Need help fleshing out a Culture

[Gbeth721]

The campaign setting in its entirety is a Dark Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery mix. So far, this is all I can come up with:
The land is called Qieledia, its in a swamp, and the state religion is a pantheon of corrupted, hedonistic Devil-Gods like Slaanesh from Warhammer. I don't want to give up on it, it seems like an interesting idea. Any advice, help and/or suggestions are much, much appreciated.

[Yora]

Swamps don't offer lots of resources, are unsuitable for agriculture and infrastructure. Any culture that lives there would probably be small barbaric clans.

[Gbeth721]

So...what if I put it along a coast near a forest or something?

[Marcelinari]

Mm, I think a swamp culture could work, with several quirks. Swamps are notoriously resource poor, but there are a couple of things they can offer.

First, it's possible to dredge iron ore out of swamps, called bog iron. It's one of the easiest forms of iron to procure, so that's a good reason for the swamp to have been initially inhabited.

Secondly, bogs are absolutely teeming with life. Wet life, for sure - fires will be a problem for the culture - but life in abundance. Fishing and hunting (especially small amphibians, like frogs) are definitely ways to procure food.

It's also possible that the swamp has become a trade hub, or at least a shortcut. Traditionally, swamps are super hard to move through, but it's possible to traverse swamp waterways by utilizing very shallow boats. This might make moving goods difficult, come to think, but water transportation almost always beats out land transportation.

As for culture? Swamps tend to be very humid, regardless of temperature. Loose-fitting clothing, and material that breathes well (like cotton or silk) will be in high demand, as it is good for the climate and also difficult (or impossible) to produce locally.

Also, due to the dependence on fishing and dredging, it's likely that the culture will be nomadic, and probably broken into relatively small groups. Think waterborne Roma peoples.

[VoxRationis]

That might be a native culture. When I hear the words "state religion," I find it difficult to imagine small barbarian clans, if for no other reason than small clans do not constitute the general definition of a "state." What I'm getting from this is a native culture dominated by interlopers (who may or may not have arrived recently). These interlopers have a large, urban culture dominated by evil sorcerers and the like, which helps explain how they managed to subdue a group with such an excellent defensive terrain. If you want to avoid the cliched "evil sorcerers presiding over a noble common folk," you could have the native culture be just as dark, full of death priests and witch doctors.

[Stellar_Magic]

While notoriously resource poor in most ways, swampland can on occasion be resource rich in specific things. A large number of diamonds are mined in swampy areas of the Congo, by panning which is a notoriously labor intensive way of mining for minerals, metals, and diamonds.

[Benthesquid]

How's this? There's a nearby city-state, which is located in a very geographically advantageous position (natural harbor+access to a major waterway springs to mind). Up until fairly recently, it was controlled by a limited elected government and a powerful cabal of merchants. On the outskirts of the city's territory is a vast swamp, inhabited by scattered groups of smugglers, subsistence hunters, outlawed cults, and suchlike. Recently (perhaps one, two generations in the past) a new religion began to flourish in the swamp, combining the reverence of spirits native to the swamps with the imported worship of foreign devils. The religion's charismatic high priest was able to raise an army of sorcerers and devils, and sacked the port city.

So you'd have a substantial population and resource base to work from, but the theocracy that controlled it would still be based heavily out of the surrounding swamp region. Is this stable in the long term? Probably not. I'd expect to see either a counter-revolt, or a general migration to the urban area of the ruling class. But an unstable situation is exactly the perfect place to set a game.

[sktarq]

The campaign setting in its entirety is a Dark Fantasy/Sword and Sorcery mix. So far, this is all I can come up with:
The land is called Qieledia, its in a swamp, and the state religion is a pantheon of corrupted, hedonistic Devil-Gods like Slaanesh from Warhammer. I don't want to give up on it, it seems like an interesting idea. Any advice, help and/or suggestions are much, much appreciated.

