1. An underwater kingdom in a lake, the size of one of the great lakes.
2. A country ruled by three royal bloodlines who switch places every twelve or so years.
3. A country ruled by half-elves, who insist on keeping it that way.
6. Noble families have to keep up the standard military options, plus one flying mount. (Wyvern, pegasus, Gryffin, something...)
8. A very small country that consists of a few hundred square miles of lashed together rafts and floats to and fro around the ocean.
9. Two bordering countries locked in a centuries long war over whose Queen was fairer.
10. A country where all weapons are registered and all magic users have to be licensed.
11. A country with a very rigid caste system based on race.
12. A country where mounts are taboo.
13. A country where all adults are required to not only bare arms, but to sojurn for a week in the upper part of the Underdark upon reaching adulthood.
Bare arms or bear arms?
15. An isolated island nation of minotaur that have completely deforested their land and have begun sending out heavily armed expeditions to find wood.
16. A country ruled by a [benevolent/tyrannical] dragon.
17. A long forgotten and isolated island nation that centuries ago was cursed and is now completely populated by undead who have set up a republic style government.
18. A country where all nobles must spend 2 years living as a peasant and 2-4 years adventuring in foreign nations.
21 A country where every 28 days they change leadership by a contest of strength in the Arena.
22 A country that works like a parasite. A group of seven thousand nomads settle in an area and take over till they strip all the resources and move on.
24. A country in which a single benevolent undead ruler has worked alongside a senate of the living to guide the country.
25. A country in which vigilanteism is accepted law and public officials are required to spend 2 nights out of the week as vigilantes
26. A country in which there is one undead public official assigned to each 5 living peasents, to ensure that their needs and voice are adequately represented.
27. A country that exists half in the natural world and half in the feywild.
28. A country on an archipelagio composed of mixed land, amphibious, and sea animals ruled by a representative triumverate and a welcome port to pirates.
30. A country where every citizen has a personal skeleton servant. A hidden brood of undead seeks to abolish such undead slavery.
31. A country that has a king or queen selected as randomly as possible from the country's entire population.
32. A country that worships dragons is slowly transforming its population from human, elf and dwarf into dragonborn whether they want to or not.
33. Another country has raised music to such a esteemed status that major transaction such as business arrangements and contracts must be sung. Imagine: "I want a sword" set to Beethoven's fifth.
(This is dwarf society in my campaign world. Still haven't come up with a name for my setting yet. Tentatively it's called Three Empires, but I want a better name.)
-Drillboss
36. A country run entirely on the Honor System. No laws of any kind, but behaving badly will get you kicked out.
37. The King is the result of a hundred generations of inbreeding and can barely speak, but still wields great amounts of power.
38. A country where every crime is punishable by mutilation. Chopping off fingers, hands, legs, ears, etc. You break the Law, the Law breaks you.
39. After the Queen's death, two rival siblings divide the Kingdom in half. But neither wanted a clean "East/West" division. They decide to pick and choose city by city, village by village (and in the Capitol City, street by street) who rules what, resulting in a bizarre patchwork kingdom. One sibling is a benevolent dictator, the other a harsh tyrant. Travelling in a straight line across the Kingdom will force you to cross back and forth between governments no fewer than twelve times.
40. A country that was ripped apart by a massive earthquake hundreds of years ago, and the country now extends down a massive rift in the Earth into the Underdark. The castle is constructed atop a giant plateau and sits in the center of the rift, with cities built into the living rocks for miles around it. Human moss farmers at the top give way to the deeper cities built by creatures from the Underdark, and all are united under one monarch. The King's race is not known, none are permitted to see him who are not bound to secrecy.
Bare arms or bear arms?
41. A country where powerful Druids and Wizards work together to provide all citizens a right to bear arms. This simple ritual performed at adulthood upon willing citizens gives them a natural strength bonus and a powerful attack, but makes delicate tasks requiring manual dexterity difficult.
43. In this country, the peasantry are placed under a binding loyalty ritual. Any peasant violating the laws of the land suffer an immediate agonizing death as the spell activates. Surprisingly, the aristocracy is not subject to this spell.
44. In another country, causing the death of another sentient being is punishable by execution (only the state is allowed to control the death of a sentient being) - no excuses are accepted (i.e. no self defense, etc).
45. Another country has a law regulating the color of clothing worn by its population. Only the king is allowed to wear colors beyond tans and browns. (Inspired by old English Sumptuary Laws).
44. In another country, causing the death of another sentient being is punishable by execution (only the state is allowed to control the death of a sentient being) - no excuses are accepted (i.e. no self defense, etc).
Oh, man. This one is awesome. It just begs you to push the definition of "causing" death. You can do so much with that.
47. A country where a fair percentage of the people have some form of lycanthropy and these people have to wear identifying marks, and either lock themselves up, submit to the jail or prison to be locked up, or stay inside their own walled communities when it is time to change. Hiding or disguising the mark is a crime.
48. Country where most surface-dwelling, non-flying intelligent races perished. Humans and others have started to build up their numbers, but in the interim flying races rule over all. A coalition of flying races rule over the land, spell-casting and priestly harpies, enforcer gargoyles, and worse.
49. Nation where fey servants are commonplace, such as leprechauns, brownies, sprites, pixes, grig, and the like. They do much of the work in households, factories, fields. Seelie and Unseelie Court politics are important, and changeling humans aren't unusual.
50. Desert city,a ruined metropolis, home to dozens of civilizations that have come and gone. Current main inhabitants are largely human and goblin, ruled over by the representative and court of the distant Khan of the gnoll nations.
51. City in the far north, threatened by an ever advancing glacier, saved from destructon only by a red dragon who shows up every now and then to drive the wall of ice back. Of course, he has a price for his services.
52. Damp, marshy city in a region of swamps and near constant rain. Most people are fighting some sort of infection, usual fungal, so people are constantly using spells and taking potions to keep healthy (but knowledge of what to take when is bewildering for newcomers). Shaped, usable fungi is common place, including domesticated sporebats, giant mushroom houses, and myconid workers. Everything else rots.
55. This country has a hidden fey army. Although not an aggressive nation, it has called upon this army to defend its borders from all attackers. When this army is summoned, its opponents are eradicated.
56. Another country has abandoned a metallic currency. Instead, it has changed its currency to dragons' teeth. The quest for new money has nearly driven dragons to extinction.
56. Another country has abandoned a metallic currency. Instead, it has changed its currency to dragons' teeth. The quest for new money has nearly driven dragons to extinction.
I like that one. I can see surviving dragons banding together to wipe out that government. Or, better yet, hiring high level PCs to take down the government.
58. One of the houses of parliaments is comprised of liches, good aligned mostly. Talk about serving in office for life...
59. Vampires rule the nation. It looks pretty normal to newcomers, but there is the blood tax, paid by reporting to bloodletting stations on a set schedule. Things are set up so that no dies from the bloodletting, that is unless someone proves a problem to the vampires or their human allies.
60. Only the king is allowed to kill monsters in this country. If a monster is ravaging a village, well, they will just have to hold tight. He will eventually get there to kill the creature. All monsters are protected otherwise. If one accidentally dies the local village,farmer, town might be held liable. If you deliberately kill one, such as clueless adventurer who just wandered in...
