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>Thread Question: What are some wholesome interactions in Giantstep?
>Thread task: Add more wholesome stories to the lore.
>Another thread task: Complete the unfinished nation's lore and maps.

Wiki
https://crumbling-giantstep.fandom.com/wiki/
https://crumbling-giantstep.fandom.com/wiki/
https://crumbling-giantstep.fandom.com/wiki/

Rules:
>be nice
>don't fuck up other people's lore
>don't add new landmasses
>no fetishes/coomershit
>don't sperg out if people don't accept or like your lore/additions

How can I help expand the wiki?
>Create Hyperlinks
>Add pictures
>Create missing articles
>Search the archives and expand existing articles
>Correct grammar and writing mistakes
>Create lists and sub-categories for similiar articles
>Make lists of articles that need fixing
>Make the wiki look more appealing by fixing ugly layouting
>Freshen up the front page and make it look nice
>Write up lore for articles that feel lacking (everything goes trough the thread first)

Other Things that can be done right away
>Write up lore (politics, culture, economy, characters, creatures, … )
>Figure out essential trade goods for each nation
>Figure out the popular weapons used by each nation
>Make maps
>Expand and update the Bestiary and Herbarium
>Figure out trade routes
>Create a Star map and Zodiacs
>Expand the underground lore
>Help expand the worlds history
>Write about world villains, wars or other threats
>Work on giantstep’s mythology and religions
>Think about the world’s cosmology, day/night cycle, seasons, sea currents and so on

Previous Thread:
>>86150840
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>>86258919
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>>86258930
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>>86258938
1 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84774616/
2 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84847594/
3 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84864673/
4 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84877899/
5 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84890048/
6 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84918731/
7 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84930206/
8 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84943450/
9 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84963046/
10 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84990296/
11 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85001905/
12 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85025361/
13 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85034498/
14 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85074457/
15 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85181021/
15#2 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85273765/
16 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85357735/
17 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85442583/
17#2 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85499731/
18 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85554910/
21 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85580942/
22 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85686282/
23 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85775039/
24 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85865971/
25 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85981957/
26 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/86150840/
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>>86258952
Timeline for now.
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Changrila city. Also, what's the status on the Golden Knightlands?
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>>86259348
What do you mean?
>>
Lucy's Land just makes me happy. Reading the small lore tidbit attached to it always brings a smile to my face.
>>
More like /tg/ makes a seething.
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>>86262317
there was a guy who said he'd write lore on it a thread or two ago. I'm wondering because it's one of the regions that interest me lol
>>
FYI, thread 27 is now archived:

https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/86258892/
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I know that this has been asked before, but what's the consesus on dragons? There's the Oroma Islands magma dragons, the god dragon egg the Gnoll emperor possesses and the Stone Dragon at the Isle of Hogmen.

Anything else?
>>
>>86266156
the salamander king and his offspring
try reading the lore dumps
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>>86258919
What's the deal with Kokaine? Has somebody written anything about it so far?
>>
>>86258892
> Create a star map and zodiacs
This makes no sense because the only permanent stellar body is Muutaa

Suns and moons come and go carrying the time of year/month/day.

The stars are the sun's and moons circling stairs further down or up. (My headcanon is moons are descending the divine ladder while suns are ascending.

An astrology like we got irl makes little sense. Maybe there is 109 zodiac signs which appear ilegularly, but still are used for divination by the Astromancers. Basically common patterns far away stars align themselves into.
>>
>>86266156
So there 3 alive Goddragons. The Goddragon King, the Egg the Gnolls handed to him in exchange for vassalage and the one on Hogman island.

There was also some Goddragons tied to founding of Azam royal houses.

Then there is the magma wyrms and other non-God dragons.
>>
Where could she live?
>>
>>86267988
The Mermaid Empire (deleted from existence some time ago RIP)

Not sure if any mermaids still exist desu
>>
>>86268068
We have the pondlings.
>>
>>86267129
does Muutaa function as our moon does?
>>
>>86266156
>>86266823
>>86267162
Dragon lore is a bit of a mess, but where it seems to be heading is that the original divine dragons were allied with Bronzar and perhaps other gods, but most of them have withdrawn from the world for the time being. The ones who are left seem to be mostly outcast or tainted in some way. Lesser dragons, drakes, wyrms, etc., probably all trace their origins back to these outcast/tainted divine dragons

>>86266907
There is two semi-contradictory bits of lore for Kokaine, one is that their realm was cursed by a god after he got bored and decided to leave the world, the other is that some sort of plague plus a demon breach is involved. I will try to reconcile the two at some point.

>>86267988
>>86268068
Merfolk have been mentioned for a number of nations. They usually get lumped in with the fey, so the image probably works fine for one of what is likely many subspecies of merfolk (I figure most fey have many subspecies as their nature changes both with environment and what faerie lord they are associated with)
>>
>>86268172
Except evil, so no one wants to make a calendar based on it even though it's the only consistent thing in the sky
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>>86268237
At what point did any slighty fantastical creature of this setting automatically become taxonomized as a fey?
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Aurous Highlands
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>>86268777
Probably because so many of the northern nations had fairy tale and/or druidic roots

But plenty of races aren't classified as fey like dwarves, dragons, plus most of the southern races

Plus there are several races that are associated with the fey in northern nations, but also operate in the south where the "fey" classification may not even exist like goblins, ogres, drow, elves, and trolls
>>
>>86268237
I'd say maybe the Merfolk god was like Vivec from morriwind? Half divine (good) half demonic (evil) but not like balanced or neutral but in the schizo way. The only constant was 'being entertained'.

Alternatively some grand fey itself?

>>86268777
I'd wager fey simply became a catch all therm for supernatural creatures which are not divine, demonic or draconic.
>>
Where is Thulea?
>>
>>86268997
>I'd say maybe the Merfolk god was like Vivec from morriwind?
The Merfolk Empire god Uun (whose Empire was mostly human nations) is kind of a metahumor joke about how some anons start off taking these projects seriously, then get bored and try their best to burn it down. So yeah, maybe a bit like an extra schizo Vivec.

But Uun has departed this world, and the remaining merfolk worship a mix of other gods.

>I'd wager fey simply became a catch all therm for supernatural creatures which are not divine, demonic or draconic.
I figure "true fey" have some distinct traits like being innately magical, true to their word, and being impacted by, but also having an impact on their environment. But powerful fey can also alter other beings, so some of the more mundane fey-associated races like goblins, hobbits, or gnomes may just be ordinary beings that have sometimes been granted fey-like traits
>>
Why are the Land of Windmills and the Golden Sea of Wheat so similar? What can we do to differentiate them?

Also, heads up, I'm writing some stuff for the Son'Qo temples.
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>>86269393
Are they? The main thing of the Golden Wheat fields is being a disputed region over whose a battle of influence wages as both parties prefer to avoid open warfare.

Land of windmills I have no clue
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>>86269585
Golden Sea of Wheat seems weird and druidic - wicker masks, giant straw effigies, etc.

Land of Windmills seems pretty generic rural European aside from all the windmills and giant skulls of unknown origin
>>
What kind of currencies exist in this setting?
>>
Man, this board is fucking dead.
>>
>27th worlbuilding thread with not a single dead one before bump limit so far
>Man, this board is fucking dead.
Is this bait?
>>
>Titles of the Azan Emperor

While the title “Azan Emperor” is used today and has been retroactively applied to past rulers of the Empire, for most of its history the “Azanese Emperors” have ruled by the right of a vast assortment of titles they inherited, were appointed to and in some rare instances were elected for.

>They Who is Made Lord Supreme/ Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The original title was granted to Azan when he led his grand coalition, it originally signified a leadership of an international organization granted by lords of sovereign states. Due to its cultural significance, modern lists of Emperors only include those who were granted or claimed this title. It is still used today when it is ceremonially granted by The Council upon an Emperor’s coronation.

>Commander of the Faithful/ Amir al-Mu'minin/Defender of the Faithful
On Azan’s deathbed, there was a debate if his reign should pass to his son, the Tiefling Azan II, or to his companion and closet ally Saint Calixta. A compromise saw Azan being Made Lord Supreme while the new position of Amir al-Mu'minin was given to Saint Calixta. The title makes one the nominal head of the Azan Faith, and while originally chosen by a council of brahmins, it eventually became a hereditary position. When Siti Who is Made Lord Supreme and Amir Amirl-Mu'minin, Defender of the Faith married in the early First Dynasty, the lines merged and every emperor since has also claimed the title at some point. In modern Southtounge the title is rendered as “Defender of the Faithful” though this isn't a literal translation.
>>
>>86272519
Someone willing to keep necromancing a thread isn't exactly a point of pride, mate.
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>>86272889
>Head of the House of Azan/ Penguasa Wangsa Azan
While most historians agree Azan’s direct bloodline died out at the end of the first dynasty and that the indirect bloodline died at the end of the second, many emperors claimed descent from Azan as validating their right to rule. The title has fallen out of favor in the wake of the anti-idolatrous revolutions of the New Azan Faith and hasn't been used since the 9th Dynasty. (Though modern Emperors still claim descent from Azan.)
>Lord Cemak/ Tuan Cemak
Lord Cemak was the title used by the descendants of Cemak I, tiefling cousin of Azan. When the House of Azan became extinct at the end of the Battle of Blossoms, the second dynasty began under Cemak’s descendants. Being the last members of the “holy bloodline” was the chief claim to authority for the Emperors of this Dynasty. The title ceased use when Amir III Who Was Made Lord Supreme died without issue rendering Cemak I’s bloodline extinct.
>Lord of the Seas/First Sea Commander/ Panglima Laut Pertama
A position inaugurated in the First Peninsular War between the Azan Empire and Drow city-states, it was originally used for the leader of the Navy and rarely claimed by rulers themselves. It came into prominence as one of the titles Hēnare I was inaugurated with at the start of the Sixth Dynasty and since then has had occasional periods of heavy use. Though in modern times it is usually held by a Councilmember.
>>
>>86273772
>Doge of Viola/ Doxe de Viola
A Doge was an elected head of state in several Drow city-states. By the 16th Century BBE, most had fallen under the control of dynastic families. House Valencia used their wealth to get the city to legally declare the Head of the House to be the Doge of the City of Viola for all eternity. When Doge Atrian became Emperor Adrian I, they integrated this title into those of the Azan empire. The title would be used for the rest of the Third Dynasty. Waves of anti-Elf sentiment would see in fall into disuse in the 4th-6th dynasties, however, several Emperors since have claimed the title as part of their efforts to colonize the Scimitarian peninsula.
>Imperator
A Drow title originally used for commander-in-chief of the armies, it was tradition for the Doge to appoint their heir to this position. As part of their conquest, Atrian overthrew their father, took both titles of Imperator and Doge, and brought them into the Azan Empire when they claimed the Marble Throne. Since then, the title grew in esteem, leading to the common name “Emperor'' used today. Ironically while most Emperors used the title of Imperato,r some would appoint the position to others, most notably during the Triarchy.
>Head of House Valencia-Nur
The House Valencia-Nur originated when the Drow House Valencia and the Tiefling House of Nur entered a personal union when Doge Atrian claimed Windwand in 1450 BBE. They formally disinherited their tiefling cousins and legally integrated the families into one unit. In the third dynasty, the House Valencia-Nur was near synonymous with the Empire itself and every ruler held the title, which was given to the most magically adept member of the House. After Adrian XX was overthrown, the Head of the House no longer holds ruling power, though at various points in history it has had significant political influence.
>>
>>86273857
>Monarch of the Elves and Hobbits
The title “King of the Elves” was originated by Emperor Adrian XIII “The Fool” though he honestly believed it was an ancient title he was “reclaiming.” “Queen of the Hobbits” originated with Adrian XIV “The Mage” when she conquered lands in modern-day Hereby. The titles were merged and used for the rest of the Third dynasty as they completed most of their conquest of the First Eleven Empire. Anti-Elf sentiment in the fourth dynasty saw it fall out of use, but it re-emerged in the Sixth Dynasty and has since then been claimed by most Azan Emperors even long after they lost all their eleven territories.
>Chairperson High Protector
A title created by the bureaucratic reforms of Chairman High Protector Asin II. It was meant as an enlightened replacement for dynastic rules, as each Chairpersonwould appoint their successor. For much of the Sixth Dynasty, it was just that, with each holder being not biologically related to the last, but by the dynasty's end, the rule had passed from relative to relative. The Seventh Dynasty abolished the position and it wasn't used until, in a political surprise, it was claimed by the Current Azan Empress upon her coronation.
>Emperor/Empress/Emperett
“Emperor '' the modern version of the title Imperator, first was used in The Southern Rebellion as various warlords and chiefs took the title when leading armies against the Sixth Dynasty. At the end of the revolution Emperor came to be the preferred title for rulers of the Azan Empire, and the title was backdated to an ever-changing list of “canonical” Emperors.

