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class='widget Blog' data-version='1' id='Blog1'> <div class='blog-posts hfeed'> <div class='status-msg-wrap'> <div class='status-msg-body'> Showing posts with label <b>worldbuilding</b>. <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/">Show all posts</a> </div> <div class='status-msg-border'> <div class='status-msg-bg'> <div class='status-msg-hidden'>Showing posts with label <b>worldbuilding</b>. <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/">Show all posts</a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> <div class="date-outer"> <h2 class='date-header'><span>Tuesday, July 30, 2024</span></h2> <div class="date-posts"> <div class='post-outer'> <div class='post hentry uncustomized-post-template' itemprop='blogPost' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/BlogPosting'> <meta content='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gi0L6tTDip5zTBqgSOnduLGmKei453Ns4GM0f42usBA0Ybc9-P83-yGLORv1YKijEKMLgNpKMxYIjYdgPpLqftxLgrQzYtvwYZiFytEt1Rikmx0pftupiHMNzg1-iINy2g3w71NWr6z4JEFTjVHIxAxMo2i7nzObL9UDq3ap7YfO8VIaKs3lXdkRFFI/w400-h313/tigray-church-3.jpg' itemprop='image_url'/> <meta content='2383621001528691557' itemprop='blogId'/> <meta content='4055515658918554292' itemprop='postId'/> <a name='4055515658918554292'></a> <h3 class='post-title entry-title' itemprop='name'> <a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-world-of-king-of-kings-kingdom-of.html'>The World of King of Kings: The Kingdom of the Straits</a> </h3> <div class='post-header'> <div class='post-header-line-1'></div> </div> <div class='post-body entry-content' id='post-body-4055515658918554292' itemprop='description articleBody'> <div style="text-align: left;">Just like with my last post, it has <i>also</i> been more than a year since <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-world-of-king-of-kings-brief.html">my last King of Kings worldbuilding post!</a> I won't bore y'all with a rehashing of my intentions for the series; this is the second part in a hopefully multi-part series of posts about various parts of the world of King of Kings, told primarily through rumors, character backgrounds, random encounters, and the like. Check out the previous World of King of Kings post for a rundown on the general historical timeline of the setting and stuff about the Enlightened Empire, the core setting of the campaign!</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gi0L6tTDip5zTBqgSOnduLGmKei453Ns4GM0f42usBA0Ybc9-P83-yGLORv1YKijEKMLgNpKMxYIjYdgPpLqftxLgrQzYtvwYZiFytEt1Rikmx0pftupiHMNzg1-iINy2g3w71NWr6z4JEFTjVHIxAxMo2i7nzObL9UDq3ap7YfO8VIaKs3lXdkRFFI/s1012/tigray-church-3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1012" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gi0L6tTDip5zTBqgSOnduLGmKei453Ns4GM0f42usBA0Ybc9-P83-yGLORv1YKijEKMLgNpKMxYIjYdgPpLqftxLgrQzYtvwYZiFytEt1Rikmx0pftupiHMNzg1-iINy2g3w71NWr6z4JEFTjVHIxAxMo2i7nzObL9UDq3ap7YfO8VIaKs3lXdkRFFI/w400-h313/tigray-church-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the Church of Abreha wa Atsbeha, near Wukro, East Tigray, Ethiopia<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3byVd0POXVT5Ad_Wmx3hNj13aMPkcz8klwU1Ax0Fcvbx0YMBYifT3No7-8TTr-nL9ORTM39v3KNa_O-YQH34CUF5HBa0PdEDrZoC1mr6cxvboetZr1CKTsFSIWzLoUWWYCBjavK9nYv_RBhcHr0affIE7x82kBtFSMvXM_xa__B-FWB_6cdHdX-KO4JM/s804/20240725_160640.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="804" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3byVd0POXVT5Ad_Wmx3hNj13aMPkcz8klwU1Ax0Fcvbx0YMBYifT3No7-8TTr-nL9ORTM39v3KNa_O-YQH34CUF5HBa0PdEDrZoC1mr6cxvboetZr1CKTsFSIWzLoUWWYCBjavK9nYv_RBhcHr0affIE7x82kBtFSMvXM_xa__B-FWB_6cdHdX-KO4JM/s320/20240725_160640.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A map of the Kingdom of the Straits, with south on top.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;">THE KINGDOM OF THE STRAITS</div><div style="text-align: left;">Situated to the southwest of the Enlightened Empire is the commercially powerful Kingdom of the Straits, so called because it stands astride three points which control the flow of east-west trade. The Kingdom's capital, She-ako, abides among looming obelisks in the heat of the southern continent, although its influence reaches much farther. The wise and magnanimous kings of She-ako are rich off of trade, and patronize the only bank which loans to Shahanistanis, Gnostic Elves, and Dog-Headed Men alike. It was this grand bank that, along with the kingdom's fleet of Frogling-operated sea vessels, bailed out the Enlightened Empire during the Fifty Years' Crisis (when amazons, dog-headed men, and rebels almost tore the Empire apart).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Due to its geography, the Kingdom of the Straits can be neatly divided into three parts. The Kingdom's mainland stretches from windy highlands (the old heartland, where the capital is located) down to the sweltering lowlands, where the Kingdom's two main rivers empty into the sea. Across from the mainland is the arid peninsular province, rich in frankincense, myrrh, and cinnamon. This was its own independent kingdom centuries ago, before one of the kings of She-ako invaded and razed its capital, Hudh, to the ground. The last of the Kingdom's territories is the small settlement of Kago on the heavily forested Isle of the Moon, little more than a trading outpost for tropical fruits and pygmy elephants.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIyJuY0LYVPmD-OaAWRxRLQUT7YG33R_eytcFnDa8wzDw8Yz95x6pxOQ8xuTT3rrGEoySz_8K-hnpQt0B2ncR03mtf-5Q-qph3Fh56bzjhRychWzdlS9txaCA-49p7EUEs85zXjbCclvSH_MMc0REq4FUfmgdsYM-oPSIRcCNVYyXcg9v-j9cHvGGdx4/s835/358ec96e0e35a59816a78f0af35a042b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="835" data-original-width="643" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIyJuY0LYVPmD-OaAWRxRLQUT7YG33R_eytcFnDa8wzDw8Yz95x6pxOQ8xuTT3rrGEoySz_8K-hnpQt0B2ncR03mtf-5Q-qph3Fh56bzjhRychWzdlS9txaCA-49p7EUEs85zXjbCclvSH_MMc0REq4FUfmgdsYM-oPSIRcCNVYyXcg9v-j9cHvGGdx4/w308-h400/358ec96e0e35a59816a78f0af35a042b.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aksumite governor and Arabian troops, Angus McBride<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">RUMORS ABOUT THE STRAITS</div><div style="text-align: left;">Roll 1d12:</div><div style="text-align: left;">1: In the markets of New Hudh and elsewhere, a message is preached aloud and whispered at night: the last of Hudh's ancient kings still lives, and his return will usher in a millennium of independence for the peninsula. </div>2: Beyond the southern mountain passes dwells the man-eating, four-eyed, ax-headed ogre Bulgu. The country is defended from him by a great warrior that wields stelae as if they were clubs.</div><div style="text-align: left;">3: A frogling sorcerer from She-ako has cast a spell on select coins from the grand bank that lets him see through the drachmae as if they were eyes. Only small signs, the barest of distinct notches, will show which coins are ensorcelled.</div><div style="text-align: left;">4: In the highlands around She-ako, every blacksmith in every town can transform into a hyena simply by biting his metalworking tongs.</div><div style="text-align: left;">5:  There is a frogling sailor who moors in the port of Kago with a ship made of banana peels, propelled by fruit flies. To some he is kindly despite his gross exterior, to others he is a rapacious pirate.</div><div style="text-align: left;">6: Dwelling in the mountainous highlands are emaciated ants with the faces of lions.</div><div style="text-align: left;">7: The southern amazons are engaged in a jungle war with the merchant princes in Kago. They burst out of tunnels dug beneath the undergrowth.</div><div style="text-align: left;">8: The elephants from the Kingdom of the Straits are the wisest of elephants, baptizing themselves in rivers and performing funerals for their dead. However, they are cursed, because they worship the moon.</div><div style="text-align: left;">9: Ostrich-hunters will trick these anxious birds by bending over and holding up an arm in imitation of the ostrich's silhouette, holding their spear between their toes until it is time to strike.</div><div style="text-align: left;">10: The bank of She-ako puts out bounties for those who have debased or defaced the currency; punching a hole through a coin is a death sentence.</div><div style="text-align: left;">11: Laughing leucrottas, with reddish fur, cloven hooves, and a single solid flat tooth on bottom and top jaw, lurk in the highlands. They compete with ghuls for corpseflesh, which they masticate into a paste. The King of Kings has been seeking out one to add to his menagerie.</div><div style="text-align: left;">12: A fisher-witch of the lowlands rides on twin crocodiles, one foot on each, as she evades the soldiers of the king that keep peace in the river deltas.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLIVkKcgFG0tos4OaASG-tEh3220A7a3H32hwAVjyM5zysb_Z6cTVkG7XzwDImaa4gOrQwTnPkrKWjWUA-tbWgQQ3ckdGonaxRn8WsNN_XYrvqZhgeYFAan1PDvl7o2momBDySDDCDJz57_PVD8QK-b-XouOosUiTwV8lfyOUHpbIFAw-zDDqA0RtdqI/s1003/Dhamar_Ali_Yahbur_(bust).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1003" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLIVkKcgFG0tos4OaASG-tEh3220A7a3H32hwAVjyM5zysb_Z6cTVkG7XzwDImaa4gOrQwTnPkrKWjWUA-tbWgQQ3ckdGonaxRn8WsNN_XYrvqZhgeYFAan1PDvl7o2momBDySDDCDJz57_PVD8QK-b-XouOosUiTwV8lfyOUHpbIFAw-zDDqA0RtdqI/s320/Dhamar_Ali_Yahbur_(bust).jpg" width="255" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Statue of the Occulted King (in reality, Dhamar'aliy Yuhbabirr of the Himyarite Kingdom of Yemen)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;">CHARACTER BACKGROUNDS FROM THE STRAITS</div><div style="text-align: left;">Roll 1d10 or pick (in parentheses are the starting items afforded by the background)<br />1: Abandoned Ambassador (letter of introduction, a tattered and stained gabi, a walking stick, a gold and pearl memento of home)<br />2: Agent of the Occulted King (eyes that glance back and forth, a quiet whisper, a silver icon of the Occulted King's hand, a curved jambiya dagger)<br />3: Dhow Sailor (a dhow, your sea legs, 40' of rope, a short dagger)<br />4: Disgraced Banker (stolen lockbox with 30 coins in it (1 drachm each), one ear cut off, a great sense of appraisal)<br />5: Elephant Wrangler (A baby elephant, 60' of rope, 2 spears, experience grappling large animals)<br />6: Exiled Moneyer (a defaced coin on a string, a crucible for melting metal, a hammer and anvil die, quick feet)<br />7: Incense Harvester (a thick cloth used for climbing trees, a hammer and scraping tool, thick calluses, a hunk of sweet-smelling resin)<br />8: Orator of the Occulted King (a scroll of propaganda poetry, a silver tongue, a silver icon of the Occulted King's eye, a curved jambiya dagger)<br />9: Spice Merchant (a crate of cinnamon, a laboring servant, a set of scales)<br />10: Stele Carver (a hammer and chisel, extensive construction experience and knowledge of stone, a cowrie-shell necklace declaring your importance)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcayzoosPRp8osfU3XPFj9NIlqbuGAjuYM8ImxK0V-B-Y4yq7sOG1Aw58lFYrUoyZWqCyuHgdGAIXWUNdAiQjLDr4awad_cRUXb6dNEQJvar1ajN2CgZc9H5jAwa8ZfGIpHKKCMn_Ee58OoaV4n2i_heQynAai12FUqlgf-yoGPbp1DL_5b8XZjmk4hM/s2560/Feature_Aksum_Opener-scaled.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1707" data-original-width="2560" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcayzoosPRp8osfU3XPFj9NIlqbuGAjuYM8ImxK0V-B-Y4yq7sOG1Aw58lFYrUoyZWqCyuHgdGAIXWUNdAiQjLDr4awad_cRUXb6dNEQJvar1ajN2CgZc9H5jAwa8ZfGIpHKKCMn_Ee58OoaV4n2i_heQynAai12FUqlgf-yoGPbp1DL_5b8XZjmk4hM/w400-h266/Feature_Aksum_Opener-scaled.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fallen obelisk, more standing in the background, Aksum, Ethiopia<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">TREASURES FROM THE STRAITS</div><div style="text-align: left;">Roll 1d10 or pick: <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">1: Silver filigreed censer, filled with frankincense.</div><div style="text-align: left;">2: Specialized mancatcher, used by the march-rangers of the northern borderlands to ensnare headless man-eaters whose faces are in their chests. Its wider grip grabs them at the waist.</div><div style="text-align: left;">3: Jambiya dagger in a jewel-encrusted sheath.</div><div style="text-align: left;">4: Fan made from ostrich feathers.</div><div style="text-align: left;">5: Statuette of a previous king of She-ako carved from elephant ivory, set into an ebony base.</div><div style="text-align: left;">6: Wooden helmet that covers the neck and head, with a visor of ivory that can be lowered to block the gaze of the dreadful catoblepas.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">7: Amphora with swirling designs, filled with hundreds of coins.</div><div style="text-align: left;">8: Silver necklace with a small walnut shell, complete with hinge and lock; when the walnut locket is opened, it contains a lock of the Occulted King's hair.</div><div style="text-align: left;">9: A gold statuette of a crocodile with a woman sitting atop it.</div><div style="text-align: left;">10: A stone chest full of cinnamon; but be careful! There is a 2-in-6 chance the cinnamon has been adulterated with wood shavings!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqrznXpGk9iNszhLDbWKAkA8oR2k4XEg6yBiSfreJ1Z8M1FT0skPdHmD0u0f1xrhUEeyllO-CHRjbEwwRjeL7PhjGsNh-lsDxyj9DfxznDaT6OkdgdnrXv-ZfRj5tD42sVUJY6AixWEJFeeQn4DG3EQKAoHfEvdAen9vjoO5UES8QZnntRJ_fQed33IM/s1034/Dawit+II.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqrznXpGk9iNszhLDbWKAkA8oR2k4XEg6yBiSfreJ1Z8M1FT0skPdHmD0u0f1xrhUEeyllO-CHRjbEwwRjeL7PhjGsNh-lsDxyj9DfxznDaT6OkdgdnrXv-ZfRj5tD42sVUJY6AixWEJFeeQn4DG3EQKAoHfEvdAen9vjoO5UES8QZnntRJ_fQed33IM/w310-h400/Dawit+II.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dawit II, emperor of Ethiopia 1507-1540 (its kinda tough to find Ethiopian pictures contemporary with late antiquity unfortunately)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;">EMBASSY FROM THE STRAITS</div><div style="text-align: left;">The embassy from the straits is a potential random encounter (namely a subtype of the "nobles and veterans" encounter type).</div><div style="text-align: left;">Composition of the embassy:</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Ambassador: as a 1+1 HD noble. Carrying a letter of introduction that declares their stated purpose (roll on the table below). Wields a gold and silver staff topped with a wooden carving of the local god of She-ako.</div><div style="text-align: left;">2d6 slaves.</div><div style="text-align: left;">1d6 lesser ambassadorial staff. </div><div style="text-align: left;">1d3 cooks.</div><div style="text-align: left;">1d3 merchants.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">1 augur trained in ornithomancy.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">2d6+1 guards (as veterans).</div><div style="text-align: left;">Horses and mules enough for all the above and to transport all the embassy's food, supplies, and any gifts or tribute they bring with them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The embassy's stated purpose:</div><div style="text-align: left;">Roll 1d6:</div><div style="text-align: left;">1: Summoned on behalf of the satrap to observe local games (and do some trade-related dealings on the side).</div><div style="text-align: left;">2: Investigating rumors of activity by partisans of the Occulted King in the satrapy.</div><div style="text-align: left;">3: Delivering a bank loan (transported in amphorae and lockboxes) to a noble client.</div><div style="text-align: left;">4: Negotiations with a Gnostic Elf merchant (the embassy has gotten lost, in no small part due to the chaos on the border between the ever-warring Gnostic Elves and the Enlightened Empire).</div><div style="text-align: left;">5: Giving tribute to the Kanarang in recognition of his essential role in keeping the lands of civilization safe from the barbarous Land of Darkness.</div><div style="text-align: left;">6: The embassy is more or less autonomous, the ambassador having received a vision in a dream telling him to go north.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The embassy will have with it treasure and tribute, including:</div><div style="text-align: left;">1d3 items from the above treasure list.</div><div style="text-align: left;">4d6x10 She-ako coins (worth 1 drachm each)</div><div style="text-align: left;">Animal skins (incl. elephant, lion, catoblepas, ape, and ostrich feathers) collectively worth 2d6x20 drachmae</div><div style="text-align: left;">Crates of cinnamon, sesame, frankincense, and myrrh worth 500 drachmae or more.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbv9JiOmBrNZbm_ltr-F0NRBiHvxa0TtYbA1qZ5hKDHMyurgrIdm7z0t80a-pJ_x9Xg52059LByotxtUhWjARMD_5q6I9I4fTRcLmsbXxdYg9HFqk5fZPR90viz-LB7zVKdKtPEHUhp3egGrpDGaDlUMUwgGK6nnVUApQ0lXkOEwmLN7_iNaSOez1UJw/s1920/1920px-Hijra_Abyssinia_(Rashid_ad-Din).