EMPIRE3! II - CWBG - Slavian Girls Play Hard to Get

[Kythia]

Once again, my bad. I mistook the 2d6 for 1d6 x2, not 1d6 + the 1d6. I definitely will re-roll my stabilization attempts.

From what I remember of your stats, too lazy to check, 2d6 is actually better for you anyway.

[TheDarkDM]

Submitting this region for approval:

Kumlasaf
Region 21

Terrain

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Dominated by gently rolling hills that give way to jagged spurs of rock in the north as the land rises into the mighty Iugis Ignis. Lightly speckled with temperate forests, much of the land has been cultivated or cleared in service of the agrarian villages that dot the landscape. Criss-crossed by innumerable small rivers and streams making their way to the Akkidan Sea, the heartland of Kumlasaf is immensely hospitable. This relative bounty has blunted the consolidation of the area's settlements, making the whole of the heartland sparsely but reliably populated.

South of the heartland, the terrain shifts, the grassy hills growing thick with painstaking tended hardwood forests. This verdurous ring surrounds the only city of note in the region, Ateska. Originally a fortress city built by Sheolim occupiers, Ateska has grown into the center of commerce and culture in Kumlasaf, in no small part due to the small army of dedicated glassworkers that fill its workshops. The "city craft" has left indelible marks on Kumlasaf, from the quartz quarries bored into the side of the Iugis Ignis' foothills to the singe paved road that runs straight as an arrow from mountains to coast.

People

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Kumlasaf is inhabited by humans, olive skinned and dark haired as a rule. Of average height and build, their character is one of honest labor, with every Kumlasan bearing the marks of their craft's successes and failures upon their skin. Families are large, and the isolated nature of most Kumlasan villages has lead to most thinking of their neighbors as extended family regardless of the truth of the matter. Unfortunately, this clannish nature can lead to short but violent episodes of vendetta between competing villages, the shared memories of which have only served to keep this agrarian people firmly scattered.

Only in Ateska is this sense of insular familiarity escaped. The forced melding of Sheolim and Kumlasan culture has resulted in a more stratified society that is both more distant and more ordered than the heartland. Yet even here the clans emerge, as many smaller families come together to raise up industrial legacies. Marrying vengeful pride to greed, these competing interests wage vendettas all their own in the shadows, concealing bitter hatred behind smiling masks. But despite this oft times lethal competition, the good of the glassworks overwhelms all, and any threat to their shared livelihood unites the people of the capital in bonds of iron.

Government

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The governance of Kumlasaf is theoretically centralized in the capital of Ateska, the city Mayor drawn from the powerful Glass Worker's guild and advised by representatives from every major settlement in the heartland. In practice, the Conclave Hall that abuts the old Sheolim fortress is empty more often than not, the concerns of capital and heartland so dissimilar that each trusts in the other to attend their own affairs. Only when the entire region is threatened or a vendetta threatens to spill beyond the borders of two clans does the Conclave truly convene, that they might render fair judgement under the auspices of the Mayor.

Religion

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For many centuries, the people of Kumlasaf held true to their pagan worship of a wide pantheon of earth spirits, ranging from the Mother of Mountains to the humble Reaper Goodfellow. However, proximity to the Phoenix Estates and the holy city of Shanadeer resulted in a steady influx of proselytizers from the northern faith. With no organized religious authority to oppose them, these Shishiyan missionaries converted progressively wider swathes of the heartland to Ananda's teachings. And while Kunism held strong in the capital thanks to the influence of Sheol, the departure of the Old Kingdom's governors a century ago opened wide the gates for Shishiyanism to cement its hold across Kumlasaf.

Religious Centers

• Ateska - Shishiyanism
• Heartlands - Shishiyanism
• Iugis Ignis Foothills - Shishiyanism

Resources

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Region number	Resource	Minor	Good	Great
21	Glass	ALL	O	-

Available: Glass
Thanks to the abundant resources in the northern hills and well maintained fuel sources, the glass of Kumlasaf is of rare and coveted quality.

