Rosaria

Rosaria is a roleplaying-fantasy world based on the idea of combining medieval-authentic gameplay elements with the usual fantasy monsters in a vaguely English backdrop.   1000 years ago, the One True God looked down at the world, and was displeased with what he saw, and so flooded the world in order to start over. He warned the few faithful left in the world, who built great tallships and filled them with the plant and animal life, that they may repopulate the world once the waters receded. By the time the storms passed, only two ships were left in sight of each other.   The Hadrian put ashore at the first sign of land, impulsively deciding that any land was better than continued existence on the ship, and the survivors were distraught to find out that their ship lay perched on top of a mountain as the waters continued to recede. The people of the Hadrian scattered into various clans throughout the mountains and became hard as the mountains were hard, and are known to plague the northernmost villages as raiders from time to time.   The other surviving ship was the Cicero and rode out the last of the waters to come upon what is now the shoreline of Maer, and formed a great Kingdom in praise of the One True God for saving them. However, there were other Powers at work in the World, who had saved or created their own chosen people in defiance of the will of the One True God. The humans of Maer quickly ran into the Serpents of Pythagoras in swamplands at the Delta of the long and winding Brooding River, and a long conflict began as settlers from both peoples attempted to expand their territory.   There were also people who traveled far beyond the borders of Maer, in the early days, and who came by chance or by design to find traces of the Old Times. While these people outwardly profess faith in the One True God, most formal inquisitions would not find them to be true believers, and they still tend to live on the outskirts of Maerian lands, and are perpetual outsiders in Maerian society.   Currently, the Kingdom of Maer is split into two warring factions for the crown. The main royal line is represented by the 5 year-old child-king and his Uncle, whose sigils are a silver dragon and a blue rose, respectively.   A union of barons have accused the Uncle of usurping the authority of the crown due to the young and impressionable king, and are pushing ostensibly for returning power to the throne, though one major figure of the baron faction, whose sigil is a golden lion, has a marriage connection to the throne, and rumors abound that he may push for taken the crown himself, should the situation allow it.   To the north, in the foothills below the Hadrian mountain range, barbarians roam and prey on vulnerable towns and villages where ever more men are pressed into service. To the west, Cymru villages and towns still exist, though ostensibly under the rule of Maerian noble, they tend to generally benefit from benign neglect. To the south, Naga live in the marshes in a tribal organization centered around a few old temples to their ancient gods.   This is a generally low-magic setting, where most magic is regulated by the clergy, but special magical items exist, though are rarely for sale as all those currently known are likely to be owned by distinguished individuals, or the church.