Basics of the setting
The basics of my world:
the world was created by one god, referred to as The One. He also created the first dragons to inspect it and watch over it for him. he does little else but rule over the afterlife at that point. the current 'gods' are given power by people's belief in them, or by power that they somehow gained themselves when they were mortals, ascending to godhood.
The One is not generally worshipped by humans currently, as the lesser 'gods' have given more occasional examples of their power. this is essentially the reverse in elven society, where the lesser gods are generally recognized, but mainly the creator worshipped. In all other races, The One is always worshipped, along with a collection of the lesser gods that suit that race's ideals.
3000 years before the events of the game, humanity was prosperous. their cities legendary, their people at peace (or at least not at war.), their artists astounding. with the aid of the the finer art of magic, humans spread fast and the other races spread with them.
Then, in one of the smaller (but still huge) cities on a far southwestern peninsula, largely isolated, the count died. Not much was known about his only heir, Lord Valahel, but the minute he took over he made several changes. First, he stopped the fight against the bugbear tribes on a small offshore island that had been going on for some time, then he recruited them to the city guard. the crime rates dropped almost instantly. Then, almost as quickly, they went up. The common tavern talk was of the bugbears beating people for minor infractions, stealing people's children in the night- these rumors officially disclaimed. All of this was set up most elaborately, employing the bugbears' innate knack for cruelty.
every murder or atrocity occured at a specific, pre-planned spot, effectively turning the city into a massive, arcane circle designed to draw in energy. The instant the inevitable coup was enacted, the instant valahel was killed, every soul in the city was drawn into one point, opening a massive portal to the abyss and the realm of Lamashtu, lady of monsters. Every concieveable form of monster released on the world in that instant.
Valahel himself was revived by the spirit Lamashtu to serve as the engineer of every ingenious way that their forces were used.
their forces were finally defeated by means that are different in every telling of the story, likely because very few mortals actually survived. currently the main continent is a desolate wasteland, and where it is inhabitable it is inhabited by monsters. those that did survive did so by travelling northeast, to the narrow bit of mountainous land that links to the northeast continent (where the campaign is set).
The main things protecting the new civilisation are the dwarves living in the mountains between the continents, and the human city on the coastal pass. this city is among the largest cities around currently, built (like all current large cities) on the old cities of this land. despite that it is currently one of the most majestic and colorful human cities surviving, it insists on being referred to as simply 'barrier province'.
it is run by a pseudo-democratic conglomerate composed of the 'generals' of its militia, and a few different 'public interest groups' and merchant unions (each of these having about half the staying power of one of the generals). the city is highly militaristic due to its constant position of having to fend off wandering goblinoids and monsters, and is home to an assassins guild (professional, not cult, and very hard to sustain anywhere else).
the dwarves have a large city in the mountains nearby, but very deep in the mountains and having little interaction with the barrier province. this city is called GoldHammer, and
tends also to be extremely militaristic, the ruler often also being military commander. they tend to make a sport out of hunting nearby monsters, a group venturing out of their stronghold once every other year to bring back trophies.
Other notable places include the new kingdom of Fauchard, not technically a kingdom but a democratic union of villages and cities. Fauchard is one of the major political forces today, with few human cities not being a part of it (barrier province being one). The current capital of Fauchard is the city Thandor, which is ruled by king Bryce. Bryce took over the city in the power vacuum that ensued after the true king died without an heir, and then, convincing others to join Thandor, created Fauchard.
Fauchard has been trying for fifteen years now to conquer the northern island of Gulta, inhabited by a civilisation known only as the Gults. the Gults are a large group of barbarian tribes, not previously allied in any way until Thrangel, current commander of their 'army', convinced most of them to join together against Fauchard. they fight with disorganized guerilla tactics, taking great pride in personal victory and bringing home belongings of soldiers they defeat as trophies (a necklace here, a tooth here). they often tattoo themselves by cutting their skin in patterns that look like wolves or snakes and rubbing charcoal into the cuts.
assume all other dwarven and elven cities to be rather generic. this should give you most of the information you need to make a character here, with more of the world's backstory being revealed as the game goes on.