[BootStrapTommy]

Damnit, I should have just set the conversion on HalfTangible earlier in the round, instead of waiting on confirmations. Now it is a bit too late.

[QuintonBeck]

You made them sound delicious, tbh.

Also, we have this month's podcast! A bit shorter of an episode, but we talk about the inspiration behind our realms and welcome BlazingAegis and Tommy to the podcast for the first time! We also play How do you pronounce that? featuring Kythia, Dimple, Burch, Aventine and Moos, so give us a listen and tell us how to pronounce that! As always, thanks so much for listening and if you have any ideas or suggestion for the next or future podcasts, please let us know!

Listening to this one I don't even remember the conversation, oh wait Sorry again I couldn't make it on this one. Hopefully by next month's I'll have home internet access!

A fun listen, thanks for making these Pepper!

As an aspiring Merchant Prince I'll echo Catrus' interest in some discussion about money. The recent ransom demand from Duke Tomar's camp even adds some in-game context to bounce off of.

Listening to some of the brief commentary on goblins it might be fun to have some discussion on major events/characters/kingdoms that have made a major impact on the game so far now that we've had a few rounds go by. Reactions to them, speculation, commentary, etc. like we did in E2 for character spotlights but broader than just characters.

Boot, I think your voice sounds fine.

Aed, engaging round events are the most challenging part of GMing the game. I think you've been doing a fantastic job though and I love the "narrator voice" that's entered the round opener. I feel my attempt to take a neutral voice just made it bland and much prefer a more engaged reading of events.

Dark, I also support Aed's being a far more capricious and cruel god whacking our bee nest of a game.

You guys still tried too hard to pronounce things. I'm with Aegis on Qladbishshe in ignoring one of the "sh"s.

[moossabi]

Dark, I also support Aed's being a far more capricious and cruel god whacking our bee nest of a game.

As the sole purveyor of honey I must say that I cannot agree with this statement. Go whack the salt flats, my bees already get enough flak from Half.

[Aedilred]

Legionary, Aegis, under the circumstances I will not penalise either of you for the military actions taken so far. However, please ensure that any edits to these actions are done asap, and ensure that you inform each other (and preferably me) if you do so. If such notifications were to be posted in this thread, that would be best.

I will reiterate that, in future, if you want to invade a region, please get the relevant actions up as early in the round as possible, even if that region is empty. Most of the time there is no real need for anyone to be scrambling to respond to each other's actions on Friday/Saturday night.

[lt_murgen]

PODCAST:
Thanks for the Kina shout-out from E1. That was really fun to play.

In honor of ziggurats in the podcast:

[An ancient Babylonian general was once involved in a plot to overthrow the king. His plot included a number of followers in the upper ranks of the army. However, his plot was uncovered, and the king threw him in jail. The king sentenced him to death without a trial.

However, from the jail he was able to secretly contact his followers to arrange to escape, meet his followers, and attack the king's palace at night. So the night before his scheduled execution, the general managed to escape from prison. He fled to a ziggurat several kilometers away, where his followers would meet him. However, the ziggurat was one of several in the area, and he wasn't sure if his cohorts would find the right ziggurat. By this time it was twilight, so he lit a small fire and sent smoke signals to indicate in which structure he was hiding.

However, the king's loyal soldiers saw the smoke coming from the ziggurat, and came to arrest him before he could meet his followers. He was executed later that day.

The moral of the story? WARNING: The insurgent general has determined that smoke in ziggurats can be extremely hazardous to your stealth.

[Legionary]

Legionary, Aegis, under the circumstances I will not penalise either of you for the military actions taken so far. However, please ensure that any edits to these actions are done asap, and ensure that you inform each other (and preferably me) if you do so. If such notifications were to be posted in this thread, that would be best.

I will reiterate that, in future, if you want to invade a region, please get the relevant actions up as early in the round as possible, even if that region is empty. Most of the time there is no real need for anyone to be scrambling to respond to each other's actions on Friday/Saturday night.

