S
Sunseeker
Guest
They inspire certain general themes, but there's very little to take from them that will stand out among the other general fantasy elements.
D&D 5E What makes your homebrew setting special?
They inspire certain general themes, but there's very little to take from them that will stand out among the other general fantasy elements.
pming
Legend
Hiya!
Yes. Because there is almost no gain and lots of loss if they were to do that. Sure, they could murder a whole town...but the amount of XP they would get would be negligible. As in, minuscule. As in probably a hundred or less per PC. Hell, once they hit level 3 or 4, they'd get ZERO XP from it (in 1e the amount of XP a creature is worth is modified up or down based on the PC power level vs. the creature). They might pick up a few hundred gold...maybe...for a whole town (say, 300 people). Meanwhile, they would be labeled as psychopathic. Pretty much a shoot on site type of thing. On top of that, there are a few NPC's that would be equal or higher level than them...and those NPC's would have tools, assets and access to equipment that the PC's wouldn't.
Basically, PC's killing NPC's willie nillie would be self-defeating. Besides, if it REALLY got bad, the Gods of Good would step in. There is a saving throw that every PC has to make every week or so. Failure means they slip into the effects of the "Spell of Contentment". Modifiers for various things do apply (like if you are doing nothing in town but 'normal stuff'...it's no adjustment; if you are in a dungeon, fighting for your life against evil, you get a bonus; if you are in a town and killing townsfolk for no real reason...in other words, being Evil...there is a penalty). Eventually the penalty would be so large that the PC would fail. When they do, they feel great regret, throw themselves at the mercy of the court, and spend the next month, months, year or years trying to repent.
So, in a nutshell...going on "murder hobo against commoners" is a self-defeating measure. You might as well be playing Call of Cthulhu where everyone decides to gather the human sacrifices in order to summon a Great Old One so that they can "be granted limitless power!" (re: get eaten alive and/or go insane; make a new character
).
Besides that...my players like doing the 'adventuring thing' more than doing a-hole stuff for no reason other than to try and get off by playing out there sick-o fantasies. I have played with, er, lets say "slightly disturbed" people. They always leave my game in short order because, well, consequences for actions is kind of big in my campaigns.
^_^
Paul L. Ming
And you can get your players to run in a world like this without turning into murderhobos?
Yes. Because there is almost no gain and lots of loss if they were to do that. Sure, they could murder a whole town...but the amount of XP they would get would be negligible. As in, minuscule. As in probably a hundred or less per PC. Hell, once they hit level 3 or 4, they'd get ZERO XP from it (in 1e the amount of XP a creature is worth is modified up or down based on the PC power level vs. the creature). They might pick up a few hundred gold...maybe...for a whole town (say, 300 people). Meanwhile, they would be labeled as psychopathic. Pretty much a shoot on site type of thing. On top of that, there are a few NPC's that would be equal or higher level than them...and those NPC's would have tools, assets and access to equipment that the PC's wouldn't.
Basically, PC's killing NPC's willie nillie would be self-defeating. Besides, if it REALLY got bad, the Gods of Good would step in. There is a saving throw that every PC has to make every week or so. Failure means they slip into the effects of the "Spell of Contentment". Modifiers for various things do apply (like if you are doing nothing in town but 'normal stuff'...it's no adjustment; if you are in a dungeon, fighting for your life against evil, you get a bonus; if you are in a town and killing townsfolk for no real reason...in other words, being Evil...there is a penalty). Eventually the penalty would be so large that the PC would fail. When they do, they feel great regret, throw themselves at the mercy of the court, and spend the next month, months, year or years trying to repent.
So, in a nutshell...going on "murder hobo against commoners" is a self-defeating measure. You might as well be playing Call of Cthulhu where everyone decides to gather the human sacrifices in order to summon a Great Old One so that they can "be granted limitless power!" (re: get eaten alive and/or go insane; make a new character
).Besides that...my players like doing the 'adventuring thing' more than doing a-hole stuff for no reason other than to try and get off by playing out there sick-o fantasies. I have played with, er, lets say "slightly disturbed" people. They always leave my game in short order because, well, consequences for actions is kind of big in my campaigns.
^_^
Paul L. Ming
Steeldragons' World of Orea: Realms & Nations, Part II (since part I was interrupted by real life and such. grr.)
Working our way north, up the western coast of the Orean continent, directly north of Mostrial, across the D'Drathas river sits...
Shistalir (or, more properly, ShiStaliir), a great ancient forest of a size, nearly, to rival Mistwood. Within its shaded halls lie the last remaining citadel of elfindom from the age before Men, Avanthar. The fabled city of crystal and woven forest was built by the last great king of the age has never been -so it is claimed- seen by mortal eyes. The magic and beauty said to be contained therein is like to rival the divine palaces of the gods, or so it is said. The city and surrounding forest are home of the original race of [immortal] elves of the same name, the ShiStaliiri, literally translated from elvish as "Those of the Blood of the Stars." The borders are strictly patrolled and jealously guarded. Even the men of Mostrial are reticent to go anywhere near it, nowadays. Every so often, the foolish men to the north of the wood (the southern reaches of Grinlia) encroach a bit too near or try to test the elves' strength, believing every so many years a "star" elf goes unseen, that they are all dead or have disappeared into myth with their magic...or were only ever myth. This last occurred, roughly 3 hundred years ago during what is known in the Chronicles as "The Battle of Lost Lords"...those would have been the human nobility/lords that were lost. The remnants of Grinlia's nobility and rulers in their southern lands have not been so foolish since.
