Terminal

Mech Designer Competition: Corporate Warfare

Well, as I allude to with the Budget score, category scores can be damaged over the course of the bidding race. If a Troubleshooter steals budget or R&D, those scores go down by 1 point and the opposing corporation gains a point. That said, I am not a fan of forcing posters to go down railroad tracks because of dice rolls. The way I envision it, a high security score limits the actions a hostile Troubleshooter can take by default, and also determines whether you can even detect enemy troubleshooters at all. Having a higher security score than the rival corporation has a troubleshooting score means that your security trips up the Troubleshooter, and your forces are made aware of their presence and intrusion. This doesn't mean the Troubleshooting effort is an automatic failure - the poster controlling the troubleshooter still has the option of trying to have them continue their mission, and the posters can reach an agreement dependent upon the context of the situation. Inversely, if the security score is lower than the opposing Troubleshooting score, the Troubleshooter gets in and out undetected - and in this case, all the Security score does is limit or else mitigate the damage the Troubleshooter can do. Security can even still capture/kill the Troubleshooter if they attempt something that this 'passive' security prevents. Security Score of 4 versus a Troubleshooting score of 7? The Troubleshooter plants a nail bomb in your manufacturing center. If that Security Score is 5 instead, the Troubleshooter wasn't able to gain access to your manufacturing center and instead 'merely' assassinates your chief engineer. If this gets enough interest, I'll include a brief 'rule of thumb' description of how differences between Security/Troubleshooting will affect Troubleshooting attempts. Something important to keep in mind though that a lot of this will be dependent upon contextual information provided by each poster.

Mech Designer Competition: Corporate Warfare

The Setup: You are an Arms Corporation that has entered the bidding for a contract with the Military Complex. Your goal is to design and produce a Mecha prototype to participate in combat demonstrations that will take place in 90 days. Your prototype, if it survives the initial trials, will then be pitted against the competition. The last surviving Mech will be adopted by the Military Complex, and its designing corporation will win the bid for the contract. The Military Complex has an upper bidding limit however. The more expensive your mech is to produce, the fewer the Complex will ultimately have your corporation manufacture, and the less money you will actually make. You must therefore ensure your mech prototype is versatile, deadly, and as cheap as feasibly possible.

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For the purposes of this RP, I am considering implementing a point system to serve as a check on the variety/relative balance of each Corporation in play. That said, I am open to suggestions on the notion, and if enough people think it would be better to do without it I will probably let everyone make their corporation however they like and handle adjustments individually. I would appreciate it if I could at least get feedback on the point system I describe below though, since I've tried to handle it in a way that leaves creating your corporation as open as possible. The central premise of MDC: Corporate Warfare is the interactions between all of the corporations during the 90 day bidding race. The below categories are only briefly described, and I have no problems with posters using them creatively for purposes not otherwise described (using Legal to steal R&D or budget from other corporations for example, which is normally the purview of Troubleshooting).

Resource Allocation

Deficit spending is so last decade. You have already calculated the approximate upper boundaries of resource expenditure you can invest in this project before your net profit from winning the bid (IF you win the bid) becomes negligible. You have 40 points to distribute between seven categories (with a max score of 10 in each category) that will represent the scope of this project.

Budget

How much money do you have to throw around? As the days tick by, various incidents can impact your category scores, potentially boosting or damaging them - and influencing the final product you submit for the Combat Trials. You can use your Budget in order to boost damaged scores back up to their original total (scores cannot be boosted above the original total using Budget). Budget is also used to for miscellaneous expenditures, such as bribery and litigation. Budget essentially exists to make problems go away. If you run out of money, you have to suck up your losses and keep going. A high budget score can help to accommodate, but not replace, the Legal and Security scores. Budget can also be stolen by hostile Troubleshooters.

Logistics

In order to make a Mech, you need raw materials and personnel from here and there shipped to your center of operations. This score describes the shipping of materials and people to and from your holdings from various different, distant locations. The higher this score, the more places you can obtain materials from, and the faster your materials and personnel are moved around. Not only can a high logistics score help complete a project faster, it helps prevent shipment/convoy interception by hostile Troubleshooters. If your logistics score is too low, parts and personnel can take a week or more to arrive, leaving you with an unfinished project after the 90 day time allotment.

Manufacturing

You can't make a mech without engineers and assembly lines. This score describes how sophisticated your construction process actually is. At its lowest, you probably have some guy with a Bachelor's Degree working in his garage. The higher the score, the faster work goes, and the more sophisticated your mech can be. While you can theoretically make a mech of extreme sophistication even using just the one guy, the time he would take to do so would exceed the 90 day time limit. Like Logistics, a low Manufacturing score can mean you might not finish your Mech in time if it is highly sophisticated (simpler Mech designs will not have this problem).

R&D

This score describes the power of SCIENCE!!! The higher it is, the fancier and more sophisticated your mech can be. This does not define what technologies you use so much as the efficiency with which the design is implemented. A low R&D score can still produce big zappy science lasers for example, but the laser will be less effective/efficient than the death laser the other team with the better R&D score produced. R&D, like Budget, can be stolen by Troubleshooters.

