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Post by admin on Jul 19, 2017 10:30:20 GMT
 OVERVIEW: A militant society fundamentally opposed to the Empire and any outside forces that threaten their sovereignty, the people of Escia have a reputation for stubbornness, bravery and indifference in the face of death - thanks in part to the warrior monk philosophy imported from Lhasa several hundred years ago. Physically, the people of Escia are related to the peoples of the Lands of the Dead, with dark skin, hair and eyes but slightly shorter and stockier of build. Due to good relations with Lhasa, it has a large Lhasian community and many people of mixed ancestry. NAMED AREAS STORMYARD: Named thusly due to the frequent gale force winds that assault it from across the seas, it is the second largest city in Escia and has strong trade ties to the Land of the Dead and the entire West coast up to Silverleaf. RAGEREST: Primary supply for Lumber and a nexus point for grain crops in the surrounding region. ESCIA: The walled capital, with walls almost as impressive as their bitter rivals in Paragonia - the city of Escia is home to the Royal Escian Military Acadamy, and the Grand Temple of the West in the Lhasian monastic tradition and 'Lhasa town' which is home to some 15,000 Lhasian immigrants. Total population, approx 250,000. MIDMORE: Large town bordering on a city. Center of the bread basket in Escia with barges bringing supplies from the town and surrounding villages, hamlets and farmsteads. ULENTOR CITADEL: Positioned to allow garrisoned troops to respond to threats from either the East or the West. Equal size and exact same appearance as its twin, the Eryas Fort. ERYAS FORT: Positioned to defend against invaders from the land and the sea and has the largest deployment of Naval forces and is physically an identical copy of Ulentor Citadel (both were made at the same time). CRAGBURN: A large town/small city that serves as the nexus point for several nearby mining towns extracting average quality iron ore and rich gold deposits. As the quality of the steel in Escia is not particularly high, most of their steel for making weapons is imported from Lhasa. OCEANSHIELD: Basically a naval base with a small city that grew up along side it, the primary industry is fishing, diving for pearls and copper and Opal mining (the Opal being found exclusively to Escia and highly valued by their nobility). SPIRITBAY: Another seaside town, though slightly more vulnerable to coastal raids that Oceanshield or Eryas Fort. The people of Spiritbay are well known for their stoic nature and many of Escias champions, both past and present, hail from this small but infamous town. THE BARE WASTES: A trade wind desert, the land of the Bare Wastes is dry and solid, almost like concrete and melted glass. The land and climate is so harsh that plant and animal life has a hard time making a foothold here and the only human inhabitants are small tribes of Dervishes who have eked out a miserable existence here since time immemorial. THE SAVAGE FRONTIER: Another band of desert with a single road winding its way to the capital, the Savage frontier is only slightly more hospitable to life than the Bare Wastes and contains many an unmarked grave of Imperial soldiers who attempted to invade the Kingdom. RIVERSTAND: Riverstand is dominated by a massive fortified tower that has clear line of sight for miles around the only ford in the river (only cross-able at low tide) and has been and continues to be the scene of countless battles between the Escian Army and Imperial Forces. To the West in impassible swampland. Despite being besieged more than a dozen times, the tower has never fallen. These days it is used as a forward base as the Escians have driven the Imperial forces far from the border and continue to gather momentum, pushing them back towards Windkeep Fortress to the North East.. ADDITIONAL NOTES ON ESCIAN CULTURE While warlike to their core, the Escian gentry are also expected to be highly literate and are famous for 'battle poems' which are short, Haiku like poems written by a warrior when he does not expect to come back from a given battle (indeed, nothing is more frightening on the field of battle than an Escian warrior who has made peace with death - coming back after having compiled a battle poem is a disgrace). Nothing is more important to an Escian than his sense of honor and a man who breaks a promise loses all social standing. Marriage is for life, though a wealthy man may take several wives if he can afford to keep them, and their society is highly heirarical, with various levels of Royalty, Nobility, Gentry and professional classes in a specialized caste system.  ESCIAN WARRIORS ON THE SAVAGE FRONTIER HOLD A POSITION
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sevicler
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Post by sevicler on Jul 19, 2017 11:43:45 GMT
