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Thread: Help me with Alerar.

  1. #1
    Do you know my name?
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    Call me J's Avatar

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    Jame Whitizard-Kaosi
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    Help me with Alerar.

    As the continent mod of Alerar, I am going to be working on improving some things that need improvement in the region. In particular, I would like to create three advanced guides, one describing the palace at Valsath d'Isto in greater detail, and one talking about the army and one talking about the political and economic situation of Kachuk.

    Let me be clear on one thing though, this information is meant more for people who would like to have quests where they are deeply involved in the politics of Alerar. If you are a traveler passing by, you don't need to know any of this. If you'd like to attack a military base, you don't need to know any of this information either. A judge is not supposed to quiz you at the end on how much you know about the region. Quick short guides like the ones Thoracis have already written will be put in place in the regions where they are not.

    The thing is, I know many people have used Alerar in some capacity over the years, so I would like to include things that people have already done in the region into these guides. You will be credited for the work you have put in to them, and by telling me your information, you will make your own stories more interactive. I strongly encourage anyone who would like to participate in this to participate.

    NOTE- Any information you'd like to add about other parts of Alerar would also be welcome.

  2. #2
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    Mathias's Avatar

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    Etheria Port and the Black Sails Armada information;

    Since the disappearance of Mathias Vinkuzri and Torin Reahkari, the Black Sails Armada has gone without a true leader for years. They've gone from being a centralized unit to a disorganized bunch of sloppy, careless ruffians. Their alliance with the Red Hand has since dissolved and they fight amongst themselves. The entire armada has degenerated into sections and chapters, individual cells that no longer work in a cohesive formation with one another.

    Etheria Port, as well, reflects this change; Although it has grown into a nicely sized village, the inhabitants of it have become slobs, not bothering to actually restore failing, rotting parts of the town. Only several small ships remain at docked here, anymore, and Etheria has truly become something of a ghost town.
    Where do you move when where you're moving from... is yourself?

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  3. #3
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    Caden Law's Avatar

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    Caden "Blueraven" Law
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    To start with, a semi-improvement/streamlining/etc of the Palace.

    Valshath d’ Isto - The Dark Palace. There were few buildings in Ettermire; few buildings in all of Althanas, really, that could stand up to the architectural and engineering genius that served as the very heart of Alerar. Floor upon floor of black marble extended above the Industrial Mecca of Althanas, a shadow upon shadows in the darkest city in the land. Black smoke poured from various workshops inside the Palace, a never ending reminder of the work that was being done, forever adding to the rancid smog that stayed afloat far above the city. It was a common quip among Aleranians to say that Ettermire was brighter at night then during the day, the lights and fires of the industry giving the city a brighter glow then the small amount of sun that could penetrate the smog during the day. The immediate area surrounding the Palace was kept fairly clean, but the further away you traveled the worse the pollution became, streets and buildings alike covered in the soot and ash of a steam powered city. Yes indeed, Valshath d’ Isto was the jewel of Ettermire; the twisted, dark, black onyx of Althanas.
    What I'm working off of...
    Valshath d' Isto, better known abroad by its translated name, The Dark Palace. To those who know of it, the Palace's very name conjures up thoughts of industry, hard work and innovation; technology and progress that stop for nothing, especially not ancient traditions and dogma. Large enough to be like a small city unto itself, the Dark Palace is the very heart and the wretchedly worn, polished black soul of the city of Ettermire -- literally.

    The Dark Palace is made almost exclusively from solid black marble and granite, reinforced with steel and layered almost a quarter of a mile high, spread out almost as far. The vast majority of its interior is devoted to labs and factories; the sciences and the applications of industry. Very little space is set aside for more arcane things like magic or science, and there are no religious sections at all. Its skyline is dominated by smokestacks and defensive towers, and the constant billowing smoke and steam makes it hard to tell which is which.

    Incidentally, it's a common joke among locals that Ettermiran nights are more brightly lit than days. The Dark Palace, combined with all the city's other industry, puts out so much smog that it literally blots out the sun most days. Because the only time you can clearly see is when the streetlights are on, and because the only lights kept burning all day and night are for roads frequented by heavy industrial traffic, Alerarans are often heard to say, the night time is the right time, if you actually plan on seeing the city.

    The only ways in or out of the Dark Palace are through its five grand doors, and through the railroad tracks that run through the North and South corners, converging in Alerar's largest railroad station at the center of the building. Located directly above the railroad station are the offices of government and, a few floors above that, the offices of the Queen.

    It bears mention that the Dark Palace also extends quite a ways underground. Nobody exactly knows why, but rumors persist about everything from a secluded village of Dwarven-Drow half-breeds, to a heavily defended bunker complex, to an arcane library allowed to exist as a failsafe for the day when Aleraran technology finally meets Raiaeran magic. Speculation is further fuelled by the Aleraran government's denial that the Underwing even exists, despite blatant proof to the contrary.
    Hope that's a help. I'll take a stab at the army next.
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  4. #4
    Resident Pointy Hat
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    Caden Law's Avatar

    Name
    Caden "Blueraven" Law
    Age
    26
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    Human
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    Male
    Hair Color
    Light blond
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    Blue
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    Wizard for hire, freelance alchemist, translator, navigator, and archivist

    Kachuk had nothing to go off but spare details and two RPs. SO!

