Topic: Name my setting please

[Nightblade42]

There's been an ongoing discussion regarding the development of fan-created settings for RMU.  Check out this post for the entire discussion:

Possible Fan Created RMU Settings Discussion

Anyway, I keep hinting at one of my settings that I want to develop that I've been refering to as my "Pseudo-Pulp Setting".  Problem is, that's a bit of a mouthful & not very inspiring (though it is quite descriptive).  So I'm wondering if the ICE community might help me in finding a name for this setting.  Below, I will post an exerpt from the story I'm writing that takes place in this world.  Also, I'm going to post a bit of a synopsis of the world & some of the background inspiration for it.

Your help in naming this setting is greatly appreciated!

Nightblade ->--

[Nightblade42]

“Very well.” He smiled, the light twinkling in his blue eyes.  “Are you interested in taking on a case that might change the course of our national history?”
   “It depends on what is involved.” I replied cautiously.  I took another sip of the wine, I felt like I would need it to get me through this interview.
   “I believe that King Kappeeki Uolooate and his family did not commit suicide at the end of the civil war.” This was a shocking statement.  It was a well known fact that the royal family had committed suicide when the Republican forces  had broken the siege of Käpäjitar - the Capital city - and had begun to march on the Royal Palace.  The bodies of the King, his beautiful wife Joltingoir and the Crown Prince Terrel were discovered surrounded by the bodies of five of the royal guardsmen in the Palace’s ballroom.  It was quickly determined that they had all committed mass-suicide by poison when word of the Republican forces breaching the city’s last defenses was brought to the Palace.
   “I have heard reports that the Royal Family had been secretly evacuated from the city before the siege even began.” Assir continued.  “The bodies found in the Palace at the end of the siege were those of their doubles.”
   “Alright, but what evidence do you have for this?” I asked.  This seemed like a far fetched tale: a romanticized hope of a nobility quickly fading.
   Rycheskön passed me a folder that had been sitting on one of the bookshelves nearby.  I opened it up.  On top of the papers contained within the folder was a photograph of King Kappeeki taken in front of the Palace.  He was inspecting a line of troops.
   “That is the last known picture taken of his Majesty before the supposed suicide.” Assir explained.  “It was taken on Rehdiekesvi 21, 1745.  That was two weeks before the bodies of the royal family were found in the ballroom.  Look at the report found under the picture.”
   I moved the picture and began to read the report underneath.  It was a Royal Military log taken from the Vünsoskäre Airforce base.  The log was dated Rehdiekesvi 22, 1745 and it reported that two Väydäkeen T-26 twin-engine aircraft took off that day. They were carrying cargo and six passengers - including a forty two year old man, his wife and their ten year old son.  The flight plan for the two airplanes was classified as Top Secret and their destination was not logged with air traffic control.  The king was forty two when he died and the Crown Prince would have only been ten.  The fact that the flight plan was classified was very odd.  Could Assir’s crazy theory be true?  I needed more evidence.
   I began to flip through the other reports in the folder.  There was one that talked about Ooteremä Ilkettaul, the chief of the Royal Intelligence Service, having gained political asylum in the Kingdom of Asgamo before the Siege of Käpäjitar.  It reported that Ilkettaul had settled down in the city of Dobonado where the RIS had historical ties.  This same report talked about a semi-fortified compound just south of the city where Ilkettaul was said to have helped high-ranking Royalist political refugees find safe havens within Asgamo.
   “Have I captured your interest?” Assir interrupted my readings.
   “You might have.” I admitted.  “What do you expect me to do with this information?”
   “I want you to find the Royal Family.” The old man informed me.  “I would believe that his Majesty has passed on, but the Crown Prince would be in his sixties.  I would imagine the Prince would have a family of his own - probably even grandchildren.  There are enough Royalists still around that would find hope knowing that descendants of the last King were still alive.  It might even spark a movement to depose the despot who occupies the Palace in Käpäjitar and bring an end to this brutal regime.”
   “You’re talking about treason.” I warned.
   “No, I am talking about a counter-revolution.” Assir corrected.
   “You would start another civil war.”
   “If it came to that.” The old man replied in a sad tone.  “But we must fight for our country, Keenäom.  We must fight for our people.  Right now we are oppressed.  Our freedom is shackled by a party that rules with an iron fist.  Anyone who dissents is arrested and taken to the Tattir Prison Camps.  Our national resources are slowly being siphoned off to Grouanuin and the despot who rules us is quite happy to rape our country of its former wealth.  Surely you have problems with our current regime.”
   “Most people do.” I agreed.  “But we’re wise not to say so.”
   Assir looked at me for a moment.  “You see Keenäom, that’s the real problem.  People know this is wrong.  But they’re too afraid to do anything about it.  You were in the military - you are a man of action.  You have your grandfather’s noble blood in you.  Do not give in to the fear that holds the common people in check.  Rise up above - as you are meant to - and be a hero to a nation that needs to change.”
   I took a long sip from my wine.  Seruom gave me an apprehensive look.  He had been silent during the whole conversation and I could only imagine what he was thinking about all of this.  There was a lot of danger in what Assir was asking me to do.  And I was certain that if I chose to walk down this path, there would be dangers I would face that I would never have expected.  But the old man was right, the cause was noble - the need was there.  Was I someone to wallow in fearful submission like the rest of society?
   “I think you’ve convinced me, Assir.” I acknowledged after a long time deep in thought.  Seruom’s left eyebrow rose, but he said nothing.  “What is your plan?”

