Hima
National Symbol: Red Samurai Helmet
National Colors: Red and White
96% Human (Japanese Ethnic Backgrounds)
4% Gnome
70% Organized
30% Ancestor Worship
(Feudal Dictatorship System of Government) The Ichi Shogunate is ruled by a powerful samurai warlord who oversees all decisions in the government. Underneath him are powerful Daimyo lords who are constantly vying for power and control. Ichi society is class based and hierarchal in nature where the warrior class is at the top, and laborers and servants are at the bottom. Law and order is strictly enforced by the samurai warriors who run the country.
Badlands: Hostile
Cenovia: Neutral
Commonwealth of Dail: Hostile
Eldarian Union: Neutral
Elven Triumvirate: Neutral
Empire of Grundar: Friendly
Golden Dwarves: Friendly
Grand Duchy of Montia: Neutral
Granelian Protectorate: Neutral
Hassarian Oligarchy: Neutral
Highlands: Hostile
Idelan Republic: Neutral
Iron Dwarves: Neutral
Kingdom of Aldania: Neutral
Naga’s Landing: Hostile
Orc Horde: Hostile
Sahalan Sultanate: Neutral
Shaneier Elves: Neutral
Steel Dwarves: Neutral
Taisan Khanate: Hostile
The Dark Covenant: Hostile
Theocracy of Vespa: Neutral
Undying Lands: Hostile
Wolven Marches: Hostile
Currency is minted with a Samurai Helmet icon on it
Gold (gp) is used to buy luxury goods and high-end services
Silver (sp) is used to buy common quality goods and skilled labor
Copper (cp) is used to buy basic supplies goods and food
Average costs
Basic Food items: 1-3 copper
Luxury Food items: 10-15 copper
Basic Drinks: 1-3 copper
Luxury Drinks: 5-10 copper
Basic clothing: 25-50 copper
Average clothing: 25-50 silver
Luxury/High End clothing: 10-15 gold
Basic Lodging (Common Inn): 5-10 silver per night
Comfortable Lodging (High End Inn): 20-25 silver per night
Luxury Lodging (Private room with bath): 50-100 silver per night
Opulent/Noble Lodging (Private suite with multiple rooms): 10-15 gold per night
Transportation (Rented wagon/carriage): 10-15 silver per km
Weapons and Armor: Use Item costs
Ichi architecture can best be described as feudal Japan style construction. Typified by wooden structures that can extend several stories up. Buildings usually have foundations and are usually elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors and other traditional partitions are used in place of interior walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space to be customized for different occasions. Furniture usually consists of cushions, mats or lacquered tables. Stone fortifications and structures are rarer, but they are present for the wealthy elite. Towns and villages tend to incorporate natural gardens and waterways into their design.
Ichi clothing heavily features silk and leather. Fashioned in long flowing kimono style robes secured with sashes and belts around the waist. They can be found in a wide array of colors, and the wealthier elite have intricate designs embroidered into the fabrics.
Typical Ichi cuisine includes primarily seafood, poultry, rice, and vegetables. The most popular dishes all include some sort of noodle and are seasoned with a variety of herbs and spices. Drinks are usually tea leaf based, and alcohol favors rice wines.
Music: Music from Ichi is primarily lute, flute, and drum based. The music features sparse rhythms, a focus on vocal storytelling, and the profound concept of the strategic use of silence and empty space. Lending itself to slower more stately tempos.
Literature: Literature is class specific. Lower class citizens are illiterate manual laborers who have little interest in reading or writing and follow a highly devoted apprenticeship method of learning. The middle, and upper-class citizens are highly literate, and the upper echelons of society create and distribute books and tomes that focus heavily on strategy, poetry, and tales about honor and duty.
Entertainment/Theater: Ichi entertainment is very centrally based on theater. There is a prevalent affinity for kabuki style plays and concerts. Outside of the theater, gambling and martial arts tournaments are also very popular. There is also an entire industry of professional prostitution, so much so that there is even a higher-class level of courtesans called geisha.
Technology is limited in Ichi as the samurai class prefer to keep the population well regulated and a vast majority of the lower class are illiterate. Magic on the other hand is present but highly regulated. Magic users must have special licenses and must wear specific hats to identify that they are a magic user. Anyone caught practicing magic without a license is usually imprisoned or executed.
Legends say the Ichi people arrived from distant shores from a long-forgotten land across the Abyssal seas. Much of their true origins are shrouded in mystery. What is known is that they have always occupied the southeastern part of the continent, and for much of their earliest recorded history they remained in remote isolation. Because of the natural mountain and ancient forest barriers, their coastline remained relatively untouched by anyone else but them for centuries. This made their culture unique and distinct. During that time four small kingdoms formed in their territory. Each with their own king, they constantly warred amongst each other over land disputes, fishing rights, and other such disputes. Eventually, there arose discontent amongst the warriors in the kingdom that would eventually become Ichi. Tired of the constant warfare, the soldiers staged a military coup and overthrew their king and established a warrior cast that ran everything. From there they went on a campaign to unite all kingdoms. Once all of Ichi had been conquered the Shogun military dictator kept the caste system in place with the warriors at the top. History repeats itself and over time, instead of kings, the lands are now rife with ambitious warlords vying for power and influence underneath the Shogun. This small but militarily mighty nation has also had conflicts with other nations. They consider the Taisan Khanate, direct rivals and a threat to their own domain since the Khan has openly claimed Ichi as part of his sovereign rights. During the more aggressive colonial expansionism of the Commenwealth of Dail relationships turned hostile when Dail tried to take over the country. Dailish people are permanently banned from Ichi, and an openly hostile relationship still remains. The Ichi Shogunate as it stands now, is a strong warrior nation, who value honor, loyalty and tradition above all else.