- Details
- Category: Other Territories
By and large, each dwarven city is a nation-state to itself. There is no level of government or law above the city state. However, all dwarves rely on each other economically, and the various cities ally for mutual defense. The cities all contribute to a common standing army, which in times of peace is kept relatively small and is commanded by the most senior officer in service.
All the cities are ruled by their craft guilds, with a single, powerful guild ruling each city. The most powerful master of that guild acts as the de facto monarch. While most cities are ruled by mountain dwarf guilds, a few are dominated by a hill dwarf specialty. Mountain dwarves still hold enormous political and economic power, even in these hill dwarf strongholds.
Type: Landmass
Articles under The Dwarven Lands
- Details
- Category: Other Territories
The Meraluk Imperium is a union of the goblin races, each contributing their particular strengths to the greater whole. This makes them a power feared across the known world, as the gnomes can sadly attest.
Knockers form the bulk of the population. They can reproduce quickly, which is good, since their lifespans are short to begin with, and made shorter by their tendency to choose hazardous occupations. A knocker often works in mining or other heavy industry, and safety is less priority than profit and productivity. Knockers of the military are often relegated to infantry positions with limited training or skill, which means a high casualty rate.
One area where knockers excel is industry and commerce. While their products lack the quality and beauty of dwarven wares, they can produce a truly staggering quantity of solid, functional, ugly product in a very short time. If you want a sword fit for a king, go to the dwarves. To outfit a battalion of peasants for a skirmish on the cheap, buy from the knockers. Their skill with machinery makes them experts in making war machines, ranging from hand crossbows to enormous siege engines.
Some knockers show a natural talent for stealth, which makes them excellent thieves, spies, and assassins. A knocker might apply these skills in the military, sell them to the highest bidder, or turn them to his own ends somehow.
Knockers provide the money and materiel that make the Meraluk war machine go. Hobgoblin commanders borrow the cash they need for supplies, promising repayment out of the spoils of war. This coin often goes right back into goblin pockets, purchasing armor and weapons that are solid, reliable, and ugly. A Hobgoblin who fails to achieve victory and pay his debts finds himself blacklisted, and it becomes all but impossible to wage a campaign.
It's not unusual for bands of goblins to leave the Imperium and try to make their own way in the world. Some fail in business, others have committed some sin against the Order, while a fair number simply want a way of life not available to them among their own people.
Hobgoblins exercise the bulk of everyday power in the Imperium. Fundamentally, they run a military dictatorship, with a few dozen territories called Negara; each being run by a powerful warlord, or Jura. In theory, a Jura has absolute authority over her Negara, and enforces this through her military forces. The majority of the military is made up of hobgoblins, though units of goblins and elite bugbear troops also exist. Broadly, military units are divided into the common Berang (straightforward infantry and cavalry units) and the rarer Serigala (focused on stealth or wielding magic). Ranks are simple, indicated by clay beads called Tendaii. These are worn on a braid at the temple. Soldiers earned five white Tendaii, which are replaced by red, then finally five black Tendaii for a Jura. Various hobgoblin military members hold all important positions of governance, right down to the local level.
Jura must make war to make money. While there is no rule against conquering a neighboring Negara, in practice this is likely to bring disapproval from the Order. As a result, there is pressure on the Imperium to slowly and continually expand, and border Negara are prized positions.
Hobgoblin advancement is merit-based, with combat prowess and military strategy the primary criteria. Simply stabbing your superior in his sleep isn't enough. You must defeat him on the field of battle; or, rarely, in single combat.
Interestingly, the majority of Jura are female. In part this reflects a natural inclination toward planning over raw violence, and in part the will of the Order. Units with female commanders will consistently perform better in the field, and are governed more efficiently as well.
