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5e Homebrew Setting: Malebolge, Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy
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<blockquote data-quote="QuietBrowser" data-source="post: 7000691" data-attributes="member: 6855057"><p>Alright... well, the Gnolls gazetteer is almost complete, the Gnomoi and Aranea are within reach of completion, but here's another topic: over on a different board, it was asked of me if I'd done any more "conventional" worldbuilding - details on a central city, or secret societies, things like that. And the answer is, simply, I haven't. I've gotten some very bare-bones regional outlines, which I'll provide below, but I haven't been able to pick one and focus on working it.</p><p></p><p>I could eventually come up with more normal/non-racial focused world-building efforts... but, first, that would require actually picking one of these sectors and fleshing it out, so that they make sense. Would folks be interested in talking with me about that matter? I'm good at coming up with generalities, but focusing on specifics... that's a little trickier.</p><p></p><p>This is my most detailed write-up of the five known regions (think how Fallout divides the games between New California, the Capital Wasteland, Point Lookout, The Pitt, The Mojave, and the Boston Commonwealth) thus far. Feedback, opinions, and suggestions on which one to develop first deeply appreciated.</p><p></p><p>Also... I absolutely suck at names. Whilst I like the current array of names for the post-apocalyptic regions as a whole (they've got a good Capital Wasteland/Commonwealth feel to them), specific names and original names are... well, I could really use help at naming them, let's leave it at that.</p><p></p><p>As you can see, the info here is definitely very sporadic and so I really need all the help I can get figuring out how to actually make something more viable out of these bare-bones concepts.</p><p></p><p></p><p><u>The Cradlelands</u></p><p>Once, these lands were beautiful - the birthplace of the human empire, a land of rolling hills and open forests, of lazy streams and wide grasslands. But that was before the Black Dawn. As the greatest concentration of artificially tamed and leashed magical energies in the world, the chaos storms wreaked absolute havoc when they tore enchantments asunder and broke ancient magics apart. For this reason, the Cradlelands represent some of the most heavily scarred and magically devastated regions in the known world of the Malebolge.</p><p></p><p>The landscape of the Cradlelands is a place where the strange and unusual becomes normal, and a welcome relief from the deadly. Huge swathes of dead, rocky land make up the iconic wastelands of the known world, where travelers struggle to find sufficient food and water. Even where the land is fertile, the poisons seeping from the world's wounds often make it dangerous to those who do not know the lay of the land. Perhaps the greatest example of this is the Sea of Souls; once a lush river delta that was the jewel of the old world, the Black Dawn cracked the earth and caused it to sink; several cities were swallowed as the river broke its boundaries and collected into an inland sea whose water is ripe with magical toxins. It is said that nothing can drink of the Sea's waters and survive intact. The fortunate find themselves twisted into deformed and often deranged calibans. The unlucky die - some instantly, others, more horribly. The phenomena of the molten ones, individuals who have contracted some arcane plague that causes them to slowly dissolve into gory gelatinous sludge even as they desperately feast on flesh to delay their inevitable deaths, is more common here than anywhere else in the known world.</p><p></p><p>The Sea of Souls is the greatest of the dead zones, places where none live; even the tribes of demented calibans that worship the Sea and prowl its outskirts stay on the shores, venturing close only for certain ceremonies. Every so often, greedy treasure hunters set out in search of the treasures of the sunken cities. Few of those ever return.</p><p></p><p>Some argue the Sea of Souls may have its part to play in just how devastated the Cradlelands are. These inviduals argue that it is the sheer abundance of magical contaminants and unstable mana concentrated in the Sea that sustains the toxicity of the landscape beyond it. Fluxgales and sickstorms are born at its heart, sweeping out across the land. Living spells draw power from the corrupt magic that spill from its banks. The land itself draws the venom deep into its heart, mutating the creatures and corrupting the earth that feed from it. If this is true... none have ever determined a way to begin healing the wound.