<div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/9ak4R0f.jpg?1)</div><br/>There once were gods, deities, beings beyond and outside our world.  The older beings, such dragons and undead claim that there was a life after death, that it was possible to travel to other worlds, magic was easier to use and more common, and that the night sky was lit by innumerable lights called stars.<br/><br/>This was all before the war with the gods, when the arch-wizards of the world rose up to claim the greatest power.  Magics of all sorts ran wild across the world, new forms of undeath, chimeric living weapons, and souls formed into weaponry were proof to the arch-wizards that their mastery of life gave them justification in their war to gain the powers of the gods.  Little knowledge survives of the war save that it happened and broad strokes of the weapons used.  By the end of the war though, there were no gods, the lands had been reshaped, and all civilization had been wiped from the face of the world.  The Rend reshaped the world in every way possible, physically, mentally of the survivors, and spiritually.<br/><br/>On the continent of Thwip over the millennia some rebuilt.  While the great empires and nations rumored to exist before were gone slowly cities were built.  The city building peoples in many cases saw themselves as successors to the forgotten empires, returning a world from before the Rend, civilized.  The city building people call themselves civilized and those who do not build cities uncivilized.  It was a simple classification, and under this banner some have marched forward to success, and countless others to destruction.  The world has stabilized into a new era now, the era of city-states.  Dotted across the continent are various city-states, each ruled in a manner they have chosen or had chosen for them.  Some command alliances of smaller city states, settlements, and tribes, some exist no further than their own walls trading freely with independent people around them, and some are nothing more than a minor bulwark against uncivilized raiders, but all share their existence as a, for now, permanent fixture in their landscape.<br/><br/>Recently things have changed.  One night the moon rose full for the first time in the memory of almost anyone living, and in the western sky pinpricks of light spilled out from the blackness.  Across most of the continent nobody knew what had happened or what had changed.  Some found magic a bit easier, and over the coming months word got across the continent that the city of Zakar claimed to have a resident god.  Zakar had for several generations been counted among the powerful city-states and was renowned for their martial traditions.  Often militaristic they were known to control surrounding settlements, made smaller tribes and bands pay tithes and taxes, and raided other city-states for wealth and slaves.  Their slave markets were reputed to be among the largest of Thwip.<br/><br/>With the word of their new god came proselytizers who told of not just one god, but two.  Maighastar, the patron god of Zakar, domination, and rulers of the living, and his first slave Alaya, god of slaves, submission, and the meek.  Besides the proselytizers came raiding forcing more powerful than ever before, backed by more powerful magic users who invoked the name of their god and magical weapons wielded by warriors, the techniques to craft thought lost.  Word came to the larger city states that Zakar housed dreams of outright conquest and was amassing an army and fleet that could not just raid or force submission of other cities but outright annex and hold the lands of other cities.<br/><br/>This inspired fear in many, and from this fear was born a coalition to oppose Zakar and their new god.  The coalition of city-states assembled a force they thought impossible oppose, but on the Neeva Sea the city of Zakar opposed them, alone and without allies or vassals beside them.  The tally of the dead is unknown, but rumors fly that for every Zakarian warrior felled he took five coalition warriors with him.  The battle was a stalemate in the end, the forces of Zakar withdrawing but the coalition unable to pursue.  Both sides began to rebuild fleets and forces immediately, the coalition had far more cities and resources easily outpacing Zakar in rebuilding but new worries plagued the coalition as well.  Rumors flew that the warriors of Zakar fought so hard and were so willing to die because with their god had come an afterlife, and in the afterlife those who opposed Maighastar became slaves and rewards to the warrior who slew them.<br/><br/>Before the two sides could come together in another great clash though the continent was shocked when Zakar came forward with an offer to parlay.  The coalition had been preparing to launch an attack at the city itself but still did not expect Zakar to stand down so easily, or to accept the final treaty that curtailed their power and would halt their raids.  The negotiators for the city of Zakar claimed to the high priests for their gods, Kuetey for Maighastar and Uetey for Alaya.  Even the seemingly meek Uetey proudly and brazenly proselytized that even though they had been defeated with their god the natural order would be brought to be.  That for some it was their nature to rule and dominate others, and for most it was in their truest nature to serve and desire to serve.  In time this would be revealed to all.  It was a disconcerting proclamation at a peace summit but all agreed to the treaty ending the war.  The bloodshed expected by the coalition to pursue destruction of Zakar had been seen as well beyond what they wished to stomach.<br/><br/>In the months since the end of the war Zakar has ended their raids and now their merchant fleet is the one that dominates their waters.  At the same time the call has gone out for mercenaries and adventurers to come to Zakar.  To worship Maighastar is not needed, merely a desire for adventure, coin, or power.  Information brokers, merchants, and spies have swarmed to city in equal measure to discover what is happening.  