>Full Title of the Current Azan Empress
Empress-Chairwoman High Protector Diana Shaka Victorian I, Defender of the Faithful, Queen of the Elves and Hobbits, She Who Was Made Lord Supreme
>>
>>86258938
I think the sentient sandwurm tunnels should be on here
>>
>>86266823
>>86268237
>>86267162
>>86268237
My understanding is that Goddragons have an unknown origin.

And that by reproducing with "lesser" species they produce Drakes, Tieflings, flying Gnolls, etc.
>>
>>86268997
>>86268237
There was a prehistoric ocean born merfolk culture that land dwellers only have access to the ruins of.

When Gianstep had a climate shift due to the space brick it is on moving away from the closet heat source, it shrunk the oceans and collapsed their society.
>>
>>86267129
>>86268172
From what I recall Gianstep is a flat brick that was hurling through space until it wound up being used as a piece of a cosmic staircase.
>>
>>86273961
>>86273972
The space brick thing never was a thing. It was always a dimmensional stair.
>>
>Kokaine

>History:

The region’s history is now shrouded in myth and legend.

The first recorded inhabitants are the men of Palazzo. One of four nations of humans that formed the surface component of the Merfolk Empire, said to have been blessed by the god Uun himself, they were few in number but skilled in the martial and scholarly fields.

Over time, the ancient thalassocracy of Ellesis (now Anchovia) was also allowed to establish some coastal settlements in the area, for Palazzo saw mundane matters like trade as beneath them, but sometimes useful. However, trade eventually dried up as Palazzo became more obsessed with asceticism and the foreigners left.

Palazzo continued along this route for a few more centuries until the unexpected departure of Uun from this world, who cursed all his previous worshippers as he left.

In a twisted form of karma, the inhabitants of Palazzo were cursed to succumb to any and all vices, and invisible servants and irresistible seducers were created to support any vice. Most of the original inhabitants died within years, but more always seem to be drawn to the area, mostly from Grobianismus, whose inhabitant's unnatural stupidity seems to provide some level of protection from the curse.

Uun likely didn’t consider the long term implications of his curse, but it seems the never-ending degeneracy of Palazzo, now known as Kokaine, has somehow led to something even darker taking shape in the heart of region.
>>
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>>86274403

Some say it is a demon breach, though the identity of the associated demon lord remains unknown. Others say the most corrupted areas in Kokaine’s center were there all along, and form part of the original curse, but it has been only recently that outsiders have become aware of it. A few say it is the result of a strange magical disease known as the Lubbertdas Plague, spread by magic stones that embed themselves in the foreheads of the victims and cause their insane delusions to manifest in realityy (though some say the stones are just another aspect of Uun’s curse or the demon breach).

Either way, Kokaine is widely considered to be cursed land, and only the most dimwitted, greedy, or reckless will willingly enter it.

>Government:

If Kokaine has some sort of central government, it has not made itself known to outsiders, though some say the demons of Kokaine have some sort of hierarchy. The two small ports off the coast are run by loose consortiums from Seagard, Elanxa, and the Kingdom of Silver.

>Economy:

Kokaine itself has no real economy. Individuals of Grobianismus descent often mindlessly engage in agricultural type chores, but rarely produce actual food as the cursed entities of Kokaine will provide everything they need and more anyways.
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>>86274410

Two small ports exist off the coast of Kokaine to support the main sea routes along the eastern coast. Port Rashda off the southern coast of Kokaine is mostly for emergency repairs and for those who want to avoid Luden or Seagard for some reason. Port Putan is located midway along Kokaine’s northern coast and sees a bit more use as it is midway along a four day stretch between the southernmost Elanxan port, and the northernmost Ludenese port. Neither port officially trades with Kokaine, but sometimes reckless individuals sneak onto the mainland and steal from the decadent, unnatural feasts. The powdered drug known as kokaine (for which the region is now called) is particularly popular, and many ships, or at least individual crew members make a high profit smuggling it into various eastern ports.

>Foreign Relations:

Most sane nations consider Kokaine to be cursed and avoid it at all costs.

The only nation with meaningful interactions with Kokaine is its neighbor Grobianismus, who has on and off declared wars (of sorts) on Kokaine for “stealing” their peasants (who usually wander over on their own), and for sometimes raiding or sabotaging them. Seagard, Elanxa, and even Luden do not appear to have similar issues, as even the insane ratfolk of Luden appear avoid entering Kokaine, and only Grobianismus borders on the “heart” of Kokaine, where most of the hostile demons reside.

>Geography:

Most of Kokaine has a warm, temperate climate and is covered in poorly tended fields, forests, and meadows. However, the closer one gets to the “center” of Kokaine, the more unnatural the landscape and buildings become, until one reaches the point where everything resembles a surreal depiction of hell.
>>
>>86274415

Most structures are built by peasants from Grobianismus, though it remains a bit of a mystery how they are smart enough to do this (some say it is a component of the curse). A few ruins can still be found though that were built in the architectural styles favored by Palazzo and Ellesis.

>Demographics:

- Humans – Most of Kokaine’s inhabitants are human. Although the original humans of Palazzo have died out, replacements have arrived from Grobianismus, who seem more adapted to surviving in the unnatural conditions of the region. The humans of Grobianismus are stunted, ugly caricatures of the Northmen with unnatural heartiness and stupidity (cursed that way by Uun), but even they struggle to survive in Kokaine.

- Invisible Servants and Demons – All sorts of strange entities can be found in Kokaine. It is unclear if they were created by Uun as part of the curse, are demons from a breach, or the result of the Lubbertdas Plague, or some mix of all three. They seem to exist solely to cater to all vices, no matter how extreme, with the end goal to lure people to the center of Kokaine, where torment replaces decadence.

- The Cursed – The Cursed are certain members of Palazzo’s elite who were cursed with immortality. They seem to follow a cycle of succumbing to vices, torment by demons, and reappearing in the safer areas to repeat the cycle again. They have brownish skin, white hair, and bright eyes, said to be the original appearance of most of the humans of the Merfolk Empire before they took on various cursed forms.

- Miscellaneous – Sometimes reckless or outright suicidal outsiders get drawn to Kokaine including smugglers, scholars, missionaries, and those seeking to die surrounded by creature comforts. Most are human, but many other races are drawn in.

>Religion:

The humans from Grobianismus have a number of crude, contradictory religions that few outsiders bother to try to understand.
>>
>>86274420

Inhabitants of the two coastal ports follow a wide range of gods, though the Cult of Rusalochka tends to be the most popular as she is favored by sailors from many parts of the eastern coast.

It is unclear what higher power the invisible servants and demons serve, if any.

>Military:

Kokaine has no military, but the demons are fairly dangerous when they want to be. They mostly cause trouble for Grobianismus, though it is unclear why. Some say it is simply because Grobianismus’s “official territory” has encroached on the demons’ natural hunting grounds.
>>
>>86274415
Come to think of it what's the relationship between the Ratmen of Luden and the Seguerian Hordas? Are they the same race?
>>
remember where in the beginning of this project there were like 3 sunken island civilizations?
>>
Is anyone planning on assembling this into an organised reference document?
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>>86269585
From neighboring nations' lore:

>people from the land of the windmills made up large part of the laurentian crusade and the felovik armies
>used to get raided by Mossovoy before the laurentian forts were set up

considering how most of their male population fucked off to join these martial states, we can assume it's some kind of "no man's land" full of renegades, bandits, peasant armies and all kind of feudal lords are warring with each other. Kinda interesting, really.
>>
>>86275778
Are there more now? I swear it's still 3.

Mermaid Empire, the place that existed where now the sea of Bile is and lastly the continent in the west that sunk recently. We got lore on the nation's which were there btw?
>>
>>86275789
There's a wiki. As organised as it gets
>>
>>86276603
>recently
Didn't we decide that it sunk many millennia ago? Also, according to the wiki, there was no mention of a civilisation in the area that sank under the leviathan's weight.
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>>86277024
I thought it sunk like 20-50 years ago based on the initial entry
>>
>>86276603
The Lost Island and there was another one to the north in a place called "Treassure Sea"
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>>86277354
Thing is, the lore said that it sunk under the "Great Wave of Kanagawa". And if it sunk under an earthquake that created massive tsunamis, there's no way that could happen so recently and not ruin the nearby countries. Southern Scimitarian and most of Southwest Giantstep would've been swept by waves as well.

Plus, there's no mention of the civilisation elsewhere, so it makes sense it sank way before the main players of the area appeared.
>>
>>86266156
>>86267162
As the guy who originally came up with the Oroma dragons, let me restate that I'm still behind the idea of replacing them with A Oroman Dragon that's maybe assisted by a bunch of much lesser wyrms in controlling his domain. The Oroma dragons were created in like thread 1 or 2 when literally nothing was defined yet and haven't been mentioned as part of another factions lore in any extent. We could just rewrite them.
>>
>>86272462
The Azanese drak-ma of course.
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>>86272462
Changrila's currency is one of the most valued in the world, due to their high amount of silver.
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>>86274403
>>86274410
>>86274415
>>86274420
>>86274424
kino
>>
A bit of lore for the SonQo temples.

