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Old 09-01-2018, 11:50 PM   #1
Minuteman37
 
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Default Building a Politics Heavy, Class Struggle Sensitive Medieval World [World Building]

Disclaimer: This is all pretty rough inside my head and a lot of these names are just placeholders till everything is worked out underneath the hood for consistency's sake.

I'm revisiting an old idea I had about a world where an extra dimensional Orc Invasion that occured millenia ago has confined humanity to a single "City" that occupies a peninsula cut off from the rest of the world via a mountain range and an enchanted Dwarven Wall that repels Outsiders.

I'm wanting to explore and unwrap this world with our community members who have experience world building and with related academic fields.

This Last City is separated into four regions. The Outer City that exists from the Outer wall inwards to the wall that marks the border to the Inner City. This is the largest region by far and is where the vast majority of the agriculture takes place. The Outer City is ruled by the Nobility who've descended from those hand picked by the First Emperor to reside over those lands. The structure of the nobility is fairly standard English ranks. Barons answer to viscounts, viscounts, answer to Counts proper, and the Counts, answer to the Dukes. I'm uncertain how many of them there are becouse of my uncertain of the actual size of this peninsula, I'm imagining there are a couple strong rivers that run from the mountains through the city to the sea so a Duke's territory may be divided up as one per coast, and one per each of the three(?) rivers that run the length of the peninsula.

I think the above while a bit vague is pretty reasonable and standard, the Inner City is where we get complicated becouse I'm trying to nit together different settings and time periods. namly victorian London as the Inner City is only a fraction of the size of the Outer, and is currently undergoing a degree of industrialization becouse a century ago the ruling Duke of the Inner City was implicated along with a good chunk of the nobility underneath him in a plot to overthrow his Imperial Majesty, and his holdings and authority were rewarded to the loyal subjects who uncovered this plot, the Pyromancers Guild.

The Guild Runs the Inner City meritocratically, but harshly. It's Pyromancers spend their days meditating in Copper spheres at the bases of pools of water, their force of will and unbroken focus wills heat into existence and causes the sphere to glow hot, boiling the water to drive overhead steam turbines. The Pyromancers are paid handsomely for their services and treated as the critical resource they are, but as the chief bottleneck in factory production they work long hours, fastly approaching 16 hour shifts, 6 days a week as the supply of pyromancers dwindles do to the crown conscripting many for an upcoming crusade. Other workers treatment varies from factory to factory, but exploitation is common, regulations nonexistent, and the workers whisper of revolution.

The Inner City itself is vast and spralling hive of millions of people and do to the visionary works of the GrandMasters who rule over the city it's undergoing rapid development and industrialization. The streets are beginning to be lit at night, houses are being built with plumbing and running water, and Suspension bridges are starting to span rivers. While living within the Inner City can be harsh, the lack of a nobility has forced social mobility to become avaliable. Not everyone can be a pyromancer, but it isn't a strictly inherited trait either, and can pop up randomly in any old peasant. This along with the Guilds need for support and administrational personal who can't be pyromancers themselves as that would be a wast of their gifts has made it so status in the Inner City is dependent on Rank within the Guild and to a lesser extent just plain wealth. A prominent merchant who is on good terms with the guild is free to be status 2, or maybe even 3 if he becomes REALLY successful.


Next we have the Forbidden City, a location that the peasants, freemen, or those disgraced members of the lower nobility who would make up the PCs would know little about. It's a location even smaller then that of the Inner City, only the nobility, Church, and higher representatives of the Pyromancers guild are allowed entrance. It's a place of luxury made possible by ancient magitech from the First Empire that Spanned the Globe and was struck down by the green skinned invaders.

Now I should mention the colonies real quick, I don't have them as developed, but the idea is that the Orcs are too dense to float, and come from a world that has much less water, and fewer non ocean bodies of it. Because of this The last City is protected on it's ocean facing sides from Orc invasion, in the centuries since the dimensional gate collapsed the remaining Orcs have launched attacks by boat, but the Last City has maintained a strong naval presence to combat these ragtag raiders.

The Colonies are locations isolated from the mainland, but accessible by sea. These Islands and secluded villages in the Fjords, mountainous shores, and rivers dot a Nordic continent to east. Nobils are granted Charters to go out and build these settlements, relieving the strain put on the city by overpopulation. These nobilis who oversee colonies are entitled to a residence in the Forbidden City where they conduct political business with other Nobles just like those from the City itself.

Finally there is the Imperial Palace Where the Emperor resides, it's not open to the public, but is somewhat like Vatican in that the Emperor is a religious figure in the Last City with his Ancestor the First Emperor is thought of by the common people in much the same way Moses is thought of by the Jews. He delivered refugees from the War onto salvation in this peninsula.

Thoughts, comments, criticisms?
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Old 09-02-2018, 01:51 AM   #2
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Default Re: Building a Politics Heavy, Class Struggle Sensitive Medieval World [World Buildin

Some questions...