Well Venice was built in a swamp, and could be pretty debauched at times, particularly in fiction. The swamp Arabs lived pretty well, Boat people in general are a pretty fun source of inspiration for this kind of thing and you can find more inspiration for them in the Amazon and SE Asia. The swamp also could be seasonal which could make it highly fertile. Also look at Cajun culture with its iconclasism, manners, and often isolationism that could hide whatever cults you like. Perhaps each village, or collection of homesteads has its own cults but they are vaguely similar. Also do a bit of reading about perhaps Bangladesh and historical Bangladeshi (and the lowland portions of Assam) culture as they live in a part of the world that could possibly be described as the "swampiest" and still functions as a nation. Also there were historical tribes in the Tabasco region of mexico that lived on the northern part of the Isthmus just west of the Yucatan which could also be mined for ideas.

but the real question is
How advanced do you want to make these guys and what role do you want them to play in the world.

remember that swamps are also great defensive ground and while potentially rich in food have few other resources. So the people may well be the resource if they even interact much with the world outside the swamp. Perhaps a skilled workers, seasonal workers, mercenaries, targets of slave raids or perhaps there are things in the swamp worth trading, like certain plants or water dwelling invertebrates (for drugs or dyes perhaps)

[Gbeth721]

Thanks everyone, your input is most appreciated and I am truly grateful
I wanted these guys to rival nations such as Thay from Forgotten Realms and Infernal Cheliax from Pathfinder, so they would be pretty advanced but like the two nations they are evil. I would have tried to put influence from Thay and Cheliax into it but I didn't want to make a rip-off of something already published (I am a compulsive stickler for originality). I was thinking I would make them like the Cajuns, in a sense, like socially advanced Cajuns that oppress the natives like slaves in the South in the 1800's and worship devils and evil gods. Venice, Italy also sounds like a nice place to draw inspiration from too.
Once again, thank you all, I really appreciate your help

As for your question Sktarq, Qieledia would play multiple roles, such as a place where PCs can come from (Native or Cajun-type), a place to harbor villainous sorcerers that are depraved. Of course it is also a setting for adventures too. It is also the political enemy of another nation I created, so there's a role with the fluff parts.

[Yora]

Well Venice was built in a swamp, and could be pretty debauched at times, particularly in fiction.

Having a port city wedged between the sea and a swamp would indeed change things a lot. The city would effectively be like an island and there are many cases of quite big cities located on islands just a tiny bit off the coast.
Tyre would be a good example. (Or was, until Alexander had his soldiers connect it to the mainland so they could invade it on foot and bring their siege engines with them.)

[sktarq]

Thanks everyone, your input is most appreciated and I am truly grateful
I wanted these guys to rival nations such as Thay from Forgotten Realms and Infernal Cheliax from Pathfinder, so they would be pretty advanced but like the two nations they are evil. I would have tried to put influence from Thay and Cheliax into it but I didn't want to make a rip-off of something already published (I am a compulsive stickler for originality). I was thinking I would make them like the Cajuns, in a sense, like socially advanced Cajuns that oppress the natives like slaves in the South in the 1800's and worship devils and evil gods. Venice, Italy also sounds like a nice place to draw inspiration from too.
Once again, thank you all, I really appreciate your help

As for your question Sktarq, Qieledia would play multiple roles, such as a place where PCs can come from (Native or Cajun-type), a place to harbor villainous sorcerers that are depraved. Of course it is also a setting for adventures too. It is also the political enemy of another nation I created, so there's a role with the fluff parts.

Okay a few questions. Do you want them to live in a swampy area or a swamp. - these are rather different. the Nile or Mississippi Deltas are swampy regions but still have good areas to build while a swamp such as the everglades or the regions of the Swamp Arabs then it is a lot harder to develop a nation rather than a culture. So while the bayous may be the symbol of the lower Mississippi it doesn't mean that everything is a totally the same. Also if you are going for a national scale then it can't just be a single big iconic city and then a shaded region on a map-those can exist but they have a pretty well defined size limit unless you seriously adjust cultural systems (like nomadic or hyper organized communal farming).
So question of why come up? Why are they worshiping and being all debauched? Define debauched? perhaps they have a rule show your strength and wealth to prove you have it. So parading slaves and ridiculously costly food becomes an internally defined social good. A god or pantheonic idea that all things have their price and as long as the god gets it whoever gives him the price gets the reward (that the one sacrificing and the one getting the benefit can be different people). O blood focused god that provides cultural identity, focus on family (possibly enough to say that brotherly/sisterly love is a love of your family that can be allowed or excusably become romantic), and the value of blood as an agent of sacrifice and import. Perhaps major contracts are signed in blood and that has social ramifications. If not doing all you are capable of is considered a sin and if one is cappable of dominating one's neighbors then one by this cultural or religious dictum do so. That same rule driving people to become better architects, trying great acts of self sacrifice to woo an object of the affection, mastering crafts and growing their nation in all sorts of productive ways.
Also to think about. Where to they make their money? Why is they have money and advanced-ish ability having they drained the swamp? (cultural regions? useful barrier to outside forces or even internal civil war watching? large scale events that periodically remove the dikes and the like making it not worth the effort?) What to they build with, what to they build on? what to they do with things that could poison the local waters - tanning waters, dyes, slag, dead bodies, effluent etc.

