Penglai Overview
OOC Info: The continent of Penglai is based on the feudal Chinese model, with elements of feudal Japan and Korea thrown in for good measure. This is a culture (much like ancient Japan) that is isolated, insular and xenophobic in the extreme (especially the rulers/bureaucrats). Like the continent of Australia in the real world, the geographic isolation has produced some unique physical variations, i.e. the "Asian" look for both humans and, to a lesser extent, the elves. Among the human population fair hair and eyes are unknown, and among the elves, only a few clans have blonde hair and fair eyes (These rare blondes are considered exotically beautiful and the females are often found as courtesans in the courts of the high nobles). Ebony elves are largely undistinguishable from their Grandilar cousins, though they do have a more traditionally Asian bone structure to the face. In addition, the dragon form for the Penglaian shifters is the wingless Asian dragon as seen in Chinese mythology.
On this island/continent, the first Pylos war is a distant legend known as The Demon War, and necromancers never gained a foothold due to the post-demon-war purges. The dragons maintain strict rule over the mortal populations, and the dragon-kin (shapeshifters) make up the bulk of the tenuous upper-middle-class strata as minor nobles. Vermites, call Ren Shou on Penglai, arrived with the Pylos as slaves, but with the victory of the dragons, the vermites were liberated and "uplifted" to serve as the peasant class along with the humans and elves. Unlike the Grandilar continent, the rabbit-like branch of the vermite family tree did not die out, and the Ren Tou (rabbit men) flourish alongside their rat-like cousins. Tigrean mercenaries also arrived with the Pylos, but when the dragons won the demon war, the surviving Tigrean fighters all died in the post-war purges. They are only remembered in the mythology as another species of Yaoguai (demon).
In Character Info--the "official" version:
Penglai is a land of peace and productivity under the benevolent rule of the Golden Dragon emperor who is the direct descendent of the Dragon Goddess Nu Wa. In addition to guiding his people, the golden emperor maintains the spirit wall, which holds the demons at bay, keeping Penglai from succumbing to the hell that has taken over the rest of the world.
The dragon emperor's strong right claw is the Warmaster, who enforces the edicts of the emperor and ensures the safety of the people and nobles of the land. The day-to-day running of the country is the responsibility largely of the various bureaucratic ministries, headed by the Prime Minister. Their strict hierarchy and attention to detail ensure a harmonious, fair society in which each person, dragon-kin or purely mortal, knows their role and performs it to the best of their ability.
In Character Info--from the unauthorized version:
Penglai is a rigid society in which the caste you are born to largely determines the course of your entire life. If you are born as a peasant, you will remain a peasant. If you are born to a soldiering family, you will live and die a soldier in the Warmaster’s army. The only chance of escaping an unattractive destiny is to succeed spectacularly at the bureaucratic exams or to be born with dragon blood. Any non-noble individual, even the lowest Ren Shou peasant, who has the ability to shapeshift is adopted by the dragon clans and elevated to lower-noble status.
The Warmaster is the strong, and often brutal, enforcer of the laws and has total control over the military. When he speaks, it is as the voice of the Emperor, and he answers only to the Emperor for his actions. Financial affairs are largely the province of the various ministries, who answer to the prime minister who (in theory) answers to the emperor. In practice, the Prime Minister answers to the Warmaster, since the Warmaster functions as the Emperor's buffer between the real world and the Imperial Palace.
The Golden Emperor is a semi-divine figure to the peasant population (the statistical majority), and is revered accordingly. His duties are largely ceremonial, tasked as he is with maintaining the spirit wall, which is the last and only defense the people of Penglai have against the demons that have taken over the world outside the spirit wall. The nobles of the dragon clans answer to the emperor as the final authority in any disputes, but the emperor's distance from day-to-day affairs of the nation means that the nobles have virtually unchecked authority in their domains. Those that whisper that the Warmaster is more jailor than guardian have a disturbing tendency to disappear in the middle of the night, along with their families and friends.
