Community Worldbuilding Project [Ishka: Urban and Urbane]

[Silverscale]

@The Motto, Emblem, and Animal: I like the above selections but lets see if anyone else agrees/disagrees before making it official.

@newD&Dfan: What is it you want to post a history summary of, Ishka? yeah if you want to do a write-up summarizing Ishkan History go ahead.

[DragonOfUndeath]

@ silver: I didn't want to get flamed so you were my buffer

@ all: does anyone object to the animal, emblem or motto of Ishka? any new comers?

i'm gonna start on the history now ok.

[DragonOfUndeath]

this is the history i have started to piece together from posts and the wiki page:

this is Part 1 general:

Spoiler

Geography: before Ishka there was a small lake (now bigger and the port district) that drained into a large Lake (through the undercity river Rowalaz(?)) this large lake drained into a southern sea. There was a small fishing town {nameless(?)} near a river bank on the Rowalaz (not sure which side please correct me if i missed it or just make something up if nothing exists already). they used fishing rods alot due to seasonal migrations coming from the big lake to the small lake and vice-versa.

Legend Of Ishka: There once was an extraordinary fisher-woman who was so good that when she died the villagers preserved her rod on a pedestal. soon afterward valuable ore/metal was discovered. this started a mini gold-rush. The town grew as more people flocked to the resource-rich mountains to make their fortunes. one such being was an enterprising mage called Ishkar Bolt. He was a lonely man, and like most people who came to the town to mine, the fishing community disliked him. In order to get their approval, he decided to honor the famed fishing rod by giving it a powerful enchantment. it seemed the plan seemed to fail. However when some dragons almost destroyed the town in the middle of a game underground. Ishkar drove the two dragons deeper underground with nothing but his spells and the Rod. the townspeople renamed their city Ishka to celebrate him and he served as protector for many years to come. Ishkar saved many miners. one was grateful enough to become his trading partner. with his 4th-gen miner know-how and Ishkar's magic the found the richest deepest seams of ore.
their biggest find was a massive Mithril deposit they were rich overnight. The miner took his share and left for richer pastures, and his name has since been forgotten. Ishkar used the Mithril to reinforce the city that was starting to grow around the town. He remained an important figure in the city for many years and was known for always carrying around the fishing rod that he used to save the town.
When he grew old, he decided to do one final act for the city. He used all of his remaining Mithril to build a gigantic tower (Mithril heights). After Ishkar died, he was put in a grand tomb near the top of the tower. Inside the tomb his perfectly preserved corpse holds on to the fishing rod.

When dug-out caves had been picked clean and converted into houses and shops to hold the growing population.

After the mines that were level with the canyon floor began extending upward, some miners began complaining about always having to walk back down whenever they wanted to take a break for food or a drink. One of the more inventive tavern owners near the canyon walls happened to hear this while they were having a meal at his establishment. From this he had an idea. He spent a large sum of his money to have additions built onto his tavern adding a third story common room, and built a walkway to the cavern wall and had a passage opened to the nearest mining tunnel. The venture paid off and soon he had much more business than before and began expanding to better accommodate the large number of miners who enjoyed not having to track back though a number of tunnels to the level below. Other businesses noted his success and soon began imitating his idea. Soon even the stores not near the canyon wall began making pathways that linked to the pathways of the closer buildings. Over the course of the year such pathways formed a spiderweb across the entire community extending from one side of the canyon to the other. Despite this though, you could only get to the upper level through the buildings that had levels there or the mines. Seeing this, a somewhat wealthier miner had his house extended to the upper level passageways. Some less wealthy miners who saw this decided to do the same, but had to sell the lower levels of their home to afford it. In this way the first level was formed.
It was not long though until the mines extended higher up the canyon wall. Businesses this time businesses immediately went and expanded higher up. Some new businesses even were built only on the first and second level without a place on the canyon floor. This process continued each time the mines reached a higher level. The first four levels could only be crossed between through buildings and the mines, but the fifth level and up began building stairs between the levels as well. It was not until the tenth level however that the manner of building the next level ceased to be a random spider web of walkways and began to become standardized. Along with this, some buildings and businesses continued to be successful extending from the canyon floor to the highest level, while others went out of business and stopped expanding and still other were started on higher levels and extended up from there.

