[D&D-5e] The Secrets of Cinsex (5e, very complex hombrew setting with some house rules)

[ArcZero]

Thank you, that clears things up: it's just saying the two goddesses are one that invites the Inquisition or if missionaries got too rowdy in Ghyfe.

Okay if there are millions of islands and hundreds of thousands of clans of the Vumyrusians, that begs the question: what is the approximate population of Ghyfe?

Well as I'd learned about the origins of households and marriage in ancient Rome, women lost their family name to join the hearth and traditions of the new family. Would there be political reasons, resources, locations in contention or in the interest of both Ghyfe and Vumyrus (spelling)? Something worth marrying two minor families over (or more likely, a Ghyfurian minor noble family and a clan chief's daughter from Vumyrus)? I think I would like to go that route: she is loyal to her clan and so willingly agreed to do this for the sake of sharing a holy site, relic, a portion of a bay with critical port access, or the like. Now she must renounce most of her traditions, give up her ceremonial garb as her clan's seer/seer-in-training, cut the ritual beads and locks from her hair, etc. Perhaps she even wants to give up her connection with local spirits, but they persist. I am undecided between the initial Vumyrusian magic she practices being possession-based or the innate "spark" you mentioned. Is there a reason they would practice one or the other? I like the idea of ancestor spirits speaking to her, even after she tries to shut them out. Speak with Dead would be a common spell for her, after all.

Are there any restrictions on women's social, militaristic or theological status in Ghyfe? For a wife, a newlywed or a widow? If birthing children is a huge deal and this is still an antiquated setting, I'm happy to have her be a mother or for the husband to have died in a military conflict and leave her as a dowager with the distrust of her relatively new Ghyfurian extended family and mother-in-law. To appease them and show her commitment to Ghyfe, she would join the Temple School.

Then despite her best efforts to start anew, her Vumyrusian "spark" of magic would keep resurfacing (or possessing her) with advice from her ancestors until she gives up and begins to use Onomancy again. Perhaps she would find that Onomancy and Moonglow do not conflict as much as she feared.

This approach is now more appealing to me than the Kenku angle, which seems a bit silly by comparison. But to properly explore that route as well, you mentioned a "sufficiently invested cantor" when it comes to speaking/singing the tones that reveal Moonscript. Would having mimicry as a Kenku allow for some shortcutting if she were to sneak around and spy on other readers of Moonscript to learn their intonations? Or is there a spell level component that would make sound alone insufficient? Obviously that would get her in hot water if found out, but would be the most fun part of being a Kenku reading Moonscript. I like the idea of them being a singer and hunter/fisher in their homeland and using Onomancy.

Is there more you can tell me about Kenku culture or these islands off the Eastern coast?

[Sebecloki]

There's like another 12 questions here, so I'll just quickly address the population question and circle back to the other stuff later.

In terms of population, I mentioned the amorphous/magical nature of the distances -- practically, there's some kind of reality warp where there's space as large as continental north america within a country that's only, on the map, like the size of a single large state like montana or colorado. It's slightly higher density, with slightly larger cities than medieval europe -- so there's like about 100 million people over all in the kingdom proper vs. 70 or so million in 1300s europe.

My goal is basically that there's enough biomes and space for an entire campaign setting in this one kingdom -- there's northern mountains, a desert, a big forest, and aquatic biomes, and encompasses everything from Alpine to subtropical temperatures. There are also the major races in some fashion. The rest of the setting exists and Ghyfe interacts with it, but a lot of it is sort of to create the sense of a bigger world around one kingdom which, like Karameikos, is sort of a self-contained setting of its own.

Some of the islands are uninhabited, but many are. The population is widely distributed throughout these islands -- some are contained in a bermuda triangle like zone. If someone had to guess, they'd say the population is probably like 10 million Vumyrusians, though no one really knows. There's probably like 500,000-a million marchlanders, maybe 3 million at most, but that's counting a lot of individuals that may not really consider themselves part of the prophetic community proper. There's actually yet another subculture of humans that lives on the eastern border in the deserts of rose colored sand, and there's probably another 10 million or so of them between the bedouins and the port dwellers of the Ivory Strand.

[ArcZero]

Originally Posted by Sebecloki

There's like another 12 questions here, so I'll just quickly address the population question and circle back to the other stuff later.

