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[Man of Paper]

This is the thread for the team of the Kaynan God.
Core Thread
If you are undecided, or not sure where you are or how you got here, please make your way to the core thread to learn more. If you are a player for the Auran God team please be a good person and don't do none of that cheating stuff.

It is the Design Phase for TURN 0. You have Two Designs to decide upon for this phase, and by the end of the turn must also decide on an Island and an Avatar. Remember, the Avatar needs a name and some sort of description, and the base description should provide any details you think are useful.

Spoiler: Equipment (click to show/hide)

Mundane Units
Spearman Militia: Poorly trained citizens given a spear and a shield and ordered to fight for their Empire. They make up the majority of the Kaynan Empire's current forces. Common

Slinger Levy: Poorly trained citizens given a sling and a sack of stones and ordered to fight for their Empire. They aren't too accurate, but they're better than nothing. Common

Initiate: A human who has attained a basic grasp of the Magical Arts. These beginners can only cast the most Common spells, and have low staying power thanks to untrained and inefficiently used magical energy. Uncommon


Magic
Arcane Bolt: A fist-sized ball of arcane energy channeled toward a target at moderate speeds. Efficacy increases with caster's mental might, and decreases with the target's. Common


Influence Designs
Basic Diplomacy: Your presence is felt in the Magic Planes and the Species you've aligned yourself with is openly negotiating with you in whichever way they can. While this won't do a lot to gain or maintain Influence, it is at least a foot in the door. Common

Spoiler: The Map and Key (click to show/hide)

AUR’KAYN
Fields (Light Green): A vast expanse of tall grasses broken up by the occasional tree. A few large towns have been built in the area, with farmlands radiating outward. These towns and farms all ultimately work to feed the largest city in the Kaynan Empire. Fighting here will take place first in the fields, then in the city. (KAYNAN)
Woods (Dark Green): Large evergreen trees spread out across this entire region, with the ground between trees covered in moss, short grass, and dense thickets. A small number of towns in the area fuel the lumber industry for the empire, making the operation vital for their long-term survival. As a result, a large military fortress has been constructed and permanently manned within the Woods. Fighting here will take place first in the woods, then at the fortress. (KAYNAN)

Swamps (Purple): A disgusting bog with limited amounts of dry land. Twisted trees and vines decorate the putrid landscape. Deeper in the swamp is the aptly named Deep Swamp, where the treecover is so dense that you could march armies across the braided branches. Which is good, because the Deep Swamp is certain death in the forms of deep water, sucking mud, and sinkholes. Fighting here will take place in the Swamps first, then in the Deep Swamp. If both sides strike while the Swamps are uncontrolled, then the first fight will take place in the Deep Swamp instead, with the subsequent fight occurring in the Swamps. (NEUTRAL)
Mountains (Dark Gray): The Mountains are a collection of high peaks, steep ridges, and deep-cut valleys. Fighting and movements are tedious in this landscape. The Mountains are also home to the Underlair, a network of dark caves and caverns that cross underneath the Mountains. Fighting in this area first occurs in the Mountains, then the Underlair. If both sides strike while the Mountains are uncontrolled, then the first fight will take place in the Underlair and the following fight will take place in the Mountains. (NEUTRAL)

Deserts (Light Beigeish): Sand and dunes stretching from horizon to horizon make up the Desert. The heat during the day and the freezing nights are almost as bad as the lack of water and food to forage. Deep in the Desert lay some mercy in the form of the Oasis. The Oasis is a large lake fed by underground waterways surrounded by reeds and hardy desert plants. A massive fortress was constructed here to act as a waypoint for armies and travelers. Fighting will happen first in the Desert then at the Oasis in this region. (AURAN)
Steppes (Light Brownish): A largely flat region sparsely decorated with patches of grass and low-growing trees. Nomads move their grazing herds freely for the most part, but at the center of the Steppes where all roads meet is the Auran capital city. Fighting in the region will first occur in the Steppes then in the city. (AURAN)

