The Greater Parishes
There are nine Parishes that make up what the faithful of Sibisis know as the Greater Parishes. Each Parish spreads outward from one of the nine largest cities that dot the countryside. Every Parish specializes in an industry such as agriculture, manufacturing, luxuries, mining/refining, etc. The cities are connected by the Hierophant's Way, a heavily defended roadway and the only form of travel approved for most citizens. The Parishes are defended and policed by the Shining Crown Array, the major military force of the region. The Parishes are governed by the Luminous Garland, a three chair council that makes the day-to-day decisions that affect the Parishes as a whole.
Parishes and Capitals
Kindleflame Parish: Acheron, the Golden City
Morningtrill Parish: Gattletowne
Sparrow Parish: Brovsonn
Highhall Parish: Koose
Silverbarrow Parish: Jrymyr
Coldspeer Parish: River Rock
Blackpeak Parish: Mavent
Ginger Parish: Geartowne
Rinegard Parish: Lyntonberg
The cities of the Parishes are protected by encompassing walls in an attempt to keep the wilds at bay. One main gate connects the city to the Hierophant's Way, but other ways can be found in and out. The Parish capitals are the only proper cities to speak of, but smaller garrisons dot the countryside around which small communities tend to grow. Acheron, the seat of the Kidleflame Parish, doubles as the national capital. It is where the Luminous Garland resides.
Sibisis
Sibisis is the Sun, and the religion that worships Sibisis is a sun cult. The church and institution that has grown around this personification of the sun is called the Sanctuary of Incandescence. The Sanctuary (colloquially know as The Sanct) is the dominant cultural and political force in the Parishes. To many it is a bastion of hope that helps them to brave another day in this harsh, dirty world. To others, though, it is a symbol of power and influence gone awry.
Ixe
Ixe is the Forever Night, the counterpart to the Sibisis mythology. Ixe is the personification onto which the superstitious and fearful can project their anxieties and fears. Ixe is generally associated with misfortune and aberration. Ixe is also a popular symbol of the counterculture and anti-Sanct organizations.
Day and Night
How people operate and behave during the day and the night cycles are partially based on the myths of Ixe and Sibisis, and they are partially based on how local authorities have adapted these myths to control the population. The night, which is the mythological domain of Ixe, is taboo. When the sun is down businesses don't operate, people aren't on the streets, windows are shuddered. The only people permitted to be on the street is the Nightwatch, a specialized branch of the Array that only operates during the night. Breaking the night curfew is punishable by death, but most are punished by a few days in the local jail. Each of the nine major cities has at least one illegal speak-easy which caters to (and is usually run by) members of Ixe's Shadow.
Government
The Greater Parishes are ruled by a triumvirate known as the Luminous Garland. The offices include the Otho of the Sanctuary of Incandescence, the Commandant of the Shining Star Array, and the Citizens' Electorate. The Electorate is chosen from the citizenry by the nine High Men of the Parishes. It is generally the most wealthy and influential of the current sitting High Men. High Men (women hold the office but are still call the High Man) are the governors of their respective Parishes and are selected by the Garland when a position is open. High Men are usually wealthy and influential business owners, but occasionally one will be selected from the military for outstanding service. Each Parish is allowed two Gun Dogs to serve as the highest lawmen and women in the area. These marshals of the law have considerable freedom to interpret the laws of the land and act on them as if they were judges. The Gun Dog is a sacred office to many, but unfortunately, many of them are no better than tyrants that bought their way into their position. Gun Dogs from Parishes other than their own have no authority other than their right to wear their guns and travel without restriction.
Citizens and Makers
There are two labor classes in the Greater Parishes that are separated by military service. To be an officially licensed citizen of the Greater Parishes, you must serve the Array no less than 3 years. If this requirement is met, then full citizenship is granted with all of its benefits. Otherwise, the default Maker status is applied. Makers are blue-collar workers that hold the dirtiest, most dangerous jobs that usually involve manufacturing or municipal maintenance work of some kind. Citizens have the privilege of traveling and working in Parishes other than the one in which they were born. A Maker can only live and work within their birth Parish and cannot leave. Citizens are also allowed to work white-collar jobs or apply for skilled trades apprenticeships. A citizen can also hold the offices of High Man and Gun Dog.
There are two ways to join the military. The first and most common is enlistment. Those who enlist become common soldiers. Common soldiers make up the bulk of the Array, and they are assigned to the most dangerous jobs in the most dangerous areas. The survival percentage is low. 75% do not live out their 3 year commitment. The less common way into military service is through Officer Training, which is very expensive but far less dangerous. There is a 90% survival rate for those who are able to choose this route.
