#project: askarum

[herearedragons]

tell me about Kitty Cat Town 👀

welcome to Shunar: a desert city-state where tabaxi and awakened cats live under the blessing of The Cat Lord!

most tabaxi communities in Askarum are either nomadic or live assimilated into whatever country they happened to settle in, but there is one place where they are sovereign, self-governing: the miracle city of Shunar, built by The Cat Lord himself, an Outer God who is the patron of.... well, cats and all things catlike, so that those in his care can come there and live as their truest selves.

The Cat Lord himself is a trickster and a storyteller with a great distaste for violence unless it is fictional, and even a greater distaste for boring things. for this reason, two things are magically forbidden in Shunar: violence, and money. if the citizens wish to settle any kind of exchange or disagreement, they must be creative about it; the resulting system is.... interesting, to say the least. there is bartering, of course, but the goods being traded are not always material; favors, performances and secrets are common currency here.

the other blessing of The Cat Lord makes it so that every cat that remains in Shunar begins to develop its intelligence and eventually becomes awakened, capable of speech and complex reasoning. for this reason, the architecture of Shunar is designed to accomodate both larger, bipedal, and smaller, quadrupedal, citizens.

another odd custom which stems from The Cat Lord's distaste for boredom is the way social class functions in this place. there are social castes, such as merchants, laborers, artists and more, but those are determined not by birth, but by a lottery that happens every two years. this way, today's farmer might find himself a wealthy merchant next year, and the painter socialite might eventually become a blacksmith. it's widely accepted that this - often unpredictable - changing of roles is a great way to come to understand oneself and to experience life from many different perspective. as they grow older, sometimes citizens will request to be exempt from the lottery, preferring to dedicate themselves fully to a single trade or way of life, and this request will usually be accepted.

overall, Shunar is a society that puzzles newcomers, and it's easy to cross one of its many rules, spoken or unspoken, and find yourself banished from it forever. but there are many who thrive in it, finding the society that has developed around The Cat Lord's teachings much more comfortable than the rest of the world, and rarely leaving the city. travelers and adventurers come to Shunar to experience its strange customs, and sometimes to make use of its vast library, which is said to contain secrets largely forgotten by time.

[herearedragons]

please i must hear about plants vs zombies land

OST: X X X

welcome to the fledgling nation of Domran! a land of forests and wetlands which, for most of its existence, has been home to a variety of human and halfling tribes, with a sharp increase in elven population after the mass exodus of citizens from New Arinfel (long story) and a significant dwarven presence, though no traditional dwarven clans claim any part of Domran.

the tribal culture is predominantly druidic, with each community having its own practices, but usually electing druids as its leaders and representatives. worship of Kaia, Askarum's goddess of wilderness (Galawain if he was a girl and infinitely cooler) is widespread, but Domranians will accept most forms of worship, including many Outer Gods (entities that did not participate in the creation of the mortal realm). this acceptance, along with Domran's acceptance and even reverence of werebeasts and other shapeshifters, is sometimes perceived as sinister by cultures who do not embrace those groups.

the last two centuries have been tumultuous for Domran, as about a hundred years ago the land was conquered by the neighboring Holy Kingdom Of Abelon, which held it for several decades. during that time much of northern Domran was deforested, the wetlands drained, and converted into Abelonian-style farmland and cities. the local culture was suppressed, druidic practices outlawed, in an attempt to assimilate the tribes into Abelon's theocratic society. as expected, this has not gone over well with the tribes, and, though weakened by the events that preceded Abelon's evasion, the tribes fought back. after the initial wave of separate revolts by different tribes failed, it was decided between the tribes to unite against their common enemy. a single leader, the werewolf warrior-queen Domra (after whom the nation was later named), was elected, led an army against Abelon and successfully drove their forces back to the old Holy Kingdom borders. during the struggle and in its aftermath, the idea of uniting the tribes forever as a single nation began to take root. and, indeed, Domra was crowned in the Abelon-built capital of what would become Northern Domran, with the promise that establishing their own country should protect the tribes from further invasions.

