Adventures in Edassa Information Thread (RP Ongoing!)

[Kobold King he/him]

Warning! Walls of text incoming!

 

This is my massive compilation post intended to answer all of the backlogged questions. When I finish this post, I think that I will be caught up with answering all of the questions folks have asked. Except for spell lists for BreathTaker, Voidus, and anybody else who's playing a character with Type IIa magic. (Sorcery)

 

First, we have my response to Mailliw with regard to the limitations of magic. I've reproduced it here from our PM for everyone else's benefit.

 

Magical Limitations

 

 

Here's the piece on Spirit Interactions with the Material Realm for Kobold. Anybody playing a character with a familiar might want to check it out, though. It also contains my slight modifications to Type IIa magic.

 

Spiritual/Material Interactions:

Spirits perceive the Material Realm as constantly shifting fields and forces and concentrations of energy. Mortals could do this as well, as they are just class I spirits bound up in Material bodies, but most of their power is sunk into the bonds that tie them to their physical forms. Because awareness is (perhaps exponentially) dependent on available power, this means that a mortal's spiritual perception is very low. In addition, the physical senses (the messages interpreted by the brain) are distracting to that means of perception. Since, for most mortals, the physical senses are significantly superior to their spiritual ones, they most often live and die completely unaware of this alternate means of sensing the world around them.

 

For individuals who are born with what I'll call the magic gene (for now), this mode of perception is much easier to access. With a little effort and practice, they can sense and interact with intelligent entities (who are by far the largest sinks of energy around). They are familiar with the myriad spirits who flit about the Material Realm (and are especially drawn to inhabited worlds), and can invite them to perform tasks for them.

 

Spirit communication (including spirit-to-mortal and the reverse) is mind to mind. As spirits don't have physical senses of their own, the way they see is foreign to the sorcerer. This is especially true of the class of spirits who respond to a sorcerer's command, which have never been embodied (at least in a form with physical senses), and so have no frame of reference, even. This is why sorcerer's spells are memorized recitations. Creating a new spell is a trial and error process of finding new commands that produce the desired effect (without killing oneself in the process). When one works, it is recorded and passed down among the group that found it, because it cannot easily be reconstructed.

 

With a lot more effort and practice, a mortal can begin to perceive the world in terms of its fundamental forces and interactions. With this perception comes a partially intuitive knowledge of how to tinker with those forces. This is magery.

 

With regard to interacting with the Material Realm, the class of spirits that power a sorcerer's spells is completely unable to affect it until they are invited to do so by a sorcerer. They hunger to interact, and so power the spells eagerly for the mere chance of working in the Material Realm.

 

Other spirits can affect the Material Realm, but rarely linger there, moving back and forth among the Outer Realms where they make their homes. Some of these, however, can be convinced (or coerced) to become familiars.

 

Here is the definitive (for now) work on how familiars work, what they can do, and what benefits they grant their partner.

 

Familiars:

Familiars are always drawn from spirits who have been embodied before (almost always as an animal of some sorts, and often as many different animals in the past). These are able to communicate much more clearly with mortals. They are almost always class I beings (rarely class II, and only with a mortal of the same power level).

 

They manifest in a quasi-physical form. Because they can interact with the Material Realm, their form can do the normal things an animal might do. However, the more strongly they manifest, the more able the Material Realm is to interact back with them. Hence, a strongly manifesting familiar can be hit with a sword and hurt (but not killed). To seriously damage a familiar requires a magical weapon, but hurting the form can cause them to un-manifest and re-manifest later (about 5 to 15 minutes) with an undamaged from. This, also, puts them unable to assist their bonded partner.

 

A familiar can use some of its energy to power the spells of a mortal sorcerer. Once used, its power slowly regenerates to become available to it again. Depending on the strength of the familiar, it can power 1-5 spells per day while completely regaining its powers in the interim. If it exceeds those limits, it must rest to be back up to full power. As a general rule, the 1-5 spell limit represents a 10% drain on its power. If it uses a lot of its energy, it can't manifest as strongly, either, so most sorcerers don't draw on their familiar's power too often.

 

Because the familiar was embodied, it can interpret the forces/fields it sees into physical senses. Communication is much easier this way, and so spells powered by a familiar don't have to be memorized by the sorcerer. He can just give the brief instructions to the familiar and have it done. So, in a sense, the sorcerer isn't casting spells at all when he uses a familiar's power.

 

I'm sure that this will spawn a thousand more questions, so, fire away.

 

Oh, and about familiars. Everything I've seen in the RP so far has been completely consistent with how familiars operate.

 

This is seriously awesome. The degree of quality worldbuilding in this thread continues to astonish me.

 

Here's the general concept for my character, presented for review.

 

I envision my character as a spirit who has been embodied hundreds of times through Edassa's history, usually taking the form of various animals of lower intelligence. She has lived many lives--a tomcat named Speckles one life, one of a thousand herrings in a school the next. Since becoming a familiar, however, she's taken to strongly identifying with what she sees as her most successful life--that of the Murk Lurker.

 

The Murk Lurker was an exceptionally large and powerful female crocodile which became infamous for her ferocity and sudden ambushes. Her life as the Murk Lurker lasted a hundred and twenty-eight years, during which she hatched countless young, staked out an enormous territory, and devoured dozens of villagers. She looks back to her crocodile days with nostalgia, and takes the shape of a gargantuan grey crocodile as her familiar form.

 

Would that be suitable, Seonid? If so, what sort of terrestrial crocodile is the most similar to Edassa's variety? I'm thinking in terms of the Australian saltwater crocodile, but I can change that if necessary. I could even change the character to a large alligator.

 

As a final note, I can't quite remember who my assigned sorcerer was. So who's interested in an enormous infamous crocodile as a familiar?

[Mailliw73 he/him]

This is seriously awesome. The degree of quality worldbuilding in this thread continues to astonish me.

 

As a final note, I can't quite remember who my assigned sorcerer was. So who's interested in an enormous infamous crocodile as a familiar?

 

Seriously. I applaud you Seonid. Kobold, you should see the stuff I got on the Nessei people to write my character. There's so much info for it. And I got a bunch of info on Mages and their power.

 

Wasn't it Voidus?

[BreathTaker he/him]

Hey Seonid can I get some info on the Svalding? I would like to know if they are tribal or not. I would also like to know if maybe they worshiped something similar to the Nordic pantheon so I can use some of their oaths as a habit that Bran never shook (I know Bran is a Gaelic name but I wanted to use it ((It's the root of my real name which translate to Little Raven from what I gathered.))) Also, tattoos, do they usually have any and what do they look like if they do? Some of you may know I love ink. 

 

Maybe you could just post that here since Cloud is also using a Svalding.

