End of the the Prequel

Thus far, the stories, maps, timelines and histories have been a prequel of sorts. I've taken you, my readers, on a journey of discovery, wandering through time and geography on the continent of Mor-Thir. When I started, I had a pretty good idea of what was going on in the kingdom of Mareten, and what the map looked like, and so on. But I didn't know the whole story; often, you learned at the same time I did. Who knew that the Wall of Mareten was that big? Not me! In fact, I didn't even know how magical the towers were until I set fingers to keyboard.

Improv Generators

In any situation (not just RPGs, or even games in general, but Real Life (tm) too), being able to think on your feet is a very important ability to have. Ever watch an improv show and wonder how those people could come up with so many funny gags in such a short time - often with only a split second of preparation? Here's a hint: they had more than a split second of preparation.

"Gasp!" You say. "They cheated! It was camera cuts! It's all scripted, like wrestling and elections! I knew it!"

Whoa there, buddy! Not so fast. There are no camera cuts, or scripts (or shouldn't be, if it's a good show). No, what I mean is that they took time to think up all sorts of funny stuff, and when it fit, they just repeated it from memory. That's the key - improv prep. It sounds oxymoronic, but nonetheless, it's incredibly important.

Coats of Arms

Heraldry, of which a coat of arms is a part, has a very deep, rich history associated with it. If you've studied heraldry at all, you may be somewhat confused by the colors and symbols I've chosen below (what's up with the Kingdom of Mejasta?).

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, colors and symbols chosen for a coat of arms represent various characteristics of the person, family, or organization the coat of arms represents. For instance, the color (or "tincture") blue (aka "azure") is associated with truth and loyalty; that works out well for the Kingdoms of Mareten and the Elves, the Church, and the Wall Guards; however, green (aka "vert") means "Hope, joy, and loyalty in love," which sounds great, but doesn't belong with the Assassin's Guild. Or any of the Zaharan cities, for that matter. Symbols matter, too; crossed keys (such as on the Thieves' Guild arms) is the symbol of St. Peter, and represent the keys to the gates of heaven. The lion, like on the Kingdom of Mareten's coat of arms, means courage, which works well enough. The sythe on the Assassin's Guild coat of arms usually means hope, as in hope of a good harvest; again, not particularly fitting. Then again, not all heraldry was entirely truthful; when it came down to it, I'm sure a great number of coats of arms had little to do with the actions of their bearer...

Languages

As I've mentioned before, the various human and demi-humans of Mor-Thir speak many languages. However, I'd like to discuss where these languages came from, how they came to be what they are now, and perhaps most importantly, what languages exist.

The human tongue, usually known as Common, is descended from Nobiran, Dwarf, True Elf, and various other languages; humans are adaptable, if nothing else, and have molded their languages over the eons to fit the cultures around them. Common sounds quite similar to English, with all its various dialects. Men of Mareten still use Nobiran as a ceremonial language; it sounds quite similar to Latin. It was the original language of Men, when they landed on the eastern shore.

Expanding on Religion

I previously discussed religions quite a while ago in my post Language and Religion. However, that was a pretty brief overview, and I would like to expand on the basic names and descriptions, and include some lesser gods as well.