Sorry, my late moves are a reaction to
BlazingAegis' late move.

Also BlazingAegis, I take it by ignoring my messages we aren't going to bother with diplomacy first.

[Aedilred]

Sorry, my late moves are a reaction to BlazingAegis' late move.

I am aware, and that is why there is no penalty currently being applied.

[QuintonBeck]

Spoiler

Show

PODCAST:
Thanks for the Kina shout-out from E1. That was really fun to play.

In honor of ziggurats in the podcast:

[An ancient Babylonian general was once involved in a plot to overthrow the king. His plot included a number of followers in the upper ranks of the army. However, his plot was uncovered, and the king threw him in jail. The king sentenced him to death without a trial.

However, from the jail he was able to secretly contact his followers to arrange to escape, meet his followers, and attack the king's palace at night. So the night before his scheduled execution, the general managed to escape from prison. He fled to a ziggurat several kilometers away, where his followers would meet him. However, the ziggurat was one of several in the area, and he wasn't sure if his cohorts would find the right ziggurat. By this time it was twilight, so he lit a small fire and sent smoke signals to indicate in which structure he was hiding.

However, the king's loyal soldiers saw the smoke coming from the ziggurat, and came to arrest him before he could meet his followers. He was executed later that day.

The moral of the story? WARNING: The insurgent general has determined that smoke in ziggurats can be extremely hazardous to your stealth.

Murgen, you're such a dad.

[TheDarkDM]

A second region for review:

Gwyllt Ysbryd
Region 9

Terrain

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Struck through by alpine mountain ranges, the Gwyllt Ysbryd is a land of habitable valleys and inhospitable fastnesses. Rising from scrub foothills in the north, the Rhaniad Y Byd dictates every aspect of life in the region. Roads are little more than hammered paths through the least treacherous of the mountain range's expanses, with more than one pass memorialized in song as the site of great tragedy or great triumph. On the slopes of the more hospitable peaks, stepped villages of longhouses and barrows peek out from behind the treeline, accessible by switchback paths that are closely watched. These settlements are the oldest in the region, though their power has waned in the face of more forward thinking communities.

The communities that have grown to dominate the Gwyllt Ysbryd are the ones that have grown in the fertile valleys that separate the forest tribes. These oases of clear land were once the sites of frequent battle, but over the centuries a trickle of ambitious wanderers and dispossessed tribes managed to lay the foundations of civilization. Beginning as little more than vassal outposts or neutral trading grounds, the bounty of the valleys made it inevitable that their inhabitants would surpass the forest tribes in wealth and power. Soon, it was the forests themselves that choked on blood, as the inhabitants of the forests fought bitter, losing wars against the expansion of valley farmland and valley logging.

Separate from these conflicts were the people of stone, the clans that by force or by choice came to dwell atop the peaks. Here, ancient citadels have been carved from the living rock, their exteriors long weathered and rimed with frost. The mountain clans have but one power that elevates them above desperate beggary, but it is the most potent power imaginable - control of the Gwyllt Ysbryd's water. Both forest and field are fed by springs and rivers whose sources are found in the lands of the mountain clans, and more than once a clan has dammed essential waters in retribution for some imagined slight.

People

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The forestlands of the Gwyllt Ysbryd are inhabited by a branch of elves, one that holds itself close to the earth rather than the F'aasari's love of fire. Less tall than their western cousins, they are somewhat broader of shoulder and more densely muscled, though not so much as to abandon their distinctly elven grace. Most are brown skinned, with colors ranging from deeply tan to deep russet, with shadowed green eyes and dark hair.

Their long affinity with the forest has led the people of the Gwyllt Ysbryd to mythologize the role of hunter and protector, even in the face of their greatest industry being sedentary agriculture. Times of celebrations are always marked by a competitive hunt, while bows and arrows maintain a religious function even in the face of organized faiths. Dedicated monogamy is the norm, though it is not uncommon for unattached family members to inherit bereaved relations. The long importance of the clans has steadily waned as the valleys grew to greater prominence, with one's wider family name now being of little consequence within the wider scope of one's class of clan.

