The Company of Gods
While the creation of custom races is allowed, and even encouraged, they will typically result in the creation of a minor race. When Mutualism creaked the fish folk last turn, the Alphas were his minor race, and because of the overshoot, the side effect was the creation of the Merfolk (a major race that was always written into the story) a few turns before they otherwise would have appeared.
Minor races are small, typically a few hundred to a few thousand individuals, and usually act as servants to the gods or kingdoms they belong to.
Major races usually number multiple millions of individuals, and act as major influences on the world and the gods that rule it.
Discovery eschews the curiosity of the Merfolk to focus on her own creations. She seeks to create her own people, to live on the sky islands.
4*
They are a
tall and
proud race, with bird like wings in place of arms, and large taloned feet. They are covered in feathers, and the males sport brightly colored plumage at certain times in the year. During the winter months, most all take on a more drab grey or black coloration. They are quick and curious by nature and tame the giant pelicans to catch fish. They are faster and more maneuverable than the Drakin in the air, and when fighting over islands they will knock them out of the skies and rake them with their claws. On the ground however, the Drakin are faster, stronger, and far far tougher than the hollow boned bird folk. Where they have already settled islands, they cannot be dislodged, but their expansion into the skies is brought to a halt. The bird folk number
a few thousand, living almost exclusively on the floating islands. They live in large social groups and will fill an island to capacity. They hunt fish and small animals, and build large enclosed nests from grass and wood. Their nesting grounds look almost like small towns from above.
They are loyal to Discovery.
Mutualism seeks to court the worship of the Merfolk, and gifts to them music of all kinds, though more specifically a music that entrances the beasts of the world.
4*
Their songs are serene and sweet, and lull not just beasts but even other races into a helpless stupor. The Merfolk embrace the music, and such is the
birth of culture in the world. They are quick to invent many instruments to accompany their songs and it becomes a common sight to see schools of fish folk playing on the surface where the wind can carry their music far. With such inventions comes a minor revolution in culture, as many more mundane tools are invented along side conch shell horns and kelp weed harps. Before the century is over, the first Merfolk has learned to
melt stones inside the seafloor vents and shape copper into basic tools.
They give great thanks to
Mutualism for these advances and praise his name. Though the reliance on air to truly make music might have given an advantage to
Discovery had she tried to woo them with a gift of her own, there is no such gift even given. Those who were previously her proponents feel not just disappointed, but abandoned, and she takes an antagonistic place in the mythology of the Merfolk.
They worship Mutualism undividedly and see the gods of the sky as spiteful unnamed adversaries. It is not uncommon for devout worshipers of
Mutualism to lull the beasts of the skies with their songs before drowning them as sacrifices.
Deep in the underworld,
!!Fun!! schemes for what to give to the Drakin. Power, she decides. Explosive power. What could be more fun than that?
8!*
Her gift is powerful indeed! She blesses them with not just the power of explosions and breath, but with a variety of elemental flavors to boot. Each dragon is born with an element, passed down through a family line on the male side, and they can unleash its fury in full. Such lineages become powerful in reputation, and
political structure begins to emerge. Many Drakin quarrel over marriages and offer services of one element or another. It is considered prestigious to have a purple Drakin in your house that can turn your lairs to gemstone, and yellow Drakin are revered for the explosive power of their crackling electric flames. Social units grow larger, and a house with all descendants will usually live together in a large family home. These homes are usually built from wood, and then turned to solid stone by grey Drakin, or gemstone for the more successful houses. Though this gift has greatly increased the number of Drakin that can breathe flame of some sort, there are still those who are occasionally born without this ability. They are often treated poorly by the rest of their society, and end up living alone, or with other breathless Drakin estranged from their families.
The Drakin are overjoyed with their new powers and
Praise the name of !!Fun!! and all the underworld beneath. Breathless Drakin will often venture into the catacombs in search of the God herself, in the belief that she can grant them a breath of their own, though such expeditions are often ill fated.
Industry ignores the Drakin, and just as well given the level of
!!Funs!!'s gift, to create his own people. A species of humanoid deer, they have the torso and upper body of a human, and the lower parts of a deer.
3*
They are
fleet footed and
studious, living in the forest for the most part and occasionally venturing into the open plains. They are quick to learn to make stone spears and axes and use them to hunt with great success. They build
great wooden lodges from the logs of felled trees, usually at the base of a pillar tree, and sleep communally near the fires inside at night. Always looking to improve their surroundings, they quickly learn to use local herbs and roots as spices, becoming
the first species to truly cook their food (discounting the way Drakin will char meat with their flames before consuming it.) Though they usually stay within the forests, they are fiercely territorial and will chase out others who enter if they can. They number just under
4 thousand. They are loyal to Industrialization.The Drakin Have overwhelmingly chosen !!Fun!! to worship and feel betrayed by the lack of a gift from
Industrialization, writing him into their myths as a spiteful force of evil, who haunts the forests of the world with his servants. They disdain the Deerfolk, though they fear them enough to stay out of the forests for the most part.
Life advances with leaps and bounds. While the Merfolk learn to smith metals and the Drakin build their stone keeps, two new races have arisen in the world.
A group of cave dwelling apes have begun to stand taller and have learned to make fire. They live along the coasts and catch fish and grow small plants to eat.
They call themselves Humans and are torn between the underworld they came from and the seas before them. They look for a gift from those Gods to lead them into the future. They will worship only one God.
In the hills and mountains far away inland, another race has begun to speak more clearly.
They are called the Greenskins, on account of their green skin, and hunt animals for meat. In their view from the mountains, they find themselves torn between the lands and the skies, and look to the Gods for a sign of who to worship. They will worship only one God.
While
Mutualism and
!!Fun!! bask in the warmth of worship from the mortal races, the other gods have come to a more startling conclusion.
Their ambitions are beginning to cool, and the age of Myths is soon to end. Without worship, they will find themselves reduced like the elements before them in time.
No more major races are like to occur, and the worship of those mortals has suddenly become a precious thing.
When creating your gift, you might not trust your power alone to do the job. Swear an oath into the fabric of reality, and it will grant you power for an act.
Be careful! Such an oath is written into the fabric of the world, and may never be broken. The oath will bind you even if you fail to achieve your goals. The more restrictive the oath that binds you, the more power the universe may grant you.
A higher roll will usually win, but not always. Consider what the species in question would value. A well made necessity would likely be more appreciated than an expertly made novelty.
The world is large.
The land has unusual geometry.
It is a single massive landmass, surrounded by oceans.
- The oceans are shallow
- The oceans are calm and warm
Floating islands fill the skies, drifting over land and sea alike.
The weather is unpredictable.
There is no moon.
The day is 24 hours.
The sun is yellow.
Life is comprised of all manner of animals and plants.
The merfolk have discovered Metalsmithing.
The Drakin live in stone or gem keeps, and play politics with family lineages.
The Humans and the Greenskins are new to this world, and cry out to the Gods for guidance.
These things can be changed if you wish,
though it will be much harder once the age of myth has ended.