The Astral City-State of Foothold

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Thu, 2005-02-10 15:14

Edward Davis

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The Astral City-State of Foothold

WARNING:

SOME OF THESE POSTS TOUCH ON REAL-LIFE ISSUES. PLEASE KEEP AN OPEN MIND!!!

Foothold consists of five god-isles (also known as Sectors) magicly and physically chained together in a diamond pattern. Each of the isles are about the size of Staten Island. Four sectors are each owned by different nations with the center isle of Balder acting as a neutral sector. It is here where representatives from the other four sectors can meet to discuss important matters (kind of like a second United Nations).

Each sector is managed by the following countries:

Tiananmen - China
Samton - United States
Tsilvolgrad - Russia
Umir - Europian Union

A rough layout of Foothold will be posted later...

Any comments or suggestions would help me out a lot.

Quote:

Originally posted by Boko If planar travel is something the majority of the inhabitants of earth are unaware or unable to do, wouldn't it be rather unlikely for Foothold to grow to the size of a major city much less 5 major cities? If they are solely meant to be military installations then they would have to house a ridiculously huge number of personel to justify the size let alone defend against from any sizable attack force (the combined military forces of the Earth today would comfortably fit into one sector with room to spare) Also If we assume earth to be relatively weak in magic (I think someone cut earth's magic off at 5th level to keep things balanced) would they be able to muster enough skill to support fortress that massive on the astral plane?

Actually, it has been decided that slightly before and after the Astral War, magic and the existence of the Astral and Shadow planes are common knowledge on Earth.

Foothold was originally just a small military base named Fort Powell on the dead god later identified as Balder (from the Asgard Patheon). After the Astral War was finished, civilian companies came up with the idea of building a massive multinational metropolis as a kind of Public Relations stunt. Many countries (and several very rich tycoons) liked the idea and hyped the hell out of the project ("New opportunities await you in the Astral Plane! Move to Foothold, where dreams comes true... Literally!) While Foothold is still under construction, it is almost completed and many people have been living there for years already.

Quote:

Originally posted by Wyvern76 And where did you get the names for the Russian and EU sectors?

The russian sector was named in honor of General Alex Tsilvolsky (from Terraneaux's 'First Contact" story). He is widely regarded as an international hero and the first casualty of the Astral War. In the center of the Russian sector is a life-sized statue of the man clad in full military dress. His right arm is stretched out in a gesture of greeting. Underneath the statue, the following is written on the pedistal (in russian):

"This sector is dedicated to General Alex Tsilvolsky, the first casualty in the war against the Githyanki. His final act, before he was cut down by the enemy's treacherous blades, was to hold out his hand in good faith and offer peace. His sacrifice will not be forgotten."

The EU sector was named Umir because that was the name of the dead god that their sector was built on. Umir was apparently the evil god-giant that was slain by Odin and his brothers. Norse legend says that they later used Umir's corpse to construct the world. Whether that is true or not, is up for debate.

With two norse gods within such close proximity (Umir and Balder), many people theorize that the other three god-isles are also the remains of gods from the Asgard Pantheon. However, they have yet to be identified.

A few notes:

After the insident where the fiends stole the plans to build atomic weapons, the Shadow Primes* have since reactivated the Githyanki device that was used to blockade Earth from the rest of the planes. However, it has been heavily modified so that one can still enter Earth via the Grand Central Station located in the Balder Sector of Foothold. Foothold is currently the ONLY way in or out of Earth without the use of a Spelljammer (a technology that Earth has no access to). A few planewalkers have wondered how the Shadow Primes can continue to use divine magic after effectively cutting off the connection to the gods. But, somehow, Shadow Primes seem completely unfazed without their Deities.

While on Foothold you continue to age and heal normally. During the Astral War, the Shadow Primes saw firsthand the price the Githyanki pay for their "immortality". Promising themselves that they would not fall in to the same trap as the Gith, they erected massive beacons all across the city to cause a continuous "Clutches of Time" effect (As described in the Guide to the Astral Plane) within the borders of Foothold.

I might post Terraneaux's 'First Contact' story later...

* "Shadow Prime" is a catch all term that refers to any Prime that originated from Earth. It's a reference to their natural affinity to the Plane of Shadow.

