Vyzantos: The Evil Empire (Rega, Worldbuilding #5)

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As the Regans would say, “Salutatamus! Ave!” Welcome back to Of Gods and Gamemasters, and episode 5 of my Worldbuilding series. This one is called “Vyzantos: the Evil Empire”, and we're going to use the pantheon we made, (way back in “Gods: Filing Off the Serial Numbers”, my first worldbuilding article) Byzantine and Roman history, and standard fantasy tropes about Evil Empires to detail this critical region.

So. Here we go! At the fall of Rega, Vyzantos would have been ruled by an Imperator, as Eastern Emperor of Rega. (Just as Rome was at the equivalent time, remember.) But by the time of the roughly 1100's on our world, the Byzantines called their emperor Basileus, or Sovereign. Given how the name of the Empire has drifted from Byzantine to Vyzantos, we can let the title drift to Vasilos. We know that after the fall of Rega, Vyzantos chose to turn their worship to Interitus and his family, since the gods of Rega had apparently forsaken their people.

So, taken with Evil Empire tropes, what does that mean for us? Heck, let's go whole hog and use Dark Lord tropes too. Let's assume that right at the fall of Rega, the Eastern Emperor, Imperator Regulus Vlosyros Magnus immediately turned to the dark powers to save the remains of his empire. The snake people come to his aid in securing his borders, in policing his people, in controlling the commoners. He himself becomes immortal, powerful, terrifying, taking the name Vasilos Kyrios Magneides “Sovereign Lord Descendant of Magnus”, God Emperor of Vyzantos. Is he undead? Draconic? Simply deifically empowered? Most likely, none but he and his closest advisors know. But he has ruled Vyzantos for 800 years and more, expanding its borders east and south by conquest. In the north, the barbarians resist, and in the west, Skaria holds fast. Vasilos is dedicated to Interitus first and foremost, an aficionado of serpents, war, and death, an exquisite tyrant. But he also reveres Rixa, enjoying pointless Strife, and Metus, reveling in causing fear for its own sake.

What does that mean for the nation he rules? Nothing good. His house colors are green and black, a green serpent on a black field. The eastern and southern nations he has conquered provide him with the masked and mysterious Immortals, special forces like the Roman Arcanoi. The horse nomads to the east and northeast provide him with truly dangerous cataphractoi, horse archers and lancers, true heavy cavalry. The serpentfolk move through his society, mostly hidden, watching always, encouraging the most decadent of practices. Undead exist at all levels, in all walks of life, some hidden, some open.

Whole legions of skeletal warriors stand ready in the depths of his fortresses. Legions of heavy infantry

recruited from all regions of the empire include humans, orcs, hobgoblins, and yuan ti. Auxiliaries of goblins, kobolds, and others handle flanks and ranged combat. The average person lives in utter terror of the monsters in their midst, and of their own rulers, and of the secret police, known only in hushed whispers as the Crypteia.

Culturally, it mixes the complicated politics of the Byzantine Empire, the deific pretensions of the Persians, and the wonderfully cliché tropes of the Evil Empire and Overlord. To subvert some of them, though, the God Emperor seeks out the finest candidates and honestly rewards them for wise advice. He treats his officers and subordinates well, only mistreating those he sees as unimportant: peasants, criminals, rebels...although he will make good faith offers of employment to competent rebels. Crime is kept low by extraordinarily draconian laws and punishments, but many exceptions are made for the rich, the powerful, the connected. Nobles can do no wrong, and the lifestyle of the rich or important is lavish and decadent to the extreme. Slavery is common and harsh, slave rebellions kept down by severe abuse and culling. The God Emperor is ruler and high priest, as was the Regan practice, with human sacrifice to one or more of the Dark Three occurring every month at the dark of the moon, as well as other special occasions.

The science of the Empire is advanced, with full plate and repeating crossbows being available to the rich. Complicated alchemy and twisted magics are more common in the Empire as well. Only the great valor of Skaria prevents them from taking the whole known world.

There are large swaths of destroyed lands, ruined by mining or industry, but nobles have perfect lands to retreat to, lands that no one may exploit or even hunt. Peasants, serfs, slaves...they all struggle to keep themselves (and everyone else) fed, and cityfolk are kept under control with grants of free grain and bloody gladiatorial matches. Literal bread and circuses. Rich parts of cities, especially the capital, are among the most beautiful in the world...but the same city will have truly repugnant slums and dangerous tenements. The distant province of Mavros (like old Egypt) provides truly huge amounts of grain for the rest of the Empire. People in towns get fed...but they don't get fed well.

Examples of the Byzantine politics of Vyzantos, that the God Emperor uses to keep his subordinates busy and distracted, are as follows. There is a Senate, made up of the lords of the many noble houses, that technically elects new emperors and ratifies new laws and decrees. Unfortunately, there is no need to elect a new Emperor if the old one never dies, and careful manipulations and fear ensure that the Senate will always ratify the laws the God Emperor proposes. There are layers of imperial service, both military and bureaucratic, with multiple agencies given similar responsibilities so they act as watchdog to each other. There are many noble houses competing for Imperial favor, for the best fiefdoms...think of Dune or Game of Thrones.

That's a heck of a threat to put on the borders of your campaign. I'd start a campaign in this world in a time of relative peace, after the Skarians have beaten back an invasion through their own great valor and the rough terrain of their home. But maybe war is looming on the horizon, and all the free nations of the West must come together if they are to survive the assault of Vyzantos. Maybe the only way the Empire can be stopped is to recover some great artifact from the ruins of Rega, possibly it will be necessary to regain the favor of all the Regan gods.

What do you think? What else might we need to do with this empire? Comment below, both on these matters, and how you might have had the setting develop differently, and why. Join us next time, when we start narrowing in on a starting area for a game, which is an important part of worldbuilding.

I look forward to exploring that, in “Skaria: Life on the Border”.