raemus
Initiate Douchebag
Posts: 24
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Post by raemus on Jul 7, 2015 11:08:59 GMT -8
This is a rough/first draft of stage setting for the next Exalted Game I will be running. I will be adding more details (the various Clans, gods and personalities) over time. I'm posting this here to hopefully garner insights and aid from the forums. Ideas are welcome but please don't highjack the thread. My plan is to currently have the players begin as mortals from the Golther Clans and then allow them to act as they please.
Ithairrlan, the Brume Swathed Isle
This will be a game that starts on a large (the size of Ireland, Hispaniola, or Hokkaido) and mountainous island in the north west of Creation called Ithairrlan. This land like all of Creation has a very long history and much of it is lost to time. The current state of the island is a balance of power between the Golther Clans (native clans) and the Haelici Clans (foreign).
The Golther Clans were once the rulers of the entire island and all of Ithairrlan is covered in their ruins and art. They were a war like people that worshiped a combination of the local Pantheon and the Ancestor Spirits which served the pantheon after death. The Golther were ruled by the High King, which was anointed by the Pantheon when needed, or by ritual battle at the High Seat of Ithairrlan. The High King was not merely a title but also an Exigent Exalted, granted great powers over the island, people and its surrounding seas by this power, as well as the responsibility to act as the guardian, wisdom, and judge of his people. The Golther barely ever strayed from Ithairrlan and had very little in the way of seamanship traditions. Instead they were content to wage war, love, live and die upon Ithairrlan. What little contact they had with the world beyond was through their few tradesmen which traded with the Coral Archipelago.
Each of the Golther Clans (6-7) worship one of the pantheon's members above the others, but all will venerate the entire pantheon as well. Festivals between the clans are common as the holy days and celebrations of the different gods of the pantheons and their ancestral hero servants. The High King rules from the god's own hall at the center of Ithairrlan, a vast cold hall with no servants or priests, where the High King and his petitioners may venture.
The Haelici Clans are a branch of the same stock which produced the Haslanti and similar tribes. The Haelici however ventured far to the north west, settling on a highly volcanic and desolate island/penninsula (shifting ice sheets changes this from time to time) of the far north. This has lead them to be a warrior people reliant on the sea for most of their livelihood and a central sea fairing tradition. Still the Haelici were an isolated people and their warriors fought monsters not wars. This changed when, during a famine, Luna chose a great captain from among them and Exalted him as the "Prowler Above and Below". He quickly united the Haelici people behind the idea of reaving foreign shores for the goods and food for their home lands. The Haelici had gone a viking.
The Haelici began roaming the seas, raiding across the northern Western Ocean, and with the Prowler Above and Below they crushed fleets that were beyond their abilities taking treasure and goods to their unknown homeland in the far north. Over several decades they became a well known menace of this region. The Haelici people now revere warriors and battle glory as much as the sea, and much of their worship was transferred to Siakal and the Prowler. Their words "Fill the Belly" refers to the food in their own bellies but also, the sacrifices to Siakal and of course the treasure with which each they fill their ships. It is the motto which tells them how much is enough, and when it is time to leave.
Modern History of Ithairrlan
The Fall of the High King: The Haelici reavers had been a viking for several decades before they found the Ithairrlan shores. The Island is protected by a thick fog over rocky shoals much of the year making only certain tides during certain seasons safe. When the Haelici landed purely by accident they found a proud strong people surrounded by natural defenses and protected by a powerful benefactor. The foolish captain urged a conflict for glory but was defeated by his own men's counter consensus. However, when they returned the Prowler found the tale of this rich protected island to be irresistible. He gathered a couple of reaving fleets and with the blessings of Siakal set sail. When he landed at one of the Golther Clan's Seat's he ripped open the gates and lead a great slaughter, the Priests of Siakal were delighted at the sight. Siakal herself was said to have tasted the Prowler's grand offering. Word spread, and many of the Golther Clans united against the invaders. A few, seeking to turn events to their advantage attempted to treat with the Prowler and were barely able to escape the Prowler's blood lust and greed.
The United Golther Clans met the Haelici in battle and found their tactics and weapons outmatched by the battle hardened vikings and their savage Lunar general. The Pantheon of Ithairrlan's blessings, and the High King's magic only aided in avoiding a massacre. The threat now realized the High King Steiph the Stone left his Throne for the first time in nearly 3 decades. When he reached the field of battle, the Haelici were gone, having loaded up the pricesless treasures of Ithairrlan and left. But this was not the end. Each season the raiders returned, each time the Prowler and his Siakal Priests invaded a seaside township of the Isle devouring its people, taking their treasures, and leaving an empty hall. Each time the High King arrived too late.
