The Far Shores Campaign

[Tuerny]

Just for the hell of it I am going to post material as I organize it for my Far Shores campaign setting.

Hopefully you will be able to get some use out of it. If not, oh well.


Divine Classifications

Elder Gods
The Elder Gods are the first gods, the creators of the world. Have largely dissolved into lesser divinities or retreated from the world. References can be found to them in the most ancient ruins and in the invocations of the most powerful spells. They are said to be so beyond mortals that they cannot even perceive them, instead only sensing great events and changes in the balance of the power of the cosmos.

Great Gods
When the elder gods dissolved and retreated from the cosmos they left behind the Great Gods. These deities were responsible for maintaining the world, ensuring that it continued on into perpetuity and that the Elder Horrors were kept at bay. They made sure that the sun continued to rise and set, that the stars hung in the sky, and that the seasons continued on as they always had. As time went on mortal cultures began to subscribe personality traits and duties of their own to the great gods. The great god’s personalities began to fragment at this, taking on aspects relating to the cultures that worshipped them. In cases where these aspects were diverse some great gods shattered, destroyed by their own personality fragments as the Elder Gods had long ago, becoming the Facet Gods.

The Facet Gods
As the Great Gods were sundered by their fragmenting personalities (or mastered them and retained their cohesion) the Facet Gods were formed. Each one represents an aspect of a particular phenomenon of the world, mortal cultures, or the mortal condition. They are the most powerful deities who can retain an awareness of individual mortals and are those that infuse the untalented with the ability to tap into the Elder God’s remnant energies. The major types of Facet Gods are:

City Gods
The origins of the city gods aren’t quite certain. While it could be said that they are all aspects of the great god of cities, considering their diversity it is unlikely. Another theory is that they are lost gods, gods of some other type that have lost their original purpose but are instead attracted by the ritual that is performed when a city comes into being. City gods are generally worshipped by inhabitants of the city they are responsible for. If a city is destroyed, the city god is freed and may end up being bound to another city.

Ideal Gods
Ideal gods are the gods of mortal culture, representing such abstract things as war, love, and hatred. These are the gods of civilization, those that are tied to the mortal races. Without mortals to love, war, and hate each other they would not exist. They often serve at odds with Nature Gods, seeking to preserve mortals and their representations in mortal culture, as Nature Gods seek to preserve their forest, lake, or mountain range. City Gods can be considered, in a broad sense, to be Ideal Gods.

Nature Gods
Nature gods are among the most numerous of the Facet Gods. Each forest, mountain range, lake, and desert has its own nature god. They are also the most variable in power, ranging from the weak nature gods of forest ponds (which could probably be classified more properly as least gods) to the gods of the great oceans and continent-spanning grasslands of the world. Gods of things that affect humanity as part of the natural world, such as disease, fertility, and death are also considered natural gods.

Least Gods
These are the least powerful of the gods, tied to such things as individual swords, minor paths, houses, and the like. Some are highly intelligent and perceptive. Some are barely aware of anything beyond their assigned duty. They are rarely worshipped by anyone more than those who come into direct contact with them. Many monsters can be considered least gods. The servant creatures of more powerful gods are often least gods as are ancestral spirits.

 

[gpetruc]

Very nice.
What about ascension/demigods ? are they possible in you world ?

 

[Tuerny]

Well in a way everyone ascends when they die. Ancestral spirits are all least gods.

It is possible that a living or dead mortal would gain such an influence in the mortal world (through a cult or whatever) that he could become one of the Facet Gods. This would be pretty rare though, as most divinities tend to disintegrate downwards or maintain their current level of divinity rather than move upwards.

One of the reasons behind me making this system is in order to make the divine very flexible. There are all kinds of gods and there is no reason that the players can't come up with their own gods to follow. So I don't see why I can't have ascended heroes as part of the buffet of gods.

 

[Tuerny]

The Peoples of the Far Shores Part 1: The Aeldar

Aeldar
Appearance:
The typical Aeldar is between 5’ and 5’6” tall with little difference existing between the males and females of the race. Due to years of hard conditioning and training they tend to have a hard, sleek frame with little fat and a sleek litheness that has been compared to that of a panther or other great hunting cat. Hair tends to be cropped short with it barely extending in length past the shoulders; colors range from silvery-white or golden-white to, in a few rare individuals, a beautiful golden-silver mixture. Eyes range from green to aqua with browns and blacks being very, very rare. Facial features tend to be almost feline, with pointed ears serving to remind individuals of the Aeldar’s nonhuman nature. Facial hair is non-existent.