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1920" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPbv9JiOmBrNZbm_ltr-F0NRBiHvxa0TtYbA1qZ5hKDHMyurgrIdm7z0t80a-pJ_x9Xg52059LByotxtUhWjARMD_5q6I9I4fTRcLmsbXxdYg9HFqk5fZPR90viz-LB7zVKdKtPEHUhp3egGrpDGaDlUMUwgGK6nnVUApQ0lXkOEwmLN7_iNaSOez1UJw/w400-h165/1920px-Hijra_Abyssinia_(Rashid_ad-Din).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The King of She-ako confronting notables of Hudh... or, in reality, Negus Najashi (possibly the king Armah) refusing the request by the Quraysh to send back the Muslims who emigrated to Ethiopia back to Mecca (from a 14th century manuscript by Rashid ad-Din Hamadani)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZuZoUIJrC40B2gHHLDSY69TMFZDfV7NbBt6aGzir47V9z6HyqvBHYDtl5_-waoB2PX7pcHOgmfmIWctmctPTENCJcz3Sjf5NSXssBAm4UWKJTxnBQDmET0GzPPz-Qyj07gDD3aKTGqMRlL4UB8w_ecSEFoag0_7mC4iH1pVs15S6ShvvlpXHR5D2sXVg/s672/Yemerehne_kristos_interno_affreschi_e_decorazioni_del_xii_secolo_03_leopardo_cropped.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="672" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZuZoUIJrC40B2gHHLDSY69TMFZDfV7NbBt6aGzir47V9z6HyqvBHYDtl5_-waoB2PX7pcHOgmfmIWctmctPTENCJcz3Sjf5NSXssBAm4UWKJTxnBQDmET0GzPPz-Qyj07gDD3aKTGqMRlL4UB8w_ecSEFoag0_7mC4iH1pVs15S6ShvvlpXHR5D2sXVg/s320/Yemerehne_kristos_interno_affreschi_e_decorazioni_del_xii_secolo_03_leopardo_cropped.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Much later than the period I usually take inspiration from, but this was too cool to not include: a plaque depicting a lion from a Zagwe dynasty era church, originally manufactured in southwest India!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </div> <div class='post-footer'> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'> <span class='post-author vcard'> Posted by <span class='fn' itemprop='author' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/Person'> <meta content='https://www.blogger.com/profile/17843700572318878635' itemprop='url'/> <a class='g-profile' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/17843700572318878635' rel='author' title='author profile'> <span itemprop='name'>Marsworms</span> </a> </span> </span> <span class='post-timestamp'> at <meta content='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-world-of-king-of-kings-kingdom-of.html' itemprop='url'/> <a class='timestamp-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-world-of-king-of-kings-kingdom-of.html' rel='bookmark' title='permanent link'><abbr class='published' itemprop='datePublished' title='2024-07-30T14:11:00-07:00'>2:11 PM</abbr></a> </span> <span class='post-comment-link'> <a class='comment-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-world-of-king-of-kings-kingdom-of.html#comment-form' onclick=''> No comments: </a> </span> <span class='post-icons'> <span class='item-control blog-admin pid-251081821'> <a href='https://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=4055515658918554292&from=pencil' title='Edit Post'> <img alt='' class='icon-action' height='18' src='https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif' width='18'/> </a> </span> </span> <div class='post-share-buttons goog-inline-block'> <a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-email' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=4055515658918554292&target=email' target='_blank' title='Email This'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Email This</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-blog' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=4055515658918554292&target=blog' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=270,width=475"); return false;' target='_blank' title='BlogThis!'><span class='share-button-link-text'>BlogThis!</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-twitter' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=4055515658918554292&target=twitter' target='_blank' title='Share to X'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to X</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-facebook' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=4055515658918554292&target=facebook' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=430,width=640"); return false;' target='_blank' title='Share to Facebook'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to Facebook</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-pinterest' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=4055515658918554292&target=pinterest' target='_blank' title='Share to Pinterest'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to Pinterest</span></a> </div> </div> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-2'> <span class='post-labels'> Labels: <a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/history' rel='tag'>history</a>, <a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/King%20of%20Kings' rel='tag'>King of Kings</a>, <a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/polity%20post' rel='tag'>polity post</a>, <a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/worldbuilding' rel='tag'>worldbuilding</a> </span> </div> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3'> <span class='post-location'> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="date-outer"> <h2 class='date-header'><span>Tuesday, November 7, 2023</span></h2> <div class="date-posts"> <div class='post-outer'> <div class='post hentry uncustomized-post-template' itemprop='blogPost' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/BlogPosting'> <meta content='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDe-np4PcG_JryeknJIem5BosTxGxD0lvmZfkP0IaCYr641MsNHXGykfZvXMWZqg6Z_Sqd-LHHZw5tDjmopZ-bmXgba0eXCEr4mTzWneEgBipPjljyjDsagPwcskV_K0FU7GlJxG0GORcNIGtO0KVDymJbV7WkW6MJAxQTcNQ9f8Afq9ipYQLmQZUfNfo/s320/Persian_Leopard_sitting.jpg' itemprop='image_url'/> <meta content='2383621001528691557' itemprop='blogId'/> <meta content='7003923673678313096' itemprop='postId'/> <a name='7003923673678313096'></a> <h3 class='post-title entry-title' itemprop='name'> <a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2023/11/wild-cats-of-eastern-satrapies.html'>Wild Cats of the Eastern Satrapies</a> </h3> <div class='post-header'> <div class='post-header-line-1'></div> </div> <div class='post-body entry-content' id='post-body-7003923673678313096' itemprop='description articleBody'> <p>Its been a while! Uh, way too long in fact. I still haven't ran a session of KoK since my last post, but I figured the best thing to get me back into the groove of writing RPG stuff and getting back to running King of Kings would be to just write somethin! Its been a really busy few months since I last posted; in August I moved into my first apartment after graduating, in September I went to see a friend of mine in New York City and another in New Jersey, and that same month my girlfriend started staying with me while she worked on getting an apartment in the same city as me! Then just last month I set a goal of watching a spooky movie a day for the month of October (perhaps something I should write some about... maybe a topic more fitting for my neocities site!) and helped my girlfriend move into her new apartment... but now things have calmed down some so I can get back to blogging!</p><p>Something that has been a central part of the King of Kings setting ever since I started working on it is aiming for, in addition to a kind of historical authenticity (a subject I might write more about in future!), a general accuracy of the <i>flora and fauna</i> to those that would have been living in the Iranian plateau and central Asia during late antiquity. I think so much of the distinctive vibe of a place and time can be communicated by the environment, and just as much as someone running a science fiction game might be interested in developing the alien biosphere, or a cyberpunk worldbuilder in describing what sorts of vermin flit about the concrete jungle, I am fascinated by discovering what sorts of animals lived in Iran in late antiquity and including them in my game and in my encounter tables.</p><p>So, this post is an example of that! Rather than just writing about this interest in authentic flora and fauna in a generic way, I figured it would be fun to hone in on a specific group of animals that I think highlight the incredible diversity of animalia in the pre-modern world, many species driven to extinction or to ever shrinking ranges due to human action: big cats! </p><p>I'm only providing stats for the ones that I think really need it, so big cats and cats used for hunting. Also, I'm pairing <a href="https://maziriansgarden.blogspot.com/2021/03/animal-terror.html">this post from Ben L. over at Mazirian's Garden</a> with these wild carnivores; his animal terror grappling rules are one of my all-time favorite takes on this idea that I've seen anywhere! So check out his post too! It might also be a good idea to go check out <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-lands-of-east.html">my post about the geography of the Eastern Satrapies</a>, since I mention a number of locations in this post.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDe-np4PcG_JryeknJIem5BosTxGxD0lvmZfkP0IaCYr641MsNHXGykfZvXMWZqg6Z_Sqd-LHHZw5tDjmopZ-bmXgba0eXCEr4mTzWneEgBipPjljyjDsagPwcskV_K0FU7GlJxG0GORcNIGtO0KVDymJbV7WkW6MJAxQTcNQ9f8Afq9ipYQLmQZUfNfo/s2592/Persian_Leopard_sitting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDe-np4PcG_JryeknJIem5BosTxGxD0lvmZfkP0IaCYr641MsNHXGykfZvXMWZqg6Z_Sqd-LHHZw5tDjmopZ-bmXgba0eXCEr4mTzWneEgBipPjljyjDsagPwcskV_K0FU7GlJxG0GORcNIGtO0KVDymJbV7WkW6MJAxQTcNQ9f8Afq9ipYQLmQZUfNfo/s320/Persian_Leopard_sitting.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Persian/Anatolian/Caucasian Leopard <br />(I'll be noting the real world subspecies names in parentheses)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The <b>Leopard (Persian Leopard, Anatolian Leopard, etc.)</b>, known in Shahanistani as <b>Palang</b>, is a mountain-dwelling pouncer that rests in the branches of looming juniper trees, to which it drags its prey, mountain goats and deer and smaller beasts. Its hide is a greyish or reddish color with dark rosettes scattered across, some leopards darker, some paler; its claws and teeth are curved knives that dive into flesh as if it were water, split with the prow of a boat. A male leopard claims sovereignty over a certain section of territory, and is joined by typically up to three females, and their cubs; unlike the glorious lion, King of All Beasts, the palang is jealous and vindictive, and will spar with any rivals who dare entreat on his territory.</p><p>Since even before the Deluge, the leopard has been a beast of terrible significance. Antediluvian statuary has washed up on muddy shores depicting long forgotten tyrant-queens on leopard thrones, and pallid shivering naked men brought before the palang as sacrifice. It is an omen of death and chaos, the very symbol of nature's uncaring grip on man. In the valleys of Elburz Satrapy, it is said that leopards appear before mudslides, floods, and terrible storms. The appearance of a palang's hide is a sign, among the Shahanistani sailors of Humakuyun-on-the-Sea, to avoid a seaborne trip; froglings, in their typical hubris, oft ignore this omen, confident in their fly-powered vessels. The leopard is the beastly mirror of the murderer; there are many folk tales of men driven mad by their vengeful killings of wives or sons who find themselves circled by leopards in the rugged wilds, keeping a distance out of respect for one of their own. Kings have slung leopard skins beneath their feet to symbolize victory against evil. The leopard is the favored beast of a drunkard god from a western island, now under the domain of the Gnostic Elves, who pull his sloshing carriage across land as the dolphin pull his dinghy across water. Thus,leopards can be tempted by wine.<br /></p><p>Those bitten by a leopard are sought out by mice, who are urged by instinct to urinate on them. If one who has been bitten by a leopard is urinated on by a mouse, they will surely die; the only thing to certainly dispel the rodent is sumac blossom. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2tXVn6Y1qAJEuW0rcN6NwWXZtQn1e5H7ROBS_f5GoXSrUA46o-jHB_Jf5zBwhh6cRD2oY0urVXQJdxjC9eMzDOiZhWQUKajGGwD-uSX9QD5ar5gpnI-0Vo_BpleeoUZzllWyvoxDZBSjFF5JLdQMMsqxjEvX-w8-9Cld4MoA94_7Z6Ez1e5CRwHbAuU/s1920/1920-deven-chauhan-img-8039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2tXVn6Y1qAJEuW0rcN6NwWXZtQn1e5H7ROBS_f5GoXSrUA46o-jHB_Jf5zBwhh6cRD2oY0urVXQJdxjC9eMzDOiZhWQUKajGGwD-uSX9QD5ar5gpnI-0Vo_BpleeoUZzllWyvoxDZBSjFF5JLdQMMsqxjEvX-w8-9Cld4MoA94_7Z6Ez1e5CRwHbAuU/s320/1920-deven-chauhan-img-8039.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The male Asiatic Lion<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The <b>Lion (Asiatic Lion)</b>, or <b>Shir</b>, is King of All Beasts, the mirror in the world of animals of the Shahanshah of the Enlightened Empire, or of Truth. He is beige or yellow-grey in color, with a mane cleaving close to his neck or, in the lioness, no mane at all, but commonly faint stripes on the limbs. They live in prides, the males in small groups of only up to three or four, the lionesses in much larger groups of up to twelve not including their cubs. Lionesses are fiercely protective of their cubs, and will fight much more ferociously if they see their cubs threatened or cornered. Despite their more righteous associations, lions are, like leopards, more active at twilight and in darkness, while they sleep during the day.</p><p>The lion is the other symbol of kingship, alongside the blessed Huma bird whose shadow bestows royalty. The personal standard of the Shahanshah is a lion and a sun on a purple field, fringed with gold and crimson; in times of strife, such as during the Mountain Uprising which established the Enlightened Empire, and during the Fifty Years' Crisis, the King of Kings has employed a simple lionskin hoisted on a pole as a standard. The killing of lions is heavily restricted; villages under the terrible shadow of a ravenous shir hunting their herds down to nothing must receive special license to catch and kill the beast. At the front of a mob of peasants and herdsmen marches a village headman holding aloft a scroll emblazoned with the satrap's seal; a hunter entrusted to track down a lioness wears the papyrus on her chest. The nomads of the western frontier, on the roiling border of the Neverending War with the Gnostic Elves, carve their headstones in the shapes of lions; it is said that they guard over the dead, and snap their jaws at those who dare attempt grave robbery. </p><p>Lions are a common target of heretical revolutionary sects, who desecrate their bodies as a symbolic act of defiance. A cult hidden deep in the mountains of eastern Elburz has been known to butcher and eat lionflesh around a great fire in a ritual asserting the immortality of flame as against that of the king. The lion is a predatory beast that pounces on the weak, just as a noble dehqan pounces on the peasants; even some of the most orthodox prophets have called upon the rich to not behave as lions do, hungrily snatching at those most vulnerable. The lion is said to have been made by Deceit, but using a model created by Truth. This is the two-sided coin of the shir; righteous king on one side, slavering hunter on the other.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOeQJLyWMheEbM4QbW3Y2VEyCplDEzmYHtYSlkxQvhXYdFGR3BFv-anN4vv3qbXiXILP4-Io8k7Fw0u8lwCSnuIQmUTZP3O-hevoSjiuVX_fVTIKL1sOXaR5xMQEzc-dZvYPAj4cNbslORMo0zq-bM2mOB7t7wFkJPIZN3ljxno1eutQwHzicw5Gutik/s606/Panthera_tigris_virgata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="606" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOeQJLyWMheEbM4QbW3Y2VEyCplDEzmYHtYSlkxQvhXYdFGR3BFv-anN4vv3qbXiXILP4-Io8k7Fw0u8lwCSnuIQmUTZP3O-hevoSjiuVX_fVTIKL1sOXaR5xMQEzc-dZvYPAj4cNbslORMo0zq-bM2mOB7t7wFkJPIZN3ljxno1eutQwHzicw5Gutik/s320/Panthera_tigris_virgata.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Caspian/Hyrcanian/Persian/etc. Tiger<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>This leaves <b>Tigers (Caspian Tiger, Hyrcanian Tiger, etc.)</b>, also known as the <b>Babr</b>, final among the three greatest of felines. They are the largest, strongest, and fiercest of cats, broad faced, broad shouldered, and stout. They lack the lion's mane, but instead have orange and black variegated stripes on their fur, each tiger completely individual in its stripe pattern. Lions and tigers respect each other and keep an arm's length when encountered; it is only especially cruel or rabid tigers that provoke lions into battle. Unlike the lion and leopard, the tiger is typically active during the day. They dwell in mountains, foothills, steppes, and coastlines, and while they tend to live solitary lives, they are not hostile to one another and will share their meals.