The Kyngdoms - a new d20 fantasy campaign world coming soon

Hi folks,

Coming soon: The Kyngdoms, a new d20 fantasy campaign world, brought to vivid life through the superb artwork of Gillian Pearce and the imagination of Keith Robinson.

The Kyngdoms comes complete with the richest setting history yet, giving it a truly unique flavor and depth. Each nation and race is explored and their place in the world - both past and present - explained.

The gods play an important role in The Kyngdoms and the details of their religion are explained in some depth, including a brief look at their homes in the Outer Planes.

Also included is a massive, full color map of the entire world.

The Kyngdoms utilizes an array of spells, feats, Domains, prestige classes, monsters and equipment, some drawn from existing OGC and some entirely new. It also comes with optional new rules, including Action Points.

With the exception of names and images, The Kyngdoms will be almost entirely OGC. It is also being released under the d20 license.

Better yet, The Kyngdoms will be made freely available through our website, which has been purpose built to make navigation and exploration of The Kyngdoms a breeze.

The Kyngdoms will also be available for sale as a pdf and POD book, (the) details of which are yet to be finalized. The Kyngdoms will be supported with many future products.

The Kyngdoms is an exceptional product, which will offer new and exciting challenges and opportunities for players and GMs alike. Snippets of The Kyngdoms will be released over the next few weeks, to give you a preview of what will be on offer.

The Kyngdoms is presently on course for a March/April 2005 release date. Stay tuned for updates.

From the Introduction to The Kyngdoms:

"Arrasia stands at the heart of all creation, where the elements and energies converge in a perpetual struggle. It is populated by all manner of beasts, both good and bad, where lands and ideals are fought for and where the gods themselves look for dominion and reverence. At the heart of Arrasia are the civilized kingdoms of men, elves and dwarves, whose histories are long and deep and whose cultures are complex and rich. But around them (and amongst them) are great evils - wild lands filled with those that would tear down the civilized world and replace it with anarchy, hate and destruction. And like reflections of the very substance of the world in which they live, they vie amongst themselves for dominance and control and the balance of their power is ever-shifting and the struggle never-ending.

Arrasia represents the material world in The Kyngdoms, where it is expected that the majority of game play will occur. It is a round planet which sits the very center of everything. It is here that the four elemental and two energy planes overlap and clash in a violent struggle that cause calm seas to stir into great storms and the earth to shake and expel great rivers of lava from its bowels. However, such is the balance of the forces that overlap here, that no single one of them can dominate over the other for long and the equilibrium of Arrasia is thus maintained. Should this ever change, then it is likely that Arrasia and all those that live there would be destroyed.

All of the lands of Arrasia are populated in some manner or another, though the degree of population can be dramatically different. Towards the center, the civilized nations (good and evil) have emerged. Within their borders can still be found evil and anarchy (for no nation, even the greatest, is free from the creatures that populate the world), but they offer some protection from the greater chaos that surrounds them. Here, too, the lands are at their most fertile and habitable, so it is no wonder that great cities have grown along the coastlines and heavily trod routes of Arrasia.

On the edges of civilization lie the wild lands, where those that live there are tough and hardy and where foul and terrible beasts dwell in freedom. These wild and inhospitable lands are sparsely populated and those that dwell there are nomadic, or live in the mountains, hills and forests. Settlements found here are not plotted on any map, for they have little or no contact with the rest of the world and will unlikely last for long before they perish, destroyed by the wild denizens that are drawn to them. Only the hardiest come here, or the mad."

Take a peek at a section of The Kyngdoms map: http://www.thekyngdoms.com/map/map_c2.shtml

This small snippet of The Kyngdoms map highlights the quality and beauty of the cartography. This segment shows the detail for the very heart of Arrasia, where the greatest kingdom - Karnish - and the greatest city - the City of Karnish - are located. For many, Karnish will represent the adventuring center of your campaign and, as you see, there is plenty of variation and opportunity!

This segment represents but a small portion of the world map. In fact, it represents exactly one one-hundredth! That's right - there are another ninety-nine segments in the final product, all of which can be easily navigated and viewed.

The gods of The Kyngdoms - known as Aslah - have played, and continue to play, a significant role in the history of Arrasia. There are 62 Aslah explored in The Kyngdoms campaign setting, and many are brought to life through the elaborate history of the setting. Additionally, an array of new cleric domains are introduced, adding to the flavor of this unique setting. Each of the Aslah is beautifully brought to life through the illustrations of Gillian Pearce.

Presented here, as an example of the detail and artwork that can be expected for all the Aslah, is Vihahn, elven god of the wilderness. He is but one of the seven Aslah who make up the elven pantheon.