History:
The stone and iron city-states of the Aeldar once stood as bastions of lore, justice, and learning. No more. The cities of the Aeldar were shattered during the War of the Serpent and One Thousand Infernos as the yuan-ti overlords of the Forest of Jagged Teeth unleashed their hordes of ophidians, viper swarms, and ti-khana to drive their hated enemies into the ground. The Aeldar were bent but not fully broken.
In their darkest hour, fearing destruction at the hands of the yuan-ti hordes, the most powerful among the Aeldar magi performed a great ritual to transform the race, turning them from peaceful scholars and artists into a race designed for war. This pulled them back from the brink, but it almost was not enough. Their cities were destroyed and broken, their people were killed by the thousands, and priceless artifacts were extinguished permanently, but they were victorious.

The Serpentine Conclave was destroyed and the yuan-ti were forced into the darkest depths of the forest, never to be seen again. For their part the Aeldar became a pale shadow of what they once were, with barely enough population left to claim one of their old city-states. The Aeldar retreated from their old homes, falling back to the citadel-city of Aramach, hoping to rebuild the culture they once had. Unfortunately, what had been lost could never be regained and the future only brought the Aeldar change.

Rather than knowledge and scholarship the Aeldar were now designed for war and bloodshed. The young Aeldar looked highly upon those who had mastered the art of the blade and bow, the fireball and lightning bolt, the fatal strike and brilliant tactic. The new Aeldar devotion to war was looked upon with some concern by elders of the race but they found that their voice was increasingly ignored by the majority of the Aeldar. The study of birds and flowers hadn’t saved a single Aeldar. Volumes of treatises on the currents of the Sea of Jade Lilies had not slain a single ophidian. Lore for lore’s sake had become irrelevant.

As time wore on the Moshi and Gray Orcs claimed lands that were one home to the Aeldar. While this filled some of the Aeldar with rage others saw this as an opportunity. These ungainly humans with their brief, brutal lives would be perfect beings to practice the techniques that the Aeldar wished to perfect. So they became a culture of mercenaries, with companies of Aeldar serving the highest bidder. It quickly became a mark of distinction to have an Aeldar company serving in one’s army. They proved themselves to be canny, skilled combatants of the first order with each victory allowing them to move one step closer to achieving the perfection that each Aeldar desired.

Modern Aeldar:

Today the Aeldar serve in the same role they have maintained for centuries, mercenaries par excellent and tacticians without equal. They are the region’s preeminent warriors and their services are available to the highest bidder. The majority of their people still live in Aramach, but some have settled in other cities that frequently make use of their services, with noticeable populations in Minoth, Senzor, and Kuru. Those elders who favored a continuation of the ancient Aeldar traditions are largely dead now; time and quiet daggers in the night have silenced their voices. For better or worse, the Aelder are now devoted to battle.

This is reflected in the Aeldar’s art and their clothing. Modern Aeldar art typically depicts scenes of action and battle. Their sculptures and paintings depict warriors in combat stances or locked in battle with particularly noteworthy foes. Even profiles typically show the individual armed for battle.

Aeldar clothing is ornate and complex while maintaining a level of functionality that prevents them from being a hindrance if a battle suddenly erupted. Clothes tend to be form-fitting without anything that could be grabbed or ripped at by an enemy. Jewelry is typically limited to rings and studs; items that are difficult to grab in battle. To make up for this, Aeldar adornments are typically highly decorated, with complex, abstract, patterns designed to reveal a dizzying array of social signals and ideas. Newcomers to Aeldar social events have often remarked that the view is akin to that of a Talaire social event save for that the designs are on the clothes rather than the skin.

Aeldar Religion:

The ancient Aeldar had an elaborate religion devoted to deities who were associated with the constellations that sit above Vadaris. The temples of these gods, except for those that say in Aramach, were destroyed during the War of the Serpent and One Thousand Infernos and were never rebuilt. Those in Aramach were abandoned and now stand silently save for the small order of caretakers that still maintain the temples in order to avoid angering the Aeldar’s old gods. The modern Aeldar worship a trio of gods each one devoted to one aspect of the Aeldar’s lifestyle. The most prominent of these is Maethosis the Vigilant Blade, God of War, Tactics, and Excellence.

Maethosis is said to have been a great warrior and general who personally slew each of the yuan-ti anathema that sat in the Serpentine Council. With their deaths he drew upon the traces of divine energy that infused them and ascended into divinity as the only truly Aeldar god. His priests were among the most powerful driving forces in bringing the Aeldar to what they were today and even know seek to preserve a culture where warfare is venerated above all other things.

