Pterra

[Land Outcast]

The ancient ancestors of the Draakhin are the source of many of the ruins that dot the lands of Pterra.
One group of humans, displaced by the predations of predators, sought refuge in the shattered stones on one such site, unaware of the dangers. Slowly altered by the fell magics of the place, they have become more and more reptilian in nature, their mightiest leaders acquiring serpentine traits and bodily mutations. Now called the Ophidi, these creatures are a menace to any who would travel the jungles of the southeast reaches.

At the fall of the three Draakin citadels in the southeast jungles, the ruins of these were desecrated by a misterious force [DM secret: Aboleths] so that when they tried to retake them, the few Draakin in the mission were warped into a twisted version of themselves.
Their lives were enlongated far beyond Draakin lifespan, and a power from unknown source infused them.

When the human group sought refuge in said ruins, they were subject to the same magicks which had turned the Draakin retakers, but being from a less innately magical race, were turned into Ophidi.

That's why current Draakin live in the Dryest regions of Pterra, away from the Fell Ones of the southeast reaches.

 

[Land Outcast]

Elves of Pterra have isolated themselves up the trees at the northern reaches, having more extraplanar contact than contact with the ground-level living races. This results in the information about elves being more superstitions and folk-tales than outright facts.

Of late there appears to be a schism in progress, a quite large faction (including some of the elders or the Ruling Council) is shifting to venerate a "graceful lord", snake-shaped, who gives proection from dinosaur predations, which has allowed the venerating faction to traverse the swamps on barges, dealing with lizardfolk of the place.

One of the Elders venerating the Graceful Lord has grown blind... actually her eyes have turned reptilian-like, and she can manage herself perfectly through a "6th sense" provided by the Graceful Lord.

 

[Dragonbait]

I'm going to pepper in some adventure sites:

The peaks of the Naxatul Mountains are the highest in all of Pterra. Snow remains on those peaks year-round. At the very top of the mountain is a monestary of githzerai. They almost never interact with the land below, but it is said that the monestary lies close to the greatest of all the Draakin monoliths. This monolith was dedicated to a great sky-god worshiped by the ancient Draakin, filled with sacrifices and vast treasures. It remains untouched by the fell powers that destroyed the original empire [DM secret=Aboleths] and the current growing evil of the opidian cultists.

Once a year the tide on the eastern shores drops to its lowest point (possibly during the Summer solstice, if that is possible). A series of caves is said to be revealed on the Barrakiri cliffs. These cliffs were named by the sea-faering dwarves, who find it impossible to navigate around the craggy rocks and whirlpools in the region. Even the sahaguin avoid the place at all times. Ships that sink in the area are found amongst the exposed cliffs when the tide is at its lowest, but all their treasures are gone. On that night, when the moon reaches its highest point, a mournful song can be heard coming from the caves. It is a difficult trek up to the caves, which start to flood with ocean water the next morning.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Volcanos long ago claimed a number of cities in the interior, before written records were able to record the names of the cities or the identities of the residents. Now, though, supernatural winds and rains have begun to erode the lava that encases the so-called Cities of Fire, liberating the fiery ghosts that have been trapped within for thousands of years.

 

[Land Outcast]

Actually the supernatural winds and rains were caused by an Efreeti Lord, who is acting through one of the leaks from the Elemental Plane of Fire. The plan is to establish a foothold in the monanious regions and give life to the Cities of Fire.

Through some fundamental rituals he has managed to hold power over the freed fiery spirits; that's why Pterra isn't smoldering ash... yet.

The elves not worshipping the Graceful Lord, which is to say, those who still have little contact with ground races and conserve extraplanar links, are in contact with this Efreeti Lord. The nature of said contact (alliance, security, enemity) is unknown.

 

[Dragonbait]

Another race of significant population is the aarakocra. They have strong ties to the air elementals, and their shamans and druids have an easier time summoning air elementals than other spellcasters. Some costal aarakocra live on cliffs near the sea dwarf villaiges. These aarakocra make a living by acting as lookouts for the great clan ships as they navigate the waters to and from other lands. Most of the bird men live inland in small primitive tribes amongst the mountain peaks. They are cautious when dealing with the native human, elf, and lizardfolk populations, but have had some basic trade and on occasion, conflicts with those races.

 

[Tonguez]

The Banasti Traders are a culture of Gnomes able to speak with sauropods who live in baskets slung across the backs of Thunderbeasts - a huge species of Sauropod with at least some semblance of intelligence.

Up to 30 gnomes live on the backs of the larger Beasts in multiple baskets some of which are used to grow food (a number of funguses and tuber plants)and store cargo. Each such community is lead by the Beast rider who has a opersonal rapport with the Thunderbeast.

Banasti are incredible acrobatic and are often seen scrambling up and down the sides of the Thunderbeasts, swinging between beasts and even building extended platforms that allow they to harvest plant material without leaving the backs of their beasts. Indeed it is beleived by some that the Banasti never leave the backs of their beasts, however this is not entirely true.

 

[CsonTep]

There are no chromatic or metallic dragons in Pterra.

--BRAD

 

[Arkhandus]

Ruu-Kashtta, the exotic halflings of Pterra, live in a secluded island kingdom across the Great Western Sea. They fled the dinosaur-dominated mainland ages ago and have only been heard from on rare occasions since. People say that Ruu-Kashtta live in cities of gold and silver, wear elaborate silk garments, ride brightly-furred giant bats, and forbid the presence of reptiles on their islands.

 

[Land Outcast]

The only link these halflings have to Pterra itself are sporadic visits by Mar-Zud... And it's of popular knowledge that the fleet of The Ardent, led by Captain Banther (human captain, motley crew), at least once a year, departs in said direction without fear... until now they've always returned with precious objects from the Ruu-Kasshta.
Noone knows how they are able to navigate the Belt of Worms and still conserve their ships.