Legal

It turns out that making large death machines has a number of legal ramifications. The Legal Score has numerous purposes. It is used to reduce the costs of purchased materials, cover workplace accidents, prevent bribery, conceal internal conspiracies and incriminating events/evidence, attempt hostile takeovers of other companies, and so forth. A high legal score means you'll have a team of Paralegals on-call 24/7 to cover your ass if anything goes wrong during the bidding race, or else to pressure other corporations with red tape.

Security

Every corporate entity needs to protect its interests. Security describes how difficult it is for your operations to be directly interfered with. A high security score will help protect against hostile Troubleshooting attempts, and in general will help to enforce workplace safety and deter pesky/inconvenient bystander interference (by ironically aggressive war protesters for example). Security is not just physical, but also digital - a high Security score will help to deter hacking and other forms of electronic treachery.

Troubleshooting

You don't necessarily need to make a good Mech if you can somehow make sure all the other corporations submit complete crap. Troubleshooters are professionals who will head out into the world and directly interfere with/sabotage the efforts of competing corporations. Troubleshooters can disrupt logistics, assassinate key project personnel, sabotage critical components, steal R&D information, disrupt manufacturing, and dangle Paralegals out of 12th story windows. In addition, Troubleshooters can even attempt to rig the Live Combat Trials your mech (or other mechs) will go through at the end of the 90 day bidding race. Note that, if caught or killed, a Troubleshooter's activities can be traced back to you, which will likely have notable legal ramifications (amongst other things).

Of course, it's not all corporate fun and games. At the end of the bidding race, we have some Mech action. How your mechs perform will be based primarily on how well you designed your mech, but other factors such as trial rigging and sabotage are still important factors.

Constructing Your Mech Prototype

The Military Complex is not picky about what design you use. How will your Mech operate? Will it be piloted, or run by an A.I.? Perhaps it is remote controlled via satellite uplink? Does it have legs or wheels, two or six? Does it hover? Can it navigate any kind of terrain? What weapons does it use? How durable is its chassis? Most importantly, how cheap is it?

The Combat Trials

After 90 days, your mech will be subjected to a number of live-fire performance trials to determine that it meets the bare minimum requirements of the Complex. The mech will be expected to pass the following tests in order to win the bid - destruction of the mech results in failure and its elimination from the bid. The mech can be repaired between trials, but during the trial either makes it or breaks to pieces. Note that while more than one of the following trials allude to aerial performance, it is not a requirement for mechs to be able to fly - though it is advised that they have some means of attacking aerial combatants. -Terrain Trial: Master of Sea, Land, Air. Stationary explosive hazards (mines) present. -Speed Trial: Not a timed trial, but a test of maneuverability and breaking. How fast can you go without splattering against the walls? Hazards are limited to speed bumps and physical impediments. -Stress Trial: Can you feel the burn? Push your mech's hardware and software far beyond their absolute stated limits, and see how long they last. Your only obstacle in this trial, is yourself. -Infantry Trial: Pit your mech against an escalating series of foot soldier combatants equipped with a diverse arsenal. Hazards include small arms (rifles), grenades, flamethrowers, rockets, PEP weapons, and Human tenacity. -Armor Trial: Pit your mech against an escalating series of armored vehicles. Hazards include high caliber machine guns, HEAT shells, MISV swarm missiles, high-yield energy weapons, and more. -Aerial Trial: You've brushed away the brawn. Now you have to deal with the close air support. The final trial is a duel with an aerial gunship armed to the teeth. Its design is intimidating, its weapons terrifying, its tactics supreme. If your mech cannot defeat the gunship, it wouldn't have stood a chance in The Final Battle Anyway.

The Final Battle

As long as at least two mechs passed all the trials, the surviving models are pitted against each other in a no-holds-barred free for all, last mech surviving wins. The Complex does not care about individual mechs being 'ganged up on,' or whether or not they spend the whole match skulking in the corner or else flying to the very top of the arena until everyone else is gone, or whether or not one mech 'cheated' by blocking another mech's satellite uplink and rendering it immobile. Any mech that made it this far already meets their requirements, the Final Battle is used to assess the 'mettle' of the winning model. Upset victories are to be expected. Victory results in glory and winning the contract. Fame and accolades are yours. Loss results in nothing but wasted time, money, and crushed dreams. Also possibly crushed pilots if your mech had to be manned. Start scrambling to point blame and sack the people involved in the project.

Corporation and Mechs sheet formats are pending.