<br /></p><p>Learned scholars in the First City assert that the tigress is impregnated by the wind, from which the beast acquires its extraordinary quickness. It is second only to the cheetah for swiftness among the beasts, and it is believed that tying a length of tiger hide to an arrow makes it fly faster and truer. As such powerful and wild beasts, the babr is the subject of much struggle to capture, dominate, and kill. In the grand menageries of the Shahanshah in the First City, a number of portly tigers are kept in gilded cages, who have been rumored to be fed heretics and rebels by some of the especially cruel Kings of Kings. There were once grand gladiatorial games in the lands now ruled by the Gnostic Elves, which pitted ravenous tigers against pit-fighters for the entertainment of the crowds. The Gnostic Elves despise such excesses, and have cracked down on the practice; but the smuggling of eastern tigers still brings lucrative rewards. Amulets and artifacts made from the skin, teeth, claws, bones, and mummified limbs of the babr are vested with the natural qualities of the beast. There are tales of a sect of sorcerers that transform themselves into tigers and dwell in reedy marshes; and it is said that in the far north, in the Land of Darkness, there dwell giant tigers, pale white in place of vivid orange, with teeth that stab through metal as if it wasn't even there.</p><p><b>Big Cat (Lion, Tiger, Leopard)<br /></b>Number Appearing: 1d4<br />Hit Dice: 5<br />Attacks: See below<br />Armor: as leather and shield<br />Morale: 9<br /><i>Pounce: </i>Big cats' preferred mode of attack is pouncing into a grapple with their victim. They receive a bonus of +3 (tiger, lion (+2 STR, +1 size)) or +2 (leopard (+2 STR)) to grappling rolls against human-sized opponents. When in a grapple, they deal 1d6+3 damage; if they fail to enter a grapple, they can attack twice in a turn, dealing 1d6+1 damage with each attack. Big cats can <i>maul </i>and are <i>ferocious</i> (see Ben's post above).</p><p><b>Leopards</b> also <i>drag</i>. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7R-nxLFMtDOuVA9M-edMNV6ffl-SrZO8QCKQy7itasRUjOJNnOImwVmb8kaoRqqULArZmdiX8yAuQaigXFat79uWRpkOPEPSD-rgvv_bm-tLloZDIxAMqOuVPEiBrL6LRA-FNu9VxjXgUeWgVm0ARNCek16ZQu4xJyiAUi0F34rD8DebrJpaWcIwTf8/s1200/Iranian-Cheetah-Society-_1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7R-nxLFMtDOuVA9M-edMNV6ffl-SrZO8QCKQy7itasRUjOJNnOImwVmb8kaoRqqULArZmdiX8yAuQaigXFat79uWRpkOPEPSD-rgvv_bm-tLloZDIxAMqOuVPEiBrL6LRA-FNu9VxjXgUeWgVm0ARNCek16ZQu4xJyiAUi0F34rD8DebrJpaWcIwTf8/s320/Iranian-Cheetah-Society-_1_.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Asiatic Cheetah<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>Leaving the great cats behind, there are three kinds of middling-sized cat tamed for hunting, each unique to a given territory. </p><p>From south to north, first there is the <b>Cheetah (Asiatic Cheetah)</b>, or <b>Yoz</b>, the favored hunting companion of kings and nobles. Its name in Shahanistani means "leap," for that is how it hunts; by chasing down its prey on its extraordinarily quick feet, before bringing down its quarry with "but a single bound," as a poet extolling its virtues once said. It is the fastest creature in the whole world, with tan-colored fur bedecked all over with black spots. The cheetah dwells in arid grasslands and sandy deserts; it was first tamed in the southern continent, although now hunters using cheetahs range as far north as the Kavir-e Bozorg. They are honorable beasts, and much poetry has been penned about them; the yoz is a very moral creature. There is a special saddle design oft used by members of the nobility with a second seat for a cheetah to accompany them on hunts. Subjects of the Gnostic Elves foolishly believe that cheetahs are the bastard offspring of a lion and a leopard, due to their appearance and the difficulty of their breeding in captivity. The yoz is a lucrative item for trade with the Empire of the Great East; their princes and emperors are fascinated by these hunting cats from distant lands.</p><p><b>Cheetah<br /></b>Number Appearing: 1d6<br />Hit Dice: 2+1<br />Attacks: See below<br />Armor: as leather and shield<br />Morale: 8<br /><i>Swiftness: </i>Cheetahs are the fastest of beasts. They have advantage on opposed rolls for chases and on initiative rolls.<br /><i>Pounce: </i>The cheetah's preferred mode of attack is to chase their quarry before pouncing on them. They receive a bonus of +1 (+1 STR) to all grappling rolls. When in a grapple, they deal 1d6+1 damage. Cheetahs can <i>maul</i> and <i>drag</i> (see Ben's post). </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBT_V2GGnrf5g6SIgWdX7kVtiYbhfistispV0-itXf0obw7b8giBnURCJXP07dZPxqbXYOPTCw2hKC4doNEbwUiad1uEshU-vERudXUBnSRzE1HfcCRL3T-QzuVh5VZ89IthdlGbFHUz5MAeSM4CG65PpoyC4CioD6hUsp6peui6pYApQFF_EvXl2GiC0/s1486/Caracal_on_the_road,_early_morning_in_Kgalagadi_(36173878220)_(cropped).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1486" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBT_V2GGnrf5g6SIgWdX7kVtiYbhfistispV0-itXf0obw7b8giBnURCJXP07dZPxqbXYOPTCw2hKC4doNEbwUiad1uEshU-vERudXUBnSRzE1HfcCRL3T-QzuVh5VZ89IthdlGbFHUz5MAeSM4CG65PpoyC4CioD6hUsp6peui6pYApQFF_EvXl2GiC0/s320/Caracal_on_the_road,_early_morning_in_Kgalagadi_(36173878220)_(cropped).jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Caracal, or Siahgush<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Then, in similar arid regions as the cheetah, there is the <b>Caracal</b>, or <b>Siahgush</b>, meaning "black-eared" in Shahanistani. It is of reddish hue, with a handsome face and tall black-tipped ears. This hunting cat is smaller than the cheetah, and is thus more suited to hunting hares and birds; as a result, it is less favored by the nobility, who are most interested in big game, and is instead the hunting cat of choice of bazaaris and the better off peasants. The fur of the siahgush is amazingly soft, oft used for the lining of coats; less expensive than sables from the Land of Darkness, but still rich in quality. The caracal is also known as "the herald of the lion," for it travels before a lion on the prowl, alerting the other beasts of the king's coming. Then, after the lion's attack, the siahgush feasts on the remains, safe in the knowledge that the lion is sated. Thus, the caracal is depicted as the greedy courtier to the lion's kingdom, at once fearful of the sovereign's wrath and reliant on his generosity. A caracal crossing one's path is a sure sign that lions are nearby. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iM6qKY11TjR7d0WTpbItQ9u-ETTpQvC7bmWwflJ5f589zAXuPB0sm2k_j5J3j-qS7aMIjQhQ6j_NdRrKtFTQO6u1cGdOcc6ZgewAHEIjAAMW6L1ppqRp25OibYC2mqQYRb9aAv7uisR9EnXcfHTLSj0H8HgqVTmgPiR3UrXO01x6aaxKlaSkcK0JZAo/s601/0pa24xoa80z51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="399" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iM6qKY11TjR7d0WTpbItQ9u-ETTpQvC7bmWwflJ5f589zAXuPB0sm2k_j5J3j-qS7aMIjQhQ6j_NdRrKtFTQO6u1cGdOcc6ZgewAHEIjAAMW6L1ppqRp25OibYC2mqQYRb9aAv7uisR9EnXcfHTLSj0H8HgqVTmgPiR3UrXO01x6aaxKlaSkcK0JZAo/s320/0pa24xoa80z51.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two Caucasian Lynxes<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>In the mountainous north of the Enlightened Empire, in the forested hills surrounding The Conqueror's Wall and the coastal lowlands south of the Sea of Giants, there dwell <b>Lynxes (Caucasian Lynx)</b>, also known as the <b>Vashaq</b>, the favored hunting cat of the Land of Darkness. They are larger than the caracal, but with smaller ears and shorter tails, a mottled grey and brown with scattered black spots. Their paws are large and cushioned, making traversing snow easier. Northerners traditionally tame them for hunting similarly to the cheetah and caracal. The sacred order which presides over the Conqueror's Wall keeps 200 lynxes for hunting small game to supply their food. It is said that barbarians in the Land of Darkness, beyond the wall and mountains, don't even keep dogs, instead hunting exclusively with the vashaq. A far northern goddess of love, war, and sorcery rides a chariot pulled by lynxes through the snowy twilit forests; even those barbarians not in the tribes she presides over are wary of killing lynxes or blaspheming in their presence, worrying that they will report back to her. The pelt of the vashaq is soft, warm, and has especial properties: wearing it inspires sexual desire and virility and holds off hemorrhoids and similar illness. Burning lynx hair can heal festering wounds. Lynx urine crystallizes into an amber-like gemstone termed a <b>lynx stone</b>, which cures jaundice and other diseases of the kidney, and when rubbed against cloth has an attractive power on many substances.</p><p><b>Caracal/Lynx<br /></b>Number Appearing: 1d4<br />Hit Dice: 1+1<br />Attacks: 2 claw (1d4)<br />Armor: as leather<br />Morale: 7<br /><i>Pounce: </i>Caracals and lynxes' preferred mode of attack is pouncing; however, due to their size, they cannot meaningfully grapple with human-sized opponents. Do you really want to have to roll for a caracal grappling with a duck?</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWsc4nteS0HwGaRAV7xHh9uHkmHtAFUBRnxf0cZpzflRGRY1wHHgfXdJ0lMwxwa5PIjnFxLQi5mFRyhkgdaf7Dl9RBr0GNOgZ3jve0q2aH5n_9KbSkpXhmWgp9128-m5IQQX0ij3Il1HSMEi2_Gm0UDEh-cvv0kYC4ENQlGEMDXlgDGCm-T8LTZp95nM/s1000/SandCat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWsc4nteS0HwGaRAV7xHh9uHkmHtAFUBRnxf0cZpzflRGRY1wHHgfXdJ0lMwxwa5PIjnFxLQi5mFRyhkgdaf7Dl9RBr0GNOgZ3jve0q2aH5n_9KbSkpXhmWgp9128-m5IQQX0ij3Il1HSMEi2_Gm0UDEh-cvv0kYC4ENQlGEMDXlgDGCm-T8LTZp95nM/s320/SandCat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Sand Cat<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYbYG-y6wn_3WV765Kh03vI4pBGauGvWkURe4srMSUk9Qyit9QBhYGfCBb5LgZiPLXxS_2fxdsjzKmUFecWKJT17Qta2_559DCD5XOIXRS2tVaouVVS_UgzrtQ3xfZmkaVzsAUpDCUDCzcINcdNlZoEsnIeWjUr7AxhxsGmDxuAFRAU_aoz-h7Me1umY/s1122/31fd4c52b5dd869416a651a92e8a5118.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="1122" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYbYG-y6wn_3WV765Kh03vI4pBGauGvWkURe4srMSUk9Qyit9QBhYGfCBb5LgZiPLXxS_2fxdsjzKmUFecWKJT17Qta2_559DCD5XOIXRS2tVaouVVS_UgzrtQ3xfZmkaVzsAUpDCUDCzcINcdNlZoEsnIeWjUr7AxhxsGmDxuAFRAU_aoz-h7Me1umY/s320/31fd4c52b5dd869416a651a92e8a5118.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Steppe Cat (Asiatic Wildcat)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDK-0orvvmT8EdnEeEr8a9HFcblaCKjH-BFtJ2J_8ex5b-3I0G-QY9l-I-OsPMIbzHjzRbYfrN5maBl8HmT_K9d2-XNKs5zRT3GGjsByu26fWlbUwc2QpzOHYNMJgnf8hSTk685yIOC3doPhhxNJaFylP_U7uQiUPRxIkPj3pn4myddGHuJ122S0Aifqc/s609/Jungle-Cat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="484" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDK-0orvvmT8EdnEeEr8a9HFcblaCKjH-BFtJ2J_8ex5b-3I0G-QY9l-I-OsPMIbzHjzRbYfrN5maBl8HmT_K9d2-XNKs5zRT3GGjsByu26fWlbUwc2QpzOHYNMJgnf8hSTk685yIOC3doPhhxNJaFylP_U7uQiUPRxIkPj3pn4myddGHuJ122S0Aifqc/s320/Jungle-Cat.png" width="254" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Jungle Cat<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Then there are the four kinds of least cats. Three are of similar size and appearance to the cat kept as a pet: the <b>Jungle Cat</b>, <b>Sand Cat</b>, and <b>Steppe Cat (Asiatic Wildcat)</b>. Each of these types of cat are solitary hunters that tend to keep a wide berth from towns and villages; thus, they are more often encountered as surprise omens by travelers than beasts sought out for their fur or hunting capability. The jungle cat is widespread in marshy and riverine environments; they are especially notable in the Hinterbog on the edge of Elburz Satrapy and in the lake country of Numistan. Travellers across the Hinterbog must always remember to leave gifts for the jungle cats, for some among their number are jinn in disguise. The bite of the jungle cat is liable to fester and rot more readily than that of other felines. Sand cats are the most elusive cat of them all, small tan-colored things that crawl through the driest depths of the Kavir-e Bozorg, so rare that even most desert-dwellers have never seen one. They are active only at night, and leave small faint footprints where they walk. They often nap in the shade of ancient ruins, to which a traveller can furtively follow them for treasure. The steppe cat is the furtive companion of travellers along the routes between the Enlightened Empire and the Empire of the Great East, dashing in and out of view in its shyness. The Southern Dog-Headed Men despise steppe cats, putting their skins as tassels on their spears and banners.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacqPIs0LwrOL9O3ZVcEjgohTjIcqaHB6jJnmWhVcW8wSOw4Y27TZZGC_baSd0CLQePQaRuVWoeZ0FcSZZquZ1DU6ifb4Ooo33dKCuZozkw2JW9OyvzBn3qVNk0EG_a5RjmS095qFnR2cUEQfMOb4TIh1bABH0ZjqD8v5uXp11ZIkS6FVMSr9QPR712Ds/s500/sub-buzz-3861-1524171509-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacqPIs0LwrOL9O3ZVcEjgohTjIcqaHB6jJnmWhVcW8wSOw4Y27TZZGC_baSd0CLQePQaRuVWoeZ0FcSZZquZ1DU6ifb4Ooo33dKCuZozkw2JW9OyvzBn3qVNk0EG_a5RjmS095qFnR2cUEQfMOb4TIh1bABH0ZjqD8v5uXp11ZIkS6FVMSr9QPR712Ds/s320/sub-buzz-3861-1524171509-10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my favorite pallas cat picture<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>And, finally, there is the strangest cat of them all: the <b>Manul (Pallas' Cat)</b>. This most secretive of cats ranges across mountains from the Elburz range north of the Kavir-e Bozorg east through Numistan and into even more arid and wintry plateaus, from whence whispers of fabled Kadath emerge. They are small in size by covered all over with an excessively fluffy coat, giving them a rotund and soft appearance. Their faces are incredibly expressive, and they have qualities in sympathy with humanity that have led some to say that they are the ghosts of mountaineers who perished in avalanches or froze solid from frigid winds. The distinctive image of the eastern mountains is the frostbitten corpse with a manul curled up in its lap. Their coats are so pillowy soft that they are sometimes termed the "eastern sable," so valuable and rich their rare hides are. The hurdle to acquiring sable furs is the great distance and danger in venturing into the Lands of Darkness; the difficulty in hunting the manul is solely their secrecy, for they hide in shadows and snowbanks and are only very rarely seen in person.</p><p>And, for those curious, here are some of the sources I used for inspiration when writing this post!<br /><a href="https://www.iranicaonline.org/">Encyclopaedia Iranica</a> (especially their pages on <a href="https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/mammals-01-iran-afghanistan-ca">Mammals of Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia</a>, on <a href="https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/mammals-03-in-zoroastrianism">The Classification of Mammals and Other Animal Classes According to Zoroastrian Tradition</a>, on the <a href="https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/caracal-felis-caracal-schreber-lynx">Caracal</a> (this page is especially of interest because it includes direct citations from medieval Iranian treatises on hunting cats!), and on <a href="https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/lion-tombstones">Lion Tombstones</a>.<br /><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316708/the-ultimate-ambition-in-the-arts-of-erudition-by-shihab-al-din-al-nuwayri-edited-translated-and-with-an-introduction-and-notes-by-elias-muhanna/">The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition</a> by Shihab al-Din al-Nuwayri (Penguin edition)<br /><a href="https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plin.+Nat.+toc">The Natural History</a> of Pliny the Elder<br /><a href="https://bestiary.ca/">The Medieval Bestiary: Animals in the Middle Ages</a> (A really fantastic resource in general! Gathers all sorts of information from several medieval European bestiaries in one digital location!)<br />And, to be completely honest, also Wikipedia.