THE PLANES

Earth (Light Brown): Home to Dwarves and Elves. These two species are locked in combat as representations of two different approaches to the Earth: symbiosis and exploitation. The Dwarves are hardy clannish people who have dug deep into the Earth, and are master miners and craftsmen as a result of their exploits. Elves live in harmony with the Forests, protecting it from the Dwarves who seek to use the wood for fuel with no consideration for long-term environmental damage. The Dwarves are strong, short, stocky fighters. The Elves are a druidic society and are generally highly skilled casters and rangers. 
Air (Light Blue): Home to Faeries and Avians. These two species live largely at peace with one another in their Plane, but the winds of change are blowing. The Faeries and Avians rule jointly through a Senate split evenly between the two species. There are some Faeries that believe their vastly higher population means their species should have more seats in the Senate to better represent the population while the Avians seek to maintain the status quo. Faeries are small, frail, fast, winged humanoids with potent magical capability. Avians are thin, feathered humanoids with winged arms and beaks capable of flight who prove to be impressively nimble but easily injured warriors.

Fire (Red): Home to Orcs and Dragons. The Orcs are a highly industrious species, utilizing fire in whatever way they can to create some of the most powerful, creative, and self-destructive equipment in the Planes. In their home plane they travel in large groups without any real leadership, but one goal drives them all: attaining wealth. Dragons are extremely intelligent, dangerous, fire-breathing flying lizards who prefer to live in solitude. A recent spike in Orcish heist attempts (some more successful than any prideful dragon would admit) has forced Dragons to work together to figure out how to protect their hoards from an enemy that was near-numberless. Orcs are large and muscular humanoids with jutting lower jaws housing a pair of large tusks and are ingenious and suicidal in equal measure. Dragons are massive beasts stronger and tougher than just about anything else in the Planes, and whose mere silhouette can inspire fear in lesser beings. 
Water (Blue): Home to the Lizardfolk and Illithids. The squid-faced Illithids use their proficiency with mind-warping magics to keep the Lizardfolk enslaved. The Illithids cannot survive the harsh surface of the Water Plane’s marshes and bogs, but rely on the foods and materials within them to sustain their submerged city. Some Lizardfolk have broken free from the Illithid’s grasp and are seeking ways to free more of the Enslaved while the Illithids hope to reign in these upstarts. Illithids are extremely frail but immensely powerful spellcasters, while Lizardfolk are tough, strong, and resistant to illness and disease.

Order (Yellow): Home to the Seraphim and the Swarm. The tall, muscular, white-winged humanoids of the Seraphim live in patches of beautiful, bountiful, lush lands they call the Gardens of Eden. Outside of these gardens is a vast flat desert, which wouldn’t be an issue if the Seraphim weren’t constantly forced to find new homes each time the Swarm descended upon them. The numberless Swarm are Order in it’s ultimate form: the hivemind. These insatiable insectoids come in many forms, designated by the Nurse Caste who use their scythed forearms to etch the appropriate rune on the eggs as ordered by the Hivemind. The Seraphim use secrets of the runes to empower themselves and their equipment in their fight for survival, but are looking for a way to help fight off the Swarm for long enough to get use out of their Gardens before they’re overrun. Seraphim are large, strong, flying humanoids who are skilled in both the magical and martial arts. The Swarm are insectoids that come in many forms, each with a specific purpose, and all connected to the same hivemind. Some are more intelligent than others and capable of something resembling independent thought. The Plane of Order is the domain of Runic Magic.
Chaos (Dark Gray): Home to the Infernal and Undying. The Infernal are horned, cloven-hooved, tailed humanoids who were created in a mortal realm long ago but betrayed their creator and were forever cursed to live in the Plane of Chaos as a result. They have worked out a way to slowly infiltrate other Mortal Planes through their single Demongate. The Undying are the remnants of mortals who sought to break the natural Order of birth, life, death, and rebirth by prolonging their life forever. Banished to the Chaos Plane for trying to break the cycle, the Undying are a mix of the undead ranging from skeletons to zombies to specters led by a circle of Liches. The Liches seek to wrest control of the Demongate from the Infernal, not to reach into the Mortal Planes (yet), but to leech from the infinite well of raw magical power that is the source of the Demongate. This is thanks to the terms of their banishment, as a Lich will slowly lose power and fade away into a lesser undead unless they can feed off of a source of magic. Both the Infernal and the Undying utilize the Chaos Plane’s strange flora in the creation of powerful stimulants, potions, and magical draughts. The Infernal are large, powerful beastish humanoids with immense martial skill and proficient casting ability. The Undying come in a variety of forms, but are very resilient and persistent in any shape and size. The Plane of Chaos is the domain of Alchemic Magic.

