I've got a sheet partially done. I need to finish the leader biography and the traits are all a work in progress right now. The Nation Description is also quite a bit shorter then I planned, but idk if I'll expand it. The religious section might do well enough to give an idea of their society. Despite being so unfinished it's pretty late here and more and more grammar errors and typos are making their way into it, so I though I'd go to sleep and finish it when I wake up tomorrow, and I might as well throw it up to see if the GM has any comments.
Nation Name: The Virtuous Lands
Starting Government Form: Theocracy
Leader Name: Grand Philosopher Ya
Leader Traits: High Priest-2, Mysticism-2
Leader Biography: Ya was curious as a child, a trait not uncommon in children, but she was practically a saint in how ferociously she sought out and learned information about the world. Her ability and desire to learn caught the eye of her teachers, and greater men and women then them as well. This attention brought her opportunities and eventually afforded her the the ability to be trained in the classical manner of the Philosopher in the greatest halls of learning in the Lands. In the grand temple of Virtue she learned how to think clearly and logically, how to debate, and how to research at the feet of the great masters of the time. Grand Philosophers and even Living Exalted Saints were her teachers as a teenager, and she quickly stood out from even her illustrious peers. Despite the objections of some that she lacked the appropriate temperament, that she was too rash and prone to making decisions before thinking of all the possible outcomes she advanced quickly and soon became the youngest Philosopher in living memory.
With this achievement she left the temple of Virtue to travel the Lands to learn what she may, a common but not required step for a new Philosopher. Like many Philosophers she traveled far and wide across the Lands, learning from the more reclusive Grand Philosophers and Living Exalted Saints. After she felt that she learned what she could from within the Lands Ya went further afield, leaving the lands behind and traveling out past the edge of the known world. Rumor states that she meet many strange and alien beings and cultures on her voyages both wonderful and terrifying, and that learned many new virtues and magics unknown to even the most learned Philosopher. Whatever it is she learned out there it is true that when she eventually returned to the Lands she was a changed Woman. She had wild new ideas, challenging many of the Virtues of old, and she was more then willing, even eager, to spread them to any Philosopher, or even Grand Philosopher, that she could. She sparked what some would call a revolution, and others might call a destruction, of many old ways of thinking. Debates raged across the Lands over her new ideas for years. Many of her ideas slowly gained acceptance and status as Virtues and the only thing keeping her back from being named the youngest Grand Philosopher in history was the preponderance of her other ideas that seemed seemed wrong, sometimes absurdly so. In particular her most important ideas having to do with the nature of the universe and existence of other worlds even seemed ridiculous and impossible.
She was certainly set to go down as one of the most divisive Philosophers in history before the Dark Times came. Normal arguments and divisions between Philosophers fell to the way side as the empire started to crumble to the darkness. And as she worked with her fellows to try to find a way to save their people, or even to understand what was killing them, she found a level of acceptance she'd not achieved since she was a child. But even her genius and radical ideas failed to provide a solution for the death of the Lands. As the darkness consumed everything and all else seemingly was failing, her ideas of other worlds across the heavens returned. This time it was not met by scorn and derision, but desperate hopefulness. The construction of the gate was an immense undertaking, and in the final days civilization fell apart, leaving only her closest followers to assist her with the finishing touches. But, it worked. The immense construction dwarfing any other buildings in the city and powered by magics only she barely understood opened a way though the heavens. Paths, perhaps not touched by mortal feet since the time of Con, opened. As the city burned and the gateway started to crumble she and her followers went though. They found themselves in a new land, the way back home destroyed and all their technology lost, even their magic was mostly lost to them, only the bare minimum virtues that any apprentice could recite by heart seemed to work in these lands, a shocking development and blow to many. Still, the reality of the Puissant Virtues would hold even in this land, that each and every one knew in their hearts. Ya, her theories vindicated (and with no one senior left to stop her) shed the extraneous parts of her name and was declared Grand Philosopher by the Philosophers that remained. The saviour to her people, they looked to her for leadership in this new land. For now.
Race Name: The Zoa and the Xiao
Racial Traits:
Client Race -1
Zoa:
-Hungry +2
-Red Thumb +1
-Barbarous +1
-Prodigious Strength -2
Xiao:
-Frail +1
-Cowardly +1
-Green Thumb -2
Race Description: The Zoa and the Xiao are two races that evolved separately but eventually came to co-exist within one society. Both races are reptilian in nature, but otherwise quite divergent from each other.
