Post by Admin on Feb 20, 2012 23:55:17 GMT -5
Geography: To the southwest, Ruthenia still possesses great forests, once connected to Arcadia's own. Nowadays, they are dark and overgrown places, and are collectively called the Taiga. The southern border is home to the Altai Mountains, where it connects to the Upper Kingdoms. The Schredost in the southeast side of Ruthenia is a barren, rocky land with many plateaus, where farming is nigh impossible. It hides a large quantity of oil, coal and other minerals beneath the surface. The middle and northeast parts of Ruthenia are habitable green lands, with the northern edges a frosted, unfarmable land called the Tundra.
Weather: Most of Ruthenia veers toward the colder side of temperate. It almost never rains in the rocky Schredost, save for a few rare torrential downpours. That area is also highly windy, and sandstorms aren't unheard of. Central Ruthenia rains often, with snow and ice quite common in their long winters. The northern reaches remain frozen most of the year, and never quite fully thaws.
Population: Ruthenia has a large population in the hundred-millions, with humans and Beastfolk making a clear majority over others. However, humans are the dominant race of the nation, with Beastfolk treated as second class citizens at best and slaves at worst. Sentient elementals are always enslaved, with only a few hundred living free in uninhabited places. Those Fey that remain do likewise.
Form of Government: Ruthenia is controlled by a militarized dictatorship, with a cabinet of advisors and generals with delegated authority. The current dictator is Prime Minister Rasputin Anatoliy the 8th, who himself is a Tier 5 human mage. All political power and authority begins and ends with him.
Technology: Developing simultaneously with Greenwich, Ruthenia's technology nevertheless grew along different pathways. Between their large forests, coal mines, and numerous oil reserves, Ruthenia has always had a large amount of combustible fuels to rely on - fuels that Greenwich did not. Much of Ruthenian technology is now run on a combination of those fuels and electricity, though they are currently working on "other options."
Favored Magics: Ruthenian mages prefer Spoken magic over other forms. Written magic, specifically Runes, are also quite popular. These are considered more civilized, but Physical mages and potion makers can still find placement in the military. Mental magic is a secret in the hands of the elite or the natural-born mages.
Major Locations:
Taiga -
- Novgorod: One of the oldest cities, it was once ruled by the Noble Fey. Their style can still be seen in some of the architecture, but the government has since made many changes in decor and statuary.
- Romanov: A massive underground cave named after the deposed Noble Fey royal family, claimed and guarded by a band of their loyalists. The mouth of the cave is warded with scrying spells and concealed by natural foliage.
Central Ruthenia -
- Rasgrad: Located near the center of the nation and isolated from its borders, it sits at the edge of a lake, a sprawling metropolis with a massive factory district. Numerous skyscrapers reaching to the heavens are meant to symbolize Ruthenian power and dominance.
- Piotrgrad: A pristine city just east of Rasgrad, home to those of Ruthenia's finest minds not directly involved in government service. Under the watchful eye of government agents, scholars come to learn science and magic for the ultimate benefit or their nation, putting their collective genius into the numerous ongoing fuel, medicine and technology research projects.
- Rynok: The trade capital of the country, a large town filled with shophouses, markets and numerous branches of the government-owned Bank of Ruthenia. Those who know which alleys to walk down and which shop owners to pay off can make their way to the catacombs beneath the city, where all manner of illicit trade takes place.
Schredost -
- Truditsya: A work camp in the center of Schredost, connected by railway to central Ruthenia. Populated mainly by Beastfolk, with a few human convicts thrown in to add to the output, and overseen by human foremen with chips on their shoulders, the camp serves as the central collection depot for all the various ores mined from across Schredost. Workers receive their wage in food, which is often in short supply, and are 'protected' from external dangers by the constant presence of armed guards.
- Bol'shotnogo: A thick swamp in the southeastern corner of Schredost, too thick to explore and full of dangerous creatures, some apparently strong enough in magic to repel attempts at clearing the land with fire and decay spells.
Tundra -
- Teplykam: A growing settlement built around a hot spring in the eastern Tundra, and the base of operations for Ruthenia's efforts to bring the rest of the frozen land to heel.
Major Concerns:
- Unless you're human, Ruthenian's biggest problem is the government itself. Everyone else is discriminated against, whether it be a matter of the police, the court system, or simple day to day activities. Fey have it the worst, whom people are encouraged to report to the police on sight to be "taken care of, for the protection of our society." There are few to no political repercussions for human crimes against the other "uncivilized" races - even murder. The flip side is also true: Beastfolk and other races who commit a crime, or are even suggested to have committed a crime, are disproportionately punished.
- Ruthenian magic users are frequently drafted into service of the government, especially young natural-born mages. It is not uncommon for a young mage to be kidnapped and pressed into "service," where their abilities can be cultured as the government sees fit. They are not above using various brainwashing methods to accomplish this. There are few mages outside of government control.
- An underground resistance has been attempting to topple the government for decades with no real success. Their guerilla efforts have inconvenienced Ruthenia on several occasions, but their primary concern now is protecting the population from its own government.
- Due to their many neighboring enemies, Ruthenia has a massive nation-wide barrier active at almost all times. Passing through the barrier is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for most people and monsters. Certain techniques may still allow a mage to pass through, but these are few and far between. The Resistance has figured out how to do so, but it is a guarded secret, lest that be blocked too. Teleportation, Phasing, and portal magic do not work.
