J'ai retrouvé un vieux post de l'ami Garrett sur la ML WarhammerFantasyRoleplay
From: "Garett Lepper" <glepper@...>
Date: Wed May 9, 2001 7:56 pm
Subject: Re: [WFRP] Ind mystery solved
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Gerke" <wfrpguy@...>
To: "list warhammer" <wfrp@...>
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2001 10:24 AM
Subject: [WFRP] Ind mystery solved
> according to the map, Ind is in the Warhammer world where India is in our world. "Ind" = "INDia" duh.
> thanks to all for the help with this,
There has been very little done about this article in the WFRP world to
date... But, there has been a small amount of stuff done for it...
Those of you old timers with a good memory might recall Dave Seline? He was here around 95-96, and he started writing up a bizarre magic system for Ind which was pretty interesting... I don't even know if Dave would still have it, so I may be the only person with a copy of it... I'll try and dig it up...
There were some other things written about Ind, but they were written by me, which probably shouldn't surprise some people:
http://home.earthlink.net/~glepper/orangesimca.txtMentions Ind and the role of the Orange Simca which appeared (and then disappeared) with WFB2 ed.
In my Ungols document I mentioned Ind a couple of times and suggested that parts of it had been conquered by the Ungols:
http://home.earthlink.net/~glepper/alleys.htmLook under "Ungols" in the Cathay Section.
I mention Ind in my description of a Khaine cult recently as well... but briefly and in passing, making Khaine a Kali like figure there....
"The Old World and Araby are not the only ones to suffer from this murderous scourge, there is one other area that is known for certain that has been plagued by the servants of Khaine: Nippon where some of the devotees of Khaine are known as Ninjas. This island nation was subject for years to raids by Dark Elves in search of slaves, and this activity lead the Dark Elves to secretly intervene in the politics of Nippon and even Imperial Cathay. The success and secrets of these original Khaine cults would eventually become widely imitated, but many of the Ninja societies still continue to worship Khaine. There are also rumors that the worship of Khaine has spread from these lands to the land of Ind, where a deity resembling Khaine is believed to be worshipped by secret cults. These cults, whom travellers claim are known as Thuggee, strangle their victims with garrottes of cloth or sacrifice their subdued victims in their temples high in the mountains..."
" A handful of travellers have whispered tales that hidden high in the mountains around Ind, in the remotest of locations, rest ancient temples and monasteries where Khaine is worshipped. These places can be sensed from a
distance by eerie silence and the scent of burning incense, and known for certain by the blood drenched altars where the Thuggee of Khaine practice their beliefs."
And then I wrote this stuff below years ago, but haven't looked at it, I originally called Ind "Shendya". This has never been seen before in public, and I started writing it 4 years ago or so and never got interested in it again... so for the first time...
Shendhya
To even its neighbour Imperial Cathay, Shendhya is a place veiled in mystery, a land where a hundred princes vie for power, leading their glittering armies to battle, and spending the rest of their time luxuriating in the opulence of their palace, buildings beyond the imaginings of the wildest dreamers. It is said that Shendhya is one where the spirits walk the earth, and the holy men are privy secrets that no man or god knows. These stories
told by passing merchants may have a certain truth to them despite their extravagant claims, but there is more to Shendhya than such tales could ever hope to describe.
Geography
Shendhya is south of the Imhayla Mountians, a high range of peaks that shields North and Western Shendhya from the inhabitants of the Dark Lands and many of the nomadic tribes. A large portion of the land juts out as a
peninsula into the ____. The land itself is split by four rivers that snake down from the Imhayla Mts. and wind through the land out onto the plains. The rest of the land is mostly grassland, much of it used as farmland. Stretching from the foothills of the Imhaylas to the the ocean, the land is divided into numerous kingdoms, ruled by princes.
History
It is said that their were a few chiefdoms in the land, living amongst the plains, occasionally fighting off the bands of hobgoblins from the hills and the mountains. This changed when the Shenden arrived. The Shenden were nomads from the plains to the north, a fierce people who fought their way to the south. When they were passing over the Imhayla through mountain passes, they forced the hobgoblins and others onto the plains, where they fought with the men farming the plains. By the time the Shenden swept down onto the plains, they had destroyed the hobgoblins and conquered the weakened plainsfolk.
The Shenden leaders gathered and settle here. Having conquered a devastated land and lacking the skills or the resources to rebuild the land, they installed themselves as the warrior-princes and set the defeated to work for
them. This was the basis for the caste system that continues today. As time passed the Shenden lost their nomadic lifestyles and kin ties and adopted aspects of the lifestyles of their subjects. The land was eventually broken into warring principalities.
This situation remained relatively unchanged until the Ungol invasion in ____. The Ungol were a fierce nomadic warlike people hailing from the same lands as the Shenden. The Ungol hordes swept down and tore through the
lands like a wildfire in the grasslands. Within a year all of the principalities had fallen victim or allied to the Ungols. The Ungols stayed distant from their subjects, leaving them free to continue their lives, and simply demanded regular taxation and foodstuffs for their people. Over fifty years, the Ungols began to lose control over the population. Many of the Ungol soldiers had left to fight in the other Ungol conquests, and they relied on many of their allied Shendhya princes to assist them. Over time, the Ungol started to lose their hold on the country, and over the next twenty year, half the country had escaped the grip of the Ungols. The country as it stands is now divided, with western Shendhya free and the eastern half under the control of Ungol allied princes and a few Ungol armies. The Ungols are far too distracted elsewhere to spare the forces to retake Shendhya for now, and are mostly concerned with holding onto their possessions. The Ungol lords draw considerable wealth from their fields where they grow opium and transport it to neighboring lands.
