Region: The Rhydarcus Lava Mines:

The Rhydarcus Lava Mines are West and slightly North of Rhin, the capitol of the continent.  There, the capitol draws water and lava together and harvests the steam generated as well as the volcanic rock produced by the heat and pressure.  Elsewhere along the mines, other stones and minerals are extracted including diamonds, emeralds and a variety of foci crystals.  The mines are operated by the continent as a whole, with representatives of each city partaking the in bounty, though there is some grumbling about the portions each city receives, and how only Rhin is powered by the energy generated there...

Population Center: Rhin:

Capitol of Rhydarcus, Rhin's design is a testament to the collaboration of the cultures that constructed it.  The Gitwerg and Goblin immigrants to Rhydarcus discovered Mount Ralda was not as dormant as it first seemed and and with the help of other species managed to divert its building pressure out into the ocean floor where the continent's ocean shelf would slowly build up as it cooled the lava, and gasses bubbled up in the Vapor Ocean harmless to all but the ocean life.  As the Naiad and Cubi immigrants noticed this seeming oversight, they worked to plant a myriad of different ocean flora that would feed off of the gasses and bring their concentration to tolerable levels for the ocean wildlife, as well as working with the Gitwerg to construct geothermal power stations on the ocean floor as well.  The volcanic soil around Rhin was very ashy and fertile, though filled with toxic elements and sulfur as well.  With the work of the Gnomes and Pixies, the soil was processed and refined to aid in the creation of terraced gardens and fields throughout the capitol.  The Reynix and Felinae worked alongside the Kenthri to create roads through the city, as well as gateway hubs for faster travel to locations the Reynix opened for trade.  The Draconis Dragon-Kin and Gargoyles toiled with the Humans on plotting out the upper architecture of the city and its utility systems, while the Gitwerg and Goblins worked the design of its lower levels to support the weight of the city and further expand its overall available housing and storage space.  The middle tiers facing the mountains, small fields and forest surrounding the capitol, and the harvest committees were formed by the Gnomes, Pixies, Felinae and Kenthri.  The middle tiers facing the ocean, the geothermal power systems, the docks and shoreline were built by the Cubi, Naiad and Gitwerg.

Population Center: Shesham:

The city of Shesham is a curious thing, a shifting collection of caravans and old ruins which steadily grew to better adapt to the desert valley its citizens call home.  The denizens of Shesham have left most of the surface filled different desert crops and animals, the ancient ruins, and empty plots for traders and visitors to set up their tents.  Below the sand and rock, however, the population has a tiered network of waterworks and tunnels, chambers and storehouses.  The goblin and gitwerg population that came to the valley had made some mining attempts in the neighboring mountains, but had difficulty keeping the entrances clear of sand.  The gnomes that came soon after had better luck, being used to digging through dirt and sand more than rock, and their inventive designs allowed the three races to start creating the upper levels of Shesham.  As the humans, felinae and kenthri arrived, they worked to domesticate the surface more toward the six species uses, but some of the local wildlife and frequent sandstorms made any surface buildings unfeasible.  Later, the draconis dragon-kin and gargoyles came, making efforts to thin the population of dangerous fauna less hazardous, as well as being better able to transport heavy materials to and from the valley in order to create walls along its borders to further lessen the force of sandstorms that pound the region.  The pixies and reynix are largely absent from Shesham, the few that do reside in it typically working on efforts to make the land and continent as a whole more fertile.  The Cubi and Naiads came to Shesham last, greatly improving the waterworks of the city, and managing various ports outside the valley on behalf of the city and their own businesses.

Population Center: Scaragau:

The city of Scaragau is centered between two leylines, its borders running along a couple of mountains, sandy hills, and the southern coast of Rhydarcus.  Most water around Scaragau is saltwater, but deep chasms around it are filled with geothermal vents, allowing the city to fuel both its need for power and convert saltwater into steam which can be recaptured to hydrate the city as well.  As most of the city is built around the protection of the power, water and sewage systems, much of it is underground in layers, with chambers for growing different types of crops, as well as some on the surface, and many tunnels leading elsewhere in Rhydarcus for travel and mining reasons.  The gargoyles and draconis dragon-kin population of Scaragau mostly lives on the mountains, with the goblins, gitwerg, humans and gnomes living under them.  Other species are present as well, but in much smaller numbers, and spread out throughout the city.