Bridges are erected to help citizens commute between neighborhoods on either wall of the canyon. These bridges continue to expand and expand to accommodate the increased traffic, until the bridges themselves become neighborhoods, with there own dwellings and businesses.

All the while this is happening on the surface, miners have continued to dig deeper and deeper into the canyon. The oldest of these mines, directly beneath the original village, unexpectedly opens a massive cavern and connected network of caves. The caves are full of even more riches then their previous mines, so the digging continues.

As the miners dig, once again the tunnels and caves behind them are annexed as new sections of the city. While the city continues to expand below the canyon, massive skyscrapers are erected along the cliffs of the canyon, even as the city expands out horizontally.
After much horizontal expansion, the city reaches the lake at the end of the river. The creatures living in this lake reach an agreement in the city. In exchange for not being forced out of the lake, and a large monetary settlement, the city will be allowed to expand onto the lake.
the city constructs buildings on supports that extend to the bottom of the lake, and skyscrapers built on the water become a new luxury of the city. Beneath the water, the cities best craftsmen construct entire communities at the very bottom of the lake.

The next development of the city was perhaps the oddest. As more and more powerful mages were draw to this city over time. Their magic began to react with the natural magical forces of the canyon, and the amazing destiny of the city. These reactions created a number of permanent Planar Gates throughout the city. Seeing an opportunity, the citizens poured through the gates and began to colonize the other sides. These colonies were not really new cities, but rather extensions of the original city through the gates.

some of the newly formed Planar Gates and racial congregations began to form districts (it is unknown when the first one was officially made or even what it was as civil wars had destroyed dozens if not hundreds of districts.) for example the Negative-Energy Plane-Gates caused thousands of free-minded undead to simply awaken and form a giant necropolis. after about 1,000 years then have settled down. there aren't any civil war's on right now.

part2:Saints will be released in around a week.
please note that i have typed most of this by hand but some long parts i just cut and paste (for ease and time efficiency)

[DragonOfUndeath]

if no-one objects before 8:00AM tomorrow (23 hours) the animal,emblem and motto will be made official.

[Silverscale]

RE History of Ishka: That seems to be pretty much accurate. Some scholars dispute various details but the essential facts are mostly agreed upon. I'm not sure I agree with your analysis of the Geography, but like most DM's I'm perfectly happy to fudge the details to suit my own ideas.

[DragonOfUndeath]

there are numerous references to it being in the south-east side of the continent. the great lake is a desert the small lake is the port district. it seems to glide by on most posts (some posts are alternates that weren't picked up) if you want i can change parts of it.

[Silverscale]

Originally Posted by newD&Dfan

there are numerous references to it being in the south-east side of the continent. the great lake is a desert the small lake is the port district. it seems to glide by on most posts (some posts are alternates that weren't picked up) if you want i can change parts of it.

No the Lake at the head of the river is massive, some 50 miles in length, and The Port District is at the other end of the river where it flows into either the ocean or a VERY Large lake that eventually connects to the Ocean. The Port District is described as a protected harbor surrounded by first a pair of penisulas and then a string of islands, and is there as a way for other nations to trade with Ishka.

I took the liberty of Updating the POI page on the Wiki to include all the recent additions. I removed the name of the professor/lord who founded the Library/Zoo to be replaced by something less punified. I put up both Alliance Headquarters but repainted the first one as Frankie's Hideout, so they both have a place and serve slightly different perposes.

