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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    Eldan's Avatar

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    Default Exiles and Forbidden Magics

    So, I'm building a city for a game and I need some help coming up with ideas.

    I have the basic outline. The city was originally built on the site of the ruined capital of a long-gone empire of fey. It was originally full of spirits, magical phenomena and powerful magics, but those have, for the most part, been looted and sold. Still, the founding populations of the city for a long time were exiles, mercenaries, adventurers and traders and that is reflected in the culture. As time went on, it became a haven for political, religious and magical exiles as well and though it is currently tenuously controlled by a powerful Empire, that Empire is across the sea and travel is long and dangerous, so they still come here.

    What I'd like is a few ideas for the kind of people and groups who might end up here. Also, demon binders and necromancers are just a bit played out, so I'd also like a few more original ideas for magics that might be forbidden in an Empire vaguely modelled on the early Roman Empire. Relatively religiously and politically tolerant, as long as the Imperial institutions are respected, the Emperor is worshipped and taxes are paid.

    A few ideas are pretty standard, of course. Several mercenary companies, including some founded by disgraced noble families who had to flee from the heartland of the Empire. Then, we have the slightly more unusual one:

    A cult that recruits amongst the lowest classes, especially slaves, miners and the urban underclass and previously lead to unrest, before being declared illegal.

    A cult of soul binders who claim that they can bring back and channel the spirits of long-dead heroes of the Empire. This is seen as incredibly disrespectful to the ancestors by most of the Empire, even if the effects can be quite powerful. Priests would bind the spirits of powerful generals or warriors to themselves and use their skills and knowledge.

    What else?
    Resident Vancian Apologist

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    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Flumph

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    Default Re: Exiles and Forbidden Magics

    A: Any group that are not religiously tolerant and want to create a "pure" society. honestly I'd recommend having a couple competing ones for conflict and humour potential.

    B: Relatives or clients of those who lost political battles. in many cases political fighting in Rome involved large webs of patronage and familes vying against each other. While more a factor in the later Empire those who were close to a person (by blood or patronage) to a person who committed a major crime (usually making a play for the purple) would also be killed. At a lower level avoiding the consequences of a linked person's lesser crimes could earn exile.

    C: Those who survived a millitary loss. Rome had a poor view on the survivors in its own millitary who did not win. Exiled to sicily for example.

    D: those who worship in a way that does not include the imperial wishes. . . For example they may be fine with any Clerical or Favored Soul leaders but Druids or Binders are no-nos

    E: Followers of a fallen dynasty. An idea imported from China actually but could work. Several tongs in the south of china had as part of their initiation the idea that the ruling dynasty were outsider invaders and thus invalid (and thus their laws were invalid and they were free to ignore them)....Combine this idea with a historical revisionist mindset toward the actions of the Tarquins and thus Brutus....and you have a Roman equivilant.

    F: Secondary/bastard/or just non-inheriting sons and daughters of well off persons who need to out of society for appearences sake.

    G: similar to above but troublemakers who are embarassing the dignitas of the Lare and who are sent to that city to be out-of-sight-out-of-mind.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Troll in the Playground
     
    HalflingPirate

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    Default Re: Exiles and Forbidden Magics

    Fey Insurgents

    Those who express sympathy for the former fey masters of the region are deemed dangerous to the Empire and are charged with sedition. Elves and half-elves, (and halflings if they have pointy ears,) are by tradition 'bobbed' at birth to avoid this charge. Being bobbed means to have the pointy end of the ears cut off.

    The true insurgents often try to make contact with the greater fey who are supposed to live in complexes beneath the city. Adventurers, especially in the company of elves, are often suspected of being Insurgents, the accusation of which is sufficient cause for being hauled away by city guards to be interrogated and to hzve the ears cut off completely as a warning.

    Insurgents use secret codes to meet one another with safe-houses scattered around to shelter those who need help.

    Elvenkind are a slave race in this city, and are routinely bobbed at birth. The arrest of an elf for even petty offenses can lead to a death sentence, especially if one or both ears have already been amputated.

