"Iä! Ftagn kleth gnyroggoh skaggoth!"*
* "Tremble, mortals! The hokey pokey really IS what it is all about!"
-
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Need Help Brainstorming How A Xenophobic Empire Can Arise
- Thread starter Oversquid
- Start date
"Iä! Ftagn kleth gnyroggoh skaggoth!"*
* "Tremble, mortals! The hokey pokey really IS what it is all about!"
From a land where people were traditionally wary of religion has grown a thriving metropolis of scientific/psionic renown. Clerical expats don't stay very long, feeling out of place, uncomfortable, and somewhat unwell (which they attribute to mental anxiety in a fiercly secular environment).
A group of top scientists discover that from the Dawn of Time, an Astral shadow falls upon this part of the land, interfering with divine magic. It doesn't nullify divine powers, just adds side effects to every divine spell, and sickening clerics over time.
The scientists discover how to distill the essence of the shadow into Chorae (to steal the term from a novel) which makes believers feel pained and sickened, and the slightest contact turns clerics into statues of salt.
Continue from 2nd paragraph of post #30, with increased paranoia against the gods. Also, since the OP specifically calls for atrocious experiments on non-humans, it's possible that the metropolis makes a pact with Titans or Lovecraftian Elder God (that lurks within the Astral shadow) to have access to the anti-divine Chorae and other military powers sourced by biological experiments on non-humans.
A group of top scientists discover that from the Dawn of Time, an Astral shadow falls upon this part of the land, interfering with divine magic. It doesn't nullify divine powers, just adds side effects to every divine spell, and sickening clerics over time.
The scientists discover how to distill the essence of the shadow into Chorae (to steal the term from a novel) which makes believers feel pained and sickened, and the slightest contact turns clerics into statues of salt.
Continue from 2nd paragraph of post #30, with increased paranoia against the gods. Also, since the OP specifically calls for atrocious experiments on non-humans, it's possible that the metropolis makes a pact with Titans or Lovecraftian Elder God (that lurks within the Astral shadow) to have access to the anti-divine Chorae and other military powers sourced by biological experiments on non-humans.
Last edited:
Sparky
Registered User
Xenophobia
Crunch:
If it is in fact D&D, take inspiration from the mechanics. Sure most demi-humans have TWO +2 bonuses, but Humans can excell at ANYTHING. They don't need any other races. Just other diversely talented humans.
----
Fluff:
It began innocently enough with The Great Games.*
Contests of physical and mental prowess. Demi-humans dominated the events, but humans (ever-versatile humans) amassed more overall wins. Resentment amongst the humans grew over being outshone in event after event. Someone (Aberrant Horror Puppet) sponsored a separate event for humans only.
It grew wildly popular with the humans.
Human participation in the original Games dwindled.
Eventually humans weren't welcome at the original games (or they boycotted it).
Depending on if humans were the majority race they could have driven the original games out of existence.
This was just the beginning...
-------
The City is starkly divided now. After great swaths of the Trade District was burned and looted following the opening ceremonies of the last pan-racial Great Games, some laws were put in place. Curfews for humans here, curfews for demi-humans there.
Eventually, naturally, the races grew apart. It's too inconvenient to get the right paperwork to be where you're 'not supposed to be.'
Aberrant Horror establishes a College of Artifice (or maybe a couple competing colleges, humans do like to compete) in a human district. They "do science" there. Experiments, studies. They study humans and demi-humans and determine that humans are a proto-race.
A proto-race that predates even the gods first appearance to humans or demi-humans (how they prove this I have no idea, maybe they don't prove it, maybe Aberrant Horror 'provides proof').
Radicals from the College (does it need to be said that at this point they're all humans) form an underground movement that uses guerilla and terrorist tactics to do all manner of evil around the city.
Similar groups arise in response in the demi-human areas.
Years (decades?) of hot and cold war follow.
The government grows more and more authoritarian as time passes and conflicts show no sign of stopping.
Aberrant Horror 'cuts off' supply lines to the City. (A plague of goblins on a trade route, a horrible standing storm at sea, etc)
The City grows poorer and poorer. Humans and demi-humans who had stayed throughout years of violence because of the opportunities the city provided now leave.
Humans (through some innovation at the College), learn how to navigate the blockade and save the City.
The terrorists are heroes.
The government, destabilized, poor and ineffectual topples.
The radicals take over.
Xenophobia rules.
The gods are eventually determined to be non-human (regardless of origin) and outlawed.
----
Hmmm... lots of holes and weak spots in there, but maybe workable.
Crunch:
If it is in fact D&D, take inspiration from the mechanics. Sure most demi-humans have TWO +2 bonuses, but Humans can excell at ANYTHING. They don't need any other races. Just other diversely talented humans.
----
Fluff:
It began innocently enough with The Great Games.*
Contests of physical and mental prowess. Demi-humans dominated the events, but humans (ever-versatile humans) amassed more overall wins. Resentment amongst the humans grew over being outshone in event after event. Someone (Aberrant Horror Puppet) sponsored a separate event for humans only.
It grew wildly popular with the humans.
Human participation in the original Games dwindled.
Eventually humans weren't welcome at the original games (or they boycotted it).
Depending on if humans were the majority race they could have driven the original games out of existence.
This was just the beginning...
-------
The City is starkly divided now. After great swaths of the Trade District was burned and looted following the opening ceremonies of the last pan-racial Great Games, some laws were put in place. Curfews for humans here, curfews for demi-humans there.
Eventually, naturally, the races grew apart. It's too inconvenient to get the right paperwork to be where you're 'not supposed to be.'
Aberrant Horror establishes a College of Artifice (or maybe a couple competing colleges, humans do like to compete) in a human district. They "do science" there. Experiments, studies. They study humans and demi-humans and determine that humans are a proto-race.
A proto-race that predates even the gods first appearance to humans or demi-humans (how they prove this I have no idea, maybe they don't prove it, maybe Aberrant Horror 'provides proof').
Radicals from the College (does it need to be said that at this point they're all humans) form an underground movement that uses guerilla and terrorist tactics to do all manner of evil around the city.
Similar groups arise in response in the demi-human areas.
Years (decades?) of hot and cold war follow.
The government grows more and more authoritarian as time passes and conflicts show no sign of stopping.
Aberrant Horror 'cuts off' supply lines to the City. (A plague of goblins on a trade route, a horrible standing storm at sea, etc)
The City grows poorer and poorer. Humans and demi-humans who had stayed throughout years of violence because of the opportunities the city provided now leave.
Humans (through some innovation at the College), learn how to navigate the blockade and save the City.
The terrorists are heroes.
The government, destabilized, poor and ineffectual topples.
The radicals take over.
Xenophobia rules.
The gods are eventually determined to be non-human (regardless of origin) and outlawed.
----
Hmmm... lots of holes and weak spots in there, but maybe workable.
Wednesday Boy
The Nerd WhoFell to Earth
What if instead of humans being the xenophobic race you went with elves? The deep-seeded prejudices against the fledgeling races festers throughout their long lives as they are forced to see non-elves worm their way into their city. Bigotry seems like an easy fit for elves. When a disaster is perpetrated on the city by a non-elf, the xenophobic elves have evidence to prey on the fears and prejudices of their fellows and they gather more support to their cause. Soon the entire elven populace falls in step against the lesser races.
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