@Lucidnonsense I'm pretty sure this is intended to be a low fantasy setting. and your pitch sounds just a bit too high fantasy to work.
I'm not the GM though, so take my words with a grain of salt
Well, we switched to D&D lite nowadays. What with some of the ancient magics and such. I also don't think there's a significant difference between aliens and non-human fantasy races.
So from that viewpoint alone I don't have any strong objections. The real problems are:
RPing a single ship rather than a nation or even just a faction like an NRP should
Involving tech obviously beyond the game's limits (reverse Clarke's Third Law abuse)
Not being of this world which leads to complications
That being said I always thought myself as flexible and with effort this kind of faction can be actually made viable.
@Lucidnonsense How about this? Your faction is a race of demons from another world riding a skyship powered by fell magic. Your technology is weird and relies on utilizing evil magic rather than typical science. You don't have guns but for example your imps can shoot lightning from their tridents and your weapons are imbued with fell energies. Your magic is ultimately powered by tortured souls of captured people while you also have some ability to make people your thralls. Your ultimate goal is to conquer the world with your superior magic but you are small thus need to establish yourself through devious plots.
What do you think? It might sound different from what you thought before but something along these lines makes the most sense. You can adjust this theme a bit or replace demons with fairies but you get the point. This kind of faction would still break the game a bit but again, I am flexible enough to prioritize freedom of expression over rigid ideas what my RP should be. Afterall every game is shaped by its players. Don't you agree?
Can I play as a fantasy alien airship, magic is a thing right? but magic is well enough understood by them that its actually science.
I am not the GM (that would be @Lauder) but from hearing this first I don't think it'd fit. This is a steampunk game which means retro Victorian era aesthetics with themes on industrial revolution and so on.
I might have got you wrong but you want to play as an alien spaceship using Clarke's Third Law. That doesn't seem to mesh with the setting well. It'd fit more in perhaps other games. There's also that runnning a ship rather than a nation is rather close to classic RP rather than the style of NRPs. These are only my two cents on the matter, though.
Finished with everything but my military portion (and my history but that's for other reasons). It's a bit funny since I have tons of ideas how to shape them. This is my standard infantry, for example:
I also plan to have 6-legged spider like walkers on thin legs which work because Aetherite reduces their weight. Or maybe make "hover tanks" on Aetherite to pass through trenches without resistance. Basically an overloaded compact airship. Another of my ideas is to use steam cannons for my mechanical units. Rather than gunpowder they use the pressure of steam to shoot with. Such weapons were actually developed during the American Civil War, albeit not that popular.
@LauderI think there are many profiles that are complete or almost finished. What do you think, can they put theirs up in the characters tab? Or you wish to evaluate them first?
Menel Ndor en'Yllendthyr (Heavenly Empire of Yllendthyr) is an ancient empire ruled by elves. Used to be an isolationist country which then suddenly grew into a major colonial and marine power. In spite of that Yllendthyr is past their prime and with the new century they were stuck with a number of issues. This might change in the future as currently Yllendthyr is undergoing changes and rapid modernization, attempting to reclaim their old spot in the world.
Geography
Aside from the mainland of Yllendthyr (darker blue) the Empire has a number of vassals and colonies. For starters they are in personal union with their neighbors, the Galhonore Commonwealth. The two countries are separate entities but they share ruler. In addition several island states became Yllendthyr's vassals, technically independent yet under the empire's control. Lastly Yllendthyr also took various colonies in the New Continent, albeit some of these declared independents and are no longer under their rule.
History
Yllendthyr is an ancient culture with roots that can be dated back to what others describe as the ancient times. Elves were the first sentient creatures of Arda, blessed with grace and capabilities to be apex predators. Unlike humans who were struggling against the forces of nature the elves learned to live with it. Consequently they had little incentive to develop beyond the bare necessities. Thousands of years passed and elves still continued their hunter-gatherer lifestyle while humans made kingdoms and empires. Elven perception of time radically differed from that of humans. They were content to live in their isolated forest communities while entire human nations surrounded them. Yet eventually clashes between humans and elves were inevitable. While elves were viciously effective with the advantage of home ground their isolated tribes were met with superior numbers and weapons. For the first time elfkind learned war which had yet unprecedented effect. In the following centuries the humans murdered and displaced countless elves. Untold number of tribes were lost along with their language thus all their culture and history. Some claim these frightening news forced elfkind to develop writing. The fleeing elven tribes banded together with their neighbors and strengthened their relations, forming the first nations. The precursor of Yllendthyr was one of these.
