World of Kulan
BelenUmeria said:
Ok...post a short synopsis of your world (theme etc) in a paragraph. I think it would be cool to see some others. And if you have more than one...cool.
Describe Kulan as a short synopsis? That is impossible for me to do. But I’m going to post this anyway.
Note: This is very long.
I guess the best place to start is this little bit from my web page, slightly modified:
“World of Kulan is, well, unique in many ways. It is the one great accomplishment of my life as a World Builder. It lives through the characters my friends and I have created. Yet, it is still in its infancy, as a campaign, and if you asked me to describe the world in 100 words or less, I couldn't do it. I'm not even sure that would want to even try. Such limitations never serve the expansion of imagination as they bind a stereotypical mindset to a campaign that is hard to let go of once in place.
Kulan is traditional D&D, yet never conforms to one type of tradition. It can be exotic, if one knows where to tread. It can be ancient or decadent depending on where one searches for the past. It can be lost, in a sea of uncharted islands, or frozen, in northern barbarian lands. It can be powerful psionic knights of the Republic or it can be the wild, yet proud, humanoids of the humid savannas. It can be scorched deserts, lost to rest of the world for ages, or exotic lands ruled by khans, caliphs, or tsars. Anything is possible, yet nothing is written in stone.”
That’s the best short description I’ve ever written for it. To go deeper means describing each continent/region, as it’s own unique campaign. I will do this alphabetically…
The Fallenlands
The Fallenlands came about as result of needing an exotic locale for my players to explore for an ancient artifact. I didn’t want them to simply traverse Harqual, find the artifact, and bring it back. I wanted it to be a quest and a half. The end result was an adventure I entitled
“Journey to the Fallenlands”.
Little did I know at the time, how much the Fallenlands would be like two of my favorite D&D campaign settings rolled into one, slightly altered, concept. You see, for the most part, the Fallenlands is a desert continent. From the
Mountains of NarsKasis to the edge of the
Ong Jungle, it is basically a huge homage to
Dark Sun and
Al-Qadim.
Ok, it’s a little more complex than that.
The Fallenlands is a hot, humid land where the genies known as the
Jann rule huge, impenetrable, stone cities. It is a land where tribes of
Kenku,
Throkr, and other strange humanoids, such as the
Sahne, vie for dominance of the desert wastes. It is home to the
City of Cyrad, where isolated, pale-skinned humans struggle to survive against the environment and each other. It is the homeland of a race of noble, vulture-headed humanoids, called the
Nagpa, older than any race on Kulan with life spans that even outstretch the elves of other continents.
This is the Fallenlands!
Harqual
Harqual is a land full of conflict.
For generations, the diverse races of the continent have been either fighting amongst themselves or battling the constant threat of humanoid invasion. Ogres, orcs, gnolls, and other evil humanoids roam the wild tracts of land between dozens of countries and city-states of the humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, and rakasta. Twice have the ogres led the humanoid invasions, which became known as the
Ogre Wars.
Before that were even darker times. Most of its history, either lost to the ravages of time or in the ancient ziggurats of the
Old Sword Imperium, has remained hidden. What the people do remember are what is collectively known as the
Black Wars. This dark time saw the rise and fall of petty warlords and kings; brought about by the
Divinity War between the
North Gods and the
Sword Gods.
The North Gods were born by the
Lord of the North,
Cronn, a pantheon of barbarian gods who, for a time, lived amongst their people. The Sword Gods were born by
Hiisi,
The Lord of Darkness, a vile and twisted Finnish deity who came to Harqual to take the Essence of Cronn and corrupt the people of the land. The War raged across Harqual, god vs. god and mortal vs. mortal.
Eventually the war spilled over into
Outer Planes. Many gods died on each side of the conflict and when the final battle came, the two pantheons clashed on the shores of
Lunia, while the rest of the
Multiverse watched. Hiisi launched a full assault forcing demons and dark followers to throw themselves against the petitioners and angels loyal to the North Gods.