>History
The temples of SonQo date from the days the First Elven Empire was at its peak. At that point in time, the Son’Qo area was the private estate of a great elf lore, who dedicated a great portion of his fortune to bring the most beautiful plants he could think of. The area, full of cascades and cliffs, soon became an exuberant garden from plants from all Scimitarian and Giantstep. Many buildings were constructed to preserve some of the more delicate plants and fungi in the area. However, during the First Azanese-Drow War, the great noble marched to battle to lead his men, and never returned. The land became abandoned, since he had no heirs of his own. However, against all odds, the land did not lose its luster, and the region stayed as beautiful as it had been back in the day, the scenery becoming slowly dominated by red maples and tupelo trees.
>>
>>86278886
The area was left mostly on its own, even while the Elven Empires broke down into the Drow Confederacy and then the Drow City States. The area became a spot of calm during those dark days, attracting those who wanted to leave the chaos and the discord behind. It was around 650 ABE when a young human monk began teaching his knowledge of the world to the rest of the travelers in the area. His original name was lost, but history remembers him as Doken (“the unshaken” in drow tongue). He quickly gained a following, teaching how to commune with nature and leave the human desires behind, among many other things. His early death was interpreted as a sign of ascendance, and was buried in his favorite spot for preaching. Over the years, the human population of southern Scimitarian began praying to him, first as an interceding figure to the gods, and then as a god in his own right. Dokenism spread for over two centuries within the human populations of Scimitarian, but over the years, its weight began loosening. The increasing pressure of the drow and the lack of an organized structure led to fracture and then abandonment of the religion. However, during the decades dokenism was at its peak, it created brilliant temples all over the SonQo region. Most of the original temples still stand today, whereas others have been swallowed by nature and the forest.
>>
>>86278911
The temples began receiving less and less people over the years, and the teachings of dokenism were taught more poorly over the years. The search for harmony with nature with the world became the search for immortality. The tale of the man who becomes “as the tree at the top of the mountain looking upon the valley” was twisted into becoming the mountain itself. This increased the speed of which people were abandoning dokenism, and by the year 900 ABE, only the inhabitants of the SonQo region still remain faithful, as a pale shadow of what once was.
>>
>>86278932
It would be many centuries later when the SonQo monks entered in contact with a mysterious traveler. Nothing is known of him, but he claimed to know a form of achieving enlightenment just as Doken himself had done. He then left a small package in the hands of the monks and left. After this encounter, strange things began happening within the temples. Some individuals began acting in unusual ways: forgetting people they had known all their lives, behaviors contrary to their nature, emotion being drained from them. After this, things got worse. Disappearances became the norm, only to reappear weeks if not months later, in the same strange state as the others. Many tried to solve whatever curse had befallen the community, to no avail. Many tried to fight it, but not knowing what was the origin of this ill or how to counter it, they had no effect. Many more, wiser still, tried to ran away, but were convinced to stay and meditate their fears away, through communion with nature and through abandoning their ties to humanity. It was then when all monks who had fallen to the mysterious curse acted in perfect, inhuman unison. They captured the rest of their brethren and chained them deep into the temples. What transpired there, we only know due to the maddened ramblings of a monk, a single survivor who managed to escape from them. Near death due to exhaustion and his injuries, he told a story where the uncanny monks revealed themselves to be mere puppets, their body orifices opening to show a true evil. Colonies of parasitic centipedes had taken over their bodies, using them as mere vessels, and slowly but surely they started invading the bodies of the remaining monks. The sight of the inhuman process used to infect the unsullied monks was such that the survivor broke though iron chains (breaking his arms in the process) and running away in a mad dash to the highest waterfall in SonQo. Taken for dead, his body was carried to the shore, where the drow found him.
>>
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>Kresteneg Breeding Grounds

>History

The Trolltooth Peninsula has been inhabited by many tribes throughout history. These tribes are grouped under the name of "the Galman tribes" by Lorientois historians conducted in trade with their northern neighbors, the predecessors of the Kingdom of Lorient and Limonaint.

Not much is known about these tribes, apart from the fact that their presence in the Trolltooth peninsula lasted until a thousand years ago, when they vanished from historical records. This was further proven by archaeological findings of scholars around that area. Where they migrated is unknown, although it's speculated that most migrated to the north, where they intergrated with the humans living there.

The reason for this migration is clearer to us. It is no coincidence that the first mentions of the dreaded "Kresteneg" surfaced around that time. Where they came from is unknown, although many scholars believe that they fled to the east after their home island, Lesandros, was gone after a giant wave sunk it. Tihs opinion is not held by all, however, with many scholars doubting that the Kresteneg, who prefer shallow, warm waters, would be able to swim such great distances, while others don't even believe that Lesandros existed at all.

This strange carcinoid race quickly made the Trolltooth their home, and barely wandered out of it since then. Their highly territorial behavior has made the Trolltooth an undesirable area for human and orcish settlers alike.

The nature of their life-cycle meant that the Kresteneg would only be able to spend less than a month on land. Initially, the few humans that were left in the area took advantage of this, building their settlements once the Kresteneg went back to the water. Their efforts were for naught, however, with the Kresteneg destroying their villages and chasing them out once they re-surfaced, again and again.
>>
>>86278948
His story was at first ignored and taken as the ramblings of a nearly dead madman. However, this news reached the ears of some of the higher echelons of the Drow City States, which must have confirmed the truth of the story in some unspoken way. They declared the area as forbidden for anyone to enter, being any madmen insane enough to do so at their own peril. They also declared than anyone who came from the region must be killed on sight, and their body cremated as soon as possible. This state of affairs has remained to this day, with now plenty proof of the evil that has taken root in the area. The City States guard the region with zeal, wanting to avoid the spread of the ill that has befallen the temples, but there is little talk of destroying them once and for all, once again for unknown reasons.
>>
>>86278965
The final nail in the coffin for the human population of the Trolltooth came less than a hundred years after the Kresteneg's initial arrival. A human sorcerer was shipwrecked in the southern ends of the Trolltooth, and in order to survive he used a spell that made him able to understand the Kresteneg language. Before he left, he taught the Kresteneg some spells, allowing them to manipulate their own life cycle, allowing them to spend more time on land than usually. This -as speculated- led to the wiping out of the human settlements.
>>
>>86279191
>The Kresteneg

The Kresteneg are a semi-aquatic species that have the lower body of an octopus, and the upper body of a crustacean. Their exoskeleton is extremely resistant, and forms a structure around their head not too different from a helmet, with a human-like face hiding under it.

The Kresteneg prefer the shallow, warm waters of the Great Morgull's Sea, although will sometimes delve deeper in search of prey. They are able to live in both saline and sweet water, since some Kresteneg have been encountered in the rivers that run through the Trolltooth peninsula, although no real difference has been noted between them and their sea counterpart. While on land, they favor shoreline marshes and rivers close to the open water, although it's not rare to spot a Kresteneg further inland.

The Kresteneg are ominovores, eating fish, molluscs and seaweed while on the water, and fruit, deer and other big mammals while on land. Sometimes, they'll cut the nets of fishermen, stealing their catch. The Kresteneg don't have any qualms about eating human, orcish or troll flesh, as many skeletons bearing their bite marks have been found.

Once a year, the Kresteneg undergo a metamorphosis and emerge onto land as aggressive crustaceans to breed. They get become more aggressive (and some might say, less intelligent) than usual and even the most skilled warrior would struggle to take one out, given their hard chitin and nimble claws and pincers. They lay their eggs in mud, and the females guard them at all times, while the males venture out to seek prey. This metamorphosis lasts for around 4 to 6 months at a time, where the Kresteneg venture back to the sea, alongside their newly hatched offspring.

The Kresteneg are sentient, displaying higher intelligence than the average troll or ogre, and form large communities. While terrestial, these communities are led by a single female matriarch, called the Broodmother, and while aquatic they are usually led by a male.
>>
>>86279580
The Kresteneg communicate using their own spoken language, although it's only understood by humans using complicated spells.

The Kresteneg are sometimes hunted for their eggs, chitin and wax which fetch for a good price. However, this extremely perilous task means that those hunters are far and few between.
>>
>>86279191
I hope that sorceror got skinned alive or something. Holy fuck, what an irresponsible cunt.
>>
>>86279702
>Geography

The Kresteneg Breeding grounds are found in the Trolltooth peninsula, which consists of lush lowlands, forests, plains and endless rivers. The climate is temperate and comfortable, with moderate rainfall. The center of the peninsula is home to a number of hills, where most of the region's trolls live. A number of ruins, abandoned roads as well as mass graveyards still dot the land, a reminder of an era long gone by.
>>
>>86280071
typical wizard
>>
>>86277615
I approve this, not that because multiple dragons is bad, but since dragons are so far and few between that the ones that exist should be of almost mythical or godly proportions and status
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>>86273955
Is there any lore on the Dragon of the Hog Men?
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>>86280421
>>86277615
What would be a good name for the Oroma dragon? Just Oroma? I imagine him as some sort of territorial reclusive that's neutral on the whole good v evil issue and just wants adventurers to get off his lawn.
>>
Stop shitting up the board and take this to /qst/ where it belongs.
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>>86280576
Well, it depends. Are dragons sentient enough that are able to speak their own language (and thus, have a name for themselves) or are they more beast-like, which'd mean that they'd be named by people?
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>>86280436
It is strongly implied that he and another dragon (the gnoll one) caused the Battle of Empires by pushing the Azan/Dragon Empire to fight the Khenomerics over a location where the dragon egg is

Afterwards he got exiled and ended up in the south
>>
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I also erased the Land of Storms because I think it's literally impossible (and unnecesary) to write more about it than it already has. This could be the case for a few other things, like Castle Athassel, the Lotus Island, the island of Cerato etc
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>>86280707
Can someone please put the color code *in* the image next time?
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>>86280899
The only relevant colour now is orange, since we're erasing from the map the completed nations.

Orange means the place has lore, bit it's incomplete.
>>
>>86280924
The Automaton Republic should b e in orange then
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>>86258892
why is there no Sea of Men?
>>
Should we add more lore to the SonQo temples? Acording to what's been written, nobody can get in or out of the region. I'm not sure what we could add without breaking that fact.
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>>86281142
How can the dwarves mentioned in the lore be fit into it?
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>>86280670
The Gnoll dragon was asleep though and was woken up by the Gnolls during or after the war when they killed the lullaby singers
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>>86281291
Battle of Empires was over 3000 years ago while the First War of Heaven was less than 700 years ago, so plenty of time for the dragon to go to sleep / be put to sleep by the lullaby singers
>>
I love this setting.
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>>86267988
Kingdom of Cups
>>
any progress on this settings compass so far?
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>>86284786
Very little. From what I've seen, we have a lot of people writing lore and some people who ocasionaly draw maps, but we have very few drawfags.
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>>86285788
I've done such a compass before and it's a pretty big time investment if you want to do it properly and quite frankly I don't feel like throwing hours of my life to illustrate the pretty mediocre shit you people came up with. If I ever do one, it'll be from the ground up.
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>>86287408
Fair enough.
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>>86272462
Drunigzar's coin is probably highly valuable in the east.
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>>86287408
I'm glad AI is replacing you guys
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>>86289335
Why would it be valuable there? Currency made me think whether the fall of the Khenomeric Empire caused mass inflation.

