Ourworld

Ourworld is a collaborative effort between Peter, Nat, Dan, Daniel, Mal and Craig.

[This is a work in progress. Names & ideas are not yet finalised!]

Peter's Contribution:

The Keltoi

The History of the Keltoi

The ancient history of the Keltoi tells of the great ships of their ancestors coming ashore at what is now Caenid Bealach (Caenid Bay). From across the seas a great fleet hove to, crudely hewn ships crewed by a young and savage race with pinkish skin and wild red hair. They wear brass and war paint and bear strange designs upon their flesh. They sing harsh war songs and drink heavily. They wish to fight and kill and take the ancient lands from Laideann. This unwashed horde is led by GWYDDNO the Dog-Bull, leader of the Sons of the Dawn Tide who wishes to spread his people and his new beliefs to these shores. These warlike men took most of the land off the fat and rich Laideann Empire, a decadent and ancient people whose armies could not stand up to the lean and hungry Keltoi. Even as their marble cities burned, the Laideann held orgies and went about their corpulent ways. The Keltoi’s gutting and looting of Laideann drove the conquered into the northeastern pocket of the continent where the Keltoi let them languish in the steaming northern jungles.

Keltoi Spiritualism

The Keltoi do not formally worship any gods but they have a deep tradition of ancestor worship and revere the forces of nature. There are ancient tales of great Keltoi heroes being summoned from the spirit realms to help them in their times of greatest need. Their druids act as advisors, magistrates and sages and are greatly respected.

The Republic

Recently, from pressure groups in the capital and public opinion polls, the Kingdom has been dissolved and a Republic put in its place. King CINÁED abdicated and was quickly voted back as President Cinaed with very little diminished power but a Senate to answer to.

Keltoi Magitech

The Keltoi have a certain aptitude with magic and the harnessing of it for mechanical purposes. They utilise flame lances in war, and have great elemental turbines for that power their industrial machines. Their alchemical guns are feared and renowned. The three principal cities of the Republic are joined by a train network. Cities are filled with glowlamps and the rich and powerful are protected by guardian constructs. Even the poorest dockworker has glimpsed the mighty and terrifying iron juggernauts that lurk deep beneath the sea. Because their machines are powered by magic, not fossil fuels, Keltoi cities are surprisingly clean and hygienic and if the air is sometimes filled with static, then nobody complains. This wondrous magitech is restricted to the main cities on the east coast, and many a poor or provincial man has never glimpsed such things.

The Leagues of Druids

Druids (D&D wizards) tend to group into small clubs and collectives for their own mutual benefit, though they are not obliged to, and sometimes meet for councils to vote on important matters at the yearly Wizardmoot. While technically subservient to the central government, they are given nearly unlimited autonomy in matters pertaining to wizardry and all matters arcane including magical transport, trade, penalties for misuse, registration, membership fees and such. The wizards are all terribly British about everything and vote on everything and generally don't get a lot done, though they do drink a lot of fortified wines and discuss obscure personal philosophies and literature. Once every 30 months the shamans from the tribes meet. autumn or spring equinox, and yes, the only contact between the countries is via the "councils of the wise". The shamans have asked their brother wizards to keep the knowledge of "the peoples" from the humans as a whole Examples of the more populous groups of druids include:

• The League of Reasonable Men • The Gentleman’s Society • The Rationalist Club • Reform Club • Society for Advancement of Literary Awareness • The Oak Club

The vast majority of members are wizards, though any class is welcome. However, to be on the small council or the council of elders, you have to be a wizard. The most appropriate prestige classes are Archmage, Loremaster and Guildmage.

The Keltoi People

The Keltoi (both plural and singular) are a fair-skinned race with heights averaging 5’5-5’10. Their hair colours vary from black to almost blond, though a reddish brown is the commonest. A redhead is considered lucky. Eye colour also varies from brown to blue to green. They are an expansionist people who are proud of their warrior tradition but have recently begun a period of enlightenment and self-reflection. The Republic’s inter-clan wars have almost stopped, though in the southern frontiers it is a different story. Other races consider them upstarts but cannot deny their spirit and drive. They are interested in the sciences, particular alchemy, which has aided their culture immensely in many fields. At peace, a Keltoi may hunt or fish or read or work at his trade as he wishes, though if there is a call to war, he will drop his farming tools and take up weapons to defend his home. Traditionally the Keltoi utilize claymores and various polearms, especially Lochaber axes but in recent conflicts, the arquebus and field cannon have also seen use on the field. They tend towards the lighter armours since they prefer a more mobile warfare and with the advent of gunpowder, has reinforced that point. The use of arcane magic on the battlefield is generally frowned upon and since the Agreement of Dun Hader, certain magics such as evocations are forbidden. This restriction however is not extended to non-Keltoi as other races.

