The City of Angelstone (sign up/rules)

[Cranberry]

Alright, it's holidays this week, I have nothing else to do, so why not join in here and play as men? Count me in as the representative of the great human race, Enduro.

Humans are obviously the lamest, but well, I'm last to join the party so it's not my place to complain, I should say.

[Enduro]

So, Cranberry agreed to become my Assisstant GM; we're working on descriptions for the nations. Expect the start of turn this weekend.

[Cranberry]

And here are the first two nations:

Humans:

Religion:
Humans believe in a large polytheistic pantheon, with different gods grouped into certain families of gods. The human creation myth includes an unnamed female deity, simply known as the great mother ("shá fergat"), that gave birth to the earth, the stars, the moon and the sun, as well as the five sucessive families of gods. Each family of gods ruled the cosmos for a certain time, bringing about one of the five original races that inhabit the earth, with the last one, the solar family, that created men, topping the lunar family, that created elves, just a thousand years ago.

Government & Culture:
Most humans are organised within the so-called Empire of the Sun, ruled by an emperor, or Son-of-the-Sun ("izhda-na drizas") with absolute power, belived to be the offspring of the highest god, Izhda. The human race is divided into castes, with the noblemen, or shaq, and priests on top, and a large number of peasants, traders and artisans at the bottom. A fifth of the male population between the ages of sixteen and thirty is required to serve in the army, making the human empire a very quarrelsome power.

The Empire of the Sun is located to the south-east of Angelstone, along the shores of the Southern Sea, and up north on a fertile, wide plain until the dwarvish mountains. Far in the east live a few nomadic human tribes that do not live in the dominion of the Son-of-Sun, and are commonly looked down upon as wild savages by other men. Humans in general see themselves as the superior of all races, and there are a few scattered sects that even call for the extiniction of all non-human races. While they remain lonely, humans still are often arrogant and loudmouthed in their conduct with foreign races, and with the exception of a few human traders, keep largely among themselves.


Elves:

Religion:
The Elves have a shamanistic, very spiritual religion, and worship the souls of their ancestors, of animals, as well as a great spirit that supposedly created the world and all of its inhabitants. They are the masters of all magic in this world, and their magic is closely interwoven with the lush forests and woods they inhabit.

Government & Culture:
The Elves are all organised under a council of elders, which every Elf, regardless if male or female, joins once they reach sixty years of age. The Elves populate the lush forests and woods of the southwest, along the coasts of both Southern and Western Seas. They are as well a great sea-faring people, with their ships, protected by spells and wizardy, never sinking even in the strongest storms and reaching every port along the coasts and rivers of this world. All Elves are vegetarian and do not farm, eating only the fruits of their woods as well as food traded from other races. The Elvish tongue furthermore is the general language of business, trade and diplomatic relations between the races.

Elves are very reserved when dealing with other races, especially trolls and half-elves, whom they detest; but show almost no emotion, and remain cold-blooded in all circumstances.

[Enduro]

Just want to put out there, we should be starting in April. As the nation descriptions come up, I would like for you to post character bios for your character (name, physical traits, personality, background etc.)

Also, Cranberry is my Assisstant GM, please include me and him on all game related PMs.

[Kingpoleon]

Name: Azben Anebza(az-bin uh-nehb-zuh)
Age: 28
Physical Traits: Standing at 6'3" and weighing an impressive 200 pounds, Anebza is very tall and slightly large for an elf.
Personality: Commanding, Intelligent, Leader
Background: The Council made him an honorary member after his defense of the Chief Councillor Ahben Ah-Nebza, his great-uncle, at the age of sixteen when his great-uncle was attacked by hired guns. He rose through the ranks quickly, and he has served as the Elven Ambassador to the Goblins(from the age of eighteen to the age of twenty-one) before being sent to Angelstone as the Council Observor(21 to 25). He made his way back to the council three years ago, becoming the Minister of Police for a year. He is now the Chief Councilor's Minister of Foreign Relations. Anebza is considered a rising star, and many expect him to be the face of the Reform movement for the Elves, which favors making the Council a noble group, not an old group. His magical abilities make him one of the top magicians. His guards are considered fiercely loyal and insanely tough, if only twenty in number.