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Troll in the Playground
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    Default Re: Exiles and Forbidden Magics

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldan View Post
    So, I'm building a city for a game and I need some help coming up with ideas.

    I have the basic outline. The city was originally built on the site of the ruined capital of a long-gone empire of fey. It was originally full of spirits, magical phenomena and powerful magics, but those have, for the most part, been looted and sold. Still, the founding populations of the city for a long time were exiles, mercenaries, adventurers and traders and that is reflected in the culture. As time went on, it became a haven for political, religious and magical exiles as well and though it is currently tenuously controlled by a powerful Empire, that Empire is across the sea and travel is long and dangerous, so they still come here.

    What I'd like is a few ideas for the kind of people and groups who might end up here. Also, demon binders and necromancers are just a bit played out, so I'd also like a few more original ideas for magics that might be forbidden in an Empire vaguely modelled on the early Roman Empire. Relatively religiously and politically tolerant, as long as the Imperial institutions are respected, the Emperor is worshipped and taxes are paid.

    A few ideas are pretty standard, of course. Several mercenary companies, including some founded by disgraced noble families who had to flee from the heartland of the Empire. Then, we have the slightly more unusual one:

    A cult that recruits amongst the lowest classes, especially slaves, miners and the urban underclass and previously lead to unrest, before being declared illegal.

    A cult of soul binders who claim that they can bring back and channel the spirits of long-dead heroes of the Empire. This is seen as incredibly disrespectful to the ancestors by most of the Empire, even if the effects can be quite powerful. Priests would bind the spirits of powerful generals or warriors to themselves and use their skills and knowledge.

    What else?
    Your description is of a fairly standard frontier city. The abundance of exiles with corresponding tolerance implies that people aren't being exiled for their political or religious principles, but because they are on the losing end of political struggles. The historical analogue would be dynastic China, where notables were routinely sent into exile for a period of time as the factional winds at court changed.

    Why are there mercenary companies on your frontier? Mercenaries go where there is conflict. On the frontier this means either conflict with some 'barbarian' culture that doesn't adhere to the empire which is probably the region's native population, or major civil unrest with the mercenaries being used to keep order.

    A cult among the proletariat that fosters unrest implies significant inequality and probably decadence among the elite. This is somewhat unusual in frontier situations which tend to have greatly reduced social stratification compared to heartland areas. The implication is that the local elite have exclusive access to some resource that provides vast wealth (probably via trade with the imperial heartland) that is not being shared. Since the city is built on fey ruins, this should probably be some kind of fey magic - aphrodisiacs or love potions of some kind would be an appropriately thematic resource. Perhaps the cult holds to a practice that, if widely adopted, would ruin this trade. In of aphrodisiacs a call for strict monogamy and harsh punishment for adultery and fornication would make sense, and is a common trait of fundamentalist groups everywhere.

    Why is ancestor worship considered a threat by the empire? Is it seen as undercutting the authority of the current, living emperor? That would make sense. After all, why would you worship the current pup on the throne is you can call up his great-grandfather Awesome the Mighty and his proven accomplishments for advice instead? Or is there some other reason? Perhaps the ancestors demand offerings in the form of a resource that has high utility, or maybe this practice has weird side effects like loosing hungry ghosts to maraud in the slums.

    As for other things well here's what you have so far:
    1. A powerful but unpopular local elite.
    2. Mercenaries engaged in either aboriginal suppression or popular suppression.
    3. Some kind of fey magic being used to acquire vast wealth.
    4. A fundamentalist cult among the lower classes calling for revolution.
    5. An ancestor worship cult that is proscribed by the imperial authorities.

    Things you'd want in conjunction with this:
    1. Rival families among the local elite.
    2. An aboriginal or popular faction seeking either righteous restoration or brutal vengeance.
    3. A vital local industry being undercut by the luxuries whose collapse could imperil the whole region (ex. leaking fey blood into the storm drains could poison all the fish so everyone starves).
    4. An embattled (pick whatever reason) imperial administrator who may be either just or spectacularly corrupt (or both).
    5. Representatives of the official imperial faith and its hierarchy.
    Now publishing a webnovel travelogue.

