Now I wouldn't imagine seeing this sort of thing on the store-shelves for at least 5 to ten years after the initial release of the game system, but of course i am allready thinking about it and brainstorming what kind fo cool shit could develop on the Dardunah world over the next several millenia. Here's some of the ideas Ezra and I had:
Campaign premise: 3 thousand years after the Cataclysm brought on by the impact of Misarnamu. Darduni culture has solidified into a culture of War.
The Kalim Shah, Supreme Theocrat of the non-Klin Janah, extends his deva-guided rule over all the nations of Darduna.
Mahist faith, has prevailed over the heretic Daru-Uprising and the Avatar of Dar; and the demonic appearance of the Children of Prithya. Due to the deva-inspired leadership of the Historical Master, now a single power binds and connects all Janah in a vast, pan-cultural kingdom of the faithful. Save only for the Klin-Ra, The Empire of the East, Whose dark serhibassi empire of demons and ancient secrets plots ever for domination.
Age of Heretics / Time of Cataclysm:
Historians mark the beginning of this apocalypse with the Vizedharan war for conquest of the north under Prince Sualanya Bulan (sp?).
The era of change saw the appearance of the race of The Children of Prithya, the Suthra that walk as Janah, and the rise of their heretical allies among the Janah. As well as the Rakshi Horde from land, sea and air, their army of animal fury and savagery.
In addition, the unholy hordes of Klin-Ra cunningly timed their conquest of Andhi and Pukaraj, (both weakened by the war with Vizedhara.) Overtaking them in a blitzkreig style war, followed almost immediately by the conquest and taking of Nilam. Consolidating the majority of Darduna’s lore and learning in the hands of the Klin and leaving the once great jewel of learning an empty and burnt out crater.
Modern world-
Millennia of conflict have evolved the technology of war to impressive levels. Following a more holistic path, the war technology of Darduna is in league with nature than it's Earthly counterparts might be, despite it’s appetite for destruction.
While armor and weapon strength and utility has increased, the use of Valah has not replaced the spear and sword, rather, the spear and sword have become sharper, more resilient, and lighter. Blades with an edge of grown and shaped crystal a single molecule wide provide Janah with weapons capable of combating even the toughest of the Suthra Hordes of the Children of Prithya. Slicing though chitin and carapace with deadly utility. Arrows fly farther and pierce ever-greater levels of armor. And clever arrows designed for all sorts of uses fly from composite bows with a range of hundreds of meters.
And the skills and abilities of the Janah have been bred and honed to an impressive level as well. Martial arts techniques incorporating the Shündé force have evolved, giving rise to the Order of DarSünti ( or something like that but more middle eastern ) the rare and enigmatic “Jedi-like” warriors with amazing martial skills beyond the ken of normal janah.
Valah technology has become more advanced, with the invention of the bullet-like “plug-cylinder”, a compressed laminate bullet like a shotgun shell, housing as variety of loads from flechette crystal shards to solid slugs, to gas and even poison bullets. Along with the recent development of the sorcerously endowed bullet. Capable of a variety of effects which will be discussed at length later.
Sky-ships, sleek and fast, composed of light chitinous materials and strong yet extremely light laminates, ply the skies at speeds unknown in the past and great castles in the sky move armies and heavy cannons to battlefields around the continent. With dreadful armies of makdi-riders and drop-skiffs full of vicious Saudaukar-style shock troops, these city-states, controlled by powerful Lines wage unending war on the forces of the Children of Prithya and the Klin Empire and each-other.
For nearly the last 200 years Darduna has seen the rise of the KarnaSunti, the bio-mystical constructs capable of combating giant Suthra single handedly. Involving amazing feats of Suthra husbandry, serhibassi skill, and Shündé lore and craft, they are perhaps the greatest achievement of Janah-kind to date. Standing as high as a small tower and possessing the speed and agility of an unarmored man, they can fly like kretella (sp?) and fight like 100 men.