Hobgoblins can be surprisingly sentimental. For example, they commonly name all of their weapons, and armor, as well as important tools and equipment. During downtime, they carve, paint, and embroider intricate patterns into their equipment. This personalizes their otherwise mundane tools. A sword, breastplate, or cloak that survives dozens of campaigns is covered with countless lines, whorls, and even bits of poetry or song. Hobgoblins also keep pets, and mourn the deaths of these companions in combat as they would a fellow soldier or family member.
Hobgoblins are deeply superstitious. They revere the gods above all else. They regard arcane magic as forbidden; as stealing the power of the gods themselves. All magic should flow from the gods, and the gods alone. Any Universities that once stood in their territory are long since destroyed or abandoned, with one exception: the lonely tower. Despite their best efforts, the Jura have been unable to defeat the defenses of this outpost of a dozen gnomish master mages. For now they have decided to isolate and ignore it, while students come and go via teleport spells.
This gives enormous power to the bugbears, who form the religious center of the Imperium. There is no single, overall ruler of the Meraluk; the word of the bugbears' religious Order settles any disputes between the Jura, and provides a unifying force if needed. The disapproval of a member of the order can destroy a hobgoblin's military career or a goblin's business, and condemnation almost always means a death sentence.
Not every bugbear is a member of the Order, of course, but enough are that the stereotype exists. Initiates in the order are called Diama. They form the bulk of the order. They take vows of silence, poverty, and obedience for one year, and hope to find enlightenment, called Melihat. If no enlightenment comes, they might renew their vows for another year, or return to their ordinary lives. Some Diama silently serve this way for decades, or even their entire lives. Those fortunate enough to find their Melihat however, are led to a higher form of service.
Tinju are paladins, who take an oath before the gods that empowers them with gifts to work their will in the world. Tinju often serve alongside hobgoblin armies, bringing the power of the gods to the battlefield.
Hewan are barbarians, allowing the gods and their servants to possess their bodies directly. Hewan do not give or follow orders, but act to follow the will of the divine as they understand it. Other Meraluk stand in awe of this divine madness.
Rahasia are clerics, bringing the power of the gods directly to the world. Every settlement has a few Rahasia, as does every military force in the field.
Tidaka are monks; the rarest and highest service in the order. Tidaka are said to know the minds of the gods themselves. Their word is as good as law, and the average Meraluk is terrified of them. The most enlightened of all Tidaka is called the Kekutan, and is the head of the order. The Kekutan assigns a Tidaka to advise each Jura, as well as the heads of the major artisan guilds.
The members of all services in the order accumulate tattoos. These commemorate visions, accomplishments, failures, and lessons learned. All the members might have every square inch of skin covered with ink.
A key part of unifying the Meraluk into a single nation was bringing the goblins under control. Previously, they were pure chaos, alternating between wildly over breeding and being nearly wiped out. The hobgoblins and bugbears were able to focus their greedy tendencies and natural creative talents. The result is a fairly rigid society, where an individual's worth can be measured by their hard work. Gold earned, swords made, miles of road laid, stones cut, or even just hours of hard, backbreaking work are the primary source of pride for goblins. This is what their gods require of them, they are told, and their labor paves the path to victory as surely as the blood of hobgoblin warriors or the vows of bugbear monks.
Of course, the goblin tendency towards chaos, mayhem, and mischief can't be completely contained. Those individuals who are little more unhinged are often recruited into professions where their unique natures can be of use. As sappers, rogues, rangers, assassins, alchemists, spies, thugs, or explosive experts, they can still contribute to their rather repressive society. They still measure their worth the same way, counting obsessively their walls breached, secrets found, or throats slit.
Some goblins are simply beyond help, though. They are forced to leave the Imperium, striking out into the wilderness on their own, joining parties of adventurers, or trying to find a place in other societies. They still obsessively compare themselves to their companions and neighbors, trying to calculate who is worth more.
Similarly, not every burly and barbaric bugbear has taken to their people's new life of discipline and mystery. A fair number still have the old life in the wilds, shunned by their more civilized brethren and avoiding them in turn.