The Heavens Aflame - A Civil War Among Deities

Summit of Hevas, Realm of the Gods Nasan Ascent The final stretch of pathway leading up to Lake Miphas and the True Realm of the gods lay directly adjacent to the downward flowing stream that was but one part of the great Nasan Waterfall. Though night and darkness were cast upon the path like a pall, eternal dawn sprung from the horizon at the zenith of the staircase. There, the Eternal Serpent Ouroboros rested its massive head, scales shimmering like pearl and opal in the sunlight. Standing as the last obstacle to any mortal that might attempt to achieve Apotheosis, the great serpent did not block the path to Lake Miphas and only bestrode the sacred road leading to the first of that body's many bridges. The challenge was not in overcoming the gargantuan creature, but in resisting its temptations. For the Eternal Serpent was no mere Leviathan adorning the crown of the world, but was the essence of the slain god Svanus, whose body the serpent had shed as a molt. Within its cavernous length lay the corridors and stacks of The House of Books, and All Knowledge dwelt therein. Its traditional location also made The House of Books the single most-visited upon locale in the realm of the Gods, both by divine personages and their servants alike. Even should they merely pass by up or down the Nasan Path, always did they pass before the eyes of Ouroboros. Within the belly of the Great Serpent, the Goddess Dihira breathed a ponderous and heavy breath laden with wariness of that very fact. For though noble and just in her own way, the Dark Librarian had many enemies, now more than ever. As those exiled from Hevas to Sharzunates. climbed the Nasan pathway to once again rejoin Miphas, the first domain of the true gods they would come across would be hers, Dihira's, goddess of knowledge, mother of serpents. She who had helped the Mad God King Aroesus to banish many of them in the first place. That she has subsequently contributed to his upbraiding and downfall was of little consequence in the shadow of her ill repute. Though heavy with wariness as she was, the Goddess Dihira did not stray from her purpose and intent. Aroesus was dead, as was intended. The veracity of the matter could no longer be withheld, and thus Dihira spoke: ~Servitors and Children, attend to me, for the time has come once again to disseminate the Anthologies of all Divine Affairs to Mortal Minds and Mortal Hands. The God King is slain at long last, and as all the world and its bodies tremble at his passage, so too will its minds know the measure of his absence.~ She swept across the tiled ammolite Foyer of the House of Books, cavernous stacks and ribs of bone and book looming in endless, spiraling fractals akin to a gaping chasm in her wake. She settled at the desk of the Librarian at the foremost of that place, making no effort to hide her presence within. Though many might come to chastise her, this was her domain, and the Mother of Serpents was possessed of both draconic might and surety of place. If there was to be a conflict, she would meet all comers in battle...but only on her own terms. As she seated herself she gestured errantly. Several floating paper lamps descended from the darkness of the ceiling, like stars, to illuminate her works. From the shadows, coiling forms of feathered scales sidewinded into the penumbra of light as the Serpentine followers of the Goddess basked in the light and warmth of her knowledge. They stood still and rapt, ready to take in her revelations that might be passed onto the mortal world. Dihira produced a Crow-feather quill as a viper slid out from the folds of her sleeve, and gently sunk its fangs into the bare of her forearm. Divine ichor, empyrean is its luminescence and splendor, dribbled from Dihira's arm and into her inkpot. She dipped the quill therein, and with the very essence of divinity itself, wrote of the Death of Aroesus, speaking aloud for the benefit of nearby transcribers and listeners alike. ~At the waning of the second age of Divinity, Aroesus, whose father was Ventu, King of the Gods and Final Arbiter of Krona, was slain. ~He was slain by the hands of many, among them was... Dihira proceeded to list every single God and Goddess who had partipated in the upbraiding of Aroesus with their daggers, falling upon his prone and naked form mercilessly. ~...though were it not for his vulnerability at the hands of treachery, Aroesus may well have overwhelmed his assailants and their arms. Though mighty, he had been lain low through his copulation with the corpse of Lyrikes, whose body has been corrupted by a great poison fashioned by Odysus, God of Fugue. The essence of the poison was derived from the fangs of the Eternal Serpent Ouroboros, milked by Dihira, Goddess of Knowledge, for the very purpose of weakening Aroesus and laying him low.~ Dihira's eyes and brow neither flickered nor wavered as she invoked her own complicity in the downfall of Aroesus. ~Though much of the Heavens and the Body of Lymaeus trembled and burnt at his passing, the Gods and Goddess and servants and peoples and beings of all of Hevas and of all of the Sharzunates celebrated in joy at the downfall of his great and terrible madness. Thus it was decreed, 'Let forever this day be marked as one of celebration and levity, for though the Aether itself weeps at the death of the Divine, a great Evil has passed from this world, and the fires of change shall bestir the waxing of greater times in the dawn of the Third Age.~ And thus, Dihira's Feathered Servitors flew. They slithered down the halls of the House of Books, and through its twisted geometries found their ways into the realm of Mortal kind. Unseen, they stalked amongst the brilliant and the mad alike, sowing divine inspiration through quarrels from their Epiphianc bows. And so even as Caesilinus burned, its Great Library, one of the few structures to remain untouched and unblemished by the flames, was filled with a surety of purpose. Transcribers and Archivists, taken ahold of by abrupt levies of clarity, began to rush to and fro between the shelves to uncover ancedotal information and passages as word of the accounts of the gods took root in their minds. Not even in that library alone did they strive, but across all the world, in quiet forlorn studies and in the palaces of kings, in the corners of taverns and in the towers of the learned mages. Not only was Aroesus dead, but the day of his death had just been declared a Holy Day of celebration and joy. High upon the foyer of the House of Books, the flow of ichor from Dihira's forearm ceased as the viper withdrew its fangs, and she rose from her desk. Her eyes were calm in their set and shape, though a rancorous gleam raged therein. ~Oh servants of mine, our work is not done. Fly now and go, go to the palace of Krona, and take the measure of the Dowager Queen of the Gods and my mother, Mysia. Fly and find her form, and stand ready in waiting as you follow her. Soon, her heartless essence will join that of her husband's, in oblivion.~

The Heavens Aflame - A Civil War Among Deities

I am ready to go. As far as I'm concerned, you may begin at will.