</p><p></p><p>Life in the Cradlelands is a harsh one, but it is not completely dead. Calibans thrive here in numbers like nowhere else, simultaneously sustained and damned by the abundance of magical pollutants in the land around them. Enclaves of uncorrupted humans likewise maintain a death-grip on their territories, refusing to abandon the lands that were home to their ancestors. The warforged were born here, and with their protection against corruption they continue to thrive here, invested like no other race in exploring the ruins of the world that was. Other races have a more marginal presence; warrens of slyvharri and dens of kobolds dwell in the ruins of mighty cities, whilst tribes of orks roam the land, shadar-kai bands seek to test their mettle, and rodushi clans struggle to try and purify the world around them. Life is often marginalized, restricted to small tribal bands or nomadic hordes for the most part, but it continues to live here.</p><p></p><p>Indeed, there are stories of so-called "vaults", mighty fortress-cities secured against attack during the Doomwars that managed to ride out the Black Dawn. Although many of these subsequently fell to contamination or infighting or any of a number of other fates, some vaults still exist, zealously clinging to existence and protecting their populations. These are not necessarily shining beacons of hope, but they stand as a monument to the power of life.</p><p></p><p>Of course, monuments to the power of death stand all around them. Before the Doomwars, humanity had gathered into vast cities, and these like now as hollow, ravaged shells across the blasted landscape. Mighty aeropoli now lie at the bottoms of craters, or drift with eerie silence through the sky. Once-shimmering towers lie toppled or splintered like trees in a lightning storm. Ghostly cities that fade in and out of reality with the coming of the moon. Necropoli where only the shadows of inhabitants remain, burned into the very rock. The devastation is total, and obvious.</p><p></p><p>But, as grim as this can be, there is also beauty in the Cradlelands. Amongst the horrors, strange and marvelous wonders can be seen. Planar rifts abound here more so than anywhere else. The areas of lushness may be home to all manner of enchanting and harmless creatures as well as deadly flora and fauna - beings such as buophants and butterfly-dragons. Floating islands that can be reached by climbing bridges of rainbows, rivers that rain upside, forests where trees talk and mushrooms sing, all of these and more make the promise of the Malebolge clear. Life may not be easy, but it is worth fighting for.</p><p></p><p>Aside from the usual assortment of hostile sapients (bandits, scared xenophobes, cannibal tribes, mad cults, etc), the Cradlelands include the following particularly common dangerous encounters:</p><p>Rogue constructs</p><p>Wandering undead</p><p>Mutant vermin (rats, bugs, centipedes, spiders, etc) - cranium rats, fire beetles, sword spiders, etc</p><p>Blight-Born (demonic/corrupted elementals from 4e)</p><p>Drakes</p><p>Elementals (Fusions, Archons)</p><p>Killer fungi</p><p>Beholders</p><p>Destrachans</p><p>Assorted Aberrations & Monstrosities</p><p></p><p>Needless to say, natives of the Cradlelands tend to be tough, hardy, but less than socially adept, ever watchful (if not paranoid) and constantly alert for potential danger, and either fiercely independent or strongly loyal. Or both. One of the advantages in living amongst such a vast array of ruins and ancient battlefields is that the denizens of the Cradlelands tend to have access to a veritable hoard of ancient relics and trinkets, making them quite well-equipped with magical gear, particularly favoring survival-assisting items like enviro-armor, purifying and poison detecting crystals, and enchanted weapons.</p><p></p><p>This abundance of relics is the primary lure for visitors from outside of the regions, with traders and adventurers alike risking the area's many dangers to secure ancient prizes created by humanity in its glory years.</p><p></p><p></p><p><u>The Scarred Coast</u></p><p>Far from the ruins of the Cradlelands, the Scarred Coast stands as a beacon of hope and light. The old coastline crumbled during the Black Dawn, expanding in some areas as new land was torn from the floor of the Sea of Blood and shrinking in others as the earth sank and the water reclaimed it, but compared to the Cradlelands, it is far better off. Although not, by any definition, pure, it has received comparatively little contamination and, most importantly, it has a comparative abundance of lush, fertile soul and relatively clean water to use. This is further bolstered by the Coast's natural climate, which is temperate edging towards the tropical, providing long, warm growing seasons and relatively short, mild winters. The survivors of the Black Dawn flocked to this region, and civilization is slowly, painstakingly rebuilding itself.