The Zoa are large hulking blue scaled lizard bipeds. Facultative Carnivores, they have a thick set and heavy jawed face with forward facing eyes and an elongated snout full of razor sharp teeth, they often have a bony protrusions on their face and head, ranging from swept back neck frills, to small horns, to ridges along their face or throats, each specimen differs slightly. They are covered in rough scales that amour their bulk, these, along with heavy claws on their legs and powerful muscles make them natural predators and warriors. Their thick and powerful body stands with a hunched posture and forward lean, balanced by a long sweeping tail. Typically they eschew clothing unless there is a practical purpose for it, such as armor. Instead they decorate their bodies with metals worn as bands around their limbs or embedded directly into their heavy scales with engravings which often detail either their past deeds or profess their Virtues. Roughly three in every ten people of the Lands is Zoa.
The Xiao are significantly smaller then the Zoa, with much finer and smoother scales that have range in coloration of mostly browns and greens. Omnivorous, they have a smooth round head with two bulbous eyes. They are thin of body and limb, with clever and dexterous hands and feet. They have a strong yet flexible prehensile tail that when not in use curls up in a spiral against their back. They normally wear simple garments that let all four limbs and tails move freely, particularly ostentatious and fashionable Xiao may use cloth or metal to bind their tails into a tighter curl then is naturally easy to hold, although they loose the use of their tail as a limb until they unbind it. Roughly seven in every ten people of the Lands is Xiao
Nation Description: The Virtuous Lands is a fusion of the two races of the Zoa and the Xiao. Brought together by common culture and religious philosophy.
It is said that long ago, in the dawn of time, there was the Zoa, who lived lives as Righteous warriors tribes traveling the land. But their lives were unfulfilled, as although they had their Righteousness and their loyalty to each other they lacked a purpose and direction in life. Con, one of the great tribal leaders, saw his people were unfulfilled and went into heaven to find why their lives were empty. After many adventures and trails Con eventually saw the whole of the universe and he returned with this knowledge to his people. The knowledge Con brought back revealed that although they filled some of the Virtues, they were lacking the others as a people. To fill this void in his peoples spirits Con brought the Zoa to Xiao, a people that lacked many of the important qualities of the Zoa and yet had the qualities that the Zoa themselves were lacking in. A peaceful and intelligent people they were relentlessly hunted by Nameless Monsters of the Dark that they were unable to organize themselves against. Before the Zoa would have ignored this situation and moved on as the Monsters were deadly foes, and would be a hard fight for even the Zoa. However Con taught the Zoa benevolence and so they went to the Xiao, and promised to help them against their foes, and taught them how to organize themselves. The grateful Xiao gifted the Zoa with the secret names of Metal, which the Zoa used to forge mighty weapons and armor. Equip thusly Con lead the Zoa into combat against the Nameless Monsters of the Dark, and banished them from the universe. From then on the Zoa and the Xiao were as one people, each finding the virtues they lacked within the other.
It is known that long ago, in the dawn of time, there was the Xiao. Who lived lives of peace and learning scattered across the universe. Although they lived peaceful and happy lives, each Xiao lived far from any other Xiao and they did not work together. When a great darkness arose from beyond the universe and Nameless Monsters of the Dark invaded. The scattered Xiao were too disorganized, and could not work with each other to combat the Monsters and thus many died. In this dark time Con, the greatest thinker of the Xiao, saw her people were being exterminated and thus went into heaven to find a way to save their lives. After many adventures and trails Con saw the whole of the universe and she returned with the knowledge of what her people lacked and how to save them. She went to the tribe of the Zoa, a people that lacked many of the important qualities of the Xiao, but yet had the qualities that the Xiao themselves were lacking in. They were a highly organized and loyal people, although cold hearted and lacking in knowledge. Con brought the Zoa to the Xiao, and from them the Xiao learned how to come together as people. The unified Xiao then used their knowledge to make bands of metal that they gifted to the Nameless Monsters of the Darkness, the Monsters were quick to wear these lavish gifts, but the clever Con had inscribed names on the metal bands. The monsters realized that they were named, and thus fled the universe, weeping hot tears of sorrow. The Zoa were impressed by both the generosity of their gifts to the monsters and cleverness of the trap within and found their hearts opened to the Xiao that they had helped save. From then on the Xiao and the Zoa were as one people, each finding the virtues they lacked within the other.