from The Flesh Of Midnight
S. S. Prince

[Nightblade42]

Full disclosure: a lot of this setting & the story from which the excerpt above is taken was inspired by the History Network show Hunting Hitler.  You might see some parallels with the theories surrounding what might have happened to Hitler & other high profile Nazis at the end of WWII.  The difference is that the state in which the story takes place is ruled by a Fascist Party (similar in a lot of ways to Nazi Germany) & the missing Head Of State is the former King instead of the deposed fascist dictator.

(Sorry, I'm a bit of a Monarchist at heart)

Anyway, here's some background on the setting.

There are three countries currently developed.  The country in which the story is set, the one under the rule of the fascist Ampo Party, is called Viilsatakkul.  It is a mountainous coutry on a penisula surrounded by two seas.

To the north-west, across the sea, is the country of Asgamo.  Traditionally it tries to stay neutral in the affairs of the other countries in the region.  However, it is known to have harboured exiles from Viilsatakkul after the civil war that saw the Ampo Party come to power.  There are rumours that certain Asgamoan companies are developing advanced technologies previously unknown anywhere in the world.  Asgamo is a monarchy.

To the north-east, also across the sea & adjacent to Asgamo, is the country of Grouanuin.  The traditional enemy of Viilsatakkul and the rumoured birthplace of the first Katejor (the military dictator who rules Viilsatakkul).  Grouanuin and Viilsatakkul has fought a number of wars in the past and tensions are normally high between the two countries.  However, since the rise of the Ampo Party after the Civil War, relations with Grouanuin have improved significantly.  Grouanuin is a republic ruled by a house of commons and an elected senate.

Technologically speaking, the world is somewhat similar to 1930's & 1940's Earth - with some differences.  Electrical power is freely generated and distributed via a series of massive Tesla-Coil-like Towers.  The use of fossile fuels is almost non existant in Viilsatakkul and Asgamo.  Grouanuin however still has a fossile fuel based economy - which is the reason for their continued aggression against Viilsatakkul, where the world's largest oil reserves are found.  Viilsatakkul does not develop their oil, because they do not use it to power their technology.  Grouanuin needs these oil reserves in order to continue to fuel its economy.

The story starts in Viilsatakkul's greatest financial city (the country's Stock Exchange is located here).  The story is about an ex-military man turned Private Eye who gets drawn into the secret of the former Viilsatakkul King's escape from the country after the Civil War.  The story is a pulp detective story with an international espionage & political twist.  It's a genre I don't usually explore, but one I've been enjoying so far.  Again, heavily inspired by Hunting Hitler.

So, any ideas for a setting name would be greatly appreciated.  If anyone wants more information about the setting or has further questions, please let me know.  I'd be happy to discuss them.

Thank you everyone in advance for your help!

Nightblade ->--

[Peter R]

The names seem to me to suggest African overtones. Is that intentional? The only thing that countered that was the blue eyes. I am just trying to explore the mental picture of the world that you have created.

