DracoLunaris

You All Meet in an Inn

Also interested in this. collective world building sounds like it could be fun.

The Underground

interested

SACRILEGE WAR (Grimdark Fantasy NRP)

Concilio Union

The Concilio Union

NATIONAL INFORMATION:

nation

-Population: 35 million people
-Faction: Justinian
-Capital: Zatherop
-Government Type: Council of representatives (Oligarchy)
-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 representative sent from the Sacrosanctian expedition as an 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 crisis will the council all 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 Guild. Which organisations are represented has fluctuated as different groups have rose and fell in significance and power within the Union. At the moment the council members are:

-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 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 and representative of Shelraht)
The (un)Lucky One: D‘ave (M, Kuo-toa, Chosen by lottery to represent Mother’s Rest and by extension Insmaw)
Bulwark of the North: 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)
Big Boss of the Savanna: Vondir (F, Gnoll, chief of largest southern nomadic tribe and thus representative of all the others in the region)
The Sunkissed: Bestion The Sunkissed(M, Kobold, first to reach the top of mount Sunscraper on midsummer's day, Kobold spiritual leader and representative of Orthenhim)
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. A Lot of internal trade is done with barter. The council’s bureaucracy runs almost entirely on requisition and religious charity.

-Language(s): Aemarine, Various species/Culture specific Tongues

-History:

history

The land that the union now controls was, up until about 170 AWH, an Elven Yuwan located 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 harassed any attempts by the Justinian's to occupy their land in order to siege the Turquoise domain.

Their 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, like their elven oppressors, did not take kindly to outsiders marching through their lands and would often raid supply convoys or kill scouting parties of the Justinian forces.

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 of the land. A blight to invading forces despite their distaste for their Elven overlords, the missionaries sought to turn them away from their red gods and towards the light of the Justinian cause and in doing so re-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 and so they were happy to just be left alone by them while they did the real business of executing Justinian’s will.

Unbeknownst to the Justinians, those first converted tribes began to spread the message of Justinian to their kin, far and wide. Their teachings where 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 after the founding of the Union, 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. Chaotic magic powered by the sheer number casualties who were under the sacred Vow managed to overwhelm the mages who had rallied 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 and to defend the rear of the frontline surrounding the Turquoise domain. In the end they helped form the council of 13, headed by one of their own from the Oratorium and the migrated populace were then directed to rebuild and inhabit the fortifications and cities 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. The nation is in an almost constant state of war with it’s many enemies, from red god minotaurs and their neighboring Yuwan nation in the north to the 130 year siege of the turquoise domain and the endless hordes of things coming out of the chasm of unassailable odds. Internally there are still many diverse threats, from the 2 dragons that still make their nests within the nation's borders too elf holdouts and unconverted tribes that hide in secluded places and the Union's ironic lack of unity make facing the many problems it faces even harder to manage and it’s goals harder to reach.

UNIQUE ATTRIBUTE INFORMATION:

attributes

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 some can be convinced to migrate or act as informants, saboteurs etc. by the Union’s representatives

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 and magic has allowed this to be boosted even higher. 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 said 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 minor Artifact creation, keeping the expert mages off the field while their apprentices use the artifacts to cast spells far more complex and powerful than they themselves can muster. 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.

Diverse 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, making identifying the capability of a mage group hard for friend and foe alike.

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 member’s clout with the 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:

