gorgenmast

Empire of the Dead - a spooky Nation Roleplay in time for Halloween

Necron sounds intriguing, I'd be interested in hearing more about meatworking and what it can do. Is it a sort of ghoulish surgery, binding corpses into a shape that can be reanimated, or can it also achieve more outlandish crafts such as Frankenstein-esque body constructs?

@Oraculum

Necron is the location of Eagoth’s citadel and is the de facto capital city of the undead. It is also where the Meatworks is located, though they are not synonymous. I made mention of meatworking, which is as you surmised, basically surgery for the undead. Most undead settlements will have a meatworker who can “stitch up” a damaged ghoul. This is an important job, as the undead cannot heal on their own.

But the Meatworks of Necron is a much more specialized enterprise. You are right on the money. The Meatworks is part laboratory, part workshop for Frankenstein-esque monstrosities.

Empire of the Dead - a spooky Nation Roleplay in time for Halloween

I'm excited to see that there does seem to be a healthy interest in the concept, so I'm going to expound on some of the finer details.

To be clear, this would very much be a literate roleplay and would avoid the "gamey-ness" that often afflicts Nation RPs. It could be considered a nation roleplay in the sense that players can take on the role of a more powerful revenant as well as their entourage and underlings - if they so choose.

I realize also that, in order for those interested to properly brainstorm their characters, I need to nail down what the undead are, how they work, what they are capable of, etc. To that end, I have updated the original post with some characteristics of the undead.

I have also added a map of Leria. I have included a few key geographic features and places for people to work off, but left the majority of the lands unnamed to allow players to worldbuild with fewer restrictions.

Please feel free to ask if there are any other questions.

Empire of the Dead - a spooky Nation Roleplay in time for Halloween

I'm quite interested in this.

@Cyclone

Excellent!

Admittedly the interest check is pretty minimal. I didn’t want to commit a lot of effort on an interest check that might not be popular. If a few more people express their interest then we can go into greater detail and begin collaboration on the world building.

I have cross posted the interest check in NRP and Advanced, as it could fall under the purview of both sections. Would you prefer to play as a single character, or as a faction through multiple characters?

Empire of the Dead

---

There are a great number of tales of undead hosts terrorizing the living. Literature is replete with these stories of necromancers and armies of zombies laying waste to civilization, carrying out horrifying atrocities against all living things. Inevitably, however, the forces of righteousness ultimately emerge victorious against the forces of death itself. But in this story, the valiant efforts of the living defenders ultimately prove futile.

This instead is the tale of Death triumphant.

Several decades have passed since the warlock Eagoth first raised his army of cadavers and waged war against the realms of Leria. Eagoth's undead legions took the continent by storm; his armies multiplying after every single battle. His undead warriors were unburdened by fear, hunger, or weariness and were motivated only by mindless subordination to the necromancer lord. For all their valor, the mortal armies of Leria were hopeless against the endless undead legions. A year after the start Eagoth's conquest, the numerous and mighty kings and lords of Leria were reduced to a handful of isolated holdouts trapped within the walls of their own castles, besieged by swarms of howling ghouls. Two years later Eagoth's conquest was absolute; every single Lerian - down to the last man, woman, and child - was a walking corpse. Leria had become an empire of the dead.

While Eagoth had proven himself a capable warlord, he found managing his vast undead dominion intolerably tedious. Eagoth granted to his most capable ghouls the capacity for free thought and introspection, that they could use their ability to think for themselves to take on the tasks of governing the various wards of Leria in the lich's stead. These Revenants Major served as governors and generals, ruling large portions of Leria in Eagoth's stead. The Revenants Major in turn appointed the cleverer ghouls as Revenants Minor, who served as deputies, leftenants, and taskmasters over the slavering, mindless ghouls. And it was the lot of the vast multitudes of mindless ghouls to toil unquestioningly to advance Eagoth's continuing war effort against the mortal kingdoms beyond Leria, who had now united in common defense against Eagoth's undead legions.

