(or - "I got yer info right Here sucka!")
This is Rotashu, Kingdom of Jade, Land of a Thousand Gods, Empire of Heavenly Winds, Home of The Jade Throne. This is Rotashu.
Imagine if James Clavell (author Shogun) and JRR Tolkien were to have collaborated on a world that was at once fantastic, yet founded in existing cultures of our own world. Tolkien created Middle Earth to give his home country a sense of Myth and legend he felt was lacking. The far East is certainly not lacking in either, but imagine a land where an elven emperor sits on a throne he has held for five hundred years, and his dynasty stretches back into the mists of history, and is descended from the Gods that created this land in the first place. Imagine an Empire, ruled by half-elven warrior priests in the name of the Emperor, while human peasants toil under the yoke of a thousand generations of bondage. Imagine lavish courts, where a council of three decide the fate of millions, where courtiers whisper pretty secrets and lies to each other, drinking nectar from ivory goblets, while ten miles away, a peasant family withers away, taxed into starvation. This is the Middle Kingdom. The Land between Heaven and Infinite Hells. A land that is both recognizable, and alien. This is Rotashu. Kingdom of Jade.
In the Beginning, there was only The Sun Goddess, Amasu, and her lover and guardian, The Moon. They begat the first of the Kami, five daughters; Fo, Shui, Moak, Tou and Gum. The five daughter wander the land, and remade pieces of it to suit their own desires. Fo made the great sands of the south. Shui made the great sea to the east. Moak made the great mountains to the north. Tou made the great forests to the west. Gum made nothing, but watched the creations of her sisters and sat very still in the center of the land contemplating the stuff of existence. Amasu looked down at the workings of her daughters and was pleased. She then breathed life down upon the land, and from the different portions sprang Elven kind. Each daughter claimed a portion of these new beings to teach and protect, for with the breath of Life, many strange and wondrous creatures also came into being. These are the ancestors of the first clans.
For a long time, time beyond measuring, there was peace. The Clans grew, and traded, and filled the Middle Kingdom. Amasu was happy. She went to her lover the Moon and they begat three more children. Three sons. She sent them out to wander the land that the Elves had now named Rotashu. The three sons, Masi, Shu, and Ry, met the daughters and their peoples and learned from them. The Sons soon found favor among four of the daughters, all but Gum, who still sat in her place of contemplation and meditated, as she had since the land was made. Children came of these unions, but they were dark, twisted things. Amasu, sensed the disturbance in the lands and looked down in horror at the new children, the Yama. She spoke her first words, and they became the first Law of creation, Brother and Sister shall not bear children. The Yama however, grew strong quickly, and fled from their parents into the dark secret places under the land. There, they grew in shadow, gnawing on the bones of the earth, and growing to hate the light of the Sun, and the warmth of the land above.
The Yama kidnapped many of the Elven people. for they had no power to create followers of their own. So they twisted and deformed the elves, making them into Orks. Hating light and warmth, but needed a place for their own 'Children' to grow strong, the fled to the frozen wastes beyond the northern mountains, where it is dark most of the year, and even the summer brings no warmth.
By now, the sons and daughters of Amasu, and their people, the elves, had built a might empire. The jewel of which, sat in a golden city, built around a shrine in which their sister, Gum, still meditated. The daughters taught the most gifted of women, the art of magic. While the sons schooled the most devote of men in the ways of discipline and combat. On the First new moon of the winter. the long silent sister, Gum, opened her eyes and spoke a single phrase, the first words she ever spoke in the history of the Middle Kingdom. "They are coming." Gum gathered her sisters and brothers and told them she had seen the Yama and their creations were bringing armies from the north, to destroy the Middle Kingdom. She then taught them the secrets of Steel, and how to forge weapons from it. It is said, the First Sword is still wielded in battle by the Emperor.
And come the hoards of the Yama Kings did. for generations, the elves and the oni fought. Neither gaining ground for long, never able to win a decisive victory.
From across the sea, a fleet of ships made landfall on the eastern shores of the Middle Kingdom. In these ships were humans. They had fled a terrible plauge across the vast ocean. Desperate, sick, hungry and homeless. they quickly agreed to assist the elves in their war with the oni. At first no, real difference was made, however the elves soon learned, that in spite of the incredibly short lifespan of the humans, they bred at an alarming rate. Less than 2 elven generation later, more than 20 human generations had occurred, and humans swelled the ranks of the elven army. The elves and human armies managed to finally push back the hoards of the Yama kings back across the mountains.