Together the Zoa and the Xiao forged The Virtuous Lands with Con at it's head, a unity devoted to the Virtues that had brought them together. |The physically powerful and highly organized Zoa|The clever and numerous Xiao| often dominated this society with their natural advantages. The Xiao were often farmers or gatherers, living slightly more scattered outside the cities of the Lands, whereas the Zoa would traditionally be the professional warriors and heavy laborers of the lands and concentrate their population within cities. Both races contributed to the study and advancement of the Virtues, although there was often a societal expectation that they do so in different ways. Over time their society evolved from it's tribal roots into a grand empire, sprawling across the known world with grand cities and great works of engineering and culture. The name of the nation and it's exact nature of governance changed over time, but their exaltation of the Virtuous ideals was a constant and binding force for the nation. A grand tradition of Philosophers and Saints arose, and more great heroes and leaders earned their place in the lore of the Lands. They were seemingly at the apex of their civilization when it all came crashing down. Dark Omens Spread across the lands and unbelievable and unreliable tales of horror reached the capital. Perhaps the Nameless Monsters from the Darkness had finally returned after untold years, or perhaps it was some other threat. Anyone who might know is dead, or at least beyond reach. As their civilization started to crumble around them, city after city and province after province loosing communication with the capital, panic set in. There was no Con to save them this time it seemed. Solutions were sought and attempted, one of which was to flee, not to some vast fortress or hidden away corner of the world (although these were attempted with unknown success as well) but though the heavens, to a new world untouched and untainted by whatever horrors were consuming this one. Ya, a legendary visionary in her own lifetime lead the project. A portal was constructed, around Ya civilization itself crumbled as the gate was forced open, many many people died to not some unknown horror or monster, but to their fellows as panic gripped the population and the capital burned. Only a scant few survivors, a mere ten thousand of Yas followers, made it though the portal before it closed behind them, trapping them in this new world, and dooming those left behind.
Name of your capital: Throne
Name of the region surrounding your capital: New Hope
Deity Name: The Puissant Virtues
Religion Name: Virtue
Deity Sphere: Order
Religion Description: The pursuit of Virtue and what that means is the guiding Philosophy of The Virtuous Lands. The Virtues are qualities defined by either one of the Puissant Virtues defined by Con at the dawn of the Lands or a lesser or aspected Virtue later refined upon by Great Philosophers or Exalted Saints. Although the Virtues exalt all qualities that are considered good in a person, the most important Virtues are often ones that exert control and influence over Society, with the Puissant Virtues directly urging good governance, loyalty, humanity, knowledge, and the importance of doing things in the proper way. Virtues virtually impact almost all aspects of life in the Lands, from telling a governor how to govern, a warrior how to fight, and a worker how to obey their overseers. They cover how family should interact and even have things to say about the proper way to plant fields and grow crops.
Philosophers are thinkers who have dedicated their lives to thinking about the Universe and Virtues, often they are scholars in mundane matters as well as the metaphysical. However, some of them stick most purely to the metaphysical contemplation of Virtues and how they interact with society. A Great Philosopher is a Philosopher who has either made a grand contribution to the Philosophy of Virtues a profound statement, often meaning the creation of a new lesser Virtue or an important aspected Virtue (being a way of saying a virtue that connects it specifically to but importantly one issue. Many scientific facts are considered either aspected Virtues of the Puissant Virtue of knowledge, or the aspects of lesser Virtues from more general areas of science, depending on what philosopher you speak too) or have in some way impacted society greatly with a grand application of a virtue, important inventors or leaders are sometimes considered in this category. Philosophers are almost always Xiao, although it's not a requirement, it is the expectation, and in areas where an achievement qualifies a person to be considered a Grand Philosopher or an Exalted Saint (as there are areas where these titles can overlap, especially when it's for some grand achievement) a Xiao will be called a Grand Philosopher.
Saints are people who have dedicated their lives to living in a way that exemplifies either one or all Virtues. This is often used for great leaders or heroes, although it can also be used for a person that is exceedingly successful in some other area. An Exalted Saint is a Saint whos achievements and dedication to their(the) Virtue(s) is grand enough to be recognized by society and remembered and considered by Philosophers and Saints forever. Exalted Saint is often, or at least more often then Grand Philosopher, a title that is acquired after death, as their deeds and achievements are considered for if they qualify or not. Saints are almost always Zao, although it's not a requirement, it is the expectation, and in areas where an achievement qualifies a person to be considered an Exalted Saint or a Grand Philosopher (as there are areas where these titles can overlap, especially when it's for some grand achievement) a Zoa will be called an Exalted Saint.
Although in some legends and stories the Virtues are anthropomorphized, especially when one particular virtue is the focus, the philosophy typically holds them as the immutable law of the universe and the the inevitable moral system of determination between action outcome. It's more common in stories for Great Philosophers and Exalted Saints from the past to return from the Heavens in order to exemplify a virtue. And prayers are often directed towards said figures, making the religion have some aspects of ancestor worship as well.
Service to the religion is held by a Philosopher, or less often, a Saint, who teaches the masses of the intricacies of the Virtues and how they impact every day life and decision making. Each race and profession is exemplified by different Virtues, and it's expected that those will be the virtues that the person belonging to that race or profession will pay the most attention too, although the Puissant Virtues are considered important for everyone.
Author
Topic: Sorcerers @ War - OOC & Fluff (Read 20756 times)