Tales of Aramia (History and directory)

[Pumpkinetics]

I haven't been here long, but I've been thinking of doing a dramatic rcount of our adventures on the forum, depending on if we die soon or not. In case I do, here's a little background information on the land we're playing in. (D+D rules, with the gaming stuff cut out. If there's anything you don't understand, post here and I will explain the best I can)

History of Aramia

The history of Aramia begins far to the east, in the ancient Empire of Cerenaith. The Empire has since sunk into stagnation and decadence, but at the beginning of our story, nearly eight hundred years ago, it was at the height of its power.

At that time, Cerenaith was full of nobles, jostling for power – indeed, it remains so today. For nearly a century it had been expanding, its conquests providing what seemed a never-ending supply of new lands for the ambitious… but then, at last, its expansion ground to a halt. To the north, frozen wastes; to the east, fever-ridden jungles; to the south and west, a vast ocean. There were simply no more lands to conquer.

Many young noblemen grew discontent, thwarted of the opportunity to carve out their own fiefdom. Some occupied themselves with drinking and gaming; some, not yet ready to give up on dreams of power, embarked on ever more dangerous political intrigues. A few wondered if there might not yet be countries yet undiscovered.

One such was Aram, the younger son of a powerful baron. While he was wealthy even by the standards of Cerenaith's nobility, Aram would not inherit his father's lands, and above all he wanted to make a name for himself. Many of his contemporaries had financed expeditions in search of new territories, sending ships out to all points of the compass, but they had found only a few stray islands, not worth the price of their discovery. Aram had far loftier ambitions.

Somehow, Aram won the friendship of a young copper dragon, Balan'thrax; there are several stories as to how he managed it, but the most popular holds that he rescued it from death in a wizard's laboratory. Afterwards, in gratitude, Balan'thrax told him a great secret: far to the west, nearly ten thousand miles across the ocean, there was a vast and virtually uninhabited continent with fertile fields aplenty.

Aram rewarded Balan'thrax with gold and made arrangements in secret, commissioning three great ships at three separate shipyards, quietly hiring a handful of workers here and buying up a few cattle there to avoid tipping his hand to any of the others who might beat him to the continent he had already named after himself. Eighteen months after Balan'thrax had made his report, Aram sailed into the setting sun with four hundred assorted settlers and a great many extremely cramped cows, sheep, horses, and chickens. He had invited Balan'thrax to accompany them, but the young dragon refused; he had business elsewhere.

When the ships finally reached the shores of Aramia some six months later – Year One of the Aramian calendar – the reason for Balan'thrax's refusal became clear. The land was as broad and as fertile as the dragon had reported, but it was far from uninhabited. A fierce race of men, the Venishari, lived there already – having come, according to their own legends, from a land even further westwards long before – and they did not welcome intruders.

Fortunately, Aram had not come entirely unprepared for war. He had brought only fifty soldiers, and three junior wizards, but he had also brought enough weaponry to arm every last settler and several small siege engines to defend his land against prospective rivals from Cerenaith. The first few years were grim, and the Aramians almost starved as constant warfare distracted them from agriculture, but gradually he established a fortified township at Aramport and began to drive the Venishari back; although ferocious in battle, they were disorganised and poorly equipped, their primitive weaponry no match for Cerenaith's heavy armour and forged swords.

In A.C. 5, when Aram – who had now elevated himself to Duke – felt that he had secured himself some breathing room and could spare the necessary crew, he sent a lieutenant back to Cerenaith on the smallest of the three ships with instructions to recruit mercenaries and more settlers. By A.C. 10 the settlement had swelled to over two thousand, including a company of veteran pikemen and a band of elvish archers.

With these new troops, Aram – who had now claimed the title of Duke, later confirmed by the Emperor – made swift inroads into the continent. His troops sought out the raiders' villages and crushed those who would not agree to peace with the newcomers; those who did so were soon absorbed into the Aramian culture. By the time he died, in A.C. 28, Aram's domain extended three hundred miles from Aramport into the continent, and migrants from all over the Empire were coming to Aramia in search of a new life – as were representatives of the churches of Cerenaith, each vying to outdo the others in this land.

But as the Duchy of Aramia expanded, the Aramians gradually became less welcoming to immigrants; with the barbarian menace on the ebb, Aram's descendants were now concerned less with warfare than with building and farming. Many Aramians resented the wealthy who had waited until the hard fighting was done, before coming over to buy up the best land; for their part, the dukes who followed Aram had no desire to see their authority undermined by the established factions of Cerenaith, who were by now sending their agents in to see what they could grasp.

While the immigrants certainly filled the ducal coffers with gold, the dukes had come to realise that gold was only worth what it could buy. Immigrants meant more mouths to feed, and distance made it impractical to import food from Cerenaith; besides, more gold meant more taxes to be paid to the Emperor. So the dukes gradually curtailed further immigration, encouraging only those with useful skills and rejecting any likely to challenge their authority.

This policy gradually earned the enmity of the lords of Cerenaith, who found some of their best artisans vanishing. They responded by urging the Emperor to raise Aramia's taxes, since Aramia could evidently afford to pay more, and in A.C. 138 things reached breaking point with the accession of the seventh duke of Aramia.