Population Center: Dulda:

Southwest of Perkam, Dulda rests at the base of a crescent of short mountains next to the Inner Gulf of Rhydarcus.  Due to its relative protection due to the crescent of mountains and the larger mountains further away by Karnuk, the city of Dulda does not suffer strong sandstorms or ocean winds, having a much milder weather overall than most of Rhydarcus, though it is still primarily built upon dry rock and sandy soil due to the heat and lack of underground rivers running by it, the ocean waters too high in salt to make the land fertile.  Instead, its denizens have created great water desalinization structures to filter out the salt from the water they collect, in turn selling the salt off to ocean-going vessels to sell in distant lands.

The Naiad, Cubi and Gitwerg population of Dulda primarily runs the city, having a great influence if not ownership of most of the businesses that use the piers, as well as keeping the secrets of their highly efficient desalinization equipment and ocean-harvesting equipment a trade secret.  This has led to some complaint from the city as a whole, but their obvious value to the city makes most cases filed against them settled rather quickly.  The Kenthri, Pixie, and Draconis Dragon-Kin populations are almost non-existent in Dulda, with the Felinae and Reynix populations tending to stay nearer to the mountains, hunting small animals that call them home.  The Humans and Gnomes tend to live on the other side of the mountains, working to create glass and stone materials for use in the city without risking damage to the city by removing materials from the environment close to it.  The Goblins and Gargoyles are usually toiling away trying to mine the mountains and create trade routes deep underneath the city to other parts of Rhydarcus, but the Gitwerg frequently interrupt their efforts to extort the mining companies, as well as ensure none of the passages are of any risk to the city.  All in all, the city of Dulda is constantly working to maintain a balance of expansion and protection of its current existence, and the population knows this, even if some may dispute how best that may be done.

Population Center: Perkam:

East of Karnuk, built surrounding a large oasis of freshwater, Perkam rests between two curving leylines.  North of Perkam, the mountain line is high enough to buffet any strong ocean winds, and while not high enough for snow, its stone collects condensation in enough concentration to keep feeding the oasis through underground rivers and small streams on the surface.  As such, the Weeping Mountains earn their name.  Few have ascended their heights due to a lack of reason, as the mountains have been mined into with little to discover other than quartz and assorted stones and minerals of little value, as well as the previously mentioned underground rivers.

The city of Perkam was one of the last settlements created on Rhydarcus as it was the furthest away from the initial settlement in Karnuk when traveling solely over the land.  However, due to its easy access from many directions on the ocean, its many piers are frequently as filled if not more filled than that of Karnuk, as the ocean waters are calmer there.  However, transport from Perkam to the capital city Rhin, as well as other cities, still requires transport over mountains and open desert and rocky terrain over vast distances.  As such, the felinae and kenthri population have a high number of delivery services.  The goblin and gitwerg populations primarily are busy trying to get permission to mine underneath the city due to an mining accident collapsing part of the initial settlement, but rarely are given permission, and the requirements being as restrictive as they are, they have also worked to create bridges and tunnels to other parts of Rhydarcus, as well as to mine further away from the city in the neighboring area.  The cubi and naiad populations busy themselves with managing the piers, the fishing and import export businesses primarily, though some are also employed ensuring the oasis maintains a level of purity and depth to maintain the city, controlling the rationing of freshwater and working on many different systems to convert the ocean water into usable water as well.  There isn't a large reynix, pixie, or gnome population in Karnuk, though most are employed trying to manage the leyline pulses to protect the city from possible magical damage.  The few Draconis Dragon-Kin and Gargoyles living in Perkam tend to live more toward The Weeping Mountains, keeping watch over the mountain passages to ensure no one is mining them without supervision, as well as to keep watch on the seas to warn the city of any approaching vessels or storms.  The human population is sparse, with many working to study the leyline intersection in The Entropy Drifts, as well as The Buried Tomb.

Population Center: Karnuk:

In Northern Rhydarcus the city of Karnuk stands amid the rock and waves, spiraling up from its cliff-side port to the stone hills above.  Carved into the rock are the city's many support beams, reinforcing its multi-tiered design, pipes and wires running throughout its many columns.  As an ancient and forgotten settlement of humanity long ago, it was rediscovered six-hundred years ago when a gitwerg and human business endeavor to mine the ocean bottom far south of Adslein led to the discovery of the Averline Plate.  Following its slow rise as they harvested ocean materials and creatures, eventually they came to find Rhydarcus, and already present, the ruins of Karnuk.  Dedicating the metal city to Kaesot, the gitwerg and human venture reported back their findings and an exploration of it and the newly discovered continent began five years later.  After the expedition found a great number of leyline intersections and foci crystals, among other valuable resources, individuals of many species and cultures came to Karnuk to start the process of colonizing the city, and later the continent.  Though their trials were severe, the city still stands and has grown even more over time, spreading onto the rocky hills above it even more.

