Things about the world

[tibbius]

It is the time of the Bronze Age Collapse. Great cities have fallen, plundered and ravaged by barbarians from the northern mountains and the southern sea. The land is sparsely populated with villages and ruins. Many of the invaders have settled down and over generations taken on the ways of those whom they despoiled.

Deities are those of Ancient Greece as we understand them today. They sometimes intercede in human affairs in response to prayers and deeds.

Demons are neutral forces of nature that can be invoked by sorcerers to effectuate physically plausible, implausible, and even seemingly impossible phenomena.

Combat is dangerous even for the skilled warriors. Armor makes it harder to be hit, but a weapon such as the huge two-handed labrys axe can strike down most people with a single blow. Typical armaments are a spear or small axe and a shield and helmet. Light leather armor, medium scale mail, and a heavy bronze or iron panoply (breastplate, bracers, and greaves) are known and worn by warriors. A warrior may be equipped with a long cutting sword or a short stabbing sword in place of the spear or the axe. Very rarely, a great big two-handed cutting sword may have been handed down through centuries. Daggers are common among all people. Bows and slings also are used.

Combat happens at three distances: ranged, melee (warriors' weapons), and close (hands, feet, and daggers). Armor is of very little benefit in close combat, and warriors' large weapons become useless without room to swing or stab. A shield can be used to frustrate efforts to close in from melee to close grips, and makes it harder to be hit (specifically, can be deployed to parry an incoming attack). A helmet protects against skull fractures and facial injuries when all else goes wrong. A dagger is useful in close grips, but not in melee.

Bronze is the common metal for tools and weapons and household implements. The lighter, brighter metal called iron is worked by master artisans, who know the minor sorceries that can make it tougher and stronger than bronze.

People obey the laws of hospitality, honesty, and courtesy. Ingrates, thieves, and rudeness are despised or feared depending on their relative might.

Kings and kingdoms are very local. A king like Alec might rule a village of 500 or even 1000 inhabitants counting the surrounding small farms. There is a lot of wild space between villages, traversed only by the paths of wandering cows and goats and sheep and their herders.

Food is fairly plentiful and wild foraging or hunting is not terribly difficult.

Writing is Linear A and Linear B but it all is ancient. Few people know now how to read, and only a very few attempt to write. In addition to records of birth, death, commerce, and taxes, the hoarded ancient scrolls and tablets include treatises on medicine, metallurgy, masonry, and magic ...

[tibbius]

Names - a helpful list of Hellenic names.

Celtic names also would fit the setting (the Illyrians).

[tibbius]

Talismans are trinkets that sorcerers ("Casters") carry around. It's common knowledge that without their trinkets, sorcerers have no power. It's also common knowledge that trinkets are cursed, those who steal them are hounded by demons.

[tibbius]

The Spartans (centuries after the setting of this game) were bloodthirsty psychopaths.

[tibbius]

[Leitz]

Not seeing whatever is above.

[tibbius]

Not seeing whatever is above.

I'm not sure why. Is there an option somewhere to "view attachments?" It's a screenshot of a Google map of Aigio Greece with the terrain layer turned on. Just to give an impression of the neighborhood.

[Mr Stereo1]

I'm not seeing it either, actually. It's a broken paper symbol on a blank box in the post. When I right click view image it says "You are not authorised to download this attachment." on an unseenservant forum page.

Honestly I have no idea what this means, but maybe you can upload the screenshot to Imgur and link it?