Quibokk
Capital: Brahnna (35k-55k)
Climate: Continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid, and semiarid. Eastern borderlands are harsh deserts.
Government: Republic; Authoritarian Presidential Rule. Major cities fall under the rule, but nomadic populations are seen with some autonomy when outside the cities.
Population: 180k-350k; nomadic populations fluctuate making numbers unreliable.
Notable Races: 45% Humans (primarily Lansorin, with Quigrassi, and Kahmonz), 9% Dragonborn, 8% Orcgrish, 4% Tieflings, ~4% Nagpas, ~4% Aarokockra. Due to heavy caravaning, the remainder is an assortment of races and changes often.
Popular Deities: Mahnahouk, Bazagazeal, Routan, Bodeyga & Dukass, Boddayaga
Approximately 80 percent of the land consists of arid lowlands, plains, and plateaus. Strong winds often sweep through these flatlands. The climate is varied, and different plants and animals are found according to region. Parts become extremely cold in the winter and very hot during the summer. The Qi Qua Lado Desert occupies central Quibokk. Along the eastern border of the desert, the Zkorch begins. Most of the Zkorch lies outside Quibokk's border. The Zkorch is an area of desert that has been magically burned and is a source of elementals fires, beasts, and wild magic. One of the Great Roads circumvents the depths of the Qi Qua Lado desert and along this are all the major cities. As is typical in this region, caravanserai can be found every 20 miles along this road. Larger towns and cities will have many of them to handle heavy trading. Crops include wheat, barley, beets, melon, grapes, and apples are grown. Native fruits are grown in orchards and include apricots, peaches, melons, apples, dates, and grapes. Pilaf is a side dish usually made with rice, dried apricots, dates, prunes, or apples Bushy pastures offer decent feeding for sheep, camels, cattle, goats, and also horses closer to the coast. Quibokk is home to many herders raising sheep, goats, cattle, camels, and horses. They rely on their animals for transportation, clothing, and food. Lamb, milk cheeses, and pieces of bread are typical of their simple meals. Horse and camel meat are eaten but often stewed as the animals are grown for use not slaughtered young for meat. Root vegetables are plentiful and a variety of heat-loving leafy greens. Foods fried in lots of oil are common and often used for celebrations or treats. Fried dough, salted, sugared, or spiced, is at every celebration and is sold in the streets. Bokk Nomads Like their neighbor Uszbokk, the area has long been the home of nomads called Bokks. Bokks are patriarchal. Bokk men are responsible for their family's health, safety, and joy. This creates a smaller domain within the Bokk mentality, with an emphasis on polite cooperation and hospitality with outsiders. They are less concerned about forming larger communities and the power struggles they represent. Quibokk is largely desert and this places a priority on survival, rather than ownership, control, and consumption. Bokk nomads migrate depending on available water and pastures for their livestock. They also produce goods to trade for grain, vegetables, and fruits at city markets. Quibokk streets are very wide, two to six times wider than more common widths. They typically can support two Bokk Wutroves passing one another and possibly side stalls or walks. Wutroves are common wagons in Bokk culture with a wide tenting that extends beyond the wagon rails in all four directions. The canvas roof is pitched like an upside-down tent. The cloth is treated to not absorb water and funnel any rainwater or condensation into a barrel near the front of the wagon. The poles that extend outward can be detached and stood to narrow the wagon and bring the tenting in. The tent poles are thick and notched to support many hooks. These may hang drying foods, clothes, or goods for sale. Their wheelbases are nimbler with the front wheels being small and levered to change angle independent of each wheel. Hospitality is Central to Society Hospitality is a major theme in Quibokk culture. Hospitality in Bokk families is appreciated higher than the wealth of a table and the prosperity of the family. Not to receive a guest is a disgrace to the family and kin. The treatment of strangers and the offerings of food to others are a reflection of status and spirit to others. Consequently, food and serving meals have simple but significant rituals and expectations. Hosts welcome esteemed guests at the gate or entrance. As a rule, the host (man or woman) and guest shake hands with each other and show their interest in each other's health and business. It is appropriate to greet their spouse or children with a slight bow, attaching the right hand over the heart. Within a home, there is only one host and all talks of business are through them. The host or the male head of the family seats guests around the table, and the most honored guests are seated away from the entrance. Guests sit in an honored spot of comfort and are always served first. A host would be offended if a guest did not have the food and drink offered in their home. Ghyennie & Mahkahna HandWashing. Washing hands before eating is expected and a ritual. Most washing waters were collected outside, so a "watershed" leaned off the home close to the eating space. Often nothing more than a porch with water collection barrels, basins, and cloths were there to wash. As a culture that sees water as a symbol of life, this has been ritualized even though washing can be done within the home. Formal dining rooms always connect