Philip I decided that the time had come to secede. He made his preparations slowly, buying off the Emperor's spies and sending back misleading reports as he slowly diverted more and more of his taxes to building up a navy, quietly hiring away several of the Empire's best captains. Rather than declaring his secession, he simply stopped paying his taxes in A.C. 152; two years later, when the Emperor sent a messenger asking why they had not been paid, he replied – backed by the spies he had bought off – that the ship had been sent, and must have been lost at sea. It was not until A.C. 156 that the Emperor determined that Philip had no intention of paying his taxes, and not until A.C. 160 that an imperial armada reached Aramia.

However, the Emperor's advisors had badly misjudged Philip's strength. Although the Aramians were badly outnumbered, they were not fighting at the wrong end of a ten thousand mile journey, and the Empire lost the element of surprise when one of its faster ships – previously believed lost in a storm en route – turned out to have sailed ahead and defected, providing Philip with information on the fleet's strength and battle plans.

The Emperor's advisers had planned on making a swift landing, believing they would be able to surprise and overwhelm Philip's navy. Not expecting a serious fight at sea, they had concentrated on soldiers and heavy cavalry to win the war on land. Instead they met with fierce resistance from a fleet prepared for naval battle, who drove fire ships into the middle of the Imperial flotilla and burned the troop ships before they could make land. The Aramian fleet suffered heavy losses, but the Imperials were almost wiped out; many surrendered, lacking provisions or too badly damaged to make the return journey. The Empire had already been weakened by internal squabbling, and the defeat cost it much of its naval power; never again would it be strong enough to threaten Aramia, and within two hundred years it had collapsed into anarchy. Meanwhile, Philip crowned himself as the first King of Aramia, and established the Aramian Calendar, beginning with the foundation of Aramport, to symbolise the break with Cerenaith.

With ties to Cerenaith severed, Philip's heirs set about putting the kingdom in order and cementing their power. The chief remaining threats to their authority were the churches, and the feudal lords now beginning to emerge. The former were easily enough pitted against one another. To prevent the latter from becoming powerful enough to seize power, in A.C. 213 Philip III established a new order of chivalry: the Knights of the Crown. At first, the Knights of the Crown were the King's personal guard; once Philip was sure of their loyalty, he began to lend them to his dukes and barons, and swiftly built up their numbers. He was generous with his knights, and his vassals found it cheaper to use them than to keep their own armies; when later Philip forbade them to have standing armies of their own, and required them to pay the full cost of equipping and feeding the troops he lent them, there was little they could do to protest. Since the arrangement made it almost impossible for them to war against one another, most had little enough need of troops except to fight the Venishari.

For their part, the Venishari had once more become a serious threat, having become better organised and learnt their foes' tactics. They launched hit-and-run raids, and sometimes mustered the numbers to overrun borderland keeps and towns; a few of their tribes formed alliances with the primitive orcs of the western mountains, and even interbred with them. But over the years that followed, the Aramians gradually drove them back out of the fertile eastern lands in a series of bitter wars.

In A.C. 708 the most fearsome tribe of all, the bloodthirsty Kahimri, were forced to retreat to a great fortress cut into the side of a mountain overlooking the prosperous valleys they had once farmed. Here, at great cost in lives, Kedra IV at last trapped and destroyed them, securing control over the most fertile land in the continent. The fortress was renamed Kedchester, "Kedra's Castle", and became a base from which the Knights of the Crown could hold off the remaining mountain tribes.

For the next thirty years, the Venishari were little more than a minor nuisance; they occasionally harassed the western fiefs, coming down from the hills to raid and burn, but they were no match for the Aramian soldiers. But around A.C. 740, the Venishari threat began to grow again. By some accounts, a new and powerful warlord arose in the mountains; by others, King Magnus II overextended himself in trying to clear the way through the mountains for a final push to the western shore. Either way, the strength of the remaining Venishari came as a surprise to the Knights of the Crown, and in A.C. 763 the war was still in full swing when the Great Plague struck.

The Great Plague

As far as can be told, it originated in Kedchester, and at first it caused no great alarm; for the first few days, victims experienced nothing more than a mild rash and a slight fever. But after that, it gradually worsened, causing unbearable itching as their skin began to darken to the colour of dried blood and flake away, until the victims were virtually flayed alive as the fever and the itching drove them mad; the few who survived were scarred for life. By the time the severity of the plague was recognised, it was too late; Kedchester was doomed, and it had already begun to spread beyond the power of the city's healers to check it. Magnus II closed the city's gates and sent out riders ordering his lords to stop travel, but by that time some of his riders themselves were carrying the plague. In less than a month, all contact with Kedchester was lost. All who remained in the city perished, including Magnus and three of his four children; the only survivors were Queen Elaine and their infant daughter Gerda, who were travelling in the east when the plague broke out, and fled to Aramport.

The Shields of Mavri took charge of the fight, throwing up checkpoints and barriers everywhere and scrutinising citizens for any sign of the plague; those who began to fall ill were immediately quarantined. At first, it seemed the plague was unstoppable; no matter how tightly cities and castles were sealed, eventually it found a way in. But as it spread, it gradually lost some of its virulence, and the Mavrians' efforts became more effective; although the healers were still unable to cure it, the survival rate improved and its spread slowed. Eventually, after devastating much of the kingdom, its spread was stopped at the outskirts; Aramport was spared, and the kingdom survived, if only barely.