Geography

map

Zatherop City: Capital, chosen for its centralised location, this elven jungle city has become the home of the Union’s fledgling bureaucracy and is the official meeting place of the council of 13.
Enrilth Fortress: large fortress built in the north to defend from and launch attacks into Evernyx. The bones of an ancient leviathan give the fortress structural integrity and an ominous appearance.
Shelraht: This city of swamps is 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 due to being situated in between the two bridges that cross the nearby rivers that split the nation.
Orthenhim: Orthenhim is home to much of the Kobold population due to it’s closeness to Mt Sunscraper and it is the primary land based entrance point for western troops arriving in territory from the birchman confederacy and beyond.
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 also 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, hosting large open harbors filled with war and trading vessels. Insmaw is the focal point of coordination efforts with the city of Mother’s Rest’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. A hotly contested sight in the 3 way war for the north.
Mother’s Rest: undersea city of the Kuo-toa, the land dwellers know little of what goes on down there due to it's inaccessibility and as a result it is a wellspring of heterodoxy. beneath it's foundations supposedly lies the progenitor of the Kuo-toa, after which the city itself is named. The name itself is translated because it is next to impossible to pronounce most of the Kuo-toa language without being underwater.
Dragon Lairs: 2 current dragon holds that need to be dealt with located in the southern and central-eastern mountains

RACIAL INFORMATION:

species

-Races:
Goblin 20%, (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 still found in may out of the way forests, caves and marshes beyond the Union’s borders.
Skaven 15%,(1.2M 35 Y) Initially humans trans-mutated into literal lab rats by a powerful mage, the Skaven were tormented for decades before they killed their creator through devious 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 before joining the Union they could be found scrounging beneath places of knowledge, still hungry for the power of their creator.
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. While noramly ocean dwelling, some have migrated inland.
Kobold 10%,(0.8 M 20Y) The cursed descendants of dragons. The union is a place for those Kobolds who wish to end their kind’s 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.
Gnoll (1.1 M 1.6M 40Y) 10% Native denizens of the savannas of the world and they 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. However their females are the largest and strongest species in the union and as such they make excellent frontline troops and bodyguards.
BullyWug (0.9M 20 Y): 5% an Inland dwelling cousin of the Kuo-toa found in the lakes, rivers and marshes of the Union.
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. Had a species wide vendetta with the underground dwelling Riglir even before the bug race began to try and invade the surface world.
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.
Humans and other 5%

RELIGIOUS INFORMATION:

religion

-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:
-Holy Sites under Control: Atop the imposing city of stage lies the Skyward Temple, a large structure within which the mages and priests from Sacrosanctia communicate with their distant homeland and plan the destruction of the Turquoise Lord
-Notable Magical Institutions:
Sacrosanctia contingent: The group from the Justinian capital have taken residence in the newly made fortress city of stag. While primarily focused on the Turquoise Domain there is some trickle down of knowledge to the other Union institutions, if only from a result of garrisons observing them as they blast away at the Turquoise Lord’s tower.
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 magical 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 they organise conventions in Shelraht, where mages from across the new nation get together to share knowledge and elect a representative for the council.
-Religious Interpretations/Culture :
There are a lot of minor deviations and cultural baggage that has been brought by the Union’s many species. Every clan and minor faction has their own traditions that have been interwoven into their worship of Justinian. The nation is trending towards Orthodox at a slow rate as corrections are made by the Oratorium. Notable widespread deviations are discussed 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 wealth 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 beneath 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 for someone to simply avoid doing the ritual if they so desires due to the chaotic nature of Union cities.

Implementation of the Oratorium is slow due to the young nature of the nation’s 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 priesthoods over issues and can sometimes 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. Only the human head of the Oratorium really gets the respect the Institution should be deserving of due to her recognisability and the force of her will.

MILITARY INFORMATION:

military

Total Military Size: 200,000 standing, 800,000 potential militia draftees
Listed Heroes:

Glom sar vestr’th. M. Bullywog. Leader of the Bullywogs, this fat amphibian is a powerful mage that has lived well beyond his expected lifespan and aims to take a seat on the council by proving his power through military victory or magical prowess. To heavy to walk he is carried around on a throne either by his servants or mounted atop a great snapping turtle.

Woston the dragon hunter. M. kobold. Leader and longest surviving member of the Dragon hunter corps thanks to his cunning, tactical prowess and unusually high heat resistance. Inspired by the stories of Hero Conqueror Wolfraum, an aspect of Justinian itself, he and his fellow hunters believe they can regain some of their species lost dragon traits by sacrificing and then consuming the hearts of dragons.