While Rhydarcus primarily is a mosaic city of different species, it does have different Levels and Sectors which were labeled in an ancient human language before other species translated and added the names in other languages below the oldest of the signs, and the expansion over the centuries has led to newer sectors being named in a similar fashion.  The lowest levels were designed for power generation from geothermal and wave generators, as well as the harbor's submarine docking.  Slightly higher are its locks and canals, which allow vessels the ability to dock with and leave the city safely despite the waves that slam against the cliffs.  The middle levels are primarily used for the growing of plants, with the levels above them used for raising domesticated animals.  The highest levels of the original city are used for business and residential, and the levels have grown even higher as the city has expanded further onto the rocky hills, with additional support struts in place to bear the increased weight.  As well, further spiraling structures have been dug into the rock just inside the western border of Karnuk, allowing for further space to grow plants and raise animals, as well as to perform experiments in a controlled environment.

While any species is welcome to live on Rhydarcus and within Karnuk itself, the majority of the population is Gitwerg, Human, Felinae and Goblin, as Naiads and Cubi prefer to live on or near calmer waters generally, Pixies and Gnomes prefer softer soil and forests usually, and the Kenthri and Reynix prefer wide open land to run through.  Draconis Dragon-Kin are seen in Karnuk, though most tend to dislike the inhospitable nature of Rhydarcus, as well as its lack of any Draconis Dragon habitats, current or remnant signs.  Most seem to think Rhydarcus may be cursed and that is why the dragons kept away from it, but the few known living dragons to be asked about Rhydarcus' location and details after its rediscovery knew nothing of the continent...  Gargoyles, on the other hand, usually prefer architecture primarily made of stone and not metal, most tending to live on the outskirts of Karnuk, rather than inside it.  Additionally, it seems that while Karnuk itself is centered amid a lot of leylines and their intersections, none run near it, perhaps diverted by an ancient human device hidden away and forgotten in the labyrinth of pipes underneath the city, whose passages have been known from time to time to have allowed strange beings from other realms entry into Karnuk...

Rhydarcus Continent: City Locations:

While southeast of Adslein and southwest of Tesaria, the continent of Rhydarcus has never been a part of The Great Suarn Empire or any other external government. While not as harsh as The Northern Wastes of Tesaria, the lands of Rhydarcus are not forgiving and dangerous. The majority of the the continent is in the path of multiple leylines and quite close to many others, as well as primarily being made of stone and sand. While there are cities and outposts that shelter its residents, Rhydarcus had provided little strategic or resource value to humans and dragons for many millennia, and even as other species developed or arrived on Lenida it took some digging and undersea exploration to find value in its lands. Now it has become one of the largest exporting countries of foci crystals, as well as other materials rarely found elsewhere on Lenida.

System Mechanics: Sustenance and Diet:

As one might have noticed in the past post, sustenance has also been altered, and split into two parts, each a general guideline if a GM chooses to utilize them, with increasing complexity by adding the diet variations, though less complexity than was originally created when the sustenance mechanic was introduced. Certainly, the old complexity may be revisited on a digital platform standalone RPG using The FARAD System or MMORPG utilizing it, but for ease of the players and GMs using the pen and paper version, sustenance and diet has been simplified. Every living creature needs some kind of liquid and food, even plants requiring nutrients, mold needing a moist surface and something to spread upon, etc. As such, both are needed, regardless of the species, though there is some variation on how long a character or creature can go without food or liquid, and likewise, how much they can consume without not only gaining weight but getting sick from the sheer amount. As long as a character stays within the range of sufficiently full on both food and liquid, it doesn't matter what times they eat at, except for RP reasons a GM might create. A GM and player may decide together to alter the ranges as befitting a character in particular, but overall the ranges, as well as the dietary variation are tied to genetics, and average out among the sustenance requirements and dietary variation of the grandparents and parents.



Dietary variation doesn't change massively between individuals of the same species, though some might be more susceptible to certain things such as rot, or more resistant to others, such as poison, beyond what their species is even normally found to have in its averages. Overall, the dietary variation lets a GM easily utilize any form of food and liquid in the game to determine if it is safe to eat, let alone if it offers a decent benefit worth the effort of acquiring it...

System Mechanics: Respiration

Three things are required for most life to exist: Respiration, Food and Liquid intake.  Previously, respiration was barely touched upon, simply to mention that it could be affected as per GM discretion from the environment and actions.  However, not all species require the same type of respiration, nor the same amount.  Mammals, of course, breath in oxygen on Earth, as does most life there.  Fish, however, get their oxygen primarily out of the water, rather than in gaseous form.  Plants absorb carbon dioxide and breath out oxygen, as opposite to most other forms of life on our planet.  With the variety of planets in the primary realm and other realms, life develops differently than it would for life on our own planet.  Humans across the multiverse, of course, have the same respiration as we have here, so it is quite easy to examine our own averages to regard other species for comparison.