However, the plague remains a threat. The lands it has infected remain tainted, and those who venture into such territory often succumb; even in the 'safe' areas, the Shields of Mavri maintain constant vigilance, for when the winds blow out of the Dead Lands' plague often follows. Those who have survived the plague remain infectious, if only slightly, and so are not permitted in the Clean Lands; instead, they are exiled to the border territories, a haven for outcasts and vagabonds of all kinds.

Recent History

The plague killed most of Aramia's leadership, along with most of the Knights of the Crown, and at first it looked as if the kingdom would collapse altogether. Elaine hastily assembled a council in Nar-Aram, and convinced the remaining lords that it was in their interests to fight the plague together. The Church of Mavri – by now the strongest military force in the land – declared its loyalty to the monarchy to help keep order, and Gerda was recognised as queen; Elaine was appointed as regent, to be advised by a council made up of the dukes of the Clean Lands and the high priests of the churches of Mavri and Elera. Since her death in A.C. 772, the council has acted jointly as regent, and will do so until Gerda's twenty-first birthday in A.C. 783 (three years from the present).

The surviving Knights of the Crown regrouped under Sir Titus, formerly marshal of Aramport, still sworn to protect the royal line; however, they have still not recovered from the loss of most of their strength and experience in the plague. The templars of Mavri stepped forwards to fill the gap, setting up blockades to limit the spread of disease and mounting patrols to prevent a breakdown of order in the panic of the first months, and have become the principal armed forces of Aramia. Although the feudal lords are still officially forbidden to keep their own armies, they are permitted constables and town watches, and these forces have become much larger and better-armed than they used to be.

Since the outbreak of plague, little has been seen of the wild Venishari; most of the lands bordering their territory were hit hard, and remain too dangerous to travel. The 'tame' Venishari who still live in the Clean Lands are tolerated, but treated with suspicion; it is generally believed that the plague was the work of Venishari shamans.

Geography

The continent is roughly triangular. A mountain range, the "Venishari Wall", runs from north to south near the western edge of the country; at the time of the outbreak of the plague, the wild Venishari had been driven back into the mountains and the land west of it. The citadel of Kedchester stands at the eastern end of the Savages' Pass, the primary route through the Wall. Past the northern end of the Wall, passage is obstructed by snow and ice; at the southern end, Mt. Wrath – an active volcano – makes travel extremely dangerous. Most of the continent's rivers begin at the Wall as snowmelt and run east towards the sea; just to the east of Kedchester, past a prosperous valley, two rivers pool in Lake Balan before flowing out to sea as the Hilcaster River.

North of Lake Balan, the climate grows steadily colder. To the south, it grows gradually warmer; Whitgard and Carastor are subtropical, while Graster is inhospitably dry.

East of Lake Balan lies rough hill country; although officially conquered several hundred years ago, it has never been thoroughly explored, and is known to be home to a good number of giants and other creatures as well as some Venishari tribesmen. Before the plague, the latter were tolerated as long as they left Aramians alone; since then, with the weakening of order, some have taken to banditry. To the north and south of the hill country lies farmland, fed by rivers from the hills, and to the east lies the Crown Province of Newport, home of the capital Aramport.

At the time of the plague, the civilised part of Aramia was divided into 22 provinces (each governed by a duke), along with Newport and the free territory of Marston (run by a council of elders elected by local guilds); most of these areas were divided further into baronies.

The Clean Lands are those deemed by the Council of Regents to be free of endemic plague; while occasional cases still occur in these territories, usually among travellers, the Shields of Mavri stamp them out before they can spread. Currently the Clean Lands encompass Newport, Verinal, Ansonby, and the eastern parts of Hilcaster and Benford; Graster and Carastor in the south, and Norgard in the north, are also considered clean, but plague in intervening territories has cut off all land routes to these provinces and even travel by sea is discouraged; the rivers that flow out to the ocean in between pass through the worst of areas. Citizens wishing to travel between provinces of the Clean Lands are required to undergo inspections to prevent against the possibility of new outbreaks.

Outside the Clean Lands lie the Borderlands, an area where human habitation is still possible but plague has not been eliminated. Some of the Borderland baronies less affected by plague are still ruled by feudal lords, but most have fallen into anarchy; dangerous beasts of all sorts thrive there, as do brigands, and both have been known to raid into the Clean Lands. While travel to the Borderlands is not greatly restricted, travel from the Borderlands is very difficult, requiring a specially granted passport as well as inspections and a lengthy period of quarantine.

At the heart of the country lie the Dead Lands, where the plague is so virulent that no human can survive; even those immune to lesser diseases are at grave risk when entering these areas. What goes on in these lands – if anything – is largely unknown, although things bloated and rotted beyond recognition occasionally come downstream to the Borderlands.

Races

Human (Aramian)

Most Aramian humans are descendants of the Cerenaians brought out by Aram and his immediate successors. The empire of Cerenaith encompassed many different races; while those of Aram's homeland (resembling Europeans) dominated the mix, and soon diluted the blood of any other immigrants, occasional migrants have arrived since, and no variant of humanity would be completely out of place in Newport.

