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World Building for original fantasy

Discussion in 'CW Index' started by GSpectre, Jul 29, 2015.

  1. GSpectre

    GSpectre Lurker

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    Looking to do a bit of world building for a piece I have been thinking about writing for a while. Seeing if anyone can punch holes ask questions about this… mostly to see if I can improve it. So this is the first race i put together. If there is any interest i will try and post the rest of the races and then get into the history... if there is interest that is.

    Ogres:
    Ogres are one of the most widely spread races, although they are not the most varied. Standing at six foot to eight foot, varied by clan, with a human form they are the most human of the other races. They lack the eriethral otherness of the elves, and the solid stone like qualities of the dwarves, or even the organic feel of the goblins. Aside from their size the only things that distinguishes them from large humans are their ears, or rather their lack of ears. In place of ears they have a horn growth. The majority of the clans and tribes file and sand this growth down to a nub, but a few of the more highly placed individuals have been known to sculpt their ear horns.

    It is widely speculated that the Ogres are a created race, though who created them is a matter of much debate. Scholars who hew to the theory that the ogres are the creation of the mages point to their physical size and their regeneration rate as proof that they were created as shock troops. The alternate theory is that the gods created them for their placid temperament and ability to survive and thrive in all conditions, even ones that would kill a human. Scholars who follow this theory tend to point to the magic of their digestion system as proof of that, and that no other species has horn ears thereby making the known mage methods of species creation impossible.

    Based on where they seem to have originated from a third theory has grown in popularity in recent years; that ogres are the results of magical contamination from the god war. While a credible theory it has yet to build up much of a following as the most telling piece of evidence is that there are no writings of ogres from before the god war. Considering that the destruction of that war was so bad that even now, eight thousand years after it ended, the damage is still present and prevalent it is widely accepted that records of that time period are too fragmentary to be held up as proof.

    Political and geographical divisions

    North Glacia Ogres:

    Deep Valley clan:
    Physically the Deep valley clan has strong features with an ivory colored ear horn and nut brown skin. They tend to favor a round full face though not all of them have such a feature. Facial features that are universal is a flatness to their face and that their eyes have prominent ephamic folds. Politically they have organized in a single empire the Celestial Empire, or alternately the middle imperial holdings. Inside of this empire nobles are very much a figurehead, a merocrattic bearocracy does most of the real work of running the empire though some families have turned their positions into patronage mills. Nominally at least all power devolves to the emperor, but in practice the one who runs the country and calls the shots are a troika; the commanding General of the Army, the head of the beurocracy, and the head of the secret police.

    The Culture of the Deep Valley clan is one that is based on reverence for ones ancestors and the rice which represents their staple crop. Land is a critical issue to a deep valley ogre, as holding land means that you are a person, and not ephemeral. The belief that land ownership is essential to being has resulted in some rather odd practices, up to and including the sale of cliff faces in one meter squared lots. An ogre who does not have a deed for any real property is considered to be incapable of marriage or forming a contract, so deeds and the like are very closely guarded.

    The Deep Valleys land hunger have led to a long running series of wars with all of their neighbors, although the Gold Swamp clan has suffered less than the Misty hills. Despite the attempts at conquest the cultural inertia and desire to hold land between the two rivers has made these ogres less than willing to move. Additionally it is widely believed that if you move to far from where you scattered the ashes of your ancestors that they cannot hear you. Both of these factors has led to a major concentration of the deep valley ogres, and to the widely spread belief that exile is worse than death as a punishment.

    Despite the prevailing attitudes about home and hearth the Deep Valley merchants have ranged widely across the world and are well known for their ships. The Zheng family of merchants, the best known of the families who engage in trade with the outside world, are known to have ranged all over the world but the majority of their trade is done with the human empires and the gold swamp ogres. In recent centuries the trading families have found themselves reluctant to finance the grand expeditions of yore, leaving exploring and far ranging to the elves.

    Gold Swamp Clan:
    Largest and most diverse of the Ogre clans the gold swamp is named as such despite their diversity as they came from a swamp on the very tip of the subcontinent they have claimed as their own. As they expanded they have changed with the times but the various kingdoms and empires have not been inclined to break off and form their own clan, although it isn’t clear why this is. Many think it has to do with the way that the clan expanded, up rivers cleaning them as they went rather than starting at the source and moving down. Most believe that the clan holds artifacts that can break magic taint and no one is foolish enough to give up access to artifacts of power of that magnitude.

