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As everyone is probably aware I am attempting to get others to help me create a Bronze
Age city state setting. If not here is a link to the
original thread



So far there has been some awesome input from from Jerell (Jherakeen) and Natasha (Aertepia)

I also wanted to try a different approach. This approach would be best called the "community" approach. I will post a specific aspect that needs to be filled in and will take the first (serious) suggestion from any person in the forum. Hopefully I will get some good feedback, snide comments and jokes are also welcome though. The length of the post may vary from one word, to a couple of sentances or a short paragraph. If there is a total lack of interest in some aspect that I post, i'll give it a few hours to a day (depends on how busy I am), fill it in myself and then move onto the next topic. If there is absolutely no interest I'll give it up and let the thread die an ugly painful death. If there does prove to be any interest and I get enough submissions I'll post everything up on the wiki site.


Post #1. Name of the Region -- Anyone, anyone at all.


As a side note, the original thread was posted in at least a half dozen
RPG forums. So far I've gotten feedback (2 messages) from one forum and none from the rest.
Well, except for the Palladium forums where there has been at least a bit of interest and
submissions from two brave souls. I just wanted to say, Palladium fans ROCK!

The wiki page for the project is here, if you want to look at a map or what's been done so far.

Prometheus Project

Really? a day and a half and 20 visitors and nobody can throw out a name?

Patience is a virtue
I suppose if one of these seems okay, feel free to use it.

Caulis
Leyshôn
Xadir (alt. Zadir/Xadeer/Zhad'eer)
Dyrrha
Palinae
Sekray
Weldan
Xaros
Samorad
Thritai
Zhethis (alt. Szethis/Zethys)
Skelarda

Ø

Patience is a virtue

but not one of mine it would seem


Region 2: Caulis

The other 11 suggestions I'll use later for the names of cities.

#2
In addition to the staple cereal crops each region also has 6 domesticated crops. Pick any six of the following.

Vetch
Onion
Rye
Tangerine
Peas
Chickpeas
Pistachios
Cherry
Hazel nuts
Eggplant
Grapes
Almonds
Ensete
Dates
Beets
Figs
Apples
Citron
Millet
Carrots
Olives
Cotton
Sorghum
Lemon
Lentils
Radish
Pomegranates
Quinces
Lime
Mung beans
Turnips

region: 2
domesticated crops
Olives/Olive Oil
Chickpeas
Lentils
Onion
Eggplant
Pomegranates

possible spices
anise
saffron
pepper
cumin
cinnamon

region: 2
domesticated crops
Olives/Olive Oil
Chickpeas
Lentils
Onion
Eggplant
Pomegranates

possible spices
anise
saffron
pepper
cumin
cinnamon

domestic animals
horse
cow/ox
donkey
llama
goat
dog
turkey

Domesticated crops - check
Spices - anise, pepper and cumin. Saffron and Cinnamon have already been used.
Domesticated animals - we'll take the usual plus the Turkey.


Now we need

Naming conventions:

Male names often end in:

Female names often end in:

and the name of 11 city states are

Leyshôn
Xadir
Dyrrha
Palinae
Sekray
Weldan
Xaros
Samorad
Thritai
Zhethis
Skelarda

and we need four more names of city states

city state names ?
Onaar
Kalrax
Aldo
Morgar

okay, city state names are done, thanks to Amberjack.


Naming conventions

Male names often end in: umi, mut, muc, mun, ita, iga, isa, ust, suc, sun, isu.

Female names often end in:

Location and Geography
you'll need the map for this one.
http://www.geocities.com/kirksmithicus/ ... semap3.JPG

Minimally the three mountain ranges, two rivers, and the bay/sea the rivers drain into should be named. Other areas are left at your discretion. All names should be in the local language but translations can be given in parenthesis if you want. Ex: The Atibul Mountains (from region 1) the "Red Mountains".

People and Culture

Give a couple of sentances or up to a paragraph describing the local inhabitants physical and cultural traits.

Languages
The main language is Caulisian, are there any minor languages spoken, if so what are they. If not, just post "No other languages"

Naming conventions
Male names often end in: umi, mut, muc, mun, ita, iga, isa, ust, suc, sun, isu.
Female names often end in: ina, ima, em, su, enna, ery

Location and Geography
The city states of Caulis are concentrated on the coast along the Bay of Xaan, or in the fertile river valleys of the Rivers Caul and Deynar. The Caul runs north into the Bay of Xaan from the Seymar (Golden) Mountains. The mighty Deynar runs south out of the Daarat Mountain range and along the western slopes of the Zaendtan Mountains in the south of Caulis, eventually emptying into Lake Delaen. The Aeleny River seperates Caulis from Aertepia to the east.

The large port city of Xadir sits at the mouth of the River Caul on the Bay of Xaan. It is the major center of trade and commerce for the region, a large metropolis of close to 100,000 residents from many of the surrounding regions and cultures. The other major port city of Caulis is Kalrax. Kalrax sits at the western end of the Bay of Xaan, in the crescent between the bay and the eastern slopes of the Daarat Mountains. The city state of Thritai in the south of Caulis was settled by the remnants of a barbarian tribe and is world-renowned for its leather goods. The south of Caulis is constantly harassed by the nomadic barbarian tribes of the Vaal grasslands.

