The Turakian Age is Seriously Underrated

[Ninja-Bear]

On 4/14/2021 at 7:55 PM, Lord Liaden said:

Bottom line, between 4E and 5E I have more villains, NPCs, monsters, gadgets, weapons, spells, optional rules than I could ever possibly need. I wouldn't mind more in the way of adventures and maps, but 4E did better with that than 5E, and 3E and earlier adventures aren't hard to adapt, so I'm not hurting.

 

TA in particular could really benefit from both, regarding specific locales in the world.

I’m the same way. I have tons of individual parts but putting them to use is a challenge.

[Lord Liaden]

I always wanted to ask Steve about the Vornakkian city-state of Kurum-Sathiri. In its main entry in TA it's described as a mageocracy, with social status and influence directly tied to skill with magic, and its ruler, the Ar-King, being the state's strongest mage, having proven that through "duel arcane" with any challenger. Yet the Religion chapter of TA asserts the Sithians are monotheistic, worshiping a supreme deity called Mahin, and its priesthood following a strict hierarchy topped by the Mahinturi, literally "the voice of God."

 

I've long wondered how this dynamic played out in Steve's games, or how he imagined it playing out if he never actually gamed Kurum-Sathiri. For one thing, where do priests of Mahin fit in the social hierarchy? Does divinely-granted magic count the same as wizardly spellcraft in determining status? For another, the Ar-King and the Mahinturi sound like two very powerful poles of authority sharing the same space. Does one traditionally defer to the other? Do church and state have clearly defined spheres of control which never overlap? Or are they like the Pope and the Emperor in the Holy Roman Empire, constantly jockeying for control over various issues?

 

(FWIW for my own games I moved the Mahinist religion and priesthood to another city-state, which I made a true theocracy. I don't like focusing too much Vornakkian weirdness in one place, I'd rather spread it around.)