Updated map, now with names!



Once again there might have been mix-ups or misses, so just tell me and I'll get it fixed.

Good question. I think it would be fun to have a mixture of players acting as captains and players acting as lieutenants to captains, to keep things interesting. Then there's the case where players could be specialists instead of leaders. Up to you guys individually to decide. As for the size of the mercenary company, I'm thinking something like 500 men, though it's still up for further discussion.

The giant island is too big for a single Ottician state to claim for itself, I'd say. I do want Otticia to feel very fragmented, like the Holy Roman Empire was. If a single state is too large and powerful, then it's no longer an Ottician 'state'. It would essentially be an independent country. Though I'm fine with at least half of the giant island being controlled.

It's not going to centre around political struggle. I do have a main plot in mind which shifts the atmosphere of Otticia from medieval drudgery to fantasy, but how that happens and why is for you to discover as players. If I outright just tell you guys what I have in mind that will be boring.

Have any of you read the Black Company? That's what I'm going for in terms of feel, more than anything. Game of Thrones is a good example for the limits of magic in the world as you know it. That's simply how the setting is right now.

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Otherwise, everything is coming along great, guys. Very pleased with your ideas and contributions and characters.

Something I want your help with, gentlemen, is the religion of Otticia. The almost Chinese idea of a Heaven (reminds one of the Mandate of Heaven) is a good direction to start from, but we should probably flesh out what people think the afterlife is like, and so on. It's all very essentially in terms of character motivations and the structure of society (though we do know it's feudal at heart).

I'm also thinking of using an extremely basic and very simple combat system of some sort, to be managed entirely by me behind the scenes, to make it so that there's no character shields for stupid actions, and action scenes feel risky. If anyone knows of a dice system I can take inspiration from, feel free to point one out. What would happen is I'll take your character's decisions into consideration and do a calculation with random chance involved to decide how well you perform in a dangerous situation. I'll then, in character, write what happens.

I would think that each region would have it's own religious practices, unless you are looking at something similar to what happened with the German states as Christianity slowly went through and Christianized the various tribes.

Once we get a religious template, I'm looking at having my region, for example, have their own take on various aspects of that religion, unless we are allowed to have our own total religion rather then having one main religion that everyone ascribes to.

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The Otticians are a single ethnic and linguistic group in origin. They'll have arrived here with the same religion. While regional differences may be present, it will definitely be cohesive. When the High King ruled, for example, it would be with one strict interpretation of the faith. And everyone tries to imitate the High King - faith would be a big part of that. While current Otticia is like the Holy Roman Empire, you could think of the High King as Charlemagne.

But again, we can come up with what that religion entails together.

Is reincarnation part of the belief system?

Where am I?

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I have to say it's crossed my mind and am very tempted to go that route.

You haven't claimed a spot yet.

Good, I'll incorporate that into the brand of ancestor worship that is being practiced in Friersland.
I think I'll have it be a bit of a matriarchy. I rarely go down that route unless it's something semi-alien.
A society where men of power lead but the greater matriarchy of elder women rule.

Black Company were the first that came to my mind when I read your first post. I love the books that's in the north.
A setting that's the love child of Black Company and Game of Thrones. What can go wrong?

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Say no to genocide!
Save the Nightborne!

What do I need to do then?

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Did you read through the thread? I recommend that you do so as you'll have a very hard time participating if you don't keep track on what others are writing.

You pick a space on the map and design an Ottician province. Some are big, some are small. The common theme among all provinces is that they're ruled by a noble house that claims descendence from the High King of old and they all have various rivalries and fealties. All provinces share the same language and basic culture but you can make up some minor key differences that's exclusive to your province.

Of course, a group of provinces may have a few cultural quirks in common. For example the provinces near the mountain chains may have a great mining influence, or the provinces on the western island may share a very quirky dialect distinct from the mainland.

You might want to talk to one of the the other players and see if you can make a sister province next to theirs, with a special relationship like eternal rival or closest ally.

K, I will work on it this weekend, I want the southwest corner.

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The corner of the map is Bhakhtar territory but you can have the area between the mountains and the sea in the southwest (H2V5) next to Anansi.

Can I choose the little island in the lake?

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That is fine by me, though beyond that it isn't Otticia anymore.

Had some more ideas for the Order State, would like some criticism on this and my first one:

The leadership of the Order and in turn the State is composed of a group of three people, styled after the three founders: The High Marshal, dealing with all matters military, and the Grand Master and Grand Mistress, dealing with all other matters. The High Marshal also acts as a tie-breaker for the other two, who in turn have a combined veto right concerning matters decided by the High Marshal.

There also are three times three rules for the members of the Order.
Three important for every member:
-Keep your word, for the ancestors are watching.
-Serve the Order above all else.
-Always pay your tithes to the order.
Three important to the military members:
-Never refuse the challenge of an equal.
-Act on the orders of your superior without hesitation.
-Spare the innocent and the Blessed Children whenever possible.
Three important to the non-military members:
-Always pay your debts.
-Help those less fortunate than you.
-Always be fair in all matters.

The official stance on reincarnation is that while it is possible it is also hard to prove and even the fact of being the reincarnation of a great person does not mean oneself will rise to greatness (after all, people change).

There are no de facto taxes for entering the realm or any of its cities, but there is a de jure tax on trading inside them. People are only allowed to use special tin coinage that is re-issued at the end of every winter. This coinage can be used to trade inside cities and keeps but is practically worthless outside of them because of the annual change in coinage and the fact that tin coins aren't too resilient (and have a problem with extremely cold temperatures, which can cause tin to turn into a powder). When exchanging this coinage for traditional one a small tax is deducted. When exchanging traditional coinage for the trade money this tax is added so that changing and rechanging doesn't lead to a loss of money (which is a security that tends to attract traders).
Exchanging all currency for trade money on entering a keep, city or market is mandatory; the fine for not doing so is all the non-exchanged money.
Forgery is punished with death.