[EDIT] Right now I'm still working on my NPC group of Taskforged which is harder then I though since I have to pull material from many different places, I still haven't finished the leader. When I'm done with them I'll move on to a write-up of The Stations[/EDIT]

[DragonOfUndeath]

the small lake was dammed up about to enlarge it and that cut off supply to the large lake (it became a desert) the details were in the Wild origin story remember. and since they are in the south-EAST corner maybe the water went that way now that south is blocked.
thanks for De-punifing him and his bro.

I hereby give you the title of Wiki Editor SilverScale. (in deep booming voice)

[Silverscale]

Originally Posted by newD&Dfan

the small lake was dammed up about to enlarge it and that cut off supply to the large lake (it became a desert) the details were in the Wild origin story remember. and since they are in the south-EAST corner maybe the water went that way now that south is blocked.

Ah now I know what you're refering to......that story was overruled and never made official.

Originally Posted by newD&Dfan

I hereby give you the title of Wiki Editor SilverScale. (in deep booming voice)

Um I'd just like to thank my co-stars.....Oops this isn't the Oscars....Thanks though

[Renrik]

Originally Posted by newD&Dfan

the small lake was dammed up about to enlarge it and that cut off supply to the large lake (it became a desert) the details were in the Wild origin story remember. and since they are in the south-EAST corner maybe the water went that way now that south is blocked.
thanks for De-punifing him and his bro.

I hereby give you the title of Wiki Editor SilverScale. (in deep booming voice)

Yeah, we overruled that story because the Wild is an ideological group, not an ethnic/cultural minority.

[DragonOfUndeath]

sorry i must have missed that post. ill fix it. also when are you going to get around to doing that comprehensive station post silver?

[Renrik]

Originally Posted by BLiZme.2

National animal
The Rattle Snake for all of the reasons it was adopted in early America

The rattle snake is currently being used as a symbol of a controversial US political movement about which, accounting for the rules of the forum, I shall say no more, and also is a symbol of danger, and, being a snake, carries with it the unpleasant implications our culture has assigned snakes. I prefer the Leviathan, for the reasons already stated by others.

[DragonOfUndeath]

the rattlesnake has already been dropped. no other viable candidate has stepped forward YET. if something does we should vote for it.

[TheLonelyScribe]

I would, personally, say that Ishka is unlikely to have a national animal etc. at all. I mean, make one if you want, but I imagine that the average inhabitant wouldn't even know about anything that united the city, much less care. It's a cool idea, and the choice of creature is also quite nice. I think it's all good, but probably won't have much influence on the city on a large or personal scale.

One thing I do object to is any national motto at all. I think that that really goes against the nature of Ishka, the whole idea is that there is no unity of beliefs, values, ethnicity or anything except for all inhabiting a (rather large) geographical area and being answerable to the same general forces. Really, I imagine that the districts are more like countries, and Ishka as a whole is viewed similarly to the European Union, it's there, and it's powerful, but you don't feel national identity towards it.

A nice idea might be to give the districts associated crests, animals, etc.

Necropolis - the Sleeping Demilich

The Academy - the Thoughtful Angel (or, in 4e, the Superior Archlich)

[DragonOfUndeath]

Ishkarians (is that right?) do have a national identity. in the war against that city who didn't like the Necropolis. ALL the districts fought (or volunteered anyway) in that war not just the Necropolis or the districts that were damaged.
just because it doesn't have a chance to present itself doesn't mean it isn't there.
just change state into district here. states (here in Australia at least) have their own animal or 2.

[Silverscale]

Actually I think we've decided that the people are called Ishkans...... and while I agree that most people probably wouldn't care about the official animal etc, they would still exist.

@ newD&Dfan: as soon as I'm done working on the Taskforged NPC group...which should be soonish, I'll get to The Stations.....patience young Padawan

[Owrtho]

I suggested both the hydra and Tanasinn as national animals. Also, I'd suggest the tarrasque, as Ishka is like a sleeping giant. Most of the time it is safe, but if woken is a force to be reckoned with.
Also, if someone could think of something that is similar to a hydra in having many heads or the like, it might fit better (the hydra has the issue of not being notably large and the whole head growing back thing).