[Peter R]

Have a read of this wikipedia section.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Kenya#Swahili_culture_and_trade

Does that feel like it could be talking about parts of your world? Change the names of Mombasa, Malindi, and Zanzibar to Asgamo, Grouanuin and Viilsatakkul.

Or am I seeing this world completely differently to you?

[Nightblade42]

Slightly, but I could see how the etymologies give you an African vibe.  The countries are more southern European in climate & geography (Gibralter, Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Greece, Crete, etc…), but there's no reason why the cultures living there couldn't be more African-esque in their cultural origins.  Interesting.

You're right about sharing ideas with others of like minds - it just expands the creativity.  Awesome!  Thanks Peter!

Nightblade ->--

p.s. This is my 299th post - is it my last as a Seeker Of Wisdom? Does it mean I have somehow gained some wisdom?  Well, I am sort of doing better than Socrates. All he knew is that he knew nothing at all (one of his famous quotes).  I can count what I know on my fingers (and not all of them, mind you); but I don't know if that makes me wise…

Sorry, did I mention I majored in Philosophy at University?  I didn't go to school to get a job, I went to school to learn something.  I guess that's why I work as a lifeguard & swimming instructor 

[Peter R]

So next question.

What are you creating; is it just a setting for an campaign, so it will probably never get beyond these three countries or are you building an entire world?

Bruce Heard's Calidar is a system neutral setting. He is detailing the entire world bit by bit. Each book is about 130 pages long. There are three books so far and he has earned about $20,000 per book on KS. His one adventure raised $12,000. Then of course they are for sale on DTRPG. Of course he has a hell of a track record and reputation. He world is a basically fantasy world with some science fantasy elements.

Most settings seem to take their name from the planetary body. Campaign settings are more creatively named.

Calidar is very pretty!

[Nightblade42]

Originally it was just a story idea.  But our discussion about possibly developing RMU settings has inspired me to maybe develop it a little bit more.  It wouldn't be an entire world (I have enough on my hands when it comes to world building with Nytheun), so probably just a Campaign Setting.  If other people wanted to expand on it, there would be lots of room.

I'm attaching a copy of the map to give a better idea of the geography.



Perhaps something like Fallen Monarch - but that says Fantasy to me, not really Pulp.  Maybe Coil World, but that's not very exciting…

I'll keep thinking on it.  Thank you for your input & questions Peter.

And yes, Calidar looks beautiful.

Nightblade ->--

[Peter R]

Thinking of a sort of word association game here. The word that leaps out at me from those sort of pulp detective stories has always been jeopardy as in double jeopardy.

I think exile is quite evocative as well.

If you have title and by line together that gives you a slightly higher word count to get you concept across.

[Nightblade42]

How about combining the two:

Jeopardy Exile with a by-line like: Pulp Politics on a strange world.

I really like Jeopardy Exile, not sure about the by-line though…

Nightblade ->--

[Peter R]

I was thinking of putting 'in' between the words but the word order you could play with depending on your preference.

Pulp Stories in a strange world

Pulp Adventures in a strange world

I think 'in a' works better than 'on a', it feels more engaged and the 'on' version kind of implies that being off world could be an option.

[Peter R]

Now what I would do is run over to either a Facebook or G+ or MeWe group for writers and run these suggestions past hundreds of people. Puck the group with the most active voices. You will get more opinions and from people with far more experience than I.

[Nightblade42]

JEOPARDY EXILE

Pulp adventures in a strange world…

A Pulpmaster Game powered by Rolemaster

 

I think you're right about running it by a group of writers.  That's a real great idea.

Thank you for all of your help & input, Peter.  I really appreciate it!

Nightblade ->--

[Nightblade42]

I've spent the last little while playing around with logo design ideas for the Jeopardy Exile setting.  I was really inspired by the art deco movement & the Gatsby style.  So, after playing around with a few different things, I came up with the following:



Comments & thoughts from the ICE community are most welcome.

Nightblade ->--

[Peter R]

I like it. I expected something more 'Casablanca'.

[Nightblade42]

Casablanca does fit the setting, but the Gatsby style of Art Deco has really captured my imagination.

Nightblade ->--

[Nightblade42]

A possible future character for the setting:

The Scandalous Mrs. Agnes Brassington


You can also listen to her Theme Song that I wrote as part of February Album Writing Month.