A Little History

The history of The Kyngdoms is amongst the richest and most detailed you are likely to find with any campaign setting. The cosmology, gods and mortal races all have their place within the world and each has a rich and full history. Not only does this bring The Kyngdoms to life, but also acts as a backdrop in which GMs can create fantastic adventures and where players will feel inspired to explore old myths and legends.

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be releasing the first three chapters of the history of the Aslah and Arrasia to give you a real feel for The Kyngdoms, starting with the first chapter, Hoth and the Coming of the Aslah, where it all began...

1. Hoth and the Coming of the Aslah
In the beginning there was Hoth, the Great Void without time or age, and all was dark, for there was nothing to bring light to the dark and Hoth was saddened. And Hoth pondered and questioned the darkness and through his will were Veradu and Ergon born. Veradu was of Water and Earth and her star was perfect to behold as she traveled the Great Void and brought light where she passed. Ergon was of Fire and Air and his trail was fiery and he brought light to where he passed. And Hoth was pleased.

So it was that Veradu and Ergon made their journey through the Great Void, bringing light wherever they went and Hoth could watch them from a far and no longer was there only darkness. So it was that the bright stars of Veradu and Ergon traveled the Great Void, bringing light and happiness to Hoth, who watched the children born of his will.

[read on...]

The history continued...

To give you a feel for The Kyngdoms, last week we showed you a preview of the first chapter in its extensive and rich history. This week, we continue by bringing you Chapter 2: Early Days, in which the nine children of Eradu, the Aslah (the gods), are introduced and in which they begin to fashion for themselves great palaces and gardens...

2. Early Days
The Aslah were the nine children of Eradu and were the first to walk upon the lands of Damarkan. Through their skill and labor, the Aslah turned Damarkan into a land of beauty, landscaped with grass, trees and flora of their own making and filled with all manner of animals, fashioned through their own skill. For each of the nine Aslah a great palace was built.

[read on...]

It is always good to see more of Gillian's artwork out there.

tensen said:

It is always good to see more of Gillian's artwork out there.

Click to expand...

Gillian will have produced nearly 100 pieces of art for The Kyngdoms campaign setting when it is all complete. The artwork is excellent and includes several stunning pieces. We will be releasing more of Gillian's artwork for The Kyngdoms over the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

The history continued...

We continue with the history of the Aslah and Arrasia with the third chapter: Kiwani and the Dwarves, in which Kavak discovers Kiwani (which would later be better known as Arrasia) and builds a great citadel for himself, which he fills with new creations forged in his own image - the dwarves.

3. Kiwani and the Dwarves
Kavak continued with the building of his vast citadel and dug so deep that he fell out of the bottom of Damarkan and into a strange gray world, where clouds swirled all around and vast rocks seemed to float of their own accord. Without telling the other Aslah of his discovery, Kavak took to exploring this strange world and would disappear from Damarkan for long periods. He soon found that this strange world connected a multitude of worlds and it was he who first discovered Kiwani, that would later be called Arrasia.

[read on...]

The history continued (a bonus chapter!)...

As a bonus, we also bring you the fourth chapter of the history of the Aslah and Arrasia. In this chapter, the peace of Damarkan and the joy of the Aslah is shattered when Gort, consumed with jealousy and hatred, murders another of the Aslah, leading to war and, ultimately, causing his own lands, Herophet, to be split from those of Damarkan.

We hope that in releasing the first four chapters of the history of The Kyngdoms it has given you some insight into the rich flavor and deatil that you can expect in the final product. And remember, these are just four of the forty-nine chapters that go together to make the most complete history of any campaign setting!

4. The First Sundering of Damarkan
As Kavak explored the cosmos, Onnus and Desdemar fell in love and were forever in each other's company. No feast in Paradorn could pass without them declaring their love for the other and the whole of Damarkan seemed to be filled with the radiance and beauty of the glowing Desdemar. Gort, however, also secretly loved her and he felt his heart bursting with pain at the sight of the two lovers and their happiness and withdrew to Herophet, where he hid himself away from the Aslah and felt a great rage build in his heart. It was during one of the great feasts at Paradorn that Gort could no longer contain himself and poured his heart out to Desdemar and declared his love for her. But she could not return it, for her love was for Onnus. In a blind rage, Gort's heart turned black and he struck Desdemar and thus was the harmony of Damarkan over.

Gort retreated to Herophet, where he stayed alone for a long time, until Voln managed to persuade him to see her. Being deceitful in nature, she used her silk tongue to entrap Gort, filling his mind with half-truths and blackening his heart further. Gort and Voln were soon lovers, though in truth there was little love between them. Gort's blackened thoughts were always upon Onnus and Desdemar and he began to hate them both.

[read on...]