Also of note, in the surroundings of ShiStaliir, just north of Mostrial's borders, are the ancient mountain fortress of Nor Tereth and the Aeiri Kros. In ancient times Nor Tereth was a bastion for the lords of elves, dwarves, and men, a shared construction and garrison which each of those peoples supplied and manned, on whom any of the three kingdoms of the day could call. It has long since fallen into ruin -as the alliance between the three peoples- since before the Godswar. Over the years various evils have taken up residence and claimed Nor Tereth as their own. None know, today, what centuries of dangers...or riches might be found there. Between ShiStaliir's eastern reach and the sloping foothills of the Daegun mountains -high within which Nor Tereth is nestled- lies a desolate plateau of dust and rock where innumerable wars have been fought. It was named -as most things in this area of the world- by the elves as the Aeiri Kros, "the Plain of Tears." It is an entirely unpleasant place, cursed by the countless dead -of good and evil- who have fallen there over millennia. It is days across and many days more north-to-south where nothing grows, next to no water, nowadays filled with roving scavengers and monsters, and the occasional pack of Grorn beastmen. Travel -on foot or beast- through "the Kros" is not recommended by man or dwarf or, even if you ever saw one outside of ShiStaliir these days, an elf.
Grinlia, the Great Kingdom, a.k.a. the Kingdom of Light, a.k.a. the Shining Kingdom, is Orea's largest sprawling [primarily] human monarchy, by far, consuming nearly a third of the continent in the west and north. Comparatively speaking to the rest of the known world, it is also the youngest established nation. Its creation as a singular political entity didn't occur until the wake of the defeat of the Scourge War, with the rise of one of that era's legendary "Heroes of the Thorn," Elibon L'lorn, receiver of the Starsword, the Great Unifier, first High-king of the collected realms of Grinlia, just shy of 300 years ago.
Continuing our way up the western coast, we begin with Grinlia's southern realm, sandwiched between ShiStaliir and the southern coast of the Arm of Tyris (the roughly Mediterranean sized sea that divides Grinlia's northern and southern realms). Grinlia's southern realm is practically an autonomous region encapsulated within the monarchy as the Grand Duchy of Denil. The Grand Duke of Denil -the 15th generation of his family to hold the title- is essentially looked upon as the steward and defender of the region, while the Grinlian throne's crown heir resides in the region's largest, most bustling cities, sometimes referred to as Andril's sister city, Brightmoon, "the Jewel of the West." It is one of the only ancient cities to have survived -at least partially- the ravages of the Godswar and the great flooding that created the Arm of Tyris. Brightmoon is a center of learning, culture, trade, egalitarian and independent thought, one of Grinlia's most shining beacons of the rise of the western kingdom...and while the great moon goddess, Arinane, is the patron goddess of the city and credited with saving the city from the ravages of the Godswar and ensuing tumult, temples to most of Orea's good and neutral deities can be found there, as well as multiple institutions of both academic and arkanademic learning, Brightmoon is notably a bit more secular than northern areas of the kingdom have become. Within the Grand Duke's realms are the Earldoms of Tram and Trisliam, the Viscounty of Gneket, and the great towered fortress (and county of the same name) of Whitehold standing watch over the pass between the eastern edge of the Onyx Hills and the southern beginnings of the Dragonreach mountains.
Stretching across a good portion of Denil's southern territory are the Onyx Hills. This long by narrow series of rocky and wooded hills and dales are home to multiple gnomish communities and mines of fine metals, marble, and granite happy to work their crafts for the continuing protection of the human nobles. Also contained somewhere within its fog-filled vales is at least one known community of the ShiCynallae, literally in elvish "Those of the Blood of the Clouds" or less kindly "Those of Clouded Blood." They are called by the gnomes and men (any non-elf, really), "Mist Elves" and while most are reclusive to the point of xenophobic, they are not evil, in fact very "laid back," and most desire to simply enjoy life and nature. Tales tell of their aiding both gnomes and humans of Denil in times of extreme need appear throughout Denil's history. The way to their hidden mist-shrouded vale is not known nor found on any map. If it has a name, none but its residents know it. It is simply called the "Elf Valley" and even the gnomes, who claim the elves' magic moves their modest tree-top town from place to place, do not know the way. Also of note, though not considered "within" or "beholden to" the Grand Duchy, though it sits within view of Whitehold, is the lone peak of Allannan. High above the clouds, within the peak's summit, sits the aerie-palace of the lord (or lady) of all the winged zepharim. Every third midsummer's solstice all zephari, from across Orea, are bound to return to their ancestral home, to share tales of their travels, what they've seen and discovered, and (ultimately and ideally, for most) to mate.
...more later.
Working our way north, up the western coast of the Orean continent, directly north of Mostrial, across the D'Drathas river sits...
Shistalir (or, more properly, ShiStaliir), a great ancient forest of a size, nearly, to rival Mistwood. Within its shaded halls lie the last remaining citadel of elfindom from the age before Men, Avanthar. The fabled city of crystal and woven forest was built by the last great king of the age has never been -so it is claimed- seen by mortal eyes. The magic and beauty said to be contained therein is like to rival the divine palaces of the gods, or so it is said. The city and surrounding forest are home of the original race of [immortal] elves of the same name, the ShiStaliiri, literally translated from elvish as "Those of the Blood of the Stars." The borders are strictly patrolled and jealously guarded. Even the men of Mostrial are reticent to go anywhere near it, nowadays. Every so often, the foolish men to the north of the wood (the southern reaches of Grinlia) encroach a bit too near or try to test the elves' strength, believing every so many years a "star" elf goes unseen, that they are all dead or have disappeared into myth with their magic...or were only ever myth. This last occurred, roughly 3 hundred years ago during what is known in the Chronicles as "The Battle of Lost Lords"...those would have been the human nobility/lords that were lost. The remnants of Grinlia's nobility and rulers in their southern lands have not been so foolish since.
Also of note, in the surroundings of ShiStaliir, just north of Mostrial's borders, are the ancient mountain fortress of Nor Tereth and the Aeiri Kros. In ancient times Nor Tereth was a bastion for the lords of elves, dwarves, and men, a shared construction and garrison which each of those peoples supplied and manned, on whom any of the three kingdoms of the day could call. It has long since fallen into ruin -as the alliance between the three peoples- since before the Godswar. Over the years various evils have taken up residence and claimed Nor Tereth as their own. None know, today, what centuries of dangers...or riches might be found there. Between ShiStaliir's eastern reach and the sloping foothills of the Daegun mountains -high within which Nor Tereth is nestled- lies a desolate plateau of dust and rock where innumerable wars have been fought. It was named -as most things in this area of the world- by the elves as the Aeiri Kros, "the Plain of Tears." It is an entirely unpleasant place, cursed by the countless dead -of good and evil- who have fallen there over millennia. It is days across and many days more north-to-south where nothing grows, next to no water, nowadays filled with roving scavengers and monsters, and the occasional pack of Grorn beastmen. Travel -on foot or beast- through "the Kros" is not recommended by man or dwarf or, even if you ever saw one outside of ShiStaliir these days, an elf.
