Either Needed Endzeiten - Cold Blows the Northern Wind [Interest Check]

[Ottoman]

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Another trail of rising smoke, another village laid to waste, another hundred lives extinguished.

But this isn't the first, is it? Hardly so, from Höxter to the passes of Magadan, the maddened northerners raid, sowing death and destruction in their wake. But no matter how many bands are crushed, there is always another. Margrave Wöhlen has levied his men nearly half a dozen times this year alone, and the men grow weary. The fields, once plowed and ready to plant, now lie fallow, abandoned by farmers who have beaten their ploughshares into swords - or were felled by them. I know you have heard what they whisper in the common square and the dark corners of the pub: starvation, pestilence, famine.

Rest assured, the worst is yet to come.

And what of the things in the woods? The villages that disappear overnight, emptied and pillaged without sound of alarm? Talk of Savage Trolls, Elves and worse grip the Ostland, from the eastern shores to the foothills of the Worldspine. Reports of strange beasts and hideous malformities multiply daily, though nowhere stronger than in the west, as if they were drawn there, or summoned…

Yet the world turns, and the Long Night approaches again. Every two months the sun slips behind Maia, and as darkness swallows the earth things best left forgotten stir from their eternal slumber. The catacombs and ossuaries of the land have become more darksome of late, and the priests no longer seem eager to tarry too long there. This is to say nothing of the fanciful tales from the Osiruk, of great cities lost to time in the desert beyond the Spine of the World, and the unholy things there that rise to walk again.

But the Long Night is only supposed to last for three days, and it has seemed to linger, has it not?

It is a tumultuous time, to say the least. As good a time as any for the Elisabethans and the League to be at peace - but for how long? Zofia I delivered a remarkable victory at Darmstadt, and Anne of Niermeer was wise to heed it, but you know as well as I that the Elisabethans will never yield, never stop. Their God, much less the Abbatial Diet, will not tolerate heathenry in its presence - much less a mutant. What boon Zofia's presence was at Darmstadt may soon become a liability in these most unnatural times, as no doubt it won't be just the Elisabethans who eye her with suspicion.

Marvelous, isn't it?

A storm is brewing the likes of which the land has never known, and opportunities abound for the both of us. A veteran mercenary is worth their weight in gold, my friend - but a seasoned mercenary band? That is the beginning of an empire. It won't be safe, but that's not why you're in the business of selling death, is it? Some of you will die - I'm sure of it - but when, where, and how is up to you. If you're wise, you can emerge from this nightmare with a fortune.

Do with it what you will - your reasons for your price are none of my concern, save only that your work is worth it. I have but one condition:

Don't get in my way.

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You find yourself marching north with Steitz's Salvation, a free-company of men-at-arms - and those who claim to be - to the city of Sagard. Whether you count yourself amongst their number or simply follow their camp, you have, in one fashion or another, weathered the lengthy and indecisive summer campaign against the northmen. Marching with the land's Baron, the lord Karwitz, the Salvation were one of the few regiments that had any professional bearing about them, commanding a comfortable price with the scarcity of options. But even now, as you approach the warmth and safety of civilization once again, a hush has fallen over your number.

With the approach of winter, the contract with the Margrave, much like his campaign, is over.

To some it is no doubt a cause of celebration - a chance to collect their pay, and enjoy the earthly comforts of life, if only for another winter - but not all share such sentiment. Debts to be paid, food to eat, or avarice alone, there are several among you who rely on the consistency of conflict. No matter the case, there is no better place to start for either than Sagard's market square, and the alehouses that surround it.

For the first time in weeks - or months - you feel the warmth of a fiery hearth, and can drink something other than stale wine and the quartermaster's hooch. Even if it is only bread in a tankard, it is still something else, and even that is nothing in comparison to the savory-sweet scent wafting from the cauldron by the fire. But such divine sensations were pushed aside as one voice carried itself to your ears.

"Forty marks for six volunteers, each. The Baron has immediate need of you."

A she-elf bedecked in plate and maile. This far north, dressed in the manner of Men?

But, forty sovereigns can go a long way…

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[WishBone]

Consider me very interested.

 

[humon]

Sounds pretty hardcore. I'm in.

 

[Ottoman]

Alright, I hope to have some lore posts up tomorrow morning, perhaps even the OOC.

