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S.T.E.M.

Society, Technology, Economy, Magic

Society

Technology

6 – Caste System

The nation has adopted a caste system.  Every person is assigned a role, and all resources and activity are geared towards the common good.  Everyone has a role to play in the beautiful machine that is the nation, and nearly every aspect of every individual’s life is centrally planned.

Effects:

  • Can claim 6 territories

  • Can RP as a very efficient, modern state

  • Can RP with unified military force that is specialized and efficient

  • Can subjugate others

  • Can colonize 4 territories at a time

  • Can maintain a very large army

  • Can maintain a very large navy

  • Gain an extra Economy level

 

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7 – Hive Mind

The State is a living organism literally.  The individual does not exist, instead, everything is but a tendril or appendage of the whole.  The entire population is one, completely connected, and completely efficient.  You are Legion.

Effects:

  • Can claim 6 territories

  • Can RP as any type of nation, or as a single, nearly-omnipotent entity

  • Can RP having complete control over everything in the nation

  • Can subjugate others

  • Can colonize 5 territories at a time

  • Can make entire population into highly specialized army

  • Can make entire population into highly specialized navy

  • Gain 2 extra Economy levels

  • Must be an actual Hive Mind to attain

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Economy

0 – Disparate People

You have no unification past the familial unit.  You have no armies.  Your only ships are small canoes or rafts jealously guarded by their owners lest they be stolen by their neighbours.  You cannot lay claim to any territory, regardless of whether your people are nomadic or not.

Effects:

  • Can only mark areas, not claim territory

  • Cannot RP as a nation, only as characters

  • Cannot subjugate others

  • Cannot colonize

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1 – Tribal

Your people gather into small tribes that are far from unified.  In fact, they are more likely to war with each other than collaborate.  Still, your tribal leadership allows the assembling of small war parties, and you can appoint speakers to deal with outsiders in the interests of your group.

Effects:

  • Can only mark areas, not claim territory

  • Cannot RP as a nation, only as characters or separate tribes

  • Cannot subjugate others

  • Cannot colonize

  • Cannot maintain a standing army

  • Cannot maintain a navy

 

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2 – Confederacy

The tribes have been unified, either completely or into larger alliances that still compete with one another.  Whether this unification was by force or diplomacy, you now speak for several groups.  And while you may have a nominal leader, each tribe still maintains its independence and will not hesitate to break away should they feel the alliance no longer serves them.  War parties, while larger, are plagued by disunity, as each tribe wishes their own leaders lead.

Effects:

  • Can claim 1 territory

  • Can RP as an alliance of tribes

  • Can subjugate others

  • Cannot colonize

  • Can RP with a unified military force without a centralized command structure

  • Cannot maintain a standing army

  • Cannot maintain a navy

 

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3 – City States

Your society has bloomed into functioning metropolises.  Each settlement claims its own leadership, but are more open to trade and cooperation amongst themselves and outsiders.  Controlling not only their city streets but the immediate countryside, city states can call upon large militias, hired mercenary companies, and even professional soldiers.  With a greater focus on trade, private ships are now common sight, and can be commandeered to serve as naval might should the need arise.

Effects:

  • Can claim 2 territories

  • Cannot RP as a nation, only as competing city-states, alliances of city-states, or characters

  • Can subjugate others

  • Can colonize 1 territory at a time

  • Can maintain a standing army of trained militia

  • Each city-state can maintain a small navy

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4 – Feudal Lords

Petty kingdoms that rule over several settlements and vast tracks of land, independent or united under a King of Kings, now dot the landscape.  While each lord has his own armed forces, he must raise them if called by his sovereign lord.  While there can be an overall king, each lord maintains a great amount of autonomy, and will run his lands as sovereign.

Effects:

  • Can claim 4 territories

  • Can RP as a decentralized nation, whose various lords do not always agree with each other

  • Can RP with a unified military force without a moderate amount of central authority

  • Can subjugate others

  • Can colonize 1 territory at a time

  • Can maintain a small force of professional soldiers

  • Can call up large number of militia

  • Each lord can maintain a small navy

 

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5 – Nationalism

The realm has become a true nation.  The national government now holds sway over the entirety of the nation, and it is its deputes, not local lords, who govern the regions.  The army and navy swear allegiance to the state rather than feudal lords, and a common law exists.

Effects:

  • Can claim 6 territories

  • Can RP as a modern state

  • Can RP with a unified military force with centralized command structure

  • Can subjugate others

  • Can colonize 2 territories at a time

  • Can maintain a large, professional army

  • Can maintain a large navy

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0 – Sticks and Stones

The world is a strange and terrifying place.  Your only tools to face it, or defend against it, is anything you can pick up.  A stick or rock is a good bludgeon, and a cave will shelter you from the elements.  The skin of animals can be draped over you to keep warm, but you have to catch them first if you want to hit them with said stick, as the idea of a trap has not entered your primitive brain.