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

@Owrtho: What is a Tanasinn? At the moment I still like the Leviathan since Ishka started out as a fishing community and a Leviathan would be a logical progression from that since it's the biggest fish in the see.

Actually that brings up an interesting idea in my head....somewhere I saw stats for a flying whale....I think there should be a few of those near Ishka, possibly domesticated as a form of transportation/shipping.

[Owrtho]

Good question. I'll refer you to this video.

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

Originally Posted by Owrtho

Good question. I'll refer you to this video.

Owrtho

Just watched the video.....still confused.....is it some sort of spirit of the universe? Please Explain

[Owrtho]

I think most if not all people are generally unsure of what Tanasinn is. From what I've found, it is in part due to it not being something that can be explained, but rather has to be felt. It is generally associated with a surreal feeling or mood. Also all that stuff at the beginning of the video.

Owrtho

[Silverscale]

I say we stick with the Leviathan

[DragonOfUndeath]

ok so tanasinn is out. any other ideas or can we just announce the leviathan?

[BLiZme.2]

As to the animal I prefer the hydra the dragon seemed good but I think that would be fought as it overemphasizes the DHC I do not like the Leviathan as the city stated as a village on a river away from the cost not on the ocean and that should show the hydra is vastly appropriate do to the fractious but united nature of the city

if we go with Silverscale’s air whale suggestion that to is acceptable (to me) if it is a native to the area was tamed and is still in use I think its name begins with an X or T and I think one version is in Arms and equipment guide and another is in one of the Monster Manuals (I don’t know what number). To reiterate I don’t like the leviathan because of the river connotation maybe the salmon instead it is sometimes called the "king of river fish" even though it also lives in the ocean plus some of the stories ablot the early fishing village implied they survived on salmon (maybe there are even salmon in the river today with a natural immunity to poison and resistance to magic).

As to a motto I ditto TheLonelyScribe and to a lesser extent agree with him on the idea of an animal but a crest is "necessary". I argue with his EU analogy I feel Ishka is more like Americas sovereign states forming one nation not a coalition of nations in a federation a subtle bur massive difference.

As to city crest how about a crossed gaules (red) hammer and azure (blue)fishing pole atop a sable(black) fissure resplendent in a vert (green) field.

the astral port is connected primarily to the bizarre on the other side of the astral gate as Silverscale mentioned after my reminder and yes there is a huge astral port there and don’t forget the bizarre is directly connected to the a main thurofair in the market district via a colossal gate "rite across the street" from the astral gate and the market district is sandwiched between the warehouse district and mitheral heights and the warehouse district presses up against the port district so all the major trade is all focused in that area at least from a ground travel perspective

Originally Posted by newD&Dfan

the motto fit's the city perfectly. it is prospering it has/is expanding and are nigh on indestructible due to large pop density and large pop.

Pop density is a bad thing for survivability IRL though this could vary well be the perception in Ishka it would be wrong though.


@newD&Dfan double posting is a pleas don’t in the forum rules so pleas refrain from it when practicable also placing time tables and saying things are official by X time is kind of pushy and not the way we have operated on this project some of our best contributors do not post and presumably check the tread on a daily or even weekly basis

Silverscale is correct it is Ishkans
I also ditto Silvescale verbatim about his assessment of your history right up and if we us it his comment should serve as preface we should also leave the raw stories in the wiki in the story section.

@Renrik well that may or may not be true it is a mater of historical record that the rattle snake was used during the revolution (unite or die, don’t tread on me …) I was unaware of its resent readoption but then again if you look I am sure almost all animals and plants are currently being used by some controversial group Mussolini used the wheat sheath and scythe for a less currant example, unintended parallels are inevitable(to reiterate my mew favorite is the hydra {I like the air whale and Ishkan salmon too}).

