[Worldbuilding] Welcome to Irithrax

[Trim]

"Welcome to the world of Irithrax, a world plunged into a global war... Five major powers compete for global domination, and a sixth sits silent, neutral in the conflict, but as well armed as the others.

And what arms these are! Magic and science compete and collaborate to create machines and weapons of unimaginable power. Monstrous golems, giant tanks, impossible airships and incredible equipment, crafted by melding the mad science of the alchemist and artificer, with the darkest arts of wizard and sorcerors.

These incredible creations roam a landscape scoured by war, dotted by numerous cities torn and rebuilt in a colossal, global industrial revolution fueled by an arms race expending resources on a never-before-seen scale. This revolution is powered by the massive awakening of the latent magical powers of virtually all of the poor populace, refitted and re-equipped to man the factories.

This massive utilisation of magical and mundane labour has resulted in a stratification of society, with the rich and important rising far beyond their previous climes on the backs of the hundreds of thousands of poor they employ.

This world, forged in war and scoured by fire, is where you will begin your path to a destiny greater than anyone might have imagined, given your humble origins.

Welcome... Welcome, to Irithrax."

Hello everyone!
I am rather new here (as is, no doubt, obvious), but I would like to include you gentlemen in the (hopefully) entertaining endeavour of building my new world for a long-running RP that we are about to start. For the moment, this endeavour will take the form of several short essays documenting the world and its nations, peoples and so on. By and large, the system in use will be Pathfinder, as that is what I have the most experience in, though with some minor houseruling to allow certain features to show the way they would need to. What you have just read was the first such essay, and the welcome message for our group.

The game has not yet begun, so these also act as a form of trailer for the game, to keep it fresh in my players' collective mind. It is likely to start in the next month or three.

Ideally, I'd like some advice and general thoughts, as I will most likely post most of the essays here before the final versions go live to my players. These will occur during downtime to allow the world (and the general knowledge most citizens might have) to be built up without requiring lengthy monologuing in play time by the DM in order to get the feel and so on set.

So with all that being said... Please let me know what you all think! New essays are likely to go up every week or two, though I reserve the right to speed that up if needed.

With great regards,
Trim

(P.S. Advice regarding formatting will also be greatly appreciated)

[khadgar567]

This massive utilisation of magical and mundane labour has resulted in a stratification of society, with the rich and important rising far beyond their previous climes on the backs of the hundreds of thousands of poor they employ.

This world, forged in war and scoured by fire, is where you will begin your path to a destiny greater than anyone might have imagined, given your humble origins.

Welcome... Welcome, to Irithrax."

Hello everyone!
I am rather new here (as is, no doubt, obvious), but I would like to include you gentlemen in the (hopefully) entertaining endeavour of building my new world for a long-running RP that we are about to start. For the moment, this endeavour will take the form of several short essays documenting the world and its nations, peoples and so on. By and large, the system in use will be Pathfinder, as that is what I have the most experience in, though with some minor houseruling to allow certain features to show the way they would need to. What you have just read was the first such essay, and the welcome message for our group.

The game has not yet begun, so these also act as a form of trailer for the game, to keep it fresh in my players' collective mind. It is likely to start in the next month or three.

Ideally, I'd like some advice and general thoughts, as I will most likely post most of the essays here before the final versions go live to my players. These will occur during downtime to allow the world (and the general knowledge most citizens might have) to be built up without requiring lengthy monologuing in play time by the DM in order to get the feel and so on set.

So with all that being said... Please let me know what you all think! New essays are likely to go up every week or two, though I reserve the right to speed that up if needed.

With great regards,
Trim

(P.S. Advice regarding formatting will also be greatly appreciated)

first wrong sub forum mate. pm a mod to let them move to world building subforum under the homebrew section. THen lets look at your fluff

"Welcome to the world of Irithrax, a world plunged into a global war... Five major powers compete for global domination, and a sixth sits silent, neutral in the conflict, but as well armed as the others.

what are these six powers ( rokushiki) you are talking?