Children of Prithya
The frightening and alien Children of Prithya/Rakshi Hordes control the northwestern lands. Seldom seen outside of their kingdom except in times of war. They represent an unpredictable and devastating force of terror for the Janah. Using their uncanny ancient lore and deep and abiding understanding of the workings of Shündé they have taken control of vast parts of the world with unstoppable force. Thus far, the best the janah have been able to do is hold the line where the Children mysteriously stopped one day and have not advanced much past for 1000 years. Within the Rakshi land the jungles have grown to tremendous size and natural splendor such as hasn’t been seen since before the coming of the Janah. Gargantuan forests ala Nausicaa cover the lands controlled by the Suthra-people concealing vast plagues of deadly suthra held in check by what and for what reason, no-one knows. For the last 500 years however, the Children of Prithya have been seen abroad in the land with their horrible slave-interpreters, pathetic, twisted creatures bred only to serve as speech puppets for the Children when dealing with the Janah. Their very presence is a horror and sign of the alien deviltry of the unfathomable Children of Prithya.
The Klin Ra Empire
Truly a dark and blasphemous people, in some ways more horrid than the Children of Prithya, The Klin callously use demons for every task. Considering them to be without end and malleable to any specific purpose. The Klin rely on the labor and ferocity of demons to expand and maintain their empire. Decadent and ancient, their culture is depraved and sinister. Racist and elitist to a spiritual level the Klin believe themselves to be the inherent masters of Darduna. With their amazing prescience and almost natural control of demonic and spirit forces. They pose a serious threat of making themselves just that. Capable of summoning hordes of Suthra, controlling the weather and laying out horrible curses, the black and wholly evil Klin Empire is a blight upon the world. ( But perhaps the only hope against the naraka-spawned evil of the body-hopping Doksikoor, who has ruled three thousand years through a succession of High Satyans to the current line of Shas. )
Problems inherent in modern warfare-
1 Serhibas can see the future
2 Advent of 'poison Gas' technology
3 Use of tamed or controlled suthra in War
4 Armor is rarely effective
5 Exploitation of flying suthra and skyships to their full, bomb-dropping effect.
6 “Laputa” Style flying fortresses present serious threat to land based sovereignty
7 Endowment style ritual magic has had 3000 years to be honed to a very pragmatically effective art form
8 Quasi-Jedi now exist and are capable of fighting like a dozen men all by themselves
9 Three unified fronts of aggression prevent stability
10 Psychic, dream walking warfare is a fact of life, troops can and are weakened during the night by onslaughts from dream-walking serhibas, resulting in nocturnal dream battles rivaling and sometimes surpassing the waking battles.
11 KarnaSunti Bio-Mechs can turn the tide of battle single handedly
And there's one more post concerning new Archetype Occupations for your consideration
Campaign premise: 3 thousand years after the Cataclysm brought on by the impact of Misarnamu. Darduni culture has solidified into a culture of War.
The Kalim Shah, Supreme Theocrat of the non-Klin Janah, extends his deva-guided rule over all the nations of Darduna.
Mahist faith, has prevailed over the heretic Daru-Uprising and the Avatar of Dar; and the demonic appearance of the Children of Prithya. Due to the deva-inspired leadership of the Historical Master, now a single power binds and connects all Janah in a vast, pan-cultural kingdom of the faithful. Save only for the Klin-Ra, The Empire of the East, Whose dark serhibassi empire of demons and ancient secrets plots ever for domination.
Age of Heretics / Time of Cataclysm:
Historians mark the beginning of this apocalypse with the Vizedharan war for conquest of the north under Prince Sualanya Bulan (sp?).
The era of change saw the appearance of the race of The Children of Prithya, the Suthra that walk as Janah, and the rise of their heretical allies among the Janah. As well as the Rakshi Horde from land, sea and air, their army of animal fury and savagery.
In addition, the unholy hordes of Klin-Ra cunningly timed their conquest of Andhi and Pukaraj, (both weakened by the war with Vizedhara.) Overtaking them in a blitzkreig style war, followed almost immediately by the conquest and taking of Nilam. Consolidating the majority of Darduna’s lore and learning in the hands of the Klin and leaving the once great jewel of learning an empty and burnt out crater.
Modern world-
Millennia of conflict have evolved the technology of war to impressive levels. Following a more holistic path, the war technology of Darduna is in league with nature than it's Earthly counterparts might be, despite it’s appetite for destruction.
While armor and weapon strength and utility has increased, the use of Valah has not replaced the spear and sword, rather, the spear and sword have become sharper, more resilient, and lighter. Blades with an edge of grown and shaped crystal a single molecule wide provide Janah with weapons capable of combating even the toughest of the Suthra Hordes of the Children of Prithya. Slicing though chitin and carapace with deadly utility. Arrows fly farther and pierce ever-greater levels of armor. And clever arrows designed for all sorts of uses fly from composite bows with a range of hundreds of meters.
