Friday, January 16, 2015

Regions of Urbis - Alliance of the Pantheon

Much of my Urbis setting was written many years ago (in fact, I started writing on it back in 2002!). Since then, I've learned a lot about role-playing games, as well as game writing. It may therefore be useful to look at some of the stuff I've written for the setting and review whether it still works as written or requires some changes.

My current plan for this is to go through all the main regions of the setting in alphabetical order - starting with:

Alliance of the Pantheon


Short Summary: "Founded by religious refugees, this fragile and religiously diverse defensive alliance now faces an invasion by the League of Armach."

There are two regions in the Known Lands which are intended to explore religious themes, and the Alliance of the Pantheon explores the polytheistic aspects of fantasy RPGs. Each city-state has its own "state religion" and they used to be very focused on retaining their independence and purity of faith.

Yet all the interesting stories come from conflict. The external source of this conflict is the neighboring League of Armach, which has been conquering numerous other city-states. This in turn provokes internal change and further conflict - the Alliance must evolve to face this new challenge, or be conquered. Yet this change, even in the face of dire necessity, does not come easily. Time will tell if this region can survive, prosper, and become a powerful nation in its own right - or if, once the crisis has passed, it quickly reverts to its former way of life.

Further ideas: It might be worth researching the early history of the United States and look for parallels - how the semi-autonomous 13 colonies gradually morphed into an actual nation, and the conflicts that arose from it. The Delian League of Greece might also serve as a model, as could other periods of history where smaller city-states and nations formed a greater whole.

Favorite bit: The High Castle - because a site that's both a rumored treasure vault and a meeting place for the most clandestine negotiations is a prime adventuring site.

Verdict: Largely works as it is, though it could use some more detail.

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