The Spirits of Eden

I DM rather fast and loose sometimes and am a Story-driven kind of DM, but also a buttkicking type of DM, and I want some good roleplay all around, even in combat.

I am looking for dedicated players, who will post whenever possible or at least once or twice a day, five times a week, minimum, but who are so dedicated and love me so much, they'll post other days if they can too. I will in turn love them as well. I will take any setting questions you may have, but don't mind me if I say something to the effect of "don't worry about it" as an answer. I want players who are interested and immersed in the world, in their characters and in each other's too. The story will be light-hearted at times, heavy at times, but overall serious.

I'm not averse to new players, but I don't want any "I love 3.5 and I want to try 4e to see if I like it" players. I don't want you there in the off-chance you don't like it.

Also, you should know that if you get fancy thread organization from me, the planets and stars aligned that night and created a miracle for only $19.99. Humor and snark are free though, just pay the shipping and handling.

Name (no nounverb verbnoun please)

Age (15+ for Martial, 20+ for Divine, 18+ for Arcane)

Class (and multiclass if applicable)

Gender (androgynous [guy/girl] also accepted as long as it's not for laughs)

Race (I lied, you can only use Eden races here)

Worship (your alignment doesn't matter as much as this)

Homeland (select a nation, see below)

Appearance

Personality

Backstory

Family/Allies

Rivals/Enemies

Effort points can be gained above, but no 10-pagers please.

Premise

The world of Eden is a world of magic and beauty, of mysterious whims and fate, of occluded darkness and conflicting actions. It is a world that was born out of the death of another, brought about by previous inhabitants who worshiped dark Gods who's names are no longer spoken. The Last Cataclysm parted the oceans, split the firmament, ripped apart the earth and sank cities into the core of the world.

Left bleeding and exhausted, the world gave birth to the Spirits, numerous agents of man's hopes, dreams, philosophies, nightmares, fears and sins. The Spirits in their numerous forms set about to repair the land, while the remainder of the old world was forced either into obscurity or to claw itself up again from infancy, and new peoples promulgated across the new land. Man would not meet Spirit in the flesh for some time, but in their dreams, out the corners of their eyes, and in places man dared not step, the Spirits were always watching.

The new races, like the fox-eared Iomadi, the indigo-skinned Athirua, the Cuporo leaf-children and the Damakran shark-people, all of whom greatly resembled the race of man that had fallen from grace, inherited the new world. The time of the dragons, of elves and men, was over. The Iomadi, most numerous of the other races, established an empire that would come to rule most of Adel, the single, massive continent created after the Cataclysm. Their empire would then crumble into seven nations. But this roar of independence came to the satisfaction of many.

Now the people of Adel live for the most part in peace and prosperity. The Spirits are somewhat commonplace and worshipped as Gods. Dark influences lie both known and unknown in the world. The ever-lasting balance of Karma judges all, and spirits and people, both good and evil, look to the horizon for new days.

Cosmology

The world of Eden is suspended in the Crawling Chaos of the Forlorn Void, an expanse of black, purple and red like a sea, in which the planet that hosts Adel, the thousand stars, and the floating cities of the Dromidae Empire are all suspended. The single sun and moon fight each day to pierce this darkness, which encroaches upon Adel – were it not for the Twin Skies around the planet, spiritual regions that protect from the dark influence and from spirits of the sky hail. Beneath Adel lies Septinum, The Hells Beneath All Creation, a wasteland part desert, part hellfire and part cavernous maze from which many dark spirits and energies hail.

The Seven Nations

Andaliel: The Iomadi nation to the north, Andaliel is the world's only Republic, ruled by a congress elected by its people. One of the most prosperous and powerful nations, Andaliel is said to be spiritual successor of the old Aptoan Empire of Adel. Despite being most known for a few large, progressive urban centers, Andaliel is overwhelmingly rural and composed of simple, proud farming folk.

Emderuer: An old-age monarchy concerned with honor, dignity and tradition, Emderuer is the second Iomadi nation. It once encompassed Andaliel, but Andaliel broke free of it and established its new government. They go to Andaliel for aid and mutual benefits, and have fallen from grace as a world power, but their people retain pride in their customs and their reserved, conservative traditions.

Sargasso: The theocracy of Sargasso is ruled by the Royal Cult of Rashine, and is the most highly religious nation in Adel. It is an economic power thanks to its many river and sea routes and would have a near-monopoly on trade travel – were it not for Periterim. Its people are highly spiritual and can be greatly superstitious.

Periterim: One of the most progressive nations, with the most urbanization in comparison, Periterim is an economic juggernaut with control over half the sea and river routes in Adel. The other half is owned by their rival nation, Sargasso. Periterim is ruled by an oligarchy of mercantile interests and its urban culture and seedy underworld are quite well known.

Noshiki: The central nation of Noshiki is ruled by the dwarven Mithral Throne. It is a mountain nation with control of some of the largest wealth in metals and ore. Its society is highly traditional and even more conservative than even Emderuer, and no nation dares to be on their bad side due to their reliance on it for its resources.