</p><p></p><p>Ironically, it has fallen victim to its own success; as civilization has formed into new city-states, with everything from cosmopolitan collectives to extended clanholds of forgeborn dwarves, old weaknesses of civilization have reared their ugly head. Warring over precious resources is not unheard of, and has been responsible for the destruction of several such city-states. Internal issues that do not manifest in more tribal or frontier territories such as the Cradlelands and Bitterflats, such as intrigue, corruption, subversive cults and the like, have also had new room to flourish, crippling their hosts from within like the parasites that they are. But, as raiding bands of tribals die out or are assimilated into the ever-growing city-states, as old secrets are carefully kept alive, the Scarred Coast remains perhaps one of the great hopes of the Malebolge.</p><p></p><p>For the most part, though, the city-states prefer not to fight each other, focusing instead on defending their territories and trying to expand as best they can without provoking a needless conflict. Intrigue, of course, flourishes in such an environment, reviving such pre-war concepts as spies, privateers and bandits.</p><p></p><p>External problems come from both the land and the sea. Arcane phenomena and conventional issues such as storms, floods, tidal waves and earthquakes, keep the Scarred Coast from being anything near a paradise. Even here, life must still fight to survive. Those willing to brave the wilderness or the open sea can expect to face fairly conventional dangers. Killer plants of many different species, as well as mutated animals both terrestrial and aquatic, make up the bulk of threats to survival, although more hideous creatures such as aquatic monstrosities or slimes have been drawn here as well. There are multiple slyvharri warrens that have attempted to establish a foothold, and one of the few things that can unite the city-states with little fuss is the need to stamp out a horde of the genocidal rabbitfolk.</p><p></p><p>All manner of species can be found living on the Scarred Coast, emphasizing its cosmopolitan nature.</p><p></p><p></p><p><u>The Jaderealm</u></p><p>Far to the south of the Scarred Coast and the Cradlelands lies what is now called the Jaderealm; a sub-tropical to tropical morass of jungles, rainforests and swamps that stretches on well beyond the known boundaries of the world. Believed by many to be either the ancestral forests where humanity first arose, the original sight of many elfin colonies before the Doomwars, or even both, the Jaderealm has a verdantness that seems unnatural. Not just by comparing it to blasted wastelands such as those found in the Cradlelands, but even if the world were whole. The land has a life to it that seems... exaggerated, somehow. Many speculate that there are one or more portals to the Elemental Chaos scattered through the Jaderealm, drawing elemental energies from the Pillar of Creation (Wood) in order to grant this land its lushness.</p><p></p><p>This is a wild and untamed country; civilization is an outlier here, and most settlers are well aware of the feeling of intrusion. Fangwyrms, kobolds and their kinsfolk war against slyvharri warrens, aranea keep carefully maintained library-fortresses, but this is a land of beasts, bugs and plants. The most exotic and deadly of flora and fauna can be found here; vegepygmies, froghemoths, assassin vines, greenvises, shambling mounds, shriekers and worse.</p><p></p><p>Despite the danger, though, the Jaderealm is a veritable gold mine of resources, from the mundanities of lumber and edible vegetation to medicinal herbs and magical reagents. So it is that settlers and explorers alike keep trekking to the Jaderealm, hoping to make it rich by exploiting its bounties. Stories of ancient, lost elfin cities and the valuable relics or spells to be looted therein certainly don't hurt the Jaderealms' allure.</p><p></p><p></p><p><u>The Slagheap</u></p><p>Once, this was known as Nidavellir, a rugged land of soaring mountains, active volcanoes and mighty glaciers. And even the Black Dawn didn't change the land's inherent nature that much. It is still a steep land of rugged terrain, dangerous beasts and harsh weather, demanding strength and endurance from those who live here. The Black Dawn's effects mostly manifest in the peculiar oddities that have affected the terrain. Elementals run rampant in many places, adding their own unique dangers. Cryo-volcanoes spew freezing cold blue fire. Glaciers of burning hot red ice are sought after for their protective properties. Floating mountains drift serenely with the wind. All of these and more show the marks of the Black Dawn in this place.