<br /></p> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </div> <div class='post-footer'> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'> <span class='post-author vcard'> Posted by <span class='fn' itemprop='author' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/Person'> <meta content='https://www.blogger.com/profile/17843700572318878635' itemprop='url'/> <a class='g-profile' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/17843700572318878635' rel='author' title='author profile'> <span itemprop='name'>Marsworms</span> </a> </span> </span> <span class='post-timestamp'> at <meta content='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2023/11/wild-cats-of-eastern-satrapies.html' itemprop='url'/> <a class='timestamp-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2023/11/wild-cats-of-eastern-satrapies.html' rel='bookmark' title='permanent link'><abbr class='published' itemprop='datePublished' title='2023-11-07T11:19:00-08:00'>11:19 AM</abbr></a> </span> <span class='post-comment-link'> <a class='comment-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2023/11/wild-cats-of-eastern-satrapies.html#comment-form' onclick=''> 1 comment: </a> </span> <span class='post-icons'> <span class='item-control blog-admin pid-251081821'> <a href='https://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=7003923673678313096&from=pencil' title='Edit Post'> <img alt='' class='icon-action' height='18' src='https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif' width='18'/> </a> </span> </span> <div class='post-share-buttons goog-inline-block'> <a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-email' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=7003923673678313096&target=email' target='_blank' title='Email This'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Email This</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-blog' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=7003923673678313096&target=blog' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=270,width=475"); 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margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQmZrQfFckDq2DMcu4zmRqWO9eeoMAixO2QK_MM5EUqDAww1emLqK7AYkXDA-JHr_8oBaTeO7-cQGYDlexFje9p8PwmmrAJxpzTTYIrIoEfw3RJt00l7pp3AYyRLHXPNiLD71IS3jStOWmARjvfvf6Hc3Y1Y4SH7bph3KmZa46HYtcOAjrg6-9LKF4/s854/MIK_-_Sassaniden_Jagdschale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQmZrQfFckDq2DMcu4zmRqWO9eeoMAixO2QK_MM5EUqDAww1emLqK7AYkXDA-JHr_8oBaTeO7-cQGYDlexFje9p8PwmmrAJxpzTTYIrIoEfw3RJt00l7pp3AYyRLHXPNiLD71IS3jStOWmARjvfvf6Hc3Y1Y4SH7bph3KmZa46HYtcOAjrg6-9LKF4/s320/MIK_-_Sassaniden_Jagdschale.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">7th century silver and gold bowl depicting a King of Kings hunting</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>I've been meaning to get back on writing King of Kings posts, namely world building posts to fill in a lot of the big foundational gaps that have been left in my approach to writing about it on the blog up to now. So here we have a series of posts about the major empires and states of the KoK world, beginning with a brief timeline and description of the Enlightened Empire, the vast realm in which KoK is set. There'll be six of these polity posts, so look out for those when they come by!<div><br /></div><div>But, to begin with, a bit of a reflection. I'm constantly struggling to balance my love for writing world building detail, evocative elements, and things that bring verisimilitude to a setting, with the need to primarily write things that can actually be gameable or primarily just contribute to inspiration rather than telling a referee or reader exactly what to do with a setting. That's been on my mind for a while, but was most clearly brought forward with Prismatic Wasteland's post <a href="https://www.prismaticwasteland.com/blog/lore-what-is-it-good-for">Lore! What is it Good For?</a> I really want to write lore, in a broad sense, for King of Kings, but also not just make it a boring Forgotten Realms Dragonlance Mystara gazetteer y'know? So, my hope in these posts is to try and strike a balance. Future posts in this series will center on things like character backgrounds, random encounters, and rumors about a given part of the world from the perspective of those in the eastern satrapies. While I'll be writing about places that can be really far afield from where my game currently is, the goal is to always tie things back to the needs of the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>This first post won't have as much of that, because it is about the very empire that the King of Kings game is set in; it will be given much more detail in plenty of more posts about the game!</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpz3egkoSXE8S8a1v9uOtIJhRVrsW6klG4IT4h3mDuvNb1-7-5QzIqBXfy4XtFMzZOkVxUvKRRr_F6oplE_oLUZdnMC5-UbhJ3U-yiVrap8d4dDK1dTiQva3j_aRPgMc2_IdYTmmiuk86hhDltrdM2pXXsft0jKZL7GZ70LAk_4Dh4GbC5kB4IHMKI/s807/Noah's_Ark_by_Miskin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpz3egkoSXE8S8a1v9uOtIJhRVrsW6klG4IT4h3mDuvNb1-7-5QzIqBXfy4XtFMzZOkVxUvKRRr_F6oplE_oLUZdnMC5-UbhJ3U-yiVrap8d4dDK1dTiQva3j_aRPgMc2_IdYTmmiuk86hhDltrdM2pXXsft0jKZL7GZ70LAk_4Dh4GbC5kB4IHMKI/s320/Noah's_Ark_by_Miskin.jpg" width="178" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Noah and his Ark, from a 16th century Mughal miniature</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF AGES AND YEARS SINCE THE DELUGE</div><div>[This is meant as a small set of events to anchor the world's history on, not a comprehensive history that players would need to memorize.]</div><div>Roughly 1,000 years ago, the dreadful Sea Tyrants flooded the world with their sinister star magic, in a last ditch attempt to seize control of all the world. This is the start of history, as before the Deluge there are only vague myths, and a world almost unrecognizable. The First City, now capital of the Enlightened Empire, was able to survive the Deluge with magic stolen for them by a promethean Traitor Frog, ancestor of the Froglings, ensuring the survival of humanity and other land animals. In the Empire of the Great East, they have a different telling; that a sagely lord and his family went to the top of the tallest mountain in the world and made a deal with a great Olm and a Dragon to channel the waters into the Great East's two rivers, draining the land before it could even flood completely.</div><div><br /></div><div>The below is a general timeline of years since the Deluge:</div><div>0-150: The Age of Heroes, wherein half mythic warriors and newly born sorcerers began to seize holdings for themselves, slay lingering batrachian horrors left all over by the Deluge, and scout out the first spells and rituals.</div><div>150-400: The Age of Tyrants, wherein the sons and daughters of the Heroes rule arbitrarily and with the legitimacy of their Heroic descent. Tyrant is here meant not solely as a pejorative, though many rulers in this period were murderous despots. Kingdoms rise and fall. This era is when the Dinosaur Kings ruled over what are now the eastern satrapies.</div><div>400: Invasion of the Conquering King, wherein the great Ruler of the World conquered most of the known world (other than the Empire of the Great East), from his island homeland in the western archipelago. He would die without an heir and leave his world empire to his generals.</div><div>400-500: The Wars of the Successors.</div><div>500: The Mountain Uprising which established the Enlightened Empire.</div><div>500-800: Golden Age of the Enlightened Empire, the Great Three-Coin Age</div><div>800-850: The Fifty Years' Crisis, wherein the Enlightened Empire was brought low by the invasions of the Gnostic Elves to the west and the nomad confederation led by the Amazons from the north, along with a rebellion within its own territory. </div><div>850-present: The Never-ending War with the Gnostic Elves, the Rule of the Kanarang in the east, the Enlightened Empire as it is today.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15ysVaBMM-48eyjF_SkJIoMz2PUhHPlhU3z9jgxYAvUOE1XTdZ6Au9oIqiw_i_CasZT8Qu9KiqZbtvhwIISZWs3-zBl-6unFN1M0tNZgxLsrL0WqFhNTplTS7uZdJV4T6jNIhFIrR_H-X7TjiJCDuwRTFYljnQYjih9g_SoTJwX-QS4u7tckk4Gej/s1024/1024px-Naqsh-e-Rostam_(Iran)_Relief_Sassanid_Period.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15ysVaBMM-48eyjF_SkJIoMz2PUhHPlhU3z9jgxYAvUOE1XTdZ6Au9oIqiw_i_CasZT8Qu9KiqZbtvhwIISZWs3-zBl-6unFN1M0tNZgxLsrL0WqFhNTplTS7uZdJV4T6jNIhFIrR_H-X7TjiJCDuwRTFYljnQYjih9g_SoTJwX-QS4u7tckk4Gej/s320/1024px-Naqsh-e-Rostam_(Iran)_Relief_Sassanid_Period.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardashir_I">Ardashir I</a> receiving the ring of power from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahura_Mazda">Ahura Mazda</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>STATE, GOVERNANCE, AND RELIGION IN THE ENLIGHTENED EMPIRE</div><div>The Enlightened Empire is a monarchy under the rule of the King of Kings (or Shahanshah), currently a boy of only 9 years named Khosrau III (in the East, he is more commonly known as "He Whose Face is on the Coins"). Ostensibly an absolute monarch, power is in reality delegated to and mediated by a number of lesser authorities, most notably the Satraps that govern the provinces on behalf of the Shahanshah. There are more than a dozen such petty rulers in the satrapies, and an even greater number of lesser leaders, ranging from tribal chiefs to village matriarchs to temple priests and priestesses. The satrap of <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/11/elburz-satrapy-dazur-valley.html">Elburz satrapy, where the King of Kings campaign is currently set</a>, is an aged former warrior named Gholam Ruyanian, who also serves as the urbanarch of the city of Tabur. The satraps of other satrapies will be detailed when those provinces are described.</div><div><br /></div><div>While the boy King of Kings plays and studies in the echoing halls of the great palace in the First City, ultimate rule is truly in the hands of two authorities in an uneasy alliance. The boy sovereign's mother governs in his stead, keeping the peace in the First City, greatest city in the whole of the world, with her diplomacy, alliances, and temple obligations. This dowager empress, regent of the greatest empire in the whole of the world, is the most powerful person in the world. However, in the East, there sits the black gloved tyrant, the Kanarang, military governor of the whole of the East. The position of Kanarang was established in the days of the Fifty Years' Crisis, to crush the intrusions of the Amazons, Dog Headed Men, and other Barbarian Nomad Tribes, and since then he has ruled the East. Whatever lines may be drawn on parchment in the libraries and thronerooms of the First City, the East is not truly divided into sovereign satrapies; they are all under the authority of the Kanarang. The Kanarang is a traveling tyrant, always astride his black horse, with his men and their hangers on in tow.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fFodtAEWfY0IgLVm7pNK63tv653p3yXbf-BK96F0emnhEGjNK1ZlOQGE5tSBUvY-1Axj4kRoBM0mB92971qg3iYWerwaee-8Zhi9BAqLT7c-RQLVbnTi7K86GywLHZzVEejLm0BE0V7zgOvjHz-DHzLmbW0bvteCjbtcc4uhOwHH6vTKwx0erLHY/s2048/FeKvTSMXEAAP1Jn.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1616" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fFodtAEWfY0IgLVm7pNK63tv653p3yXbf-BK96F0emnhEGjNK1ZlOQGE5tSBUvY-1Axj4kRoBM0mB92971qg3iYWerwaee-8Zhi9BAqLT7c-RQLVbnTi7K86GywLHZzVEejLm0BE0V7zgOvjHz-DHzLmbW0bvteCjbtcc4uhOwHH6vTKwx0erLHY/s320/FeKvTSMXEAAP1Jn.jpeg" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khosrow_II">Khosrow II Parwiz</a> on his throne, by 3d artist <a href="https://twitter.com/JoanFrancescOl1/status/1577015584276873216">Joan Francesc Olivera</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>In the First City, the boy King of Kings sits upon a wooden throne emblazoned with jewels. Next to him stands his mother, and flanking them both are the thrones of the other great rulers of the world: the Moon Emperor of the Great East, the King of the Straits, and, more recently, the Kings of the Southern Dog Headed Men and of the Gnostic Elves. These other four thrones are set at lower heights than the Shahanshah's throne; were they to ever meet in the First City, they would be forced to look up to His Most Glorious and Enlightened Magnanimity, Blessed by Truth and Sunlight.</div><div><br /></div><div>The symbol of the King of Kings' authority is the <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-huma-bird.html">Huma bird</a>, whose shadow bestows royalty. A high flying Huma is kept in a cage in the First City, and a ceremony is held shortly before the Shahanshah's coronation where the bird's shadow passes over the crown prince. If the bird refuses to fly over the Mirza, this forebodes doom; anything bad happening to the Imperial Huma is an evil omen.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEanB0dbIWo_QSsw-DcrKDOWYnB5AQ-T8uxB1W7O4X5uqKavVszOnlH6EwrgRGHIgAPXRQgaH-2O1b1DzvSWgc23o8IcXLYUgM8zE4wy7SEyQKfX9EkyPHN9ZovwunGQCuPqIGLLsNZLS5mW6Mm1a0ySPyxF-kq-etjOK8SzsTPFfj9xlsaa5DA9Hc/s1024/Naqshe_Rajab_Darafsh_Ordibehesht_93_(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1024" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEanB0dbIWo_QSsw-DcrKDOWYnB5AQ-T8uxB1W7O4X5uqKavVszOnlH6EwrgRGHIgAPXRQgaH-2O1b1DzvSWgc23o8IcXLYUgM8zE4wy7SEyQKfX9EkyPHN9ZovwunGQCuPqIGLLsNZLS5mW6Mm1a0ySPyxF-kq-etjOK8SzsTPFfj9xlsaa5DA9Hc/s320/Naqshe_Rajab_Darafsh_Ordibehesht_93_(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The inscription of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kartir">Kartir</a>, most influential Zoroastrian priest in the early Sasanian Empire, at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naqsh-e_Rajab">Naqsh-e Rajab</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Closely intertwined with temporal authority are the spiritual authorities, the Temple Bureaucracy of the True Religion, official state religion of the Enlightened Empire. It would perhaps be most accurate to describe the Enlightened Empire as a coalition made up of the Imperial system centered on the King of Kings and the Temple hierarchy of the True Religion (the Kanarang is a newer element but could be considered the third pillar of the state, as the premier military leader in an age dominated by armies). The True Religion has as its major centers a number of ancient cities and temples in the Southern Heartland satrapy, where the Mountain Rebellion that founded the Enlightened Empire began, along with the First City. A whole hierarchy of mobads, herbads, and other priests administer state sacrifices and official rituals, maintaining proper practice in order to sustain the Enlightened Empire, under the beloved light of the Sun, manifestation of Truth. Further afield from the core of the Empire, religious practice and belief becomes more heterodox; in the King of Kings campaign, religious life is a mix of official authority, unusual local practices (from the perspective of the core), and heretical sects.</div><div><br /></div><div>[I'll make a post about religion in King of Kings at some later point. The interactions between a hierarchical state religion and a number of more vaguely defined local practices on the hinterlands of empire is a topic that fascinates me, and I want to communicate that in KoK. I don't want the True Religion to be Too much of just a "fantasy Zoroastrianism," but a lot of that is kind of inevitable (the name "The True Religion" even comes from late antique Zoroastrianism, terming itself "The Good Religion").]</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_MiRYX-JzXw4YsmZnkVRgIRHC9ZX0ZUIcdsxXwpPnFWy8mYA1R_-cE30m4l1bk4FJSas3l7K7fCnOGLJWhCZCIt342TjEQQAehiduLRoFFGwFVypYz1cnO2PYkdYNLvOWS6pRRPhU4X7MFTcQT1tdylF9cp0skxCqS_DPrmVnnFfGphej4mMC_JJ/s545/Bishapur_zan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_MiRYX-JzXw4YsmZnkVRgIRHC9ZX0ZUIcdsxXwpPnFWy8mYA1R_-cE30m4l1bk4FJSas3l7K7fCnOGLJWhCZCIt342TjEQQAehiduLRoFFGwFVypYz1cnO2PYkdYNLvOWS6pRRPhU4X7MFTcQT1tdylF9cp0skxCqS_DPrmVnnFfGphej4mMC_JJ/s320/Bishapur_zan.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Sasanian era mosaic from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishapur">Bishapur</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>1D8 RUMORS ABOUT THE IMPERIAL COURT</div><div>1: Khosrau III, boy King of Kings, delights in torture and mockery. He ties the legs of prisoners and peasants to gryphons and lets them fly in opposite directions, clapping and laughing as the gore rains down from the sky.</div><div>2: Khosrau III, boy King of Kings, has a terrible sickness that will likely keep him from reigning for much longer.</div><div>3: Khosrau III, boy King of Kings, is a kind hearted soul who loves animal life; there is a constant need for new pets for the curious child.</div><div>4: The queen mother has been taken in by a long bearded wilderness wiseman in a horsehair robe, who claims to be able to teach her son sorcery.</div><div>5: The harem-in-waiting for the boy shah is currently open to women (and eunuchs, who may be impressed into the guard corps); perhaps an in into court life?</div><div>6: The queen mother attempted to appoint a priest at the Holy Mountain in Elburz Satrapy that would be friendly to state interests, but the Kanarang kidnapped the appointee.</div><div>7: The uncle of the boy King of Kings is a repugnant pervert who lords over a personal estate in the hills outside the First City, casting an evil shadow over the city in his impurity.</div><div>8: A son of <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/03/tabur-grand-capital-of-elburz-satrapy.html">House Manati</a> [keepers of the <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/03/parrot-fiends-of-house-manati-and.html">Parrot Fiends</a>!] is kept as a hostage in the imperial palace, not allowed to leave the palace complex.