Grinlia, the Great Kingdom, a.k.a. the Kingdom of Light, a.k.a. the Shining Kingdom, is Orea's largest sprawling [primarily] human monarchy, by far, consuming nearly a third of the continent in the west and north. Comparatively speaking to the rest of the known world, it is also the youngest established nation. Its creation as a singular political entity didn't occur until the wake of the defeat of the Scourge War, with the rise of one of that era's legendary "Heroes of the Thorn," Elibon L'lorn, receiver of the Starsword, the Great Unifier, first High-king of the collected realms of Grinlia, just shy of 300 years ago.
Continuing our way up the western coast, we begin with Grinlia's southern realm, sandwiched between ShiStaliir and the southern coast of the Arm of Tyris (the roughly Mediterranean sized sea that divides Grinlia's northern and southern realms). Grinlia's southern realm is practically an autonomous region encapsulated within the monarchy as the Grand Duchy of Denil. The Grand Duke of Denil -the 15th generation of his family to hold the title- is essentially looked upon as the steward and defender of the region, while the Grinlian throne's crown heir resides in the region's largest, most bustling cities, sometimes referred to as Andril's sister city, Brightmoon, "the Jewel of the West." It is one of the only ancient cities to have survived -at least partially- the ravages of the Godswar and the great flooding that created the Arm of Tyris. Brightmoon is a center of learning, culture, trade, egalitarian and independent thought, one of Grinlia's most shining beacons of the rise of the western kingdom...and while the great moon goddess, Arinane, is the patron goddess of the city and credited with saving the city from the ravages of the Godswar and ensuing tumult, temples to most of Orea's good and neutral deities can be found there, as well as multiple institutions of both academic and arkanademic learning, Brightmoon is notably a bit more secular than northern areas of the kingdom have become. Within the Grand Duke's realms are the Earldoms of Tram and Trisliam, the Viscounty of Gneket, and the great towered fortress (and county of the same name) of Whitehold standing watch over the pass between the eastern edge of the Onyx Hills and the southern beginnings of the Dragonreach mountains.
Stretching across a good portion of Denil's southern territory are the Onyx Hills. This long by narrow series of rocky and wooded hills and dales are home to multiple gnomish communities and mines of fine metals, marble, and granite happy to work their crafts for the continuing protection of the human nobles. Also contained somewhere within its fog-filled vales is at least one known community of the ShiCynallae, literally in elvish "Those of the Blood of the Clouds" or less kindly "Those of Clouded Blood." They are called by the gnomes and men (any non-elf, really), "Mist Elves" and while most are reclusive to the point of xenophobic, they are not evil, in fact very "laid back," and most desire to simply enjoy life and nature. Tales tell of their aiding both gnomes and humans of Denil in times of extreme need appear throughout Denil's history. The way to their hidden mist-shrouded vale is not known nor found on any map. If it has a name, none but its residents know it. It is simply called the "Elf Valley" and even the gnomes, who claim the elves' magic moves their modest tree-top town from place to place, do not know the way. Also of note, though not considered "within" or "beholden to" the Grand Duchy, though it sits within view of Whitehold, is the lone peak of Allannan. High above the clouds, within the peak's summit, sits the aerie-palace of the lord (or lady) of all the winged zepharim. Every third midsummer's solstice all zephari, from across Orea, are bound to return to their ancestral home, to share tales of their travels, what they've seen and discovered, and (ultimately and ideally, for most) to mate.
...more later.
Wiseblood
Adventurer
The BBE deity is the shadow of the the earth that is cast upon the moon. When the moon is new he is there when it is full he walks the earth forcing lycanthropes to commit hienous acts. He also causes human children born on these nights to be shifters.
Overlord ruling a vast empire has forced migration among the races to dehomogenize the populace and reduce resistance to him. Magic being a mighty weapon he set about killing subversive (ie just about any) magic users and hunting the elves.
Elves are often imprisoned or killed.
Halflings, tired of being sappers in his conscripted forces become informants and spies on the elves. Elves found out and there is much animosity.
Magic users have gone underground and much magical knowledge is lost or hidden.
Technology has flourished firearms were developed by the hobgoblins. Airships by the mountain dwelling goliaths.
Most gods are revered not worshiped and sacrifices are made to appease them and avoid their wrath especially destructive ones like gods of storms.
Overlord ruling a vast empire has forced migration among the races to dehomogenize the populace and reduce resistance to him. Magic being a mighty weapon he set about killing subversive (ie just about any) magic users and hunting the elves.
Elves are often imprisoned or killed.
Halflings, tired of being sappers in his conscripted forces become informants and spies on the elves. Elves found out and there is much animosity.
Magic users have gone underground and much magical knowledge is lost or hidden.
Technology has flourished firearms were developed by the hobgoblins. Airships by the mountain dwelling goliaths.
Most gods are revered not worshiped and sacrifices are made to appease them and avoid their wrath especially destructive ones like gods of storms.
Steeldragons' World of Orea: Realms & Nations, Part III (all of this was already written out in a blog here, btw. But then, at some point or crash the blogs all disappeared. )
Aside: Hoping to knock these out now and be able to move to stuff like persons and organizations of interest. Mythic places, more thorough religious write ups, various species' societies, etc... /aside.