[Voidus]

Yeah it was me if that's still ok with you Kobold.

[Kobold King he/him]

Yeah it was me if that's still ok with you Kobold.

 

That's definitely fine by me. Are you OK with having a crocodilian familiar?

[Voidus]

That's definitely fine by me. Are you OK with having a crocodilian familiar?

Yeah definitely, it would suit my character pretty well I think.

[Kobold King he/him]

Yeah definitely, it would suit my character pretty well I think.

 

Murk Lurker will have at best an apathetic view of human life--being a spirit with knowledge of the afterlife, she doesn't see human fatalities as a particularly serious issue. Having died a thousand times herself, she sees it as only a temporary inconvenience in the life cycle of a soul. So she wouldn't be much of a moral leash to Samuel Carthen.

 

I imagine she'll spend much of her time lounging on riverbanks until Samuel needs her. She'll be less active and definitely not as meekly subservient as Muni the wolf.

 

 

EDIT: Seonid, how much awareness of past lives do familiar spirits possess? And are they all limited to an animal-like intellect, like Muni the wolf?

Edited December 20, 2014 by Kobold King

[Seonid he/him]

This is seriously awesome. The degree of quality worldbuilding in this thread continues to astonish me.

 

Here's the general concept for my character, presented for review.

 

I envision my character as a spirit who has been embodied hundreds of times through Edassa's history, usually taking the form of various animals of lower intelligence. She has lived many lives--a tomcat named Speckles one life, one of a thousand herrings in a school the next. Since becoming a familiar, however, she's taken to strongly identifying with what she sees as her most successful life--that of the Murk Lurker.

 

The Murk Lurker was an exceptionally large and powerful female crocodile which became infamous for her ferocity and sudden ambushes. Her life as the Murk Lurker lasted a hundred and twenty-eight years, during which she hatched countless young, staked out an enormous territory, and devoured dozens of villagers. She looks back to her crocodile days with nostalgia, and takes the shape of a gargantuan grey crocodile as her familiar form.

 

Would that be suitable, Seonid? If so, what sort of terrestrial crocodile is the most similar to Edassa's variety? I'm thinking in terms of the Australian saltwater crocodile, but I can change that if necessary. I could even change the character to a large alligator.

 

As a final note, I can't quite remember who my assigned sorcerer was. So who's interested in an enormous infamous crocodile as a familiar?

 

That sounds exactly in line with the way familiars (and other spirits like them who don't end up called into service) work!

 

The Edassan crocodile is most like the Nile species (C. niloticus), although several smaller variants exist (including a small freshwater species similar to the Terran caiman that is native to the Jyid). The Edassan crocodile's range spreads from the southern edge of the continent (which is located somewhat south of the equator, although not out of the tropics) up to the southern shores of the middle sea. Anciently, an even larger saltwater species inhabited the Minharan delta and the shores of the Jade Sea, but these have been hunted into extinction. Either would be appropriate for the Murk Lurker.

 

And thanks for the compliments. 

 

Seriously. I applaud you Seonid. Kobold, you should see the stuff I got on the Nessei people to write my character. There's so much info for it. And I got a bunch of info on Mages and their power.

 

Wasn't it Voidus?

 

I'll reproduce that here, too, if anyone is particularly interested in it. Keep in mind that these are clipped from PM responses to questions, so they may seem a little incomplete. But I hope y'all find it interesting. And if not, well, that's why it's in spoiler tags. Also, thank you Mail. It is nice to see folks so interested in this little universe of mine.

 

Nessei

If you want comparisons with similar (although by no means identical) Earth cultures, the Nessei are going to be most similar to the Mongols. (Probably because their ancestors were Mongolian refugees from Earth).

 

Nessei tend to be short and slim, with Mongoloid features and skin tone, though they have very little body fat generally. They are historically nomadic, following (or driving) their herds of cattle/game/whatever. They pretty much live in the saddle, and often develop very close bonds with their horses. Each adult Nessei male owns at least 3 or 4 horses, and chiefs can own upwards of 10. The number of horses you own is directly correlated with your standing in the tribe.

 

When a boy comes of age, he is given the gift of his own horse, which is ritually bonded to him. (No magic happening here, just coming of age rituals). He acquires other horses in raids on neighboring tribes or other enemies.

 

Their clothing tends to be leather or flax, and is all woven/cured/manufactured by themselves (generally done by the women, although all men know how to repair clothes on the war trail). They train heavily in the bow, and are the best mounted archers in the world. Their short horsebows are constructed from layered horn, and can put an arrow through chain mail at about 300 paces. (Plate mail is much more iffy, of course, but targeting the horse is always an option). In close combat, they use short, curved swords or long knives. Spears and lances are not preferred. At all.

 

War training is required of all members of the tribe; although only men are allowed to go on raids, the women are expected to know how to defend themselves and the tribe while the men are gone.

 

Naming conventions follow a standard pattern. Every child has a child-name, the one that they are called by growing up. When they come of age, they receive a secret spirit-name from the shaman of the tribe. Along with this, they are given their adult name, often that of a revered ancestor or tribal hero, and then an identifier is added onto that name to distinguish them.

 

Example: A child is born and given the child name Ikko. When he turns 12 (his coming of age), he goes to the shaman, and is given a new spirit-name of Ghal, or fire. This he keeps secret for his whole life. But he also is given an adult name of Temaur, who was his great great grandfather, and a notable member of the tribe. Because there have been several Temaurs, the shaman adds the identifier, Khur, or dark (referring to his darker than normal complexion). Henceforth, he'll be known as Temaur Khur, or Temaur the Dark. This name would be used within the tribe, or between other Nessei tribes.

 

He also has his tribe name (The Jeyyaurids), so to outsiders, he'd introduce himself as Temaur Jeyyaurid (Temaur of the Jeyyaurid tribe). He wouldn't use the identifier name unless he was close enough friends with the outsider to consider them as part of his tribe.

 

The Nessei religion is not organized at all. Each tribe has a shaman, who is supposed to be in contact with the world of the spirits (some are actually sorcerers, some are not). The shaman is generally supposed to deal with any spiritual issues, leaving the average tribesmember to focus on daily life matters.

 

Of far more importance in the individual spiritual lives of the Nessei are the ancestors. The ancestors are highly revered (personal, not tribal). The mother of each family is responsible for maintaining a portable shrine which has the ashes of several generations of ancestors (mostly patriarchal). Death is treated by cremation, except in cases where the deceased was declared to be dishonorable. Then their body is left to the beasts of carrion, and their name is sticken from the ancestral lists.

