On Tiroeth: The Map

When I first started the world I had several ideas rattling around in my head. One was the 'mapless' thinking of M. John Harrison and China Mieville (it encourages players to map the world themselves, and have the DM giggle in glee at their mistakes) and the other was the absolute ephemeral nature of creativity.

It occurred to me, when I was creating an odd Sword Coast/Bas Lag/Eberron mashup world called Uelok (still holds a special place in my heart, especially the necromancer pirate city of Aelt) that if I was really being honest with myself, truly honest, it really did not matter what the hell I used as inspiration for a world. Fantasy worlds are quite literally a dime a dozen, so going through all the hard work of making names and inventing a history is pointless, just selectively steal, and if you have a flash of inspiration, add it to the world. Most important of all, was to consistently work at it.

So that's what I did, and wrote up an implied setting of several pages which I could use as a good base to build my world. I blatantly stole the names for my nations from John Harper's World of Dungeons, the name of the world self is a wonky reading of the Welsh word for Realms, and then added my own spice. There are several other influences; a Sumerian type Hill Dwarf culture, Industrial drow, implied low fantasy, my own system of planes (because why should they make any sense), a Roman/Carthaginian empire analog, Dragonborn glass architecture from Matt Colville's Collabris etcetc.

Anyway here is the prose map:

Tiroeth is divided in two. To the east lies Meluha, ancient lands filled with inscrutable secrets, jungles and enormous ruins. Between them lies the Isles - here pirate nations and floating villages comprised of many folk do battle, trade, bicker, while the sea elves of Shajze build their coral cities and fight off sahuagin.

The western landmass is the largest continent: in the north are the Northlands, bitter cold tundras where the Amazons live. Further south is a dark forest - the Stain left by ignorant magical experimentation. There magical beasts tear up the ground and any unprepared soul who dares enter it.

Further south...

You find the Regency - a collection of seven kingdoms with a history of infighting until 70 years ago - effectively one state ruled by the Council of Regents. Mostly human, but the southern regency included the goblinoid Militancy of Trosk and the orkish Vale of Ar’tukhon. Sadly they are no more.

The Akarjan Imperium dominates the southern part of the western continent. 50 years ago they came and conquered the eastern Bayou of the Syfriz and the western Naüdroi elven woods, stripping them bare and driving out the local inhabitants. They fought the southern regency until the first (of many) peace treaties. These past 50 years the border has moved ever farther north, skirmish after peace treaty after battle. Another kingdom was taken a year ago. 

Finally they’ve reached the border of Uru - the Desert Dwarves. The Akarjan Imperium are preparing for a complete take over of fertile lands.

To the west of their conquered lands lies the great desert - tales tell of Dragon-men molding cities and roads of glass.

To the northwest of this continent lies the Jaw of the world locking of the south east of the Sweet Sea. It touches on the Great Desert south, the Stain west. In its drier, south and eastern portion the Emish - desert hill dwarves - reside, building ziggurats to their placid and calm heroes. In its northern portion are the honourable bearded Kventir dwarves. 

Across the Freshwater sea lies Cythonis. Here the gnomes toil away in smog ridden cities to their subterranean Drow masters, in an endless cold war with Ankhyra - the land of the Gnomish clocks and cuisine, the human tribes and the true rulers of that land;  the skyscraping amalgamated woods populated with aristocratic elves, walking across the horizon.

On Dragons: Worg Pup

One of my players found a Worg pup in the looted ruins of the Troskan Embassy (a Goblinoid nation now rebuilding itself under the leadership of some mysterious Mage) and wanted to train it. The player is a ranger, and cannot wait to have a pet. I used the training rules on the infamously unbalanced D&D Wiki - with my own on-the-fly tweaks as we play.

How hard is it to find a creepycute picture of a Worg Puppy that does not look like a wolf?

On Tiroeth: Mirimanx Rumours

1. Goblins eat cats and that's what they sell. (f)
2. The captain of the Sweet Dream is stealing homeless citizens for slaves. (t)
3. Abarran is the founder of the Regency, Mortio Boury. (f)
4. The War-band has a mage who can raise dead. (f)
5. The Monastery Graveyard is haunted. (t)
6. If you wear the tail of a romper you will have a good catch. (f)
7. To have a Naüdroi elf pay full price, simply exclaim that Kaurelyn will provide. (f)
8. The Leylon Merchant family is working with Abarran Lamda. (t)
9. There is magical treasure in the Sewers of Mirimanx left by St Ybarra. (t)
10. The Akarjans will attack again, a Cleric of the Brothers has declared it. (t)
11. A Northlands ranger has a Griffin Beak for sale. (t)
12. The Monastery of Cassyn is keeping powerful magic. (f)
13. Nobody has returned from the Mevin Ruins. (f)
14. The Elves need help stealing land from farmers. (f)
15. The outer farms have mole problems. (t)
16. The Orks are preparing to attack from Orist. (f)
17. A man has found ancient writing on a boulder in the hills.(t)
18. The Guardhouses have a Blood Hawk Nest. (t)
19. Tarr is sending spies to destroy Arrix. (f)
20. A prayer left at a Kventir Dwarf shrine will ensure no drunkenness. (f)

On Distraction

It's almost a cliche to state that the state of technology is using the human condition aggressively against itself. Entire industries have popped up around the anxiety that technology seems to create in us; mindfulness, exercise, drugs, self help, community etcetera. All available from the convenient little black mirror in your hand.