[Cranberry]

Nations No. 3 and 4:

Half-Elves

Religion:
Half-elves, as the shunned upon, isolated offspring of both humans and elves, would in much of their demeanor have a synthesis of that of those two old races. They believe, like humans, in a Great Mother that created the earth, and all inhabitants of it; but left creation long ago. With her turning away, misery and suffering came to Earth, leading to the Half-Elves praying for her return as a saviour. Next to that, old Elvish customs of ancestor worship are also incorporated in their religion.

Government & Culture:
The Half-Elves are a centralised Kingdom, ruled until today by the descendants of the first Half-Elf. They live in the far west of the world, on the shores of the Western Sea, in a windy and rugged territory, sheltered from the rest of the world by near-impregnable, forbidding mountains and highlands. Only one long, dwinding road over three passes leads from the Half-elvish kingdom to Anglestone, and the rest of the known world; and there is only one harbour along the kingdom's dangerous coast. In their isolation, the Half-Elves have brought up a sophisticated culture that differentiates from the one of their parent races, yet is virtually unknown from outside their lands.

Trolls

Religion:
The Trolls believe themselves to be the oldest of all the races, the children of the oldest god (their tongue is quite complicated and hard for foreigners to pronounce, but the name of this god is believed to be ekrqvkhuana, leading to the Trolls to call themselves the tpishtw-ekrqvkhuantlrí, the sons of said god). Only when others, vicious gods turned up, did they create the other races and send the trolls to their barren homeland. Troll religious worship centers around a group of old crones, living in the Holy City, and receiving gifts from all other Trolls, in order to curry favour with the oldest god.

Government & Culture:
The Trolls inhabit a barren, cold landscape in the far northwest, an area where snow lays for five months, and the time for cultivation is short. While in foreign lands Trolls are often perceived as very brutal and quarrelsome, no Troll blood may be shed in their home, leading to their homeland to be a peaceful, blossoming culture, despite all natural odds. The Trolls are ruled by the old crones that worship their god in the Holy City ("pfztrai fghrzhei").

[Cranberry]

As assistant GM, I will oversee communication for the human race until a player can be found - this means I will not be actively involved in playing, rather I will respond to your (the players') interactions with the human race.

[Cranberry]

Kingpoleon, you signed up to play Elves, not dwarves...

[Kingpoleon]

Kingpoleon, you signed up to play Elves, not dwarves...

Did I mess up my biography? Will fix. Sorry!

[Cranberry]

Kingpoleon, you signed up to play Elves, not dwarves...

Did I mess up my biography? Will fix. Sorry!

No problem at all! Thank you

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

name: xhlayđ2 bhreæ~13 (simplified to 'cloudvein' by non-goblins)
age: 24
physical traits: while standing significantly taller than the average goblin, cloudvein's 3'11 height is of course tiny by other races' standards. she has deep green skin, greenish-white braided hair, and long pointed ears. usually goes around wearing traditional goblin attire and carrying a (mostly decorative) walking stick.
personality: open and kind. the sort of person who is the glue binding a group of friends together. distinct taste for the luxurious.
background: as the eldest child of two mid-level mine owners, cloudvein would traditionally have been expected to learn the arts of business, to one day take control of her parents' holdings. however, she displayed talents in diplomacy and wordcraft from a young age and her parents saw fit to encourage her along that direction instead. cloud vein thus spent much of her youth negotiating with disgruntled workers, the local fae, and the like. apparently word of this must have reached the king, seeing as he designated her the goblin emissary to the talks in angels tone just days after her adulthood ceremony. (there are rumblings that the king may be starting to lose his good judgment in his advanced age...?)

and a question for enduro and/or cranberry: does magic exist in this setting and if so can you explain some basics?

[Cranberry]

Since he's the original mastermind behind this, questions of this kind are best directed solely to Enduro.

Something regarding your character's name, evergreen: do the numbers stand for sylabilic tone (such as in some Chinese languages), or for some sounds of their own? (such as "2" being the glottal stop in some Pac-Northwest native languages)

[Enduro]

Yes, magic exists, and elves have a monopoly on it. All other nations magic is very primitive, and right now, unless Elves are helping your magicians, further research on it is very slow, and expensive.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Since he's the original mastermind behind this, questions of this kind are best directed solely to Enduro.