    Mahral Kingdoms: Brown skinned, ranging from walnut to a light tan, with black ear horns the mahral kingdoms represent the major physical phenotype of the Gold Swamp ogres. They are organized into a nest of interlocking mini kingdoms and city states who cooperate with each other and fight each other as the situation dictates.

    Mohgul Empire: The second major faction of the Gold Swamps the Mohgul Empire has claimed the south of the subcontinent almost to the borders. Despite their apparent strength their week rules of succession have caused multiple civil wars that have prevent them from taking over the entire clan.

    Meung Shan: an artifact of the Deep Valleys one attempt to conquer the gold swamp this kingdom is known to hue to the mahral cultural model while having a mixed phenotype between the predominant gold swamp features and those of the deep valley. The least warlike of the gold coast kingdoms they are the most inclined to trade. All of the gold coast kingdoms, and more than a few of the other clans, maintain trading posts with them. Although their trade has brought them wealth they have developed a bit of a reputation as a slave state, despite their own debt slavery being something that is easily bought out of, because of their willingness to deal in the war slaves of the other kingdoms.

    Red River Empire: Another artifact of the invasion the red river empire is renowned for the beauty of its aristocracy due to an inadvertent breeding program that has left a deep divide between the south of the country and the aristocratic who all hail from the north and have more deep valley blood. Politically they retain the colonial implements that the deep valley left behind when they pulled out but culturally they tend to be more free form and despite their isolationist tinge are known to be more gold swamp then deep valley.

    Ghurkali freeholds: Laced throughout the mountains bordering the gold swamp lands the ghurkali are the smallest ogres around, and it is widely believed that they are another clan altogether so divergent is their look and culture from the gold swamp. Still they identify as members of the gold swamp clans, and are known far and wide for their martial skill. Rulers and nobles who belong to the gold swamp clan all hire Ghurkali body guards. This trade of skill for money has allowed them to continue sending the needed livestock to their homelands. One of the only ogre groups who practice anything remotely like magic the Ghurkali are known to infuse their fields with blood for a greater harvest, and to hold other blood rituals successfully.

    Independent kingdoms: Between the Muhgal Empire and the human empires there are a variety of independent kingdoms who are propped up by human gold. They are known for their raiding and fractious nature. A minor irritant to both the Muhgal Empire and the humans they only continue to exist as they serve as an acceptable buffer that keeps the possibility of a species war from rearing its ugly head.

    Misty Hills Clan:
    The misty hills clan are physically a mix between the Deep Valley and Emerald Isle ogres in terms of physical appearance. The centuries of war between those two clans over who would control the peninsula have left their mark physically as well as politically. Misty Hills ogres are renowned for their discipline and tightly circumscribed lives. All ogres know their place in the hierarchy and no one is willing to challenge that place for fear of being turned out. Most of the public works down in misty hills land are done my slaves, all of whom have been cast out of society for one offence or another.

    There is a distinct tendency in the misty hills judiciary to use slavery for even the smallest of offences. This has led to one of the most extensive infrastructures on the continent. Roads are not just graveled but actually paved. Irrigation is so extensive that a small desert in the middle of the hills was turned into usable farm land. For the military these slaves have created one of the most extensive series of fortifications in the history of the world. While maintaining all of these pieces of infrastructure does take up the majority of the slaves, a number are regularly sold out of the clan.

    In addition to the tightly regimented way in which they live the Misty hills ogres are renowned for their xenophobia and militaristic attitude. During the last war with the Deep Valley a full quarter of the misty hills starved to death as a result of every ogre in the invaded region taking up arms. Literally no one worked the land until the Deep Valley ogres had been driven off. This success was remarked upon, as was the cost that the misty hills were willing to pay.

