Dragons in Guang Keshar Society

July 26, 2010 · Posted in Musings, World Background · Comment 

As the direct descendants of Huang Ti and being made in her image, dragons are honored throughout Guang Keshar. They could be considered demi-gods or something akin to patron saints: beings can act as emissaries between mortals and the Jade Wyrm. It’s common to find votive statues of the various dragons, past and present, on family altars, which the family honors and prays to, asking for help in various areas of their lives. For their own part, dragons generally consider themselves above the affairs of mortals, though the common people don’t realize this.

This doesn’t mean that they’re above politics. They have their own extremely complex machinations they play out amongst themselves. Being immortal, dragon politics are long-range and labyrinthian. Sometimes, even the Great Houses become entangled in them, but that’s more incidental than by design; even then the focus remains on the others of their own kind. Dragon politics can also be extremely deadly–they may be immortal, but they’re not unkillable.

Having a dragon visit your hearth is considered a great blessing, unless she becomes offended or angered (usually as the result of poor hospitality). In that case, they can leave behind a terrible curse, if they so choose. Dragons are the original sorcerers and those with magical ability usually have at least a drop or two of dragon blood in their veins. Being shapeshifters, dragons may (and often do) mate with whatever species strikes their fancy. Thus, it is possible to find dragon blood in all the known races of Guang Keshar.

Those known to have dragon blood are often treated as semi-divine, or at least having been “touched” by divinity.

[Photo Courtesy of Richard Fischer via Flickr Creative Commons]

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Product Update

June 22, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 

Work on Lia Tsashu is proceeding, but much slower than I would like. While writing it, I’ve realized that I’ve had to gloss over several topics that really require more in-depth explanation than a city supplement would be able to give them. Because of that, I’ve revised my release schedule.

Guang Keshar’s first official release will cover the richichi, both as new player race and as NPCs.  In it you’ll find information about their life, beliefs and society. What do richichi eat? What’s their religion? What do their houses look like? You ‘ll find all of that in the richichi book, along with ideas on how to incorporate this new race into your game, as well as suggestions on adapting them to your favorite game system.

Until it’s ready for publication, I’ll continue to post excerpts from the book. Please feel free to post questions or comments, ideas and any suggestions you may have.

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Richichi Town Life

June 15, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 

Even in towns, richichi maintain their own gardens. It may only be a couple of meager pots growing tomatoes, but it is usually the pride of their home. While richichi country homes rarely rise more than a single story above ground, town homes are built with many stories and frequently house several families at once. In town, many small humanoids will rent rooms in the same houses, so a richichi family on the third floor may have a halfling family below them, etc.

Shopkeepers and tradesmen have their store fronts on the ground floor of their houses, while they and their families live on the floor(s) above the shop. A poor tradesman will usually rent out the rooms on the floors above the one(s) he and his family uses.

Every able-bodies adult owes the town two days work out of every month. This kabu sa (“gift work”) is part of the taxes owed to the town and kingdom the person lives in. During their kabu sa, people work on repair roads and bridges, keeping the town clean, maintaining administrative buildings, keeping fire watch and some light town guard duties.

The richichi take great pride in their homes and that extends to their towns and cities, as well, which they view as part of their home.

To get around town, most richichi walk. Many streets, even in a large city, are simply too narrow to pass through otherwise. The wealthy may travel in richichi-sized palanquins, rickshaws, or in small carriages pulled by tiny horses especially bred by the richichi. Middle-class and well-off peasants frequently travel in carts pulled by their beloved dogs. Riding is difficult for the richichi because of the anatomy of their hips and leg, but some richichi performers do so, standing or squatting on dog-back.

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Religion of the common folk

May 24, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 

Guang Keshar has a state religion – the worship of Huang Ti, the Jade Serpent. The Church of Jade, as the organization is known, is a pyramidal organization, with the top being the High Priest(ess), the head of House Thumun who hold the Seat of Faith. All residents of Guang Keshar, human or otherwise, are assumed to be members of the Church.