In return for their assistance, the elves granted the humans full citizenship in the Jade Empire of Elvendom. By now, the sons and daughters of Amasu had grown tired of immortality, they were as to the elves, as elves were to humans; and they had lived for a thousand generations of elves. The Elves begged the Kami not to leave, how would they survive without their wisdom and guidance, they asked. In her wisdom, Gum offered to bear the child of the greatest Elven Warlord, That Child, she said, would bear the wisdom of the Kami, but not the curse of their immortality, and the line of Gods would flow in his bloodline for all time. Thus, was the first Emperor, Hakatsu, born, and thus have fifty nine of his descendants, both sons and daughters, sat on the Jade Throne, and ruled the land of Rotashu with the wisdom of the Kami.
As you can see above. Rotashu is a deeply spiritual place, where Gods and their Kami walk among mortals. In addition to the gods and Kami, there are many spirits, devils, demons, hengeokai, and more that roam the Middle Kingdom. The denizens of Rotashu know that spirits in habit most inanimate objects and places, and one must be careful not to anger the spirits, or they will bring bad luck upon you and your family. Priests and Wizards call upon these spirits (in admittedly much different fashions) with their spells. Ancestor spirits are also a verifiable fact in Rotashu. Even the most magically challenged peasant can see the ancestors spirits on every 12th new year, as the calendar rolls to the top again. There are three major types of spirituality in the Middle Kingdom.
First, there is the Emperor. Hakatsu the 60th. Directly descended from the Kami Gum, and therefore from Amasu and the Moon themselves. All residents of the Middle Kingdom know the truth of his divinity, and do not question it. In the Emperor's name, the Jade Priests disperse His wisdom, and the fate of the Empire is decided. (In theory, more on that later.)
Second, there is the worship of one's own family ancestors. Just as Hakatsu the 60th is descended from the Kami, All residents of the Middle Kingdom are descended from both the First Clans, and the Human heroes of the Great War. Through those spirits, wisdom is remembered and passed down through time.
Finally, there is the worship of the natural spirits that inhabit the land itself. most of the time this is no more than making the appropriate signs of respect when you see a fox (everyone knows Fox spirits love to steal children and take their place.) or leaving tea and rice offers for the spirits of the house, to keep them from running off with small, but important items, and to generally keep the peace of the household intact. there are literally hundreds and hundreds of different types of spirits, both good bad and neutral. Most people know the common ones, but rely on the Shinta Monks to inform them of the minor ones who have been forgotten and need to be appeased.
At first glance, the governing of the Jade Empire seems like it would be simple. The Emperor is the undisputed Ruler of the Middle Kingdom. He rules with the Wisdom of the Kami, and the empire prospers. Yes. This is true. However, pardon the term, but its a big fucking empire. To give a real world reference, The Empire of Rotashu spans from the Malay peninsula, to the Sayan mountains, and from the Islands of Japan, to the Himalayas. That's Thailand to Mongolia, and Japan to India and Afghanistan. Roughly 3500 miles north-south, and 4500 miles east-west. That's roughly the size of habitable North America. All without modern communications, and under the ruler ship of one individual. Of course there is bureaucracy. Roughly 250 million souls call the Empire home. Compare this to the 250,000 that called the British Isles home in the dark ages, and you can see where the problems arise.
From the top:
There is the Emperor. Hakatsu the 60th, who sits on the Jade Throne.
There is the Ivory Council. One Warlord, who represents and rules the armies of Rotashu. One Priest, who represents the Jade Temples, and One Wujen (mage) who represents the universities and the College of Amasu.
Under the Warlord, you have the Armies of Rotashu, who are broken into three separate branches. Under the Priest you have the Jade Temples, of which there are 12. Under the Wujen, you have the College of Amasu, one mage for every element (Earth, Fire, Water, Wood and Metal)
Under the Ivory Council is the House of Governors, 60 lords that rule the 60 provinces of Rotashu.
Under each Governor you have a varying number of Lords, (always divisible by 5 or 3) who rule the different districts of their province. Under each Lord, you have a varying number of Headmen, who rule each city in their district.
Also under the Ivory Council are the Five major family Clan heads. (North Dragon, South Dragon, East Dragon West Dragon and Center Dragon, I need the Mandarin Chinese words for these.) under each Major Clan there are 11 minor clans (one for every Chinese calendar year except dragon) Each minor clan head has a representative that speaks in the court of the Major clans.
The House of Governors and the Court of Dragons (the clan representatives) meet every three years to vote on issues that require the Emperors personal attention. Only 15 petitions are allowed. (12 + 3 and divisible by 5) Needless to say, these meetings often last several weeks, to get 120 individuals to agree on 15 issues.
Back to the Warlord. The Three Armies of Rotashu have three branches. each branch is broken into 5 Legions. Each Legion is divided into 12, 24, or 36 battalions, Each battalion is 3, 6, 9, 12, or 15 Companies. Each Company is 3-15 Lances, each Lance is 12-36 Swords. A Sword is any number of men that is not divisible by 7 or 13.
