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xiluh [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
sdragon1984
09-12-06, 08:25 PM Only 150 years after The Seven Invasions, the world of Xiluh begins to change- some say as if preparing itself for a cataustrophic event. The wise eagles, which once proudly shared their wisdom of the land now take a reclusive nature, Meanwhile, many of the jaguars, once peaceful protectors and companions of powerful shamans now abandon such posts.
Travellers from lands even more exotic then the fabled valley of thenta lend to rumors of when and what could such an event be. Many claim that the cuatl and sun worshipping guilds may be the only ones safe. Only time, and possibly a few strokes of luck, may tell.

Most weaponry is made out of obsidian ( -1ATK/+1DMG for piercing and slashing, non-ranged weapons require a shatter roll on natural ones, and allow shatter rolls for an extra x2 DMG on crits). However, the rare metal and stone weapons, introduced by one of the seven invasions can be found, at a price.

save for the cultural inferiority of yuma, racial arrogance does not exist in Xiluh! this means: elves do not look down their noses at humans. elves do not hate dwarves. the only way halflings are looked down upon is in the most literal sense. there is racial pride, in varying degrees that are more or less proportional to what one would expect in traditional settings, but no racial arrogance.

simply put: sure the dwarves are proud of the defenses their homeland provides; why shouldnt they be? but they do not look down upon human or elven achievements simply because of this. the same goes for all races.

Gnomes have no place within Xiluh.

Due to the lack of Orcs, there arent any Half-Orcs. Instead, there is the (identically statted) slave race, the Yuma. They are looked upon as being crude, brutish, and inferior. However, as theyre usually stronger and more durable, there are plenty of laws to keep their social caste in check, while they toil in minial labor.
Yuma are the remanants of a long-extinct race known only as the First-ones. In early times, the First-ones built a totalitarian empire, ruling viciously over the other races of Xiluh.

Elves have a militant attitude, in response to the attack on them during The Seven Invasions. This is something that turned out to be well-suited by their already lean builds. Elves have orange hued bones, suggesting a connection to Sun. This caused a religious signifigance about the bones, and the bones of ritually sacrificed elves are used as currency.

Dwarves have developed a peaceful, almost zen-like race, due to the fortification from living in the Mount of the Fist. Dwarven skin is very dark, which is used as camoflage within the near-lightless depths of their homeland.

The role of the paladin has been incorporated into the monk; the "fighting for good because good is good and thats good" class otherwise has no place within Xiluh.

Clerics (which may or may not be replaced at a later date) work as Shamans, and are very highly revered. Theyre often found at odds with sorcerors and wizards, as the cleric views them as trying to shortcut their way to magic power, which the clerics see as purely divine. Clerics see druids, however, as being very close to themselves, and following similar ideals.

Sorcerors and Wizards are viewed sorts of 'unofficial' shamans. This leads to mixed views, as their power is undeniable, but by some it is also unacceptable. Generally, sorcerors are tried to be turned into clerics, whereas wizards are strongly discouraged in all regions but the towns too small to warrant a cleric.

The line between clerics and druids, flavorwise, is very fine. while druids look at the nature that happens to be divine, clerics look at the divine that happens to be nature. Ultimtely, they are for the same cause, but they see it from different angles. Despite these different perspective, theyre both very aware of how close they are, and this has helped develop a kindredship between the two classes.

Xiluh is a mostly tropical world, with a few temperate zones scattered here and there.
In the south, there is a mountain range lining the shore, ending in the east end, with one, large mountain, known as the Mount of the Fist, for the resembelance the range has to a flexed arm ending in a fist. Deep within this mountain range, there is the Valley of Thenta, where Yuan-Ti nests abide.
../../e107_files/public/1155134704_93_FT6413_xiluh_.jpg

Somewhere, seemingly in a completely seperate material plane, there is the land of Kunah, where at least one of The Seven Invasions is rumored to have come from. while it is uknown exactly how many armies came from Kunah, the armies are all refered to as Kunahite. I'll work on the map, and post what i have so far as soon as i can.