Thus far little has come out of the city with any basing to it.  An event is being prepared, a tremendous celebration and and competition of sorts.  The call is not one for those settled into their life or tied to the land but those who are hungry for something beyond their reach.  Everyone and anyone is up to vie for positions of greatness and new opportunity.<br/><br/><div align="center">--------------------------------</div><br/>We will be using 5th edition D&D.  Starting level 3.  Feats are allowed.  All players get an additional 500 starting gold.  Alignment is not being used.  Ruler can use any ability score but it must be justified IC.<br/><br/>Kenku are not allowed<br/><br/>Characters will use point buy using these modified rules.<br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">point buy</div><div class="spoiler_body">(https://i.imgur.com/mfdV0st.png)</div></div><br/>I have altered the last paragraph compared to the interest check to give some more informatio as to what will happen in the campaign since it seems I was too opaque and caused some confusion.  I still am keeping most information hidden it remains just hints.<br/><br/>Not everything has been revealed in this post because players will be able to be from basically anywhere, Zakar itself, allies, neutral lands, or even coalition cities and groups.  This means someone from Zakar will know more about the culture and religion of the city than one outside it and I will send them a PM with some of that information.  Much of the plans for the nation building will also only be revealed IC after some time.<br/><br/>Since there are no gods but these two new gods clerics, paladins and other traditionally deity associated classes will be associated with an aspect of the world instead of a god, unless they worship Maighastar or Alaya.  Clerics and others who do not worship one of the two gods with generically operate normally.  Cleric and religiously empowered classes that do worship one of the two gods will get a personal message to provide more information.  Not everything in this new information will necessarily be things they themselves are capable of without multi-classing as well.  Warlocks will generally operate by making a pact with some shard of a being found trapped on their plane but will also be privy to some extra information depending on patron.<br/><br/>Homebrew and third party is open to being allowed, it simply needs approval from me first.<br/><br/>I will be using Ultimate Kingdoms rules from Legendary Games adapted for 5th edition D&D.<br/><br/>Starting BP will depend on IC actions before the city is founded.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Noteworthy Races</div><div class="spoiler_body">Aarakocra – An airborne and avian people aarakocra are generally willingly separated from other races in their great roosts found in lands difficult to trek to on foot.  Building no cities they have migratory nesting grounds most often in high mountains on the continent.  Extremely territorial and tribalistic, tribes will make war upon other tribes or anyone they consider in their territory without cause, particularly if near important nesting grounds. <br/><br/>Poorly understood by most and keeping no records of their own they exist very much in the here and now.  There are some aarakocra found within major city-states having chosen to leave the tribe by choice or by force.  These aarakocra are so varied in manner it is difficult to truly classify them save that they exist almost exclusively within the city states where they find easy employment from their skills in flight.<br/><br/>In extreme cases an aarakocra with clipped wings may be found, unable to fly these aarakocra performed some act unredeemable to their people and was forced to the ground where their wings were clipped and left to fend for themselves.  So far from civilization flightless aarakocra rarely survive the trek through open land.<br/><br/><br/>Aasmir – Said to have once been children of those outside the world they now exist in small enclaves scattered across the continent.  Already few in number generations ago they faced the Rend worse than most and found themselves the victim of reprisal by many.  A result of this, most enclaves exist within the city states between the Dragon Peak Mountains and Neeva Sea, the melting pot region more easy for them to find acceptance in.<br/><br/>Despite events transpiring so long ago they are still often viewed warily by many, their strangeness and origins unmistakable are unmistakable at a glance and are not helped by their generations of ostracization.  They rarely face mass open violence anymore though and only in the furthest reaches of civilization are they openly targeted.  For ancient beings who still remember those outside the world aasmir are often viewed as threats though and so in deep deserts or in lands claimed by the undead aasmir are almost always destroyed by those who remember before the Rend.<br/><br/><br/>Centaur – The masters of the open plains the centaur chiefs guide their clans under the open skies forever on the move as a wild people often regarded as uncivilized.  Generally hunter-gatherers, their tendency towards near continuous travel over the open lands of the world has resulted in few strong connections with other peoples.  Most are wary of outsiders but still often interact peacefully with travelers and settled peoples. This is not assured though, they are avid traders, but for goods they cannot find on their own will just as avidly raid and enslave settled peoples for resources. <br/><br/>With so many city-states trading in flesh and the high price it can bring a party of centaur can mean trade for food and furs just as easily as it can mean a net and rough ride to the nearest slave market.  This has made them one of the reasons for walled towns and destroyed villages just as often as it has meant the salvation of a lost caravan and are rightfully both feared and respected by those near their lands.