Bell Digest v940531p3

From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer)
To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest)
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Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Tue, 31 May 1994, part 3
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From: 100102.3001@CompuServe.COM (Peter J. Whitelaw)
Subject: non-Gloranthan Notes.  Batch Two.
Message-ID: <940530153036_100102.3001_BHJ55-4@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 30 May 94 15:30:36 GMT
X-RQ-ID: 4262

Hi folks,

The first Batch concerned two island cultures, Sharranket and Valos.  Now we
move onto the main body of the notes for this region of the campaign world - The
Taskan Empire.

THE TASKAN EMPIRE
==================

The Taskan Empire was built by Zygas Taga, a warlord of Jekkarene birth who
became involved in the internecine wars of the Tarsenian city states.  In his
march from the Jekkarid he had briefly invested the city of Sorandib, but was
bought off by the king with promises of arcane secrets through which he would
fulfil a destiny unimaginable for a mortal man.  Zygas Taga achieved his
apotheosis one year later, when after entering the city of Taskay at the head of
his army the conquered inhabitants begged for his protection and offered
sacrifice to his name.  The year in standard reckoning was 903, and Zygas Taga
was then approaching his 40th birthday.  

Over the next 17 years Zygas Taga campaigned around the Gulf of Taskay bringing
the remaining Tarsenian peoples under his rule.  Once this was achieved he
retired from public life, leaving in his place a magical creature fashioned in
his likeness by the artificiers of Sorandib to lead his armies and hear
petitions from his subjects.

The Marble Simulacrum ruled for 6 years, and led Taskan armies to the conquest
of Yegusai.  It was finally destroyed as the Taskans attempted to cross the
Korazoon desert to attack Djesmirket, by the combined forces of Djesmir, Harran
and the Soribisi.  Of an army 18000 strong only 600 men escaped to Pryjarna with
their lives.  Within 3 years Zygas Taga presented the Empire with a second
regent, this one made of iron.  

The Age of the Iron Simulacrum has now lasted for nearly 300 years, and during
this time the Taskan Empire has conquered the Escar horse-people and the
Thennalt kingdom of Camtri, and the deified emperor has been declared
husband-protector to the Jekkarene moon-goddess.  Many now think that conflict
is inevitable with the city-states of Korantia, which have without exception
rejected demands for tribute.  With the sanction of their ineffectual emperor,
the Korantines have formed a league which threatens war on any state which
falters in its rejection of Taskan overlordship.  

Tarsenia: Heartland of the Taksan Empire

The Imperial heartland is the land of Tarsenia, which is constituted by the
coastal basin of the Gulf of Taskay.  It is a heavily cultivated and densely
populated region, long inhabited by a people speaking the language known as
Tarsenian.  This is the native tongue of Taskay, Tarsang, Pryjarna, Ramlyrra,
Lagash, Felkar, Zarina and Losteng.  Osrolian, spoken in Losteng, Ronanda and
Sorandib, is closely related, differing by 5% in game terms.  Tarsenian is often
referred to as Taskan, especially in the provinces.  

The region has a pleasant, mediterranean climate, but the further south one
travels from the shores of the Gulf, the hotter and drier it becomes until you
reach the Korazoon desert.  On the North side of the Gulf there is a narrow
strip of cultivated land before you reach the forested foothills of the
Tengissian Plateau, where the temperature often falls below zero in the winter
months.

Society and Government

The rites of emperor worship unite the Empire, and all who participate are
counted among its citizens, deserving of the Emperor's protection, whatever
their race or nationality.  Nevertheless  all  the religious and administrative
affairs of the empire are  conducted in the Tarsenian tongue and according to
the customs of the heartland.  The hierarchy of Zygas Taga's cult, at the head
of which the Iron Simulacrum acts as chief intermediary between Emperor and
people, fulfils the role of government.  Each province of the Empire and each
district of the homeland has its own college of priests to rule it.  These
priests are chosen for their expertise and skills useful for good government.
Each college is chaired by a chief priest, usually a sorcerer, who guards the
magical means of communicating directly with the Emperor.  The College of the
Iron Companions, which is chaired by the Iron Simulacrum himself, has as its
province the Taskan army, and its members take precedence over those of all
other colleges.  

High birth still has its advantages, but the aristocracy have no particular
privileges in Tarsenian society.  The Emperor himself once said, "Good birth is
merely inherited wealth".  Any good citizen who manages to win fame and fortune
may elevate himself through his own efforts.  It is also common for people from
all levels of society to join the same associations peculiar to Tarsenian city
life.  These associations may be dining or drinking clubs, small cults, guilds,
funerary associations, veterans groups or a combination of any of these
elements, and a citizen may belong to several such societies meeting anything
from once per week to once per year.  They reflect the Tarsenian passion for
co-operative action and mutual support, for building up networks of information
and influence, and above all for rituals, however informal those rituals might
be.  

The Tarsenians are an urbanised people, and at the heart of each district of
Tarsenia is a city with its own Emperor-cult, institutions and traditions.  Each
of these cities has a character of its own, partly inherited from when they were
all independent city-states, and partly derived from the special niche each has
found within the conglomerate economy of the Empire.  A typical Tarsenian city
is divided into several quarters with their own administrators and public
servants, responsible for regulating construction and demolition work,
sanitation, water supply and local bye-laws.  As officials who have experience
of serving in this capacity may one day be co-opted to a priesthood within the
Emperor-cult, wardenships are much sought-after.  Candidates purchase the right
to stand for election, and are chosen by ballot of the local residents.  

