Waterdeep Roleplay: History

Found and adapted from the annals of the Apostles of Sune:

The Great Realms, are a continent on the world of Toril and was divided into empires (Tripower, Vector, Sephiroth, Heifong). In the past the cities within these empires were lead by factions. But these factions are no more and power has been consolidated in the hands of the clans. Of which the Tripower Kingdom and the Vectorian Empire are two. Overhead, the Ragnarok - known to many as simply the Rok - sat in the sky. It was a giant meteor that was said to bring destruction and chaos, while some believed it would bring rebirth as well. At one point the Tripower Kingdom created a Makou cannon to destroy the Rok, nicknamed "Stalin's Organ", but it failed and the Rok remained until it fell.

Makou and MagiTek energies are used up to this day to power the realms, although MagiTek is shunned by many. Magic always had a very visible, tangible presence. There were and still are numerous immortals, some of which make appearances in the Realms and others which do not. Travel over great distances is still accomplished by magical means or by airships.

Timeline

This is the ***OLD*** Waterdeep Timeline. Retrieved from the abyssal depths of the internet. There's been some typo, grammar and sentence reconstructing by Ror, but the story has remained unchanged. Enjoy.

It remains unsure whether this is canon or not. If it was, the current year (2013) would be 1280.

-[ Prehistory ]-

A history on airships

Until recent times, Airships were a rare creation in Toril. Legend and lore of the Faerunian Continent speak of enchanted flying vessels built by the elves, or the flying machines of the dwarven kind. Several attempts would be made on the Great Realms Continent, especially by the Vectorian Kingdom in the 8th century. Inventors of steam technology and the steam engine, they attempted to make a flying vessel out of a watership (which were now using the steam engines to sail), and using a blimp filled with the rare gas helium to levitate it. This attempt was declared a failure due to the rarity of helium and weight of the steam engine system. The weight of the boilers, water and coal fuel causted the ship to be too heavy to be lifted by the helium. An airship would not be attempted again until the 12th century.

Makou Technology is the process of creating a burnable gas using the planet's lifestream, a liquid energy that flows deep within the planet. Sid Deadwillow of the Tripower Kingdom discovered that a burnable gas could be created when the liquid of the lifestream was compressed with steam, and various forms of this fuel could be created. Most common is Makou Gas used in such applications as street lamps and housing lighting. The invention of the airship would be made possible by two other forms of Makou Gas and one vital creation, the Makou Combustion Engine.

Makou Gas #2 is a lighter than air gas, which unlike the two other forms of Makou Gas is not combustable. Makou Gas #3 better known as Makou Fuel is a sludge like liquid form of regular Makou Gas (Makou Gas #1), and is used with the Makou Combustion Engine. These engines are much smaller than the Vectorian Steam Engines and produce more power. Together with the now readily available lighter-than-air Makou Gas made airships possible.

The Tripower Company is a business with no official ties with the Tripower Kingdom Government. Created by Sid Deadwillow in 1254 as a corperation, it bares the Tripower name due to its three business owners (who also happen to be the founders of the Government). The Tripower Company would regulate and maintain the Makou Reactors and sale of Makou Gas, while also creating inventions which used the technology. Its first item for sale was the Makou Airship. They would utlize and use a new industrial technique known as mass production to create these airships. This onslaught of airships would cause a major shift in the Realmism Stock Markets and Corperations as airships were faster than the commonly used Locomotives and Waterships, demand for these ships would climb, and the continent itself would change.

Airships are an everyday sight in the Great Realms and with the public sale of Makou Technology, various classes and types can be found in the air. The continent is no longer as large as it once had been, a trip from Westbridge to Figaro once took months of travel was now reduced to a seven day flight. And this was only good for a continent built on centuries of business and trade.

Airships

Airships were the combined creation of the Nytek Corperation and the Makou Technology Group, two front businesses of the Tripower Empire. The year was 1253 (Currently 1269 or real life 2002) when airships were introduced to the world. Before then, travel across the Great Realms was rough and long, since most nations stood far apart. But the airship allowed people to move faster and make shorter journeys to foreign lands. The trade businesses soaked this up, and in 3 short years, almost all major trading businesses owned a fleet. The Trade World boomed, and the Tripower became the Number 1 traders in the world, a title that was held by the Vectorian Nation until 1256.

The world of the air soon formed different groups, which was classified by the empires in record books. The massive increase of airship popularity was known as "The Airship Boom".

Traders
Airships and crews who flew cargo around the world to different couriers and trade posts. Their airships are slow and bulky, weighted down by cargo and big to hold more cargo.