51. City in the far north, threatened by an ever advancing glacier, saved from destructon only by a red dragon who shows up every now and then to drive the wall of ice back. Of course, he has a price for his services.
Interesting real fact: some time during the Medievil period a little ice age started, and the alpine glaciers advanced on a bunch of villages. The villagers, convinced this was the work of the devil, hired some priests to go out and perform and exorcism to stop the glaciers. They got results!………………for a while.
62. This city-state records its history on a massive wall encircling its boundaries. Having your name recorded on the wall is a high honor. Subsequent failure can lead to the removal of not only your name but all of the names of your ancestors.
63. Massive tortoises serve as special beasts of burden in this country. The larger the tortoise and the more ornate its shell can greatly influence its owner's community standing.
64. The rules of this country seeks to preserve as much of its land as possible. Consequently, it has heavily invested in sophisticatedly engineered massive stone towers to serve as the sole residents for its citizenry. No one owns land except for the king, and he's very greedy to control all of it.
65. This country has a bizarre custom: no one may stand taller than the king while they are in his presence. It might not be a significant issue, save for the fact that the king is a halfling.
66. Horses are considered to be of a higher station than everyone except the monarch, to whom the horses are considered equals.
Interesting real fact: some time during the Medievil period a little ice age started, and the alpine glaciers advanced on a bunch of villages. The villagers, convinced this was the work of the devil, hired some priests to go out and perform and exorcism to stop the glaciers. They got results!………………for a while.
Yes, I saw it on a special that was on climate change and history, based in part I believe on a book by Brian Fagan. During the Little Ice Age some glaciers advanced quite a bit in the Alps and were serious threats to villages up there. That was the same time period that saw the vicious winters in London one sometimes reads about from English literature and the horrid winter faced by General Washington and his troops at Valley Forge. Also during that time the Rio Grande river froze over, something unheard of since.
68. Country dominated by a caste system, what race you are determines what you can do. Only gnomes for instance can do repair work and engineering (and that is all they can do) for instance. Only humans can farm (and that is all they can do). The caste system includes humanoids like giants, orcs, and goblins.
69. Weird spell effects plague this nation; random creatures become Awakened; intelligent and speaking. Once this happens if they are say farm animals they have the right to go free or if they want to stay on a contract has to be worked out. The raccoon you were about to kill that was raiding the chickens, if he Awakens, now has land rights and may have title to the land you are holding. Killing the animal off is a crime akin to murder.
70. Incredibly superstititous nation, most people ascribe great meaning to meaningless patterns in the tea leaves in the bottom of their glass, what day of the week it is, astrological signs, their house number, if two people say the same thing at the same time. Most of the time this is nonsense, nothing to worry about, but other times bad, or good, random spell effects occur, often enough to keep people on their toes. Good luck charms, hexes, and minor spells to protect people is a thriving business, though many of them are worthless, either know to be by those who create them or created by ignorant hedge wizards who are dabbling in things they know little enough of.
I like that one. I can see surviving dragons banding together to wipe out that government. Or, better yet, hiring high level PCs to take down the government.
If they went after all kinds of dragons, good and evil, I can't see that nation lasting long. Perhaps glib, persuasive dragons could persuade "races of the dragon" like kobolds to wage some sort of jihad against this country. Maybe even more distant relations like the lizardfolk.
**That reminds me of Dinotopia for some reason, where dinosaurs of various types - all herbivores - live and work with humans, not only as beasts of burden and mounts but also as allies.
Perhaps these tortoises have sigils carved into their shells, magical sigils that provide good luck, great weather, magical protections, or curses to their enemies.
If they went after all kinds of dragons, good and evil, I can't see that nation lasting long. Perhaps glib, persuasive dragons could persuade "races of the dragon" like kobolds to wage some sort of jihad against this country. Maybe even more distant relations like the lizardfolk.
Maybe they didn't go after all kinds of dragons at once. But over time, as certain breeds become scarcer, other kinds of dragons become new targets. Unfortunately, at this point, the dragons have been pushed to such small numbers that a full assault against the nation would be pyrrhic at best. As a further consequence, now that all dragons are so scarce, I'm sure the nation would LOVE to discover that the Races of the Dragon (such as kobolds and dragonborn) have teeth of a comparable, though degraded material. Once the dragons are all gone and their premium currency source is exhausted, they'll have to go after the lower quality teeth.
56. Another country has abandoned a metallic currency. Instead, it has changed its currency to dragons' teeth. The quest for new money has nearly driven dragons to extinction.
I love this idea, but I would change it to dragon's scales. Just because if you were using teeth you'd have to kill a feck of a lot of dragons before you had enough teeth for an entire country to switch over to using them as currency. You'd have to kill a bunch if you were using scales as well, but not as many.
EDIT: Actually, it should be that they use every part of the dragon as currency, some parts being more valuable than others. Scales are akin to coppers. Bone pieces replace silvers. Teeth are gold pieces. Claws are platinum. Intact fertilized eggs are the most valuable.
73. Marriage is an unknown institution in this society. Children are taken from their mothers and raised in a different community. The state claims ownership of all its citizens. The child belongs to it.
74. Family lines are very important in this state. Your position in society depends on who has the greatest number of different ancestral lines. A citizen's surname is a hyphenation of all of unique surnames that are in their lineage. The monarch, who has the greatest lineage, works to prevent challengers who could potentially have a longer list of families in their name.
75. In this country, the length of your hair determines your station. Or perhaps those of lower station aren't allow to grow out their hair.
76. This country has a strong conflict between the nationalists who want the power of the state to rest primarily in a central government versus the urbanists who what the power to rest in the settlements.
77. Leadership of this state is rotated every five years between ten different cities. The ruler of the state is selected from that city's residents.
~*Dragonborn*~
First Tier (One Spike): Commoners. This is by no means a bad thing. It just means that anyone from this caste are the farmers and workers.
Second Tier (Two Spikes): Defenders. This can range from being part of the city guard, to the city Army, to even being a personal bodyguard of anyone in the 4th Tier to 6th Tier.
Third Tier (Three Spikes): Merchants, Artisans, Intellects. These are men and women who have dedicated their lives (and those of their families) to being the best at their field, which can be anything from war tactics, Arcane magic user, or even painter. Lawyers are found in this caste.
Fourth Tier (Four Spikes): Bureaucrat. This caste is your typical low-level politician that runs the city, or aspects of it. Mayors, Governors, etc fall into this category. They have been granted certain limited powers by the local royal family to assist running the city, such as dealing with the financial side of running a city. Judges are found in this caste.
Fifth Tier (Five Spikes): Nobility. You're a step under the royal blood, but you've worked this hard for your family to get to this point. Nobility can serve as ambassadors and envoys to other countries, and are often called to wait upon the royal family.
Sixth Tier (Six Spikes): Royalty. You don't have to be the ruler, but if you're part of the royal blood, you would have six spikes in your crest. You have a duty to your city (or perhaps to several cities, or even your country, depending). You work with the local Bureaucrat to help with the running of the city or cities. This is the hardest caste to become a part of, because usually royalty marries royalty.
