Cold grey walls, long unadorned corridors, and the sounds of children weeping. Slow moving bundles of rags, servants dressed in shifts of heavy wool and arms wrapped in silvery chain... this is the Hospice, the home of the Prophet of Sucur.

The Hospice, born out of a treaty formed after a battle between Imperial forces and outsiders long hidden behind the Veil, is the home to those beings known as the Children of Sucur. Born of the tomb and living lives of renunciation, the Children and their leader provide a vital service to the Empire and the Prime: they are observers, recorders, and keepers of secrets found deep within the halls of the dead.

Ashy gray skin the color of gravestones marks these children, who are raised from the age of five in the cold corridors of Hospice. Their leader, the child Prophet, rules this place and takes in those who have been changed by the forces of death. Those who have fought the curse of undeath are given a choice; serve at the Hospice, or be driven before stake and sword.

Skinwalkers, men who have tasted blood but not taken on the Cloak of Midnight, and the occasional walking dead serve the Prophet and his Children, helping to preserve the protective wards which sit in a cave deep beneath the Hospice.

---

The Prophet of Sucur has survived war, peace, and a dozen attempts on his life. The living embodiment of the divine will, the Prophet has served in his position since he was a young 'demon-tainted' horseborn in a Mescari encampment thousands of miles from the heart of the Empire. The Mescarin religion is based around a structure of meritocratic ancestral worship; indeed, many attempted to kill the boy known as The-winds-Speak for the betterment of their tribe.

The-Winds-Speak could call forces, speak to shades in the abandoned temples of the Kulna Plains, knew the names of spirits and called them to his aid.

From The Tenets of Sucur

He was an outcast amongst his people, and thus took to his ministry. A wandering priest, seeing his talent, brought him to a young warrior-poet in the far West, a brutal man who had never spoken of the Preserver.

With the light of Sucur he called forth the man's true spirit, and in it dwelt the strength of the lion twined with the will of the bull.

The Prophet and his Warden walked the paths of the world before coming to the Imperial Host. They had gathered a following ten thousand strong when they came into the city... and their people were granted asylum there, and dwelt within the heart of the Emperor's grace.

The Prophet has held that grace through many Emperors and their reigns. Small concessions to his will keep the Imperial Host in the grace and provenance of the Prophet, and though many would grant Sucuran worship exclusive purview of worship in the Empire, the Prophet has never made such a request.

---

The Prophet of Sucur, and the Children of the Hospice, are living constructs of faith and essence. A step between humans and Outsiders, they are Neutral parties to the goings on of the world. Their true power, however, comes from the admixture of their talents. Each has a pervasive calming aura, and their talents manifest themselves in a raw show of eldritch force or a deep contact with the mind.

Those who bind themselves to the hand of the Prophet are treated as Warlocks, and serve as the Hands of the Prophet. Those who guard the secrets of Hospice are Psions and Wilder, using their unique talents to bind the strengthen the Paths which lie within the Hospice's shallow planar depths.

For a further discussion of Hospice... next post :-p.

Loonook

Good Gaming Gazetteer: Parlinian NPCs.

After some discussions with individuals on the #enworld chatroom on the Otherworlders network, I decided to do a basic rundown of NPCs in the area, which could be used for your games (if you decide to use any of this information). I will put up 'suggested' stats and classes for the NPCs; these are up to your discretion of course. I believe that truly good NPCs have nothing to do with the stats, and thus I use some choices which would be considered odd to represent certain characters.

The setting itself has very small amounts of creatures prowling around; so, like many of my games I use the creatures in various MMs and other sources more as 'kits' than as anything else. These are suggestions for your own game, and I hope they work out smashingly for you :). Servants in the setting take on the dai-(house) name in cases of noble patronage, a sign of their belonging to the House without truly being a member.

Servants of the Lords of Kinda -

Wusta dai-Calful, Talented Black Hander.

Wusta uses his powers to infiltrate and eliminate threats to the family. Talented in the arts of deception and the specific traits of the Black Handers, Wusta dai-Calful was raised from a tender age in the hands of Artin dai-Calful, leader of the house's Black Hands Guard. A child born to the Orphan's Guard and plucked from its carriage, he still exhibits some of the traits of his upbringing in the depths.

Wusta is a dark-skinned man of Zajahran descent. He was born with a talent known as Shadowshaping, and can use it to his advantage at will. Those around Wusta gain benefits from his Shadowshaping if they are attuned to his specific talents. Many suspect that this servant will replace Artin as leader within the next few years.

