Covenant of the Chasmata - OOC

[Bone2pick]

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Lore Thread​

INTRODUCTION

The Roemheld Polity is a nation of faith and judgement that has endured for over four centuries. Its chief cleric, the Vicegerent, rules over a magnificent stretch of countryside. Its western lands harbor mighty rivers, great lakes, and temperate rainforests; while its southern portion is a single unbroken prairie. Along its eastern boundary the Eerie Mountains spread over three hundred miles. And it's there, beneath a mountain ravine, that the foulest wound of Roemheld persists - the Grand Chasm of the Chasmata.

The Grand Chasm is a cavern system so immense it takes two days travel to reach its opposite end. But unlike most of the the caves and tunnels under the mountains (collectively known as the Buried Realms) it has an extraordinary feature - daylight. Thousands of years ago, for reasons not yet known, segments of its roof collapsed; which allowed the sun to to finally reach down and touch its floor - tracts of it at least. So flowers bloomed and trees took root in pockets of daylight encircled by darkness.

A unique ecosystem was born. Birds and butterflies flew in to compete with cavern bats. Curious rodents climbed down through tree tops, and predators such as the lynx and badger quickly followed. Forest creatures adapted to the sunken woodlands and shadowed thickets below the mountains. But the most dauntless, ambitious, and dangerous species to descend into the Chasm, was humanity.

The Netherwood​

One hundred and fifty years before our present day, pioneers of Roemheld plunged below the ravine. During their exploration they were alarmed to discover they weren't alone; bizarre civilizations inhabited the lower world. When news of the Chasm societies reached the Polity the ecclesia promptly judged them as heretics. And the theocracy would not tolerate an infestation of heathens.

Their first move was to carve a colossal stairway - which remains today - from ravine to Chasm floor. Once completed their follow up move was the construction of a colony, which they dubbed Basalnock. It would serve as their righteous foot in the door. Then brick walls and iron fences were erected to better protect the colonist from the "wicked creatures" they now neighbored. Finally, soldiers, chaplains, and friars of fire were marched in, and the crusade for the Chasm began.

Chasm Morning​

At the war's start the battles overwhelmingly went in Roemheld's favor. They had the benefit of surprise as well as a unified force, as opposed to the unprepared and divided Chasm people. There was ancient ill-will between the underfolk which made them risk annihilation rather than cooperate. As a result, they continued to suffer defeat after defeat. But there came a point, when the fires of the crusaders burned in nearly every tunnel, that their contempt for one another was forgiven. So they banded together as one people - thereby known as the Chasmata - and swore to defend their homeland.

The organized resistance ground the Polity's crusade to a halt. And the stalemate didn't favor the invaders. Surface soldiers grew weary of the sunless battlefields and the confinements of tunnel warfare. As their spirits sank the ferocity of the Chasmata swelled. The tides inevitably turned. Week after week Roemheld forces were forced to retreat, until eventually, they were pinned behind the walls of Basalnock. The outpost proved a tough nut to crack. It took years before the Chasmata successfully stormed the colony, and when they did so they granted no mercy to their enemies. The ecclesia, disgusted by the campaign's failure, abandoned any hope of conquering the Grand Chasm.

With the war over the Chasmata had to learn how to be allies without a common enemy. It's proved an arduous project. Their covenant has been more or less upheld for nearly nine decades, but it's waning with each year. Skirmishes between the underfolk arise from time to time, but so far the leadership have prevented the sparks from catching fire. But how long can that continue before one of them breaks and renounces the alliance?

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This OOC thread is for collaborative planning, plotting, world-building, roleplay questions, and banter. Because we must have a space for banter. :) Signups will have their own thread and should not be posted here.

 

[Danielle reaver]

Hey hey @Bone2pick ! Had a question when it came to appearances. How.... Far out are we able to go with appearances if you get what I mean?

