Post by mercuryman on Jun 20, 2010 2:21:35 GMT -5
(forgot to move this in here earlier)
BACKGROUND
Zheckshan City is a technological marvel, yet an isolated one. The upward spanning civilization is surrounded by the green wild in all directions. It is a towering visual testament, one that displays the power and scope of human achievement to all the natural world.
There is a consequence of this vertical ascendancy, however. Humanity, in its impatient quest to return to the stars, has largely neglected the world around Zheckshan City.
Throughout Zheckshanian history, there have been a small number of major expeditions launched, whose intentions were to address this neglect.
Indeed, the Zheckshan Precinct itself is named after one such expedition leader: Caleb Zheckshan, the famous explorer and scientist who died almost 180 years ago, in the service of his profession.
On account of Caleb and his fellows efforts, much has been discovered about this outside world. Yet more, far more, remains mysterious and enigmatic.
From high up Zheckshan city, the Zheckshanian jungle canopy seems an endless green carpet, broken only in places by the mountains, whose height, though great, can hardly rival the City's own.
Under that lush green canopy, though, lie many lost or undiscovered phenomena, both of Avantasia and of the Solarians home world.
For centuries these have been overlooked as the Space Fountain Tower project monopolized the hearts and minds of the Zheckshanian people.
Now, with the city's upward climb largely complete, attention has turned to space, but also, back down to the planet itself.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Avantasian jungle is its wildlife. Species are astonishingly diverse and remarkably well adapted to the world about them.
A number of creatures have even adapted to the existence of the intangible 'ether' which wreaths the planet in tendrils of invisible power.
On every new expedition that is sent off into the jungle, people return with new reports of strange, marvellous life forms - and sometimes even frightening, dangerous ones.
To accommodate the human desire for exploration, for discovery and for mystery, two flagship societies were founded.
The first was the Museum of Avantasian & Solarian Archaeology. For more information, visit their HQ.
The second was the Zheckshan City Hunters Lodge.
At its heart, then was and now is, the ever growing society of ambitious journeymen, adventurers from parts of Zheckshan City, who share the same passion.
Encircling this core group, are a number of large and powerful organisations, whose many purposes sometimes require knowledge, artifacts or specimens from the outside world.
These organisations offer contracts, through the Hunters Lodge. The scope of these contracts varies, but they almost all entail some personal risk.
To compensate for the risks, the rewards for success are generous, enticing. Only the brave dare accept the challenge, but if they survive then what they earn is richly deserved.
The main organisations who provide the Hunters Lodge with contracts, are as follows:
CONTRIBUTING ORGANSIATIONS
1. The Akzerian Research Institute
The A.R.I. has a program designed to exploit biological phenomena for the advancement of technological progress.
Their contracts frequently consist of hunting and gathering missions, where creatures - or parts of creatures - are needed to be returned in sufficient quantity, sometimes dead and sometimes alive.
2. Zoological Study Group
The mission statement of the Z.S.G. is to understand and catalogue all life found throughout the natural Avantasian world. Their contracts are generally nonviolent in nature; They wish to observe, document or capture creatures, rather than kill and dissect them.
3. Big Game Hunters Guild
This group, much smaller and more informal than the rest, is devoted to one thing: Hunting down the creatures which are the biggest, the most dangerous, or the most elusive of their kind.
Ideally, returning with a trophy, to prove their feat. It is not unusual for adolescent members of the Akzerian family circle, or other wealthy and powerful dynasties, to join the Hunters Guild in an effort to seek out adversity and prove their worth.
4. The Prospector's Guild
The Prospectors base their involvement with the Hunters Lodge upon the knowledge that certain rare minerals and resources can be located by certain species of creatures who live off the same materials.
The Guild's contracts generally involve locating a concentration of a specific type of creature, then identifying where their nest or lair is kept. Once this information is gotten, an adventurer is only required to return it to the Guild, who may use that data for establishing future mining outposts.
Though this sounds simple enough, such rare deposits can be quite difficult to find and the journey to locate them arduous and dangerous.
5. The Panoptikon MK.35
A more controversial source of contracts for the Hunters Lodge is The Panoptikon. This is the title given to the Prison of Prisons, humanity's most fearsome high tech institution. Criminals of all kinds, once caught, are consigned to the Panoptikon.
Once inside, it is virtually impossible to escape.
For this reason, the cleverest criminals take extreme measures to ensure they're never captured in the first place. One very common aspects of these measures involves taking flight from Zheckshan City and hiding away in the jungle
Those whose escape the Panoptikon Enforcer's grasp in this fashion become the subject of Panoptikon Contracts; These are available-to-all requests for the capture or slaying of such fugitives.
The Panoptikon Contracts may be among the most dangerous of all missions. They are not to be undertaken by any but the most battle hardened and resourceful of adventurers. Not only must adventurers head into a deadly and mysterious outside world, but they will know their targets are waiting for them: Nefarious characters who are just as mysterious and deadly as the world about them.
THE HUNTERS HALL OF FAME
To reward the greats and encourage new adventurers, the Hunters Lodge has created the Hunters Hall of Fame: A gallery of portraits devoted to the most successful hunters; to those who have achieved unparalleled success in one or a few of the 5 fields.
