Hyboria - WordPress.com - Yggdrasil Distro

Slavery, on the other hand, is more liberal than in most Hyborian nations. The law protects slaves from
excessive cruelty by their masters, and permits the children of a slave and a free person to remain free.
Slaves, even debt-slaves, may be released by their masters, although many would refuse such an offer. In
Nemedia, many would rather be well-fed slaves than starving freemen.
Nemedia is the most liberal of the Hyborian kingdoms when it comes to religion. In addition to Mitra
worship, which i5 nominally the state religion, Nemedia supports philosophical orders such as the
Skeptics, as well as temples to the Shemitish deities and the mysterious cult of Ibis.
This religious chaos is one of the sources of animosity between Aquilonia and Nemedia. The temple of
Mitra in Aquilonia has near-total control of the religious life of Aquilonia's citizens, and over the centuries
have pressured Aquilonia's kings to sue with the Dragon Throne for similar concessions in Nemedia.
Ophirian
Ophir is the wealthiest of the Hyborian kingdoms. It does not have the population or the agricultural
base of Aquilonia or Nemedia, but it has something of great value: gold mines.
Ophir is mostly rolling plains, with forested regions throughout. In the east, it turns mountainous,
merging into the rocky Nemedian-Corinthian border at its eastern end. Ophir is slightly rainy, with
western storms pouring along the western edge of the mountains. There is little snow, except on the
highest peaks, but the winters can become bitterly cold, with sudden drops below freezing.
Ophir abounds in gold, silver and gems. Some of the finest jewelers in the West reside in Ophir (where
their raw materials are in the most abundance).
Ophir has a Hyborian culture, very similar to that of Aquilonia. The most striking difference is the
presence of wealth among the populace. Ophir's military wears gilded armor, and almost every bourgeois
person has a sizable quantity of gold jewelry and gemstones.
This wealth, and the associated standard of living in Ophir, has given the Ophireans a reputation for
generosity unsurpassed among the Hyborian nations. It is said that no one goes hungry in Ophir, and
that no one sleeps in the cold. Though this is a slight exaggeration, it is true that the Ophireans are free
with their belongings, and their "charitable contributions" to other nations are unsurpassed.
The Ophireans are devout Mitra worshippers, although this belief is tempered with more religious
tolerance than is seen in Aquilonia. Nature worship has a following here, but it is limited to the more
remote villages and towns.
28