In the end, the North Gods won and the fiends retreated. Cronn’s noble godson,
Jaeger,
God of Honor, trapped Hiisi in a dueling circle surrounded by the
Finnish Gods, in
Ympyrä Ristiriita, or
The Challenge. Unable to defeat the powerful Greater God, Jaeger sacrificed his Essence to the Outer Planes so that Hiisi would remain banished in
Carceri “for as long as my Great Father watches over the lands and people of Harqual.”
The fall of the Sword Gods left the Old Sword Imperium in chaos, which led to the time of the Black Wars.
Now, in current times, the past threatens to tear apart the present. New kingdoms and city-states fight to protect their lands from the dark followers of the remaining Sword Gods, as well as the machinations of the evil humanoids. A
Third Ogre War seems inevitable. Worse still the continent suffers under an ancient & forgotten threat.
As Jaeger banished Hiisi, Cronn beseeched the
World Goddess,
Mirella, to banish another enemy from Harqual. This other god,
Tu,
Lord of the Tabaxi, tried to conquer Harqual as the last battle was being fought on Lunia. The World Goddess banished Tu and his people for a 1,001 years. Time passed the people of Harqual forgot about the tabaxi, even the longest-lived of the elves. They passed into legend and myth, as the races of Harqual fought each other and the humanoids threatening them all.
The 1,001 years are over. The tabaxi have returned and they bring the vengeance of Tu with them. War breaks out in the southern lands. Then, as if Fate was against Harqual, came
The Transformation. A cataclysmic event, which causes strange magical fog to roll across the continent, warping land, creatures, and even individuals. Strange new lands, filled with new people and/or entire races, replace tracts of virgin wilderness or the fog warps the current land into new shapes and forms. Nothing is spared.
Chaos ensues. Alliances are broken, old feuds are renewed. No one is safe. Will the ogres come again? Will they align with the tabaxi and conquer all of Harqual?
Not even the gods know.
Janardun
Janardun is a mystery to me.
I had yet to create anything
’canon’ regarding the smallest continent-like landmass on Kulan (before this except from my website). Dominated by rolling plains & forests and low mountain ranges, Janardun is best described by two words, psionic knights. These are plate mail wearing psychic warriors (as per the class in the
D&D Psionics Handbook), whom are part of a knightly order called
The Insightful Order of the Republic. These
Knights of the Mind, as they are sometimes called by the people, are the exception not the rule on Janardun. They tend towards neutrality and law in their outlook on life.
And while the Insightful Order is important to the Republic's survival - it doesn't rule it. A Council of Representatives rules the continent, one councilperson from each city, with one member elected as chancellor for one five year term (and only one). The Council is appointed by the will of the knights, not by nobles or the people. Why this done is simple -- tradition dictates it such and it has worked well for 3,000 years (why mess with a good thing). The knights can dissolve the Council at any time if they believe corruption has taken root. This is both a benefit and a bane to the Councils effectiveness. If the people wish something that the Council approves of but the knights do not (upsetting the Balance), then the knights will dismiss the Council.
However, this dissolving of the Council almost never happens. The people like the fact that the nobility has a lot less power and those nobles that join the knights give up all family ties and privileges. A member joins a branch of the knights that will now be his new family. In this structure, age and knowledge take precedence over strength and battle skill (although those are important if you don't want to get killed). Marriage is allowed within ones branch as long as the two members are not already related. However, marriage outside of the Insightful Order is frowned upon (the outsider would have to pledge to become a knight or the member would have to leave the Order).
As to what the knights fight against to protect the masses that, also, is describable in two words,
ogre mages. This is the simple explanation, the long explanation is a lot more convoluted. Yes, ogre mages are violent, magic welding humanoids but a knight hardly ever battles one in direct combat. And those who did either died trying or were never the same afterwards. No, the true menaces of daily life are the
athach,
ettins,
wild dwarves,
darkwings, and
quicklings that call the ogre mages, masters.