I'm glad y'all like the way it sounds!

For the record we don't have to have six people - we can absolutely start with less.

 

[WishBone]

I have a number of ideas what characters I can use. Happy to bounce allot of ideas with others for both connections etc.

 

[humon]

Looking forward to the lore posts. From what you've written so far, it feels like some combination of Conan, Lord of the Rings, Myth: The Fallen Lords, and the collapse of Rome. With that as a basis, I'm thinking of some kind of hard-boiled warrior type who's seen some shit. As grim as Conan, and as disillusioned as Malcolm Reynolds.

EDIT: And he will look like this guy: (helmet on) and (helmet off)

 

[Ottoman]

Awesome guys!

I promise I didn't forget this morning, I was knee-deep in getting stuff ready to go, and I did a couple (see; a lot more than two) hours doing graphics work. However! Tomorrow morning will bring both the Realms of Mankind - featuring information on the Litthauf League, Elisabethan Order, and the Northern Realms - as well as the races of the Ostland. Likely more as well, but those are my goals to get up.

Looking forward to the lore posts. From what you've written so far, it feels like some combination of Conan, Lord of the Rings, Myth: The Fallen Lords, and the collapse of Rome. With that as a basis, I'm thinking of some kind of hard-boiled warrior type who's seen some shit. As grim as Conan, and as disillusioned as Malcolm Reynolds.

EDIT: And he will look like this guy: (helmet on) and (helmet off)

This guy gets it - honestly, you're tracking pretty spot on. REH, JRRT, and history remain major influences and inspirations of mine, and the look for your character thus far is

But, I just wanted to let y'all know I haven't forgotten, just got to juggle work and home and still crank it out.

 

[WishBone]

Take your time.

 

[Ottoman]

Hey fellas - I didn't get as much done this morning as I'd like, but I do have a post on the peoples of the setting to offer.

Thanks for being so patient, I hope it's worth the wait!

The guy I carpool to work with had an appointment this morning, so got home an hour late, but also got a solid hour nap in. Six of one, half dozen of the other I suppose.

Still hoping to get the Realms of Men out soon - been helping the better half study for CNA boards, so my evenings aren't available to work, but the weekend draws closer...

 

[WishBone]

Is it possible ro introduce other factions or outside nations?

 

[Ottoman]

New major factions in the Ostland, no, already pretty jam packed, for the lands beyond possibly, but those places will come into play far more down the road. Thanks to the geography of the planet, the currents of the sea, and the general hostility of the world, travel to places beyond the Ostland is difficult at best - but there's a lot of development that still needs to be done out there, and there will be plots down the road involving other lands.

Now, minor factions within the realms that exist are wide open - noble houses for the League or the dwarfs, different Khallic clans, etc. - and I'm more than happy to have people make their own, and to help if I can.

 

[humon]

When it comes to naming characters, do you have any guidelines? I see a lot of Germanic-sounding names in this world, but at the same time the description of Ostland makes me think of the Byzantine Empire, which would suggest some Greek names in there as well. With the dark elves being Mongols, do their tribes and language sound more mongoloid or more elvish?

My character is going to be Oster-born, but with a northman father, the result of some frontier raids. So I want to give him a bastard surname of oster origin but a northern given name. He would have been levied into military service, first to fight the northmen, then later sent to fight the Elisabethans, then after that joined a scout cavalry unit operating in the south lands, where he was captured by the dark elves and worked as a slave for them until he fell into the hands of an oster merchant and began working as a caravan guard and then later on as a free mercenary, which led him full circle back to the north country.

Do you have a rough map of the area? I'm trying to imagine what the geography looks like, and the mental image I'm getting is something like China, if you transplanted the Black Sea into the middle of it and flipped the steppe from north to south.