--

Wusta dai-Calful - Wusta is a special type of (monstrous) humanoid possessing 4 HD, +4 to Str, +4 to Dexterity, and +2 to Intelligence. and the abilities of a Displacer Beast. Wusta uses his skill points as appropriate to have the following progression: Rogue 2/Assassin 3/Nightsong Infiltrator X.

Wusta has the special ability Aura of Shadow or, if he has Nightsong Infiltrator 7, Improved Aura of Shadow.

Aura of Shadow (Su) - A creature with this ability ability grants a +5 competence bonus to Hide and Move Silently Checks to allies within 20'. This ability ends when the creature is struck by another creature, attacks another creature, knocked unconscious, or would have to make a Concentration check.

Improved Aura of Shadow (Su): As Aura of Shadow, but grants a +10 competence bonus and the ability only ends when the creature is knocked unconscious.

Wusta should be treated as a CR of (3 + Class Levels) and carries items which improve his ability to infiltrate and silently dispatch targets.

---

Khom Yurndi, Kingpin.

Khom is an oddity; a leader amongst the families focused on battle. Khom is an imposing man, large of stature and brutal to anyone he considers 'less' than himself. He is an enormous man, and there are those who call him Giantsseed from his days as a mercenary for hire amongst the lords of Central Naschia. Few know the story behind his immense stature and the pain it caused his family.

Khom's family was cursed by the Witch of Cowl Mountain to bear a child who would tear the family apart every generation until they left their homeland in shame. Khom was the last of such children, and has searched the Ostari empire for a cure to his curse. Each of his attempts have failed, but his curse has not passed on to those in his line; his son Durmi has no signs of the curse.

Khom stands at nine feet tall and is broad-shouldered. A runeflesh mercenary (which will be covered in the later articles on the history of Central Naschia), Khom was 'blessed' by the Priests of Kuartani with the ability to cast devestating magics. He is slow-witted compared to many of the Kinda lords, but his efficient and brutal methods of keeping the family together make him worthwhile to many.

--

Khom is built using an Ogre Magi as the base, but using the Barbarian skill list for assigning skills from that base and takes the Thug fighter variant class shown in Unearthed Arcana. He loses the Change Shape ability, and replaces Flight with the ability Airwalk, and his Cone of Cold ability is treated as a 10' radius effect.

Khom chooses items which enhance his natural ability to deal damage, and has many items which allow him to spy on rival family agents.

Airwalk (Su) - As flight, but the creature must end its turn on solid ground or suffer falling damage based on the distance from ground and forfeit a move action in the next round.

---

Vilindos Perdin - A fat, affable bastard son of the Perdin patriarch, Vilindosi lives in opulent accomodations in a city in the New Imperial State, far from his family. Though he claims to work as an 'agent' in the family's lucrative slaving business he snubs the family as much as possible, and chooses those who he grants the privilege to purchase his wares. Few if any of his charges are kept for long, and Vilindos cycles out his 'children' as minor clerks and shopboys to local businesses, getting papers and material through contacts he developed while an adventurer.

Ebony skinned and enormous, the corpulent Vilindos has a lover in the form of the popular orator Kalindu. Those who know of this 'indiscretion' make it a point to jab the thorn into the Perdin family's side, but Vilindos also keeps a stable of talented eyes and ears as a 'harem' to satisfy custom. He is best known for his gaudy clothes and the enormous fan which he carries around, adorned in strange patterns and bright filigree and said to have come from the far reaches of Zajara.

--

Vilindos is a Rogue, and his fan serves to create a wind effect which can bull-rush an opponent. The fan is treated as a non-damaging attack with an Attack bonus equal to Vilindos HD + 10 (+4 from Vilindos taking Improved Bull Rush). Vilindos may also use the fan as a normal warfan if necessary, or cause a Gust of Wind effect 1/day. Vilindos may sustain this effect by spending a standard action for a number of rounds equal to his Charisma Modifier.

---

Ladies Cindyl, Carlyl, and Cydyl Golbel

Triplets of the Golbel line, the 'ladies' are the Golbel's connection to their ancient ancestry. Kept out of the light and promised to the trivian spirit the Golbel matriarch has taken on, the girls (aged 17) are the matriarch's one hope for change in the family.