The Descent of Man

Asia China Xinjiang Region The Kunlun Mountains G219 Ran decided that he hated these mountains. Under normal circumstances, Ran was fine with mountains. He had even lived on a few. The surrounding slopes and ridges were entirely unlike any other king of mountain range Ran had ever heard of though. Where the ground didn't have the texture and color of dead, pockmarked flesh, it the color of dusken rust. The air was freezing, but also dry and stale. These mountains had more in common with the Lunar surface than with anything else, and having to be in them was so far proving to be a thoroughly shitty experience. They wouldn't have even been here if it hadn't been for the old-world roadmap they had found, showing a convenient route leading straight from Xinjiang to Tibet, the only road in all of China to do so, cutting a more or less straight path straight through the mountains. The only other route through the Qinghai region looped around and was more than four times longer. At the time cutting through the mountains on the G219 'highway' had seemed like a good idea, given the convoy's limited fuel. Looking back, Ran was of the opinion that they should have just forgotten about going to Tibet entirely. Calling the G219 a highway was a generous description for the single-lane, eroded, winding road. Steeply inclined, winding and turning so often Ran was convinced they weren't even heading South, and frequently the whole thing would simply vanish into dead rock or mud without a trace. Had it been up to Ran, the entire convoy would have turned around days ago. Nailtooth was adamant though - the convoy was to push on. The one grace was that the mountains, at least for the moment, seemed devoid of mutants - the scouts Nailtooth sent out every time the convoy stopped at a dead end to rediscover the trail never saw anything strange. A few hours ago, the road had vanished into bedrock again, sharply inclined and ridged. The road reemerged just a few dozen meters down, but then turned into a U and vanished again. Nailtooth had ordered the entire convoy down the ridges, which were too steep for any of the trucks to go back up - and so now they were all stuck until the scouts could find the road again. And so Ran leaned against the front of the idling truck at the head of the convoy, trying to steal what little warmth remained from the rapidly cooling engine as he stared at the great natura masterpiece that was Empty Night Sky over Barren Hills of Rocks. He readjusted the strap for his AK-74 uncomfortably as he tried to keep it steady on his back while folding both hands under his arms. Another factor contributing to his dislike of the mountains here, he had drawn the lot for guard duty the entire last week. He'd only had scant break shifts in the truck where they kept all the food, and every night he had slept in ragged blankets instead of one of the sleeping bags. He wasn't going to complain - Nailtooth didn't take any shit. The last people to complain had been stripped, tied up, and then rolled down a crevice. But if things didn't change soon, one way or another, Ran was seriously considering making a break for it with as much food as he could carry. If there was one thing he would miss, it would be the women they had picked up being kept in the rear van. Surviving for future conquests was more appealing still than being stuck in a rut, but nonetheless, for now he just waited. Last time he had looked at the map, they had been nearing some kind of station just before the convoy had run across the dead end. Perhaps things would start turning around soon. There was a distant series of cracks, and Ran felt three small objects thud into his chest. He slumped, fell, and died before he hit the ground. The entire convoy erupted into chaos as gunfire began to crisscross from both sides of the road, muzzle flashes blooming seemingly from thin air. A few of the convoy guards managed to unstrap their weapons and return fire, but in the darkness they couldn't see the forms of their attackers, blending in with the mud and the rocks almost perfectly. Even the flash from their gunfire didn't help, as it came and went in bursts and waves, improbably coordinated to deny the convoy any chance of drawing a bead on their attackers. In the end, only three of the raiders survived. Their assailants, numbering five in total, were dressed in roughshod fatigues and mismatched ballistic armor - but they all carried seemingly pristine TAR-21s, and they moved in completely silence, using only brief hand signals as they swept through the line of stalled trucks. All of them wore bands of dull, intertwined green and yellow cloth wrapped around their necks, but otherwise lacked any distinguishing marks. Once they had disarmed the three raiders that had surrendered, they executed them on the spot and spent the next ten minutes checking every body to make sure each of the intruders was truly dead. They left the various affects and items the corpses carried untouched. Next they searched all four of the trucks. They opened the heavy rear doors, briefly scanned the interiors, and then closed them. When the five came to the final truck and found the women inside, they finally paused in their otherwise relentless sweep. One of them spoke a number of short, curt phrases in numerous languages. Mandrarin, Hindi, and Mongolian - when the women only returned blank stares, the leader shrugged and closed the doors again, securing the lock that had held them shut. He pulled out a short-range radio and made his report. "Mazha Palace Actual, this is Haungdi Seven Lead, please ready to copy, over." "Roger Lead. Ready to receive, over." "Interception is successful, no casualties, twenty four confirmed takedowns. Bandit liquid assets include four trucks, bulk shipment, twenty gallons of gasoline, several provision crates, eleven sleeping bags, two space heaters, various small arms, ammunition, affects, and seven slaves. Over." "Roger Lead, copy is complete. Yali force will converge on the asset site via the Zenith pathway and will secure the recorded materials. Your orders are to recall to Mazha Palace Zulu immediately, over." "Wilco, out." The leader pocketed the radio and made a gesture to the other four militants. They all fell into single-file and tracked off the road, vanishing into the steppes.