today, the aftermath of Abelon's invasion can still be felt as one travels from the south of Domran to the north. while South Domran consists mostly of small villages and large swaths of wilderness, and people there tend to lean towards trying to recover and preserve the pre-invasion way of life, Northern Domran is where large cities can be found, and the people are more likely to identify as Domranians than members of a given tribe.

unfortunately, Domran's plight did not end with driving away the Abelonians: not even ten years after the victory, an undead plague now known as the Grey Death spread through the country. transmitted through airborne fungal spores, the infection causes a strong fever, and those who do not survive it rise as undead. those who recover function normally, but their skin, and sometimes eyes and hair, gain a greyish tint (hence the name), and upon death from any cause their body will rise as undead as well. for this reason, all living infected are quarantined in facilities that have come to be known as Grey Mansions, where the infected live out the rest of their days in as much comfort as their caretakers can provide, and are watched carefully, so that when a death occurs naturally or by accident the body can be immediately disposed from.

the Grey Death has crippled Domran's development greatly, as the nation has been forced to fight off an existential threat as its infrastructure was still developing. entire areas of the land became unsafe, infected by the spores and often inhabited by undead, and many small communities in the south have found themselves cut off from the rest of the country because of it. in a grueling, years-long process in which many lives were lost, undead were culled, the sick quarantined, the plague researched, and, while a cure still has not been found, enough preventative measures and ways to destroy the spores outside of a host body have been developed that Domran became interconnected once again.

despite the undoubted usefulness of priests in fighting the undead, Domran has repeatedly refused to accept any help from Abelon or any other country, remembering all too well what happened the last time strangers came to their land in a time of weakness. instead, rigorous safety measures are enforced for foreigners who arrive in Domran and anyone who wishes to leave the country, and so far it seems that they have been successful in containing the Grey Death within Domran's borders.

[herearedragons]

that one WIP title ask game except I post extremely unhelpful descriptions of places from my dnd world and you send me one of them to hear me talk about that place in detail

I love you:

Kitty Cat Town

Plants VS Zombies Land: Domran

Arlathan If It Slayed

God Definitely Wants Us To Do This: Abelon

They Don't Call Me Dragons For Nothing

Dwarves VS Giants VS The Woods

Elemental Caste System

[herearedragons]

whoops, thought about my dnd worldbuilding for too long and got emotional about it

the mortal realm is artificial. the mortal realm did not come built in with the rest of the universe. the mortal realm was a passion project by a merry band of misfits who were already powerful when they started, but only became gods halfway through, because what makes a god is the act of creation, what makes a god is the ability to say I will it so and so it shall be. the gods have crafted this world with their own hands and gave their breath and blood and sweat to make it work. Tiamat breathed fire at the core of the world for a hundred years, never stopping, while the others searched for a permanent way to keep it warm. Melora gave up her physical form and became the life essence of the planet itself because she loved it so much and her husband became the sun so that he may always keep her warm and safe, and tore out his eye and made it into the moon so it can watch the parts of the planet his light cannot reach

and then they tore themselves apart in a war that ended up with all survivors being disembodied and trapped between worlds, unable to touch their creation ever again

[herearedragons]

Askarum!Bahamut also gets me btw. <- says the person who made him up

I just. he's the youngest of the gods. he was forged at the tail end of a war as the perfect adversary to a previously undefeatable foe. he's the first and only Creator God to have not created anything except SIKE. HE DID. he created RELIGION AS THE WORLD KNOWS IT TODAY. <- realization I had just now, isn't writing fun

by which I mean that once he was done killing Tiamat (aforementioned undefeatable foe) and she was done banishing the rest of the gods into oblivion with her dying breath so that Bahamut was the only one remaining because she died before she could get to him he sat his platinum butt down on a random island and did his best to write down an account of the war of the gods and the gods themselves so that they wouldn't be forgotten and the mortals' worship would keep them going

he's a construct. he's an unreliable narrator. he's doing his best to preserve a history that mostly played out before he existed and no one truly explained it to him because there wasn't time or need for that. he was forged in the likeness of his archenemy who never did anything bad to HIM specifically but he just knows she's evil and also she's gone now so that's that. and he's MY LITTLE GUY <- editor's note: said 'little guy' is a cosmic entity