outside to a porch with decorative bowls and art where washing before a meal is still done. Prayers or mantras while washing is present in several devotions to gods such as Ghyennie and Manakanni. The Shared Meal Any meal begins and ends with tea drinking. The host pours the tea. An odd tradition of hospitality is the small amount of tea poured for a guest. In this custom, when the guest asks the host for more, they are embracing the welcome offered. It is a sign of respect to the family. Queens and kings would be offered only a sip at first, and if they welcomed that hospitality, they would immediately request more, with an open palm under the teacup. This is a sign of trust that the host will take care and not spill the tea on their hand. Tea should only be poured into an empty cup. If tea remains, the host pours the cup out and fills the cup from empty. A request for tea with tea still in the cup is a signal that the terms discussed are not acceptable or the talk has become offensive or inappropriate. Children of the host are always part of such meals. This is how they learn how the world works. However, children do not drink teas until they are recognized as responsible enough to be considered ready for adulthood. The offering of the first tea to a child is usually done by the matriarch of the family, showing she is ready to let them be an adult. . Traditionally, the adults eat first, then the children eat from the leftovers. This would be especially true with strangers, but not for daily home meals. For the children to be allowed to eat with those who are not related, is an indication that they are accepted as family. Children would be present from the beginning to the center of the meal. Then they would go into the kitchen to help. This is the point where the deepest talks or negotiations would occur. Discussions of concerns, news that might be inappropriate for children would be held until they left. After any serious discussions are completed, the children would rejoin and the end of the meal would occur. Old customs say food is passed to another with only the left hand, while drinks are poured with the right. The first course serves sweets, baked goods, dried fruits, roasted nuts, fresh fruits, and fresh or roasted vegetables, and at the end with a pilaf or other large shared grain dish. Small foods meant to be eaten with fingers are commonplace and customary for guests. Firm flatbreads are used like spoons, scooping up smaller foods. Once they soften from oils and sauces they are eaten and another piece is used. Dried fruits and vegetables, nuts, small cakes, breads-sometimes soaked in fermented milk or liquors. A traditional bloom cake has colorful, edible flowers pressed into the top of the hot cake and cooled to set. They are a sign of springtime but are seen from late winter to autumn as they often use plentiful wildflowers. For a visiting guest or special occasion, a whole animal is slaughtered for a traditional feast called a bettaroti. This may be communal. Small neighborhoods might join and roast a large beast in a fire pit. For such communal feasts, bringing some food to those in need nearby is a sign of thankfulness for your bounty. Even a banquet at a home might send food in bowls of bread or wrapping in paper to neighbors, guards, and the poor. The animal is served at the center of the meal. The oldest of the host's family carves the head. Parts of the head are offered to confer a wish for that person. The left eye to find something searched for, the right eye for wisdom, an ear to listen better, be more understanding, or receive long-awaited news. The snout about reputation. The tongue is about speech, desire or your "voice" to be heard. The brain would be about knowledge and learned skills. Traditionally not accepting and eating the offering would be offensive and rude. Banquets are the place for negotiations. And these are typically done with the home or a guild house. When within a home, there is one central figure to be negotiated with. There may be a hierarchical group of independent merchants beneath that person, but they are solely in charge of the discussion. Guild houses will be used when there are many individuals trading for themselves. The guild house collects from members and prepares the banquet. Trade negotiations with large caravans often have sumptuous banquets laid out. This is a welcome, but also a sign of abundance and a hint that trade is plentiful here and unreasonable prices would be ignored and possibly insulting. Popular Minor Deities The harsh arid climate shifts concerns of basic survival to be more central. An arid, desert region without hospitality would be a very desperate one. So, outside of built-up cities closer to the coast, focus on communal needs is greater. Mahnahouk at the Mother's Table celebrates food and the communal joining when we eat together. This is so embedded in their culture, Mahnahouk is everywhere. The caravan culture of trade naturally involves Bazagazeal, but also Routan a minor deity of travel and navigator to caravans and explorers. The divine pair of Bodeyga & Dukass represent the struggle of the small in a big world, particularly in trade and markets. They do not advocate for the existence or participation in guilds. With such large roaming traders, not tying your business to a specific guild of a city is attractive. Guilds often lock down trading and selling within their city, also unattractive to caravans. Boddayaga has many devotees. He is the god of the inner vessel, treating the body as sacred and keeping it healthy for the mind.