 

[Bone2pick]

Hey hey @Bone2pick ! Had a question when it came to appearances. How.... Far out are we able to go with appearances if you get what I mean?

I think I do... I can't imagine racial appearance, no matter how different, would ever be a deal breaker. Having said that, straying from the category of 'humanoid' has its disadvantages. It likely rules out any possibility of interfaction romance, which is a bit of a loss. And it makes trading with you less appealing, as most goods and tools are designed for human shaped creatures.

One note on creating unique races: please keep your society's goals, desires, and needs reasonably mortal. I've played in fantasy nation roleplays where players create primordial beings who don't require food, drink, or sleep; they don't have a sense of community, and they are incapable of love or fear. Signups similar to that will not be accepted. As the storyteller responsible for introducing plots, I plan on appealing to relatable motivations. Hopefully that all sounds fair. :)

 

[Danielle reaver]

I think I do... I can't imagine racial appearance, no matter how different, would ever be a deal breaker. Having said that, straying from the category of 'humanoid' has its disadvantages. It likely rules out any possibility of interfaction romance, which is a bit of a loss. And it makes trading with you less appealing, as most goods and tools are designed for human shaped creatures.

One note on creating unique races: please keep your society's goals, desires, and needs reasonably mortal. I've played in fantasy nation roleplays where players create primordial beings who don't require food, drink, or sleep; they don't have a sense of community, and they are incapable of love or fear. Signups similar to that will not be accepted. As the storyteller responsible for introducing plots, I plan on appealing to relatable motivations. Hopefully that all sounds fair. :)

Yeah they weren't gonna be like super wtf and they would be humanoid I was just asking cause well there are some major things that put them apart. I can send you a pm of the appearance so you can look it over if you'd like?

 

[Bone2pick]

It sounds like they won't be an issue. I wasn't sure just how funky you wanted to go, so I wanted to cover my bases. :)

 

[junebug]

I'm going to take a look at other factions first to see how people go about doing some of the things listed on the sheet. A lot of it I've never created before, so I wouldn't be sure where to start. How long do we have to create our factions?

 

[Bone2pick]

How long do we have to create our factions?

I definitely should have mentioned that. :) I don't want to rush folks, as there's quite a lot to create, so how does three weeks from today sound? Once the factions are posted we'll start hammering out societal relationships and histories. That's the fun stuff. :)

Also, if anyone is unsure about the faction sheet, I'm happy to work with you through PMs.

 

[junebug]

Three weeks sounds somewhat doable. Although I have classes and work, I'll try my best to get this done. Are we allowed to have dark faeries? Also, where was the map again? Is there any place on the map that is close to the Buried Realms, if not inside it?

 

[Bone2pick]

@Kat As long as you're making progress I won't be a stickler about the start date. I understand life priorities; I'm a husband and father of two young children. :)

You are most certainly allowed to have dark faeries. They would fit in comfortably in the Chasm. Technically speaking, the entirety of the Grand Chasm is inside the Buried Realms, as both are under the Eerie Mountains. So all of the tunnels coming and going out of the Chasm are the rest of the Buried Realms. If you'd like to be based by a major tunnel (of which there are three) that's easily done. Here's the map to look over, though it might change slightly.

Edit: Updated map

 

[Bone2pick]

@Jack Robinson Did you create all that today? If so I'm envious of the speed of which you work. :) I love your faction! It's a fresh take on overly done goblinoids. They're nicely balanced, especially the magic. You kept your divination rare and not too powerful, which is perfect. And I can see myself using your seers to inject interesting plot hooks.

In terms of numbers how big is a typical tribe of koas? Because a player might encounter one while adventuring through the Buried Realms.

I also love the hints of inner conflict. Let me encourage other players to have that present in their factions. It adds realism, as communities are rarely perfectly harmonious.

I'm going to reread it a few more times. It's a great Chasm society to start us off. :)

 

[Jack Robinson]

Hey thanks! Yes, I worked on this as soon as you had it posted. I already had most of what I wanted in mind, I just had to type it all out.