The ancient times continued being painted with bloodshed as the emerging elvish nations fought no holds barred wars of vengeance with the neighboring races. The Sotoa Peninsula was perhaps the most notable, birthing more than a hundred elvish grand tribes. Their success can be attributed to their numbers as well as taming and breeding a mighty mount, the Gryffhn (Griffon). Conquering the skies with their griffon riders the elvish tribes rapidly grew into a menace. Among them Yllwé was the most warlike by far, growing with each spring. As time went on the wars of revenge transformed into rush for conquest. Elvish territories grew and thus the requirement of manpower. Humans were no longer just slain when opportunity was present but turned into their slaves. By the early middle ages the Wstern Sotoa Penisula was dominated by 27 elvish warlords and their enslaved masses. (To be continued...)
Society
Government Yllendthyr's governmental structure is rather complex and maybe even confusing for the outsiders. The mainland of Yllendthyr is a federal semi-presidential constitutional monarchy. Their ruler is technically the Ymheodr but effectively it's lead by the Chymanfa (Parlaiment) where the governors and representatives belonging to the 27 states of Yllendthyr meet. Colonial governors and Galhonore's representatives are normally not present in the Chymanfa but they could be summoned if a certain decision involves them. The Ymheodr's role in politics is minimal and save for rare circumstances his presence in the Chymanfa isn't required. His authority is limited by the constitution and his duties are divided to various Wleidyddion (ministers). The Chymanfa is generally led by the Cyntwleidyddion (Prime Minister) although due to his busy schedule it's often taken over by the Fyswleidyddion (Vice Minister). Also it worths noting that the constitution technically allows the Ymheodr to veto nearly any decision in the Chymanfa, albeit none of them lived with this right yet. Another interesting note is that as a federal system each state of Yllendthyr has its own governor with unusual level of independence. Some states switched to entirely republican management and their "governor" is essentially just another representative.
While effectively a vassal to Yllendthyr the Galhonore Commonwealth is still a politically independent body with its own government. Like Yllendthyr it's a constutional monarchy ruled by the same emperor. On the other hand they have their own pairlament and prime minister with an overall semi-republican government. That being said the Chymanfa's decisions in Yllendthyr can bear weight on Galhonore, too. Even though Galhonore's representatives are invited to any decisions involving them their inferior numbers mean they can be generally overruled by Yllendthyr's majority. Other vassals are in a similar situation where they possess their own government yet ultimately subject to Yllendthyr.
Lastly the colonies are split to smaller bodies and lead by a governor each. While the colonial governor is technically just the representative of Yllendthyr and its emperor these territories effectively end up being small kingdoms lead by an influential noble each. Aside from occasionally reporting back to mainland, providing goods and upholding Yllendthyr's empire-wide laws they're otherwise given full reign.
Demographics According to the last year's census the country of Yllendthyr has the population of 110,027,188. Majority of them are humans (47%) and then elves (27%) while the remainder are orcs (19%) other races (11%: dwarves, gnomes, trolls and others). Due to their petite nature and massive fertility the fay are counted on a different scale measuring around 92 million within Yllendthyr's mainland alone while the Kingdom of Setra has close to a billion fay inhabitants. As fellow elvish country the Galhonore Commonwealth has similar demographics to Yllendthyr and the population around 42 million (again, not counting the fay).
The population of colonial territories have yet to be accurately measured. Instead the latest census recorded that there are over 10 million Yllendthyr and Galhonore citizens who asked for permanent residency in off-world colonies.
According to the studies of Charles Dwarfling from the last century elves evolved from the prehistoric birds and they're said to share a distant relation with the various Griffin species. Archeological finds identified one of the ancestors of Elfkind named Homo Auger AKA "bird-man". Other studies theorize a more complicated origin for elves potentially including crossbreeding with prehistoric human species. Their main argument is the fact humans and elves could sire a child from one another (even if with extremely low probability).