</div><div><br /></div><div>GEOGRAPHY OF THE ENLIGHTENED EMPIRE</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-f6RfuqVEAQy3iAkuUOQMzMUzTfXp4XmY2zLzpMTVYuMiFS_uq7VELObFGmegZXh6kVUS0rQjKYaJVHWYIXH4AWdyL_qXlNiJiXUNXeefvOTVFp-PB5VFDxScSuMd2750WTwIwFBqY1Grq2kewC66t69uyTin_x3a1GtbEUac7MOs__207I2jtcit/s4160/20230521_233548~2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-f6RfuqVEAQy3iAkuUOQMzMUzTfXp4XmY2zLzpMTVYuMiFS_uq7VELObFGmegZXh6kVUS0rQjKYaJVHWYIXH4AWdyL_qXlNiJiXUNXeefvOTVFp-PB5VFDxScSuMd2750WTwIwFBqY1Grq2kewC66t69uyTin_x3a1GtbEUac7MOs__207I2jtcit/w400-h300/20230521_233548~2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very sketchy map of the Enlightened Empire; also, south is on the top here!</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>I don't think I should outline the geography in too much detail, especially since I've already zoomed in on the geography of the Eastern Satrapies in <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-lands-of-east.html">a previous post</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Briefly, though:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>West of the Enlightened Empire is the Empire of the Gnostic Elves, across the Pazu river, where the Never-ending War has been ongoing for the past 150 years.</li><li>the Pazu Rud and Arvand Rud form the lowland riverine section of the Empire's heartland. Sitting at the confluence of the Pazu and Arvand is the First City, greatest and most ancient city in the world.</li><li>Just east are the mountains of the plateau, namely the Heartland Satrapies in the south, which form the highland section of the Empire's heartland.</li><li>South of the Heartland Satrapies is the Ocean. East are the Hinterland Satrapies which border on the Empire of the Southern Dog Headed Men.</li><li>North of the Heartland Satrapies is the Kavir-e Bozorg, that desiccated desert which forms the dead center of the Enlightened Empire and divides north from south.</li><li>North of the Kavir-e Bozorg are the World's Edge Mountains, along with the Wall of the Conquering King, which keeps the giants and barbarians of the Land of Darkness out of the lands of the south.</li><li>Northeast of the Kavir-e Bozorg are the <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-lands-of-east.html">Eastern Satrapies</a>, Elburz and Numistan.</li><li>North of the Eastern Satrapies are the Sea of Giants, the Hinterbog, and the Realm of the Client King, that nomad subject of the Shahanshah and Kanarang.</li></ul><div>FUTURE POLITY POSTS:</div></div><div>The Empire of the Gnostic Elves</div><div>The Kingdom of the Straits</div><div>The Kingdom of the Southern Dog Headed Men</div><div>The Empire of the Great East</div><div>The King of the Nomads</div><div>Lesser States</div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </div> <div class='post-footer'> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'> <span class='post-author vcard'> Posted by <span class='fn' itemprop='author' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/Person'> <meta content='https://www.blogger.com/profile/17843700572318878635' itemprop='url'/> <a class='g-profile' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/17843700572318878635' rel='author' title='author profile'> <span itemprop='name'>Marsworms</span> </a> </span> </span> <span class='post-timestamp'> at <meta content='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-world-of-king-of-kings-brief.html' itemprop='url'/> <a class='timestamp-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-world-of-king-of-kings-brief.html' rel='bookmark' title='permanent link'><abbr class='published' itemprop='datePublished' title='2023-05-22T07:05:00-07:00'>7:05 AM</abbr></a> </span> <span class='post-comment-link'> <a class='comment-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-world-of-king-of-kings-brief.html#comment-form' onclick=''> No comments: </a> </span> <span class='post-icons'> <span class='item-control blog-admin pid-251081821'> <a href='https://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=7176725985372612435&from=pencil' title='Edit Post'> <img alt='' class='icon-action' height='18' src='https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif' width='18'/> </a> </span> </span> <div class='post-share-buttons goog-inline-block'> <a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-email' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=7176725985372612435&target=email' target='_blank' title='Email This'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Email This</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-blog' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=7176725985372612435&target=blog' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=270,width=475"); return false;' target='_blank' title='BlogThis!'><span class='share-button-link-text'>BlogThis!</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-twitter' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=7176725985372612435&target=twitter' target='_blank' title='Share to X'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to X</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-facebook' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=7176725985372612435&target=facebook' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=430,width=640"); return false;' target='_blank' title='Share to Facebook'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to Facebook</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-pinterest' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=7176725985372612435&target=pinterest' target='_blank' title='Share to Pinterest'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Share to Pinterest</span></a> </div> </div> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-2'> <span class='post-labels'> Labels: <a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/King%20of%20Kings' rel='tag'>King of Kings</a>, <a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/my%20art' rel='tag'>my art</a>, <a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/polity%20post' rel='tag'>polity post</a>, <a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/religion' rel='tag'>religion</a>, <a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/worldbuilding' rel='tag'>worldbuilding</a> </span> </div> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3'> <span class='post-location'> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="date-outer"> <h2 class='date-header'><span>Saturday, August 27, 2022</span></h2> <div class="date-posts"> <div class='post-outer'> <div class='post hentry uncustomized-post-template' itemprop='blogPost' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/BlogPosting'> <meta content='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowd3XQmgQzpLOV_G7UOAOr7ywyBsX44VJGgUE6KoGzXVEKPVwQ0-nOJ09jgiZmUrbMWoPxgdV8Im29lQ-0qAVef0oOzzOVC-D59e9d7odWXU0wyVRqNK2lRUpyFUdVgKgHpIIo_qGqFBNL5doFQLUXjdyHDafQ7ov3asSWLRM72J7NG_bk01O5XFB/s320/10054661_master.jpg' itemprop='image_url'/> <meta content='2383621001528691557' itemprop='blogId'/> <meta content='4899052002336069071' itemprop='postId'/> <a name='4899052002336069071'></a> <h3 class='post-title entry-title' itemprop='name'> <a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/08/inhabitants-of-world-peoples-of-king-of.html'>Inhabitants of the World (Peoples of King of Kings)</a> </h3> <div class='post-header'> <div class='post-header-line-1'></div> </div> <div class='post-body entry-content' id='post-body-4899052002336069071' itemprop='description articleBody'> I puzzled over what to title this post for a good while, mostly because I don't want to use the clumsy language of "races" that D&D stuff has been stuck with for a while, but inversely trying to puzzle out what the name for a broad group of people groups was really difficult and I didn't really want to use super scientific terms like "species", "genus", or "family". I think the incredibly vague and unhelpful word "inhabitants" does the closest thing to justice to the topic of this post, so it's what I went with.<div><br /></div><div>So yeah, this is a setting post for King of Kings about the intelligent inhabitants of the world! It is more of a semi "world bible" of sorts, rather than an in universe statement of lore; the creatures and characters described in this post, and the categories into which they are placed in, are more for my benefit to define what sorts of creatures I use in the world rather than pure world building. I'm personally not a huge fan of the intense taxonomical drive that is present in a lot of D&D stuff, which you can read a very interesting and good post about <a href="https://zedecksiew.tumblr.com/post/693356847419293696/dds-obsession-with-taxonomy">here</a>, from the wonderful Zedeck Siew. Obviously I am still putting things into categories in this post, but I'm aiming for relatively vague and general categories defined more by connections to fictional cosmology and myth than by how D&D races work, taking cues more from groups of spirits and creatures from real world myth and folklore. So there is still a taxonomic impulse, guilty as charged in that regard, but for King of Kings I want to keep taxonomy as light as possible, and instead emphasize geographic location, familial ties, or political/religious allegiance. If I ever make a KoK book in the future, I'd lean more in that direction for that more "official" presentation, but this post isn't the final official presentation, its basically just a collection of notes put together here for my sake and for anyone who wants to read about my setting.</div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe that rant was unwarranted, I don't know, I just think about this stuff a lot!</div><div><br /></div><div>Without further ado!</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowd3XQmgQzpLOV_G7UOAOr7ywyBsX44VJGgUE6KoGzXVEKPVwQ0-nOJ09jgiZmUrbMWoPxgdV8Im29lQ-0qAVef0oOzzOVC-D59e9d7odWXU0wyVRqNK2lRUpyFUdVgKgHpIIo_qGqFBNL5doFQLUXjdyHDafQ7ov3asSWLRM72J7NG_bk01O5XFB/s768/10054661_master.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowd3XQmgQzpLOV_G7UOAOr7ywyBsX44VJGgUE6KoGzXVEKPVwQ0-nOJ09jgiZmUrbMWoPxgdV8Im29lQ-0qAVef0oOzzOVC-D59e9d7odWXU0wyVRqNK2lRUpyFUdVgKgHpIIo_qGqFBNL5doFQLUXjdyHDafQ7ov3asSWLRM72J7NG_bk01O5XFB/s320/10054661_master.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A person, on a rug</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Humans/People</b></div><div>I think I would hope that everyone reading this post knows what these are. While King of Kings takes its cues from the world of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, fundamentally people back then were still just people! Humans are the main inhabitant of the world, living just about everywhere, forming tribes and nations and polities together, etc. etc. Not all humans are visually identical, however, and this is where KoK leans into ancient and medieval conceptions. People groups that would appear at first to be very different from humanity, such as <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-dog-who-speaks-softly-and-woman-who.html">dog headed men</a>, <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-amazon-class-for-king-of-kings.html">amazons</a>, <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/10/man-of-deluge.html">men of the deluge</a>, and the mouthless astomi, are all still human no matter their, from the perspective of people in the Enlightened Empire, strange customs and appearances. Here I'm trying to lean into ideas of the "monstrous races" from Ancient Greek natural histories and travelogues from Greece, Rome, and the Christian and Muslim Middle Ages. There's a really good book that I'd recommend about this topic that provides a detailed listing of such peoples from ancient and medieval sources, <i><a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Monstrous_Races_in_Medieval_Art_and/DCS0AAAAIAAJ?hl=en">The Monstrous Races in Medieval Art and Thought</a></i>. I find this topic super interesting, honestly kind of deserving of its own post, obviously of even more than a post because its a historical topic that has garnered plenty of attention in like, book length works and such. These ancient and medieval conceptions of people from faraway lands being monstrous are something to be careful about though because they're, yknow, tangential to and prefacing racism that developed in the modern period & etc. I find them to be a very fascinating and fantastical element of how real premodern people perceived their world, and I like using them as inspiration for KoK, as a basis to then provide some real depth and complexity onto, but just as with anything else really it's good to try and be mindful and whatnot.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VNgBQK_oV-6xP7lT1Yz9to6s1WEh9-bg5XgOPEqA-xTE8jPgNORyTMfv6K0oIi_4LjVKBJzWkNtTrT2ZLreoAXBfLw9halD-t5Kergp8wLNxY1tXMbS7sRX-SQr4Wsf3xAg63-_duq54M1JRbfrvtlkKd6tIVNk8AJ-vfLeXJsyqpRh8DDiGlUkr/s220/220px-Kievskaya_psaltir_kinocefal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="220" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VNgBQK_oV-6xP7lT1Yz9to6s1WEh9-bg5XgOPEqA-xTE8jPgNORyTMfv6K0oIi_4LjVKBJzWkNtTrT2ZLreoAXBfLw9halD-t5Kergp8wLNxY1tXMbS7sRX-SQr4Wsf3xAg63-_duq54M1JRbfrvtlkKd6tIVNk8AJ-vfLeXJsyqpRh8DDiGlUkr/w320-h300/220px-Kievskaya_psaltir_kinocefal.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also people</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>But yeah uh, other than humans like the dog headed men and amazons, there are also humans that are closer to real world ancient human cultures. <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/11/king-of-kings-city-folk.html">City dwelling Shahanistanis</a>, rural farmers, nomadic pastoralists or raiding warriors, etc. etc. I'm going to make more posts in the future with more character backgrounds and stuff about different polities in different parts of the world, so there's plenty more to say. But yknow, its just humans.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xRBrHHG0BaBKBuT7ezBdlLobkiT6x_G65OlyE95Wz1dWTr6oM-BuUyrNaR-15ZYKZN32LfqHENgSduyKR7hoABjz9w0on8h9PDA2dJMF5fE7FQtfygIvUi1vZP90NHssC1kGd22KYqG7gMbn87056twzFi2yPt5E5D9UXWL7wbfhAKNULCITu9cv/s1000/Kitab_al-Bulhan_--_jinns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="677" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xRBrHHG0BaBKBuT7ezBdlLobkiT6x_G65OlyE95Wz1dWTr6oM-BuUyrNaR-15ZYKZN32LfqHENgSduyKR7hoABjz9w0on8h9PDA2dJMF5fE7FQtfygIvUi1vZP90NHssC1kGd22KYqG7gMbn87056twzFi2yPt5E5D9UXWL7wbfhAKNULCITu9cv/s320/Kitab_al-Bulhan_--_jinns.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">from the Kitab al-Bulhan</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Spirits, including Jinn</b></div><div>Possibly the broadest group mentioned here, spirits encompasses all manner of immaterial and supernatural entities that dwell all across the world of King of Kings. Mischievous <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/12/kalikantzaroi-just-use-goblins.html">kalikantzaroi</a>, morning star worshiping liliths, burgeoning bakhtaks, all manner of ghosts and <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-grand-hospital-of-humakuyun-d8.html">lingering auras</a>, localized nature gods, and jinn of all sorts, including afarit like <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/king-of-kings-session-4-after-action.html">Fire Eater</a>, ghuls, marids like <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/07/king-of-kings-session-9-after-action.html">the headless bull thing</a>, and the half jinni half human <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/12/accursed-ancestry-of-agonizing.html">nasnas</a>. Spirits can be basically anything, which is kind of on purpose so that I can encompass all sorts of supernal immaterial entities and atmospheres in here. Jinn are to the world of spirits as humans are to the material world, and so jinn come in just as much staggering variety if not more than people do. They share in all being made from smokeless fire, and have a parallel and often very different society to that of humanity, but are otherwise incredibly diverse. I would never want to try to make any attempt at like, summarizing all spirits or all jinn in a single paragraph, let alone a whole post or book, though I do want to start writing up more spirits for King of Kings for the blog.</div><div><br /></div><div>For resources that I've taken inspiration from for spirits and jinn in KoK, check out <i>Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar</i> by Robert Lebling, <i>Islam, Arabs, and the Intelligent World of the Jinn </i>by Amira el‐Zein, relevant entries in the <i>Encyclopedia of Islam</i> and the <i>Encyclopaedia Iranica</i>, and of course <i>The Thousand and One Nights</i>. Also I'd be lying if I didn't sometimes just take info from Wikipedia for folkloric creatures, or at least as a starting point. Who doesn't use Wikipedia as a resource these days? It's generally pretty good.