As a couple of you may know, I very recently picked up Flaming’s (at the time of writing) months old idea to create a new extra canon, centered around colonialism and steampunk/dieselpunk. Said idea was discussed in this post in particular, and as you can see, the interest was definitely there. Therefore, I decided to began working on the idea myself, and after some time I have made considerable progress in crafting the world of Bhaadea.
This is what the very much incomplete globe map of the Bhaadea looks like. 90% of all plots still have to be added, but this is the general outline of how I will develop the world. As you can see, the world is divided between five continents, and depending on the continent you choose you’ll be able to carry out different kinds of roleplay:
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Adhikend is the the center of the modern world. Its west is very similar to our Europe, home to many territorially smaller nations, a good amount of which make more than up for that by being the hegemons of vast colonial empires. The east of Adhikend is instead similar to our Asia, being home to many larger empires that, while bigger in continuous territory, do not have a colonial empire if not for a couple of small overseas territories closeby. Of course, there are exceptions for both regions, but on a general level the powers developed in such ways due to different influences and factors in their histories. Together with these mighty nations also exist much smaller states, who don’t possess colonial holdings and are instead confined to the continent and to lower levels of international power (for now, at least).
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Pahjetaan is a land of much conflict. While part of the “Old World”, in the last decades the continent has become the new target of the Adhikendian colonial empires, due to the enormous amounts of natural resources and the low development levels of most of its regions. While the overseas empires and their colonies rule undisputed in the west, dominating countless native tribes and peoples, the more developed eastern Pahjetaanian powers continue to push back the overseas invaders, doing their best to adapt and respond to the situation. Some have fully industrialized by buying or acquiring Adhikendian technologies through other means, while others have remained set in their old ways.
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Naydun is (or at least was multiple centuries ago) the New World. The large continent was home to the first colonies of the Adhikendian empires, and was the very testing ground for the idea of colonialism that has become so prevalent in the modern age. Its native populations were almost completely wiped out due to plagues, infighting and systematic extermination, and as such the supermajority of the population is foreign to the continent. While most of the world’s colonial possessions are indeed situated here, some colonies have managed to obtain their independence over the centuries, and a couple even match Adhikendian nations. Ideas of self-governance, freedom and independence are spreading here from these free powers, while resistance movements and rebellions are beginning to emerge throughout the continent.
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Thandvei and Thanboi are lands of ice and storm. Situated at the poles these two continents are the coldest regions of the planet, and as such, nobody truly lives in these desolated icy wastes.
While I’ll be the one to add plots to Adhikend and eastern Pahjetaan, I was thinking of collaborating with anyobody interested in the project to add the remaining colonial plots of Naydun and western Pahjetaan. To do so, I’ll also develop a physical and resource map for the entirety of Bhaadea, to ensure that most empires can match each other in resource availability.
The fantasy world of Bhaadea will be centered around colonialism in a setting based on steampunk and dieselpunk, in this fantasy world’s version of the early 1920s (precisely, the world’s current year is 1921). Magic will still exist in the world much like it does in Aurora, and it will be partially used to explain the myriad of fantastic “-punk” technologies used in the canon. This should therefore accomodate everyone, as very low magic can be used to allow for these technologies (just imagine a very simple magical contraption that simply greatly increases steam’s pressure or the power of diesel engines, so almost like weird tech rather than fantastical magic). Obviously though, magic can also be far more present in a nation’s technology and society: its all up to the roleplayer’s discretion.
Being set in the “1920s” the setting will have overall similar statistics, although certain things will be tweaked due to the existence of magic and fantasy technologies. For example, I’m thinking of a global population of around 2.5 billion as of 1921, higher compared to that of our world. Speaking of population, with the existence of magic and the canon being fantastical in nature, humans will not be the only intelligent species in Bhaadea: much like in Aurora, each roleplayer will have full autonomy on the species that live in their nation and/or empire. This obviously ranges anywhere from a species making up the ruling class, to being equal citizens with others, to being slaves: as with most other things in Bhaadea, all is up to the roleplayer.
So yeah, this should be all for now. I’ll keep working on Bhaadea’s maps, develop its world, and keep updating you all on the progress I make. Of course, if you have any questions pertaining to this new canon proposal of mine, feel more than free to ask them here. And now, I do have a question for you.
- Yes, I would.
- No, I wouldn’t.
- I have yet to decide.