BACKGROUND
Zheckshan City is a technological marvel, yet an isolated one. The upward spanning civilization is surrounded by the green wild in all directions. It is a towering visual testament, one that displays the power and scope of human achievement to all the natural world.
There is a consequence of this vertical ascendancy, however. Humanity, in its impatient quest to return to the stars, has largely neglected the world around Zheckshan City.
Throughout Zheckshanian history, there have been a small number of major expeditions launched, whose intentions were to address this neglect.
Indeed, the Zheckshan Precinct itself is named after one such expedition leader: Caleb Zheckshan, the famous explorer and scientist who died almost 180 years ago, in the service of his profession.
On account of Caleb and his fellows efforts, much has been discovered about this outside world. Yet more, far more, remains mysterious and enigmatic.
From high up Zheckshan city, the Zheckshanian jungle canopy seems an endless green carpet, broken only in places by the mountains, whose height, though great, can hardly rival the City's own.
Under that lush green canopy, though, lie many lost or undiscovered phenomena, both of Avantasia and of the Solarians home world.
For centuries these have been overlooked as the Space Fountain Tower project monopolized the hearts and minds of the Zheckshanian people.
Now, with the city's upward climb largely complete, attention has turned to space, but also, back down to the planet itself.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Avantasian jungle is its wildlife. Species are astonishingly diverse and remarkably well adapted to the world about them.
A number of creatures have even adapted to the existence of the intangible 'ether' which wreaths the planet in tendrils of invisible power.
On every new expedition that is sent off into the jungle, people return with new reports of strange, marvellous life forms - and sometimes even frightening, dangerous ones.
To accommodate the human desire for exploration, for discovery and for mystery, two flagship societies were founded.
The first was the Museum of Avantasian & Solarian Archaeology. For more information, visit their HQ.
The second was the Zheckshan City Hunters Lodge.
At its heart, then was and now is, the ever growing society of ambitious journeymen, adventurers from parts of Zheckshan City, who share the same passion.
Encircling this core group, are a number of large and powerful organisations, whose many purposes sometimes require knowledge, artifacts or specimens from the outside world.
These organisations offer contracts, through the Hunters Lodge. The scope of these contracts varies, but they almost all entail some personal risk.
To compensate for the risks, the rewards for success are generous, enticing. Only the brave dare accept the challenge, but if they survive then what they earn is richly deserved.
The main organisations who provide the Hunters Lodge with contracts, are as follows:
CONTRIBUTING ORGANSIATIONS
1. The Akzerian Research Institute
The A.R.I. has a program designed to exploit biological phenomena for the advancement of technological progress.
Their contracts frequently consist of hunting and gathering missions, where creatures - or parts of creatures - are needed to be returned in sufficient quantity, sometimes dead and sometimes alive.
2. Zoological Study Group
The mission statement of the Z.S.G. is to understand and catalogue all life found throughout the natural Avantasian world. Their contracts are generally nonviolent in nature; They wish to observe, document or capture creatures, rather than kill and dissect them.
3. Big Game Hunters Guild
This group, much smaller and more informal than the rest, is devoted to one thing: Hunting down the creatures which are the biggest, the most dangerous, or the most elusive of their kind.
Ideally, returning with a trophy, to prove their feat. It is not unusual for adolescent members of the Akzerian family circle, or other wealthy and powerful dynasties, to join the Hunters Guild in an effort to seek out adversity and prove their worth.
4. The Prospector's Guild
The Prospectors base their involvement with the Hunters Lodge upon the knowledge that certain rare minerals and resources can be located by certain species of creatures who live off the same materials.
The Guild's contracts generally involve locating a concentration of a specific type of creature, then identifying where their nest or lair is kept. Once this information is gotten, an adventurer is only required to return it to the Guild, who may use that data for establishing future mining outposts.
Though this sounds simple enough, such rare deposits can be quite difficult to find and the journey to locate them arduous and dangerous.
5. The Panoptikon MK.35
A more controversial source of contracts for the Hunters Lodge is The Panoptikon. This is the title given to the Prison of Prisons, humanity's most fearsome high tech institution. Criminals of all kinds, once caught, are consigned to the Panoptikon.
Once inside, it is virtually impossible to escape.
For this reason, the cleverest criminals take extreme measures to ensure they're never captured in the first place. One very common aspects of these measures involves taking flight from Zheckshan City and hiding away in the jungle
Those whose escape the Panoptikon Enforcer's grasp in this fashion become the subject of Panoptikon Contracts; These are available-to-all requests for the capture or slaying of such fugitives.
The Panoptikon Contracts may be among the most dangerous of all missions. They are not to be undertaken by any but the most battle hardened and resourceful of adventurers. Not only must adventurers head into a deadly and mysterious outside world, but they will know their targets are waiting for them: Nefarious characters who are just as mysterious and deadly as the world about them.
THE HUNTERS HALL OF FAME
To reward the greats and encourage new adventurers, the Hunters Lodge has created the Hunters Hall of Fame: A gallery of portraits devoted to the most successful hunters; to those who have achieved unparalleled success in one or a few of the 5 fields.