Also you mentioned above that the long night happens every 2 months when the sun goes behind Maia. Is Maia a very large moon? Or is this planet orbiting around a gas giant or something like that? (already answered in Lore thread)

 

[Ottoman]

Man you are speaking my language lol

There are just some rough guidelines for names, they'll be included with the posts on each realm but I'll go ahead and drop 'em early for brainstorming reference:

• Oster - Germanic, major Latin influences
• Northman - Nordic and Proto-Germanic
• Dwarf - Slavic, varying based on the Empire. Myrskor will be Russian, Myrspoz Ukrainian (Kievan Rus, the land of origin), Morava/Drina Serbo-Croatian, Crna Obala Serbo-Montenegrin
• Khallic Elf - Celtic, though I suppose Gallic would be more appropriate. Continental Celts.
• Dhallic Elf - Mongolic/Turkic/Hunnic, Central Asian Horselord Power Hour
• Osiruk - Semitic, big Arab, Phoenician, Punic sort of influence
• Troll - Proto-Germanic
• Averian - Latin, throw in some Greek influence from Far Archaea, but Averian is largely a dead language in the Ostland today, but you can find its roots everywhere.

And, as always, feel free to mix and match esp if you're interested in playing a character with mixed heritage. Language and names are always getting kitbashed together. I'm trying to avoid having archetypal languages for the races, and instead go with more real world influences and ideas, which totally isn't just a parade of languages and such I think are cool.

You're pretty close to target, humon - the League is absolutely rocking some Byzantine vibes, with equal parts Holy Roman Empire and Hanseatic League in addition. The Dhallii are absolutely way more Mongolian than Tolkienesque elvish.

I'm seriously digging the concept so far man - this poor guy has had the wildest Mount and Blade campaign I've seen in a minute. My primary character in the party will also be a bastard, and I've played around a bit with bastard names. People who are the product of unwilling unions, or ones perceived as unsavory, are typically named in the manner of the race of the offending party. Constanze, the half-elf in the alehouse is known to most as Constanze Khallatis, on account of her father's folk. Your fella might have something like Norden - but that's if you want to use that angle. I'm always game to brainstorm concepts of culture and how the society works.

I do have some maps! And that's... oddly accurate, actually. Let me upload them real quick:

Major geographical features.
Political map with region names.
Political map with cities and townships of note.

Aye, Pteia itself is the moon of a jovian, Maia, and the Long Night happens every three months or so when the moon slips behind it.

 

[WishBone]

Id be happy to bring in a sellsword from ouside of the lands, a mercenary but of a former warband - known only as the former Dark Steel Ravens, betrayed when their former backer refused to counter charge at the right moment and throwing them to the wolves. Decimated and cut down to a man, it was by luck a handful survived. Songs or ballards maybe sung, one being that of the Dark Steel Ravens that even in death did they keep their end - not once even in the end surrendering. Those who survived are plagued with guilt that they didnt die, others are seeking either revenge against the former who betrayed them. Others broke and fell into disrepute.

Kalegen - a former member armed with a curved long blade, single edge. Cautious in how he speaks and while mistaken, his accent is thick its clear he has learnt the language being here but there is much even if its not his mothers tongue that he has to learn. Not prone to bias, but also one motivated to action. As loyal to those who have earnt it in sweat and blood and as tactful in any skirmish. Slow to trust any outside his circle of friends, slower to even those above his station to trust. Superstitious and one to follow his gut. Its also now, that his old war wounds are showing that even now the are catching up to him. For those like him on his warriors path, burn brightest but last shortest mostly due to their blood and people.

None of those in his lands live past sixty, few make fifty and those who are at their thirties are at their zenith.
He - a man of forty two winters is starting to see the signs. Yet he yearns and wishes to find more time.

Thoughts?

 

[Ottoman]

I really like the way he sounds, and love the mystery and doom-driven quest! If you'd like, I'd be delighted to collab with you on his background and both find him a spot in the wider world he can hail from, and simultaneously give it some development! A lot of the world (both in the Ostland and beyond) had some level of development, but there's big stretches with hardly any at all.

Kalegan will have a new level of personal investment in the story to come, as he will assist in unraveling the twisted truth of one of the Ostland's great mercenary bands - the Black Banner - and perhaps find answers about his own.

 

[humon]

Looking at that map some more, and how the land is naturally divided by the eight rivers, do you have specific names for each of the octants? And the rivers themselves? I want to try to come up with a history of some of the battles my character was involved in over the past 15 years or so (he'll be starting this campaign at age 30, but he was drafted into service around age 15). The general moves I was considering:

- Skirmishing with the northmen around 15 years ago that shifted the border back and forth for a while but was inconclusive, and ended when a peace agreement was struck (or in truth both sides just ran out of young men to throw at each other).

