User:CanisCRT/sandbox

Maze, or the Kingdom of Maze (Maziar: El Reino de Maze), is the eastern-most country of Feila. Its mainland is bordered entirely by ocean, except for a small land boundary at northwest, where it connects with the country of Kahun. The Mazan territory also includes the Ve islands, at east. Maze has the second largest area of Feila, losing only for the continent of Honshu. Also, it is one of the most poulated countries as well.


 * Tips for Role-playing: This article offers a broader overiew of Maze, with the intention of aiding you, player, with some mre insight about what to do in Maze and also provide your RPG mates to share an common feeling about the stage (which helps the story to flow with less confusion). It offers details which sometimes are more generic and others it seems very specific. Under any circurnstances, however, you have the freedom to ingore the standarts and work with your own concepts and styles. Think on this as if you had this "sphere of influence" surrounding you. Outside it, or the subjects which are not of your interest, things flow according to the defaults here. But inside the sphere, or in the subjects which you are willing to work on, things may be like the defaults, completely against them, or anything in between. In other words, you have the freedom to take anything said here an reshape at your hearth's content.

Because of its natural resources and conditions for several activities, the territory of Maze was subject to many external influences, often simultaneously, along all its history. As a result, the country, first colonized by the Rodents, became a highly variated country, both in demographic and cultural aspects. The name Maze comes from Mae-Zahen, a term from an ancient dialect which means "The Good Land".

Geography
Main article: Geography of Maze

With an average level of about 100~200m above the sea level, Maze's terrain alternates mostly between long extensions of plain fields, uplands and hills. Mountains are usualy found at one of the country's two mountain ranges: the Hollow Giants (Maziar: Gigantes Vacios, or Gigantes Vazios) and the White Tusks (Maziar: Presas Blancas, or Agkonári). Outside them it is still possible find some mountains, but those are very scarce. So are valleys and other depressions. Given the country's early years, the terrain is mostly vulcanic-based, which makes it rich in noutrishments and favors agriculture. Maze has no active vulcans today. The country is generaly isolated by the sea, but with a small land boundary at the north, called as Corridor of Duero, which links the country with Kahun.



Tips for Role-playing: The text is not specific about every centimeter of the country. You may create any kind of landform, like an isolate mountain or a canyon, for your role-play, considering what's being proposed or not. Good-sense is recomended, as keeping some traces of the proposed guidelines will help the other other players to understand your ideas. For making the creation process easier and quicker, have a good list of references, both Feila and Real life-based.

Maze has plenty of rivers and lakes, although the great majority of them does not reach the sea, becoming a larger river's afluent. The two most famous rivers of the country, the rivers Verde and Azul], are fed by a great number of those tributaries. The two rivers are born somewhere at north of the country and flow south. There, they meet, forming the [[Lake Esperanza, whose waters reach the ocean at south, by the formed River Esperanza. Navigation is possible at many of the extensions of the rivers Azul and Verde, as well as at the Lake. The River Esperanza, however, has a violent current at most of its extension, making navigation very dangerous. Also, this river, meeting the sea at the Desperados, an area of tall cliffs, forms the Dalia Falls, the country's tallest waterfall.

Also considered as part of the Mazan territory, the Archipelago of Ve, or Ve Islands (Maziar: Ilhas Ve) is a group of around a couple dozens of islands. Most of them are too short for sustaining any comunity larger than a village, but among the few exceptions there is the City of Ve (Maziar: Ciudad del Ve) a major city which serves as the headquarters for the country's most popular religion, Camino. It is located at the Noble Island, a larger island considered to be the center of the archipelago.

Tips for Role-playing: If you are pursuiting some accuracy to the standarts, create a village or a minor town at one of the unnamed islands. But if you still want to create a larger city at one of the Ve Islands, try to explain why and how this city is important, and try to make it smaller than the City of Ve, or at most at the same size of it, as this city is considered as the largest and most important there.

The country's climates usualy are the mediterranean at the coasts, monsoon tropical at the center and semi-arid or savanna at the northwest, as Maze approaches to the deserts beyond the Corridor of Duero. At the northeast, a subtropical climate can be found. The rain cycle in the land is somehow stable and easily predictable, favoring agriculture. The rains start at the middle of May and ending at the end of June., but returns stronger and more frequent progressively from the second half of September to the first half of january.

The vegetation of maze follows the climates. Maze's terrain is rich in noutrishments because in a far past it had many active vulcans, all of them extinct now. At the mediterranean areas, the average vegetation is short, and evergreen trees (such as pine or cypress) are easier to find, coumpounding many of the forests here. At the tropical areas, vegetation tends to be thicker and bigger, as well as more variated. The savanna areas are marked by having mostly dry grass, bushes and medium trees which require less water to survive.Those trees usualy have thick, crisp barks and distorced trunks. Cactuses can already be found there, in small numbers and sizes than at Kahun.

