Category:Ophirean



OPHIREAN ''"I will take you to the Stygian borders. The Stygians will send you home to Ophir."She stared up at him as if she had not heard aright."Home?" she repeated mechanically. "Home? Ophir? My people? Cities, towers, peace, my home?"– The Vale of Lost Women A kingdom of immense wealth and great beauty with gilded knights and high towered cities, Ophir is protected by natural boundaries of mountain and river on all sides but to the south, which the Ophireans have well fortified. But the kingdom lacks the will to fight dominant Koth and has been forced to pay tribute to its mad Emperor.

Gilded armor is a common sight in Ophir.

Ophir’s knights wear gold gilt armor and Ophir’s queen once offered a roomful of gold as a reward for the return of a stolen ring. It follows that Ophir is a wealthy nation of much gold. Ophir also co-existed with Acheron and for part of its reign was either a part of Acheron or paid tribute to it as a vassal kingdom. This makes the kingdom extremely old, older than Aquilonia, Argos or Nemedia.

Ophir is a country of immense wealth.

Description
The country folk of Ophir tend to be a silent, surly lot, particularly in times of unrest. They do not trust outsiders and are unlikely to answer any questions that cannot be handled with a grunt or a monosyllabic reply. Ophir has a reputation for science. They desire and need treaties and trading agreements with other nations, for there are many trading routes that do not pass through little Ophir.

The nobles sell their children into slavery for money and nobles hold other nobles ransom to raise funding. The treacherous Ophireans will usually side with the ones that offer the most advantage, either in coin or in trading agreements. Diplomacy is a well-regarded art among the Ophireans and Ophir’s kings and nobles are usually superb diplomats.

Clothing
Merchants in Ophir like to wear voluminous hooded robes; these robes help to cozen the customers. Servants wear distinctive smocks, their quality dependent upon the rank of the person the wearer serves.

Behavior and Notable Oddities
Demeanor - The country folk of Ophir tend to be a silent, surly lot, particularly in times of unrest. They do not trust outsiders and are unlikely to answer any questions that cannot be handled with a grunt or a monosyllabic reply.

Science - Ophir has a reputation for science. In Ianthe, climbing claws have been invented that aid in the ascension of walls. Livia, from Howard’s The Vale of Lost Women, claims to come from the House of Chelkus, who are scientists and noblemen of Ophir.

Honor - is a real concept for the Ophireans, one that impacts their reputations, moral identities and self-perception. This honor extends to family and friends. Impugned honor results in duels or other forms of redress. The aristocracy consider their honor to hold them above the rabble; honor to them is as real as a castle but vastly more important, for a damaged castle can be more easily repaired than damaged honor. Indeed, acts that otherwise would be considered criminal can be excused if they are committed as a matter of honor. Honor is especially important on the borders of Ophir where law enforcement is minimal and the people enforce their own laws.

Allegiance - Ophir is built upon the concept of allegiance toward others. The entire feudal system depends upon allegiance, the reciprocal ties between individuals and between families. Allegiances are considered more binding than law. An honorable character will declare at least one allegiance. Characters with unknown or no allegiances are not trusted in Ophir.

Religion
"But the gods are real," she said, pursuing her own line of thought. And above all are the gods of the Shemites – Ishtar and Ashtoreth and Derketo and Adonis. Bel, too, is Shemitish, for he was born in ancient Shumir, long, long ago and went forth laughing, with curled beard and impish wise eyes, to steal the gems of the kings of old times."-Queen of the Black Coast


 * Mitra
 * Ishtar

Ophir is a Hyborian kingdom and primarily worships Mitra. However, Ophireans have much contact with Kothians and Shemites, so the worship of Ishtar has filtered into the kingdom. Overall, Ophir is more religiously tolerant than many Hyborian kingdoms.

Government
Ophir is a feudal kingdom, as many Hyborian kingdoms are. It is not as unified as Nemedia and is more fractious than Aquilonia. Ophir is governed by a fragmented aristocratic class of local powers, counts and barons, who perform civil and military functions in the name of the king for an equally fragmented kingdom that is subdivided into numerous fiefs and sub-fiefs. In most ways, Ophir’s structure of government is identical to Aquilonia.

The kings of Ophir seem to be of a treacherous sort. King Moranthes II, a weak, effeminate ruler who relied upon his strongest barons for support, double-crossed the ruler of Khoraja and captured him, holding for ransom and threatening to sell him to Koth. He also captured his own wife, Queen Marala, for lewd behavior among his courtiers during an absence. He also sold his daughter, Olivia, into slavery for refusing to marry a prince of Koth. Moranthes’ successor, King Amalrus, betrayed Ophir’s ally, Aquilonia and sided with Koth against that great nation, capturing King Conan and sending troops into Conan’s realm. He was also a weak king, for his brother fought for his right to the crown.

The current king of Ophir, Ludovic, is an Aquilonian vassal-king, subject to King Conan. The noblemen of Ophir tend to be just as treacherous and greedy as its kings. Baron Rigello, cousin to King Moranthes II, once burned ten villages of his fief when drought prevented folk from delivering their quota of crops. Noblemen are armed with slender swords and dress in silks and gold decorated in gleaming jewels. The knights of Ophir wear mail gilt with gold and sport plumed helms. Their tabards and clothing bear a star-shaped emblem.

Economy and Common Professions
The economy of Ophir is based on manorial agriculture and mining. Gold ore and mineral deposits are mined out of the eastern mountains. Still, the kingdom is hardly the wealthiest and most prosperous of Hyborian realms. The Ophireans desire and need treaties and trading agreements with other nations, for there are many trading routes that do not pass through little Ophir.

The nobles sell their children into slavery for money and nobles hold other nobles ransom to raise funding. The treacherous Ophireans will usually side with the ones that offer the most advantage, either in coin or in trading agreements. Diplomacy is a well-regarded art among the Ophireans and Ophir’s kings and nobles are usually superb diplomats.

Common Professions:
 * Alchemist
 * Diplomat
 * Goldsmith
 * Jeweler
 * Knight
 * Lender
 * Merchant
 * Merchant
 * Miner / Prospector
 * Scholar
 * Soldier

Sex Roles and Marriage
Ophirean sex roles and social classes are similar in almost all respects to those in Aquilonia.

Slavery
Slavery exists and is present mostly in large cities. Owning a slave is usually a non-issue for reputation. Slaves have no rights and no property. They are entirely at the mercy of their masters, who have the power of life and death over the slaves. No one in Ophir particularly cares if the existing slaves are freed or not. Slavery usually takes the form of household slaves and personal attendants. Most farmers are serfs and serf is not a slave because no one owns him. Forcing slaves to fight each other or animals for entertainment or business is illegal, but still a common practice.

Influences
Architectural influences: Byzantine Empire, with hints from the Assyrian Empire.

Ophir is a wealthy nation of much gold with domes and towers ornamented with metal.

More Information
RPGS:
 * Return to the Road of Kings (Ophir, p 160-162)
 * Faith and Fervour (Mitra’s Might, p 15-23 & Ishtar (Beltiya), p 74-75)