Penglai Detailed Description
Politics:
The political structure of Penglai is a pyramid, with the Golden Emperor at the top. Directly below the Emperor are the Warmaster, the Dragon Clan Spokesman, and the Prime Minister. The Warmaster heads the Military arm of the government. The Dragon Clan Spokesman speaks on behalf of the Noble Clan Council, and the Prime Minister leads the multitude of bureaucratic ministries. Originally the three advisors held equal positions and each answered only to the emperor, but over the centuries the Emperors’ growing distance from daily affairs allowed the Warmasters to gain the upper hand in the uneasy triumvirate of imperial advisors.
Military Branch: The Warmaster’s arm of the government is arranged much like any military, in orderly ranks, with a guard post in every city and village. The standing army is small; since there are no external enemies or borders to guard (except the border of the Tortoise Province), but all civil guards and police forces also belong to the military. It is important to distinguish between the civil guards and the guards of the Noble Clans, however. Each clan fields its own guard force independent of the Warmaster’s forces, responsible solely for the security of the clan house.
The Noble Clans: Each province has a provincial lord, or Damyo, who owns all the land within the province. The Damyo of each province is the Grand Elder of his dragon clan. His closest relatives have lesser clan houses in the outlying properties and villages. Each clan house is staffed by the Damyo’s dragon-kin (shapeshifter) relatives and the most trusted positions are held by the family orcs.
The Bureaucratic Ministries: Bureaucracy of Penglai is intricate and entrenched. Yearly examinations held in each provincial capitol provide one of the few means for the peasant class to move up in the world. Those who excel may find employment at one of the following ministries: Ministry of Finance/Trade, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Scholars, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Communication, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Roads/Transportation.
Geography:
Penglai is a large island/continent off the western coast of Grandilar across the Fire Sea, west and slightly north of the Orshan Islands. In sheer square miles, it is the equal of the entire Orshan island chain, though it is a single large island rather than a series of small landmasses. The island is surrounded in all dimensions and mystical planes by a translucent barrier that obscures sight of the island, and blocks scrying and travel magic of any kind.
Long (dragon) Province: Damyo—Long Li Wei, White Tiger Clan. Capitol—Nanchong. The weather in the north is warm and humid, the former jungles long since tamed into lush farmland for the growth of rice and barley.
Yao Chi (Imperial City): Damyo (honorary)—Long Jinhai, Golden Dragon Clan. The central regions are rocky and mountainous, and most of the gems and useful metals come from this province. The Golden Dragon Clan has held this mountain range since before the demon wars, and only members of the imperial family may enter the innermost caves of the clan hold.
Ki'lin (unicorn) Province: Damyo—Long Meng Yao (appointed by Grand Elder Long Weimin of Silver Talon Clan). Capitol—Yunan. The eastern region is home to the majority of the island's elven population. Their tree farms provide 85% of the nation's wood products. They are also known for their silk production, as the silk worms will only flourish in the mulberry trees that grow in the warm, dry air of the Ki'lin province.
Fenghuang (phoenix) Province: Damyo—Long Teng Fei. Capitol—Xin Feng. In the southeast are wide, grassy plains and rolling hills, with a few ancient forests protected by imperial decree. Wheat and corn flourish in this area, and there are many freshwater lakes with carefully maintained fish farms.
Wugui (tortoise) Province: Damyo—Long Duyi. Capitol—Xunwu. The Southwest region is largely uninhabited, due mainly to a small, but growing area of blight on the sight of the last great battle of the demon war. There are, however, unsubstantiated reports of bandits sneaking past the imperial guard posts to set up camps in the craggy hills.
Economy:
The Ministry of Finance and Trade is responsible for the smooth running of the economy, the collection of taxes, and the issue of business permits. By imperial decree, only members of the military may carry or trade in steel weapons, though it is possible, through sufficient bribes or other influence, to obtain a permit.