And what arms these are! Magic and science compete and collaborate to create machines and weapons of unimaginable power. Monstrous golems, giant tanks, impossible airships and incredible equipment, crafted by melding the mad science of the alchemist and artificer, with the darkest arts of wizard and sorcerors.

so its magi punk setting with modern enough society am i correct?

and no info about mount doom and one ring?

[Trim]

Thank you for pointing that out, I have PM'ed a mod. :)

The six powers are the six great alliances/nations partaking of the war... And I have no idea what the term Rokushiki means. A quick search pointed to martial arts, so that didn't help.

A current, exceptionally rough draft of the essay that should give the basic info on them will be listed below.

Indeed it is. The societies are likely to follow a slightly more stereotyped path than the modern world, since a conflict between different philosophies is one of the themes of the game. And no, no mount doom, no one ring... And no uniting evil that will cause everyone to join hands and wreck it.

Summarised, the nations are (advice on names greatly appreciated, I am rather terrible at naming):

Spoiler: Nations (The six powers)

Show

The Social Union of Al-Dasur
-Middle Eastern flavour
-Favour separation of magic, science and holy magic
-Religious rulership

People's Axis of Industry
-Essentially formed by a loose band of gangs, pirates and so on. Functionally ruled by the heads of the various syndicates
-Very focused on individual value and possessions
-Everyone (but the members of the "council" of heads) is legally equal in value
-Massive populace

Anarchists
-Started out in a massive rebellion in a very lawful society
-Threw off all laws and now self-determined, with no overall laws of government and refusing any new laws
-Somewhat barbaric and disorganised
-Exceptionally resilient as a people due to the decentralised government (ergo, what government)

Imperial Colonies of Great Amber
-Ruled by an emperor in the capital Amber, named for the original country they started out as
-Colonialism run rampant
-Magic is just another branch of science, religion is somewhat sidelined
-Well supplied and excellent logistics due to a long history with a large variety of colonies
-All races welcomed, but likely to end up as poor workers, like 90% of populace
-Small number of "industrialists" and "captains of industry" getting fabulously wealthy off the war, most others essentially low grade factory workers

Confederation of Free Men
-Based around the inalienable rights of Men (and not other races)
-Other races are slaves at worst, underlings at best
-Incredibly industrious and proud
-Favour overwhelming force when they engage, to the point of abandoning a fight where overwhelming force cannot be brought to bear
-Absolute certainty/faith in their philosophy and governance

Xi-Huan
-Neutral
-???
-They're essentially a group of pacifists in a mountain land

Essay to follow - note that it still needs a conclusion, some structure, and probably a rework or three.

With budding excitement,
Trim

(edit: Structure, names changed - Anarchists Alliance to Anarchists)

Spoiler: Rough Draft

Show

Six great nations hold the fate of Irithrax within their hands - the Social Union of Al-Dafur, the People's Axis of Industry, the Anarchists Alliance, the Imperial Colonies of Great Amber and the Confederation of Free Men are of particular interest to you, dear readers, whilst the sixth, Xu-Hian, stand aloof and mysterious in the far South, separate from the war.

The Social Union of Al-Dasur is ruled by the religious Caliphate, centered in their capital of Masul. Whilst their goals are shrouded in mystery (and mysticism), several facts are known about them the world over... They favour the separation of magic, science and faith, believing each to be a separate area of study and influence. As such, their armies are distinctly separated into the mechanical corpse and the magical corpse, lead by their religious officers and command.
Further, their industry is driven by the value of the worker, and strengthened by their national resolve that each individiual is valuable only by his contribution to the whole.