    Resvier: a P6 homebrew setting

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: Exiles and Forbidden Magics

    I would find hilarious an imperial administrator that is both just and spectacularly corrupt.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    Eldan's Avatar

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    Default Re: Exiles and Forbidden Magics

    Quote Originally Posted by sktarq View Post
    A: Any group that are not religiously tolerant and want to create a "pure" society. honestly I'd recommend having a couple competing ones for conflict and humour potential.

    B: Relatives or clients of those who lost political battles. in many cases political fighting in Rome involved large webs of patronage and familes vying against each other. While more a factor in the later Empire those who were close to a person (by blood or patronage) to a person who committed a major crime (usually making a play for the purple) would also be killed. At a lower level avoiding the consequences of a linked person's lesser crimes could earn exile.

    C: Those who survived a millitary loss. Rome had a poor view on the survivors in its own millitary who did not win. Exiled to sicily for example.

    D: those who worship in a way that does not include the imperial wishes. . . For example they may be fine with any Clerical or Favored Soul leaders but Druids or Binders are no-nos

    E: Followers of a fallen dynasty. An idea imported from China actually but could work. Several tongs in the south of china had as part of their initiation the idea that the ruling dynasty were outsider invaders and thus invalid (and thus their laws were invalid and they were free to ignore them)....Combine this idea with a historical revisionist mindset toward the actions of the Tarquins and thus Brutus....and you have a Roman equivilant.

    F: Secondary/bastard/or just non-inheriting sons and daughters of well off persons who need to out of society for appearences sake.

    G: similar to above but troublemakers who are embarassing the dignitas of the Lare and who are sent to that city to be out-of-sight-out-of-mind.
    A: Didn't think of monotheists. Good one, thanks.

    B+C: Oh yeah. Clients would absolutely be included. I just got up to Marius and Sulla in the History of Rome podcast.

    D: I have binders up on that one, yeah. Because they bind ancestral spirits.

    E: Sure. No reason this has to be entirely Roman. I already have some Persian influences in there, too. That said, putting a Tarquin and Brutus situation in there where someone killed an earlier Emperor is a always a good one, if just for backstory mining potential.

    F: Mm. They'd be parts of the adventurers and mercenaries.

    G: Oooh, yeah. I definitely wanted to have ancestral worship in, at least in a general sense. It ties into the idea that Binders are so disliked, they call forth ancestral spirits, which is disrespectful.

    Quote Originally Posted by brian 333 View Post
    Fey Insurgents

    Those who express sympathy for the former fey masters of the region are deemed dangerous to the Empire and are charged with sedition. Elves and half-elves, (and halflings if they have pointy ears,) are by tradition 'bobbed' at birth to avoid this charge. Being bobbed means to have the pointy end of the ears cut off.

    The true insurgents often try to make contact with the greater fey who are supposed to live in complexes beneath the city. Adventurers, especially in the company of elves, are often suspected of being Insurgents, the accusation of which is sufficient cause for being hauled away by city guards to be interrogated and to hzve the ears cut off completely as a warning.

    Insurgents use secret codes to meet one another with safe-houses scattered around to shelter those who need help.

    Elvenkind are a slave race in this city, and are routinely bobbed at birth. The arrest of an elf for even petty offenses can lead to a death sentence, especially if one or both ears have already been amputated.
    The setting will probably mostly use humans, though I haven't really worked that out yet. That said, there will be magical bloodlines of various kinds, some purely gifted, some with animalistic mutations or powers, that have an origin in fey curses or ancestry. Having an underground of them would be a natural extension, and they'd be drawn to this city anyway.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mechalich View Post
    Your description is of a fairly standard frontier city. The abundance of exiles with corresponding tolerance implies that people aren't being exiled for their political or religious principles, but because they are on the losing end of political struggles. The historical analogue would be dynastic China, where notables were routinely sent into exile for a period of time as the factional winds at court changed.