Human (Venishari)

Although divided into many different tribes, stretching from the glacial north to the subtropical south, the Venishari fall into just two distinguishable racial groups. The 'plains Venishari' (who, despite the name, may be found throughout almost all of the continent, including the western mountains) are invariably fair-skinned, usually well-muscled, with raven-black hair and brown or blue eyes; blondes are rare, and considered lucky. Redheads are extremely rare, perhaps because the plains Venishari view them as 'devil-children' and rarely let them live to adulthood.

The 'hill Venishari' are usually found near the eastern hills; compared to their plains brethren they are somewhat smaller, weaker, and swarthier. Most are brunette; while still uncommon, redheads are less rare than in the plains, and more likely to be allowed to live; while they still have a somewhat sinister reputation, the hill Venishari view them as having mystical powers. The plains Venishari tend to view their brethren in the hills as weaklings and inferior; however, there is no clear dividing line between the hill and plains Venishari, and even before Aram's arrival a great deal of interbreeding evidently took place. Hill Venishari are commonly rogues; redheads often become spellcasters.

Many Venishari of both these groups eventually submitted to Aramian rule. Most of the best lands were taken by the newcomers, but some villages in less valuable territory were left largely in peace, as long as they paid their taxes and made no trouble. While Venishari are viewed by other Aramians as rustic and rather uncouth, those who obey the Crown have the same rights as any other citizens (if slightly less stringently enforced). Some who inherit the Venishari's warlike nature have become Knights of the Crown, or have joined the churches' soldiery, although prejudice usually prevents them from rising very far in these hierarchies. Since the onset of the plague, some villages have begun agitating for greater independence; these have usually been promptly suppressed by the Knights of the Crown. The Venishari have their own language, but it is rarely used in any form of non-tribal company. Many 'tame' Venishari only speak Common.

Dwarves

What sort of dwarf would leave his clan to travel ten thousand miles on a boat? Only one who was desperate, or mad, or had no choice in the matter. The dwarves recruited to Aram's expedition were, by and large, the outcasts of dwarvish society – many of them on the run from their own people's justice – and while they served him well as miners and smiths, they soon established a reputation for lawlessness that continues to this day.

Because the dwarves were initially too few to found their own communities, they lived in Aramian cities alongside humans – and, whenever the water table permitted, underneath them. Most Aramian cities feature a building known as the Stonemouth, the official gateway between the dwarvish undercity and the rest of the town. Town guards are reluctant to enter the Stonemouth, and so the only law inside is that of the dwarves… which is usually not much. Still, if you want a good sword or suit of armour, there's no better place to go.

Dwarvish communities are matriarchal, and the Stone-Mothers – the leaders of the community – often have several husbands. Dwarves usually dress to intimidate; dreadlocks, facial tattoos, and fearsome ritual scarring are all common. Dwarvish berserkers are particularly feared.

According to the history books, about A.C. 470 a group of dwarvish clerics voluntarily travelled to Aramia looking to convert their lawless brethren back to a more respectable lifestyle – or, by other reports, to dispense justice to some particularly notorious fugitives who had fled to Aramia. They met with little success, and eventually gave up and travelled west to start a new community under the Venishari Wall near Kedchester. They lived there peacefully enough and were considered stalwart citizens of the kingdom, but all contact with them was lost during the Plague; it is presumed that they either perished or fled far underground.

Elves and half-elves

Many of Aramia's elves are descended from Aram's archers, and they still have a reputation for skill with the bow. Around A.C. 350, during the wars against the Venishari, the elves developed a novel tactic to secure the great plains of Carsony and Hancliffe: while the Venishari horsemen were elsewhere, skirmishing against the Knights of the Crown, the elves quietly planted seeds and then withdrew. Ten years later, large parts of the plains country had become forest, which suited the elves far better than the Venishari; the elves established bases, planted more trees, and gradually squeezed the Venishari out of the plains. Afterwards, many elves stayed in the New Forest on the borderlands; when the plague threatened, they sealed the borders of the forest, and have not been heard from since. However, other elves fled east ahead of the plague and have since settled in the Clean Lands, where they have a reputation as skilled artists and farmers. Half-elves, rare before the plague, have become common since as many of the displaced ended up marrying humans (sometimes for love, sometimes for a place to stay...)

Halflings

When the churches first recognised the importance of establishing a foothold in Aramia, they encountered a problem: while they had no shortage of willing missionaries, the cost of passage was steep, as was food and housing in the new settlements. What better solution than to send halflings, who could perform a priest's role just as well but required half the food and living space? The halflings took well to this role, and many still remain in religious occupations today; most are considered gentry, and disdain manual labour. Some founded halfling villages, either to better pursue their religions or simply because of the awkwardness of dealing with human-sized houses and gear, but most stayed in the cities among the humans.

Gnomes

Similar to halflings, gnomes had the advantage of being small and easy to feed. However, most gnomes had little interest in religion; those who came over were brought over as servants for the wealthy. The more fortunate gnomes work (usually for human masters) as cobblers, tailors, and the like, but most work very hard indeed as household servants, chimney-sweeps, and sewer-cleaners. Many fine households have their servants' quarters built to gnomish scale; some have 'servants' floors' between the human floors, and these are usually cramped even by gnomish standards. Most gnomes dream of saving up enough money to escape servitude and go into business for themselves; very few succeed. Some, unable to find work, end up begging on the street.

