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Welcome adventures, to the land of Azalia, where magic and machine join to one. A land of wonder and war, of treasure and experience. You may all know each other, or you may all be merely travelers thrown from the winding road onto your path of destiny. Either way, your actions will come to save, or kill, countless people, make or break empires, and even decide the destiny of an entire land. Will you lead it from its darkest hour into a brighter future, or will you watch it burn in the fires of hell for your benefit or amusement.... only time will tell... Wary adventures, for now come A LONG wall of world related text. The Races in Azalia are limited. There are:, give or take small bands of monsters. Humans
Many of the Races have developed a distrust, or plain Hatred for others.
These races are looked at as nothing but trouble, and often were hunted down by humans/Halflings/Dwarves and each other. Even now as part of the coalition many of these feelings still show, with them getting front-line duty often, or forced into menial tasks. As such, Catfolk and Kitsune have no grand Kingdoms, instead forced to live in small villages on the skirts of normal society. Very few are left after the assaults and they are on the brink of disappearing completely. The orcs did have a mountain stronghold in the Northern Mountains, but their stronghold was one of the first to fall, and with their hated status they received little to no aid. These races still rely on more mystical practices, with little technology for themselves. Kitsune/Catfolk:
Orks:
Elves:
Dwarves:
Gnomes:
Halflings:
Half elves, and Half orcs.
Humans:
Kingdom of Aloran: To the North, the kingdom of Aloran(a-lor-en), (heavily influenced by medieval Europe) lead by a long running family of warrior kings. Its lands are those of thick woods, snow covered mountains and lush valleys. The kingdom, the smallest of the great 4, is perhaps one of the better ones. The kings have long lead the country benevolently, and fairly. Though their warrior like culture gives many an unease, they are a noble, proud people and while they do enjoy war and battle to an extent, their poets and bards are renowned across the continent, even the elves, who claim a better grasp of these things than any other race admit to their beauty. Aloran is perhaps one of the more mystical kingdoms, with exceedingly few airships(3), few luxuries, and no real technology or other experimental things. Their kingdom's capital is settled betwixt two mountains. Empire of Belthouse To the south, the Empire of Belthouse(bell-thoose, as in moose), The largest, and arguably most powerful of the Great 4, centered on the Central Southern plains, the Home city of Espero shines as a beacon of light. A metropolis of over 3 million inhabitants, it ranges from the rich, semi-wealthy-poor-and homeless. Its lower streets becoming dens to thieves, guilds, and cults despite the best efforts of the empire and the city watch. The empire makes the most use of technology, arguably more so than even the dwarves, with airships seemingly traveling between the cities endlessly, automatons guarding the gates and keeps of the town and running water (sort of, think, aqueducts but, more advanced, with piping to take water to housing) and power for the wealthier districts, and even a sewer system and water for the poorest. The empire is led by an emperor crowned by a vote of the city barons, Lately, the same line of family has been placed in power for generations though this has actually lessened the power of the emperor, and strengthened that of the barons, who all but rule as an oligarchy, though the kingdom has prospered either way. Armies of Belthouse make use of firearms more than any other race or peoples in Azalia, with over 75% of their military trained in their usage and maintenance, they use siege weaponry and clockwork constructs as well. Due to this reliance on tech their magical academies are growing smaller. The Belthouse Empire has the lowest amount of wizards and arcane practitioners of any human kingdom, but they do have a great academy of alchemy. They also have almost no divine magic users, believing instead to not follow any deities as a whole. Kingdom of Razeria in the East, Perhaps the kingdom the elves get along with the most, and the one that dwarves and gnomes view uneasily. This kingdom uses little to no tech, even less than Aloran but, has more arcane magic than the rest combined. The great capital is built from arcane energies, floating citadels, endless water, and forced obedience. The kingdom of Razeria is ruled with an Arcane fist by an oligarchy of mages centered at the mages guild in the Center of the capital Kazethi'k (Ka-zay-thii-ik). The most aggressive of the human kingdoms despite its magical heritage. They see mastery of the Arcane as the only true path, and they believe that a forced, obedient society is the path to the future. The guild and academies always via for more power and dominance, and the measure of a man is the amount of arcane energy he can generate and while corrupt, the guilds will always recognize powerful people, as long as they use that power to sustain the status quo. Due to this view, there are only two groups the people of Razeria fall under, those that practice, and are gifted with magical abilities, and the serf work-force that are not, who are all but slaves in name. As such their armies are small, but the destruction they can wreak has kept other nations from attempting to do anything about their aggressiveness. There was a rebellion within the kingdom, or so it is said, lead by a group of powerful mages that wished to change the country, no other word has been heard though, and most believe it was crushed. They view anyone not learned in the arcane arts as lesser, and believe themselves to be the true leaders, the only ones fit to rule the continent. The Sovereign states of Oswell,(which, Oswell being the largest republic kingdom and the original state) leads the union. It is a confederation of smaller kingdoms, city-states, and empires and is hardly a kingdom itself, but more of a coalition of petty states protecting themselves from the others. They are, in a way, a democracy, with overarching laws all members of the union must follow, that are voted on, and decided in meetings held thrice a year in which all leaders of the member lands meet, debate, and vote. While disputes arise endlessly, (as, empires, kingdoms, and republics views clash) few things get done timely, however in this mass of differences comes strength. They are perhaps, the most diverse of all the 4 kingdoms in that they use technology, arcane and divine magic equally. While one kingdom may see technology as bad, they are forced, by the regulations of the union, to learn of it, and on more than occasion, this has caused other states to accept the practice. Empires (that is, small states lead by an emperor) that abhorred magic, now have Imperial wizards, city-states that detested technology, now use air ships. Problems are tackled from several different perspectives, and the union grows continuously as smaller states and petty kingdoms join every year. Sure, there is deception, and corruption among the leaders, but it has been kept to a minimum. Issues of state and jealousy are nipped wherever found, forcing the parties to meet and "talk it out". That said wars within the union are not unheard of, and while often the council meetings attempt to avoid them, they are sometimes the only recourse. They are a mixing pot, and all types can be found within their nations borders. Perhaps they are best known for their grand alchemy school, boasting the most individuals that are determined to mix science and magic. Surprisingly, even due to the nature of this, and the ensuing explosions and destructive qualities that can come from it, the building has never been shut down once, though many rooms have been remodeled countless times. Native languages: Only the ones listed here are free.