<br/><br/><br/>Dragonborn – A people with little history of their own.  Scattered from one end of the continent to the other.  The dragons tell that the dragonborn were sired by the dragons in generations past before the Rend and served them loyally as kobolds do yet.  While the great cave tales of the kobolds show this may be true for most dragonborn they reject this as their past and as their present.  They are a proud race with their many small clans having found many niches within the city states or on their own. <br/><br/>Favoring terrain of dragons of a similar scale you will find dragonborn in any climate and terrain, they are not a particularly adaptive people with most not taking well to  dramatic shifts in climate.  Most clans hold a militant arm composed of the second sons of important clan members enforcing clan law within their communities.  In multi-racial regions and cities these militant second sons are often co-opted in the guards and militaries of their homes.<br/><br/><br/>Dwarf – Though not adaptive, dwarves are a resilient folk able to weather great hardships.  Since the Rend this ability has served them well when their great halls were lost or destroyed.  Few of the dwarf underground settlements survived intact and in dwarf hands.  If they were not smashed by the shifting earth or flooded by new lakes and seas undead or worse horrors invaded from above and below into the relative safety of the secure and fortified clan holds.<br/><br/>This would not be their end though as even the dragons and undying say.  Clans came together in peace more often than not and began again, they dug new holds, new keeps, and dug deep into new lands.  Many struck out to join the new city-states rather than face destruction but when the opportunity to keep with the old ways became available they continued on.  They dug into hills and mountains dug deep, for some they say certain clans dug too deep once again and all but sealed themselves from the outside world.  For most they have dug as the tales tell they once did and do business with the peoples above and those they share their lands with.<br/><br/><br/>Elf – A physically adaptive folk, elves can be found in nearly any environment even if only in small bands.  While most will only know of the city elves who can be found in nearly any city-state or perhaps the brown skinned wood elves or ash tone dark elves from below the ground a grand variety can be found in jungles, deserts, or even the icy wastes of the north.  No matter their breed though one of the few tales to survive the Rend by word alone is the tale of the High Elf.<br/><br/>Living within the marble cities that have been reduced to haunted ruins which dot the land the High Elf are said to be the progenitors of all elf folk.  Adapting to their surroundings as all elves do, the High Elf had hair of spun gold and skin of alabaster and were the most beautiful, fair, and powerful of the civilized races.  Within all elf folk these traits may still manifest and these elves are often held in high regard of a better time. <br/><br/>No unified culture holds elves together anymore except for this idea of the High Elf.  Any band of elves found can be as different from each other as they are from the other races.<br/><br/><br/>Firbolg – Considered by most an uncivilized people firbolg are a forest people living off the land in the fringe woods.  Unwilling to delve into the true depths of the deep woods firbolg have regular contact with outside people but rarely welcome them into the lands, choosing to live in small family communities.  At the same time you will almost never find them within a great city except for the most dire circumstances threatening a community.<br/><br/>Instead firbolg tend to deal with fringe communities, towns, and villages which dot the land nearer where they reside.  As skilled forest folk they have much to offer ranging deeper in than is safe for most using their stealth and natural magic to survive the uncivilized lands with guile where mortal might means little.<br/><br/><br/>Genasi – Similar to the aasmir and tieflings in their heritage to beings outside the world but have escaped much of the same level of persecution.  Though it is not to the same degree they have faced hardships in their small communities from outsiders.  Genasi are few in number and tend to cluster in particular regions which seem to have some connection to the particular element of the genasi, otherwise they are found throughout the known world in cities states or smaller communities.<br/><br/>Their innate traits have been increasingly manifesting in recent generations making them a more valuable race in many communities whose skills are sought out by the powerful of these regions.  The genasi have now begun to face a shift from their more closed communities to more open and more affluent ones as they are sought out.  Though they are not the only ones capable of what they do the innate nature of their abilities has granted them a new position in the world.<br/><br/><br/>Gnolls – Another race commonly considered uncivilized.  Gnolls are generally a well traveled and mercenary folk.  Moving in packs that vary greatly in structure from small family units to hordes hundreds strong.  Despite their perceived uncivilized nature gnolls are known to not seek conflict without cause, but they do see conflict as a natural part of life.  This has resulted in a reputation for doing a large variety of work for any employer who can pay or provide resources they desire. <br/><br/>With their nomadic lifestyle and willingness to travel far for long periods of time this has made them popular for fleshing out armies lacking in numbers but flush with coin so long as the employer understands that there will be no conquest by gnolls.  With their view on conflict and violence so casual looting and pillaging are simple extensions of that.  Any easy prey worthwhile in the path of a gnoll tribe will quickly find themselves overrun by gnoll warriors and slavers.