- Because of the government control of mages - and to a lesser extent, guns as well - there is a greater population of monsters flourishing unchecked. The undead are especially prevalent, with strong vampire populations both in and out of major cities. Some rumors also say that the government employs vampires themselves as assassins and secret police. Some stories do exist of Fey still helping a traveler escape the monster-infested Taiga, but those are few and far between, considering Ruthenian-Fey relations.
Weather: Most of Ruthenia veers toward the colder side of temperate. It almost never rains in the rocky Schredost, save for a few rare torrential downpours. That area is also highly windy, and sandstorms aren't unheard of. Central Ruthenia rains often, with snow and ice quite common in their long winters. The northern reaches remain frozen most of the year, and never quite fully thaws.
Population: Ruthenia has a large population in the hundred-millions, with humans and Beastfolk making a clear majority over others. However, humans are the dominant race of the nation, with Beastfolk treated as second class citizens at best and slaves at worst. Sentient elementals are always enslaved, with only a few hundred living free in uninhabited places. Those Fey that remain do likewise.
Form of Government: Ruthenia is controlled by a militarized dictatorship, with a cabinet of advisors and generals with delegated authority. The current dictator is Prime Minister Rasputin Anatoliy the 8th, who himself is a Tier 5 human mage. All political power and authority begins and ends with him.
Technology: Developing simultaneously with Greenwich, Ruthenia's technology nevertheless grew along different pathways. Between their large forests, coal mines, and numerous oil reserves, Ruthenia has always had a large amount of combustible fuels to rely on - fuels that Greenwich did not. Much of Ruthenian technology is now run on a combination of those fuels and electricity, though they are currently working on "other options."
Favored Magics: Ruthenian mages prefer Spoken magic over other forms. Written magic, specifically Runes, are also quite popular. These are considered more civilized, but Physical mages and potion makers can still find placement in the military. Mental magic is a secret in the hands of the elite or the natural-born mages.
Major Locations:
Taiga -
- Novgorod: One of the oldest cities, it was once ruled by the Noble Fey. Their style can still be seen in some of the architecture, but the government has since made many changes in decor and statuary.
- Romanov: A massive underground cave named after the deposed Noble Fey royal family, claimed and guarded by a band of their loyalists. The mouth of the cave is warded with scrying spells and concealed by natural foliage.
Central Ruthenia -
- Rasgrad: Located near the center of the nation and isolated from its borders, it sits at the edge of a lake, a sprawling metropolis with a massive factory district. Numerous skyscrapers reaching to the heavens are meant to symbolize Ruthenian power and dominance.
- Piotrgrad: A pristine city just east of Rasgrad, home to those of Ruthenia's finest minds not directly involved in government service. Under the watchful eye of government agents, scholars come to learn science and magic for the ultimate benefit or their nation, putting their collective genius into the numerous ongoing fuel, medicine and technology research projects.
- Rynok: The trade capital of the country, a large town filled with shophouses, markets and numerous branches of the government-owned Bank of Ruthenia. Those who know which alleys to walk down and which shop owners to pay off can make their way to the catacombs beneath the city, where all manner of illicit trade takes place.
Schredost -
- Truditsya: A work camp in the center of Schredost, connected by railway to central Ruthenia. Populated mainly by Beastfolk, with a few human convicts thrown in to add to the output, and overseen by human foremen with chips on their shoulders, the camp serves as the central collection depot for all the various ores mined from across Schredost. Workers receive their wage in food, which is often in short supply, and are 'protected' from external dangers by the constant presence of armed guards.
- Bol'shotnogo: A thick swamp in the southeastern corner of Schredost, too thick to explore and full of dangerous creatures, some apparently strong enough in magic to repel attempts at clearing the land with fire and decay spells.
Tundra -
- Teplykam: A growing settlement built around a hot spring in the eastern Tundra, and the base of operations for Ruthenia's efforts to bring the rest of the frozen land to heel.
Major Concerns:
- Unless you're human, Ruthenian's biggest problem is the government itself. Everyone else is discriminated against, whether it be a matter of the police, the court system, or simple day to day activities. Fey have it the worst, whom people are encouraged to report to the police on sight to be "taken care of, for the protection of our society." There are few to no political repercussions for human crimes against the other "uncivilized" races - even murder. The flip side is also true: Beastfolk and other races who commit a crime, or are even suggested to have committed a crime, are disproportionately punished.
- Ruthenian magic users are frequently drafted into service of the government, especially young natural-born mages. It is not uncommon for a young mage to be kidnapped and pressed into "service," where their abilities can be cultured as the government sees fit. They are not above using various brainwashing methods to accomplish this. There are few mages outside of government control.
- An underground resistance has been attempting to topple the government for decades with no real success. Their guerilla efforts have inconvenienced Ruthenia on several occasions, but their primary concern now is protecting the population from its own government.
- Due to their many neighboring enemies, Ruthenia has a massive nation-wide barrier active at almost all times. Passing through the barrier is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for most people and monsters. Certain techniques may still allow a mage to pass through, but these are few and far between. The Resistance has figured out how to do so, but it is a guarded secret, lest that be blocked too. Teleportation, Phasing, and portal magic do not work.
- Because of the government control of mages - and to a lesser extent, guns as well - there is a greater population of monsters flourishing unchecked. The undead are especially prevalent, with strong vampire populations both in and out of major cities. Some rumors also say that the government employs vampires themselves as assassins and secret police. Some stories do exist of Fey still helping a traveler escape the monster-infested Taiga, but those are few and far between, considering Ruthenian-Fey relations.