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Post by Nepty on Jan 18, 2015 16:15:46 GMT
I fixed up a new edit of the map. I disliked the RaD-y lone continent. I'll post other maps soon, including in depth maps of the Marks, river and sea maps, road maps and all that jazz. Also soon, I'll post about the types of warfare, soldiery and castles. Once that's done, I'll PM players and we can begin to create the Marks.
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Post by Warork on Jan 18, 2015 16:50:15 GMT
Have to say, not a fan of the whole dibs system...
But I guess for what it's worth I'll go with the Ridemark for now.
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Post by Nepty on Jan 18, 2015 18:48:44 GMT
Have to say, not a fan of the whole dibs system... But I guess for what it's worth I'll go with the Ridemark for now. Would have thought Blackmark'd be more up your ally. They're basically non-pagan germanic lords and land-vikings.
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Post by Warork on Jan 18, 2015 20:56:17 GMT
]Would have thought Blackmark'd be more up your ally. They're basically non-pagan germanic lords and land-vikings. Well, to be fair, Ridemark wouldn't have been my first choice either but I did the whole "viking-saxons turned gentry" in RaD...sometimes rehashing an idea is alright but as I thought more about what I could do with the Ridemark, the more I liked it. For now I think I'll stay with it. I'll PM you more about the ideas as they coalesce.
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Post by Nepty on Jan 18, 2015 21:57:45 GMT
PEERAGE AND ETHNICITY (Partially because some people couldn't decide on what titles we should have for minor lords. So, ta-daa, peerage. Also makes minor lords easier to remember if their titles are associated with places)
REALM PEERAGE
Realm Peerage is the titles of the various realms. In this way, one can tell a man’s station and nationality by hearing his title. A Count is clearly from Westmark or Seamark, a Vicount clearly from Avenon or Blackmark, a Graf is clearly from Daciana and so on.
IMPERIAL TITLES
Emperor: The highest position in nobility. There can only be a single Emperor of Rudaur.
CLERICAL TITLES
Archbishop: The highest position in the Clergy
The Archbishop of Alinor, the oldest clerical position. Currently held by Archbishop Aerin the Ninth, a 50 year old man predisposed towards fiery war.
The Archbishop of Avenon, the newer position, in conflict with the priesthood of Alinor. Currently held by an Archbishop Hyram the First, the second Archbishop of Avenon, an ancient man aged ninety.
Clerical Legate: A military leader of Avenon or Alinor, there are supposed to be only three, but now there are six, due to the split of the clergy. The following is a list
Firo of Alinor
Molani of Fylora
Livornay of Rori
Arch-Cardinal Thaddeus of Greymark, Clerical Legate of Avenon and Achpreist of Reidston,
Alaris of Marchfold, Clerical Legate of Redessa
Pylo of Arundel, Clerical Legate of Arundel
Arch-Cardinal: An honorary rank above bishop.
Bishop: A high ranking preist who holds the mark’s Cardinals under his sway and advises a Duke. Every Mark has one save for Avenon. The following is a list.
Bishop Davyd of Redessa
Bishop John of Havermere
Bishop Beckler of Westmark
Bishop Mallador of Highmark
Bishop Mavin of Greymark
Bishop Vanor of Ridemark
Bishop Koen of Lowmark
Bishop Elgraf of Blackmark
Bishop Ponds of Marchfold
Bishop Drangel of Seamark
Biahop Ralf of Eastmark
Cardinal: A man who rules a particular shire’s temples.
Preist: A holy man who exonerates sin. Everyone is expected to confess their sins to a preist, who takes it upon themselves to count prayer chains until he feels cleansed.
Great Brother: The leader of a monastery
Monk/Brother/Friar: A monk is a man who from a young age, lives in a monastery, learning to read and write. They also keep treasures of the clergy, safe in the knowledge that pillaging from a monastery is seen as bad form and can get a man excommunicated. A friar is a traveling monk. Friars are expected to be given room and board by anyone they visit, and can perform both benedictions and mend some wounds.