The combined armies and fleets of the living have managed to contain the undead to Leria's shores. Numerous invasion fleets have been sent out across the White Straits to establish an undead foothold on the lands of the living, but none have succeeded due to enduring naval superiority of mortal men. And though the living control the seas, they dare not attempt to field any foray onto Leria's shores lest their armies fall against the undead hordes and join their ranks in death. The resulting stalemate between the undead of Leria and the mortal men beyond has held for over twenty years now.

Over the course of such time, the undead dominion has had time to stabilize. A society of undeath, with its own strange polities and economies, has emerged. Eagoth, bored by the governance of his undead empire, delegates nearly all control to the Revenants Major. Not even death can prevent rivalry and intrigue. Infighting is strictly forbidden by the necromancer lord, but is not unheard of. Even open rebellion has a precedent, though the last uprising was stamped out ruthlessly many years ago and has not been attempted since.

Though the undead realm of Leria has ossified to a degree, this is a period of change and potential. The Revenants Major that carry out nearly all of the governance of Leria are beginning to realize the extent of Eagoth's apathy and have started to test the limits of their own authority. The undead legions are not the hivemind once previously thought and the monolithic undead realm begins to show signs of fracture.

In this story, you are a wight in any stratus of Eagoth's dominion. You may be a Revenant Major governing one of the wards of Leria or a legion of walking dead, perhaps you are a mere ghoul recently exhumed by the gravediggers with no power nor recollection of who you were in life. Or perhaps you find yourself somewhere in the middle.

That choice is yours to make, as is the path you lead in undeath.

Empire of the Dead - a spooky Nation Roleplay in time for Halloween

---

There are a great number of tales of undead hosts terrorizing the living. Literature is replete with these stories of necromancers and armies of zombies laying waste to civilization, carrying out horrifying atrocities against all living things. Inevitably, however, the forces of righteousness ultimately emerge victorious against the forces of death itself. But in this story, the valiant efforts of the living defenders ultimately prove futile.

This instead is the tale of Death triumphant.

Several decades have passed since the warlock Eagoth first raised his army of cadavers and waged war against the realms of Leria. Eagoth's undead legions took the continent by storm; his armies multiplying after every single battle. His undead warriors were unburdened by fear, hunger, or weariness and were motivated only by mindless subordination to the necromancer lord. For all their valor, the mortal armies of Leria were hopeless against the endless undead legions. A year after the start Eagoth's conquest, the numerous and mighty kings and lords of Leria were reduced to a handful of isolated holdouts trapped within the walls of their own castles, besieged by swarms of howling ghouls. Two years later Eagoth's conquest was absolute; every single Lerian - down to the last man, woman, and child - was a walking corpse. Leria had become an empire of the dead.

While Eagoth had proven himself a capable warlord, he found managing his vast undead dominion intolerably tedious. Eagoth granted to his most capable ghouls the capacity for free thought and introspection, that they could use their ability to think for themselves to take on the tasks of governing the various wards of Leria in the lich's stead. These Revenants Major served as governors and generals, ruling large portions of Leria in Eagoth's stead. The Revenants Major in turn appointed the cleverer ghouls as Revenants Minor, who served as deputies, leftenants, and taskmasters over the slavering, mindless ghouls. And it was the lot of the vast multitudes of mindless ghouls to toil unquestioningly to advance Eagoth's continuing war effort against the mortal kingdoms beyond Leria, who had now united in common defense against Eagoth's undead legions.

The combined armies and fleets of the living have managed to contain the undead to Leria's shores. Numerous invasion fleets have been sent out across the White Straits to establish an undead foothold on the lands of the living, but none have succeeded due to enduring naval superiority of mortal men. And though the living control the seas, they dare not attempt to field any foray onto Leria's shores lest their armies fall against the undead hordes and join their ranks in death. The resulting stalemate between the undead of Leria and the mortal men beyond has held for over twenty years now.

Over the course of such time, the undead dominion has had time to stabilize. A society of undeath, with its own strange polities and economies, has emerged. Eagoth, bored by the governance of his undead empire, delegates nearly all control to the Revenants Major. Not even death can prevent rivalry and intrigue. Infighting is strictly forbidden by the necromancer lord, but is not unheard of. Even open rebellion has a precedent, though the last uprising was stamped out ruthlessly many years ago and has not been attempted since.

