Preliminary Turn 2 Revision Phase
Proposal: The Wovenmen-Self sacrifice of the Woven [Amendment] Difficulty: TheoreticalResult: (2+1)-3=0,
Utter FailureThe Ziggawatts were not the only things to struggle through the turmoil of the ashfall. Many people were forced deep inland and away from everything they were familiar with living off of. As a result, many people ceased living entirely. Those that clawed their way through the initial calamities had to make frequent and dangerous ships to the shores in order to harvest what whales they could, and could get back home with a disgustingly paltry amount of harvest relative to the size of the animal. The waste was, frankly, unacceptable to them, and a couple particularly melancholy and highly decorated WhaleSlayers ended their own lives as a result. The survivors put nothing to waste, honoring the sacrifice of these Slayers by making use of every bit of flesh, meat, and bone they could.
Or at least, that’s the assumption on why the Wovenmen participated in cannibalism.
The recently deceased became a new resource to supplement the needs of the Wovenmen, but as grim as that may be, the resulting knowledge of the human anatomy became much more advanced than anything else in the world at the time. Unfortunately, this knowledge was squandered and nearly lost thanks to the Wovenmen’s own actions. Nothing was more honorable than serving the tribe in death, and this led to reckless behaviors in attempts to die while serving the tribe. One of these acts of recklessness was cutting open one’s own flesh to provide additional storage for whale harvests. Slayers soon discovered they could actually channel some of the stored energies remaining in the whale parts when they were stored within whaleblood-tattooed portions of skin turned into fleshy pockets.
One Slayer had a pouch on his chest struck by a log someone was carrying without paying attention. The sac, positioned over the heart, killed the Slayer immediately and left a smoldering circle in the ground around him. This was all the self-sacrificial Wovenmen needed to see before the implantation of a sudden and lethal option was available to all Wovenmen.
But where does their name come from?
The Wovenmen came to understand that their intricate whaleblood tattoos could course centricity throughout their entire body, resulting in an even more certain death with a greater potential for an impressive discharge. Their bodies became stained with very fine, thin lines of whaleblood criss-crossing their flesh in an almost entirely uniform pattern. The only exception was the “Kill-Swatch” or “Whales-Eye”, depending on how close the specific tribe managed to stay tied to the coast, tattooed onto the heart pouch. Tribal differences also led to the identification of whaleblood as something of an alchemical base, and not necessarily a reagent itself. Skin pouches weren’t only used to store whale parts, and some cross-contamination of less-than-sanitary skin pouch conditions, which usually led to infection and death, instead empowered the Wovenman further.
Empowered by the environments as they were, the struggle for survival against extinction led to a mass consolidation of the Wovenmen - xocolatl provided speed and energy from the west, pine tar from the Riverway tribes granted an uncanny climbing ability, and azurite from the east gifted an uncanny level of reflex and responsiveness. No longer divided, their combined knowledge soon affected every Wovenman and -woman.
Bitter about the squander and sacrifice
not of the self that they observed among the Ziggawatt states, the Wovenmen watched and waited for the right time to strike. The Wovenmen understood that the Bay Twelve Confederation had to be freed from the shackles of a corrupt and entrenched priesthood, and that they were the ones to do so. Their moment came soon after the end of the Thirsting Wars.
Over the course of a couple of nights, faster than any communication would allow warning, the Ziggawatt States saw themselves infiltrated by these superpowered Wovenmen. The Wovenmen used their unique capabilities to scale the Ziggawatts, break into the highest chambers housing the most elite members of the Priesthood, and deliver the glory of self-sacrifice to the oppressors. A simple balled fist beating their own chest was enough to initiate self-sacrifice after a couple of blows, and these cetric blasts managed to all but decapitate Ziggawatt leadership.