Private
Privatly owned airships usually owned by the rich, until the Tripower started to produce the single seater airships. These airships ranged from medium to large, and were the more faster airships in the sky. Varies owners from private businesses, clans and empires.

Authority
The law enforcement of the skies. Most empires started some type of law enforcement agency for their skies during the airship boom. These ships were fast and heavily armed, equiped with air sirens to pull
other ships over for certain law breakage. Their main goal was to keep the pirates away from the traders.

Pirates
Like the earlier "pirates" of the olden day, who sailed the seas attacking trade ships, a semi-different group of pirates appeared. Mostly made up of wizards, thieves and mercenaries, the pirates took to the sky attacking trade ships to steal the cargo, and sell on the black market. They formed guilds, who in turn formed smaller groups, and setup terroritories. Their ships are fast and armed. Their natural enemy, the Authority.

Outlaws
An outlaw, who is a person who follows their own laws and rules also took airships into the skies, mainly to travel between empires. Their ships varied in size, speed and weapons, mainly pre-owned airships purchased cheaper than new. Most purchased whatever they could find. An enemy to both pirates and authority ships.

These are the five groups classified by the empires of the world, of those who fly in the air with airships.

Heifong Empire

Heifong is located in the center of the Great Realms, surrounded by impassable mountains on all sides. Before the airship boom, only five small cities dotted the valley, ruled by small factions. The main support of the valley region was farming. When the airships came, the pirates came, and Heifong became the main stomping ground of the pirates. After awhile, the pirates guild began to fight over the area, and the biggest one. Made up of five different guilds, these pirates who held no name settled into the valley, and took over the 5 small cities. Farming died down, and the black market moved in. As airships boomed, the 5 small cities grew until their walls touched each other. And when that happened, the city of Heifong was founded, and split into five sections, given to each guild.

                   +---+
                   | 2 |
               +---+---+---+
<--- TO FIGARO | 1 | 5 | 3 | TO TORREGIANO --->
               +---+---+---+
                   | 4 |
                   +---+

This is how the city is split up into different sections. The Guilds only go by the name of their city section. The 5th Guild, located in the center is the supreme guild, ruling over the other 4. The 1st Guild is the gateway and stopping ground for airships traveling in from the Western Realms. The 3rd Guild is the gateway and stopping ground for airships traveling from the Eastern Realms. The black market is located in the 5th Section, under the watchful eye of the 5th Guild.

Countries of Cruoris

The continent of Cruoris is divided into multiple countries and several territories. In early history most of these countries were formed solely by single races, but over time and mixture of the races these traditions of old have all but faded away for most.

There are two major types of governments found in Cruoris, kingdoms and empires. Both follow the same general ideas, such as both are ruled by a single family with the power of rulership passed down through the generations, or until the people uprise and murder the bloodline.

Kingdoms are ruled by kings who make judgements on matters of their country with the opinions of an advisory counsel elected by the people. Empires are ruled by emperors who do not need to have an advisory counsel, though they may choose to create one of their own people.

City-states are considered small countries, unlike kingdoms and empires, which are made up of multiple large settlements. A City-state typically is the rule over a single town and or hamlets with little land. These types of governments are found mostly in territories, though there are some exceptions (i.e.Makou City).

Below is a short list of the major governments:

Deva Empire: the black market empire, major ore producers.
Figaro Kingdom: kingdom of the brothers, creators of clock tech.
Heifong Empire: The pirate empire, central trading point.
Tripower Kingdom: The people's kingdom, creators of makou tech.
Vector Empire: The trade empire, creators of steam tech.

A Brochure for New Visitors of Heifong III

Welcome to Heifong III

The nation of Heifong has shared a diverse past, as diverse as the hundreds of thousands of visitors it attracts each year. Less than a hundred years ago, Heifong III was nothing more than a settlement, one of many which were founded in this valley surrounded by mountains. As the settlements grew in size, it was becoming clear to the wise and perceptive leaders that room was quickly running short, and so a pact was made to combine their resources into the glorious nation of Heifong. The city you are visiting today came from this pact and is ruled by the honorable Xavier Vector, who at this moment is watching over his city with the help of his competent advisors. Here you will find adventure, and if your fate serves you, wealth and happiness. Take care not to go against the will of Xavier for doing so serves to sign away your own life. With that, enjoy your stay in our humble city.

*paid for by the ad council of public relations*

Waterdeep Roleplay

Past political factions

Clans

Cults

Faction (old definition)

A history summarized