The Shining Star Array
Many generations ago when the Parishes were still independent, the Sanct founded the Array as their military arm. Though originally a holy order, the Array grew more secular as its power grew. Eventually the Array, though even today is still loosely tied to religion, split away from the Sanct to become its own independent organization. The Array unified the Parishes 249 years ago. It was quickly evident, however, that it was an impossible task to manage and defend the young empire while fighting the environment at the same time. This was the birth of what became the modern triumvirate that now rules the Parishes.
Enlisted Ranks – common soldier, veteran soldier, master soldier, Non-Commissioned Commander
Officer Ranks – Lieutenant, Commander, High Commander, Lord Commander, Commandant
Ixe's Shadow
This revolutionary organization began as an irreverent group of counterculture risk takers daring each other to run the streets at night and avoid being jailed by the Nightwatch. What it became was a movement, a statement to those in control that there is power not only in established institutions, but in motivated free-thinkers as well. To this point the group has perpetrated only minor nuisances and misdemeanors, but their leader has bigger plans in mind. This movement is mainly concerned with the transparent corruption evident in the highest offices of the Sanct. As a principle, Ixe's Shadow only operates during the night.
The Orb of Fire
This order was originally founded within the Sanct to be sort of a moral police force for the population. It soon became to brutal and controversial to be associated with the church in an official capacity, so they were taken in by the Array, which at the time had still not become entirely secularized. This time their zealotry and insistence that everyone should follow their value system got them into trouble. The order retreated into the mountains to be closer to the sun. Most people know of them only as a myth, but they still maintain a fortified monastery deep in the mountains from which they run small scale operations against the Parishes from time to time.
The Sisterhood of the Red Rain
Though small criminal operations do exist scattered throughout the Parishes, the Red Rain is the only organization that operates on a Parish-wide scale. This sophisticated crime network is led by twin sisters Wren and Kessa Essex, who are talented Crackles. Though men make up the bulk of those who work for the Red Rain women hold nearly all of the leadership positions. The Red Rain was largely discounted, at first, because of their heavy use of women, but they soon gained a reputation for being ruthless and brutal. Every woman in the organization is a Crackle or Touched, and the standards for entry for women are much higher than for their male counterparts.
The Hierophant's Way
The Hierophant's Way is the system of highly maintained roads that connect the Parishes to one another. It is the only condoned method of travel, and the only guarded method of travel. Every 3 miles is a guardhouse manned by Array soldiers who patrol their particular 3 mile stretch of the road. Though it is heavily guarded, the H-Way is still dangerous and travelers are still attacked on a fairly common basis.
Classes and Races
There is only one real race in the Parishes, and that's human. When the term ‘races’ are used, it generally refers to a cultural distinction that is useful for defining our characters and thus the world. Some of the races are classes of their own. These descriptions are intended not as a min/maxing of abilities to build a stat-laden death machine, but tools to give characters depth and interesting characteristics to build upon. Keep this in mind as your characters take shape in your imagination.
Martialist
A Martialist is a fighter. Only Gun Dogs and members of the Array are permitted firearms, Martialists are trained to use their physicality and their environment to their advantage. Some use blunt weapons (edged weapons are taboo), but most are hand-to-hand experts. I would like to differentiate this class from martial artists. I'm not envisioning traditional kata-based, eastern martial arts. MMA styles might be okay, but I'm envisioning a very pragmatic skill, like street fighting honed to an art-form. I'm leaving this intentionally vague, as I will most other classes, so that it can be fleshed out based on needs. If you are interested in this class, pitch me ideas of the abilities you'd like to have and we'll work the details out.
Crackle
A Crackle is a psychic. Most are kinetics (move stuff around), some influence minds, and some can choke the life out of you with a look. Others can see into the dimensions of death or experience memories of the past through the eyes of those who lived them. This class will be non-magic in that these abilities are innate, the individuals born with them. Also they are not considered taboo by the Sanct. Crackles are Sibisis approved. Your character can have one major talent and two minor talents. They should all complement one another. Think Jedi powers, more or less. Pitch me the powers you'd like to have and we'll work out the details.
Gun Dog
As I mentioned before, Gun Dogs are a kind of Marshal, a lawman or woman. This title can only be given by a Parish High Man, and only two Gun Dogs can legally operate within a Parish. Gun Dogs visiting other Parishes have no jurisdiction. The Gun Dog is kind of like a Judge in the Dredd universe. They have considerable freedom to interpret and enforce laws. Gun Dogs have no travel restrictions and can come and go as they please. They also have no curfew and can be out at night without harassment from the Nightwatch. Besides the Array, the Gun Dog is the only class permitted to carry firearms, and revolvers are generally a mark of office. Most Gun Dogs are corrupt and bought their way into their positions to become petty tyrants. Only a few still exist that truly uphold the spirit of the office. My main in this RP is a Gun Dog, I'll allow another clearly or I wouldn't post this class, but one more is the maximum I'll allow at this time.