Grinlia (part II, it's a big place), crossing the Arm of Tyris to the northern realms of the Great Kingdom, one is most likely to head straight to Aberol, fortified citadel of the King/Queen, the royal seat, atop a promontory. Sloping down toward the shoreline, the city is cram packed with artisans and merchants, noble townhomes, and inns/taverns of all social strata giving way to the "wharf town"-port part of the city. Sloping down away from the citadel inland are lavish palaces, estates, gardens orchards and vinyards of Grinlian noble families from across the realms. Aberol is noted throughout Grinlia, at least, if not farther, for its spectacular array of foodstuffs and skilled chefs, the amazing skill and feats of the Queen's cavaliers - the Starsword Knights, and of course, its current sovereign, the much beloved and beneficent widowed queen, Baradith. It is the "capitol" of the Grinlian realms and sits within the otherwise quite rural Duchy of West Embrar with the only other major population centers being the relatively large town of Bellpoint (on the western coast at the maw of the Arm of Tyris, where it meets the Ossaeal ["OH-say-all"] ocean) and the somewhat amazing-though-remote small city of Towerton.
The latter most notable, and fabled across many realms, due its floating chunk of earth and rock atop which sits the town's namesake, the tower of "the Wizard of Towerton." Originally the area's only resident, in the troubling times since the Godswar, the then-resident wizard used an ancient artifact of great power to lift his tower (and surrounding personal land) some hundreds of feet into the air to escape an invading army (some tales say it was the Zealotry, some say it was goblins or orcs, one even supposed it was a disgruntled tribe of centaurs come all the way up from the Kiari Hills...which would, naturally, be ridiculous). Many farmers, timberworkers and other borderland types flocked to the shadow of the wizard's tower for their own safety at various points of trouble throughout the years, and a permanent settlement/community was bound to arise over centuries. So nowadays, the Wizard of Towerton (currently the tenth to hold the title, a mage of some considerable power named Urellon, among the top ten of the current world) is the titular ruler of Towerton, being awarded a the surrounding lands as a county by the crown some centuries past, though a town council makes most decisions with the wizard rarely taking a personal interest in the city's administration.
Also of note one day's ride from Aberol, set in the lush plains betwixt the rivers Tyrilith and Whiteway, is "the White City" of Sanctum, also called the "Shining City" for the constant layers of whitewash applied to the city's walls and towers, causing it to gleam in the sunlight on the small hillock where it sits. The religious seat for the three major religions and temples, Astar, Celradorn, and Gilea, though orders, temples, and organizations of varying size to all of Orea's deities of good and most deities of neutrality are to be found behind its gleaming parapets. The city, technically under the authority of the crown, is essentially ruled as a sovereign state by the head cleric of the Astaran Church, the Cleris Suprima, and a council of top-ranking clerics of the Astaran, Gilean, and Celradite temples, and a secondary body of high-priests from all other temples that wield very little political power.
Aberol and Sanctum are viewed by those within the kingdom and across the known world as the very font and beacon of "Good/Order/Justice" on Orea. As with all places of espoused goodness, the forces and agents of evil are ever-lurking, scheming, tempting, and corrupting to bring it low.
The other realms and areas of note considered within the hold of the Grinlian crown, briefly as a full elaboration would take up far more space and time than we have here, are:
The Duchy of Embrar: called "East Embrar" by Westembrarians, a point of some contention as the house and territory of the Duke of Embrar is one of Grinlia's oldest and most noble houses...i.e. they were the Embrars before there was a "Grinlia" or "West Embrar." Along the inner eastern coastline of the Arm of Tyris, at the mouth of the great Tyrilith river that runs down from the Skyface Sea, Embrar houses north Grinlia's second most populated city, next to Aberol, and third in the whole of the western realms, behind Brightmoon, the shipping and trading hub of Bluside. Trade in all manner of goods and services is abundant, with the duchy itself providing great amounts of grains, cattle and sheep, timber, metals and stone. Yes, Embrar is, perhaps, the wealthiest noble house in the whole of Grinlia. The Duke's preferred past time is hunting. His estates, gardens, and hunting grounds are prized throughout the Grinlian realms and beyond. Invitations to travel with or visit or hunt with the Duke Embrar (and subsequently any of his close relations) are much sought after and his halls are often used as a center of...discreet...diplomacy -out of Sanctum's more imperious sight.
Also within east Embrar, and another claim to its fame, skirts the northern edges of the Dragonreach mountains in ancient boughs, the second of Mistwood's druid holds, Starglen whence, it is sung, the druids of the Ancient Order of Mistwood revealed the legendary Gift of Doron, the Starsword, to the adventuring warrior/mercenary, Elibon L'Lorn, to become one of the great Heroes of the Thorn, fighting back and defeating the forces of the Scourge, Aishapra, and unifying the disparate realms and peoples of Grinlia into the great single kingdom it is today.
Embrar is, perhaps, less known for the spreading rumors of the Duke's vassal, Seraina, the Countess Karlith, currently ruling the earldom of that name. The region of Karlith has always been somewhat harsh and rocky terrain, good for mining ore and precious stones in the roots and slopes of the Dragonreach mountains. In the past decade (or so) it has acquired something of a reputation for ever stranger goings-on in its villages. Many travelers and merchants share tales of unnatural creatures, moving through the hills and hamlets, slaying with abandon. Entire populations disappear without trace -leaving behind meals and fires, untended animals, as if swept up by the hands of the gods. Even, some tell, demons and devils prancing through the woods. A pallid shadow lays across the land. Some say the whole of the county is infested with lycanthropy. Some even say the Countess, herself, is a queen of werewolves...or worse.
The Duchy of O'Douhn: an expansive northern territory, mostly wooded (covered in the ancient O'Douhn forest) and green, famously home to the organization called "The O'Douhn Rangers" who patrol the northern reaches of the kingdom, loyally, for the crown, sussing out and fighting evil wherever it is found; also home to several tribes of Kantiiri elves and a few Miralostae; some large daelvar communities skirt the edges of the southern wood where they meet the Kiari Hills. Several centaur tribes call the western O'Douhn Wood and Kiari Hills their ancestral home territories. Of course, to its north, O'Douhn is guarded by the massive Naradun range, housing the ancestral realm of the king of all Naradun dwarves, the legendary Forges of Boromdal, and the mythic Giras Thor -"the greatest of all dwarven craft"- which bars and guards the entrance to the Underworld, stopping the endless evils therein from ascending to destroy the world.