[Silverscale]

Yup found it in the Arms and Equipment Guide. It's the Soarwhale, says they're usually found alone, in pairs, or in pods between 5-20. I'ld suggest that there is more than enough airspace over Ishka to have at least 5 probably as many as 30 different pods for an absolute minimum of 25 and an absolute maximum of 600 if we go with the two extremes of estimation. My personal estimate would probably be around 450......


Anyway as to the official animal of Ishka we now have 3 different fish of vastly different sizes and that are found in three different environments, the Ishkan Salmon in the river, the Leviathan in the ocean/massive lake, and the Soarwhale in the sky. We also have a Hydra. I suggest that sometime in history The Council asked themselves this very question, and could not reach an agreement because everyone had differing views of what it should be. Finally someone stepped in and suggested that all four creatures could represent Ishka. It was therefore decided that this was the best idea they could agree on and so the Official Seal of Ishka was drawn up by a master artisan depicting the four creatures each on it's own small background arranged in a square in in the middle of the seal with the official Motto written in Ishkan around the outside.

[TheLonelyScribe]

Originally Posted by Silverscale

Anyway as to the official animal of Ishka we now have 3 different fish of vastly different sizes and that are found in three different environments, the Ishkan Salmon in the river, the Leviathan in the ocean/massive lake, and the Soarwhale in the sky. We also have a Hydra. I suggest that sometime in history The Council asked themselves this very question, and could not reach an agreement because everyone had differing views of what it should be. Finally someone stepped in and suggested that all four creatures could represent Ishka. It was therefore decided that this was the best idea they could agree on and so the Official Seal of Ishka was drawn up by a master artisan depicting the four creatures each on it's own small background arranged in a square in in the middle of the seal with the official Motto written in Ishkan around the outside.

Actually, I don't mind the idea of just having the salmon, the Leviathan and the soarwhale in a circle, chasing eachother. It think that would be kind of awesome, with the salmon on the bottom left chasing the Leviathan on the bottom right casing the soarwhale in the central top, which, in turn, is chasing the salmon. Obviously, there would be inaccuracy in relative size, but that kind of reflects that the Ishkan salmon is so powerful (as a symbol of Ishka itself) that it can do battle with things physically much larger than it (just like Ishka itself).

[Silverscale]

Originally Posted by TheLonelyScribe

Actually, I don't mind the idea of just having the salmon, the Leviathan and the soarwhale in a circle, chasing eachother. It think that would be kind of awesome, with the salmon on the bottom left chasing the Leviathan on the bottom right casing the soarwhale in the central top, which, in turn, is chasing the salmon. Obviously, there would be inaccuracy in relative size, but that kind of reflects that the Ishkan salmon is so powerful (as a symbol of Ishka itself) that it can do battle with things physically much larger than it (just like Ishka itself).

Works for me anyone else have a different Idea?

[BLiZme.2]

Silverscale did anyone ever tell you your brilliant
TheLonelyScribe your idea is perfect I would be ok with having the whole central part of the seal be supported by a hydra but I could totally leave that part your refinement of Silverscale's idea is perfect it would be awesome if someone drew this (compromise FTW)

Dose any one think my idea would make a good flag because most don’t have as much necessary details as the seal (a few do though like Mexico) I like the relative simplicity of the four outlines on green (green because the green fields of Galidrin surround the city).

[Silverscale]

I just had an image of an enormous flag, like half a mile long and a quarter mile high, held magically aloft near Mithral Tower. Ooo ooo and the images on the flag are animated so that it looks like they Salmon, Leviathan, and Soarwhale really are chasing each other around the center....or at least splashing around a bit....and if we include the Hydra underneath then it's heads are moving and it's wings are flexing about.....I like it...."Make it so Number One".....oh wait this isn't Star Trek.

[BLiZme.2]

Silverscale that is awumtacular