The People's Axis of Industry, meanwhile, built in the far East, began life as a loose conglomerate of pirates and bandits, grouping together for ever larger hauls of loot. They consider themselves self ruled, but are a fractious group, constantly divided over some minor issue or another... Despite this life as a glorified criminal syndicate, the Axis is not to be underestimated - they are largely responsible for starting the war that now consumes Irithrax!
A nation of excessive populace where all but the 11 Dragons who rule are considered equals, loot and violence rule the everyday lives of the populace, constantly striving against itself to obtain more than they did the day before... Their brutal and individualistic tactics on the battlefield bely their greatest weakness and their greatest strength - no consistent doctrine.

The Anarchists Alliance, despite considering themselves a sharp contrast to the iron fist shown by the rulers of the Axis, share more similarities than differences with their Eastern Neighbours. Their home is the wasteland remains of the cauldron of oppression from which they believe themselves freed - but still they act more as rebels, mercenaries and guerillas than a bona fide military nation.
Their leadership is non-existant, true to their motto of self-reliant self-governance, and their laws, similarly, are codified in no document. They strike, live and die as they wish - often needlessly, stupidly and brutally. However, the very lack of central leadership they show, also presents their greatest strength in the war - for the people now freed from their previous rule will suffer no creature to rule them again!

In the far West, we find the Confederation of Free Men - a society built around the concept of inalienable rights of men... And only Men. Any other races, whilst welcome, are treated as slaves at worst, and inferior at best, and often find themselves forced to work or perform in ways they might not themselves have chosen. One might imagine such a nation to be weak and stricken by massive strife, but alas, their pride and certainty in their philosophy has led them to become incredibly industrious and proud.
They build to last, at a scale and quality the other nations simply cannot match, and favour overwhelming force in any engagement. When such force cannot be brought to bear, you will often find that they will rather abandon the territory than attempt to fight a battle they may lose... Though they will certainly return to recapture any territory lost in this manner.

And finally, the nation from whence you all were sired, the Imperial Colonies of Great Amber. Ruled by an emperor far off in his palace in the heart of Amber, their capital and original company both, Amber has the greatest range of resources and technologies at its disposal. Their government is centralised, their doctrines fixed, and their rulership certain. Religion is offered little more than lip service, whilst magic is regarded merely as another branch of science... This view has led to their immensely powerful fusion of magic and technology that fuels their efforts in the war. Their greatest aim, despite what the government may say, is the expansion of their great nation until it covers all the world, and no cost is too great when measured against this goal.
The colonies (or at least, their rulers) consider themselves to be the pinnacle of modern civilisation, with all races welcomed and sharing in equal rights - an excellent concept in theory, this more often than not simply means all races are welcome to work in the glorious Empire. Fortunately for those in power the lower classes rarely seem unhappy with their fate... Or at least, so it would appear to any who would look. The Citizen's Arm of the police service makes absolutely certain of this.

[Thunderfist12]

Anarchists Alliance

[Trim]

Alas, Thunderfist12, you're not wrong. Fortunately I did mention that I am rather poor at naming... Though in this case, the anarchists lack a self-assigned moniker, since they lack any form of "official" at all. As a result, the outside world needs something to call them... Merely "the Anarchists" seemed too short and informal, but it may ultimately be a better choice.

Do you happen to have any suggestions for the names or fluff?

With continued curiosity,
Trim

(edit: Added the revised essay)
(edit: Spelling)

Revised, the essay to make some things a tad clearer:

Spoiler: Essay

Show

A Primer on the Nations
by Dolfrig Grimiss, foreign correspondent for The Daily Drop

Six great nations hold the fate of Irithrax within their hands - the Social Union of Al-Dafur, the People's Axis of Industry, the Anarchists, the Imperial Colonies of Great Amber and the Confederation of Free Men are of particular interest to you, dear patriots, whilst the sixth, Xu-Hian, stand aloof and mysterious in the far South, separate from the war.