The wildlife of Maze follows the flora. Any species from the mediterranean or tropical areas can be found here. A notable presence is of the Bengal Tigers. They were brought to here from Yamaha when Maze started to have contact with oversea lands. Considered as good guardians or pets, the animals which escaped quickly adapted to the enviroment, populating it in a fast pace. Today the situation is stabilized, and the tigers are completely fit into the country's ecology. Maze has a huge variety of avians and fish as well. The Colibri, or the humming bird, is the country's symbol, as it has religious importance.

History
''main article: History of Maze"

Through its history, Maze always was marked by intense influences from all parts of Feila - situation which remains unchanged. The first to colonize the territory were pre-historic tribes during an Ice Age. But even after the meltdown new people stoped to come. Mazan comunities were uni or pluri-racial nomad tribes, but with country's rich resources and favorable conditions, they took little time to learn agriculture and stabilish the first villages. Most of them built close to water sources, those comunities took little time to start interact with each other, either peaceful or violently.

As time passed, several minor civilizations emerged and fell in the territory in relatively short periods of time. Such condition changed during the feilan Classical age, with the advent of the Athens empire (Maziar: Império Ateniense). A greek-like civilization which, during its existence, provoked great social and cultural development in the territory of Maze, contributing greatly with the fusion of different traditions and forming the first traces of a national identidy. The athens empire lasted for centuries, but fell after internal conflicts, resulted from disastrous failures at conquering the territory of today's Kahun.

After the fall of Athens, Maze returned to the system of independent comunities (although now their relations were much more advanced than earlier) until the rise of Maze's second greatest civilization: the Roman (Maziar: ''Império Romano"). The only empire to sucessfuly control the whole territory of today's Maze, the romans followed much of the principles of the athens, making Maze once again experience intense cultural and social development. The roman empire lasted until being conquered by the forces of the just-unified country of Kahun. The day the roman capital, Millano, was taken is considered as the history divisor of the mazan calendar, divided in Before and After Nero, in reference to the roman emperor at that day.

Tips for Role-playing: Notice that Athens and Roman empires are based greek and roman empires at Earth, but are not the same. Despite being so similar they had a different history from their real life counter-parts. You may use the real history as a reference purely, or mix it with your own.

Maze them remained under Kahun control for centuries, until the rise of a leader Called Cid Durango. A genial strategist, he assembled maze's first liberation forces. The charge of leader of the mazan revolution was inherited by Cid's daughter, Dalia and later by her son, Bento. The stories about this family's deeds raised the rumors of divine blood running through the Durango veins, granting them remarkable reputation. Eventualy, when all that was left from the kahunian occupation were a few resistance points at the correidor of Duero, Maze celebrated freedom, now no longer as independed cities, but as a nation, ready to never let Kahun come again. Traditionaly, it is said that at March 27th of the year 400 AN, Bento Durango, also called by mazans as the Dextro Bree (gods' right hand), was crowned king of the now unified Kingdom of Maze. At the ocasion, the new king changed his name to Bento Bree I. The new last name was taken later by all his descendants, which rule Maze until today.

Tips for Role-playing: The mazans at the medieval age didn't had free access to history books or a large-scale educational system. So, an average pesant knowns little about the country's history. The mobs know about the Athens and Roman empires, but much of the facts were corrupted in mythology and folklore. The same happens in the period between the fall of Rome and the coronation of the first Bree, but the knowledge about this period has more accurate relation with the real facts. People who have access to historical documents, most of the time nobles or clerics, naturaly are more likely to know more about the truth (or think that they know), but that doesn't mean that all noblemen and clergy have access to this knowledge. Besides, it is perfectly possible to certain peasants, or even slaves, to know what the nobles know. All they need is a noble patron or any other way of accessing the history documentation. If your character knows or not about the mazan history, as well as how much he/she knows, is entirely up to your interest.

Government and politics
View main topic: Politics of Maze

Maze lives a regime of absolute monarchy, where the king (Maziar: El Rey), or queen (Maziar: La Raiña) is the supreme authority, as the monarch's lineage "has divine root". His word is absolute, and his will is undeniable. Below the king, there is a Senate of 33 Gran-Dukes/Gran Duchesses, whose function is to advise His/Her Majesty and rule over what is not of his concern. In a same degree of the senate in authority and with similar function, there is a religious council, called as First Collumn (Maziar: Prima Coluna) whose president (and supreme leader of Camino) is the Abbot.

Division of the Territory
Maze is divided into 5 provinces. Each province also counts with a capital, host of the local government and not by chance the largest city in the region.


 * The Province of Madrid: At the center of the country, delimited by the many geographic points of reference of Maze. Madrid is the only province which doesn't have contact with the sea. Its capital is Castilla, which also the capital of the Country.