Also, on cultures here is something to help you figure out better each races/empires -feel-.
Sovereign States, Take America, and the Holy Roman Empire (Note, the one lead by Austria in the middle ages) Mash them together about 20/80 respectively and viola. Dwarves are Dwarves, mix D&D/pathfinder dwarves with Middle earth dwarves and you get a good Idea. Gnomes: If you have played World of Warcraft, take those gnomes, mix in a little fey ancestry from D&D Gnomes, and thats a good idea of them. Lil Pranksters.... Halflings: Honestly, Shire folk is the best way to describe them. Elves: take Tolkien elves and D&D Elves, mix a tiny bit of those two with Elder scroll elves(mostly their superiority complex and usage of magic), and thats what they are like. Razeria: Think Middle Eastern/Asian mix with the European serfdom thrown in. Their lands are mostly Desert, save the cities they magically sustain. -Thousian- Belthouse National Language -Alorant- National Language of The Kingdom of Aloran -Low/High Gothic- Razeria doesn't have a real national language, most of their "work force" speaks the common language or Gothic, which I to this day haven't decided a good name on. Their wizard "overseers" usually speak a mixture of draconic/Abyssal/Latin/Infernal/insert magical language to try and show off to others here. Although, I suppose if you wanted to "fit in" with their limbo language "Gothic" would work well, which is itself split into High Gothic and Low Gothic. Low Gothic is mostly the common language with bits and words thrown in from high Gothic, High Gothic is the closest thing to a "National Language" for the magi and is complex and mixes Latin, Common, and bits of Draconic. (Word of advice, the Magi HATE low Gothic, and see it as a mock to their high Gothic language.) -High Common- The Sovereign states have no "national" language particularly, theirs is a Semitic language consisting of slightly altered languages of the larger empires they are close too. This has made them rather good at diplomacy as their diplomats usually speak, in at least some way, other Empires languages. I suppose if I had to give a language set to them... Lets just call it High Common, which gives you understanding of the common language, and rudimentary understanding of the other human national languages (Save High Gothic), good example would be a normal high school student talking to someone that speaks ye olden Shakespearean English, with an accent(or worse). Other languages that aren't really languages can include
Now then, for those of you still reading and that are still interested. here is what I would like for character applications
Character application req.:
-Nation you are from, -Your thoughts of your home nation (for races other than human, its fairly simple as they are united for the most part, if you want to be from a specific faction PM me and I will get you more info on sub-factions) -Your characters thoughts on the other nations/races before the great war -Your characters thoughts on them now. (these don't need to be wholly specific, and it's mostly to help you interact with other races/nationalities) -What your character did before the war/draft -What your character did to become recognized during battle -A couple feats he preformed to garner his renown/power - Goals, what does you character want to accomplish? (IE, save and unite everyone, form a religion around themselves if they manage to drive back the hordes, or perhaps rule as tyrant themselves in the end?) -What drives you. 10 min. backgrounds may help your process. and finally,
Spoiler:
character creation:
Level 4 Max HP every odd level, half every other.(half is HD/2+1+con) all characters gain a feat every even level. WBL gold no summoners, no psionics, any other 3pp just send me a link and I'll ok it or deny it. You have two options for Stats, take focus foible, OR, ask me to roll your stats for you. (7 rolls of 4d6 drop the lowest). I have looking for 4-5 players, if you have any questions, concerns, or comments please go ahead and fire them off. for aid in writing backstories- Aloran (northen kingdom) Fought similar to medieval times. (heavy knights, with land owners that were lower on the totem pole providing ranged support in crossbows and archery. with the lower peasants forming men at arms. Favored weapon of the men at arms was a longsword or morning star/mace and shield. Very charismatic people, leaders were known for length speeches to bolster morale. no real schools of study. Belthouse uses tactics in a mix of Napoleonic and medieval. massed units of firearms and siege weaponry supported by shock units of constructs and mobile knights. The most Esteemed position was as a Dragoon Knight, which had two separate units, the chargers, which resemble the normal mounted knight, and the outriders, which focused on using their mobility and firearm powers to pepper foes with hit-and-run tactics. Also were working on ways to incorporate the airships into war. The Sovereign States mix several types, though they have the smallest outstanding military their use of mixed unit tactics has been shown to great effect when they drove back an attack by the Razeria Kingdom. Razeria, of course, uses their magi to do most heavy lifting, controlling weather, fireballs, etc. While using their oppressed "workers" as fodder for enemy soldiers. Elves used guerrilla warfare, and open field combat. Often striking out with raids over several weeks before committing to a full on battle. During the battles they use their speed and agility to out maneuver foes. Dwarves fight much like they do in Golarian. Save they make use of firearms frequently. Often forming shield walls to protect their gunners from melee charges. gnomes prefer to let their large quantity of constructs, steam golems and clockwork automatons do the fighting for them, though they often join in with experimental gadgets such as bombs, and ranged support with firearms and siege weapons. |