Gnomes and halflings generally detest one another; halflings are uncomfortable at the idea of small people being used for drudgery, while gnomes view halflings as lazy moralists who preach virtue and piety but won't lift a finger when there's work to be done.

Orcs and half-orcs

Orcs were never common in Aramia; although they could be found in small numbers throughout the land, the only large groups were found in the western mountains. Since the advancing Aramians were as hostile to the orcs as to the wild Venishari, the two groups occasionally allied, and some Venishari tribes bred with the orcs to create half-castes. Orcs have also become slightly more common in the Borderlands since the collapse of Aramian rule there; they seem to be slightly more resistant to the plague than most, but certainly not immune, and some have bred with the borderfolk in the last few years.

Although not outlawed as such, half-orcs are very rare in the Clean Lands, and will find great difficulty in travelling through border checkpoints; many folk believe that half-orcs can carry the plague without showing any symptoms themselves. Some of the smaller and more suspicious towns are quite likely to lynch half-orcs simply on suspicion (or stone them from a safe distance).

Ogres and half-ogres

Many years ago, a halfling priest in Verinal by the name of Trelawney Harbottle, a follower of Rebdan was faced with a dilemma: his soldiers had wiped out a particularly troublesome band of ogres, but had brought a dozen ogre babies back alive. Harbottle could not punish them for crimes they hadn't committed, so he decided to raise them himself and discover whether the right upbringing could turn ogres into decent folk (if rather dim).

Harbottle found that his efforts worked quite well until the ogres reached adolescence, at which point their natural aggression overcame their upbringing and they became quite unmanageable. Being a farmer as well as a priest, Harbottle quickly found a solution that, if regrettable, seemed better than killing them: he had most of the males gelded before adolescence. Although this impaired their intellectual development even by ogrish standards, it kept them relatively docile (compared to other ogres), and did not interfere with their physical development; they turned out to be very useful for manual labour, obedient and strong.

Rather than neutering all his ogres, he kept a few, both for breeding purposes and to continue his investigations into whether they could be socialised past adolescence. He eventually found that it was possible, but only with the most intelligent, and only with the aid of careful management and a great deal of one-on-one attention throughout their upbringing; 'whole' ogres were, in effect, a very high-maintenance pet.

By the time Harbottle died, he had effectively become a professional ogre breeder, and his descendants continued the family tradition; even today, the Harbottles are the best-known providers of ogres. Most serve as manual labourers; a few of the most reliable are trained as soldiers and guards. Religious instruction (most commonly in the faith of Rebdan) plays an important part in the socialisation process, and most ogres are unquestioningly pious in their dim-witted way. They also like to sing, usually hymns.

Slave ogres have very few legal rights, but even the most docile is likely to turn vicious if pushed too far, something that discourages their owners from treating them too harshly – besides, they're valuable property, and expensive to replace. Under longstanding law, any ogre can petition the Crown for full citizenship… as long as he can demonstrate the ability to read and write, and gain his master's permission to make the journey to court, something very unlikely to be granted. The last ogre to successfully petition – something that happened before the Great Plague – was first required to pay off his purchase price, with interest, before his master would let him go.

Half-ogres: think about what that implies. Can you guess how well that idea would be received? Can you guess how rarely it happens? Good.

Giants

Giants (along with wild ogres) are found in the wilder parts of Aramia. Among other places, hill and stone giants are found in the eastern hills, where they alternately fight and ally with the hill Venishari; frost giants are believed to be reasonably common in the far north, although there are few settlers there to encounter them, and the fire giants of Mt. Wrath make the area even more dangerous than it would otherwise be; there are rumours that they sometimes sail out to sea in giant stone boats.

Dragons

Dragons are known to exist; aside from Balan'thrax, whose shed tooth currently resides in the royal palace at Aramport, several notable dragons have appeared in Aramia over the centuries. Almost all of them have been dangerous and tremendously destructive beasts, with a reputation for cunning and hunger.

Some of the wild Venishari of the hill country use what appear to be dragon bones, either as objects of veneration or as powerful trophies. These are presumed to be relics of the past, since few if any dragons now live in those parts; such things are occasionally sought out as display pieces for the wealthy, but the Venishari are reluctant to part with them.

Religion

The Aramian pantheon is a bit of a mish-mash – as the Cerenaian empire expanded, it absorbed the gods of its conquered peoples. In addition to the gods listed here (mostly intermediate-level, except for Mavri, who is a greater god), there are plenty of minor ones. Most Aramians worship multiple gods, praying to whichever is most relevant at the time.

Elera (Aram I's patron deity) is the goddess of royalty and nobility. Although she is considered to be 'Queen of the Gods', and most Aramians are fond of her, few have much occasion to worship her. Her most ardent followers are rulers, those who intend to be rulers, and their most starry-eyed servants (including some Knights of the Crown); most are busy enough without trying to run a church as well. Her clerics are most often drawn from minor nobility and faithful servants who have retired from more mundane duties. Elera's church has few warriors of its own (mostly retired Knights of the Crown, who are no longer bound to other commanders); an Eleran priest who requires more than a ceremonial guard would most likely get it from the Shields of Mavri instead.

Appearance: A beautiful young woman, usually depicted with a strong resemblance to the King or Queen of the day, wearing the regalia of royalty.
Portfolio: Royalty, nobility, and those who serve them.
Symbol: A crown.