    Why are there mercenary companies on your frontier? Mercenaries go where there is conflict. On the frontier this means either conflict with some 'barbarian' culture that doesn't adhere to the empire which is probably the region's native population, or major civil unrest with the mercenaries being used to keep order.

    A cult among the proletariat that fosters unrest implies significant inequality and probably decadence among the elite. This is somewhat unusual in frontier situations which tend to have greatly reduced social stratification compared to heartland areas. The implication is that the local elite have exclusive access to some resource that provides vast wealth (probably via trade with the imperial heartland) that is not being shared. Since the city is built on fey ruins, this should probably be some kind of fey magic - aphrodisiacs or love potions of some kind would be an appropriately thematic resource. Perhaps the cult holds to a practice that, if widely adopted, would ruin this trade. In of aphrodisiacs a call for strict monogamy and harsh punishment for adultery and fornication would make sense, and is a common trait of fundamentalist groups everywhere.

    Why is ancestor worship considered a threat by the empire? Is it seen as undercutting the authority of the current, living emperor? That would make sense. After all, why would you worship the current pup on the throne is you can call up his great-grandfather Awesome the Mighty and his proven accomplishments for advice instead? Or is there some other reason? Perhaps the ancestors demand offerings in the form of a resource that has high utility, or maybe this practice has weird side effects like loosing hungry ghosts to maraud in the slums.

    As for other things well here's what you have so far:
    1. A powerful but unpopular local elite.
    2. Mercenaries engaged in either aboriginal suppression or popular suppression.
    3. Some kind of fey magic being used to acquire vast wealth.
    4. A fundamentalist cult among the lower classes calling for revolution.
    5. An ancestor worship cult that is proscribed by the imperial authorities.

    Things you'd want in conjunction with this:
    1. Rival families among the local elite.
    2. An aboriginal or popular faction seeking either righteous restoration or brutal vengeance.
    3. A vital local industry being undercut by the luxuries whose collapse could imperil the whole region (ex. leaking fey blood into the storm drains could poison all the fish so everyone starves).
    4. An embattled (pick whatever reason) imperial administrator who may be either just or spectacularly corrupt (or both).
    5. Representatives of the official imperial faith and its hierarchy.
    Thank you, that's pretty exhaustive.

    Mercenaries would be here because it's the standard dangerous fantasy continent, to give the out of character explanation. People rarely venture out of sight of the coast unless heavily armed and in numbers, as the jungles of the interior are full of magically altered beasts, time anomalies, dangerous magical artefacts and so on. Aboriginal suppression would be a part of it too, there's tribes and city states of locals, mostly former fey slaves.

    The city was annexed to the empire in living memory, before that it used to be more independent, a culturally allied colony set up to exploit the native resources. That needed mercenaries to guard against the locals. Now the empire needs a second wave of mercenaries and their own troops to supress those already here.

    My idea wasn't actually that the cult from among the proletariat sprang up here. They'd have started in the Empire's heartland, but then pushed out to the fringes. They are here to hide and bide their time, like a lot of others originally were.

    As for local resources, my idea was that most of the obviously powerful stuff was looted and sold off back to the mainland ages ago (so that players couldn't just casually stumble or powerful artefacts), but that some things remain. Since I wanted a more tropical flair for this city (we've done too much Mediterranean and European lately), I was thinking of magical pearls.

    The city would be built around a lagoon, which contains a former fey city that has sunk. Growing on the ruins would be magical wildlife, including banks of molluscs that feed on the magical environment. The pearls themselves would store magical power in a way that spellcasters can draw from. One important local industry is pearl diving. That said, I'll keep the idea of emotional magic in mind.