Xiluh is the home to many races and creatures, including jaguars, snakes, spiders, bats, swarms, couatl, yuan-ti, were-jaguars, monkeys, treants, hobgoblins, fire giants, eagles, lizards, lizardfolk, kobolds, skeletons, stirges, zombies, and possibly more. I plan on creating a legendary swarm-based creature, with the working name of Ygrammil the many.

first age

creation of sun and moon
sun and moon learn flight
death of sun and moon

The Moon was reclusive by nature, and attempted to hide everything he did. However, his brother, the Sun was clever, and always prided himself in discovering whatever Moon tried to hide. In his excitment, the sun would always reveal his discoveries. For each discovery sSun made, Moon would try even harder to hide whatever his next efforts went to, while becoming increasingly more frustrated.
As the brothers grew older, the great Eagle decided to tell them the secret of flight, feeling no need to inform them that the other brother knew this secret, as well. Moon was determined to hide this secret from his brother, and put so much effort into keeping this to himself, that if Sun hadnt already known the secret of flight, he never would have had any suspicions of Moon knowing the secret. However, Sun did already know the secret of flight, and because of this, he easily found out what Moon was trying to do. Moon, insistant on keeping Sun from flying, grew into an uncontrollable anger, and plotted to kill Sun by removing his heart.
The great Jaguar, knowing each brother had his purpose, and not wanting either to die, told Sun of Moon's plans. Sun then used magic to protect his chest, and waited for Moon. Once Moon was ready, he went after his brother, unaware of the magic protection. In the struggle, before Moon had the chance to kill Sun, Sun plunged his hand deep into Moons chest, and removed Moons heart, killing him. However, Moon had managed to light Sun on fire before dying, therefore killing Sun as well.
Jaguar, upset over the loss, ressurrected both of the brothers, but wasnt able to heal the damage they received. Wisely, Eagle decided to put them both in the sky, but never at the same time. To this day, Sun and Moon chase each other across the sky, Sun still burning, and Moon still unwhole.

creation of the world, end of first age.

second age (base calander)

creation of first-ones (1)
creation of humans (14)
creation of elves (33)
reign of First-Ones begins (45)
First-Ones create halfings for slavery (62)
Creation of dwarves (91)
perversion of first-ones into yuma (145)
destruction of remaining First-Ones (684)
enslavement of yuma, end of second age (697)

third age (ta)

Thask becomes first high shaman (565ta -1262)
Thask enstates calendar (566ta -1262)
Thask apprentices Yaxhuacon (598ta -1295)
Thask is buried (614ta -1311)
Yaxhuacon succeeds Thask (615ta -1312)
Yaxhuacon apprentices Tlutli (654ta - 1351)
High shaman Tlutli divines great turmoil (695ta- 1392)
Seven Invasions begin (1695ta -2392)
assessment of dwarven fortification. Earth Crusher scouting party captured. (1699ta -2396)
Scouting party executed (1700ta - 2397)
encampment of halflings (1716ta -2413)
attack on elves in Salanta woods
appearance of zombies (1724ta -2421)
human-elf alliance (1725ta -2421)
Seven Invasions end (1747ta -2444)
The Seven Invasions were seven seperate, but simultaneous invasions, ending about 150 years ago. While it is known that at least one of these invading armies came from a mysterious land known as Kunah, it is unknown where Kunah is.
The languages the armies used quickly proved to be extremely difficult to those native to Xiluh, and so the armies developed names based on their actions: the Hammer Shakers, the Axe Workers, the Rock Binders, the Earth Crushers, the Oath Makers, the Sheild Snappers, and the Tunnel Cutters.
rumors say that it only took 29 days for each of the armies to arrive, first to last, from their various routes. there were many accounts over the next four years of various raging creatures, previously unknown to Xiluh; throughout these four years, the natives learned about the seven armies, and patiently watched as best they could.