The Wovenmen did not charge in to take power, though. That wasn’t fitting their ideals of “humble” self-sacrifice. They chose to build remote temple-towers from which they could observe the land and charge their cetric equipment/selves. Known as the
“Twelve Bays Cabal” and definitely not running the show, Wovenmen would self-sacrifice to liberate the people of a Ziggawatt-State when a leader seemed too corrupt or on a whim (usually the second one) is all. The Wovenmen
did need to sustain themselves as their temple-towers redistributed the population once more, and this came in the form of “offerings” from the nearby Ziggawatt-states. For some reason, the states that wound up shorting or failing to complete their completely willing offering to the Wovenmen were headed by particularly corrupt individuals that wound up participating in a self-sacrifice not long afterward.
Wovenmen are extremely effective infiltrators and…shock troops, but their methods mean they leave their lofty towers only when they feel it’s necessary. As such, squads will be deployed as a
[National Effort].
Fortunately, the Wovenmen are a fount of bio-alchemical knowledge. Unfortunately, it is all kept locked away in vaults at the tops of the temple-towers.
Preliminary Turn 2 “Combat” Report
The north defines this era as a period of struggle and war, and as the Cabal spread out south to the Great Lake and the riverine crossroads of the Interbarrial River Network, a picture was painted of issues in the south being…fairly similar.
Thanks to improved recordkeeping in the time period [GM Note: in-universe excuse to keep the first turn especially vague so you didn’t have anything super solid to overanalyze], historians know enough about this era to piece together a fairly accurate picture of events across the waters.
The people of the Painted Lands lived in an almost symbiotic relationship with their lizards. While not necessarily as diverse and extreme as cave art from the ancient era would have one believe, the lizards ranged in size from a small dog to a large horse, and the duties they were bred for were just as diverse. Most importantly though, these Shadowglass Lizards produced, well, shadowglass. Useless against inorganic material but lethally sharp against living tissue, shadowglass also absorbed blood it came into contact with.
A cult formed, structured around the Voice of Todd - some mass hallucination experienced by those who worked with Shadowglass - and soon their entire society was consumed by their odd faith. Things seemed good until they weren’t. It was the creation of Shadow Brass that brought war to the south.
A man/myth/legend arose based on the stories of Shadow Brass’ creation. The first suit of armor was crafted by a madman and has imprisoned the wearer within it for eternity, forever onward only to be known as “The Legionnaire”. The Legionnaire rallied forces for the Unification Wars in an effort to centralize society and improve the efficiency of the Quarter-Masters and the roads they traded and traveled upon that still exist to this day.
The Legionnaire did not lead the armies of the Beeple, but fought at the tip of the spear instead. Sickly glowing green armor and an uncanny ability to anticipate his opponents’ actions made The Legionnaire untouchable, and city-state after city-state eventually surrendered before the armies of Unification even arrived. When the war was over, The Legionnaire disappeared. Rumors state that he will return whenever a conflict promises to give The Legionnaire endless bodies to pile.
Once unified, the Beeple kept on advancing and developed some form of alchemy using blood and shadowglass, resulting in a volatile powder called brightglass. Brightglass exploded in contact with organic matter, making excavation and “lumberblasting” an easy and often enjoyable profession. The material also glows in fascinating colors sound passes through or rebounds off of pressed panes, giving noise a deep, reverberating, almost angry tone. These panes were used in Churches of Rock and Metal (due to the clearcutting of plants required to keep the glass from getting exploded accidentally) dedicated to the Voices of Todd and Hypno-Todd.
The Beeple ensured the south remained largely stagnant throughout the rest of the Classical era thanks to an abundance of comfort with the status quo until a renaissance of thought occurred throughout the region. Meanwhile, north of the river in the lands of the Cabal, “peace”, “stability”, and “prosperity” brought an age of unity that saw little need to upset the balance enforced by the Wovenmen.
Preliminary Turn 3 Design
The people of the Twelve Bays Cabal have survived and thrived in the face of adversity, and now they are face-to-face with a revolution unlike any other before! An intellectual one! Unlike previous turns, the rest of the Preliminary prompts will ask for a more focused proposal. While additional flavor and fluff to define your people further is perfectly fine, I got all the fluff I really need, so you do not need to actually address anything other than the following:
What technological advancement during the Renaissance was so impressive that your opponents are absolutely, undeniably, unequivocally envious or jealous of you for it?This turn’s Design (and design only) will also benefit from god’s mercy - an impressive project should only ever be treated as if it has rolled a 12, and so it will be. Modifiers will still be applied after the fact, so this is not a guaranteed Unexpected Boon. Difficulties will also be rising for the rest of the prelims until they match the game proper in order to ease into expectations on shorter timelines.