Northern City States

Talic Theocracy

Led by the High Priest Lucius, the theocracy dominates the Law and culture. There is significant prejudice against people who are not of the church and priests are given fair leeway in their activities, e.g., they don’t pay taxes. Lucius is a relatively conservative, academic, reasonable man with no head for politics and intrigue, preferring to delve into complex issues of doctrine, which is precisely why the Council of Priests elected him. He does not rock the boat and generally agrees on whatever the Priests put forth. Father Talis is the head of the investigation into church corruption and is a dour, soft-spoken and introverted fellow. He is quietly ruthlessly efficient and has enough ‘information’ on various priests and lay officials to keep them in line, whether it’s true or not. He of course justifies this for the ‘continued stability of the church’. He is capable of quite monstrous acts in the name of his faith and continues his crusade against corruption and evil with a kind of calm and calculating fanaticism. Even when directly ordered not to do something, he will twist the intent and do it anyway, completely convinced that he knows better. He never loses sleep over his deeds because of his utter conviction of his beliefs. He has never been implicated in his deeds because of his scrupulous and almost anally retentive planning, though many people have a vaguely uneasy feeling about him.

How the Keltoi see the other races:

Ailokim: The Keltoi do not understand the Ailokim. An old race they are long-lived but frail, cowardly hiding behind their considerable magics and their Umberkim slaves.

Dwarves: The Keltoi have little contact with the Dwarves and their only real contact is in the trade of weapons of war and metals.

Goliaths: Few Keltoi know anything accurate about the Goliaths. Due to their inaccessibility, the paucity of resources and their reclusive nature, Keltoi usually ignore their existence. The druids have some contact with them at the Moots, but that is almost the entire extent of their contact.

Laideann: The Keltoi tend to

Lizardmen: The Keltoi consider these creatures, when they think of them at all, as nothing more than animals. If they ever hinder Keltoi development, they are slaughtered en masse.

Northern City States

Summer Islanders

Teleri (Sea Elves): The Keltoi have a grudging respect for the Teleri because of their skill in naval warfare and magic. They dearly wish to discover the secret of their enchanted ships and have offered preposterous sums of money to attain it, in order to ‘explore’ the western hemisphere.

Umberkim A block headed slave race beholdent to the Ailokim. Wouldn't want to arm wrestle one and thankfully they, like the Ailokim, mostly keep to their distant turf.

How Other Races see the Keltoi:

Teleri: The Teleri have a long history of trade with the Keltoi as one of the few civilized Empires on Erland trading knowledge, magic, Teleri jewelry and anything which happens to be around. While some of the elders in The City have reservations about their “explorations”, most see them as good source of money and civilized pleasures.

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The Ailokim (aka: Greys)

The Ailokim claim they are one of the two remaining old races and share a common ancestor and a degree of animosity with the Fae of the east. To understand their nature one must appreciate the sad history of this once dominant race.

History

The Ailokim speak insistently of the lost times when their ancient cities reached high into the skies, their culture spanned the planet and their remarkable technologies and magics were able to twist the very reality of the world and all upon it. Their face will then usually turn almost as grey as their hair as they carry on to tell of the great sundering that destroyed virtually all of their civilisation, their land, their people, their lore, their technologies, their magics, their spirit and left them twisted and unable to bear offspring.

Of the hundreds of fringe dwellers that survived (or were able to be resurrected) the disaster most lapsed into despair, a few however used what gifts they had left to try and preserve their race and culture. Using some remnants of their arcane lore and technologies they created three ‘Soulifactory’s’; strange devices able to create life in the form of one of three young Ailokim chosen for their unique qualities. As a result all Ailokim under the age of 900 bear a striking resemblance to each of these chosen three. There are 25 unique and venerable Ailokim that remember the sundering and form the council of elders. These elders have overseen the slow salvaging of elements of their former culture and wealth for over a millennium.