Vestrid crint-vos. M. Goblin. Elite aerial cavalry goblin who managed to leap from his own dying mount onto that of a Yawanist gryphon knight, kill the nobleman and successfully reign in the terrifying beast, which he has been using as his mount ever since.

Korstolm Krenstar. M. Kenku. Once a great warrior in his own right, this aging and practically blind bird now acts as the standard bearer for the elite regiment he once fought for. His charismatic words and determination to continue to serve inspire those around him to great feats of strength and heroism

Gráinne Mhaol-Shenreth. F. Goblin. Pirate Queen of the northern seas, great great granddaughter to the infamous beard buccaneer who brought the word of justinian to the Kuo-toa, she leads the Union’s traditional navy in battle.

Wenstrina of clan Razorhowl. F. Beligor. A Sonic mage who is part of the Norsal contingent. Uses musical instruments to channel magic in order to inspire the troops or cause cacophonous destruction.

Maligmus Redfoth. M. Scaven. A Plague mage and rogue who spreads pestilence and famine in the lands of the Unions foes.

Kell Kemstol. F. Kenku. Known as the Carrion Queen, she is one of the few in the Union who work with the animation of dead tissue, raising the dead on a battlefield to claw at the living

R’oss. M. Kuo-toa. A mutant brute who is an experiment by Mother’s Rest’s mages in the effectiveness of transmutation. A powerful hydro mage in his own right, this four armed armored beast of a fish is a match for almost any foe in melee.

Legion. F. Goblins. An entire battalion of identically armed and armored warriors who wear the masks with an unknown woman's face on it that obscure their identities and who are unnervingly silent. The Council has no idea who these people are but they will sometimes appear in battle unannounced and they all show a remarkable show of skill and strength unseen in all but the most legendary of goblins.

Gatherfolin Plumstruth. F. Scaven. Commander of Barby’s pride and joy, The Thundering herd, a small number of elephants that have been trained to carry arrays of miniature lightning cannons without being spooked. She is a leader, beastmaster and engineer all in one.

-Military Doctrine: varies from general to general but generally either wave attacks or gorilla warfare. The army composition of the Union’s forces is generally decided by what races, creatures and institutions are available nearby. The south relies heavily on Gnoles, Bullywug and kobold forces augmented by alchemist creations and savanna or swamp dwelling beasts while the north features Kuo-toa, Kenku, and Beligor supported by shamans and jungle or ocean creatures. The Goblins, skaven are rather more ubiquitous in their, forces the two races being able to adapt to most regions.

There is some overlap, the alchemists creations are prized by all as are the towering matriarchs of the Gnoles, the keen eyes of the Kenku and the water mages of the Kuo-toa, but for the most part the militaries have to make do with who and what they have available in the area.

-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, these guns are as a result rather crap and are often used as spears with their bayonets after they inevitably break.

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.

Mutants: from camelon kobolds to Werewolf Gnolls, goblin driders andwinged Kenku, the mages have tried to improve the species of the union, to varying degrees of success. These subspecies are rare, often consisting of only a few prototypes accompanying their modifier

Rogues: armed with knives, crossbows, explosives and sneakiness, these are the nations infiltration, assassination and sabotage experts.

Mages: as diverse in talents as they are in species, these shamans, priests, warlocks and druids accompany armies too keep them safe from enemy magic and to bombard their foes with spells of their own. Or conjure swarms of rats. Or reshape the terrain. Or sometimes just explode. They’re a mixed bag.

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, big cats 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, pepper them with ranged weapons like slings, javelins and pistols or attempting to use grappling hooks to board other filer’s mounts. In melee they use spears and their mount’s ferocity to attack in great numbers, hoping to cripple mount or rider so that the pair fall from the sky.

Magical Monster riders: these are small groups 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.

Giant 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, matchlock guns or sometimes artillery, these are the spearhead of most major assaults by the Union.