Gnolls don't value gold much. So they'd at the start would have traded fistfuls of gold for anatourushly made swords or half rotten meat.

If you want to learn more about the topic google "Gnoll inflation"
>>
>>86284786
>>86285788
There is a bunch of wojaks here if people just want to be lazy and take from existing work:

https://wojakparadise.net/
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>>86287408
We don't need your bitch ass
>>
Where could this be?
>>
>>86292131
It could be a colossal sculpture made in a mountain by the elves/drow back in the days of the First Elven Empire, only to centuries later realise it was a volcano all along, and now it looks like this.
>>
Do we have historical maps of the setting? How did the Khenomeri Empire look at its peak and how did it look right before the Great War of the Gnoll?
>>
>>86292131
shrine to the drow volcano god

>>86292365
there is a map circa the Battle of Empires which shows the four main empires at their peak, but probably also includes vassals, allies, claimed territories, etc.
>>
>>86280707
What's the most interesting nation that's left?
>>
>>86292131
The Eldritch Jungle? Alternatively the Island of the Volcano God
>>
>>86291588
There are still plenty of civilisations in the eastern seas that depend on trade. And Drunigzar, being the local sea and trade power, is in a great spot to use its coin as a trade tool.

Hell, the fall of the Khenomeric Empire probably meant that its coin became relatively worthless (especially if it was made out of a non-precious metal), and any other coin strong enough remaining would rise.
>>
>>86293049
Not a nation, but the giants handprint.
It's a desert created because a giant or divine being used the world as a rest for his hand.

It superheated the area so bad all life was extinguished and in its place men of bronze of unknown origin created civilisation there. That civilisation being destroyed once the sand cooled enough for the great sandworms to be able to surface.

The worms themselves are evolved from worms which used to feed on the giants skin as to this day within the desert large swaths of the dead skin remain.

I think the worms were sentient too, but solitary and not forming societies.
>>
I'm going to try to do the map of the Khenomeric Empire. I'll do two: one right before the Battle of Empires, and one right before the Great War of the Gnoll, to show the decay.

I have this base to work from, but the Khenomeric Empire here is too big, makes little sense for it to control Littlestep and Zemyland, since there's no mention of that in their lore. Any other things that should be taken into account before starting?
>>
>>86293360
This whome map needs some reworks, but keep in mind the Khenomeric empire was smaller than the current Gnoll Empire. This shows their zone of influence or alliance so subjects, tributaries, allies etc and probably glosses over uninhabited areas or areas no way they controlled.

Like the Divine realms of Fit and Ness, Gluttony island, Volcano island and the great swamp could not have been under any nation's controll.

During that timeperiod the Men of bronze in the giant's handprint would still have likely been a major power at least equivalent to the mermaid empire in the far east.

This is a very old map from before 95% of lore was written. So it should be taken with a big grain of salt it was always meant as a rough estimate of the factions in the war of Empires to begin with.
>>
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I made a Gnoll Wojack

I don't think it looks disturbing enough
>>86291677
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>>86293404
I imagine that the Khenomeri at its peak was slightly bigger than the Gnoll Empire, but some of the borders do not coincide. The gnoll probably expanded into areas that weren't never khenomeri.
>>
Anyone got a list of all the wonders we wrote up a few threads ago? If feel like some of them got lost.

Like the weird murder pit in Ogabo desert.

Kinda same how the mercenary companies. Man I wish I was on break and could do some thread archeology myself to fill out stuff which was forgotten and did not make it to the wiki.

I remember a cool one was the Chain-dancers. Which was a gnoll mercenary troup originally trained for the 3rd was with the God-Dragon the idea being them being very agile and climbing the chains up without dying, but the war was lost and they ended up as mercenaries.
>>
>>86293441
Yeah the Bottom 1/3rd of the Gnoll Empire was Ketlovia which I think was a Khenomeric ally, but never part of the empire.

I also highly doubt that the Ratman and Frogman territories were former Khenomaric clay, but maybe long ago.
>>
>>86293404
>>86293441
So this is the lore about the geography of the khenomeri back in the day.

>Despite this, at its peak, the Empire controlled much of the eastern half of the continent, though some were more willing than others.

>The core of the Empire were the “South Coast Khenomerics” who lived along the coast of the Carsibi Sea,
Easy enough, that's the southern coast of the current gnoll empire.

>the “Interior Horse Nomads”, a collection of several cultures in the plains and badlands of the central continent
Probable the Great Central Prairie, the Cobblestone Badlands, the Friddling hills and lands around it.

and the “Pyramid-Builders” who were a fusion of the two peoples who lived in the capital, in the regions of overlap, or holy cities and tomb complexes dedicated to a present or past Pharahkhan’s personal faith.
The central area of the Gnoll Empire?

>A few smaller regions also saw themselves as founding members.
Lands around the khenomeri that were part of it before the conquests.

>Among the many vassals, conquests, and reluctant members were the Northmen nations along the northeast coast, and the fey fiefdoms scattered across the much of the continent.
Conquests were, of the top of my head, Nogar, Faarowt, Florinth and Tarot come to mind. Also, Leng was not part of Khenomeri at its peak, but it was occupied much later.
As for vassals, the old hyperboreans are mentioned to be vassals of the khenomeri, but that'd require a lot of weight in either Elanxa or Littlestep to reach the northern continent. Elanxa appears as a vassal as well.

>Other regions remained separate, like the Merfolk Empire, protected at the time by powerful divine magic.
Also the lunatik 9, since they call themselves Khenomeri but have absolutely no relation to them whatsoever.
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>>86293666
Also, we should have some border near the Cursed Battlefield, so maybe the western side of the Bog Witch Swamps could be khenomeri as well.
>>
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>>86293360
>>86293666
(satan trips get)
I tried to make a more reasonable map of the ancint gianstep. Rough area controlled by the men of bronze in purple. In white stuff no one could have reasonably controlled at the time (maybe should have added some of the deserts) and the great swamp is yellowish-green because it'd be hard for anyone to controll so feyic and Kenomeric influence would be disputed.

Lastly I made what I think is a reasonable estimate for the 'core empires'.

Old Azan contains Azan-Changrila and everything inbetween. 1st fairy empire the hedge-scimitharia and everything in between and Khenomeria north of the gnoll empire, part of what is now the forrest of getting lost and would border the landholdings of the Mermaid Empire.

> the main map needs an edit, at least to change how it says that Lasandros sunk 50 years ago. We changed that lore so better to change it so new people don't think it's canon
>>
>>86293731
>>The core of the Empire were the “South Coast Khenomerics” who lived along the coast of the Carsibi Sea,
>Easy enough, that's the southern coast of the current gnoll empire.
No that area was never part of the Empire that was old Ketlovia. Someone posted a map of the old Kingdom of ketlovia it's the bottom1/3rd of the gnoll empire.

So at least we got a contradiction of 2 lore's here.
>>
>>86293482
https://crumbling-giantstep.fandom.com/wiki/Thirteen_Wonders_of_the_World

There's 5 left. I think wonders especially should be reserved for buildings, structures or natural locations.
>>
>>86293731
Etera (city in Scimitaria) should be its own thing since it never got conquered and was already there when the first elves and wizards reached Scimitaria.
>>
>>86293781
Actually the bubbling demon pit would be here:
https://crumbling-giantstep.fandom.com/wiki/Thirteen_Horrors_of_the_World

This page is near empty though
>>
>>86293731
>>86293749
>Lesandros' sinking date.
Hadn't we agreed that the sinking was many millennia ago, instead of 50 years ago?

Also, no way Littlestep was fully controlled by Khenomeri. Maybe the eastern coast and some cities in the western and northern coast, but that's it.
>>
>>86258892
Where did the original (blank) map come from?
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>>86293854
Thread 1?
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>>86293781
Huh, the wonders page makes me sad two I wrote up are not even listed like the Khenomeric Pyramids or the Great Ketlovian Dancing hall. At least the dancing hall was discussed a lot in the thread too so weird it got forgotten and none of the wonders are even described..

I really want to fix up the wiki, by going trough things starting from thread 1. I'll see how feasible that is.
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>>86293877
Yeah, but where did OP get the map from in Thread 1?
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>>86293854
Generated on Azgaar's fantasy map generator.
>>
>>86293731
>Dark Green
First Elven Empire at its peak.
>Clear Green
First Elven Empire Vassals
>Dark Red
Azan Empire
>Clear Red
Azanese vassals
>Purple
Men of Bronze from the handprint desert? Shouldn't its territory be limited to the actual desert's shape?
>Palid Green
Contested but not really that important, since it's just full of bogs and swamps and the Bog Witch is lurking in the shadows.
>Orange
???
>Yellow
Khenomeri Empire and its vassals
>Blue
Merfolk Empire
>White
Unclaimed
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>>86293925
> Men of Bronze from the handprint desert? Shouldn't its territory be limited to the actual desert's shape?
Yeah, but I was too lazy to redraw the hand-print by hand. Pretend it's hand-print shaped.
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>>86293925
ah you mean the more intense yellow, that's not orange. that's be the core territory of the Khenomeric Empire
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>>86293951
But the core was mentioned to be at least part of the coast, and Nogar was annexed later, it wasn't a founding part of the empire.
>>
I love how the Elder Vampire is possibly one (if not the most) ancient creatures in this setting yet Vampires are barely mentioned anywhere
>>
>>86293973
Problem is that the guy who rewrote ketlovia gave them the bottom half of the Gnoll Empire as old territory.

Maybe instead olf Khenomeric territory could go west? Or alternatively the Khenomerics owned the south at the time, but the ketlovians conquered it from them? It's been 3000 years certainly enough time for the Ketlovians to spring up out of nowhere and collapse into nothing.
>>
>>86293990
If the Ketlovians appeared during the Khenomeric decay, I can see them conquering a chunk of the empire, and then losing it once the khenomeri got their shit together for a while. They lose it and they take most of it back.
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>>86294009
I mean no, the Gnolls conquered the Ketlovians
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>>86293990
>>86294027
>>86294009
Acording to Ketlovian lore, the Kingdom of Ketlovia appeared 5 millennia ago, around the same time as the khenomeri empire. They could have fought for control over the coast.
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>>86294062
Man. I originally wrote Ketlovia as a beauty and the beast reference to fill some empty map space. Wouldn't have expected them to evolve to have so much in setting history.

I'd say considering Ketlovia was a kingdom and the Khenomerics an empire for most of their joint history the Ketlovians were much smaller.

They likely only got the south cost after the Khenomeric decline really got going after they banned magic. Just in time for the Gnolls to appear and make Ketlovia one of its first targets.