Finally in the fifth year of raiding the High King, aided by the ghosts of the dead heroes of Ithairrlan and the Prowler's new desire to take Ithairrlan as a new homeland for the Haelici's exploding population, the two finally met in battle. The battle sundered the surrounding forest and toppled one of Ithairrlan's majestic peaks. In the end, the spear of the High King pierced the skull of the Prowler Above and Below, slaying him, but the wounds of the High King were many, and he was too far from the restoration of his Throne and died from his wounds. It is said that Siakal raged beneath the waves and a great tsunami struck the shores, and when it receded the corpses of the High King and the Prowler had been swallowed by the depths.
The Aftermath: The Haelici occupied and controlled the lowlands and sea ports of the Ithairrlan shores, and without their High King the Golther Clans were weakened and disorganized. The Golther counter assaults to take back their ancestral homes were largely ineffective and fraught with failure. Each passing month had more Haelici arriving to inhabit their newly taken sea towns. However the Haelici found their tactics, gods and traditions to be pointless within the isle's highland interior, where the Golther had warred for decades among themselves and small units were far more effective and the gods of the island favored their chosen peoples.
In the decades since the fall of the High King, the struggle for the Golther to survive has been real, as they cannot venture down from their highland strongholds without real possibility of overwhelming Haelici warrior attacks. The Haelici continue their traditions of raiding both from the homeland and Ithairrlan. Temples to Siakal can be found at each Haelici settlement surrounded by Totem pillars to other sea gods. The two sides hate each other but have begun to accept the status quot. The Pantheon and the devout Golther dream of raising up a new High King but the High King's hall is empty. The Throne taken as a prize, and the High King's crown lost to Siakal's tsunami. Without these the Extigent Exaltation is lost.
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raemus
Initiate Douchebag
Posts: 24
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Post by raemus on Jul 12, 2015 21:13:21 GMT -8
THE GOLTHER CLANS AND HALLS The Golther Clans once strong are a shadow of their former selves. Once thousands strong in even the smallest of clans, they now only the largest clan can come claim such. Once the clans had multiple townships across the coasts of Ithairrlan, not they must subsist in the highland retreats formerly the halls of powerful families, temple monasteries of the gods or ancient strongholds built when the Golther fought Golther. They once hunted the woods, farmed the valleys and fished the waters... The Golther must now gather food from the highlands forests and grow meager crops in the thin soils. The Enorac Clan, Clan of the Ram, People of Matuke, the Hall of Fissures - Clan of the Ram: the Enorac were once the rulers of much of the southern Ithairrlan's high plains. There they raise herds shearing animals, most prized were a species of ram. These Rams were also ill tempered and shearing them was a battle for each lock of fur thus the clan took the symbol of their livelihood and strength for their clan. - People of Matuke: Matuke is the God of Commerce, Messages, the Flute & Husbandry. He appears as a man crowned with the horns of a sheep, goat, ram or cow, dressed as a shepard with a long flute (staff sized flute) carved from the femur bone of a wood elemental. He is know to love games and hardworking equally. His people honor him through the use of the flute not only at his festivals but with their own musical language that can be played hauntingly over vast distances of the Ithairrlan. In addition they provide protection and recruits to his Priesthood. It is situated in a Elemental Wood Demense on the open Highlands protected by "tamed" wood elementals. It is one of many sacred locations threatened by the Haelici encroachment. - The Hall of Fissures: when the great peak of the south was struck down by the duel between the Prowler Above and Below & the High King, it reduced the height of the mountain by several hundred feet. This left a high jagged landscape of hard rock filled with fissures and revealed caves. The Enorac Clan lost its fortified townships and what few retreats they possessed were positioned poorly to hold against the growing Haelici population. The chief of the Enorac saw the broken mountain and beheld opportunity. His people pitched tents in the fissures and quarried the stone, to roof them. Soon a natural desolation became a vast impregnable fortress. Even a great mead hall was made and a temple to Matuke, the Well of the Stone Ram. The Morimae Clan, Clan of the Badger, People of Uruke, the Hall of Spears - Clan of the Badger: One of the most militaristic Clans of Golther people, the founder of the clan, Morimae the Furious, was well known for his determination and refusal to change his mind once it was made, especially in matters of war and feuds. He was once belittled