4mbrosia
2012-03-12, 03:33 PM
Overview
Everyone remembers the big silver rush. Fifty years ago, back before the warlords tore the southwest apart, there was nothing on the slopes of the mountain of Kadzait but pine trees and animals twice your size. Then a lonesome prospector far from home struck silver, and a community of fifty thousand bloomed there practically overnight. But the silver ran out, and the people left with it.
But then a curious combination of circumstances took place. The southwestern nations fell to warlords, driving refugees in all directions as villages and towns were razed to the ground by amateurs who confused domination with power. Passages were established across the mountains, and the sleepy town Kadzait (named for the mountain towering above it) had become since the prospectors left started to retain some of that old attention as a route to the frigid far north beyond the walls of sheer stone and ice. Then silver was struck once again, and it became obvious to all that Kadzait was going to live up to its name as the Firebird City.
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So yeah, um, I'm new here. Hello. I thought introducing the centerpiece of the setting I've been mulling over for the past week or two would be an appropriate first (real) post. I've always liked the idea of a boom town backdrop in d&d, as it doesn't seem to be done all that often and it lends itself to all sorts of plot hooks. Worldbuilding is new to me, so forgive me if I'm a bit sparse on the details - if you have any questions, ask! Here are the races that I'm thinking of including, so far.
-Humans. Most of the ~8000 residents who remained after the first big rush were human.
-Vila. Most of these pale fellows that live in Kadzait are refugees, having been driven from the south by raids and discrimination. Their culture, being built around complex arts and dances, often leads to them being seen as too laid-back for their own good. It's said that Vila can domesticate anything, and Vila handlers are absolute terrors in dogfighting rings.
-Aloviti are the people who live north of the mountains. I'm thinking of basing them on the Inuit. They were once human, but centuries of living in proximity to the colossal snakelike Ala (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ala_(demon))(located close to the north pole) has given them deep-set eyes and a taller stature, as well as an inborn talent for magic. The Aloviti who live in Kadzait often work as guides or trappers, although there are some refugees from eastern areas where warlords have started to push north into the mountains in a quest for land and soldiers.
For Kadzait and the surrounding areas, I'm pulling from primarily Russian and other Slavic folklore for races, monsters, etc. If any of you folk have any suggestions, I'm all ears. Thank you for your time.
EDIT: Almost forgot - here's a barebones map (http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/colonius/Sketch12111111.png). The location of Kadzait is the red 'x'.
Everyone remembers the big silver rush. Fifty years ago, back before the warlords tore the southwest apart, there was nothing on the slopes of the mountain of Kadzait but pine trees and animals twice your size. Then a lonesome prospector far from home struck silver, and a community of fifty thousand bloomed there practically overnight. But the silver ran out, and the people left with it.
But then a curious combination of circumstances took place. The southwestern nations fell to warlords, driving refugees in all directions as villages and towns were razed to the ground by amateurs who confused domination with power. Passages were established across the mountains, and the sleepy town Kadzait (named for the mountain towering above it) had become since the prospectors left started to retain some of that old attention as a route to the frigid far north beyond the walls of sheer stone and ice. Then silver was struck once again, and it became obvious to all that Kadzait was going to live up to its name as the Firebird City.
=======================================
So yeah, um, I'm new here. Hello. I thought introducing the centerpiece of the setting I've been mulling over for the past week or two would be an appropriate first (real) post. I've always liked the idea of a boom town backdrop in d&d, as it doesn't seem to be done all that often and it lends itself to all sorts of plot hooks. Worldbuilding is new to me, so forgive me if I'm a bit sparse on the details - if you have any questions, ask! Here are the races that I'm thinking of including, so far.
-Humans. Most of the ~8000 residents who remained after the first big rush were human.
-Vila. Most of these pale fellows that live in Kadzait are refugees, having been driven from the south by raids and discrimination. Their culture, being built around complex arts and dances, often leads to them being seen as too laid-back for their own good. It's said that Vila can domesticate anything, and Vila handlers are absolute terrors in dogfighting rings.
-Aloviti are the people who live north of the mountains. I'm thinking of basing them on the Inuit. They were once human, but centuries of living in proximity to the colossal snakelike Ala (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ala_(demon))(located close to the north pole) has given them deep-set eyes and a taller stature, as well as an inborn talent for magic. The Aloviti who live in Kadzait often work as guides or trappers, although there are some refugees from eastern areas where warlords have started to push north into the mountains in a quest for land and soldiers.
For Kadzait and the surrounding areas, I'm pulling from primarily Russian and other Slavic folklore for races, monsters, etc. If any of you folk have any suggestions, I'm all ears. Thank you for your time.
EDIT: Almost forgot - here's a barebones map (http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b198/colonius/Sketch12111111.png). The location of Kadzait is the red 'x'.