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Shadowsoul
Senior Scribe
Ireland
705 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Feb 2017 : 06:55:50
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Hi everyone.
I'm trying to create a Cormyr type of kingdom but based around the Lion god Nobanion. I love the idea of a kingdom that embraces the strength, nobility, and courage of the lion. Any tips on how I could get the god to maybe manifest itself a bit further north? Still not sure where I want to put the kingdom.
Cheers.
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“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
#8213; J.R.R. Tolkien
*I endorse everything Dark Wizard says*. |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2017 : 12:58:53
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Place an elaborate temple dedicated to the god and it might catch his attention.  |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
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Edited by - Artemas Entreri on 28 Feb 2017 12:59:04 |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2017 : 18:25:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Shadowsoul
Hi everyone.
I'm trying to create a Cormyr type of kingdom but based around the Lion god Nobanion. I love the idea of a kingdom that embraces the strength, nobility, and courage of the lion. Any tips on how I could get the god to maybe manifest itself a bit further north? Still not sure where I want to put the kingdom.
Cheers.
There's Nathlekh, City of Cats, located at the western end of the Gulthmere Forest and the northern edge of the Shining Plains on the banks of the Lake of the Long Arm. It splits its worship with Sharess as well.
There's also the Village of Gurnth deep in the Gulthmere Forest which if filled with human followers of the Lion God.
Personally, I'd shoot for establishing a place which holds to a couple deities of similar theme. For instance, Lurue and Nobanion. I'd probably include a Mielikki too though. This obviously wouldn't be a place of knights though, which is what it sounds like you're looking for... so if I were looking for knights, I'd probably do Torm, Lurue, Nobanion, and maybe the Red Knight. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2017 : 19:17:00
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The only place in 'The North' you might be able to build such a kingdom is in Sunset Vale, mostly because its one of the few places in 'The North' that isn't under the Control of the Lord's Alliance. However, I am sure both The Darkhold (Zhents) and Cormyr would have something to say about that. 'The Heartlands' area between The Dragonmere and Baldur's gate is an option, but thats not really 'in' The North.
Somewhere around the High Forest would appear to make the most sense, but you have a LOT of forces in and around that place that would get upset, and Delimbyr Vale is nominally 'spoken for' by The Lord's Alliance (although you might actually be able to work with them on that 'outlying' region, since its probably more of a PitA for them than anything else, because of how far it is from any of their power centers). The nearby Athwater Vale is another possibility, but since its the former site of the kingdom of Athalantar, Elminster might not be 'on board' with that (but you never know).
Anything in or around The High Moor is a bad idea - you have the hidden Serpent Kingdom there, and all sorts of 'monstery' badness going on (and the lands directly to the west - The Shining Vale - is already very much spoken for).
And if by 'The North' you mean somewhere in the eastern Heartlands, then I can't help you. I am just not seeing The Dales, the Moonsea states, Sembia, Cormyr, etc, etc allowing that to happen. The Vast is ripe for a kingdom (and they did have a 'Lion-Headed god' appear in Tantras, but that was Torm, strangely), although thats not really 'north', and trying to unify those very independent citystates would probably be more trouble than its worth. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 28 Feb 2017 19:17:20 |
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Shadowsoul
Senior Scribe
Ireland
705 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2017 : 06:54:17
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quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
quote:
Originally posted by Shadowsoul
Hi everyone.
I'm trying to create a Cormyr type of kingdom but based around the Lion god Nobanion. I love the idea of a kingdom that embraces the strength, nobility, and courage of the lion. Any tips on how I could get the god to maybe manifest itself a bit further north? Still not sure where I want to put the kingdom.
Cheers.
There's Nathlekh, City of Cats, located at the western end of the Gulthmere Forest and the northern edge of the Shining Plains on the banks of the Lake of the Long Arm. It splits its worship with Sharess as well.
There's also the Village of Gurnth deep in the Gulthmere Forest which if filled with human followers of the Lion God.
Personally, I'd shoot for establishing a place which holds to a couple deities of similar theme. For instance, Lurue and Nobanion. I'd probably include a Mielikki too though. This obviously wouldn't be a place of knights though, which is what it sounds like you're looking for... so if I were looking for knights, I'd probably do Torm, Lurue, Nobanion, and maybe the Red Knight.
I want to try and keep it to one deity because I want the lion's head displayed on the kingdoms symbol as well as clothing, armour, etc... I'm sure other deities wouldn't like that too much. Not saying a temple to other deities isn't welcome, I just want the focus to be on Nobanion. |
“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
#8213; J.R.R. Tolkien
*I endorse everything Dark Wizard says*. |
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BadCatMan
Senior Scribe
Australia
401 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2017 : 08:23:54
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quote:
Originally posted by MarkustayThe Vast is ripe for a kingdom (and they did have a 'Lion-Headed god' appear in Tantras, but that was Torm, strangely), although thats not really 'north', and trying to unify those very independent citystates would probably be more trouble than its worth.
That depends on the Shadowsoul's era. Ravens Bluff was working on negotiations for a regional government in the Vast in 1370 DR and these apparently came to fruition with the realm of Vesperin in 4th edition.
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Vesperin
Switching Torm to Nobanion seems a fair alteration.
On the other hand, a "kingdom" could be no more than a single city-state with a grandiose ruler, and the Realms offers plenty of those for you to adapt.
There's a whopping great unexplored patch of far north-eastern Kara-Tur where one could fit a forgotten empire without changing a thing. Maybe way too east, of course, but an oriental Nobanion of lion dances and foo lions has a certain appeal. :) |
BadCatMan, B.Sc. (Hons), M.Sc.
Scientific technical editor
Head DM of the Realms of Adventure play-by-post community
Administrator of the Forgotten Realms Wiki |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2017 : 18:17:45
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Well, having it already unifying works against the OP's premise. Good lore, though - thanks for it.