 * The Province of Madeira: At southwest of the country, the Province of Madeira has the important role of having the most procured ports for/from other countries, either by people and goods transport. Its capital is Lisboa.


 * The Province of Durango: At northwest, the provice of Durango, is the closest area to Kahun, and naturaly that makes it the most heavily guarded defense line of Maze. Its capital is named Ciudad del Durango.


 * The Province of Atenas: At northeast of the country, the province of Atenas is known for the amount of academies, libraries and other education institutes. Here a great empire once existed, long before Roma. Decapolis is the capital.


 * The province of Roma: At southeast of the country, Roma was once home of Maze's greatest empire. Today the province is a respected center of business and education, and also has the largest sea water fishing industry in the kingdom. His capital is the oldest city in Maze: Milano.

Each province is governed by a Governor, named by the king, and a Council of 15-20 nobles, named by the Senate. The mazan royalty also is represented by a Royal Secretary. The Island of Ve, at east of the country, is neither a province nor part of Atenas or Roma. It is a municipality ruled directly by the highest ranks of Camino.

Tips for Role-playing: Those 5 basic resources serve as guidelines for many different things. You may decide your character's name based on where he was born, or where he was born based on his name. Cities' names are likely to follow the territory they are, but such thing is inaccurate: you may find a city with an italian name in the "greek" area, for example. Naturaly, you are still able to create your city's name as well.

Cities government
In Maze, there are two special kinds of city government systems: Protected and Emancipated. In Maze, there is a special right exclusive to aristocrates called "Right of Rulership". That right states that a noble may claim the rulership over a given city at any given time. For that, he directs a petitioning to the king, which may deffer or deny. Once approved, the noble becomes the legitimate ruler over that city, (the Lord Protector), inheriting both rights and duties the charge carries. There are only three rules concerning the use of such right:


 * The noble may claim a right of rulership over only one comunity at a time;
 * The noble must live in the claimed city or close to it, but never in another city; and
 * The noble may not claim the right over a city which is already protected by another noble of same rank or higher.

Once a city is claimed by a noble, it is said that it becomes protected by him/her (the citizens, however, think that seized is a much more accurate term). Cities which are not protected or whose lord protector resigned (or died, or whatever) have their own methods of chosing government, and are said to be emancipated. In Maze, no villages have been claimed yet, and towns can be equaly found protected or emacipated. All the larger towns and cities, however, are already under protection. The right of rulership over a city is inheritable, as long as the heir is legitimate.

One last detail about the Right of Rulership is that, once a city becomes protected, it receives a title, such as marquity, county, duchy... everything according to the Lord Protector's title. If a protected city has his ruler changed, them the city's title changes as well. The only exception, naturaly, is the country's capital, Castilla, which is entitled as "The Royal Capital of Castilla". The concession of these titles, and the control over the process is resposability of the Royal Secretary of that region.

Tips for Role-playing: If you want to involve this rulership system to your rpg, consider why would a noble want to claim a certain city, town, village or any other community. The obvious answer would be based on how economicaly productive is the place, but money is not the only choice. If you are going to give this attention during your RPG, try to think on which other reasons, besides money, that a noble would want to take over a city. Or even if there are more than one noble interested in that specific place. Be creative.

International Affairs
Maze, given its wealthy resources and conditions for several economic activites, is economicaly an interesting region. Such condition puts the country in a complicate situation: having the weakest of all armed forces over Feila, it would hardly sustain defense against a full organized offensive. Having no choice, Maze turned to diplomacy and became a neutral nation. But such comes with a heavy price: the taxes imposed for keeping such peace stripe away a high portion of the country's tresaure, making people often to work basicaly for sustaining someone else.

Maze, in general, is a neutral country. They keep economic interaction with most of the countries, but politicaly and military speaking it tends to be more isolated. Maze is waging war with Kahun ever since both countries' formations, but now it seems that they reached a non-agression agreement. There were no known confrontations within the last years, but such stability is highly fragile. With Domus, things are very different: the south is warmly welcomed among many mazan tables. Yamahans are treated with neutrality, but in Atenas they are more cordially treated, as both regions prize knowledge in a similar manner. With Gawain and Edwin, Maze is pretty much neutral, but they tend to favor Gawain. Piriqui never showed much interest for Maze and vice-versa, although the east keeps a few ports at the country of the ravens, for the sake of supporting their own navigation. The relation with the Artic Islands is as neutral as with Edwin.