 

In addition to the familial ancestors, each male, when he officially becomes a man (not the same as the coming of age ceremony), is given a finger bone of a honored warrior of the tribe. His spirit is believed to watch over the new warrior, and even possess him in battle when the need is dire. Before every battle, the warrior slices a small cut into the palm of his hand, and coats the finger bone in his own blood. The scars left behind by the process are the source of one of the disparaging nicknames for a Nessei - scarhand.

 

In 1375, many Nessei tribes have taken service as warriors with one of the city-states. The tribes that haven't look down a little on that, but not a whole lot. It's seen as a treaty, which is a sign of weakness, but not a sign of dishonor. The full measure of Nessei disdain is reserved for those Nessei who have taken up residence inside a city (become 'city-dwellers') or hired out as mercenaries. These are seen as traitors and dishonored. However, as times get harder and harder in the north, more and more take this route, and the free Nessei on the plains are dwindling.

 

As far as magic goes, Nessei are far more likely to be sorcerers than mages, as the spirits figure so prominently into their superstition. However, mages are not unknown, and are referred to as powerful individuals who have been blessed with 'spiritsight,' the ability to see the world and affect it like spirits do. They are highly revered and feared (although not sought for as shamans), but also avoided because of that fear.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *

 

Coming of age happens at the onset of puberty for both boys and girls (so between 11 and 12, generally, but sometimes later). This is the formal passing from childhood into adulthood. However, the youth is in a kind of a state of limbo until they either get married (for girls) or are inducted as a warrior (for boys). This tends to happen between 14 and 15, although can happen as young as 13 (or younger, in an emergency). During the inbetween time, the youth is no longer a child, but not fully an adult. It is seen as a very vulnerable time for the person, and they tend to spend a lot of time with the shaman receiving spiritual protection.

 

As far as your backstory, it all fits. The tribes constantly bicker among each other, although attacking the camps and families only happens during a blood feud, which are thankfully rare. Nessei bent on total extermination are brutal and thorough. It could certainly be that your character's family became victims of a blood feud (either still ongoing or resolved).

 

As far as being exiled from the tribe, there are reasons that could happen. If the shaman finds you (or claims to find you) consorting with evil spirits, or if you do something wholly dishonorable, like killing a tribe member, it could happen. Also, if you leave to take up residence in a city, or to hire out as a mercenary, exile is immediate and permanent.

 

Another reason for leaving the tribe, however, could be for a spirit-journey. It doesn't happen to everyone, but every now and then, the shaman tells someone that they have to go on an important journey that is vital for the spiritual welfare of the individual and the tribe. It commonly happens to young would-be shamans, who come back with a familiar spirit ready to be shamans in their own right. Or they don't come back at all. It happens to others too, especially after a traumatic death (such as deaths in a blood feud) or a dishonor. A relative of the deceased or exiled person will often undergo such a test or journey to either put to rest the restless spirits of the dead or to purge the stain of dishonor from the family.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *

 

Oh, I forgot to mention that most Nessei have a racial superiority complex. Your character doesn't have to share it, but if you could work in there a belief that anybody who is non-Nessei is inherently inferior, it would be a culturally appropriate touch.

 

Mage Magic

The spirits that animate mortals are able to perceive the Material Realm in the same way as all other spirits, as shifting patterns of energy and forces, intermixed with other intelligent entities. However, the mortal brain is wired into physical senses, and most of the mortal's spiritual power is sunk into the bonds that tie their spirit to the physical body. This means that their spiritual perception is extremely low to begin with, and the physical senses add further interference. Actually being able to sense the spiritual perception is extraordinarily difficult for the average mortal.

 

Those born with the magic gene have a much easier time of it. Other intelligent entities are the easiest to perceive, as the highest concentrations of energy around. Sorcerers stop here, and just interact with these entities in order to perform magic. Mages push their perception further, until they can perceive (with effort, and only when they're concentrating) the fundamental forces and fields that make up the Material Realm. The ability to see it comes with an intuitive understanding of how to make simple changes. Adding or removing energy from an object (essentially, heating it up or cooling it down), and things of that nature are among the easiest and simplest things a mage can do. These require almost no practice, it just comes with the ability to see how things are put together. More complex things, like manipulating gravity or air pressure, require much more practice and experimentation.

 

With regard to your examples, yes, exploding a boulder or creating a wind shield are well within a mage's capabilities. Fireballs, lightning bolts, even weather control are also possible. However, those get progressively more difficult to accomplish. (Especially weather control. That complex of a system requires intimate understanding to pull off. Only the most powerful mages ever get any good at it.)

 

If Khuvlai has been practicing for 19 years, he'll probably be rather powerful and knowledgeable. The thing with mages is that, once they know how to do a thing, they can do it in any number of different circumstances. Magically starting a campfire and creating a fireball are fundamentally the same thing for the mage, it just takes different amounts of energy. Same with charging a battery and creating a lightning bolt. So instead of thinking of different discrete spells that he can do, it is more helpful to think of the kinds of things he can do, and then think of uses to which they (and combinations of them) can be put.

 

Examples: Manifesting fire

 

Can be used to start a campfire, light an enemy's clothes on fire, all sorts of things like that, etc.

 

Telekinesis

 

Can be used to pick things up, shoot them in different directions, stop things thrown/shot at you.

 

Heating and cooling:

 

Can freeze or vaporize water, heat an enemy's sword up so it burns him, cool a lava flow, or melt a rock.

 

Now think of combinations of uses:

Fire + telekinesis:

 

Shoot plumes of flame from a hand; fire fireballs at an enemy, create conjuring tricks with fire.

 

Cooling + fire:

Create a fire that gives light but doesn't burn. Create a wall of fire that burns only when you try to pass through it.

 

Cooling + telekinesis:

Drench and then freeze enemies with water. Create a shield of ice.

 

Limitation

Distance is an important factor. A sorcerer can just have a spirit go up to a distant target and affect it (although not too far away, because of reasons that aren't relevant here), so the range is the range from the spirit doing the effect. A mage does all of the affecting himself. So, it's much easier to create a fireball and launch it at someone than it is to create a fireball in the middle of the distant group of enemies. That's important to remember. If you want a distant effect, try to create something next to you and then move it.

 

The second important factor is how much energy it takes to produce an effect. The human mind can only handle being a bridge for so much energy without permanent damage to various parts of the body/mind/etc. So no nuking cities. Pretty much it's a cap on how much you can do, not on what you can do. And there is a sort of cooldown too. Too much energy in a short period of time, and you risk damage, but also trying to use less energy but sustaining it over longer periods risks the same. To know your exact limits, I'd have to know what powers you anticipate him having developed, and what uses he'd be putting them to. But this is the basic idea of the mental capacity limit. How much you can handle increases as you get better (and 19 years is quite a bit of increasing), but there are basic limitations of how much energy the mortal form can transfer.