halflings begin to migrate south to their homelands (1803ta -2500)
official mark of recovery (1847ta -2544)
present (1897ta -2594)

The people of Xiluh use a solar calendar, with 18 months of 20 days each. Aside from this, there is also an additional celebration, lasting an entire Xiluh "week", or five days. This celebration is set aside from the normal annual calender out of a sense of reverance; These days are considered amongst the most holy of all days:

The first of the five days is set aside to honor Moon, as he brings the year past to a close. The next three days are the heart of the celebration. These days are a combined honoring of Jaguar, Eagle, and Snake, as well as a rememberance of the year past, and planning for the year ahead. The fifth and final day is devoted to Sun, just as the first day was devoted to Moon. This is the ending of the celebration, as Sun prepares to dawn on the new year.

Each week of the month is considered associated with one of the four cardinal directions.

Ontop of this, the years are collected in 4 year periods. Like the weeks, each year of the period is considered associated with one of the four cardinal directions. After thirteen such periods, there is a 13 day celebration, renewing the cycle. While the celebration, in and of itself, is dedicated to the renewal of the calender's cycle, each day of the celebration is associated with each period of the cycle that has past. Typically, most individuals only see one or two of these celebrations in their lifetime, but some of the longer-lived races, such as elves, have been known to see as many as three.

Currency is extremely limited, as most of Xiluh is run on the barter system. While adventurers and other nomadic peoples have more of a dependancy on hard currency, they will still occassionally run into the need to barter. Hard currency comes in the form of flat, pendant-like trinkets with intricate, complex designs carved into them, to prevent forgeries.

The denominations (and relative values) are:

Wood: 1
Obsidian: 20
Stone: 400
Bone: 8000 (the orange-hued bones of elves)

xiluh- ZEE-loo
kunah- koo-NAH
valley of thenta- VAL-lee of THEN-ta
tixivan- TIX-ee-'vahn

There are a couple points in Xiluhan linguistics that should be noted. Firstly, all words are considered masculine or feminine, although the exact distinction is unclear as of yet. Another is that, males generally have two surnames- one formal, which is passed on through clans, and the other is informal. The informal surname is created by prefixing the name of the father with "chahi-", or "son of-". in other words, Balhundra, son of thaph, would be informally introduced as Balhundra Chahithaph. More linguistic notes later.

If anybody has any comments or critiques, ideas or suggestions, please, feel free to share them. A bibliography of the posts and threads related to Xiluh has been added.

original xiluh thread (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=8242417#post8242417&origin=)

original discussion (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=562450)

joining the CBG (http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=8157662&postcount=110l)

mythos 1.0 (http://www.shadowfell.org/CBG/viewtopic.php?t=51)

CBG thread on Xiluh (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?6413.0)

talk about races and their cultures ('http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?6218')

thoughts on discrimination against yuma (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?9234.0)

"... How can it be that the gods are wise enough to shape the universe and the world and the life of the world but lack the wisdom to give humans what they need to be human?"
-Daniel Quinn
die
09-13-06, 03:11 PM Elf bones as money!?! Cool :D

I like the map, what did you make it with?

What races were the armies of the Seven Invasions comprised of? what kind of weapons and armor did they use? did the general attitude towards the Yuma change because of the invasions? did anyone change sides or stay behind? Can I play a plesiosaur riding ranger?
sdragon1984
09-13-06, 07:50 PM Elf bones as money!?! Cool :D
as the highest denomination of money, for that matter. thanks :)

I like the map, what did you make it with?

everybody seems to love the map...

actually, i didnt make it. it was taken from an old map-a-week, turned sideways, and edited a bit.