    South Glacia:

    Granite Hills Clan:
    Land locked until recently the Granite Hills clan is famous, or infamous depending on who you ask, for their steady and continues reclamation of the god’s graveyard. Constant social pressure to be your own man has led to a culture that venerates yeomen and freemen over nobles. After all the only person who determines if you die or not when reclaiming land from magic is you. One mistake and you can kill yourself and your family. Nobles act more as officers of the government then rulers. It is notable that there are several overlords all of whom report to the king.

    Slavery and serfdom are major issues for the freemen of the clan. Several nobles have over the years attempted to bring in slaves or serfs to do the reclamation they want done. All of these attempts resulted in mass casualties and in the freemen rising in revolt. The fact that it happened so often has resulted in the idea of a sanctioned rebellion. Should the yeomen be found by a crown judge to be in the right then they are left to their own devices while the noble’s family is punished. Despite this culture there have been several recent developments that are being watched closely.

    The granite hills clan recently moved to establish an outer over lordship with access to the ocean under the highly respected Trader Family. The traders have been forced to do business through the salt flats for generations, and complained about it for nearly that long. The last generations loss of almost all of the traders resulted in the over lordship being established due to a major political error made by the crown when they disestablished the trader noble house and attained their lands without establishing that the family was dead. Since the survivor had issues with the crown he reached out to his norther contacts to populate his lands and imported more than a few Misty hills slaves, freeing them, and deep valley prisoners. Interestingly the granite hills were not the first to settle the land, the emerald isles had established an exile colony there, and its lady was more than willing to deal with the granite hills for suitable remunerations.

    While unimportant in terms of population the mixing of ideas from these immigrants are already effecting the rest of the clan. Krout is being steadily replaced by kimchee from the misty hills, rice is being grown as a staple crop, Tea is drunk, and hard liquor is becoming more common. Additionally the ideas brought by these immigrants about how to do things are being used. Recently several experiments of using terraces were done in the wastes to see if the technique could make things safer.

    Salt Flats Clan:

    Heavily feudal and very controlled by the nobility the Salt flats clan is in a constant state of civil war. The majority of the time those civil wars are minor as one noble tries to knock off another but occasionally they flare up into full blown dynastic changes. The armies of the nobles, are small and semiprofessional, the quality varying along the lines of the investment that the noble puts into his men. Most keep two forces, one a disposable force made up of gutter trash and a second group of much more professional arms men for the real fighting. It is interesting to note that the Salt Army remains neutral in all civil conflicts. Despite this the army is regularly purged when a dynastic change occurs as the new dynasty attempts to install loyal officers.

    The nobles rule the roost in the salt flats and their iron grip on both land and education has kept them on top even through several peasant rebellions. The escape valve of settling new land was recently closed and everyone is wondering just what will happen as this fully sinks in. Especially with a new dynasty on the throne over the issue. The lower nobility has been poking the Granite hills, but the response has been muted.

    Culturally the salt flats is close to Russia, with more than a few hints of Sparta thrown in. The role of the church has been taken up by the church of the dynasty. Every village receives an official from the dynasty, usually second and third noble’s sons, who records births deaths, and sees to the welfare of the serfs. Despite changes in dynasty no one messes with the church as it is a very useful control mechanism used to deal with the serfs.

    Oceana:

    Emerald Iles Clan:
    Perhaps the most intriguing of the ogre clans the Emerald Isles are very insular, with a physical difference between the nobility and the peasantry. The nobility’s ear horns glow with an inner light, the result of their intermarriage with the imperial family. As the imperial family is the last confirmed descendants from any god they are held up as divine. On the other hand they are relatively powerless. Each island has its own king and they are loath to give even the slightest bit of power up following the disastrous attempt that was made to conquer the misty hills.

    Even with the amount of land available in the emerald isles the clan is intimately tied to the sea. Fish and rice are the staples, all else is secondary. Because of the lack of resources the entire iles social structure is tightly tied to honor and the idea that you are useful to the group as a whole rather than advancing the individual. Families can be advanced, individuals cannot be. Despite the lack of resources and the strong ties to the sea the emerald islanders remain leery of trade beyond their borders. While other Ogres may put in in emerald island ports, other species are not welcome, and the clan members almost never leave their islands unless exiled.