I realised, oh, about a year ago, that I had been choking myself on the sweet syrup of the internet. I stopped, at first, with facebook. Then deleted twitter. I still clung onto one "social network"; reddit. I thought it couldn't be too bad, I was learning so much from it. And I was. 

Every day. 

All Day. 

Most hours of my day. 

And still I persisted. 

I tried starving myself. And yet I still grabbed whatever content I could from other websites. I had an entire list of relevant, slightly clickbait-y news websites I followed - io9, the verge, vice, kotaku, to name a few. I would spend hours in class combing through their newest "stories". I would go back to reddit because it had even more.

I realised that the only thing that was actually making me be addicted to all of these things is the very medium they're attached to: The Internet. Our greatest invention of our entire history - putting thousands of bits of information at our fingertips, and thousands of specialised interests and communities seconds away. A glorious invention that allowed us to simultaneously talk to everybody and change minds around the world. To find whatever we wanted, and see it in any light we wanted to, because on the internet, you are sure to have somebody agree with you. It allowed us to bring such information so quickly to people. We could spread a lie to millions and trick people to believing that they have full control of their own thoughts, of their desires, that they are impossible to fool. It allowed the greatest predators on the planet, our very organizations, to finally become people. Entities with millions of dollars and enough computerpower to bend the instincts of billions to their own goals.

We're living in the arse-end of history where corporations who supply us with so many goods figured out that they can use technology to leverage the sub-conscious of man to their own ends. We're slaves to our own desires, and those desires can be carefully curated on the dopamine highway of the web.

The internet has allowed us to believe that the words on a screen are actual people and that communities are active when they are, instead, manufactured.

Facebook gives you friendship without that which makes it worthwhile - actual people. Twitter gives you the arena of soundbites and arguments without acknowledging that a name can be both a person and not - making you effectively vie against the idea of a person, instead of the tone, growl and blat of a real one. Reddit makes you think that it's constant stream of facts are somehow improving you, by simulating an agora. Meanwhile you're fed the intellectual equivalent of corn syrup - through a mouthtube. Your brain cannot process the vast information it's confronted with.

For us to appreciate anything anymore, we need to learn that the internet is ours. 

We are the workers in a factory we're convinced is actually a spa, our instincts hardly our own.

On Dragons: Flint Giant

I created this bugger quite some time ago...

I don't quite like Giants in D&D, the vast mythology built up around what, at least in fairy tales, are stupid and hulking beasts who stomp on villagers and eat them. Sky Giant? Fire? Storm? They seem removed from what giants are, just a larger type of human.

You don't always want your characters to interact with other humans, because although elves have the nature love and the dwarves have the mining schtick (as neutral stereotypes go) giants really are nothing more than large, imperious humans with a bizarre family tree. It isn't that exciting.

Giants, at least in Tiroeth (tuh-row-eth) are the more low-fantasy type giant in the vein of Game of Thrones or the Biblical Goliath. Huge, angry, almost beast like creatures who live in a stone age reality and generally hate humans.

So, while reading about giants I started building in my mind a type of giant who would basically fling pieces of flint at the party. Not a huge monster, but big, who live in caves in the hills and tend Dire Goats, hairy horses or somesuch.

On Dragons: Rock Imp

I was exploring the veritable warren of caves surrounding the city of Arrix this afternoon when, in a small dark cave, water burbling nearby, I saw a small rock stand up in the firelight and I say! go for my shoe buckle!
The peculiar little beastie had a little beak it snapped at me and chirruped through while I was trying to shake it off. Finally I desisted and cut off my shoe buckle which it then tried to jam into the gaps of its rocky shell. 

- From the journal of the Natural Thaumaturge Aldéric d'Folquet

In planning a previous campaign in my homebrew world, Tiroeth (Tuh-row-eth), my characters had to, well, escape from a city being invaded by the elemental planes, more here. They had to go through the cave system outside the city, and this was just something I created on the spot when they were exploring a cavern. For the next couple of sessions it was a fun little creature to roleplay.

I ran it like a small fey who lives in cave systems and basically pilfers any shiny objects off the party. My groups PC managed to manipulate it by tying a rope to their shoe buckle and giving it to the Imp. It was perfectly content to go along with the party as long as it had access to the rope. Later on it began stealing coins and needles and jamming them in its rocky shell, very chuffed with itself.

One could use it in many ways; it could be the reason why trinkets are disappearing in a castle, or a way to find a treasure in a warren of tunnels (the Imps would be bedazzled in coins and jewels), or a way to give your group a quest, by having it appear with a dangerous - and very shiny - object.

Excerpt From Lord Dunsany's "The Gods of Pegana"

OF HOW IMBAUN SPAKE OF DEATH TO THE KING

There trod such pestilence in Aradec that, the King as he looked abroad out of his palace saw men die. And when the King saw Death he feared that one day even the King should die. Therefore he commanded guards to bring before him the wisest prophet that should be found in Aradec.

Then heralds came to the temple of All the gods save One, and cried aloud, having first commanded silence, crying: "Rhazahan, King over Aradec, Prince by right of Ildun and Ildaun, and Prince by conquest of Pathia, Ezek, and Azhan, Lord of the Hills, to the High Prophet of All the gods save One sends salutations."

Then they bore him before the King.

The King said unto the prophet: "O Prophet of All the gods save One, shall I indeed die?"

And the prophet answered: "O King! thy people may not rejoice for ever, and some day the King will die."

And the King answered: "This may be so, but certainly thou shalt die. It may be that one day I shall die, but till then the lives of the people are in my hands."

Then guards led the prophet away.

And there arose prophets in Aradec who spake not of death to Kings.