Undrujk (une-droo-k)
The people of the Parishes are made up of those who began civilization anew after whatever event erased the civilization that preceded. There are those, however, that remember the old civilization and its technologies much more clearly. These people are the Undrujk. Almost entirely unknown to the population of the Parishes, the Undrujk live underground in small communities, tinkering away in their workshops, hoping that one day the old civilization can be born again in the Parishes. Because of their subterranean lifestyle, the Undrujk appear gaunt, lithe, and very pale. Their hair is also pale, and their eyes have an odd appearance as they have adapted to function well in dim light or none at all. For many generations they remained entirely underground as they worked to engineer and reverse engineer old technology into practical application. They now use personal cloaking devices that allow them to take on any appearance they wish, within reason, and thus allows them to interact with Parish citizens without alarming them. The Undrujk silently cultivate the technology of the Parishes in subtle ways as the take up jobs as mechanics, inventors, and tinkerers. The current industrial revolution taking place in the Parishes is directly resulted from their quiet efforts. They rarely reveal their origins as Undrujk, and they never take anyone, no matter how trusted, to their underground communities. It's the most serious of their laws, and violating it means death. This race is kind of a class of its own. Undrujk don't exhibit Crackle abilities and are not part of the Kryst culture (though they find the Kryst fascinating) so they tend to be, in the context of a character RPing one, adventurers seeking out tech. If you are interested in playing an Undrujk, let me know and we'll talk about possible weapons, abilities, and access to technology.
The Touched/Kryst
The Kryst are outcasts, either by force, fate, or choice. Regardless of the why, the fact remains, the Kryst live outside of the protection of the Parishes. The Kryst (known as the Touched in the Parishes, a name they consider insulting) is a community of people who live in the wilds of the Parishes and share common space for mutual defense and survival. Community begets culture and the Kryst have a fascinatingly unique culture, and it is from this culture they derive their name. Latreis Tou Krystallo, the lovers of the crystal, are a loose collective of outcast tribes that have a single cultural commonality that bring them together. They practice body modification in the form of grafting colorful crystals into their skin. These crystals, however, have given these people an unforeseen advantage. They call it magic, and older civilization might have called it technology. Either way it grants them a variety of magic-like abilities that vary depending on the color of crystals grafted into their skin. There is a drawback, however. The more a Kryst uses his or her powers, the more likely they are to become disfigured physically and deranged mentally. Those who use their power sparingly and with intelligence pass easily for anyone else (except for their crystalline implants) and avoid the worst of the harassment from the Array. Those who act carelessly and with greed become monstrous and psychotic. The Array kill these beasts on sight, and they are shunned even from their own community. The Kryst are not uncommon in Parish cities, but they have no official standing, and the Array and Gun Dogs treat them however they want without consequence. For the most part people are outwardly civil with them, but it varies depending on Parish. In some places they are outright hated. Abilities do vary on crystal color and rarity. Let me know what you'd like your crystal power to be.
@Shadowwell will be posting a system outlining how the crystal power structure works. If your interested in playing this class, let me know so we can discuss powers/abilities. The more powerful crystals (white and black) will be off limits at the beginning of the RP. Also we'll discuss how deformations manifest both mentally and physically.
Survivalist
Even the outcasts have outcasts. There are those in the Kryst community that either don't take to the crystals and become ill when they are grafted on, or they refuse the body mods outright. Either way, they are banished from the community. Most of these unfortunate souls die, but those that don't are these toughest of loners. A survivalist is the ultimate adapter. He or she she knows how to get out of tough, desperate situations with a clear and sober mind. A survivalist can modify almost anything into a weapon and can draw nourishment out of plants and animals that the normal citizen couldn't stomach. They also know their way around. No one knows the Parishes like a survivalist, and many find work as guides and scouts. Survivalists prefer the natural world, in general, to the manufactured one and find technology to be off-putting. They are resistant to poisons, radiations, and confusion. A survivalist doesn't get lost and retains their sense of direction even in pitch darkness. They can also ignore severe weather conditions. The survivalist also knows the flora and fauna like none other and can comment on most plants and animals as if an expert. Again, specific abilities and equipment is a matter of discussion for anyone interested in playing this class.