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Kunlun Mountains Mazhada La The Mazhada lamasery, even in its glory days, had never been anything more than a small stone shack next to a stone bridge traversing the muddy end of a mountain rapid. Being so small, its few occupants had vacated shortly after the end of the world to seek refuge in one of the larger lamaseries. Now it was simply being used as a Squad resupply and rest stop. Haungdi Seven shuffled in one by one, silently picking out space on the floor to sit down and start stripping their rifles for maintenance. "The trucks had Russian markings." One of the militants said conversationally. "Didn't Fenghuang say there was a city of survivors up there?" "Was. Recent survey says somebody dusted them." The squad leader replied. "May even have been our departed friends. There aren't many other places they could have gotten the gas to run those trucks." "Either that or they ran through after the place was torn down. Personally, I say it was mutants. I keep hearing about twenty foot tall demons that breath lightning." "There has been trickle down regarding mutants somewhere far West. Apparently the closer you get to Central Europe, the bigger and meaner they get. Makes me glad the worst we have to deal with is other people." "Don't get complacent. The militants to the Southwest may be our primary concern, but there have been mutants migrating into Kunlun from every direction for years now. You don't hear about them often because the only places with food tend to be the valleys..." "Which we occupy." The leader finished. "But I am of a like mind. We can't be everywhere at once. There are plenty of crags and crannies where there could be whole nests of mutants. We could search for decades and never find them." The newest member of the squad, fresh out of basic training, finally spoke up. "Also, I think we're all forgetting what's important. Everyone knows we're the last bastion of civilization for thousands of miles in every direction. Eventually everyone will realize it's better to come to us and join rather than fight us. The Yellow Emperor will soon be posed to emerge from Jade Palace Zulu and start reviving the old world." All four of his comrades burst out laughing. "Hey!" He protested. "What's the joke? Everyone knows about that." "Kid, I don't know what you heard in the villages or in training, but there is no Yellow Emperor." The squad leader said, rolling their eyes with a half smile on their face. "There is a Jade Palace Zulu, but it's just a regular Lamasery. It's about fifty klicks from here. Our actual ops center is Qilin Base, in the Aksai Chin." "Wait, that's not what I heard. My last squad leader said Qilin Base was here in Xinjiang." One of the other militants said, frowning as they looked up from their rifle. "Both of you settle down, I've actually been to Qilin Base. It's wedged between Xinjiang and the Chin. It's where all the real action goes on. Most marauders and the worse mutants come from that direction, so that's where the bulk of our forces are mustered. I even saw a few artillery pieces when I was stationed there." "That sounds right. My mistake." The squad leader nodded. "But what about the Yellow Emperor? If he doesn't exist, who leads the Jade Palace?" The rookie asked. The squad leader shrugged. "Some local militia leader who probably managed to convince everyone to work together. Reason it worked here instead of everywhere else is because Kunlun was not burned by the great blaze." "You don't actually know?" The rookie asked incredulously. "No, I don't, but it doesn't matter. You were still at least half right. Eventually, people will realize the Jade Palace is the future, and come to us. And if half of them are as gullible as you, maybe the history books will even have their own Yellow Emperor." Perched lazily on a mound of rock several meters outside the shack, a Qilin lazily flicked its forked tongue at the shack, listening curiously to the barbling animal noises from within. After a few moments it snorted, a small arc of electrostatic energy streaking from its horns and across the surface of the boulder it was resting on. It then leapt forward off into the air and flew away.

The Aesteria Chronicles

Waiting for Helen/Adonai to move before I proceed.

An Age of Empires [Low Fantasy - Advanced]

Subject to Revision, Still Partially Under Construction

The Fulmen Nati

The Fulmen Nati

Demonym: The Fulmen, The Nati, Demihumans, Savages, Primitives

Description

The Fulmen Nati are a subgroup of genetically distinct humans isolated in the jungle vales of the continent's Western edge. They live in twelve divisive regions centered around large city-villages, with several regions being controlled by despotic warlords who constantly wage battle with each other and rule using fear and terror. The populace has a strong, culturally ingrained religion which is omnipresent throughout all of their society, and a ruling thearchy exists in the form of a gathering of twelve senior shaman, one from each region. The senior-most shaman is chosen to serve as the Lugal, a conduit for the will of the Fulmen Nati pantheon's foremost god, for a period of up to a year, after which they die and must be replaced. As such, the roster of shaman amongst the gathering is constantly shifting and changing as the years pass by. The thearchy has no formally recognized authority, but retains de-facto control of the nation due to their vast cultural and traditional influence.

Government: Oligarchical Theocracy. A ruling body of Shaman control all of society due to immense traditional and cultural influence over all affairs of note. Most mandates and decrees are passed down from the senior-most Shaman, the Lugal, who serves as an alleged conduit for the will of the Fulmen Natis' foremost god. The nation is thus said to be governed according to divine providence.

Economy:

The Fulmen Nati lack any form of official currency, and still use a barter and trade system involving goods and services. All forms of material wealth tend to flow in one of three directions - subsistence utilities, local warlords, and the local priesthood. The common people use most of their resources to tend to their own needs, while Warlords contribute fortifications and military utilities, and the Priesthood focuses on public works. In the Fulmen Nati tongue, the word for 'Trade' means the same as 'Mutual Raiding.' City Villages do not nominally trade, but goods are regularly stolen and shifted between population centers by skirmishing forces.