<br/><br/><br/>Gnome – Considered not only a civilized race but by many are viewed as a sign or symbol of a place being civilized.  Even in the chaotic warrens of gnome forest towns and villages there is a certain civility and order to their way of doing things even if it is not apparent.  This is compounded with their tendency to only be found in safer or more civilized areas. <br/><br/>This is not because gnomes naturally avoid areas with dangers in them more than other races but rather due to the gnomes of these places being particularly skilled at hiding them.  Even the gnomes  who live far beneath the surface with or below the lands of dark elves and dwarves have developed the skills to hide their warrens and burrows where few can find them without direction.  This comes from the natural gnomish tendency towards perfection in skills and crafts as well as a seemingly innate attention to detail.<br/><br/><br/>Goblin/Hobgoblin/Bugbear – Called goblinoids by many they are perhaps the most numerous people in the known world and can be found in every corner of it.  While goblins and bugbears are generally a mercurial and varied lot prone to taking whatever path strikes their fancy hobgoblins are a far more ordered race.  Goblins may build sprawling lairs and warrens but almost always carry the feeling of simply a village which has grown beyond it’s bounds while a hobgoblin city shows true signs of organized construction.  Bugbears rarely form large towns or cities of their own instead being found among their brethren or in wandering bands.<br/><br/>Despite being so varied where one finds one of these three in great number there is no question that the other two will be with them.  Hobgoblins with their more organized nature usually manage to dominate any politics of the other two.  Any surviving settlement has long ago learned that their control can never be absolute however and not only accept the views of other goblinoids also accept those of non-goblinoids.  Goblinoids do not judge each other or other species based on race but on their own criteria such as the hobgoblin’s obsession with military merit.  A hobgoblin will meet any being who is a military leader and equal in martial matters as a personal equal.<br/><br/><br/>Goliath – Few races have seen a rebound in numbers quite like the goliaths.  While all races saw annihilation bearing down upon them it is goliaths who stood upon the precipice the longest.  Attempting to stand apart from not only the world but each other they fought the idea of working together their rigid self-sufficiency having served them well initially.  They are still more prone towards this mentality but have begun to relent at last.<br/><br/>Most common in mountains and their foothills Goliaths generally build small towns and villages at higher altitudes where they can scrape out a living.  Some have found their way down closer to other races and can even be found within the city-states now though few choose to settle there.  Their competitive nature and strong drive has made them well respected in most communities.<br/><br/><br/>Giants – Once one of the greatest species to cover the land giants have been brought low and scattered across the world.  Few will encounter a giant beside the relatively common hill giants and stone giants who exist in the hills and mountains of the world.  Frost giants can also be found in the frozen lands or cloud giants at the highest mountain peaks but they are a rare encounter for most.<br/><br/>Having been closely tied to other planes they suffered greatly from the disappearance of those planes with some entire races of giants being wiped off their map.  The oldest giants who have spoken to other mortals speak of the tale of an empire of giants that was the greatest of all races.  Now though most are little more than foolish brutes that struggle to do more than construct a crude lodging for their clan or choose to live in isolation from all things.<br/><br/><br/>Halfling – A small and simple people most halflings can be found in simple agrarian communities about the city-states.  Favoring neither the open wilderness nor the great bustling cities they can instead generally be found tending fields or groves from one edge of the map to the other.  From this they do still travel though.  Naturally goods must be transported and things the halflings cannot grow brought back to them.<br/><br/>Halflings are willing to travel far for their shire whether to protect it or get what it needs and they will endure great hardship as a people or as individuals.  For some a great wanderlust will overtake them and drive them to pack up a few belongings before heading out for much of their lives.  Almost without exception though those who survive their wanderlust will return with what they have gained and enrich the shire in which they grew up.<br/><br/><br/>Harpy – A race of all females for some time most believed they were not sapient and some still do not.  Generally fearsome, beautiful, and vain harpies can be found almost anywhere they can hide their nests, such as jungles, forests, and mountains, as well as a few cities that have accepted them.  They see little difference between most non-harpies and any other sentient animal they hunt and so are viewed as cannibals in most places.<br/><br/>Harpies are generally found in flocks that vary in size based on how available food and breeding partners are.  Non-harpies are judged solely on how they can help the harpies with sufficiently strong males being viewed breeding partners kept around as trophies similar to the glittering baubles they collect.  Powerful harpy matrons have been known to maintain harems of males who they find appealing and use them as bartering tools to maintain their power with other harpies of their flock.<br/><br/><br/>Human – The most widespread of all races is almost without question humans.  While they lack the long term adaptability of elves their short term adaptability has given them a significant edge in resettling the world and as a result control a plurality of the major city states.  