[HoneyBadger]

Ok, the reason behind the big, giant thread above is simply this: By way of a history for the game, we can present how nations view each other, how they've related in the past, and how to role-play them "correctly" within the dimensions of a game.

If Ermor was invading the lands of Marverni in the early ages-which real world history would seem to suggest-then it would stand to reason that Ermor and Marverni would have some sort of relationship to one another. Possibly hate and loathe each other, but just as possibly a lot of intermarriages might exist. This would then extend into Pythium, when they branched off from Ermor, and Ashen Empire, where the Late Age Marverni-descendants might be especially persecuted by the Ermorese, or might be looking for some payback with major priestly carnage.

Multiply this times every single nation in the game.

A history would also help fill in gaps, and create others, leading to more interesting-and fitting-nations. If Agarthans and Atlanteans knew about each other, it's likely they fought one another, and reasonable that they traded with one another, both being amphibious. It's even possible that they allied with each other, exchanged magical and cultural practices, worshipped similar deities, etc.

So, maybe in the Late Age you've got an offshoot of Atlanteans living in a massive, underground sea, worshipping huge basalt statues carved to represent Dagon or krakens or whatever-so, now you've got an Atlantis late age golem cult.

Maybe instead of Atlanteans, it's Aboleths hiding underground, and now you've got a divided nation who's most physically powerful units-weird tentacled golems-need magical leadership, and who's most magically powerful units-mutant albino aboleths who have gone blind from living undergound-can only survive underwater.

It stands to reason that Niefelheim and Abyssia wouldn't like each other much, but it's just as reasonable that they wouldn't have much contact at all. Which might cause them both to have myths and superstitious about one another. In Dominions, myths and superstitions have power, and that power leads to things both cultural and magical.

With history, we can explain the presence of independent nations, and we can also explain their role. It allows the creation of maps which represent "canon", and the creation of provinces and independents with a great deal more flavor than we currently have available.

Independent nations become important in the game, and when you see a province named the "Primordial Woods", you know that's one of the locations where the Ivy Kingdom is said to have encompassed-and where their remnants may still survive, and nurture old hatreds.

99% of this type of game happens in the imagination, but without the presence of a deep and involved history, you're leaving out 98%. Look at how popular Tolkien is, and he just used basic fantasy steriotypes-but the one area he truly excelled in, was depth of history and culture. He even invented a bunch of languages to go with the history and peoples of Middle Earth.

The Dominions setting has the potential for 10 times the depth Tolkien's work ever had-I mean think about it, the game was *BASED* on a multitude of real world history, information, religion, etc. and not just from the Anglo-Nordic sources Tolkien drew from, but from dozens of cultures and sources, but that potential has never been realized-and it should be realized, because it would benefit every single aspect of the game, and of our enjoyment of the game, and it's something that we can do as a community, without any programming skills at all, aside from simply the ability to type and to imagine.

I, for one, think it's really important, and really worthwile.