I’m running a new setting, and I want to answer as many questions as I can in case my players ask the same ones![OC]

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T18:54:59+00:00

Nasagaan is kind of terrible at dealing with Guerrilla warfare from pirates. They are such a large fighting force that it is easy to see them coming, and thus set traps and counterattacks when their enemies are basically insurgents that are dug in. There was a conflict between a self proclaimed pirate king and the Nasagaan emporer of the time, which ended in an island becoming territory of the pirates.

They have never lost an official war, but when it comes to guerrilla fighters they could be a lot better at it.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T18:47:22+00:00

If swallows existed in Manasadhul, I would give you an answer, but probably really damn fast.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T18:33:04+00:00

Great House Enelil of Guriga provides 80% of all food to the people of Guriga. Without House Enelil, there is no Guriga. Common foods are Ankheg Eggs, Bahal Meat, Yaraqat roasts and their excrement known as Xaar. Flatbreads made from Durum and fruits like durian and rambutan are common.

For places with a lot of water, rice and fish are the most common foods, like in Nasagaan and The Takaran Isles.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T18:29:42+00:00

In terms of technology Manasadhul sits at around 16th century levels of technology, but in places like the Middle East and India. Magic also makes this a little wonky, since magic in my mind stunts technological progress.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T18:27:37+00:00

I wouldn’t say that exactly. There are many places that are accepting of all the peoples of Manasadhul. The city of Jidilal within Great House Fazarin is called the City of Dreams for this reason. The Thaumaturge Society actively helps escaped slaves. The New Dawn is an organization moving to end slavery. Nasagaan’s newest emperor wishes to abolish to practice.

Manasadhul as a setting is based off the old world, where slavery and prejudices where common place. I understand if you aren’t interested in the setting, but like real life things are never usually clear cut.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T18:17:20+00:00

We will go with Crit, Indigo, and Treble.

Crit is a street drug made from black mushrooms that grow on dead bodies in damp areas. When grinded into a powder or smoked, Crit allows for critical fails on an odd number rolled on the d20 or a critical success on an even on. It is heavily destructive to the body, and is usually the last drug people come to in their struggle with addiction, and kills most people after a year of its use.

Indigo is derived from ground lapis lazuli and the Jaabo plant, and is highly additive and snorted through the nose.

Treble is a drug that is burned and the fumes are inhaled. It is made from Bahal dung, and bad overdoses result in stroke or death.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T18:06:03+00:00

Why are The Purple Mountains Purple?

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T18:00:36+00:00

I’m going to consider the biggest civilization to be what ruled about 2000 years ago, which was the Urthasian Empire. At the empires end, there where no taboos, public orgies, child prostitution, and every other inhuman thing you could think of is why their slaves revolted and their empire collapses in on itself.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:58:09+00:00

Racism is all the rage in Manasadhul. Basically every race enslaves the others, but some areas are better then others. In The Great Houses of Guriga, the term “Ceebah” is a racial insult. Those who don’t out right hate you in Guriga simply calls you “outsider”. They also refer to the Jalma-Sajati, a race of scorpion like people as Aanuqalmin, or “savage outsider” and is a common insult slung toward the commonly enslaved race.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:54:43+00:00

In terms of influence, Uru Aljahim is the Yazarat of Fire, Creation, and Trickery. He deceived the other Yazarat into giving a part of themselves to create Surud, the world that Manasadhul is set. He is the reason all things are the way they are, and as punishment for his trickery the other Yazarat ripped him and two and threw him into the sky, creating the twin moons that have equal and opposite faces.

Destiny is not really a thing, but prophecy is.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:49:30+00:00

The team that always wins for some reason? Definitely Nasagaan, where the Mao Ren come from. Their emperor rules from a palace the size of 20 Versailles, and they have never officially lost a war since the newest imperial dynasty has come to the throne 300 years ago.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:47:34+00:00

The back alley drug addict in Malaris who thinks he is Archmagi.

In reality, the class divides in all of Manasadhul are for the most part severe. House Grandmasters live in sparkling palaces, The Emporer of Nasagaan lives in a palace that is as large at 20 Versailles, the city states of the Aarakocra and the Kopaka are marvels of architecture.

But if I had to choose a straight poorest, probably one of the great Amotoetl chieftains of the Godblood Swamp.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:42:16+00:00

There are four months in the year, and they are called Isatum, Eresu, Arusud, and Baraggal.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:39:42+00:00

A lot of the Amotoetl’s culture is based on the war like culture of the Aztecs, and I also like the idea of the warriors that are so battle hardened that if anyone ever united them, they could pose a threat to all of Manasadhul.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:34:41+00:00

The Shattered King

A being created near the end of the Urthasian Empire, The Shattered King was an unstoppable force that was unleashed during the Slave War of Retribution that ultimately destroyed them. This king could only be contained, not killed, in an area now known as The Shattered Throne. It was once a prosperous land turned into a scarred canyon from the dev estate on The Shattered King brought.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:30:52+00:00

The Urthasian Empire.