The Social Union of Al-Dasur is ruled by the religious Caliphate, centered in their capital of Masul. Whilst their goals are shrouded in mystery (and mysticism), several facts are known about them the world over... They favour the separation of magic, science and faith, believing each to be a separate area of study and influence. As such, their armies are distinctly separated into the mechanical corpse and the magical corpse, lead by their religious officers and command.
Further, their industry is driven by the value of the worker, and strengthened by their national resolve that each individiual is valuable only by his contribution to the whole.

The People's Axis of Industry, meanwhile, built in the far East, began life as a loose conglomerate of pirates and bandits, grouping together for ever larger hauls of loot. They consider themselves self ruled, but are a fractious group, constantly divided over some minor issue or another... Despite this life as a glorified criminal syndicate, the Axis is not to be underestimated - they are largely responsible for starting the war that now consumes Irithrax!
A nation of excessive populace where all but the Eleven Dragons who rule are considered equals, loot and violence rule the everyday lives of the populace, constantly striving against itself to obtain more than they did the day before - but do not let this apparent freedom deceive you! The rule of the Dragons is absolute, and any infraction is paid for with blood. There are no prisons and no fines in the Axis! Their brutal and individualistic tactics on the battlefield bely their greatest weakness and their greatest strength - no consistent doctrine.

The Anarchists, lacking a proper name, consider themselves a sharp contrast to the iron fist shown by the rulers of the Axis, but share more similarities than differences with their Eastern Neighbours. Their home is the wasteland remains of the cauldron of oppression from which they believe themselves freed - but still they act more as rebels, mercenaries and guerillas than a bona fide military nation.
Their leadership is non-existant, true to their motto of self-reliant self-governance, and their laws, similarly, are codified in no document. They strike, live and die as they wish - often needlessly, stupidly and brutally. However, the very lack of central leadership they show, also presents their greatest strength in the war - for the people now freed from their previous rule will suffer no creature to rule them again!

In the far West, we find the Confederation of Free Men - a society built around the concept of inalienable rights of men... And only Men. Any other races, whilst welcome, are treated as underlings at best, and slaves at worst, and often find themselves forced to work or perform in ways they might not themselves have chosen. One might imagine such a nation to be weak and stricken by massive strife, but alas, their pride and certainty in their philosophy has led them to become incredibly industrious and proud.
They build to last, at a scale and quality the other nations simply cannot match, and favour overwhelming force in any engagement. When such force cannot be brought to bear, you will often find that they will rather abandon the territory than attempt to fight a battle they may lose... Though they will certainly return to recapture any territory lost in this manner.

And finally, the great nation from whence we hail, the just Imperial Colonies of Great Amber. Ruled by the grand emperor far off in his palace in the heart of Amber, our capital and native land both, Amber has the greatest range of resources and technologies at its disposal. Our government is centralised and clear, our doctrines precise, and our path certain. In this great nation alone amongst all the rest, is magic recognised simply as the branch of science that it is. This great insight has led to our immensely powerful fusion of magic and technology that fuels our efforts in the war. Our greatest aim, continues to be to spread the enlightenment of civilisation to the world, and no cost is too great when measured against this goal.
We are at the pinnacle of modern civilisation, with all races welcomed and sharing in equal rights. The common man has never been so well off, so well employed, or so free to enjoy the fruits of their labour!

And now, dear patriots, you too are informed of the standing in the world at large. Do not be fooled by the machinations of the foreign spy and their pamphlets and underground newspapers! For the discerning mind, the truth always will be clear.

Dolfrig Grimiss,
Foreign Correspondent

[Trim]

Guess what time it is! Essay time!

With continued interest,
Trim

(P.S. Formatting will be fixed when I can get to an actual PC)

[Translated, from the files of the Department of Intelligence]
Memo: For the Archduke Ali, per his request:
A summary of the social and political strata of the Colonies of Amber - Name Redacted
The political structure of Amber is a complex one. At the top of the hierarchy may be found the emperor and his chosen ministers. These ministers are most often selected from the available nobility, but on occasion also represent the so-called "Champions of Industry", the exceedingly wealthy untitled pigs bred by their system of greed and contract.