Humans on average can go two minutes without oxygen before they start to asphyxiate.  This is less than a single turn, however that would be the absence of oxygen, not necessarily just low oxygen conditions.  The air content on earth is 21% oxygen, and for breathing range of safety for humans, a percentage between 19% and 24% will not cause ill effects, if other gases toxic to humans are not present in the air in high enough percentages.  However, at lower percentages many different effects can occur, the most prevalent we will be looking at are Shortness of Breath at 10%, and Asphyxiation at 6%.  On the other end of the spectrum, humans are able to take on 100% oxygen for short periods of time or even more than the standard range safely at lower atmospheric pressures for prolonged periods of time, but at higher ones oxygen toxicity is an issue.  At 1.5 atmospheres, 100% oxygen causes muscle spasms occur, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, seizures and other debilitating effects.  At 1.6 atmospheres, 100% oxygen becomes toxic and the central nervous system and other major organs start to shut down.  At 0.5 atmospheres with 50% oxygen the effect of nausea and other effects occurs, though it does take longer to show those symptoms.  Due to the inability to have a percentage higher than 100% for respiration rates, the percentage of a respiratory element or compound and the atmosphere must be multiplied together to get a rating of what is considered safe.  A standard atmosphere is 101.325 kilo-pascals, so 0.5 atmospheres is 50.662 kilo-pascals.  50% (0.5) of 50.662 is 25.332, so with rounding, 25% is the start of nausea, etc.  As the lower limit of permanent oxygen toxicity is believed to be 100% oxygen at 30 kilo-pascals, or 30% oxygen at 1 atmosphere for prolonged periods of time, the lower threshold of oxygen toxicity is thus 30%.

For Cubi: Asphyxiation (0-6), Shortness of Breath (7-14), Sufficient (17-46),  Elevated Effects (57-66), Toxic Overdose (67-100).  Respiration type: Oxygen, gas or liquid.

For Draconis Dragon-Kin: Asphyxiation (0-6), Shortness of Breath (7-11), Sufficient (20-23),  Elevated Effects (24-36), Toxic Overdose (37-100).  Respiration type: Oxygen, gas.

For Felinae: Asphyxiation (0-7), Shortness of Breath (8-12), Sufficient (18-25),  Elevated Effects (26-31), Toxic Overdose (32-100).  Respiration type: Oxygen, gas.

For Gargoyles: Asphyxiation (0-15), Shortness of Breath (20-40), Sufficient (50-82),  Elevated Effects (83-88), Toxic Overdose (89-100).  Respiration type: Nitrogen, gas.

For Gitwerg: Asphyxiation (0-8), Shortness of Breath (9-14), Sufficient (20-30),  Elevated Effects (31-41), Toxic Overdose (42-100).  Respiration type: Oxygen, gas or liquid.

For Gnome: Asphyxiation (0-8), Shortness of Breath (9-13), Sufficient (21-26),  Elevated Effects (27-33), Toxic Overdose (34-100).  Respiration type: Oxygen, gas.

For Goblin: Asphyxiation (0-4), Shortness of Breath (6-10), Sufficient (17-28),  Elevated Effects (29-38), Toxic Overdose (39-100).  Respiration type: Oxygen, gas.

For Humans: Asphyxiation (0-6), Shortness of Breath (7-10), Sufficient (19-24),  Elevated Effects (25-29), Toxic Overdose (30-100).  Respiration type: Oxygen, gas.

For Kenthri: Asphyxiation (0-9), Shortness of Breath (10-16), Sufficient (20-27),  Elevated Effects (28-34), Toxic Overdose (35-100).  Respiration type: Oxygen, gas.

For Naiad: Asphyxiation (0), Shortness of Breath (1-2), Sufficient (5-55),  Elevated Effects (56-61), Toxic Overdose (62-100).  Respiration type: Oxygen, gas or liquid.

For Pixies: Asphyxiation (0-6), Shortness of Breath (7-13), Sufficient (18-49),  Elevated Effects (50-64), Toxic Overdose (65-100).  Respiration type: Oxygen, gas.

For Reynix: Asphyxiation (0-6), Shortness of Breath (7-11), Sufficient (19-25),  Elevated Effects (26-32), Toxic Overdose (33-100).  Respiration type: Oxygen, gas.