Second in prominence is Deneb the Laughing Wanderer, Goddess of Mischief and Travel. She is seen as the defender of traveling Aeldar and, because of her widespread worship, an outlet for diplomacy with other peoples. At least one of her priests travel with each Aeldar mercenary company in order to ensure that they travel safely and quickly, so that they can die in the pursuit of their contracts rather than at the hands of a random road-side danger.

New among the deities is Shah the Blood Lord. The primary god of the Ebon Knights of Minoth, Shah has arisen as the patron of the most bloodthirsty and murderous of the Aeldar warriors. They gather in secret brotherhoods dedicated to death for its own sake, seeking to bring as much bloodshed possible to their enemies rather than merely the perfect, tactical victory that followers of Maethosis seek. These Aeldar typically are the most racist of the Aeldar, seeing the only purpose of other races as being to die on their bloody blades. Surprisingly, these Aeldar are not allied with the Ebon Knights, seeing them as imperfect worshippers of the Blood Lord. They deserve perhaps favored slavery or an especially extensive sacrificial ritual at best.

Aeldar Characteristics:
• +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution; Thanks to the ritual of transformation, the Aeldar possess a natural grace and stamina that aids them greatly on the field of battle.
• +2 racial saving throw bonus vs. Enchantment effects. The Aeldar are naturally resistant to effects that would hinder their ability to freely think and act.
• +2 racial saving throw bonus vs. poison. As a result of the War of the Serpent and One Thousand Infernos, the Aeldar are naturally resistant to poisons and drugs, both magical and otherwise.
• Low-light vision. The Aeldar’s eyes allow them to make best use of all of the light that they have, allowing them to see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions. They retain their ability to distinguish detail and colors under these conditions.
• Fire resistance 5. The flames of the One Thousand Infernos burnt the Aeldar horribly, and only those who were able to resist the effects of these flames survived. This resistance survives even today, allowing the Aeldar to resist all sorts of flames.
• Proficient with either the long sword or the battle axe; proficient with shortbow, longbow, composite longbow, and composite shortbow. Aeldar train constantly for battle in their youth. Even the courtiers and magi of the Aeldar know how to use the weapons of war.
• A +2 racial bonus to Listen, Search, and Spot checks. The Aeldar have exceptional senses allowing them to detect things that those with less sensitive senses would miss.
• Automatic Languages: Aeldar. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Goblin, Gnoll, Haethian, Moshi, Sylvan, Salubri, Yuan-ti.
• ECL: +1. The Aeldar are more powerful than other races and thus have an effective character level of +1.

 

[Tuerny]

Deep Dwarves
Appearance:
The typical Deep Dwarf male is between 4’1” and 4’7” tall with females being about 2” shorter. They are as resilient and stout as the earth from which they arose, with large, bulky frames and little in the way of grace and agility. Hair is worn long, with married individuals wearing a single braid to indicate their betrothal. Hair colors tend towards earthy colors, with brown or black being the most common. Eyes share similar tones, though rare individuals have flecks of gold or silver across the iris. These individuals are seen as being blessed by the gods and typically end up becoming priests. Facial features tend to be round and full with some individuals having features that would almost be described as “hard” or cold. Facial hair, worn long and wild, is found only among dwarven males, despite jokes to the contrary.

History:
The true origin of the Deep Dwarves is lost in the mist of time, though they claim that they were pulled from the earth fully formed by their god Grummok. For as long as the dwarves can remember the history of the Deep Dwarves was that of the Thanedom of Durom Malar. They carved their kingdom from the stone beneath the Mosai Basin, widening natural passages into the glorious halls that would one day become their kingdom. Eventually they dug too deep and opened their caverns up to the horrors known as the illithid, the mind flayers. The war against the mind flayers was short and brutal. The dwarves knew that they had met their match and responded accordingly, binding themselves to the Dragon of Endless Depths in exchange for his aid against the illithid. With its aid they were able to drive back their foes, sealing them back into the earth from which they came.

The price that the dwarves paid for the Dragon of Endless Depth’s aid was great. A hundred temples and a great holy city were built to the Dragon of Endless Depth’s and one tenth of the dwarven population dedicated itself to homage of the great Dragon. With the power granted by this worship, the Dragon was able to exceed the final hurdle needed to become a god. Even today the dwarves pay this price, as worship of the Dragon has become as much a part of their culture as worship of Grummok.