Though the undead realm of Leria has ossified to a degree, this is a period of change and potential. The Revenants Major that carry out nearly all of the governance of Leria are beginning to realize the extent of Eagoth's apathy and have started to test the limits of their own authority. The undead legions are not the hivemind once previously thought and the monolithic undead realm begins to show signs of fracture.

In this story, you are a wight in any stratus of Eagoth's dominion. You may be a Revenant Major governing one of the wards of Leria or a legion of walking dead, perhaps you are a mere ghoul recently exhumed by the gravediggers with no power nor recollection of who you were in life. Or perhaps you find yourself somewhere in the middle.

That choice is yours to make, as is the path you lead in undeath.

---

On the Undead

The undead are the deceased peoples of Leria that have been resurrected by the necromancy of Eagoth to serve in his legions of walking dead. Be they man or woman, prince or pauper, all Lerians whose deceased body was mostly integral during Eagoth's Conquest (i.e. not burned or hacked into many pieces) became one of Eagoth's undead minions.

Corpses do not immediately rise up in Undeath. A corpse takes three days to become a ghoul, during which time the corpse can be burned or otherwise destroyed to prevent it from becoming a ghoul. The Undeath is not a virus or plague; a living human can be bitten, scratched, or otherwise wounded by a ghoul and make a full recovery without "turning" a la George Romero. The Undeath is instead necromancy magic, and effects only those corpses slain upon or buried in ground that has been cursed by the Ritual of Undeath (virtually all of Leria at this point).

Undead rise with the same physical capacity as the corpse. A powerful warrior in life will be a powerful warrior in Undeath. A frail, old woman in life will be a frail ghoul in Undeath. Undead do not age; a child that rises in Undeath will not grow into an adult, and will remain a child for the duration of their undeath. Because undead do not grow, they cannot ever grow stronger. Physical training is useless for an undead and is in fact deleterious. The wear caused by intense exertion cannot heal as it would in a living human. In other words, a ghoul is as only as strong as it was when it died and will gradually weaken over time.

Corpses can also become ghouls when the ground they were buried in becomes cursed by the Ritual of Undeath. In order to rise and walk about, these ghouls must have some flesh left on their bones. In some areas of Leria - particularly in the North - climatic factors and soil chemistry have left even very old bodies very well preserved, resulting in extensive reserves of high-quality ghouls just waiting to be dug out of the ground. These areas are of significant strategic value to the undead. Completely skeletonized bodies cannot rise up, though this is not to say that skeletons cannot be ghouls. It is possible to graft ribbons of flesh onto the joints of a skeleton that allow it to move about. While this can be done, it is a very labor-intensive process even for skilled meatworkers. Skeletons are usually only "stitched-up" when decent corpses cannot be sourced from local cemeteries.

The undead are theoretically immortal, and will persist as long as their body does. However, as previously stated, the undead degrade over time due to wear and tear as well as environmental factors. Ghouls that routinely perform strenuous work or engage in combat will not last more than a few years while very sedentary undead could last for perhaps a hundred years or more. The degradation process can be further slowed with the application of embalming fluids, which stave off decomposition and can also keep undead flesh supple and elastic. The most common embalming fluid in Leria is aqua vitae: high-proof grain alcohol. The enormous demand for potent spirits with which to make aqua vitae which has rather-curiously forced the undead to begin farming again. More exotic embalming fluids requiring advanced alchemical knowledge to produce are reserved for some Revenants Major or the strange endeavors undertaken in the Meatworks of Necron.

