A New Domain

[Sareau]

I am putting up a new domain I've been working on based on ancient Sumer. I will post more, but wish to start with the bare bones to feel out where I need work-it's a bit lengthy, but any input is appreciated.

Kingir:the Civilized Land

Cultural Level: Bronze Age(CL2) to Classical (CL4)
Landscape: Full Ecology( Warm deserts, plains, and marshes)Kingir is a vast alluvial plain formed by silt deposits of the Idiglat (Tigris) and Buranun (Euphrates) rivers. Despite efforts at irrigation, the plains yield to desert to the east and west. North, the Idiglat is hedged by the western Taurus and eastern Zagrob Mountains, and in the south, the rivers empty into the massive Mere of Tiamat, a vast salt marsh that eventually leads to the Persian Gulf.
Major Settlements: Agade(capital) 500,000, Adab 75,000, Akshak 125,000, Awan 350,000, Bad-tibira 250,000, Eanna 350,000, Eridu 750,000, Hamazi 125,000 Isin 400,000, Kish 250,000, Kullab 175,000, Lagash 250,000, Larak 150,000, Larsa 125,000, Mari 75,000 Nippur 750,000, Shuruppak 225,000, Sippar 350,000, Umma 225,000, Urim 400,000
Annunaki society is urban, albeit with an agrarian rather than industrial base. Accordingly, cities dot the region, nestled close to the great rivers that name the region, each city controlling about 3000 square kilometers of land beyond their walls, much of which is the plantations and ranches of the nobles.
Most cities are walled fortresses dominated by the seven-tiered ziggurats that are Kingir’s architectural masterpiece and home of the city’s tutelary deity. Outside of the temenos, the Temple District, the cities are filthy, lack storm drains and sewers, and are prone to urban sprawl as only the wealthiest can afford a second floor to their homes, though rooftop gardens are common. (Annunaki utilize their rooftops as modern suburbanites use their yards.)
Inns ring the public squares, but apartments and multi-family dwellings do not otherwise exist. The cellars comprise the abzu, the mausoleums of the families, though cemeteries exist outside the walls for outlanders and the destitute. (Rumor holds that maurezhi dominate a subterranean culture of ghouls and ghasts who dwell in catacombs connecting the abzu with the cemeteries, though the truth of the matter is for the individual campaign to determine, though the Necropolitan Ghoul and Ghoul Lord templates can help for exceptional individuals)
The Folk:The antedeluvian inhabitants of Kingir are no more, wiped out in the Great Deluge that destroyed or buried their cities. The last of them was the Flood hero Ziusudra, who preserved the plants, animals, and the “seeds of mankind” from the Flood, for which he was made immortal and moved to Dilmun, land where the sun rises. Since Dilmun is unknown, so is Ziusudra and thus, the antedeluvians.
The humans who supplanted them rebuilt the old cities, finding the buildings remaining unsuitable, thus destroying the architectural clues that would have given a rough guess as to antedeluvian appearance. However, two events combined to make the human presence in the region short-lived. Firstly was the ascension of Laruhamah to the position of en (high priestess) of Eanna, the “daughter” of Anu. This ambitious woman bore some 400 children by various summoned demons, founding the great noble families who eventually produced the First Dynasty of Erech and spread their seed among the seed of mankind.
The second occurred in the reign of the fourth king of the First Dynasty of Erech. Dumuzi had wooed and wed the goddess Inanna, the Queen of Heaven, whose ambitions lead to to attempt to conquer the underworld, ruled by her older sister, Ereshkigal. She was rendered a corpse for her folly, but managed to escape using a contingency plan, which saw her roaming the earth in the company of vile maurezhi, who will not leave her without a replacement of equal status. At Umma, the god Shara offers Umma’s women to the maurezhi if they spare him, and at Bad-tibira, the god Laterak does the same. In Erech, Inanna sees Dumuzi celebrating his capture of the namlugal from Kish, and thinking him celebrating her death, she releases the maurezhi to drag Dumuzi to the underworld.
With Dumuzi’s death, the half-fiend Gilgamesh ascends to the throne, spreading Laruhamah’s progeny throughout the land. With his bugbear cohort, Enkidu, he subdues the verdant prince Huwawa and colonizes Lebanon, filling the land with Annunaki. Only Kish produces human rulers, and that in ever shrinking numbers, until Sargon elevates Agade above all cities, and humans vanish from Kingir.
RACES:The Annunaki tend to be dusky with a slight bluish-grey cast to their skins. Eyes are dark, often black, and hair blue-black predominantly. Body hair is profuse. Annunaki are heavy-browed, with eyebrows meeting over the long, aquiline nose. Cheekbones are high and prominent with strong, firm jaws. Hair falls in tight waves, parted down the middle and worn long whether the Annunaki is clean-shaved or wears a long, square-cut beard.
Females braid their hair into a heavy pigtail and wrap it around their heads, using elaborate headdresses of ribbons, beads, and pendants to hold it in place. Men wear flat-topped conical felt hats, often embroidered. Women wear veils if of child-bearing years and dresses that resemble tufted shawls, covering them from head to toe with only the right arm and shoulder bare.
Men wear flounced skirts over which long cloaks of felt are sometimes worn, though men of the upper classes prefer the long skirt or chiton in place of the flounced skirt, with a big fringed shawl carried over the left shoulder, leaving the right arm free. Annunaki generally go barefoot, even in the wilderness.
About 10% of all Annunaki possess the half-fiend template, and a further 5% are instead unholy scions. These few are the nobles and aristocrats of society, called Children of Anu and revered to the point of worship. (Some actually are worshipped and have temples, shrines, and even cities dedicated to them).
Annunaki who live in or near the southern salt marshes may possess the half-dragon template, but unlike the half-fiends and unholy scions, no societal advantage applies, nor is there a social stigma attached. Annunaki half-dragons are always chromatic and never metallic.
Annunaki have the following traits:
*+2 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma. Annunaki are graceful and impressive, but not terribly introspective.
*Darkness. Annunaki may cast darkness once per day at their character level, so long as their Charisma is 10 or higher.
*Outsider(native). Annunaki are outsiders who are native to the Material Plane. Unlike other outsiders, they need to sleep and eat.
*Medium: As Medium creatures, the Annunaki have no special bonus or penalties due to size.
*Annunaki base land speed is 30 feet.
*Darkvision: Annunaki darkvision extends to 60 feet.
*Automatic Languages:Annunaki automatically speak Emegir and Emesal (Emegir is only spoken by males, Emesal by females and eunuchs) Bonus languages: Aramaic, Greek, Hruggekki