by the High King (Caelbold, the Whetstone of Chiefs), calling him "Little more than a badger of the hills, killing for spite." Morimae heeded the words of the High King, as all must, but the insult was entered in to the poems and sagas throughout the land. Rather than fight this trend, he took the Badger for his standard and rallied kinsmen behind its visage. The Morimae Clan is one of blacksmiths, and miners. One feeding the other. It is expected of each man of the Clan to learn both trades, finding his own ore, havig it smelted at the Temple of Uruke, and forging his own works with his own finds. - People of Uruke: The God of the Mountains, the Forge, Drums and keeper of Saga. Uruke appears as a rough sections of slate covering soil and ore seen between the cracks, with teeth and eyes of burning brimstone. He is often found smoking, though he can summon a grand goremaul at anytime he has never been witnessed using it in battle, preferring two spears instead. The God of Mountains is a stern patron, he cares little for weakness, and holds his followers to a strict code of "Self Law" in which one's word given is final and one must challenge oneself daily or spends a number of days as slaves in the Smelting Temple. He is also know for being a watcher that chronicles the lands and lives of Ithairrlan, his priests keep long records and libraries devoted to the lineages and lives of the people in poetic family. - the Hall of Spears: This fortress was actually the tertiary fort for the Morimae prior to the Prowler Above and Below's invasions. The first two only ever failed due to the might of the Great Hunters incarnate. The Hall of Spears was originally built as a border fort to protect the Morimae from other Golther, it has been heavily modified and added onto to reverse its most defensible face toward the sea. The Hall of Spears is first and foremost a fortress, it has few if any creature comforts. Its forges work night and day to produce weapons and armor for any Golther willing to fight the Haelici. This also makes the Hall of Spears a prime target for the Jarls of Ithairrlan. The Cydmoore Clan, Clan of the Aves, People of Dyanua, the Hall of Song - Clan of Aves: The apex predator on Ithairrlan is not a wolf, bear, or lion, but instead a massive flightless bird called an Aves, or a Terror Bird by the ignorant. There are several species on Ithairrlan, the smallest are the size of dogs, while the largest are large enough to ride. These predators hunt wherever they please and are considered sacred by the command of the huntress goddess Dyanua. Those that keep the covenant of the Huntress and bear her talisman are not bothered by the Aves and may walk freely amongst them without harm. During the Wood Season the calls of the various Aves sing across the land filling the world with music. The Cydmoore Clan are the Hunters and Troubadours of Ithairrlan so the Aves was the natural choice for their insignia. - People of Dyunua: The Goddess Dyanua is a wondrous goddess that supposedly descended from the Silver Chair to take her place as the Huntress of the forgotten Brume Swathed Isle, to this day her rituals and the practices of her priesthood revolve around the motions of the Moon and its phases. Before Dyanua there was a god of the Aves, this ancient god was hunted down by Dyanau and its essence devoured. She has reined ever since. Dyunua appears as a huntress dressed in leathers and decorated with Aves feathers (supposedly the former god's hides) and her bow of green jade. She is also said to carry a moonsilver chakram, her true weapon, but she has never wielded it in any chronicle other than the first. Dyanau encourages personal excellence, and requires her devoted to hunt their own meat (except young children), perform moonlight vigils/rituals and tend the Aves flocks. She also encourages her followers to sing as the bird she has deemed sacred, according to the story of her God Hunt she does so as tribute to him, the greatest of quarries. - The Hall of Song: This Hall has been the ancestral home of the Cydmoore for as long as historical records have been kept. The Hall of Song is a vast estate in the deepest portion of the great highland forest. Unlike the other halls the Hall of Song is a powerful elemental Wood Manse. It is designed to enhance the health of those living within and encourage their growth both mentally and physically. For this reason the Cydmoore Clan high family has produced a great number of heroes, and even some Wood Dragonblooded. This also has an intoxicating effect that leaves the hall most joyous and filled with boisterous song. - Troubadours: The Cydmoore are also known for their Troubadours, a form of wandering minstrel. Once trained a Troubadour is immediately turned out for his second stage of training - LIFE. They believe without real hardship the Troubadour cannot possibly create worthwhile art. Troubadours are skilled in history, poetry and song. They are expected to hunt/gather for his own food if necessary but they are intended to sing for room and board. The Lóegairi Clan, Clan of the Tortoise,
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