Map

Once Upon A Kingdom

Ruler: Lord Gnagmath Grizzlebeard

Name: Lord Gnagmath Grizzlebeard
Race: Dwarf
Description: Gnagmath is the reigning Grizzlebeard lord of the Middlestrath, residing in his court in the heart of the citadel-mountain of Redvein. An aging Dwarf of some 60 winters or so, he keeps the eponymous thick gray beard of his family in tight braids that extend down to the knees. Unlike most Dwarf men, he is not particularly stocky; he does not share the typical dwarven appetite for all things buttery, starchy, and meaty. Even more unusual for a Dwarf is his disinterest in drink. While his appetite is decidely undwarflike, he is extremely avaricious even by dwarf standards. In his spare time, the Grizzlebeard lord may often be found in the vaults of Redvein, jealously counting his innumerable coins and treasures.
Attributes: 1-Charm, 1-Lore, 1(+1)-Might, 4-Skill
Focus: Financial acumen: Gnagmath understands that wealth is power. As one of the wealthiest people or creatures in Paigeturne, Gnagmath devotes nearly every thought to increasing his wealth or employing it as efficiently as possible.
Foible: Madness: Gnagmath hears voices in his head that are not his own. He believes that his own gold speaks to him.

Realm: The Middlestrath

Name: The Middlestrath

Hider

Description: Situated in the center of the Dragonfang Mountains that comprise the mountainous Dwarven heartlands, the Middlestrath is comprised of snow-capped, jagged peaks and narrow valleys of thick conifer forest and cold, fast rivers. Man and the other races regard these mountains as inhospitable, and unyielding. But the industrious dwarves of the Middlestrath have earned incredible riches beneath the frigid, icy peaks.

Dwarvenkind has dwelled in the Dragonfang Mountains for as long as any of the scholar can say, long before the Kingdom of Paigeturne was established. Dwarven histories of this land begin some 1,700 years ago, when a dwarven shepherd guiding his flock through a goatpath in the mountains found embedded in a cliff face a ruby the size of a man's fist.

Redvein Mountain, as the dwarves came to know it, became the site of a fabulously lucrative gemstone mine. So many rubies, sapphires, opals, and other gems were harvested from the mines riddling the great mountain that, if they were sold all at once, gemstones would be rendered nigh-worthless due to their sudden abundance in the markets and bazaars of Paigeturne. The dwarves recognized this, and rather than sell their gems at once and fetch a pittance for them, elected to hoard their vast treasure. Instead, the dwarves pawned off their gemstones little by little, thereby preserving the value of their glut of precious stones.

By 1,000 years ago, Sturin Grizzlebeard had wrested control of the numerous mines in the area and became lord of Redvein Mountain. In order to protect his hoard of gold and gemstones from theft, he tasked his stonecutters and masons with converting exhausted mines in the upper reaches of Redvein into a storage vault for his vast wealth. Around these vaults, a truly redoubtable citadel was carved into the jagged facets of the mountain. Giant crenelated ledges were affixed with catapults and ballistae to ward off any foolish enough to try to lay siege. Stone piers out onto the glassy waters of Trout Lake allowed boats to easily offload new treasures at the gates of Redvein.

As the centuries went by, the dwarves of Sturin's Folk found that their gem mines were being exhausted. Prospectors went out across the Middlestrath and elsewhere, hoping to find virgin lodes of gemstones. Other mines were found, some bearing emeralds, silver, or mithril; some more profitable than others. However, none of the new mines could compare with the seemingly-endless wealth of the ancient Redvein mines.

Eddar Grizzlebeard was a crafty dwarf lord, and recognized that there would come a day that the mines would all run empty, and that a new strategy was needed to sate the innate desire of every dwarf to accumulate wealth. Eddar did the unthinkable, and loaned out small shares of his wealth to entrepreneurial Dwarves needing the initial treasure to begin merchant caravans, wilderness mines, and other ventures. Those who mocked Eddar's lending laughed no more when repayments began trickling back to the vaults of Redvein with usurious interest. Those that did not pay back their loans were subjected to mercenaries tasked with finding delinquent borrowers and repossessing the wealth by any means necessary. Even with delinquent borrowers that could not be collected from, lending gold proved far easier and safer than mining it.

