Post/Author/DateTime	Post
JulesCARV 06-08-07, 07:03 PM	Early in its history, the Amarad Caliphate, a Hextorian theocracy, abandoned its former policy of slaughtering anyone who refused to convert to Hextor-worship. Although it prohibits the use of divine magic by anyone except Hextorian clerics (and favored souls, divine crusaders, etc), and its inquisitors burn any magic users other than those sanctioned by the Caliphate at the stake (sanctioned generally means Hextorian clerics, red wizards, and wizards who will become red wizards at 6th level if they make it that far and already have tattoo focus), it still allows non-magical practice of religions or non-religiosity other than Hextor worship (with the exception of Heironeous worship and ur-priest-style dystheism, both of which merit automatic execution). Although the Maratian Heresy claimed that the Hextorian church had become corrupt and strayed from Hextor's true will in allowing infidels to live, and demanded the massacre of all infidels, the heresy was brutally crushed, and the policy of allowing infidels to live in confined areas remains the Amarad Caliphate's policy. However, I want being a non-Hextorian (hereafter infidel) subject of the Amarad Caliphate to be a rather harsh experience. Could I get any tips? Here's what I have so far: *Infidels are confined to special areas of the Caliphate (walled ghettos, pales). Urban ghettos are rather cramped, confined, and overpopulated; rural pales are usually on poor soils. *The bodies of infidels are the property of the caliphate. The caliphate usually doesn't claim these bodies (after all, a typical person who went from venerable to dead had 4-5 strength at death), but those who are strong and athletic and die young are often reanimated as zombies or skeletons. *Once per year, the Hextorian Church has an unholy day in which clerics lead their undead, (dressed, perhaps, in striped uniforms? Unsure.) in a procession, which goes through the infidels' ghettos. The undead often carry signs with slogans such as "Hextor demands service -- He may call upon those who do not serve him in this life to serve Him in the next.") *A significant fraction of the infidel population is subject to selection to go to labor camps or plantations as slaves. Although wealthy infidels can buy their way out of this service, the majority can't afford it. Anyway, that's what I have so far. Anyone have other ideas, though? One things is I feel like there isn't enough sadistic humiliation. A lot of it seems like it could be construed as a pragmatic attempt to extract as much out of the infidels as possible, but I don't really like the idea that "evil" means "very pragmatic" -- I want their evil to be more radical and go beyond the petty "look at all of the glittering gold I've amassed on the backs of my slaves!" type. Perhaps something subliminally sexual, since Hextorians are rather tightly-bound about such matters (straight, married, and procreative only) and Hextorian clerics who are closetted gays or otherwise have some repressed "abominable" sexual deviance might express themselves in twisted ways on the infidels? (subliminally sexual, though, not too overtly: they aren't really aware of it and would never admit to it) Or maybe it could be required that if a Hextorian walks through a ghetto, infidels must all lower their heads and look at the ground as he passes and are forbidden from looking at the Hextorian?
Return of the Flumph 06-08-07, 07:19 PM	Those sound sufficient.