also questions on what is the weather like (Subarctic, temperate, Mediterranean, Subtropical, Tropical?) and where all this water comes from will shape things a lot. Is the water from a single large river (like many delta systems such as the Nile, Orinoco, or Mississippi), a single river network (Amazon), nearby river networks (with possible links) (Tigris/Euphrates, Carolina, Ganges) or local lowlands (see Scottish Moors, Irish Peat bogs, the English Fens, The Pipette Marshes, Arkansas, Everglades) Is there significant seasonal variation? and what surrounds it both culturally and geographically? If they get slaves where to the get them from? who do sell their exports to (and why can they produce them better) and who to they need for imports? Also How big do you want to make this place both in population and physical size?

And since Venice was build on an offshore swamp in a lagoon we'll call it split difference.

[Gbeth721]

Sktarq, to answer your questions;
　　I once created a random map from using the AD&D World Builder's Guide Book and I saw a region close to an inland sea, so to answer your question about where the water comes from; it comes from local lowlands constantly flooded in with water from the inland sea. I always imagined it to be a Mediterranean climate. As for being a true swamp or swampy area, I don't know. To be honest, Qieledia's original concept was a nation of scheming, decadent noblemen and hedonists who worshiped a dark god of lust (like Slaanesh from Warhammer), it was originally supposed to be a resource for villains but lately I've found other uses for it (the ones I named in my previous post). I don't know why I made them debauched, chances are there are nations like it commonly in a Dark Fantasy setting, I would think.
　　As far as population I'm not sure, but on the map it was big enough to be a nation on a Forgotten Realms map or something. As I said, I do not know much about this nation, that is why I needed ideas or suggestions to help get the ball rolling. I would imagine they get slaves from the indigenous tribes inhabiting the swamp. Of all the nations on my map, I've only made 4, including this one, and those too are under construction. The only difference between those and Qieledia is that when I try to think of a culture to define Qieledia like I did for the other nations, my mind goes blank.

[TheTeaMustFlow]

Swamps may be poor in terms of mundane resources, but it is rich in a resource which an enterprising sorcerer could get a great deal of use out of.

Life. Swamps teem with life - generally unpleasant and unintelligent life, but life nonetheless.

Life to enslave.

Life to dominate.

Life to sacrifice.

Life to experiment.

Life to expend.

Life for the taking.

[sktarq]

Sktarq, to answer your questions;
　　I once created a random map from using the AD&D World Builder's Guide Book and I saw a region close to an inland sea, so to answer your question about where the water comes from; it comes from local lowlands constantly flooded in with water from the inland sea. I always imagined it to be a Mediterranean climate. As for being a true swamp or swampy area, I don't know. To be honest, Qieledia's original concept was a nation of scheming, decadent noblemen and hedonists who worshiped a dark god of lust (like Slaanesh from Warhammer), it was originally supposed to be a resource for villains but lately I've found other uses for it (the ones I named in my previous post). I don't know why I made them debauched, chances are there are nations like it commonly in a Dark Fantasy setting, I would think.
　　As far as population I'm not sure, but on the map it was big enough to be a nation on a Forgotten Realms map or something. As I said, I do not know much about this nation, that is why I needed ideas or suggestions to help get the ball rolling. I would imagine they get slaves from the indigenous tribes inhabiting the swamp. Of all the nations on my map, I've only made 4, including this one, and those too are under construction. The only difference between those and Qieledia is that when I try to think of a culture to define Qieledia like I did for the other nations, my mind goes blank.