I though about a Citystate...in fact, thats how it would have to start out, me thinks. Almost all of the nations in FR started along those lines (like the Lord's Alliance coalescing around several). For example, putting a lot of time, money, and effort into Loudwater could make it a 'regional capital' around a citystate, and I think thats one of the few, non-savage regions that the Lord's Aliance would appreciate such efforts.
However, you'd still have Elves watching you closely from the High Forest (and probably the South Wood), Zhents to the east and south, some major 'Orciness' from Luthic's Creche in the lower Greypeaks, Fiends to the north (and slightly east) in Hellgate Keep, all the monstery goodness directly to the south in The High Moor and Serpent Hills, and you'd be in a halfling/gnome-heavy region so those folk will also be keeping an eye on you, and you'd be sitting right on top of the former dwarven kingdom of Ammarindar, so the dwarves might also be interested in "where you're digging". But of course, this is D&D, and that just makes "life interesting".
And yet, still possibly the best spot. Anything more north drops you into the 'savage' zone (barbarians besides all the beasties), and anything more west puts you into contention with established members of the Lord's Alliance. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 01 Mar 2017 18:20:04 |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2017 : 19:21:18
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quote:
Originally posted by BadCatMan
quote:
Originally posted by MarkustayThe Vast is ripe for a kingdom (and they did have a 'Lion-Headed god' appear in Tantras, but that was Torm, strangely), although thats not really 'north', and trying to unify those very independent citystates would probably be more trouble than its worth.
That depends on the Shadowsoul's era. Ravens Bluff was working on negotiations for a regional government in the Vast in 1370 DR and these apparently came to fruition with the realm of Vesperin in 4th edition.
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Vesperin
Switching Torm to Nobanion seems a fair alteration.
On the other hand, a "kingdom" could be no more than a single city-state with a grandiose ruler, and the Realms offers plenty of those for you to adapt.
There's a whopping great unexplored patch of far north-eastern Kara-Tur where one could fit a forgotten empire without changing a thing. Maybe way too east, of course, but an oriental Nobanion of lion dances and foo lions has a certain appeal. :)
Hmmm, so since Torm had appeared there with a lion head... and Nobanion might be adopted into the region... yeah, I could see a knighthood in Vesperin.
Personally (i.e. not to be confused with the original poster), it could be interesting to see interactions between faithful of the Triad interacting with Faithful of the "Lion & Unicorn" order (because those two are already noted as being commonly related in P&P). You can find some relatively good lion and unicorn heraldry with blank pieces like the below, deck them out with symbology for a realms kingdom.
http://depositphotos.com/6576157/stock-illustration-shield-coat-of-arms-lion.html
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2017 : 19:54:57
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I actually fixed all that by saying Torm is a human-appearing aspect of Nobanion.
'The Lion & The Unicorn" thing is interesting, and Ed has stated that he built the Realms with that in mind. If Lurue represents the 'untamed aspects of magic', perhaps Nobanion represents the 'tamed' aspects? Or rather, the former is more about tapping-into Toril's 'lifeforce' (Weave) and using it, and the latter would be more about simply maintaining it as-is, and preserving the natural order of things (so more druidic, whereas Lurue is more about Mages using magic/The Weave to warp reality).
This almost falls into the Athas/Dark Sun juxtaposition of Preserver/defiler magic (maybe that world had too much 'Lurue', and not enough 'Nobanion'?) Also, since Nobanion IS supposed to be Aslan, and if you've read the Narnia Chronicles, he is more about nature, and creating worlds whole-cloth using the natural energies of the universe. Interestingly, that story (The Magician's Nephew) has a lot of parallels to some of the cosmological stuff we've been discussing in other threads (The Creation, and how 'evil' managed to slip into the world).
So Lurue and Nobanion should be extremely ancient, primal powers (regardless of when they arrived in The Realms - that could just be when people became aware of Nobanion). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 01 Mar 2017 19:58:37 |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
Posted - 02 Mar 2017 : 02:29:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I actually fixed all that by saying Torm is a human-appearing aspect of Nobanion.
'The Lion & The Unicorn" thing is interesting, and Ed has stated that he built the Realms with that in mind. If Lurue represents the 'untamed aspects of magic', perhaps Nobanion represents the 'tamed' aspects? Or rather, the former is more about tapping-into Toril's 'lifeforce' (Weave) and using it, and the latter would be more about simply maintaining it as-is, and preserving the natural order of things (so more druidic, whereas Lurue is more about Mages using magic/The Weave to warp reality).
This almost falls into the Athas/Dark Sun juxtaposition of Preserver/defiler magic (maybe that world had too much 'Lurue', and not enough 'Nobanion'?) Also, since Nobanion IS supposed to be Aslan, and if you've read the Narnia Chronicles, he is more about nature, and creating worlds whole-cloth using the natural energies of the universe. Interestingly, that story (The Magician's Nephew) has a lot of parallels to some of the cosmological stuff we've been discussing in other threads (The Creation, and how 'evil' managed to slip into the world).
So Lurue and Nobanion should be extremely ancient, primal powers (regardless of when they arrived in The Realms - that could just be when people became aware of Nobanion).
I actually believe Nobanion has been in other parts of the realms the whole time. He's only new to Faerun. Of course, I'm colored by the things I've been writing and wanting Nobanion in Katashaka (along with other cat/nature gods that aren't so noble).
On the two of them, I see Nobanion as the warrior spirit that will protect others. Nobanion teaches that people have a responsibility to stand up against evil. I see Lurue as the giving spirit that will try to heal others. She teaches that people have a responsibility to give of oneself to others. But that's just a general overview. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Cormyr like kingdom based around Nobanion.