--

Each 'Lady' has 3 Bard levels and has begun along their own path. Cindyl, the vainglorious one, has continued on the path of the Bard and is seeking to control and command her own fiefdom. Carlyl, dumb but domineering, has chosen the path of blood and has begun to learn to rage and become barbarous. Cydyl, the most corrupt of them, has begun to dig into ancient tomes and learn secrets of magic best left out of the waking mind.

The girls each have a suitor who was given to them upon their birth, and who serves as their 'protector'. These demons provide the girls with corrupting influences and drive the girls down their road to ruin. Each of the Ladies have taken Vile feats associated with this worship, and each has taken on a path which most suits their Protector. Cydyl's protector is an Imp Sorcerer, Cindyl's is an Erinyes (male), while Carlyl has been granted a handsome Bearded Devil as her beau. Each of these Protectors appears to be a handsome human male who fits personality with the girls perfectly and encourages their corruption fully.

---

A few rough-hewn NPC ideas to use at your leisure. I hope you enjoy them and as always...

Good Gaming,

Slainte,

-Loonook.

Loonook

GGG: The Parlis, Lords of the Kinda, and Others.

The Parlis, as stated in an earlier post, consists of the broad expanse of agricultural land bordered by the bends of the Lesser and Greater Kinda. Numerous small communities within the city-state tend to various foodstuffs and other agricultural processes. The different communities are known by their location in the Eye, a term which refers to the coloration of the darkstone mesa and the surrounding blue slate roofs and verdant farmlands. After reaping the Parlis appears as a human eye; a large dark pupil, slate-colored iris, and wide expanses of rheumy white criss-crossed with the threads of irrigation systems.

Most communities of the Parlis region are populated via the Stacks or through older refugee sites. Some groups, usually the Servitors of businessmen or waterworkers (those who patrol the ditches and the arms of the Kinda) live in elevated homes with clear views over their small expanse of land. These elevated homes are nothing in comparison to even the least of the manors of the cartel known as the Lords of the Kinda.

Power Center: Lords of the Kinda.

The Lords are the cultivators of Qishi, a powerful narcotic which is used by Imperial nobles even though the Imperial State controls purchase and distribution of the substance through various channels in the provincial governments. Qishi has a secondary use by rogues and other mundane; its euphoric properties make spellcasting difficult, and many thieves use burning Qishi to disable their targets over a period of time. The Lords of the Kinda consolidate their power in their great lowland manors, which are the topic of this writeup.

A standard Parlinian manor appears compact in comparison to your average manor house; four large lower rooms and a number of smaller top floor rooms are arranged based on a standard plan but would barely be as big as a standard McMansion of today.

The Lords of the Kinda have invested more in the way their manor homes are outfitted than they have on their upkeep. Most ‘entrenched’ (read: second generation or later) Lords are Bards, with talents as jacks of all trades and who have taken on additional talents. However, the Lords are all well-versed in the use of at least one magic item from the first: The Lochs of Priumdi.

Most of the Lords are former refugees, and the four largest families come from Central Naschia. Brutally efficient in their handling of their business, the Naschian leaders brought with them memories of the legend of the deeps of Priumdi. The Endless Lochs of Priumdi were said to hold gold and riches left behind by a great flood which had filled the deep pits of the ruined city. The Lords, seeking a safe storage device, created such an item in these simple paintings. Created in the abstract style popular in Naschian religious icons, the Lochs of Priumdi require focus and a knowledge of the tale of Priumdi’s depths to enter and extricate materials.

The painting contains an extradimensional space measuring as large as a small closet (as Bag of Holding II). However, the item has been protected by a strange dual-key; one must focus his mind and his will in two ways: keeping a level head, and delving into the psychic depths of the abstraction. To open The Lochs of Priumdi requires two skill checks: A Use Magic or Psionic Device check of 25, and a Concentration check of 18. Anyone who attempts to ‘open’ the painting and fails must make a Will Save (against DC: 21) or take 3d4 Charisma damage (this attack functions as an augmented Ego whip).

Each Lord has several servants and creatures on their retainers; the Lords have smuggled Councilor’s eggs to hatch lesser Councilor Birds to serve as advisors (a discussion of Councilor Birds will appear in a later article). Some families deal in other types of trade or have special contacts. A few examples are listed below.

Families include:

The Yurndi – Produce high-grade ‘royal’ Qishi, along with the smuggling of dissidents out of the Empire. Talented abjurer on staff.

