Post by sleepingdragon on Oct 27, 2023 22:12:16 GMT
This is a low fantasy adventure set in a world with a roughly classical/late antiquity level of technology and political organisation. There is magic in the world, but it's of a generally subtle kind.
Your characters are in a region called the Trader Cities, or more romantically the Cities of Trade and Blade, which are mercantile oligarchic republics similar to ancient Phoenician city-states like Carthage. These cities are dotted around an inland sea, the Gulf of Blades, which are notoriously infested with pirates.
Though the setting's inspired by ancient history, there are social differences. There's no division of labour or social hierarchy based on gender. Non-binary people (called dual-souls) are an accepted part of culture - one of the world's largest religions was widely evangelised by a dual-soul, and the concept has spread (even to cultures like the Trader Cities, where that faith is extremely rare.) Homophobia is simply non-existent.
The Trader Cities were ravaged by plague about a decade and a half ago, and haven't yet recovered. Many cities have given a larger role to the slave trade in order to fill labour shortages, while others have encouraged free workers to migrate from rival cities with promises of higher wages, land, and political freedom. There's a generalised shortage of soldiers on all frontiers, which has led to opportunistic attacks and raids from neighbouring civilisations and monsters.
Your characters are among those who decided to leave your homes and start new lives in the Mythrium, the region's greatest city. Mythrium is the capital of a league of allied cities in the southeastern region of the Gulf. You've heard rumours that the Mythrians are once again facing raids by the Hillmen, or Serrites, a warlike people who live in the highlands and mountains east of the Mythrian League.
You set sail for Mythrium from Bosqis, a city in the northwest, in late summer. On the way your ship, the Hydra, was attacked by pirates. Your characters were able to fight their way to a skiff and set off in the chaos, but ran aground on a small rocky islet. You hid there for over a week before you were rescued by a Mythrian trireme, the Thunder, under the command of the nobleman Balzer of the Mori, who took you the rest of the way to Mythrium.
Your characters might not have known each other before setting sail, but you've bonded a little through the experience and intend to stick together for now, since at least you're familiar with each other in this new city. Balzer convinced a friend of his who owns an inn to put you up free of charge for a few weeks, however you're completely broke, have lost all your gear, and are still weakened by your ordeal.
Your characters are in a region called the Trader Cities, or more romantically the Cities of Trade and Blade, which are mercantile oligarchic republics similar to ancient Phoenician city-states like Carthage. These cities are dotted around an inland sea, the Gulf of Blades, which are notoriously infested with pirates.
Though the setting's inspired by ancient history, there are social differences. There's no division of labour or social hierarchy based on gender. Non-binary people (called dual-souls) are an accepted part of culture - one of the world's largest religions was widely evangelised by a dual-soul, and the concept has spread (even to cultures like the Trader Cities, where that faith is extremely rare.) Homophobia is simply non-existent.
The Trader Cities were ravaged by plague about a decade and a half ago, and haven't yet recovered. Many cities have given a larger role to the slave trade in order to fill labour shortages, while others have encouraged free workers to migrate from rival cities with promises of higher wages, land, and political freedom. There's a generalised shortage of soldiers on all frontiers, which has led to opportunistic attacks and raids from neighbouring civilisations and monsters.
Your characters are among those who decided to leave your homes and start new lives in the Mythrium, the region's greatest city. Mythrium is the capital of a league of allied cities in the southeastern region of the Gulf. You've heard rumours that the Mythrians are once again facing raids by the Hillmen, or Serrites, a warlike people who live in the highlands and mountains east of the Mythrian League.
You set sail for Mythrium from Bosqis, a city in the northwest, in late summer. On the way your ship, the Hydra, was attacked by pirates. Your characters were able to fight their way to a skiff and set off in the chaos, but ran aground on a small rocky islet. You hid there for over a week before you were rescued by a Mythrian trireme, the Thunder, under the command of the nobleman Balzer of the Mori, who took you the rest of the way to Mythrium.
Your characters might not have known each other before setting sail, but you've bonded a little through the experience and intend to stick together for now, since at least you're familiar with each other in this new city. Balzer convinced a friend of his who owns an inn to put you up free of charge for a few weeks, however you're completely broke, have lost all your gear, and are still weakened by your ordeal.