So way back in the day, I ran this session or three that took place in a war torn land called Kelba. Well going through my notes I read through and well put more thought in it and here I shall at the very least show off a bit of it. Opinons would be a great help as well.
Kelba is a cold war torn land. It has wide spreading plains and lowlands. Most predominately i sthe wide range of steppes that cover the landscape. Juttering crags leap out more and you head north ward towards the infamous Dragon Spine Mountains. And towards the coast line the land becomes rocky and barren. Trading barges dock in here, trading in the huge city walls of the orchish bastions and cities.
Ore scatter all across the land but wood is a rare, and mostt of it is brought in via the trade routes. Other than the costal cities of the orcs the rest of Kelba is occupied with small hamlets ad roving bands of nomads. All whit their own beleifs and virtues. Various decaying towers and ruins blocth the lands north. These ruins stand as remebrants of when the Dragon Lord and his hordes came over the mountains and made war in Kelba.
The people of Kelba are staight forward and brash. Their is no time to beat arund the bushes here. When your main source of survial is the meek life of goat herding or raiding, their is little time to draw things out. In the orchish cities though things are much different trade is highly valued, crafts are refined, it is a mix of culture. The flux and flow of Kelba lies in the hand of the orcs and how they desire to do bussiness for better and for worse they control the main life blood of the land.
However the other races can not be ruled out tehmselves. Humans although they hold no key stones to the real political aspects of Kelba they are Kelba. They make the majority of what Kelba is they live it. The Ogres can not be over looked either. They are sound reavers, and raiders and have on several occasions chnged the out set of Kelba's fate.
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Correct me if I'm misinterpreting this.
Humans - Iron Age Danes/Welsh. Like, they bring their families with them when they're marching to war.
Orcs - The Franks Under Charlemagne/Spaniards (I assume they know how to make steel.)
Ogres - I'm assuming they're supposed to the expansionists, with tribal leaders akin to the early Khans, before the term came to mean military ruler.
You said that is a largely stepped tract, like southwestern Russia or the -istans, right? Wide expanses, low woody vegetation, lots of grasses and shrubs. Disparate spots of windbreaking trees.
If that's the general idea, then I'd like to hear more about how the Orcs are getting their stranglehold on trade. Where is this Ore coming from? Are there springs and river deposits or lots of open bands of mineral worn to exposure in the soil all over the place where the people gather this (iron/bronze/nickel/bulette droppings?) from? Which of the races are the ones with the stranglehold on this market? If it's the Orcs, why are they all on the coast? Are the mineral deposits on the coast then? What are the magical traditions? This is the world with (I think his name was Gilgamesh?) my kickass highwayman wizard (whose sheet I lost?)
More questions on the way. Getting dinner.
Alright, back.
Continuing from before: If this is that world, then I assume the dwarves have been written out of the majority, or pushed further south than they were before. So our previous adventure is now a moot point, I'd wager.
That's fine, but I'd appreciate more information on how certain typical fantasy tropes are dealt with. Chiefly, how is magic viewed? Is it common or is it next to nonexistent? Are there many forms or are there none at all? Are there elves? What are the monsters like for this place? I assume, if keeping with the tone of the setting, that monsters are gigantic badasses that will fuck over any poor dorf they come across, what is there that helps prevent their inevitable rise to dominance? Too few to really go around, or is there something else like powerful natural magics that protect homesteads? How many could someone expect to run into in their lifetime, if they live past the first?
I'll leave it at that, because I've got way more after that I want to give you time to answer.
I'll write more for you when I get back tonight Josh.
The ore is coming from the coast itself thusly the orcs are mainly set up there. however there are several trade routes/ minor trade cities of the orcs in land. They tend to use their advancement in crafts skills to rebuild/reuse the old structures left by the Dragon Lord.
As to the more fantasy based elements of what I have envisioned. Dwarves are right out gone, they may exist else where in the worl but not in the land of Kelba. As to the elves none live on Kelba itself but there is a isle father of a wood land realm that is watched over by the "druids". They may be elves themselves.
For magic I like to think it as a next to none exsitent thing. Only cause I envisioned it in a more Conan maner. Were magic is possiable but very rare and usally feared. So in the case of Gilgamesh he would have rightfully been a greatly feared or respected man. The understanding of the workings of magic in Kelba is all a unknown deal as well. And yes the monster are big badass and far between if that helps out. Got more questions ask away
Okay, that answers a few things for me. Considering that elves are few and far between if real at all, would I still be able to keep Gil an elf? I liked Gil, and it's not necessary that he remain an elf; just a thought.