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 in and around river and lakes, letting the Union strike form unsuspecting angles. They are armed with non metallic light weapons and armor, meaning they rely heavily on the element of surprise and are ineffective vs healy armored foes. They also work in the ocean as boarding troops and scouts. Specialised mages and slingers are their only form of ranged firepower as guns and bows do not take kindly to water.

Ships: Rickety galleons either bristling with as many artillery pieces as can be fit on/under deck or equipped with rams and Corvus boarding ramps to act as dedicated melee craft. The use of Kuo-toa ocean magic makes these poorly constructed 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:

POV

See heads of state

Gwendolin Sliverton. F. Human. Head of the Oratorium, de facto head of the council of 13 and representative of her Sacrosanctian kin she has the arduous task of acting as the physical representation of Justinians divine authority for the poorly organised nation. Trained in the holy city she is incredibly straight laced and perfectionist. She was sent to sit on the council as a result of a personal dispute with the leader of the expedition. Unable to get rid of her due to hr exemplary service record he instead “promoted” her to be on the council, a banishment in all but name.

Neser Zagrad. M. Skaven. Head of the Alchemist's guild is a master inventor, powerful mage and semi competent leader. More focused on his latest experiment than on the the defence he is supposedly running he has turned the once crude fortification of Barby into a home for like minded mages, where they could work on their machines and have an ample supply of test subjects for their new weapons.

Rishnosk. F. Gnoll. The long suffering bodyguard of Neser Zagrad who fights with a serrated blade made to saw through cartilage.

EXTRA INFORMATION:

extra

Relations:
Birchman Confederacy: the similar tribal background of these two nations have fostered friendly relations between the new Justinian nations. The Birchmen have sent detachments to join the Union's Blockade of the turquoise domain

Furrenium Empire: Local Justinian allies, the giant mountain men make excellent shock troops to back up the Union's vast hoards.

Sacrosanctia: “The divine voice of Justinian in our lands!” Also squatters in forts too busy throwing rocks at the eyesore to take gains some place useful.

Principality of Evernyx: The main enemy in the Union’s eyes. Let the Sacrosanctia sit in our forts chuck their comets at the Red god, the union shall sally forth and take new, usable, land for Justinian. Most of their time as neighbors has been spent in a back and forth war, a gain here, a loss there, little progress has been made.

The Bloodied: Violent Red god worshiping raiders who would not see Justinian’s light. They were incredibly dangerous but after a recent fiery pillar event they appear to have fractured into smaller tribes. The union has used this to it’s advantage, pushing north towards the river system that will lead them to the far sea.

Turquoise Domain: A giant freaky eyesore that the Sacrosanctians keep throwing megaspells at. Sometimes some general or other will get it in their head that they can end this with a direct assault. They and their riled up militias never return.

The Vex’lir Swarms: an existential threat that the Union is much more concerned about, the south west border of the union touches the very upper edge of the vast gash in the world, and from it pore innumerable horrors. Being subterranean creatures, the Skaven and Bainligor of the union have a deep seated hatred for the swarm even greater than the casual hatred the rest of the Union has for these invaders. Some of the Union leaders capable of foresight are terrified of them, as they are rather worried that the current attacks are simply troops that have missed their intended target: the Turquoise domain. Once the domain falls it may be that the full might of the subterranean horrors will be brought to bear upon their small nation and the Sacrosanctians will simply ignore the treat like they are currently doing.

Recent history

After the takeover much of the elf population that did not die or go into hiding fled east to the Principality of Evernyx. The initial years of the union involved fighting these holdouts as well as red god affiliated tribes and Turquoise marauders but soon the fledgling nation had to turn its force outwards to face the 4 main threats to its existence.

To the south lies the turquoise domain and the The Vex’lir Swarms, headed by red gods of immense power the Union has constructed an extensive fortification network with the help of the Sacrosanctian expeditionary forces. From these forts the Sacrosanctians bombarded the turquoise domain with innumerable spells while the Union’s forces fight an ongoing daily struggle to hold off the swarm.

