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Hello! I, lucky7, have (somewhat) created a setting (sorta) based off of Mesopotamia as it was in ye olden days. As I know little about the creative process, worldmaking, and Mesopotamia, I would LOVE questions, comments, ideas, and suggestions.
*ahem* here goes..
Malatav, a semi-original Mesopotamian inspired setting by lucky7
Setup:
This setting is in the Malatav region of the world of...heck, I don't know. Civilization is a new and fragile thing, the bronze age is coming to an end, and there are new gods in charge. This is a land of uncertainty. A land in need of heroes.
Bronze weapons are the normal, and iron is treated as cold iron (based on the assumption that "cold iron" is similar to "hot lead", dealing an extra 1d6 damage to fey.
First, there were the Eldest. Next to nothing is known about them, and what is known is considered blasphemous by EVERYONE. But one of them, the Progenitor, was placed in charge of maintaining the Great Beyond. The Progenitor then created the Twelve (see below) to assist in the maintenance. The humans who lived on the planet were primitive, but happy, and planes of existence did not mix.
But there was dissent among the Twelve, for Zoh-Akhmol, the Progenitor's top lieutenant, was touched by something far greater than the power of an elder god.
He was touched by love for a human woman, Kargheeita, and he asked the Progenitor for permission to go to the planet to be with her. The Progenitor responded by wiping out her entire tribe in an attempt to impress upon him the importance of noninterference.
For a time it worked. And the Zoh-Akhmul got angry. Very angry. He assembled the other Twelve, and they set upon the Progenitor, killing the Elder God and dividing up his power and responsibilities among them.
But they didn't do the job as well, and little things began to crack. The boundaries between planes became thin, and magic (formerly a thing for gods alone) fell into mortal hands. From there, a tribe found the land of Two Rivers and founded Kartahown. Others followed their example, until five major city states came to be
Gnomes-During the fraying between planes, a small city was plucked from the First World and added to Malatav. This became Zergal.
Humans-Have been around since the world's creation. No explanation necessary. More on them later.
Orcs-Orcs from ARG. Descended from dragons and humans, mostly form tribal societies around the riverbanks, hired by the cities as toughs and guards.
[spoiler=Geography and city information](For the rivers, imagine an X, only curvier. At the last city lies the southern coast The cities are in order from North to South.)
Dereja: The poorest of the five, Dereja was founded last, farthest from the rivers as a central meeting point for the northern migrant tribes.
Jotuul: South of Dereja, Jotuul is next to the largest iron mine in the region, and as a result has the greatest capability to repel attacks from the tribes as well as defend it's resources.
Kartahown: At the intersection between the Bengaal and Djenne Rivers lies Kartahown, the first and the greatest of the cities. It's walls, rumored to be built by Jarben himself, are higher than anything else known to man, orc, or gnome. Despite this, the kings of Kartahown are having trouble, due to the intensely factional nature of their city.
Aresenal: Situated below Kartahown lies Aresenal, the greatest buyer of iron from Jotuul (though most weapons are still Kartahownian bronze), though worry exists of aggression from any of the other city states, and they are constantly looking for people to buff up their military.
Zergal:A city plucked from the first world and added to Malatav, this is where the gnomes came from. They took to Malatav like a fish to water, and are now working on exciting things like alchemy!
1. Laurenna: Ships, rebirth, snakes
2. Epos: Death and Snakes
3. Jolkquah: Metalworking and Time
4. Undranuus: Owls, Nighttime, Childbirth
5. Kurgess: Healing, Sewing, Courage
6. Tempestra: Pottery, Storms, Cunning
7. Jarben: Funerals, Earthquakes, Festivals.
8. Invencen: Courage and War
9. Gundrun: Parenthood, Protection, and Wit
10. Ezren: Technology and Strategy
11. Zoh-Akhmol: The sun, leadership, and luck.
12. Mealda: Wisdom and Light
1. Laurenna
1. The Lady of the Deeps
2. Alignment: CN
3. Domains: Water, Weather, Scalykind, Travel, Chaos
4. Favored Weapon: Longspear
5. Laurenna is a sea goddess, daughter of the dead god Erumite, the Master of Dragons. After his death, she and her brother Epos took varying parts of their father's domains, her getting sea, him getting Earth. She is fickle, and helps those who help themselves.
6. Laurenna Appears as a gnome woman riding a colossal sea serpent.
2. Epos
1. Master of the Vault
2. Alignment: LN
3. Domains: Repose, Law, Scalykind, Darkness, Earth
4. Favored Weapon: Heavy Pick
5. Epos, brother of Laurenna, took over Erumite's responsibilities as keeper of the dead after his death. Since then, he has found himself necessarily not in direct contact with his followers dealing with his “inmates”, which his followers enjoy bragging about.