Culture:
Main topic: Culture of Maze

The cultural formation of Maze is as variated as it's people. It was formed as the different etnies present here interacted with each other and merged, and even after that, as the various people from around the world came to here looking for good fields. This formed a huge patchwork of customs and ideals, which slowly influenced each other, merging all the variety and giving birth to a rich, unique culture. Maze is known by being a country of remarkable variety and of strong passion, be it towards people, objects, habits or addictions. Carefree joy and informalidade dictate the rythm of their lifestyle and behavior, which contrasts radicaly with the highly solemn aura of the Camino ceremonies, the country's most practiced religion. Among the peasants, the large majority of the population, work is a symbol of status as important as money. The more you show to put effort on your activities, the more likely you are going to be respected by the people around. Mazans speak maziar, but it's not rare to people from any class, even slaves, to know at least the basics of another language, Domus' most of the time, as the two languages are similar in some aspects.

Tips for Role-playing: In the world, you can see that the comunities worldwide have a certain degree of common sense over things, and often this coletive mind is based on generalizations, prejudices and the like. When you create a character which follows all the parameters of the common sense, you are making a part of the masses. When you do the opposite, you are creating a radical. Both figures are very entertaining, but you may try a third alternative: give your character a formed opinion. If you're willing to do that, try to think on which subjects your character agrees with the masses and on which ones he thinks different. In many matters, it is not a "1 or 2" choice. So, be creative. After all, individuals may think like or unlike masses, but are still individuals. Be creative. Be unique.

Compared to Earth, the Mazan culture reflects most of Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, along with their colonies. Although such diversity is seamlessly merged in Maze, being anything being found anywhere in the territory, there are territories where one influence is more noticeable than the others. This fact later defined the formation of the country's political division:


 * Madrid, the central province of Maze is more a purely-based Spain;
 * Durango tends to reflect the spanish colonies;
 * Roma is an Italian-related Maze;
 * Madeira is much of a Portugal (and its colonies);
 * Atenas represents the Greece of Maze.

The spanish culture, among all, is more or less the second most influent in all the provinces but Madrid, binding everything together and making Maze one.

Tips for Role-playing: Those Feila-Earth comparations serve for giving you an instantaneous reference. With them, you can promptely get a better image of how is Maze. There were no colonial countries during the Middle ages, but it doesn't mean you can't make use of them as well. City names, geographic references, maybe ruins of american civilizations. Remember that Feila followed a similar development of Earth, but they are not equal. Be creative, but keeping the good sense. Also, do not feel restricted to this or that area: this division among the cultures has very blurry borders.

As any other feilan, they have no idea of the existence of humankind, and also forgot the period of the barbarian tribes and such. Their oldest knowledge is about the empires of Athens and Rome. Some nobles bear documents and other historical materials but, for the majority, facts were corrupted into legends and camino theology. The same fate happened to the formation of the country as an united nation, but there's a certain degree of accuracy still exists. They know about the kahunian ocupation, and about the Cid/Bree legacy. But, as expected, supertition and divine will are mixed inbetween. The few who dare to question the fact of Bento Bree's divine ascencion (and that, instead, he was murdered by a member of the senate) are harshly reprehended.

Tips for Role-playing: This paragraph gives you an overall idea of how much the mazans know about their past. There are people who knows more than others, and also people who think that know more than others. The possibilities are many.

Society
Main article: Society of Maze

Maze is a society divided in three main classes: commoners, clergy and nobles. Each of those classes is structured by itself, and its possible for an individual to switch his social status, although "possible" is not the same as "easy" all the time.

Commoners:
The large majority of Maze. The social division is accepted traditionaly, but not officialy recognized, such as the nobility, with titles proving your condition and such.


 * Burguesy: rich people, but without noble titles.
 * Peasants: the mob. Anyone who's not a noble.
 * Servants: below the peasants, but yet considered as the same. Servants are people who are currently paying a debt with submision. Not to confuse with
 * Slaves: The lowest status in Maze. Slaves here are people sold by their parents or current owner (In Maze, the children are considered as property of the father until turning 15). War prisioners and criminals also may be turned into slaves. At any case, there is an special title for definying a slave. The "Ownership certificate" is retained by the owner of that slave and works as a certificate of property.

The Clergy:
Between commoners and nobles, there are those who decide to embrace the religious path. The clerics may be as wealthy as a noble or as poor as a peasant. At any case, they have a certain degree of social value as ministers of faith. The hierarchy is defined and entitled.

*to come: religious hierarchy of Camino*

Royalty and Nobility:
Finaly, above all else, the nobility stands absolute. Considered as naturaly superiors of the mob, this class is structured, inheritable and strictely defined by titles and ranks. The noblity ranks are divided in (from highest to lowest):

El Rey/La Raiña: naturaly, above all else, the king, or queen, stands absolute. As the direct descendant of the Bree house, the monarch has the power to decide anything, regardless of the circumstances. His word is absolute, and can never by denied. In Maze, only the direct descendent of the Bree, being him male or female, can be the supreme monarch, although his consort usualy also has influence as well.

