[Discussion] Groam

[industrygothica]

Here's what we know about Groam so far:

* The first inhabitants were cave ancient cave dwellers whose macabre rock art can still be found in the many caves throughout the region.

* Groam was originally called "Grohamz" by the cave dwellers. Translated into their native tongue, it means "Weeping Land."

* These cave dwellers may still exist, isolated from those who swarmed over the land.

* Rich veins of tin and silver were discovered in the uplands, causing a swarm of prospectors to come in from the north in search for riches.

* Mining camps soon grew into cities, and cities into a lawless kingdom.

* Silvervein was established as Groam's capital and hosted a loose government comprised of mining magnates and crime lords called the Council.

* In an effort to promote lawfulness, the Council established the Silver Watch

* The western cities of Arkender and Zantarma flourished with a logging and food supply industry.

* The plague came sixty years after silver was discovered in Groam.

* The Grey Watch was formed from the ranks of the Silver Watch and were given the city of Kamzal as a base of operations. The Grey Watch was relentless in driving back any refugees from the plague.

* Kamzal was renamed Grey Fortress.

* A series of walls were constructed to slow the influx of the infected from the east.

* Many settlements in the east, including Grey Fortress have fallen silent over the years, and their current status is unknown.

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Is that about right?

So on that note, I've got some more questions.

What's happening in Groam now? Is the Council still active? Is the Silver Watch still patrolling the unaffected areas while the Grey Watch is apparently still fighting off plague-ridden refugees?

Is a man from Groam a Groamen man, or Groamish? Something else?

Are the cave dwellers known to the Groamen (or Groamish) people, or have they managed to stay hidden all these years? Am I the only one seeing grimlocks here?

I'm sure there is more, but this will do for starters. As you can tell from the title, I'd like to keep this thread solidly about Groam or areas that Groam will affect. My goal is to do a thread like this for each area unless anyone has any objections.

[Midgardsormr]

* The Pathmages' Guild employs magic-users who specialize in travel, survival, and communication magics. They are often employed by the Council as mapmakers, surveyors, and demographers.

* There is a race of hillpeople who are short of stature that inhabit the Uzuid Mountains. They may be the remnants of the cave-dwelling aborigines, or they might be related to the Stoutlings who live along the Coriander Coast to the southeast.

[industrygothica]

Torq, what are your plans for the Grey Watch, if any?

Your description says that they are long forgotten and the subject of late-night and tavern talk. I can't help but think that they still exist in some fashion; I keep envisioning them as something similar to the ringwraiths in LOTR: A fearsome enigma thought to live only in the nightmares of children.

Of course this is far cry from what the Grey Watch was originally intended for, but not unheard of considering the atrocities they'd likely have committed in keeping the borders safe.

If you've got other ideas, let me know. Otherwise I'd like to see if I can't take this a bit further if you don't mind.

[Midgardsormr]

I'd prefer to avoid obvious undead in my area, but I have been thinking about the possibility of some dark force that might have somehow dominated the wills of many of the former inhabitants of the plagued lands.

If the grey watch are still living humans, there is the possibility that adventurers who try to enter or move around the area can do so by guile in addition to the usual methods of stealth and arms.

I'm sort of waiting on Kagehito to give me some indication of his intentions with the areas further east, since the epicenter of the plague is probably in either his or Del's areas. Their maps will give us a better idea of what's going on with the Grey Watch.

[industrygothica]

I'd prefer to avoid obvious undead in my area, but I have been thinking about the possibility of some dark force that might have somehow dominated the wills of many of the former inhabitants of the plagued lands.

If the grey watch are still living humans, there is the possibility that adventurers who try to enter or move around the area can do so by guile in addition to the usual methods of stealth and arms.

I'm sort of waiting on Kagehito to give me some indication of his intentions with the areas further east, since the epicenter of the plague is probably in either his or Del's areas. Their maps will give us a better idea of what's going on with the Grey Watch.

Or they could be bound Groam proper, constantly patrolling the border between Groam and East Groam, but never allowed to cross.

That is, of course, assuming there is a definite border between the two. I've always seen them as two separate regions, but that may be just me.

[Torq]

Torq, what are your plans for the Grey Watch, if any?

Your description says that they are long forgotten and the subject of late-night and tavern talk. I can't help but think that they still exist in some fashion; I keep envisioning them as something similar to the ringwraiths in LOTR: A fearsome enigma thought to live only in the nightmares of children.

Of course this is far cry from what the Grey Watch was originally intended for, but not unheard of considering the atrocities they'd likely have committed in keeping the borders safe.

If you've got other ideas, let me know. Otherwise I'd like to see if I can't take this a bit further if you don't mind.

My views on the Grey watch are kind of set out in the Second part of my "brief history" of Groam, in the Map thread for the area. I dont have any ideas set in stone though. They have an ambiguity in my own mind. I'm not sure whether they are hardline soldiers dedicated to saving Groam from what they peceive to be a deadly menace, or scheming opportunists who would make a pact with any diabolical power. Quite happy to let the creative impulse of others decide that question.

Torq

[industrygothica]

My views on the Grey watch are kind of set out in the Second part of my "brief history" of Groam, in the Map thread for the area. I dont have any ideas set in stone though. They have an ambiguity in my own mind. I'm not sure whether they are hardline soldiers dedicated to saving Groam from what they peceive to be a deadly menace, or scheming opportunists who would make a pact with any diabolical power. Quite happy to let the creative impulse of others decide that question.

Torq

To be honest, I was thinking a bit of both. Maybe something like the soldier who continues to fight the war because nobody told him it was over.

[industrygothica]

As I continue this work on Groam, it becomes more necessary to discern whether Groam and East Groam are two separate entities (much like Virginia and West Virginia here in the US), or one region under one government.

[Torq]

So on that note, I've got some more questions.

Is a man from Groam a Groamen man, or Groamish? Something else?

Are the cave dwellers known to the Groamen (or Groamish) people, or have they managed to stay hidden all these years? Am I the only one seeing grimlocks here?

I think I've used all those variants at one time or another for the people of Groam. My preference is Groamen to describe the people of the area. It was raised as a descriptive title by someone on these threads and I just liked it. That would make a person from Groam and Groaman rather than a Groamen man (I think).

I only see Grimlocks when I drink tequila.

Torq

[industrygothica]

I think I've used all those variants at one time or another for the people of Groam. My preference is Groamen to describe the people of the area. It was raised as a descriptive title by someone on these threads and I just liked it. That would make a person from Groam and Groaman rather than a Groamen man (I think).

I only see Grimlocks when I drink tequila.

Torq

Ack! I can't do tequila shots. Does bad things...

And as for the Groamans...This will be what I'm sticking with, if I understood you correctly. A Goaman man, the Groaman Council, and the fallen Groaman empire.