Politics
Shendhya has traditionally been a feudal land divided into principalities. At the top of any kingdom is a warrior prince, who holds his position through his military prowess and the support of priests. All the positions in the kingdoms are hereditary and held by the same families. It's quite common to find that half a dozen families hold all the important positions within the kingdom. This monopoly on power reinforces the caste system. In Eastern Shendhya, under the sway of the Mongols, is nominally ruled by an Ungol chieftain, but the Ungol lord has little patience for politics and prefers to remain aloof. The native Shendhyan princes under his control spend much of their time plotting against their rivals and using the Ungols to settle old feuds.
The People
Shendhyans were once divided into two ethnic groups, but over the centuries the groups have merged. The society remains divided though, broken into a series of castes. At the top of Shendhyan society are the priests, who claim descent from the original Shenden shamans who helped conquer the land. The priests enjoy an incredible degree of power and influence. The priests act as advisors to the kings and princes, but rarely ascend to that position themselves. The priests are a small close knit social group linked by their close family ties.
The group below the priests are the learned men, scholars and sorcerors. This group enjoys a high degree of respect, but wield little influence. Many act as advisors to princes, but will find their positions weakened by
the influence of their rivals, the priests. The warriors are the largest of the refined classes, and nearly all of
Shendhya's rulers are from this class. This group is composed entirely of families, with all the males trained in warfare. These families lack the endurance and traditions of the higher classes. While the priests can claim
legitimacy from the gods, the warriors have to rely upon the priests for legitimacy. One of the greatest problems for the warrior caste is that so many of their member die in war, duels, or feuds with other families. The toll on these familes is intolerably high.
Although the higher classes claim to ascend from the Shenen, the lower classes traditionally hail from the indigenous people conquered by the Shenden. When the Shenden had emerged victorious, they realized they lacked artisans and other necessary for the health of a civilization. They then relied on these groups, who eventually emerged as a caste. In the cities, these groups are quite large and prosperous. They are completely lacking in power and influence, and have no opportunity for advancement.
Below the merchants and skilled craftsman are the farmers. A mostly rural group, they are looked on as backward yokels by the city dwellers and upper classes. They do comprise the largest group, but they have little power, and most of them barely scratch a living from the soil. By edict, the warrior princes can levy troops to support their armies, making them less likely to starve and more likely suffer an unknown fate on a battlefield far
away.
The lowest caste are the untouchables. These were originally the slave acquired by the Shenden. Believed spiritually unclean, contact with them taints the upperclasses. For the members of their cast, their lives are
bleak and miserable. Abuse is heaped on them from everyone above them. They receive no education and hold the worst and miserable of jobs. During the Ungol invasion, a few of the Untouchables escaped and organized into bands of thieves and outlaws, which just increased the suffering of those that remained behind as they were punished for the activities of these renegades. Most Untouchables are fatalistic and resigned to their lot.
Two groups are aloof from the caste system. The first are holy men, those seers and other itinerant wise men, known as sufis, who are described later under Religion. The others are foreigners, known as outsiders. These are Ungols and other merchants, and Shendyans have little contact with them, due to confusion on just how to treat those who are outside of their society. A person's cast is readily apparent to any observer. Those of the lower
casts, merchants, artisans and those under them, are branded once at birth, and a second time during a rite of passage when they enter adulthood. The brand is placed on the forehead, and usually a concentric design, with the inner smaller design the one placed at birth, and the larger outer one upon adulthood. The upper classes are not branded, since the Shenden branded their ponies and their slaves. Instead, they receive a small tattoo on their forehead, and the warrior receive scars and possibly a tattoo. These visible manifestations of the caste system further strengthen it. Everyone, at a quick glance, knows their relative social position in relation to everyone around them, and everyone acts accordingly. Finally, certain clothes, dyes, and cuts of cloth are only allowed to the higher classes. All participants in the caste system have formal ways to act to those of different status. Those who act disrespectfully to those above them face slavery or death. Those of higher rank can act with impunity towards their lessers, since those of lesser rank can not seek justice against those of a higher rank. However, those of high rank find little time to squander tormenting those below them, since it is unseemly for those of their status to act in such an undignified manner.
Language
Shendhyans speak Shenda, a language combining the Shenden tongue with that of the original inhabitants. Many speak Ungol and Cathan.
Cities
Religion
One of the most distinct features of Shendhya is its religious atmosphere. The Shendhyans are a deeply spiritual people, whose lives are filled with ritual behavior. The Shenden's warlike gods and ancestor worship merged
with the earth worship of the original peoples. It would seem that with an elite priest class dominating religion, that there would be little diversity, yet nothing could be further from the truth.
When the Shenden swept down, their priests and shamans murdered the followers of established religions. These persecuted priests fled to the wilderness, where they traveled about in secret preaching to the defeated peoples and continuing their folk religions. Since organized religion was destroyed, these priests developed unorthodox and unique perspectives on their religion. Over the centuries, these wandering Sufi had developed a myriad of unique and often bizarre beliefs. Eventually these Sufi were no longer prosecuted and became an essential part of the spirituality of the people. Since they had lived outside of the caste system for so long they were and continue to be an exception to it. The caste system itself has played a part in the success of the Sufi. Those who suffer under the caste system often seek spiritual relief. The Sufi offer these people spiritual guidance and hope of a better afterlife, one where they can transcend the suffering of everyday existence. The Sufis also provide a social outlet, a place for those who deviate from the social norms.
Sufis usually adopt vows of poverty and reside in the wilderness, beyond the distracting comforts of civilization. They listen to the wind whispering secrets to them.
God of Storms
God of Death
God of War
Shallya The Weeping Sister
Taal
Ulric
Verena
Khaine
Tzeentch
Nurgle
Slaanesh
Holy men
Outsiders
Steppe Nomads
--
Garett