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hendrack
 
PostPosted: Mon, Jan 19 2009, 16:06 PM 

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Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Location: Vienna

MoshingChris and myself have worked out an idea for a group of characters based around Khem on Amia-B, here it goes:



Scions of the Eight

Image

I'd like to point out that Mosh and myself consider our Mulan characters as main characters and spend most of our time in Amia Abroad and Khem now. We want to establish a permanent flow of RP around Khem and most of our RP is player driven, and we would like to continue in that fashion rather than rely on the DM team to draw characters to a region.

That said, if you are keen on spending much of your time in Khem, read on.

Requirements:

Religion:The Mulhorandi pantheon, except for Sebek and Set

Alignment: Divine Classes - allowed cleric alignments of the respective deities (see pantheon link), generally Good/Neutral but Thoth and Geb also allow NE.

Classes: no RDD, no PM. Rangers and paladins are usually faithful to Osiris, but may follow other mulan gods as well.

Race: Mulan or planetouched human (aasimar) preferred if you want to be part of the clergy.

Dwarves and earth genasi worshipping Geb, half-elves worshipping Isis are also a possibility. Mulans generally are xenophobic and have a strict caste system. It is entirely possible however to play another race and RP your background as former slave, though it should fit into the general Mulan theme.

Mosh about other races in the Mulhorandic region wrote:
Unther has a burgeoning population of Gold Dwarves and a small colony of Halflings. Neither of these races would worship the Mulhorand Pantheon. Dwarves are isolationists away from rift home and likely only pursue an uneasy trade with the Mulan.

Halflings occupy a small colony in Unther aswell and thats mostly due to the adaptability of the race.

Also Chessenta represents more the entirety of Ancient Greece rather than Sparta individually. Chessenta is formed from warring city states with the cultural and hero worship aspect of the greeks aswell as the theological divides.


Group outline:

The Guardians of Skuld are literally Guardians of the City of Skuld, what we are suggesting is an idea based on this group not the group itself.

Basically, we consist of characters that have their background in Unther, Mulhorand, Khem and other neighboring lands with the goal to spread the influence of Mulhorand in the Alamber Sea, namely Khem.

It is notable to mention that Anhur and Hoar, among their followers, don't get along very well, since Anhur stole a portfolio that Hoar wanted to claim during the Time of Troubles.



A small introduction to Mulhorand:

“Compared to all other known nations,
Mulhorand is paradise. The gods created
Mulhorand to show the mortals of
other lands what the afterlife could be
like.” -Old Mulhorand saying


Mulhorand is one of the old kingdoms in eastern Faerûn. The Mulharandi were brought to Toril by the evil Imaskar Empire looking for some manpower. After countless praises, Lord Ao contacted Ptah who lead a part of the Mulhorandi pantheon to Toril. Ironically, their traditional enemy is another tribe of Mulhorandi who had been captured by Imaskaris at the same time, the kingdom of Unther.

Mulhorand is a lawful neutral society. It does not want change, rather belives in order and discipline. Every being is expected to obey and respect the authority of the priests. Mulhorand is a theocratic state, ruled by the priesthood. Mulhorandi are supposed to submit to the authority of the priests in all things, they always show great respect whenever a priest walks by, either bowing their head or turning away as not to interfere with the priest.

To its faithful citizens Mulhorand represents paradise on earth, stability and security for all eternity. These concepts cannot be challenged. However, its society is plagued with corruption, the priesthood thrives for political domination which results in infighting and power struggles.

The people of Mulhorand are arrgoant, the nobles consider themselves to be better than the people of every other nation. They see themselves more civilized, prosperous, creative and powerful than any other nation. Mulhorand is ruled by the gods, and even the slaves are haughty, because they are not property of men but the gods themselves.

Nobility

Bureaucrats form the most "easy" group. It is possible to advance from a slave to a buerocrat if one gets good education. They include tax-collectors, scribes, messengers and sometimes spies. They obey the clergy and have to interprete the deliberately vague orders from them. This is to enable the clergy to fulfill their ambitions without getting their hands dirty. Wizardy is considered to be honourable. They must swear allegiance to the Pharaoh and the churches of Thoth and Horus-Re.