Climate: Continental, cold winters and hot summers, arid, and semiarid. Eastern borderlands are harsh deserts.
Government: Republic; Authoritarian Presidential Rule. Major cities fall under the rule, but nomadic populations are seen with some autonomy when outside the cities.
Population: 180k-350k; nomadic populations fluctuate making numbers unreliable.
Notable Races: 45% Humans (primarily Lansorin, with Quigrassi, and Kahmonz), 9% Dragonborn, 8% Orcgrish, 4% Tieflings, ~4% Nagpas, ~4% Aarokockra. Due to heavy caravaning, the remainder is an assortment of races and changes often.
Popular Deities: Mahnahouk, Bazagazeal, Routan, Bodeyga & Dukass, Boddayaga
Approximately 80 percent of the land consists of arid lowlands, plains, and plateaus. Strong winds often sweep through these flatlands. The climate is varied, and different plants and animals are found according to region. Parts become extremely cold in the winter and very hot during the summer. The Qi Qua Lado Desert occupies central Quibokk. Along the eastern border of the desert, the Zkorch begins. Most of the Zkorch lies outside Quibokk's border. The Zkorch is an area of desert that has been magically burned and is a source of elementals fires, beasts, and wild magic. One of the Great Roads circumvents the depths of the Qi Qua Lado desert and along this are all the major cities. As is typical in this region, caravanserai can be found every 20 miles along this road. Larger towns and cities will have many of them to handle heavy trading. Crops include wheat, barley, beets, melon, grapes, and apples are grown. Native fruits are grown in orchards and include apricots, peaches, melons, apples, dates, and grapes. Pilaf is a side dish usually made with rice, dried apricots, dates, prunes, or apples Bushy pastures offer decent feeding for sheep, camels, cattle, goats, and also horses closer to the coast. Quibokk is home to many herders raising sheep, goats, cattle, camels, and horses. They rely on their animals for transportation, clothing, and food. Lamb, milk cheeses, and pieces of bread are typical of their simple meals. Horse and camel meat are eaten but often stewed as the animals are grown for use not slaughtered young for meat. Root vegetables are plentiful and a variety of heat-loving leafy greens. Foods fried in lots of oil are common and often used for celebrations or treats. Fried dough, salted, sugared, or spiced, is at every celebration and is sold in the streets. Bokk Nomads Like their neighbor Uszbokk, the area has long been the home of nomads called Bokks. Bokks are patriarchal. Bokk men are responsible for their family's health, safety, and joy. This creates a smaller domain within the Bokk mentality, with an emphasis on polite cooperation and hospitality with outsiders. They are less concerned about forming larger communities and the power struggles they represent. Quibokk is largely desert and this places a priority on survival, rather than ownership, control, and consumption. Bokk nomads migrate depending on available water and pastures for their livestock. They also produce goods to trade for grain, vegetables, and fruits at city markets. Quibokk streets are very wide, two to six times wider than more common widths. They typically can support two Bokk Wutroves passing one another and possibly side stalls or walks. Wutroves are common wagons in Bokk culture with a wide tenting that extends beyond the wagon rails in all four directions. The canvas roof is pitched like an upside-down tent. The cloth is treated to not absorb water and funnel any rainwater or condensation into a barrel near the front of the wagon. The poles that extend outward can be detached and stood to narrow the wagon and bring the tenting in. The tent poles are thick and notched to support many hooks. These may hang drying foods, clothes, or goods for sale. Their wheelbases are nimbler with the front wheels being small and levered to change angle independent of each wheel. Hospitality is Central to Society Hospitality is a major theme in Quibokk culture. Hospitality in Bokk families is appreciated higher than the wealth of a table and the prosperity of the family. Not to receive a guest is a disgrace to the family and kin. The treatment of strangers and the offerings of food to others are a reflection of status and spirit to others. Consequently, food and serving meals have simple but significant rituals and expectations. Hosts welcome esteemed guests at the gate or entrance. As a rule, the host (man or woman) and guest shake hands with each other and show their interest in each other's health and business. It is appropriate to greet their spouse or children with a slight bow, attaching the right hand over the heart. Within a home, there is only one host and all talks of business are through them. The host or the male head of the family seats guests around the table, and the most honored guests are seated away from the entrance. Guests sit in an honored spot of comfort and are always served first. A host would be offended if a guest did not have the food and drink offered in their home. Ghyennie & Mahkahna HandWashing. Washing hands before eating is expected and a ritual. Most washing waters were collected outside, so a "watershed" leaned off the home close to the eating space. Often nothing more than a porch with water collection barrels, basins, and cloths were there to wash. As a culture that sees water as a symbol of life, this has been ritualized even though washing can be done within the home. Formal dining rooms always connect outside to a porch with decorative bowls and art where washing