Pallin
By far the most technologically advanced nation on Kulm, though they are somewhat lacking in the area of magic. Pallin is based off a small island, but from that island an expansive Empire has spread by the grace of Pallin's unbeatable modern navy. Firearms and other high technology are somewhat more common here than in the other nations, though the Pallinite government enforces strict controls over who has access to high-powered weapons.
Native Pallinites are mostly all humans, though there are native halflings (called "hobbits") and an influx of half-breeds from Alfland (Half-Elves, Half-Satyrs and Half-Dryads). Only very rarely do races from the other conquered nations of the Empire make their homes in Pallin.
Pallin is ruled by a Parliament and a King. The current King, Sinj the Backwards, has been trying to take a step back from the responsibilities of rulership for a while now. He has invested several of his powers with the Prime Minister of Parliament, Jimmy Corkhill. After Corkhill, two other Parliament members, Zaxi McRill from Alfland and Cuthbert Brown from Saqqa, are the next-most influential and one or the other is likely to succeed Corkhill if he should ever step down. (and it does not look like that will happen for quite some time)
Geopolitical Background
Pallin is enjoying its period of dominance over Kulm. With colonial holdings in Saqqa, the Far World and Atalanta, Pallin's vast wealth coupled with its technologically superior military make it the most powerful nation in the world. Its lack of a spelljamming navy, however, it something of a glaring weakness, and it is for this reason that Capitol stands anything of a chance against Pallin militarily. Currently, both nations adhere to the Treaty of Armistice -- for now.Five years ago, Pallin suffered an enormous embarrassment when its colonies in New Pallin successfully revolted and established their own state. Many in Pallin suspect Capitol of interfering in the revolt by giving the rebels aid, but without proof the Pallinites are unwilling to openly make such an accusation. Following the New Pallin Revolution, Pallin adopted reforms that gave token parliamentary representation to their colonial states.
Internal Background
The island of Pallin is divided up into nine Counties: Pallin, Cestershire, Wallis, Salop, Wittlingham, Norshire, Torreshire, Lennox and Umber. Each County is overseen by a noble, and also has its own elected government (a mayor and a county council). Pallin's cities are modernized and cramped, with cobblestoned streets and gaslight, but wide swaths of countryside remain largely undeveloped.
Currently, many members of the nobility openly question King Sinj's desire to extend more powers to Prime Minister Corkhill and the Parliament. As if that weren't enough for internal discontent, several key members of parliament question Corkhill's elevation of two colonial parliament members (Cuthbert and Zaxi) as his lieutenants.Pallin is the capital of the nation, and the empire. It is the location of Norringham Palace, where King Sinj and his family reside. Pallin is also the location of the House of Parliament, where legislators from across the Empire gather to deal with the business of statecraft. Pallin is a major port, sitting just inland of the River Phane's eastern delta. In Parliament, Pallin is pre-eminent with 5 members, one of whom is Prime Minister Jimmy Corkhill.
Salop lies on Pallin's west coast, near the western mouth of the River Phane. Salop has 4 members of Parliament.
Wallis is far to the south, and is where Prince Sinjor, the King's eldest son and heir, makes his home. The Prince of Wallis is one of the most vocal critics of his father's decision to empower the Parliament. Wallis has 3 members of Parliament.
Cestershire lies between Wallis and Salop on one of the kingdom's major trade roads. The city stands on the edge of the Cestershire forest, and is home to one of Pallin's largest populations of halflings. Cestershire has 3 members of Parliament.
Wittlingham is north of Pallin, close to the island's east coast. The county has 2 members of Parliament.
Norshire is the home of the Queen Mother, Sinjelle. She publicly supports her son, but secretly is urging her grandson Sinjor to take action. Norshire has 4 members of Parliament.
Torreshire is the bread basket of Pallin, one of the island's major food producers and a center for agriculture and its industrial supports. Even with Torreshire's output, the Empire would starve without grain shipments from Saqqa or the fisheries of Atalanta. Torreshire has 2 members of Parliament.
Lennox is a major port city in the far north of Pallin. With Salop and Wallis, it is one of the three most important home bases of the Pallinite Armada. Lennox was once part of the territory of the Highlanders, but submitted to Pallinite rule a century ago. Lennox has 3 members of Parliament.
Umber is the capital of a county that was once an autonomous region in Pallin's northern Highlands. The Highlanders of Umber and Lennox once fiercely resisted Pallinite dominance, but a century ago were quelled and brought into the Empire. Umber has 2 members of Parliament.
The Humans of Pallin boast the most technologically advanced culture in all of Kulm. Pallin has harnessed steam and gas energy, and its army is outfitted with firearms and explosives. They have a modest airfleet, based not on the arcane arts of Spelljamming, but rather on the mechanics of steampower; steampower also drives Pallin's dominant fleet of seaships. However, where Pallinites have excelled in technology, they have fallen behind in magic. Pallin's Adepts and Mystics are generally inferior in skill to the Clerics and Mages of other nations.
Ability Score Adjustments: None.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: None. Humans, as standard, may dual-class instead.
Kit Allowances: The kits below are from the Masque of the Red Death campaign.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 10; Humans move at rate 12.
Bonus Languages: Common.
Special Advantages:
None.
Special Disadvantages:
None.
Half-Dryads are the result of racial mixing. When a Dryad or Satyr couples with a Human or Demihuman of the opposite gender, the resulting offspring (if female) are always Half-Dryads. They appear much like their mothers, with green hair and exceptional beauty, though their Demihuman/Human father's features tend to dominate more strongly than the mother's.