The priests are the major players in Mulhorand. They control much land and thousands of slaves. The pharaoh allows them to determine the policies of the land. He is more a figurehead and mostly that by choice. Theoretically, the priesthood, mages and bureaucrats must obey every whim, but he has not used this authority so far. The pharaoh is always male and always an incarnation of Horus-Re, thus his clergy is also the strongest in Mulhorand.

The priesthoods are hereditary, their members almost always incarnations of the deities. The houses are usually named by their Thayvian names:

House of Horus-Re: Helcaliant
House of Thoth: House of Thoulant
House of Osiris: House of Osirant
House of Anhur: House of Ramathant

Female incarnations are not given a house name, nor are descendents of Set incarnations.

Mulhorand is thoroughly patriarchal. The first two sons of a House are said to be nobles. The eldest may own two third of the father's land and slaves, the second son one third. All other sons and daughters must fend for themselves. If a noble wishes to establish power in Mulhorand, it is almost always useful to have friends in the priesthood of Horus-Re.

Nobles of all variety must shave themselves bald and paint one to three circles on their forehead.

One circle = educated freeman
Two circles = mage
Three circles = priest

Mulhorand does not have a formal hierachy of titles, they are referred to as "Lords", their spouses as "Ladies". Governors and rulers of cities are referred to as "Precepts". Major honors are given to bureaucratic positions. Wizards are referred to as "Lord Wizard", wizards that also belong to the priesthood of Thoth are called "Lord High Wizards". Priests are called "Lord Priests", the important ones "Lord High Priests".

The Middle Class

The Middle Class owns only small parts of the land. Many are either artists, builders, traders, mercenaries and scribes. Farmers may lease slaves from the churches to work on their land. Wealthy members of this class are seen as marriage prospects for the daughters of nobles. Adventurers belong to this class but are treated with disdain because adventuring is seen as the same thing like grave robbing. There are some craft guilds, most notably the Scribes's Guild. Those guilds are honourable compared to the priesthood infights and value the rights and security of their members. Most professional soldiers and guards are Chessentan mercenaries, paid by precepts of the cities they are stationed.

Slaves

This is the vast majority of Mulhorands population. They are official property of the churches. They can be leased as workers but not purchased. Generally they are well treated. Killing a slave is a severe crime, unfairly treated slaves may complain to a priest of Osiris to judge the matter. Each temple buys its own slaves to be trained for different purposes.


A small introduction to Unther:

“How great are the Mulan, of which Unther
is the purest! How great are their
works, how cunningly wrought! How
skilled are their minds and how mighty
is their magic! Let all nations praise the
Mulan, of which Unther is the purest!”
- A hymn of the priests of Gilgeam


Unther, like its long-standing enemy, Mulhorand, was once a great empire, but now seems to be in decline. The magocratic country is ruled by the Northern Wizards from the capital of Messemprar, formerly named Unthalass

In the 2ED of the Forgotten Realms, Unther was ruled by the godking Gilgeam, which has been slain during the Time of Troubles by Tiamat. After this, the society of Unther was driven into chaos and the southern region already invaded by Mulhorand. Unther basically consists of two „factions“, the people who clinge to the old ways of Gilgeam, and the others hoping that the Pharaoh of Mulhorand will free them from their misery.

Nekhy wrote:
Mulhorand is almost directly taken from the folklore of ancient Egypt. Unther seems to be a combination of the Mesopotamian regions, and Chessenta is quite a bit like Sparta, with some touches from Athenian culture.


Nekhy wrote:
Must correct on Mulhorand being a bad tyranny, though. Unther was the cruel tyranny, but while Mulhorand has very strict social structure and slaves, its slaves are educated and can raise up the social ladder all the way to bureaucrats and often serve as teachers to nobles, too. It's a tyranny, but mostly a benevolent tyranny. Many Untherian slaves and other lower class citizens in fact welcomed Mulhorandi conquerors because it meant a lot better treatment for them. They even took up arms and raised against their own countrymen to aid Mulhorand.