- War with the Elisabethans around 12 years ago, where my character's northern regiment among others was sent across the river to invade the northernmost part of Lizland, alongside a veteran ratman regiment. They captured a couple of fortresses controlling the river crossing and held them for a couple years before having to abandon them for lack of men to defend them, because there were more intense conflicts going on further south that needed the troops more. During this period my character did a lot of raiding and scouting missions on horseback, expecting to prepare the way for a southward push that never came.

- Around 9 years ago my character was transferred south to help defend Ostland from Dhallii raids that were heating up and costing the League a lot of casualties, meaning experienced cavalrymen were in short supply. He was stationed at one of the southern forts in this area, riding regular patrols, but after less than a year in this position his squad was ambushed and he was wounded and taken prisoner.

- Do the Dhallii ever run fighting pits? I was thinking that around age 24 my character's master became displeased with him and decided to enter him into the fighting pits, so that his death would at least bring in some money. But after a year of increasingly more dangerous fights, my character refused to die, and his unexpected victories ultimately caught the attention of a merchant who made an offer to buy him.

- What are the most common trade routes in Ostland? Everything looks very compact, so I'm guessing most of it is by river between north and south, and then there must also be caravans into the mountains to trade with the dwarves and khallii? In any case, during this time my character impressed his boss with his skill and resourcefulness, and he was set free with an agreement to marry the merchant's daughter and take over part of the business. But about 3 years ago a plague swept through that put everybody out of commission for the better part of a year. The merchant's daughter did not survive, and the business collapsed into nothing. The old merchant hung himself in despair, penniless and alone. My character went into town to find some of the other mercenaries he knew, and see what they were planning to do now.

- For the past 2 or 3 years my character has been operating in the north as part of Steitz' salvation (or whatever precursor there was, depending on how long you say that regiment has been around). Were they mostly defending a specific town? Were they traveling a lot?


I was also considering a few possible related side characters that may or may not come up:

- A childhood girlfriend, the same age as my character, from his old village. They grew up next door and were very close before the military took him away, and he hasn't seen her since. The old village doesn't exist anymore, just some snowed-over ruins now, so my character doesn't know if she's even still alive, if she found someone and got married, or what. She could be living in some northern town or fort, working as a nurse or some other profession. Probably married with kids, but then her husband might have gone north to fight and was killed in battle last year, so she's had to make do by herself since then, doing what she can to support the war effort and put food on the table.

- A ratman he served in the army with during his teenage years. They had butted heads at first, but then came to be good friends, and this guy would have taught my character a lot about the nuances of war. After my character went south, they lost contact, but this guy could have found his way into mercenary work and ended up in Steitz' Salvation. A familiar face that my character is happy to have around. Although the ratman might have understandable reservations about my character taking part in a sketchy-sounding side job, maybe try to warn him that forty silver means going behind enemy lines, which means it's a shot in the dark with a low survival chance, not really worth it if you're playing the long game. My character hears that objection loud and clear, and overrules it.

- A female alptraum mercenary who had worked alongside my character as a caravan guard (specifically as a night watchwoman) before the plague hit. She went her own way when the caravans stopped running, but her way might have led her north just the same as many of my guy's other companions, resulting in them crossing paths once again at some point. Possibly she's working independently or with a separate mercenary band (or maybe she's now part of this infamous Black Banner you mentioned). They had something of a casual "it's complicated" relationship during their time on the caravan trails together, and my character isn't sure whether now she still feels the same way as she did before, considering he more or less had to dump her to betrothe himself to his boss' daughter.

- A troll hermit my character used to visit as a boy, who lived in the forest outside his village and used to tell him stories and pose him riddles in exchange for bringing him food and drink from the village. My character learned a great deal about the north and the old gods through this troll, and by now he must be rather elderly, but he could still be kicking around somewhere, minding his own business while the north soaks itself in blood like it's always done. But maybe something's different now, and the troll is more haunted and morose, fearful of the coming darkness that he can sense on the wind. Dark magic that he can smell like rotten food. If he were to get any chance to meet my character again before he dies, he would want to use the opportunity to warn him of what's coming.