“not classed among people, not reckoned as part of the land,
...people who know no inhibitions,
With human instinct but canine intelligence and monkeys’ features”
(The Curse of Agade:The Ekur Avenged)

After the Annunaki, the most numerous peoples of Mesopotamia are the Gutian Hordes. Making their homes in the Zagros Mountains, the Gutians roam the Northern Reaches and Akkad in adequate numbers to menace or cow any city, raiding or trading as they see fit.
Gutians have a darker grey skin than the Annunaki, as well as being stockier and more broadly built. While not as hairy as the Annunaki overall, Gutians do possess long manes of bristly black hair on their heads, shoulders, and backs. They lack facial hair for the most part, and it never grows thick or long even when present. Their short, snub noses give their faces a skull-like appearance, made more menacing by prominent tusks and eyes of yellow, orange or red.
The simple, basic garment of the Gutians is a loose, long shirt with long sleeves. Over this is worn a mantle of heavy cream colored wool decorated with brightly colored stripes or embroidery. A voluminous outer gown with wide, long sleeves and the skirt slit up the sides, sometimes in the front like a coat, completes the upper body’s garb.
Loose baggy trousers measuring about three yards across at the waist are drawn tight by cords, the full leg portion tied at the ankle. A broad sash circles the waist over the trousers. Traditional Gutians wear a cloth headdress, basically a square of plain or patterned cotton, linen, or wool, folded into a triangle and placed on the head so one point falls on each shoulder, and the third in back, held in place by a corded band decorated with beads or metallic threads.
Footwear consists of sandals, shoes, or boots, with the toes turned up. Gutians are alone in wearing shoes in Kingir, and shoemakers and cobblers only appear among the Hordes. Gutians all possess the following racial traits:
*+2 Strength, -2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom. Gutians are powerful and strong-willed, but are not skilled or well-educated.
*Humanoid.
*Medium: As Medium creatures, Gutians have no special bonus or penalties due to size.
*Gutian land speed is 40 feet. their gait is long and loping and they can cover great distances quickly.
*Proficient with the greataxe and longbow-Gutians train with these weapons from childhood.
*Light Sensitivity (Ex) Gutians suffer a -1 penalty on attack rolls in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
*Scent:Gutians have the Scent ability, as detailed in the DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE.
*Orc Blood: For all special abilities and effects, a Gutian is considered an orc. Gutians can use or create orc weapons and magic items with racially specific orc powers as if they were orcs.
*Low-light vision: Gutians see twice as far as normal humans at night or under starlight.
*Automatic Languages: Gutians automatically speak Aramaic. Bonus languages: Greek