The Archbarony D'Ensior: composed of the baronies of D'Evon, D'Arongil, Farreach, and ruled over by the Archbaron of D'Ensior (proper) is the kingdom's most northern and remote realms, surrounding the north edges of the Skyface Sea and abutting the expansive plains and tundra of the Gorunduun barbarian clans extending to the east in the shadows of the Worldcrest Peaks. Viewed by O'Douhn and Resahd as villains and potential traitors (who conversely vilify the O'Douhn rangers as spies and outlaws), but accepted if not hailed by the southern duchies as the crown's loyal defenders against any "invading barbarian hordes," the Archbaron does, indeed have designs on the usurping the throne and the majority of his underling-lords are similarly greedy, corruptible, if not outwardly criminal (as the Baron D'Arongil's "privateers" who "patrol" the Skyface as their own waters, often coming into conflict with Resahd's own ships or Embrarian merchant vessels).
Also, technically within D'Ensior's borders, but not held nor claimed is the ages-old cursed land and -originally ShiStaliiri elfin-made- stronghold of Nor Tyrilith. The land is eschewed by all living and mortal creatures, even the wicked agents of the Archbaron, as overrun with undead, dark magic, and unspeakable horrors.
The Duchy of Resahd: along the eastern coast of the Skyface Sea, at the northern edges of the Dragonreach range, and abutting the wide open spaces of the Orean Plains is Grinlia's smallest territory ruled by the deceased high-king's sister who married the Duke, the much beloved Princess Annaline, Duchess of Resahd, now also a widow and one of the Queen Baradith's truest allies and most trusted confidantes. She rules the edges of the kingdom with the grace and compassion and prosperity espoused by all the realm, renowned across the kingdom and to its allies, as just and beautiful. To D'Ensior they are an unwanted rival and meddlesome political opponent. Most notable element, other than its wondrous duchess, of the realm of Resahd is the ancient battlefield and ruined fortress of Bastion at the duchy's south eastern edge, and long-cursed former druidhold now called "the Bloodwood." Both places the sites of gruesome conflicts and horrible losses during the Scourge War, for both the allied forces of Grinlia and the Miralostae, and the orc and troll armies of the demonic warlord.
)Aside: Hoping to knock these out now and be able to move to stuff like persons and organizations of interest. Mythic places, more thorough religious write ups, various species' societies, etc... /aside.
Grinlia (part II, it's a big place), crossing the Arm of Tyris to the northern realms of the Great Kingdom, one is most likely to head straight to Aberol, fortified citadel of the King/Queen, the royal seat, atop a promontory. Sloping down toward the shoreline, the city is cram packed with artisans and merchants, noble townhomes, and inns/taverns of all social strata giving way to the "wharf town"-port part of the city. Sloping down away from the citadel inland are lavish palaces, estates, gardens orchards and vinyards of Grinlian noble families from across the realms. Aberol is noted throughout Grinlia, at least, if not farther, for its spectacular array of foodstuffs and skilled chefs, the amazing skill and feats of the Queen's cavaliers - the Starsword Knights, and of course, its current sovereign, the much beloved and beneficent widowed queen, Baradith. It is the "capitol" of the Grinlian realms and sits within the otherwise quite rural Duchy of West Embrar with the only other major population centers being the relatively large town of Bellpoint (on the western coast at the maw of the Arm of Tyris, where it meets the Ossaeal ["OH-say-all"] ocean) and the somewhat amazing-though-remote small city of Towerton.
The latter most notable, and fabled across many realms, due its floating chunk of earth and rock atop which sits the town's namesake, the tower of "the Wizard of Towerton." Originally the area's only resident, in the troubling times since the Godswar, the then-resident wizard used an ancient artifact of great power to lift his tower (and surrounding personal land) some hundreds of feet into the air to escape an invading army (some tales say it was the Zealotry, some say it was goblins or orcs, one even supposed it was a disgruntled tribe of centaurs come all the way up from the Kiari Hills...which would, naturally, be ridiculous). Many farmers, timberworkers and other borderland types flocked to the shadow of the wizard's tower for their own safety at various points of trouble throughout the years, and a permanent settlement/community was bound to arise over centuries. So nowadays, the Wizard of Towerton (currently the tenth to hold the title, a mage of some considerable power named Urellon, among the top ten of the current world) is the titular ruler of Towerton, being awarded a the surrounding lands as a county by the crown some centuries past, though a town council makes most decisions with the wizard rarely taking a personal interest in the city's administration.
Also of note one day's ride from Aberol, set in the lush plains betwixt the rivers Tyrilith and Whiteway, is "the White City" of Sanctum, also called the "Shining City" for the constant layers of whitewash applied to the city's walls and towers, causing it to gleam in the sunlight on the small hillock where it sits. The religious seat for the three major religions and temples, Astar, Celradorn, and Gilea, though orders, temples, and organizations of varying size to all of Orea's deities of good and most deities of neutrality are to be found behind its gleaming parapets. The city, technically under the authority of the crown, is essentially ruled as a sovereign state by the head cleric of the Astaran Church, the Cleris Suprima, and a council of top-ranking clerics of the Astaran, Gilean, and Celradite temples, and a secondary body of high-priests from all other temples that wield very little political power.
Aberol and Sanctum are viewed by those within the kingdom and across the known world as the very font and beacon of "Good/Order/Justice" on Orea. As with all places of espoused goodness, the forces and agents of evil are ever-lurking, scheming, tempting, and corrupting to bring it low.
