Bieval

[Observer]

I may be treading unknown waters opening a second thread...

I started thinking about it a only a couple of weeks ago and I came up with the name only 15 minutes ago.

I'm thinking this could be a great RP and Fanfic setting. A nice world where adventure is possible.

Now for the setting:

Continuing my avoidance of Medieval Western European Fantasy, I'm making this a Sword and Sandal setting (because I love dem Roman Legionaries). That means it takes place in Classical Antiquity, with the likenesses of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Bieval will contain several civilizations based on real ones, regions, and, of course, monster girls. As for gods, I'm still thinking about it, they'll probably range from cruel to benevolent (maybe I'll use the Greek gods as an example?). Maybe with a war between man and god?

Tell me your opinions.

[Observer]

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[Observer]

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[Drazzimyr]

I like this idea, and I hope to see what comes out of it.

[Tsar CUBE]

This remind me somewhat of Titan Quest, I think it could be a very neat idea. I hope you wont abandon Anteal though.

[Observer]

<.<

>.>

Well, Tsar didn't have to worry about me abandoning Anteal. Though I did kinda neglect this setting.

The last few weeks, I tried to make some progress and wanted to post something here before the year was up. So, I have this map for Bieval's first region: ... Bieva. Tried my hand at a fantasy map.

Bieva.png

Sadly I couldn't come up with a suitably nice region description. (but if you do, I would be grateful) Maybe I'll add one later on. So I'll just describe it in a meta style or something like that for now and plans for it:

Bieva is basically the not-Greek region. With a dash of Roman. Here you will find the creatures gods and events taken from Greek mythology. I felt a bit uneasy about directly using the original names, but then I realized KC is already using gods from the Greek Pantheon (Poseidon, Ares, Eros), so I guess it might be safe for me to use them too, so the names will probably be unchanged from the original.

Aside from Mount Olympus, I'm changing the names mostly because I'm using a map of my making, though there will be a correspondence between real-life cities and the ones in Bieva. Here is a list of correspondences:

Therea = Rome
Osilia, Mosinia = Aricia, Ostia respectively or maybe some other cities from Latium
Tarnum = Caudinum, or some other Samnite city
Pharos = Ithaca, some island in Greece, its most famous ruler was Odysseus
Thuresia = not sure yet, maybe Epirus
Heliopolis = Thebes
Elaia = Athens
Trapsai = Sparta (an anagram of it+"i")
Arkalis = Argos, and maybe a little bit of Atlantis too
Limenas = not sure yet, maybe Iolcos, which is the place from where Jason and the Argonauts started their quest for the Golden Fleece
Macetia = Macedon
Tripolis, Kolon, Saalmon = not sure yet
Tyrene, Mykas, Azares = are supposed to represent the fragmented nature of not-Crete
Minopolis = Knossos, capital of Minoan Crete
Eopolis = not sure yet, maybe Troy
Chaldeon = Byzantion, which later became Constantinopole

These cities are bastions of safety for civilized men, but the wilderness is decidedly unsafe with all the monsters lurking about.

In addition there are a few landmarks spread around:

Siren Coast - pretty self-explanatory
Centaur Plains - also self-explanatory
Agios Mountains - an impassable mountain range, considered holy by the Bievan people, houses Mount Olympus and a Mt. Etna stand-in which is the prison of the monster Typhon
Mount Olympus - home of the gods
Underworld Gates - there are four of these, they lead into the realm of Hades
Cyclopean ruins - built by the cyclopes, probably just after the Titanomachy
Arkalis ruins - the city attempted to defy the gods (just like in Clash of the Titans 2010), it got destroyed anyway
Minopolis ruins - currently inhabited by Minotaurs
Serpent Swamp - inhabited by Echidna
Palace of Poseidon - somewhere on the seafloor
Realm of Hades - the underworld, along with relevant subdivisions

I have other regions in mind too, like an Egyptian type region, a Norse region, a Celtic region, a Chinese region and others.

Tell me what you think of all this.

[Drazzimyr]

I think what you have so far is really goddamn awesome. To tell the truth, this is something I would have wanted to do, but you made it a thousand times better. It's really awesome good, keep up the good work

[Creator_Drake]

How about the relations between human and monstergirls? Are all feared by the populous, or are some treated with tolerance?

[Observer]

I think what you have so far is really goddamn awesome. To tell the truth, this is something I would have wanted to do, but you made it a thousand times better. It's really awesome good, keep up the good work

Why, thank you for the encouragement! I didn't really think I was that good. My advice would be to concentrate on one project at a time. I'll probably make a region description for Bieva, maybe a monster profile as well, then go back to Anteal.

How about the relations between human and monstergirls? Are all feared by the populous, or are some treated with tolerance?

Well, in this setting, the relations between human and monster varies from region to region. In one region they may be worshipped and considered as protectors, while in others they might be feared as abominations. In Bieva specifically, most of the monsters are feared. This is in order to correspond with Ancient Greek views on gender. They didn't really appreciate the thought of women having any sort of power. And some monsters are really unpleasant to be around(centaurs are you typical barbarian tribe with a few exceptions and Echidna is trying - and failing - to breed a new monster army to strike at the gods and she doesn't care who gets in her way). That said, most monsters resort to kidnapping and raping potential husbands and hiding out in the wilderness.

Something I'm thinking about is the treatment of monsters. Should I make them ALL monster-girls? While there will be a good number of all-female monsters, I'm thinking of making some monster races have both male and female genders (centaurs, cyclops) and even some all-male ones (satyrs - arguable, since they're supposed to be the male counterparts of the nymphs).

[Tsar CUBE]

That map looks really awesome man, just love it.

[revanwolff]

Thank for going back to greece in olden days this is where the MGs come from at least the western came from. GREAT!

