The World of Layonara
The Layonara Community => Ask A Gamemaster => Topic started by: oldskooler on September 09, 2008, 11:17:21 PM
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hello all
i'm new to your world (still awaiting character approval), but i've a query for anyone who's interested...
i'm trying to locate the city of Huangin, of which it is said
On the Northern coast of Tilmar lays the wealthy city of Huangjin. (http://lore.layonara.com/Huangjin)
and yet, the maps (http://lore.layonara.com/images/roldem.jpg) (i know i'll draw the Ire of the Cartographer's Guild!) i have been able to locate indicate an island of "Talimar" but no "Tilmar"
nor, on the island map of "Talimar" can i find evidence of the fabled trading city of Huangjin - tho i do see Trax, Rodez and "Terror Village" (sounds like a cheerful place!)
perhaps someone can direct me to the proper map?
a thousand thanks beforehand!
regards,
Oldskooler
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There's been some lore changes since that map's creation (obviously). Apparently that map needs updating. I'll let the loremaster (EdtheKet) weigh in here, but I'm kind of thinking Huangjin is where Rodez used to be. Also, "Roldem" isn't the one kingdom for all three islands anymore.
The full sized Layonara map (http://lore.layonara.com/images/Layonara.jpg) has the correct island names and shows the kingdoms on the isles, though not the cities.
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To further clarify - Roldem is no more. It has been broken up into several smaller kingdoms.
Huangjin is on the northernmsot tip of Tilmar (Talimar, with a retconned name). You can find Tilmar on this map (http://lore.layonara.com/images/Alibor_Tilmar_Corsain_Molten_Vanavar.jpg), as well as Huangjin, and the other kingdoms that were once Roldem.
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Correct Rodez is now Huangjin (and in fact has always been Huangjin) due to retconning.
That map shouldn't be there anymore! :)
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thanks!
is there anything written up about the culture and people of what once was the roldemian kingdom?
(just curious - 'cause i'd created a character from that area, but am somewhat in the dark about the actual details....)
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Two things. One, a question for those even more Loreiffic than I. I've heard the term Rohden floating around as the name for Roldem... Was I mistaken?
Two, an answer for Oldskooler: To overgeneralize, think far east.
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To further clarify - Roldem is no more. It has been broken up into several smaller kingdoms.
...kingdoms that were once Roldem.
Two things. One, a question for those even more Loreiffic than I. I've heard the term Rohden floating around as the name for Roldem... Was I mistaken?
Nope. No mistake.
To clarify even more, there was also never any Kingdom of Roldem, as it was retconned into the Rohden Alliance.
This one is often missed, though, because the name changes happened between when the Alliance (or, in old terms, Kingdom) was destroyed and when the separate kingdoms as they exist now rebuilt and recovered from the occupation; it stopped existing before the name was changed. So this one falls through the cracks a lot.
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are there three kingdoms in place of roldem/rohdem now, then?
(thanks for your answers, btw)
also, i wonder if the three islands each have a different culture - perhaps one is more akin to chinese culture and the other approximates that of japan? just trying to suss out some more info so's i can get a feel for the lands that my character comes from (if/when he's approved)
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Huangjin (http://forums.layonara.com/cities-towns-fortresses-dungeons/130032-tilmar-huangjin.html) would be a good read.
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are there three kingdoms in place of roldem/rohdem now, then?
There are five kingdoms on the three islands. On Corsain, Dragonsong Dominion and Driran Kingdom. On Tilmar, Telish Throne and Bilkan Kingdom. On Alibor, Zuan Kingdom. Corsain is possibly the most orderly and civilized of the three overall, but not by some great degree over Tilmar. What I know about Alibor is basically what I've seen in-game, which is that it is a dangerous mess of marshy, jungley, rivery terrain.
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thanks for the links and the infos. i couldn't really read the names on the color map of Layonara....my old eyes i guess...
so would i be correct to assume that the city of Huangjin is (circa 1422) a part of an empire whose culture approximates japan?
is there in the area an island or kingdom that's more culturally akin to chinese than japanese?
just curious....i'm still thinking about "fleshing out" a first time character, and wasnt able to find all that info
also, is the dragonsong dominion a good-alligned or evil alligned Power?
thanks!
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It may help you feel less lost, or at least less alone, to know that almost no one else knows exactly what the cultural influences are, either. The new information (if it has all been written) hasn't been released to the public (in the form of the new handbook), and there is no indication of when it may be released. The general "it's based somehow on Japanese culture" is pretty much all of what is out. So, it would be safe to assume that there are Japanese influences on Huangjin, yes. That also goes for pretty much anywhere else on the islands.
If it helps any, I've sprinkled a few traditional sayings I know to be Chinese into my RP and noted in-character that they were Rohdenese in origin. That's pretty mild, though, and not like claiming whole cities or kingdoms follow some tradition or whatever. *shrug*
If I remember right, the general alignment of each kingdom's top-level governments are LN for the Dragonsong Dominion, NG for the Driran Kingdom, CN for the Telish Throne, and NG for the Bilkan Kingdom. That doesn't mean there aren't local town governments that differ or that groups of any given alignment can't be found within any of them, though.
Specifically to your question, the Dragonsong Dominion puts a lot of emphasis on honor and order and such, so Rofirein has a strong following there, including among the leaders, who are expected to set the example. If you check out the first paragraph on the Rofirein LORE page (http://lore.layonara.com/Rofirein), you can see that any Evil tendencies in the LN would be more like lawyer evil than baby-killing evil. In addition to the last line - "Aid others whenever and wherever possible, as long as it is in accordance with the law and does not make way for acts of evil" - there is a line currently missing that reads "The common people are the strongest force in bringing order and prosperity to all; we must protect them." So despite the N in the LN alignment for the top-level government, you can see how there's quite a lot of what would be considered "good" in the philosophy. The government is more about maintaining a standard and order (without being oppressive, which is bad for prosperity) than actively "doing good" for the citizens, whatever that means, thus the LN alignment.