Though on that note. The Gnoll Empire rewrite now has the Gnoll Empire have 2 emperor's not 1 so which of them attended the "wedding" in Ketlovia?
>>
>>86294142
It's mentioned in the gnoll lore that the Nameless was the one who attended the wedding. The first one was just a warmonger and overextended the gnoll army in too many wars at once. The second one is the one cunning enough to plan diplomacy stuff.
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>>86294142
I wrote the rewrite and I just gave them the land to show their nation used to be great but has now been pushed back to basically just the capital city and some lands behind it. I really like the Ketlovians though so good job on making them
>>
A quick sketch of the ancient empires. I've cleaned up the handprint desert, took out Drunigzar from the Merfolk (nowhere says they were part of it, or of anywhere else but Nogar) and made a rough plan of how big Khenomeri was. The only problem is crossing the Forest of Getting Lost. I imagine there are some routes to cross it, or they used magic to clear the way, and when magic was lost, the northern side was lost almost immediately.
>>
>>86293482
>>86293781
>>86293821
>>86293881
>Anyone got a list of all the wonders we wrote up a few threads ago? If feel like some of them got lost.
A lot of them never made it to the wiki, I got tired of reposting the list ever time someone asks, but it is on several old threads

>>86294142
>They likely only got the south cost after the Khenomeric decline really got going after they banned magic. Just in time for the Gnolls to appear and make Ketlovia one of its first targets.
Seems reasonable
>>
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>>86272462
Enormous disks of limestone which are carried from one town to the next by teams of men with poles.
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>>86293415
I like it
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>>86293415
I like it, but the gnoll are described to have anglerfish teeth and bulging eyes. Maybe I'll do an edit of this later to add these details.
>>
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>>86298200
Also, should the gnoll have anglerfish eyes as well in their adult form? That way they could be less wolf/hyena-like and more like an actual mix and match abomination.
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>>86294494
The Forrest of getting lost was created after the expulsion of mages from the Khenomeric Empire. It's even speculated it was created by Khenomeric green mages, but not confirmed.

The Forrest of getting lost would not exist yet.
>>
Actually not that hard to make

Mostly focused on memes and metahumor, others can do their own if they want something more serious or region specific
>>
>>86298505
kek nice one
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>>86298505
I laughed a lot thanks anon.
>>
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Which side would you be on in the war of Empires?

> Azan
Roman Empire + Chinese Empire ruled by Dragon-Tieflings and dragons. Beat up some elves really like dragons.

> Khenomerics
Beat up Dragongods. Invented magic. Humans mix of Egyptian and monghols.
>>
>>86298505
lmao someone actually made one gg
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>>86298389
Ah, that makes things much simpler, then.
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>>86298505
Nice. But the Star People should be in the libertarian space, they don't even form a nation of their own.
>>
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>>86298886
>>86298505
A quick add to the Star People.
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>>86298505
kek that's great
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>>86298505
>Token Minority Race
Hogmen or the Aruandans
>NPC Cultist
Probably the Mg'umba cultists kek
>>
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>>86298505
tried to do one myself, but smaller and a 3-angle.
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>>86280707
Why is Etera removed? We haven't had any lore on them apart from the original entry lore.
>>
>>86299468
>>86298505
These are great, anons, keep them up.
>>
>>86294494
Do we know when the Bronze Men dissapeared?
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>>86300086
When the desert cooled enough for the worms to eat them.
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>>86300130
I mean date. Since I'm going to do the maps of ancient times, I have to account for the expansion/reduction of the different empires.
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>>86300184
No then we don't, but 2000-2500 years ago seems like an ok estimate. Them collapsing when the "good old days" ended seems thematic of nothing else.

Remember the Forrest of getting lost didnt exist at the time. There also were probably more flying Goddragon sanctuaries at the time not all having collapsed yet. Also no sea of Bile.

Lemba would still exist so you can create their shape and nations that were there. The nothing that eats everything would also not be a thing... and the lost island would not be lost yet.
>>
>>86300184
I'll start from ancient times and move forward at different points in time to show the changes of the different great empires.

Some points I had thought of:
-Azan Empire's formation after the defeat of Great Evil.
-War of the Battle of Empires
-Fall of the First Elven Empire
-Fall of the Second Elven Empire
-After the Azanese Civil War
-Right before the Great War of the Gnoll

Any more important dates for maps?
>>
>>86300217
The dissappeareance of the Bronze Men has to be more ancient than that. It must have a similar age than Etera, more or less.
>>
>>86300246
Why? 2000 years is plenty ancient.
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>>86300296
Current year is 3.161 ABE.
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>>86300230
I think the core Khenomeric Empire is too big. You also should add Leba I didn't sink yet.
>>
>>86300308
This map is not of any particular date, I'm just using it as a frame of reference. I'm preparing the more precise maps as we speak, and I'm using this dates >>86258968 for references.


Also, hadn't we established already that lesandros had sunk way earlier than that?
>>
>>86300343
Even more than 3000 years ago? I think the timescale is getting bit silly nothing happened the last 3000 years everything happened and was established before?
>>
>>86300365
Thing is, if the bronze men were around back in the days of the BoE or aftwerwards, we'd have to explain how did they interacted with its neighbours. And since there's been no mention of them, I have to imagine their rise and fall happened before those.

Same with Lesandros. An entire continent sinking into the sea must have coused a massive disruption in the world, and yet no mention of them. Again, it's easier to imagine their rise and fall happened before the rest.
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I'm pretty sure there's lore about the bronze men somehow getting BTFO by the great evil that the early Azanese were fighting?
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>>86300441
If there is, I cannot find it in the wiki.
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>>86300453
Like half the stuff isn't on the wiki
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>>86300410
We don't have mention of nearly anything from year 0-2000. We can add those mentions.
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>>86300496
To be fair, there's a lot of room for lore development, both for the nations that have already been written and those that haven't. Plus, not every date has been added to the timeline, since so many events do not have a specific date.
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Map of the world blank, with Lesandros' continent still unsunk. I'll use it to draw the different borders of the empires throughout the ages.
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>>86258952
Where are threads 19 and 20?
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The only mention I found about Bronze men is in thread 2.

>Well the fluff is that the residual heat from the giant pressing down makes it unbearably hot. My pro[posal is that Qadash was a city of men of Bronze, humans made of metal who thrived in the opressive heat, but as the handprint cooled the sandworms emerged from the deapths not needing to hide from the heat thus destroyign the city. The land aboveground is still mostly uninhabitable, but grand caverns owned by the sandworms stretch underground. I will indicate the sandworm territories with a thin line.

They also appear as Brass men in the wiki.
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>>86300230
I like this, although I'd leave a few more blank spaces
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>>86300410
I mean, they were surrounded by big ass mentions and lived in a desert, so makes sense that their interactions with the outside world were scarce.

Their only other settlements/ruins are mentioned in the Golden Knightlands
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>>86302125
This was just the test image. I'll use >>86301053
and move from there. I do need more dates, though.
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>>86302142
Fair enough, but I still think their end should come before BoE. Otherwise, isolation or not they must have had some other interaction with the outside world.

Also, dumb question, but why are they called bronze men or brass men? Is it metaphorical or literal?
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>>86302174
When I wrote about them I imagined them as similar men to the Dwemer of TES - with them building machines and cities made of brass that could withstand the heat and whatnot.
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>>86302190
Hmm, I could write some history for the Bronze men. Would you be right with me dating their end at 1.830 BoE? That date would coincide with the great evil fought by Azan reaching Giantstep, so it could have caused the appeareance of the worms.
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>>86302243
yeah no problem

Would this coincide with the Handprint Desert lore?
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>>86302255
There's nothing on the wiki that would contradict it. Maybe the part where the Bronze men/Brass men/Qadashi fell, their survivors went to the areas of Azhar Nar and Furlaniya, but that could always be used as a founding myth if nothing else.
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>>86302174
I thought it was literal. Like the things that live in the plane of Fire in D&D.
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I'm gonna have a go at writing lore for the Land of Windmills. I don't know what the original intention was, but I'm gonna write it as a contested no man's land given how half of their population appears to have fled into Felovik/Laurentian Crusades
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>>86303127
just make sure it has windmills.
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Old lore but these maps mark the fall of Qadash at 1000 BBE
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>>86303208
>fall of Qadash at 1000 BBE
Ok, I can work with this.

Also, damn, I didn't remember half of these things. Is the timeline shown here still valid?
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Ok, here's my attempt to make the Men of Bronze lore.

>The Giant's Handprint Desert and the Men of Bronze
The tale of the Men of Bronze is linked to the Great Desert. The Giant’s Handprint Desert, also called the Titan’s Palm or the Sea of Sand is a barren, wasted land. It is said that a giant of impossible size once used this land as a stepping stone in its path of climbing the eternal Cosmic Stairway. The incomprehensible pressure of this act not only created the mountain ranges that surround the desert to this day, but also turned the land into a single sheet of glass. As the eons passed, this glass platform was covered in miles of earth, sand and rock, which started cracking the glass, letting more and more elements from an unknown past to get through.
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>>86303452
The mountains themselves are some of the highest of Giantstep, and completely surround the desert, blocking it from any rain. This means that the only real source of water in the desert were the glass cracks from within the earth. This water poured from within and creating subterranean lakes and rivers, and it came out in such quantity that the desert was a green pasture, a sea of grass and flowers from one end to the other. We know this from the records in libraries from Azan, Fûrlaniya and Biblion. These telling tales of the beauty of this region, which attracted nearby nomads and farmers in search for land, who considered the treacherous paths of the mountains to be worth the effort of reaching the legendary sea of grass within. The numbers of these groups were never very high, but they were enough to build early cities made out of brick and adobe. However, once the people got in through the mountains, exiting back again was extraordinarily rare, to the point that the region became nearly uncommunicated with the rest of the world. Many cities sprouted, and the land became prosperous, being ruled by independent city-states that produced dozens of pyramids and ziggurats.
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>>86303472
This, however, would not last. Due to the diminishing amount of water coming out of the deep each year, the land became dryer and dryer. The grass planes and fields of wheat were reclaimed by the desert, and in less than a single millennia the Giant Handprint’s Desert became once again a land of sand and dust. The population languished, and many of the original cities were abandoned, starved and thirsty, being swallowed by the hungry dunes. There many attempts to keep the land hydrated, such as redirecting rivers from the mountains, but they ultimately failed. However, out of all of the cities, one managed to not only survive this, but also thrive: the City of Qadash.
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>>86303491
Qadash was one of the most advanced cities inside of the Handprint, shinning due to its great technological innovations and stunning architecture. Its Queen-Priest, Ish-Shimnash Mahind, recognized the danger that the changes to the region represented, and ordered the creation of great works to preserve water. Great canals were built inside of the city to transport water from the deep, channeling the ever dwindling water to her domains. This caused the rest of the population of the Handprint to migrate to Qadash searching for protection, and soon enough, Qadash had enough resources to easily control the entirety of the region. The Great City of Qadash became rich and prosperous for many decades due to the great works, growing in size and majesty as an oasis of life and civilization in the middle of the desert. Lush gardens covered the new pyramids of the nobility, covered in lush bronze in honor of their gods. They became known as the Men of Bronze, as they believed bronze was a gift from the gods to the worthy and the noble.
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>>86303507
This, however, was not the end of Qadash’s troubles. More and more cities were abandoned due to a lack of water, and with the arable lands being lost year after year, it reached a point where feeding the people of Qadash was becoming harder and harder. In desperation, the King-Priest Ish-Shinmesh ordered to build massive dungeons underground in search for water. These tunnels became the only form of water Qadash had access to, and they dug deeper and deeper into the ground in search for it. The underground became an intricate labyrinth of tunnels and pipes, with extraordinarily advanced engines to extract water from the deep, and even mechanical beasts to protect the precious lakes. In their quest for water, they also uncovered great veins of valuable minerals, but all of these became worthless in comparison to the blue gold. It reached a point where the Qadashian’s way of life became nearly completely dependent on the underground, growing fungi and lichen in the damp caverns, much easier to irrigate than the harsh desert. The city of Qadash became sealed to avoid losing any humidity, emptying many buildings to turn them into windowed sealed caverns where the sun could get in but humidity couldn’t get out.
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>>86303524
In the end, though, this efforts were ultimately in vain. It is believed that, from the west, an ancient evil arrived at the lands of western Giantstep. Its vileness was so destructive that it signaled the beginning of the end for the Men of Bronze. We do not know if what followed next was part of the ancient evil’s plan, or if it was just a side product, or if the doom of the Men of Bronze lived under the glass the entire time, but the ancient evil’s arrival also coincided with the appearance of the “Lardlardu” or “Great Worms”. These giant sandworms appeared out of nowhere, taking the Qadashians by complete surprise. Their diet of minerals and meat meant that they fed on the pillars that sustained many of the pillars that kept the underground from collapsing, while also hunting the Men of Bronze themselves. The Qadashians fought for centuries against these creatures, but they were driven back time and time again. The last records discovered of the Qadashian civilization date from around 1.000 years BBE, and told the tale of the attempts of the people there to escape the worms and the desert by crossing the mountains. There are rumors that many nearby civilizations have roots from these escaping Qadashians, but there is little to no proof to confirm this.