Many view themselves as the leading force for the direction they are heading, whether it be the many city states striving for civilization, newly formed knightly orders combating the undead of ancient ruins, mystical orders attempting to rediscover the lost arts, or even the various northern tribes seeking to expand their raiding grounds.<br/><br/>Similar to goblinoids they are generally less prone to forming prejudgments, but they are still limited in many respects by their forebears.  Human communities will easily accept and adapt to other races attempting to find a role for them.  These various features have lead humans to dominate in the trade between city states and create the guilds which control the naval trade between them.<br/><br/><br/>Kobold – Small, weak, and the lowest of dragon kind kobolds are a numerous and potentially dangerous people.  Worshipping the great dragons of the world kobolds are a strange insular people even when living outside the domains of the dragons they exalt.  They will interact gladly with other peoples and speak at length of things such as their religion but will hold back details of themselves and their specific group.<br/><br/>Despite their paranoia and the paranoia they seem to infect others with, they are a popular group for many due to the immense wealth they find and hoard for their dragon masters as well as the lore they retained from before Rend.  While most underground cities were destroyed or seized by greater powers the maze like kobold tunnels were dispersed enough and of so little use to most.  This allowed some to survive and so their cave stone arts carved into the wall is one of the most complete stores of knowledge from before the Rend.<br/><br/><br/>Lizardfolk – Another insular race the lizardfolk are noteworthy for speaking draconic and worshipping dragons as kobolds and other lesser draconic beings do but are not recorded in the histories of the kobolds.  The great dragons accept their worship but speak little of them or how they have come about.  Found predominately in the southern jungles they are also across most warm regions with tribes existing in the warm deserts of the world.<br/><br/>Due to the terrain in which they reside being so often harsh to most sapient life lizardfolk generally exist in small tribes led by a group of village elders or a single group chief.  In jungle or marshy areas where hydra are present they have also been known to adopt a religionof the worshipping the intelligent hydras.  Often this worship is focused around ancient ruins of unknown origin.<br/><br/><br/>Merfolk – Found in all oceans and seas merfolk are aquatic humanoids able to communicate with those on the surface.  Similar to surface dwellers the merfolk were devastated before and have recently rebuilt to live in a handful of city-states near the coasts.  Their environment makes many processes harder or easier compared to actions on the surface and as a result most city-states below the waves have setup trade agreements with those above.<br/><br/>With very little reason to compete for any resources with surface dwellers aside from fishing territories the merfolk have had little conflict with those on the surface.  This had made them a common sight and ally when dealing with the more militant and aggressive merrow with whom they share the waterways of the world.<br/><br/><br/>Merrow – Larger, stronger, and more aggressive than merfolk the merrow share the oceans and seas not by choice with anyone.  While the merfolk developed trade with the surface city-states the merrow instead found that they could acquire the resources they desired through raids.  They are not particularly capable on land but vessels plying the seas and oceans were vulnerable to attacks by merrows clawing their ways up the side and killing the crew.<br/><br/>Aggressive and respecting strength primarily as it concerns martial capabilities, merrow do not build great cities like merfolk but instead take over caverns for small tribes to live in and raid out of.  Due to their cultural emphasis on strength and might merrow tend to view merfolk poorly and hold the powerful intelligent monsters of the oceans such as krakens in high regard with some worshiping them.<br/><br/><br/>Minotaur – A mighty people, minotaurs are found in small numbers across most of the world thanks to a naval tradition that dates back to shortly after the Rend when the seas were impassable to all but the most hearty folk.  Well respected where they travel minotaur are found only in great numbers in a few locations they call home, such as the great city-state of Ithur.  In the areas they do commonly inhabit they tend to construct large cityscapes as one of the largest races to have a strong architectural tradition.<br/><br/>Due to their naval bent their cities now tend to be metropolitan and varied, however, prior to the reestablishment of key naval routes were largely isolated by land routes with some still facing this situation.  Little exists or is known of the minotaur from before the Rend and most minotaur seem to have little interest in exploring this.<br/><br/><br/>Ogre – Due to their dialect of giant spoken it is believed that ogres are related to giants or at least were in the past.  This is something vehemently denied by most giants who will generally refuse to even discuss ogres if they admit to even knowing anything about them.  The kobold’s cave sketches certainly contain nothing about them making it possible they were another being created during or slightly before the Rend.<br/><br/>Far from the most civilized of races ogres instead exist on the fringes of society traveling in small nomadic bands.  With little respect for the property of others many view them as problematic or even a pest needing extermination.  While strong ogres are rarely intelligent and lack in many other abilities making them easy prey for civilized or advanced groups which seek to drive out or destroy ogres.