Religion

The Fulmen Nati worship a pantheon of seven gods. Tafari, God of Awe and Power. Tiamat, Goddess of Despair, Anguish, Rage, and Rancor. Sathanas, Goddess of the Unknown and the Ineffable. Poe, God of Chaos, Madness, Inspiration, and Art. An, Goddess of Wind, Breath, and Grace. Mannet, God of Matter and Motion. Mot, God of Sterility and Death. The gods came to the world after it had already been formed, and choose it as their new home. Each of them took a form within the universe, becoming embodiments of the physical laws and nature of the world itself. First was Tafari, who became the Star. All power, all life, and all change flow from him and the light he emits. He is worshiped through demonstrations of might and superiority. Various states of mind, such as Awe, Terror, Confusion, and Euphoria are all associated with him, and as such he is also the god most responsible for prophetic visions and dreams. An infamous prophecy told long ago stated that the God Tafari would know three laments, and upon the third, the end of the world would dawn. Thus far, Tafari is considered to know two laments. Second was Sathanas, who became one with the aether and the outer boundaries of space, forever unseen and intangible, working in ways alien and unknown even to the other members of the Pantheon. This resulted in the first lament of Tafari, who could no longer see his sister, no matter how swiftly or how far he flung his light. Sathanas is worshiped through the contemplation of unknowable things; upon her holy day it is customary to have one's dwelling rearranged by a stranger and then attempt to reason why each change was made. Third was Tiamat, who became the essence of Form and Shape, embodying the bones of the Earth as an opposite to the position of her sister, Sathanas. She is said to define the nature of all things through their shape and qualities, and as such is associated with the personality and mind. The Fulmen Nati believe that only despair and rage can give rise to true strength and as the source of all personal drive (Sorrow and Anger. The happy are complacent). As such, Tiamat is worshiped as font of these two extremes. She is worshiped only on moonless nights by bathing in tar. Fourth was Poe, who attempted to manifest his form directly upon the world itself. Because of the nature of the world, he shattered into countless pieces upon the attempt, each piece being flung to one of the world's countless corners. Each shard of the god remained alive, driven mad with pain and existential agony, and so began to twist and distort the weft and fabric of the world - thus, the shards of Poe are said to make up the essence of all reflective surfaces. Poe is therefore the god of Chaos and Madness, embodying disorder, but is also the source of all inspiration, daring, and spirit. On Poe's holy day, one is expected to create a great work of art, and then subsequently destroy it in public. Fifth was An, who also desired to manifest their form directly upon the world. Seeing her brother's failed attempt, she shaped her mind into a needle, and her body into thread, and thus pierced through the fabric of the world and wove herself through it. However, as she continuously pulls herself through the world, her body unweaves itself behind her - thus giving rise to the phenomena of wind. She is worshiped through Dance. Sixth was Mannet, who also desired to manifest upon the world. However, fearful of attempting to do so as Poe had, and not being as graceful as his sister An, Mannet lacked any clever means of doing so - until he noticed that light shed by Tafari could fall upon the world without being destroyed, despite originating from his divine body. Thus, Mannet infused Tafari's light with his essence, and fell upon the world, seeping into the ground. However, his plan fell short when he found himself unable to emerge from the Earth, distributed across its entire surface as heat and warmth. Thus, Mannet became forever trapped, his struggles to form a body manifesting as the shifting and malleable nature of matter. This resulted in the second Lament of Tafari, who felt great anguish upon having unwillingly trapped his brother. Mannet is worshipped through the art of metalworking. Seventh and last of all was Mot, God of Sterility and Death. Mot, being greedy and envious of the entirety of the universe and the holdings of all his siblings, refused to take form within the universe itself, instead remaining without it. He thus embodies the void of potentia, and so is the God of Sterility - the absence of potential. Mot is well known for his greed and his insatiable hunger, and so constantly devours pieces of the universe, and is responsible for entropy and death. All things are said to eventually wind up in Mot's belly, which is vaster and darker than the deepest and darkest of oceans. Mot was originally worshipped through sacrificial rites and ritual dismemberment with the mummification of the removed appendage. However, after the incident involving the Necromancer Tien'camot, worship of Mot is actively discouraged.

Geography

The Fulmen Nati occupy a diverse range of biomes. Most of their land is made up of swamp and marshland, giving way to thicker tropical jungles and heavy vegetation. Many of these swamps and jungles are nestled between massive mountain valleys, and the region is host to multiple mountain chains. Around the outskirts of their jungles and valleys is largely rocky riverland. The region is home to some of the most extreme altitude points on the continent - the mountain of Fulmen Vigra is possibly the tallest mountain on the continent, while the Baleosus basin is perhaps the deepest massive depression present.

Population and Demographics:

Gender Makeup: 52% Male - 48% Female Ethnic Makeup: +98% Demihuman - ~2% Miscellaneous Minorities Languages Spoken: 87% D'ni - 21% Stel - 14% Carn - 39% Ei'ge Religions: ~100% Effulgent - ~12% Draconic - ~19% Stranger - ~13% Mourner - ~32% Threader - ~28% Molder - -1% Sterile

Demihumans

The Fulmen Nati population went through a severe genetic bottleneck in the recent past, resulting in a marked genetic drift away from baseline humans. Demihumans have skin that is tinged with a faint green hue, akin to that of trolls. They tend to be somewhat stronger physically than regular humans, but have a lower overall blood pressure and problems with blood clotting, meaning they heal slowly in comparison and take longer to shift their bodies into high gear.