These ministers, of which there are currently 8, govern with absolute right over their assigned domains, with authority second only to the emperor himself. The current domains are Labour, Industry, Defence, Intelligence, Supply and Provision, Foreign Office, Logistics and Infrastructure, and the so called "Peace and Security", a front for their internal spies and secret police.

Immediately beneath them, in theory, fall the various landed and titled nobility, though currently the lay populace under the "Champions of Industry" wield greater influence in all but name. Fortunately, their influence, much like that of the nobility, tends to be political, and stifled and squandered in the pursuit of wealth and personal advancement.

Of far greater concern is the strong influence of their military and war office. Thanks to the influence of their incessant propaganda, no child sees a greater calling than that of soldier, and no manner of creature is accorded more respect and authority than a soldier by the common populace, but the emperor himself. Ironically, this means that a common soldier is likely to be better received by an average workman than his boss, and an officer will be granted more authority than the owner of the company!

Below those of military employ we find those barbarians they call workmen. The general populace has their magical potential unlocked to some degree during basic instruction at one of the (mandatory) public schools, so all but those of obdurate (magicless) blood have some degree of arcane power... Often barely enough to use in their work under tortuous conditions as cheap labour in their factories. Those few who are neither fit for nor capable of providing sufficient magical performance to labour in the factories are employed elsewhere, as civil servants or farmers, often performing those chores even the meanest of factory workers would not lower themselves to.

And finally, unbeknownst to even their own general populace, those unfortunate wretches picked up by the secret police who have their very essences drained, leaving husks fit only for the most basic of manual tasks whilst providing the seemingly endless supply of "power crystals" for their devilish mechs and tanks.

Truly, theirs is a degenerate society that we must wipe from the face of Irithrax if peace is ever to rest here again.

Peace be upon you.

[Trim]

Good morning, beings of power and occasional sarcasm,

My apologies for the lack of updates! Turns out that if you give life half a chance, she'll turn around and administer a lesson not soon to be forgotten! It seems trying to plan for something like this is a taunt to life and all her troubles, so having been thoroughly humbled, I come crawling back. Updates will be forthcoming! Projects are in, final semesters have been completed, crazy people have been met, befriended and lost, and already the plot has begun to thicken... If we do not stir it soon, it may even start getting slightly burnt at the bottom and forming that scabby crust that, er, less luxurious taverns are universally recognised by.

Fear not, though, for the spoon of another essay is rapidly approaching to whisk this somewhat stale sauce back into flavourful eruptions of surprise and possibly poor writing... That remains yet to be determined! In either case, any further feedback on previous essays would be very well appreciated whilst a new one is steadily being beaten into life.

With doddering faithfulness,
Trim

[Trim]

Huzzah! Despite some further delays, it's story time... In this case, borrowing lightly (read: ignore the inspiration) from some well-known sources, a piece on the humble tinker, and why one should not tinker (hah!) with them:

Conclusion of research on the topic of tinkers:

The tinker is a profession rooted in ancient tradition. They roam the lands, amongst the very few people to whom no border will deny a crossing. They trade for curiosities, small items, and brickabrack, offering services such as sharpening equipment or repairing pots and pans. They pay no taxes, are beholden to no lord, and have no responsibility besides that they accept for themselves.

How, then, can such a people not only survive, but thrive? The answer, much like the profession, is rooted in ancient custom. Whilst much superstition surrounds tinkers in history, two facts are always present - ill luck befalls all who turn an unkind hand to a tinker, and the advice of a tinker is never to be ignored. In either occasion, they seem to be an embodiment of what the uneducated masses refer to as "luck" or "fate".

More, still, there is historical evidence in support of this belief - many historical greats who fell are recorded as having been rude or discourteous to tinkers shortly before their path turned to darkness. Similarly, many of the historical heroes owe some crucial detail to the aid of a tinker - the thick woolen scarf that saved Anuin from a stray arrow was a trade gift from a tinker. Similarly, Ethun's great cloak of pockets within which he held all he ever needed was purchased from a tinker. Even the pebble that Es-Anra slipped on, spilled from Manare's possessions, had been a gift accepted at the behest of an eccentric tinker.

