Four small Polities for Yrth.

Astromancer · 12-09-2008, 09:31 AM

Three of these are Islands, or groups of islands, one is a mountain valley.

A) The Isles of the Sea Bards

This is a group of five islands with a total area roughly equal to Vermont. It's a few hundred miles east of Northern Meglos. The Banestorm brought humans from a Gealic speaking group to these isles. It must have been a parallel Earth because they have their own style of magic.

Functionally, the Sea Bards use a type of Rune magic. The Verbs are keys and the nouns are songs. Use either Syntactical Magic from GURPS: Thaumatology or the bardic magic of the Soulless from GURPS: FantasyII: The Mad Lands.

The Islands rule themselves through the Dail (elected counsel) and the Dial is run by the Bards, the Clergy (the isles are Christian but a syncretic heretical type), and the professional classes generally.

The Isles are agriculturally productive, and grow medicinal herbs for export. They also regularly sail to Yrth's artic and hunt Whales, Walrus, Seals, ect, and export furs, walrus and narwhale ivory, whale oil, and other artic goods to Meglos.

Because Meglos' navy is TL3, and the Bards are skilled a weather magic, Meglos can't conquer the isles, yet.

Unknown to Meglos. The folk of the isles have found an uninhabited land to the east. A group of islands roughly the size and climate range of New Zealand. The few early settlements are thriving. As the islanders are pro-tech, at least the little they've seen. Meglos could have a Technologically advancing magically skilled naval power developing to its east.

More later, I've hit a time limit!

LoneWolf23k · 12-09-2008, 04:05 PM

Looks interesting. ...In fact, this looks like a good thread for introducing new small (or not so small) city or nation-states for Yrth.

Most of my ideas along those lines involve converting nations and cities out of other Fantasy sourcebooks (Many of the d20-related) to fit them into the setting. One such idea involved converting Green Ronin's "Mindshadows" pseudo-India Island continent of Naranjan to GURPS, thus giving Yrth an India-based nation.

The Backstory would require a lot of conversion work, however. For one thing, the default setting in the book involves Dwarves already having a Hindu-like religion and caste system which they then impose on Humanity. For an Yrth conversion, I would work it backwards, with the conquerring Dwarves adopting the Hindu caste system and some of the trappings of their religion, in order to better control the India and Indonesia-summoned Banestorm immigrants.

~~combatmedic~~ · 12-10-2008, 12:35 AM

All these ideas sound like fun.

I like the concept of a magical/technological power. Known Yttarian civilizations have a dichotomy between advanced tech and magic, but an exotic civilization might see no contradiction. This could lead to some cool techno-magic stuff. Maybe there's a civilization out there that's developed the Machine College of spells.

Of course, if you introduce a magi-tech civilization, be prepared for them to run roughshod over the primitive screwheads of the mainland. ;) Then again, that might make for a really cool campaign.

Astromancer · 12-10-2008, 10:03 AM

I'm Baaaaaack!

I like the idea of continets with other Earthly and Earthlike cultures on them. And whose to say the Banestorm didn't bring in Hindu Dwarves?

B) The Phoenix Kingdom

This is basically a parallel China (mentioned in GURPS: Alternate Earths II ) where there was an alchemical revolution in the late TL2 period. The people from this China live on a largish island, about the size and climate of Georgia and Florida combined with a group of islands roughly like the Bahamas, off their southeast coast.

Arraterrian fishermen and the Chinese fisherfolk have known about each other for years. But now the news has leaked out.

The Pheonix Kingdom is a beauracratic state. Noblity is gained and held by having young men pass examinations in the classics. There is an imperial regency counsel, but they claim to hold power for the emperor back in the "real" China. In point of fact they rule.

The Tech Level is TL3+3, due to highly advanced alchemy and sophistocated organisation. Unlike the stereotypes of China (read "The Sextants of Bejing" if you get the chance) these folks are interested in technolgy.

As with the Sea Bards, Megalos can't use TL3 navies to attack these people. Further, the Regency Counsel has decided to see if they could help Arraterre break away from Megalos. An independent Arraterre would make invasion far less likely and would also be open to trade.

C) The Flying Ship Folk

These are halflings who live on a chain of islands Southwest of the Mealstrom.
Their islands have about the same area as New England. These folks live in a series of fairly egalitarian (at least for Yrth) republics that are members of a confederation.

They're basically TL4+1 because of Alchemy, the big exception being their flying ships. [If you can get a copy of Space:1889 use the Martian Kites, they look so cool] They use alchemy to make their flying ships levitate and an Alchemy based Rune magic to control the winds to fly these beauties.

They've only recently found their way to Ytarria. They are keen merchants and quick witted innovators.

More later.

Mgellis · 12-10-2008, 12:48 PM

Have you thought of writing these up as an e-book expansion to Banestorm?

DoctorRomulus · 12-10-2008, 02:29 PM

Ooo Ooo, I have that!!

Have quite a few pieces of d20 source material I'd like to use in GURPS. But how many of those would fit on Yrth is the question.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneWolf23k

Looks interesting. ...In fact, this looks like a good thread for introducing new small (or not so small) city or nation-states for Yrth.

