UnderRealm

UnderRealm is set in the UnderRealm, deep beneath the earth. After fleeing an environmental catastrophe, many races after building cities and warrens ever deeper underground, discovered entrances into a deep otherwordly realm of caverns, tunnels and ancient fortresses, long abandoned. Seemingly finding refuge, they settled eagerly into these fortresses, exploiting the protection they offered in this dangerous and mysterious new world.

You the player, are one of these 'UnderHolds', a city in a world still mostly unexplored, connected only by the relative safety of various 'under roads', which connect the fortresses together. Gaining in confidence, many advocate exploration of roads leading into the unknown, some leading deeper into the earth, where the delvers, who claim to of built the Underholds, warn dark creatures lie in wait.

Inspirations: Final Fantasy, Dragon Age, D&D, Arcana: Iron and Magic (Shrike's SD upon which the ruleset is based)

UR Powers

Setting

The Underrealm is a series of caverns, often hundreds of meters in diameter, some even greater, linked together by natural caverns, tunnels and the under roads. It is not a dark place, the bacteria which feed on thermal vents found throughout the underealm are luminscent, forming thick biofilms in many caverns and tunnels. Be it night or day, many caverns are awash with vibrant light.

The origin of the Underholds is unknown, a race native (so they claim) to the Underrealm insist they constructed them in ages past, before the deep ones befall them and forced them to abandon many (leaving many strangely intact, with no signs of battle).

Geography

General Geography
Consult this for a general overview of the world.

National Placement Map
Consult this when choosing nation placement. One Province/Domain is one Hex.

NPCs

Races

Humans

You're human. Shut up.

Humans are pretty varied. If you have bunny ears, cat ears, elven ears, your just another human.

Djinnae

The physical features of a Djinnae are unknown to most, due to their cultural dress. Every member wears some form of full-body cloak or robe, along with gloved hands and a mask or hood of some kind. Their clothes are often decorated with multiple knick-knacks and are sewn together with seemingly-random fabrics. They’re shorter than most people, and their limbs seem longer than normal for humans. Beneath their robes, they resemble human-sized monkeys, covered in brown hair, but with human faces and hands, and no tail.

Djinnae are keen-minded and have a love for technology and exploration. Many are scavengers or merchants, finding deposits of crystals or lost treasures and selling them in UnderHolds. They also work as craftsmen, producing various goods for sale to others. They’re quite communal, and many richer ones have the company of the Marione, their own creations. They’re particularly fond of crystals, and many great alchemists or magicians are Djinnae.

Marione

Created by the Djinnae as servants, these beings look like fleshy marionettes, complete with segmented joints and near-featureless faces. Their mouths are barely slits in their face, and they seem to have no eyes (though they see fine, as their ocular organs can see through the skin around their face). Designed as labourers and bodyguards, these beings are extremely quick and dexterous, capable of great precision. They also learn quickly, picking up tasks by rote.

Marione are not entirely sentient when first created, most quickly develop sentience. Upon discovering this, Djinnae treat them as servants and employees rather than slaves, paying them for their work. Many are used as crafters and haulers, or to guard their masters; most have remained as such. They are loyal and straightforward, but very quick to learn and adapt. The Djinnae have given the Marione the process used to create them, allowing them to ‘birth’ new members of the species.

Ferran

Ferrans are most known for their unique diet – in addition to human food, these humans can feed on certain metals. This is not a natural evolution, but rather a byproduct of prolonged exposure to certain ores found in the deeper UnderRealm. A Ferran who comes into contact with iron, copper, or gold finds the metal bonding to his skin, slowly absorbed into his flesh like ice melting. This process is involuntary, painful, and extremely intoxicating, making it every difficult to stop when it has begun. It can also be addicting; Ferrans have a semi-deserved reputation amongst colonists as thieves and bandits.

Ferrans resemble dark-skinned humans. However, the marks of their diet are present in blotches and protrusions of metal in their bodies, skin transformed into a strange, living alloy. The texture and colouration depends on the absorbed metal, and is a mixture of hybrid tissue and actual metal. Ferrans do not age unless utterly deprived of metal from birth; if killed, soft tissue quickly rots and hybrid flesh coalesces into true metal, leaving their skeleton and growths behind. Many Ferrans also have traces of sunstone in them; rare members develop natural Crystalium cores in the center of their torsos, granting them innate (and untrained) magical power. Many develop strange transformations resembling natural magitech, granting them strange and useful abilities. Ferran’s need for other food and water is much less than most humans, and is eventually eliminated altogether.

Ferrans originate from the deeper, smaller UnderHolds. They tend to eschew company of other humans, mistrusting them and causing conflicts due to their hunger for metal and tempting appeal to greedy men.

Making a Nation

Nations are created using X nation points.

A nation can only have as much population as it has support for. Population provides X wealth.

Regions

Regions are areas of similar geography, in which sites are housed. They are also affected by regional & Site modifiers which customise regions and sites. If a region is left empty of sites, it is considered half cost, preferably spent on another empty region.

Wild Caverns

Scouted, but untamed, Wild Caverns are dangerous to enter.

5 points

2 Beasts Points

Cultivated Cavern

Civilization has spread to this cavern, cultivating the resources on offer, hope you like bacterial goop stew mixed with sugar fronds.

10 points

Supports 5 Population,

provides 50 wealth

Sunstone Cavern

Here ancient varities of surface crops can grow, such as coffee and tea.

10 points

Supports 10 Population

Flooded Cavern

Devoid of land, flood caverns are plentiful in natural resources, such as fish and provide considerable benefits

15 Points

Supports 10 Population

provides 25 Wealth

Mushroom Forest Cavern

This series of caverns, or cavern are covered in large mushrooms

10 points

Provides 50 wealth

2 Beasts Points

Fungal Jungle Cavern

This series of caverns, or cavern are covered in large mushrooms

10 points

Provides 25 wealth

2 Beasts Points

Rocky Cavern

Devoid of life, these rocky cavern is probably full of poisoness metals thrust.

5 points

25 Wealth

Wastes

Devoid of life, this cavern is a barren wasteland full of poisoness gases venting through cracks.

1 point

Sites

Sites are areas of civilized activity, either constructions or areas of habitation. They are placed in Regions.

Fortifications

Fortifications take the place of tank ditches, bunkers, mines and other fortified positions. They are useful for delaying the enemy while you respond to attacks.

10 points

Must be seized and captured before the associated Zone can be conquered.

Siege Defences

Much more substantial than Fortifications, these include large scale siege weaponry systems, which can devastate attacking armies within range.

35 Points

Must be seized and captured before the associated Zone can be conquered.

UnderHold

5 points

Provides 2 Population

Produces 100 wealth

UnderHold

Much larger than Towns, Metropoli are centers of finance and industry.

50 points

Provides 10 Population

Produces 500 Wealth

Production sites for all non-beast units.

Exalted UnderHold

Huge sprawling or towering centres of civilization, such a Underhold entirely occupies the region it resides in.

150 Points

Provides 25 Population

Produces X Wealth

-1 Population Support for Zone

Production sites for all non-beast units.

Military

Military