MONARCHICAL TITLES: Titles of royalty. Though there are no kings in the Empire, they exist elsewhere in Rudaur.
King: The monarchical titles. There are half a dozen kings in Rudaur.
The King of Arundel, William Longsword,
the King of Estorno, Cornilus Verona
the King of Scabbarad, King Jagar Braveboar
the King of Eryn, King Scully Briden
the King of Levetha, Gavrillo Garis
the King of Bozetaria, Drakonnen Dragennblod
the King of Anava, Yera Danalos
the King of Hebondy, Hileric Baar
Arconis: The lord of all of Kairinthe, comparable to a King. The current Arconis is Arconis Segun Palatae
HIGH NOBILITY: Various dukes rule in places all over rudaur, though the ones of the Empire are of primary concerns to imperial citizens, others have been included for the sake of complicity.
Duke/Marklord: High nobility, the lord of a Mark or Duchie
Empire (Here, a Duke is a military and administrative title)
the Duke of Westmark,
the Duke of Blackmark,
the Duke of Marchfold,
the Duke of Seamark,
the Duke of Ridemark,
the Duke of Redessa,
the Duke of Lowmark,
the Duke of Havermere,
the Duke of Highmark,
the Duke of Eastmark,
the Duke of Greymark,
The Clerical States (Here, duke is an honorary title, as the majority of power is in the hands of the clergy)
the Duke of Fylora, Ezioni Fylori
the Duke of Rori, Arin Orsini
Arundel (Here, a Duke is similar to a Marklord)
The Duke of Summersea, Rollo Saeth
the Duke of Swasnakek, Hrolf Irnblood
MIDRANK NOBILITY: The midranking nobility of the Empire is easy to tell apart, as only a few marks share the same title, and these marks are always geographically connected.
Baron: A northern title below Duke. The Barons are the mid-ranking nobility of Havermere and Lowmark.
Count: A northern title below Duke, in use by peoples of Erynese descent. The Counts are the mid-ranking nobility of Westmark and Seamark. It’s roots lie in that he is a man who cannot see to the edge of his property with the naked eye, and must ‘count’ it in hides.
Earl: A midlander title below Duke in use by people of Norscen descent. The Earls are mid-ranking nobility in Marchfold and Highmark. Initially it was the title of Arl, which mean simply ‘lord’ in norscany.
Margrave: A title derived from “Mark-knave” (Literally “Person of middling importance within the Mark”) was a title given to the Orthenized nobles of Dacic descent in Rudaur, in both Eastmark and Greymark.
Vicount: A title, pronounced “Vyke-ount” that traces its roots to the northeastern Rudair people, descended from a mix of Dacid Rudair and the Skarzcki of the east. It is in use by the Blackmarkers and Avenites
Ritter: An obsolete celedornian title meaning ”owner of horses” in use by the lords of Ridemark. When the Rudair invaded the Celedornian lowlands and the cultures integrated, it remained.
Marquin: A newer title, created by the Emperor to give to those lords that went south to settle the newly-conqoured Redessan lands
LESSER NOBILITY
Landed Knight/Feudal Knight/Noble Knight: Rudair military nobility. Landed Knights are gentry who are given an area of land and peasents to work it as their own in return for military service
Chivalric Knight/Road Knight/Hedge Knight: A landless man who has been given a title, armor, horse and a place guarding a household as a family knight in return for military service. Eventually theyhope to become landed. Often called Chivalric as they have naught but their title, wich they take great pride in. Sometimes called Road Knight if they are wandering from lord to lord. Called Hedge Knight as sometimes they sleep under hedges when traveling.
Family Knight: A lord’s constant companions, these are the lesser nobility who command the household guard’s soldiery. They are often viewed and treated like family, and are a lord’s bodyguards as well as his friends.
Graf: A dacic tribal lord.