<br/><br/><br/>Orc – Another of the varied civilized people that dot the world orcs are regarded as one of the least civilized of the city builders often compared against hobgoblins who are at least respected for their siege engineering.  Orc cities seem to have grown out from their tribes when they were a more nomadic people after the Rend so often can be found in rather oddly chosen places.  Despite this they are without question one of the city building racea and treated as such.<br/><br/>Lacking in the innate magics or long lives of other races, orcs have a close relationship with humans with their cities and barbarian tribes often being a mix of humans, orcs, and half-breeds alongside the widespread goblins who share a similar weakness.  Prodigious breeders with a strong family bond orc families are large and close knit with complex political ties.  Entire towns and small cities can be related through several steps with no clear leadership.<br/><br/><br/>Sahuagin – A terrifying amphibious race sahuagin are similar to the merrow in that they view surface dwellers as a source of resources and worship similar monsters.  Sahuagin seek blood with even greater fervor though and share a strange kinship with the sharks of the oceans and seas.  Unlike the merrow the sahuagin are far more capable of moving on land and make use of this in their raids.  They will even strike at the great city-states using their own ships as cover to penetrate the outer defenses.<br/><br/>While most magics of the world were brought low to almost barely perceptible levels the sahuagin appear to have retained more than most.  The females observed in their raiding parties have the ability to change their form and the more powerful sahuagin change and adapt within a single lifetime to better suite their environment or fight common foes.  This is usually seen in sahuagin leaders growing thicker skin or extra arms but has been observed to result in more esoteric forms as well.<br/><br/><br/>Tabaxi – Inquisitive and nomadic tabaxi build no cities and hold few goods in high regard.  Instead they are known as travelers and storytellers who move in their small family groups from place to place and are generally welcome where they go.  Some dislike them as accidental or intentional spies tabaxi have a lust for knowledge and take it with them wherever they go.  Gold and physical precious objects are for most of them a physical means to an end.<br/><br/>After the Rend they were one of the first to begin reconnecting cities and towns more than a day’s travel apart.  They do not seem to have any homeland to speak of rather going where the wind takes them at any time.  For most knowledge seems almost to need to be liberated.  Tabaxi will withhold knowledge for trade or barter but almost always with the intention of ultimately providing it so it may further spread.<br/><br/><br/>Tiefling – Kin to the aasmir they have suffered similarly and exist primarily in their enclaves in city states now.  It is unknown if they are truly children from those outside this world but it is known that something certainly sets them apart from most and as a result they reciprocate in separating themselves.  Even with those who face similar persecution such as the assmir they do not easily intermingle in large groups.<br/><br/>Just as with the aasmir they are found predominately north of the Neeva Sea meaning that often enclaves are right next to each other, perhaps with a neighborhood split in half.  Something that does set them apart from aasmir though is that their appearance is generally regarded as nefarious or evil almost innately by those who see them and as a result tend to be less welcome in cities.<br/><br/><br/>Thri-kreen – The dominant people of the warm deserts thri-kreen nests can rival some of the great city states of the world but lack in the political or economic influence due to the more isolationist nature of thri-kreen.  Just like harpies,  thri-kreen have little issue with eating other sapient creatures, and without the ability to speak any language but their tend to be less accepted on most of the continent.<br/><br/>The only way thri-kreen communicate with other races is through writing except for those born with psionic abilities.  Thri-kreen are born into a rigid set of castes with psionics being one of the few able to go beyond the walls of their hives.  These thri-kreen are able to communicate with other races using their abilities but are usually on some mission when traveling.<br/><br/><br/>Tlincalli – Desert nomads the tlincalli are a scorpion people that prey on anything edible in their hunting grounds.  Sapients are just another source of meat for them and while they will barter or trade with other races rarely have much to offer in their austere environments.  There are the ruins of great cities hidden under the sands of their hunting grounds but they have little interest in exploring those and no skill or technology to do much with their kills but eat them.<br/><br/>For the thri-kreen and other desert dwellers this makes them one of the most common enemies and conflict with more civilized races is common.  For the tlincalli this existence is fine and they seem to have no issue with a near perpetual state of war with other groups of nomads or cities.  Hunting, fighting, killing, and eating is simply life for them.  If a whole tribe fails to see victory and is wiped out tlincalli will not mourn their fellows but move on accepting it as the harshness of the desert.<br/><br/><br/>Triton – As merfolk and merrow foil one another so to do the sahuagin and triton foil one another.  Amphibious but native to below the waves the triton can be found in small communities near coasts, in large merfolk cities, or as members of larger coastal city states.  They seem to generally be able to easily fit into move societies and thanks to their amphibious nature can generally find a role when near the coast.<br/><br/>Tritons are a noble but beaten down people, capable of surviving even the depths of the oceans they have long since been driven from these places by the beasts that lurk there.  