Royalty: Below the king, there is his family. That includes the parents (the Regio Pater, a retired (but still alive) king, and the Regio Madre, the mother queen), the queen, the Heirs (princes and princesses) and the Branch family (all his cousins, siblings and uncles/aunts).

The Court: In Maze, the Court means all the nobles who aren't royalty.


 * Gran-Duque / Gran-Duquesa* (Grand Duke/Grand Duchess)
 * Duque / Duquesa* (Duke/Duchess)
 * Marqués / Marquesa* (Marquis/Marquise)
 * Conde / Condesa (Count* / Countess).
 * Visconde / Viscondesa* (Viscount / Viscountess)
 * Barón / Baronesa* (Baron / Baroness)

 *  The women inherits the title of the husband, even if she was a peasant before marrying. The children she had with the noble (being them legitimante) also inherit the title, one rank lower. The title belongs to her even with the husband's death, but is lost at the moment she marries again. Sometimes, the king bestowed noble titles directly to ladies. In this case, she retains the title even if marrying.

Military
''Main aricle: Military of Maze

Maze has the weakest military power in Feila, which barely serves for protecting the territory's borders. Such situation comes ever since the fall of the roman empire, as the Kahunian forces assured to mitigate any kind of military resource, forbidding the conquered to produce and wield any kind of weapon. Also, the military structure was severely damaged, making it nearly useless.

After the liberation of the country, and its formation, the damages dealt to the system never healed enough for giving Maze a true advantage again. The only heritage were the advanced strategic teachings, most of them developed by the liberators of Maze an advanced knowledge which goes beyond the "flank and siege" matter. Today, this and the diplomatic agreements are the only things that keep the country free, at heavy costs for its people: the tributes paid to the other countries for keeping peace are harsh.

Once joining the army, the first thing a recruit do is to learn to read and write, as such skill is important for understanding written orders. The training methods between army and navy is very similar. Soldiers in Maze have to handle themselves at any circunstances. So, survival, orientation, first aid and head-to-head combat are priority. The most used weapon is the flagelo, a short and light trident which serves either as a melee or throwing weapon. During their training, some individuals show more potential in specific areas. In this case, they may be transfered to the cavalry, archery or war magic divisions. The only difference between army and navy is that in the second one the sailors' training is more oriented to archery. And they also learn to navigate.

Religion
Main article: Religion of Maze

In Maze, about 60% of the population claims to follow the teachings of an ancient religion called Camino, which means "path, road" in maziar. The religion was formed aeons ago, and reflects the many creeds of the first comunities. Much of the camino dogmas were based in ancient pagan traditions, much of it of animist roots (worship of elements and natural phenomenons).

The Pantheon and minor gods
All camineers believe in the existence of two groups of gods: the Major and the Lesser. The major gods, 4 at total, created the world and everything which exists on it. The lesser gods were created by the major ones, for aiding them in the construction of the world by performing specific duties. Also, it's said that Necros, a treacherous god, was banished from the pantheon after bringing the war which destroyed the gods' society. It's said that he wanders aimlessly, seeding the chaos and instigating war. There are all sorts of lesser gods and, while the pantheon is more national, the lesser gods often are more localy recognized. Lesser gods are addressed as Grande (Gd.) for the male, or Grandiosa (Gda.) for the female.

The major gods of Camino:

 * Eolon: Eolon is the leader of the pantheon. Represented as an aged mouse with a long beard and pure white fur, he carries a balança. He is the keeper of the balance of the world, such as day and night, water and land, rain and drought. His temples, almost always built with clear materials, such as marble, ivory, granite and the lile, usualy follow simetric patterns and are centered at the image of his balança, symbol of order and equilibrium.


 * Gaea: The goddess of earth and life, she planted the tree of souls. She is a young female squierrel whose fur has the smooth tone of a nut. She's often portraited as wearing ornamented, colorful dresses and a small hat and carrying a small basket, which has fruits, flowers or puppies. Her temples are colorful, and evoke the elements of a garden.


 * Hidritio: Hidritio is the god of the waters. He is a weasel with a rotund but powerful shape and navy blue fur. Always carrying a trident, wearing a white toga and with fins instead of ears, the weasel also is said to wear a belt made of pure gold and saphires. His temples are often close to the seas and have a more pure greek pattern. Waves, reefs and seashells ilustrate its interiors.


 * Helios: The god of justice, Helios is a is a strong dog (breed: spanish alano) with a clear brown fur. Dressed as a roman general wielding a long golden warhammer, this god would be somewhat fearsome or related with Necro and his prediletion to war, but his marriage with Gaea generated the numerous gods of reason, moralty, honestity... His temples often suggest decoration based on roman academies, but centered in the image of the sun.


