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[Strife26]

Does anyone want to cover for the zefies for a turn or two?

[Vanigo]

So I did. Fixing it now.

[NUKE9.13]

Does anyone want to cover for the zefies for a turn or two?

Ooh.
Ooh.
Pick me!

[Vanigo]

Well, Nuke, it looks like you're it. Waiting on mainiac for this turn.

I should probably announce that I'm going to be out of town myself starting around the middle of next week. Don't know the exact dates yet, but I'll be gone for about a week.

[mainiac]

My computer died on me, so I have to drop out of this.  Recommend finding a replacement.

[Vanigo]

Well, that complicates things. Nuke, you can make a new civ now if you want. I'll auto the Zefies if it comes up, unless someone else volunteers.

Edit: Actually, now that I think about it, Strife will almost certainly be back before it becomes an issue.

[NUKE9.13]

Sweeeet.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Civilization: Sentivores Happy Survivor Funtime Camp
City name: Bloodarch camp
Race: Mainly humans. And, say, a dozen vampires. (number of humans/1000 + 2 = number of vampires)
You may know the standard vampire civilization. Yeah, I'm not changing it. Chief vampire(s) at the top, lesser vampires below that, willing slaves below that, slaves at the bottom. Magically-sustained feudalism.
Description: Before the beggining of the age of ash, vampires were rare, solitary creatures, terrorising rural villages when possible. However, when the old empires of the age of glory started to collapse, they, like many other evil critters, saw their way clear to rise to power. They swept along the tide of misfortune into civilized lands, feasting, breeding, spreading. Thousands of vampires supped on the thousands upon thousands of disorganised sentients. But it was not to last. For their prey died out. There were too many vampires (and other horrors) to sustainably survive in the age of ash. Vampire turned on vampire. They almost died out again. But, as one does, Sir Haemoglobin the third (titles all made up) invented a new way of hunting. He managed to convince a number of other vampires to join him in his plan. They walked into a human tribe, and offered them safety from predators and plenty of food. The tribes people all accepted. A week later, they together with the willing tribespeople, walked into another tribe. This one, they enslaved. The vampires did their thing, feasting upon the newbies, leaving the 'chosen ones' alive. And then, rather than letting the tribespeople go, they marched onwards, from one tribe to another, until they had a huge tribe- 2000 people- ruled over by the vampires and the first tribe. The combination of those magical wards placed on those feasted upon and another tribe keeping watch prevented escapes, and so they set to doing things of civilization- farming, building houses, suchlike and so forth. The vampires protected their tribe from the worst of the age of ash, and the tribe provided the vampires with a constant food supply.
Now they have grown, from sending hunting parties to round up other tribes, or from simple breeding of the livestock. The tribe was moved occasionally, and now, with mountainous terrain to one side, and a river to the other, escape attempts fail to make it out of the range of the chosen guard, the descendants of the first tribe, still keeping the vampire's slaves in check. They have good reason to do so, of course. As the tribe expanded, the vampires have offered new vampireship to the most loyal and hard-working chosen guards. And those who refuse to work hard enough are commonly demoted to slave.
(Number of humans/10 = amount of chosen guards)
Theme: Feudalistic Vampirecracy

Is that ok?

[Pandarsenic]

FYI, Neo-Tyrg is also racist against you.

[Vanigo]

What kind of vampires are we talking about here? There's such a wide variety. And I'm not at all convinced you could have a working society with 90% slaves. Without some powerful weapons and/or magic in the hands of the oppressors, the slaves would simply rise up and crush the hopelessly outnumbered upper classes - and if a dozen vampires can make the difference and beat down 7,000 people, they're too powerful and I don't want them in the game.

[NUKE9.13]

Actually, scrap the vampires. They make no sense.
I'm thinking.

[Pandarsenic]

What kind of vampires are we talking about here? There's such a wide variety. And I'm not at all convinced you could have a working society with 90% slaves. Without some powerful weapons and/or magic in the hands of the oppressors, the slaves would simply rise up and crush the hopelessly outnumbered upper classes - and if a dozen vampires can make the difference and beat down 7,000 people, they're too powerful and I don't want them in the game.

What about medieval Europe where leadership, militaries, and the promise of protection along with widespread religious fervor allowed less than 10% (less than 5%?) of the population to control the other 90+%?

[NUKE9.13]

What kind of vampires are we talking about here? There's such a wide variety. And I'm not at all convinced you could have a working society with 90% slaves. Without some powerful weapons and/or magic in the hands of the oppressors, the slaves would simply rise up and crush the hopelessly outnumbered upper classes - and if a dozen vampires can make the difference and beat down 7,000 people, they're too powerful and I don't want them in the game.

What about medieval Europe where leadership, militaries, and the promise of protection along with widespread religious fervor allowed less than 10% (less than 5%?) of the population to control the other 90+%?

Well, that is the principle of chivalry. I think, though, that more people had a feeling of power with medieval chivalry- not absolute power, but a greater power than pure slavery.