Mavri, 'the Knight', is Elera's champion (in some tales, her consort) and the exemplar of chivalry; many knights, even those sworn to the service of other gods, pray regularly to Mavri. His church is composed of two factions, each representing one of his aspects: the Swords of Mavri seek out and destroy evil, while the Shields of Mavri protect the innocent.

Since the Great Plague, the Mavrites (especially the Shields) have become the most powerful and numerous of the Aramian faiths; Mavri's templars form the mainstay of Aramia's defences, with the Shields protecting the borders and the Swords hunting evil where it dwells. The two factions are sometimes at odds with one another, but attempt to present a unified face to the outside world; both are staunch allies to the Elerans.

Appearance: A staunch warrior, square-jawed and heroic, who wields a sword and shield.
Portfolio: War, valour, protection, chivalry.
Symbol: Sword or shield, according to the follower's faction.

Rebdan, 'The Judge', is a strict enforcer of propriety and justice; while often viewed as harsh, his worshippers believe that rules should be enforced. His worship is particularly common among halflings, some of whom have founded their own townships to demonstrate what can be done in a community where all abide by the laws. For reasons discussed above, he is also commonly worshipped by ogres.

Appearance: A stern-faced old man with a long beard, carrying scales and a heavy rod.
Portfolio: Justice, punishment (but only as prescribed by law), penance, moral standards, and ogres.
Symbol: Balanced scales.

Benethar, 'The Healer', used to be one of Aramia's most popular gods, but he fell out of favour when his clerics proved unable to cure the plague. He was originally appropriated from an elvish pantheon, and many of his remaining followers are elves. His followers are encouraged to live in harmony with nature, enjoying its bounty without taking more than it can give. His daughter, Enil, is a lesser goddess famed for her kinship with animals and her shapeshifting abilities, but the two are usually worshipped together, with Benethar first and foremost.

Appearance: An elderly elf, who carries pouches full of healing herbs, and walks with a stick, accompanied by an animal (Enil in disguise).
Portfolio: Healing, nature, plants, elves, druids, rangers.
Symbol: An oak tree (Benethar) or an antler (Enil).

Memeri, 'The Scholar', is an ancient goddess of knowledge – both of the past and of the future. However, her followers believe that knowledge is dangerous to those unequipped to deal with it, and their wisdom has a reputation for coming at a heavy price; many who get answers from Memeri find themselves regretting it. Her temples resemble libraries, and those who would 'sacrifice' to her usually do so by adding to those libraries. Those wizards of a religious bent often worship Memeri.

Appearance: A tremendously withered old crone, bent under the weight of huge books, all of them locked.
Portfolio: Knowledge, prophecy, insanity.
Symbol: A key.

Aprinissa, 'The Jester', exemplifies spontaneity and merriment. He is popular amongst entertainers and acrobats, and some artists – especially those who enjoy improvisation – but his followers rarely have the attention span necessary for more patient pursuits. He has no fixed temples, and his worshippers flit from town to town as the fancy takes them, acting as a sort of travelling circus.

Appearance: A mountebank in a brightly-coloured harlequin costume.
Portfolio: Chaos, entertainment, spontaneity, travel, bards, sorcerers, and many rogues.
Symbol: A laughing, painted face.

Omorros, 'The Sailor', is god of the ocean and its creatures, a position he shares with his wife Obarra, 'Storm-Lady'; where Omorros is generous and merciful, Obarra is spiteful and murderous. (It is considered bad luck for Amarian women to travel by sea, and especially fish in the ocean – should Omorros look favourably on a woman, and especially if he were to offer her his bounty, Obarra would surely become jealous.) Many Amarian sailors worship both, seeking to curry favour with Omorros and to placate Obarra; however, there is a small and malign cult of those who worship Obarra alone, making themselves agents of her malice and seeking to turn it on others. Very occasionally, Obarra is rumoured to reward favoured followers (always men) with pearls or other valuables, usually blown up onto the shore by ferocious storms.

Appearance: Omorros is portrayed as a hearty, broad-shouldered man with a beard of seaweed (and in coarser tales, barnacles on his backside). Obarra is a beautiful but cruel woman, covered in fishlike scales, with needle-sharp teeth. Both are frequently described as taking the form of sea creatures.
Portfolio: Sailors, the sea and its creatures, storms (and preventing them).
Symbol: A pearl (Omorros) or a shark's tooth (Obarra).

Meredan, 'The Child', is the darling of most of the other gods; although he is invariably childish and mischievous, his actions often turn out to be blessings in disguise for the other gods (and himself). He is worshipped by those who are young at heart, those who want children, and those who care for children; many rogues also admire his ability to get away with just about anything. His followers have more sympathy for gnomes than most Aramians, seeing them as mistreated children of a sort (although often rather wicked children).

Appearance: A small child whose expression is either impish or wide-eyed innocence, usually grubby.
Portfolio: Children, rogues, fertility, gnomes.
Symbol: A child's toy.

