Some Questions

I’m generally someone who doesn’t like these “X questions about your Y creative thing” posts all that much, maybe it’s just not my thing, but I’ve never minded it for this type of worldbuilding and here it’ll be a nice way to earmark a few things I want to post about later.

So, we’ll start out with Jeff Rients’ 20 questions.

What is the deal with my cleric's religion?

I don’t know if I’m going to have clerics per se, especially not if I just hitch this thing to ICON wholesale, but I always encourage religious characters and if someone wanted to say their cool class stuff comes from some compact with a god I’d probably allow it.

As far as gods go, you have a few. There’s Aht, who rules the sky and is generally considered pretty important, the twins of high sea and deep ocean Myrman and Selbyn, Igoryhm who rules the dead, and probably others.

There isn’t much innate antagonism among the gods; they are neither good nor evil, and do not necessarily have the best interests of their mortal followers at the forefront of their minds. There are cults to each of these gods, and big churches in the cities where you can make offerings to any one you need. Generally offerings are made before an undertaking that might cross their sphere of influence, so as to ensure one’s safety. 

In short, religion is generally the process by which you keep the gods happy with you, and clerics are specialists who can aid you in this process. Every god is a bit particular about what they want and how they want it, and they tend not to directly intercede with the world in grand ways unless they’re mad at each other, which happens from time to time.

Where can we go to buy standard equipment?

Any town sufficiently close to an elder metal structure will sell that kind of stuff. Or the city, which will have more of it and better.

Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?

Probably the city. That stuff is expensive.

Shantotto by @sasanomesi
Disclaimer: Eina is not as cool as Shantotto.

Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?

Eina. She’s an elf and she sits in the middle of her city all day dreaming of other, cooler
worlds.

Who is the greatest warrior in the land?

Gashlatt Dead-and-Waking, who maintains his warband out of a ruin floating in the sea. Being the greatest warrior is not the same as being the greatest statesman, and Gashlatt is very bad at listening to his advisors, so he’s relegated to sea raids and the occasional attempt at incursion. Everyone really wishes they were rid of him.

Who is the richest person in the land?

Counterfeit Coin who, despite his name, is a legitimate businessman. He owns one of the only deep elder metal shafts still functioning and, even more impressively, still manages to turn a profit from it.

Where can we go to get some magical healing?

A God’s shrine, the inside of a potion bottle, any talented prostitute. 

Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?

The first few are probably as above. The rest, you might be on your own unless you can get a god to help.

Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?

Magic is a bit like martial arts in the way that elemental bending in Avatar is a bit like martial arts; it’s a lot more about technique and training than knowledge.

There’s not a lot of standardization, just a great many temples and schools and such with their own methodology. Far off out in Foreign Parts there’s a group who learns their sorceries by imitating monsters.

Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?

As with anything else of value, if it’s not in the city it’s probably hanging around one of those ruins. Folks like that can chill in those magic monasteries we just covered.

Gakuen Monogatari '93: The Instinct (1993)
Just go to the fucking ruins, dude. Stop being difficult about this.

Where can I hire mercenaries?

As above. Are you noticing a pattern? Ruins are important even if you aren’t going in them- it’s where adventurey types hang out.

Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?

If you aren’t an elf, being in Jeuno (city of elfs) means sticking to the publicly-accessible bits and getting jailed if you seem to be too sick. Elves don't like getting sick.

Which way to the nearest tavern?

Every town has a taphouse at the very least. Most towns, anyway. The best taverns are run by goblins, because goblins are the best at having fun. Everyone else can have fun, too, but having fun like a goblin is better and cooler.

What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?

Ningen Konchuu Nozoki (1997)
A minotaur could look like this, but it probably looks worse.

Weird stuff comes out of the ruins all the time, and they tend to be either big or very numerous and in either case very bad.

Failing that, there’s always the minotaurs. They’re what happen when humans come out weird and people are generally glad to be rid of them, because they’re smart enough to organize and use weapons but never seem terribly interested in not killing whoever they come across.

Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?

Gashlatt wants to take the coasts near his fort. The humans always need more land and are nipping at everyone’s borders, which everyone is getting sick of. Everyone wants a piece of Jeuno.

How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?

Goblins have those because goblins like having fun, even if it means watching someone else have no fun at all.

Grounseed (1996)
the hell do you dicksmacks want im hoarding knowledge

Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?

You could join the loreminders. They’re dedicated to preserving knowledge and doing absolutely nothing to help with all the knowledge they hoard.

What is there to eat around here?

Fruits that make you talk in a language only those who’ve eaten a fruit off the same branch can understand, temporarily. Soporific meat that makes dream bubbles come out of your mouth. Wizard hearts (actually a kind of cabbage) that make colors brighter and sounds louder.

Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?

Eina had a magic scepter that pulled possibilities from other presents and futures and showed the bearer how to make them come to pass. Gashlatt stole it and then almost immediately lost it and neither he nor anyone else knows where it is.

Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure?

Down in the depths. Try Counterfeit’s pit, they’re blasting new holes in the elder metal all the time.

This turned out way longer than I thought, but now we have some things to talk about. I think we’ll go over some races next, since fantasy races are the thing everyone gets all spun around about.