[Vanigo]

Yeah, the poor were oppressed in medieval Europe, but they weren't livestock. Even at the height of serfdom they had some rights and privileges, and there were always free men both in the towns and in the fields. And peasant revolts still cropped up periodically, often destroying a noble house or two.

[Pandarsenic]

Well, I'm just pointing out that's an archetype you could take traits from if you still wanted to follow that path.

[NUKE9.13]

Actually, scrap scrapping the vampires. I can't think of anything better. I have a better social order though. Same backstory, different set up.

Spoiler: Ye old feudal pyramid (click to show/hide)

Top to bottom:
Chief vampires: 2 people
Noble vampires (children of vampires and pre-tribal vampires): 1/1000 people, roughly. Can vary.
Chosen vampires (Chosen elevated to vampireship for good service): 1 per 200 population
The Chosen (Keep the peasants in check (No other tasks); normal, unbitten humans): 1/5 of the population
Peasants (Through propaganda, magical suggestion, and a lack of education, kept from the truth; they are basically slaves): Rest of the population.
Blood-slaves (Virtually mindless drones, for tasks too dangerous or menial for the rest): Varying amount. Never more than 1/10.

Here is how this works:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Chief & noble vampires are powerful- but not strong enough to take on an army. Together they could stand against ten men per vampire, perhaps. They are theoretically immortal, but as the body deteriorates, more and more life-force is required to sustain it. Vampires are not undead- they just don't die of old age. If they did nothing all their lives but drink blood, they would be immortal. But wear and tear takes its toll, and eventually the vampire must consume more than an hours worth of human life-force to survive an hour, and they die. A typical vampire can live 300-500 years before their body damage drags them down. Vampires have limited natural magic; natural blood magic, which facilitates their other magics; the magic that allows them to leech life force, their magic of loyalty, making the bitten loyal to them in varying amounts (can be taken to the extreme- see blood slaves). They can also transform the bitten into a (chosen) vampire. Vampires can also learn other magic. Careful study allows them to leech magical power as well as life force from their victims, making them powerful mages. A common spell they indulge in is metamorphosis to a [bat].

Chosen vampires are weaker than Noble vampires. They have lived as men for some of their life, and so their powers are diluted. They are not capable of withdrawing life force (and, if mages, magic) from their victims with the same efficiency as noble vampires. Nor can they instil the same level of loyalty as nobles (and are thus not capable of creating blood-slaves).

Chosen are those humans who willingly aid the vampires. They are treated well. Housed in the city center, in real housing. They are also constantly reminded that betrayal means blood-slavitude, and good service means a chance for vampireship. This means that almost all are truly loyal.
They police the streets of Bloodarch camp, armed with the best weapons. They receive education, and do those tasks that require a degree of real skill, but to menial for the vampires to do. When peasants flee, they chase. They spread propaganda, and provide a constant reminder of who's in charge to the peasants- not you!

Peasants are the working class of the Sentivore society. They are uneducated, knowing no more than they need to to do their jobs, which is usually not much. Most of them have the two red marks in their neck indicating their position (biting in the neck is not required, but Sentivore dress code require bear necks for a reason. No peasant will ever pass as chosen (or vampire, but yeah, vampires. Big teef, right?)) They will never rise above their station. Of course, actual complaining is a lessened by a number of factors- the constant propaganda, the constant watching eyes, and the slight, but ever present magical voice in the head saying; ah, its not so bad.
Not that they never revolt. But there are ways of dealing with that.
Revolts happen. How often? About 4 times a year, on average. The revolters always flee the city. Most of the time, the chosen and a few vampires go out, hunt them down, catch them, and then they are made into blood-slaves. However, once a year, a revolt succeeds, and the fleeing people are never seen again. Well, sometimes they return as a small army, but they are always crushed. This is on purpose. If peasants think that fleeing the city has a chance of success, they are less likely to stay in the city, causing collateral damage, or worse, inspiring others to help them. Worst case scenario, they all storm the center, and everyone dies. So once a year, a small revolt is put under fake pursuit, only to be lost. All that is required for this most effective prevention of mobs is for the fleeing peasants to be small enough in number that the Sentivore's 3 kids per family plan can deal with them. Food inefficient, maybe. (Give me a food penalty, or something) But keeping the amount of fleers down is the task of undercover agents who infiltrate and betray the groups. Once found out, the group usually flees. Most groups never plan to do anything but flee and 'come back for the rest later'

Being a Blood-Slave is a fate worse than death. A noble vampire can (at a cost) make you so loyal that your real personality is lost, and you become hardly more than an extension of their body. Blood-slaves are used to do those jobs so dangerous that no sane man would do them and not believe his fate utter slavery. Deadly work in mines, back-breaking construction, front line against rebel armies, they do it all, without complaining. They can't complain. This deadly work is also handy in that it removes the strain on the master vampire, as the maintenance of blood-slaves is tiring, even dangerous in cases.
Blood slaves is the chief punishment in the Sentivore legal system. Recaptured rebels become them. Criminals become them. Disloyal Chosen become them. 

I can see that working. I really can't think of anything else which isn't done already or unoriginal.