Today, the desert belongs to the “Lardlardu”, but many legends still tell that some surviving Men of Bronze still fight underground, keeping themselves alive in hermetically sealed systems, having long ago abandoned the light of the sun.
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>>86303302
This is from before the big timeline so there's loads of stuff that's been retconned since. For example the Furlans are now from the central plains of Southern Azan.
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>History
The Land of the Windmills was never an independent state or under control of a single nation. It’s said that before the arrival of humans, a race of Giants that lived off by cultivating the earth and herding animals. Although a species of Giants did roam the lands north of the Snoloth Plains, it’s unknown if they reached this far north, or if this supposed race of Giants was a species related to them. What we know, however, is that the windmills scattered across the land could not have been built by humans. Their gargantuan size and strange architecture proves this further, and gave rise to the earlier hypothesis. Archaeological evidence partly supports this hypothesis, with some skeletons and skulls of Giant beings left behind, although not in the number that would be needed for building and maintaining such a large amount of windmills. According to folktale stories, the invading humans wiped out these giants with the help of a sorcerer, who turned them into these huge, inhuman windmills, although that story is clouded in myth. Even though there were originally more than ten thousand windmills dotted around these lands, now fewer than a thousand remain, most having been demolished or reduced to ruins throughout hundreds of wars.
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>>86305665
After the arrival of humans, many towns and cities were founded, most being self-governed and independent from each other. The Land of the Windmills quickly made a name as a fertile land and as a result many humans from the west migrated there. Throughout the last few hundred years, the Land of the Windmills has been in constant warfare, as Waldemaria, Zapalovah and even the Bayukmen have been vying for control and influence, with the local feudal lords also warring with each other. Even though these conflicts were relatively isolated, it took a turn for worse when the Vzdoruye were exiled from Zapalovah and formed the underground city of Mossovoy.
Soon, the masters of the Vzdoruye began raiding the Land of the Windmills, since passing through it was quickest way for them to reach the Cursed Battlefield. Many fled to Zapalovah and Felovik, but the less fortunate had no chance but to stay and defend their homes and farmsteads. The people from the Windmills soon became the leading source of manpower for the Laurentian Crusades, choosing to defend their lands and Waldemaria from the necromancers. This was not the end of trouble for them, however, as the damage was already done. Nowadays, the Land of the Windmills is filled to the brim with leftover undead of the Vzdoruye, bandits, mercenaries, corrupt and renegade Laurentian Knights, Zapalovahn agents, Felovik knights and criminals of all kinds. Executions, raids and rape are all common in this once beautiful land, which is now commonly known as “No Man’s Land” or “Land of the Hangings”, due to how many gallows are now scattered in the fields.
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>>86307114
>Locations

Each city is self-autonomous to an extent, each with its own ruler and allegiances. There are three major settlements.

>Colossa

Colossa is a city north of the Fairy Woods, and is thought by many to be the oldest continuously habited settlement in the Land of the Windmills. It’s built inside the skull of what once was a Giant, and is widely considered one of the thirteen wonders of the world. It’s ruled by Hubert Velen, a former Laurentian Knight from Waldemaria. Hubert has imposed his religious belief upon the people of the city, and is a hater of all things undead and magical, so much as to command his former Laurentian companions to burn down and chop the trees of the whimsical Fairy Woods. Colossa controls most of the southern lands of the windmills, although even they avoid the swamps to the east.

>Old Willow

Old Willow is a town in the middle of the Land of Windmills. It’s protected by a moat and a palisade, and for that reason many peasants flocked to live within its walls. It’s governed by Vserad Szejn, a former mercenary commander from Zapalovah, who now fashions himself the title of Baron, although the common folk would rather refer him as “The Hangman”. Szejn’s rule is harsh, and perhaps reflective of the land itself. His men are ill-disciplined and overly fond of brutalizing the local population. Law and order are in short supply, as are food and supplies. He rules over from the Redfort, a modest keep built on the top of the hill that overlooks the town, and enjoys a picturesque view of the Hangman’s Lands. The Baron controls most of the western lands, and often his men defect in order to join the Laurentian Strongholds.
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>>86307179
>Free City of Yaregor

Yaregor is situated on the northern shore of the Land of the Windmills, not too far away from Felovik. Even though not originally an island, the people of Yaregor dug trenches around the city, providing it with a strong defense. It maintains a position of neutrality, not even choosing to aid the people of the Windmills from the necromancers and vagabonds that roam the lands. Yaregor is a large city –more than twice as populous as Felovik- and rivals even the larger cities of Zapalovah, maintaining strong trade relations with both nations, as they control most of the northern coast. Yaregor has been subject to many sieges and attacks –especially as of late- but were able to withstand them and have repelled their enemies every time.

It’s home to all manner of craftsmen offering every ware possible and one can even find the occasional con-man or shady dealer. The city is also home to numerous banks and even an academy that’s financed by Zapalovah. Even though crime is a common occurrence in Yaregor, it pales in comparison to what happens in the rest of No Man’s Lands. Due to this, many of the smallfolk travelled to Yaregor in hopes of a better future. In response, the guard of Yaregor has set up blockades south of the city, allowing only the ones that are able to pay a large fee in order to enter, while planning to evict more already in the city. There is no army in the city but it does have a secret service, an ever-present City Guard, and a powerful fleet. It is ruled by a council of Ministers, who mostly hail from Zapalovah.
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>>86307507
>>86307179
>>86307114
>>86305665
Added to the Wiki. Also, I've posted the Qadash loredump to the Giant's Handprint Desert, seeing as it's related to both.
>>
Boop
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So when did Lesandros sink? Maybe the Ancient Evil that destroyed the Bronze of Men and was destroyed by Azan also caused the great wave that sunk the continent of Lesandros.
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Was Etera an empire before the spell that doomed the city was cast?
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>>86298505
>>86299468
This is glorious! I love you for doing it anon. I hereby declare one of the MVP's of Giantstep.
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>>86313891
We're 2 separate people. I only did the 3 angle one
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Somebody needs to write a piece about the Zulutaurs
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>>86313918
Well in this case both of you did a very good job!
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At some point we'll have to make a pantheon for all the gods in this setting.
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>>86313985
We have to finish Zemyland, Littlestep and Scimitarian first, they are nearly done.
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I want to write a bit about the fall of Lesandros. I was thinking that it was a prosperous civilisation that shunn the outside world and, in their search for an unspecified treasure beneath the waves, ended up freeing some ancient evil that sunk their continent, and centuries later it reached western Giantstep, where Azan ultimately destroyed it. Would it work?
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>>86314149
I have thought of doing one, but didn’t want to box people in

Here is a rough draft of how I see religions working in the setting though:

Azan Faith and variants – has its own page plus is expanded upon on various other pages

Faerie Lords – common throughout the north, power levels vary greatly, some are seen as just powerful entities that can be bargained with, others are seen as just powerful rulers, but others are treated as outright gods, there are a couple gods in the north that haven’t been outright identified as such that probably fall in this category

Faith of the Nine Saints and the Zemylander/Northmen Pantheon – both are based around the idea of one god who takes many forms and is served by ascended beings. Given many nations in Little Giantstep are vague on their religion, I figure much of the northeast has at least some people following the Northmen family of religions, with some like the Alltaf and Hyperboreans focusing more on the main god, and others like the Zemylanders emphasizing the lesser gods and claiming the main god doesn’t like being worshipped directly

Moon Goddess – seems to be a reoccurring thing with several variants of Irem and the drow moon goddess kicking about, plus part of the Ogchuk religion, they could be the same entity taking different forms

Drow Gods – mixed bag of demons, faerie lords, and powerful ascended beings, their volcano god is likely the same as the one worshipped on Volcano Island, and possibly the inspiration for the Cleansing Flame as well

Various personality cults – some of these may be based on an individual who ascended in some way, but most are just frauds
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>>86315059

Assorted Demon Lords – The Succubus Queen and Glutton God are reoccurring in several areas, Althazzar and the possible demon associated with the Kokaine breach have also been identified, and some members of the Northman and Khenomeric Pantheons are also likely demons, with the Volcano God and Mg’umba also being possible candidates

Tri-God of Hithlone and Vesta – probably the remnants of a much larger pantheon

Dwarven Pantheon – hasn’t been described much yet, but mostly consists of a creator god and some ascended beings

Khenomeric Pantheon – bits and pieces of it still survive in various places

Uun – bailed out, though the damaged he caused is still present in some areas

Assorted minor religions mostly restricted to one area – Avestanianism, The Balance, Drunig and Nogarese Pantheons, Mumak Pantheon, etc.
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>>86315082
I forgot the Harmony God and the Action God, it is still a bit vague how they fit in, though the Action God seems similar to Uun in some ways given his love of trolling
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>>86315082
Whatever the Lord Descended is, it should count as a god.
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>>86315238
he's a tortoise
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>>86315474
What?
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>>86307179
So Colossa is another wonder of the world?
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>>86315928
a tortoise
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>>86316230
Nothing in the wiki says it is a tortoise.
https://crumbling-giantstep.fandom.com/wiki/Land_of_the_Lord_descended_from_the_sky?so=search
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>>86316711
The guy who put it on the wiki didn't put in the picture the original post came with considering it was the literal photoshop of a tortoise breaking trough reality
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>>86316797
Huh. You're right, it's in the 3rd thread, right there. So is it an eldritch abomination in the shape of a cosmic turtle? Considering what was written in the wiki article and in the War of the Lord Descended story, I wouldn't have guessed.
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>>86298505
Very nice! Now let's make it BIGGER
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>>86315144
>I forgot the Harmony God and the Action God, it is still a bit vague how they fit in, though the Action God seems similar to Uun in some ways given his love of trolling
Do we have more examples of godly "trolling"?
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>>86284314
if you know what I mean
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>>86314149
you mean a religious map?
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>>86320469
I assume there should be some major religions that if a minor nation is in the area of a larger one it's just assumed they practice that religion unless stated otherwise, like i assume most of the former Khenomeric Empire and their vassels practice forms of whatever religion the empire had
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>>86320469
Not that anon but good idea!
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>>86320469
>>86321353
There are plenty places without any detailed religious lore. It's a bit soon for a religious map.
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I feel like some OC art for the wiki would be nice. We could make a few requests in the drawthread. Maybe even get a drawanon on board.
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>>86325218
drawfags are on strike since the AI became big
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>>86325218
Maybe some art of witch elves and gnolls that aren't just taken from other properties (Warhammer)
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>>86325538
I hope you are trolling
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>>86326294
I like the idea! With enough time on our hands we might get to the point were we have one oc picture for every nation. Somebody get some drawfrens invested in this thing.
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I have written something about the Demarchists of Lesandros. I've assumed that they disappeared in ancient times for the story.