Penglai has little in the way of metal resources, and what little there is has long since been mined out. As a result, useful metal, and steel in particular, carries a premium price, and most of the steel on Penglai is firmly grasped in the talons of the dragon clans. By comparison, gold is relatively common and considered useful only for decoration. The coin of the realm is embossed jade coins of various colors and rarity. The coins are approximately the size of a Grandilar gold piece, but half the weight, and have a square hole in the center. Prosperous Penglaian wear their coins on a silk cord as a necklace or hanging on strings from their belt.
Jade Coin Type
Equivalent Value
Weight/Grandilar Equivalent
Blue Jade
Base unit of Value
20 coins=1/2 cap
Green Jade
5 Blue Jade
20 coins=1/2 cap
Red Jade
50 Blue Jade
20 coins=1/2 cap/ 1 Del. Gem each
Black Jade
100 Blue Jade
20 coins=1/2 cap/4 Delarian Gems
In Game Effect: In game, the economy of Penglai is such that gold coins are essentially worthless as currency. Steel weapons and armor (daggers, swords, chain mail, etc.) are worth twice face value on the card, but only in jade coins, since gold is not the coin of the realm in Penglai. Furthermore, buying or selling weapons/armor requires an imperial permit from the military. The clothing cards (Peasant Garb, Traveling clothes, etc) are available in silk at 10 times the face value (in jade coins). Silk clothing gives the wearer a +2 persuasion/charm bonus in interactions with Penglaian merchants and nobles.
Religion:
The official religion of Penglai is worship of the Dragon Goddess Nu Wa, and by extension, her children-on-earth, the dragons. In the Penglai creation myth, the Dragon Goddess created the land, and then created humans, dwarves and elves from the mud along the sacred Golden River, Jinhai. Unsatisfied with her imperfect creations, she tried again, this time breaking off pieces of herself to create the Elder Dragons. Satisfied at last with the perfection of her newest creations, she ascended to the Imperial Palace of Jade, tasking her children, the Elder Dragons, to watch over her first fragile, imperfect creations. Thus the Elder Dragons guided and protected the lesser races, eventually driving back the Yaoguai in the last battle of the Demon War by sacrificing themselves to create the Spirit Wall. The current Golden Emperor, Long Jinhai is the 152nd direct descendent of the original Elder Golden Dragon, Long Huang Di.
People/Places of Note:
Di Yu—Hell on earth, otherwise known as “out there”. Anything outside the spirit wall.
Xuanpu—The Imaginary Land. This is how the continent of Grandilar is noted in the history and legend of Penglai. Like Atlantis, it is a land that might have existed long ago, but serious Penglaian scholars believe that if it ever did exist, it has long since succumbed to the Yaoguai and is merely more of the Di Yu.
Dizang—The boatman of the dead. (ooc: Scarvian Boatman). He was banished from Penglai with the creation of the spirit wall.
Chiwu—The Demon King. His defeat at the hands of Long Huang Di and his brothers brought an end to the Demon war. OOC, this was the name of the Pylos General leading the Penglai branch of the invasion of the dragon’s world. When Chiwu and his army perished, and at the same time the entire continent of Penglai “disappeared” the other Pylos generals believed that the dragons had implemented the magical equivalent of a tactical nuke and blown themselves up along with Chiwu and his army. The Dead Water Straits surrounding the “former” continent further supported this conclusion, and when centuries of surveillance revealed no trace Penglai, they wrote it off as a total loss.
Long Weimin—The current Warmaster to the 152nd Golden Emperor. He is an ancient and cunning dragon of the Silver Talon Clan.
Long Jinhai—Named for the sacred river of creation, Jinhai is the 152nd Golden Emperor. Like all direct descendents of Nu Wa, his scales are the color of mellow gold, and in any form, his skin and hair retain this distinctive color (ooc: Dinstinctive Appearance Flaw). At only 300 years old, he is still a young dragon, and has not yet selected a mate.