On the issue of magic; I know Conan is the bread and butter of Sword and Sorcery, but remember, Conan himself has used magic. Now, it is open to interpretation, but I think there is strong evidence for his capability as a "spellcaster." Hell, in the context of Hyboria, that fact that he can understand ancient writings makes him a pretty beefy magic user.
So, are we saying that there is no "overt" magic, and that stuff is reserved for monsters? That most "magic" is just alchemy and hypnotism? Or are we saying that magic is in a strange flux state, where Thoth Amon can cast all of his summonings even without the Ring of Set, but when he has it that makes him more magical?
Okay, another barrage of questions.
Concerning the disparate Humans; is there some collective idea of the race as a whole, or is every clan xenophobic to the point of fanaticism? What I mean is, when the Orcs decide to depose a group of humans in the north, will it cause a stir among their neighbors, or do their fellow humans hate them as much as the orcs?
How's the land divvied up? Are the Orcs on the east coast or west coast? North or south? Are the Ogres and humans left to mingle in the remainder, or have they cordoned each other off, saying: "This line separates the room. That half is yours, this half is mine. Stay over there, and if your stuff comes onto my half, I'm keeping it."
With the questions of "nations" answered, would it be reasonable to have a set up where there is a human settlement that is officially part of the Orcish rule? Like a sovereign city-state that pays tribute to Orcs to keep living and farming in that area.
I've got more, just so you know.
Well lets go one step at a time. I imagine elves to be very far and between. Think like the The Elric Saga where they were once prominent but have since faded off. Sop much so that they are myth and legend in of themselves. Sure a few may roam the world but they probally keep that under wraps. As to being able to Gil that's fine, even as a elf that would probally work but I have yet to come on a real conclusion on how I want elves to be.
For the purpose of magic in the Context of Conan think that those rare few who can cast spells do so like Toth Amon but these individuals are few and far between. Usually having no great understanding of what they are even dealing with. The common person will most likely never encounter a magic weilding humonoid. Excluding "monsters" of course. An example would be the Dragon Lord who could use magic. This rocked the very foundations of Kelba.
The concering factors around humans are varied. As in humans live in their varied tribes and towns and it changes from area to area on how well unified they are. In some place they may be as close as blood brothers in oter it might be blood fueds. It's kinds like the tribes of Native Americans and how they interact with one another.
However the orcish kingdoms do include several smaller "fiefdoms" with humans as the main populus. For the most part the orchish influence goes from the south coast (which is the only real coast line the rest is crags or cliffs) and snakes along north eastward.
The humans tend to hold the central northen reaches og Kelba and a large ogre populus consits on the west ward side with smaller pockets of action over on the eastern side of Kelba. This usually brings the ogres into direct conflict with the orcish kingdoms.
As always fell free to unload the questions it really helps me get a sounder fell of how I want things to be
So what is the campaign seed, if there is one? How are our stalwart or cowardly heroes going to be making their way about the world?
Unless, of course, we're merely concerning ourselves with Kebla's features. Either way, I've a few more questions.
Concerning this Dragon Lord and his ilk, how recent was his campaign against Kelba? Years, decades, centuries? What was that culture like? (I assume they cut a swath all the way down to the southern coast and then were there for some time, as you say the Orcs are rebuilding the structures erect at that time.) Do the people of today still feel the effects of the Dragon Lord's efforts? Are there still retainers of his forces tucked away in some backwater area?
How ironshod is the Orcish rule? Do they care at all about their contemporaries, are they working to bring things under their direction? Or are they content to let them kill each other?
Well as of now I have no real campaign idea as of yet I've just been working on the setting. As for the whole world thing I have no clue I'm just doing Kelba right now I have nothing else set out yet.
To answer your questions the Dragons Lords hold on the land lasted for about a three decades ago, so it is still fairly fresh in the minds of the people. The Dragons Lord culture U have yet to get. I kinda left him as a enigma so far. Focusing more on the people of Kelba themselevs and getting a general idea it as a whole. However I did envision most of the people of Kelba to akin to mogolian and or balkan culture.
As to the question of his retainers yes they do indeed live through out Kelba mainly in the northern reaches near the Dragon Spine Mountains. And the basically his effects can be felt in the far north of Kelba as it is. His home land the Dragon wastes are just over the mountains in the north. It's kinda like Salron and how you could kinda feel his menace but not to much more that often.
The orcish view on others is simple they are below them. However they would like to control the whole of Kelba but are more than content to watch the heathens fight amongst themselves. This doesn't help as the orcs are split into clans that often bump heads. (Think Rome with all the politcal gains and what not).
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