[Rockeater]

If we want to design creatures to be used in influence lanes, they will be based on humans as well, right?

[Man of Paper]

Until you get new templates, yes.

[Rockeater]

Hmm, from the one hand, I want to suggest invisibility spell/invisible people, which will be helpful in the influence lanes, but on the other hand, both air and water plane require some extra work to have humans actually helpful there, so that could wait for next turn to when someone from their side of the board contact us (My bet is on the orcs, I would be really surprised if they don't want dragons)

[Doomblade187]

So, I don't have a strong desire for the Fire plane, and am trying to decide if we'll want to hit Order or Chaos later.

As for Avatar, mayhaps a 12-limbed levitating humanoid surrounded by aspects of each element?

[Rockeater]

As some form of strong humanoid seems fairly common, I don't worry much on front-line fighters, or at least on where we get them from, so my preferred influence contact this turn is Illithids

As for the Avatar, I am fine with the idea, just not have two legs and twelve arms/wings, mix it up with tentacles, flippers and strange an indiscernible protrusions which are used as limbs.

[Doomblade187]

That was my general plan for the avatar, yes. Illithids would be powerful, but on the other hand, ~ethics~.

[Rockeater]

Fair, we can go fairies, Dragon riding elves gonna be an option they see, so we will have redundancies  with strong front line type folk, but we can use disease resistance somehow.

anyway, do you have design ideas?

[Maximum Spin]

Avatar proposal: LINES
-Name: Whiskey Jack, the Lord of Lines
-Appearance: A yearling buck with human eyes walking around on its hind legs.
-Base Location: Within the primeval forest of the Isle of Lines, there is a place where the trees form Euler spirals. In the circular grove at the centre of these spirals, Whiskey Jack holds his court. Whiskey Jack's court is protected by his Wards of Upper and Lower Names, and no permanent structures are permitted within, nor any iron at all; but his followers have been allowed to construct fortifications elsewhere on the island.
Design proposal 1: Chains of the Contract (Influence)
The Contract is the indissoluble cognitostructural onomastic binding which underlies the coordination between base physical material and the divine plan. That is to say, it is the structure which holds reality together and allows it to flow and change and live with the breath of divinity. The true Contract, created in collaboration with the god of Aur, is beyond the present means of either to fully exploit, but there are parts of it over which the god of Kayn has special dominion. At the absolute lowest level, the Contract allows for sentient beings to pledge service to a God in exchange for a fragment of its power - by providing access to rituals that facilitate this pledge, we can gain control over some of the most ambitious members of the various species, and through them and the power granted them, hopefully secure the loyalties of the factions and governments they may come to rule.
Design proposal 2: Unwording Word (Magic)
The Unwording Word is a once-forbidden spell, now permitted only by special dispensation of the god of Kayn, that operates on the metaphorical rather than physical level of the universe, which is sometimes known as Yetzirah. Yetzirah governs speech, emotions, and the moral soul, and the Unwording Word untangles its victim entirely therefrom, claiming the victim's very name from out of Yetzirah and thus severing the link between the will and the body, in a process which has come to be called (with irony) "shriving". By cutting this link, the body is left only with its animating spirit, which responds to the will of the caster in lieu of another will to guide it. In other words, one might say that the body becomes simply a second body of the caster. Because this second body is experienced and controlled in much the same way as the first, with only a small space of abstraction separating it, no normal human being can operate more than a handful at a time and most may struggle with two. Still, every body seized from the enemy and turned to our side is for all intents and purposes a two-person advantage for us.