Today the Ailokim number around 20,000 and occupy three city sites on the Western continent of Brianna. The embittered Ailokim have been peaceful from necessity; painfully aware of the slow rate at which they are able to reproduce they value their lives highly. So far the greatest Ailokim scholars and scientists have failed to replicate the ‘Soulifactories’ or discover additional ways of reproducing themselves. In their experiments however they have created/bred a slave race that they find useful for industry and warfare known as the ‘Umberkim’.

The Umberkim are a dull witted but powerful race that have been bred as much for their physical power as their obedience. They number around 80,000 spread across the three Ailokim cities and serve as the mainstay of Ailokim military, agriculture and industry. Maturing quickly, Umberkim live on average for a mere 25 years in part due to the hazardous tasks given to them by the Ailokim. Augmented with the powerful magics and technology of their masters, the combined Ailokim/Umberkim military are one of the most formidable forces in the world, though have seen relatively little action. The ‘special forces’ division of the Ailokim military on the other hand is famed for it’s daring and bewildering raids across the span of the planet. This brings us to another defining characteristic of the Ailokim.

The Sundering

The Ailokim will not normally put at risk their precious lives with one exception; Psionics. Since the early days of the rebuilding the council of elders has decreed that Psionicists and Psionic creatures and users must all be eradicated not matter the cost. It seems implicit that somehow they were linked or responsible for the great sundering though no one really seems to know. Over the last millennium the Ailokim have become adept at hunting down individuals, and the families of individuals, that exhibit Psionic power. Often turning up even before a Psionic child is born to slaughter it and it’s mother. This has caused the Ailokim a certain amount of animosity, indeed they are often blamed for still births and other mysterious deaths.

Personality & Relations

Ailokim tend to be embittered but proud, self righteous and pragmatic. It would be fair to say they regard all other races as equally inferior, except perhaps the troublesome Fae who they instead resent for surviving the sundering unscathed. Since that day the Ailokim have carried a terrible curse in their blood and will never be able to bear children, relying instead on the magics and technology to reproduce themselves. They share however a powerful sense of solidarity with their vat grown siblings and will support a fellow Ailokim in virtually any situation.

The whole of Ailokim society in one way or another is geared towards the reestablishment of their culture’s lost glory. In practical terms they are limited by their slow reproduction rate and have only constructed a few large cities. Many feel however that it is only a matter of time before the Ailokim rediscover the method of constructing new Soulifactories and prepare themselves for the inevitable expansion this would allow.

Physical Description

Short and willowy compared to humans they gain their common name from the lack of pigment in their hair and their extraordinarily long life span (anywhere up to 1800 years). They adhere to strict dress codes and ritual markings that define their role in society and station for which they train from ‘birth’.

Their creations, the Umberkim, on the other hand are a hairless, far stronger, hardier race resembling an oafish human. Their dull wits and short lifespan make them ideal slaves to further Ailokim hegemony. Occasional individuals have transcended their programming and escaped to the new world where they have made lives for themselves as free men. The Ailokim however maintain that any of Umberkim blood are their property and must be returned to them or killed.

Alignment

Ailokim relate to each other in society as Lawful Good, seeing Ailokim advancement as the most noble of objectives. Thought they practice slavery and are determinedly ruthless with certain civilisations. They consider races like the Umberkim (and several others) as others might animals. The more enlightened races, can with work, garner a degree more respect though would always be viewed as lesser. Moreover if an Ailokim gave his word to even to one of the sub-races he would strive to keep it. In traditional terms they would classify as Lawful Neutral.

Cities

Arcadia

The centre of Ailokim civilisation and culture it was here that the survivors of the sundering made their stand and started to rebuild what was lost. The strategically placed city has grown over a millennium and expanded Ailokim control of both sea and land. The first Soulifactory ‘Erea’ was built here and has produced around 10,000 souls. Arcadia serves as a nursery for young Ailokim as they are trained for their initial roles in the world. It is houses the home legion of the Ailokim army and the council of elders. It is rare for outsiders to be allowed into a city as important as Arcadia.

Megara

Mantinea

Eleusina

Language

Ailokim, Common.

Ailokim Racial Traits