    Your idea with ancestor summoning undercutting current rulers is one that I haven't even thought of, though it's a good one. The more popular explanation. My idea was more that while ancestor worship is allowed and even promoted, actually calling up the spirits of those ancestors is considered blasphemous, as it is considered to pull them out of their well-earned afterlife. A combination of both works well, with one as the popular explanation to cover up the more prudent political reasons. I'm sure the local tribune would just love the idea that a two-bit sorcerer could attempt to call up the setting's version of Alexander before a battle and ask him for help. Since I like to give factions a hidden dark side anyway, expanding on the idea that this goes occasionally wrong and lets loose hungry manes is a nice one.
    Resident Vancian Apologist

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    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    BardGuy

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    Default Re: Exiles and Forbidden Magics

    Radical thinkers, progressive politicians, and incompetent administrators. People who's ideas and interests were deemed counter to those of the empire but whose influence and rank prohibited simple execution or exile, so they're still technically government officials.

    Scholars studying the ancient ruins, mostly archeologists and architects.

    Anarchists, secessionists, and foreign agents trying to capitalize on a major city being so far from the capitol.
    Last edited by Jackalias; 2018-04-27 at 02:16 PM.

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    JakOfAllTirades's Avatar

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    Default Re: Exiles and Forbidden Magics

    I always thought that any sane society would forbid wild magic. I mean spell casters who actually know what they're doing are dangerous enough; a caster who can't control his magic should be considered an unacceptable hazard anywhere near civilized people! Kill them on sight before they burn down the city! Or turn the children into goblins by accident! Or, or... just kill them already!!!
    HEY, WTF HAPPENED TO MY AVATAR?


  9. - Top - End - #9
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Flumph

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    Default Re: Exiles and Forbidden Magics

    F: Secondary/bastard/or just non-inheriting sons and daughters of well off persons who need to out of society for appearances sake.

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldan View Post
    F: Mm. They'd be parts of the adventurers and mercenaries.
    you certainly could have part of them as such adventurers but I think you'd be selling yourself short if that was the main use.

    If you are person in the capital of some means and one of your sons is a mean boor/bully who is regularly embarrassing the family name buying him a plantation in hills outside of the city "over there" where he can abuse the locals to his heart's content without word of it coming back is a significant but one time expense. Also can work for bastard sons and daughters....

    So they can be all sorts of people to act as backers for strange backers...who want to buy their way back into respectability, to gain access to new experiences, to force inheritances to fall their way (or targets for "legitimate" heirs to shore up their claims), fix spats between two exiles who are taking it out on others but have plenty of political protection....plus just honest 2nd non inheriting sons being given a fair amount of land and investment at cheaper prices than land and position back home.

    basically how the British treated Burma....

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Halfling in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

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    Default Re: Exiles and Forbidden Magics

    If you want to move away from necromancy as the go to evil magic, then I would recommend enchantment and illusion. I've never understood why enchantment isn't placed on par with necromancy in the big bad's toolbox. Any form of mental influence or manipulation should be highly illegal. And illusionists will likely be regarded as deceptive and untrustworthy, able to hide their actions and aid assassins, though they would likely be somewhat more accepted in court as entertainers and seen as powerful assets on the battlefield, but still regarded with suspicion and mistrust.
    Enchanters, however, would be terrifying in any kind of political environment. Think Jafar, or Grima Wormtongue. Those two would be a noble's worst fear. Not that people wouldn't still try, and I could see their military looking the other way at a little discreet enchantment for interrogations. It could even be more humane than torture, like a less violent spanish inquisition (no one expects the less violent spanish inquisition) with about the same results (people will say anything under torture/enchantment).
    You might also want to think about what spells nobles are allowed that peasants aren't, or are all magic users automatically minor nobility? How do they treat and view sorcerers, especially since they're practically sitting on top of a giant source of feyblood sorcerers. What about wizards? Do they have to buy all their spells (including PCs), and from whom? Is there a black market selling spells and magic items stolen from the towers of noble wizards (definitely a job for arcane tricksters)?

    Just a few thoughts, hope they help,

    Sincerely,
    a SleeplessWriter.

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