Within the historians and wise men of the world, no subject has led to as much speculation or guesswork as the lost land of Lesandros. The debates of what the Demarchist of Lesandros were like, when they appeared, where they came from or if they even existed at all, has been a point of contention in the history of Giantstep. The scattered remnants of information about that lost civilization tells us little of anything about them but their fall. It is this lack of information which has led many to believe the tale of Lesandros was but a mere folk story, told many millennia ago to teach humbleness and humility to the children. And yet, some point out to strange relics and contraptions discovered in the coasts of the west of the world, its mechanics and function unknown still, which couldn’t have made by nothing but a brilliant people. Whatever the truth was, we might never trully know.
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>>86326961
>The Sunk Continent
The only description we have of the land of Lesandros itself comes from the “Tome of the Faek’rah”, a compilation of stories told by the nomad orcs of the Faek’rah tribe, disappeared many millennia ago. It was then documented by an unnamed owlman, who then brought it back to his home. The passage of the land of Lesandros mentions that was a “land near the southwestern corner of the world, full of tall cliffs and tall mountains. There life sprung with divine strength, the land chosen by the gods to practice their arts of creation without limit, their energies spent on the making of things that would shame the mortal words of beauty. Its magnificence could only be equaled to the shame of its fall of ash, soot and darkness”.

There could be some speculation about the meaning of this passage. Some point out to the mythical land of Lesandros, while some other think that the Faek’rah were talking about Scimitarian. Both versions would have some merit, since the land of Scimitarian has been known to house some pretty impressive volcanoes. Some experts believe that the land of the drow had much less volcanic activity in the past, and it seems reasonable to assume that land rich in volcanic soil could seem as a green paradise. Then again, Scimitarian is not exactly in the Southwest, the continent stretches far to the north, and its supposed fall does not exactly fit with the actual age of the tales told, since the fall of the First Elven Empire (even their first defeats at the hands of Azan) would occur much later. Then again, spoken tales are difficult to date at the best of times, and their change from telling to telling only muddies out ability to discern all.
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>>86326969
>The Demarchists of Lesandros

There are around a dozen tales and chronicles talking about what was known as the “Demarchists of Lesandros”. Many of this registers talk about it as if it was the first civilization, others mention it as the “Heirs of Ehrah” or “The Hands of Hrah”. The Demarchists were described as a brilliant civilization, whose brilliance impressed even the gods. They said to be able to go to the suns and the stars to bring light to their homes, and that they were able to travel to the depths of the ocean to unearth unimaginable treasures. Mentions of the great feats of that mysterious civilization have caused a lot of debate around the historians’ societies, debating whether all of those great achievements were purely metaphorical of if there was indeed a grain of truth on them. Those who believe the stories to be false point to the lack of supposed expansion of the Demarchists. If they were so powerful and advance in an age where they had no other equal by far, how come they didn’t rule the world? Those who believe the stories to be true point to the discovery from time to time of strange, unidentified technology in the lands of Southern Scimitarian, Southwestern Giantstep and even some far away places like the Great Floating Garbage Patch. They must have come from somewhere, and Lesandros seems to be the easiest answer. They also point out to “The Guilt of F’grah”, a short poem written in ancient drow that talk about the supposed greed of the “Men of the Sky”. In it, the “Men of the Sky”, after exploring the entire world, they found it beneath their greatness and decided to stay at their island, keeping all of their knowledge to themselves, and for their pride, they were struck with doom. Many have pointed out that this could have been the reason for the lack of material proof, but it seems hard to believe that they wouldn’t expand or communicate with the outside.
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>>86326985
>The Fall of Lesandros and the Great Wave of Kanagawa
The most important tale for many studied men is the “Tale of the Wave of Kanagawa”. Unlike most of the documents talking about Lesandros, this isn’t just a chronicle of events. The “Tale of the Wave of Kanagawa” is a love story, a poem telling the tragic tale of a forbidden love that doomed Lesandros. It is remarkable because of the fact that it is the most complete telling of the fall of Lesandros we have left, allegorical or not. It was discovered in a Hithlonian library, and while quite damaged by time, enough has survived to give historians an interesting source to investigate.
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>>86327025
In the tale, it is said that one of the gods of Lesandros fell in love with a young maiden, but the maiden couldn’t love it in return, since she already owed her love to someone else. The god tried to appraise the maiden, gifting her with all kinds of blessings it could bestow upon her, but she rejected all, since her love for her beloved was true. Thus the god despaired, since even with all its divine power it couldn’t gain the love of the mortal that mattered to it the most. Trying one last gambit, he sank into the veil beyond the Great Darkness of the west to find anything that could change this situation, to finally earn the maiden’s love. It is said that it found something in the void, a seemingly innocent black flower of indescribable shape and beauty. But when presented to the maiden, she rejected it once again. Enraged, the god threw the flower to the depths of the ocean. The feelings of anger and sorrow of the god somehow fed the flower even in the deep, and its roots grew as bitter as the heart of the god. Its roots dug under the land of Lesandros, and shook the foundations of the land, while the flower grew into a near infinite pillar of darkness. The gods of Lesandros tried to destroy this abomination that threaten to destroy the world, but the darkness of the god’s heart had given life to the tree. Many years they fought, side by side with the Demarchists to avoid the destruction of the world, which they finally did. However, the fall of the dark tree caused a wave of colossal proportions, swallowing Lesandros into the deep, all the while the tears of the gods could be heard around the world.
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How is this thing still going?
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>>86329102
We're bored and this is fun.
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>>86329102
The power of friendship.
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How many empires do we have that appeared before Azan got unified?
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Also, when was the Eteran spell cast?
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>>86329744
I presume the Khenomeric Empire is older than Azan, by how much no clue and how bit it would have been at the time.
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>>86329937
That is in the timeline. The Khenomeric Empire was founded around 1930 BBE, and Azan got unified around1720.
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>>86329744
I think the exact date was listed in the timeline that was posted some threads ago
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>>86329102
It's fun
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>>86329744
The Biblarion library was also ancient and in prehistory the Goddragons had some great Empire likely
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>>86334503
>The Biblarion library
Could that be considered a big empire, though?

>Goddragons
Where can I find their territory? Is it in the wiki?
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More like /tg/ makes a seething
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>>86335326
One of the least interesting bots I've ever seen.
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>>86335357
seething.
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>>86334542
No they're the vague "ruled the world at the beginning of time" faction. They lost a war to the Khenomeric Empire when they invented magic (one version of events) while another version of events claims they left the world to go to a higher step long ago. Few lingering behind starting the Azam Empire.
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I am wondering how exactly souls work in this world. Does the strength of ones soul determine their inherent connection to magic, or to the world around them? How much does it generally vary in humans? Did the goddragons use incredibly powerful soul magic, if the common magic wasn't invented then?
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>>86335357
Stop calling everthing a bot for christs sake. It's all autists. Always has been.
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What's left to be done there?
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>>86337313
Writing a cohesive and reasonable magic system would be nice. We have written some stuff about alchemy and whatever astromancy is, but magic has been left pretty vague.
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>>86335430
If that's the case I'll refrain from adding them to the map, since they are much vague than even Lesandros.
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>>86337313
Religious and cultural map setting pantheon too.

There's also the funny alignment charts and some countries just lack lore. We alse severely lach short stories.
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>>86337313
Still plenty of nations with little to no lore left.
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>Historical maps Part 1. World at the birth of the Azanese Empire. Circa 1.720 ABE

Here we have an aproximation of the world's great powers at the time of the birth of the Azan Empire. Right after defeating the Ancient Evil, Azan unified most peoples from the west and southwest of Giantstep, and the empire would only grow for many centuries.

At Scimitarian, we can see the many scattered faerie lords, disunited, but expanding northwards after Etera's influences disappeared.

Right beside Azan, we can find Qadash and the Men of Bronze, within the mountains of the Handprint. At this point in time, their doom was clear for all to see, falling more and more to the predations of the Lardlardu, but still seemingly holding on.

In the east, the Khenomeric Empire was on its way to greatness. Magic was discovered just a couple of decades before the founding of Azan, and as such, their expansion will quickly overtake that of Azan. Right beside the Khenomeri we can find the Ketlovian Kingdom, just as ancient as the khenomeri, but due to its geographical position (blocked by the Vodyanik Lands and the Mountains of Ooze), have little room to expand. This will eventually force them to abandon the Ivory Peninsula and take a secondary role in the region.

Finally, the Merfolk Empire was already at its height, which it would keep until its sudden doom after their god, Uum, got bored with their protegees and cursed their lands.

Anything that needs adding or change at this point in time?
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>>86339000
*BBE
I had one job...
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Fixed.
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>>86339159
Looks good

I think the faerie lord territory might need some clarity - I feel like they should have been living across much of the north for a very long time even by this point, but they probably aren't politically organized enough to be considered a nation across all the territory in which faerie lords can be found. Maybe some smaller nations though for the more stable alliances and bigger players like the bog witch

If you are looking for smaller nations to include, >>86303208 could be useful even if some parts of it contradict the latest lore

Also, Etera should still exist at this point
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>>86340276
>Etera should still exist at this point
When did it disappear?