While attendance at religious functions (which are also state functions and visa versa) isn’t mandatory, per se, not attending would definitely be a matter for gossip, particularly in a city such as Lia Tsashu. So while attendance is (for all intents and purposes) require, belief isn’t. Like the Roman state church of our own world, as long as the rites are observed, the Empire will be safely guarded by the Jade Serpent and her offspring. Belief is a matter for the clergy.

In a town like Lia Tsashu, the highest resident member of the clergy would be a full priest. Priests are not required to be celibate—indeed, they are encouraged to marry. They do, however, take vows of poverty and they (and their families) are expected to live on church grounds, supported by tithes from the faithful. They may own no more than their family needs for it’s day-to-day sustenance.

Religion is woven into everyday life in Guang Keshar. Every household has their own guardian spirit who, along with the family’s ancestors, watches over and guides those who live there. A portion of every meal is set aside and placed on the family altar. Fresh flowers, seasonal fruits and nuts, and miniature replicas of the tools of the family’s trade are also placed there so that the family’s daily activities may be blessed and fruitful.

Before preparation for the next meal, a member of the family takes the food offerings from the last meal and sets them outside in a bowl for the fey spirits, the “little people” who are considered to be Huang Ti’s helpers. Not placing an offering is considered stingy and is likely to bring bad luck. Before big events in the family’s life, the family spirits are given a special offering and asked for guidance, which usually comes in the form of dreams or seemingly chance events. The family also shares a portion of its good fortune with the family spirits and also shares a small portion of their income (5%) with the local priest.

Public religious rites are far from dreary and quite unlike the “church services” of our Christian world. High holy days involve games and feasting.

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Seafarers’ Guild Rumors

May 4, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 

Below are some rumors about the Seafarers’ Guild. I haven’t really decided yet which ones are true, so please leave me a comment telling me which ones you would like to be true:

  • The guild reports to no one and is following the will of Admiral Limani without supervision or accountability
  • A new Emperor has been selected, but refuses to come forward while Emperor Hotashen lives. The guild actually reports to the new Emperor.
  • Emperor Hotashen isn’t really sick; the Guild still reports to him.
  • The Guild has captured the Emperor and hidden him away. The Harbingers Council made up the story of his illness to cover his disappearance. The want to put Lord Kenlo Ling on the Imperial seat because of his ties with the Guild.
  • The Council has kidnapped the Emperor and made up the story of his illness to cover it. The Guild is doing his best to find him.
  • The Guild and the Council are working together to overthrow the Emperor and have the Moot of Harbingers become the sole ruling body of Guang Keshar
  • The Guild has found a cure for the Emperor’s illness, but is withholding it for their own reasons.
  • The Guild is searching the world for a cure to the Emperor’s illness.
  • The Guild has found a cure, but it’s on the other side of the world in the hands of barbarians who won’t give it up for anything less than the hand of the Emperor’s daughter in marriage. Because the Emperor has no daughter, this is a problem.
  • Emperor Hotashen has named Admiral Limani as his heir, he just hasn’t made it publicly known yet. The Council knows this and is looking for a way to subvert it.

Which one of these should be true and why? Do you have any other suggestions for rumors? Please leave a comment below. What you suggest could become an official part of Lia Tsashu.

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The Seafarers’ Guild

April 26, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 
explore 210 on Saturday, January 12, 2008 Buqu...
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The Seafarers’ Guild is a guild dedicated to the well-being of Guang Keshar’s commercial sailors and sailing ships. Having no House affiliation, the head of the guild, Admiral Limani Kukuri, reports directly to the Emperor. Even the Moot of Harbingers has no authority over the Guild.

The Guild has a monopoly on all commercial sea traffic in Guang Keshar. As per imperial law, no House may send out their own ships across the sea for the purposes of trade and commerce. Houses are still allowed to field navies and other military-purpose ships, as well as a single flagship with escort.

Most members are born into the Guild. An acknowledged child of one or more Seafarer parents automatically becomes a member of the Guild, as do all children born in Guild-controlled towns. Residents of Guild towns are also considered Seafarers, but are treated more like colonies than full-fledged members. Anyone else may join the Guild, if they can find a ship willing to take them on; after two years service at sea they become full-fledged members.