Effects:

  • Cannot have buildings

  • Cannot have weapons (other than blunt objects)

  • Cannot fashion tools or ceramics

  • Cannot read or write

  • Cannot build any type of water craft

  • Cannot farm

  • Cannot domesticate animals

 

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1 – Stone Age

With the invention of knapping, your people can fashion simple items.  Stone tools and weapons, simple ceramics made of mud, wood and clay, and clothing that is more than just a skinned animal slung over one’s back.  Most importantly, your people have begun to build simple shelters of wood and hide, have harnessed fire, and created a wheel.

Effects:

  • Can build simple things like tipis, yurts, wigwams, huts, etc

  • Can build stone weapons such as arrow and spear heads

  • Can fashion simple tools and ceramics

  • Cannot read or write

  • Cannot build any type of water craft

  • Can utilize the wheel

  • Cannot farm

  • Cannot domesticate animals

 

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2 – Bronze Age

For the first time, your people have begun to harness the ores of the earth and shaping it into reliable tools and weapons.  Jewelry and armor are now commonplace, while building and art has seen an explosion due to the ability to cut and shape materials like wood and stone with precision.  As the need to teach these new skills and trade these new materials and items rose, so too did the ability to read and write and record.  Further, agriculture and the domestication of animals was now possible and commonplace, while simple boats and oar-driven ships are able to be constructed.

Effects:

  • Can build out of wood, stone, mud, straw and brick

  • Can farm

  • Can raise and train animals

  • Can build weapons, tools and other items out of copper, bronze and brass

  • Can read and write

  • Can build simple ships and boats

  • Can fabricate glass

  • Can colonize adjacent territories

 

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3 – Iron Age

By harnessing iron, your people have become masters of building.  Tools, weapons and armor are stronger and longer lasting.  And with this, you are able to delve deeper into the earth.  Proper mines and quarries exist, as well as sturdy plows and scythes to sow the fields.  In other fields of study, sails are becoming more commonplace, not yet replacing, but aiding rowers in moving ships.

Effects:

  • Can build weapons, tool and other items out of iron

  • Can build intricate ships and boats predominantly powered by oars

  • Can build simple siege machinery(small catapults, rams, ballistae, etc)

4 – Steel Age

Advances in metallurgy have opened up many doors for your people.  Steel, a strong and reliable substance, can be produced and used in many applications, from weapons and tools to buildings and ships.  Optics, as well, have revolutionized the way the world is seen, and your people have begun taking an interest in recording the natural world and the stars above.  Simple machinery is common, in the form of siege engines such as trebuchets and catapults, to cranes powered by hand.  Sails are beginning to become the dominant form of propulsion aboard ships, which in themselves are becoming larger and better armed.

Effects:

  • Can build out steel

  • Can build weapons, tools and other items out of steel

  • Can build simple sailing ships

  • Can build basic telescopes and other optical devices

  • Can build advanced siege machinery(trebuchets, large catapults and ballistae, heavy-duty rams, etc)

 

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5 – Exploration Age

Meridia is a wonderous place, and you’ve set out to see it all.  With finely made optics, observing the heavens is an easy feat, allowing you to navigate the globe on your finely built tall ships.  The Age of Sail is in full swing, and your discovery of gunpowder has revolutionized warfare.  Muskets and cannons, while still crude in design, have begun to replace knights and catapults.  The natural sciences are of great interest to your people, as they begin to dissect and catalogue everything they find.

Effects:

  • Can build medium-sized sailing ships that carry a good amount of cannons.

  • Can use muskets and cannons

  • Can use navigation tools like compasses and sextants

  • Have a good knowledge of the stars

  • Have a good knowledge of biology

  • Have a good knowledge of physics

  • Can colonize any coastal territory(assuming you have access to the oceans)

 

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6 – Industrial Revolution

Your industrious people have begun creating various machines that automate certain tasks.  The spinning jenny, printing press, and various other technologies have revolutionized your society, bringing industrialization, more accessible literature, and myriad other benefits.  Further, your engineers have perfected rifling, allowing the creation of highly accurate firearms and cannons.  Your ships are marvels of naval engineering, double-braced and thick hulled enough to shrug off many a broadside that would devastate ships of the past age.

Effects:

  • Can build heavy, powerful sailing ships

  • Can use rifling in guns and cannons

  • Can use industrial machinery(nothing requiring electricity, steam engines, etc)

  • Gain an extra Economy level

 

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7 – Steam Punk

Masters of the mechanical.  Your people have harnessed steam, creating electricity, artificial heating, and automated machines.  Semi-automatic weapons, simplistic tanks, even crude automatons are possible.  What’s more important, you have taken to the air!  With balloons and propellered chariots, you can fly(albeit slowly) through the heavens, opening up the entire planet to your people.  Finally, your mastery of the material has allowed you to study the arcane in a proper, scientific method.