</p><p></p><p>Life here isn't easy. Unstable temperatures, spontaneous (and sometimes magical) storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and avalanches all see to that, even beyond the predators and struggle for food. But still, it's surprisingly populated. This is the ancestral homeland of the dwarves, and so many clans of dwarves and gnomes still claim dominance over different mountains and valleys. A surprising number of kobold clans also live here, either descended from or seeking to locate remnants of the dragons that once flocked these rugged mountains. Even more surprising are the abundance of shadar-kai; though few admit descent from the elven armies that once besieged these mountains, the rugged terrain and abundant cloudcover is quite appealing to this race of shadow-elf hedonists. Humans and muls also have a presence here, as do tribes of calibans (predominantly brutes and beasts, although many clans have witchspawn and there are reputed to be whole cavern systems crawling with cannibal/ghul-kin calibans) and even genasi.</p><p></p><p>One particularly dire legacy of the ancient Doomwars is that undead abound in this area, lost armies of elven necro-slaves that maintain orders even despite the deaths of their former commanding officers.</p><p></p><p>Although the dwarves do their best to keep out treasure seekers after ancient dwarven magic and relics, there is a thriving underground trade in these lost wonders. More above ground, the trade in fur and mineral wealth entices caravans all the way up from the Scarred Coast.</p><p></p><p></p><p><u>The Bitterflats</u></p><p>The new world, the most mysterious and unknown region of all in the known world. Savannahs and arid grasslands, open bush forests and deserts, stretching out further than any reliable explorer has roamed before. Homeland of the gnolls, only they truly know this land - and they wish they understood why the humans, the kobolds, the orks, the gnomes, the calibans and the slyvharri were swarming into their territories.</p><p></p><p>Why? For many, it is because it is new. Stories of the wondrous possibilities that might lie within or beyond the Bitterflats attract explorers, pioneers and scavvers, looking for such things as lost cities from before the Doomwars or even mythical surviving stories, or simply for new resources to plunder. Others come in search of living space, hoping to find uncontested, more hospitable terrain than the lands they abandoned.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="QuietBrowser, post: 7000691, member: 6855057"] Alright... well, the Gnolls gazetteer is almost complete, the Gnomoi and Aranea are within reach of completion, but here's another topic: over on a different board, it was asked of me if I'd done any more "conventional" worldbuilding - details on a central city, or secret societies, things like that. And the answer is, simply, I haven't. I've gotten some very bare-bones regional outlines, which I'll provide below, but I haven't been able to pick one and focus on working it. I could eventually come up with more normal/non-racial focused world-building efforts... but, first, that would require actually picking one of these sectors and fleshing it out, so that they make sense. Would folks be interested in talking with me about that matter? I'm good at coming up with generalities, but focusing on specifics... that's a little trickier. This is my most detailed write-up of the five known regions (think how Fallout divides the games between New California, the Capital Wasteland, Point Lookout, The Pitt, The Mojave, and the Boston Commonwealth) thus far. Feedback, opinions, and suggestions on which one to develop first deeply appreciated. Also... I absolutely suck at names. Whilst I like the current array of names for the post-apocalyptic regions as a whole (they've got a good Capital Wasteland/Commonwealth feel to them), specific names and original names are... well, I could really use help at naming them, let's leave it at that. As you can see, the info here is definitely very sporadic and so I really need all the help I can get figuring out how to actually make something more viable out of these bare-bones concepts. [U]The Cradlelands[/U] Once, these lands were beautiful - the birthplace of the human empire, a land of rolling hills and open forests, of lazy streams and wide grasslands. But that was before the Black Dawn. As the greatest concentration of artificially tamed and leashed magical energies in the world, the chaos storms wreaked absolute havoc when they tore enchantments asunder and broke ancient magics