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quote:

Ankewehner: How about we aim at starting the board with the south-continent [of Eodea] linking to Shade some time this year?
Mutt: Yay, deadline! Actual target and stuff! *dances*
Ankewehner: Which is three months, and if studies don't ruin it, time to discuss.

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NOW IT'S OFFICIAL. holey moley.

WHOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!! Go go go go go! *waves out the door of the plane, grinning*

Heh. Awesomesauce.

Oddly, I have known for years about the first individual from Shade to wander through a gate. But given that she doesn't meet anyone much, I don't know what official first contact will be like.

Anke and I talked about her southern elven empire (built partially on goblin slaves) being an obvious place for Shade's goblins - who, remember, are the most widespread species - to take an interest.

Relevant things on Shade:

Ferais (Shade's most elf-like species), in a former (now collapsed) empire-thingy in the north- and south-easterny parts of Shade, were responsible for keeping a lot of slaves, largely faleigh (human) as well as their own species. (Remember that to them, faleighs are the biggest and strongest twoleggers available, because they haven't had much contact with rocca.)

One of Shade's major sea powers has a very high number of ex-slaves (concentrated around the ports, so disproportionately high among sailors). For example, I have a feraisai sailor character called Robett Freedman who will show up in some way in the War.

I recall we had some idea of first major contact with Steamy Wonderland being in the jungles somewhere in Eodea.. Those poor engineers, remember?

However, we don't want the Steamy and Shade to find each other that easily; I'd prefer them to be quite some distance from each other (oh relativity, I can hear you screaming as I say that). So either should we work out somewhere else for that encounter to happen, or just have that gate only open a couple times and then just shut down? Have it around long enough for them to plan a campaign through it and then it just goes away (as far as they can tell at this point, natch.)

Why not prolonged contact between Steamy and Shade? Are you thinking to give Shade time to tool up, or...?

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quote:

Anke: If I had an idea for an opening post for our Great War bit, I#d say get to it, because THAT would be news. [..]
Anke: Any idea how we could get there?
Mutt: I have no idea what kind of area to put my end of the gate. Do we want the first contact to be a confused, chaotic, dangerous thing, like Steamy's first contact with the jungle region?
Anke: not neccessarily? Though a bit of chaos certainly would be involved.
Anke: ... funny thing that this now is the first time I considered eodeans LEAVING in the other direction.
Anke: Never crossed my mind before. o_O
Mutt: About the only thing I know about Soprone ("sopp-rone"), the major western sea power on Shade, is that its most important colony is across a strait of sea (perhaps as wide as the Mediterranean? no idea). Their very valuable crop is a plant called silphium and it only grows in relatively small regions of the globe. This colony is a money-maker and if first contact happened THERE, Soprone would PANIC.
Mutt: In spite of the fact that Shade's natural contraceptive drug probably wouldn't work on Eodeans, if their plantations were destroyed? Bad, bad news.
Anke: mhm
Mutt: If you google silphium, by the way, it was a real (or possibly mythical!) plant that used to grow in bits of Africa. The Romans liked it.
Mutt: Or greeks. Some old dead women, anyway.
Anke: And I'm wondering where to place it on my side... I'd (again) tend to some fringe area rather than in the middle of something. *frowns*
Mutt: Why?
Anke: Because too much chaos my brain can't handle? XD
Anke: Would you rather have a first contact with the elves directly, or with goblins without owners somewhere in not particular fertile/otherwise attractive to live in land?
Mutt: Bear in mind that there's no language so nobody will know what's going on for a while.
Anke: yep
Mutt: These freed/escaped/rebellious goblins - would they see a way to somewhere else and say "yay, escape route"?
Anke: would take a bit, but, I guess possibly...
Mutt: Or are they more likely to try to recruit help to throw off their mean oppressors?
Anke: I don't think that'd be on their agenda any time soon.
Mutt: Not even to rescue friends, family?
Mutt: Or aren't they that closely connected with the enslaved ones?
Anke: I dunno, i didn't make up any characters yet.
Mutt: At a group level. Are they freed, escaped, rebels or "never been captured because you're not worth it/we don't want your land"?
Anke: Freed because they aren't worth keeping, mostly, or offspring of those.
Mutt: Sick, lame and cripples?
Anke: Or maybe jusst sub-par
Anke: @_@
Anke: In case you can't tell, I make this stuff up as I go along
Mutt: I would expect sub-par to be thrown in the fields and workshops and better specimens kept as household slaves or, the lucky ones, personal attendants.
Mutt: So it sounds like these elves don't go as far as killing or castrating the sick/lame/crippled goblins.
Anke: Maybe I have to re-think everything. *dies*
Mutt: I can just imagine a eunuch stumbling through the gate and saying "They cut my balls off, and you make money selling drugs to make your women infertile?!"

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I had to go kerbamf so we shall pick up this discussion later. :)

Is still happening! Tonight! :D