The other realms and areas of note considered within the hold of the Grinlian crown, briefly as a full elaboration would take up far more space and time than we have here, are:
The Duchy of Embrar: called "East Embrar" by Westembrarians, a point of some contention as the house and territory of the Duke of Embrar is one of Grinlia's oldest and most noble houses...i.e. they were the Embrars before there was a "Grinlia" or "West Embrar." Along the inner eastern coastline of the Arm of Tyris, at the mouth of the great Tyrilith river that runs down from the Skyface Sea, Embrar houses north Grinlia's second most populated city, next to Aberol, and third in the whole of the western realms, behind Brightmoon, the shipping and trading hub of Bluside. Trade in all manner of goods and services is abundant, with the duchy itself providing great amounts of grains, cattle and sheep, timber, metals and stone. Yes, Embrar is, perhaps, the wealthiest noble house in the whole of Grinlia. The Duke's preferred past time is hunting. His estates, gardens, and hunting grounds are prized throughout the Grinlian realms and beyond. Invitations to travel with or visit or hunt with the Duke Embrar (and subsequently any of his close relations) are much sought after and his halls are often used as a center of...discreet...diplomacy -out of Sanctum's more imperious sight.
Also within east Embrar, and another claim to its fame, skirts the northern edges of the Dragonreach mountains in ancient boughs, the second of Mistwood's druid holds, Starglen whence, it is sung, the druids of the Ancient Order of Mistwood revealed the legendary Gift of Doron, the Starsword, to the adventuring warrior/mercenary, Elibon L'Lorn, to become one of the great Heroes of the Thorn, fighting back and defeating the forces of the Scourge, Aishapra, and unifying the disparate realms and peoples of Grinlia into the great single kingdom it is today.
Embrar is, perhaps, less known for the spreading rumors of the Duke's vassal, Seraina, the Countess Karlith, currently ruling the earldom of that name. The region of Karlith has always been somewhat harsh and rocky terrain, good for mining ore and precious stones in the roots and slopes of the Dragonreach mountains. In the past decade (or so) it has acquired something of a reputation for ever stranger goings-on in its villages. Many travelers and merchants share tales of unnatural creatures, moving through the hills and hamlets, slaying with abandon. Entire populations disappear without trace -leaving behind meals and fires, untended animals, as if swept up by the hands of the gods. Even, some tell, demons and devils prancing through the woods. A pallid shadow lays across the land. Some say the whole of the county is infested with lycanthropy. Some even say the Countess, herself, is a queen of werewolves...or worse.
The Duchy of O'Douhn: an expansive northern territory, mostly wooded (covered in the ancient O'Douhn forest) and green, famously home to the organization called "The O'Douhn Rangers" who patrol the northern reaches of the kingdom, loyally, for the crown, sussing out and fighting evil wherever it is found; also home to several tribes of Kantiiri elves and a few Miralostae; some large daelvar communities skirt the edges of the southern wood where they meet the Kiari Hills. Several centaur tribes call the western O'Douhn Wood and Kiari Hills their ancestral home territories. Of course, to its north, O'Douhn is guarded by the massive Naradun range, housing the ancestral realm of the king of all Naradun dwarves, the legendary Forges of Boromdal, and the mythic Giras Thor -"the greatest of all dwarven craft"- which bars and guards the entrance to the Underworld, stopping the endless evils therein from ascending to destroy the world.
The Archbarony D'Ensior: composed of the baronies of D'Evon, D'Arongil, Farreach, and ruled over by the Archbaron of D'Ensior (proper) is the kingdom's most northern and remote realms, surrounding the north edges of the Skyface Sea and abutting the expansive plains and tundra of the Gorunduun barbarian clans extending to the east in the shadows of the Worldcrest Peaks. Viewed by O'Douhn and Resahd as villains and potential traitors (who conversely vilify the O'Douhn rangers as spies and outlaws), but accepted if not hailed by the southern duchies as the crown's loyal defenders against any "invading barbarian hordes," the Archbaron does, indeed have designs on the usurping the throne and the majority of his underling-lords are similarly greedy, corruptible, if not outwardly criminal (as the Baron D'Arongil's "privateers" who "patrol" the Skyface as their own waters, often coming into conflict with Resahd's own ships or Embrarian merchant vessels).
Also, technically within D'Ensior's borders, but not held nor claimed is the ages-old cursed land and -originally ShiStaliiri elfin-made- stronghold of Nor Tyrilith. The land is eschewed by all living and mortal creatures, even the wicked agents of the Archbaron, as overrun with undead, dark magic, and unspeakable horrors.
The Duchy of Resahd: along the eastern coast of the Skyface Sea, at the northern edges of the Dragonreach range, and abutting the wide open spaces of the Orean Plains is Grinlia's smallest territory ruled by the deceased high-king's sister who married the Duke, the much beloved Princess Annaline, Duchess of Resahd, now also a widow and one of the Queen Baradith's truest allies and most trusted confidantes. She rules the edges of the kingdom with the grace and compassion and prosperity espoused by all the realm, renowned across the kingdom and to its allies, as just and beautiful. To D'Ensior they are an unwanted rival and meddlesome political opponent. Most notable element, other than its wondrous duchess, of the realm of Resahd is the ancient battlefield and ruined fortress of Bastion at the duchy's south eastern edge, and long-cursed former druidhold now called "the Bloodwood." Both places the sites of gruesome conflicts and horrible losses during the Scourge War, for both the allied forces of Grinlia and the Miralostae, and the orc and troll armies of the demonic warlord.
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Sadras
Legend
I suppose the only feature that I could label as 'special' would be like [MENTION=6801845]Oofta[/MENTION], in that I have a long history of interlocking and interweaving campaigns which take place in the same setting sometimes crossing timelines, sometimes a little before sometimes a little after with the effects of a campaign being felt -it also allows for old PCs becoming NPCs and for me to weave cute plot twists due to this merging of campaign history.
The rest of it is all vanilla...
The rest of it is all vanilla...
Magistus71
Explorer
I am enjoying your posts, thank you for telling us about it.
Doc_Klueless
Doors and Corners
My homebrew is special because it's... it's...
Well, it wouldn't be special to others, really.
It's special to me because I know all the lore. I'm not worried about past lore, books of lore, etc., etc. that the players may know. On top of that, because I'm the Creator of the setting, I can easily let the players be co-creators. I can easily incorporate whatever comes out of their mouth into the setting.