Each city will have temples to Zygas Taga and perhaps several other deities.  In
addition  there are colonnaded courts or plazas where public rites are
performed.  At other times these public areas are used for civic activities such
as trade fairs, courts and tribunals, electoral ballots or as places where
schoolmasters and teachers gather their students for teaching and instruction.
The most important is Emperor's Court, always adjacent to the Zygas Taga temple,
the place where the Emperor-cult priests who are the government executive
conduct their business in the open air, perhaps shielded from the elements by
awnings and pavilions.  Some cities also have a theatre, a rectangular arena
with tiered seating where entertainments are provided for the populace by the
Emperor-cult or by wealthy individuals on festal days.  At other times it is
available for hire by performing companies as a venue for their productions.
Those cities lacking this facility generally put up temporary seating in a
public space as and when required.

Currency

The official currency of the Empire is the Taskeen.  The obverse shows the
Simulacrum seated on a military stool, the reverse shows the emblem of whichever
college of Emperor-cult priests minted it.  The Taskeen is a nominally silver
piece, although silver content varies with the date and place struck.  A copper
penny or 'bit' is used for smaller transactions, of which there are five to the
Taskeen.    

Religion 

Although all citizens of the Empire belong to the cult of Emperor worship, most
are also involved in other religious or magical activities.  The Tarsenian race
has its own array of gods and demigods, which are in character like men writ
large - far less abstract than the civic gods of the Korantines, for example.
These are often the object of worship of small groups of worshippers meeting in
private, although the major divinities have public rites and festivals as well.
There are no legal restrictions on private worship, although from time to time
in the Empire's history a particular cult may be declared outlaw due to its
subversive or anti-social activities.  One such was the cult of Nosthagua, the
patron god of beggars, which 20 years ago had become little short of a thieves'
guild, as well as being behind some nasty rioting in Zarina and Pryjarna.  The
Simulacrum in that instance made an appearance in Zarina, ruthlessly suppressed
the rioting and commanded the execution of the ringleaders.

Many Tarsenians dabble in sorcery, and many join obscure foreign cults for
obscure personal reasons.  The social clubs mentioned above frequently have a
magical or religious character to them.  Examples of cults which have a
particular social function are those of Thesh, whose devotees form the Imperial
guard stationed at Taskay, and Jezri, a goddess whose virgin acolytes form
dancing troupes who make an appearance at most public festivals and at other
times act as handmaidens to the  temples of Zygas Taga and the moon goddess
Jekkara.

Since the appearance of the Sanekite Monotheists in Djesmirket and the spread of
that creed to neighbouring lands, it has been recognised that this religion is
incompatible with Taskan emperor-worship.  As a result Djesmiri holy-men are
frequently viewed with suspicion in Taskan lands, although most cities of the
heartland probably have one or two associations of Sanekites among its
inhabitants.  

Tarsenians generally cremate their dead.  The ashes are gathered up and placed
in a pottery urn, which is itself then interred in a mortuary house belonging to
a family, regiment, cult or funeral society.  The mortuary houses are grouped
together into Necropoleis.  Only the god Bast has the Resurrection magic, and
his initiates are interred intact without cremation, as a symbol that even those
not revived are spared incarceration in the realm of the death god Gomorg.   

Military

Every citizen of the Empire must be prepared to do militia service between the
ages of 16 and 40.  Communities outfit their militia along traditional lines,
which in the heartland means with spear and shield except in Ramlyrra where bows
are the norm, in Zarina where citizens of a certain property qualification must
equip themselves with a horse, and in Tarsang where the poorest citizens need
equip themselves with no more than a sling.  Militiamen serve for two years, and
after that time are only eligible for compulsory mobilisation in times of
emergency and by special decree, although they must report each Army Day for
review and for occasional training. 

The annual levy is held at a meeting of all able-bodied souls on Army Day, which
takes place in the spring.  All those who have served their time in the ranks
stand to one side of the field, being ineligible for the levy.  The recruiting
officers then call out their pick of what remains, and those selected fall in
behind the standards.  Once this is done veterans are invited to volunteer their
services for a new term as corporals on bonus pay with camp privileges.  They
will help to train and lead the raw recruits.  Militia units serve right across
the Empire, often on garrison duty, but also to bolster the field army when it
is operating in the same region.

The Taskan field army is made up of professional soldiers who have signed up for
a 25 year term, and mercenary units contracted for shorter periods.  It is led
by the Iron Companions, the college of Emperor-cult priests in attendance upon
the Iron Simulacrum, who is the commander-in-chief.  A great tent is carried
with the army which acts as a portable temple to Zygas Taga.  The core of the
army is some 30000 strong, to which there are usually attached a further 5000 or
more mercenaries and any number of militia levies.  As much as possible militia
units are used for garrison duties, in order to reduce depletion of the field
army for such tasks.  The professional soldiery are mostly recruited at the city
of Felkar, and recruiting sergeants stationed across the Empire forward
volunteers on to Felkar for induction and training.  The field army is made up
of differing sorts of troops, but it is best known for its swordsmen and its
halberdiers.  There is also an elite unit of 1000 heavily armoured horsemen, and
there are the Unconquerable Heroes of Taskay, 300 of whom form an honour guard
to the Simulacrum armed with muskets, the latest innovation from the artificiers
of Sorandib.

Character Generation

Characters from Tarsenia should be generated using the rules for civilised
cultures.  If the character is selected for military service (abstracted to
STR+CON+SIZ on D100), 2 years of their background should be taken as per a
soldier.  If the player wishes to circumvent this, characters may use starting
money to buy their way out, at a cost of 500 pennies, thus being left continue
their original occupation uninterrupted.

Cultural Weapons:
Dagger (Dirk) 20%
Spear (1 Handed) 25% or (2 Handed) 20%
Medium Shield 25% or Buckler 20%
Composite Bow 20% (Ramlyrra 30%) or Sling (Tarsang) 25%
Halberd 20%
Sword (Falchion) 25%