Effects:

  • Can build steam ships

  • Can build semi-automatic weapons

  • Can use electricity and steam to power buildings, weapons, machinery, etc

  • Can build airships

  • Can colonize any territory

Gain 1 extra Economy point and 1 extra Magic point

Magic

0 – Destitution

Your people have nothing.  Every minute, another poor soul starves, dies of exposure or disease, or simply ends their own existence rather than face the grim struggle that is life.

Effects:

  • Cannot build any permanent structures

  • Cannot have permanent settlements

  • Cannot colonize

  • Cannot have any type of military force

  • Cannot have any sea or air vessels

  • Very small population

1 – Poverty

Barely able to feed, clothe, or shelter themselves, your people live in misery and squalor.  What little they have is of poor quality, and most likely unhealthy.  Do not expect a long lifespan.

Effects:

  • Cannot colonize

  • Cannot have any type of military force

  • Cannot have any airships

  • Cannot maintain a naval force

  • Small population

2 – Subsistence

While they aren’t starving, your people can’t produce much more than what they themselves need.  Hovels for homes, and perhaps a goat for three families.  You can just barely scrap together enough to have the semblance of organization.

Effects:

  • Cannot colonize

  • Can have a small, poorly equipped military force

  • Cannot maintain a naval force

  • Cannot maintain airships

  • Small population

 

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3 – Struggling

Your nation is struggling to provide the necessities of state.  Your people are producing enough for themselves, and provide a modest amount to the state in the form of taxes or levies.  While you can maintain a functioning nation, it is fledgling at best, and very fragile.

Effects:

  • Can colonize

  • Can have a moderately sized, moderately equipped military

  • Can maintain a small naval force

  • Can maintain airships

  • Medium sized population

 

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4 – Developed

With a modern economy, the state has what it needs to function properly, while the people can live out their lives in modest comfort.

Effects:

  • Can have a medium sized, well equipped military

  • Can maintain a medium sized naval force

  • Can maintain a small air force

  • Medium to large population

 

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5 – Strong

Your industrious nation enjoys wealth and prosperity, and it is starting to be felt on the world stage.  Both the people and government have what they need to not only survive, but flourish.

Effects:

  • Can have a large, well equipped military

  • Can maintain a medium sized naval force

  • Can maintain a small air force

  • Large population

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6 – Super Power

Your influence is felt throughout the world, your traders touch every shore, and your markets are full of gold and exotic goods.  Your people are wealthy and powerful, able to maintain a state.

Effects:

  • Can have a large, well equipped military

  • Can maintain a large naval force

  • Can maintain a medium sized air force

  • Very large population leading to overpopulation

 

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7 – Post-Scarcity

Whether through technology, magic, or hard work, your people have managed to achieve a state of nearly infinite abundance.  Your nation does not want for anything.

Effects:

  • Can have a large, very well-equipped military

  • Can maintain a large naval force

  • Can maintain a large air force

  • Very large population

  • Can colonize 2 extra territories at a time

  • Can claim 2 extra territories

0 – Pariahs

Your people are blind to the ways of magic, and do not have the slightest trace of it coursing through their blood. 

Effects:

  • No characters can have any type of magical power

 

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1 – Shamans

While your people, as a rule, have no magical powers, there are a few amongst them who wield a small amount of power.  These people are usually seen as witches, wise men or shamans.  Fortunetellers and oracles, with perhaps some rudimentary healing.

Effects:

  • Can have a small group of characters having magical powers that include better sight, hearing, glimpses of the past, future or present, and small-scale healing of wounds.

 

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2 – Innate

The winds of magic move through your people, giving them a natural affinity for it.  This does not mean, however, that they have any control over it.

Effects:

  • A fair portion of your population can use low-level magic

3 – Wizards

There are outstanding individuals within your nation who have become renown for their skills in sorcery.

Effects:

  • Can have certain characters be moderately powerful with magic.

 

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4 – Mages

You have institutionalized magic, and it is a common occurrence in your nation.  A great many of your citizens are apprentices and know their way around a spell.

Effects:

  • Good portion of population can be moderately powerful with magic.

 

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5 – Magic Masters

Your people have such an affinity for magic that the majority of your population are able to use it with ease.  Indeed, it is uncommon for someone not to be able to use it.

Effects:

  • Majority of your population has magical powers, ranging from low-level to fairly strong.

 

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6 – Chosen People

It’s as if a divine spark resides within your people, as they appear to have been set above others in their skills with the arcane.  Very few could hope to match your skill and power.

Effects:

  • Certain characters can use high-powered magic

 

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7 – Ascended

Your nation is one with the arcane forces of the world, completely engorged with the powers of magic.  What’s more, your knowledge and skill has allowed your people to capture, train and even breed certain magical creatures.

Effects:

  • Majority of population can be high-powered magic users

  • Can have magical creatures

  • Can have a small amount of legendary creatures (dragons, or other such beings of tremendous power)

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