 

[Pyxie]

Ooh! How nostalgic this is and reminiscent of my own world. I would love to join! You mentioned names, by the way; and a good source for that is called Fantasy Name Generators. If you are looking for original languages, Chaotic Shiny: Language Mixer has brilliant resources as well as Vulgarlang.com (where I bought my own license to create my own original languages for Satira). Artbreeder also has fantastic tools for creating character face claims.
EDIT: I have pa-lenty of applicable characters on my Soul Enclave I might include in this role-play as well, though they may have to be slightly adjusted.

 

[Dhaeric]

I know I'm still a total site newbie (though not an RP newbie), but I'm super invested in this already after scouring both threads, and would love to join this and collab if you'll have me!

 

[Ottoman]

Sorry, I had to gush over the interest - thank you guys!

Alright humon, you got a big post, and I got a lot of answers! I'll get to Pyx and Dhaeric first, and save the deets for the bottom so they don't have to go digging lol

@Pyx Fantasy Name Generators is the GOAT - highly, highly recommend to everyone! I love that website, and I'd be in serious trouble if it went down. I should donate some time. Vulgarlang sounds like a fantastic tool I'll probably wind up sinking some cash into too, I'm trying to make my Inkarnate subscription stretch, but I'm addicted to map-making so I'll probably keep it indefinitely. Artbreeder also sounds really neat, I'll have to check it out.

But past all that, I'd be delighted to have you! I'm more than happy to help on the adjustments if you'd like, I'm trying to get down as much relevant info as I can for the setting but I know there's gonna be a lot of nebulous stuff just bouncing around in my head that I've forgotten to put down.

@Dhaeric Hey, no sweat, I'm brand new myself! Admittedly, I may wind up presenting an RP in a form that's a bit foreign to the site - still learning how things are done around here - but I'd be delighted to have you too! I'm just tickled that you're enjoying it and are interested in playing.

Alright @humon

Looking at that map some more, and how the land is naturally divided by the eight rivers, do you have specific names for each of the octants? And the rivers themselves? I want to try to come up with a history of some of the battles my character was involved in over the past 15 years or so (he'll be starting this campaign at age 30, but he was drafted into service around age 15).

I do - as per both this map and this one! They may get updated here soon though, it's been a while since I worked on them. They're due for some TLC.

The general moves I was considering:

- Skirmishing with the northmen around 15 years ago that shifted the border back and forth for a while but was inconclusive, and ended when a peace agreement was struck (or in truth both sides just ran out of young men to throw at each other).

Alright - I have another map which may be of interest! It's also the first map we'll be working around, the one for CBTNW, the prologue for Endzeiten. Ruhigreich is where a lot of conflict with the Northmen begins and ends with the League, though no one is able to stop them ranging up and down the coasts of the Eastern Ocean. I like it so far though! Seems congruent with what I've had in mind for the region.

- War with the Elisabethans around 12 years ago, where my character's northern regiment among others was sent across the river to invade the northernmost part of Lizland, alongside a veteran ratman regiment. They captured a couple of fortresses controlling the river crossing and held them for a couple years before having to abandon them for lack of men to defend them, because there were more intense conflicts going on further south that needed the troops more. During this period my character did a lot of raiding and scouting missions on horseback, expecting to prepare the way for a southward push that never came.

- Around 9 years ago my character was transferred south to help defend Ostland from Dhallii raids that were heating up and costing the League a lot of casualties, meaning experienced cavalrymen were in short supply. He was stationed at one of the southern forts in this area, riding regular patrols, but after less than a year in this position his squad was ambushed and he was wounded and taken prisoner.

Also dig it, still on target imo! As always, if you need names or background characters, I can whip some stuff up for you.

- Do the Dhallii ever run fighting pits? I was thinking that around age 24 my character's master became displeased with him and decided to enter him into the fighting pits, so that his death would at least bring in some money. But after a year of increasingly more dangerous fights, my character refused to die, and his unexpected victories ultimately caught the attention of a merchant who made an offer to buy him.

I never really thought of it before, but they're certainly the sort of people who would enjoy bloodsport. I dig it! I'm a sucker for gladiator arcs as it is, so you already got some brownie points.

- What are the most common trade routes in Ostland? Everything looks very compact, so I'm guessing most of it is by river between north and south, and then there must also be caravans into the mountains to trade with the dwarves and khallii? In any case, during this time my character impressed his boss with his skill and resourcefulness, and he was set free with an agreement to marry the merchant's daughter and take over part of the business. But about 3 years ago a plague swept through that put everybody out of commission for the better part of a year. The merchant's daughter did not survive, and the business collapsed into nothing. The old merchant hung himself in despair, penniless and alone. My character went into town to find some of the other mercenaries he knew, and see what they were planning to do now.