With the departure of the Dragon, the dwarves were free to turn their immense craftsmanship to a new task. They did so, tunneling up away from the center of the earth rather than towards it. After several years of constant work (and dozens of mineral discoveries), they found something they never expected: the Surface. A place of endless horizons and thousands of bizarre and dangerous creatures, some dwarven nobles argued that the dwarves should collapse the passages they built and retreat beneath the surface, never to return. Others argued that the dwarves should immediately seize the territory around their entrance as a defense against potential attacks. Still others, who were in favor with the current Thane, argued that they should send small scouting parties out to gauge the attitudes of the natives. The latter group won out and three dozen scouting parties scoured the surface, looking for signs of non-hostile intelligent life. What they found were the Moshi of Kuru.

After initial suspicions were overcome, the Kurites and dwarves became strong allies, especially once the dwarves discovered had access to two ores that dwarves didn’t: adamantine and mithral. This alliance was so strong that the dwarves offered seven sieges (each of 1,000 troops) in defense of Kuru when the gray orcs invaded the region. With the dwarves’ aid, Kuru was the only city able to resist the might of the gray orcish invasion. Kuru has never forgotten and to this day the cities are the strongest of allies. Jealous neighboring cities whisper that Kuru is now nothing more than a vassal state, but whispers are all that they are. Kuru and the dwarves are strong allies, nothing more nothing less.

Modern Deep Dwarves:

The Deep Dwarves of today serve as vital partners with the people of the Mosai Basin. They have extended their general partnership with Kuru to include several other cities, though none can be considered as close as Kuru is. They have even opened a small number of trading posts on the far side of the Dawn Mist Mountains, allowing them to trade with the Tygaeran horse barbarians. They share the distrust that many Moshi have for the Gray Orcs, however, and to this day refuse to, as a nation, have any sort of non-hostile contact with them.

As befits their roots, the Deep Dwarves maintain their strong connection to the earth. Mining and crafting are the primary focus of the life of most Deep Dwarves. Only a rare few look beyond the confines of Durom Malar to the surface. Even those that find their way to the surface find that the open sky makes them uncomfortable, even after years of living under it. Something about the great emptiness leaves a gnawing fear in the pit of their stomach. Most are loath to admit this however, instead claiming the sky is unnatural or that their periodic bouts of paleness are a result of “some strange surface disease that attempts to strike down a dwarf in his prime!”

Dwarven art is expressed in their weapons, armor, and buildings. They gain a subtle pleasure at looking upon a well-crafted building or weapon, with true awe being reserved for items that are both lovely to behold and fashioned well enough to serve through a thousand battles. Dwarven dweamorcrafters are especially well thought of in this regard, as they are able to infuse their creations with something beyond beauty and standard craftsmanship; the imbued essence of a god.

Deep Dwarven clothing is utilitarian and simple, as befits a culture that is devoted to hard, dirty labor (in the dark). Wealth and power are expressed through gems and jewelry, with particularly wealthy dwarves possessing higher and higher quality gems, with the most powerful and influential dwarves bedecked with earthblood and dragontears set in mithral or adamantite. Some wealthy dwarves have also taken to studding their clothes with various small gemstones and pieces of precious metal, allowing them to show off both their wealth and their strength.

A prominent place in dwarven culture is held by a sect of noble warriors known as the drengr. The drengr are chosen by the deep dwarven ancestor spirits to serve as a new generation of nobility, consecrated to lead the dwarves into the future. The deep dwarves respect their ancestor’s choices, and train the drengr well, teaching them of the arts of war and leadership so that they will be ready to assume the rule ordained to them. Some among the drengr decide to serve dwarven society rather than leave it. These individuals train to join the elite Dwarven Defenders in manning the fortresses that guard the borders of dwarven territory.

Occasionally, a dwarf will chose to disrespect their ancestors and refuse the honor of becoming a drengr these individuals are given an option. They can either be cast out of dwarven society never to return or they can join the cave scouts. Those who choose to be cast out are tattooed with a broken anvil to show their treason to dwarven culture and society. They are then brought to the edge of dwarven territory and cast out with a warning to never return. The others are trained for the dangerous life of a cave scout.

The cave scouts are the outlanders and explorers of dwarven society, trained to constantly expand the borders of dwarven territory and discover potential threats to the dwarven people before those threats discover the dwarves. Not all, or even most, cave scouts are brought from those who chose to serve dwarven society without becoming a drengr, but enough of them are to leave a distinct aura of distrust of the cave scouts from other members of dwarven society. After all, any one of them could be one of those few who chose to refuse the duty of becoming a drengr.