As for the size of a tribe of koas, think of it like this: tribes are basically families. If a male koa gains ownership of a female, he can start a sizable tribe within a year, considering the short gestation period of koas. Your average tribe is around two to three hundred individuals, all of whom tend to be related. Tribes can be as small as thirty koas, or as large as two or three thousand. I imagine that traveling through the Buried Realms, you could come across tribes of koas of around a hundred or so, possibly more, although the majority are at Kann-Muzkh by order of Shakkath Kann. Of course, the entire race couldn't possibly be rounded up despite the Kann's best efforts, so there's a fair number out and about roaming around. Your average tribe will have around two or three females at best, with the rest being males, and almost all of those being warriors/hunters.

Speaking of short gestation periods, I was wondering if I could up the population of Kann-Muzkh to around 14-15k? Realistically speaking, that's probably how many koas there would be, with that number fluctuating regularly as koas die on a daily basis almost.

Oh yeah and about that internal conflict, I'm so excited for how that'll play out. Can someone say civil war? :0

EDIT: One more thing, could I reserve the area by the Fungal Forest? I noticed there's a lot of rocks and whatnot near there, so that'd be a perfect location for Kann-Muzkh and it'd make sense for the koas to build their city right next to a huge mushroom reserve.

 

[junebug]

*jaw drop* Found my character(s)? *^*

Spoiler

@Bone2pick Thank you! I'm definitely gonna be based by a major tunnel~ Does it matter where on the map?? And what exactly is the different between social structure and hierarchy? They sound like the same thing to me. :O

And how far is "player one" and "player two" each from the Netherwoods? "Player one" looks significantly closer. o3o

EDIT: May have ended up creating a handful of npcs XDD

EDIT: My world building will be on another site. I will post the full, completed version when I'm done and will probably plan to work with Bone in regards to certain things on the faction sheet. ^w^

 

[Bone2pick]

Speaking of short gestation periods, I was wondering if I could up the population of Kann-Muzkh to around 14-15k? Realistically speaking, that's probably how many koas there would be, with that number fluctuating regularly as koas die on a daily basis almost.

The trouble is 95% of your society are warriors, as opposed to the average human (or human like) settlement that's roughly 30% combatants. That's fairly advantageous. To keep things balanced your resource gathering, artisanship, medicine, and espionage will be below average. With all that in mind I feel your current 11k population is right on the money. We can chalk a lot of koa life loss up to high infant mortality rates and poor health care.

One more thing, could I reserve the area by the Fungal Forest? I noticed there's a lot of rocks and whatnot near there, so that'd be a perfect location for Kann-Muzkh and it'd make sense for the koas to build their city right next to a huge mushroom reserve.

Sounds good. I'll move the thoul camp out of there then, as they would have been chased off by your people.

 

[Bone2pick]

@Bone2pick Thank you! I'm definitely gonna be based by a major tunnel~ Does it matter where on the map?? And what exactly is the different between social structure and hierarchy? They sound like the same thing to me. :O

And how far is "player one" and "player two" each from the Netherwoods? "Player one" looks significantly closer. o3o

I dig their look Kat. Very fitting. :) As to which tunnel you'd like to be near, it's totally up to you. The savage Koas will be fairly close to the western tunnel, so you might not want to be there. Breathing room is always a plus. :) Was there a particular reason you needed to be close to a Chasm exit?

What I meant by social structures are things like family units, disciplines of study, recreational places, etc. And with social hierarchy I was referring specifically to how your people are divided — for instance, nobility versus commoners. But those are just examples of how I'd break down culture, approach it however you'd like. :)

As to your Netherwood question, player one is closer. You're correct. In terms of distance its two days travel (on average) from one side of the map to the other. So half the map is one days travel, half of that is a half days travel, and so on. I can move your settlement closer to the Netherwood if you'd like, just say the word. But as of right now I'm not sure if you'd rather be near it or closer to a Chasm tunnel.