Marsigan, 'The Craftsman', is a hard worker who equips the other gods with the things they need, be it a sharp sword or a good set of boots; his creations are never decorative (unless embellished by Peritia), but they are durable and well-made. When not working, Marsigan enjoys the simple pleasures: drinking, carousing, and fighting (but only in fun). He is dependable, true to his word and to his friends, and his clerics are the same. He is a rival of Aprinissa, with whom he competes for Peritia's affections. Marsigan's followers often come to blows with the dwarves: since they both excel at the same work, they are often in competition, and the dwarves' treacherous ways are offensive to the straightforward Craftsmen. Many of the Aramian guilds answer to the Church of Marsigan.

Appearance: A broad-shouldered tradesman, carrying a range of tools (and usually a very big hammer).
Portfolio: Craftsmen, simple honesty, reliability.
Symbol: An anvil.

Peritia, 'The Beautiful', oversees romance and passion. Her stories vary greatly depending on the teller; women (who produce most of her clerics) usually speak of her as gentle and compassionate, while men (who produce most of her worshippers) describe her as a fickle heartbreaker. She is also the patron of beautiful things – jewellery, fine clothes, and the more refined arts – and occasionally works together with Marsigan on particularly important projects.

Appearance: A beautiful young woman, finely dressed; in her aspect as muse, she is often shown with artists' tools.
Symbol: A rose.


Hanravor, 'The Delver', is the god of those who work the earth – both farmers and miners. His portfolio overlaps somewhat with that of Benethar, but where Benethar works with the plants that grow naturally, Hanravor is more likely to plough the ground up and plant wheat or apples, or cut it open to mine for something. The two branches of his worship are friendly with one another, but otherwise have little in common; where farmers look to him to bless their crops, miners pray to avoid cave-ins and floods. Some dwarves worship him in the latter aspect.

Appearance: A stooped, careworn man, covered in dirt from head to foot.
Portfolio: Farmers, miners, potters, and others who work with or in the earth.
Symbol: A shovel.

The Winds (North, South, East, and West), are just what they sound like. Besides sailors, they are also worshipped by millers (who need the wind to keep windmills running) and those who keep birds. Some Aramians pray to them by attaching a rolled-up message to a kite, then releasing it into the wind; if it does not return to ground, legend has it, the prayer will be answered.

Appearance: Four young men, all brothers, each covered in tiny wings.
Portfolio: Birds, sailors, all those who rely on or fear the wind.
Symbol: A bird, or a kite.

Coragan, 'The Vandal', is the god of wanton destruction and spite; as such, his worship is officially outlawed, and strongest among dwarves. He is rarely outright murderous, preferring to destroy things rather than people; that said, accidents happen. (His cultists sometimes supplement the temple coffers by selling 'fire insurance' and the like to merchants.)

Appearance: A rioter, scruffy and reckless.
Portfolio: Wanton destruction, arson, vandalism, bored teenagers.
Symbol: A burning building.

Enira, 'The End', is the Aramians' goddess of death and mourning. Although her worship is legally sanctioned, it is by no means popular, and her followers are often denigrated and abused (from a comfortable distance). The Enirans have denied any responsibility for the Great Plague, and point out that it was Eniran priests who risked (and often lost) their own lives collecting and burning the bodies of the dead in order to protect the living. Enirans are tolerated largely because they continue to carry out some rather unpleasant tasks, and because their expertise in matters of death sometimes makes them useful, but they are watched closely; it is regrettable fact that some Enirans have become over-enthusiastic in their worship, and taken to murder on their goddess' behalf.

Appearance: A woman, dressed and veiled in deep black; nothing of her face can be seen.
Portfolio: Death (particularly of humans), funerary rites, disposal of bodies.
Symbol: A coffin.


Venishari Gods

Before the Aramian conquest, the Venishari worshipped three nature-gods: Heb (Sun), Zul (Moon), and Inail (Winter). The 'tame' Venishari are still permitted to worship their own gods, but Aramians keep a watchful eye on them; movements that threaten the status quo are efficiently suppressed, whether by quiet persuasion or mysterious 'accidents'. The Aramian churches often attempt to evangelise to the Venishari, with mixed results.

Heb, the sun-goddess, encompasses passion, fertility, and farming. Through most of the continent she is viewed as a largely benevolent god; in the hotter south, she is sometimes viewed as stern, punishing the disrespectful with droughts.

Symbol: A blazing sun.


Zul, the moon-god, is patron of subtlety and cunning. While dangerous and mysterious, he is also a valuable ally, granting insight and wisdom. Many rogues worship Zul, and it is rumoured that an order of assassins is dedicated to his service.

Symbol: A crescent moon.


Inail is a fearsome and hateful spirit who likes nothing better than to freeze people to death or hurl them off steep cliffs; it is worshipped out of fear rather than love, and in the north it is rumoured the Venishari perform human sacrifices to appease it. In the south, where winters are mild, it is rarely acknowledged.

Symbol: An icy claw.


Population

Clean Lands (East)

Crown Province of Newport: 2 million.
Province of Ansonby: 600 000.
Province of Verinal: 500 000.
Benford (Barony of Retin only): 300 000.
Hilcaster (Baronies of Cospy and Menton only): 100 000.
Total: 3.5 million. 85% human, 5% gnome, 5% halfling, 2% half-elf, 2% elf, 0.5% dwarf, 0.1% ogre. Large cities tend to have a higher proportion of dwarves, ogres, and gnomes, and a lower proportion of elves and half-elves. Halflings are just as common in the country as in the city, but in the country they tend to form their own separate communities. Of the humans, about 5% are plains Venishari (or predominantly so) and 1% are hill Venishari. These numbers do not include the wild Hill Venishari who do not acknowledge Aramian sovereignty (about 50 000 scattered through the eastern territories) or wild nonhumans.