Lightning Whales: Massive physiologically unique beasts that can be found migrating through waters off of the northern coasts. They build static through their teeth as they filter-feed, using the constant discharge to stun their wide range of prey. Excess buildup is discharged when they surface. When unable to process their buildup normally, such as when they are beached, the body builds up a potent amount of energy beneath the insulative skin. If allowed to continue without a "forced discharge", the buildup ruins the chances of any usable parts being harvested. The bones are large and strong enough to provide some shelter, the meat nutritious and ample enough to feed entire villages for weeks at a time, and the blubber a means of maintaining that ever-evasive but equally necessary fire. [Expensive]
-Whaleblood Tattoos: Tattoos made with whale blood. Very electrically conductive, and capable of channeling energy through the body without harming it. [Cheap]
--Storm Dancers: WhaleSlayers who have survived enough to acquire an excessive amount of tattooing and volunteer to redirect the power of the storms and skies away from their people. Practically immune to everything cetrical but the most intense lightning. [Expensive]
Storm Caller Priesthood: The religious structure built off of the Storm Dancers which controlled every aspect of Confederacy life in some way, except it is now heavily overseen by Wovenmen. Like the Dancers before them, Priests are drawn from the WhaleSlayers and capable of great cetric feats. Replaces Storm Dancers. Expensive
Wovenmen: People covered in whaleblood tattoos and filled with alchemical implants that provide unnatural speed, energy, reflexes, and climbing capabilities. They idolize self-sacrifice and will often explode themselves in a great cetrical blast triggered by pounding the Whale’s-Eye or Kill-Swatch over the heart in order to complete their goals. Definitely not keeping an entire society crushed under their heels. Low survival rate of implantation due to infection exacerbated by the no survival rate of their self-sacrifice leads to a limited population deployed in [National Effort] squads.
Ziggawatts: Large complex structures used for just about every aspect of life in the Bay Twelve Confederation. Used primarily for religious rituals and the creation of Charged Blubber Jars and Ichor. The Great Ziggawatt of Ixan is evidence of a cultural focus in Monsoon Point. [Very Expensive]
Charged Blubber Jars: Clay jars full of Lightning Whale blubber that has been charged via Sky Caller rituals. Explosive and unstable. Cost tied directly to Ziggawatt expense. [Very Expensive]
-Ichor: Blubber Jars stabilized with whaleblood. Discharge happens slowly relative to Charged Blubber Jars, resulting in safer handling and more control with a less impressive discharge. Cost tied directly to Ziggawatt expense. [Very Expensive]
Skyfeeders: Ballista-like slings used exclusively in the ritual practice of Bloodyeeting launching sacrificial remains into the clouds. One is available atop each Ziggawatt. [Very Expensive]
Ichor Clubs: Wooden weapons coated with Ichor that discharge on impact, potentially incapacitating victims. [Cheap]
The key defines the borders of the map first, then the river, and then describes each region North to South and East to West, like reading a book.
The Ice Wall (Eastern Barrier): While borders can be quite fluid in nature, the easternmost extreme of the land is harshly cutoff by a monolithic wall of pure ice, 3000 meters tall. The surface of the wall contains somehow fewer features than the barren cliff face: an everstretching plane of blinding white. No plant or animal dares to brave the blisteringly frigid, cutting winds driving ice and snow constant off the wall and toward the continent below.
The Desert of ‘Amit (Western Barrier): The desert of 'Amit shrouds the west in heaps of dazzling white sand. The evening winds stir up sharp, stinging sandstorms which scatter the light of the setting sun and blast the young Cholades Mountain Range separating it from the rest of the continent. Through the heat haze, you can sometimes glimpse the peaks of the Anti-Cholades mountain range, grasping at the far horizon and further reinforcing the rain shadow cast over the desert.