The Calful – Original creators of The Lochs of Priumdi, innovators in ‘black hand’ magic. The Calful family trains assassins and Black Hands (Prestige Class focusing on magic to infiltrate and remove goods).

The Perdin – Slavers. Perdin ‘family’ members sell refugees into slavery through Sarian and contacts in the Ostari coastal island states.

The Golbel - Very minor, but talented in mental magic. The Golbel patriarch is rumored to be the bastard grandson of the High Priest of the Church City of Kuartani. Golbelo mercenaries are hired out by Parlinian nobles for protection.
___________


Other Minor Organizations:

The Keepers of the Sun and Moon – A group of refugees from a wartorn region of Zajara, the Keepers of the Sun and Moon are a group of Adepts and Gleaners (see this article by Baker who use their talents to protect and heal their fellow Parlis-workers. The Keepers have gained a large following to their faith (that of Qatalya, or the Shieldbearer and Zajahran God of the Sun and Moon), and are holding their own. The Keepers hide their abilities whenever possible because they believe that service to the Imperial State as members of the imperial faith of Sucur and others of the pantheon would taint their worship of their own deity.

Waterworkers – Most waterworkers are men and women keeping away from Imperial control. Thieves, deserters, and the occasional disrobed (or disjoined) magus find themselves working the waters of the Two Kinda. Some waterworkers pole alongside the Lords of the Kinda, but some fight against the narcotics trade whenever possible, striking victories for their own ideologies.

Conjure Ladies – Adepts and others (mostly female) who produce potions and charms for local traders and individuals. Conjure ladies (and witch men) do works for a steady price, but will have spells which are considered outside of Imperial favor or be willing to cast spells of summoning and binding if they possess the talent, something which won’t be found amongst Imperial-taught individuals.

A few organizations and concepts on the waters of the Parlis. Another update is forthcoming . . . please leave comments so I can know if I’m driving in the right direction .

Good Gaming,

Slainte,

-Loonook.

Loonook

GGG: The Parlis, Lords of the Kinda, and Others.

The Parlis, as stated in an earlier post, consists of the broad expanse of agricultural land bordered by the bends of the Lesser and Greater Kinda. Numerous small communities within the city-state tend to various foodstuffs and other agricultural processes. The different communities are known by their location in the Eye, a term which refers to the coloration of the darkstone mesa and the surrounding blue slate roofs and verdant farmlands. After reaping the Parlis appears as a human eye; a large dark pupil, slate-colored iris, and wide expanses of rheumy white criss-crossed with the threads of irrigation systems.

Most communities of the Parlis region are populated via the Stacks or through older refugee sites. Some groups, usually the Servitors of businessmen or waterworkers (those who patrol the ditches and the arms of the Kinda) live in elevated homes with clear views over their small expanse of land. These elevated homes are nothing in comparison to even the least of the manors of the cartel known as the Lords of the Kinda.

Power Center: Lords of the Kinda.

The Lords are the cultivators of Qishi, a powerful narcotic which is used by Imperial nobles even though the Imperial State controls purchase and distribution of the substance through various channels in the provincial governments. Qishi has a secondary use by rogues and other mundane; its euphoric properties make spellcasting difficult, and many thieves use burning Qishi to disable their targets over a period of time. The Lords of the Kinda consolidate their power in their great lowland manors, which are the topic of this writeup.

A standard Parlinian manor appears compact in comparison to your average manor house; four large lower rooms and a number of smaller top floor rooms are arranged based on a standard plan but would barely be as big as a standard McMansion of today.

The Lords of the Kinda have invested more in the way their manor homes are outfitted than they have on their upkeep. Most ‘entrenched’ (read: second generation or later) Lords are Bards, with talents as jacks of all trades and who have taken on additional talents. However, the Lords are all well-versed in the use of at least one magic item from the first: The Lochs of Priumdi.

Most of the Lords are former refugees, and the four largest families come from Central Naschia. Brutally efficient in their handling of their business, the Naschian leaders brought with them memories of the legend of the deeps of Priumdi. The Endless Lochs of Priumdi were said to hold gold and riches left behind by a great flood which had filled the deep pits of the ruined city. The Lords, seeking a safe storage device, created such an item in these simple paintings. Created in the abstract style popular in Naschian religious icons, the Lochs of Priumdi require focus and a knowledge of the tale of Priumdi’s depths to enter and extricate materials.