In terms of physical characteristics elves are slenderly built and tall, averaging at over 6 feet. In contrast their slim build and hollow bones make them weight only 60% of an average human. Compared to humans they are fast and nimble, further supported by their amazing sense of balance. This is partially because the elves are said to possess something akin to "organic gyroscopes" and indeed their kind can precisely position without assistance of devices. In addition the elves are gifted with senses akin to wild animals, most notably their sight and hearing. Lastly elves have tough immune system and can theoretically live up to 300 years. They are resistant to many toxins and can recuperate from wounds faster than humans. While these qualities may make elves seem superior their advantages come at a cost. Elves are thinly built and can only carry half as much weight as a human could. Also their lightweight bones are made to withstand strain only from certain directions. Bone fractures are common, especially for young elves. For this reason during their youth elves learn to move with precision and grace to avoid accidents. Similarly their fragility means that falls and vehicle crashes could leave elves with at least grievous injuries if not outright lead to death, lucky accidents are almost unheard of. The heightened smell and hearing also makes elves more sensitive to loud noises or repugnant smells. Their sense of touch makes everything feel rougher so a cloth of wool may as well be sandpaper to an elf. While elves can resist many poisons better than humans the ones which they couldn't are extremely dangerous to them. Elven immune system is more robust but less adaptable than a human's. Lastly elves are plagued with low fertility and more frequent miscarriages. while modern medicine aided them considerably elven population growth is still drastically lower than human's. In addition elven children grow slower with youths turning to adults only at the age of 30 (and even then they are only at the physical development of a 15 years old by human standards).
Humans and elves are capable of interbreeding, siring a half-elf. Albeit 9 out of 10 such pregnancies generally result in a miscarriage and may even threaten the mother's life. There are several complications like the half-elven child being too much of a burden on an elven mother or in reverse the child requiring and producing chemicals which the human mother doesn't have. Yet scientists found out these problems are minor compared to what came down to simple compatibility. A percentage of elven population and a percentage of human population are capable of successfully siring an offspring. Even among them there are people with high chance of conceiving a halfbreed and those who may succeed but the risks are higher. Studies show there's no clear cutoff line. Since genetics are only at the developing stage Yllendthyr has no known means to identify an "ideal mate" neither the current government is interested in such research.
That is because the topic of half-elves is a sorts of taboo. Officially no half-elves exist in Yllendthyr. They're either classified as humans or elves within the records. Half-elves of noble birth retain their status while others are considered the same as humans, if not worse. Half-elves of low status are outcasts, often shunned by both humans and elves alike. Albeit there's a certain way to change that. Half-elves who marry into noble families or otherwise gain fame or higher status can earn the right to become "honorary elves" thus jumping straight up on the social ladder. As such many half-elves pursue military career and they're often rather good at it. Half-elves can randomly inherit the abilities of both elves and humans, they're a mosaic race of both. As such it's possible for a half-elf to inherit a human's strong physique along with the senses and physiology of his elven ancestor, albeit certainly not the norm. Half-elven lifespan is difficult to determine. In general it lies somewhere between that of a human and elf. Although it worths noting that their mixed genes make half-elves susceptible to some quite dangerous genetic disorders.
Culture Yllendthyr has an ancient history and culture which allegedly dates back to the birth of the elvish race. What is certain they have many thousand years of music, art, poetry and literature. Such feat became possible through the uniqueness of the old elvish language which used traditions and constant dynamic evolution to preserve culture and history before writing was even invented. Elves live long thus have a different perception of time. This is a blessing mixed with a curse since elves find it difficult to adopt to the rapidly changing post-industrial world. Elves in general are proud and traditional people who often look down on younger races like they would be only children. For over 2000 years now elves are the rulers of the Sotoa Peninsula and for the longest time they forced the other races into subservience and even slavery. This changed after the revolution of 1648 with humans and other races gradually attaining more rights yet overall elves are the only first rate citizens. Yllendthyr also have long feudal traditions with nobles holding most power but with the industrial revolution there's a rapidly growing group of wealthy citizens with increasing influence.
Yllendor is part of the elvish language family specifically practiced in Yllendthyr. It's a difficult and melodious language with many depths and hidden meanings. The reason is because Yllendor is actually a simplified language developed to communicate with people outside their culture. Their original language (called in a simplified manner as Yllwé or Old Elvish) is lengthy and complex, with each name being unique as the speaker describes its features and past. Simple conversations on Old Elvish can last for hours because it literally doesn't leave anything to interpretation. Back in the old days elves could allow this luxury but as time went on they were forced to rely on Yllendor more and more. Many of the lower class elves don't even learn Yllwé and only know Yllendor. Nowadays old elvish is only used for ceremonial occasions and for honorary titles. Since the length of one's name in old elvish is directly equal to one's fame and importance elven nobles often make sport of comparing the length of each other's name. Of course no elf has longer name than the Emperor himself. Thankfully this habit doesn't translate to Yllendor at all.