To the north the Yawanist Principality of evernyx and the red god aligned Minautors are held at bay by more mobile forces who aim to plunge into the non believers lands for the glory of justinian. The 3 way war has been an ongoing back and forth war since the Union was formed.

In the north the Union recently lost a massive 3 way battle with the Principality of evernyx and the red god Zul’s forces in 2095 AWH. the battle itself was over an ancient artifact found in the abandoned dwarf hold of Norsal by researchers from the principality. In the end both the Yawanist’s and Justinian's were driven off by the Red god’s minotaur hoards.

After the seeming death of the Red God zul the Union has taken advantage of the minotaurs new lack of coordination to take land to the north, including the previously fought over dwarf hold. Their primary goal however is a river that begins in the hills at the center of the strip of land separating the north west and north east seas. If they can take it the Unions amphibious forces will be able to strike the previously safe Ywanaist northern coastal cities and disrupted oceanic supply lines.

Project Crossover [SMASH ARENA - Only PXO members allowed]

Naija

level: 4
day/time: day 2
Location: Smash Arena
word count: 607
metions: @Lugubrious Slayer

Naija’s mage duel with the young Demacian sorceress was brought to an abrupt halt when the wall exploded and a swarm of ugly looking brutes stormed in. Naija herself reacted too slowly to the sudden appearance of hostiles, having wanted to not turn her back to her opponent for fear of a cheap shot, and was promptly knocked to the floor by a small amount of flying masonry, leaving her stunned for the initial part of the fight. Her position of being face down on the arena floor did however mean that she was spared from the barrage of black spines, as they whizzed harmlessly above her head.

Najia regained consciousness and turned around, revealing a sight of unfolding chaos and carnage. The ruins of the wall had crushed people beneath it and hideous creatures, twisted like the valkyries had been, were doing battle with the heros. But what Ninja noticed most of all was the state of the prize table that seemed to be the focus of the small darting blue creature that James was having a hard time shooting down. She gasped as she realized/assumed what they were after.

”The Phoenix down!”

It might have been a little arrogant for her to assume that the thing she wanted most in the room was the same as what the attackers wanted, but she now at least knew what her priority was in this fight. She leaped from the floor of the arena and onto one of the ropes surrounding it, using that as a springboard to launch herself up and over the panicked people and monstrous mooks, soaring through the air towards the table.

As she rose she channeled energy and then, at the highest point of her arching leap, performed a somersault and then released the stored energy, causing a volley of 6 charged energy shots that soared towards Gnasty Gnorc, streaking over the heads of the Minions to bring their fury to bear upon the monstrous master. The 6 streaking shots joined Slayers stone barrage as it sailed towards the creature, she hoped the mix of blunt impacts and searing energy would overwhelm their foe's defenses.

As she began to fall she aimed towards one of said minions who was approaching the prize table, unleashing a barrage of smaller shots from her hands that punched and blasted the brute. Naija landed on top of it’s smoking body with a flying kick, softening her landing as a result. After shutting off the flow of energy to her hands and quelling the fires that had burned there she jumped off of the mutant back towards the table. She landed landed briefly in a handstand position before it, one hand over the small magical feather and the other over the keys to the mystery vehicle. Grasping these two items she made one final short jump, this time powered by her weaker arms, and landed in a crouched position behind the table where Shantae had been hiding.

”I got the things”

She announced to the others, taking a moment to slip the pointed end of the feather into the hole on the key that would normally affix it to a key ring, making a singular, throw-able package of the items in case they needed to play keep-away with them. The pair of items were then slipped between her cleavage for safe keeping, protected from harm by her black scale swimsuit.

With the items secured and her back to some cover she reignited her hands and began to indiscriminately fire homing projectiles up into the air over the table, the shots curving through the air as they left her burning hands, seeking out the nearest hostiles and raining down like a barrage of furious flaming fists onto the horde of grunts, indiscriminately bombarding them and making approaching the table an endurance battle against the torrent of energy projectiles.