Something regarding your character's name, evergreen: do the numbers stand for sylabilic tone (such as in some Chinese languages), or for some sounds of their own? (such as "2" being the glottal stop in some Pac-Northwest native languages)

tone, yeah. and thanks for the answer, enduro!

[Weyfield]

Name: Lornexema Kquiterra (Translation for other races)
Age: 71
Physical Traits: Rather small and weak for a troll, but still bigger and physically stronger than members of most other races. Fleshy, wizened features.
Personality: Shrewd, astute, conniving.
Background: Ever since he was young, Lornexema has always been disgusted with the disrespect trolls received from the other races. He resents that trolls are stuck in the far lands to the north, being forced to struggle for survival - be it from attempting to farm on bad land in unpredictable, generally unfavourable weather or from paying high prices to the other races just for sustenance. He believes that this difficulty with survival is holding back the trolls' progress and wants it to change. He will go to any lengths to improve the situation of the trolls for future generations, including his six children and their future ones.
Many of his father's immediate relations were killed in during the Goblin War. His father believed that the other races used trolls during the conflict, sending them out on the front lines and into the most dangerous battle zones. For this, Lornexema was brought up with a fierce resentment of elves. For the elves dislike of them and from reading much about history, he found a certain solidarity in the half-elves whom he considers an ally of the trolls, unlike many trolls who distrust them simply due to their origins.
Lornexema proved himself to be a troll of above-average intelligence as he earned respect as a historian among the trolls. In his youth he wandered the northern lands, telling tales of troll history much to his peoples' joy. Eventually word of his exploits reached the troll chieftain who brought Lornexema into his household as an advisor. By the time he reached fifty-seven he was sent south as envoy for the trolls to the city of Anglestone, the last proving to be mostly incompetent. He was told to improve the status and assets of the trolls no matter what the cost...

[Enduro]

Just want to put out there, we are going to start Friday, April the 8th. This will give us time to create characters, and ask any questions you might have.

[Leinad]

Nice! I'm working on my character as we speak, although I'm currently getting lost in my own back-story.

Yes, magic exists, and elves have a monopoly on it. All other nations magic is very primitive, and right now, unless Elves are helping your magicians, further research on it is very slow, and expensive.

Does the Mighty Nation of Half-Elves have magic? At least...half-magic?

And to evergreen's original question, how does it all work?

[Kingpoleon]

I like this "magic". What are the ethnic percentages in Angelstone?

[Cranberry]

I like this "magic". What are the ethnic percentages in Angelstone?

Quite similar to the distribution of races in the world at-large. Humans make up a strong plurality, at roughly 35%; Elves and Dwarves have both about the same population at about 20% each. Trolls come fourth at about 15%, Goblins and Half-Elves finally at 5% each, both these peoples have a very small population.

[Enduro]

I regret to announce that the start of the game will be delayed... One day.

The answers to your questions will come later.

[Enduro]

Sorry about not starting the game, been busy, haven't been able to give this much time. Is anyone still interested in this?

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

yeh

[Weyfield]

Sure

[Kingpoleon]

Yes

[Enduro]

Sorry for the delay, I think, as we get into summer, I'll be able to start the game.

To show you it isn't dead, here are some more details of the magic:
As I said before, Elves have a monopoly on it, it has the largest magic guilds, and the most famous wizards. The other races have begun research on magic, but it gets nowhere without a lot of money, time, and previous elven research to base it on. In fact, many guilds for other races have an elven wizard guiding it.
Everyone is born with magic, some have a lot more magic than others, those people usually become big figures in magic culture. Others are born with so little, they can't access it. It is seemingly random; only two things are known about who gets what amount of magic: one, Elves are usually born with more of it than other races because of magic they use to aid the birthing of children, and two, there is a limited amount of it, but it can be renewed by those who dedicate their lives to studying magic. Right now, those with magic can only renew their own magic supply, no one can renew someone else's magic supply.
Elves rely on magic a lot, for housing, travel, and in some cases, growing food. Other races have extensive research, and can effectively use magic for war, but not much else.