This lending scheme works well for the dwarven lords, but does little for the lower-born Dwarves seeking treasure of their own. With the old mines running dry, enterprising dwarfs began looking beyond the Middlestrath for wealth. Many started wagon caravans and became traveling merchants that traversed every corner of Paigeturne... and beyond. Some 50 years ago, a traveling Dwarf merchant encountered a coastal village of Morsen on the northern coast of the Middlestrath. He noticed that the amphibious beastmen, in shucking oysters and clams, were simply casting pearls they found onto the ground. The Morsen, being a simple and primitive race, regarded pearls as a worthless byproduct of the shellfish they ate. The dwarf merchant paid next to nothing for a huge sack of pearls. This was the beginning of a lucrative, mutually-beneficial pearl trade between the Dwarves and the Morsen. Pearl hunters even began building boats and sailing across the treacherous waters of the Hoarfrost Sea in search of Morsen settlements that would sell their pearls for even cheaper.

Two Dwarf settlements were established on the icy northern shores of the Hoarfrost Sea to support the booming pearl trade. Five years ago, however, one of those settlements was attacked, and the inhabitants were all savagely butchered. Local Morsen claim it to be the work of the Icemen - a savage, brutish race of cannibals inhabiting the northern wastes north of Paigeturne. The incident has frightened away some Dwarves from the pearl trade, but the more foolhardy and avaricious pearlhunters are not so easily scared off.

Races: Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of the Middlestrath is inhabited by Dwarves. However, the Dwarves of Sturin's Folk are fairly tolerant of other races. Men are quite common in the border towns, and there a handful of remote hamlets and homesteads occupied entirely by men. The Dwarves leave these settlements alone, so long as their taxes are paid.

On the freezing shores of the Hoarfrost Sea, a population of sentient walruses known as the Morsen can be found. Their hind flippers have grown into stocky, cumbersome legs that allow the Morsen to waddle onto the land. They are plodding and slow on land but surprisingly agile in the sea; they are able to outswim a sailboat with favorable winds. While they can hold their breath for nearly an hour underwater, Morsen must sleep on land. Their days are mostly spent foraging under the waves for shellfish, abalones, and urchins and then come onto the land to eat and warm themselves with driftwood fires in crude huts made from whatever flotsam they can find. They are unable to speak in any tongues of men, but Morsen can understand human language and humans - with difficulty - can understand Morsen tongue. Interpreters, both human and Morsen, are indispensable components of the lucrative pearl trade.

Attributes:
Fertility: 1
Industry: 3
Nobility: 1
Prosperity: 2

Realm Traits:
-Hardy Folk: Your Heroes can always survive taking at least 1 more Wound, and its more difficult for them to
-Warriors Born: The Realm's Heroes and its Ruler receive +1 Might. Your Levies receive some basic training with melee weapons.

Heroes

Cedrik Mosscairn
Class: Scoundrel
While most of Lord Grizzlebeard's debtors pay their dues in a timely fashion, there are always a handful that need some 'persuasion'. Gnagmath has several repossessors in his employ, but none as brutish as Cedrik. Gnagmath dispatches Cedrik to deal with the most troublesome debtors, and collect by any means necessary.

Bezdan Brittletooth
Class: Magician
Bezdan is an ancient dwarf that has served as the court warlock for the past three Grizzlebeard lords. A polymath with a variety of interests ranging from alchemy, foreign languages and naturalism. Bezdan is called upon to advise in all matters scientific, arcane, or supernatural.

Horf
Class: Hunter
Dwarves going north of the Hoarfrost Sea need native guides. The Morsen are at home in the unforgiving, icy wasteland. In addition to understanding the environment and the hazards of the northern wastes, Horf can also speak in the tongue of men.

The vampre princes part 2

I had an idea that I just can’t make work - at least not in a way I’d be satisfied with. I kind of ragequit as a result. But I am moved by pug making a post - haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I will when I get home. I’ve brainstormed the very start of a plot arc and I just need a bit of time to put it to words.