6. Epos appears as a handsome young man with onyx-black hair, whose lower half is that of a golden dragon.
3. Jolkquah
1. The Crucible of Time
2. Alignment: LN
3. Domains: Artifice, Knowledge, Madness, Strength, Magic
4. Favored Weapon: Warhammer
5. Jolkquah is by far the oldest of the Living Gods, having existed since before recorded history. Her forge is based around a star, wherein she forges the moments of Time, each one perfect in detail. She believes in her job, and continuing it is her sole mission.
6. Jolkquah appears as a plain looking woman of age thirty in blacksmith's gear, face obscured by smoke.
4. Undranuus
1. The Shepherd of Night
2. Alignment: NG
3. Domains: Community, Protection, Darkness, Good, Healing
4. Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff
5. Undranuus is an enigma, for he guards the Crucible, where new souls are created to be passed into mortal vessels, the only being allowed to enter aside from the enigmatic Spirit Owls. From there, he moves the souls into their bodies, and assists in getting the children out into the world.
6. Undranuus appear as an androgynous humanoid figure coated in gray owl feather, holding a staff in one hand. An owl (Kanchuula, Undranuus' herald) rests on the head of the staff.
5. Amoorzaal
1. The Wounded
2. Alignment: LG
3. Domains: Community, Law, Good, Glory, Protection
4. Favored Weapon: Flail
5. Kurgess was once the mightiest of the gods, leading his forces into battle against Leng (the plane of nightmares), until he encountered his match in the demonic lord Tortuga. The two fought to a standstill, and Kurgess has his leg irrevocably damaged. He and his agents now facilitiate the war against Leng through producing supplies (such as stitching together Outsiders), as well as watching over the souls of the fallen.
6. Kurgess appears as a massive iron giant whose right leg bends inward instead of outward, and whose hair's individual strands are made of broken weapons.
6. Tempestra
1. The Mistress of the Sky
2. Alignment: N
3. Domains: Weather, Air, Water, Destruction, Destruction
4. Favored Weapon: Sling
5. Tempestra controls storms, creating them under her power and then storing them until they are called upon. It is this reason why she is both feared and respected: for both containing and unleashing the stroms which can cause floods, droughts, and monsoons.
6. Tempestra appears as a an attractive woman in a long dress, working a piece of clay in her hand.
7. Jarben
1. The End and the Beginning
2. Alignment: CG
3. Domains: Earth, Death, Repose, Chaos, Good
4. Favored Weapon: Morningstar
5. Jarben is Earth, and it is from Earth that souls are created (in the Crucible) and where they go after death (in Epos' Vault). He brings the Earth's blessings and wrath. It is for him that most is celebrated, whether it be in the form of funerals (wherein his servants bring the body to the vault) or birth, or bountiful harvest.
6. Jarben appears as a young man in party attire whose hands are constantly crumbling into dark earth, which sprinkles upon the ground.
8. Invencen
1. The Deathless Berserker
2. Alignment: LG
3. Domains: Glory, War, Strength, Law, Good
4. Favored Weapon: Longsword
5. Invencen is the son of Amorzaal and a mortal woman, who became a great king before ascending to divinity upon Amorzaal's being crippled. He now leads the fight against Leng.
6. Invencen appears as he did in life, a middle-aged man in full battle armor, longsword held in his hand.
9. Gundrun
1. The Brother's Keeper
2. Alignment: NG
3. Domains: Good, Community, Protection, Knowledge, Luck
4. Favored Weapon: Heavy Crossbow
5. Gundrun is the protector of families across Malatav, defending the common folk against those who wish to do them harm. Since the death of the Progenitor, he has been the one holding the defenses against Leng.
6. Gundrun appears as a middle aged man in peasant's clothing, holding a crossbow with a determined look on his face.
10. Ezren
1. The Loremaster
2. Alignment: N
3. Domains: Rune, Knowledge, Destruction, Plant, Animal
4. Favored Weapon: Dagger
5. Ezren is the loremaster and tactician among the gods, and his library contains a copy of everything ever written down. He draws up the battle plans against Leng, and is working on a solution to isolating the planes once more.
6. Ezren appears as a fierce-looking man whose clothing is made out of paper with notes and formulas inscribed upon it.
11. Zoh-Akhmul
1. The Light in the Sky
2. Alignment: CG
3. Domains: Good, Chaos, Sun, Fire, Luck
4. Favored Weapon: Scimitar
5. Zoh-Akhmul, the Sun King, was the first of the Twelve spawned by the Progenitor, and he was the one who lead the revolt against him. When the Progenitor was slain, Zoh-Akhmul accepted the burden of the stars, and becoming the king, a duty which he bears to this day.
6. Zoh-Akhmul appears as a handsome warrior in shining golden armor, hair the shade of the hottest fires.
12. Mealda
1. Maiden, Mother, and Crone
2. Alignment: LN
3. Domains: Law, Sun, Trickery, Charm, Nobility
4. Favored Weapon: Whip
5. Mealda is a complicated deity. She serves the role of advising the others in their matter, and yet seems to have very little interest in her own followers. They state Mealda is much too important to deal with the faithful, but a rift is growing in her temples on what is in truth happening.
More coming tomorrow.
Thanks!
-lucky7