Half-Dryads are only just now beginning to appear in Pallin in any significant numbers, as a result of Satyrs and Dryads crossing the Elven Channel to seek their fortunes in mechanized Pallin.
Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Charisma, -1 Constitution.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Soldier-Adept, Soldier-Tradesman, Adept-Tradesman.
Kit Allowances: The kits below are from the Masque of the Red Death campaign.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 10; Half-Dryads move on land at a rate of 12.
Bonus Languages: Satyr, Dryad, Common.
Special Advantages:
•Identify with Nature: Half-Dryads have a 50% chance to
correctly identify any plant or animal they come across. They are
also able to identify pure water.
•Charm Resist: Half-Dryads have a 90% resistance to charm
spells cast by any creature associated with nature (Dryads, Nixies,
etc.), and a 50% chance to resist charm spells in general.
Special Disadvantages:
None.
The most common result of Pallin and Alfland's close association, Half-Elves have long been known in Pallin. Several prominent noble households have at least one Elven ancestor, and in port cities with lines that run to Alfland, Half-Elves are impossible not to find.
Ability Score Adjustments: None.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Soldier-Mystic, Soldier-Tradesman, Soldier-Adept, Adept-Mystic, Tradesman-Adept, Soldier-Adept-Tradesman, Soldier-Adept-Mystic.
Kit Allowances: The kits below are from the Masque of the Red Death campaign.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 10; Half-Elves move on land at a rate of 12.
Bonus Languages: Elven, Common.
Special Advantages:
•Infravision: 60' range.
•Magic Resistance: Half-Elves enjoy a 30% resistance to
Sleep and Charm-based effects. Even if their resistance fails, they
still get a normal save against the effect.
•Door Detection: Elven senses allow Half-Elves to locate
secret or concealed doors. Passing within 10 feet of a secret door,
Elves will detect the opening on a roll of 1 on 1d6. If a Elf is
actively searching for secret doors, this chance increases to 1 or 2
on 1d6. Concealed doors can be detected by Elves on a roll of 1, 2 or
3 on 1d6.
Special Disadvantages:
None.
Half-Satyrs are the result of racial mixing. When a Satyr or Dryad couples with a Human or Demihuman of the opposite gender, the resulting offspring (if male) are always Half-Satyrs. They resemble generally taller versions of their Satyr fathers, with vestigial horn-stubs and an excess of body hair. Their legs do not joint the way that Satyrs' do, though their feet eventually do develop hoof-like coverings.
Half-Satyrs are only just now beginning to appear in Pallin in any significant numbers, as a result of Satyrs and Dryads crossing the Elven Channel to seek their fortunes in mechanized Pallin.
Ability Score Adjustments: None.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Soldier-Adept, Soldier-Tradesman, Adept-Tradesman.
Kit Allowances: The kits below are from the Masque of the Red Death campaign.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 10; Half-Satyrs move on land at a rate of 12.
Bonus Languages: Satyr, Dryad, Common.
Special Advantages:
•Identify with Nature: Half-Satyrs have a 50% chance to
correctly identify any plant or animal they come across. They are
also able to identify pure water.
•Charm/Song Resist: Half-Satyrs have a 50% resistance to
charm spells cast by any creature associated with nature (Dryads,
Nixies, etc.), and a 50% chance to resist spells or effects cast
through music or singing (a harpy's song, a bard's playing, a satyr's
pipes, etc.).
•Talent with Languages: Half-Satyrs are very gifted at
learning new languages; they can learn additional languages above the
limits prescribed by the Intelligence table in the PHB. For every
point of Intelligence over 15, a Half-Satyr may learn one new
language, or two new Sylvan languages (as given for Druids). They
must still pay NWP slots for modern languages, though they may learn
one of each pair of Sylvan languages for free.
Special Disadvantages:
•Armor Restriction: Half-Satyrs cannot wear metal armor,
because it interferes with their connection with nature. The two
exceptions to this rule are shields and Elven Chain.
Only the Hairfoot variety of Halfling is native to Pallin. They are most often found in Pallin's more rural counties, though every once in a while a Halfling is taken by wanderlust and lives in the larger cities for a time.
Ability Score Adjustments: +1 Dexterity, -1 Strength.
Class Restrictions:
Multi-Class Allowances: Soldier-Tradesman, Soldier-Psionicist, Psionicist-Tradesman.
Kit Allowances: The kits below are from the Masque of the Red Death campaign.
Hit Dice: By class.
Natural Armor Class/Move Rate: 10; Halflings move on land at a rate of 9.
Bonus Languages: Halfling, Common.
Special Advantages:
•Weapon Affinity: +1 to hit with slings, thrown weapons
and shortbows. For Pallinite halflings, this bonus translates over to
a bonus to hit with Derringers (the smallest handguns), but Halflings
do not gain this bonus with larger firearms.
•Halfling Stealth: Halflings impose a -4 penalty to an
enemy surprise check, but only if the Halfling is wearing non-metal
armor and the rest of his party is either similarly stealthy (that
is, possessing a similar Stealth racial ability) or else 90'
away.
•Halfling Resistances: Halflings are exceptionally
resistant to poisons and spells. Against such attacks, Halflings gain
a +1 bonus to save for every 3.5 points of Constitution.
•Human Affinity: +2 to reaction rolls with human
NPCs.
Special Disadvantages:
None.