 

Hey Seonid can I get some info on the Svalding? I would like to know if they are tribal or not. I would also like to know if maybe they worshiped something similar to the Nordic pantheon so I can use some of their oaths as a habit that Bran never shook (I know Bran is a Gaelic name but I wanted to use it ((It's the root of my real name which translate to Little Raven from what I gathered.))) Also, tattoos, do they usually have any and what do they look like if they do? Some of you may know I love ink. 

 

Maybe you could just post that here since Cloud is also using a Svalding.

 

I will definitely give a cultural profile for the Svaldings, but your intuition about the Norse similarity is spot on. Not exactly the same, but related to the Norse to about the same degree as the Nessei are to the Mongols. It's a little late for me to do that tonight (I have to get up again in about 4 hours), so I'll do it after I get home tomorrow. Probably around noon, MST.

 

Murk Lurker will have at best an apathetic view of human life--being a spirit with knowledge of the afterlife, she doesn't see human fatalities as a particularly serious issue. Having died a thousand times herself, she sees it as only a temporary inconvenience in the life cycle of a soul. So she wouldn't be much of a moral leash to Samuel Carthen.

 

I imagine she'll spend much of her time lounging on riverbanks until Samuel needs her. She'll be less active and definitely not as meekly subservient as Muni the wolf.

 

 

EDIT: Seonid, how much awareness of past lives do familiar spirits possess? And are they all limited to an animal-like intellect, like Muni the wolf?

 

Just a note, the wolf is Fen, not Muni.

 

All spirits have full awareness of their past lives. It's only when they are actually living them that the memories are veiled. And the class of spirits from which familiars are drawn are all of human or near-human intelligence. However, their thought patterns are generally not human, and run in the manner of their favored/most identified with/most repeated form. In addition, the physical manifestation of a form (even if it's not a full physical body) does have an influence on the thought patterns. The familiar chooses a form to which it already has an attachment, and when manifesting, its thoughts follow the patterns that are native to the form. So Fen thinks like a wolf, just a wolf if it had human-level intelligence. So a wolf+, rather than a human in a wolf's body.

 

 

[EDIT:] This weekend or so, I plan on moving all of the worldbuilding info to a new thread in the Creator's Corner. This thread will be more focused on the RP itself (and any worldbuilding necessary to inform it), but all of the background magic info and culture/history stuff will move to the worldbuilding thread. There, I'll be able to explore other facets of Edassa without distracting from the RP. Sound like a good idea?

Edited December 20, 2014 by Seonid

[Quiver he/him]

First off, I want to echo what Kobold said; the amount of detail you have for this world is amazing (and makes me feel bad about how sparse my worldbuilding tends to be). I'm not certain what plans you have for the world, but I would love to see you do some writing set in it (or turn it into a straight up RPG system. That would be cool.)

 

...Oh, and I'm working on a character for this, if you guys don't mind. I won't have her finished until the new year- a mix of wanting to spend time with family over Christmas, and going through the threads and world building stuff to make sure what I have in mind fit's- but... yeah. This is a notice to see if you guys are willing to let me play with you.

(Resumé speaking... er... I got nothing. I did a bit of roleplaying in the early sanderson elimination games I did... but then, that was more fanfiction-ey writing than RPing. If you're curious, this is probably the best example of my writing in those.)

 

Anyway, character. Bare in mind that, right now, this is just a vague concept for the character; I tend to hammer out personality and stuff as I go.

So, the idea is a female... "monk" might be the best word for it. My "pitch" for her is that she's a follower of the goddess of love; not the romantic, Aphrodite-interpretation of it, more like... a goddess dedicated to Platonic-Love, whose main tenant is basically preaching that everyone should get along.

(The shorthand I use for this is "Goddess of hippies", since I sort of picture the character as having that kind of zen, zoned out air about her, being dedicated to non-violence, and judging people based on whether or not she get's a good feeling from them.)

 

I kind of picture her as being very naive and sheltered- admittedly in part so that I can get sued to the setting. She's been raised on a small monastery, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else and where everyone shares the same religion and belief; her leaving it to see/proselytism/whatever-reason-I-come-up-with is basically the first time she's meeting people who don't believe what she does, or who don't have that "live and let live" philosophy.

[BreathTaker he/him]

Hugi and Muni and supposed to Huginn and Muninn, "Thought" and "Desire" in old Norse. They were Odin's ravens who would travel the world everyday at sunrise and return to him at sunset and tell him what they saw, that is why I named Bran's nephews and spies after them. Although they talk the same I might do something from their combined perspective showing that Hugi is more thoughtful for how people feel and how they think, Muni can read people's desires better than his brother but isn't all that great at figuring out other people's logic behind things. 

 

Also, having my familiar's name be Fenrison(sen?) is perfect since my character is an Odin knock-off. Geri and Freki, both meaning "Ravenous" or "Greedy One" in Old Norse were the sons of Fenrir. Both of those wolves served Odin as well. 

[Kobold King he/him]

That sounds exactly in line with the way familiars (and other spirits like them who don't end up called into service) work!

 

The Edassan crocodile is most like the Nile species (C. niloticus), although several smaller variants exist (including a small freshwater species similar to the Terran caiman that is native to the Jyid). The Edassan crocodile's range spreads from the southern edge of the continent (which is located somewhat south of the equator, although not out of the tropics) up to the southern shores of the middle sea. Anciently, an even larger saltwater species inhabited the Minharan delta and the shores of the Jade Sea, but these have been hunted into extinction. Either would be appropriate for the Murk Lurker.

 

And thanks for the compliments. 

 

 

I'll reproduce that here, too, if anyone is particularly interested in it. Keep in mind that these are clipped from PM responses to questions, so they may seem a little incomplete. But I hope y'all find it interesting. And if not, well, that's why it's in spoiler tags. Also, thank you Mail. It is nice to see folks so interested in this little universe of mine.

 

Nessei

If you want comparisons with similar (although by no means identical) Earth cultures, the Nessei are going to be most similar to the Mongols. (Probably because their ancestors were Mongolian refugees from Earth).

 

Nessei tend to be short and slim, with Mongoloid features and skin tone, though they have very little body fat generally. They are historically nomadic, following (or driving) their herds of cattle/game/whatever. They pretty much live in the saddle, and often develop very close bonds with their horses. Each adult Nessei male owns at least 3 or 4 horses, and chiefs can own upwards of 10. The number of horses you own is directly correlated with your standing in the tribe.

 

When a boy comes of age, he is given the gift of his own horse, which is ritually bonded to him. (No magic happening here, just coming of age rituals). He acquires other horses in raids on neighboring tribes or other enemies.