[herearedragons]

NEED to hear about God Definitely Wants Us To Do This

lore primer that is going to be relevant: a few words on the pantheon and the history of the world. the mortal realm of Askarum was created by a group of gods now known as the Creators, who, upon completing their work, immediately went to war against each other over disagreeing how the new realm should be ruled. that war - the War of Creation - eventually ended with the defeat of the side that wanted to use Askarum as a playground and the mortal races as toy soldiers, with the defeat of the last standing Creator of that side, Tiamat, by the hands of Bahamut, a divine dragon crafted by the Creators that opposed Tiamat for the sole purpose of slaying her. with her dying breath, Tiamat cursed the other Creators to never walk in their realm or any other again, destroying their physical bodies and dooming them to existence as immaterial deities only capable of enacting change with the hands of others. only Bahamut has evaded the curse, some say because Tiamat simply ran out of breath before she could curse him too. since then, Bahamut has taken to acting as Askarum's protector, patrolling the planes of existence and looking for threats to the mortal plane. he has landed back in Askarum exactly twice, to resolve a crisis that threatened the mortal realm's very existence, and those events defined the historical eras of the First and Second Landing, with the game this was all written for being set in the Second Landing era (so the era after the events of Bahamut's second landing on Askarum took place).

OKAY. with that in mind. welcome to the Holy Kingdom of Abelon!

the thing about the Take-Off period, or the stretch of time between Bahamut first leaving Askarum and his first return, is that the mortal realm was still recovering from the ravages of the War of Creation. people that couldn't previously conceive of existing not in service to a higher power were suddenly adrift, godless, with even the most faithful struggling to hear and interpret the words of their patrons from whatever existence they were cursed into.

this is when the Outer Gods first came into picture: powers from other realms that didn't take part in Askarum's creation, but simply swooped in when they saw a vacuum form, creating the first warlocks, and some of them even acquiring their own priests among the people of Askarum. some Outer Gods were relatively benevolent while others were vile, and the land that would, hundreds of years later, become Abelon, fell to some of the darkest influences. the magic they began to practice blighted their lands and cursed their bloodlines, creating tieflings, vampires, werewolves, and other dark creatures for which there are no longer names. their society became twisted, with cruel tyrants ruling over apathetic subjects, and that land, which was not yet Abelon, became a cautionary tale, a place where good people ought not go.

it stands to reason, then, that when Bahamut heard of what the Outer Gods were doing to his realm and people and returned to set things right, he would start with the land that would become Abelon. he came to that land in the guise of a mortal and spent several years dismantling the corruption, bringing hope back to the people and uniting them against the evil that ruled them, and when the power of the Outer Gods in that land crumbled, Bahamut carried his campaign on to the rest of the world. Abelon was founded then, defined both by its people's gratitude to Bahamut and their deep shame and guilt for what their ancestors had allowed themselves to become.

today, Abelon is still a deeply religious country, revering Bahamut over all other gods, and holding the value of purity in high regard. even centuries later, there are places in the kingdom that are still tainted by the presence of darkness, and so Abelon trains holy knights and priests to stomp that darkness out, so that it may never spread again. it is no wonder, then, that today many Abelonian tieflings, vampires and shapechangers, as well those who still worship the Outer Gods, choose to flee to the neighboring country of Domran, which is much more welcoming of those who walk in darkness.