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:20

Edward Davis

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Quote:

Originally posted by Beleriphon: I was thinking of something interesting that could be used to populate Foothold and the planes in general. During the mid to late 19th century the American and Canadian goverments offered anybody that was interested upwards of 10 acres of free land provided they moved to a particular location (the West in this case). I think that a similar idea could be used here. The UN (or whatever) offers one free home for your family, provided that you help build other homes like with Habitat for Humanity, within Foothold. Not only do you get a house, you're pretty much guaranteed a job, and if all else fails bail Foothold and head to a new plane.

This would also work very well for enclaves on the other planes of existence.

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:21

(Reply to #2) #3

Edward Davis

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Quote:

Originally posted by TheRoastSlinky I was thinking that Foothold would be a playground for the rich, an escape from Earth. This fits in well with the cyberpunk style of a massive rich-poor divide.

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:23

(Reply to #3) #4

Edward Davis

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Quote:

Originally posted by Eyes in the Darkness Large cities, especially new large cities, serve as a perfect place to show the divide between the rich and the poor. The rich live in glittering towers (or in this instance glittering demi-planes attached to the Astral) while the poor scuttle about beneath them like cockroaches that the rich can smash if they so choose. It's not nice, but there is a veneer of prettiness over the pettiness. In fact, some vain and cowardly people would no doubt decide to live outside the borders of the Clutches of Time beacons so as to stay young and beautiful forever. These people would be willing to trade contact with the rest of the multiverse for eternal youth. Not only would Foothold be a playground for the rich and powerful and a trap for the poor and hopeful, as the only way to reach Earth it would become a major trading center, although nothing on the scale of Sigil. As with all ports it would attract a certain criminal element as well as a variety of different cultures, creating conflict. On Foothold this conflict would be thrown into stark relief as the modern Earth culture of rule of law would clash with the Planes concepts of adventuring and vigilante justice. It would be where the Earth and the Planes meet to exchange information that is both new and old, depending on perspective. It would be where the denizens of the Lower Planes would try to gain access to billions of souls just waiting to be harvested.

In short, its not as big or as well defended as Sigil but in some ways it is faster paced and more important to the denizens of the Planes. Without the Lady of Pain to guard Foothold, I can see the need for some massive military presence and 24-hour magical defenses and blockades (something conviently not mentioned in the immigration pamphlets) just to keep the demons, and devils, and yugoloths (oh my!) at bay. Hmmm... perhaps some sort of massive prismatic sphere as the inner wall, an antimagic field outside that, and some form of teleportation blockade as the outer layer. This would mean that any enemy army would have to stop well outside of Foothold, and then bring down the antimagic field so as to be able to start in on the prismatic walls. This would give the defenders of Foothold plenty of time to drop a couple of nuclear weapons outside their defenses and nuke their attackers. The devils would probably eventually give up direct military means and go for espionage to try and knock down the walls from the inside, but others, might make piracy outside the walls a way of life, making skirmishes common. Already the possible defenses for Foothold provide numerous possible adventure hooks, from the basic pirate hunter plot to trying to unravel a complex baatezu plot that runs on multiple levels with numerous back-ups and contingencies, all for the purpose of bringing down Foothold's defenses and jamming the portal to Earth so that an army might invade.

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:24

(Reply to #4) #5

Edward Davis

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Quote:

Originally posted by Persephone Imytholin Foothold - the God Isles of Perennial Martial Law.

Foothold would make itself mildly important, as a hop between Earth and the Outer Planes. The Inner planes would be a little harder to keep out.

((of course, the ultimate irony would be if this town, in a sense 'rivalling' Sigil, were accidentally built on Aoskar...))

What I could see as a possibility is Foothold coming under the rule of the Factions, bringing back those fun Kriegstanz politics. I could even imagine the Factions sharing administrative duties with Prime administrators, or even overseeing the business of the city apart from contact with Earth.

That doesn't mean the factions abandoning whatever they've clawed back in Sigil - the "entertainer's guild", for example, would still keep firm hold of the Festhall, and the Dustmen would still be ambling about the mortuary (and may well be luddites...). Indeed, the Factions might almost start to see Foothold as their foothold to try to get back into the City of Doors, whether they can hold official power or not.

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:25

(Reply to #5) #6

Edward Davis

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I can see the Factions having a substantial presense in Foothold. Honestly, though, I doubt they would get very far in controlling the city.