before a meal is still done. Prayers or mantras while washing is present in several devotions to gods such as Ghyennie and Manakanni. The Shared Meal Any meal begins and ends with tea drinking. The host pours the tea. An odd tradition of hospitality is the small amount of tea poured for a guest. In this custom, when the guest asks the host for more, they are embracing the welcome offered. It is a sign of respect to the family. Queens and kings would be offered only a sip at first, and if they welcomed that hospitality, they would immediately request more, with an open palm under the teacup. This is a sign of trust that the host will take care and not spill the tea on their hand. Tea should only be poured into an empty cup. If tea remains, the host pours the cup out and fills the cup from empty. A request for tea with tea still in the cup is a signal that the terms discussed are not acceptable or the talk has become offensive or inappropriate. Children of the host are always part of such meals. This is how they learn how the world works. However, children do not drink teas until they are recognized as responsible enough to be considered ready for adulthood. The offering of the first tea to a child is usually done by the matriarch of the family, showing she is ready to let them be an adult. . Traditionally, the adults eat first, then the children eat from the leftovers. This would be especially true with strangers, but not for daily home meals. For the children to be allowed to eat with those who are not related, is an indication that they are accepted as family. Children would be present from the beginning to the center of the meal. Then they would go into the kitchen to help. This is the point where the deepest talks or negotiations would occur. Discussions of concerns, news that might be inappropriate for children would be held until they left. After any serious discussions are completed, the children would rejoin and the end of the meal would occur. Old customs say food is passed to another with only the left hand, while drinks are poured with the right. The first course serves sweets, baked goods, dried fruits, roasted nuts, fresh fruits, and fresh or roasted vegetables, and at the end with a pilaf or other large shared grain dish. Small foods meant to be eaten with fingers are commonplace and customary for guests. Firm flatbreads are used like spoons, scooping up smaller foods. Once they soften from oils and sauces they are eaten and another piece is used. Dried fruits and vegetables, nuts, small cakes, breads-sometimes soaked in fermented milk or liquors. A traditional bloom cake has colorful, edible flowers pressed into the top of the hot cake and cooled to set. They are a sign of springtime but are seen from late winter to autumn as they often use plentiful wildflowers. For a visiting guest or special occasion, a whole animal is slaughtered for a traditional feast called a bettaroti. This may be communal. Small neighborhoods might join and roast a large beast in a fire pit. For such communal feasts, bringing some food to those in need nearby is a sign of thankfulness for your bounty. Even a banquet at a home might send food in bowls of bread or wrapping in paper to neighbors, guards, and the poor. The animal is served at the center of the meal. The oldest of the host's family carves the head. Parts of the head are offered to confer a wish for that person. The left eye to find something searched for, the right eye for wisdom, an ear to listen better, be more understanding, or receive long-awaited news. The snout about reputation. The tongue is about speech, desire or your "voice" to be heard. The brain would be about knowledge and learned skills. Traditionally not accepting and eating the offering would be offensive and rude. Banquets are the place for negotiations. And these are typically done with the home or a guild house. When within a home, there is one central figure to be negotiated with. There may be a hierarchical group of independent merchants beneath that person, but they are solely in charge of the discussion. Guild houses will be used when there are many individuals trading for themselves. The guild house collects from members and prepares the banquet. Trade negotiations with large caravans often have sumptuous banquets laid out. This is a welcome, but also a sign of abundance and a hint that trade is plentiful here and unreasonable prices would be ignored and possibly insulting. Popular Minor Deities The harsh arid climate shifts concerns of basic survival to be more central. An arid, desert region without hospitality would be a very desperate one. So, outside of built-up cities closer to the coast, focus on communal needs is greater. Mahnahouk at the Mother's Table celebrates food and the communal joining when we eat together. This is so embedded in their culture, Mahnahouk is everywhere. The caravan culture of trade naturally involves Bazagazeal, but also Routan a minor deity of travel and navigator to caravans and explorers. The divine pair of Bodeyga & Dukass represent the struggle of the small in a big world, particularly in trade and markets. They do not advocate for the existence or participation in guilds. With such large roaming traders, not tying your business to a specific guild of a city is attractive. Guilds often lock down trading and selling within their city, also unattractive to caravans. Boddayaga has many devotees. He is the god of the inner vessel, treating the body as sacred and keeping it healthy for the mind.
Type
Geopolitical, Country
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