Does any of that make sense?
Well, it wouldn't be special to others, really.
It's special to me because I know all the lore. I'm not worried about past lore, books of lore, etc., etc. that the players may know. On top of that, because I'm the Creator of the setting, I can easily let the players be co-creators. I can easily incorporate whatever comes out of their mouth into the setting.
Does any of that make sense?
double post
Well, thank you for the thread to spark all of this up again. hahaha.
Let's see what I can pull out of ye olde Steeldragons' Bag o' Orean Stuff for you today...Where were we? hmmm. Let's really try to get political geography out of the way and then move on to some more fun things (like past and present adventuring locales, Big Bads, and campaign/adventuring companies.
Steelddragons' World of Orea: Regions & Nations (hopefully the final installment thereof), PART IV (is it?)
MOVING ON from the sprawling seat of just young human kingdom of Grinlia, we shift east into the inhospitable north [at least the most northerly any humans have ever explored or settled.
]. Gorundu: Similarly sized -at least for rough square miles- to the Arm of Tyris, this region is called by most learned of the realms by its indigenous name, the Gorundu. Endless tracks of wilds, icy moors, wooded and rocky hills, and rolling and sloping tundra that sprawls from the eastern edges of Grinlia's Barony of Farreach, nearly half the continent across to the Emerald Sea in the east. From the jagged, ice-capped and impassable, Worldcrest mountains in the north to the very edges of the elfin realm of Miralosta along most of its south. It is also the ancestral home to roughly a dozen or so (currently remaining) clans of the rugged light haired and eyes northmen, collectively called the "Gorunduun." Known through most of the civilized west and south as "barbarians." Each clan is bound and hold some mythologic tie to a totem animal that defines the barbarian and his/her clan's specific culture. At last tally, the most commonly known barbarian clans included: the Lion ("Luun"), the Bear ("G'Ruun"), the Stag ("Kabu"), the Eagle ("Z'chee"), the Wolf ("Wuul"), and the Dragon/Serpent ("Ch'ruun"). Other clans heard of in tales or through interactions with these larger/more commonly encountered clans include the Fox, Raven, Whale-Seal (two small clans on the verge of extinction who allied forces and families many decades ago, so are now considered a single clan), Bull/Ox, and the much-rumored in fearful whisper (apparently more feared than even the marauding Dragon clan) clan of the Blood Vole.
Aside from the barbarians who have mostly given up their raiding and pillaging ways for a more stable-farming and trade-based existence (though still feared across the known realms for their prowess and ferocity in battle -and rightly so) the Gorundu in a harsh and unforgiving landscape. Home to a number of natural predators, including the giant Wul'ruun ("dragon-" or "demon-wolves"), sabre-toothed lions, brown bears and white bears, and the deadly "killer ice worms," the Gorundu's sheer massive area conceals any number of cold-based monstrosities. Among its more commonly found foes are hordes of blue orcs from the lower Worldcrest, the occasional pack of [vaguely more than wolf-pack mentality/intelligence] white dragons, ice trolls and hags, and frost giants. The eastern coast, along the green-iced flows and bergs that make up the Emerald Sea, also plays home to a plethora of arctic aquatic threats.
Among the Gorundu's less deadly inhabitants, if the legends are to be believed, are the helpful but elusive "ice dwarves," the Korokun, and small tribes of wild-but-kind Kantiiri adapted to the terrain, commonly (and disdainfully by the barbarians) called "snow elves." The hills surrounding an ancient mile-long mound crowned by a circular monolithic structure, the Solumen Stones, is a sacred holding for the druids of Mistwood and considered holy ground -no fighting/bloodshed by honorable warriors- to all Grounduun clans (though the barbarians rely on their individual clan shamans for their rites and rituals, and do not follow the druidic religion). Assistance and rest may be found, though is rarely "offered," there. Of no concern to the sorcery-averse barbarians, but still fabled across the realms and for some reason enough (if not the only reason) to traverse these death-trap wilds, is a locale of unmatched mythical power. High in the Worldcrest mountains, in a hidden valley at the very pinnacle of the world, is rumored to be the last bastion of the great wyrms of ancient days, protective and helpful, the last [and only] font of true dragon magic, the Tower of Wyr.
R'Hath: the Mage-lands of the east, behind their wall of the treacherous and warded Zarchan Mountains, across the Emerald Sea from Gorundu, the penninsula "empire" was carved out, planned and protected by an originating "Founding Five" of the most powerful magic-users of that age from across the world, to escape persecution from the then-empowered servants of the newly triumphant deities [the current pantheon], the Zealotry. From these founders; Alkari the Wanderer, the sorceress Krallia of Tanku, Serion the Green, Zarcha Tam (of Thel), and the Archmage Nator, five provinces (named for each founder) were shaped in their founder's respective vision. Magic-using persons and creatures from across the realms emigrated to R'Hath to form the most magical (and magically adept) of all of Orea's realms. To this day, nearly every aspiring mage from across the known world will make a pilgrimage to R'Hath, at least once in the lifetime, to further their Craft. In R'Hath are to be found the collected and ever-expanding knowledge of the world of Orea with sages, specialists, and archivists on every topic from Astral Projection to Zooplanar Morphology, schools and mentors of all manner of wizarding styles on any and all sorcerous topics.
But foremost, R'Hath is the home to the sacred (to R'Hathi mages) Halls of Arkanademia, the nine schools of categories of arcane magic -eight specialties and the "typical/normal generalist" mage who studies and practices all. The latter, within R'Hath is a fading trend, with individuals striving to prove their expertise in ever more narrow terms. General mages are still found and taught in the traditional master/apprentice relationship. Outside of R'Hath, in fact, this is almost universally the case. Specialists, in nearly all cases, from all across the realms must at some point make their way to R'Hath and pass entry and graduate with their respective colored stole for their respective school of specialty.