To the untrained eye, the factions can seem to be a little like religions. As a result, too many people would cry out "Seperation of Church and State!" for the factions to get anything above advisery positions. They might control some of the people's political views, but they'll never get into the government anytime soon.

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:26

(Reply to #6) #7

Edward Davis

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Quote:

Originally posted by Serpentine I don't see any obvious non-humans getting control of the city, or factions obtaining a monopoly openly-- but I do see faction ideas creeping into the daily life of the Foothold citizens.

They're not too far different from many modern philosophies.

Athar = Atheism variant (the gods exist, but they do not deserve our worship)
Bleak Cabal + Doomguard = Nihilists
Dustmen = Buddhism inverted (Transcendence of Desire => True Death)
Fated = Libertarian/Objectivists (Ayn Rand)
Mind's Eye = Karmic paths
Revolutionary League = Anarchists
Ring-Givers = Asceticism, Christian socialism
Society of Sensation = Epicureans, hedonists
Transcendent Order = Zen

The remaining factions are based around more variable concepts:
Fraternity of Order = law
Harmonium = law
Sodkillers = might makes right
Sons of Mercy = justice is merciful
Xaositects = chaos

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:29

(Reply to #7) #8

Edward Davis

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Quote:

Originally posted by Eyes in the Darkness I can see Foothold as being ruled primarily by the UN, with each of the four other god islands acting as pseudo-territories of their founding nations. Thus while the entire city will be governed by elected UN officials on Baldur, each of the other sectors will have "municipal" laws that bring the area closer to the operation of the founding group. Thus Samton will feel like a modern city in the United States, Umir will be like a brand new city from the European Union, etc. The only place that might feel significantly different legality wise would be Tiananmen, which would be under the control of China, which would probably still have communist leanings by this point. Thus the factions would only have a hand in governing Foothold the way churches and unions and such have political clout on Earth. Not only that, but all of the islands have entrenched institutions that would make them resistant to outside political control. Modern open societies mean that they could get their feet in the door, but the Factions would find that many like-minded individuals already have their own brand of philosophy, and their guns outmatch the clubs the Factions carry.

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:30

(Reply to #8) #9

Clueless

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The Astral City-State of Foothold

I take it yer snagging nessecary bits of conversation from the other site so you can get back into the swing of things here?

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:32

(Reply to #9) #10

Edward Davis

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Quote:

Originally posted by Serpentine Not to start a flame war or anything...this is a serious post, not a troll.

The funny thing is that modern American Republican leadership is really seriously influenced by Objectivism on one hand and fundamentalist Christianity on the other. Strip out the Christianity, and the Fraternity of Order (law and loopholes) and the Fated (money and independence) ALREADY share almost parallel philosophies with almost half the American populace.

American Democrats, on the other hand, are more of a hodge-podge of ideas and variations, ranging from those of the Revolutionary League, Sensates, and odd Ring-Givers -- and including some Fated and Fraternity of Order themselves.

I don't think it would be hard for the factions (particularly planar humans and similar human-appearing types) to gently spread their ideas to Foothold -- and then just to play a waiting game behind the scenes until the people with faction ideas take power.

In Tiananmen, the high-ups have certain Athar and Harmonium sensibilities, but years of communism (which has slowly fallen away) haven't eradicated the millennia of religious and philosophical thought that began in China...which include Buddhism (aspects of Mind's Eye, Transcendent Order, Ring-Givers, and Dustmen), Taoism (Transcendent Order), and Confucianism (Fraternity of Order, Harmonium).

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:34

(Reply to #10) #11

Edward Davis

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"Clueless" wrote:

I take it yer snagging nessecary bits of conversation from the other site so you can get back into the swing of things here?

Yeah, pretty much.

That way, we don't have to run topics that have been discussed before into the ground.

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:37

(Reply to #11) #12

Edward Davis

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Quote:

Originally posted by Eyes in the Darkness The problem of course is that most people already share the majority of their philosophiers with others already, its just that the few tiny differences cause huge struggles, which is of course really rather stupid, but it is the way things work. For example, yes IF you strip out Christianity you get many of the same general philosophies, but I dare you to find a way to do that. There are people in the religious right who refuse to acknowledge numerous well established scientific theories with centuries of evidence backing them, such as the theory of evolution. Human beings have the most incredible ability to ignore things that they don't like or agree with. Despite the fact that there is evidence that other gods REALLY exist out in the multiverse, few people of a deeply religious persuasion will be convinced that their faith is wrong, and frankly, they won't have any evidence that it is wrong, just that others might be right or at least half right. Not only that, but the people of Earth will take a major turn to the right, at least where the military and defense are concerned. The people of Foothold, who will also be primarily Shadow Primes, will also be some of the most paranoid and xenophobic people in existence. After all, they don't have a nice scary woman with knives in her hair to keep the Blood War out of their back yards, and most likely someone in their family from within the past three generations will have lost a loved one to the Astral War. The rich stay because of the prestige and the access to the trading potential from the Planes, but they will have their ways out if things go wrong in a hurry. The poor will be stuck in a city in a constant state of alert and occasional martial law, unable to escape after being suckered into moving here. Outsiders (and not just those with the outsider type either) bringing goods and skills will only be barely tolerated by the majority of people, and people trying to convert to a new way of thinking will have an uphill battle. Not only that, but much of Earth culture would be alien to the Planes even though are societies are founded on these concepts. Thus, while not impossible, the Factions would probably find that trying to get converts in Foothold would be a massive uphill struggle on numerous fronts. Thus until at least a century passes (nothing for the Planes, a hell of a long time for Shadow Primes who measure changes in technology/society/culture in increments of weeks or days) would have to pass after the Astral War before the Factions would be able to show any major progress on Foothold. They would not be nonentities or even political nonentities, but the power of the Factions would probably be much more limited than anywhere else in the multiverse, excluding Earth itself..

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:38

(Reply to #12) #13

Edward Davis

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Quote:

Originally posted by Serpentine We're just going to have to agree to disagree, Eyes. The difference we're arguing about is basically that you have a vision of human citizens in Foothold as significantly more hostile and xenophobic than I see them, particularly regarding the githyanki and factions.

I disagree.

Today's Easter. Christianity, as an example, has a long history of adapting existing concepts and feast days to subsume the religions already in place and convert their worshippers. Conversions from philosophy to philosophy and religion to religion do go on, even in (especially in) hostile environments.

People are more open to ideas that are similar to theirs -- especially when those ideas are explained in the guise of their own. Each faction has members of different alignments and cultures, and they incorporate faction ideas without denying their other ideas. These are not new ideas. They have measured benefits unlike religions.

The difference between a cult and a religion is about a hundred years. Most ideas don't age like people do.

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:39

(Reply to #13) #14

Edward Davis

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Quote:

Originally posted by Eyes in the Darkness I never said it wouldn't happen, just that in the time span of a few decades that we visualize, the going would be extremely difficult for the Factions, especially due to the very reasons you just mentioned. Western culture has a habit of not resisting foreign ideas, but absorbing and assimilating them. Most people, in their own minds, see their ways as best and will try and change people to their way of thinking. So picture if you will this situation: a large city with, while not identical cultures, four cultures that have shared a small planet in close contact with one another for close to a hundred years, which for this planet is a very long time indeed. These people have, at best, two generations removing them from an invasion from alien outsiders, and two generations only counts those who are children, with most people having been alive or their parents alive at the time of the Astral War. They are for the most part under near constant martial law because the Lower Planes have a habit of knocking on their door. Also, they all have deep root traditions and many of them have a powerful monotheistic religion backing them, an alien concept on the planes that exerts enormous influence on people's lives. Those that don't belong to one of the three major monotheistic religions probably belong to another major religious force such as Hindusim or Buddhism, to name two examples, or are athiest another group with deep established beliefs in their world. It's not that the people of the Planes won't be present in Foothold, its just that they will most likely be vastly outnumbered by Shadow Prime humans and thus the philosophies of the Factions will have a very hard time penetrating through multiple layers of belief, social inertia, and mild xenophobia. Also, considering the fact that Foothold's biggest resource to the Planes would be knowledge, because despite its separation from the Planes, Earth has done extremely well for itself in many areas, particularly technology. So this is the question: if on Foothold Earth has the stronger culture, then when people come to convert them to Faction philosophies that are similar to theirs, who will convert whom?

Oh yeah, Earth also has English on its side. I wonder how many languages that that bastardized spawn of the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons will consume?

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:40

(Reply to #14) #15

Edward Davis

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Quote:

Originally posted by Beleriphon Well I came up with a brilliant idea to populate a place like Foothold. During the mid to late 19th Century the US and Canadian goverments would pay people a sizable area of land if they moved to the western portions of the country. This was appealing to many of the poor city dwellers, but even more appealing to the European masses being affected by the industrial revolution. And of course all of them paid taxes, as well as produced food and other resources.

