World Meta

Scope

The motivation behind building World of Seven Seas

I aim to build an exciting world for adventuring and storytelling, which is intricate and complete enough to give a feeling of wonder and realism, but leaves room for exploration and expansion.

The goal of the project

I want readers/players to be able to immerse themselves in the world I am building and have it not feel flat. I want a world to build stories in as well as run campaigns.

World of Seven Seas's Unique Selling point

On the surface, this planet seems to be a fantasy society on the brink of a technology age, though this level of development varies from society to society. But - what is the strange island in the middle of the Empire with a mist no one can seem to traverse? And does it have anything to do with the free cities that have maintained their independence from the Empire?  

Theme

Genre

This world is middle fantasy, with magic systems varying by culture and society. Most of the world would be in what we would consider the Renaissance or Age of Exploration, though the Empire has developments that our own world would did not see until the Industrial Revolution. Many technological improvements are fuelled in whole or part by magic across the world, leading to some things being abnormally advanced.

Reader Experience

Though there are political conflicts and dark people, the overall feeling is still one of wanderlust and wonder and discovery. Though, much of the world's past is a mystery and there are definite questions about its future...

Reader Tone

This world is Grayglow Fantasy, as defined by the Tone and Settings Alignment Chart:

Often a large place filled with many beings, the effects of a single person can often be lost in a universe of decisions. Evil may have a role to play, but the world often self corrects with an overwhelming force of hope.

— Jakob Bolt's Graybright Definition

Character Agency

Character agency is mid to high level. While the average individual doesn't have much influence outside of their immediate sphere, some individuals might have the ability to change the world.  

Focus Points

Magic

Each culture has always handled magic their own way, and everyone has always considered their own magic system stable. Mysterious recent events have started to cast doubt on that claim, and not everyone is handling it well.

Military, Diplomacy, and Culture

The Brilliant Empire has solidified its hold on the Eastern half of the world, and turned It's gaze toward the continents to its West, and an increased sense of global citizenship is emerging for the people of all countries. This is bringing trade, innovation, and diversity but it's also causing rising political tensions across the whole world.  

Drama

The Empire has always had the most advanced seafaring and terrestrial land technology - they had to, to become the Empire. The only reason that the other countries stood a chance is because the people of the Empire aren't powerful mages. But now they're on the brink of perfecting Skyships - and how did they do that?

Someone has been assasinating the tribal leaders of Mare'n, but leaving their heirs unscathed. Will this pave the way for a stronger alliance, or will they crumble back into a fuedal society?

The King of Heirin and the King of Staton are dancing around the idea of marrying their heirs and strengthening their alliance, but will the other world powers allow it?

Something's happening in the sea between Delryn and the Bright Empire. The mists rise and fall, and not everyone caught in them comes out.  

Scene

Natural Laws

• There is magic.
• Magic is harnessed and used differently in different cultures, and seems available in different amounts in different places.
• There is not a global pantheon of gods. Culturally, gods and religions differ.
• Gods are rarely seen or heard of directly interfering in the lives of their people, though the adherents of some religions seem to know their gods better than others.

Cosmology

Though each culture has it's own creation myths and legends, there is no world history beyond a certain point. And while that point is a little hazy, dedicated scholars and historians have determined that it is probably the same point for everyone.

Strangely, with the increased global awareness, scholars are discovering almost all of the creation myths on the world have similar themes of their people being created, delivered, or birthed by gods or natural events that are somehow related to the cosmos.

Principal Geography & Features

The world has one sun, but three moons. The varying tides and winds caused by the three moons is part of why efficient seafaring has always required the use of magic, not just technology, which slowed global trade and emigration considerably.

There are five continents separated by seven major seas. Climate and biomes are diverse but not extreme. Temperatures reach highs of 100-115* in the warmest places, and lows of 10-12* in the coolest places. Biomes vary mostly by continent and run the same large gamut as a planet of Earth's type.

The seven seas each have distinct physical or magical qualities, and often feature prominently in religions and cultures.  

The People

The History of World of Seven Seas so far

The people of this world don't remember a 'before'. With the exception of fairly recent advancements, they all seem to believe it is as it always was, and for the most part they've been too busy surviving to worry too much about it.

More recently, however, they've started to find hints of 'before', or at least of 'other'. Explorers, scholars, and adventurers have started to find ruins, objects, and secrets that most everyone would swear were never there before.

Current Species & Cultures

The continent of Ryold is split into three states or provinces, the Marches of Risand, Ranoke, and Ryfile. Each Marsh is populated by many small families who swear fealty to a single lord or lady. Traditionally, all of the people of a particular march would be descended from their ruler, but some migration has occurred. The humans of Ryold live peacefully alongide the semi-aquatic Marelis.

The continent of Westra is split into two near-perfect halves. The Western half is occupied by the tribal people who are known to the rest of the world as the United Tribes of Mare'n. The tribes who occupy the jungles on the islands and the western coast tend to settle in one place for years or decades at a time, while the tribes who occupy the grasslands tend to be nomadic. Strangers are generally distrusted and disliked outside of their few trade cities. The Mare'n population is about equally made up of humans and the shy, secretive Vasati, but outsiders generally believe the tribes are entirely human. The Eastern half of Westra is the Kingdom of Delryn, populated almost entirely by humans.

The main power on the continent of Austra is the Brilliant Empire. The humans of the Empire have conquered all natives of the continent with a few notable exceptions. On the Northwestern point of the continent is the Principality of Arion, which swears fealty to Delryn across the sea. On the other side of Crater sea from Arion is the territory held by the free territory of Galanthis, which is the last stronghold of the non-human races on Austra. There is also the mysterious island in the middle of Eron Lake, to which no one has ever successfully journeyed...and returned.

The continent of Oskksul lies to the Northeast of Austra, and the people of the Oskksulian Protectorate, mostly humans and Dracanis, are vassals of the Empire.

Finally, the continent of Saman lies to the Southeast of Austra. It has been nominally conquered by vassals of the Empire, who have established the Principality of Heirin and the Principality of Staton, but in truth the people of the Empire exist there uneasily alongside a magical race (or races - nobody is quite sure and they aren't saying) who calls themselves just The Folk. Located on Saman's Eastern shore is also the Triumverate of Nikandros. Visitors are most decidedly Not Welcome in Nikandros, and little is known about it.

Needs & Relations

The humans of the world are, as humans ever are, a hodgepodge of everything, from the most warlike and powerhungry to the most peaceful and curious. As a whole they are turning their attention towards the rest of the world, and the conflicts that will arise from them doing so are inevitable.

The Marelis of Ryold and the Dracanis of Oskk live and work alongside the human populations of their lands, and their interests are increasingly aligned. The Vaseti and the humans of Mare'n are so tightly entwined as to be now indisiguishable.

Any non-human races who may have inhabited Delryn or the Empire proper are now subugated, expected to conform to the human's cultures and religions or find themselves ostracized or worse, except for the few who live in Galanthis. Nominally, they enjoy the same rights and privledges as other citizens of these nations, but an outsider might notice that non-humans are found among the lower classes at a much higher rate in the Empire and to a lesser extent in Delryn.

The Folk on Saman refuse to be subjugated by the occupying forces of the Empire, and don't hesitate to make life difficult for the people of the Empire who are trying to settle there, but they haven't (or can't?) rallied to oust the occupiers entirely, and the Empire is starting to get bolder.

What do the people from Nikandros want? Your guess is as good as anyone else's, since nobody is allowed in, but they do seem to have magic users seeping from every pore, and those magic users seem to have a finger in every pie.