Coordinator: Killer Shrike, 2009/06/05 07:32Description
This Paradigm represents a Howard-influenced land of barbarisms and high adventure with a "Sword & Sorcery" flavor meaning a general focus on muscles over magic. While magic exists, it is much rarer and less reliable than magic is in some other Realms such as the Realm of Gygaxica. Example Source MaterialMost sources for Sword & Sorcery are literary, and include the works of Robert E. Howard, Fritz Lieber, and Michael Moorcock, and several movies from the eighties such as Conan, Ladyhawk, Red Sonja, Willow, and Dragonslayer. Sword & Sorcery hasn't been much in vogue in recent decades, but aspects of it can be seen in some of the writings of modern authors like Brust, David Gemmell, and Goodkind. Role-playing forays into this arena are usually based on a literary source, and include versions of Conan and Dragonlords of Melnibone, but there are some original examples such as the Riddle of Steel. Also, the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting for D&D can be played as more of a Sword & Sorcery setting rather than as High Fantasy.
Details- Paradigm: Aggregation of the ground rules and assumptions of this Realm.
MapsRegions- Civizia: The height of learning, culture, and civilization in this dark Realm.
- Albizia: A collection of rugged islands of grim and cruel rocky highlands infested with a plethora of small hunter / warrior hill tribes and clans, strange beasts, and abandoned daemon-infested Dwarven halls from a bygone era.
- Norizia: Frozen Northlands of cold and merciless snow wastes, fjords, rivers, and black evergreen forests, peopled by a collection of the very toughest of mankind and other hardy breeds.
- Silizia: A Desert Wasteland of stark and dangerous parched desert, wherein all manner of ruins, power mad magic users, and dervish tribes might live.
- Tropizia: A tropical savageland / Archipelago composed of dangerous jungles, swamps, and rain forests hiding dark ruins, savage primitives, and strange beasts. However spices, tea, coffee, gems, exotic creatures, and other fantastic curiosities support lucrative mercantile concerns and though there is much danger there is also much money to be made.
- Stepizia: A large and empty land of endless grass plains in the south and unforgiving steppes in the north populated by dour humans, pygmies, and orcs.
- Orizia: A large region containing all manner of lush mountains, plains, valleys, steppes, rivers, and lakes populated by descendants of ancient Lemurad.
Realm of Barbarica
LanguagesHuman origins
- Atladian: the lost language of ancient Atlad
- Lemuradish: the lost language of ancient Lemurad
- Orisian: many misc dialects descended from Lemuradish used in the Orizian subcontinent
- Yin (official language of the Va Imperium)
- Lum (southern Orizia)
- Dai (eastern Orizia)
- Kraag: the language of the human Kraagen tribes of Norizia
- Adahem-sha-ta'a-kor: the language of the Adahem-sha tribes of Stepizia
- Nemish: the language of the descendants of Nemed in Tropizia
- Teetan-Nemish: a major dialect of Nemish spoken in Teetan
- Bieha: the language of the people of Khem and Tulloco in Silizia
- Grokus: language of aboriginal Humans in Tropizia; possibly the remnants of a lost civilization. It has many localized dialects
- Orcrish: The root language of Ancient Orcria. Simple, guttural, and direct it has survived basically intact for several thousand years despite numerous dialects
- Zavak: language spoken in Zlavikia
- Atoli: patois spoken by the wanderering Atlov tribes
- Kymaran: language spoken in Kymaria
Elvish origins
- Sharmuta: the ancient and beautiful language of Sharmut. Also called "Old Elvish" by some scholars.
- Cruach: a debased, clipped, and grossly simplified version of Sharmuta. Regional dialects vary widely in particulars, but the core architecture of the language persists in many areas where a remnant of Sharmut survives.
- Civizian: the dominant language of modern day Civizia; evolved from Sharmuta after the fall of Sharmut. Note: despite its elven origins this is primarily a human-spoken language.
Dwarven origins
- Karadak: Language of the Karadaka (Dwarves)
Lizardman origins
- Lizarro: Language of the Lazerti (Swamp Lizardmen)
- Tsaza: Language of the Tsazara (Desert Lizardmen)
DeitiesThe Realm of Barbarica is a rough place, and the types of deities that are worshiped there reflect this. Short on benevolence and long on violence, there is diverse collection of mostly dark and unsympathetic entities with followings ranging from millions to solo crazed loners. In this context, "entity", "deity", and "god" are loose terms of convenience used synonymously to mean "a powerful non-mortal entity that grants power to followers in return for worship"; it can include powerful Daemons, Elementals, and so forth. While major entities are described, there is plenty of flexibility to inject minor godlings, Elementals, or Daemons that grant powers to their faithful and have cults dedicated to them in order to serve the needs of a story. SIGNIFICANT DEITIES
MECHANICSThe "priests", "clerics", or "devotees" of these entities use the Ecclesiasm Magic System with the exception of some nature gods whose devoted use the Naturalism Magic System. DEMI-GODS, HERO DEITIES, DAEMON LORDS, ELEMENTAL LORDSThough they might otherwise be indistinguishable from or thought of as being "gods" by their faithful, Demi-gods, Hero Deities, Daemons, and Elementals are a little different than true "gods": - They can have a physical manifestation
- they are limited to one locale at a given point in time
- it takes some time and effort to manifest at a given point
- they generally must be "summoned" or called forth by appropriate efforts of their devotees
- Unlike a truly immortal god, they can be permanently slain by mortal means if their physical manifestation is destroyed
DEMI-GODSDemi-gods have immortal parentage on one side and mortal parentage on the other, though the number of generations removed from either side may be one or more depending on GM preference. CONCERNSDemi-gods typically only have one or two Concerns, though there might be exceptions. HERO DEITIESHero Deities are mortals who have undergone an apotheosis and thus ascended to godhood. What means of ascension are valid is left to the GM's determination. CONCERNSHero Deities typically only have one Concern, but more powerful ones may have more. DAEMONSDaemons are entities of a malefic origin, often thought to have "abyssal" or "lower planar" origins. Not all Daemons are "evil" in the malevolent, blackest pits of depravity sense (though many are), but they are all inimical, destructive, anathemic, or disruptive in some way. CONCERNSAll Daemons should include either Evil, Chaos, Destruction, Death, Undeath, Terror, or Decay as their first Deific Concern. ELEMENTALSElementals are entities of spiritual origin or originating from planes of pure primal forces; the most typical arrangement is the classical Fire, Earth, Air, Water concept. Though not necessarily malevolent, Elementals tend to have primal, extreme natures and act in ways that don't necessarily conform to mortal logic or senses of ethics. CONCERNSAll Elementals should include Fire, Earth, Air, or Water as their first Deific Concern. At the GM's discretion other more specialized Concerns that are still elementally themed such as Cold or Lightning might be appropriate instead.
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