I like your idea Wabba. So essentially, the State is supposedly composed of descendants of the High King? Essentially, a high concentration of militaristic nobles?

As regards reincarnation, I'll add on some thoughts I've had. Let's take the Cathar approach, and say that Otticians believe they will be reincarnated until they've been purged of all Sin (which they can accumulate through wicked deeds), upon which they ascend to Heaven. If they fall far enough from grace during the reincarnation cycle, they are said to become evil spirits, unable to assume physical form once again. I'll also take inspiration from the Yazidis, and say that Otticians believe their bloodline is special (especially that of the High King, of course). To them, foreigners and non-believers can't reincarnate effectively or at all, and are destined for oblivion.

The priesthood of the Otticians is probably focused around identifying which nobles are a reincarnation of a historical figure, and of preserving the natural order and assisting individuals in ridding themselves of Sin. I don't think the common folk would take the priests that seriously, because only the nobles really care who they were in a previous life - because claiming to be a powerful or notable historic figure brings respect.

On the other hand, if a historic figure is impersonated TOO many times, it looks really bad, because it means that historic figure is failing to reach Heaven. Of course, worst of all is when two or more people claim to be the same guy, which usually leads to a violent dispute if the priests can't intervene effectively.

The High King is said to have ascended to Heaven, and his bloodline helps bring one closer to it.

Interesting.

And kinda yes, though while many of the members of the order are "noble knight monks" a large part of it is non-militant. After all, not every person with red hair and green eyes can necessarily be made into a proper knight.
Also note that the Order Members are in the minority compared to the non-members, as is normal for nobles.

EDIT: Before I forget this again: Are there any symbols or animals that are common in heraldry and/or associated with the High King? I realized that a cross would not really work for a Knight Order's heraldry in this setting so something else to use would be nice.

You're free to make suggestions for the heraldry. A bear maybe?

Since there's so many people claiming descent from the High King, we could do what the Muslims do and also include the High King's family members as having a divine bloodline, even if it's inferior to the High King himself. Though Mohammed doesn't have descendants, many Muslim dynasties claimed descent from his close kin, and pay increased respect to people claiming to be of that bloodline. Would also help explain how your state, Wabbajack, is able to pass off that abundance of redheads as all being of the bloodline.

A bear could work, though I think a ram could also be nice. Maybe a heraldic beast that's a mix of both? A bear with ram horns sounds kinda cool.

Also, Wikipedia has such a huge amount of info on Heraldry, it's really nice for stuff like this.

Capital City: Koenigsturm
Herald: A Black Tower against a Blue background
History: There are three major events that defined the country of Thurn: The Black Raiders, The War of the Twins and The War of Five Kings.

Prior to the Black Raiders, the state of Thurn was actually five different provinces rules by five different houses. When the Black Raiders arrived, so called due to the color of the sails, the people suffered greatly until the five provinces banded together and drove the Raiders off after several decades. In order to prevent them from returning, the five provinces became one, and the King, a former military general, to rule over them, and called themselves Thurn.

This lasted for several centuries until the King died and his two twin sons fought over the right to rule Thurn. Eventually one of the sons prevailed and the other son fled to the south into exile. "My thought is that the exiled Son made a new kingdom in the southern part of the island, unless someone else takes it."

For decades after this, peace reigned until that king was killed in a hunting accident, which people to this day think that the exiled brother was behind but no proof was ever found, with no heir, the five houses fought over who would be named King, and this became the War of Five Kings.

It would be this event that would have the most lasting impact on the nation of Thurn. After a decade of in fighting, the Black Raiders returned and managed to sow destruction and nearly toppled the nation of Thurn. Realizing that this in fighting was going nowhere, a truce was declared and the BR were pushed back. The heads of the five houses came together and agreed that they would change the government. A leader would be elected from one of the five houses, but no house would be able to rule indefinetly. Instead when one ruler passed, another house would take their place. The five houses would form their own "Senate" as a check on the leaders power and to ensure that no more civil wars would happen. The title of King was also abolished and the new title of Baron/Baroness would be in the stead.

Just some ideas that I had for a brief history of Thurn. Comments and critiques are welcomed.

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This is almost identical to the war of five kings from Game of Thrones, you might wanna change that.

Also, the new form of government might be too "complicated" for this era. You could simplify it by just having the heads of the five houses form a council together, and then they'd take turns being the leader of the council.

Furthermore, I think the title of king is limited to those who want to follow the high king's footsteps and claim to rule all of Otticia. You can simply skip the king title and go with baron/baroness from the get go.

I don't see it, apart from the numerology and the hunting accident.

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It really isn't.

The dead King had no heir, which is why the Five houses were fighting over it. Robert had an heir and he had promoted in a letter just who that would be, but it was Joffrey's parentage that was the cause for the war.

Not the case here. Everyone expected him to have a kid with his wife, but with his sudden death and no kids, the five houses decided that they would have to fight over who would be crowned king/queen of Thurn.

Which is exactly what they formed. The Five Houses made a "Senate" or you can call it a council, and the leadership of the kingdom is rotated between them. The key difference is that there is no term limit. You serve until you die, or are removed from office and that requires rules all of it's own.

Now this depends on the timeline of Otticia and when the position of High King was established. Even if it's a old title, my timeline fits in very well since the title of King/Queen was abolished and they have been using Baron/Baroness ever since. So they have abolished the old King/Queen title as part of the whole "High King" thing.

But like I said, I'd like to see some sort of timeline, may not have dates, but a rough timeline of the major events of Otticia.

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