Okay so these shape things. Firstly you just created the need for a second culture. By saying that they take "native" tribes as slave you've just declared Qieledian to be some sort of outsider. So the question of where they came from comes up. If you want to go this way fine. Personally I can think of tons of fun stories of poor versions. Huts in the swamps, lust cults, daemon taking over a clan, Hatfield vs McCoys driven by spirits of pride and wrath, the hills have eyes type stories, and demon worshiping villages being from the local version of the boonies while the nobles in their manors and the cities discuss the finer points of torturing just the right notes of hopeless pain from a bed slave.
Also as creator of this world you can change and shape it to create the cultures you want as a logical result rather than shaping the culture to fit the place. So if the inland sea is saltwater and that is the water that is flooding much of their land then they living more in a salt marsh than a swamp. No living in a salt marsh is HARD for a human, let alone a nation. While the botany is fascinating I'm not it drives stories so I recommend you have a source of fresh water that is flooding the nation directly. Unless the "inland sea" is a giant lake or has some sort of magical source/magical effect that keeps it fresh. Possibly a major delta system or linked delta systems like bangladesh? Possibly with a bit Venice and/or the Black sea coast mixed in.

So lets go through some of the questions see some of logical consequences and you can pick as you want them or come up with your own.

Mono-swamp or a swampy region

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Monoswamps provide for an easier cultural uniformity as anywhere is easy or hard to reach as any other point on the map. They make map making easier. People would adapt with buildings on rafts or stilts and every city is a canal town. Aquaculture and floating plants would dominate their food production. All livestock would have to be attempted for the environment
Swampy Area. With dry areas and even possible rocky outcrops there are better places for city building that would stay dry-so while some cities may be Venice/Amsterdam/St Petersburg with canals being as important as street other areas would stay dry and be used for building, dry-land farming etc. The water table would still be high and basements wouldn't be very common and many areas would be a collection of islands and in-group versus out-group notation could well be based on this and help provide internal divisions.. Normal and near normal plants and animals can be used as they they may cross the waterflooded areas but spend enough time on dryer land that worrying about breeding/birth/nesting/feeding/sleeping can be ignored
Seasonal Flooding-During much of the year the majority of the nation would be considered swampy but each year the wet season or the flood season (which would probably but not always coincide) most of the nation get inundated with a major rise of the water level. The stilts and heavy tall foundations are built on suddenly make sense as they disappear underwater. Work done during the dry season must be planned to withstand this (which may drive extreme work efforts to hit a mark before the waters come) but also the waters would leave silts to refresh the soils and crops like wheat and beans that are fast growing perennials would dominate food production as would issues of planning cycles and issues of spoilage and what to do while waiting for the waters to drop crops up. Regions that don't normally get flooded would be somewhat culturally different and allow for things that are problematic in a swamp like mines, crops that can;'t be soaked (most tree crops), stone quarrying, fire based industries, even penning for livestock.

Where do they get all this water?

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Long Traveling rivers as water source for example. Kinda like the Volga, Nile, Danube, or Mississippi I bring these up because river trade through mostly flatland give them access and control of major trade routes. Also if they have a Med like climate and the inland sea they boarder is salt water they can make salt easier than their neighbors which is a good start for an economy. Also these rivers are likely to seasonal but don't have to be.
Short Rivers-short rivers imply that a mountain range or air current drops a lot of rain not very far away or even on top of the nation. If a rainy backdrop is what you want or that you plan to have a mountane region nearby this may be good for you. Also it could well be a lake effect weather pattern that feeds most of the evaporated water of the inland sea back onto Qieledia while the escaped water is replaced by rivers from other areas.
Inland sea flooding - this implies that the water would be rather still. This would make the effluent of the city stink around and give them a certain smell but that appeal to you. This could still have seasonal flooding as rivers on the far side of the sea are seasonal and raise the level of whole sea but would be less likely.

Where do they get their slaves?

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Native underclass A second presumably less advanced people live in the same swamps and presumably for longer. These tribes still exist and the Qieledians are a small minority even in their own lands and go raiding the natives in the "backwoods" region to bring into their civilization as slaves.
Nearby nations-perhaps the swamp is bigger than just Qieledia and while the Qieledians either moved in already ahead or were similarly developed their culture ahead of their neighbors (possibly with help from certain foul forces?) they now have the advantage and the surrounding peoples ,

Why don't these people who seem to have the money and skill to drain the swamp do so?