People and Culture
[forthcoming]

Languages
The main language is Caulisian. A regional dialect, Samedran, is spoken in the Deynar River valley and the southern foothills of the Daarat Mountains, which includes the city states of Samorad, Sekray, Thritai, Aldo, and Onaar. Many residents in the major trading ports of Xadir and Kalrax understand and/or speak Ilkarian (in addition to Caulisian and Samredan).

Ø

People and Culture
The people of Caulis are commonly referred to as Caulisian, though the residents of each city-state tend to identify themselves by that place (i.e. Xadiri, Kalracian, Xarosian, Onaari, Zethian, etc). They are--in general--tall and slender; the average male stands 5'8", females 5'5". Hair typically is straight and tends toward black or brown, while skin tones are olive to light brown. Eyes are predominantly brown. Men prefer to maintain some kind of facial hair, always neatly trimmed, and wear their hair cropped short. Caulisian women are reknowned for their beauty, especially those from the Zaendtan Mountain region.

Caulisians are a friendly people, though they are tenacious traders and savor the art of haggling. They are not particularly aggressive, but will defend themselves and their lands when called upon to do so.

The city-states of Caulis are connected by bonds of commerce more than political or cultural ties. Northern Caulisians are predominantly traders and craftsman, relying on goods and raw materials from the southern part of Caulis and abroad; the city-states along the Bay of Xaan are among the wealthiest on the continent, offering great opportunity (and peril) to enterprising individuals. Southern Caulisians produce about 75% of the domesticated crops for the region, transporting them north to sell in the ports or trade for more durable goods.

Ø

Awesome, thanks count zero, great stuff. This is why i'm totally into this collaborative writing stuff. I had a few notes and a rough outline of region 2 before I opened up, and I have to say count zero added some interesting stuff that I would have never thought to have thrown into the mix and made it far more interesting than I could have.

The only thing that I'll change is the population of Xadir from 100,000 to around 20,000 - 30,000 just because the emergence of city states is a recent phenomena and I think cities haven't had time to becom this large yet. However, a population of 20,000- 30,000 should still make it the largest city in existence. Of course population is one of those things that can be easily changed by a GM.

Well now what?
Anybody want to work on some Caulisian city states or another region?

kirksmithicus wrote:The only thing that I'll change is the population of Xadir from 100,000 to around 20,000 - 30,000 just because the emergence of city states is a recent phenomena and I think cities haven't had time to becom this large yet. However, a population of 20,000- 30,000 should still make it the largest city in existence. Of course population is one of those things that can be easily changed by a GM.

I agree. The original population I'd written was totally arbitrary, and I realize it was waaaay too large for a Bronze Age city. I did some research and decided I'd probably need to reduce it by at least half, if not more. So I think 30,000 is appropriate, especially considering that probably 15% (give or take) are slaves, and another 10-15% are foreigners in permanent or semi-permanent residence. Good call.

kirksmithicus wrote:Anybody want to work on some Caulisian city states or another region?

Now that the ball is rolling, I've got plenty of ideas for Caulis in general, and some of the city-states as well (Xadir & Kelrax, especially). I can continue to submit them here, or maybe I'll take the plunge and start adding them directly to the wiki. Though I'd be glad to get some ideas on Caulis and its city-states if anyone else wants to contribute.

Ø

Now that the ball is rolling, I've got plenty of ideas for Caulis in general, and some of the city-states as well (Xadir & Kelrax, especially). I can continue to submit them here, or maybe I'll take the plunge and start adding them directly to the wiki. Though I'd be glad to get some ideas on Caulis and its city-states if anyone else wants to contribute.

You can post them here and I'll put them on the wiki page or do it directly, either way if fine with me. If you haven't worked with a wiki page before don't worry its really easy you'll get the hang of it in short order, and if you have any questions you can PM me and I'll try to help out if I can. A city or two would be awesome. With 15 cities Caulis is the largest region but hopefully we can get a few more people to help out. I'm working on some Sarmanian stuff then I'll jump over to Caulis and do a city.

kirksmithicus wrote:You can post them here and I'll put them on the wiki page or do it directly, either way if fine with me. If you haven't worked with a wiki page before don't worry its really easy you'll get the hang of it in short order, and if you have any questions you can PM me and I'll try to help out if I can. A city or two would be awesome. With 15 cities Caulis is the largest region but hopefully we can get a few more people to help out. I'm working on some Sarmanian stuff then I'll jump over to Caulis and do a city.

I did indeed make the jump and started contributing directly to the wiki. I'm sure I'll get the hang of the formatting fairly quickly.

To wit: I've made a pretty substantial update to the page detailing the city-state of Xadir in Caulis (HERE). I've been adding to the main Caulis page in bits and pieces, and I have a few ideas I have yet to get down in writing. I'd like to encourage anyone who has any interest in helping flesh out things like the details of architecture or religion and so on, I'd welcome the help. I've got precious little free time normally, so progress might be slow otherwise.

Ø

Wow, I really gotta hit this forum more often.. Missed this last one.. I'll have to give some feedback when you start again.