Of Crosses and Collapses: A Crossover Adventure of Survival on a Patchwork World.

Well, thought Lilly to herself as they trudged through the seemingly infinite and illogical plains looking for something useful, this was awful. While she had the advantage of hiding behind the unfeeling metal bulk of Julian to protect herself a from some of the elements her outfit was more suited to working inside than this kind of field work. It seemed that living on the avenger for so long had made her soft. Teenage Lilly would have been appalled by her lack of preparation for the elements.

During the short periods of time when they were traveling through terrain that wouldn't damage it Lily tried to map their route, or at least log the various Biomes so that she could try and plan what clothing to make to make any future journeys less dreadful. For his part Julian simply soldiered on through the heat, cold and everything in between on autopilot. He took some amusement from the suffering of the humans, but for the most part he was bored out of his skull.

At long last they arrived somewhere where the climate was at least tolerable, the warm air and lush foliage where comforting after the bleak hellscape they had just passed through. This wasn’t what Lilly had been hoping for, she would have much preferred some kind of civilisation, but there might be opportunities to gather food here. Food would definitely be good right about now, she thought to herself, though greedily eating the noodles she had in her pack right now would probably be rather rude considering the state of the others. The young girl (Cedar?) was looking particularly bad. If she got much worse she would consider getting Julian to carry her, through the careful watch she would have to keep on the Ai that he didn’t “accidentally” drop her might be more trouble than it was worth. The other option was the Life noodles, but hopefully they could find some fresh food here and keep the preserved meal for emergencies.

Following up on Quiet and Cedar’s discussion about foraging she walked past the two, ordering Julian to follow.

”I’m no wilderness expert, but taking a look around while there’s no apparent danger does seem like a good idea. One of you knows the difference between the edible mushrooms and the poisonous ones, right?”

She arrived at the fallen tree and told Julian to

”Give me and anyone who wants to follow a boost”

”Like some kind of glorified step-ladder? Obeying command!"

After a few moments of complaining and minor correction Julian converted had his hands and one knee into a rudimentary 3 step staircase which Lilly promptly acceded to stand at top the fallen tree and survey the little alcove beyond.

Europa Conflict – A Sci-fi Mech Roleplay

Interested

After humans

I'm in a busy period of uni stuff at the mo, so me posting is going to be a bit slow I am afraid

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@floodtalon

Got a pretty busy few weeks ahead I am afraid so I may be a little slow, but I will aim to get something done for Sunday

Entomos; Kingdom of Insects

Athena

Character Summary

Name: Alcyone Anthophila, going by Athena Eleutheria
Age: young
Race: Bee
Gender:Female
Class/Job:Swashbuckler
Appearance: left: Athena, right: Alcyone. She is noticeably larger than the average bee as a result of her royal upbringing.

Belongings

• Xiphos:
• Buckler, a small shield strapped to an arm, used for parrying.
• A Sling, a simple weapon used to hurl stones at high speeds
• Javelin/Spear
• Dagger
• leather armor
• a small backpack and various sheaths/holsters for her weapons.
• a map of the area
• a spyglass
• a diary
• some jars of honey
• 100 Chips, spread out around her pockets and backpack person

Skills and Abilities

• Training in a large number of weapons, though little practical experience with combat other than sparing
• Quad wielding
• Military tactics
• Diplomacy
• A well rounded general education
• Nimble flyer

^{”I could not stay, for there are so many worlds left to see”}

Personality

A highly determined young woman struck with wanderlust, Athena is an inquisitive explorer who is somewhat directionless at the moment. Well educated but lacking in practical experience she might come of to the more rugged and experienced individuals, though her training in diplomacy and politics means she manages to not be easily fooled as her sheltered upbringing might suggest.

She is an avid reader and takes a lot of enjoyment from skillful combat. Despite her training she has never killed someone before and finds the prospect of doing so disquieting, if fighting a person she aims to disarm or wound rather than murder them.