The wilderness is home to the third most populous race, the bugbear. In the wild, bugbears are solitary, with females and young ranging in small, overlapping ranges within a male’s, much larger range. These great hairy beasts were civilized in the First Dynasty of Erech, in the reign of Gilgamesh. Bugbears are fiercely territorial and aggressive-many become eunuchs to control this, or to avoid falling into the bugbear instincts, as bugbears do not consider non-bugbears to be threats.
Bugbears eschew clothing, but appreciate good armor. Since they form the heavy infantry and scouting units of the nobles and the cities, armor is easily obtained by them. A bugbear’s armor will be the best it can afford, a status symbol among their kind.
Bugbears have the following traits:
*Goblinoids. Bugbears are the largest of the goblin races, in fact.
*+4 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, and -2 Charisma. Bugbears are physically superior, but very territorial and cruel.
*Medium size.
*Base land speed of 30 feet.
*Darkvision out to 60 feet.
*+3 natural armor bonus
*+4 bonus on Move Silently checks.
*Automatic Languages: Goblin. Bonus Languages: Aramaic, Greek

Humans are very rare, and only native to two cities: Eridu and Urim. At best, humans are a marginal minority, being perhaps 5% of Eridu’s population and 3% of Urim’s. The merchant caravans roaming Kingir are foreigners if human.
Kingir humans wear short-sleeved robes that fall to the knees under a woolen coat with wide, long sleeves, open at the front. Sandals are worn by rural humans, urbanites following Annunaki custom and going barefoot.
Humans possess the following:
*Humanoid (Human)
*Medium size.
*Human base land speed is 30 feet.
*One extra feat at first level.
*Four extra skill points at first level and one extra skill point at every succeeding level.
*Automatic Languages: Aramaic Bonus Languages: Greek, Latin