Knafe/knave: A dacic tribal knight
PEASENTRY
Household Guard/Husgard: A man of any standing given good pay and a decent position in society in return for guardianship and permanent military service. The loyalty of these men is extrodinary, and they often not only guard their lord, but guard their children and family, some of them becoming like family themselves.
Yeoman/Man at Arms/Armsman: A peasant of good standing with an income, perhaps a man who owns a farm, a cow, several pigs or otherwise can provide for himself. He works his lord’s field, is allowed to take home a greater portion of the harvest and is taxed less than others in return for military service as a trained foot soldier in times of war.
Freedman/Peasent: A simple citizen, be it a butcher a baker or a candlestick maker.
Herdsman/Goatherd/Cowheard: Any man who manages a herd of livestock.
Street Woman /Courtesan/Whore/Slut/Slattern: A woman who sells her body for the pleasure of men. While not illegal, it is an embarrassing thing to be associated with, though even Emperors sometimes clandestinely seek out their services.
Indenture: A pagan peasant, captured, who refuses to convert to Orthianism and is thus worked at the most menial of jobs for freedmen or yeomen until he repents and converts.
Criminal: Thrown in prison and generally left to starve or be executed, the great majority are either fined a finger or hand or beheaded. Feeding criminals costs money.
Outlaw: A man who has been deemed such scum that he is ‘beyond the law’ He is both excommunicate and stripped of all titles he may have had and treated as already dead. It is not illegal to slay an outlaw, and it is a minor offense to provide him with food or shelter.
ETHNICITIES
The people of Rudaur come from a wide variety of stock
Rudair: Anyone who lives in Rudaur
Imperial: Specifically a citizen of the empire.
Erynese: Rudair descended from the people of Eryn, a cold, harsh island in the Sea of Ice that sees very little sunlight. Those of Erynese descent are pale, with either blond, black or brown hair and dark eyes.
Dacic: Muscular, brown-haired and bearded, the Dacic people are as close to ‘true Rudair’ as people can guess. Those that remain true to the old ways worship a pantheon of ten gods and are feircly independent. Many Rudair see it as their Orthian duty to convert them, so that they may attain heaven through peace, or kill them and send them to heaven forcefully.
Norscen/Nordmans: Swarthy, dark-haired and dark-eyed The norscen still live on the north coast as tribes. They formerly worshiped a god of sky, a god of land and a god of sea, but are now nearly all converted to Orthianism, and spend much of their time raiding their neighbours on Eryn, though some of them still come south to plunder the Empire. A large group of them settled in the area that is now Marchfold, and some went inland to Highmark, where they swiftly adopted orthianism, and in fact pioneered the use of the mounted knight.
Celedornian: Another old native people, the kingdom of Celedorne is notable for being independent, fierce and full of unpronounceable names, like Celebriant, Dicentian and Imaldryn. The people of Celedorne used to live in both their modern day mountains and hills, but also in the lands that are now Ridemark. They tend to be short and stocky, and some of them have red hair.
Northeastern Rudair are deep-voiced, physically imposing and many of them are blonde. They have lived in Rudaur for many years, though now they have intermarried with western Rudair and others, including the Skarszcki of the northeastern plains. Their roots likely lie in the long-gone horse tribes of the east.
Haverish are the people native to Havermere. Though they have been Orthian for a great deal of time, they are also still rather independent, and have mastered negotiating and the fields of trade and commerce extremely well. They are also doughty soldiers by heart. They have lived in Havermere for as long as history can recall. The massive majority of them speak Rudair, but many of them still speak their native tongue of Haverish too, which is almost identical to the Low Tongue spoken by the Lowlanders, which itself is very similar to the speech of the northeasterners.
Lowlanders: Physically and culturally similar to the northeastern Rudair, Lowlanders have a slightly different accent than most and tend to overpronounce their vowels. (They would say it. “Offarpronoonce thar vools”)
Redessan Drusic: Redessa is an almighty mix of Orthians from all over, though civilized Drusians live in their midst, paying a religious tax. The drusian religion of Qirath is more acceptable than the religions of pagans. Qirathians believe in the same god as the Orthians, but choose not to venerate His deified champion, Ortha.