The advantages of becoming a member of the Guild are many. Upon becoming a full member, all previous obligations the new Seafarer may owe are completely forgiven. That means the Seafarer is free of all past debts, including indentured servitude. In fact, the Guild opposes indentured servitude completely: no Guild member is allowed to hold an indentured contract on anyone. That includes anyone in a Seafarer town.

Another advantage is lower taxes. Members are still obligated to pay imperial taxes, but the Guild doesn’t tax its members, who are likewise free of any tax burden to a House or lord. The Guild takes a percentage for each piece of cargo it ships, as well as charging for non-Guild passengers. All Guild members and their immediate families may ride free on any Guild ship, if there’s space available.

Unemployment is low among Guild members; the Guild does its best to provide every member with a job. The Guild also takes care of the member’s family, should he become lost at sea. It also provides for retired members.But Guild membership also has its obligations. Each member must serve two years on board a ship out of every ten. And ship definitely has its hazards. Few Seafarers make it to retirement age.

Ask anyone on Guang Keshar what word comes to mind when you say “Seafarers’ Guild” and they’ll immediately respond “shapeshifting”. Despite the fact that fewer than one quarter of all native Seafarers (those born to one or more parents carrying the Seafarer bloodline) actually have the shapeshifting ability, it’s the ability most associated with them. But more common than shapeshifting is the ability to use minor magics. These usually include cantrips for predicting the weather and means for communicating via magical mirrors from ship to ship.

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Richichi Adventure Seeds

April 21, 2010 · Posted in Adventures, World Background · Comment 

Below are some ideas for involving your PCs with the Richichi race. While these are aimed for playing in Guang Keshar, they could easily be adapted to any world where you’re using the Richichi.

  1. One of the PCs resembles a thief who stole many valuable items from all of the Richichi clans. Now they demand that the PC return the items and face justice.
  2. A Richichi youth wants to become an adventurer. She’ll attempt to join the party, but her parents forbid it. If the PCs refuse to take her, she follows them anyway. The problem is, she’s only four—two years before she reaches majority.
  3. A blight has infected the Richichi orchards. They know it has a magical origin, but can’t find a way to combat it. The Richichi hire the PCs to determine who caused it, how it happened and why. They will pay extra if the party can find a way to cure it.
  4. The PCs discover a plot of some young Richichi who plan to collapse the lodestone mines during the night when no one’s there. If the PCs tell the authorities, no one will believe them.

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Introducing the Richichi: A New Player Race

April 12, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 

Best known for their beautiful gardens and abundant fruit and nut orchards, the Richichi have well earned the nickname “homebodies”. While other races,such as the satyrs and centaurs keep to themselves, the Richichi frequently build their towns near (or within!) human cities. Cheery and affable, Richichi make good neighbors.

Physical Description

Standing approximately 2-3 feet high, the Richichi resemble nothing more than giant bipedal ground squirrels with delicate and dexterous four-fingered hands (three digits, plus a thumb). Their fur ranges from dusty grey to nut brown in color with black stripes beginning behind their ears and running to the tip of their bushy tails. They wear few clothes, but love to adorn themselves with jewelry, hats, ribbons, belts and any number of other accessories.

Personality

Richichi are very organized and show meticulous attention to detail. They tend to be a very practical and “down to earth” people who care little for adventure or flights of fancy. While their legends and stories tend to be focused around clan histories, they are also very fond of jokes and displays of wit. They arealso very chatty and love to gossip.

Society

Though usually aloofly polite to outsiders, they are open and warm to members of their own clans. Even non-Richichi who have a close connection with one or more members of a clan will sometimes find themselves included as family. And once you’re family, you’re always family. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s best to remember that among clan members, the Richichi have very little concept of privacy.

Religion

Being home and family-focused, the Richichi care for all living things and have no patience for cruelty of any kind. While some city Richichi and those serving in the Great Houses do participate in the formal worship of Huang Ti, most tend more towards simple, home-based spiritual practices.

Adventurers

Very few Richichi take up the adventuring life, but some do have a restless wanderlust or are inspired by non-Richichi tales of daring-do. These are generally youths who eventually tire of the constant adversity and trials of the adventuring life and settle down in their middle age. The few Richichi adventurers tend towards professions or classes requiring wit and intelligence, such as bards.