 

Their clothing tends to be leather or flax, and is all woven/cured/manufactured by themselves (generally done by the women, although all men know how to repair clothes on the war trail). They train heavily in the bow, and are the best mounted archers in the world. Their short horsebows are constructed from layered horn, and can put an arrow through chain mail at about 300 paces. (Plate mail is much more iffy, of course, but targeting the horse is always an option). In close combat, they use short, curved swords or long knives. Spears and lances are not preferred. At all.

 

War training is required of all members of the tribe; although only men are allowed to go on raids, the women are expected to know how to defend themselves and the tribe while the men are gone.

 

Naming conventions follow a standard pattern. Every child has a child-name, the one that they are called by growing up. When they come of age, they receive a secret spirit-name from the shaman of the tribe. Along with this, they are given their adult name, often that of a revered ancestor or tribal hero, and then an identifier is added onto that name to distinguish them.

 

Example: A child is born and given the child name Ikko. When he turns 12 (his coming of age), he goes to the shaman, and is given a new spirit-name of Ghal, or fire. This he keeps secret for his whole life. But he also is given an adult name of Temaur, who was his great great grandfather, and a notable member of the tribe. Because there have been several Temaurs, the shaman adds the identifier, Khur, or dark (referring to his darker than normal complexion). Henceforth, he'll be known as Temaur Khur, or Temaur the Dark. This name would be used within the tribe, or between other Nessei tribes.

 

He also has his tribe name (The Jeyyaurids), so to outsiders, he'd introduce himself as Temaur Jeyyaurid (Temaur of the Jeyyaurid tribe). He wouldn't use the identifier name unless he was close enough friends with the outsider to consider them as part of his tribe.

 

The Nessei religion is not organized at all. Each tribe has a shaman, who is supposed to be in contact with the world of the spirits (some are actually sorcerers, some are not). The shaman is generally supposed to deal with any spiritual issues, leaving the average tribesmember to focus on daily life matters.

 

Of far more importance in the individual spiritual lives of the Nessei are the ancestors. The ancestors are highly revered (personal, not tribal). The mother of each family is responsible for maintaining a portable shrine which has the ashes of several generations of ancestors (mostly patriarchal). Death is treated by cremation, except in cases where the deceased was declared to be dishonorable. Then their body is left to the beasts of carrion, and their name is sticken from the ancestral lists.

 

In addition to the familial ancestors, each male, when he officially becomes a man (not the same as the coming of age ceremony), is given a finger bone of a honored warrior of the tribe. His spirit is believed to watch over the new warrior, and even possess him in battle when the need is dire. Before every battle, the warrior slices a small cut into the palm of his hand, and coats the finger bone in his own blood. The scars left behind by the process are the source of one of the disparaging nicknames for a Nessei - scarhand.

 

In 1375, many Nessei tribes have taken service as warriors with one of the city-states. The tribes that haven't look down a little on that, but not a whole lot. It's seen as a treaty, which is a sign of weakness, but not a sign of dishonor. The full measure of Nessei disdain is reserved for those Nessei who have taken up residence inside a city (become 'city-dwellers') or hired out as mercenaries. These are seen as traitors and dishonored. However, as times get harder and harder in the north, more and more take this route, and the free Nessei on the plains are dwindling.

 

As far as magic goes, Nessei are far more likely to be sorcerers than mages, as the spirits figure so prominently into their superstition. However, mages are not unknown, and are referred to as powerful individuals who have been blessed with 'spiritsight,' the ability to see the world and affect it like spirits do. They are highly revered and feared (although not sought for as shamans), but also avoided because of that fear.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *

 

Coming of age happens at the onset of puberty for both boys and girls (so between 11 and 12, generally, but sometimes later). This is the formal passing from childhood into adulthood. However, the youth is in a kind of a state of limbo until they either get married (for girls) or are inducted as a warrior (for boys). This tends to happen between 14 and 15, although can happen as young as 13 (or younger, in an emergency). During the inbetween time, the youth is no longer a child, but not fully an adult. It is seen as a very vulnerable time for the person, and they tend to spend a lot of time with the shaman receiving spiritual protection.

 

As far as your backstory, it all fits. The tribes constantly bicker among each other, although attacking the camps and families only happens during a blood feud, which are thankfully rare. Nessei bent on total extermination are brutal and thorough. It could certainly be that your character's family became victims of a blood feud (either still ongoing or resolved).

 

As far as being exiled from the tribe, there are reasons that could happen. If the shaman finds you (or claims to find you) consorting with evil spirits, or if you do something wholly dishonorable, like killing a tribe member, it could happen. Also, if you leave to take up residence in a city, or to hire out as a mercenary, exile is immediate and permanent.

 

Another reason for leaving the tribe, however, could be for a spirit-journey. It doesn't happen to everyone, but every now and then, the shaman tells someone that they have to go on an important journey that is vital for the spiritual welfare of the individual and the tribe. It commonly happens to young would-be shamans, who come back with a familiar spirit ready to be shamans in their own right. Or they don't come back at all. It happens to others too, especially after a traumatic death (such as deaths in a blood feud) or a dishonor. A relative of the deceased or exiled person will often undergo such a test or journey to either put to rest the restless spirits of the dead or to purge the stain of dishonor from the family.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *

 

Oh, I forgot to mention that most Nessei have a racial superiority complex. Your character doesn't have to share it, but if you could work in there a belief that anybody who is non-Nessei is inherently inferior, it would be a culturally appropriate touch.

 

Mage Magic

The spirits that animate mortals are able to perceive the Material Realm in the same way as all other spirits, as shifting patterns of energy and forces, intermixed with other intelligent entities. However, the mortal brain is wired into physical senses, and most of the mortal's spiritual power is sunk into the bonds that tie their spirit to the physical body. This means that their spiritual perception is extremely low to begin with, and the physical senses add further interference. Actually being able to sense the spiritual perception is extraordinarily difficult for the average mortal.

 

Those born with the magic gene have a much easier time of it. Other intelligent entities are the easiest to perceive, as the highest concentrations of energy around. Sorcerers stop here, and just interact with these entities in order to perform magic. Mages push their perception further, until they can perceive (with effort, and only when they're concentrating) the fundamental forces and fields that make up the Material Realm. The ability to see it comes with an intuitive understanding of how to make simple changes. Adding or removing energy from an object (essentially, heating it up or cooling it down), and things of that nature are among the easiest and simplest things a mage can do. These require almost no practice, it just comes with the ability to see how things are put together. More complex things, like manipulating gravity or air pressure, require much more practice and experimentation.