The Crown Knights in these lands number 10 000 soldiers (mostly medium infantry, some cavalry); of these, most are inexperienced recruits, led by a core of about 250 pre-Plague veterans (heavy infantry and cavalry, highly experienced and equipped but mostly past their physical prime).

The Shields of Mavri number 20 000 fighting men (archers and light to medium infantry, fairly well trained and organised), with a core of about 1000 experienced templars (heavy infantry and heavy cavalry); most of these are used in border protection duties. The Swords of Mavri only have about 4000 soldiers, mostly light cavalry, horse archers, and scouts, but they are highly experienced; most of them are kept near the borderlands, ready to strike against threats before they reach the Clean Lands, and willing to risk plague if need be.

In addition to their own troops, the Church of Mavri trains their worshippers as a reserve force; while they could potentially muster more than a hundred thousand militiamen in the eastern provinces, this is only practical for short-term defense, since these militia would be unlikely to leave their home area and the Mavrites lack the supply capability to feed them for any length of time.

Most other religions keep a small group of loyal warriors to defend their priests and churches, but have no significant military force beyond that. A notable exception is the faith of Rebdan; some of Rebdan's halfling followers have founded secluded communities where they can live according to his strict laws, and some of these communities have developed their own martial traditions rather than rely on others to defend them. Since most ogre farmers are Rebdanites and make religious instruction an important part of their charges' upbringing, the Rebdanites also have access to heavy muscle when they need it.

The dukes and barons maintain constables and watchmen; all in all, they probably have about a hundred thousand watchmen, many of them part-timers. Some are surprisingly well armed and equipped, since the feudal lords dislike having to rely so heavily on the Mavrites for their own protection, but only a small portion of these guards could be deployed away from their home towns.

Clean Lands (South)

Province of Graster: 1 million.
Province of Carastor: 500 000.
Total: 1.5 million. 84% human, 7% elf, 4% halfling, 3% gnome, 1% half-elf, <1% dwarf, ogre, and half-orc.

Clean Lands (North)

Province of Norgard: 100 000. 90% human, 5% gnome, 3% halfling, 1% elf, 1% half-elf, <1% dwarf, ogre, and half-orc.

The southern and northern territories have a higher proportion of Knights of the Crown (since they were on the border with the Venishari when war broke out); otherwise, their armed forces are similar to the above in proportion to their size.

Aramian culture

Weapons and Armour

Within most of the Clean Lands, it is considered highly uncivilised to walk around town wearing armour or weapons ready for use; this goes down about as well as walking through a 21st-century city holding a gun. Unless you're a Crown Knight or Shield of Mavri on official duty, or a town guard, or very friendly with the town guard, this is likely to get you arrested or at the least shunned.

Most town guards will give you the option of 'peacebonding' your weapons as you enter. This involves tying them to your scabbard (or belt, or whatever) in such a way that they can't easily be drawn for use. It takes a DC 18 Use Rope check to untie a peacebond (one full-round action per attempt), or one standard action to cut the cord if you have a dagger handy. Once you do either of these things it's obvious that your weapon has been used; many guards use elaborate knots (each town has its own version) that aren't easy to duplicate even if the cord is intact. (Another Use Rope check, difficulty depends on the knot.) Bows and crossbows should be unstrung; restringing takes one full-round action.

Exceptions: Daggers and quarterstaves aren't usually considered 'weapons', unless you look like a troublemaker. Likewise, unless the guard are suspicious of you, they're unlikely to search for weapons hidden in your pack (full-round action to retrieve), and they'll probably ignore 'tools' (sickles, hammers, picks, regular clubs, scythes) if you look respectable.

Unless players specify otherwise, it'll be assumed that you are following these laws when entering town and re-arming when you leave.

Nobility

The monarchy of Aramia is hereditary, passing to the monarch's eldest surviving son (or daughter, if there are no sons left, as happened with Gerda's succession). The monarch's spouse has no authority to make laws, but often has a substantial amount of unofficial power, as was the case with Queen Elaine.

Each duke governs a province, usually subdivided into baronies and a duchy (the duke's personal territory, ruled without an intermediate baron); baronies are divided further into shires. Dukedoms and baronies are usually hereditary, although their lords can designate an alternate successor if they choose; the Crown can strip a feudal lord of his title and lands, as recently happened to Duke Alain of Benford (although Alain still controls much of Benford, and is fighting for the rest).

[ottoatm]

WOW

That is one long post... I have to confess, I got 1/4 done and faded off... but it looks like you have everything you need and more to start with a very nice story/website!

I like the idea of having characters that can die - I have been doing this for my stories as well - all the battles, big and small, are left up to the dice. I just write around the results.

I'd do nothing but encourage you at this point - looks like your writing is good too - I'd be interested in viewing/reading the tales!

[Pumpkinetics]

The truth is that that was written by the game master, edited to remove that which you would not understand. Its just a handy reference in case you need to recap on your Aramia Knowledge. As it is, part one is now started!

Part one