Of course each District is responsible for supporting at least one battalion. Supporting means both sending food, supplies and manpower. So Battalion leaders often have their own administration, to deal with the administration of a District Lord to insure proper communication. Any disputes are filed with the appropriate superior (Legion head, or Governor) Who then either resolve the dispute, or move it up again to be decided by a Provincial Court of Jade.. Who is the Court of Jade? I'm glad you asked!
Under the College of Amasu, you have the Judicial branch. The Court of Jade. There is One Imperial Court of Jade that all other sub courts answer too that resides in the Imperial City. While this court technically falls under the College of Amasu, and therefore the Wujen on the Ivory Council, in the interest of resolving disputes with a clear hand, Judgments passed in this Court are answerable only to the Emperor himself. Each Province also has a Provincial Court of Jade, as does each District. Dispute at the city level are handled by the Headman and his administration, though he can always pass it on to a District court of the issue is unclear. Also, any citizen who disputes the Headman's decision has the right to petition a district court for an appeal. However, the penalties for a denied appeal are often harsher than the original judgment in an attempt to cut down the number of appeals the District courts must deal with. Judges for the Imperial Court of Jade are nominated by the Ivory Council from within the ranks of Wujen, but final decision always falls to the Emperor. All sub court Judges are appointed and tested by the Imperial Court of Jade.
Back the Jade Temples. There are Twelve Jade Temples. Each temple has many, many minor temples, scattered through the land. Each temple is responsible for maintaining the spiritual well being of the citizens of the empire and the Land of the Middle Kingdom itself.
Back to the College of Amasu. Under them fall the Imperial Court of jade, and the Elemental Dragons. The Elemental dragons are Wujen that have advanced so far in their magic, they have become a personification of that element. There is no set number of elemental dragons, its simply a title for any Wujen who has advanced to the top of their field. Elemental dragons are responsible for assisting the Warlord in the defense of the Empire, who usually assigns them to a Legion Commander, who then puts them in charge of any Wujen in those particular Legions. Also under the College is the Universities. There is a University in each province that governs all education in that province. All citizens are taunt to read and write.
Humans make up the majority of the population of Rotashu.
Elves make up the a large portion of the population as well. They are not nearly as numerous as humans, but tend to hold higher social rank and position.
Of course when you have humans and elves, you have Half Elves. Because of the history of the Great War, when humans saved the elves from a slow death by attrition, elves and humans have mingled rely, there is no social stigma to being half elven. In fact, often, because they are children of elves, they hold positions of power.
In this world, Orks are Oni. Oni are evil. the race of Half-Orks is therefore not allowed. I reserve them for use as NPC antagonists, but not as a PC race.
Dwarves exist, but as a far distant realm in the western mountains. I would prefer not to have any as PC's but if you MUST play a dorf. we can discuss it.
Halflings exist as well, and are fairly common. They are sort of a half human/half spirit subrace and have no organized communities of their own, plus their general nature keeps them from having any vested interest in government. I would recommend against playing a halfling, but it can be discussed.
Gnomes are cousins of dwarves, and live in the same realm. see Dwarf.
Professions in Rotashu are equally personal skill, and ancestral memory. Ancestors are a major part of the Middle Kingdom. Occasionally they Choose someone to impart there knowledge and power too. This is seen as a great gift, and not something to be ignored or tossed aside. Even the youngest daughter of the lowest peasant is destined for greatness if chosen by an ancestor. No one can deny this. It is very easy to identify someone Chosen, they have the symbol of their clan burned into their forehead by the strength of their ancestor's powers. These people are known as Exalted. All PC's are Exalted. A warrior is just a warrior in Rotashu, but a Fighter is someone with the skills of a warrior and the ancestors of one too. His blade is guided not only by his own skill. but the knowledge of a thousand years of warrior exalted in his veins. Because of this multiclassing is not only allowed, but encouraged. A person is rarely chosen by only one ancestor. Anytime you qualify for a level. you may immediately take it, and even multiclass on the spot if you wish, as a new ancestor imprints themselves on your being.
Barbarians are not allowed. The type of Rage that defines there class has no place in the ordered society of Rotashu.
Bards are allowed. They are the news carriers and major source of entertainment for the vast Jade Empire.
Clerics are allowed. They are the Jade Priests.
Druids are allowed, but they are viewed with disdain by the Jade temples.
Fighters are allowed.
Monks are allowed, they are the warriors of the Jade Temples as well as the Shinta monks.
Paladins are allowed they are the Holy guardians of Imperial might, the very personification of the emperor's physical will.
Rangers are allowed.
Rogues are allowed
Sorcerers are allowed with the limitation you must have another class in addition to sorcerer, and it must be less than 49% of your total class levels. Magic is the province of Priests and Wujen, anyone else doing it on their scale is viewed with suspicion, however, because of the nature of magic in Rotashu, a warrior who can occasionally toss a spell is simply seen as someone who has a strong Wujen ancestor.
Wizards are allowed, and known as Wujen.