    The important thing to remember about Kachuk is its history -- which is, coincidentally enough, hard to forget since the Dwarves have taken the liberty of etching it into the walls of every single tunnel in or out. What is today one of the largest cities in all of dwarfdom was originally a glorified concentration camp, formed by the Drow of Alerar after the War of Inference was resolved. As explained by the writings on the wall, Alerar's own historical texts don't exactly tell the full story behind the Treaty of Congruity, nor are the terms very well known outside of the city of Kachuk and the Dark Palace of Ettermire.

    Simply put: History remembers the Treaty of Congruity as a rare, benevolent show of mercy by the Drow. It wasn't, at least not at first. The first version of the treaty relocated the Dwarves of Alerar, by force when necessary, to the Kachuk Mountains; essentially a slow-acting death sentence for thousands due to the scarcity of resources and the distance from viable trade. Whatever they managed to produce, the Dwarves were required to give to the Drow, receiving little in exchange.

    They did the best with the hand they were dealt. They began mining, quickly and quietly and with all the ingenuity of a people oppressed. Two years into the internment, the Dwarves had established a full-blown network of tunnels. Their first act of rebellion, not recorded in Aleraran history books for obvious reasons, was to lure the camp guards into the tunnels and slaughter them.

    It took months before word reached the Royal Family, and months more before the Drow returned in force to the region. The Dwarves were waiting for them. By the end of the first day, the corpses of Vazerith's soldiers had literally formed a barricade at the tunnel mouths, and the Dwarves had tunneled so extensively that it was simply impossible to smoke them out. They had adapted to the mountains well enough that the Drow couldn't dig them out either.

    In the end, Vazerith's cousin, Sindareth, braved a cleared passage into the tunnels and offered to accept a conditional surrender. An unknown Dwarf is famously replied, Surrender? Like hell, Lady-boy! This is how the Dwarves of Khaz-Kachuk negotiate!

    The rest, as they say, is history. The Treaty of Congruity was 'renegotiated' to the point that it didn't even acknowledge a Dwarven surrender in the War of Inference, and the burgeoning city of Kachuk became a vassal to the Drowish nation in name only -- and even that was eventually dissolved into a more formal alliance with the founding of Ettermire. By today, the alliance of Dwarves and Drow has grown so tightly interwoven that it's difficult to politically differentiate between the two at all.

    This is the story etched into the entrance tunnels of Kachuk. Besides going deeper and feeding into the more modern tunnels that define the city, they've gone unchanged for close to a thousand years now. The bones of ancient, fallen Drow and Dwarf warriors still litter the ground beneath the etchings. What's left of the original concentration camps also still lie in ruin around the entrances, little more than sticks and oddly shaped rocks lying in circles around old firepits. It's a cold, barren place of remembrace, occasionally punctuated by fiery orange lights and frosty winter nights.

    Once you get past the Entrance Tunnels though, Kachuk is almost welcoming. Militantly paranoid, but still almost welcoming provided you have lots of money and a high tolerance for heat, alcohol and violence. Kachuk is renowned for having all three in excess, in addition to having some of the most breathtaking architecture in the world.

    Kachuk is, quite literally, a city underground. There are buildings of every sort, some of them dozens of floors tall and others so high that they seem to 'drip' from the ceiling like hollowed out stalactites. Light comes from the dozens of huge torches and boiling wells of molten ores that litter the city, each one owned and guarded by a different Dwarven clan and its allies and vassals.

    It bears mention that despite the average four-or-so foot height limit most Dwarves live with, Kachuk is actually an incredibly spacious place. Excuses for this vary to insanity, but the truth is just that more room makes it easier to swing a weapon. Beyond that, it leaves fewer places to take advantage of Drowish talents for stealth, effectively fortifying every building and turning every street into a potential alley of death in the event of an invasion.

    The majority of Kachukian industry is centered on mining and processing, with a large minority dedicated to smithing metals into weapons and army of a quality you just can't find anywhere else. The smallest, and ironically the most powerful section of the population are the Agrariate Clans, who use magic to provide Kachuk with a stable means of farming underground. Members of the Agrariate are also responsible for most of the local enchantments put into certain Dwarven weapons and armor, and despite their small size, these Clans have a commanding say over any kind of territorial dispute or trade agreement.