apart. For this reason, the Cradlelands represent some of the most heavily scarred and magically devastated regions in the known world of the Malebolge. The landscape of the Cradlelands is a place where the strange and unusual becomes normal, and a welcome relief from the deadly. Huge swathes of dead, rocky land make up the iconic wastelands of the known world, where travelers struggle to find sufficient food and water. Even where the land is fertile, the poisons seeping from the world's wounds often make it dangerous to those who do not know the lay of the land. Perhaps the greatest example of this is the Sea of Souls; once a lush river delta that was the jewel of the old world, the Black Dawn cracked the earth and caused it to sink; several cities were swallowed as the river broke its boundaries and collected into an inland sea whose water is ripe with magical toxins. It is said that nothing can drink of the Sea's waters and survive intact. The fortunate find themselves twisted into deformed and often deranged calibans. The unlucky die - some instantly, others, more horribly. The phenomena of the molten ones, individuals who have contracted some arcane plague that causes them to slowly dissolve into gory gelatinous sludge even as they desperately feast on flesh to delay their inevitable deaths, is more common here than anywhere else in the known world. The Sea of Souls is the greatest of the dead zones, places where none live; even the tribes of demented calibans that worship the Sea and prowl its outskirts stay on the shores, venturing close only for certain ceremonies. Every so often, greedy treasure hunters set out in search of the treasures of the sunken cities. Few of those ever return. Some argue the Sea of Souls may have its part to play in just how devastated the Cradlelands are. These inviduals argue that it is the sheer abundance of magical contaminants and unstable mana concentrated in the Sea that sustains the toxicity of the landscape beyond it. Fluxgales and sickstorms are born at its heart, sweeping out across the land. Living spells draw power from the corrupt magic that spill from its banks. The land itself draws the venom deep into its heart, mutating the creatures and corrupting the earth that feed from it. If this is true... none have ever determined a way to begin healing the wound. Life in the Cradlelands is a harsh one, but it is not completely dead. Calibans thrive here in numbers like nowhere else, simultaneously sustained and damned by the abundance of magical pollutants in the land around them. Enclaves of uncorrupted humans likewise maintain a death-grip on their territories, refusing to abandon the lands that were home to their ancestors. The warforged were born here, and with their protection against corruption they continue to thrive here, invested like no other race in exploring the ruins of the world that was. Other races have a more marginal presence; warrens of slyvharri and dens of kobolds dwell in the ruins of mighty cities, whilst tribes of orks roam the land, shadar-kai bands seek to test their mettle, and rodushi clans struggle to try and purify the world around them. Life is often marginalized, restricted to small tribal bands or nomadic hordes for the most part, but it continues to live here. Indeed, there are stories of so-called "vaults", mighty fortress-cities secured against attack during the Doomwars that managed to ride out the Black Dawn. Although many of these subsequently fell to contamination or infighting or any of a number of other fates, some vaults still exist, zealously clinging to existence and protecting their populations. These are not necessarily shining beacons of hope, but they stand as a monument to the power of life. Of course, monuments to the power of death stand all around them. Before the Doomwars, humanity had gathered into vast cities, and these like now as hollow, ravaged shells across the blasted landscape. Mighty aeropoli now lie at the bottoms of craters, or drift with eerie silence through the sky. Once-shimmering towers lie toppled or splintered like trees in a lightning storm. Ghostly cities that fade in and out of reality with the coming of the moon. Necropoli where only the shadows of inhabitants remain, burned into the very rock. The devastation is total, and obvious. But, as grim as this can be, there is also beauty in the Cradlelands. Amongst the horrors, strange and marvelous wonders can be seen. Planar rifts abound here more so than anywhere else. The areas of lushness may be home to all manner of enchanting and harmless creatures as well as deadly flora and fauna - beings such as buophants and butterfly-dragons. Floating islands that can be reached by climbing bridges of rainbows, rivers that rain upside, forests