SANCTUARY

Country / kingdom:

Hashima, the Eight-petal Lotus

Capital city:

Nariya, the Iridescent Pearl

Worship

Shalassa, the Dragon of Water.

Hashima is a feudal nation, organized according to temples that exist wherever there are sources or expanses of water. Warriors and monks, peasants and poets, they worship Shalassa, The Dragon Goddess of Water, who grants them magical powers based on this element. Nagas live with a goal of self-perfection and purification; whatever their callling or craft they strive to live up to the highest ideals of their masters and of the legends that came before them.

Hashima is ruled by the Eternal Empress, who has held power for hundreds of years. As all Naga teachers and masters, she is subject to ritual challenge from those who feel that they are worthy. However, she has never been defeated in contest, be it with arms, poetry, calligraphy, or philosophy.

The recent events

A relatively peaceful peoples, the Naga have lived largely in isolation from the rest of Ashan. They keep themselves apart from the other races, concentrating on personal and individual perfection rather than dreaming of power or conquest. They have aided or allied with other nations in the past, but these sorts of agreements are temporary.

Recent history has been troubling; like all the other nations of Ashan they have heard the prophesies of the Blind Brothers and worry of the oncoming Demon invasion. There is turmoil beneath the calm surface of the empire, as priests and soldiers start to look to the future and wonder who should be leading them and how they might react.

Stronghold warfare: “Face them one by one”

Sanctuary generals are like Chess Masters, or disciples of Sun Tzu’s Art of War. They focus their efforts on a main attacking stack (referred to as the “Champion” hereafter), who potentially becomes the best “1 to 1 / duel” warrior of the game. Generally, this Champion will aim at the strongest enemy stack first, to fuel its racial ability.

Alternatively, other targets can be favored, depending on the enemy army’s mobility. The one thing to remember is that the safety and efficiency of the Champion stack must be assured at all times since the global strategy relies on it.

Military strengths:

Powerful triggered buffs and crowd control abilities, balanced units (offense / defense, no martial weakness)

Military weaknesses:

Limited ranged abilities, no burst / instant effects, no healing, expensive troops