Male Names: Rakki, Tikki, Shishi, Babaki, Kikio, Papillio, Mamano

Female Names: Babala, Tichia, Bebeta, Takia, Shakka, Pappaple, Bakka, Lakake, Papiya

[This article was featured in the Guang Keshar Development Newsletter, along with  D&D 3.5/Pathfinder stats. For more advanced information and exclusive content, subscribe to the newsletter today].

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Lia Tsashu’s Guilds and Guild Politics

April 5, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 
A Roman denarius, a standardized silver coin.
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Now that we know what kinds and how many of each type of business Lia Tsashu has, we can work out how many guilds there are and how powerful each of them is, how they relate to each other, and what part they play in Tsashu politics.

Lia Tsashu’s town council—it’s main governing body—is split between merchant guilds and craft guilds. Every trade in town has it’s own guild, but not all of them are large enough to play an important part in the town’s politics. The town council needs to be big enough to allow interesting conflicts between its member, but not so big it’s unwieldy for the GM.

The Guilds

Based on sheer numbers, Tsashu’s most influential guilds are:

Merchant Guilds:

  • Dockworkers (including boat handlers)
  • Millers
  • fishmongers
  • Livestock dealers
  • spice merchants
  • “Hospitality” workers (inn-keepers, pub and restaurant owners, hostlers)

I put millers here, rather in the craft guilds. While millers do, indeed, produce flour, they act more like selling agents for the grain farmers.

Craft Guilds:

  • tailors/clothiers
  • Barbers
  • leather-workers
  • jewelers
  • shoemakers
  • Masons (for simplicity, lets include all building trade workers here, including roofers, framers, etc.)

Additionally, a couple of businesses would have more clout than their numbers would suggest:

Others:

  • Banks/moneychangers (after all, money talks. Especially in Kukuri)
  • Fix-its (because of their magical abilities, minor as they might be)
  • Magic-shop owner (because he’s a sorcerer of PC-level ability)
  • Priests/shamans (because of their influence on the townspeople).
  • Farmers (who don’t actually have a guild, but do send a representative to the Council)

That gives us 17 council members, not including the mayor and the two magistrates (the “mayors” of Bigtun and Littletun).

Politics

Now that we’ve figured out who comprises the council, we can figure out its politics. Here’s where we can start to bring in the theme I’ve chosen for this city (stagnation vs. growth.) to flesh out the bare structure and give the council some life.

Basically, the town council is split into two factions: the craft guilds and the merchants guilds. We can postulate that the mayor and magistrates’ sympathies lie with whichever guild they belong to. Or they can form a third, neutral faction. The merchant guilds would have much to gain from increasing the town’s size and increasing the mining operations. While the craft guilds would also benefit from more people (who equal more customers), they’re the older guilds in town and, therefore, are more conservative and would prefer things to remain “status quo”. They oppose the mining operation and the Seafarers’ control on the basis that both bring an increased number of “undesirables” to the town.

The merchants are a newer influence on the town. Lia Tsashu hasn’t been a mining and trade town for very long—it was primarily a farming town until the Seafarers’ Guild took it over. Now it’s becoming a stop on the Seafarers’ trade route, as well as supplying ore for the Seafarers’ tool-makers. This has caused a rapid growth in the city over the course of the last five years, to the tune of 30%, which raised Tsashu from a population of 2800 to 4000 in a very short period of time. This rapid growth has caused resentment between “old-timers”–those born and raised in Lia Tsashu—and the “newcomers” who’ve recently moved here.

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The Businesses of Lia Tsashu

March 29, 2010 · Posted in World Background · Comment 
Modern leather-working tools
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Despite what many fantasy games imply, towns are more than just the ubiquitous taverns, inns, weaponsmiths, armorers and magic shops we usually see. Most of a town’s businesses exist to support its own residents, not adventurers, which means that most of the towns the PCs would pass through wouldn’t even have a weaponsmith. With 4000 people, Lia Tsashu is a good-sized town by Guang Keshar standards. Because of that, it can support a wide variety of busineses. Some of the most important are:

Important Businesses

Millers

Even the smallest village has at least one miller. With 4000 people, Lia Tsashu can have as many as 20 millers. Most of them don’t live in town; rather, they live closer to the grain fields then carry the flour into town for sale.