Most of my ideas along those lines involve converting nations and cities out of other Fantasy sourcebooks (Many of the d20-related) to fit them into the setting. One such idea involved converting Green Ronin's "Mindshadows" pseudo-India Island continent of Naranjan to GURPS, thus giving Yrth an India-based nation.

The Backstory would require a lot of conversion work, however. For one thing, the default setting in the book involves Dwarves already having a Hindu-like religion and caste system which they then impose on Humanity. For an Yrth conversion, I would work it backwards, with the conquerring Dwarves adopting the Hindu caste system and some of the trappings of their religion, in order to better control the India and Indonesia-summoned Banestorm immigrants.

DoctorRomulus · 12-10-2008, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Astromancer

B) The Phoenix Kingdom

This is basically a parallel China (mentioned in GURPS: Alternate Earths II ) where there was an alchemical revolution in the late TL2 period. The people from this China live on a largish island, about the size and climate of Georgia and Florida combined with a group of islands roughly like the Bahamas, off their southeast coast.

Arraterrian fishermen and the Chinese fisherfolk have known about each other for years. But now the news has leaked out.

The Pheonix Kingdom is a beauracratic state. Noblity is gained and held by having young men pass examinations in the classics. There is an imperial regency counsel, but they claim to hold power for the emperor back in the "real" China. In point of fact they rule.

The Tech Level is TL3+3, due to highly advanced alchemy and sophistocated organisation. Unlike the stereotypes of China (read "The Sextants of Bejing" if you get the chance) these folks are interested in technolgy.

As with the Sea Bards, Megalos can't use TL3 navies to attack these people. Further, the Regency Counsel has decided to see if they could help Arraterre break away from Megalos. An independent Arraterre would make invasion far less likely and would also be open to trade.

How about some Shaolin monks and Kung Fu, kewlness.

~~tantric~~ · 12-10-2008, 03:49 PM

3 words:

africa, Africa, AFRICA - UKongo!

of course, i don't have Banestorm, but that might be fixed if this goes anywhere

LoneWolf23k · 12-10-2008, 05:01 PM

For an Africa stand-in, there's another good d20 sourcebook, Nyambe, by Atlas Games, which is a fully-fleshed out pseudo-Africa continent ready-to-use. It does feature variant on the traditional fantasy races, like brown-skinned, tailed Wakyambi elves.

Phil Masters · 12-10-2008, 05:18 PM

All of these additions seem to be significantly more advanced than any Yrthian nation, one way or another. I can see that this is a way to avoid having them invaded and conquered too easily by the likes of Megalos, but it does end up making them look a bit ... indulgent, somehow. And more to the point, it means that any contact they make with Ytarrian nations is likely to lead to disruption and radical realignments across the continent. Which is fine if that's what you want, of course - but a TL(3+3) culture would seem quite likely to knock over any Ytarrian nation which it chose to oppose, rather easily. TL6 cultures generally eat TL3 cultures for breakfast.

Plus, having all four show up at much the same time would like like weird and excessive coincidence.

If you want to increase the diversity of Yrth, there are plenty of possibilities for non-Euro/Islamic style TL 0-2 cultures who could resist conquest the way that Bilit Island does - by dint of distance, environmental variation, and a certain amount of raw, wild magic.

12-09-2008, 09:31 AM	#1
Astromancer Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: West Virginia	Four small Polities for Yrth. Three of these are Islands, or groups of islands, one is a mountain valley. A) *The Isles of the Sea Bards* This is a group of five islands with a total area roughly equal to Vermont. It's a few hundred miles east of Northern Meglos. The Banestorm brought humans from a Gealic speaking group to these isles. It must have been a parallel Earth because they have their own style of magic. Functionally, the Sea Bards use a type of Rune magic. The Verbs are keys and the nouns are songs. Use either Syntactical Magic from GURPS: Thaumatology or the bardic magic of the Soulless from GURPS: FantasyII: The Mad Lands. The Islands rule themselves through the Dail (elected counsel) and the Dial is run by the Bards, the Clergy (the isles are Christian but a syncretic heretical type), and the professional classes generally. The Isles are agriculturally productive, and grow medicinal herbs for export. They also regularly sail to Yrth's artic and hunt Whales, Walrus, Seals, ect, and export furs, walrus and narwhale ivory, whale oil, and other artic goods to Meglos. Because Meglos' navy is TL3, and the Bards are skilled a weather magic, Meglos can't conquer the isles, yet. Unknown to Meglos. The folk of the isles have found an uninhabited land to the east. A group of islands roughly the size and climate range of New Zealand. The few early settlements are thriving. As the islanders are pro-tech, at least the little they've seen. Meglos could have a Technologically advancing magically skilled naval power developing to its east. More later, I've hit a time limit! Last edited by Astromancer; 12-15-2008 at 10:32 AM.