Like some other races they hold to stories of a great undersea empire shattered in the Rend and erased from the world’s history.  Great undersea ruins meant for bipedal creatures do exist but it is unknown if they are cities lost from the surface or those built by the tritons.<br/></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Noteworthy City States</div><div class="spoiler_body">Ololalice - Founded on a coastline far to the east of Zakar surrounded on three sides by some of the most dangerous forests to exist, Ololalice is a testament to the bullheaded nature of some races and hobgoblins in particular.  Built originally with the idea of being a military outpost and stopover location for coastal traders it has since grown and wages a perpetual war against the ever encroaching forests led mainly by a cadre of hobgoblins.<br/><br/>The city founder, Olo, died without establishing any rules of succession and as a result is now headed by a council of military officers who vote on all decisions which represent the entire city.  This has led the city to be known for having a mercurial state and is popular with not just traders but mercenaries as well.  The forces of the city are known for hunting pirates and piracy of their own in near equal measure, particularly if the ship is not paying a tariff to the city.  When other cities waged their war against Zakar Ololarice and their martial might remained neutral, independent leaders selling their services to the highest bidder, accepting Zakar slaves and Coalition coin in equal measure.<br/><br/><br/>Kulamaata - Situated across the sea to the southwest among the verdant plains from which the city takes it’s name Kulamaata is a notably matriarchal and mercantile city.  Only maternal lineage is of concern or even considered trackable.  Lineage is considered of great importance and represents one of the three pillars of each merchant house in the city.  The other two being the hard assets of a house such as gold and land and the third pillar being the number and skill of the freemen in the house’s service.<br/><br/>Men of Kulamaata tend to spend days proving their value of service to the matriarchs of merchant houses either to enrich it or to be headhunted for a more wealthy house.  Employment within the largest and most wealthy merchant houses means higher payment, better materials to work with, and numerous fringe benefits such as better food and potentially being a member of a more prestigious harem.  Artisans and other workers naturally ply their trade to prove themselves while fighters will engage in duels, mock battles, parades, and feats of bravery, daring, and skill to prove themselves of earning a spot in a matron’s household.<br/><br/>Easily spotted due to their flamboyant dress fighters from Kulamaata are well known across the continent and in every drinking hole within easy reach of their home city they care little for personal honor but are all but required to fight to the death for their matron.  They were perhaps the most fearsome foe seen on the battlefields opposing Zakar.  Each always seeking to outdo one another they were one of the forces capable of fighting Zakar forces to a standstill and upon their silvered chargers broke more than one Zakar phalanx to threaten a strike at the city itself.<br/><br/><br/>Maut - A subterranean city to the north west not far from the foothills of the Dragon Peak Mountains the city is generally known for taking a xenophobic tact with outsiders of all types.  Predominantly populated by city elves and dark elves it is known that wood elves migrate in from the nearby swamp.  The locals are easily identified by their masks seemingly worn at all times said to ward off dark spirits hunting for bodies.  The masks are made of alabaster or white wood and for wealthier individuals carved with precise sigils and the most expensive masks inlaid with silver.  <br/><br/>The silver mask is the symbol of the city as it is the largest producer of silver on the continent.  The location of the mine is a secret held by few individuals, this information only able to be disclosed by the equally secretive lord of the city.  Rumors abound of information on the lord and their family but little is known except the lord is known to be covered in white robes from head to toe except for a mask of pure silver.  There are many secrets in the melancholic city and they tend to stay buried as adventuring in the undead ridden tunnels is a notoriously dangerous affair.<br/><br/>In the war against Zakar Maut sent a force including their famed geist-hunters but acquitted themselves poorly when faced with more spirited elements of the Zakar military and contributed primarily economically.  This reduced their standing somewhat among the other coalition city-states but the economic power of their silversmiths is still sufficient to keep them among the most noteworthy.<br/><br/><br/>Sada - Made by carving a path through the Dragon Peak Mountains north of Zakar it was constructed wholly after the Rend.  Much of the initial groundbreaking was done by dwarf refugees halflings and other smaller races joined them from the surrounding area as well as goliaths coming down from the mountain, all seeking protection in the volatile mountain region as monsters plagued the region.  A great deal of mineral wealth was obtained in the massive undertaking to expand the city but it did not grow truly wealthy until it broke through from the south and onto the north side of the mountain.  A relatively safer than the overland trek around the mountains and far faster the city quickly developed into a metropolitan trade hub.<br/><br/>The reach and influence of the city has waxed and waned over years but in connecting the northern plains that go out to the tundra with the wealthy southern lands down to the Neeva Sea it’s wealth and power has always kept it a city of importance.  Affairs are handled mainly by a single lord and his appointed council but in such a metropolitan city any of sufficient importance can find it easy to find the lord’s ear.  