~*Tiefling*~- Unlike the Dragonborn, you will still sport horns. However, if you have more then two, you may allow the outer two horns to be curled but the others would be straighter; it wouldn't exactly work if you were Royalty with 6 ram-like curved horns!
First Tier (two horns): Commoners. Farmers, workers, guardsmen all fall into this caste.
Second Tier (three horns): Merchants, Artisans, Intellects. These are men and women who have dedicated their lives (and those of their families) to being the best at their field, which can be anything from war tactics, Arcane magic user, or even painter. Lawyers are found in this caste
Third Tier (four horns): Bureaucrat. This caste is your typical low-level politician that runs the city, or aspects of it. Mayors, Governors, etc fall into this category. They have been granted certain limited powers by the local royal family to assist running the city, such as dealing with the financial side of running a city. Judges are found in this caste.
Fourth Tier (five horns): Nobility. You're a step under the royal blood, but you've worked this hard for your family to get to this point. Nobility can serve as ambassadors and envoys to other countries, and are often called to wait upon the royal family.
Fifth Tier (six horns): Royalty. You have a duty to your city (or perhaps to several cities, or even your country, depending). You work with the local Bureaucrat to help with the running of the city or cities. This is the hardest caste to become a part of, because usually royalty marries royalty.
64: A island nation that is realy the back of asleeping dragon turtle.
Al-Qadim had a giant-turtle-as-island creature, the zaratan if memory serves.
79. The military has no metal in its weapons, they are all wooden, bone, obsidian, ivory, flint, chert, or the like. Rust monsters, rust dragons, and other metal eaters are used against the nation's enemies and they have done quite well with this.
79. Giants are an enslaved race in this country, they have to do the bidding of great merchant houses, mining companies, the military. Smaller house giants do work around the house, they are merely ogre-sized or a tad larger. Giants are apraised and sold like horses and have no rights.
80. The military has no metal in its weapons, they are all wooden, bone, obsidian, ivory, flint, chert, or the like. Rust monsters, rust dragons, and other metal eaters are used against the nation's enemies and they have done quite well with this.
82. Another society restricts the number of children families can have. Parents are expected to have one son and one daughter. No more. Excess children are taken from their parents. Often they are sold into slavery or forced into some service to the government or aristocracy. The front lines of the military are filled with these stolen children. Many adventurers are born from the ranks of these children as well.
83. Inns are highly unusual in this country because they are often seen as a violation of this countries high expectatons of hospitality. Travellers instead are expected to receive room from citizens. But these travellers must perform some service for their patrons; monetary payment is offensive.
83. Inns are highly unusual in this country because they are often seen as a violation of this countries high expectatons of hospitality. Travellers instead are expected to receive room from citizens. But these travellers must perform some service for their patrons; monetary payment is offensive.
That's not just interesting and creative, it's really useful as a hook.
That's not just interesting and creative, it's really useful as a hook.
Thanks! I used the Greek concept of xenia as inspiration.
85. The country has a yearly lottery in which it issues ten murder licenses. Whoever is selected by random drawing is permitted by law to murder no more than ten people (except for those who dwell within the Castle) in any manner they choose. Interfering with a carrier of the murder license in the performance of their duties is considered high treason and is punishable by death. Seeking retribution for a killing against someone issued a murder license is considered high treason and is punishable by death. (Inspired by idle thoughts about murder that were in turn inspired by a commercial for "The Secret Millionaire".)
84. The King (or Queen, or other royalty) periodically travels the country posing as a beggar. Those who give him money or food or a place to sleep, or extend simple courtesy are rewarded. Those who rob him or are rude are punished. (Inspired by a commercial for "The Secret Millionaire")
Heck there are old legends from Greece, and probably other places, about gods doing just that.
87. Women rule this nation, and various agents - namely sirens, harpies, and lamia - enforce this will. The women rule benevolently but crush opposition with an iron hand.
90. A lizardfolk tribe that rules a massive marsh and has enslaved kobolds to expand the marsh through irrigation technology while its shamans cast destructive weather magics on the surroundings.
92. This culture uses differently colored coral to designate a members rank within the society. The rarer the color, the higher the rank. People wear their coral in jewelry or sewn into their clothing for public display. A person can change their station by acquiring a higher ranking colored coral.
93. This state always takes the first born son of every family. These sons are trained to serve in the military.
94. This country is made up by several city-states scattered around the world. Their central capital is located on an isolated island deep in the heart of a massive ocean. Using portals, this city has acquired vassal city-states around the world. Most of the residents of these vassal states do not realize that they are ruled remotely.
95. This country's settlements are placed on mesas in what was once an arid landscape. Centuries ago, this desert was flooded creating a shallow sea dotted with towering mesa. Imagine the following landscape:
97. A nation where the government maintains illusions, hiding the real state of things from the populous.
99. A nation where the government scans the minds of their citizens for seditious thoughts.
100. A nation inside of an enormous creature.
Heck there are old legends from Greece, and probably other places, about gods doing just that.
And while I am aware of those stories, none of those were blasting out of the television shortly before I thought to write that post.
89. A minotaur city that is one huge maze with winding streets that lead to nowhere, hedge mazes, a labyrinthine sewer system and buildings which are all interconnected and filled with maze-like corridors.
89, continued. The city-state is full of slaves of many races (human, and orc mostly), almost every Minotaur in the city-state owns at least a few. The slaves are all branded with the mark of the Minotaur who owns them and wear magical collars that give them the ability to navigate between their Master's home and a few other locations of their Master's choosing. Many dead-end passages described above are littered with the skeletons of slaves who attempted escape.
101. A nation of humans ruled by eladrin. The capital city spends most of its time in the Feywild, only shifting to the prime material plane for a week every two or three months.
105. This nation alternates between highly settled and highly nomadic on a roughly fifteen year basis. During the highly nomadic years, travellers in this nation may come across the apparently abandoned cities and villages. And discover those places repopulated just 10 years later.
106. This state has a ceremonial head of state. The people see this leader as a divine conduit through which they can communicate to the heavens. The true head of state and the dominant religious organizations must struggle with the edicts of this independent ceremonial head of state.
107. Members of this culture tattoo their lineage on their body.
108. This state tattoos all of its criminals listing their various crimes using different tattoos.
109. This state regulates the length of blades. Those of lower station are restricted to shorter blades, while those of higher station can use longer blades.
110. Another state harnesses the souls of its criminals to power different things.
41. A country where powerful Druids and Wizards work together to provide all citizens a right to bear arms. This simple ritual performed at adulthood upon willing citizens gives them a natural strength bonus and a powerful attack, but makes delicate tasks requiring manual dexterity difficult.
Gods, I nearly ****** myself when I read that one! 100% Awesomeness!
" Why is the entire militia unarmed?" - " Look at their hands, they don't NEED weapons!"
104. This state is ruled by the various merchant houses. The house that has that largest foreign revenue is selected to lead every five years.