Cities in Mulhorand:

Skuld

Skuld is one of the oldest cities known in the realms. No invading army has ever breached its walls, and never will, for Mulhorand is eternal. Elves, halflings and gnmoes are forbidden on the streets, unless they have a letter of permit from either a buerocrat or a temple. Half-elves and dwarves may not carry weapons unless paying for it to the city authorities. Most of them are mercenaries and this pays well for the city. Visitors may only enter the two merchant's wards or the shipyards. Each disctrict is fortified with great walls and guarded gates.

Trade comes from either the road of Maerlar or the sea. This eastern gate to Maerlar is protected by a garrison of roughly 500 mercenariees from Chessenta. Entering through the sea gate, you find either the naval shipyard or the merchant yard. Crews visiting may rest in taverns near the docks. Goods coming into Skuld are heavily taxed, unless chartered by the god-kings. Merchants may operate in the warehouse district. It contains shops, inns, moneychangers and stores that supply adventerurs. Only priests of Horus-Re and Osiris may sell weapons and arms however.

All guards in the city are mercenaries from Chessenta. Only with a permit from the bureaucrats they mave wield armor and weapons. One may not cast spells in the city without permission from the temple of Thoth. There are no establishments for adventurers, though one may find work as bodyguard or escort caravans. It is possible to join the city guard, but only with total fealty to the pharaoh and the priests.

The city should be ruled by the vizier, which is the strong right hand of the pharaoh, but instead affairs are handled by high level priests of Horus-Re. Punishment for crimes is often death by public decapitation, performed in front of the temple of Horus-Re. Capital crimes consist of murder, blasphemy, entering a forbidden place, lying to a priest of Horus-Re, assaulting/cursing/theft to/from a priest, killing a slave without reason, trespassing or theft of a nobles estate and assaulting a guard.


Geography:

Image

Image


Terms in Mulhorand: (credits go to fireprooftroll)

Note: We do not require you to know those words. We basically use "Em-hotep" as greeting for flavour, but thats it.


fireprooftroll wrote:
None of this is Amia Lore, and should not be counted as such. To build a sense of belonging and esprit de corps, here are some words and stuff to use when RPing within the Mulhorandi environ


Khem - Or Kemet, is an ancient term that translates to "Black land" It refers to the fertile fields surrounding the Nile. It is also how the ancient Egyptians referred to their country

Deshret - Is the term for the "Red Land" or the desert that surrounds the Kemet.

Netjer - (net-CHUR, net-JAIR) is the Kemetic term for god or gods.

Ma'at - (mah-'-ot with the ' signifying a glottal stop) Is an amalgam of words, ranging from "truth" to "harmony" to "stability", and the best correlation is the Taoist understanding of Tao, "The Way". Ma'at is what is right -- what is correct. When your life is in Ma'at, you can feel it.

Em hotep - (EM ho-TEP) has several meanings. It can be used as a parting phrase or salutation. In this case, it means "In peace." An extended version is "Il-wy em hotep" or Welcome in peace!" "Em hotep" is not to be confused with "Imhotep," "(he)comes in peace"

Ankh udja seneb - (ahnkh ood-JAH zen-EB) Used to be a benediction associated with royalty (similar to "Long live the King!"), and means "Life, prosperity, and health". It is used today as a farewell phrase ("I must retire now to home and rest. Ankh udja seneb!").

Nekhtet - (nekh-TET) or "VICTORY!" Is an exclamation of achievement. Simialr to "Hooray!" It may be used to praise another person, in a situation that deserves praise, or for yourself, after accomplishing something.