The painting contains an extradimensional space measuring as large as a small closet (as Bag of Holding II). However, the item has been protected by a strange dual-key; one must focus his mind and his will in two ways: keeping a level head, and delving into the psychic depths of the abstraction. To open The Lochs of Priumdi requires two skill checks: A Use Magic or Psionic Device check of 25, and a Concentration check of 18. Anyone who attempts to ‘open’ the painting and fails must make a Will Save (against DC: 21) or take 3d4 Charisma damage (this attack functions as an augmented Ego whip).

Each Lord has several servants and creatures on their retainers; the Lords have smuggled Councilor’s eggs to hatch lesser Councilor Birds to serve as advisors (a discussion of Councilor Birds will appear in a later article). Some families deal in other types of trade or have special contacts. A few examples are listed below.

Families include:

The Yurndi – Produce high-grade ‘royal’ Qishi, along with the smuggling of dissidents out of the Empire. Talented abjurer on staff.

The Calful – Original creators of The Lochs of Priumdi, innovators in ‘black hand’ magic. The Calful family trains assassins and Black Hands (Prestige Class focusing on magic to infiltrate and remove goods).

The Perdin – Slavers. Perdin ‘family’ members sell refugees into slavery through Sarian and contacts in the Ostari coastal island states.

The Golbel - Very minor, but talented in mental magic. The Golbel patriarch is rumored to be the bastard grandson of the High Priest of the Church City of Kuartani. Golbelo mercenaries are hired out by Parlinian nobles for protection.
___________
Other Minor Organizations:

The Keepers of the Sun and Moon – A group of refugees from a wartorn region of Zajara, the Keepers of the Sun and Moon are a group of Adepts and Gleaners (see this article by Baker who use their talents to protect and heal their fellow Parlis-workers. The Keepers have gained a large following to their faith (that of Qatalya, or the Shieldbearer and Zajahran God of the Sun and Moon), and are holding their own. The Keepers hide their abilities whenever possible because they believe that service to the Imperial State as members of the imperial faith of Sucur and others of the pantheon would taint their worship of their own deity.

Waterworkers – Most waterworkers are men and women keeping away from Imperial control. Thieves, deserters, and the occasional disrobed (or disjoined) magus find themselves working the waters of the Two Kinda. Some waterworkers pole alongside the Lords of the Kinda, but some fight against the narcotics trade whenever possible, striking victories for their own ideologies.

Conjure Ladies – Adepts and others (mostly female) who produce potions and charms for local traders and individuals. Conjure ladies (and witch men) do works for a steady price, but will have spells which are considered outside of Imperial favor or be willing to cast spells of summoning and binding if they possess the talent, something which won’t be found amongst Imperial-taught individuals.

A few organizations and concepts on the waters of the Parlis. Another update is forthcoming . . . please leave comments so I can know if I’m driving in the right direction .

Good Gaming,

Slainte,

-Loonook.

Loonook

Good Gaming Gazetteer: The Orphan’s Guard, the Children of Sucur, and the mysteries of the Sucuran.

Embrace the Grey and Rise towards the Sun Motto, The Orphan’s Guard.

Cast Away the Chains of Birth and Battle for the Lord of Dreaming – Motto, Children of Sucur.

There are many who look down on the institution of the Orphan’s Guard as an abomination. There are some who believe that this organization, made up of the children of refugees cast away by the Parlinian government, is an affront to human decency and must be cleansed from the earth. Those who march under the banner of the Orphan Son know only of the eternal battle to which they have been pledged, and the great responsibility they harbor as leaders in the battle against the very decay of the Empire.

The Guard, founded under the name of Tyrus IV the Orphan Son and Pretender to the Throne of the kingdom of Aurelia, was founded as another route to citizenship. Those refugees unable or unwilling to become Servitors could pay a terrible scutage; two children given over to the Great Orphanage and raised to become soldiers of the Imperial State for every man, woman, or child raised to full citizenship. These children were to be born in a place known as the Deep Silences, a large necropolis created during the period of the Imperial Seal’s reign over the city, and their mothers immediately removed from the location. Ostari custom regards the cycle of life as one of resurgence; only recently were the children of the Emperor not born and raised in similar circumstances in the Quiet Tombs of their ancestors until such a day when they could undertake the Test of Passage and be granted the Mark of the Imperial Seal on their chest as a sign of true Imperial birth.

