This thread should still be used by people who are interested in the adventure, but who have questions on the development of a character concept.
I would like to point out a few things.
I would like everyone who is considering playing in this game to try and be careful about the assumptions you make. Mostly, I do not make it an issue if someone invents something about their character that is strongly out of line with the setting, in fact I usually ignore it, unless it conflicts with the story in some way (and I’ll try to point that out, if it happens, right away).
Also, it is very important that players get that this IS NOT a tropical island, okay.
The island is located at a latitude somewhere between 38 and 42 degrees NORTH (this puts it in a location similar to Sardinia, on Earth, but it is significant smaller).
Samarsa:
There is an event, a kind of occurrence that is difficult to explain, that occurs on Hamth with surprising regularity, and this event is called a Samarsa event. A Samarsa, this is an Eysturlun word meaning “Appearance of the Divine”, is when the essence of another plane manifests on the world of Hamth in the form of a Panura. No one understands how or why this occurs, but these Samarsa events can be catastrophic in nature. A Samarsa will look like a being from any intelligent race, and will have a limited awareness of its own nature. A Samarsa can manifest from any of the outer planes, but is typically from the elemental planes, and there is a special kind of Samarsa event, the Iekah Samarsa, that has a strong significance to the Eysturlun people. When an Iekah Samarsa manifests this triggers a movement of the Eysturlun people to try and exert their dominance over other people of the world (mostly this has been wars with Beauvingia, but as the more people of the world come into contact with each other, it has expanded to include dominance over all other people, and wars with other nations).
A Samarsa is a direct conduit between the Prime Material Plane (Hamth is a world on this plane) and the Plane of Origin of the Samarsa. The most telling effect of the Samarsa is the release, sporadic and uncontrolled, of energy, typically in the form of Magical Events resembling Spells, from the Samarsa being. This release of energy increases in power and occurrence as the time that the Samarsa is alive on Hamth. In the recorded history of Hamth, no Samarsa has lived on Hamth for longer than 21 years, and in every recorded event when a Samarsa has lived on Hamth for 21 years, major catastrophic events have occurred, coinciding with the destruction of the Samarsa and the closure of the conduit.
These Samarsa events, which can occur anywhere on Hamth, have lead to the development of major religious followings centered on Deities associated with Other Planes of Existence, and this explains why people on different continents can, and often do, worship similar gods. The most prevalent gods worshiped on Hamth are elemental gods. Details of the Elemental gods can be found in a separate spoiler for people who are interested.
The island is located at a latitude somewhere between 38 and 42 degrees NORTH (this puts it in a location similar to Sardinia, on Earth, but it is significant smaller).
I have family in Sardinia, it's beautiful there. Although I can imagine in the winter months it not being as friendly.
What sort of weather/climate is the island currently?
The climate will be more like the climate of the west coast of Portugal. As this Island (the setting of the adventure) is located to the west of the large land-form known as Emalia (the main continent of the Western Hemisphere) and does not benefit from the geography of the Mediterranean Sea.
Religious Beliefs of the Western hemisphere of Hamth:
Pantheon of the principle deities of the people of the Beauvingian Empire and Emalia (including the Deities worshiped by most people of Eshia, Eysturlun, and Kijta)
The earliest writing of the behavior of Deity like beings concerns:
Hamth (The Material world – the divine feminine quality) and
Churr (The Spiritual world – the divine masculine quality)
From the union of Hamth and Churr come the following
The Dahgda (organized thought, achievement, knowledge, and expertise)
Moloween (disorganized matter, shadows, and emotions)
And the physical elements (which are, in ancient writings, various combinations of “thought” and “matter”)
Xetas – The water (masculine)
Uh – The earth (“land forms”) (feminine)
Iekah – The fire (masculine)
Rhehavaz – The air (feminine)
And the non physical elements
Moloween – The passions (feminine)
Falgrad – The intellect (masculine)
Haglod– The void (death) (transgender)
From the union of the above eleven divine spirits come the following:
(Early Beauvingians were primarily a shamanistic people with strong elemental beliefs, after contact with the island peoples was made many of the island folk tales and ‘demi-god’ like beings were absorbed into the religious tales of the Beauvingians)
Whuloriel – Fertility - from the union of Xetas and Hamth, (Female)
Meriel – Destruction – from the union of Iekah and Uh, (Male)
Toriel – Inspiration – from the union of Chur and Rhehavaz, (Female)
Donoriel – Corruption – also from the union of Chur and Rhehavaz, (Female) and the twin sister of Toriel
Rahoniel – Fear – from the union of Chur and Rhehavaz, (Male) and the younger brother of the twin sisters
Sonumb – Deception – from the union of Moloween and Dahgda (Female) (over time this divine aspect was merged with her mother to become Moloween Sonumb)
So far there are 6(six) confirmed Character Concepts (aliases) posted to the actual recruitment thread. There is still time for two more characters, and a female character or two would add an interesting dynamic.
We have
Adelaide Costa (a male, human/Anthandran Priest)
Sasithorn Loom (a male, Eysturlun/wayang Diplomat)
Ramiro D'Elizandes(a male, Basconde Noble)
Jakes Elizalde (a male, Basconde Physician/Aristocrat (minor Nobility))
William Sriker (a male, human/Anthandran Body Guard to an Anthandran Noble}
and the first character concept posted to the recruitment thread
Telthis (a male, dwarf/Holdandun Mercantile Company Representative(?))
Volognans are a very small population of Humans who live on the wild northwestern third of Ibalnd. They, too, are fair skinned, but tend to have darker hair than Drasbians. Volognans are not known to be large, for humans, and some Volognans are often mistaken for exceptional Bascondes. Volognans have been successful eking out a living in the fens, bogs, and marshes of northwestern Ibalnd, and some think this makes them a hearty and resilient people. Volognans have a good sense of humor, are often light hearted, and do not look at difficult situations with more than a casual grin. The Volognans were the first people of Ibalnd to make contact with the Anthandrans, and acted as “go-betweens” and “diplomats” between the Anthandrans , the Drasbians, and the Bascondes. To be a Volognan Noble means you probably own more than five cows.
Bascondes are very good natured people, and people of nature, as well. They get along well with all the races of Ibalnd, and are easy around foriegners as well. They are trusting, and gregarious.
There is a strange kind of dynamic involved with "recruitment". It seems there is this period of excitement, and then that is followed by "less than excitement". I was really hoping to have a couple more players, but it looks like this is it. I will launch the game tomorrow, with information in the discussion thread about posting suggestions, and how experience will be earned.
That's a nice start, Thom, but you missed a sublte rule, and that is you cannot have three levels of PC classes, maximum of two PC and one NPC class to start. And Half-orcs are called Beauvingians.
