[GAME] Conceive a Cross Dimensional Fantasy Milieu

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by patchwork

Question 54 What do the Hanging City of Ton's counterculture or underworld look like? What happens to Ton residents who are unwilling or unable to compete in academic alchemy? If this is a university run horribly amok, where are the townies?

Answer 54:

The Hanging City is as industrial as it is scholarly , and there is no shortage of dangerous and unpleasant jobs for the recklessly ambitious or desperate, nor of wealth to attract such individuals to their fates. Indeed, the city kills workers faster than such a population could birth them, even if the high prices for space and water, toxic fumes, and unscrupulous slavers didn't discourage families.

Most of the workers of Ton are second sons, outcast criminals, and others seeking their fortune. After five years or so, many will have left with their fortune, or have fallen victim to some grisly fate in the city.

The workers of Ton are an industrious but ruthless lot, wielding an abundance of grit and a tendency to vice. They often group together by origin into rough but fierce bands of fellows for companionship and protection.

Below the free laborers of Ton are the slaves. Most are indented as fuel for rituals, subjects for experimentation, or as laborers in tasks that will kill them within weeks. They are hardly allowed to form societies, and the city buys (and kidnaps) a constant stream of them.

The wealthy class of alchemists does not force its less-capable sons and daughters into this desperate stew. While Alchemist is the highest and proper calling for such a scion, many other jobs are available, many away from the city. The most visible such job is merchant: Ton requires goods from all over the polycosm, and while alchemists must occasionally seek new reagents themselves, most ingredients are bought and sold freely. Ton's wealth is reliant on selling its products, and the merchants are a vital part of its economies, even if they are less favored sons than the alchemists.

Question 55: What do Lokou Temples look like on the outside? How large are they, and how many of them are there? how many of those are in the capital?

Answer 33 the Lokou, the human nation that occupied the area near the snout cleft that the newcomers decided to build their city in. They represent somewhere around 10% to 12% of the current population. They maintain a significant separation from the mainstream in residence, with clearly defined boundaries to Lokou neighborhoods. Imperial authorities are not permitted inside their temples in any circumstances. Even those Lokou who have accepted imperial gods do not speak of the Lokou religion.

So the capital is largely formed of imperials, with the largest minority only being 12% of the population--and that population is local, not there because its the capital.

Even those going imperial don't talk about their religion? that's intense. I wonder what's strong enough to maintain such silence. I like the Lokou. Intriguing, but not overwhelming.