Children in the Deep Silences are well-fed and cared for; they are given lessons from an early age in warcraft and any specific talents which are witnessed by their instructors are encouraged. The Guards are given daily indoctrination in the teachings of the Orphan, as seen in the Oath of Service:

We learn from the dead to remain alive. We learn from our lessers to be great. We gain strength from our weakness. We gain faith in our disbelief. We seek honor in the taint of our father’s gaze. We seek hope in the darkest reaches.

Those raised in these deep, dark reaches are paler than most ruddy Ostari, and turn sickly when exposed to normal healing draughts and magic from clerics who channel positive energy. This strange nature imparts another advantage; most Orphans are trained in the arts of the Grey Ways.

The Grey Way, a talent found amongst certain Zajahran mystics and the occasional rogue talent, is a discipline which teaches the powers of defense. Those who begin to ‘walk the Grey’ become talented in focusing their minds and bodies into a denial of the energies of magic. In effect, a Grey Walker learns a way to disrupt magic protections, effects, and even items around them through a focusing of will. Though not all Orphans become Grey Walkers, those that do are highly revered by their fellows, and many find themselves amongst the highest guardians of the Emperor or as guardians of members of the Sorcerers Imperial. Members of the Orphan’s Guard are granted full citizenship along with a small parcel of land after thirty years of service except for in the case of the Children of Sucur.

Though Grey Walkers are rare, the most rare of all Orphan Guards gain access into the Children of Sucur. Sucur, a mortal manifestation of the creator’s will, gave name to the order due to the traits which Sucuran guards take on. Those martial members of the Orphan’s Guard who have shown merit in the service to the Imperial State are granted the gift of Sucur the Preserver’s embrace through the Ritual of Steel.

An Orphan, uniquely attuned through discipline to the essence of the world beyond human perception, is given a fortnight of feast. Eight Sucuran are created at a time, each representing one of the pillars of Sucur’s Eight Teachings (Loyalty, Faith, Community, Discipline, Mind, Prowess, Courage, and Charity). After the young men have been bonded in flesh to a woman who has been assured of bearing their child the Sucuran are gathered in the Teaching Place, where spheres representing the Eight Teachings sit along with eight Sucuran honor-suits. Sucur’s priests come and willingly sacrifice the eight youths, and their spirits are separated; the ‘impure’ urges and desires are cast away, while the ‘purified’ soul is placed within the honor-suit. Each Sucuran warrior is assigned to his specific Corps, and there are currently around sixteen hundred Sucuran warriors, separated into the eight Corps around each Teaching. These groups of Sucuran warriors lead a group of similarly soulbound known as the Alfini Teyri (discussions of the Alfini Teyri will appear in the gazetteer for the former capital of Central Naschia).

The Bearers of the Teachings (as the women who carry children of the Sucuran are known) are looked after in a beguinage setting. The children of the Sucuran are strange creatures, and many wonder whether these children are truly human at all. However, the Imperial Seat takes these true Children of Sucur away from their mothers shortly after their fifth birthdays, and few could guess at the secrets which hide within a small island off the western coast of Ostar known only as Hospice.

For those reading these: Please comment. I’m debating going on about Parlinia or going into a discussion of Hospice. I also hope that these ideas give you a new and interesting way to use some different races in your own games .
Good Gaming,

Slainte,

-Loonook.

Loonook

Good Gaming Gazetteer: A Brief History of the City of Parlinia, the Order of Service, and the Servitors

Parlinia, the Asylum City of the Old Empire, sits on a wide plateau atop the Orphan’s Table, a great mesa in the middle of the region known as the Old Empire. The city’s agriculture is tended in fields below the mesa known as the Parlis, and the city’s water needs are handled by drawing upon the deep wells placed centuries ago when Parlinia was the seat of the Imperial Seal, the predecessor to the Imperial Library. These wells support the ‘upper’ region of the city, while the lower region is criss-crossed with irrigation canals which draw from the two Rivers of Kinda (the Lesser and Greater Kinda). Parlinia’s primary imports are refugees and materials from the southern nations of the continent, while its main exports are magical items, grain, Qishi and other medicines/narcotics, and the services provided by those known as Servitors.