I LOVE Escia's base concept. Excellent, excellent! I hope there's someplace in Escia where they routinely practice magic. That Oasis would be a perfect place for the Deathless Witch to stay during her tenure in Escia. Too bad I won't be able to upload anything regarding her character stats or design anytime soon. Busy with real life issues.  |
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admin
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Post by admin on Aug 9, 2017 4:28:01 GMT
I LOVE Escia's base concept. Excellent, excellent! I hope there's someplace in Escia where they routinely practice magic. That Oasis would be a perfect place for the Deathless Witch to stay during her tenure in Escia. Too bad I won't be able to upload anything regarding her character stats or design anytime soon. Busy with real life issues. :P I think that in Escia, magic would be considered a necessary evil. The Escians seem to like to get up close and personal, but for them I would imagine that instead of battlefield mages like the Empire, they will make use of powerful protective talismans and the like to protect them from magic long enough to get a swipe with the Castir.. Remember, they also adopted the 'Warrior Monk' culture of Lhasa and evolved it to suit their purposes, so martial arts of many forms would be widespread. In some ways the Escians are a mix of several real world cultures with their own unique flavor. They have a vagugely Arabic style and appearance, but culturally are closer to the Spartans mixed in with the Japanese. I think because historically they expanded, and then lost territory to the Empire, they feel quite hemmed in and extremely territorial overall. Super tough people - and soon time to lock them down and include them in the canon, so any further thoughts and ideas from everyone - now is the time.. :-) |
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sevicler
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Post by sevicler on Aug 9, 2017 9:35:56 GMT
Magic in Escia:
The people of Escia routinely practice Talismanic magic brought to their lands by the Lhasians. They tend to dislike most other forms of magic, due to their cultural emphasis on honor and fighting fair.
Their tendency for usage of Talismanic magic came after finding compromise between their culture and making up for their weaknesses. Around 1750 years ago, Escia abhors magic entirely, preferring to go up close and straight into melee battle. In melee, there was no one who could match the skills of an Escian. However, their disregard for magic quickly became their undoing. Many skilled warriors lost their lives to magic casters who could defeat them at a distance.
Sometime later, Lhasian ships arrived at Escian harbors. They brought many exotic goods and treasures, some that even the Escians had never heard of. But the one thing that quickly caught their eyes were the talismans that the Lhasians brought. Specifically, the talismans that nullify magic.
The monks of Lhasa had created these anti-magic talismans out of necessity. Many martial artists had complained that the usage of magic could threaten their way of life. As both magic and martial arts take a roughly equal amount of time to learn, many chose to study the one that gives them more practicality and ability to kill foes at a distance; magic.
When the first talismans were made by the monks, martial arts immediately became relevant again. Magic no longer became the dominant field of study, now both are studied more or less equally.
The Escians, seeing that these talismans gave them magical resistance without them having to learn magic, immediately adopted the talismans into their culture. At first, they simply imported the talismans en masse from Lhasa. Then the Lhasians decided to build monasteries and talismanic magic schools within Escian borders. Many Escians later studied the art of talismanic magic in these schools, until eventually Talismanic magic became a part of Escian Culture.
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AndiTheBarvarian
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Post by AndiTheBarvarian on Aug 9, 2017 10:10:07 GMT
Ideas:
Escia is like former near east kingdoms, persian/arabic/ottoman with parts of Africa (Assegai spear).
Good sailers at the coast region to connect trade etc. with Lhasa, like the arabic shipmen.
But a well buildt military state like Ottoman or Persian empire.
Talisman magic protection is a defensive help in the relation to the Land of the Dead, trade is possible, but no one can really attack the other.
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admin
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Post by admin on Aug 9, 2017 10:47:14 GMT
Awesome stuff guys, I think that Escia is nearly ready to go to 'press'. Additional contributions are always welcome, but I think we are coming close to the finish on these guys for now..