NPCs are a great way to flesh out your faction. I'm Looking forward to looking them over. And I'll happily work with you or any other player via PM. I don't want anyone to feel rushed or frustrated. Let's keep this a fun creative project. :)

 

[junebug]

I dig their look Kat. Very fitting. :) As to which tunnel you'd like to be near, it's totally up to you. The savage Koas will be fairly close to the western tunnel, so you might not want to be there. Breathing room is always a plus. :) Was there a particular reason you needed to be close to a Chasm exit?

What I meant by social structures are things like family units, disciplines of study, recreational places, etc. And with social hierarchy I was referring specifically to how your people are divided — for instance, nobility versus commoners. But those are just examples of how I'd break down culture, approach it however you'd like. :)

As to your Netherwood question, player one is closer. You're correct. In terms of distance its two days travel (on average) from one side of the map to the other. So half the map is one days travel, half of that is a half days travel, and so on. I can move your settlement closer to the Netherwood if you'd like, just say the word. But as of right now I'm not sure if you'd rather be near it or closer to a Chasm tunnel.

NPCs are a great way to flesh out your faction. I'm Looking forward to looking them over. And I'll happily work with you or any other player via PM. I don't want anyone to feel rushed or frustrated. Let's keep this a fun creative project. :)

There wasn't a particular reason I wanted to be closer. I'm inspiring this group of dark faeries from another thing I did called "Underground Society" where the people live underground and are criminals who intended on taking over the city where they resided (a rebellion of sorts). So I figured being near a chasm exit would be a good idea. :o

Would family units be like someone high in rank? Units of people who are powerful and influential?

I'll bring some ideas to you in PM. It was 150 years ago that the Roemheld invaded, correct? I'm trying to understand if they invaded where the Netherwoods are right now or if they invaded near a tunnel.

 

[Bone2pick]

Family units meaning how the family is structured. For instance, in the case of Jack Robinson's koa, the mother lays (births?) an entire brood of offspring who largely have to fend for themselves shortly after they enter the world. Similar to reptiles.

Roemheld began moving into the Grand Chasm 150 years ago, but they didn't kick off the official crusade until nearly fifty years later. In the meantime they constructed and secured their colony, Basalnock, in the Chasm's northwestern corner. Which is where the war was eventually launched from.

 

[Bone2pick]

@Sammael9216 @Danielle reaver Looking over both of your sheets there appears to be a misunderstanding, which I'll take some of the blame for. Player societies will not be newcomers to the Chasm, they will be sworn members (covenant) of the Chasmata. Your people will have united with the other player societies nearly a century ago to stop Roemheld from capturing the Chasm.

And every player faction will have more or less maintained the covenant after the war, for nine decades - as the campaign for the Chasm waged close to ten years. I remember spotting some other issues that need to be addressed, but I want to give both your sheets a second read before I list those.

 

[Danielle reaver]

Ill go fix my sheet right now I apologize for that

 

[Bone2pick]

Again, some of the fault is mine for not being more explicit. Sorry about that. I'm going to go PM Danielle and Sammael about your factions asap. There's a lot of good stuff there, but you'll both need to make some adjustments before we start.

Edit: One more thing. As I don't see a much craftsmanship in the submitted factions, tools, weaponry, clothing, and other goods are going to be very difficult to come by. They were always going to be more precious in the Buried Realms, but with so many people and so few crafters/merchants, manufactured items will truly be scarce.

There are outlaw smugglers in Roemheld who will venture down into the Chasm to trade, but their prices will be outrageously high. That's because the penalty for dealing with the heathens under the mountains is being burned alive. So you'll have to make the risk worth it. Consider if your society will/would deal with such people for surface goods.

 

[Jargo]

Is this still open? Can I make a race?