Given this luck that seems to follow and protect them, the great superstition that surrounds them, and the utter lack of restrictions or mistrust with which tinkers are endowed, one might expect them to be the perfect role for an agent to slip into, affording free travel and support wherever he may go, and yet... As best our intelligence can discern, no agent has ever survived such a position. To a man, each has vanished, disappeared as simply and thoroughly as though the world itself denied his existence.

What this implies is by no means clear... But it warns that whilst neutral, eccentric, and isolated, tinkers seem to possess a power or an organisation of some kind that unites them, protects them, and identifies them. For this reason, despite the topic bearing further study, this research will henceforth be considered concluded.

- Lord Alfred Hawkmoon

As per usual, any commentary and criticism is explicitly welcomed.

Faithfully,
Trim

[DrKosmosis]

So the idea of a setting completely built around the idea of a large war has some majors flaws you'd need to address. Mainly that is why. If this is as big and destructive of a war as you make it sound then you need to provide a reason for these "nation's" to continue fighting. As it sounds it looks like these countries are just throwing millions of soldiers at each other for what, domination? Firstly this sounds extremely expensive, how are these parties funding this? Also this mass loss of life is a fact that I would feel would cause many to question the point of this war. These reasons are why in reality most wars don't last more than a few years at most.

[Trim]

Good morning!

That is an excellent point, DrKosmosis... In broad terms, the war was begun by the expansionist policies of the Amberites. Given that they're an imperialist society, they attempted to expand into some of the "Anarchist" territories. The Confederation of free men, quite accurately, saw this as an unfair act of domination and greed, and proceeded to declare war on the Imperial Colonies of Amber.

Meanwhile, Al-Dasur, a fractured group of countries sharing similar faith but split by idealogical differences, were being united under a young Caliph, as prophesied. He rose by embodying the strength of their righteousness - in their own eyes, of course. As part of his rise to power, he declared all other powers to be anathema to the faith, and less than dogs by comparison. Seeing the war beginning between the other two factions thus far involved, his forces struck a crucial blow to both of the other powers during one of their major battles (as-yet-to-be-named) in the aforementioned annexed Anarchist territory, and managed to destroy a major portion of both the assembled military might. Sensing this as an opportunity, he attempted to strike at them.

Unfortunately, being somewhat overextended, and with the Anarchists getting well and truly tired of this war, they proceeded to engage his forces in guerilla combat, managing to prevent them from resupplying and bogging them down in difficult terrain under continuous harrassment.

This sizable gap in the market for both material goods (weaponry) and mercenaries allowed a number of the more powerful pirates in the People's Axis (at that point, little more than a mess of islands rife with criminal empires) to unite and exploit the newly created desperation for maximum profit.

As a result, they are allied with and at war with all three the other major powers at almost any given moment, shifting support to whichever side will most readily feed their insatiable appetites.

Whilst the war has not been going overly long (perhaps 4-5 years at this point), it has had a critical impact on the world as a whole.

So let's see, motivation wise, we have Religious and Political Ideology (Al-Dasur and the Confederation), Resources (Amber and the Axis), Expansionism (Amber), Resistance (Anarchists), Independence (Amber and Anarchists), and National Pride (pretty much all of them for very different reasons).

As far as the loss of life, there is significant internal stress in the countries due to the economics and loss of life. Further, we are talking about economies on the scale of continental superpowers, so whilst there is significant expenditure, it's focused into "small", intense battles, or what amounts to long-term border skirmishes.

Faithfully,
Trim

P.S.
I'll probably build this into an essay soon! Sorry for the long delay (again). It seems fated that my posts are to have nice gaps inbetween, though this one is for mapmaking - hoping to show off the results soon!