What races were the armies of the Seven Invasions comprised of? what kind of weapons and armor did they use? did the general attitude towards the Yuma change because of the invasions? did anyone change sides or stay behind? Can I play a plesiosaur riding ranger?

from last to first: im a little sketchy about including dinosaurs in here; on the one hand, it would be a natural fit to the exotique of the setting, but on the other hand, including such a natural fit might take away from the exotique. for now- feel free to add any non-canon material you please, but so far, dino's arent canon.
nobody "changed sides" during the seven invasions, since, aside from the yuma being a slave race, there is no racial bias whatsoever.
the general attitude towards yuma, since the fall of the empire of the First-Ones has been "opress, to avoid opression". the Invasions did not change that, but it did serve as a reminder of the reason the opression of yuma is neccessary.
these last two questions i havent given much thought to yet, but the races, for now, is irrelevant, seeing as they were wiped out.
sdragon1984
09-28-06, 06:35 PM more on Yuma, an explaination on the exclusion of paladins, and the timeline has been cleaned up a bit.
die
09-29-06, 04:24 PM What if the invaders offered any Yuma sergeants freedom and their own mud hut in Kunah if they got their squad to switch sides? or were any taken back as prisoners? or Nextli the Enlightened saw an opportunity to head for the Bog of Warted Women and become brigands or pirates? or during the invasions came across any first one artifacts that only their descendants could use or awakened a sleeping druid ancestor uncovered by magical explosions?

Just trying to throw out some possible ideas for mayhem in the background before or as the 'cataustrophic event' happens :D
sdragon1984
10-02-06, 02:31 PM What if the invaders offered any Yuma sergeants freedom and their own mud hut in Kunah if they got their squad to switch sides?

actually, theres several reasons this scenario wouldnt happen:

the first, and possibly the weakest, is that the invaders didnt know how to get back to kunah. th reason this might be the weakest is the possibility that the Yuma in question didnt know there wasnt a return to kunah.

also, Yuma never made high ranks, suh as "sargeant" (although, that definately wouldnt be what the rank was called).

another reason is that Yuma are a very proud people. they would rather settle for th low ranks they were forced into then accept an offer of a low rank for the opposite side.

as for why it doesnt happen in the present, its because the invasions ended over a century ago; all the invaders have since died off.

or were any taken back as prisoners?

Yuma PoWs? no big loss, really; theres plenty more Yuma that can be used as proverbial cannon foder.

or Nextli the Enlightened saw an opportunity to head for the Bog of Warted Women and become brigands or pirates?

who the what? the bog of huh? pirates? what?

or during the invasions came across any first one artifacts that only their descendants could use or awakened a sleeping druid ancestor uncovered by magical explosions?

interesting ideas..... i might be able to work with one of them.

Just trying to throw out some possible ideas for mayhem in the background before or as the 'cataustrophic event' happens :D

thanks :)
sdragon1984
10-15-06, 02:19 PM the people of Xiluh are well convinced in reincarnation; simply put, if you die honorably, you become a star, to light the paths of others. if you dont, you continue your existance as one of those "others". this happens because there is no "spirit world" afterlife; even those who transcend reincarnation do not transcend the material world.

imagine then, the suprise they experienced upon finding creatures with neither the spirit of the stars nor the spirit of the living! these creatures seemed to appear after the Kunahites attacked the elves of Salanta Woods, and bore a resemblance to nothing previously known to Xiluh.

the only possible explaination, of course, was that zombies were somehow connected to kunahites. after only a few battles, the connection was discovered: Kunahites are somehow exempt from the normal path of reincarnation, and become these wretched creatures upon death. their spirit seems to transcend the material world, but their bodies dont. instead, the bodies rapidly degenerate into other forms.
slan
10-15-06, 11:24 PM Elf bones as money!?! Cool :D I must concur.

File that under, "wish I'd thought of it."
sdragon1984
10-24-06, 08:09 PM I must concur.