Elves refer to the planet as "Arda" which (along with the universe) was created by Eru Illuvatar and its chorus of Ainur. Arvandor was originally a branch of this religion practiced in Yllendthyr but in the recent few centuries became the world's main elven faith. Its head are the ever ruling dynasty of the Empire and the organization is otherwise mostly reminiscent to Roman Catholicism. By using the excuse that Eru Illuvatar created Arda with the assistance of uncountable number of Ainurs Yllendthyr acknowledges the existence of all the other "gods". This effectively gives near-complete religious freedom within Yllendthyr. In spite of that 96% of the elves and in total over 78% of the population are following the Arvandor faith. As the head of religion within Yllendthyr the emperor also has complete authority to decide matters related to any faith. Albeit to avoid conflicts all emperors practiced this right with great care and only used it as the last resort.
Economy/Industry
Overview Yllendthyr has a thriving fluid economy based on their domestic products, trade and the resources of the colonies. While still a shadow of their former empire joining the industrial revolution helped Yllendthyr to regain its status as one of the major powers.Physical money is still technically the chief currency in the Empire. Elen are small coins made of mithril, they are the smallest currency. Ithil are made of silver and worth 10 Elen. Anor are made of gold and as the most expensive coin they're worth 10 Ithil. Yet effectively precious metals are almost never used and instead they rely on banknotes which signify a prescribed amount. The biggest is currently the 100 Anor note. Signature of the current Ymheodr and various alchemical procedures are employed to make these banknotes almost impossible to copy.Yllendthyr is gifted with great forests abundant lands thus their agriculture is rather decent. Albeit the growing need for industry and arable lands also lead to rapid deforestation.
Industry Yllendthyr joined late to the industrial revolution yet caught up quick. Ignoring the early and intermediary developments they could import the latest machines to revolutionize their production at breakneck speed. This change can be partially attributed to the rising human influence. Elves live long and less urgent to change. As such in the accelerated world of airships and steam engines humans steadily gain importance. Yet not even human innovations could overcome the traditions. Yllendthyr and its millennia of partnership with alchemists didn't cease. If anything with alchemists chased off by the waves of industrial revolution they appear to have made the empire their last bastion. Alchemy is a precursor to modern science. Instead of rational thinking and free sharing of information the alchemists are a secretive guild-like organization with practices closer to rituals than anything concrete. Alchemists have great influence on Yllendthyr's industry and technology with practically all facilities controlled by them.
Technology Thanks to their efforts Yllendthyr is currently one of the more technologically developed nations in the world. As it turns out elven physiology allows them to understand motion on the instinctual level which in turn makes elves one of the best engineers. This combined with their natural longevity allowed scientists of Yllendthyr to come up with several new inventions in the past decades. Flash boilers which scaled down steam engines is one of these, as well as steam cars. The latter is so popular in Yllendthyr that most nobles already own at least one. The age of steam also lead to a rising demand of coal and oil yet Yllendthyr chose an unique approach. Using their agricultural benefits they rely mostly on vegetable oil to power their machines, which overall makes them cleaner. Yllendthyr is also among the pioneers in researching aircrafts, including the utilization of Aetherite. Due to their long standing relationship with alchemy Yllendthyr also have a number of unique developments. These are often hard or even impossible to replicate by foreign nations and have various advantages. Yet the reliance on qlchemy also have its drawbacks. Mithril is the best example as it's a light metal with other convenient properties yet it isn't an excuse for Yllendthyr's stubbornness to never utilize the cheaper and in some cases more advantageous iron and steel.
Based on Mithral ore the Mithril is a family of metal alloys and compounds popularly used by Yllenthyr. Its density is between 2.3-2.5 g/cm^3 yet its strength is comparable to steel. Mithril is naturally immune to corrosion, more ductile and conductive than steel and has better elasticity. On the other hand Mithril bends easier and can support less weight by volume than steel. Mithril tubes, pipings and gunbarrels generally can handle less pressure than their common iron/steel equivalents which neccessiates either thicker walls or reduced pressures. High-strength steel alloys developed nowadays are also having a decisive edge over mithril. The same thickness of military grade steel can resist a bit more than military grade mithril. Lastly due to its compoundish nature most types of Mithril cannot be just melted down and recast into different products. The heat would destroy the carbon-nanotubes. Albeit the alchemists have means to "heal" these Mithrils thus making the issue less problematic for Yllendthr itself. Still that means other nations can't just buy mithril and recast it to new shapes.