Lesser Priesthoods
W'ab
Hem-Netjer
Sesh
Setem

Higher Priesthoods (taken after W'ab and Hem-Netjer)
Kher-heb
Heri-sesheta
Heri-tep

W'ab - "Pure One." W'abu perform purification rites on all persons, places, and objects required for liturgical service and are the caretakers of ritual implements and clothing in the temple and in the shrines they maintain. All priests of any type are trained in the W'ab priesthood and retain the ability to act as W'abu throughout their priestly careers, no matter which other disciplines they might eventually carry out. Many influential priests brag in their tomb writings not about their high administrative offices, but about the fact that they served as Pure Ones for particular festivals or occasions.

Hem-Netjer - "servant of the gods" is a title given at an existing W'ab priest's Imakhu ordination. Hem-Netjer are called to be servants of the Name(s) of Netjer they are dedicated to, such as Hem-Horus-Re or Hemet-Set. All Imakhu priests are Hem-Netjer priests. When a W'ab priest is accepted for Imakhu training, (s)he is referred to as an Imy-set'a, literally meaning "on the arm," and translating roughly as "priest in training."

Sesh - "Scribe" a scribal authority and secretary of temple liturgies or administrative documents. As writing in Mulhorand is literally writing the "words of the gods," it is an important position, even though it is mostly an administrative one.

Setem - "Funerary Overseer" In charge of the care and and mummification of the esteemed dead. Since most Mulhorandi spend their entire lives preparing for the afterlife, the Setem occupy a revered position in society.

Kher-Heb - "Cantor" a canon who actually reads, chants or sings rites aloud and is responsible for their proper execution. This priest is also similar to the modern concept of a "magician" — a reciter of prayers and formulae sometimes mistakenly referred to as "spells," for the invocation of Netjer and the benefit of the faithful.

Heri-sesheta - "who is over the secrets" Heri-sesheta serves as a counselor for both other priests and members as well as a divining priest and magician. Heri-sesheta generally employs divination or heka as forms of counseling and discernment for the persons (s)he counsels. They have a hand in the heka around which the liturgies, prayers and invocations are written or formed.

Heri-tep - "who is at the head" the administrative title for any priest who "in charge" of the development or direction of other priests or of a temple itself. A Heri-tep is always both a W'ab and an Imakhu, (s)he can also serve in any other priestly discipline. There were temples large enough to support several heri-tepu (often designated as first, second, and so on, and sometimes called "prophets." The title implies seniority in service, both in experience and chronology.

Suwenet - Physician Priest

Imakhu - Reverend

Kai-Imakhu - Exalted Reverend

Imy-set'a - Priest in Training (usage example: Imy-set'a Horus-Re her Isis, or Priest In Training of Horus-Re and Isis)


Shemsu - "followers" or "those in the royal entourage." It implies roles of devotion, protection, assistance or identification. Shemsu, as the Followers of the Ruler, served as royal bodyguards, chamberlains, and court functionaries, both on a political/religious and a personal level. If a shemsu died without sufficient funds for burial, fellow members pitched in resources and time to make sure the rites were performed and the decedent's family provided for. The elders were occasionally appointed to laity positions in the temples and additionally, in a state where religion and politics were not necessarily separate entities, shemsu served in important governance positions in its villages or towns.

Sedjauty - Sealbearer




Feel free to ask questions here and send me PMs if I have brainfarted on the lore side.


Last edited by hendrack on Fri, Jan 08 2010, 21:02 PM, edited 51 times in total.

 
      
hendrack
 
PostPosted: Mon, Oct 12 2009, 14:29 PM 

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Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Location: Vienna

Little overhaul of the thread, lot has changed in our group since it originally started.


 
      
MoshingChris
 
PostPosted: Fri, Jun 11 2010, 8:43 AM 

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Joined: 04 Sep 2007
Location: Down South and Bent Edge

I'm getting the ball rolling on this again, as in hendrack and unless I'm mistaken so is Ziacat (unless she's gone afk without telling me again)

Placeholder.

_________________
I play: Gage le Gris
Socially and recently politically Inept Knight of Xymor


 
      
agnus
 
PostPosted: Sun, Apr 21 2013, 18:33 PM 



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Joined: 14 Apr 2013

Cool. *bump*


 
      
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