Government

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Prior to its conquest, the Gwyllt Ysbryd was an elective monarchy. Headquartered in the ceremonial capital of Gwynt Sibrwd that dominates a waterfall leading into the largest of the forest's valleys, the Lord of the Clans ruled from his living throne. With broad powers to resolve conflicts but not to initiate them, the Lord served as an essential counterweight for the internecine conflicts that periodically threatened to sweep across the region. Advised by an established Circle of elders, with four members drawn from each of the three clan divides, the Lord served as ultimate judge and ultimate protector to his people. It was a decapitation strike against Gwynt Sibrwd that secured the Sheolim their swift victory in the region, and the seat of the Lord of Clans and the chambers of his Circle now stand empty.

Religion

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The religious beliefs of the Gwyllt Ysbryd ae largely dictated by where one travels. Thanks to their greater exposure to outside trade and uncommonly hospitable surroundings, the valleys proved tempting targets to Shishiyan missionaries from the north. Now, Shishiyan churches stand in most of the farming communities. Meanwhile, the clans of the forests cling to the old ways, their general isolation and hostility having rebuffed any missionaries too desperate for revelation to settle for the ease of the valleys below. This state of affairs was tacitly supported by the Lord of the Clans prior to his death, due to an open secret - the adherence of the mountain clans to the teachings of Niska.

Religious Centers

• Valley Clans - Shishiyanism
• Mountain Clans - Niskism
• Forest Clans - Pagan

Resources

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Region number	Resource	Minor	Good	Great
9	Grain	O	-	-

Available: Grain
Thanks to the purity of its mountains streams and the frequent renewal of the soil, what arable land exists in the Gwyllt Ysbryd has proven enviable farmland. While most of the limited space is dedicated to feeding the populace, a substantial minority has been set aside for the cultivation of trade crops, of which grain has proven the most popular.

[Aedilred]

Kitsanth, don't forget you get a bonus action this round, since you are starting late.

Those of you who have not finished your actions yet, I advise you to do so.

The round will close in a few hours, when I get up.

[DimpleLoamsdown]

[Action 1] Send Guria one thousand silver talents, and permit them to attempt to purchase Benediqtov's Sharqoal Qompany and the Peat Bog Family trading posts in Medved in exchange for the liberation of Boris of Medved.
[Action 1] Trade the region of Reash to the Kingdom of Gleiss in exchange for peace.

Just so that everyone knows.



PS: Sorry I haven't gotten around to listening to the podcast yet.

[Lord_Burch]

Just so that everyone knows.



PS: Sorry I haven't gotten around to listening to the podcast yet.

I will edit the peace terms into my actions. Also, my armies are officially standing down.

EDIT: Oh, and thinking of the podcast– I definitely did not realize how similar "Ciriya" could be to "Syria" .

[BootStrapTommy]

I noticed this before but forgot to mentioned it. QuintonBeck, the Holy Site 3 in the Demesne is Yadaism, not Shishiyanism.

[DimpleLoamsdown]

On the topic of Qladbishshe's pronunciation and inspirations and the Podcast.
To keep this short, I'll only talk about my inspirations for region names.
Medved: I actually completely forgot about why I called Medved 'Medved', until recently when I googled 'Russian Leaders'. As it turns out, I likely took the inspiration for my capital region's name from the Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev. Hmm.
Qladbishshe: *whips out google translate, Russian to English* Qladbishshe translates directly to the English word, "Cemetery". If you flip the swap languages arrow though, you will find that I initially typed 'Cemetery', had it translate phonetically to 'Kladbishche' and put it through this:

"Qiq the qloq" would be pronounced in the same way as "Kick the Clock"
I forgot to mention in the People section that the native language among the bearmen replaces all "k"-like sounds with "q"s, but it is pronounced the same way. You cannot have two "q"s directly next to each other in the same word.
Other changes include the letter zex. The zex is used in front of words like "Xylophone" or other words that make the "z" sound, but with an "x". For example: "ylophone"
The C is completely removed, as in words like "circular", an s can replace the softer "c" at the start, and as mentioned above, a q can replace the harder "c" in the middle. "Circular" would become "Sirqular"
Now this brings up another rule difference. To make the "Qu" sound, you would have to spell the word "Qw". Therefore, in order to spell "Quack" in the native tongue, you would spell it "Qwaq". "Quaq" would be pronounced "Kuack"
Their alphabet reads: "a,b,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y ,,z"
A final rule (for now), is that all articles, whether indefinite or definite, are removed when speaking, even if they are present in literature. As a result of this, a sign or book might read, "Qiq the qloq", but a native from Land of Bearmen might say, "Qiq qlock."
I hope that this clears things up a bit.
It has been brought to my attention that in removing the "c", I have also removed the "ch". I have done some thinking, and instead, "ch"s are to be replaced with "sh"s.

So, in conclusion Aegis and Pepper are correct.

[woolli264]

You made them sound delicious, tbh.

Also, we have this month's podcast! A bit shorter of an episode, but we talk about the inspiration behind our realms and welcome BlazingAegis and Tommy to the podcast for the first time! We also play How do you pronounce that? featuring Kythia, Dimple, Burch, Aventine and Moos, so give us a listen and tell us how to pronounce that! As always, thanks so much for listening and if you have any ideas or suggestion for the next or future podcasts, please let us know!

Apology accepted. Reluctantly

[DimpleLoamsdown]

Does everyone want to discuss the treaty this upcoming round?

[Aedilred]

An important note regarding the start of Round 6

I'm going to be busy for most of the weekend leading up to the end of next round, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to close the round. It will probably be later than usual. Since I'll be busy before that, I also won't have a chance to get any of the round opener prepared on Friday night or Saturday, so opening the round will likely take longer than usual. For the same reason, I won't be able to do a review of actions and let people know whether they're kosher, I won't be sending out reminder PMs, I won't be around to answer rules queries over that weekend, and I won't give a "round closing in n hours" warning, since I'll be doing it as soon as I'm able to get online.

In the interests of not delaying the round opener for too long (most likely into Monday) it would therefore be helpful if people could get as many as possible of their actions finalised, including dice rolls, by Thursday night to give me a chance to prepare some of the round opener before Sunday. Penalties will apply for any military actions taken or edited after that point unless specifically indicated otherwise by me. If you have anything you need to discuss with me about your actions, it also needs to happen before then if it's going to be answered in time for the round end. This is all helpful for me in any round, in fact, but particularly so in this case.

In the more distant future, there will be a similar situation for the round 6/7 transition, albeit slightly less so.

[DimpleLoamsdown]

An important note regarding the start of Round 6

I'm going to be busy for most of the weekend leading up to the end of next round, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to close the round. It will probably be later than usual. Since I'll be busy before that, I also won't have a chance to get any of the round opener prepared on Friday night or Saturday, so opening the round will likely take longer than usual. For the same reason, I won't be able to do a review of actions and let people know whether they're kosher, I won't be sending out reminder PMs, I won't be around to answer rules queries over that weekend, and I won't give a "round closing in n hours" warning, since I'll be doing it as soon as I'm able to get online.

In the interests of not delaying the round opener for too long (most likely into Monday) it would therefore be helpful if people could get as many as possible of their actions finalised, including dice rolls, by Thursday night to give me a chance to prepare some of the round opener before Sunday. Penalties will apply for any military actions taken or edited after that point unless specifically indicated otherwise by me. If you have anything you need to discuss with me about your actions, it also needs to happen before then if it's going to be answered in time for the round end. This is all helpful for me in any round, in fact, but particularly so in this case.

In the more distant future, there will be a similar situation for the round 6/7 transition, albeit slightly less so.

With my Military specialization, I was thinking less the swarm tactics of 'weigh down their spears with corpses' and more the swarm tactics of the Uruks at Helm's Deep.