The Interbarrial River Network: The Interbarrial River Network is birthed from two points: the geysers and healthy water table in the Wild Savannah and the runoff and melt flowing off of The Ice Wall. These networks of streams join together to form large, slow moving rivers that steadily meander toward the center of the continent. A veritable (relatively shallow) inland sea forms where the rivers meet in the Vale of Waters and proceeds to divert both toward the north and south. Tributaries and distributaries line the entire calm, slow-flowing river, providing the only real navigational issue along the equally calm riverbanks. The arterial river flowing north and south empties into the Northern and Southern Oceans. The Great Lake manages to regulate flow during the wetter northern seasons, providing a steady and reliable flood pattern across the continent and keeping the extreme wet or dry seasons from impacting the reliability of the River Network throughout the region.
THIS IS YOU Monsoon Point (North Capital/Bay12): This area point is bounded by its impressive coast containing multiple natural harbours. Monsoon Point is so named because winds that come off of the coast, off of 'Amit north of the Cholades, and off of the Icewall contact to create a spectacularly broad storm network which ensures Monsoon Point is constantly lashed with rain. An extremely rainy season dominates nine months out of the year, followed by three months of the year that can't accurately be called a dry season as much as a "less rainy season". The landscape in Monsoon Point itself is surprisingly dramatic as a result - a hilly region has been carved out into a land of beautiful red cliffs, with intense and verdant greenery blooming across the slopes - the sole exception being the incredibly wide Interbarrial River Network and the gentle, flat lands that follow it.
Choladaic Rainforest (West Front, North): This region is absolutely dominated by a tropical rainforest. While most definitely less waterlogged than the areas to the northeast and east, it is still a rainforest - you can still expect to get soaked. The tropical rainforest rolls across gentle hills, fed by the Monsoon Point rainstorms which gather here and bowl against the Cholades. While the rain is certainly an obstacle, the unsettling nearly endless twilight beneath the canopy should not be underestimated.
Evergreen Riverway (Center Front, North): The hills in the surrounding regions flatten immensely within the Riverway. The Evergreen Riverway is a temperate pine rainforest - unbelievably lush, unbelievably green, fed both by brunt of the rainstorms coming down from Monsoon Point and the wide, fast-flowing arterial continental river flowing up from The Vale of Water, central Evergreen Reach is... well, it's wet as hell. The riverine environment leads to plenty of mud, fallen logs, ponds, small lakes, and streams, but other than that it's actually quite a pleasant place to be in, if humid.
Frosthollows (East Front, North): Temperatures drop dramatically in this uneven, rough, but beautiful alpine forest terrain. Bitter snowstorms hamper that beauty, driven west by the powerful and biting wind blasting off of The Ice Wall. The deep valleys in this region tend to catch these winds, creating absolutely unbearable conditions within the crags and ravines that crop up in the area. These ravines open up into the foothills and lowlands that dot the area, pummeling them with frigid temperatures rivaled only by the surface of The Ice Wall itself. These Frosthollows, open areas where even the pines refuse to grow, are treacherous, but often the safest and most direct way geographically to navigate the region.
Wild Savannah (West Front, Center): Resting against the shadow of the Cholades and ‘Amit, the land is a savannah of tall wildgrasses and scattered acacia copses. The climate is warm here, but not prone to drought due to a high water table fed by geothermal heat. When one spots a little hillock on this savanna, it is a geyser as often as it is a termite mound. The biodiversity in this region is staggering: giraffes and dwarf elephants in the patches of thin forest, great wildcats and wildebeest patrolling the grasslands. A river cuts this land too, fed by the water table and rare torrential downpours, flowing west to east. The geological activity here has left behind kimberlite pipes, the source of elusive diamonds and other precious gemstones, as well as a fair few rare earth metals.