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkmI76ndQJ5DRy9rF67Sm5WWDtprSrmZ5Klp4G9vgX8xPqSHbl0ylU7O9GpnUt7MEHPl37IAXuM8PE6sfOJAw8xnZ_EZJBYnyZozx1o5om8AVPqNd7dWtESvOrQzWxH51Pcx4wn7_9mI8wAxXugYbHqDoceN8Bp1aVKOD8rM1IoHsmHGurhwMdAbF/s900/sea-monsters_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="900" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkmI76ndQJ5DRy9rF67Sm5WWDtprSrmZ5Klp4G9vgX8xPqSHbl0ylU7O9GpnUt7MEHPl37IAXuM8PE6sfOJAw8xnZ_EZJBYnyZozx1o5om8AVPqNd7dWtESvOrQzWxH51Pcx4wn7_9mI8wAxXugYbHqDoceN8Bp1aVKOD8rM1IoHsmHGurhwMdAbF/s320/sea-monsters_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Sea Tyrants, including Amphibians</b></div><div>I've made <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/10/half-forgotten-times-and-nature-of.html">a post</a> about these before, although I'll definitely return to the topic in the future. The sea tyrants are the primordial once rulers of the world, the ancient despots from when the world was wet and the world was young. They flooded the world in an effort to take control of it in its entirety, but were rebuffed when some among them acted as a sorcerous Prometheus and stole star magic to give to mortals. Ever since then, they have dwelled deep at the bottom of the sea and deep in the depths of the earth, while humanity and the traitors to the sea tyrants thrive on the surface. The sea tyrants who betrayed their brethren and stole magic to give to humanity were the amphibians, namely the <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/06/froglings-of-enlightened-empire.html">froglings</a>, salamen, and elder olms. The froglings live among humans, in their <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/03/tabur-grand-capital-of-elburz-satrapy.html">cities</a> and towns, and continue to practice magic and  serve as sailors and merchants, while salamen tend to live out on their own in isolated wilderness and swamp communities, and elder olms serve as a potential friendly faction in delves underground. I have so many ideas for sea tyrant related stuff, so keep an eye out for that in the future.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you couldn't tell, the main point of reference for these guys is almost entirely Lovecraft stuff, yknow Deep Ones and Cthulhu and the subterranean city of K'nyan from The Mound and all that. Add in aboleths and mind flayers from D&D and other underdark goodies and you've got it. And with regards to the froglings, I can't help but bring up my love for Frog from Chrono Trigger, even if my frog people here don't have That much to do with him. Sure these are some of my most overtly pop culture inspiration creatures but who cares its my setting.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Zs0LD_HNxOAEIBGFz0zf7WVzyI6RQM-tGc8fyUI5iz3fX_ZRfuB2HwGpG2ePpHKqY5X_yc1Nh7D4qggQNPQ2gV1i5SeZyAZYoWbvEKGNd_-LyYR1g01DmRGL09P2q2CbrX692qMqu7JyxO9vBjUxUQxcUkBzGiZ8Ogcp6eNILa3hRluY-xhyZuNC/s550/m466_111r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="342" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Zs0LD_HNxOAEIBGFz0zf7WVzyI6RQM-tGc8fyUI5iz3fX_ZRfuB2HwGpG2ePpHKqY5X_yc1Nh7D4qggQNPQ2gV1i5SeZyAZYoWbvEKGNd_-LyYR1g01DmRGL09P2q2CbrX692qMqu7JyxO9vBjUxUQxcUkBzGiZ8Ogcp6eNILa3hRluY-xhyZuNC/s320/m466_111r.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moses tells the giant Cuj ibn Canaq how to curb an appetite</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Giants, or the Children of 'Ajuj and Majuj</b></div><div>Far to the north, in the snowy Land of Darkness, dwell the ancient 'Ajuj and Majuj, twin fathers of monsters. Their offspring form monstrous man-eating lineages that roam the wintry vastnesses, attack human settlements of northern nomads, and on occasion raid down south. The Conquering King, when he took hold of all the world, built a great metal and stone wall with a great looming gate in the mountains on the southern edge of the Land of Darkness, to keep the Children of 'Ajuj and Majuj out. Also, I have an idea for a horizontal megadungeon of sorts which would be the slowly rotting body of a giant that you could dungeon crawl in, I think it'd be super fun and cool.</div><div><br /></div><div>Like I keep on saying, keep an eye out for more posts about giants, especially since I haven't posted really anything about them so far. With regards to references, check out the Penguin book <i>Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North</i> and certain versions of <i>The Romance of Alexander</i>. King of Kings's giants are another example of taking cues and inspiration from how premodern people perceived people from other parts of the world, similarly to the dog headed men et al. I discussed in the section about people above.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfWefHVNunoHI3KY4Q4I1B7t0fMEdoNRRHAiQxNWBvhfbnjioUnAUkTBb4OXpQa4KNxFV2D_rv50JtP-G4kLZFHzwt7p8FWfB0ZhPTbcHuxsFG99p5zdgRpAGzYM56NAGS45HhKHSatjhRbRWkHbuV66baGGjanng4p3lKJ8LiJXPRBTwmgyvvO6o/s600/DCbP8L5UQAIO5cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="600" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfWefHVNunoHI3KY4Q4I1B7t0fMEdoNRRHAiQxNWBvhfbnjioUnAUkTBb4OXpQa4KNxFV2D_rv50JtP-G4kLZFHzwt7p8FWfB0ZhPTbcHuxsFG99p5zdgRpAGzYM56NAGS45HhKHSatjhRbRWkHbuV66baGGjanng4p3lKJ8LiJXPRBTwmgyvvO6o/s320/DCbP8L5UQAIO5cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't know the source of this one unfortunately</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Daevas, or Divs/Dews</b></div><div>Dwelling on the upside down underside of the world, daevas are embodiments of all forms of evil and untruth. They are more than simple unclean spirits, they are the living forms of deceit and lies, and live completely alien and surreal lives on the flat plane of the underside. Some divs are collaborating with the sea tyrants in their efforts to slowly seize the surface world, but most divs are lonesome creatures serving only deceit. Like I keep saying, keep an eye out for more posts about these guys.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here, the main point of reference is to daevas from Zoroastrianism and, later, the Islamic Persianate div; while the names are super similar, it's an important distinction to make, I think, between these religious/historic references and devas in Hinduism, especially since Zoroastrian daevas are comparable to demons. Just sorta making a note of that. For stuff I've taken inspiration from, the <i>Shahnameh</i> by Ferdowsi <strike>which I need to read more of, I haven't actually finished it</strike> and <i>Manifestation of Evil in Persian Mythology from the Perspective of Zoroastrian Religion</i> by Elnaz Bakhshayeh and Reza Ebrahimil. Also the <i>Encyclopedia Iranica</i> and Wikipedia again. I wanna do more reading to find good inspiration for these entities.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8nam5TKj0K49RYj-gG1qgkyXintUZ2vrROwlkMcgVmy2tbIlrjuWfr8MfKOvoCrSxZOwBwFtDnmmh2gbghTRkDzoRn0rRvQhW41v5L3nYetr-9AT3DgfHpOgq_vWftTHzH33s8UNQX0/s2048/IMG_20210102_000017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8nam5TKj0K49RYj-gG1qgkyXintUZ2vrROwlkMcgVmy2tbIlrjuWfr8MfKOvoCrSxZOwBwFtDnmmh2gbghTRkDzoRn0rRvQhW41v5L3nYetr-9AT3DgfHpOgq_vWftTHzH33s8UNQX0/s320/IMG_20210102_000017.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skeleboy with some carvings made by the ancient Dinosaur Kings</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Dinosaurs</b></div><div>A bit of an outlier for this post, because the dinosaurs are more or less all dead. Once the rulers of the eastern satrapies and other lands before the time of the Conquering King, many of them were killed or forced into hiding once they were defeated by his armies, either by his very soldiers or by their human subjects' retribution. Today, they are little more than carvings on walls and rumors of ancient tombs.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Beasts and Birds</b></div><div>Yknow, animals. I wasn't going to include them in this post because I feel like it's kinda self explanatory that animals exist in the setting, but I figured hey why not I can still say some stuff about some weirdos. Obviously, most beasts and birds are just normal animals, but King of Kings has some unusual creatures, whether they are fictional animals that are still more or less comparable to real world things like the <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/09/lizardmen-of-eastern-satrapies.html">lizardmen</a> herded and bred by the Dinosaur Kings, or intelligent beasts like manticores or <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/11/on-pigs.html">pigmen</a>, or birds so beautiful that their plumage inspires awe like the <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-huma-bird.html">huma</a>, or monotremes like gryphons, owlbears, or the swamp dwelling platypus. Just figured I'd note them.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhroMQTW2leqCTNzDaJn2LPcoHxUYSjU9vlmYzl_0g2rjKzeSDG9dCfiDIjQaJUfoQDa47MabQyO7vVQ6q40EzmSWskxOdshImeBAw-OalKBeM0rOFHwCWDY_-_85DBSf5ikk4e1xpSDtbKC0SxMSQ-uOQzDHbmWp-fE-d-MrJwrhHC6bNnk8Crtf/s1452/byzantine_elf_by_libra_marig_ddid6bx-fullview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1452" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhroMQTW2leqCTNzDaJn2LPcoHxUYSjU9vlmYzl_0g2rjKzeSDG9dCfiDIjQaJUfoQDa47MabQyO7vVQ6q40EzmSWskxOdshImeBAw-OalKBeM0rOFHwCWDY_-_85DBSf5ikk4e1xpSDtbKC0SxMSQ-uOQzDHbmWp-fE-d-MrJwrhHC6bNnk8Crtf/s320/byzantine_elf_by_libra_marig_ddid6bx-fullview.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what came up when I googled "byzantine elf". <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/libra-marig/art/Byzantine-elf-816908109">Source</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Elves, namely the Gnostic Elves</b></div><div>A last but not least, the newcomers on the scene, the Gnostic Elves. The Gnostic Elves rule an empire directly to the west of the Enlightened Empire, the two neighbors being in a constant slow and grinding war that has been going on for generations. They took over the western archipelago and their portions of the mainland a few centuries ago, having come in from across the sea on pale white boats. They wrap themselves up in full body coverings and often wear masks, and believe that the flesh is sinful and must be destroyed, and that through ascertaining hidden knowledge the material world can be transcended. There are, however, heretic sects of elves who reject that gnosis, most notably the Hedonist Elves who dwell underground in isolated colonies.</div><div><br /></div><div>I know I sound like a broken record but yeah keep an eye out for more posts about the gnostic elves and about the never-ending war between the gnostic elves and the enlightened empire. The Gnostic Elves have taken a lot of inspiration from a variety of sources: obviously their religion is derived from ancient Gnosticism, while visually and with regards to their role in the fictional world they take cues from the Eastern Roman Empire (for which I really like to refer to <i>The World of Late Antiquity </i>by Peter Brown and the <i>History</i> and <i>Secret History</i> of Prokopios), and their history of having come here from across the ocean to conquer takes inspiration from the Tarascans/Pur茅pecha of Mexico who have a similar story of coming from across the Pacific, and the Seljuqs who conquered Anatolia from Central Asia.</div><div><br /></div><div>And that's it! Those eight inhabitants of the world are going to serve more or less as a guide for my world building and adventure location making, and a bit of a taste of some posts to come as I elaborate on some more of these in more detail! Hope you have a lovely day!</div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </div> <div class='post-footer'> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'> <span class='post-author vcard'> Posted by <span class='fn' itemprop='author' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/Person'> <meta content='https://www.blogger.com/profile/17843700572318878635' itemprop='url'/> <a class='g-profile' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/17843700572318878635' rel='author' title='author profile'> <span itemprop='name'>Marsworms</span> </a> </span> </span> <span class='post-timestamp'> at <meta content='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/08/inhabitants-of-world-peoples-of-king-of.html' itemprop='url'/> <a class='timestamp-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/08/inhabitants-of-world-peoples-of-king-of.html' rel='bookmark' title='permanent link'><abbr class='published' itemprop='datePublished' title='2022-08-27T12:55:00-07:00'>12:55 PM</abbr></a> </span> <span class='post-comment-link'> <a class='comment-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/08/inhabitants-of-world-peoples-of-king-of.html#comment-form' onclick=''> No comments: </a> </span> <span class='post-icons'> <span class='item-control blog-admin pid-251081821'> <a href='https://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=4899052002336069071&from=pencil' title='Edit Post'> <img alt='' class='icon-action' height='18' src='https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif' width='18'/> </a> </span> </span> <div class='post-share-buttons goog-inline-block'> <a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-email' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=4899052002336069071&target=email' target='_blank' title='Email This'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Email This</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-blog' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=4899052002336069071&target=blog' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=270,width=475"); 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though it will be making a valiant return soon enough), but for the most part it has been left rather vaguely sketched out. For the most part, it has only been a location to gather rumors and then return to after an expedition is done to give tribute to the group's patron, Farzaneh Taburi. While there has been tidbits of flavor here and there, I wanted to develop it into a more fully fledged location, and one that can possibly be a location for some adventure if the players so desire.<div><br /></div><div>So without further ado here's some notes on the city, along with descriptions for the four quarters of the city and tables for random encounters! Additionally, I wanna thank John over at <a href="https://retiredadventurer.blogspot.com">The Retired Adventurer</a> for the advice/help with the format for the core description of the city.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0aQ6zpGxbASTBrq2k_8kGPUzXdbQs6vd5VNQCuNBCC1R90eW-6Rtt8Tp981JWeBO-YZactvEDD31Uki_3ImdM5_-nRFkQQnYtDu-Ig91HrTqdM-AhnBtVonVgJ9BLxZb-3zXnZpSrmLtkNyDVpz52P5D8xNToi9Eyep4IBv-GWCqNZzde-kNjfWYg=s500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="488" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0aQ6zpGxbASTBrq2k_8kGPUzXdbQs6vd5VNQCuNBCC1R90eW-6Rtt8Tp981JWeBO-YZactvEDD31Uki_3ImdM5_-nRFkQQnYtDu-Ig91HrTqdM-AhnBtVonVgJ9BLxZb-3zXnZpSrmLtkNyDVpz52P5D8xNToi9Eyep4IBv-GWCqNZzde-kNjfWYg=s320" width="312" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tabur</b></div><div>Capital of Elburz Satrapy, religious and political epicenter of the east.</div><div>Atmosphere: Old money and old power, political intrigue, massive inequality. Looming stone structures a la Persepolis.</div><div>Size: ~9k souls.</div><div>Demographics: Mostly Shahanistani, small <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/06/froglings-of-enlightened-empire.html">frogling</a> and weirdwalker minorities.</div><div>Ruler: Satrap Gholam Ruyanian</div><div>Major Cults: Cult of the Morning Star (sanctioned), Cult of Mitra (sanctioned), Cult of the North Star (sanctioned), Followers of the Veiled One (banned)</div><div>Major Factions: House Taburi, House Manati, The Temple Reformers, The Snakes, The Mongeese, The City Guards</div><div>Landmarks: Hangman Bridge (river crossing, public executions), Lion Bazaar (major market), The Plaza of the Horse (horse racing and gambling), The Iron Pit (prison and city guards).</div><div>Quarters: The Tigerskin Quarter (froglings, weirdwalkers, and industry), The Charcoal Quarter (the poor, destitute, and craftsmen), The Bay of Red-Feathered Plenty (noble shops and homes of House Manati), the Emerald Eye of the Basilisk (fighting rings, homes of House Taburi).</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZoBeRedvjka-fnmb86RraQYfGYMmp4m_y93uo6WLmqnvbfzs6JEnkfoiSPrGzLrKugYbEQ_vKS9-Lylr0-WuQVIXydTI7H8yJwoMoDxtmiVk9-u_8gcFgdmFC7xItY1o39qTjFAluWGiPEx05G9rah5-8aq4sd-x3HeW7JvOgk-h3VpGeTg0BwFVA=s4272" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2848" data-original-width="4272" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZoBeRedvjka-fnmb86RraQYfGYMmp4m_y93uo6WLmqnvbfzs6JEnkfoiSPrGzLrKugYbEQ_vKS9-Lylr0-WuQVIXydTI7H8yJwoMoDxtmiVk9-u_8gcFgdmFC7xItY1o39qTjFAluWGiPEx05G9rah5-8aq4sd-x3HeW7JvOgk-h3VpGeTg0BwFVA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What one of the gates to the city might look like (the Ark of Bukhara in Uzbekistan<span style="text-align: left;">)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Short Descriptions of Factions</b></div><div>House Taburi is a well established noble family centered on the city of Tabur, but with land holdings and dehqans of many ages spread primarily throughout Elburz satrapy. It is the family of Farzaneh Taburi, the group patron, and thus House Taburi is the faction that the players are most associated with.