Inspired by the Inquisitor Prestige Class by Atlas Games. Portions of this post are governed by the OGL.
INTRODUCTION
An inquisitor must be completely dedicated to the Church and must possess the skills required to wring the truth from those who would lie to him. As the Church of the Thirteen Gods and the Colleges of Kynafir are diametrically opposed in outlook and practice, those with Paranormal: Magic need not apply. All Inquisitors have a Read More
Jeu Force, or checkers, is a recent import into Kynafir from Nuray. Played on a board with an 8×8 grid alternating black and red squares, it involves moving pieces forward or sideways until all the opponents pieces are captured or there are no legal moves left. Peices are split into one darker and one lighter color.
The game can be made of almost any material, from bone and ivory to precious carved gems, and range in price from a few pennies to several hundred Crowns.
Play proceeds by trying to “jump” the opponent’s piece and removing them from the board. If a player’s piece moves into the last row on the opposing player’s side of the board, that piece is said to be “crowned”, becoming a “king” and gaining the ability to move both forwards and backwards.
There are several variations involving larger boards, mandatory jumps, different movement and capture rules for kings and different movement rules for pieces.
Image via Wikipedia
Long ago, lost in time, was a great and ancient empire called Mano-ade. Mano-ade was so old, no one can remember its beginning other than a few stories of heroes and gods.They were an educated people who worshipped the Thirteen Gods and easily fought off nomads, pirates, bandits and other hazards. Mona-ade was so great they chose to spread their power in colonies - Kynafir, Banodia, Kai Alti, Vanya, Nuray, Rayen and Ki-alai.
Power in Mano-ade became ruthless and cruel, tramping on the colonies to feed and enrich the people of the Empire. Some colonies rebelled, causing the legions to go in and put them down, capturing many as slaves that were then shipped to the Empire to be sold.
Not many years after this, Read More
This map delineates the political boundaries of countries on Valiant. White spaces are either unclaimed or unknown at this time. Click on the map to see full size. Boundaries include lands claimed in winter.
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Senet is an ancient board game and probably the oldest existing one. The game board is a grid of thirty squares, arranged in three rows of ten. A senet game has two sets of pawns and is a race game for two players, with moves determined by tosses of dice. Some versions have special squares on the board such as places the pawns must land on the way to the end, a square pawns could be sent back to and a square pawns may only leave on a roll of 3.
It’s widely played by people of all social standings and spectators often gamble on the outcome of the game although it’s considered rude for the players to do so. The more superstitious player believes that his skill at a game of Senet affects Read More
Image by buck82 via Flickr
The priesthood of the Church in Kynafir has a far reaching and deep history, rooted within the traditions of the Thirteen Gods. Unlike the orthodox priesthoods usually found within Western society on Earth, the role of the cleric is vastly different within the society as a whole. Rather than seek the divine and develop a rapport with the gods, the role is akin to an everyday job. The mystical attributes of the cleric take on a secondary role, when one considers the heightened role religion plays within Kynafir. Not only is religion a way to attain the ethereal and basic needs of the people, but it also serves as a mechanism to order society, to create a hierarchy, and to preserve the culture for future generations. As such, the role of the priests and priestesses is both functional and mystical on both levels.
A cleric either attains their post by Read More
“Elves are almost as numerous as dwarves and tend to settle in the cold wilderness of the north although the recent trend for the last 10 years or so has been to migrate to cities. Those from the wilderness revere nature but the youth in the towns are less religious and more carefree. Elves are easily distinguished by their pointed ears and slitted eyes.
“Elves live about 200 years (maximum 250 yrs) and have a child mortality rate of about 40%. Few elven families have more than 1 child. Taller and thinner than humans, elves average 6′2″ for males and 5′10″ for females with healthy weights of 150 pounds and 130 pounds respectively. Hair color for elves is flashier than most races with white, blue and even purple hair found in significant numbers. Elven eyes tend towards feline colors of blue and green.” Excerpted from Demographics.
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The elves are a warlike people who fight daily to survive in their patriarchal settlements in the great northern forests on Valiant. Usually they fight amongst themselves over the limited resources found so far north, but in the last one to two hundred years, younger elves have begun migrating into the equatorial cities. Adventurers in these cases will have the Disadvantage Cultural Unfamiliarity.
Most elves never learn to read or write as writing is regarded as magical so most of their laws and traditions are transmitted orally. (Player characters can re-assign the dice given as part of the racial template for this skill and scholar.) Their lives are pretty simple and a settlement might only have 3 or 4 buildings - a storehouse, a barn, a forge and a longhouse where Read More
Image via WikipediaSeveral hundred years ago, magicians were openly hunted and killed by the Church in Kynafir. When one saved the life of a member of the Royal Family, who had by this time been forced to accept the King’s Advisory Council, the monarch saw a chance to reward the mage and curtail the Church. He gave the mages a charter, allowing them to set up a College in Jannasberre, and one of their member a seat on that same council. The Church was incensed but the King had the backing of the Guild’s in this matter and couldn’t block the move.
Today
Colleges teach Read More
Image via WikipediaKyanfir is a feudal monarchy with hereditary rule by divine right. Nobility has its position because the Gods gave it to them and the social order is mandated by the Heavens. This has set up a direct conflict for power between the Nobility and the Church. The Church claims spiritual power and authority in all things while the King claims that his power is directly from the Gods and not from the Gods through the Church.
Titles pass on to the oldest surviving male heir. Women can Read More
Image by Madasor via Flickr“Orthodox Kynafirs don’t take part in some of the merry fun, viewing the bonfires and dancing as savage rites that don’t belong in modern holiday observances. They contend that reversals are the true representation of the day but that the remaining customs are just an excuse to indulge in licentatious behavior not sanctioned by the Books. … One heretical sect, the Benignos, broke from the Church over the issue of holiday observances but was stamped out fairly quickly and took no real foothold in the minds of the people.” Excerpt from Rithision - A Holiday.
Adherents of this sect are Read More
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