 

With regard to your examples, yes, exploding a boulder or creating a wind shield are well within a mage's capabilities. Fireballs, lightning bolts, even weather control are also possible. However, those get progressively more difficult to accomplish. (Especially weather control. That complex of a system requires intimate understanding to pull off. Only the most powerful mages ever get any good at it.)

 

If Khuvlai has been practicing for 19 years, he'll probably be rather powerful and knowledgeable. The thing with mages is that, once they know how to do a thing, they can do it in any number of different circumstances. Magically starting a campfire and creating a fireball are fundamentally the same thing for the mage, it just takes different amounts of energy. Same with charging a battery and creating a lightning bolt. So instead of thinking of different discrete spells that he can do, it is more helpful to think of the kinds of things he can do, and then think of uses to which they (and combinations of them) can be put.

 

Examples: Manifesting fire

 

Can be used to start a campfire, light an enemy's clothes on fire, all sorts of things like that, etc.

 

Telekinesis

 

Can be used to pick things up, shoot them in different directions, stop things thrown/shot at you.

 

Heating and cooling:

 

Can freeze or vaporize water, heat an enemy's sword up so it burns him, cool a lava flow, or melt a rock.

 

Now think of combinations of uses:

Fire + telekinesis:

 

Shoot plumes of flame from a hand; fire fireballs at an enemy, create conjuring tricks with fire.

 

Cooling + fire:

Create a fire that gives light but doesn't burn. Create a wall of fire that burns only when you try to pass through it.

 

Cooling + telekinesis:

Drench and then freeze enemies with water. Create a shield of ice.

 

Limitation

Distance is an important factor. A sorcerer can just have a spirit go up to a distant target and affect it (although not too far away, because of reasons that aren't relevant here), so the range is the range from the spirit doing the effect. A mage does all of the affecting himself. So, it's much easier to create a fireball and launch it at someone than it is to create a fireball in the middle of the distant group of enemies. That's important to remember. If you want a distant effect, try to create something next to you and then move it.

 

The second important factor is how much energy it takes to produce an effect. The human mind can only handle being a bridge for so much energy without permanent damage to various parts of the body/mind/etc. So no nuking cities. Pretty much it's a cap on how much you can do, not on what you can do. And there is a sort of cooldown too. Too much energy in a short period of time, and you risk damage, but also trying to use less energy but sustaining it over longer periods risks the same. To know your exact limits, I'd have to know what powers you anticipate him having developed, and what uses he'd be putting them to. But this is the basic idea of the mental capacity limit. How much you can handle increases as you get better (and 19 years is quite a bit of increasing), but there are basic limitations of how much energy the mortal form can transfer.

 

 

I will definitely give a cultural profile for the Svaldings, but your intuition about the Norse similarity is spot on. Not exactly the same, but related to the Norse to about the same degree as the Nessei are to the Mongols. It's a little late for me to do that tonight (I have to get up again in about 4 hours), so I'll do it after I get home tomorrow. Probably around noon, MST.

 

 

Just a note, the wolf is Fen, not Muni.

 

All spirits have full awareness of their past lives. It's only when they are actually living them that the memories are veiled. And the class of spirits from which familiars are drawn are all of human or near-human intelligence. However, their thought patterns are generally not human, and run in the manner of their favored/most identified with/most repeated form. In addition, the physical manifestation of a form (even if it's not a full physical body) does have an influence on the thought patterns. The familiar chooses a form to which it already has an attachment, and when manifesting, its thoughts follow the patterns that are native to the form. So Fen thinks like a wolf, just a wolf if it had human-level intelligence. So a wolf+, rather than a human in a wolf's body.

 

 

[EDIT:] This weekend or so, I plan on moving all of the worldbuilding info to a new thread in the Creator's Corner. This thread will be more focused on the RP itself (and any worldbuilding necessary to inform it), but all of the background magic info and culture/history stuff will move to the worldbuilding thread. There, I'll be able to explore other facets of Edassa without distracting from the RP. Sound like a good idea?

 

I think Murk could work as either species, but I think I'll classify her as the extinct saltwater species. Maybe that's part of the reason for her choosing to become a familiar--she knew she wouldn't have another chance to be reborn as her favorite species, so she chose a spiritual situation that would allow her the form again.

 

Regardless, I'm ready to join now. The Murk Lurker is ready for duty.

 

 

Fen? Ooh, that's a nice name. I guess I got mixed up a bit.   I'll go back through this thread and the other and try to get a better idea of what's going on.

 

 

First off, I want to echo what Kobold said; the amount of detail you have for this world is amazing (and makes me feel bad about how sparse my worldbuilding tends to be). I'm not certain what plans you have for the world, but I would love to see you do some writing set in it (or turn it into a straight up RPG system. That would be cool.)

 

...Oh, and I'm working on a character for this, if you guys don't mind. I won't have her finished until the new year- a mix of wanting to spend time with family over Christmas, and going through the threads and world building stuff to make sure what I have in mind fit's- but... yeah. This is a notice to see if you guys are willing to let me play with you.

(Resumé speaking... er... I got nothing. I did a bit of roleplaying in the early sanderson elimination games I did... but then, that was more fanfiction-ey writing than RPing. If you're curious, this is probably the best example of my writing in those.)

 

Anyway, character. Bare in mind that, right now, this is just a vague concept for the character; I tend to hammer out personality and stuff as I go.

So, the idea is a female... "monk" might be the best word for it. My "pitch" for her is that she's a follower of the goddess of love; not the romantic, Aphrodite-interpretation of it, more like... a goddess dedicated to Platonic-Love, whose main tenant is basically preaching that everyone should get along.

(The shorthand I use for this is "Goddess of hippies", since I sort of picture the character as having that kind of zen, zoned out air about her, being dedicated to non-violence, and judging people based on whether or not she get's a good feeling from them.)

 

I kind of picture her as being very naive and sheltered- admittedly in part so that I can get sued to the setting. She's been raised on a small monastery, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else and where everyone shares the same religion and belief; her leaving it to see/proselytism/whatever-reason-I-come-up-with is basically the first time she's meeting people who don't believe what she does, or who don't have that "live and let live" philosophy.

 

I like this idea! Welcome to the RP, Quiver.

 

If this is anything like the Reckoners RPG--and it looks very similar to the Reckoners RPG--then I imagine it'll also have a very fanfiction-y style to it.

 

See you all in Edassa!

[Voidus]

So now that his familiar has a location I'll edit to say that Samuel's going to the prison via the riverbank to pick up Murk.

[Kobold King he/him]

So now that his familiar has a location I'll edit to say that Samuel's going to the prison via the riverbank to pick up Murk.

 

Excellent! I'll get to work on Murk's introduction post.