THE LAW: Each city is different, but certain societal norms apply the structure, held in place by tradition. Each city has the Elders, the heads of the noble families, vast patriarchal clans that own the bulk of the property a city controls. The Elders are the first judges encountered, as well as forming a sort of city council that runs the daily business of a city as well as sitting in judgement on cases. The Elders appoint an ensi who acts as an executive, actually carrying out projects assigned by the Elders, or sometimes running the city himself.
Between 10-20% of the territory controlled by any city is held and managed by the Temple, who will house the city’s patron deity as well as maintain official records. The Temple has two executives-the en is the High Priest who performs various religious functions, while the sanga runs the business end of the Temple’s affairs, including property records, contracts, wills, etc. Either of these men may have a prominence beyond their stated function.
The lugal commands the city’s armies, though all the Elders also have private security forces. The armies of the city fall under the lugal, and powerful men in this position often hold enough land to keep the armies fed and equipped.
There is also a General Assembly, comprised of all the landowners in the city-this General Assembly only gathers for the greatest concerns-war and peace, disputes between the other blocs, etc-and its decisions may only be revoked by a later decision of the General Assembly. It is little invoked, as it is supreme, but its existence is important as it is supreme.
TRADE AND DIPLOMACY: Mesopotamia is almost wholly lacking in natural resources. The date palm for which the region is best known is a very poor quality wood, stone is almost totally absent save for meagre limestone quarries 35 miles west of the Buranun and the Mosul marble quarries not far from the middle reaches of the Idiglat. Metal is nonexistent: the silver mines in the Taurus mountains are held by the Gutians, as are the rich mines and valleys where “jewels grow on trees” in the Zagrob range. Only clay and mud abound, prompting development of a primitive form of concrete in the third millenium BC.
The high water table makes sanitation problematic, but also see ⅔ of Mesopotamian farmland is naturally irrigated. Agriculture is big business: barley is so important half the crop is claimed in taxes, though wheat, emmer, and millet are also grown. Quite a number of vegetables are raised here: chick-peas, lentils, vetches, onions, garlic, lettuce, turnips, leeks, cress, mustard, and various types of cucumber.
Belts of trees, predominantly the date palm, protect crops from tjhe withering sun and dessicating winds. mesopotamian dates are highly prized, even outside the region, as is a sweet substance known as lal (date honey). Lal is only drawn from non-fruitbearing trees as the extraction process is damaging to the plant, and female trees are artificially fertilized.
Animal husbandry is also fundamental to the economy as a source of transportation, food, and clothing. the animal most commonly used is the donkey, followed by the ox, for heavier loads. The horse is known, but used more for food than any other purpose. Oxen are the only domesticated animal properly harnessed to pull plows, carts, and sledges, as well as to pull heavy loads.
Mushrussu, sleek dragons built like greyhounds but the size of horses, are so domesticated as to no longer appear in the wild. They are used to draw the cartlike war chariots and as steeds by those nobles fortunate enough to own one. Mares are exclusively Temple-owned and carefully tended, though nobles may own geldings as status symbols, and a prince or king a stallion. (Endingir’s chariot is drawn by four mushrussu stallions)
Bulls, cows, and calves are invaluable for their meat and skins. Many varieties of sheep are raised for meat and wool. (Wool is plucked and not shorn) Goats and kids are plentiful and goat hair is used extensively for weaving carpets and large cratelike containers. Pigs are used for their fat and skins and their meat is so prized as a delicacy swineherds and pig butchers enjoy status as highly paid specialists.
Animal husbandry is supplemented by hunting, mostly deer, wild boar, and gazelles, though fowlers employing a huge variety of nets are fairly common as well, Fishing is well developed with stocked fisheries a cottage industry, using traps, nets, and lines.
The most popular beverage is beer, and the brewing technique bestows a higher nutritional content and larger content of carbohydrates and protein than unmalted barley, or any beer other than Egypt’s.
Skilled and knowledgeable labor is the final product of Kingir. The edubba produces scribes, architects, and artisans of all types, putting Kingir goods in high demand. Merchants from neighboring states risk the perpetual warzones to bring in raw materials and export highly valued finished products, and merchant guilds-the quays-profit by controlling trade routes throughout the region.
Some of the merchant caravans are Temple or royal representatives, but private ownership is the rule. The Gutians raid extensively, and control much of the North, while the cities war for dominance in a fluid hierarchy, and hostilities erupt constantly, between nomads, cities, and neighboring states. There is not a standard currency, so barter and weighed silver is the norm.
A treaty between Endingir and the Basileus allows an Imperial Legion to garrison and protect the road from Susa to Tyre, keeping the Old Silk Road intact. Relations between Agade and Constantinople are generally professional, if running hot and cold as rivalries flare across the Cedar Forest.
The Idiglat River forms the northern and eastern border, separating Kingir from Persia, with the swath of the Zagros Mountains held by the Gutians. The river is relatively peaceful, especially along the Gutian-controlled section, and generally navigable. The peace of the river is due to all sides being engaged elsewhere-Persia wants a buffer between itself, the Empire, and Arabia, Endingir is too preoccupied with internal matters, and the Gutians control both banks of their territory. However, all three sides hate each other passionately. Periodic battles rage here without warning or any truce beyond a snarled “Later...”