To an outsider, the cities of the Meraluk Imperium all look much the same. A glance, they are all very similar, largely the result of the harshly imposed order that holds the goblinoids together. Though the great majority of Meraluk still live in small and scattered villages in the wilds, a few large cities sprung up as part of the unification, and a few former gnomish cities were occupied rather than razed.
In every case, the Meraluk live in large, communal longhouses. Several families, related by blood, business, or other ties occupy them together. These groups are similar in social status and share food and chores. The buildings themselves are built primarily of blocks of sod, with frames and roof of wood. A peat fed fire is kept burning in the center for the cooking and smoking of food, and for more.
The hobgoblins originated this form of communal living. Their longhouses have a sort of balcony running along each long side, used for storage, with the rest of the space open. The concept of privacy is foreign to the hobgoblins, who were naturally suspicious anyway. All activities take place in the longhouse, including military training, eating, worship, and meetings. The longhouses of powerful Jura have grown to truly enormous size, thanks to goblin engineers, enormous wooden pillars, and temporary wooden screens that can be used to divide space. These screens are made of wooden frames, intricately carved, and covered in cloth or hide panels that are richly and beautifully painted. They allow powerful hobgoblins to create functional rooms without violating the taboo against dividing the longhouse, which they believe will divide the family strength.
Goblins adapted the concept to their own particular needs. Their longhouses are subdivided into countless small rooms, interconnected by small, round doors. This is reminiscent of the underground warrens and tunnels where the goblins first lived. Extensive basements are common, and tunnels often connect to other dwellings and buildings. The goblins feel strongly that the home is a home, and all business and industry is conducted in separate structures. This habit dates back to when forge fires that burned out of control needed to be contained, and today professional buildings are still most often built of stone.
A bugbear longhouse is also a divided structure. One end is sectioned off for sleeping, and is called the dead. The other is sectioned off for worship, and called the grotto. Both harken back to the residence original mountain homes, and are completely off-limits to any who do not live in the longhouse. The rest of the space is open and used for a wide array of purposes, and outsiders are welcome in these central areas.
Type: Landmass
Articles under The Meraluk Imperium
- Details
- Category: Other Territories
Once, the gnomes controlled a vast (if sparsely populated) territory in the East of the world. This ceased to be the case when the Meraluk Imperium swarmed North, looking to conquer better lands for their peoples. The gnomes who survived fled to the Elves and Dwarves, integrating into their societies as second-class citizens.
The gnomes lived in a dozen cities and hundreds of small villages in their woods, plains, and hills, with countless scattered burrows in the far Eastern jungles. A monarchy ruled from The Lonely Tower, which also housed the sole gnomish University. While the existence of a monarch implies a united people, in truth this was mostly a central economic system. Politically, every settlement and, to some extent, every gnomish household was independent. Laws varied from place to place and time to time, with the various areas at best linked into a loose confederacy. As a result, when the Meraluk came there was only a fractured and disorganized response.
When the Meraluk approached the Lonely Tower, the magicians who lived their combined their powers to unleash a devestating blast of raw magic. Thousands of Meraluk were vaporized instantly, and the land for miles around was blasted into a barren wasteland. The explosion cost the lives of the magicians, as well as the gnomish royals, who sacrificed themselves to empower the spell.
Today, the only real gnomish settlement left is the Lonely Tower, reduced to a Guild University without a monarch or people to rule over. They have twelve Seats; magicians representing expertise in a particular area of spellcasting. When in council these Seats sit on ancient stools, which are the symbol of the University and its token. The barrens around the Tower are tragic but useful, making it impossible for a Meraluk force to approach without being seen and blasted to atoms.
Unknown to most of the world, there are still "feral" gnomes occupying the Eastern jungles. These gnomes live in family groups or small clans, and never divided into Rock and Forest gnomes like their wandering cousins. A few of the gnomish diaspora have learned this, and fantasize about re-establishing a gnomish kingdom in these wild lands.