 

Dooby dooby doo-bah

Dooby dooby doo-bah

Dooby dooby doo-bah

Dooby dooby doo-bah

 

Murky!

 

She's a semi-aquatic, spell-casting reptile of action!

 

(Dooby dooby doo-bah...)

 

She's a crocodile familiar, who'd never flinch from a fray-ee-ay--ee-ay!

 

She's got quasi-physical scales

She's got a toothy snout and a tail

And the gators swoon, whenever they hear her say:

 

"Graarr."

 

She's Murk-y! Murky the croc-odile!

 

Ahem. I may have been watching too much Phineas and Ferb.

Edited December 20, 2014 by Kobold King

[Kobold King he/him]

All right, first Murk post is up! It's short, but hopefully conveys a bit about who she is and what she spends her days thinking about. So far she's not much of a complex character; most of her thoughts can be summed up as "I am a crocodile and I am awesome."

 

Anyway, feel free to criticize the post. Seonid, let me know if anything is inconsistent with your model of familiar spirits.

[Quiver he/him]

All right, first Murk post is up! It's short, but hopefully conveys a bit about who she is and what she spends her days thinking about. So far she's not much of a complex character; most of her thoughts can be summed up as "I am a crocodile and I am awesome."

 

Anyway, feel free to criticize the post. Seonid, let me know if anything is inconsistent with your model of familiar spirits.

I am a crocodile.

"But, dude, imagine if you could be, like, fire."

I am a crocodile.

"...Woah. That's deep. What if, deep down, we're all crocodiles?"

...more seriously, thanks for the vote of confidence Kobold, and I'll try not to let any of you guys down.

[Kobold King he/him]

I am a crocodile.

"But, dude, imagine if you could be, like, fire."

I am a crocodile.

"...Woah. That's deep. What if, deep down, we're all crocodiles?"

...more seriously, thanks for the vote of confidence Kobold, and I'll try not to let any of you guys down.

 

"You are not a crocodile. You are a tall piece of meat. I am a crocodile."

 

 

I'm sure you won't. And if you want your character to have a pony or something as a familiar spirit, just give me a call.

 

 

EDIT: Is it improprietous to ponify a crocodile?

 

 

I hope not.

Edited December 20, 2014 by Kobold King

[Voidus]

"You are not a crocodile. You are a tall piece of meat. I am a crocodile."

 

 

I'm sure you won't. And if you want your character to have a pony or something as a familiar spirit, just give me a call.

 

 

EDIT: Is it improprietous to ponify a crocodile?

 

 

I hope not.

... it begins.

[Seonid he/him]

... it begins.

 

 

Nobody really expected anything else, did they?

[Voidus]

Ahhh! I'm no longer an Inquisitor

[Unodus he/him]

?

Wat does that mean..? :V

[Voidus]

My reputation went over 2500 so my title changed from Inquisitor to Most Ancient

[Unodus he/him]

Oh, I see :3

Well, I guess you could be the "most ancient" inquisitor now- if its a big deal

[Voidus]

Given Murks personality would it be plausible for their contract to require Samuel to give her certain things to hunt to make use of her powers?

[Seonid he/him]

In terms of Familiars for Inquisitors/Paladins how are they usually found? By the individual or does the order find them and present them to likely candidates?

 

I just realized that I missed this question in my Massively Comprehensive Reply Post^TM. Sorry about that.

 

That varies by order. The Paladins are confirmed into the Order in an elaborate ritual, part of which involves the bonding of a willing familiar spirit, who is aligned with the goals and stated purpose of the order.

 

For Inquisitors, the acquisition of a familiar is much more haphazard. Firstly, not all Inquisitors are magic users (the percentage ranges between 10-20% of the order as magic users of some kind; even less of them are serious and long-terms students of the art), and secondly, not all Inquisitors who are sorcerers acquire familiars (probably less than half, perhaps much less than half). Those who do generally find their own because they want one badly enough to put into the effort to find their own. (It can be a lot of work sifting through a bunch of ineligible spirits to find the ones that would be suited to being a familiar, and even more effort to find one among these generally disinterested spirits who is willing to accept the bond.)

 

It might be asked, what does a familiar gain from the bond? For Paladins and other like situations, the familiar is working with someone who holds to their same moral code and whose goals they are aligned with. These spirits are attached to the world and the mortals (emotionally invested, even) in a way that others of their kind are not. For this type of spirit, they generally leave the cycle of reincarnation that animals go through shortly after their stint as familiar, and take the step to become a mortal.

 

(Cosmological note: The spirits that animate animals are spirits who just weren't interested in becoming mortals when the opportunity was offered them. Some few change their mind over time, and this is often accompanied by an increasing awareness and investment in events in the mortal realm. When they do change their mind, they are able to join the spirits who did want to become mortals on a [mostly] equal footing. It should also be noted that mortals do not reincarnate. They eventually become immortals after they die, and move on to a place in the Outer Realms. Most have never had a prior life, except for the ones who came over from being part of the animal cycle.)

 

Other familiar spirits accept because they want to have a physical form without the restraints of actually inhabiting an animal. For all but the most self-aware spirits that participate in the cycle of animal reincarnation, the demands of instinct and biology are extremely hard to overcome. One of the perks of being a familiar is that your body is fully under your control, instead of having pesky biological urges. (However, some instinctive patterns based in biology become imprinted in the spiritual thinking process. Hence, some familiars who choose an animal form will still feel the mating urge when faced with an attractive opposite-gender animal of their own species. But it won't control them. They remain in full control. In many ways, it's almost like being a mortal, without any of the pesky permanent Material bonding going on.)

 

 

Hey Seonid can I get some info on the Svalding? I would like to know if they are tribal or not. I would also like to know if maybe they worshiped something similar to the Nordic pantheon so I can use some of their oaths as a habit that Bran never shook (I know Bran is a Gaelic name but I wanted to use it ((It's the root of my real name which translate to Little Raven from what I gathered.))) Also, tattoos, do they usually have any and what do they look like if they do? Some of you may know I love ink. 

 

Maybe you could just post that here since Cloud is also using a Svalding.

 

And here we go:

 

Svaldings:

The Svalding people live in the fjords and mountain valleys of the far north. They are a tribal people, led by clan chiefs (called jarls), and governed by councils of elders of the tribe (the jarlslaw). Sometimes, several tribes band together in a loose confederation, but such arrangements seldom last longer than a generation. Physically, they tend to be tall and fair, with varying hair colors. Black is common, but so is blond and even red.