File that under, "wish I'd thought of it."

consider it filed ;)

and thanks for the praise on my money system :)
sdragon1984
01-12-07, 10:58 PM much needed update. new ta events, more notes on racial culture, a note on general Xiluh culture, and an improved format!
sdragon1984
04-26-07, 03:10 PM Linguistics, the calendar, and a relevant quote has been added. There's still more that needs to be added, but that will go up some other time.
sdragon1984
04-27-07, 02:26 PM More events added to both the Second Age and the Third Age, and all that redundant junk has been removed from the top. Take a look!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
sdragon1984 09-12-06, 08:25 PM	Only 150 years after The Seven Invasions, the world of Xiluh begins to change- some say as if preparing itself for a cataustrophic event. The wise eagles, which once proudly shared their wisdom of the land now take a reclusive nature, Meanwhile, many of the jaguars, once peaceful protectors and companions of powerful shamans now abandon such posts. Travellers from lands even more exotic then the fabled valley of thenta lend to rumors of when and what could such an event be. Many claim that the cuatl and sun worshipping guilds may be the only ones safe. Only time, and possibly a few strokes of luck, may tell. Most weaponry is made out of obsidian ( -1ATK/+1DMG for piercing and slashing, non-ranged weapons require a shatter roll on natural ones, and allow shatter rolls for an extra x2 DMG on crits). However, the rare metal and stone weapons, introduced by one of the seven invasions can be found, at a price. save for the cultural inferiority of yuma, racial arrogance does not exist in Xiluh! this means: elves do not look down their noses at humans. elves do not hate dwarves. the only way halflings are looked down upon is in the most literal sense. there is racial pride, in varying degrees that are more or less proportional to what one would expect in traditional settings, but no racial arrogance. simply put: sure the dwarves are proud of the defenses their homeland provides; why shouldnt they be? but they do not look down upon human or elven achievements simply because of this. the same goes for all races. Gnomes have no place within Xiluh. Due to the lack of Orcs, there arent any Half-Orcs. Instead, there is the (identically statted) slave race, the Yuma. They are looked upon as being crude, brutish, and inferior. However, as theyre usually stronger and more durable, there are plenty of laws to keep their social caste in check, while they toil in minial labor. Yuma are the remanants of a long-extinct race known only as the First-ones. In early times, the First-ones built a totalitarian empire, ruling viciously over the other races of Xiluh. Elves have a militant attitude, in response to the attack on them during The Seven Invasions. This is something that turned out to be well-suited by their already lean builds. Elves have orange hued bones, suggesting a connection to Sun. This caused a religious signifigance about the bones, and the bones of ritually sacrificed elves are used as currency. Dwarves have developed a peaceful, almost zen-like race, due to the fortification from living in the Mount of the Fist. Dwarven skin is very dark, which is used as camoflage within the near-lightless depths of their homeland. The role of the paladin has been incorporated into the monk; the "fighting for good because good is good and thats good" class otherwise has no place within Xiluh. Clerics (which may or may not be replaced at a later date) work as Shamans, and are very highly revered. Theyre often found at odds with sorcerors and wizards, as the cleric views them as trying to shortcut their way to magic power, which the clerics see as purely divine. Clerics see druids, however, as being very close to themselves, and following similar ideals. Sorcerors and Wizards are viewed sorts of 'unofficial' shamans. This leads to mixed views, as their power is undeniable, but by some it is also unacceptable. Generally, sorcerors are tried to be turned into clerics, whereas wizards are strongly discouraged in all regions but the towns too small to warrant a cleric. The line between clerics and druids, flavorwise, is very fine. while druids look at the nature that happens to be divine, clerics look at the divine that happens to be nature. Ultimtely, they are for the same cause, but they see it from different angles. Despite these different perspective, theyre both very aware of how close they are, and this has helped develop a kindredship between the two classes. Xiluh is a mostly tropical world, with a few temperate zones scattered here and there. In the south, there is a mountain range lining the shore, ending in the east