Try to remember I don't have the final word on any of this, and I'm only offering the little I know and a couple of educated guesses to try to help you out. I could be mistaken on some of it.
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many tthanks!!
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With the old Alliance, there was also a strong military and navy. Many of these people have seamanship in their blood.
We have a society of fishermen, sailors, shipbuilding and all the trades associated with that as well. Lots of fodder to drawn upon without getting into the nitty gritty of societal norms.
PS.. Likely a fair bit of both pirating and privateering as well ;)
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thanks!
now i've got something to work with....didja know (btw) that one of the biggest pirate fleets in the history of man was assembled around (my memory fails me at the moment, but i awas always fascinated by this) the 18th century or so in china - there was this huge pirate army fleet of like, 100,000 pirates led by a woman who had been at first the wife of a pirate chief but who later gained control of the entire fleet when the old man died or was killed
anyway....'s an interesting bit of historical flotsam...
thanks again for all the info!
Oldskooler
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this is all great! i have gotten some really cool prologue ideas for character development just from the info you've all been so kind as to provide!
i think i've gotta go re-do my character profile/bio now, and hope that i can get it approved with alacrity
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hm
one thing i notice....i was reading the bio of the dragon god Rofirein and it lists at the end, in the 'gods relationship' area that the god of trade Deliar (CG) is "unfriendly" - or at least the two clergy/churches are - i wonder what basis this animosity between the deities/churches has?
seems that their portfolios don't necessarily conflict (tho they're both listed as "protectors" of a sort (one is more mercantile the other martial)
i wonder if this is a cultural thing? old gods and new gods?
the reason i ask is that the character i had envisaged was a lay-member of the delian church due to the mercantile history of the family, it just seemed logical that a chaotic good 3rd son of a petty merchant would be raised in the church of a (CG) merchant god.....and well, if there's some sort of cultural warfare reason, then i could maybe incorporate that into the background of the character.
any thoughts and opinions are appreciated
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you can see that any Evil tendencies in the LN would be more like lawyer evil than baby-killing evil.
makes me kinda think of bureaucratic evil - bad tempered functionaries at the DMV perhaps....heh
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The likes/dislikes of the gods are a bit topsy-turvy (http://forums.layonara.com/ask-gamemaster/133922-how-rp-diety-relationships-w-topsy-turvy-like-vs-dislike.html); it's not the Rofirein hates trade, but more that the Dragon God probably finds Deliar, that smug, always-lucky little halfling, irritating and, well, unpredictable.
Then again, it's not for us mortals to know. ;)
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The likes/dislikes of the gods are a bit topsy-turvy (http://forums.layonara.com/ask-gamemaster/133922-how-rp-diety-relationships-w-topsy-turvy-like-vs-dislike.html); it's not the Rofirein hates trade, but more that the Dragon God probably finds Deliar, that smug, always-lucky little halfling, irritating and, well, unpredictable.
Then again, it's not for us mortals to know. ;)
i see!
it's like my old schoolmaster said - "never meddle in the affairs of the Gods - it makes them soggy and hard to light."
;)
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i appreciate all of your input. it probably helped me save a revise or three (references to a "roldemian navy" would've had to've been amended (they have) and so forth....
so how long does it usually take to get a character approved?
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so how long does it usually take to get a character approved?
It depends. Some days are busier than others in real life, and some are busier than others on the forums, so in the worst cases it may take a couple of days before a submission really gets a good look. The character approvers are usually pretty quick, though.
After that, it depends on how "special" the character concept is. The more fancy stuff added in, whether special subraces or unusual history or whatever, the longer it takes to get approved since more is expected of the submission to justify the special stuff, and then all the special stuff has to be checked out to make sure it fits the world.
Also, patience is rewarded. The approvers check from the bottom up among the submitted characters, so the "oldest" ones get checked out first. Continually bumping a character thread for attention actually delays its review.
I guess a shorter answer would be, "A week is a long time."
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Regarding Deliar and Rofirein, it is only one example in a topic worth noting from the beginning - there are many different angles of the gods, and in this case Deliar is not just "the trade god," at least not to his devout, in his ideals. It is more like he is "the trader." In his role, he is CG, often nomadic, and very anti-oppression in several different forms. If it is hard to imagine a fat merchant combining these views, it's because that image is not quite there... it is easier to think of him as a halfling with a wagon, always on the road... the merchants of greed that use exploitation and more immoral (yet perhaps legal) means of gaining riches would be strongly opposed by a Deliarite... greed as philosophy is more Branderback's table, though it is unlikely they'll worship anything but money. :P
...So the god of law and order does not necessarily mesh with the Lucky Wanderer. Chaos is the enemy of Rofirein. ;) The merchant of fate, always at the right place at the right time for the deal that's best for everyone, probably returns the sentiment. (And does, according to deity relations, anyway...)
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thank you again!
i think i get it now....Deliar is more of a god of the road, and certain merchants, the ones who arent slavers or dealing in black lotus juice or hands of glory (evils), might worship the god of the road and journeys so as to smooth their own ways....
i'd kinda misinterpreted the God a bit...thanks for helping to straighten that out!
i'm not running a cleric or anything, but i sort'a reckon that, just as in the "real" world, most folk are religios to some degree and these gods and deities in layonara and elsewhere probably need big congregations of laypersons to help generate that manna for those miracles and well, it just seems to be a way to help give a little extra dimension to a character....not in every case, but if the hymnal fits...
hope to see you all 'round Layonara!