So Foothold could looked as the gate to the "New West".

Quote:

Originally posted by RoastSlinky
I thought foothold was going to be a playground for the rich and famous.

Honestly, I think it can be both. You can give out as much free land as you want in Foothold, but in the end, who's going to be running the picture? That's right, the rich tycoons who originally sponsored the project.

I can imagine a massive rich/poor divide on Foothold. With the rich gleefully lording it over the working class people who came to Foothold looking for new oppertunities. Not unlike the "49ers" during the California gold rush in the 1800's. Millions of poor people go off-world to find a better life only to have their dreams shattered and thrown into equally unsatisfing jobs. Only with new employers.

This would also encourage many people to become planewalkers, if only to get the adventure that was promised to them from those flashy real-estate ads. ("I can't take it anymore! There has to be more to the planes than THIS hellhole.").

Quote:

Originally posted by WilliamPall
And on that fine note . . . I'm sure at least some who leave in search of a better place are met by certain real estate agents that would just love to get them into a nice time share in Baator.

Thu, 2005-02-10 15:41

(Reply to #15) #16

Edward Davis

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And I'm done....

*faints*

Thu, 2005-02-10 16:26

(Reply to #16) #17

Eco-Mono

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Re: The Astral City-State of Foothold

This is really taking shape into something amazing.

Oh, and...

"Edward Davis" wrote:

A few planewalkers have wondered how the Shadow Primes can continue to use divine magic after effectively cutting off the connection to the gods. But, somehow, Shadow Primes seem completely unfazed without their Deities.

*knowing grin*

Fri, 2005-02-11 09:47

(Reply to #17) #18

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Just a note of warning: please don't drag real-world politics into this project by making blanket statements about Republicans-this or Democrats-that. It's like putting a cactus under people's bums. I recommend steering clear of obvious political analogies or critiques of the left and right. Focus on technology, culture, fashion, modern magic, gadgets, even economics, but you *will* have a flame war if you take this as an opportunity to slag one political ideology or another.

I like the Grand Central Station idea, btw. Very much in the vein of Jules Verne. I believe the Book of Worlds (from Mage: The Ascension) had a similar take on Deep Umbra exploration. Might want to reference that for ideas.

Fri, 2005-02-11 10:21

(Reply to #18) #19

Edward Davis

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"Krypter" wrote:

I couldn't agree with you more. All those statement were made by Eyes in the Darkness and Serpentine and don't represent the opinion of Linda OR myself. I just wasn't able to seperate the Politically Correct stuff from the non-PC stuff without losing most of the Politically Correct fluff.

Just ignore the stuff that offends you, I guess.

Sun, 2005-02-13 01:20

(Reply to #19) #20

Fell

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"Krypter" wrote:

I believe the Book of Worlds (from Mage: The Ascension) had a similar take on Deep Umbra exploration. Might want to reference that for ideas.

The one MtA tome I don't have.

Details?

Sat, 2006-03-11 05:28

(Reply to #20) #21

Terra Nova

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Do any other races live here in Foothold? Like elves, drow ect.

Sun, 2006-03-12 05:27

(Reply to #21) #22

nick012000

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Thing is, that's largely right. Neoconservatives will fit right into the Fated, and most scientists will cleave to the Fraternity of Order. As a result, good chunks of modern society will cleave right into the factions.

Sun, 2006-03-12 17:50

(Reply to #22) #23

Edward Davis

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'Terra Nova' wrote:

Do any other races live here in Foothold? Like elves, drow ect.

While the city is mostly populated by humans from Earth, there is a small minority of other races from other planes. Githzerai, the planetouched, Gensai, and gnomes from Bytopia are common non-humans that live a life on Foothold.

Githyanki are generally unwelcome though.

Sun, 2006-07-02 23:52

(Reply to #23) #24

Terra Nova

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Will we still have this city in setting or scrap it?

Mon, 2006-07-03 10:00

(Reply to #24) #25

Ulden Throatbane

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I think it could be a keeper-but it may be highly changed. More like a Port Royale on the Astral.

Just replace the Earthlings with Hardheads, throw in a few Fraal, and it fits with how the Astral War currently is portrayed.

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