Adventure hook?: The same merchant house has been in power for ten/twenty years because they keep passing laws that make it more difficult for the other houses to do business.
112. Highly religious country, artists strive to create ultra realistic, pious, holy objects to honor their gods, particularly statues and paintings. If the gods like a particular object, it can animate and come to life. As a result a famous, venerated, ancient talking painting might rule one city, or a walking, moving, talking statue journeys through the countryside, dispensing wisdom and justice. To destroy or steal one of these objects would cause a never ending holy war.
113. Nation fought a war with a neighboring nation of undead. As part of the peace treaty, the undead nation gets access to a percentage of the living nation's deceased for animation for new undead. Every few years to balance out the numbers, a percentage of the undead nation's populace have to show up at a church to be raised back to the living. Deals are made sometimes to try to raise as undead/living (or not!) certain people depending upon their value, and sometimes there are arguments and disputes when say a living person of value dies and is raised immediately; the undead nation wanted them on their side and was looking foward into making them one of their own.
114. Golems and constructs are widely used for everything in this country. A ship might for instance need much of a crew as it can move itself; golems and constructs aren't all bipedal humanoid-like in form. The rich might have intelligent doors that can obey commands, or a plantation might have a golem that is basically a huge moving plow. Also the nation stations many buried golems for defense purposes in the major cities, along major roads, and along the nation's frontier. In fact so many golems and constructs are being used that people are having less and less to do with the day to day running of things, golems are allowed to make more and more decisions, and there is a question of if too much is left up to them, if they control too much of the nation's defenses, and some are starting to question if they have their own agenda.
115. Thanks to a magical war with extraplanar creatures of darkenss, this nation fears darkness. Some major cities are permanently in light with small, hovering artificial brilliant suns. Light spells are very commonplace, candles are everywhere, and many organisms are now bioluminescent. Fireflies are incredibly common, including intelligent tasked ones that are to follow around their masters, ensuring that they are never in darkness. Light golems exist, small golems that glow brilliantly, they also follow around people, or provide illumination to streets or to the interiors of buildings. They can lower or dim their illumination levels and if need be produce bursts of blinding light.
112. A small community where the Lord has an alliance with a Treant.......
Argo, this could work...think..!
112. Highly religious country, artists strive to create ultra realistic, pious, holy objects to honor their gods, particularly statues and paintings. If the gods like a particular object, it can animate and come to life. As a result a famous, venerated, ancient talking painting might rule one city, or a walking, moving, talking statue journeys through the countryside, dispensing wisdom and justice. To destroy or steal one of these objects would cause a never ending holy war.
I think I'll use that one.
115. Thanks to a magical war with extraplanar creatures of darkenss, this nation fears darkness. Some major cities are permanently in light with small, hovering artificial brilliant suns. Light spells are very commonplace, candles are everywhere, and many organisms are now bioluminescent. Fireflies are incredibly common, including intelligent tasked ones that are to follow around their masters, ensuring that they are never in darkness. Light golems exist, small golems that glow brilliantly, they also follow around people, or provide illumination to streets or to the interiors of buildings. They can lower or dim their illumination levels and if need be produce bursts of blinding light.
If the light were ever to go out, they would be ravaged by creatures like those found in Pitch Black.
Post #79 the giants as slaves was excellent, I may borrow that for myself.
116. A small community where the Lord has an alliance with a Treant.......
Argo, this could work...think..!
Yes, Rocksalt, I daresay it would...
117. A country thrown into turmoil when it was discovered that a member of the Council of Elders, a body responsible for appointing a new King after the death of the previous King, was attempting to sell the throne to the highest bidder. (Ripped from the headlines!)
119: A country of were-sharks ruled by ancient mangrove-treants who are powerful druids. They are highly civilized by the materials they use make it difficult for land-walkers to tell. They make homes in massive mangrove trees shaped by druidic magic and have deep cities made of shaped corral.
120:A hive mind. something like Mars from A Miracle of Science
I think I'll use that one.
If the light were ever to go out, they would be ravaged by creatures like those found in Pitch Black.
Relating to idea #112, you might want to look up the iconoclast controversy in the Byzatine Empire, there was a big conflict in that society as some felt that too much veneration was being shown to religious artifacts, paintings, and statues. With some it become outright idolatry.
You might look at making a new class of golems, perhaps ones with holy powers of some sort. Or a template for golems or other constructs.
Perhaps also a priestly spell that can imbue such powers, either forever or just for a time, on a given object.
Maybe evil mimics get in on the action, either pretending to be new animated icons, or impersonating existing ones.
Do the icons animate for different churches? If this is a polytheistic nation, particularly if there are evil deities, what happens with rival icons meet? Or if not meet and fight themselves, order their followers to fight for them?
As they are material objects and everything it seems humans creates can be eaten (termites eat wood, silverfish and book worms eat paper, roaches and rats eat a great many things), what happens when a pest eats a holy (or unholy) animated relic? Is this a new class of creature?
Relating to nation #115, there was an intelligent species of large firefly called I think a firefriend in 1E MM2, and in 2E one of the Planescape monstrous compendium appendices had a sunfly. Maybe they are important creatures in this nation, their services much valued at night. Of course, being smallish creatures, they might be vulnerable to predators, perhaps stolen by thieves and sold to rich nobles and merchantmen, targeted by enemies (killing rival houses by elinminating their life-saving sources of light, letting the monsters of darkness do them in). Large ones might exist that lazily drone down busy city streets, small ones that might hover around a person's head like a cloud of gnats, lighting fast dragonfly ones that can deploy to areas where monsters break into a city's light barrier, and huge ones that people can ride at night to patrol.
Animated balls of light might be a new class of construct, some just simply glow and sit there, some agreesively swarm darkness creatures, some are tasked to follow a given individual no matter what, others can burst into a huge flare of light, hurting darkness creatures but destroying themselves, and so forth. Probably a relatively easy new monster to create.
Will o wisps might take advantage of that and occasionally slip into town and do damage.
The only ones that can live in the dark woods at night are Light Elves, elves that naturaly glow in the dark thanks to their luminescent skin.
Normal animals are about extinct, they can only survive the nights if something protects them at night or they can burrow. Or develop defenses against the darkness. Maybe some ant species glow brilliantly in the dark all the time for instance, or creatures lair in caves filled with glowing fungi in times of darkness.
Good aligned dragons might be quite bright with lots of lights up and down their side like some deep sea fish, perhaps spewing as a breath weapon (or an additional weapon) some sort of cloud of light, maybe some sort of substance that glow brilliantly and clings to everything.
If you have speciality wizards maybe there is a wizard called the Lightbringer, many of the spells relate to light, illumination, pushing back darkness, and fire.
Weather might include actual clouds of darkness, sun-blotting clouds that make everything in the region as if in the inky blackness of midnight.
Shadow elementals? Light elementals? Light weirds?
Some cities fearing darkenss make deals with the elemental plane of fire. Azer, salamanders, or efreet might protect cities from the creatures of darkness for a price. Ditto with creatures from the plane of radiance.
Post #79 the giants as slaves was excellent, I may borrow that for myself.
112. A small community where the Lord has an alliance with a Treant.......
Argo, this could work...think..!