Vale of Waters (Center Front, Center): The Vale of Waters is where the fresh waters sourced from the east and west join to run north and south. A great lake sits here, relatively shallow but broad. Its waters are flush with freshwater fish and waterfowl. The terrain beyond the lakeshore of brown sand and clay beds is some of the most supremely fertile earth in all the world, a temperate country of low hills and beautifully green grass. The summers are warm but mild to crops, the winters thinly blanket the land in snow for a month or so before melting. Little of the wildlife is dangerous; foxes, burrowing rodents from shrews to beavers, hares and the like.
Glacial Taiga (East Front, Center): The freshest remnants of The Ice Wall’s glacial activity can be identified here; gravel beds, moraines and the like. This land is a taiga of warmly-colored shrubs and sedge grasses intermixed with the occasional copse of spruce and birch, grazed by herds of caribou that alternately can be found migrating to the Evergreen Riverway. In summer, multicolored wildflowers blossom from the earth, areas of which are warm enough to tolerate agriculture. The morning sun lights the crags of the Ice Wall like a bonfire, and sends a glut of meltwater to swell the banks of a river heading west. Beneath the permafrost are vast beds of anthracite coal and petroleum.
Great Dry Sea (West Front, South): Once an ancient inland ocean, the Great Dry Sea is a massive salt flat that exists in a depression stretching from the edges of the Painted Land outward toward the 'Amit desert, where the ground begins to elevate once more and transfers from salt into sand. While outwardly unremarkable, the Great Dry Sea holds a unique characteristic of a deceptively active groundwater environment, forming and dissipating subterranean rivers at will. This results in turning the Great Dry Sea into an invisible minefield where one false step can send a man plummeting into a thick brine pool if he's lucky, or a many dozen foot drop to his death if not. The reprieve for these hazards is the rises in the flats that ages ago were once islands surrounded by water but now are encased in salt, dotted across the Dry Sea like freckles.
Sandoras Thornsea (Center Front, South): This entrance to the Painted Lands is host to a myriad of cactus families and hardy flora that take advantage of the presence of running water - thousands of species ranging in size from a child's fist to taller than a man, interspersed among a splattering of cork oaks and stunted juniper trees. The cacti mainly stick to the banks of the river and the distributaries that break off from it, creating thick bands of cactus that form the main hazard in crossing this region.
Motoro Conelands (East Front, South): Volcanic energy in this region is just powerful enough to breach the surface before running out of energy and forming the squat towers of basalt known as “splatter cones”. Ranging from only one meter in height to over twenty, these miniature volcanoes pocket the land in the thousands. Many of them are still active, needing only a slight disturbance to ooze molten rock from the ground. Despite the danger, the Conelands have long been a source of intense mining efforts - splatter cones contain high concentrations of metals across the entire range of metals available beneath the surface. In the areas populated by inactive or dormant vents, there is a large coverage of greenery that feeds off the rich volcanic soil and the Interbarrial River Network.
Painted Lands (South Capital, BPL): The riverway flowing south from the Vale reaches its southern terminus in the Painted Lands. What began as a clear flow of babbling water has been transformed into an even wider, slower thing laden with sediment. Millions of years of river action have carved a canyon through the country's soft rock strata, sharp and jagged at first but growing as broad as the horizon by the time it reaches the sea. Wandering distributaries branch off of the river, leaving winding shallow bands of fertile soil behind when they inevitably wander off again or dry up between flooding seasons. The land takes its name from the bands of rock exposed by the river to form a panoply of color: white limestone, black shale, and sandstones in pink, red, yellow, and every color in between.
The fertilized highlands beyond the water-carved walls (a distinction less marked as one proceeds southward) are relatively arid, with hot summers and cool winters. Groundwater is exposed to the highlands by limestone sinkholes, or cenotes. Papyrus reeds and olive trees grow in abundance and alligators sun by the riverbanks with regularity as one travels further south. The coastal bay experiences a cooler climate, with sea breeze coming off the ocean to regulate temperatures year-round and provide gentle winter rains.
The sedimentary rock of the Painted Land bears countless karst caves, connected by underground rivers and home to strange species of eyeless fish and cave-adapted lizards.
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