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Option one. as relative newcomers thus kind of earth and waterworks is still quite new to them and they have not had time and may well be working on this idea but are so far doing only in special areas.
Option two- a seasonal flood destroys the effects of dredging and the like which makes doing so unproductive
option three - there is a force that regularly tries to invade and the advantage of the swampy defensive ground allows for massively additional defensive advantage that allows them to survive and have strong confidence in it. If you have mountains nearby (providing the rain-shadow water for example)then orcs could be a good choice. Wide plains (with the long river option for example) could imply a mongol or raider like threat which could be demihuman or a hobgoblin or gnoll take on nomadic raiders. Or it could be a major neighboring empire that would like to swallow them up but doesn't want to pay the price that would come from slogging through the swamps-and such a neighbor could treat the place as where their own rules don't apply and be half the source of the debauchery to make it totally out of proportion-acting as a las Vegas to middle America, Macau to China, or Beirut and Bahrain to the Middle east.
Option four-there nation is basically in a constant low level civil war where nobles are always ready to attack each other and the swampy barriers allow for defensive bonuses against each other
option five-some part of their religion declares that doing so would be a sin. While killing, cannibalism, bloodsport, and the like may not be sins in these people eyes draining the swamps (or the habitat of some special animal perhaps) would be.
Option five-they use the swampy areas for culturally or economical critical uses. If the swamp crops are key to their exports for example. Or if living without some local form of edible water chestnuts is considered impossible by the locals

Where do they get their money

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Mercenaries-there is strong militant tradition in the nation and spending a few years being paid to fight or guard some stupid manor house of a neighboring nations noble.
Salt-if he has access to to lots of sunlight and salt water and is near a
Local specialist crops-certain animals or plants may well only grow in the local conditions. Something preferably with high value and wide popularity. Perhaps drugs (medical or recreational), dyes, spices, spell components etc. They could plants, arthropods (like cochineal or lac) or they could be aquatic invertebrates (think of the Phonetician and Cretean farming of whelks).
Trade and Banking-by leveraging their swamps as a defensive stronghold and the use of the rivers leading to the inland sea the Qieledians trade up and down the rivers and bring the profits home to spend on the parties and will accept favors, gold, or slaves as payment. Loans to those unable to pay are extended until only their children can be used as collateral.
Skilled labor if they have a love of fine things and can become obsessive they may well have learned to make finished products better. Like inlay work, or rope and sails, jewels and gems.
Mass commodities This one is hard since the much of the swamplands will be difficult to turn into a productive region for most commodities. If the slaves are used for such things so be it. Pick any really labor intensive practice that could have big payoff. Indigo, Cotton etc. Thirsty crops are better as they have plenty of water.

More to start thinking about
If they know that their souls will go to hell why do they worship daemons-if they do in this world
why are they so debauched? what drives people to think it is good? I tossed out ideas of showing strength etc that could be blown into an extreme idea that allows or encourages such things but the details matter. It will

[Corneel]

In terms of decadent cultures, you might get some inspiration from Al'Anfa from the Dark Eye game. There's more information available in German (less dead links) should you understand the language.

[jqavins]

OK, I know I'm coming late to the party, but the biggest thing I have to say has only been hinted at in passing, so here goes. Swamp, bog, marsh, and fen are all different things, and some of the suggestions that have been made are not really applicable to swamps. They are all wetlands, distinguished mainly by their types of vegetation.

In contrast, a bayou is actually a body of water, very slow moving and heavy with vegetation. "The bayou" of the Mississippi delta is actually many bayous, dominated by trees, with land in between, much of it swamp. The Everglades in Frorida is a river bayou, dominated by grasses.

So, Gbeth, as has been asked before, do you mean swamp, or wet nasty place? If the latter, what kind of wet naty place?

Now, you've stated that the place is wet and nasty due to being next to an inland sea. If flooding from the sea is the source of the water then it would be a true swamp if forrested and one of the other wetlands if not. As has also been noted, that would be mostly stagnant, and a stagnant swamp may be virtually beyond hope for supporting much of a nation. So the first decisions to make are: True swamp or some other wet nasty, and stagnent or flowing? (By "flowing" I mean to include both bayous and wetlands that are regularly refreshed.) All the other decisios can and should wait until those two are made.

[Gracht Grabmaw]

You know what grows very well in hot, wet enviroments? Coca plants.
If you're gonna have a religion dedicated to dedadence and opulence you might as well do it right.