Military
TBA
Not even half-done but my browser has hiccups so I post this prematurely.
I am currently debating between two races which is avian and an insectoid race. My current problem is the whole idea of a flying race. I'd like some people opinion if it over powered or not; as of right now I, personally, think it over powered.
I have griffin riders and potentially have a race of fairies. Basically think of 10cm tall people with butterfly wings.
@LokiLeo789You need to work on some of the unit names. Wouldn't "mech infantry", "steam warrior" or any other fantasy name would make more sense for your "heavy infantry"?
Also why do you call both types as battleships? IMO, the heavier steel vessel should be called dreadnought or anything similar while the lighter mostly wooden ship could be frigate, skipper or any age of sail fast ship name. Although to be honest I think your nation is the most likely to own all-metal warships alone. So something like Sky Destroyers with short ranged anti-ship rockets would make sense for example as your light ship. Cruiser can be your medium ship which is built for average engagements unlike Destroyers which rather specialize at shooting heavier targets. What do you think? Again, these are merely suggestions. In the end the one who makes the decisions is you and nobody else.
How about the Semids? They're right across the sea, and being elves, would probably have no problem trying to incorporate Yllendtyr into their empire (probably the Kingdom of Sem at that time). I also had an idea of them being historical enemies, with something like a founder myth ala Isaac and Ishmael starting their antipathy, and conflicts only keeping it alive.
Anyways, that can be also a good idea. I plan to have Galhonore's territory (the other half of Sotoa Peninsula) to be conquered by the said empire and it only gaining independence later. But as a result it forming into the Galhonore Commonwealth (which is nowadays under personal union with Yllendthyr, Think of Austro-Hungaria or something similar).
So the threat coming from the East could make sense. Yllendthyr unites as their eastern neighbors are being conquered.
How about the Semids? They're right across the sea, and being elves, would probably have no problem trying to incorporate Yllendtyr into their empire (probably the Kingdom of Sem at that time). I also had an idea of them being historical enemies, with something like a founder myth ala Isaac and Ishmael starting their antipathy, and conflicts only keeping it alive.
Hm, I forgot that. BTW, did you read the history I wrote for elves for now?
Yllendthyr is an ancient culture with roots that can be dated back to what others describe as the ancient times. Elves were the first sentient creatures of Arda, blessed with grace and capabilities to be apex predators. Unlike humans who were struggling against the forces of nature the elves learned to live with it. Consequently they had little incentive to develop beyond the bare necessities. Thousands of years passed and elves still continued their hunter-gatherer lifestyle while humans made kingdoms and empires. Elven perception of time radically differed from that of humans. They were content to live in their isolated forest communities while entire human nations surrounded them. Yet eventually clashes between humans and elves were inevitable. While elves were viciously effective with the advantage of home ground their isolated tribes were met with superior numbers and weapons. For the first time elfkind learned war which had yet unprecedented effect. In the following centuries the humans murdered and displaced countless elves. Untold number of tribes were lost along with their language thus all their culture and history. Some claim these frightening news forced elfkind to develop writing. The fleeing elven tribes banded together with their neighbors and strengthened their relations, forming the first nations. The precursor of Yllendthyr was one of these.
The ancient times continued being painted with bloodshed as the emerging elvish nations fought no holds barred wars of vengeance with the neighboring races. The Sotoa Peninsula was perhaps the most notable, birthing more than a hundred elvish grand tribes. Their success can be attributed to their numbers as well as taming and breeding a mighty mount, the Gryffhn (Griffon). Conquering the skies with their griffon riders the elvish tribes rapidly grew into a menace. Among them Yllwé was the most warlike by far, growing with each spring. As time went on the wars of revenge transformed into rush for conquest. Elvish territories grew and thus the requirement of manpower. Humans were no longer just slain when opportunity was present but turned into their slaves. By the early middle ages the Western Sotoa Penisula was dominated by 27 elvish warlords and their enslaved masses.
Member
salamimike
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