1) Are the Orcs simply green humans or something more?

2) What is the tech level in the sections of the city (outer, inner, and forbidden), the Orcs, and the colonies.

3) Where are the Dwarfs who built the wall?

4) Are the other non-humans besides Orcs and Dwarfs?

5) Could the colonies grow to become larger than the city?

6) Do the guilds rule through councils?
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Last edited by Astromancer; 09-02-2018 at 01:58 AM.
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Old 09-02-2018, 02:56 AM   #3
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Default Re: Building a Politics Heavy, Class Struggle Sensitive Medieval World [World Buildin

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Originally Posted by Astromancer View Post
Some questions...

1) Are the Orcs simply green humans or something more?

2) What is the tech level in the sections of the city (outer, inner, and forbidden), the Orcs, and the colonies.
The Dark Lords who invaded the world were originally Demon Princess who uncovered the means to interdimensional travel, they invaded, and then eventally allied with the Draconic Planet, then invaded and enslaved the Orcish homeworld. The Orcish homeworld is one large supercontinent with a ring of rainforest around the edge and a desert in the center.

Naturally The Orcs have an earthy green or brown skin pigment with brown eyes. Fighting an ever more desperate war against the Demonic/Draconic alliance the Orc Sharmon turned to ever more desperate and dark magics. The Black Blood, or Orc Taint as the humans call it is a sort of druidic defense mechanism the earth mother of the Orc Homeworld that's been weaponized. Orcish Warriors consumed the Black blood and their skin and eyes turned bright green. Their bodies stronger, more durable, with limitless stamina. The jungles knew of their kin and fight vigerously alongside the Black Blooded Orcs. It was in vain though, the dragons, burned the forests from the sky and the demons might overwhelmed the orcs with numbers and force.

These Black blooded orcs served as perfect warriors to go out and conquer new worlds as their presence corrupted the land beneath them, making it as if that of their homeworld, even the air they breathed carried with it new sickness to weaken the humans, their blood and weapons poised, toxic to the touch.

That was a 1000 years ago though, the Orcs that were left behind when the Portal collapsed have nativised, their black blood diluted, their sway over the forest degraded, but an inkling still remaining that makes them especially dangerous there. Now the toxic black blood is so weak when the Orcs find a human village to raid and assault their women, they do not die sickness, but instead bear half orc offspring.

Now I need to talk a bit about mechanics, I'll be using Know your Strength with damage derived from the square root of the multiplier your strength has past bl 20, I'm limiting the ST to 16 for humans with 15, and 16 costing doable. HP is purely based on weight, necessitating you buy skinny, or fat as appropriate. The range of healthy weights varies based on your high which in turn is controlled by your strength.

I'd rule half Orcs template as being able to buy ST 17 and 18 (using know your strength) at doabe coast, but would buy 15 and 16 at normal coast, making low HT a taboo trait, and letting them buy tough skin DR, as well as making them buy night vision.

Tech levels are complicated, the orcs are a mature 0, but have a lot of higher TL loot.

The last City's TL is all over the place becouse they lack the resources to do things that are typical for a TL, but have existed for far longer then is typical of a civ at their level. they're probably TL4 overall, but lack sulfur and saltpeter in sufficient quantities for firearms to be common, rapid industrialization of the Inner City is quickly making it's engineering and infrastructure TL5, Medical knowledge and math may be as high TL6, but tools are TL5 at best, and enchantments grow in effect overtime so many weapons and armors are in fact enchanted TL3 artifacts.

The Forbidden City's magic tech makes it something like TL4+2^, the townhouses the nobility maintain in the city have hot water, well lit rooms, refrigeration, and audio-visual communication via magic mirrors.

Last edited by Minuteman37; 09-02-2018 at 03:10 AM.
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Old 09-02-2018, 03:40 AM   #4
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Default Re: Building a Politics Heavy, Class Struggle Sensitive Medieval World [World Buildin

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Some questions...
3) Where are the Dwarfs who built the wall?

4) Are the other non-humans besides Orcs and Dwarfs?

5) Could the colonies grow to become larger than the city?

6) Do the guilds rule through councils?
3) I haven't decided, presumably the City was originally made by dwarves, but abandoned.

4) Elves were around, they're the immortal Tolkin kind, stubbornly kept to their forests and are presumably extinct except for a couple who managed to make it to the city, those Elves head their own houses of half elves who are more reasonable in their statlines.

5) I don't think so, right now this thing could be the size of denmark, maybe even florida, What's the agricultural scale needed to support a city the size of late victorian London? aka 8 millionish people?