Once Upon A Kingdom

Ruler: Lord Gnagmath Grizzlebeard

Name: Lord Gnagmath Grizzlebeard
Race: Dwarf
Description: Gnagmath is the reigning Grizzlebeard lord of the Middlestrath, residing in his court in the heart of the citadel-mountain of Redvein. An aging Dwarf of some 60 winters or so, he keeps the eponymous thick gray beard of his family in tight braids that extend down to the knees. Unlike most Dwarf men, he is not particularly stocky; he does not share the typical dwarven appetite for all things buttery, starchy, and meaty. Even more unusual for a Dwarf is his disinterest in drink. While his appetite is decidely undwarflike, he is extremely avaricious even by dwarf standards. In his spare time, the Grizzlebeard lord may often be found in the vaults of Redvein, jealously counting his innumerable coins and treasures.
Attributes: 1-Charm, 1-Lore, 1(+1)-Might, 4-Skill
Focus: Financial acumen: Gnagmath understands that wealth is power. As one of the wealthiest people or creatures in Paigeturne, Gnagmath devotes nearly every thought to increasing his wealth or employing it as efficiently as possible.
Foible: Madness: Gnagmath hears voices in his head that are not his own. He believes that his own gold speaks to him.

Realm: The Middlestrath

Name: The Middlestrath

Hider

Description: Situated in the center of the Dragonfang Mountains that comprise the mountainous Dwarven heartlands, the Middlestrath is comprised of snow-capped, jagged peaks and narrow valleys of thick conifer forest and cold, fast rivers. Man and the other races regard these mountains as inhospitable, and unyielding. But the industrious dwarves of the Middlestrath have earned incredible riches beneath the frigid, icy peaks.

Dwarvenkind has dwelled in the Dragonfang Mountains for as long as any of the scholar can say, long before the Kingdom of Paigeturne was established. Dwarven histories of this land begin some 1,700 years ago, when a dwarven shepherd guiding his flock through a goatpath in the mountains found embedded in a cliff face a ruby the size of a man's fist.

Redvein Mountain, as the dwarves came to know it, became the site of a fabulously lucrative gemstone mine. So many rubies, sapphires, opals, and other gems were harvested from the mines riddling the great mountain that, if they were sold all at once, gemstones would be rendered nigh-worthless due to their sudden abundance in the markets and bazaars of Paigeturne. The dwarves recognized this, and rather than sell their gems at once and fetch a pittance for them, elected to hoard their vast treasure. Instead, the dwarves pawned off their gemstones little by little, thereby preserving the value of their glut of precious stones.

By 1,000 years ago, Sturin Grizzlebeard had wrested control of the numerous mines in the area and became lord of Redvein Mountain. In order to protect his hoard of gold and gemstones from theft, he tasked his stonecutters and masons with converting exhausted mines in the upper reaches of Redvein into a storage vault for his vast wealth. Around these vaults, a truly redoubtable citadel was carved into the jagged facets of the mountain. Giant crenelated ledges were affixed with catapults and ballistae to ward off any foolish enough to try to lay siege. Stone piers out onto the glassy waters of Trout Lake allowed boats to easily offload new treasures at the gates of Redvein.

As the centuries went by, the dwarves of Sturin's Folk found that their gem mines were being exhausted. Prospectors went out across the Middlestrath and elsewhere, hoping to find virgin lodes of gemstones. Other mines were found, some bearing emeralds, silver, or mithril; some more profitable than others. However, none of the new mines could compare with the seemingly-endless wealth of the ancient Redvein mines.

Eddar Grizzlebeard was a crafty dwarf lord, and recognized that there would come a day that the mines would all run empty, and that a new strategy was needed to sate the innate desire of every dwarf to accumulate wealth. Eddar did the unthinkable, and loaned out small shares of his wealth to entrepreneurial Dwarves needing the initial treasure to begin merchant caravans, wilderness mines, and other ventures. Those who mocked Eddar's lending laughed no more when repayments began trickling back to the vaults of Redvein with usurious interest. Those that did not pay back their loans were subjected to mercenaries tasked with finding delinquent borrowers and repossessing the wealth by any means necessary. Even with delinquent borrowers that could not be collected from, lending gold proved far easier and safer than mining it.