The Buranun River sees almost constant warfare from Basra to Kufa, the Caliph’s northernmost fortress. Both cities are walled, with military forts at prominent points overlooking each. The garrisons of the forts have no interactions with the civilian populace by order of the Caliph, who’s personal caravans bring provisions to the forts before entering the cities.
Since these protocols have been established, the Caliph has lost neither fort, though the cities switch hands regularly. Endingir has raided Kufa so many times most of it’s citizens have the half-fiend template, as Endingir’s forces amuse themselves through long sieges of the fortress.
Reinforcements from Basra will break the siege, making the Buranun run with blood and ichor. As that mass with the slurry of decomposing corpses washes downstream into the salt marshes, Tiamat rouses and births draconians, abishai, dragonspawn, and dragons, all of which batter against Basra, leaving that city’s women with half-dragon young.
Troops are pulled from Kufa to protect the major port at Basra, which leaves Kufa vulnerable and starts the whole cycle over. Warfare is a way of life here, and both cities are filled with mercenaries and spies.
The fortress of Ukhaidir marks the border of the Empire, and the home base of the Eighth Ala of Palmyrenes, as well as whichever of the three Anatolian Legions is charged with protecting the Strata Diocletiana at the time.
The First, Second, or Third Anatolian stationed at Ukhaidir patrols the Strata Diocletiana,keeping it free of Gutians, bandits, and performing needed repairs. The Empire only protects the road, and will not interfere in the interminable warfares offroad unless the road is endangered.
Eastbound caravans often hire Imperials as guards on the Strata Diocletiana, just as westbound caravans employ Persian troops. The rival powers accept the importance of the road above lesser interests, and are cordial to cool based on other considerations.
North of the Syrian Desert is the forest that spreads from the Burunan to the Orontes so thickly the Anunnaki call it “Cedar Mountain”, for it is as grim and impassable as the Zagrob range west of the Idiglat.
The dense wood is ruled by Huwawa, an ancient verdant prince of incredible power. The fortress Karkar protects the city of Hamath, where Huwawa pays an annual tribute of cedar to Endingir. Another city, Kadesh, was swallowed up by the forest, it’s ruins only inhabited by fey and the twisted volodni Huwawa made of the former residents.
Endingir’s armies may cross Cedar Mountain safely so long as they observe certain protocols-Huwawa treats his forest as a crop with a twenty year growth cycle, and he is constantly expanding. Other armies simply vanish into the great cedars, never to be seen again.
CLASSES:Adepts fill in the cracks and crevices of Anunnaki society, lurking somewhat underground as adepts are classified as witchcraft and punishable by death. Most adepts police themselves reliably enough to avoid being dragged to court, however, and thus, avoid the death penalty.
The craftsmen and manufacturers of Kingir are artificers, backstopped by magewright assistants, both products of private apprenticeships rather than the edubba. Most are well-to-do clients of the Temples and form the core of the middle class in Kingir as well as the reason Kingir goods compete well in foreign markets.
The edubba scholars are best represented by the bard class, and are a burgeoning rank of professionals. About half of all edubba manuscripts are poems, hymns, and epics, the rest being the inventories, contracts, and manuals on management and operation of common enterprises.
Anunnaki bards are often astrologers(the best of which advance to the Sacred Oracle prestige class), physicians (with attendant skills in Craft-alchemy, First Aid, and Healing as well as appropriate magics), in addition to the scribes and clerks to maintain the bureaucracies.
Favored Ones are the pinnacle of Anunnaki divine casters and very rare (only a 1% chance an NPC Favored One exists in a given city), though all swiftly find their way to the top of Temple hierarchies. A disproportionate number of Favored Ones also bear the half-fiend template.
Healers are found mostly among the Gutian Hordes, though a few inhabit bugbear tribes and fewer are found among the humans of the cities, though these last are often executed as witches, explaining their rarity.
Marshals are mostly bugbears, but fairly rare. For a land perpetually at war, this seems odd, but both Marshals and the Warriors they command occupy the bottom rung of Kingir society, just above slaves. Most also die fairly young in the killing fields of Kingir.
Paladins receive the calling regularly among the Anunnaki, most gravitating to Kish or Nippur, where demonolatry is eschewed over the old faith. Paladins in Kish frequently take up the Skylord prestige class and form aerial scout units atop Kish’s giant eagles. In Nippur, the Paladin Citadel struggles to keep the Ekur(the temple of Enlil) free of demonic influences.
Rangers abound, being the preferred class of the Gutians as well as representing the shepherds, herdsmen, and charioteers of Kingir. Fowlers with their arsenal of nets often graduate to becoming slavers, bounty hunters, or supplying sacrificial altars with live sentients. They form the lower classes in the cities. Gutian rangers prefer two handed fighting, while Anunnaki prefer archery, albeit applied to nets and bolas.
Rogues supply a default class, representing the variety of skills taught in the edubba and filling in as merchants and scribes more than thieves and adventurers. Creative skill purchase could even reflect the carnal priestesses of Inanna, who showed men the divine in the act of sex.
Sorcerors are the most common spellcasters, filling every magical niche left by the bards of the edubba. Sorcerors swell the ranks of the Temples, many taking on the Demonologist prestige class of one of the Thrall prestige classes.
Among the Gutians, Spirit Shamans are the premiere divine spellcaster, though in Anunnaki society, this class is classified as witchcraft and is punished by death. In Kingir, only Gutians are typically Spirit Shamans.
Warlocks are highly esteemed among the Anunnaki, forming the nobles as well as the ranks of lugal and ensi. If not in the military, warlocks will still be on the top of a city hierarchy.
Warmages are a relatively new development, coming from the edubba of Endingir’s hidden city Agade. If he is successful in fielding units of warmages on chariots, doubtless other cities will follow suit...