</div><div>House Manati is the greatest rival of the Taburis, although they are a younger house. While Taburi can draw their lineage back to some of the earliest shahs of Elburz, Manati claims descent from the Conquering King. The jockeying for power between Manati and Taburi is why the Shahanshah has appointed a third party as satrap of the province.</div><div>The temple reformers are a loose collection of priests and temple bureaucrats who believe that the enlightened temples have been taking advantage of the poor and needy and seek to reform the religion and, by extension, the state of affairs to better society. Many of them are followers of the Veiled One.</div><div>The Snakes and the Mongeese are the rival horse racing teams of Tabur, with followings in most of the cities of the north of the Enlightened Empire. Think something comparable to the Blues and Greens of Justinian's Constantinople, along with their gangs of supporters.</div><div>The City Guards are the clenched fist of Satrap Ruyanian, although they are mostly centered on the edges of the city and at the Iron Pit where criminals and heretics are held and executed.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8eU5kZCd7h0yMKtZSk4GeronAgkMEa4B3EkvQldYSeV4DOEZKIfllTZD9cekti0gW8GhGkGb4EMAYqsHqKB3RznFkYFL5LvsNvDR4myVLVMXNqiphTfydk-nBh6bWT75JaE0ZHUHjofuvHPLUwhtCaaW8rImOdeQJs1rSZaqUqZe_nygNY5jKI-MA=s1024" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="684" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8eU5kZCd7h0yMKtZSk4GeronAgkMEa4B3EkvQldYSeV4DOEZKIfllTZD9cekti0gW8GhGkGb4EMAYqsHqKB3RznFkYFL5LvsNvDR4myVLVMXNqiphTfydk-nBh6bWT75JaE0ZHUHjofuvHPLUwhtCaaW8rImOdeQJs1rSZaqUqZe_nygNY5jKI-MA=s320" width="214" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Tigerskin Quarter</b></div><div>Sights: Closely packed brick houses, tight winding streets, frog lords in water tubs carried on the backs of slaves.</div><div>Sounds: Conversations in several different languages, braying of beasts, croaking of frogs, clanging of metal on metal.</div><div>Smells: Burning smoke in the air, brackish blackened water, wet clay, hot metal.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Steel Serpent:</div><div>The official supplier of metal arms and armors for both the city guards and the forces of the Kanarang whenever he comes to Tabur. The only official source of plate armor and other such items in the city, and to even be able to purchase such items requires bribes and cajoling.</div><div>Mail Armor: 150 drachmae</div><div>Cataphract Armor: 500 drachmae</div><div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grivpanvar">Grivpanvar Armor</a>: 1,000 drachmae</div><div>Cataphract Horse Armor: 1,000 drachmae</div><div>Grivpanvar Horse Armor: 1,500 drachmae</div><div>Repairs to any set of armor: Half the listed price i.e. 250 for repairing cataphract armor, 500 for repairing grivpanvar armor.</div><div>Short Sword: (such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acinaces">akinakes</a>) 12 drachmae</div><div>Two Handed Sword: 25 drachmae</div><div>The Steel Serpent is the only place where one is able to legally acquire a sword in Tabur and, as mentioned above, access is controlled.</div><div>Etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Tigerskin Quarter is home to Tabur’s two minority communities: the froglings, sorcery-wielding amphibians from the marshy land surrounding the First City in the western regions of the Enlightened Empire, and the weirdwalkers, an exiled people with no land who are on a journey in search of their lost god (Kusa’s people!). The froglings cheer for the Mongeese.</div><div><br /></div><div>Potter's Alley:</div><div>This is the place to go if you need any kind of ceramic ware or glass (it has been since days long gone that glassblowers were lumped together with potters), and so it is frequented by anyone in need of a container for anything else. Potter's Alley is also on the edge of the neighborhood of the weirdwalkers, their mysterious kilns belching sweet smelling smoke up into the sky.</div><div>For a typical clay vessel, price varies by who is making it and by size. Typical size to price ratios are:</div><div>Very Small: can fit roughly one swig of a liquid or a small amount of solid, 2 drachmae</div><div>Small: a small bowl or oil lamp size, 3 drachmae</div><div>Medium: comparable to a water bottle or larger bowl, 5 drachmae</div><div>Large: an amphora of wine or something of comparable size, 9 drachmae</div><div>Very Large: a very large bowl too large to hold in one hand or even both hands, 15 drachmae</div><div>For glass vessels, add 5, so very small becomes 7 drachmae, small 8, medium 10, large 19, very large 25.</div><div>It is possible to commission weirdwalkers to make ceramics with mysterious properties, for that is the gift of their crawling god. Such creations have their prices determined on a case by case basis.</div><div><br /></div><div>Random Encounters in the Tigerskin Quarter (1d6):</div><div>1: A contingent of burly sooty slaves dragging a hot crucible through the winding streets, holding onto it with heat-resistant gloves and tongs and dragging it on dirty clothes. They are singing working songs and swearing up a storm.</div><div>2: A panicked debtor is attempting to pawn off subpar blades that they say they were convinced to sell by a frogling blacksmith. If they don’t get money for the blades, they’ll be sent to the Iron Pit!</div><div>3: A frogling mother has accidentally dropped the clay jar she was using to carry around her tadpoles!</div><div>4: A group of weirdwalker children playing in the street with clay toys of different animals and monsters. If you didn't know better, you'd think some of them were moving on their own!</div><div>5: A hunched over manservant dragging a cart behind him is in the process of picking up and taking back swords and other weapons for the city guards. He is dissatisfied but afraid of punishment.</div><div>6: A frogling coin lord is being marched through the street in a tub of sloshing water borne on the backs of four slaves. They are going around the streets in some fusion of a business trip and a flaunting of wealth.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrEt1RYKhUo7s-OOrfcMUTIwCIWwuzMI6Cqi3DApC5RYMsv9UiQNpVJmt_TUndasSR0WjmImPZ0P6xdvyQRmkW46gsDuyz43VPlAuMBWh5V6_GdaZa62YWXtuotkz-TkOyq7oU9fe-5fdxAWOrlwFz1kiVRss9YCvU5GqZW8hUTwZtgzfUhW0w5iYe=s1400" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1400" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrEt1RYKhUo7s-OOrfcMUTIwCIWwuzMI6Cqi3DApC5RYMsv9UiQNpVJmt_TUndasSR0WjmImPZ0P6xdvyQRmkW46gsDuyz43VPlAuMBWh5V6_GdaZa62YWXtuotkz-TkOyq7oU9fe-5fdxAWOrlwFz1kiVRss9YCvU5GqZW8hUTwZtgzfUhW0w5iYe=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Charcoal Quarter</b></div><div>Sights: Tenements housing many more families than can comfortably fit all stacked one upon the other, crumbling ruins as the quarter gets closer to the city walls, beggars and carpenters and dye workers.</div><div>Sounds: Plaintive groans, feet padding upon the wet ground, arguments in some house you can't quite see.</div><div>Smells: Water, sweat, smoke from wood fires to make charcoal.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Charcoal Quarter is where most people in Tabur live. It is presumably where most of the players have been staying when not going on adventures for Farzaneh Taburi, at least just due to it being the cheapest place to live. It is also a good source of rumors, namely from everyday lower class inhabitants of the city; most of the rumors that the players have received have come from NPCs centered in the Charcoal Quarter.</div><div><br /></div><div>In addition to being the population center of the city and the poorest section of the city, the Charcoal Quarter is also where most craftsmen are centered. While those who work in industries that require a more forceful and fiery hand, such as blacksmiths and glassblowers, dwell in the Tigerskin Quarter, simple carpenters, bakers, coopers, dyers, candlemakers, and others in similar professions work here. Probably the biggest landmark of the quarter is the great dye works, where swarms of barefooted young women and men with bright stains up to their knees provide color to the spun cloth of the town.</div><div><br /></div><div>Notably also, the Charcoal Quarter is where one can find most hirelings on the cheap. Drachm Street, where beggars and those in need of odd job employment aggregate, is where many such people can be found.</div><div>Example hirelings of Drachm Street:</div><div>Beggar: 1 drachm, +1 hit point</div><div>Light Bearer Boy: 1 drachm</div><div>Failed Stonemason: 3 drachmae, skilled at digging and cutting stone</div><div>Dye Works Girl: 3 drachmae, agile and quick, able to identify liquids</div><div>Tough Bully: 4 drachmae, +1 to hit and damage</div><div>etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>Random Encounters in the Charcoal Quarter (1d6):</div><div>1: A millenarian street preacher, clad in garishly colored robes and with some implement of pain wrapped around their necks and arms. They call for all who listen to heed their warning of the coming prophet. If they linger too long, they will be arrested by the city guards.</div><div>2: An elderly beggar, a veteran of a battle against the Gnostic Elves decades upon decades ago, holding out a bowl for alms as he sits on the corner, unable to move except on a little wooden cart made for him.</div><div>3: The loud sound of an energetic youth harking goods outside of a family shop. They are making these little pieces of carpentry sound irresistible. </div><div>4: A scrap in the street! 2d4 youths (and perhaps their tired and haggard parents) are caught in a fist fight over some perceived or real slight. The only way to find out is to intervene.</div><div>5: A gaggle of dye girls striding through the murky street, their legs and arms stained a cacophony of colors. They seem very excited to go see something.</div><div>6: A giant insect, pitch black from the choking smoke, crawls on the wall beside the group. It can spray a noxious fluid from its behind, and tastes foul raw but delicious when boiled (though make sure to throw away the water after, it'll be choked with coal dust)</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgl2BpzM_H2ocE0p_Kl78iMhs5CVCpF_sGVvtjJegmvCt_tbVkUmTx82lBFmpKvFg7E3n_4EPOBbieBXtDZUf-X9yzniEuo6QmQdAzK3POJCb-wNuM8gDFj7xY41LVaDr9g-ClGFBdohA9pNm2dtZPomgX9XzDCXm0ajBQ4Bagd79EzjGCkOMy6gM8d=s1200" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1200" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgl2BpzM_H2ocE0p_Kl78iMhs5CVCpF_sGVvtjJegmvCt_tbVkUmTx82lBFmpKvFg7E3n_4EPOBbieBXtDZUf-X9yzniEuo6QmQdAzK3POJCb-wNuM8gDFj7xY41LVaDr9g-ClGFBdohA9pNm2dtZPomgX9XzDCXm0ajBQ4Bagd79EzjGCkOMy6gM8d=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Bay of Red-Feathered Plenty</b></div><div>Sights: Houses made of beautiful wood and smooth stone nicely spaced from one another, bright red feathered plumes that loom over the street, servants in well to do garb anxiously going from store to store.</div><div>Sounds: Jovial conversation filled with words that you only half understand, deep guttural laughter, discussions over prices, water and wine being poured from clay jugs.</div><div>Smells: Spices, wine, olive oil, and aromatic woods. The dried out skin of long dead animals and dusty feathers.</div><div><br /></div><div>The heart of upper class artisans and craftsmen, who work in fineries and fripperies day in and day out. Just about the only place here in the east where the traditional luxuries can be easily bought and sold (other than, of course, Humakuyun on the sea, but that city has many more unorthodox luxuries as well). The ancient arts and poetries of the region are represented well in this district. Additionally, the Bay of Red-Feathered Plenty is the center for House Manati, whose scions and princes dot the rolling riverside hills of the district in spades. It is beside the river itself where the most ancient building in the quarter sits, the palatial estate of the Conquering King's bastard son's descendants, the heads of House Manati. While House Manati presides here, they cannot stop the nobles of House Taburi from venturing in; but the Manatis have made as much of an effort as possible to keep their district as autonomous as possible from the sway of the city guards.</div><div><br /></div><div>While it is technically not illegal to set foot in the bay as a member of the lower classes, being visibly poor will result in disgusted glances and refusal of service. If you dress in clothes befitting a higher station than your own, then perhaps you can get by in the wide boulevards of the bay, but being found out as a facsimile of the rich will net you an even worse punishment than simply being poor in the district. Alternatively, you can simply spend <a href="https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/10/patrons-in-king-of-kings.html">Rapport</a> with your patron to have her accompany you in the bay, resulting in everyone assuming you are simply one of her clients or slaves.</div><div><br /></div><div>The bay gets its name from the red feather plumes that loom over it during the day, and from the crimson Parrot-Fiends who haunt it at night, squawking loudly and entrapping trespassers in an unbreakable embrace until guards arrive (although in certain situations this is actually until pigmen in the service of one of the noble scions of House Manati arrive; in fact, the bay has a sort of parallel system of pigmen guards for affairs internal to House Manati). The parrot-fiends are sorcerous undead creations, and can be turned by clerics. The city guards hate them.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3U-dS77wqFR8-PbCTw_5HFVLAzdvFxEKd7kWMDNsEFlyOoLrOj4XAawhqfhdSEjt_YKcIM1viOGY1YPiDPtSIsH4q6aH8RhP1X43-YvZ14aCV_7MoSSh_luDEliCvlv5onBpIlJRLwZZ6zgvGPVG94dhL4FLSiKf1oku2aL16H1sST3JQMAV6rRFf=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3U-dS77wqFR8-PbCTw_5HFVLAzdvFxEKd7kWMDNsEFlyOoLrOj4XAawhqfhdSEjt_YKcIM1viOGY1YPiDPtSIsH4q6aH8RhP1X43-YvZ14aCV_7MoSSh_luDEliCvlv5onBpIlJRLwZZ6zgvGPVG94dhL4FLSiKf1oku2aL16H1sST3JQMAV6rRFf=s320" width="224" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Example stores in the Bay of Red-Feathered Plenty:</div><div>The Aviary of Ashfar Ghen - Large building filled with cages of the finest and most exotic birds. Exorbitant fees must be paid for long distance transportation without the birds eaten by tigers. </div><div>The Herpetorium of Yamsheen the Wise - An unassuming building operated by an old woman from a long line of fine lizard breeders. Illegal gecko production facility in basement, shipments sent to the assassins in Humakuyun.</div><div>The Manticore’s Tongue - A warehouse of spices, owner on good terms with Farzaneh Taburi. Locked up tight at night for fear of robbery, even with the bay’s security system.</div><div>The Silver Scale - A rather new lizard breeding enterprise established by a brineman named Farfeen. Closely involved in parrot-ghoul maintenance.</div><div>Sarai’s Silken Thigh - A purveyor of fine clothes, which supplies the city’s nobility with fine silken brocades and dyed cloth. Sarai owns a dying facility in the Charcoal Quarter.</div><div>Order of the Red Feather Dancers - A dancing company that takes in young men and women and turns them into dancers and confidants. Also sells spy-monkeys.</div><div>The Glinting Knife - A secret weapon supply for the nobility and merchants. Specializes in the production of blades for quick and silent murder. </div><div>Yaghbona’s Furs and Skins - A purveyor of fine clothes, but more particularly focused on items made of animal furs and reptilian scales. One of the few shops in the bay regularly visited by adventurers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Random Encounters in the Bay of Red-Feathered Plenty (1d6):</div><div>1: A foppish young nobleman being borne along on a palanquin, sightseeing around the quarter that he already lives in. He is loose with his coin, and easy to fool.</div><div>2: A poor river fisher on their boat, being yelled at by a port servant in dark robes for stopping in the bay's wharf.</div><div>3: A mysterious palanquin with its curtains drawn in close, only vague silhouettes visible through the thick brocades in the midday sun. Rumors abound as to what is in it; a portion of a noble's harem, a fine treasure being transported from house to house, perhaps even an eccentric noble themself?</div><div>4: An artist displaying lizard poetry in the street. The beautiful words encoded in the patterns of scales on the reptiles' backs are mesmerizing.