In terms of population, I mentioned the amorphous/magical nature of the distances -- practically, there's some kind of reality warp where there's space as large as continental north america within a country that's only, on the map, like the size of a single large state like montana or colorado. It's slightly higher density, with slightly larger cities than medieval europe -- so there's like about 100 million people over all in the kingdom proper vs. 70 or so million in 1300s europe.

My goal is basically that there's enough biomes and space for an entire campaign setting in this one kingdom -- there's northern mountains, a desert, a big forest, and aquatic biomes, and encompasses everything from Alpine to subtropical temperatures. There are also the major races in some fashion. The rest of the setting exists and Ghyfe interacts with it, but a lot of it is sort of to create the sense of a bigger world around one kingdom which, like Karameikos, is sort of a self-contained setting of its own.

Some of the islands are uninhabited, but many are. The population is widely distributed throughout these islands -- some are contained in a bermuda triangle like zone. If someone had to guess, they'd say the population is probably like 10 million Vumyrusians, though no one really knows. There's probably like 500,000-a million marchlanders, maybe 3 million at most, but that's counting a lot of individuals that may not really consider themselves part of the prophetic community proper. There's actually yet another subculture of humans that lives on the eastern border in the deserts of rose colored sand, and there's probably another 10 million or so of them between the bedouins and the port dwellers of the Ivory Strand.

Fair enough, I know I am asking quite a bit. If this is all within the realm of things that are up for me to decide then that's fine, but I want to make sure I'm not stepping on any toes in terms of culture and what you already have established.

[Sebecloki]

I'm happy to answer, I just have itermittent energy to type pages of lore up, but I will circle back around to everything

[Azure Nokori]

I won't be able to put an app in, but I just wanted to say yay Malazan.

[crowmadillo]

@Sebecloki Shot you a PM regarding interest.

[Onward]

App Name: Y'shchetokle, though he likes to be called Charles most of the time Race: Fox (The best I could find for a fox race) Class: Druid (Wildfire) Background: Charlatan Personality: Charles is best described as lazy and a prankster. He doesn't take things too seriously and usually acts when he has the passion for it. He does have a love for a little bit of mischief and entertainment, and he has a sort of hobby in gambling. He sort of dabbles in such things, close to it becoming a problem. He prefers attire that he thinks gives him an air of mystique and charm, though in actuality it looks rather gaudy. Despite his slacker behavior, most people don't realize that it's a part of his act. He is actually a somewhat distrustful individual, yet also keenly aware of many things around him. He uses his act to gain some measure of insight from those he meets. His gambling addiction is a part of his persona's unique charm. Though, Charles' real self tends to be more reserved and somewhat more regal then his more relaxed and mischievous persona. However, he has a strong passion that is always there no matter which personality he decides to take, his burning passion is something he can never hide. Backstory: Charles comes from far off lands, somewhere throughout the many islands that dot the east. He and his ilk are but one of many nomadic tribes and settlers that are spread out across the lands. They are all worshippers of the Child of flame, the Mischiefmaker. Many animorphs see them as nothing but a group of troublemakers. Yet, these group of kits are the stalwart defenders of the animal kingdom. Whenever their fellow beasts are harmed, they defend them. Even those folks of the North that openly worship the Phoenix are included in their defense. And it is thanks to their God, the flaming fox that granted them a portion of his name, of a ritual to call upon a portion of his aid to help the druids. Y'shchetokle or Charles as he prefers is the son of the Chieftain of his tribe. Although the Chiefs of Fox society generally want to be called Kings, Queens and sometimes Emperors, this happened because the tribes are prone to scouring the regions of the East, some going far out of it and heading North or South. They were somewhat jealous of the noble titles and hierarchies different societies use, for they view themselves of equivalent regality, so that is why their titles are that way. Some Fox Chiefs have even emulated the manners and high standards of nobles. Charles here would be considered a prince of his tribe. Though Charles had to leave his tribe as an exile. This is due to the fact that he always hated his father, a Fox that was cold to anyone he met and a cruel ruler, yet he was one of the most powerful druids among the circle and safeguard his tribe and those that worship the flame with a dreadful zeal, compared that to a conqueror. The two of them had never seen each other eye to eye, Charles hated his father for he never once took care of their family, he never once was there for his mother when she passed. He solely focused on his job. Yet the reason for his exile had another hand in play, one that wanted to dispose of the throne. Charles used to have a dear friend that he could always count on, yet he never knew that it was all a deception. He manipulated him to start an attempt at civil war, Charles was always meant to fail that day and was crushed by the sheer authority of his King. He made it out of that as an exile, a small mercy from the one he calls father. He left the tribe along with his friend, but said friend stabbed him and revealed the lies, and he was thrown off the river. Yet he didn't die that day, he managed to cling to life and riise up from the waters. Though now he was alone, broken and battered, with no titles or authority to his name. He became a drifter after that, he stopped from village to village as a wanderer, he was treated as an exotic foreigner, though it's no surprise, foxes tend to be more elusive whenever they decide to travel through the cities. Yet, Charles had no luxury for such things, he needed a roof and food, there was no point to hide in the shadows. He was pretty well-known in the North, mostly because of his jovial attitude and his performances. Though, it was more of an act that he devised in order to put food on the table, sometimes he cons them out of their fortunes, yet he was surprised by his successes. He eventually found a place in Cinsex, a place fit for a scoundrel such as him, there was no end to people for him to fool.