Dragon Clans:
White Tiger Clan--Owns the Long Province. They are known for their skill in farming, animal husbandry and fecundity in general. The peasant saying “Fertile as a tiger” refers to the White Tiger Clan’s reputation in this regard. They are the only Dragon Clan not suffering a decline in their Clanborn and Orc population.
Silver Talon Clan—Owns the Ki’lin Province. With the decline of the Stone Dragon Clan, the Silver Talon clan has risen to prominence as the most militarily skilled of the clans. Since the Demon War, all of Penglai’s Warmasters have been Silver Talon Clan, and a large portion of the government militia is of the human and elven branch of the Silver Talon Clan.
Firehawk Clan--Owns the Fenghuang Province. Unique among the male-dominated clans, this dragon clan is a matriarchy. The Firehawk clan holds close ties with the Golden Dragon clan as many Firehawk Clan daughters throughout history have been the mate of the Golden Emperor.
Golden Dragon Clan—owns Yao Chi, the Imperial City. Directly descended from Nu Wa the Dragon Goddess, this clan holds the Mandate of Heaven to rule Penglai. Since the Demon War, they are also responsible for maintaining the Spirit Wall which holds Di Yu (hell on earth) and the Yaoguai (demons) at bay.
Stone Dragon Clan--owns the Wugui province. Once known for their martial prowess, they are still recovering from the devastating blow their clan suffered during the Demon War thousands of years ago, when they lost all of their dwarven gargoyle kin. With much of their land blasted by the final battle of the Demon war, they have little resources and nurse a bitter grudge against the rest of the dragon clans—but lack the means with which to act on their resentment.
Additional Notes:
All dragon-kin take the name of their form as their surname to indicate their noble status. All dragons and dragon-shifters take the surname Long, for example. All unicorns take the surname Ki’lin, Phoenix take the surname Feng, Pegasi take the Yao surname. Ren Tou Rats take the Tou surname.
Das Karr and Foxwings, as part of the 2nd Pylos invasion, never made it to Penglai. The tigrean mercenaries brought in during the first Pylos invasion were killed along with the Pylos during the Demon war. Only the enslaved vermites (Ren Tou and Ren Shou) were integrated into Penglai society.
There are fewer and fewer true (clanborn) dragons born every generation. Orcs have also experienced a decline in birthrate, to the point where there are no orcs living outside of the Clan Houses.
The language of Penglai is not the language of Grandilar—over time the languages have developed apart until there is as much similarity between Penglai common and Grandilar common as there is between English and Gaelic, for instance. Speaking only the common tongue of Grandilar means that an individual will require a translator to communicate with the average Penglaian. The Dragons, however, are a different story. The long lives of dragons, and their devotion to their ancestors and their past has kept the linguistic drift to a minimum. Penglai Drakkentongue and Grandilar Drakkentongue are equivalent to Spanish and Portuguese, as far as similarity to each other. In other words, a Grandilar native speaking Drakkentongue can likely make himself understood to a Penglai dragon, with time and speaking very, VERY slowly. High Drakkentongue, however, has changed little at all over the centuries. Aside from a charming accent and a “regional flavor”, High Drakkentongue is High Drakkentongue is High Drakkentongue . . .
The spirit wall is a solid sheet of spirit energy created by and composed of the protective spirits of the Penglai dead. They have passed beyond the ability to communicate with shamans and exist mainly on autopilot, with their sole concern being the protection of Penglai. The spirit wall blocks scrying and teleporting. It extends on all the planes, astral, spirit and material, so it blocks all astral travel, spirit walks and detection on non-material planes. In the material plane it manifests (from the outside) as an impenetrable fog bank. From the inside it manifests as a clear dome with the apparent fragility and transparency of a soap bubble. Non-sentient animals, unconscious or dead bodies, and inanimate objects may pass through the barrier unhindered. The waters within several terrain cards all around the island (but outside the spirit wall) are waste terrain. The magic-siphoning effect of the Dead Water Straits ensure that any dragonstorm strong enough to survive a trip over the Fire Sea and Orshan Islands dies a quick death before ever reaching the spirit wall.