Definitely the rivers, and yes and no - I guess I really should put a key onto the maps but I try and keep them generally vague, so I always have somewhere new I can tuck in a story. I'd say the Ostland is roughly the size of Brazil, so it's got some depth. There's gobs of roads and byways crisscrossing the land, and most certainly - what routes there aren't to reach the dwarfs and elves by water, they have to go overland.

Also, RIP to merchant daughter. :'[

- For the past 2 or 3 years my character has been operating in the north as part of Steitz' salvation (or whatever precursor there was, depending on how long you say that regiment has been around). Were they mostly defending a specific town? Were they traveling a lot?

I'd say it varied - perhaps some times they would wind up defending a specific town, or meeting encroachments, but others they would be on the move. Either chasing down bands of Northmen or simply providing a threat-in-being. Feel free to think up certain campaigns or stretches of time spent around specific places or geographic features, I can offer some thoughts myself, but feel free to reference the map from before.

I was also considering a few possible related side characters that may or may not come up:

- A childhood girlfriend, the same age as my character, from his old village. They grew up next door and were very close before the military took him away, and he hasn't seen her since. The old village doesn't exist anymore, just some snowed-over ruins now, so my character doesn't know if she's even still alive, if she found someone and got married, or what. She could be living in some northern town or fort, working as a nurse or some other profession. Probably married with kids, but then her husband might have gone north to fight and was killed in battle last year, so she's had to make do by herself since then, doing what she can to support the war effort and put food on the table.

Oooh, I like it - definitely can be worked in.

- A ratman he served in the army with during his teenage years. They had butted heads at first, but then came to be good friends, and this guy would have taught my character a lot about the nuances of war. After my character went south, they lost contact, but this guy could have found his way into mercenary work and ended up in Steitz' Salvation. A familiar face that my character is happy to have around. Although the ratman might have understandable reservations about my character taking part in a sketchy-sounding side job, maybe try to warn him that forty silver means going behind enemy lines, which means it's a shot in the dark with a low survival chance, not really worth it if you're playing the long game. My character hears that objection loud and clear, and overrules it.

I love him!

- A female alptraum mercenary who had worked alongside my character as a caravan guard (specifically as a night watchwoman) before the plague hit. She went her own way when the caravans stopped running, but her way might have led her north just the same as many of my guy's other companions, resulting in them crossing paths once again at some point. Possibly she's working independently or with a separate mercenary band (or maybe she's now part of this infamous Black Banner you mentioned). They had something of a casual "it's complicated" relationship during their time on the caravan trails together, and my character isn't sure whether now she still feels the same way as she did before, considering he more or less had to dump her to betrothe himself to his boss' daughter.

Oooh, drama! I also really dig her character, and perhaps she did become a part of the Black Banner - there's lots of room there still for characters.

- A troll hermit my character used to visit as a boy, who lived in the forest outside his village and used to tell him stories and pose him riddles in exchange for bringing him food and drink from the village. My character learned a great deal about the north and the old gods through this troll, and by now he must be rather elderly, but he could still be kicking around somewhere, minding his own business while the north soaks itself in blood like it's always done. But maybe something's different now, and the troll is more haunted and morose, fearful of the coming darkness that he can sense on the wind. Dark magic that he can smell like rotten food. If he were to get any chance to meet my character again before he dies, he would want to use the opportunity to warn him of what's coming.

Oh Hell yes this guy is my jam. I really, really like this.

Sorry, I want to offer deeper thoughts, but the wife is pulling me away for social obligations - be well all, look forward to talking more tonight!

 

[Pyxie]

@Ottoman: It's a life-time subscription for $15, I think? Regardless, I bought it and have made four original languages for my world of Satira.
As far as character ideas, I prefer to stick with the refined pallet of characters, and may utilize the Northmen and lore of elves to create a half-elf that considers herself a Northman. I do have a question, though - do you happen to have sylphs within this world? I am also interested in creating an ice mage who transforms herself into an ice sylph to blend in and communicate with such creatures.