end, with one, large mountain, known as the Mount of the Fist, for the resembelance the range has to a flexed arm ending in a fist. Deep within this mountain range, there is the Valley of Thenta, where Yuan-Ti nests abide. ../../e107_files/public/1155134704_93_FT6413_xiluh_.jpg Somewhere, seemingly in a completely seperate material plane, there is the land of Kunah, where at least one of The Seven Invasions is rumored to have come from. while it is uknown exactly how many armies came from Kunah, the armies are all refered to as Kunahite. I'll work on the map, and post what i have so far as soon as i can. Xiluh is the home to many races and creatures, including jaguars, snakes, spiders, bats, swarms, couatl, yuan-ti, were-jaguars, monkeys, treants, hobgoblins, fire giants, eagles, lizards, lizardfolk, kobolds, skeletons, stirges, zombies, and possibly more. I plan on creating a legendary swarm-based creature, with the working name of Ygrammil the many. first age creation of sun and moon sun and moon learn flight death of sun and moon The Moon was reclusive by nature, and attempted to hide everything he did. However, his brother, the Sun was clever, and always prided himself in discovering whatever Moon tried to hide. In his excitment, the sun would always reveal his discoveries. For each discovery sSun made, Moon would try even harder to hide whatever his next efforts went to, while becoming increasingly more frustrated. As the brothers grew older, the great Eagle decided to tell them the secret of flight, feeling no need to inform them that the other brother knew this secret, as well. Moon was determined to hide this secret from his brother, and put so much effort into keeping this to himself, that if Sun hadnt already known the secret of flight, he never would have had any suspicions of Moon knowing the secret. However, Sun did already know the secret of flight, and because of this, he easily found out what Moon was trying to do. Moon, insistant on keeping Sun from flying, grew into an uncontrollable anger, and plotted to kill Sun by removing his heart. The great Jaguar, knowing each brother had his purpose, and not wanting either to die, told Sun of Moon's plans. Sun then used magic to protect his chest, and waited for Moon. Once Moon was ready, he went after his brother, unaware of the magic protection. In the struggle, before Moon had the chance to kill Sun, Sun plunged his hand deep into Moons chest, and removed Moons heart, killing him. However, Moon had managed to light Sun on fire before dying, therefore killing Sun as well. Jaguar, upset over the loss, ressurrected both of the brothers, but wasnt able to heal the damage they received. Wisely, Eagle decided to put them both in the sky, but never at the same time. To this day, Sun and Moon chase each other across the sky, Sun still burning, and Moon still unwhole. creation of the world, end of first age. second age (base calander) creation of first-ones (1) creation of humans (14) creation of elves (33) reign of First-Ones begins (45) First-Ones create halfings for slavery (62) Creation of dwarves (91) perversion of first-ones into yuma (145) destruction of remaining First-Ones (684) enslavement of yuma, end of second age (697) third age (ta) Thask becomes first high shaman (565ta -1262) Thask enstates calendar (566ta -1262) Thask apprentices Yaxhuacon (598ta -1295) Thask is buried (614ta -1311) Yaxhuacon succeeds Thask (615ta -1312) Yaxhuacon apprentices Tlutli (654ta - 1351) High shaman Tlutli divines great turmoil (695ta- 1392) Seven Invasions begin (1695ta -2392) assessment of dwarven fortification. Earth Crusher scouting party captured. (1699ta -2396) Scouting party executed (1700ta - 2397) encampment of halflings (1716ta -2413) attack on elves in Salanta woods appearance of zombies (1724ta -2421) human-elf alliance (1725ta -2421) Seven Invasions end (1747ta -2444) The Seven Invasions were seven seperate, but simultaneous invasions, ending about 150 years ago. While it is known that at least one of these invading armies came from a mysterious land known as Kunah, it is unknown where Kunah is. The languages the armies used quickly proved to be extremely difficult to those native to Xiluh, and so the armies developed names based on their actions: the Hammer Shakers, the Axe Workers, the Rock Binders, the Earth Crushers, the Oath Makers, the Sheild Snappers, and the Tunnel Cutters. rumors say that it only took 29 days for each of the armies to arrive, first to last, from their various routes. there were many accounts over the next four years of various raging creatures, previously unknown to Xiluh; throughout these four years, the natives learned about the seven armies, and patiently watched as best they could. halflings