Deep Dwarven Religion:
There are three primary focuses of dwarven devotion. The most prominent of these is Grummok, father of the dwarves, but the Dragon of the Endless Depths and the Dwarven Ancestors also receive official worship. Typically each dwarf venerates Grummok or the Dragon of Endless Depths above all other deities but maintains a secondary respect for the other dwarven deity. The Dwarven Ancestors are venerated by all dwarves, respected for the contributions that they have made in building the past and what they currently do to guide the future. Every dwarven city has temples to the Dragon of Endless Depths and Grummok with numerous assorted shrines dedicated to the individual ancestor spirits who are important to the city.

Grummok, Father of the Dwarves, is venerated as the Great God of Craftsmanship, the King of the Earth Gods, and the Keeper of the Perfected Unity. He is the one who pulled the dwarves fully formed from the earth and infused them with the Unity, granting them life. He has kept the dwarves united where the other races have sundered. For this the dwarves are thankful. The earth priests of Grummok are omni-present in everyday dwarven life. They bless the forges, mediate disputes, and provide the earth magic needed to make sure the cavernous metropolises of the dwarves continue to shelter the people from the malevolent gods of madness and the darkest depths. Most importantly they interact with the alien lesser earth gods, those beings who lace the earth with gems and ores, and release earthquakes against those who anger them or their King. The most favored of Grummok’s priests, called the Eldest Son, sits to the left of the Thane of Durom Malar.

The Dragon of Endless Depths is not a traditional god, and outsiders typically have a hard time understanding it. The Dragon isn’t a god of the earth, air, water, or fire. It is not a god of society or mortal living. It is instead a god of the abstract, of the moment between existence and action. It is the Void. It is the moment of calm before a warrior makes the perfect strike. It is the moment of panic before an orator knows just what to say to talk down a belligerent crowd. It is the moment of confusion before the priest knows which of his thousands of ancestors he needs to call upon. True dedication to the Dragon is not taken upon by traditional priests who speak to the gods and make invocations in their name. Instead, the Dragon is served by the void priests, those who seek to gain true understanding of the Dragon through mastery of the moment. In dwarven society, the Dragon is seen as a path to what the dwarves will become. Grummok is what they were and are, the Dragon is what they will be. The Grand Master of the Endless Depths, the highest ranking void priest, sits to the right of the Thane of Durom Malar.

The Dwarven Ancestors are those dwarves who have passed into the realm of the honored dead. They have proven their worth to the dwarven people and now seek to guide them from beyond the grave. Each dwarf is expected to know the names of his entire lineage, back to the First Dwarves, with particular attention paid to those dwarves who have brought great honor to their lineage. Dwarves are supposed to think of and honor in day-to-day life, with special care taken once a month on a day unique to a particular family. On this day the dwarf spends the day sequestered in prayer and communion, thanking them for their benedictions and asking them for guidance in the month to follow. In addition, each family typically has a single member who takes special care to honor the ancestors that other family members are lax in their acknowledgment of. They tend to the family shrine, perform tasks that the ancestors give to them, and generally make sure that the ancestors feel that they are being honored. The shrine priest of the Thane’s family stands behind the Thane, so that he might whisper the words of the ancestors into the Thane’s ear.

Deep Dwarven Characteristics:
• +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom -2 Dexterity, -2 Charisma; Deep Dwarves are both hardy and resilient and wise in the ways of mortal nature. They suffer, however, from their close ties to the earth, finding it difficult to assert themselves and make a large individual impact on the world around them.
• Darkvision: Deep Dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and dwarves can function fine without any light.
• Stonecunning grants dwarves a +2 racial bonus to all checks involving stonework, including related craft checks. A dwarf who even passes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a check as if he were actively searching. In addition a dwarf can use the search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue would. A dwarf can naturally intuit their depth underground as easily as a human would sense what direction was up.
• +2 racial saving throw bonus vs. poison. Dwarves are hardy and resistant to toxins.
• +1 racial bonus to attack rolls against aberrations. The illithids are just one among the many bizarre creatures spawned from the depths that the dwarves are trained to fight.
• +2 racial bonus on Craft checks that are related to stone or metal. Dwarves are especially capable with stonework and metalwork.
• Bonus Void Use or Ancestor feat. The Deep Dwarves have a special connection to their ancestors and the Dragon of Endless Depths. At first level a Deep Dwarf may take any Ancestor feat or the Void Use feat as a bonus in addition to any feats they would normally gain.
• Dwarves may take the samurai character class if they are among the drengr and the inkyo character class if they are among the void priests.
• Automatic Languages: Dwaervan. Bonus Languages: Goblin, Orcish, Moshi, Terran.