[Kashyyk]

Avatar Proposal - Balance
- Name: Limkeer Alnan, The Record Keeper
- Appearance: Overlapping layers of feathers and hide conceal Limkeer's true form, for any mortal who gazes upon it will be struck both mad and blind
- Base Location: Spurred on by Our divine attention, the Island of Kay'lim is a freshly emerged volcano. Dormant after its exertions the it stands proud over the water, abundant work life. The jet black Earth is rich and fertile and the Waters clear and cool. Whilst the majority of of the population live on the lower slopes, Our Great Temple is at the the volcano peak where the Fires of the deep meet the Airs above.

[A_Curious_Cat]

Avatar Proposal - Balance
- Name: Limkeer Alnan, The Record Keeper
- Appearance: Overlapping layers of feathers and hide conceal Limkeer's true form, for any mortal who gazes upon it will be struck both mad and blind
- Base Location: Spurred on by Our divine attention, the Island of Kay'lim is a freshly emerged volcano. Dormant after its exertions the it stands proud over the water, abundant work life. The jet black Earth is rich and fertile and the Waters clear and cool. Whilst the majority of of the population live on the lower slopes, Our Great Temple is at the the volcano peak where the Fires of the deep meet the Airs above.

+1, except that the island and the slopes of the volcano should be covered in lush tropical forests.  Also, “Limkeer Alnan” should itself be a title (literally meaning “ The Record Keeper”) and any mortal that learns Limkeer’s true name should go insane from the revelation.

[NUKE9.13]

I'm not sure a theme of 'Balance' has enough to work off of. Like, sure, I can think of a few balance-themed designs, but a more specialised theme could have a much deeper reserve. And a meta-theme of trying to ensure our designs are evenly spread across elements sounds like a potential handicap.

That being said, I don't have an alternative right now. Maybe something ice-themed, to fit our adjacent planes. Although that could make working on the earth and fire planes difficult.

[Kashyyk]

Tbh, it's actually intended as a Generalist theme, rather than a Specialised one.

[NUKE9.13]

   Name: Evivizet, The Current
   Appearance: Motion. Evivizet can only be observed through the motion it imparts on the world; while it can apply this motion to a physical body (a swirling column of water, a roiling cloud of smoke, a churning pile of dirt, etc), it is not the material.
   Base Location: The Maelstrom. When Evivizet first graced this mortal plane with its gaze, it seemed as if a terrible destructive force had been unleashed, as a great storm began to brew off the northern coast. As time passed, however, it became clear that, while always in motion, the storm was also stationary. It was not long before some suicidally brave sailor entered the storm- only to find that the roiling waters calmed themselves upon her approach. While towering waves flanked her boat, she glided on smooth seas into the depths of the storm. There she found the promised land- or rather, the promised raft. Hundreds- thousands- uncountable shipwrecks, dredged from the sea floor by the mighty currents, now formed a floating island of decayed timber, their cracked hulls forming docks, streets, and buildings. Careful observation would reveal these ships to be of many different styles- including some never seen before upon this plane. Within the makeshift buildings lay treasure- the contents of their sunken holds, much of it decayed beyond use, but more than enough of sufficient value to make the brave sailor wealthy beyond her wildest dreams.
   Many followed, and the floating city at the heart of the maelstrom became a lively place. Occasionally new wrecks would emerge from beneath the waves, lodging themselves into the amalgamation, providing new 'land' for the burgeoning population. Materials would flow into the city, and the ramshackle structures were transformed into elegant buildings, a fitting capital for a great empire.

[A_Curious_Cat]

Tbh, it's actually intended as a Generalist theme, rather than a Specialised one.

The way I see it, being a specialist gives you full access to your chosen specialty but locks you out of other specialties, while being a generalist gives you access to all specialties but prevents you from using individual specialties to their full potential.

So, the question is:  Generalist, or Specialist?  Each has it’s pros and cons…