This lending scheme works well for the dwarven lords, but does little for the lower-born Dwarves seeking treasure of their own. With the old mines running dry, enterprising dwarfs began looking beyond the Middlestrath for wealth. Many started wagon caravans and became traveling merchants that traversed every corner of Paigeturne... and beyond. Some 50 years ago, a traveling Dwarf merchant encountered a coastal village of Morsen on the northern coast of the Middlestrath. He noticed that the amphibious beastmen, in shucking oysters and clams, were simply casting pearls they found onto the ground. The Morsen, being a simple and primitive race, regarded pearls as a worthless byproduct of the shellfish they ate. The dwarf merchant paid next to nothing for a huge sack of pearls. This was the beginning of a lucrative, mutually-beneficial pearl trade between the Dwarves and the Morsen. Pearl hunters even began building boats and sailing across the treacherous waters of the Hoarfrost Sea in search of Morsen settlements that would sell their pearls for even cheaper.

Two Dwarf settlements were established on the icy northern shores of the Hoarfrost Sea to support the booming pearl trade. Five years ago, however, one of those settlements was attacked, and the inhabitants were all savagely butchered. Local Morsen claim it to be the work of the Icemen - a savage, brutish race of cannibals inhabiting the northern wastes north of Paigeturne. The incident has frightened away some Dwarves from the pearl trade, but the more foolhardy and avaricious pearlhunters are not so easily scared off.

Races: Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of the Middlestrath is inhabited by Dwarves. However, the Dwarves of Sturin's Folk are fairly tolerant of other races. Men are quite common in the border towns, and there a handful of remote hamlets and homesteads occupied entirely by men. The Dwarves leave these settlements alone, so long as their taxes are paid.

On the freezing shores of the Hoarfrost Sea, a population of sentient walruses known as the Morsen can be found. Their hind flippers have grown into stocky, cumbersome legs that allow the Morsen to waddle onto the land. They are plodding and slow on land but surprisingly agile in the sea; they are able to outswim a sailboat with favorable winds. While they can hold their breath for nearly an hour underwater, Morsen must sleep on land. Their days are mostly spent foraging under the waves for shellfish, abalones, and urchins and then come onto the land to eat and warm themselves with driftwood fires in crude huts made from whatever flotsam they can find. They are unable to speak in any tongues of men, but Morsen can understand human language and humans - with difficulty - can understand Morsen tongue. Interpreters, both human and Morsen, are indispensable components of the lucrative pearl trade.

Attributes:
Fertility: 1
Industry: 3
Nobility: 1
Prosperity: 2

Realm Traits:
-Hardy Folk: Your Heroes can always survive taking at least 1 more Wound, and its more difficult for them to
-Warriors Born: The Realm's Heroes and its Ruler receive +1 Might. Your Levies receive some basic training with melee weapons.

Heroes

Cedrik Mosscairn
Class: Scoundrel
While most of Lord Grizzlebeard's debtors pay their dues in a timely fashion, there are always a handful that need some 'persuasion'. Gnagmath has several repossessors in his employ, but none as brutish as Cedrik. Gnagmath dispatches Cedrik to deal with the most troublesome debtors, and collect by any means necessary.

Bezdan Brittletooth
Class: Magician
Bezdan is an ancient dwarf that has served as the court warlock for the past three Grizzlebeard lords. A polymath with a variety of interests ranging from alchemy, foreign languages and naturalism. Bezdan is called upon to advise in all matters scientific, arcane, or supernatural.

Horf
Class: Hunter
Dwarves going north of the Hoarfrost Sea need native guides. The Morsen are at home in the unforgiving, icy wasteland. In addition to understanding the environment and the hazards of the northern wastes, Horf can also speak in the tongue of men.

Name change request

Can you please change my name to TerrySchiavoSimpSquad? 🥺

The Wickedness of Man

Reporting in.

@The Wyrm

Good to have you, sir.

Full disclosure, you’ns: ya boy googer is not going to have any free time whatsoever this weekend. Feel free to post an application. Nothing fancy; there’s no official format. Just a brief outline of your character/nation so I know your concept is in line with the theme.