begin to migrate south to their homelands (1803ta -2500) official mark of recovery (1847ta -2544) present (1897ta -2594) The people of Xiluh use a solar calendar, with 18 months of 20 days each. Aside from this, there is also an additional celebration, lasting an entire Xiluh "week", or five days. This celebration is set aside from the normal annual calender out of a sense of reverance; These days are considered amongst the most holy of all days: The first of the five days is set aside to honor Moon, as he brings the year past to a close. The next three days are the heart of the celebration. These days are a combined honoring of Jaguar, Eagle, and Snake, as well as a rememberance of the year past, and planning for the year ahead. The fifth and final day is devoted to Sun, just as the first day was devoted to Moon. This is the ending of the celebration, as Sun prepares to dawn on the new year. Each week of the month is considered associated with one of the four cardinal directions. Ontop of this, the years are collected in 4 year periods. Like the weeks, each year of the period is considered associated with one of the four cardinal directions. After thirteen such periods, there is a 13 day celebration, renewing the cycle. While the celebration, in and of itself, is dedicated to the renewal of the calender's cycle, each day of the celebration is associated with each period of the cycle that has past. Typically, most individuals only see one or two of these celebrations in their lifetime, but some of the longer-lived races, such as elves, have been known to see as many as three. Currency is extremely limited, as most of Xiluh is run on the barter system. While adventurers and other nomadic peoples have more of a dependancy on hard currency, they will still occassionally run into the need to barter. Hard currency comes in the form of flat, pendant-like trinkets with intricate, complex designs carved into them, to prevent forgeries. The denominations (and relative values) are: Wood: 1 Obsidian: 20 Stone: 400 Bone: 8000 (the orange-hued bones of elves) xiluh- ZEE-loo kunah- koo-NAH valley of thenta- VAL-lee of THEN-ta tixivan- TIX-ee-'vahn There are a couple points in Xiluhan linguistics that should be noted. Firstly, all words are considered masculine or feminine, although the exact distinction is unclear as of yet. Another is that, males generally have two surnames- one formal, which is passed on through clans, and the other is informal. The informal surname is created by prefixing the name of the father with "chahi-", or "son of-". in other words, Balhundra, son of thaph, would be informally introduced as Balhundra Chahithaph. More linguistic notes later. If anybody has any comments or critiques, ideas or suggestions, please, feel free to share them. A bibliography of the posts and threads related to Xiluh has been added. original xiluh thread (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?p=8242417#post8242417&origin=) original discussion (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=562450) joining the CBG (http://boards1.wizards.com/showpost.php?p=8157662&postcount=110l) mythos 1.0 (http://www.shadowfell.org/CBG/viewtopic.php?t=51) CBG thread on Xiluh (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?6413.0) talk about races and their cultures ('http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?6218') thoughts on discrimination against yuma (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?9234.0) "... How can it be that the gods are wise enough to shape the universe and the world and the life of the world but lack the wisdom to give humans what they need to be human?" -Daniel Quinn
die 09-13-06, 03:11 PM	Elf bones as money!?! Cool :D I like the map, what did you make it with? What races were the armies of the Seven Invasions comprised of? what kind of weapons and armor did they use? did the general attitude towards the Yuma change because of the invasions? did anyone change sides or stay behind? Can I play a plesiosaur riding ranger?
sdragon1984 09-13-06, 07:50 PM	Elf bones as money!?! Cool :D as the highest denomination of money, for that matter. thanks :) I like the map, what did you make it with? everybody seems to love the map... actually, i didnt make it. it was taken from an old map-a-week, turned sideways, and edited a bit. What races were the armies of the Seven Invasions comprised of? what kind of weapons and armor did they use? did the general attitude towards the Yuma change because of the invasions? did anyone change sides or stay behind? Can I play a plesiosaur riding ranger? from last to first: im a little sketchy about including dinosaurs in here; on the one hand, it would be a natural fit to the exotique of the setting, but on the other hand, including such a natural fit might take away from the exotique. for now- feel free to add any non-canon material you please, but so far, dino's arent canon. nobody "changed sides" during the seven invasions, since, aside from the yuma being a slave race, there is no racial bias whatsoever. the general attitude towards yuma, since the fall of the empire of the First-Ones has been "opress, to avoid opression". the Invasions did not change that, but it did serve as a reminder of the reason the opression of yuma is neccessary. these last two questions i havent given much thought to yet, but the races, for now, is irrelevant, seeing as they were wiped out.