where trees talk and mushrooms sing, all of these and more make the promise of the Malebolge clear. Life may not be easy, but it is worth fighting for. Aside from the usual assortment of hostile sapients (bandits, scared xenophobes, cannibal tribes, mad cults, etc), the Cradlelands include the following particularly common dangerous encounters: Rogue constructs Wandering undead Mutant vermin (rats, bugs, centipedes, spiders, etc) - cranium rats, fire beetles, sword spiders, etc Blight-Born (demonic/corrupted elementals from 4e) Drakes Elementals (Fusions, Archons) Killer fungi Beholders Destrachans Assorted Aberrations & Monstrosities Needless to say, natives of the Cradlelands tend to be tough, hardy, but less than socially adept, ever watchful (if not paranoid) and constantly alert for potential danger, and either fiercely independent or strongly loyal. Or both. One of the advantages in living amongst such a vast array of ruins and ancient battlefields is that the denizens of the Cradlelands tend to have access to a veritable hoard of ancient relics and trinkets, making them quite well-equipped with magical gear, particularly favoring survival-assisting items like enviro-armor, purifying and poison detecting crystals, and enchanted weapons. This abundance of relics is the primary lure for visitors from outside of the regions, with traders and adventurers alike risking the area's many dangers to secure ancient prizes created by humanity in its glory years. [U]The Scarred Coast[/U] Far from the ruins of the Cradlelands, the Scarred Coast stands as a beacon of hope and light. The old coastline crumbled during the Black Dawn, expanding in some areas as new land was torn from the floor of the Sea of Blood and shrinking in others as the earth sank and the water reclaimed it, but compared to the Cradlelands, it is far better off. Although not, by any definition, pure, it has received comparatively little contamination and, most importantly, it has a comparative abundance of lush, fertile soul and relatively clean water to use. This is further bolstered by the Coast's natural climate, which is temperate edging towards the tropical, providing long, warm growing seasons and relatively short, mild winters. The survivors of the Black Dawn flocked to this region, and civilization is slowly, painstakingly rebuilding itself. Ironically, it has fallen victim to its own success; as civilization has formed into new city-states, with everything from cosmopolitan collectives to extended clanholds of forgeborn dwarves, old weaknesses of civilization have reared their ugly head. Warring over precious resources is not unheard of, and has been responsible for the destruction of several such city-states. Internal issues that do not manifest in more tribal or frontier territories such as the Cradlelands and Bitterflats, such as intrigue, corruption, subversive cults and the like, have also had new room to flourish, crippling their hosts from within like the parasites that they are. But, as raiding bands of tribals die out or are assimilated into the ever-growing city-states, as old secrets are carefully kept alive, the Scarred Coast remains perhaps one of the great hopes of the Malebolge. For the most part, though, the city-states prefer not to fight each other, focusing instead on defending their territories and trying to expand as best they can without provoking a needless conflict. Intrigue, of course, flourishes in such an environment, reviving such pre-war concepts as spies, privateers and bandits. External problems come from both the land and the sea. Arcane phenomena and conventional issues such as storms, floods, tidal waves and earthquakes, keep the Scarred Coast from being anything near a paradise. Even here, life must still fight to survive. Those willing to brave the wilderness or the open sea can expect to face fairly conventional dangers. Killer plants of many different species, as well as mutated animals both terrestrial and aquatic, make up the bulk of threats to survival, although more hideous creatures such as aquatic monstrosities or slimes have been drawn here as well. There are multiple slyvharri warrens that have attempted to establish a foothold, and one of the few things that can unite the city-states with little fuss is the need to stamp out a horde of the genocidal rabbitfolk. All manner of species can be found living on the Scarred Coast, emphasizing its cosmopolitan nature. [U]The Jaderealm[/U] Far to the south of the Scarred Coast and the Cradlelands lies what is now called the Jaderealm; a sub-tropical to tropical morass of jungles, rainforests and swamps that stretches on well beyond the known boundaries of the world. Believed by many to be either the ancestral forests where humanity first