[vipera aspis]

This is very well written and it certainly seems that you've done some rather ancient homework: however it seems not very Ravenloft imho. Not that needs ravenous blood draining corpses, hauntingly gothic landscapes and dimension transcending mists to be Ravenloft, but the various half-dragons, half-fiends, Orcs, bugbears and straight-up domestic dragons; work against the overall flavor at a glance.

[ewancummins]

Has the OP checked out Ancient Kingoms/Mesopotamia sourcebook from Green Ronin?



It might be worth a look if you can get it at a cheap price.

So many real place names, fantasy versions of real cultures or nations w/o name changes, and so much real geography makes it feel much less like part of Ravenloft than like an obvious 'fantasy-historical- Near East, IMO. I've actually been to a quite a few of the places that you named.
Two years in Iraq, yo.

But I love the source material you are using.

Doesn't feel very 'Ravenloft' to me, but I'd play or run the setting.

[Sareau]

The problem with a setting so far back in history is that the basic premise of Horror in this era is that Reality is just roughly stamped on Reality and Chaos (literally) just lurks beneath the surface-more Lovecraft than anything else.
The darklord is an evil Gilgamesh type after the namlugal, the divine kingship Etana brought from Dilmun(land of eternal sunrise) prior to the Flood.
The major themes are religion subverted-the "true" gods replaced by obyrith lords, and the impact of this on a society, as well as the inhumanity of the Annunaki and their own twisted beliefs.
Granted, this is obviously more High Fantasy than standard Ravenloft, but this region has been known for it's magics and mystery throughout recorded history, so I took liberties there.
Sadly, being a lazy,lazy man, I failed to translate some of the terms that are specific to my campaign to their Ravenloft equivalents-I shall endeavor to provide a list, though facing the New Year's sober is NOT an option...

[Nevermorrow]

So many real place names, fantasy versions of real cultures or nations w/o name changes, and so much real geography makes it feel much less like part of Ravenloft than like an obvious 'fantasy-historical- Near East, IMO.
[snip]
But I love the source material you are using.

Doesn't feel very 'Ravenloft' to me, but I'd play or run the setting.

I agree with that. My RL is quite a bit different actually and I like what you've made here but the names from real history bother me. I'd use it if the names were changed to made-up names (though it would be nice if they retained that similarity in sound to give it a ring of authenticity).

[Sareau]

I tend in my RL campaign to translate the domains to real-world places, allowing me to toss in historical tidbits so I am providing an educational experience-this seems to be a larger bone of contention than I initially thought here, which is somewhat confusing to me, but for the purists, a translation:
Any reference to the Empire or Eastern Empire is Darkon-the basileus is Flavius Claudius Julianus Augustus, better known to Ravenloft fans as Azalin Rex.Darkon controls the ports of Lebanon west of Kingir as well as the Northern border.
Kingir's southern border is mostly shared with Necropolis, where Death is known by the Latin "Orcus" just to annoy the D&Ders wandering in. (Necropolis and the Grand Conjunction in my campaign were events in which Azalin attempted to contain the Jewish god in an attempt to quell revolts in Judaea-it didn't work too well)
The remainder of Kingir's southern border is Pharazia, and references to the Caliph are to Diamabel, Pharazia's darklord.
In the East is Hazlan, which connects Kingir to Sri Raji.
My theory is that Kingir has primal Mistways that "stabilize" it's borders as written, though it technically would be an Island of Terror with this strange anomaly. The darklord, Endingir, resolves much of this with his backstory, which I really need to type out and present as well.