the period, these guns are as a result rather crap and are often used purely as spears with their bayonets after they inevitably break.
Beast Rider Pack: for most of the races of the Union, the humble horse is much too large to ride as a one person mount and as a result they often use various other domesticated beasts for cavalry. Wolves, huskies, hyenas and other canines are common mounts, rarer are giant spiders, crustaceans, ants and scorpions. Generally used to flank foot and archer regiments rather than fight enemy cavalry toe to toe, though they often carry Matchlock handguns in large numbers to harass such larger targets. Do very well in rough terrain where agility is key, less so on open ground where they get outrun by horses.
Bug Rider swarm: riding large insects, these aerial cavalry are perhaps the least majestic unit to ever grace the skies of the Sacrilege war. Less royal formation and more unruly swarm, the most common tactic of these warriors is to dropping vials of Greek fire on enemy ground force or attempting to use grappling hooks to board other filer’s mounts.
Guards: much less common are the fully armed, armored and trained groups of warriors, who most of the time act as the escorts for important people or equipment.
Rouges: armed with knives, crossbows, explosives and sneakiness, these are the nations infiltration, assassination and sabotage experts.
Magical Monster riders: these are small specialist forces who make use of the many magical beasts of the world as mounts. From stealthy
displacer beasts to armor corroding
rust monsters, these specialists have often been magically altered themselves to allow better functionality with their mounts.
Monsters: From the terrifying
titan spider and the Kraken to the more mundane creatures like elephants and whales, these highly coveted war beasts are a Union’s general's pride and joy. Armored and crewed by many soldiers armed with spears and matchlock guns or sometimes artillery.
Mages: as diverse in talent as the nation they come from, these shamans, priests, warlocks and druids accompany armies too keep them safe from any magic and to bombard them with spells of their own. Or conjure swarms of rats. Or reshape the terrain. Or sometimes just explode.
Magical Machines: made by the alchemists guild, these range from enchanted cannons to spell slinging artifacts. Lighting cannons, poison gas mortars, self reloading Ribauldequins and tree makers are all things that have rolled out of the alchemists’ labs.
Mundane artillery: cannons, ballistas, mortars and trebuchets are often brought to battle as a more reliable form of heavy hitting ranged support.
Marines: these Aquatic forces are used to fight around rivers and lakes, letting the Union strike form unsuspecting angles. Armed with non metallic light weapons and armor. Also work in the ocean as boarding troops. Lack ranged firepower apart from mages.
Ships: galleons either bristling with as many artillery pieces as can be fit or dedicated boarding craft. The use of Kuo-toa ocean magic makes these poorly made ships a force to be reckoned with on the waves.
Nautical cavalry: Kuo-toa riding sharks, eels, orcas, sea lions and other such sea creatures. Generally used to get to craft quicker for boarding but can be devastating against other aquatic races.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE:Initially see heads of state
EXTRA INFORMATION: Relations:Birchman Confederacy:
Furrenium Empire:
Sacrosanctia:
Principality of Evernyx:
The Bloodied: violent raiders who would not see Justinian’s light. Kind of freaking out about the massive fire pillar that just happened
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