Parlinian politics are controlled by a localized hegemony created by the Order of Service. The Order was created due to necessity and through Imperial policy. During a crisis in the former state of Central Naschia an influx of refugees in the tens of thousands entered into the Old Empire. Parlinia, then a bustling metropolis focused on the production of armaments, was militarily decommissioned by the Emperor and converted through funds into a ‘collective camp for tramps and others who lack a loyal country’. The influx of Imperial gems and work groups helped to create the great buildings known as the Dens, dug into the northern side of the mesa, and the Stacks, a series of high-rise buildings (6-8 stories) which concentrated refugees under livable but uncomfortable conditions.

After Central Naschia’s fall an Order was granted by the Sorcerers Imperial (a senatorial body In the capital of the Empire) to grant conditional citizenship to any mystics or trained military officers who were currently in Parlinian care, and the right to earn conditional citizenship ‘In a way seen fit by an Organization to be Formed under the Auspices of Service to the Empire’ to any untrained or mundane individuals. Argen Carlindas, a scout in the Imperial Reserve and current arbiter and master for the Central Naschian refugee camps put into place the system of Servitors and the Order of Service.

A Servitor is one who signs up to train in a military, agricultural, or other service field somewhere in the Imperial State of Ostar. Service terms vary depending on the task; 5 years of military service, 10 years of agricultural service, and 15 in any other field will earn citizenship. Children over the age of 13 may be placed into the agricultural or service corps, but only those who are considered adults by their culture may place themselves into military service.

Groups of refugees come and go; currently Parlinia has 35,000 inactive refugees, 5,000 ‘citizen refugees’, and 10,000 active Servitors. These Servitors are mostly focused in Agriculture, and are spread out across the wide expanse of the Parlis repairing irrigation canals, bringing in crops, and fertilizing the lands which they tend. Parlinian guards demographics are 80% Servitor, and most of those who live in Parlinia have contact with refugees on a daily basis.

However, those refugees who are without Servitor status do have reduced rights. Those who refuse the Order of Service are not allowed to own or manage property; these individuals are actively encouraged to return immediately to their given locations as soon as is possible. Inactive refugees who give birth to children within the confines of Parlinian control are required to give over their children to the service of another organization known as the Orphan’s Guard.

The secrets of the Orphan’s Guard, and other Parlinian organizations will be discussed in the next entry.

Until then…
Good Gaming,
-Loonook.

Loonook

The following my be assumed of the Imperial States of Ostar:

- The Ostari magocracy's ruling class is made of patrilinearally successive meritocratic posts assigned through the auspices of the ruling house. Many of the provincial lords have large attached families; the Emperor himself is polyamorous, accepting the 'gift of company' from those up-and-coming socialites who want to possibly be the Bearer Imperial to the latest heir.

- The Ostari magocracy embraces all cultures: from the nomadic horse tribes of the Mescari to the quick brutal magic of the Zajahran, Ostari envoys recruit those who wish to defect from their current holdings. Highly talented mystics may gain land grants or access to Imperial holdings for their service to the Empire, and young talents are granted the right to attend Imperial trainings.

- The Ostari believe in a form of mystic mercantilism brought about by the state sponsored philosophy known as the Great Wheel. Ostari merchants are taught to seek magic items and mystic talent on their tours, and that there is only a limited amount of talent which can be gained by the state, and that the Emperor will be well-pleased to possess all of the magic talent in the world if possible.

- The Ostari separate the mystic from the mundane; provinces in the Old Empire, mostly filled with refugees and those who were pensioned in the military do not gain as much Imperial assistance. Though it would be rare to find an outpost without everburning torches or at least one well-outfitted weatherwork, the Empire will not 'waste resources' to protect a Mundane location if a city of mystics is also in danger.

- The Imperial Forces are well-supplied and outfitted for their use. The Great Battlements, powerful sites of Imperial prestige, are found in great cities. Even the smallest outpost will find some bureaucrat with basic mystic talents there to deal with the Greater Good.

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Considering all of this basic information I will be presenting the City of Parlinia. A city which would be considered a bustling metropolis outside of Ostar, it is the fifth largest city of Ostar. A stable population hovering around 56,000 exists in the city proper, but the more interesting aspect of Parlinia is the specific need it serves in the Imperial architecture.

Parlinia is an asylum city. Any willing to hire on to become part of the Parlinian Order of Service may gain Ostari citizenship, but the costs of the Order can be great. The next post will go in-depth on Parlinia, the Order, and its place in the Ostari hierarchy.



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Good Gaming,

Slainte,

-Loonook.

Loonook