And the skills and abilities of the Janah have been bred and honed to an impressive level as well. Martial arts techniques incorporating the Shündé force have evolved, giving rise to the Order of DarSünti ( or something like that but more middle eastern ) the rare and enigmatic “Jedi-like” warriors with amazing martial skills beyond the ken of normal janah.
Valah technology has become more advanced, with the invention of the bullet-like “plug-cylinder”, a compressed laminate bullet like a shotgun shell, housing as variety of loads from flechette crystal shards to solid slugs, to gas and even poison bullets. Along with the recent development of the sorcerously endowed bullet. Capable of a variety of effects which will be discussed at length later.
Sky-ships, sleek and fast, composed of light chitinous materials and strong yet extremely light laminates, ply the skies at speeds unknown in the past and great castles in the sky move armies and heavy cannons to battlefields around the continent. With dreadful armies of makdi-riders and drop-skiffs full of vicious Saudaukar-style shock troops, these city-states, controlled by powerful Lines wage unending war on the forces of the Children of Prithya and the Klin Empire and each-other.
For nearly the last 200 years Darduna has seen the rise of the KarnaSunti, the bio-mystical constructs capable of combating giant Suthra single handedly. Involving amazing feats of Suthra husbandry, serhibassi skill, and Shündé lore and craft, they are perhaps the greatest achievement of Janah-kind to date. Standing as high as a small tower and possessing the speed and agility of an unarmored man, they can fly like kretella (sp?) and fight like 100 men.
Children of Prithya
The frightening and alien Children of Prithya/Rakshi Hordes control the northwestern lands. Seldom seen outside of their kingdom except in times of war. They represent an unpredictable and devastating force of terror for the Janah. Using their uncanny ancient lore and deep and abiding understanding of the workings of Shündé they have taken control of vast parts of the world with unstoppable force. Thus far, the best the janah have been able to do is hold the line where the Children mysteriously stopped one day and have not advanced much past for 1000 years. Within the Rakshi land the jungles have grown to tremendous size and natural splendor such as hasn’t been seen since before the coming of the Janah. Gargantuan forests ala Nausicaa cover the lands controlled by the Suthra-people concealing vast plagues of deadly suthra held in check by what and for what reason, no-one knows. For the last 500 years however, the Children of Prithya have been seen abroad in the land with their horrible slave-interpreters, pathetic, twisted creatures bred only to serve as speech puppets for the Children when dealing with the Janah. Their very presence is a horror and sign of the alien deviltry of the unfathomable Children of Prithya.
The Klin Ra Empire
Truly a dark and blasphemous people, in some ways more horrid than the Children of Prithya, The Klin callously use demons for every task. Considering them to be without end and malleable to any specific purpose. The Klin rely on the labor and ferocity of demons to expand and maintain their empire. Decadent and ancient, their culture is depraved and sinister. Racist and elitist to a spiritual level the Klin believe themselves to be the inherent masters of Darduna. With their amazing prescience and almost natural control of demonic and spirit forces. They pose a serious threat of making themselves just that. Capable of summoning hordes of Suthra, controlling the weather and laying out horrible curses, the black and wholly evil Klin Empire is a blight upon the world. ( But perhaps the only hope against the naraka-spawned evil of the body-hopping Doksikoor, who has ruled three thousand years through a succession of High Satyans to the current line of Shas. )
Problems inherent in modern warfare-
1 Serhibas can see the future
2 Advent of 'poison Gas' technology
3 Use of tamed or controlled suthra in War
4 Armor is rarely effective
5 Exploitation of flying suthra and skyships to their full, bomb-dropping effect.
6 “Laputa” Style flying fortresses present serious threat to land based sovereignty
7 Endowment style ritual magic has had 3000 years to be honed to a very pragmatically effective art form
8 Quasi-Jedi now exist and are capable of fighting like a dozen men all by themselves
9 Three unified fronts of aggression prevent stability
10 Psychic, dream walking warfare is a fact of life, troops can and are weakened during the night by onslaughts from dream-walking serhibas, resulting in nocturnal dream battles rivaling and sometimes surpassing the waking battles.
11 KarnaSunti Bio-Mechs can turn the tide of battle single handedly
And there's one more post concerning new Archetype Occupations for your consideration
"Daggra" means "Enemy" in Tibetan.
"Chora" means "Thief" in Sanskrit.