arose, the original sight of many elfin colonies before the Doomwars, or even both, the Jaderealm has a verdantness that seems unnatural. Not just by comparing it to blasted wastelands such as those found in the Cradlelands, but even if the world were whole. The land has a life to it that seems... exaggerated, somehow. Many speculate that there are one or more portals to the Elemental Chaos scattered through the Jaderealm, drawing elemental energies from the Pillar of Creation (Wood) in order to grant this land its lushness. This is a wild and untamed country; civilization is an outlier here, and most settlers are well aware of the feeling of intrusion. Fangwyrms, kobolds and their kinsfolk war against slyvharri warrens, aranea keep carefully maintained library-fortresses, but this is a land of beasts, bugs and plants. The most exotic and deadly of flora and fauna can be found here; vegepygmies, froghemoths, assassin vines, greenvises, shambling mounds, shriekers and worse. Despite the danger, though, the Jaderealm is a veritable gold mine of resources, from the mundanities of lumber and edible vegetation to medicinal herbs and magical reagents. So it is that settlers and explorers alike keep trekking to the Jaderealm, hoping to make it rich by exploiting its bounties. Stories of ancient, lost elfin cities and the valuable relics or spells to be looted therein certainly don't hurt the Jaderealms' allure. [U]The Slagheap[/U] Once, this was known as Nidavellir, a rugged land of soaring mountains, active volcanoes and mighty glaciers. And even the Black Dawn didn't change the land's inherent nature that much. It is still a steep land of rugged terrain, dangerous beasts and harsh weather, demanding strength and endurance from those who live here. The Black Dawn's effects mostly manifest in the peculiar oddities that have affected the terrain. Elementals run rampant in many places, adding their own unique dangers. Cryo-volcanoes spew freezing cold blue fire. Glaciers of burning hot red ice are sought after for their protective properties. Floating mountains drift serenely with the wind. All of these and more show the marks of the Black Dawn in this place. Life here isn't easy. Unstable temperatures, spontaneous (and sometimes magical) storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and avalanches all see to that, even beyond the predators and struggle for food. But still, it's surprisingly populated. This is the ancestral homeland of the dwarves, and so many clans of dwarves and gnomes still claim dominance over different mountains and valleys. A surprising number of kobold clans also live here, either descended from or seeking to locate remnants of the dragons that once flocked these rugged mountains. Even more surprising are the abundance of shadar-kai; though few admit descent from the elven armies that once besieged these mountains, the rugged terrain and abundant cloudcover is quite appealing to this race of shadow-elf hedonists. Humans and muls also have a presence here, as do tribes of calibans (predominantly brutes and beasts, although many clans have witchspawn and there are reputed to be whole cavern systems crawling with cannibal/ghul-kin calibans) and even genasi. One particularly dire legacy of the ancient Doomwars is that undead abound in this area, lost armies of elven necro-slaves that maintain orders even despite the deaths of their former commanding officers. Although the dwarves do their best to keep out treasure seekers after ancient dwarven magic and relics, there is a thriving underground trade in these lost wonders. More above ground, the trade in fur and mineral wealth entices caravans all the way up from the Scarred Coast. [U]The Bitterflats[/U] The new world, the most mysterious and unknown region of all in the known world. Savannahs and arid grasslands, open bush forests and deserts, stretching out further than any reliable explorer has roamed before. Homeland of the gnolls, only they truly know this land - and they wish they understood why the humans, the kobolds, the orks, the gnomes, the calibans and the slyvharri were swarming into their territories. Why? For many, it is because it is new. Stories of the wondrous possibilities that might lie within or beyond the Bitterflats attract explorers, pioneers and scavvers, looking for such things as lost cities from before the Doomwars or even mythical surviving stories, or simply for new resources to plunder. Others come in search of living space, hoping to find uncontested, more hospitable terrain than the lands they abandoned. [/QUOTE]
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5e Homebrew Setting: Malebolge, Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy
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