Unsurprisingly, R'Hath is home to a variety of magical creatures and beings not to be found indigenous to any other realm of Orea, along with notable populations of all magic-using species (elves, gnomes, zepharim, etc...) that might be somewhat scarce in other parts of the world. One of the realm's greatest claims to fame is the temple-academy of the goddess of magic, the Witch-Priests of Manat, readily identified wherever they go by the five-pointed star tattooed in blue across the eyes and face, like a mask. Viewed with respect, and perhaps a bit fear, by other spell-casters, the Witch-pirests are among Orea's only thaumaturgists capable of wielding both the cosmic energies of Arcane magic and the godly essences of Divine magic. R'hath also is home to the worldwide mage's guild organization, the Fellowship of Alkari. It's primary administrative center found in the province of Serion in Flin, the "City of Scrolls." The Fellowship boasts guild-towers and facilities (for members only, of course) in several of Orea's greater cities, including Brightmoon and Aberol in Grinlia, nearly every city through the Freelands, and Talas Isthian. Obviously, Orea's mages' guild is not to be found in any of the island kingdoms as the study and practice of arcane sorcery is still forbidden there, to this day. The third largest of Mistwood's druidic holdings, Moonglade, is found buffering the provinces of Krallia and Zarcha, along the realm's southwestern coast on Whitegull Bay.
The endless tiers of hierarchy among the wizard-families and magic-using nobles are enough to make the most learned sage's head spin. Families are ever-vying for prominence and favor in the eyes of their respective provincial/regional rulers, the Primagi (pl.), and within the court of their Magus Imperius, Dalum Suth, Emperor of R'Hath, the presumed [debatable] most powerful magic-worker in Orea. Courtly intrigue abounds, mysteries to be solved, and long forgotten secrets to be found...with magics of all kinds to make it that much more difficult and deadly.
Alright, this is already taking too long...
Tanku (a.k.a. "the United Island Kingdoms of Tanku"): a large series of islands in the southeastern waters of the Irionic Ocean and South Sea. Innumerable smaller islands are allied with the three major independent kingdoms of Olba, Dalramii, Umduppo, and the largest and most powerful, Tanku (proper). These are the remains of the formerly vast empire of the dark-skinned Tanku that made war against the vile and wicked pale-skinned Selurians in what the Histories term "the Thousand Years War" that culminated in the catastrophe of the Godswar, the destruction and reshaping of the known realms. So, now, the devoted and [decimated but] victorious Tankuuns maintain these few hundreds of miles island realms, mostly sub-tropical to tropical paradises. Think, like, a combo of African tribes/cultures mixed with Indonesian and Polynesian cultures...with more advanced/sophisticated sailing ships and bustling marine trade. The Tankuun are fabled to be able to speak to and "hear" the waters over which they now hold dominance. All reverence and devotion are granted the Gods of Men, but of particular importance to their culture are Tyris (not surpirsingly), Irion, and Astar. The study or practice of arcane magic is strictly forbidden - viewed as inherently evil and demon-worship, as the Selurians are historically reputed to be exceptionally wicked sorcerers and alchemists - under pain of death.
Thel, a.k.a. Thelitia, the Desert Empire, a.k.a. the Lost Sands of Thel: where the cataclysm of the Godswar was wrought worst was the once verdant province in what was then the eastern region of the Selurian Empire, called Thole. Their great cities and war machines blasted into into dust and ash, leaving a broken scarred land of razor-sharp peaks, surrounded by a "fallout" desert of ever-shifting sands and nearly uncontrollable magic. The native tribes of the region, who call themselves the Thel, suffered greatly at the hands of the Selurians and Tankuuns, used as mercenaries and/or slaves by both sides of the conflict. Following the Godswar, what little the Thel possessed that was their own (or had been earned or stolen from their oppressors) was annihilated. In the Lost Age that followed the Godswar, a prophecy of the Thel was fulfilled and an emissary of the Sky King (an aspect of Astar), whom the Thel call "Arsha," came to the mortal plane and led the Thel to an oasis of magic and bounty. This immortal emissary is called -in Thelic- "the Shadarsha." That oasis became the beacon for all Thel peoples. The tiered garden-city of Ararshan (and its famed gladiatorial arenas) grew around the massive pyramid palace of the Shadarsha [still alleged to be the original immortal divine being, in residence] to become the literal and spiritual center of the Thel people, their empire of sorcerer-emirs, gladiator slave-trade, and traveling merchants (and slavers). Outside of the few commercial centers around the edges of the sea of deserts encompassing most of the center of the Orean continent, the dunes themselves are home to all manner of bizarre and fantastic creatures, lost Selurian ruins and artifacts, packs of savage demon-worshiping Grorn beastmen, and much much worse. Magic within the desert is unpredictable and dangerous for all except those of Thel heritage, those trained in the Thelish ways of sorcery (which is practically never done/shared with a non-Thel).
Daenfrii: independent realm roughly the size of Great Britain, the Vale of the Dragonmage, the Heir of Wyr, magical defender of the world. For 15 generations, almost 300 years (the first appearing during the Scourge Wars), the family of the original Dragonmage claimed this land as their own at the end of the Scourge War. Given the then Dragonmage, Keth, close friendship to the newfounded King of Grinlia, Elibon, this territory was freely granted and has never been earnestly threatened or disputed from without, though does fall -from time to time- under external magical or extraplanar threat given the centuries of magical enemies and supernatural beings the Dragonmage, in their very duty, has come into conflict with and tasked to thwart/defeat. Daenfrii abuts the Zarchan Mountains in the east and Miralosta in the west, grazing the Gorundu at its north and the river D'Evand to its south, giving way to the great Feldmere swamp and the Laklans, beyond. A realm of fertile valleys and gently rolling hills is a land of pastoral and sylvan beauty, and no small amount of magic. The current Dragonmage-apparent (and his warrior brother) began, some years ago, an organization of determined and singularly talented adventurers to seek out and report (and theoretically, defeat!) any grave/growing evils or magical anomalies that might arise. This group has grown and spread in both size and reputation across many of Orea's lands, with chapters and agents in many, as champions of Good and heroes of the highest caliber. They are known as "The Steel Dragons."
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