6)some do some don't, I think your asking about the Pyromancers guild which is super powerful in setting. They have a small council of grandmasters who legislate, and a A Fire Lord who they elect to represent themselves and the Inner City to the Forbidden City and it's house of lords. On paper he's the Duke who rules the Inner City, but it's an elected position with a set term.
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Old 09-02-2018, 08:21 AM   #5
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Default Re: Building a Politics Heavy, Class Struggle Sensitive Medieval World [World Buildin

Wherein lies the politics? Who is oppressing whom? Who fancies their chances at getting more power?

The problem I see with a set up like this is that there is nowhere to expand to safely. That means there is nowhere you can export your troublemakers to and nowhere where different forms of government can emerge to challenge 'the way things have always been'.
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Old 09-02-2018, 02:54 PM   #6
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Default Re: Building a Politics Heavy, Class Struggle Sensitive Medieval World [World Buildin

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That was a 1000 years ago though, the Orcs that were left behind when the Portal collapsed have nativised, their black blood diluted, their sway over the forest degraded, but an inkling still remaining that makes them especially dangerous there. Now the toxic black blood is so weak when the Orcs find a human village to raid and assault their women, they do not die sickness, but instead bear half orc offspring.
So do humans live in the Orcish lands? If so, do they pay tribute? Are they slaves?

Quote:
I'd rule half Orcs template as being able to buy ST 17 and 18 (using know your strength) at doabe coast, but would buy 15 and 16 at normal coast, making low HT a taboo trait, and letting them buy tough skin DR, as well as making them buy night vision.
How common are Half-Orcs? Can they live in the city?
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Old 09-02-2018, 04:20 PM   #7
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Wherein lies the politics? Who is oppressing whom? Who fancies their chances at getting more power?

The problem I see with a set up like this is that there is nowhere to expand to safely. That means there is nowhere you can export your troublemakers to and nowhere where different forms of government can emerge to challenge 'the way things have always been'.
Criminals are banished beyond the outer wall into the dark forest communities of exiles there spring up periodically, it's very dangerous living and none have managed to survive long term, but they do pop up and the City is willing to work with them to further its goals including possibility accepting them back in.

Then there are the Colonies there younger sons of nobles go off and become governors of these fledgling settlements. The noble needs willing voleenters and any contracts signed for participation in this exhibition are legally binding. So you can have all kinds of politically different communities vying for Independence or say in taxation from the City as well as some radical ones in open rebellion or at least pretty close.

Lets say there's a large island north of the City that was cleared of Orcs a long time ago. It has a lot of farmland and is peaceful except for the occasional raid from orcs or some wild human Vikings. The City protects the Island, but has enacted heavy taxes upon the people, many belive they don't need the City and if independent could just assemble their own navy to deal with these raids.

This island was one of the first colonies and is the largest by a fair margions. It's ale, food, and wool are essential exports to the City, but more importantly the giant trees that grow in the islands forests are ideal for ship building, they're stronger, but lighter, and naturally water proof and rot resistant.


Quote:
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So do humans live in the Orcish lands? If so, do they pay tribute? Are they slaves?



How common are Half-Orcs? Can they live in the city?
Humans who've been banished can end up forming communities in the dark forest, they can remain hidden from the orcs, negotiate, or successfully fight them off for sometimes decades. The orcs wish the extermination of all humans though, and if they don't decide to attack immediately it's becouse they feel they'd take too heavy a lose or loose, or perhaps they have more pressing issues like an orcish tribal war or some such.

Half orcs aren't common in the City Orc raids occasionally get through every couple years, but for the most part there really aren't the conditions for them to arise in mass. Half orc PCs take some socal disadvantages, but they're at least partially tolerated becouse their vary small numbers don't lend themselves well to being discriminate against. It's like being Chinese in 1850s Georgia. "You ain't white, but the sign says no Blacks allowed so I guess you can drink here"

Half elves are the ones who really get discriminated against in society. They're viewed somewhat like jewish people are by anti-semites they're both an inferior race and (paradoxically) controlling the world .
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Old 09-02-2018, 11:35 PM   #8
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The problem I see with a set up like this is that there is nowhere to expand to safely. That means there is nowhere you can export your troublemakers
This. Even the Crusades we as much about finding new lands for younger sons as anything else.

Quote:
to and nowhere where different forms of government can emerge to challenge 'the way things have always been'.
Internal revolt
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Old 09-03-2018, 01:44 AM   #9
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[SIZE="1"]

... Other workers treatment varies from factory to factory, but exploitation is common, regulations nonexistent, and the workers whisper of revolution.
...
This. If you want politics and class struggle, you should expand on this. At a very minimum you cold have the local versions of reformism, communism, anarchism and luddism; plus you could have some other ideology.
What about rebellious pyromancers? Are all pyromancers satisfied with belonging to the Guild and work those hours?
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Old 09-03-2018, 03:07 AM   #10
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What about rebellious pyromancers? Are all pyromancers satisfied with belonging to the Guild and work those hours?
Furthermore, said work involving sitting motionless inside a copper ball all day.
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