Giants have lots of potential. They might view using giants like people of the Indian subcontinet view using elephants. They venerate them maybe, they are hard to control, they can kill their handlers in seconds if mishandled, but they can do vast amounts of work.
Perhaps a whole class of mind control magic items, spells, etc might exist to keep them in check. Of course if these are misused, say on humans...
The treant idea has merit. Of course, I would make the treants different. What would an oak-based treant be like versus a redwood one? Or a pecan one? Many trees are thought to have (or have) medicinal, folkloric, or mythological properties, maybe treants have as much or more variety as elves, some with innate abilities that other types do not have. I had mangrove treants for instance, they were quite different from more typical ent-ish treants. I also had desert treants based on cottonwood trees.
118: A nation where it is considered the natural order of things to become intelligent undead, most ascend after dieing of old age but there are also accidents. Killing oneself purposely to become undead is a serious taboo and raising unintelligent undead is a serious crime.
119: A country of were-sharks ruled by ancient mangrove-treants who are powerful druids. They are highly civilized by the materials they use make it difficult for land-walkers to tell. They make homes in massive mangrove trees shaped by druidic magic and have deep cities made of shaped corral.
120:A hive mind. something like Mars from A Miracle of Science
118 - What type of undead a person is depends on what prepartions if any were made and the type of person. They may reflect a lot on the person's value; a wise, friendly ghost might watch over a family while a rapacious thief guild head might become a vampire. Perhaps only the rich can be come corporeal thanks to Egyptian like funeral practices that are very expensive. The poor are doomed to be ghost like and incorporeal.
119 - Were dolphins might be a possibility also, or selkies (seals don't just live in cold northern waters, look up the Hawaiian monk seal). They might face threats from sahuagin who utterly hate them. Some venerate a vastly powerful ancient kraken, others a good-aligned giant nautilus.
A good aligned race that they might trade with are ocean-going aarakocra (are they white like gulls maybe?) or harpies (with diffferent features maybe, maybe larger wings to glide).
120 - nothing much to add here. A hive mind nation could be interesting, whether it is body snatcherish (becomed one of us!) or benigh (try to convince others to join but it is not required).
This could be elaborated upon in any number of ways, such as hair style, clothing style, or which way you walk (only making left turns, for example)
122) A county of minuscule races (sentient ant-people, and other insects) that actually lives on a single island or something. Requires some secret item to shrink small enough to visit. A local village knows of this city, and protects it. Sadistic kids with magnifying glasses are shrunk to insect size and forced to live among the tiny folk for a year. ;)
41. A country where powerful Druids and Wizards work together to provide all citizens a right to bear arms.
123) A country that respects great puns. In order to gain a person's trust you must converse with them, and make some awful jokes. This would be interesting to see how long it takes players to realize this, as well as how many they can come up with. May require some planing/scripting on the DM's part...
51. City in the far north, threatened by an ever advancing glacier, saved from destructon only by a red dragon who shows up every now and then to drive the wall of ice back. Of course, he has a price for his services.
Nice. I like that one. Could make for some very interesting social respect for the dragon.
63. Massive tortoises serve as special beasts of burden in this country. The larger the tortoise and the more ornate its shell can greatly influence its owner's community standing.
65. This country has a bizarre custom: no one may stand taller than the king while they are in his presence. It might not be a significant issue, save for the fact that the king is a halfling.
63: Made me laugh.
65: Hilarious! Something weird like that would actually make your size matter! Everyone but the halfling has to crawl for the entire trip!
89. A minotaur city that is one huge maze with winding streets that lead to nowhere, hedge mazes, a labyrinthine sewer system and buildings which are all interconnected and filled with maze-like corridors.
Another neat idea. Force the players to draw maps as they go, and use lots of generic floor tiles?
100. A nation inside of an enormous creature.
Inspired my #122
120 - nothing much to add here. A hive mind nation could be interesting, whether it is body snatcherish (becomed one of us!) or benigh (try to convince others to join but it is not required).
Mars from aMoS is interesting because not only do its members maintain a form of individuality, but also mars itself is lonely, because it has yet to find any other hive minds, or even sapient aliens.
125. This nation of sea faring dwarves lacks a landbased home. They travel in small flotillas from city to city.
126. This nation is vegetarian. There is a collective cultural taboo against eating meat.
127. When entering the capital of this state, adventurers must register their presence and location. The monarch can call upon any adventurers to serve as a jury or advisory body.
128. Creating certain items are restricted to members of particular guilds. Items created by non-members are subject to confiscation. For example, the Cartographers Guild in this country require all maps must be created by there members.
129. There are no roads between settlements in this country. All settlements are interconnected by a series of portals. This leaves vast tracts of land between settlements that are rarely travelled.
130. This country has four cities of identical design. Every year, at the winter solstice, the cities rotate position. Anyone at least partially within the city is carried with it.
131. The ancient rulers of this country have infused the land with powerful spells. Current rulers are able to call upon these spells in times of defense to raise fog, create rain, flood river basins.
132. The fields of crops of this country are enchanted. They can spring to life as animated forms to help bolster this country's army. You've not known humiliation until you've been beaten down by animated stalks of wheat.
Wizards try to manipulate these portals (as do others) in order to try to get armies of dolls, figures, statues, etc. animated to do their bidding. Successful ones can successfully keep an entire household staff of objects animated, or a castle guarded by postive energy golems. Unsuccessful ones destroy the site where the objects are when too big a portal opens and obliterates everything in a certain range.
Owing to close proximity - relatively speaking - to the postive energy plane, wizards can heal people with use of this spell, undead are never a problem (the energy is a deep threat to them).
A variety of ravids live in the country, including the Greater Ravid and Ravidfolk.
135. A city suddenly closes its gates and no one is allowed to leave or enter, no one has been seen within the city for weeks, however, at night there is light coming from the castle windows.
136. The weather is so extreme in a part of the world that for 3 months in the year the town is cut off from the rest of the world by snow.
The community has very limited agriculture, basically bee-keeping for honey (magroves provide great nectar for really good honey) and a few assorted local fruits that are cultivated. Most food comes from sea birds, ducks, alligators, deer, swamp rat, swamp rabbits, and a great variety of fish species.
Chief danger is Gulf Wyrms, huge sinous dragon-like beings, limbless, they occasionally enter the tangled, maze-like swamp and prey upon people. Possible relation to the Sea Drake, they are not evil, just see humans as part of the food chain. If well fed can actually be spoken to.
Mangrove treants exist, they are enslaved by the city, they are key in providing more land area and shelter from storms. A legend exists that a mangrove treant of unusual size and power from the deep swamps will rise and lead his people to freedom. In times of war the magrove treants are directed to change the channels to and from the city, confusing and/or trapping would be invaders.
Scuttlings are smallish, three to four feet high crab people. The original inhabitants of the swamps, they are descended from fiddler crabs but are now bipedal, with the males having one forelimb much larger the the first. They eke out of a good living hunting and fishing, they are a valuable servant class though much taken for granted. Owing to the lack of paper (and the fact that books would rot or wash away) the race inscribes all of its informaton on living conch shells which are maintained in herds in quiet bays. Scuttling wizards enscroll their spells on their own chitinous skin.