sdragon1984 09-28-06, 06:35 PM	more on Yuma, an explaination on the exclusion of paladins, and the timeline has been cleaned up a bit.
die 09-29-06, 04:24 PM	What if the invaders offered any Yuma sergeants freedom and their own mud hut in Kunah if they got their squad to switch sides? or were any taken back as prisoners? or Nextli the Enlightened saw an opportunity to head for the Bog of Warted Women and become brigands or pirates? or during the invasions came across any first one artifacts that only their descendants could use or awakened a sleeping druid ancestor uncovered by magical explosions? Just trying to throw out some possible ideas for mayhem in the background before or as the 'cataustrophic event' happens :D
sdragon1984 10-02-06, 02:31 PM	What if the invaders offered any Yuma sergeants freedom and their own mud hut in Kunah if they got their squad to switch sides? actually, theres several reasons this scenario wouldnt happen: the first, and possibly the weakest, is that the invaders didnt know how to get back to kunah. th reason this might be the weakest is the possibility that the Yuma in question didnt know there wasnt a return to kunah. also, Yuma never made high ranks, suh as "sargeant" (although, that definately wouldnt be what the rank was called). another reason is that Yuma are a very proud people. they would rather settle for th low ranks they were forced into then accept an offer of a low rank for the opposite side. as for why it doesnt happen in the present, its because the invasions ended over a century ago; all the invaders have since died off. or were any taken back as prisoners? Yuma PoWs? no big loss, really; theres plenty more Yuma that can be used as proverbial cannon foder. or Nextli the Enlightened saw an opportunity to head for the Bog of Warted Women and become brigands or pirates? who the what? the bog of huh? pirates? what? or during the invasions came across any first one artifacts that only their descendants could use or awakened a sleeping druid ancestor uncovered by magical explosions? interesting ideas..... i might be able to work with one of them. Just trying to throw out some possible ideas for mayhem in the background before or as the 'cataustrophic event' happens :D thanks :)
sdragon1984 10-15-06, 02:19 PM	the people of Xiluh are well convinced in reincarnation; simply put, if you die honorably, you become a star, to light the paths of others. if you dont, you continue your existance as one of those "others". this happens because there is no "spirit world" afterlife; even those who transcend reincarnation do not transcend the material world. imagine then, the suprise they experienced upon finding creatures with neither the spirit of the stars nor the spirit of the living! these creatures seemed to appear after the Kunahites attacked the elves of Salanta Woods, and bore a resemblance to nothing previously known to Xiluh. the only possible explaination, of course, was that zombies were somehow connected to kunahites. after only a few battles, the connection was discovered: Kunahites are somehow exempt from the normal path of reincarnation, and become these wretched creatures upon death. their spirit seems to transcend the material world, but their bodies dont. instead, the bodies rapidly degenerate into other forms.
slan 10-15-06, 11:24 PM	Elf bones as money!?! Cool :D I must concur. File that under, "wish I'd thought of it."
sdragon1984 10-24-06, 08:09 PM	I must concur. File that under, "wish I'd thought of it." consider it filed ;) and thanks for the praise on my money system :)
sdragon1984 01-12-07, 10:58 PM	much needed update. new ta events, more notes on racial culture, a note on general Xiluh culture, and an improved format!
sdragon1984 04-26-07, 03:10 PM	Linguistics, the calendar, and a relevant quote has been added. There's still more that needs to be added, but that will go up some other time.
sdragon1984 04-27-07, 02:26 PM	More events added to both the Second Age and the Third Age, and all that redundant junk has been removed from the top. Take a look!