Also, this is just for the big empires. Maybe later down the line, when we have more lore of the current nations, we can work on a complete historical map series. For now I just want to work on the big powers at certain points.
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>>86337478
>magic has been left pretty vague.
And it should stay that way
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>>86342597
seconded
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>>86342597
Agreed
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>>86342597
>>86344434
Seconded2
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Should we make ancient nations that no longer exist to fill out parts of the ancient world?
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>>86341185
>When did it disappear?
Over 1500 years ago according to the Bumi page
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Some general ideas about magic for the purposes of actual games, feel free to shout at me
>magic is the learned study and manipulation of arcane energies, distinct from sorcery, demonology, fey charms, shamanism, witchcraft, alchemy, etc.
>for mundane races (ie non-fey), magic is hard
>alchemy is very closely tied to magic although the exact nature of their relationship is unclear
>some claim alchemy is an offshoot of magic that became its own field, others that it's the application of magical processes to natural philosophy, and those are only the two main theories
>astromancy is probably the hardest and most theoretical branch of magic
>astromancy and alchemy are often seen as the two main theoretical fields, with similar methods
>most mundane magic technically falls under the misused label of elemental magic
>elemental magic is relatively easy compared to other fields and allows users to "tap" into the archetypal planes of various concepts, which can be anything from "light" to "wooden chairs" to "this specific lake"
>the power of elemental magic depends on the innate powerbof the archetype, the quality of research in the field and potential of the individual wielding it
>a powerful mage from some remote fortress-monastery dedicated to the study of the archetypal plane of the wooden chair can easily crush an initiate in light magic that never attuned himself more to his magic than the surface level
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>>86345740
>magic is the learned study and manipulation of arcane energies, distinct from sorcery, demonology, fey charms, shamanism, witchcraft, alchemy, etc.
makes sense
>for mundane races (ie non-fey), magic is hard
okay, though some people should be innately better at it than others, a lot of it probably still comes from ancestry, but with a lot of variability due to the randomness of genetics and the even more randomness of magic
>alchemy is very closely tied to magic although the exact nature of their relationship is unclear
>some claim alchemy is an offshoot of magic that became its own field, others that it's the application of magical processes to natural philosophy, and those are only the two main theories
I figure alchemy basically comes down to mixing/sticking things together, and sometimes those things are magical. A lot of alchemy can be done by non-magic users (even if it involves magical materials), but some requires magic
>astromancy is probably the hardest and most theoretical branch of magic
okay
>astromancy and alchemy are often seen as the two main theoretical fields, with similar methods
okay
>most mundane magic technically falls under the misused label of elemental magic
okay
>elemental magic is relatively easy compared to other fields and allows users to "tap" into the archetypal planes of various concepts, which can be anything from "light" to "wooden chairs" to "this specific lake"
okay
>the power of elemental magic depends on the innate power of the archetype, the quality of research in the field and potential of the individual wielding it
okay
>a powerful mage from some remote fortress-monastery dedicated to the study of the archetypal plane of the wooden chair can easily crush an initiate in light magic that never attuned himself more to his magic than the surface level
okay
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>>86345740
>because of this elemental magic, or more precisely archetypal magic is incredibly diverse
>necromancy is a very specific type of archetypal magic with very specific conventions
>although every practicioner of archetypal magic can attune to their chosen plane in a way specific to them, various schools of magic have over time created and perfected standardised methods for taping magical potential - spells
>all archetypal mages under the level of grand masters that are actively engaged in study will rely almost solely on already discovered and memorised spells with perhaps some slight tinkering once they achieve high levels of proficiency
>spells are much easier to cast using arcane catalysts - objects imbued with innate archetypal power, everything from mudling eyes to goddragon eggs can help
>most archetypal mages will therefore carry their own personal tomes full of the arcane knowledge they've assembled and learned as well as possibly bags of various catalysts
>some schools openly teach their spells to whomever is willing, some demand payment, while some guard them jealously
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>>86345839
>okay, though some people should be innately better at it than others, a lot of it probably still comes from ancestry, but with a lot of variability due to the randomness of genetics and the even more randomness of magic
Deliberately leaving this vague seems best to me because we've already had several multithread fights over this exact issue, not once, but twice, if i recall correctly.
> figure alchemy basically comes down to mixing/sticking things together, and sometimes those things are magical. A lot of alchemy can be done by non-magic users (even if it involves magical materials), but some requires magic
There's several types of alchemy, some magical some not in the setting. Let's just assume it's all vaguely connected and on a sliding scale of "basically ye olde chemistry" up to "magic but with formulas instead of spells"
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>>86345854
>because of this, a lot of journeymen mages that aren't tied down to a specific place due to various obligations will wander the world in search of schools, mages and spells that fit their specialisation enough that they can learn it
>even if tied to obligations, traditionally in the civilized world young mages that have successfully finished their apprenticeship must leave their region for 777 days to travel the world and put their knowledge to the test
>this tradition is said to date back to the days of the Khenomeric empire
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That's all I can think off at the moment, do tell if I contradicted established lore somewhere.
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>>86345985
>some schools openly teach their spells to whomever is willing
I have a hard time seeing this, training is a significant investment of rare resources, there is always going to be some sort of cost (money, loyalty to a particular cause, civil, commercial, and/or military service, etc.)

>a lot of journeymen mages that aren't tied down to a specific place due to various obligations will wander the world in search of schools, mages and spells that fit their specialisation enough that they can learn it
I figure even basic schools can probably provide a few years of content, while the most advanced can probably keep teaching you stuff for centuries - traveling seems like it would be more of a personal choice

>even if tied to obligations, traditionally in the civilized world young mages that have successfully finished their apprenticeship must leave their region for 777 days to travel the world and put their knowledge to the test
Also seems a bit too idealistic for many of the factions in this setting
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>>86346703
Well the mage might have the information, but it could be that they cannot effectively teach all of it to that specific student.
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More like /tg/ makes a seething
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>>86345740
>alchemy is very closely tied to magic although the exact nature of their relationship is unclear
The alchemy page in the wiki explains this.

https://crumbling-giantstep.fandom.com/wiki/Alchemy?so=search
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>>86345725
Is that date still reasonable? 1.5k years ago is pretty recent, and Etera's lore implies it disappeared in ancient times. Both when they say that Etera already existed when "elves and wizards first reached the west" and when they say that "Arangeans and Bumians claim their ancestry back to the ancient residents of Etera, although many considered these claims dubious, to say the least".
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Where's the map of the nations still in need of lore?
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How many elves do we have?
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>>86350718
Primal Elves, Snow Elves, Witchelves, Drow

4 I'd wager
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>>86350820
Sea elves and Wood elves as well.
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How much time is a year in this setting?
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>>86348072
1500 years is still a pretty long time, definitely long enough to confuse the issue of whether Bumi and Arangea were vassal states or colonies of Etera

>>86350820
>>86350830
Wood elves/primal elves are basically the same thing

Ta'lunasir in the south are also basically elves

Plus there are various types of half elves
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>>86351195
>1500 years is still a pretty long time
Fair enough, but if someone writes more lore for Etera, they will have to explain their relation with the rest of the world up to that point, even if the eterans are declared isolationists. How did they interact with the Azan-Drow wars and the BoE, and stuff.

>Plus there are various types of half elves
How common is hybridation is in this setting? How frequently do we get half-elves, half-dwaves, half-orks...
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>>86351195
>half elves
Do we even have mentions of those in the lore?
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>>86351210
>How common is hybridation is in this setting?
Half-elves and half-drow appear in several different regions. Individuals with dragon or demon lineage are referred to as tieflings and are significant in the lore. A lot of humans in the north have at least a bit of fey blood, but are still considered human. Humans can mate with most things, and wood/primal elves with nearly everything. So far individuals that are mixes of many different races are only common in Zapalovach.

>>86351759
A couple of times in Calcabra, Isle of Wizards, Faarowt, Drow City-States, etc.
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>>86350820
The snow elves claim they are not elves and dislike the name but they're probably a descendant of whatever the originator of elves were
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>>86350915
Varies as stellar bodies switch in and out as they go up the divine stairway.
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More like /tg/ makes a seething
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>>86352376
Makes sense. That would explain the long periods of relative inactivity in the timeline. Those years are shorter and thus the calendary seems to go faster.
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>>86352584
>>86352376
woah,,,, material astroleninism,,,,
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>>86352376
>>86352584
>>86353120

Not exactly... while the year the peasants measure or live by carries a lot a standardised year-leangth exists.

That's why the astromancers are such a big deal. The 'standard-year-leangth' is an ancient measure likely dating back to the days of the School of White.
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What the fook happens in the Blesire States
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>Historical maps Part 2. World at the beginning of theFirst Azanese-Drow War. 1401 BBE

Here we have an aproximation of the world's great powers at the time the first war between the Azan Empire and the recently created Western Elven Empire.

Azan has expanded consistently, creating an administration solid and stable enough to control most of the lands of the southern coast of Giantstep. Their expansion through the Brumgulls Steppe is slow due to the orcs and the ogres putting up a fight, but the land will eventually be under azanese influence.

In their expansion through the north and the west, the azanese began causing more and more worry throughout the faerie lands. In the Terusia Isthmus and the Scabbard Range, news of the azanese expansion makes the human communities living there seek help from the scimitarian lords, and in the Hedge Plains, the peaceful gnomes, hobbits and brownies also see the writing on the wall, and send messages of help to the west. In the Council of Bruin'Ioi, thousands of faerie lords swore a pact of mutual defense and assistance to counter the possible threat of Azan, setting the bases for the creation of the Western Elven Empire. The threat of this massive empire born seemingly overnight quickly led to the azanese authorities to try and counter its influence, thus sparking the war. And while the Western Elven Empire seemingly could fight Azan on equal footing, the disunion of the drow and internal strife between the many faerie lords eventually led to defeats in the field of battle. Azan would expand northwards and westwards, though it would never fully absorb the Western Elven Empire.
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>>86355050
In the East, the Khenomeric Empire continues its meteoric rise. With the Ketlovian Kingdom defeated and turned into a vassal state, and with the Merfolk Empire seemingly contented with its borders, the Khenomeri could expand at their hearts' content. Their increasing use of magic allowed a quick territorial expansion, which most of the time outsped their actual administrative capabilities to control the land. In those cases, fear of the magical prowess of the khenomeri kept the territories loyal in one way or another, something that would continue for centuries.

In the Handprint, Qadash was on its way to oblivion. We have little records of their doom, since the mountains, the desert and the underground caverns make finding the truth of what happened difficult.

Finally, the Merfolk were still isolated within their territories, happy and enjoying the blessings of Uun.


Anything that needs adding or change at this point in time?
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>>86355050
Thank you for making these anon. Will be fun to fill out the maps with 'extinct' ancient nations once you're done. Also make a timelapse gif.
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>>86355050
>>86355089
The first mention of the "First Azanese-Drow War" was in the lore for the "Last Remnant Communities" and was clearly meant to refer to an event sometime after the Drow Invasion around 1000 years ago. Not sure why it ended up so far back in the past. But I guess there could have been multiple "First Azanese-Drow Wars" throughout history.

Otherwise looks great.
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>>86355302
I think that bit of lore was made when the timeline wasn't clear. I'm using >>86258968 as reference.
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NEW THREAD.

>>86355397
>>86355397
>>86355397



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