139. This country reveres history to the point that once a structure is built, it will not be repaired, reconstructed or replaced.
140. This halfling nation has a culture similar to ancient egypt. Massive pyramids, obelisks and pillared temples dot the landscape.
141. The ships of this country use sails that are constructed from dragon wings.
142. The heat is so oppressive during the day in this tropical/subtropical country that all business is conducted late night early mornings. Most businesses close by 8am.
141. The ships of this country use sails that are constructed from dragon wings.
.
Change that to bat wings. Huge flocks of bats are maintained for meat, fur, and wing material to make sails and cloth. Larger flightless bats provide food. More intelligent sheep dog bats herd the animals when needed. Also nocturnal goblins are great batherds, highly valued. As a result there is a thriving humanoid community there, though the humans worry as goblin population rates soar.
Bat ranching started with an evil deity killed off most of the nation's cattle, sheep, hogs, and chickens with a huge plague of undead mosquitos. The bats first were raised to combat the mosquitos but afterwards were the only food source of any real size (that wasn't a plant) that could be utilized.
129. There are no roads between settlements in this country. All settlements are interconnected by a series of portals. This leaves vast tracts of land between settlements that are rarely travelled.
As a result the settlements are unaware of all the uninvited guests moving into the "flyover country" they are teleporting pass. Like goblins, gnolls, black dragons, and beholders.
144. In this country, inheritance is highly structured. The eldest child inherits all of the parents property. The second child is married out of the family, regardless of gender. The third child either joins the military or the church. All children after that are expected to become adventurers and make their own way in life. In the event of the death of the eldest, the inheritance goes to the fourth child and later, until a surviving heir is found. This practice is not only found among the aristocracy and nobility. The peasants follow it as well.
145. Alcohol is illegal in this country. No taverns or bars exist. An underground society exists dealing with alcohol.
146. A wizardly organization has been created in this country. It has three branches - one dedicated to each of implements. These branches have been assigned specific tasks from the monarch.
147. This country is dedicated to protecting the environment. They've launched a series of crusades against what they consider invasive species: aberrations and all manner of magical beasts. They believe many magical beasts were recklessly created by careless arcanists. Introducing these species into the world has destablized the natural environment.
145. Alcohol is illegal in this country. No taverns or bars exist. An underground society exists dealing with alcohol.
Also all the organized criminals wear pinstripes. Everyone knows this, but they ignore it unless they's not enjoyin' their lives so much, capeesh?
Also all the organized criminals wear pinstripes. Everyone knows this, but they ignore it unless they's not enjoyin' their lives so much, capeesh?
Don't forget the wizard mobsters with gatlin gun like wands. ;)
149. A country that worships a sealed primordial locked away in a mountain at the center of the kingdom. Divine casters and god-worshipers are persecuted as 'slaves of the gods'.
150. A settlement of warforged whom reside within a gigantic, castle-sized warforged colossus that wanders aimlessly through a desert wasteland.
151. Due to the former king going somewhat bonkers in his later years before kicking the bucket, the heir to the throne and the new king is - his pet chimpanzee. Since only the king can decree laws, and there's no law in the books for dealing with a situation like this, the royal advisors have attempted to consult druids to figure out the new king's decrees. On a side note, imports of bananas into the kingdom have quadrupled.
154. A nation that has forsaken currency. the players may wand some trade goods.
157. a country which never produced coins, instead they use lengths of cloth. It is not truly currency because the cloth is traded for its own value. Cloth is other wise a big theme, people live in tents, elaborate dress, etc.
153. A state plagued bylandstreet sharks
Fixed!
60. Only the king is allowed to kill monsters in this country. If a monster is ravaging a village, well, they will just have to hold tight. He will eventually get there to kill the creature. All monsters are protected otherwise. If one accidentally dies the local village,farmer, town might be held liable. If you deliberately kill one, such as clueless adventurer who just wandered in...
That is just ...
Change that to bat wings. Huge flocks of bats are maintained for meat, fur, and wing material to make sails and cloth. Larger flightless bats provide food. More intelligent sheep dog bats herd the animals when needed. Also nocturnal goblins are great batherds, highly valued. As a result there is a thriving humanoid community there, though the humans worry as goblin population rates soar.
Bat ranching started with an evil deity killed off most of the nation's cattle, sheep, hogs, and chickens with a huge plague of undead mosquitos. The bats first were raised to combat the mosquitos but afterwards were the only food source of any real size (that wasn't a plant) that could be utilized.
I like this one.
A big part of my campaign has to do with the west coast and has to do with nautical adventures.
160. Designer parasites prevail in this nation, people often have various worms, beetles, microscopic parasites, and other creatures willingly placed in them. Some parasites provide help with spells (not unlike the dragon marks in Eberron), others provide immunities (they are dandy at neutralizing poision or disease). Newcomers are expected of course to have a parasite or three implanted in them, often against their will ("its for their own good").
161. Nation where the nobility all own flying mounts, as does the royal family and rich merchants. There are several cross country aerial races each year, lucrative affairs with huge prizes and that attract many tourists. Mounts are usually hippogriffs, giant eagles, and pegasi but one might also find ki-rin, asperii, griffons, soarwings, and rarely dragons and wyverns.
163: The whole city is a giant illusion/dream/ghost town. Don't wake the king!
164: A nation which migrates to different planes every ten years. Or which straddles multiple planes simultaneously.
165: Cannibals!!
166: A nation with only one gender. Procreation is done via artificial or magical means (or even spontaneous pregnancy).
167: Everyone dies at 20/30/40 (Logan's Run style).
165: Cannibals!!
166: A nation with only one gender. Procreation is done via artificial or magical means (or even spontaneous pregnancy).
.
Maybe combine these two. They procreate by eating their dead.
In my old 3.5 campaign there was a crazy hermit named Jared who thought he was a king of a wonderful, sprawling kingdom named Anduria (which only existed in his head).
In my 4th campaign, the Kingdom they started in is called Anduria (same players). It is wonderful and exactly like the crazy hermit described. The players were perplexed, and eventually it unfolded that some powerful mages stumbled into Jared and were inspired by his vision. They spread his vision and it spread like wildfire across the land. Peasants, nobles and merchants all gathered their resources and built the utopian kingdom and made him the first King, Jared the Magnificent I. The current king is Jared the Magnificent XXVII.
Adventurers are warned to make a contract before they enter this kingdom. Fortunately, travelers contracts can be made.
Also, one can make contracts out ON people, such as paying the fire princes to burn a house down for instance.
80. The military has no metal in its weapons, they are all wooden, bone, obsidian, ivory, flint, chert, or the like...
... monster hunter?
166: A nation with only one gender. Procreation is done via artificial or magical means (or even spontaneous pregnancy).
I had an idea like this quite a while ago, inspired by the gerudo from the legend of zelda (I mean, where do they get their babies if they only have on man every hundred years?). I transformed it into one of the places in a campaign setting I had going, and it was secluded from the rest of the world. Thus, the three guys in the party were constantly asked why their chests were so flat, among other things as the situation warranted.