[Seekr34]

Going to bow out of this game. Have a lot a fun folks!

[Onward]

And I think I'm done with my app.

[tomplum]

As I've just jumped into a couple games, I'm going to have to withdraw my involvement in this one. Thanks

[crowmadillo]

@Sebecloki: How long has it been since Cinsex’s trading post days? What species/ethinicity were the original inhabitants?

I’m thinking of a character concept tied to a secret familial cult that traces its bloodlines back to the original settlement. I feel like this would work better the older the city is - more opportunity to have warped and fetishized whatever their ancestors actually did/believed.

EDIT: See new character idea in next post; though feel free to answer this question if it tickles your fancy

[crowmadillo]

Proposed Game Structure I’m all for players making a substantial gameplay post once a week, with active ooc chat regarding gameworld ideas. I usually check my PbP boards multiple times a day and am able to put up brief unformatted posts in between RL duties, but my free time for quality writing is limited to a few specific days/times. I’d like to use 5e. I got the PHB this past spring but haven’t had the opportunity to play yet. It feels like a bit of fresh air after slogging through years and years of 3/3.5/PF option overload. That said, the spheres system interests me (see below), though I’ve never used it before in any edition.

My Character Idea After reviewing the 5e Spheres website, I've shifted gears a bit on my character concept. Given the more narrative nature of the game proposed (vs focus on tactical combat simulation) I'd like to make use of the Leadership sphere if allowed. I'd be looking at Fighter as base class with a Noble background; I'm not sure how the mechanics of taking spheres/martial traditions with a base fighter works (my only resources are the linked page and the 5e PHB) but I'm not too concerned with the nuts and bolts right now - at the end of the day I'm pretty sure it results in someone who's decent at fighting Character concept is a Ghyfean nobleman with poor inheritance prospects due to multiple older siblings, who left Cinsex to find his fortune as a mercenary. He's spent the last 10 years campaigning throughout the lands west, north, and east of Cinsex (basically avoiding the sea) and has recently returned back home. (I’m thinking possibly he originally set out with an older experienced brother who died in battle at some point, leaving the PC to inherit command.) While the original company was a retinue of soldiers loyal to his house, attrition over the past decade has left few of these Ghyfeans alive and active. Recruitment has resulted in a mixed band of mercenaries from various regions the PC has campaigned through. The most recent addition to his entourage are the remnants of a tribe of loxodons; bystanders caught in the middle of PCs last campaign, they follow a prophet who declared the PC was sent by their sky god to lead them to a new holy land, and serve as non-combatant camp followers. I’m taking inspiration here from sources like Cook’s Black Company and Abnett’s Gaunt’s Ghosts series. Given the amount of narrative exposition proposed for posts, I’d like the opportunity to create and maintain some characters secondary to my PC, which a mercenary company and camp followers would provide. This would also give Sebecloki (and possibly other players) a convenient platform to create and flesh out NPCs from races/regions/cultures they’d like to introduce and explore in a permanent, but auxiliary, capacity. @Sebecloki: Any thoughts/suggestions before I make an official character application post? (The common practice here on RPX appears to be to make an application post which is then edited with updates until the application is complete, as there isn’t a site-wide time limit for editing forum posts like on some other sites.)