[Gbeth721]

Whatever wet, nasty place I can get stuff like bog iron, coca plants, diamonds, and/or wildlife, I don't know which one that would be. Not to complain, I'm not complaining, I just think this thread is becoming very technical and when things become very technical I get confused easily. I'd probably go with a "swampy area" of the like Sktarq talked about, like Venice, Italy or something. Nothing is set in stone on the map, so I can probably call the inland sea a lake or something, I don't know. As for rivers I would probably add some, there are mountain ranges surrounding this wet, nasty area so they could be short rivers or something.
And as for Sktarq's questions,
1. This is a Dark Fantasy setting where Devil worship and Demonolatry are to their world as Catholicism and Christianity are to our world.

[Marcelinari]

Remember folks, we're drawing from RL but ultimately creating fiction. Unless one of OP's players is an actual ecological pedant, nobody playing will actually care about the difference between bogs, swamps, marshes and fens. In common terms, they're basically synonyms.

Because this ecology is fiction, it doesn't have to adhere closely to the limitations of specific types of wetlands. OP, I suggest that you take any or all the suggestions from this thread that you like and mash it all into a single terrain. Remember, very, very few people will interrogate you as to the exact sequence of events that led to the creation of the swamp. Those who do can be answered with 'your character has no idea'. If you're pressed for a response... tell them that this is a world with magic and demons. The swamp issue is academic. It's magic.

[Corneel]

The swamp might be home to a plant that produces something of similar use and value as saffron, call it Qiela (the city/country is named after the spice). However, contrary to saffron one cannot cultivate Qiela and it must be harvested from wild plants (which would also explain why they don't drain the swamp). The local wildlife in the swamp is of course dangerous (alligators, poisonous snakes, snapping turtles,...) and while the overseers can generally avoid most danger by riding on some sort of riding lizards (adapt to your setting), the slaves must wade through the swamp since the plant grows close to the surface and have a high death rate.

While there is some local agriculture (mainly of taro, or whatever staple crop you want to have as an equivalent in your game world and/or rice) and a lot of fishing/pisciculture (even combined with rice/taro fields), the proceeds of the Qiela trade are more than sufficient to import foodstuffs from elsewhere.

[jqavins]

Whatever wet, nasty place I can get stuff like bog iron, coca plants, diamonds, and/or wildlife

Iron can be found probably in any of the wetland types, though Wikipedia only states bogs and swamps. Coca grows in mountains, I'm sorry to say. Abundant wildlife and and plant varieties are available in all wet areas of any kind. I don't know about diamonds, but I'll be they have more to do with a region's geological history than present conditions and the water just makes them easier to get at if they are present.

I'm not complaining, I just think this thread is becoming very technical and when things become very technical I get confused easily.

Sorry. I guess that's sort of inevitable when the wording of the question is more specific than its spirit.

I'd probably go with a "swampy area" of the like Sktarq talked about, like Venice, Italy or something.

Alright, that's settled.

Nothing is set in stone on the map, so I can probably call the inland sea a lake or something, I don't know. As for rivers I would probably add some, there are mountain ranges surrounding this wet, nasty area so they could be short rivers or something.

Venice is on the Medetaranian cost and its waters are brackish. (Actually, it includes both some mainland and islands nestled in the mainland with brackish water and some islands a couple of miles off shore where the water is surely salt.) Iif you change this to a similar configuration on (and off) the shore of a huge lake then you could have fresh water instead. So I propose the following for your consideration:

Water comes from the mountains in a multitude of streams and small rivers, flowing into flat lowlands. Much of the lowlands are, as a result, wetlands, in a mix of varieties. In the lowest portion, the waters flow into a very large lake where a basin was carved into the land long ago by a glacier, tectonic activity, magic, or something to your liking. (Tectonic might be best for finding diamonds, but I can't claim expertise.)

The lowlands are surrounded by hills that define most of their boundary, the rest being defined by the mountains and the lake. The lake is also partially bordered by these hils, with a pass cut through where the lake's outflow flows out, a mighty river that flows to the ocean whatever distance away. The city of Qieledia is situated on the shore of the lake, where the land breaks up into a combination of islands and connected land, islands growing farther apart as they extend into the lake (much like Venice.) The Qieledians extend their power out into the wetlands, exploiting both the natural resources and the people of the whole lowlands area.

The Qieledians are exiles from another country or region. They arived with greater magic (and probably technology as well) than was possessed by the people they found, and they quickly conquered and enslaved those people for fun and profit; slaves now rank high among their exports as well as being the main labor force that supports the society, both in the farming and resource extraction businesses and in the homes of the city dwellers.