12-09-2008, 04:05 PM	#2
LoneWolf23k Join Date: Sep 2004	Re: Four small Polities for Yrth. Looks interesting. ...In fact, this looks like a good thread for introducing new small (or not so small) city or nation-states for Yrth. Most of my ideas along those lines involve converting nations and cities out of other Fantasy sourcebooks (Many of the d20-related) to fit them into the setting. One such idea involved converting Green Ronin's "Mindshadows" pseudo-India Island continent of Naranjan to GURPS, thus giving Yrth an India-based nation. The Backstory would require a lot of conversion work, however. For one thing, the default setting in the book involves Dwarves already having a Hindu-like religion and caste system which they then impose on Humanity. For an Yrth conversion, I would work it backwards, with the conquerring Dwarves adopting the Hindu caste system and some of the trappings of their religion, in order to better control the India and Indonesia-summoned Banestorm immigrants.

12-10-2008, 12:35 AM	#3
~~combatmedic~~ Banned Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: a crooked, creaky manse built on a blasted heath	Re: Four small Polities for Yrth. All these ideas sound like fun. I like the concept of a magical/technological power. Known Yttarian civilizations have a dichotomy between advanced tech and magic, but an exotic civilization might see no contradiction. This could lead to some cool techno-magic stuff. Maybe there's a civilization out there that's developed the Machine College of spells. Of course, if you introduce a magi-tech civilization, be prepared for them to run roughshod over the primitive screwheads of the mainland. ;) Then again, that might make for a really cool campaign.

12-10-2008, 10:03 AM	#4
Astromancer Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: West Virginia	Re: Four small Polities for Yrth. I'm Baaaaaack! I like the idea of continets with other Earthly and Earthlike cultures on them. And whose to say the Banestorm didn't bring in Hindu Dwarves? B) *The Phoenix Kingdom* This is basically a parallel China (mentioned in GURPS: Alternate Earths II ) where there was an alchemical revolution in the late TL2 period. The people from this China live on a largish island, about the size and climate of Georgia and Florida combined with a group of islands roughly like the Bahamas, off their southeast coast. Arraterrian fishermen and the Chinese fisherfolk have known about each other for years. But now the news has leaked out. The Pheonix Kingdom is a beauracratic state. Noblity is gained and held by having young men pass examinations in the classics. There is an imperial regency counsel, but they claim to hold power for the emperor back in the "real" China. In point of fact they rule. The Tech Level is TL3+3, due to highly advanced alchemy and sophistocated organisation. Unlike the stereotypes of China (read "The Sextants of Bejing" if you get the chance) these folks are interested in technolgy. As with the Sea Bards, Megalos can't use TL3 navies to attack these people. Further, the Regency Counsel has decided to see if they could help Arraterre break away from Megalos. An independent Arraterre would make invasion far less likely and would also be open to trade. C) *The Flying Ship Folk* These are halflings who live on a chain of islands Southwest of the Mealstrom. Their islands have about the same area as New England. These folks live in a series of fairly egalitarian (at least for Yrth) republics that are members of a confederation. They're basically TL4+1 because of Alchemy, the big exception being their flying ships. [If you can get a copy of Space:1889 use the Martian Kites, they look so cool] They use alchemy to make their flying ships levitate and an Alchemy based Rune magic to control the winds to fly these beauties. They've only recently found their way to Ytarria. They are keen merchants and quick witted innovators. More later.

12-10-2008, 12:48 PM	#5
Mgellis Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Flushing, Michigan	Re: Four small Polities for Yrth. Have you thought of writing these up as an e-book expansion to Banestorm?

12-10-2008, 03:49 PM	#8
~~tantric~~ Banned Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Athens, GA	Re: Four small Polities for Yrth. 3 words: africa, Africa, AFRICA - UKongo! of course, i don't have Banestorm, but that might be fixed if this goes anywhere

12-10-2008, 05:01 PM	#9
LoneWolf23k Join Date: Sep 2004	Re: Four small Polities for Yrth. For an Africa stand-in, there's another good d20 sourcebook, Nyambe, by Atlas Games, which is a fully-fleshed out pseudo-Africa continent ready-to-use. It does feature variant on the traditional fantasy races, like brown-skinned, tailed Wakyambi elves.

12-10-2008, 05:18 PM	#10
Phil Masters Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: U.K.	Re: Four small Polities for Yrth. All of these additions seem to be significantly more advanced than any Yrthian nation, one way or another. I can see that this is a way to avoid having them invaded and conquered too easily by the likes of Megalos, but it does end up making them look a bit ... indulgent, somehow. And more to the point, it means that any contact they make with Ytarrian nations is likely to lead to disruption and radical realignments across the continent. Which is fine if that's what you want, of course - but a TL(3+3) culture would seem quite likely to knock over any Ytarrian nation which it chose to oppose, rather easily. TL6 cultures generally eat TL3 cultures for breakfast. Plus, having all four show up at much the same time would like like weird and excessive coincidence. If you want to increase the diversity of Yrth, there are plenty of possibilities for non-Euro/Islamic style TL 0-2 cultures who could resist conquest the way that Bilit Island does - by dint of distance, environmental variation, and a certain amount of raw, wild magic. __________________ -- Phil Masters My Home Page. My Self-Publications: On Warehouse 23 and On DriveThruRPG.