Vulpon: In the east, by the shores of the Starstruck Sea live an ever-quarreling people. The Vulpon states are fighting nearly all the time. Any mercenary bereft of work can find it in the Vulpons, who have long forgotten the reasons for their animosity, but now simply fight on principal.
Bozetarian Vulpon: No one knows
Levethan Vulpon: The difference between
Anavan Vulpon: Any four Vulpon people
Hebondic Vulpon: But Vulpon People
Scabbarite: A mix of west and east, the Scabbarites interact with both lands. They are a trading state, imposing taxes on overland traders bringing goods west and east.
Southeron: Native to the south of rudaur, they are dark haired, olive skinned and have thick accents.
Kairinthean: Also dark haired and olive skinned, Kairinthians are a strange culture within the ordered realms of Orthendom. They are a polyandrous people who worship a pantheon of gods, a fire god who is the king of their gods, a sea and storms god, a sky and sun goddess, an earth and humans god and an otherworldly death god. They place great emphasis on learning and science, however, and their mathematics have enraptured Rudair monks for centuries.
Arundish: People native to Arundel, who mostly live in wooden castles, disliking the stone Rudair building methods. They are fierce, tall warriors, who use axes, and their king, William Longsword, is married to the Duke of Westmark’s sister.
THE EASTERN PEOPLES
The Skarzcki are an eastern culture of many kingdoms that goes so far east that it touches the fabled Sunrise Sea. They have strange, eastern names like Olska, Helgae, Wiadiswuf, Kruszckiki and others. The Skarzcki people come in many, many different tribes and kingdoms, but to the Rudair, they are one and the same.
The Aruesh are a southeastern people, who dwell in the jungles, but make great kingdoms, eating food seasoned with hundreds of spices and, according to some drunken sailors, taming apes to fight their wars for them. More sober explorers have reported that the alleged apes are no more than monkeys, but they are trained to dance on command and wear brightly colored miniature clothing.
Similar to the Rudair are the Matsudaira in the east across the Sea of Stars, who have built a great empire, but would rather slay themselves than suffer dishonor, a disturbing thought to the Rudair, who view Suicides as demon-fated.
The Uesegi are a people who live in hill forts built strongly on square artificial hills, lording over their peasents in the valise with iron fists, bamboo bows called Yumi and thin, curving swords called Daikata.
The Cao-rin live on the far shores of the Sunset Sea as traders, eating such strange delicacies as newborn kittens, puppies and charred puma hearts.
The Karaih are a nomadic people who live in the snowy steppes and are said to ride bearded cattle with hair so thick they use them as tents.
Other cultures include the Ebon-faced Jaffa of the far southern isles, the fast-talking Xinahi, the swarthy, bearded Hazarad, the tiger-taming, sword-spinning Rashak, the dour, hairy Ivvin and the mysterious Yo’gand who hint at great power and swallow fire.
Up next: Common Rudair Phrases, oaths, exclamations and swear words Later: The Religion of Orthianism
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Post by Nepty on Jan 19, 2015 7:01:16 GMT
Anyone have any questions? We can begin building houses now, but I'd prefer to work on them one at a time so that they can be released here, one after the other.
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Castiel
Rising Legend
Lord of the West
Forth Eorlingas!
Posts: 644
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Post by Castiel on Jan 19, 2015 8:10:39 GMT
I've been compiling all the information you've put in for Seamark into a document on my PC. Any other information you can give would be handy. I'm thinking of having a 5 member main family - the Duke, his wife, 2 sons and a daughter and then maybe two or 3 other characters - maybe an admiral, a soldier in the armies and the Duke's personal champion. Does this sound reasonable?
Mine own questions are: Do the Erynese have any particular personality type? Any other important figures in the Mark other than the Duke's family and the Bishop? What standing forces do I have, both land and sea? And what is the difference between Alinor and Avenon? Which is the official state religion?
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