On Mon, 6 Apr 1998, Kariu wrote:

> I was recently pondering the concept of the flight from shadow and the
> aftermath's of the migration of Cerilia. Those who received bloodlines
> were those present at Diesmer(sp) and now their offspring. I also
> understand that in the centuries when bloodtheft many blooded people's
> perished. I was wondering due to the locale of the explosion, and the fact
> that many migrated north into the Anuire, Rjurik, Khinasi, Brechet, and Vos
> lands if perhaps these realms share a larger portion of blooded individuals
> than any other region.

I think most of us consider that to be true. Most of the people who
survive the explosion at Deismaar ended up becoming Cerilians. A few may
have been Adurians, who managed to make it back to their continent over
water after the land bridge was destroyed. But for the most part, the
Cerilians do not seem to be a very exploration-oriented people. And this
is fairly logical: very few of the realms in Cerilia are overpopulated to
an extent that they are running out of resources. Constant wars tend to
keep much of the population down, and Cerilia appears to have abundant
resources for this purpose. There has been little need to go exploring,
and subsequently, most of the bloodlines have probably been kept within
the bounds of the continent. However, there are the roving Brechts and the
Khinasi who remember their ancestral home in Djapar, and ships can always
get sent off course by storms and end up in the strangest of places.

> 1). The domains may begin to have more non-blooded war-lords, or kings that
> rule through direct personal power, wealth, and guile.

Or democracies. If everyone is equal, then I suppose that democracies
might develop easier there than where bloodlines do exist.

> 2). The blooded regents on these new lands may control vast domains of
> little individual strength. What I mean to say is that with so little
> blooded people, there may be a tendency for a region to fall more easily in
> line with having a large number of provinces and/or holdings comprised of a
> single individual.

That's interesting. If there are few blooded people, and thus fewer people
who actually are truely "competing" with those blooded people, then
there's little reason for those few blooded people to spend LOTS of their
RP's on increasing their bloodlines. The practical upshot: a few people
with very high BL scores (as long as they can keep their relatives in
line, I guess). It makes the Egyptian "divine king" idea you mention
below more plausible.

> 3). The concept of the Overking may very well be alive in many of these
> regions. The ruling Monarch perhaps is viewed as a direct representative
> of their deity or a deity themselves, similar to ancient Egyptian (sp.)
> cultures. An aspect that I find very thrilling is that with little contact
> with the known Cerilan gods, perhaps there may be more influence of minor
> godlings, humanoid gods, or even new aspects of the old. The concept of a
> civilization based on the Imperial Rome, with the blood Emperor hailed as a
> god incarnate, though he only be a classed individual with long life, and
> an assortment of other abilities.
>
> 4). I would expect to see more influence of the humanoid races in these
> areas. The warmer climates and the relative intelligence of certain
> humanoids may lead to new races or old ones forming their own barbaric
> cultures. Imagine a small kingdom of Giants, a group of islands dominated
> and controlled by seabased sahuagin, lizardmen formed in military units or
> perhaps an involved society ruled by vassal Lizard Kings.

I must say that I really like the idea of a kingdom of Goblin Shogun with
a fairly high level of civilization that MANTA brought up. And the concept
of a culture of Cerilian Sea Elves functioning in a philosphically-based
representative democracy has a certain appeal as well. And I must admit
that I often imagine Lizard Men with a sort of Aztec/Mayan culture.

> 5). The technology of these new realms may have evolved in three
> directions. A) below the average Anuire realm. Perhaps they are in a
> bronze or stone age. B). Along the lines of a typical Iron Age
> environment, C). Advanced Civilization or region. Perhaps these cultures
> experience a new level of knowledge. Are these cultures decadent or
> thriving? Could they be both, the new culture trying to overtake the old
> and dying one?

It would be interesting for Cerilians to encounter a culture that was more
advanced their their own precisely BECAUSE they didn't have bloodline, and
therefore they all get along a whole lot better, have fewer wars, and
generally have more time to be creative and invent things. Perhaps they
have invented a whole "magical technology" (based, of couse, on only 1st &
2nd level spells and divinations and illusions). Still, does anyone want
to face a chain-fed Magic Missle Gatling Gun? I would also expect them to
get more out of their priestly magic, and to utilize cooperative magic
more often.

Interesting concepts.

Mark VanderMeulen
vander+@pitt.edu