    It should be noted that the clan united under the emperor for a thousand year war after the god war in which the emerald islands lost all species but the ogres. Elves, dwarves, humans, and goblins were mercilessly hunted down and exterminated under the leadership of the emperor. That act of mass murder was what gave the imperial family the legitimacy they had right up until the failed invasion of the misty hills. The end result of said misadventure left the imperial family in an interesting position, while venerated as divine, no one wants them to actually rule. So the imperial family reigns but does not rule.

    One point should be made in that the Emerald isle ogres retain their animistic religion, rather than adopting the aggressively atheist attitude prevalent in other ogre cultures. It is very common for them to believe that the kami are both real, and need to be appeased. Unlike the Gold Swamp clan where the religions that exist only do so on the bottom of the social ladder the practices and tenants of the emerald island faith are both wide spread and accepted. It is not unusual to have an island king paying tribute to the kami alongside his people.

    Minor groups:
    Ocean Ogres are a fact of life, but most neve coalesce into more than an island or two’s worth of people. The lone exception is the trade island kingdom situated in the middle of the ocean. Those island ogres have turned their excellent natural harbor and volcanic islands into the stop off point in all trade over the Violent Ocean. No matter who is going where they all stop off on the islands? The second are the ogres of blasted redoubt. A massive island off the coast of the blasted continent it is the only safe harbor for those who have the guts to try and conquer that tortured land. It benefits from those traders and trappers who survive to return with the wealth of the blasted continent. While most do not last more than two expeditions those who survive their first are usually set for life. The remainder feed the wildlife. Those ogres of the redoubt are cosmopolitan and often the most educated ogres around, many of them are rich exiles who live out their lives after completing a single expedition to the continent.

    Eliam:

    White Knife Clan:
    Sandy haired with a tendency towards golden or bronze colored ear horns. These clansmen arm massive hewed though they are always putting on layers of fat over their muscles. Located in the small plains between the Ore load Mountains and the ocean the white knife clan is famed for its ability to survive in the cold. Very little political organization has occurred within the clan as each member who disagrees with another tends to go off and found their own little kingdom. The presence of an archalapo of small islands off their shores has rendered this clan as very maritime. Given that they border the dead keep island and the lands of the walking dead the incentive to trade for goods has resulted in a seafaring culture.

    One point of note is that there has been an increase in thrall kingdoms in the past three century’s, more and more of the new kingdoms are buying thralls for their set up and then manumitting the survivors for a stable population base. This has resulted in a shift to black hair, an increase in the number of successful mini kingdoms, and greater fragmentation of the clan then before. There have been rumbles that the clan is thinking of making an attempt to conquer dead keep island if they can acquire experts from the granite hills in the field of destroying magic.

    Bloody Plains Clan:
    The bloody plains clan is known to be short and have brown hair with grey ear horns. They are to the north of Eliam and have concerned themselves with their own affairs. While aware of the outside world when you have to deal with periodic outbreaks of goblin wood, Elvin incursions, and mediating the constant disputes between the dwarf kings there is very little energy left to look outwards. This attitude is helped by the fact that the barbarian White Knife clan is so focused outwards.

    Relations between the two clans of ogre are tenuous at best, hostile as a rule, and always on edge. Every time one of the city states that make up the clan needs an external enemy they move to the south and assault a White Knife settlement. This has led to a pattern of retaliation raids by the white knifes and several other bits of skullduggery. Despite the two clans animosity the bloody plains have yet to attempt to move in force on the white knives.

    Politically the bloody plains are divided up into city states around their inland sea. Despite the water the naval presence is almost nonexistent. Wars between the city states are common but the clans believe the king of the battlefield remains the phalanx. Light infantry is for use against the outside threats, the phalanx for fighting other ogres. This attitude has hurt them in several critical battles but persists despite improvements in weapons and armor.

    Minor Groups:

    Several groups have made attempts at settling the Lands of the Walking Dead as independent ventures. None of those groups have so far succeeded as the magic of the lands hasn’t been broken. The attempts usually end up in bloody failures, but as ogres are disinclined to follow the lead of anyone without good reason these efforts persist. There is a rumor of a single town in the lands of the walking dead that has existed for over two hundred years but no conformation has ever come to any government. No one is insane enough to make a go of settling Dead Keep Island without governmental backing.
     
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