[Gbeth721]

Okay, thanks everyone, you've all been of invaluable help to me, only one thing; Marcelinari, what does "OP" stand for? I guess I don't know why you're referring to me as "OP"...

[jqavins]

Remember folks, we're drawing from RL but ultimately creating fiction. Unless one of OP's players is an actual ecological pedant, nobody playing will actually care about the difference between bogs, swamps, marshes and fens. In common terms, they're basically synonyms.

That's fine, as long as one knows that the OP, Gbeth721, simply meant general wetlands. Which now we do. I wanted that cleared up because we were in danger if giving advice suitable to marshes or bayous or some such when he might have meant swamp specifically, or even some other terrain, which would have changed the answers.

Okay, thanks everyone, you've all been of invaluable help to me, only one thing; Marcelinari, what does "OP" stand for? I guess I don't know why you're referring to me as "OP"...

"Original Poster" in this case. Sometimes "Original Post."

[Marcelinari]

Yup, 'OP' means original poster, at least in this context. It's largely a sign of my laziness - I tend to identify posters by avatar first, rather than by name. I didn't want to go back and check what your username was, so I settled for OP. No offense meant.

[brian 333]

Mexico City was originally built on a shallow lake.

In fact, Mexico City sounds exactly like what the OP wants: it was built by a peaceful culture that was stagnating, then conquered by a culture with more warlike attitudes and more bloodthirsty gods. It was a city of stone buildings surrounded by miles of swamps that were cultivated by digging canals and filling in sections of croplands with the spoils to bring them above water level.

Ripped off of Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenochtitlan

At the time of Spanish conquests, Mexico City comprised Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco at the same time. Since then, the city extended from north to south from the north border of Tlatelolco to the swamps, which by that time were gradually disappearing to the west, the city ended more or less at the present location of Bucareli Street.

It was connected to the mainland by causeways leading north, south, and west of the city. These causeways were interrupted by bridges that allowed canoes and other traffic to pass freely. The bridges could be pulled away, if necessary, to defend the city. The city was interlaced with a series of canals, so that all sections of the city could be visited either on foot or via canoe.

[sktarq]

I don't know about diamonds, but I'll be they have more to do with a region's geological history than present conditions and the water just makes them easier to get at if they are present.

Venice is on the Medetaranian cost and its waters are brackish. (Actually, it includes both some mainland and islands nestled in the mainland with brackish water and some islands a couple of miles off shore where the water is surely salt.) Iif you change this to a similar configuration on (and off) the shore of a huge lake then you could have fresh water instead. So I propose the following for your consideration:[INDENT]
Water comes from the mountains in a multitude of streams and small rivers, flowing into flat lowlands. Much of the lowlands are, as a result, wetlands, in a mix of varieties. In the lowest portion, the waters flow into a very large lake where a basin was carved into the land long ago by a glacier, tectonic activity, magic, or something to your liking. (Tectonic might be best for finding diamonds, but I can't claim expertise.)

The lowlands are surrounded by hills that define most of their boundary, the rest being defined by the mountains and the lake. The lake is also partially bordered by these hils, with a pass cut through where the lake's outflow flows out, a mighty river that flows to the ocean whatever distance away. The city of Qieledia is situated on the shore of the lake, where the land breaks up into a combination of islands and connected land, islands growing farther apart as they extend into the lake (much like Venice.) The Qieledians extend their power out into the wetlands, exploiting both the natural resources and the people of the whole lowlands area.

Couple things. Diamonds come up mostly from a rather rare type of volcanic activity - which leaves a Kimberlite pipe and only survive the trip if the crust is very thick - in areas usually called Craytons. And not all Kimberlite eruptions sample the diamond producing layer of crust that lies between the source of the these eruptions and the surface. Most of these areas today are not part of plate boundaries on the scale needed to associate diamonds with mountains. They are normally found in river systems because alluvial actions tend to concentrate the gemstone. These Kimberlite eruptions are also a highly dynamic couple hundred year wide explosion of lava with little warning so if they are at all common this could be a nifty cultural spark to work with. Some sign of daemonic forces and the riches they can bring.
Also just about all the Lagoon of Venice is brackish water. The barrier islands are brackish on one side and salt on the other.