 * Necros: This god was long banished from the pantheon after instigating the war among the gods. Artists avoid portraiting him and he doesn't have a defined race, although in most of the times he is a snake. Usualy he wears a black blindfold (its said that he is blind) and rotten clothing. No sane mazans dare to worship him, and any temple built within the borders is promptely destroyed.

Tips for Role-playing: The major gods of Camino are based on the four elements: Wind (Eolon), Earth (Gaea), Water (Hidritio) and Fire (Helios).

Life and death
Camineers believe in the "Garden of Gaea", a place of immense beauty, where the Tree of Souls stand. All souls are born here, as the seeds of this tree's fruit. the mature fruits them fall to Feila, bringing the souls within it. After dying, the mazan's acts are judged by the gods of the pantheon and has his soul weighted. If it is lighter than an orange seed, them the soul may return to the Garden. If considered impure, or "rotten", the soul is crushed by the Hammer of Juris, god of justice, and mixed to the ration which feeds his pigs. A teaching the high chamber tries to eliminate, but is still truth for many, is that sometimes the gods don't decide the soul's fate right away and sent it back to the mortal world. If it is for completing an unfinished task, it returns as a mortal. If it is a temporary punition, it remains as a wandering spirit, chained to the place it once died. This last teaching is gave more by parents, trying to make their children to behave.

Temples
Both major and lesser gods have temples, being the first in more number than the others. Temples are usualy not built within a city's borders, found more likely at higher places, like the top of a hill. Camineers see the long stairs leading to the temple as a way of leaving the mortal world and get closer to their deities. The temples usually follow the traditional gothic architeture, and have detailed vitrals which often serves as the temple's ID. Sometimes those temples may bear traces of greek and roman architetures, such as collumns surrounding the building and statues of the deities at the entrance. The smaller temples are not as majestic, but try to emulate that the best way they can do.

Villages usualy doesn't have temples, but try to keep a chapel or something if it is not close to a temple. Towns usualy have one temple around, but the larger ones have more. Often a town or city has two temples: one for the all the four major gods, and one smaller for an specific deity, mostly a lesser god, the patron of that city. Temples of lesser gods are more often at cities than the ones for the major gods. Notable examples are the temples of Gda. Arcadis, godess of magic, at Decapolis, and Gd. Bento, patron of Castilla. Those combine the complexibility of gothic structures with the design of classic temples.

Tips for Role-playing: In pratical terms, the temples have different structures, variating between a pure greek style to a gothic cathedral. Feel free to pick your choice, or to create a mix of the two.

Mythology
Main article: List of Camino Myths

The Camino tales often teach the bennefits of a rightful life and how a god punishes the dishonest. But the most remarkable stories are about the paladinos and their deeds. The paladins are people hand-picked by the gods and bestowed with epic quests. A paladin may be a warrior, a priest, a simple peasant, which did something epic in the name of the country or of Camino. According to the teachings, Cid Durango was the first paladin of Camino, legacy taken by Dalia and Bento. Also it's said that the Brees doesn't die as normal people do. Instead, their souls depart directly to the hall of the gods, to live among them.

Organization
*hierarchy yet to come*

Economy
Main Article: Economics of Maze

Mazan Coins In Ascending Order of Value
Quarter Ducat (1/4 Ducat) (Made of Brass) Half Ducat (1/2 Ducat) (Made of Copper) Silver Ducat (1 Ducat) (Made of Silver) Mazan Florin (3 Ducat) (Made of Silver) Gold Ducat (5 Ducat) (Made of Gold) Columnarios (8 Ducat) (Made of Gold) Sequin (12 Ducat) (Made of Gold) Bezante (20 Ducat) (Made of Gold)

Popular Values of Common Items
Tips for Role-playing: The purpose of the chart to follow this instructional text is to create a basis for the economy of Maze. By introducing popularly accepted values of common, well-understood items, the rest of the economy automatically falls into place, creating an entire, functional web of economics. In order to understand and use the chart, think of the values as the popular standard, the commonly accepted norm, and not as fixed values.

For example, if a carton of eggs in America is typically priced at $1 USD, it would be considered extremely abnormal and an unthinkable rip-off for one carton of eggs to be priced at $100 USD, and no one would be ignorant or desperate enough to buy such a ridiculously priced carton of eggs. One carton of eggs priced at $10 USD would be treated with much less ridicule and rejection, yet at the same time would still be considered very overpriced, and unless it was the last carton of eggs within miles, no one would buy it. Even then, the consumer would have to be depeserate for eggs, and would be much more likely to simply go without eggs until the price dropped to a reasonable amount or another vendor offered eggs at a much cheaper price.

