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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Graf" data-source="post: 4507115" data-attributes="member: 3087">I have a lot written up off wiki and/or in my head.  I have a bit of Japan familiarity. I tend to think of Japan's culture, etc as being path dependent. (i.e. it is was it is because of how developments happened in a particular order.  I've absorbed a some key developments in Japan's history into the background)The wiki is pretty weak.Here's the gist.[d]--[/d]The empire was ruled for a long time by the royal family, who were connected to great elemental lords and were "stewards of the land".The "blessing" took the form of their genasi-ness. Interbreeding of second and third (and 10th) children with other noble families meant that the genasi touch was ulimately transfered to the rest of the noble class. Until genasi=nobel (after a few hundred years of course).The genasi were "eastern" elements. So their are "wood genasi" and "metal genasi". The royal family are "jade genasi".They presided over a great land, and developed a very ornate culture. They focused on swordplay and magic; actual military matters (logistics, armies, etc) were handled by dragonborn, who served them as loyal warriors, a permanent military class.Over time the genasi became decadent and corrupted; ostensibly by a force called the shadow (though whether the shadow is an independent entity or a reflection of the corruption is unclear).  The emperor himself was ultimately corrupted completely and betrayed his people to the forces of the shadow.Most of the empire fell, a vast tainted empire ruled by the forces of darkness.The remainder of the Jade Empire, now called the Jade Kingdom reconsituted itself under the brilliant leadership of a dragonborn. The first Iron Shogun.The touch of the shadow was so strong that corruption was a constant threat. The dragonborn, with their asetic lifestyle, seemed to be most immune. The Iron Shogun would ulimately propigate a universal aseticism, a sort of religion of soticism.So they're a kingdom ruled by dragonborn for at least 100 years (who claim to be temporary rulers and have generally done a good job) there are decadent genasi and reformed genasi nobles, a human underclass and an upsurge in teiflings (one of the side effects of the shadow).The "Japanese" culture <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">oriented toward art, </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">minimalistic beauty</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">appreciation of life in the midst of death</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">capacity for savage violence</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">expectation that you'll avoid demonstrating excessive emotion</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">very clear social structure*</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">emphasis on martial prowess in the service of a strict chain of command</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">idolation of the ideal death </li> </ul>*=with the caviate that you've got a significant, displaced noble class floating aroundis broadly accepted (it's not just an affection of the class -- everybody is supposed to paticipate in some way, if for no other reason than to stave off the taint)[d]--[/d]Thats how I have it anyway. Like everything else it's supposed to be a start point. To be developed (or changed) by the community.I'd prefer not for developments not be "pure erasure" (i.e. "no iron shogun, or dragonborn, it's still ruled by genasi") but that's just a personal preference.</blockquote>

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