[Observer]

Hello, whoever might be reading this.

After I noticed a small strand of hair on the scanned map, I decided to take the opportunity to make some minor additions before rescanning it.

Here it is:

Bieva.png

Also, I managed to write a description for the region.
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Bieva

It is said that the land of Bieva was shaped by the war between the gods of Olympus and their progenitors, the Titans. This war, the Titanomachy, ended in the gods' victory, casting the previous generation into Tartarus and taking over their domains, putting an end to their Golden Age.

The scarred land was not devoid of inhabitants either. When it was clear who was in charge, the mortal humans turned to worship the newcomers, Zeus and his kin, who have made their home on the summit of Mount Olympus.

The Bievans are mostly of one people. However they are divided into scores of city-states that more often than not fight amongst themselves. Some of the bloodiest conflicts were the Doenios Wars carried out between the city-states of Trapsai and Elaia and their respective allies. While most of the city-states share the same culture, the peoples in the north of the peninsula are different enough to be considered barbarians by the rest.

Bieva is also inhabited by a variety of monsters, many terrible, some benevolent. Bievan men do not believe that women should hold power and thus consider monsters, many of them female and far stronger than any ordinary mortal, as something to be feared. Monsters tend to live away from cities as a result.

Life in Bieva is an effort to appease the gods. Properly honouring them grants you their blessings. Neglecting them, or worse, commiting blasphemy against them, will incur their wrath. This was considered fair. But sometimes, the gods' intrigues and rivalries spilled into mortals' lives with negative consequences. It is not advised to openly speak ill of the gods, though tales have spread from person to person of Zeus' infidelity, Medusa's rape and punishment and the quarrel that started the War on Aiolopolis.

The gods' power comes from the mortals' worship. Cepheas, the king of Arkalis, understood this and attempted, along with his citizens, to rebel against Olympus, mostly out of hubris. This plan was doomed to fail from the start, since Arkalis was merely one city among many and the gods still have power. Though Cetos was defeated by Perseus, the city was destroyed anyway as soon as he left to serve as an example to any who would attempt to defy the gods.

Even so, faith in the Olympians is slowly on the decline. Sooner or later Zeus will have to rein in the wayward mortals.
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Is it ok?

[Feathers]

The Bievan men seem to be shooting themselves in the foot by not letting the benevolent monsters in power. Sounds like they (the monsters) are smarter than men in general though, since they stay away from their cities.

How does the Gods view the monsters though? Are they against human men marrying in with them? Are the monsters actually servants of the Gods as well, or are they simply wandering Godless beings that take their wrath (or pity) on human men?

[Observer]

The Bievan men seem to be shooting themselves in the foot by not letting the benevolent monsters in power. Sounds like they (the monsters) are smarter than men in general though, since they stay away from their cities.

Well, Bievans are practically the Ancient Greeks(except for for the northerners who are based on ancient Italic peoples - including Romans). So, women don't enjoy a very high status (except in Sparta/Trapsai) and aren't allowed any power(they aren't granted any citizenship). They blame all the evils in the world on women(look up the myth of Pandora). So, naturally, they won't trust female monsters(or Amazons, but I don't consider Amazons monsters) either.

How does the Gods view the monsters though? Are they against human men marrying in with them? Are the monsters actually servants of the Gods as well, or are they simply wandering Godless beings that take their wrath (or pity) on human men?

Just because they have the same label doesn't mean they are all alike. Some monsters, such as Harpies, some Gorgons, Cerberus, most Cyclops, Nymphs and Satyrs. Others, like Sirens, Dracaenae, most Gorgons, Scylla, Echidna are "wild" monsters that don't serve the gods. They keep them around because they could be useful as challenges for future heroes and to keep humanity in check. Some mind their own business(even if that involves unintentionally killing some mortals) while others actively antagonize humans and/or the gods.

You got me on that second question. I don't really know how to address it. I'll try to think about it in the future.

And since I'm here, I'll post the first monster profile. I hope it's good.
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Arachnid

Arachnid.png

There was once a weaver named Arachne. A native of a city near Limenas, she excelled at her profession. So much so, that it was said that her skill surpassed that of the goddess Athena, weaving being one of her areas of patronage. Praises and boasts comparing a mere mortal to a divine being do not go over well with the gods, and Athena was no exception. When Arachne refused to retract her boast, Athena challenged her to a contest between weavers. While Athena portrayed the gods in all their glory, Arachne opted to show the gods' more... unsavory side. Athena was angered by this blasphemy, however she couldn't find any faults or imperfections in her rival's work. Both the tapestry and loom were destroyed in envious rage. Arachne hung herself in shame. Taking pity upon the girl, Athena transformed her into a spider-like creature, so she may continue weaving threads by herself.

That was a few hundred years ago. Today, Arachne's legacy is being carried out by her descendents, the Arachnids. Like their ancestor, the Arachnids' bodies are spider-like, mixing together human and spider features. There is a lot of variation in the Arachnids' appearance. Some have eight eyes, others two. Some have no human arms, others have six. And so on. The thing that they have in common, ultimately what defines them, is their ability to produce webs.

Athena's curse turned out to be a blessing in disguise(if one ignores their seemingly hideous forms). Arachnid webbing is the finest, and for that matter only, form of silk known in the Bieva region. It is also extremely strong. Bronze blades cannot hope to cut it and even iron weapons would struggle against it. Naturally it fetched quite a high price.

The taboo of dealing with creatures that offend the gods prevent the Arachnids from directly sharing their commodities, products derived from their silk, with the city-dwellers. Instead, they resort to intermediates who do the trading for them, slaves raised, captured or bought from other monsters. So focused are they on their weaving that they typically rely on their slaves and/or neighbors(if they have any) to solve any other matters.