Looking at a different product, a brand new movie in DVD format is typically about $15 USD. This means that a DVD movie in America is worth fifteen cartons of eggs when a DVD movie and a carton of eggs are priced at popularly accepted norms. Examining yet another product, a nice coat when bought new is often about $50 USD. This means that a nice, new coat is worth three or four DVD movies, or fifty cartons of eggs. To put these values into an even broader perspective, a 20” tube television set is about $150 USD, which means that a 20” tube TV is worth three nice, new coats, or about ten DVD movies, or one-hundred-and-fifty cartons of eggs.

A Chart Listing Popular Values of Common Items

1 Vegetable........................................................1 Quarter Ducat (1/4 ducat) 1 Piece of Parchment...............................................1 Quarter Ducat (1/4 ducat) 1 Low-powered Spell................................................1 Half Ducat (1/2 ducat) Average Tip........................................................1 Silver Ducat 1 Loaf of Bread....................................................1 Silver Ducat 1 Bag of Corn (0.5 pound)..........................................1 Mazan Florin (3 ducats) 1 Hammer...........................................................1 Gold Ducat (5 ducats) 1 Chicken (alive)..................................................2 Florins (6 ducats) 1 Pint of Ale......................................................1 Columnarios (8 ducat) 1 Inn Room for 1 Night.............................................3 Mazan Florins (9 ducats) 5 Arrows...........................................................2 Gold Ducats (10 ducats) 1 sack of grains (2 pounds)........................................2 Gold Ducats (10 ducats) 1 sack of vegetable (2 pounds).....................................3 Gold Ducats (15 ducats) 1 Pair of Gloves...................................................2 Columnarios (16 ducats) 1 Halberd..........................................................1 Bezante (20 ducats) Best Inn Room for 1 Night..........................................2 Sequins (24 ducats) 1 Pair of Boots....................................................2 Sequins (24 ducats) Average Tax on Peasants............................................1 Bezante and 2 Florins (26 ducats) Average Road Toll..................................................3 Sequins (36 ducats) 1 Cloak............................................................2 Bezante (40 ducats) 1 Helmet...........................................................4 Sequins (48 ducats) Chain-Mail Armour..................................................4 Bezante (80 ducats) Longsword..........................................................8 Bezante (160 ducats) Plate Armour.......................................................9 Bezante (360 ducats) 1 Lance............................................................21 Bezante (420 ducats) 1 Horse............................................................22 Bezante (440 ducats) 1 Average slave....................................................25 Bezante (500 ducats) 1 Powerful Spell...................................................45 Bezante (900 ducats) 1 Strong slave.....................................................48 Bezante (960 ducats) 1 Properly Made Longbow............................................54 Bezante (1,080 ducats) Hiring 1 Hitman....................................................60 Bezante (1,200 ducats) 1 Crossbow.........................................................75 Bezante (1,500 ducats) 1 Hovel............................................................90 Bezante (1,800 ducats) 1 Large Oak Desk...................................................135 Bezante (2,700 ducats) 1 Sorceror-For-Hire................................................180 Bezante (3,600 ducats) A Full Complement of Servants......................................210 Bezante (4,200 ducats) Average Cost to Raise a Regiment of Men-At-Arms....................240 Bezante (4,800 ducats) Two-Storey House...................................................270 Bezante (5,400 ducats) 1 Cart and Team of Horses..........................................300 Bezante (6,000 ducats) 1 Officer's Commission of the Edwinish Army........................330 Bezante (6,600 ducats) 1 Officer's Commission of the Royal Navy...........................360 Bezante (7,200 ducats) 1 Title of Rightful Rulership over a small town....................390 Bezante (7,800 ducats) 1 Manor-House......................................................540 Bezante (10,800 ducats) 8 Acres of Land....................................................600 Bezante (12,000 ducats) 1 Coal Mine........................................................660 Bezante (13,200 ducats) Bribes For the Royal Court.........................................720 Bezante (14,400 ducats) 1 Mansion..........................................................780 Bezante (15,600 ducats) 1 Masterpiece Painting.............................................840 Bezante (16,800 ducats) Building a Ship....................................................900 Bezante (18,000 ducats) Buying a Shipyard..................................................1050 Bezante (21,000 ducats) 1 Village..........................................................1200 Bezante (24,000 ducats) 1 Minor Highway (Income from Tolls)................................1500 Bezante (30,000 ducats) 1 Castle...........................................................1800 Bezante (36,000 ducats) 1 Major Highway (Income from Tolls)................................2100 Bezante (42,000 ducats) 1 Town.............................................................2400 Bezante (48,000 ducats) 1 Royal Palace.....................................................3200 Bezante (64,000 ducats)

Looking at a different perspective, let's assume that a villager earns only the salary of 2 ducats per day of work at the fields - the average salary/day in Maze. This way, he would purchase a loaf of bread (which probably should last for one or two days at most, if he's going to eat it alone) a day and still save 1 ducat. For acquiring a new pair of boots, he would have to work for 24 days (12 if he manages to get food for free). For paying the monthly tax for the crown, he would have to work for 26 days (or 13). An average slave worths around only one month more of work than what a horse does. If this average citizen wanted to save enough for building himself a new Royal Palace, he would have to work, without rests or spending with anything (even food), for no less than 88 years.