Once we have the main site in Beta, we can always make adjustments - nothing will be carved in stone until the official site launch, after which time we need to ensure consistency and continuity to avoid, well, this kind of thing...
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sevicler
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Post by sevicler on Aug 10, 2017 2:52:46 GMT
Paul please dont lock this thread today. I'm still writing down the Escian caste system and their society as a whole.
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admin
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Post by admin on Aug 10, 2017 10:41:49 GMT
Paul please dont lock this thread today. I'm still writing down the Escian caste system and their society as a whole. No problems, I will keep it open accordingly then! :-) |
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sevicler
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Post by sevicler on Aug 10, 2017 14:48:16 GMT
Escian Caste System and Society:
(needs feedback)
The Escian caste system is considered quite rigid, similar to India’s caste system. However, members of each caste usually regard one another with a modicum of respect, knowing that their nation would not be able to function without the castes both underneath and above themselves. An Escian would choose the caste in which they would like to belong after their ‘rite of passage’, which happens once one reaches adulthood. These rites are designed to discover one’s talent and interest, ultimately culminating in a recommendation to which caste they belong to, though the final choice still rests in the hands of the individual.
At the very top of the Escian caste system lies the statesmen and men (people) of religion. According to Escian culture, which highly regards the life of a warrior and their subsequent death, those who would sacrifice their chance to die gloriously in battle for the betterment of their people and their country are highly respected. These people carry the weight of responsibility on their shoulders, and treat the castes underneath them as teachers would regard their students.
The caste below the statesmen and men of religion are the warriors. While warlike to their core, the Escian warriors are also expected to be highly literate and are famous for 'battle poems' which are short, Haiku-esque poems written by a warrior when he does not expect to come back from a given battle (indeed, nothing is more frightening on the field of battle than an Escian warrior who has made peace with death - coming back after having compiled a battle poem is a disgrace). The warriors also have a code of honor, though it does not commit its warriors to suicide after a dishonorable action like the Samurai Bushido. The code dictates that one must be able to make full use of their skills and abilities in service to each other and their country, which usually results in many soldiers forming bonds of brotherhood with their squad-mates. Most instances of dishonor could be forgiven via battle prowess or other achievements instead of suicide, which is the second most important part of the code; the value of life.
Below the warriors lies the merchantmen, talismancers, and craftsmen. This caste is relatively young in comparison to the others, only introduced after Lhasian trade-ships arrived in Escian harbors and brought Talismanic magic into their borders around 1750 years ago. Before then, this caste was simply referred to as the craftsmen caste. They are expected to contribute to their country either by bringing currency and items into their borders or creating talismans, weapons and armor in order to aid the warrior caste.
Finally, the labor caste. This caste, though the lowest of the low, is further divided into two; True Escians or Outsiders (prisoners of war). True Escians who belong here are usually those who cannot properly wield the Castir due to being exiled or dropped out by their respective martial arts schools and have no skill that belong in any other caste. True Escian labors usually sell their services in the building of structures and architecture.
Outsiders, or prisoners of war, are usually put to work in order to pay for their status as prisoners. The Escians realized that by capturing enemy soldiers and using them as labor would drastically increase their ability to construct fortifications and buildings and sustain the war effort. Though one would expect a proud warrior-civilization would be merciless to their prisoners, the Escian code of honor emphasizes the value of life, which means that they believe that both their own people and their enemy would have skills that are useful to their nation. This results in Outsider labor camps actually being quite habitable and quite unlike concentration camps, with the prisoners compensated fairly for any work they are assigned to. There are no slaves in Escia. Many of these prisoners usually find that life in Escia is a lot more comfortable than a career ending in death as a soldier. In fact, there were a few former prisoners who decided to make their own businesses as architects and skilled labor in Escia, eventually finding success, recognition and wealth they would otherwise never attain in their career as soldiers. Outsiders are usually treated with indifference by the other castes.
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admin
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Post by admin on Aug 14, 2017 5:12:00 GMT
Escia has been consolidated and added to the dedicated site - thread locked.
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Things have changed!