171. A free city and haven for lunatics and madmen of all kinds, this place is ruled by a wizard who stands almost naked atop his tower and proclaims daily his thoughts on why the world really is just one giant potato.
this place is ruled by a wizard who stands almost naked atop his tower and proclaims daily his thoughts on why the world really is just one giant potato
This sounds a lot like my workplace.
173. This nation is broken and scattered across several countries. The states hosting this diaspora have each taken different directions in dealing with these refugees. Some allow these people to keep their own laws, while others brutally oppress them.
174. This traveling nation is well respected wherever they visit. They are often called upon to settle local disputes, even in countries where they claim no citizenship.
175. This state heavily taxes its citizens. Foreigners are exempt. However, slaying certain monsters within this realm automatically confers citizenship upon the would-be victors. Perhaps it would be best if you didn't let your exploits be known.
176. This state views clothing as a luxury only for the aristocracy. Anyone dressing above their station can be expected to be stripped and have their clothing confiscated.
177. The ruler of this nation is a seven year old boy. One might expect a regent to rule in his stead until he matures. However, the boy is politically skilled and ruthless beyond his years. Some say that he whispers to a jewelry box that he always keeps close.
178. At the rite of passage celebration in this country, as an individual moves from being a child to being an adult, they are granted one magical wish.
179. The ancient monarchs of this kingdom have never truly died. When a new monarch is named, the previous monarch becomes an undead advisor to the new king or queen. These undead advisors often wander the land. To treat them inhospitably is a great crime.
180. This country lacks major settlements. They have a strict limit on the size of a community. Before a community grows beyond a certain size, the young are expelled and forced to found a new settlement.
181. This dwarven kingdom is ruled by the adopted elven daughter of the previous king. Although some are suspicious of her, she truly sees herself as a dwarf at heart.
182. The noble houses in this country are all paired with a specific family of dragons. Often, the dragons assume leadership roles in the house.
179. The ancient monarchs of this kingdom have never truly died. When a new monarch is named, the previous monarch becomes an undead advisor to the new king or queen. These undead advisors often wander the land. To treat them inhospitably is a great crime.
The ancient Inca in our world had a mummy court of sorts; emperors when they passed on still owned their estates and had courts that maintained them. Each new emperor, who was also btw called the Inca, had to build his own palace. The expense of keeping all these courts and palaces going (in reality the dead emperors cared of course not one whit, but his entourage, they cared) was very expensive to the country.
The ancient Inca in our world had a mummy court of sorts; emperors when they passed on still owned their estates and had courts that maintained them. Each new emperor, who was also btw called the Inca, had to build his own palace. The expense of keeping all these courts and palaces going (in reality the dead emperors cared of course not one whit, but his entourage, they cared) was very expensive to the country.
Nice. I had no idea. Proving that life is stranger than fiction. ;)
Nice. I had no idea. Proving that life is stranger than fiction. ;)
that's because fiction has to be plausible
183. A paladin is working with a wizard to bring mechanus coterminus to the material plane at a single point, making the place where it's happening quite literally the perfect place to live.
185. A formerly great Empire, reduced to a single city-state. This city-state is heavily defended and possesses a powerful military. They aren't xenophobic or hostile, unless you get on their bad side.
186. Long ago, religious refugees found the ancient city of gold and have come to live their. However, the ancient city itself is tainted with evil. The people of this city are careful to hide their true intentions and feelings, never knowing who is loyal to who.
187: A sprawling and impressive empire, ruled in the name of order and justice by the will of their Deity...a deity which seeks the elimination of the world's other Gods.
187: A sprawling and impressive empire, ruled in the name of order and justice by the will of their Deity...a deity which seeks the elimination of the world's other Gods.
At first I thought you wrote "ruined in the name of order and justice", which combined with the rest of the blurb would have be pretty interesting ;).
At first I thought you wrote "ruined in the name of order and justice", which combined with the rest of the blurb would have be pretty interesting ;).
Well...there's certainly a case for that happening considering I'm actually using this nation in my home game.
189. This country is located in the heart of an ocean, on the ocean floor. What is unique about this country is that, despite being on the ocean floor, the ocean does not cover this portion. A magical barrier holds the ocean at bay. The borders of this country are littered with the wreckages of sea going vessels that have slipped over the edge of the barrier and fallen to the uncovered sea floor below. There is a small island the breaches the barrier. The residents of this country use this island as a port to the outside world. A well traveled road and systems of lifts is used to transport items up and down the slope of this island.
190. This country has several massive earth motes. These floating landscapes serve a valuable purpose; they support the majority of this country's agricultural output, enabling it to generate generous surpluses. They are also home to a secret that is hidden from the vast majority of the country. Important values among the citizens of this country include individual freedom and liberty. Known only to a select few among the upper echelons of society is that the great agricultural productivity of this country is only possible due to the work of slaves imprisoned on the elevated land masses.
191. This nation prizes deception and trickery. They derive great satisfaction from finding gullible dupes and misleading them. Adventurers must beware: it wouldn't be unusual to be told a story of a great treasure horde guarded by some challenging, yet defeatable creature only to discover that the treasure is much less and the challenge much greater. And the teller of such a tall tale would believe that its the responsibility of the listener to be cautious, not the responsibility of the tale teller to be truthful.
188. The heir of this state is determined through a magical meritocracy. Upon the death of the current monarch, the crown teleports to the heart of a castle. Whomever braves the dangers of this castle and claims the crown becomes the new monarch. Several previous kings have tried numerous methods to circumvent this process in an attempt to pass the crown to their progeny. King Thibault leveled the castle. Queen Sian destroyed the crown and had a new one made. False King Pelan II placed soldiers around the castle, preventing anyone from entering. Each time, these examples and numerous others were overcome and the next true monarch was able to enter the castle, defeat its trials and claim the crown.
<3
In some regions a church or a monastery provides local government of a sort but the "country" as a whole is suspcious if a given temple takes control over too large an area.
People in this land are often very well armed, even the children, and most everyone is leveled in some class or another.
Murder and robbery is still frowned upon of course. Though there is no law, no one wants that kind of person, a murderer or a thief, in their neighborhood. They are free to hunt such people down.
No money is minted in this "country." Coins of other lands are valued for either their metal content or their overall spending power to buy goods from those lands. Barter is common.
193. This city-state is seen as hold by several religions and mulitple races owing to is ancient sacred status. It is holy to five human deities, two elven deities, an orc deity, and a dragon god. After centuries of conflict the humans, elves, orcs, and dragons have subdivided the city, ruled by a council with representatives of each group. A neutral group of dwarves keeps the peace, as to them the city is not particularly holy and they are seen as being fair and open-minded.
In this city humans, elves, orcs, and a few dragons work, trade, and live side by side in a sometimes uneasy peace.
The dragon representative has been absent for some time. There are rumors, whisperings really, that he and some allies may return in force and seek to lay claim to a larger portion of the holy city.