[Aedilred]

With my Military specialization, I was thinking less the swarm tactics of 'weigh down their spears with corpses' and more the swarm tactics of the Uruks at Helm's Deep.

I mean, a human/uruk/bearman wave's a human/uruk/bearman wave, isn't it? It operates on the same principle...

But anyway, I put that as an IC Saralyn/Gleiss interpretation because I thought it likely they would take the least favourable view of it possible, rather than that being a neutral assessment of the merits of the plan

[BootStrapTommy]

Throughout the proceedings Jacque step-danced vigorously.

I just want to put this forward as an early candidate for the next thread title.

Also, Aed, perhaps the OOC thread links could be updated? Still linking to the first OOC thread.

[Kythia]

I'm pretty much settled in new job ness now Aed, so if there's anything I can do for the end of this round or moving forwards to help out then drop me a PM or whatevs

[DimpleLoamsdown]

I mean, a human/uruk/bearman wave's a human/uruk/bearman wave, isn't it? It operates on the same principle...

But anyway, I put that as an IC Saralyn/Gleiss interpretation because I thought it likely they would take the least favourable view of it possible, rather than that being a neutral assessment of the merits of the plan

Also in the IC thread I said how the 'Liberator of Boris' was dealt with and why I accidentally did not call him off of his mission et cetera.
I also intend to write a thing about post-imprisonment Boris.

[Kythia]

Also in the IC thread I said how the 'Liberator of Boris' was dealt with and why I accidentally did not call him off of his mission et cetera.
I also intend to write a thing about post-imprisonment Boris.

Did you now. Tell me, Dimple, what exactly did you do to my guy?

[Aedilred]

er...

During interrogation he reveals that his mission was to facilitate King Boris’s escape from custody, before dying of his wounds.

In any case, while it was always optimistic to invite people you've just invaded to a peace conference and then try to recruit them as allies, the Gurian view of Medved is pretty much rock-bottom at this point and Tomar has no confidence that Boris won't be back in power and invading again within the month, no matter what Miqhail might have promised. He's not a big fan of Ynys y Corsydd either.

[Tentreto]

I'm going to be introducing the printing press this round. Would anyone be willing to offer me anything in return for it, as I'm in two minds about starting an event around it.

Also, Laskism is still the fastest growing religion, despite only having one actual country following it. My Faith 1 is doing wonders

[DimpleLoamsdown]

Did you now. Tell me, Dimple, what exactly did you do to my guy?

He was a Bearmen, so he was my guy.

er...



In any case, while it was always optimistic to invite people you've just invaded to a peace conference and then try to recruit them as allies, the Gurian view of Medved is pretty much rock-bottom at this point and Tomar has no confidence that Boris won't be back in power and invading again within the month, no matter what Miqhail might have promised. He's not a big fan of Ynys y Corsydd either.

Oops I did not see that. Boris is going to show him that he won't be invading again in a month. Or the next fifteen years for that matter, as discussed in the conference. Boris is basically developing his tech then stepping down.

[woolli264]

So doomhat is confirmed gone then?
Rest in peace Goblin Court

[Aedilred]

I'm going to be introducing the printing press this round. Would anyone be willing to offer me anything in return for it, as I'm in two minds about starting an event around it.

Ah, a printing-press distribution event. That brings back fond memories - and I'm sure it does for Elemental too

Technologies are pretty thin on the ground at the moment, which makes trading them difficult, but a past practice has been to promise a future technology in exchange for one currently available, which might open up more opportunities. Either way I'll encourage anything that sounds like an interesting event, especially if it's open to as many people as possible.

So doomhat is confirmed gone then?
Rest in peace Goblin Court

I haven't heard from him, so I don't know whether he's returning or not. He's only been gone one round, so Gobsfull is still his and not NPC/abandoned yet, officially anyway. The Laskists are currently, effectively, rebels within his region (the others being in the regions specified but joining those in Gobsfull at the end of the round if not stopped). What happens next is probably largely dependent on whether he does post actions this round and/or if anyone else is willing to step in to help Gobsfull out.