Notable Locations: Fulmen Vigra: The sacred site atop the Mt. Limen, where the influence of the Fulmen Nati's foremost god is said to be strongest. Fuliperlitt: The largest, most developed city in all the Nati lands. It is the crowning jewel of their civilization, built into a plateau in the shadow of Mt. Limen. Apricor: The tower citadel, a massive temple built in honor of the gods, built atop a large meca near the Northern shoreline. Home to a large number of religious scholars and prophets, and also a center of training for their holy order of warriors. Iugulum Mot: The Sunken City-Village, rumored to have been devoured by swamp itself as an offering to Mot in a plot facilitated by the high Priest Tien'camot. Said to be cursed and haunted by revenants and wraiths, few dare to venture near it. Baleosus: A city-village built into the Metfall basin, Baleosus is the most industrialized city present amongst the Nati lands. Most of their mineral wealth and metalwork originates from here. It has several large, hand-carved shafts of stone that are nearly two miles deep in the Earth, with mines and barrow passages branching off of each. Radix Arx: A city-village built into a series of underground ruins. Most of the population is made up of the subterranean Last Family, and almost qualifies as a micro-nation unto itself. Most of the internal going-ons of Radix Arx are unknown to the outside world.

Personalities of Note

Tien'diad: Tien'diad is a warrior of great repute and fame, said to be thrice blessed by Tafari, Tiamat, and An to never fall in battle. Rose to prominence after defeating the twin Warlords Sirn and Ara'chatuh in a trial by champion engagement between two skirmishing militias. He was once favored to replace them as a Warlord, but eventually dedicated himself to a Holy Purpose and now serves the Religious Order. Warlord Charis: Warlord of the city-village Ecsigent and the surrounding region, Charis is far and away the most singularly bloodthirsty of the five warlords. Infamous for using fire to great effect and commonly leading skirmishes during storms. Charis has standing orders to summarily execute any women who bear her approximate appearance after learning that the warlord Nallot favored concubines who resembled her. Warlord Nallot: Warlord of the city-village Satus, who is considered the most civilized. Most likely of any of the warlords to openly deal with outsiders, and has a keen mind for trade. Has a fondness for exotic creatures and possessions. Despite being somewhat reasonable, he is still quick to use his forces as leverage and has a short temper. He is also rumored to pay handsomely for slaves with a particular look about them... Warlord Balefor: Warlord of the city-village Baleosus and the entire Metfall Basin. He effectively controls the flow of all minerals and metals in and out of the basin, and is thus in an incredibly advantageous political and economic position. He is a relative newcomer to the five warlords, and nobody is quite sure what his intentions are. He will launch raids and skirmishes at others as a matter of course, but is largely unaggressive and seemingly content to sit where he is and consolidate his power. The word is that he is willing to buy slaves from foreign powers in bulk, doubtlessly to serve as laborers in the Baleosus shaft mines. Lugal Aigen: The newly installed Lugal of the Fulmen Nati, previously high priest of the city-village of Fulperlitt. Known for being firm of hand and decisive. Has turned their gaze outwards to the other nations and lands on the continent. May or may not be a Demigod of unfathomable power. High Priest Iimah'lutah: The current senior-most high priest of the Lugal's gathering, Iimah'lutah is also the nominal leader of the city-village of Apricor, and is therefore unofficially the head of the entire religious order. Somewhat overzealous and stern, unwilling to accept compromise. High Priest Tien'camot: The exiled priest. Said to have caused the now-cursed city-village of Iugulum Mot to have sunk into the swamp as an offering to his god, Mot. On that day he was exiled from the gathering, and his seat was cursed to forevermore remain empty and to seep with the blood of those he slaughtered. It is said that Tien'camot is a necromancer, capable of raising the dead to serve his will, and it is also said that Mot has gifted him with immortality.