194. Everyone, I mean everyone, knows martial arts of the unarmed variety. Due to a relgious revolution only the "elected" in the church can wield actual weapons (i.e. certain clerics and the paladins). However, people are expected to defend themselves and to act as their deitie's warriors, to be holy warriors, so some form of judo, karate, etc is practiced by most everyone in the country regardless of age, gender, or income.
of course, They will be searching for a long time, as the three bases of the pirates are NOT on land. Instead, a trio of dreadnaughts, housing mid-sized city populations of both combatant and noncombatant people roams the oceans off the coast, working together to eventually make a seafaring "home country"
...Every town has to be different, every city unique...
A little thought on Human Settlements.
Conformity is a characteristic of culture. It is entirely possible that a group of communities will be identical (or near identical) in design.
Forgotton Realms Comic ISSUE #15
Tormented Townsman: "Let me go, now. Let me hide. She'll kill me if she knows. She's waiting at the square."
Priam Agrivar (Human Paladin): "Easy, old man. Where is this square?"
Vartan Huy Silvar (Elf Cleric): "It should be right up this way. Two blocks at most"
The companions stare at Vartan.
Vartan: "Dont look at me like that. All your human towns are alike."
196. The Spires of Hrondath: A city state occupying a million square miles of burning desert. Terrible Dust storms move around the city boundary separating the desert from the perpetual rainstorm that inundates the city heart. Between the Towers are vast catchment ponds.
The population consists of a billion elves living in mile high Ceramic Towers linked by skywalks. Each building is identical to the next though the weather outside is defined by the location. Each building is home to a thousand elves. They grow their own food (mushrooms and fish) in an ecosystem occupying every floor within each tower. The dead are composted for nutrients.
200. This city-state appears to be alive and somewhat sentient. Slowly over time the buildings and structures within the city reorganize and move apparently of their own accord. To date, no one has been injured when the buildings move. New buildings built within five miles of the city state come to life and slowly migrate toward the city. The city has never been beseiged; many wonder what the city might do to protect itself.
204. Half the society is undead. More in some cities. In some cities the higher classes are all vampires and liches, in other cities a mixture of humans and upper caste undead. Humans are gradually being supplanted though, as in some cities the "quick" are used only for breeding stock for zombies, skeletons, or for the chosen few liches and vampires or to do things that undead don't do well, like work in sunlight, grow crops, etc.
205. Succubi rule the nation, openly, they perverted the worship of a deity of beauty and love into worship of succubi.
204. Half the society is undead.
206. The society is half-undead. Not a mixture of undead and the living. Each individual is part undead and part living. How does that work? I have no idea.
206. The society is half-undead. Not a mixture of undead and the living. Each individual is part undead and part living. How does that work? I have no idea.
My guess is that a wizard did it.
207. Magocratic city state, wherein the ruler is a man who likes to conduct a wide variety of odd experiments and sells the resulting knowledge to nearby kingdoms. He has 3 monster manuals worth of different creatures all prepped and ready for experimentation, but he has a habit of letting them out of their holding area. Thus, when you see a troll waltz by the window of the tavern, the barkeep will say, "That's nothing new. Leave him alone and he'll leave you alone."
Well...no. Creepy and sneaky, certainly, but they're just ordinary people who happen to hate lights due to the bad memories they evoke.
Too bad their neighbors haven't gotten the messege or worse, see a potential scapegoat...
A completely clockwork centered country.
making that into a feasible description...
210. The country has foregone magic in order to follow the next great invention: steam and clockwork. Everything runs off one of these two power sources, and magic of any kind, including supernatural abilities, are considered debilitating to the progress of the nation and are thus crimes that are punishable by death
215. A tropical island kingdom ruled by the descendants of a famed human pirate who invaded the island and drove out its orc inhabitants ages ago. Since then, the kingdom has prospered as a center of sea trade and the city of Corsos has become its gleaming capital city.
216. An ancient kingdom torn asunder by civil war, between the descendants of its last king and a group of cultists dedicated to Zehir who wish to make it a yuan-ti colony. They mainly fight in the lofty mountain capital of the kingdom known as Saipur, it is carved into the mountainside, similar to that of Dwarven cities, save for the fact that it is a surface city.
217. A landlocked nation, bordered on all sides by mountains, with a policy of rounding up and executing magic-users. Many of these magic-users have already fled to a fleet of old ships, and are in refuge on a jungle island. No efforts to penetrate their defenses have been successful so far.
218. A dark nation ruled by a sorcerer who has become a lich to extend his rule. The starving people are rewarded in some way or another, with food, or other vital supplies, for being informants. Paranoia is rampant, xenophobia is commonplace, and among the mainly human and dwarf population, other races are distrusted. The aristocrats live a life of privilege and fear, the ruler is known for purging the aristocracy on a fairly-frequent basis. Travelers to this nation are allowed, but often pick up more than a few "extra shadows" along the way.
The government is heavily influenced by and entwined with the military force of the nation; as such, instead of social classes, rank determines everything. Not only is a general considered a general, but the family of a general would be considered to be of "higher rank" than the family of -for example- someone who is a lowly foot soldier. Honor is very important as well; if someone does something is deemed dishonorable they might be demoted; as such, their family is demoted as well.
The country is populated by a group of civilized monstrous races who are constantly plagued by a marauding band of vicious and evil humans, elves, and dwarves.
221) Who stands tall now?!
The main population of the country consists of halflings, but gnomes, and the occasional kobold are present as well. Anyone over the height of 4'4" is considered a second class citizen at best. Shop keepers don't offer fair prices to any of the "Talls." The police force constantly hassles anyone who is over the 4'4" mark. Also, many of the wealthy merchants own slaves who are above the acceptable height mark.
222. A country where noble rank is based on the number of members of a family who have been sacrificed to the national diety. The more the better!
"Honey, we need to make another one! since jim went out, the neighbors have made three sacrifices! I'm not gonna fall behind those cretins!"
The 'nobles' are really a sub class of artificers who train their whole lives simply to build better rulers.
The class pyramid:
Ruling construct
bureaucrats(both construct and humanoid ), Noble Artificers
Military officers, policing officers, Artificers, teachers
Various tradesmen
Unintelligent constructs
225. A nation that is quite literally ruled by a God. The priesthood are the bureaucracy, and all major decisions of state are handled via Augury. The God calls all of the shots, down to an individual's profession and whom he will marry. Despite this shockingly absolutist style of government, the people are all blissfully - even annoyingly - happy. Assuming that the God in question is Good, of course...
226. A society of Drow who (due to the fact that they live in the depths of the earth) have had to evolve as a society without access to wood. They've had to strip mine most of their territory in search of coal - their only means of producing fire. Worked metal is incredibly precious; most tools are made of bone.
228. In this dragonborn society, your breath weapon determines your position in society. Acid breathers are the highest ranking and fire breathers are the lowest. The rest are arrayed between.
229. In another dragonborn society, your breath weapon greatly influences the type of occupation you are trained for. For example, blacksmiths are regularly fire breathers. There are often examples of inventions that rely on certain breath weapons to function. The electric breathers have created locks which only open when electricity is applied.
230. This final dragonborn society forbids the use of breath weapons by anyone except agents of the state such as the police and military.