 

The sea is the lifeblood of the Svalding peoples. Although many of the tribes don't live on the sea, all of them live close enough to march to the sea and put out in longboats if the need takes them. They are good sailors, and fighting runs in their blood. They often raid each other and their neighbors for loot, slaves, and glory. Almost all of their raids come from the sea, where they can return after having had a good fight without having to worry about being cut off in retreat or the like. When they do raid farther inland, they seldom remain in one place long enough to let a significant force gather to oppose them. They travel light, and have been known to discard their armor in order to march faster. (This has often been the source of fruitful surprise attacks, but equally as often has come back to bite them.)

 

The most common weapon is the spear, which is cheap and easy to manufacture. Every male owns one, and is expected to know how to use it if called up in defense of the tribe. The force of men called up like this is called the fyrd or here. All warriors carry a wooden shield as well, and fight in a shield wall to maximize their ability to support each other. Warriors of slightly more means carry war axes or swords, depending on their ability to afford them. Some also carry the atgeir, or hewing-spear, which is a short sword blade affixed to a spear haft, and is useful for both thrusts and slicing motions. Swords and atgeirs are almost always named, and have a history of being passed down from one wielder to the next. It is not uncommon for a warrior to know 10 or 12 generations of his weapon's history, if it has it. For ranged weapons, they rely on javelins, some few bows (these are more often used for hunting) and thrown axes.

 

The most elite warriors, the jarlsgaard, often wield single-hand axes that are equally effective thrown or wielded in melee, which they use with expert skill. Some also carry spythes, long two handed axes that serve as a primitive polearm, and are capable of shearing through armor and bone with ease.

 

For armor, most warriors go on raids in hard-boiled or rivet-studded leather jerkins. Those who can afford it (often anyone who has survived a couple of raids) wear chain mail. Plate is seen as too restrictive, although the Svalding warriors have a healthy respect for the defensive advantage offered by the armor.

 

Religiously, they worship a pantheon of gods, although the most eastern tribes have sometimes fallen under the influence of the Senlii empire, and thus the worship of the God-Emperor. With the waning of the empire, this influence has been replaced by the Church of the Martyr. But most still maintain their native religion.

 

Their pantheon is rather large (although many more gods show up in the mythology than actually have any relevance to ritual and daily life in the tribe), and is headed by Skieyrn, also called both Cloudfather and Stormbringer. He is believed to rule both gods and men, and is the wisest and most powerful. He controls the weather, but is particularly found in the Skathstyrm, the powerful winter storms that can bury whole villages in snow so deep that they are beyond finding. The wolverine is his sacred animal. The goddess Heldja is revered as the goddess of battle, and is invoked both in defense and on the warpath. She has a strong sense of honor, and there exists a strict code of permissible targets in battle, but she is said not to care about why her followers fight so long as they behave properly towards blacksmiths, shamans, children, and women who have not chosen the warpath. Both wolf and bear are sacred to her, and many warriors among her special devotees wear their skins into battle to try to channel the animal's fury and connection to the goddess. The third of the triad of powerful deities in the pantheon is Wyrda, god of fate. His animal and sign is the raven, and he is the patron god of shamans and sorcerers and all who desire knowledge (although Skieyrn is also god of wisdom). He is seldom prayed to, as the Svalding's believe that a man's wyrd, or fate, is written down in the heavenly annals from the day of his birth, and will come whether avoided or sought. The invocation of Wyrda is done only during the solemn rituals that mark the end of the battle, reminding the participants of the inevitability of death and their immutable fate, and exhorting them to meet it with dignity and honor, instead of cowardice.

 

As far as tattoos go, the Svalding aren't huge into them. Most go without, with the exceptions of the shamans, who tattoo ravens on their left cheek as a symbol of their station. The shamans wear other tattoos as well, recounting significant events in their portion of the tribal history. They serve as living memories of ancient events. Bards are also important, and sometimes wear similar tattoos, without the raven sign. As far as your character goes, however, there are several nearby cultures (the Nessei, for example) who are really big into tattoos. A travelled mercenary could easily have picked up a tattoo habit from one of the peoples he lived among for a while.

 

The other important note about Svaldings is the berserker rage. Essentially, the warrior works himself up to the point that his body can be possessed by one of the unembodied spirits that flit around the world. This is dangerous, and hard to control. The warrior's embrace of the rage serves as an invitation for the spirit, and while in the rage, pain and fear do not affect the warrior. He tends to indiscriminately slaughter anyone who stands in his way. Both the Church of the Martyr and the Court of the Gods condemn this practice.

 

One last note on gender relations. Although the society is sexist in many ways, women are permitted to fight alongside men. In fact, joining the warpath is a culturally recognized way for a woman to get out of an arranged marriage she isn't happy about (as long as she isn't married yet). Both men and women train to fight, although women are far less likely to be mercenaries. This is largely because the people doing the hiring aren't OK with warrior women, not because the Svaldings care.

 

Oh, and on the subject of mercenaries. The jarl's retinues are supplemented by gelders, or soldiers that fight solely for money. These are drawn from within the tribe or from neighboring tribes, and are a kind of professional soldier. They provide their own gear, and hire on for a season or two for a specific share of the plunder. The most famous are the vissengeldern, who hire out far more extensively, and are known as the famous Whitesword mercenaries in many of the Southern lands.

 

If you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask. Your questions are what helps me to build the world in detail.

 

EDIT: Is it improprietous to ponify a crocodile?

 

 

I hope not.

 

Most definitely not.

 

 

 

 

Oh, and a few notes on numbers, just so we don't get carried away with magic users. The Inquisition has brought about 3000 soldiers to Menkor. About 800 of them are at the capital itself, either in the city or in a camp just outside. Of the 3000, there are 82 Inquisitors of varying ranks, of which about 20 are in the city/camp area, including 6 or 7 magic users. (The total magic-user count of the Inquisitorial force was 13, so about half are in the city.) We've seen or heard about 4 of these. (Voidus, the one in the square, and the two at the prison).

 

Pretty much, what I'm saying is, don't go randomly making up enemy magic users and killing them. They are few and far between, and if we kill too many of them for the sake of atmosphere, there won't be any left to use in the story. If you want your character to kill one of the three that we haven't seen yet, PM me first to make sure I'm not planning on using them.

 

 

[EDIT:] 

Given Murks personality would it be plausible for their contract to require Samuel to give her certain things to hunt to make use of her powers?

 

 

That would certainly be in-bounds. If you think Samuel would have agreed.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Seonid

[Unodus he/him]

I should probably ask...  Are the Prison walls climbable? 

For example- is there some creepers or something round the back Shuster could use to reach the top of the prison, and therefore work his way into the prison through the roof? Sorry that I have to ask, but I have no idea what the prison looks like atm... .3.; (aside beyond its a stone prison complex).

Just figure I should ask, in case there aren't any back doors, etc. Thanks in advance ^-^