I am starting the civilisation project up again, basically compiling some of the nations, realms and kingdoms that have been brought up in previous threads so new players might have an idea who some of the players from the Old World are.

A few notes of importance:

The list is deliberately incomplete, so that players still have room to invent their own nations.

The goal is to give players an idea of a few of the powers influencing Verre Zon, rather than leaving them all vague and nameless.

These are Old World nations, I will be making a list of New World civilisations in another thread.

I am going to start the list with cultures I made, I would love to see those from others (Rebecca mentioned the Wanila, Zhan’veena made a few, Dee made the Border Princes of Harkenfel & the Empire which Telia upset) but I would like the players to post them up before adding them to the list.

The Kaisertum (aka; Adler Kaisertum, Eisen Kaisertum, Kaisertum von Blut und Eisen):

• Either a large & powerful kingdom or 12 small kingdoms pretending to be one.
• Loose imperial control, the princes largely run their own kingdoms with limited interference from one elected as the Kaiser.
• Once had a time of the Mad Kaisers, but their current Kaiser is a good one.
• Appearance linked to magnificently manly moustaches, decoratively slashed clothing & giant hats.
• A remarkably angry-sounding language.
• Cultural values are moderately authoritarian, making a fetish of loyalty and sincerity, valuing order and thoroughness, although commonly featuring an attachment to nature.
• Uncomfortable balance between rural feudalism and urban trading leagues.
• Leagues are a big thing. Leagues of Knights. Leagues of Trade. Leagues of Cities. The loose government allows a lot of independent alliances within the Kaisertum.
• Medium-low magic level, with more technology than magic in their culture, although includes religious temples and arcane guilds.
• Exports are mostly coal & steel goods, with a militaristic slant. There is an Imperial mercenary tradition (pike-focused) and Imperial armour (which is produced elsewhere too, but so named because it is easiest to find within the Kaisertum).
• Castles alongside cannons, standard armies are pike-and-shot although away from the main cities knights and crossbows are more common.
• The Kaisertum is mostly the roads, the rivers and the towns/cities. Large areas within Imperial borders are higher magic and not really under Imperial control.
• Official state religion is Sahkierite, although no doubt others are active.

Therosia:

• Thrive as the hub of a trading network, acting as middlemen in trade between nations.
• Powerful navy and shipbuilding tradition.
• Silk is a major export produced locally, as are olives.
• Polytheistic, a major religion is Sol (sun god of warriors and rulership), although they have quite a few including the Gods of the Inferno (who are as cheerful as they sound and usually invoked for curses vaguely like this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az4P2EXH5x4 ). Sahkier has a minor presence there too, although Sol is far more popular.
• Produce Therosic fire, which might be a magical recipe, but is carefully controlled.
• Decent education, preferred diplomacy to war.
• Interesting attitude towards bribery – a corrupt person takes a bribe and then doesn’t do what they were paid for. This practise contributed towards a reputation as untrustworthy to the rest of the world.
• Slightly old-fashioned military (mail & scale rather than plate, archery over gunpowder, still making limited use of bronze).
• Medium-high magic level.
• Known for the Palatial Desert, which was once the Palatial Gardens until a retired warrior-king tried to take up gardening.
• Ruled by a Basileus.

I am wondering how to organise this once it gets added to the library. I like the list form because I think it makes things easier and more convenient for the reader to digest. I am thinking of making it take an official record form with some main headings. Possible ideas I have:

Overview.
Government.
Magic level.
Major exports.
Cultural attitudes.
Military overview.
Notable features of their society.

All of this is up for discussion, but I figure those headings might serve as a guideline or starting point to work with.

I look forward to seeing your ideas, and I will gladly work with you on establishing them in the setting.