The ogre mages send their minions out of the mountains, dark forests and swamps to cause as much mischief and mayhem as possible. Whether it's darkwings and quicklings terrorizing farms and rural communities or athachs and ettins laying siege to castles and cities, no one is safe. Only the
aaleear,
shoyir elves,
rakasta, and
cyclops stand with the Knights against the evil giants and their minions.
What the Dark Ones hope to gain by this continuous onslaught or what their ultimate goals are still remain a mystery.
Kanpur
The continent of Kanpur is really two major landmasses, so close together they could be one. And in ancient times, they were. Kanpur is the cradle of ancient civilizations, a complete contract to Harqual. Where that continent is in its infancy of true civilization, Kanpur is the old hat of civilization. Yes, it still has its trackless wastes, desolate plains, and deep foreboding forests and jungles. But these lands have seen civilizations rise and fall for as long as humanoids have walked upright.
Kanpur is a mixed pot of cultures and races that have bled over into each other in many regions. Only a few regions can claim any sort of isolated history or development. Kanpur is many campaigns.
Kanpur is the
Dark Continent filled with savage creatures and noble dark-skinned humanoids, whether human, elf, halfling, or dwarf. Kanpur is the
Land of Fate from the
Crowded Sea to the
Corsair Domains to the grand cities of
True Zakhara to the
Ruined Kingdoms.
Kanpur is the ancient land of
Khemit, with its unique Egyptian-like culture, as well as
Keshu and
Meroe.
In the west, Kanpur is
Athenos,
Bluffside,
Gwyrdd Hynys,
Hjemland,
Kungya,
Parma,
Talangrán,
Torassia, and
Troj, as well as the
Empire of the Dragon Sands. In the east, Kanpur is
Indjra,
Jez-Haza,
Kozakura,
Magulia,
Shaoyan,
Taol,
Yadot, and
Wa, as well as the
Empire on the Sea. Between these extremes are the horse lands of
Soguk Col, the mountainous
Land of the Yak Folk, and the
Haunted Lands bordering the northern reaches of Zakhara.
Travel the ancient lands at your own peril.
Merria
Merria is the newest region I have added to Kulan. Thus, I have very little detail fleshed out. The simplest explanation is that Merria is Pirates of Dark Water on my world. No, I’m not kidding.
Triadora
While the Fallenlands might be somewhat like Dark Sun in style, Triadora, the second largest continent on Kulan, is somewhat like
Dragonlance (eh, not really). More specifically, like the region of
Taladas ruled by a race of minotaurs but with a lot of different twists thrown in. Triadora is another of Kulan’s continents, which is dominated by barren terrain – deserts, harsh plains, desolate mountains, and very little water.
The minotaurs, who call themselves the
Sons of the Horn (or Horn Minotaurs), rule about half of the continent. An unique race of reptilian humanoids, known as the
Xanth, rule roughly another third of the continent. While the two races are always in conflict, neither race is stereotypically evil (although the Xanth are more ruthless) and both have developed a high culture based on trade. (Most believe that is why they don’t like each other each other.)
There are limited trading partners on Triadora and the two races never trust anyone who trades with the other. Thus, over the years they have fought dozens of trade wars both financially and physically. An uneasy peace exists at the moment but it's becoming like a lit powder keg and will soon explode into full-scale war once again.
The other races of Triadora try to survive in between the two powerhouses and try to reap the benefits without getting killed in the process. These races –
wemics,
lupins, the
urik-aa and
zebranaurs – tend to be nomadic. The wemics and zebranaurs are tribal and tend to not get along (it’s a predator vs. prey sort of thing). Of all the races on Triadora, the lupin are the most even tempered and are surprisingly loners by nature (no pack culture). Like the other nomadic races, the urik-aa (a race of high orcs), compete for the limited space that the desert provides. However, unlike most of the other races on Triadora the urik-aa respect the fact that the continent was originally home to only the Horn Minotaurs. Only wemics show more respect to the Horn Minotaurs than the urik-aa do.