History

One of the princesses born to Queen Anthophila of the main hive, she was born along with her many sisters on midsummer's day. Alcyone spent her childhood living the charmed life of luxury in the royal palace and in travel to other hives attached to the royal court. She spent much of her spare time reading tales of dashing rogues and daring knights as well as about the other peoples and places found beyond the hives.

She received extensive training in oratory, history, diplomacy, leadership, military tactics the arts and the sciences as well as limited self defence training. All in preparation for her becoming one of her mother's many lieutenants. She did not seem to take well to education, often noted by her tutors to be caught daydreaming or gazing out of the windows at the land below the great hive.

As the time for her to take on her duties of leadership and motherhood grew close she began to chafe against her gilded cage. This was not unexpected, however unlike others who locked themselves in their rooms to brood or compose melodramatic paintings and poetry she threw herself into martial training, skipping other classes to take unofficial training in swordsmanship and other military arts with the royal guard.

The night before she and her sisters were supposed to choose husbands arrived she slipped out of a side door of the palace, left open by a sympathetic(and well bribed) guard, into the dark streets of the hive in disguise. Taking the name Athena Eleutheria, she intends to see the world and become a hero like the ones she has read about.

Entomos; Kingdom of Insects

re-posting

Athena

Character Summary

Name: Alcyone Anthophila, going by Athena Eleutheria
Age: young
Race: Bee
Gender:Female
Class/Job:Swashbuckler
Appearance: left: Athena, right: Alcyone. She is noticeably larger than the average bee as a result of her royal upbringing.

Belongings

• Xiphos:
• Buckler, a small shield strapped to an arm, used for parrying.
• A Sling, a simple weapon used to hurl stones at high speeds
• Javelin/Spear
• Dagger
• leather armor
• a small backpack and various sheaths/holsters for her weapons.
• a map of the area
• a spyglass
• a diary
• some jars of honey
• 100 Chips, spread out around her pockets and backpack person

Skills and Abilities

• Training in a large number of weapons, though little practical experience with combat other than sparing
• Quad wielding
• Military tactics
• Diplomacy
• A well rounded general education
• Nimble flyer

^{”I could not stay, for there are so many worlds left to see”}

Personality

A highly determined young woman struck with wanderlust, Athena is an inquisitive explorer who is somewhat directionless at the moment. Well educated but lacking in practical experience she might come of to the more rugged and experienced individuals, though her training in diplomacy and politics means she manages to not be easily fooled as her sheltered upbringing might suggest.

She is an avid reader and takes a lot of enjoyment from skillful combat. Despite her training she has never killed someone before and finds the prospect of doing so disquieting, if fighting a person she aims to disarm or wound rather than murder them.

History

One of the princesses born to Queen Anthophila of the main hive, she was born along with her many sisters on midsummer's day. Alcyone spent her childhood living the charmed life of luxury in the royal palace and in travel to other hives attached to the royal court. She spent much of her spare time reading tales of dashing rogues and daring knights as well as about the other peoples and places found beyond the hives.

She received extensive training in oratory, history, diplomacy, leadership, military tactics the arts and the sciences as well as limited self defence training. All in preparation for her becoming one of her mother's many lieutenants. She did not seem to take well to education, often noted by her tutors to be caught daydreaming or gazing out of the windows at the land below the great hive.

As the time for her to take on her duties of leadership and motherhood grew close she began to chafe against her gilded cage. This was not unexpected, however unlike others who locked themselves in their rooms to brood or compose melodramatic paintings and poetry she threw herself into martial training, skipping other classes to take unofficial training in swordsmanship and other military arts with the royal guard.

The night before she and her sisters were supposed to choose husbands arrived she slipped out of a side door of the palace, left open by a sympathetic(and well bribed) guard, into the dark streets of the hive in disguise. Taking the name Athena Eleutheria, she intends to see the world and become a hero like the ones she has read about.