Abelon is ruled by a monarch, who is closely advised by the four high priests of the church, and thus matters of church and state are always closely intertwined. this has had unfortunate consequences in the last few decades, when a new religious movement began to spread through the Abelonian church, proclaiming that as the last Creator god to exist in the flesh, Bahamut is the only god worthy of Askarum's worship, going as far as to discourage worship of the other Creators. extreme as their views are, and separate as they are from the larger Bahamutian religion (to the extent of being outright denounced by the draconic church of Bahamut in Cormoor, which is seen as the highest authority on his worship), three of the current high priests of Abelon belong to this faction, and the country seems to have entered a period of strife as a result. censorship, infighting and a general sense of unrest abound, and the people worry about where the kingdom may be steered to in the near future.

[herearedragons]

another personal favorite among the Askarum deities is The Cat Lord, who is the god of. well. cats

as a human/elven/dwarven/otherwise nonfeline worshipper you must strive for the virtues of Grace and Guile and Coziness and Being A True Cat Ally but if you're a tabaxi or otherwise cat-adjacent, well. he's the god of YOU. you honor him simply by existing. therefore your sacred duties are Sleep Well and Eat Yummy Food and Have Fun

[herearedragons]

on a slightly sillier note but also about Askarum Bahamut. there IS an entire field of academia dedicated to the issue of "god wrote down the history of the world's creation and our pantheon for us but he did it kind of badly and also most of it happened before he existed so a lot of it is secondhand information he might have misunderstood or misremembered"

[herearedragons]

the thing about Askarum is that artifice as an antagonistic force is pretty common in fantasy settings so I went well what if. what if artifice as hope. what if artifice as survival. what if artifice as building the future you want to see. the divine is built upon artifice and that makes sense because what is artifice if not bringing life into stillness and putting your will out into the world

[herearedragons]

the DM experience: when the literal gods are your blorbos

[herearedragons]

the name of the planet translates into Common as "our treasure"

whoops, thought about my dnd worldbuilding for too long and got emotional about it

the mortal realm is artificial. the mortal realm did not come built in with the rest of the universe. the mortal realm was a passion project by a merry band of misfits who were already powerful when they started, but only became gods halfway through, because what makes a god is the act of creation, what makes a god is the ability to say I will it so and so it shall be. the gods have crafted this world with their own hands and gave their breath and blood and sweat to make it work. Tiamat breathed fire at the core of the world for a hundred years, never stopping, while the others searched for a permanent way to keep it warm. Melora gave up her physical form and became the life essence of the planet itself because she loved it so much and her husband became the sun so that he may always keep her warm and safe, and tore out his eye and made it into the moon so it can watch the parts of the planet his light cannot reach

and then they tore themselves apart in a war that ended up with all survivors being disembodied and trapped between worlds, unable to touch their creation ever again

[herearedragons]

sorry I need to sit down and process the realization of "Askarum Bahamut became a god neither when he was forged nor when he became a godslayer but when he turned his claws, forged for the purpose of violence, to the clumsy task of keeping his family from being forgotten"

did I mention he wrote his history account by carving it into three separate mountains with his claws

Askarum!Bahamut also gets me btw. <- says the person who made him up

I just. he's the youngest of the gods. he was forged at the tail end of a war as the perfect adversary to a previously undefeatable foe. he's the first and only Creator God to have not created anything except SIKE. HE DID. he created RELIGION AS THE WORLD KNOWS IT TODAY. <- realization I had just now, isn't writing fun

by which I mean that once he was done killing Tiamat (aforementioned undefeatable foe) and she was done banishing the rest of the gods into oblivion with her dying breath so that Bahamut was the only one remaining because she died before she could get to him he sat his platinum butt down on a random island and did his best to write down an account of the war of the gods and the gods themselves so that they wouldn't be forgotten and the mortals' worship would keep them going

he's a construct. he's an unreliable narrator. he's doing his best to preserve a history that mostly played out before he existed and no one truly explained it to him because there wasn't time or need for that. he was forged in the likeness of his archenemy who never did anything bad to HIM specifically but he just knows she's evil and also she's gone now so that's that. and he's MY LITTLE GUY <- editor's note: said 'little guy' is a cosmic entity