Trade Routes and popular roads for commerce

 * mapa: rotas comerciais de Maze*

Most popular roads
Castilla-Lisboa

Lisboa is the most procured port for leaving/arriving at Maze. Castilla is the country's center of commerce. So, this road is the most used for carrying most of the import/export goods, not to say the huge amount of people with compromisses to attend at the capital.

From Lisboa, the traveler goes northeast until Coimbra. From the city, he goes more or less in a straight line until Castilla, taking a piece of the Castilla=Durango road at the end.

Castilla-Milano

The southeast has a strong fishing industry, and the capital is the most eficient distribution market. So, caravans of conserved seafood and other coastal products are the most usual here. In the reverse, farming products, timber for the ships or any other fishing tools are the most common.

The shortest road between two capitals. Milano is the closest province capital to Castilla. From Castilla, travellers follow the river Azul until Siquenza y Sequeros. From the cities, people take the south road until Milano.

Castilla-Decapolis

This road is the second most well-guarded road in the country. The reason for that is that the caravans which use this road usualy carry valuable things, like scholars or wealthy nobles. Books, decorative objects (many of them fabricated with valuable materials) and many other goods apreciated at the educational centers found in Athens. The same goods travel in the way back.

Although it is not the most straight-foward, it is the most used road Castilla and Decapolis, as it has a larger share of towns, villages and other resupply points. Also, by following the river, it is much less costly. From Castilla to Siquenza y Sequeros, the road is the same as Castilla-Milano. From the joint, however, travellers take north, still following the river until reaching a suitable place to cross the river Azul. From there, they go north, pass through the Presas Blancas until reaching Atenas' capital.

Castilla-Durango

Castilla, as the "center of commerce" of all Maze, carries loads of supplies, tools and other resources to the defense lines close to Kahun. From Durango, another road forks, taking many of these supplies to Duero. Not much is used in the reverse way, but goods aprehended from Kahunian incursions goes to the capital. In the end, this road is way more used for military/political purposes than for usual trade.

This road is the most well guarded of all. From Castilla, the traveler takes the north road in a more or less straight path to the city of Salamanca. From this city, travelers have to make a decision: to cross the Hollow Giants or not. Usualy people preffer to go around, contourning the mountains by east, passing through Aires before reaching Durango. If the traveler is experient or in a rush, however, they keep going north and pass through the passages found in the range, taking less time and stops to reach Durango. This part of the road is dangerous, not only because of the highly accidented terrain, but also by the hazards - specialy cave-ins. Also, a reasonably high amount of thieves lurk in the area.

Durango-Decapolis

This road has been abandoned for a long time, but the most experienced merchants use it sometimes as a shortcut between the two cities. A very dangerous road to take. From Durango, travelers go to Aires and them they go in a long, relatively deserted path to Decapolis.

Decapolis-Milano

The two provinces share strong cultural and comercial bonds. This road is a good proof of that, as the goods produced at those provinces are more likely travel within themselves than to any other place, at some cases surpassing even the relations with Castilla.

The most preffered path is by ship, which is faster and safer, making only one stop at Grande Ve. Sometimes, however, people may preffer to go by land. In this case, they follow the coast and cross a very brief section of the Presas Blancas. It is relatively a safe road.

Milano-Lisboa

Another road which is slowly being abandoned, as it was proved that the ship travel is a better alternative. Those who preffer to take the land road go from Lisboa to Coimbra and them they go east. After a brief ship travel along the river Esperanza they keep east until reaching the roman capital.

Lisboa-Durango

This road is pretty similar to the road of Durango-Sevilla, used more for supporting the military activities than to trade. Unlike that road, however, this one has a better share of commercial activity.

From Lisboa, the traveler goes to Coimbra. From there, they keep going north, passing through the Hollow giants, sometimes using the western passages, sometimes using the same used by the Durango-Castilla road.

Tips for Role-playing: If you plan to make use of roads in your RPG, consider using the ones above as guidelines for your own. Since they are the most used, they are also the ones most likely to be better guarded. If they are safer, them people will probably be more interested in making use of them at the most time possible. If it is possible, try to make your road to merge with or branch from a more important road. That, obviously, assuming that it is interesting for your game. If your character is on a rush, for example, to reach town X, he will not be so eager to deviate a lot just for taking a couple meters in a larger road. As usual, be creative. Sometimes the best hooks are the unexcepted ones.