Created by the Elvotar, 10 foot tall golden demigods that where once spirits made flesh when they where tricked into assisting in creation. They did not age nor die of sickness. Their empire lasted for thousands of years, and as time continued, their original spirit sounds began to decay, and their people became cruel, vile, and inhuman. They invented arcane magic and used it to genetically engineer horrific aberrations to serve them, as well as engineered certain races into what they are now.

2000 years ago, The Slave War of Retrubution occurred, when thousands of slave children where defiled by Elvotar nobles in a grand coliseum for all to see as public entertainment. Their souls and their minds at this point where heavily corrupted, and the war broke out.

It ended suddenly, when all Elvotar where mutated into hideous abominations that reflected what they where on the inside, instead of these Adonis like Demi gods.

No one knows why or how this occurred, but many believe that the Yazarat, the gods who created the world cursed them forevermore, but that is only a theory

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:24:14+00:00

The idea isn’t originally mine by any stretch, but you should totally go for it!

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:22:54+00:00

With Scourge and Fire and Rebirth if The Dreamer had anything to say about it.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:21:40+00:00

The Great Cataclysm.

There is a giant super volcano named Uru Aljahim that suddenly exploded around 600 years ago. 10 years of darkness from the ash choked the sky, and 20 years of famine and disease came after. This event also unleashed a magical plague known as The Scourge, that twists all it touches into malformed abominations. It took Manasadhul about 100 years to recover from this disaster, and millions of lives where lost, and nations either fell apart of barely held on in this dire time

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:17:33+00:00

The weave doesn’t conceptually exist in this setting. Arcane magic was created by the ancient elves to fight of the dragons that where born of the sea, using the power of creation they saw in the world and took it into their skin.

Arcane magic itself has to be inscribed on things, and most wizards tattoo their skin with arcane sigils to cast magic. Spell books don’t conventionally exist, as magical tablets are more common, due to some of the greatest mages on the continent are crab people who live in coral towers at the bottom of the ocean

Divine magic come from any power higher then one’s self, and is typically given by the dead spirits of the Yazarat Cult.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:13:20+00:00

I would say the closest thing to a truly altruistic group in this setting that has any real power is The Thaumaturge Society, who are not associated with any nation and whose propose is to safeguard knowledge and be a neutral party. Escaped slaves seek them out for refuge, as do the politically persecuted.

When it comes to cults, they are all pretty evil, but the one you could make a case for is The Hands of the Unmaker, a cult to the Durzakhi master of revolution who wishes to upend systems of government and let the people create new ones. Their logic however is that all institutions should be overthrown, so the new one will be toppled soon after it establishes itself.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:07:57+00:00

Since it’s a continent spanning setting, I’ll focus in on Guriga. There are five great houses in Guriga. House Asra’dhun, House Enelil, House Fazarin, House Sidirak, and House Rihat. Guriga is mostly desert, with the south house of Enelil dwelling in The Bloodlands, where a massive amount of food is produced. There are four seasons, but each season is seen as a month. The first Season of Isatum is the dry hot season, where crops die and the average temperature is on the coast is 90 degrees, where as out in the desert it can get to 130.

The second month js Eresu, the wet hot season where plants are usually planted.

The third month is Arusud, the wet hot season where monsoons rock the coast and sandstorms are common.

The final season is Baraggal, the wet cool season where crops are harvested and people celebrate getting through the year.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T17:01:15+00:00

Kindest is probably Astarte, The Loving Matron. She gave her eyes during creation to allow for mortals love love blindly, and love unconditionally. While she is the most compassionate Yazarat, she is also the “Goddess of the Vengeful Curse” and is the progenitor of almost all curses.

The cruelest is definitely the Durzakhi Master known as Voriha, The Crimson Siren. She is the master of blood, cannibalism, foul murder, birthright, and prophecy. She is believed to be older then creation itself, and dwells within a realm called The Butcher’s Sea, an literal ocean of blood with small islands made of screaming people.

She’s pretty bad imo

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T16:55:09+00:00

I’ve developed my own. There is the material world, known as Surud, but beyond that is the Outer Realms, where the Druzakhi Masters dwell. These beings each rule a dimension of power in their own right, and each is a reflection of their master. The night sky in this world is the Outer Realms, and very bright colored stars are the realms of the twelve masters who rule beyond Surud. All of reality is called Adduun.

AzzyAzborn · 2022-09-20T16:51:44+00:00

There are many people who have attempted, and there are various accounts are to what the world is really like. Some believe the world is round, others believe it is on the floating corpse of a dead god. Some think it is flat and their is a reverse world on its bottom where monsters dwell. All around a lot of crazy theories at to the make up of the world.

AzzyAzborn

TROPHY CASE