</div><div>5: A group of burly men in full body cloaks and masks march through the street, carrying bags laden with fineries upon their backs.</div><div>6: A wandering, meandering party of nobles and their hangers-on crawl through the street, wine drunk and with full stomachs.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjA0P0Nx_rHWVdBEfV89leiKI3WPR-jed81RKHPhyBf8iKle6IzbnkJdWmCAjBNgfxjfvRPPSOd52ohAu0FvcoBOcjjmQDaAD2cAIO1tj3aZbGRmGy_wIYnYHVy_SPVEzXTNeCnAauq9Yjo4MmQQ87erPsCSkpy0kteQ7xvHMiD_3Z69JzoJrj91lJ2=s893" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="893" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjA0P0Nx_rHWVdBEfV89leiKI3WPR-jed81RKHPhyBf8iKle6IzbnkJdWmCAjBNgfxjfvRPPSOd52ohAu0FvcoBOcjjmQDaAD2cAIO1tj3aZbGRmGy_wIYnYHVy_SPVEzXTNeCnAauq9Yjo4MmQQ87erPsCSkpy0kteQ7xvHMiD_3Z69JzoJrj91lJ2=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Emerald Eye of the Basilisk</b></div><div>Sights: Houses of ancient stone hewn with the finest of tools, tall buildings painted in bright hues of green, mercenaries and guardsmen for hire lingering on certain corners, members of house Taburi striding in the street with parasols held above them by manservants.</div><div>Sounds: Whispered conversations at street corners, the wind flowing through silken curtains, the muffled sound of fighting somewhere not too far away and not too close.</div><div>Smells: Incense, soap, blood. The fresh smells of the river as it flows into the city.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Emerald Eye is the old center of the city, the part of town that has been inhabited for centuries before even the time of the Conquering King. The crumbled remains of the city's original stone walls encircle this district, as the city has grown far past its meager beginnings innumerable generations ago. At the middle of the Emerald Eye is a hill, where in ancient days it was said a basilisk was born on the night of a viridian comet and a full moon. That baleful rumor kept the pastoralists of the valley away from the hill and away from the river it sits beside, allowing for a settlement to take root. Sitting atop the hill is the palatial abode of the city's satrap, Gholam Ruyanian; at its foot is the Iron Pit, the dreadful jail where criminals and heretics go to die. Encircling the satrap's palace are the homes of House Taburi, the ancient family who founded this city.</div><div><br /></div><div>While House Taburi are the ancient founders of the city, they are also deeply involved in the trade networks that pass through the valley, and in many of the affairs that this implies. The Taburis have a finger in every pot, so to speak; Farzaneh, for instance, is deeply involved in the salt and spice trade through the Great Desert to the south. As a result, there are many warehouses owned by House Taburi in this part of town. One of the more unsavory businesses which House Taburi have gotten themselves involved in is the mercenary trade. While there are independent mercenary companies in Elburz satrapy, House Taburi dominates this area in Tabur proper. This, however, was made difficult by the ban on open carrying of weapons in the city put in place in the not too distant past. As a result, there are those in House Tabur who operate secret fighting arenas and underground training facilities, trying to stay under the nose of the city guards, or bribing them every once in a while.</div><div><br /></div><div>Example mercenaries and hirelings of the Emerald Eye district:</div><div>Great Desert Slingman: 7 drachmae, wields a sling</div><div>Desert Guide: 9 drachmae</div><div>Dog Headed Mercenary: 6 drachmae as long as you let him eat what he kills, wields a nasty weapon</div><div>Spearman: 8 drachmae, wields a spear</div><div>Caravan Guard: 7 drachmae</div><div>Amazon Guide: 12 drachmae, wields bow at +1</div><div>Wrestler: 10 drachmae, skilled martial artist and can perform feats of strength, carries a training club</div><div>etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>Random Encounters in the Emerald Eye of the Basilisk (1d6):</div><div>1: A gaggle of temple bureaucrats and palace scribes striding through the street, deep in conversation about taxes and financial minutiae. Their pockets are weighed down.</div><div>2: A wrestler in traditional garb practicing in the street with large weighted clubs. His brow glistens with sweat and his hairy chest heaves up and down.</div><div>3: A lithe hunting dog on the loose, its leash still clinging to its neck. This is obviously the pet of some nobleman, but the thing will resist capture.</div><div>4: A meeting of functionaries for some business of House Tabur's, discussing prices and trade routes and hazards along the way. Maybe they'd be open to an offer of help?</div><div>5: A group of mercenaries attempting to advertise their skills and prowess without direct reference. Spearmen wielding errant branches, wannabe cataphracts on donkeys. They know a guard is nearby.</div><div>6: A young member of house Tabur striding through the street in ostentatious dress and style, their long cloak held up off the ground by two manservants behind. An older woman, presumably the noble scion's mother, stands at a distance, disapprovingly.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4CGaq0ghjt_bzWbWJYaHEwLo4TyCdraGN5Iz1FioHHW0CycDlx_U7ERFQhdni5ACSGGqLyqtC9NYewa82WeBHl13i4vJ_WlhVYpYeW_MPtmOwWIknhxR6qMcNsWw6gAR5YV9UPvIQgEopeT_0mAdsEn2vz-Ychuck1Doo6EwHx9-dvEnvRAw6Ah5H=s1600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1115" data-original-width="1600" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh4CGaq0ghjt_bzWbWJYaHEwLo4TyCdraGN5Iz1FioHHW0CycDlx_U7ERFQhdni5ACSGGqLyqtC9NYewa82WeBHl13i4vJ_WlhVYpYeW_MPtmOwWIknhxR6qMcNsWw6gAR5YV9UPvIQgEopeT_0mAdsEn2vz-Ychuck1Doo6EwHx9-dvEnvRAw6Ah5H=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>That's all I wanna share about the city for now! Obviously there are more opportunities for tables or descriptions of NPCs or things to do with the landmarks I mention at the top of the page, but this post is long enough as it is so that will be for a different time.</div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </div> <div class='post-footer'> <div class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-1'> <span class='post-author vcard'> Posted by <span class='fn' itemprop='author' itemscope='itemscope' itemtype='http://schema.org/Person'> <meta content='https://www.blogger.com/profile/17843700572318878635' itemprop='url'/> <a class='g-profile' href='https://www.blogger.com/profile/17843700572318878635' rel='author' title='author profile'> <span itemprop='name'>Marsworms</span> </a> </span> </span> <span class='post-timestamp'> at <meta content='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/03/tabur-grand-capital-of-elburz-satrapy.html' itemprop='url'/> <a class='timestamp-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/03/tabur-grand-capital-of-elburz-satrapy.html' rel='bookmark' title='permanent link'><abbr class='published' itemprop='datePublished' title='2022-03-18T12:47:00-07:00'>12:47 PM</abbr></a> </span> <span class='post-comment-link'> <a class='comment-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/03/tabur-grand-capital-of-elburz-satrapy.html#comment-form' onclick=''> 5 comments: </a> </span> <span class='post-icons'> <span class='item-control blog-admin pid-251081821'> <a href='https://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=7757853329280276297&from=pencil' title='Edit Post'> <img alt='' class='icon-action' height='18' src='https://resources.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif' width='18'/> </a> </span> </span> <div class='post-share-buttons goog-inline-block'> <a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-email' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=7757853329280276297&target=email' target='_blank' title='Email This'><span class='share-button-link-text'>Email This</span></a><a class='goog-inline-block share-button sb-blog' href='https://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=2383621001528691557&postID=7757853329280276297&target=blog' onclick='window.open(this.href, "_blank", "height=270,width=475"); 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href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy toggle-open'> ▼  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2024/08/'> August </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(1)</span> <ul class='posts'> <li><a href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2024/08/goin-through-fiend-folio-part-15.html'>Goin' Through the Fiend Folio Part 15 (Shocker to ...</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2024/07/'> July </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(2)</span> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2024/05/'> May </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(3)</span> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul 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class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2023/05/'> May </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(2)</span> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2023/04/'> April </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(2)</span> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/'> 2022 </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(18)</span> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/12/'> December </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(5)</span> </li> </ul> <ul 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class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/05/'> May </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(3)</span> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/04/'> April </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(1)</span> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/03/'> March </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(3)</span> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2022/01/'> January </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(1)</span> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/'> 2021 </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(32)</span> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/10/'> October </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(1)</span> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/09/'> September </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(2)</span> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a 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class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2021/01/'> January </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(5)</span> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/'> 2020 </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(31)</span> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/12/'> December </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(12)</span> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/11/'> November </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(8)</span> </li> </ul> <ul class='hierarchy'> <li class='archivedate collapsed'> <a class='toggle' href='javascript:void(0)'> <span class='zippy'> ►  </span> </a> <a class='post-count-link' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/2020/10/'> October </a> <span class='post-count' dir='ltr'>(11)</span> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class='clear'></div> </div> </div><div class='widget Label' data-version='1' id='Label1'> <h2>Labels</h2> <div class='widget-content cloud-label-widget-content'> <span class='label-size label-size-4'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/AD%26D'>AD&D</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(17)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-2'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/adventures'>adventures</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(2)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-4'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/after%20action%20report'>after action report</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(13)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-2'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/amphibians'>amphibians</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(3)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-5'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/B%2FX'>B/X</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(33)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-4'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/bestiaries'>bestiaries</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(16)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-2'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/biology'>biology</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(4)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-1'> <a dir='ltr' 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href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/revolution'>revolution</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(1)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-1'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/Sea%20Tyrants'>Sea Tyrants</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(1)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-1'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/setting%20concepts'>setting concepts</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(1)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-1'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/sword%20and%20sorcery'>sword and sorcery</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(1)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-2'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/ten%20room%20dungeons'>ten room dungeons</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(2)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-1'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/Teufelland'>Teufelland</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(1)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-2'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/Toward%20a%20More%20Perfect%20Statblock'>Toward a More Perfect Statblock</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(2)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-3'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/undead'>undead</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(7)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-1'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/Underneath'>Underneath</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(1)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-3'> <span dir='ltr'>worldbuilding</span> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(5)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-1'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/wormplague'>wormplague</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(1)</span> </span> <span class='label-size label-size-2'> <a dir='ltr' href='https://savevsworm.blogspot.com/search/label/worms'>worms</a> <span class='label-count' dir='ltr'>(4)</span> </span> <div class='clear'></div> </div> </div><div class='widget BlogList' data-version='1' id='BlogList1'> <h2 class='title'>Other Sites of Import</h2> <div class='widget-content'> <div class='blog-list-container' id='BlogList1_container'> <ul id='BlogList1_blogs'> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img data-lateloadsrc='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sVYc0Te4CBp1ULCXWp-_A3qsHsxDkmYbmSy9nbqO4AMo_8AXuvZlSorP7bAwHITEIF7zgVpCgXLLTt8Plx11FleKq2CQ4nm4wjg_yyO0s=s16-w16-h16' height='16' width='16'/> </div> <div class='blog-content'> <div class='blog-title'> <a href='https://nothicseye.blogspot.com/' target='_blank'> The Nothic's Eye</a> </div> <div class='item-content'> <span class='item-title'> <a href='https://nothicseye.blogspot.com/2024/11/six-dungeon-gods.html' target='_blank'> Six Dungeon Gods </a> </span> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img data-lateloadsrc='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vkw4K82oSQTSHSwOePXzcHbTg7eSIigZKXMh1KHpGF-LbFIbaIKmjT9VpIZa_iXVlfSzNtts5LirECL20DS29v9GH3CITnUP_gew7Mh6Ix-9A9GA=s16-w16-h16' height='16' width='16'/> </div> <div class='blog-content'> <div class='blog-title'> <a href='https://thecosmicorrery.blogspot.com/' target='_blank'> The Cosmic Orrery</a> </div> <div class='item-content'> <span class='item-title'> <a href='https://thecosmicorrery.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-barons-bridge-and-troll.html' target='_blank'> The Barons, the Bridge, and the Troll </a> </span> </div> </div> <div style='clear: both;'></div> </li> <li style='display: block;'> <div class='blog-icon'> <img 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