Brewers

Beer is a very important commodity throughout Guang Keshar. While members of the noble Houses drink primarily wine, beer is the drink of the common man. Lia Tsashu has three brewers.

Shoemakers

Everyone needs shoes. In historical medieval times, a town the size of Tsashu would have between 25-30 shoemakers. Shoes of the medieval period were made from soft leather that wore out quickly, meaning that they needed replacing frequently. With even minor magics, shoes can be repaired easily and there’s no reason the Keshari shoemakers couldn’t make sturdy boots. So we’ll cut the number down to ten shoemakers.

Clothiers

Like shoes, clothes are a necessity, at least for the human inhabitants of the town. While the Richichi don’t wear clothes, per se, they’re very fond of “accessories”: belts, leather jewelry, headbands and hats, hair ribbons, etc. So Tsashu has 15 clothiers, ten who specialize in human clothes and five who specialize in Richichi accessories.

Fix-its (tinkerers)

In our real world, tinkers were menders, primarily of metal items. Typically, they traveled from town to town to ply their trade. As with shoes and clothing, Mend cantrips and other such spells make mending more of a skilled trade. In Guang Keshar, “fix-its” (people who mend all types of items) are respected tradesmen, many of whom have minor magical abilities. In Lia Tsashu, they’re also the closest thing the town has to a “sorcerer’s guild”.

Healers

Most healing is done by the various temples in the town. The town has five “lay doctors”, both with magical abilities and without, most of whom are also midwives and/or herbalists. Three of these lay doctors are Richichi and the other two are human.

Lia Tsashu’s Businesses: A Complete List

Here’s the complete list of Lia Tsashu’s businesses and how many of each kind there are:

  • Apothecaries: 1
  • Banks/moneychangers: 1
  • Barbers: 10
  • Bath-houses: 1
  • Blacksmiths: 3
  • Boat handlers: 20
  • Brewers: 3
  • Butchers: 4 (2 poultry, 2 other forms of meat)
  • Chandlers: 6
  • Clothiers: 15 (10 human, 5 Richichi)
  • Coopers (barrell-makers): 6
  • Dockworkers: 30-40
  • Dyers: 1
  • Farmers’ Markets: 2, one in Bigtun and one in Littletun. Each market would have 3d10 number of vendors on any particular day.
  • Fix-its: 5
  • Hostlers: 2. Used primarily by visitors, attached to the inns.
  • Inns: 2
  • Leather-workers: 11
  • Livestock dealers: 20
  • Masons and bricklayers: 6
  • Metalsmiths: 5
  • Midwives: 5
  • Millers: 20
  • Pubs/Restaurants/Taverns: 10
  • Rope-makers: 2
  • Shoemakers: 10
  • Tanners: 1
  • Weavers: 7
  • Woodcarvers: 2
  • Beggars: Variable. 2D10 for the number encountered by the PCs on any given day.
  • Brothels: 0. Streetwalkers: 1d20 for the number encountered by the PCs on any given day/night.
  • Thieves’ Guild: 1 (very small). Most people don’t even know it exists, much less how to contact it. There are rumors, though.
  • Assassins’ Guild: 0
  • Magic Shop: 1. Also sells books, paper and curios. The shop’s owner is the towns only bookbinder and one of two papermakers (his apprentice being the second one).
  • Temples: 20. Dedicated to Huang Ti in her various aspects. The Richichi don’t build temples, per se. Their shamans operate out of their own homes.
  • Richichi shamans: 20

These numbers are beginning estimates and the list of businesses shouldn’t be considered exhaustive. These numbers will probably change as I develop the town further. Of course, feel free to add/change/alter/fold/spindle/mutilate to suit your own game.

I’d love feedback on this. If you see a trade or business you feel I’m missing, please feel free to let me know in the comments section below. Your comments can definitely have an impact on the final form of the town.

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