Vedaria: Ruled by a single vizier, currently Magdalena Keehl, the autocratic nation of Vedaria is a rogue nation, constantly seeking to expand its boundaries out of the red sands it inhabits and into the untapped wilderness of Selvage. Openly antagonistic with Andaliel. Despite its autocratic government and violent repression of rebellion, the people of Vedaria are mostly well-taken care of and the wealth of the nation seemingly continues to rise.

Selvage: The Non-Nation, Selvage is a territory of mostly uncharted forest and dangerous territory. The only civilized culture within is the nation of elves where many of the dying race have segregated themselves from the rest of the world, as a rejection of the cultural integration occurring in other nations. The twilight forests of Selvage are famous in myth for being the home of strange spirits and fey.

The New Races

Humans, dragonborn, elves of all stripes, halflings and tieflings are greatly in decline. Their time is past. In their place, a host of new races have flourished in Adel since its dawn after the Last Cataclysm.

Iomadi: Descended from fox spirits, or so it is said, Iomadi have the bodies of humans with the ears and tails of foxes accentuating their heritage. They are strong and charismatic, and the most numerous race in Eden.

Athirua: Indigo-skinned, blonde or red haired people with incredible beauty. Dexterous and charismatic, Athirua are the objects of lust and the great trendsetters of Adel. Even the men are extremely effeminate and can be (and are) quite easily confused for the women. They have learned to fine-tune their charms for combat.

Cuporo: Short in stature with green or brown skin and hair, the Cuporo are the children of plants, it is said. These little fey people are wise and charismatic and are keepers of stories and facts. They are incredibly curious, love traveling and take well to learning new things.

Damakran: Blue or grey-skinned people with sharp teeth and sharper tongues, the Damakran are shark (or, less commonly, other predatory fish) people that can swim and survive under the sea for a time, but reside on land. They are strong and have high stamina, and can spit a dangerous slime from their mouths at enemies.

Dromidae: A race of perfect, effeminate alien beings from a matriarchal society suspended above the sky. The Dromidae all look very alike and unblemished, with their most defining feature being their ribbon-like antennae. Dromidae are intelligent and charismatic and their alien origin allows them to wield dreadful psychic power that harms the minds of their enemies.

Rhonnu: Red or dark-skinned humanoids, haughty and mischievous, at times evil and rather cruel, the Rhonnu are descended naturalized spirits that live among the mortals. They are dark spirits born from Septinum, but are accepted among the population for their intelligence and stamina. They can summon dark powers to gain advantage over their enemies.

Setah: The wolf-people to the Iomadi's fox, Setah are fey spirits that have tails, ears and patches of wolf fur around their necks and sometimes other joints. They are strong and wise, but their rage can be destructive to whosoever stokes it. Hot-tempered and oft merciless, they make incredible warriors. Confusing one for a Iomadi is possible and will quickly enrage it.

Ainyu: Minor celestial spirits, the Ainyu are peaceful spirit folk who look like pale humans surrounded by many glowing motes of light which are both part of it and yet independent in consciousness. Ainyu are enduring and wise, and can summon sparks of radiant energy to assail evil.

Inaw: Undead created from stitched body parts of other creatures and reanimated by dark, forbidden rituals. Inaw come in two types created for different purposes. Inaw vary in craftsmanship, but most look like people and would be inconspicuous save for their discolored skin and the many stitches across them. They have slots in their bodies where component parts can be attached.

The Nine Greater Spirits

The Gods of D&D 4e don't exist. People in Adel worship spirits, and they are polytheists who worship many spirits of differing power and of many concepts. All spirits are tangible beings – they exist on Adel and can be met, spoken to and are not that uncommon a sight to the people of the world, despite being awe-inspiring whenever they do show themselves to mortals.

The most powerful and most worshipped spirits and their purviews are as follows:

Arclinne: Good; Goddess of Kindness, love, generosity, responsibility, community.

Inunkuru: Evil; Goddess of Tyranny, vanity, avarice and secrets.

Ravindra: Lawful Good; God of Fire, justice and protection.

Koyki: Chaotic Evil; God of Anarchy, destruction and abominable acts.

Kaehma: Unaligned (Evil); Goddess of Death, undeath, entropy, disease and sloth.

Rashine: Unaligned (Good): God of Water, freedom, intellect, unalienable rights.

Trudgar: Unaligned (True): God of Law, dwarves, tradition, honor.

Orvial: Unaligned (True): God/Goddess of Chaos, athirua, humor, beauty, lies.

Paikar: Unaligned (True): Goddess of Nature, birth, life, and growth.

Note that despite these being the most powerful, few people worship them exclusively or worship only one.

Cultural Inspirations

The Spirits of Eden campaign setting was inspired by African, Ainu, Japanese, Chinese and Indian culture. Certain words used in the "spirit language" across the setting's powers and feats are derived from a mixture of Swahili and Ainu.