    Beyond that, the Dwarves of Kachuk are known for being honorable to the point of egomania. Beards are cultivated into flawless manes, braids and dragontails -- a local term, since ponytail was deemed too girly. Their society as a whole is martial to the point of excess, with every Dwarf learning how to use at least one weapon almost as soon as they learn to walk. All native Dwarves are expected to learn smithing and mining practices around the same age they learn to read and write, and every Dwarf is required to speak at least three languages if they plan on going abroad. Armor is considered fashion in Kachuk, and to have rusty or ill-polished armor is tantamount to being nude. The only exceptions are blacksmiths and on-duty miners, and even they often go out of their way to put armored plates or bands around their beards.

    Magic runs rampant in the city of Kachuk, particularly among the Agrariate Clans, though all Clans have at least a few spellcasters handy in case of an emergency. Geomancy is considered the best form of magic, but the importance of other elemental schools are still recognized; Kachuk's water reserves, air supplies and the fires that make its molten wells and torches possible are all the results of elemental magic.

    Perhaps most surprisingly, the Dwarves have combined all these things into a fanatical love of what they call the Solid Arts -- sculpting and its ilk. Nowhere is this more evident than in the statue of Anon'durr Khazan, the Unknown Dwarf. Easily fifty feet tall, it depicts a Dwarf from the era of Kachuk's founding, wearing the names of all Clans throughout the city's history. Space to etch a Clan name is at a premium, and only a token few individuals have ever been awarded the honor of putting personal names on it.

    Directly above it, and above all of Kachuk for that matter, is one of the most dazzling sights of Althanas: The Shimmering Skies, consisting of more than a million glimmering gemstones of every type lodged into the city ceiling and positioned as they would be in the skies above the original Dwarven homelands. The Clans guard this work zealously, and have been known to kill outsiders just for saying they want a closer look.
    *Thud.* Think I went past that little 'short, quick guideline' thing. I'll do a more in-depth examination of the politics/economic situation in my next post, if anyone wants it.
    Last edited by Caden Law; 01-14-08 at 10:41 PM.
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  5. #5
    Resident Pointy Hat
    EXP: 68,785, Level: 10
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    Caden Law's Avatar

    Name
    Caden "Blueraven" Law
    Age
    26
    Race
    Human
    Gender
    Male
    Hair Color
    Light blond
    Eye Color
    Blue
    Job
    Wizard for hire, freelance alchemist, translator, navigator, and archivist

    Sadly, I'm drawing a near-total blank on any sort of fluff info you could give to the Aleraran military, but I did have a few ideas to toss out on the wall.

    • During wartime, the entire airship fleet (all 12+? ships of it) is converted to flying fortresses, serving on the front lines or acting like long range bombers without the pizzazz.
    • Special Forces. The Alerarans have guns, but I'd guess they're only barely at the point of having revolvers or repeaters right now. Perhaps they employ magic rifle-wielding snipers, and paratroopers using swords and shotguns/revolvers?
    • The Steampunk Mecha Option: Give 'em some kind of magic/steampunk power armor/mechanized walker. Perhaps they're an extremely rare piece of machinery that requires a ritualistic sacrifice or something. The Alerarans only have four or five as Palace Guards because they're too secular to muck about with Ritual X. Alternatively, they could be similar to Escaflowne Units without the Laws of Anime Physics when it comes to blood consumption: Vampiric mechs that drain the blood (and lifeforce) of their pilots to function, wearing out each individual pilot in the span of three to four battles. Slow, clunky, horribly cumbersome, but insanely effective, powerful and damn near indestructable psychological weapons. Could even be relics from the War of the Tap, using the pilot's life force as a conduit to the Tap itself.
    • Combined Arms: Dwarves serve on the airships in the same capacity as marines on sea vessels, boarding enemy ships and (once in a billion blue moons) fighting off enemy boarders. Their small size and high strength makes them perfect for fighting on-ship or serving as paratroopers.
    • Landships. Like honest-to-god battleships on wheels, since trains are limited to tracks and proper tanks don't exist.


    Feel free to take 'em and run.
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  6. #6
    Do you know my name?
    EXP: 38,033, Level: 7
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    Call me J's Avatar

    Name
    Jame Whitizard-Kaosi
    Age
    lets say 23
    Race
    Half Dragon
    Gender
    male
    Hair Color
    Silver
    Eye Color
    Red
    Build
    6'5" medium build
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    Knight

    Caden, thanks for all this information. I'm going to work on incorporating it into what I was working on already.

    Also, you don't need to bust your tail on this. That's my job. I just wanted to, keeping with the interactive nature of the site, allow people to bring up stuff that they had first created.

  7. #7
    Resident Pointy Hat
    EXP: 68,785, Level: 10
    Level completed: 32%, EXP required for next level: 8,215
    Level completed: 32%,
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    Caden Law's Avatar

    Name
    Caden "Blueraven" Law
    Age
    26
    Race
    Human
    Gender
    Male
    Hair Color
    Light blond
    Eye Color
    Blue
    Job
    Wizard for hire, freelance alchemist, translator, navigator, and archivist

    No worries. It was late night and I was bored and there were dwarves having a kegger in my brain
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