Institutions

The Gathering of High Priests under the Lugal: The Lugal and the gathering of high priests nominally control the entire nation. The Lugal is said to serve as a conduit for the will of the Fulmen Nati's foremost god. As there is a strong, deeply ingrained cultural religious heritage throughout the entire land, nearly everybody will do as they say without hesitation. Their priests and scholars roam throughout the land, preaching and serving the common people, and they control the order of holy warriors. The Apricor Prophets: A group of 12 prophets who live in seclusion at Apricor. Are said to have abandoned their individuality in order to operate as a single entity, capable of inducing prophetic visions of unparalleled clarity and purpose. Tafari's Questors: The order of Holy Warriors who serve the priesthood. Questors are sworn to protect the priesthood and otherwise enforce the path of Tafari. They are zealouts, and are entirely uncompromising in their beliefs. They technically operate independently of the priesthood proper, and as such can sometimes be witnessed operating as bands of warriors journeying through the wilderness, unaccompanied by members of the priesthood. The Effulgent Scholars: A guild of Religious Scholars from all the city-villages, the Scholars collect tomes of lore and accumulate knowledge in pursuit of the greater glory of the Fulmen Nati's pantheon. The Regional Warlords: Five warlords, each ruling over a regional city-village of the Fulmen Nati with an iron fist. Each of them rules through fear and the authority of the sword, but they are universally respecting of the religious order, and most of them even keep priests as advisers and counsel. The Free Family: A single lineage within the Fulmen Nati which is said to control more than half of all the wealth that flows through the nation, spread across the city-villages but nonetheless united under the common banner of family. While pious, they are known for being power hungry and ambitious, and the family is rife with petty internal politics. They unofficially own, run, and operate much of the Fulmen Nati land. The only real opposition they have comes in the form of the five regional warlords. The Blooded Family: The Blooded Family is not so much a group as much as it is a racial hierarchy. Any species and race can become a member of the Fulmen Nati, and when they do, they join the Blooded Family. In essence, the Blooded Family includes any non-Demihuman member of the Fulmen Nati. As the Blooded Family is currently nonexistent amongst their society, there is not much opinion of them. The Last Family: A genetically isolated lineage even within the Fulmen Nati, they are a single family who control the city-village of Radix Arx. They are incredibly wary of outsiders, and are hesitant even to let other Fulmen within their society. Almost their entire population worships Mannet alongside Tafari, and they possess a large number of cultural traditional and laws which make them almost alien in comparison to the other city-villages. The Venerable Aspirants: A large, prestigious organization that acts as one. The Blooded Family is infamous for their participation in annual holy day celebrations. They exist in order to raise orphans and the desperate as sacred warriors who participate in glorious competitions and bouts during das of celebration, with the winners being sacrificed by by tied to a lightning rod. Needless to say, mortality is quite high, and the Blooded Family is always looking for new individuals to fill their ranks. The glory of Tafari is always in need of fresh blood. The Cult of Mot: Ever since the incident at Iugulum Mot, worship of the God of Sterility has been all-but outlawed. That does not mean he has no followers remaining, however, and here and there, scattered throughout society, his few remaining worshipers practice in secret. The Cult of An: A heretical group of religious practitioners who were eradicated more than a decade ago for their sacrilegious practices. Rarely spoken of, if ever, and even then only in whispers.

Military

Organisation: The forces of the Fulmen Nati are divided between five divisive regional warlords and the religious order. While the religious order nominally controls and manipulates each of the warlords and their forces, ultimately each of them are closer to enemies than allies. Skirmishes, raids, and border engagements between warlords are common. Troop Total: 160,000 Individuals, consisting mostly of skirmishers. Army: There are five different standing armies amongst the Fulmen Nati, all boasting different numbers, tactics, regional influence, equipment, and so forth. Navy: The Fulmen Nati have a nonexistent navy. The closest thing they have to boats are rudimentary rafts used to navigate large swamps and rivers. Naval warfare is entirely unknown to them. Holy Order: The order of Holy Warriors that protect the priesthood operate on an entirely different scale and utilize different tactics relative to the guerrilla forces of the warlords. They tend not to travel in groups larger than seven though, and so are not a true military force per-se, although if they choose to congregate they could form an intimidating army.

Rolls

ESSENTIALS Population Density (Population - 3,200,000) - Regionally Dense; A good amount of manpower for the military and economic purposes, with social infrastructure strained more at a regional basis. Civic projects range from affordable to expensive. The nation requires a stronger economy to sustain itself. Economy - Stagnation - The economy is performing adequately, though there is room for improvement. There are certain limitations on the economy that are bottlenecking real growth, such as a restriction in investment capital or insufficient demand, however. There is some unemployment and economic unhappiness among people in the lower income brackets, and there is a degree of criticism in what can go wrong, even if it hasn't gone wrong yet. Urbanisation - Semi-urbanised: There are several towns and a few cities present, ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand inhabitants. Technology - Slowly Modernizing: The industrial infrastructure is in the process of improvement, and this is a teething process. But the economy is seeing increased activity because of this investment. New technologies are becoming domestically available. However, there is a degree of dependence on imports, including in terms of the expertise to modernize the economy. Metallurgy is limited to bronze products. Domestic Political Stability - Growing Unrest GEOGRAPHY Largely consists of jungles and hills, with swamps, marshes, and mountain chains. RESOURCES Mineral Deposits - Rich deposits of metals and minerals such as copper, lead, coal, usable stone. Valuable Mineral Deposits - Trace deposits of rare earth metals. Unique Materials - incense, dyes, ivory Agriculture - crop based, food surplus that is decreasing over time MILITARY Military Focus - inferior army and navy, ranged focus, bad infantry and cavalry ratio (15:1) Military Recruitment - Forced recruitment Reliability - Levies are of decent quality, generals play politics, decentralised Military Size - small core of professional units: requires some upkeep, easy to equip/supply quickly, seasonal levies Military Technology - Antiquated, your nation lags behind the rest of the world, and stubbornly clings to ancient traditions. Military Training and Morale - Highly Trained; Low Morale, levies are of decent quality but low morale Military Leadership - Competent; Rose to their positions through experience and battlefield exploits; decadent Military Reputation - Unpopular domestically; considered devious by foreigners Siege Equipment - practically non-existent, instead your army relies on grapling hooks and infiltration

An Age of Empires [Low Fantasy - Advanced]

Reserving this spot for nation profile, to be posted shortly.

The Descent of Man

Guild has been giving me so much shit regarding image posting that I suspect the problem is actually on my end. If I can't get them to upload by tomorrow I'll just omit the images and post what I have.

An Age of Empires - Low Fantasy

Interested.