Succession is a unique matter, twelve individuals each hold a key to the city gates and along with the current lord each gets a vote to choose the successor of the lord.  Seven votes are needed to assume the throne and by tradition the keyholders vote along with the lord but there is no rule for this, nor is there a rule on inheritance of the keys.<br/><br/>In the war with Zakar Sada backed the coalition but never formally them and so took no part in the major fighting nor took action to inhibit Zakar.  Warriors of Zakar are noted to travel to Sada to search the lowest tunnels and caverns heading down into unmapped areas, not to perform raiding.  With concern that war would cause Zakar to siege the merchant gates even those proponents of open were forced to silence at the prospect of a field battle they were likely unready for.<br/><br/><br/>Phalee - Well to the south and east of Zakar is an oasis city contending with a myriad of threats from vicious dust storms to tlincalli raids and undead plagues.  Seemingly in a location of limited traditional value Phalee is one of the oldest cities continuously habited.  This can be thanked on it’s ruler, an ancient and powerful hieracosphinx from before the Rend.  It brought together other sphinxes who had not gone mad and tasked them to find and protect anyone they could, bringing them to it.  In the chaos of the Rend their failure was near complete and even more sphinxes went mad in the insanity of the time, but in time they saw success and the people they brought began to build a city using a chain of oasis as a base with the lair of the Hieracosphinx at it’s center.<br/><br/>Various smaller cities are kept under it’s aegis as the Hieracosphinx tasks itself as a protector but refuses to leave it’s post in guarding it’s tomb.  Some of these cities have sphinxes of their own acting as governors and protectors though some eschew such direct interference and prefer rule by their own.  This alliance of coastal and oasis cities has transformed into a great power bloc on the far coast of the Neeva Sea and a popular jumping off point to go into the deep desert in search of lost relics and knowledge for those willing to brave the natural and unnatural dangers.<br/><br/>Phalee spearheaded the diplomacy to form the coalition against Zakar and was a vital element in the fight.  With some of the most powerful magic remaining on the continent they fought well against the Zakar clerics.  The sphinxes do not abide slavery within their lands and with their dispersed population are a popular target for slavers making the war far more personal for them.<br/><br/><br/>Ithur - The island nation and home to many minotuars Ithur was considered the dominant naval power before Zakar’s rise.  While it still contests the position of the most powerful naval entity it is not as clear cut as it once was.  They established their naval dominance early, in the late years of the Rend when the seas were all but impassable they braved the storms and monsters to reconnect the scattered people of Thwip.<br/><br/>They are a meritocratic democracy at their core, every ship captain and land owner gets a vote to elect representatives to a council to decide the direction the state takes.  The city remains predominantly minotaur but has grown into a bustling metropolis of many races and while they can be raiders and slavers themselves slaves can work themselves free of their position and service to the state can guarantee the freedom of children.  The ideals of civil service are instilled in all citizens as a core tenant of what holds the city together and is said to keep the great lighthouse lit and guiding their ships through even the roughest storms.<br/><br/>When the coalition came to them to fight Zakar they were all too eager for the fight and readily took to the seas sailing under a banner of war.  Zakar had been growing into a rival for control of several sea lanes and their defeat would further cement Ithur’s dominance.  In smaller battles and skirmishes they generally held an edge but their military was not professional and not motivated by the ideals of an afterlife and so when they clashed horns in the largest battle Ithur often found it could not so easily match Zakar ship for ship.<br/><br/><br/>Baal Adee - Considered a land of the dead to many, far to the east of Zakar is a city ruled by a lich.  The dead and the undead exist side by side in many areas though the living often at best find themselves subservient to any sapient long dead masters with few rights or recourse.  The favoritism the arch-lich Ostari has for his undead servants is clear with the living having few rights.<br/><br/>Still this is enough of a life for countless beings, scraping together some form of living.  With masters having little need for conventional food and various other goods the tax is often taken in other forms, allowing many to live a life they find happy even.  Ostari spends almost all his time locked away in a keep impenetrable to outsiders who do not know magics from before the Rend continuing magical experiments from that era.  <br/><br/>He accomplishes this by having taken the city by force during the Rend, it and the surrounding area was once a center of knowledge.  This has made the area into a target for adventurers who seek the same lost knowledge to sell to him or others.  The city has limited contact beyond those brave enough to risk the undead plagues to bring rare goods from the outside or take the goods of Baal Adee back out.  It was once tied to Zakar by trade but those ties have since been cut with the coming of  Maighastar.<br/></div></div><br/><br/>Dramatis Personae:<br/><a href="#user_httpselliquiycomforumsindexphptopicmsgmsg">Luanne</a><br/><a href="#user_httpselliquiycomforumsindexphptopicmsgmsg">Aran Goldsand</a><br/><a href="#user_httpselliquiycomforumsindexphptopicmsgmsg">Kieri</a><br/><a href="#user_httpselliquiycomforumsindexphptopicmsgmsg">Aelrie Enlana</a><br/><a href="#user_httpselliquiycomforumsindexphptopicmsgmsg">Mizerial Goldeyes</a>