[3.5 Campaign Setting] Project Westermark

[Werewhale]

“One Land, One People, One Faith, One Lord,” Emperor Richard of the Dawnrealms, Lord of Morning and Light, Prince of Death and Justice, Prophet and Supreme Serene of Ave.

Hello and welcome to the critique, suggestions and questions thread for my pet project, tentatively titled The Westermark. The main thing I’m looking for here is questions. I’ve reached the stage of world creation where I am getting bogged down in detail of dubious relevance, so I want to hear questions from you so I can better understand what areas need better fleshing out, rather than spending hours writing army movements of wars centuries past.

The main goal of this project was to create a world that is at once believable and unique but still contains enough familiarity and simplicity that a newcomer will not need to trudge through pages and pages of backstory and mechanical information before being able to jump in. Thus, all the standard races are in with most of their characteristics intact, though there are fewer subraces(only dwarves and elves have them so far, and only two choices each) and half-orcs are out at the moment(may be included later on). There are no special classes attached to the setting so far. There are no unique monsters included so far, but some of the classic evil monsters such as goblins, orcs and kobolds have been civilized slightly, so they are no longer mindlessly aggressive animals but more like the real-world barbarians of Roman times.

It is also a low-magic, low-power setting, with the vast majority of NPCs below 4th level.

With that being said, allow me to present a map of the Westermark and surrounding lands:
Terrain map (http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm95/Ancient_Whale/The%20Westermark/Westermark-mapdraft17aug11b.jpg)(Large!)
Political map (http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm95/Ancient_Whale/The%20Westermark/Westermark-mappolit17aug11.jpg)(Just as large!)
Local terrain map of the Westermark (http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm95/Ancient_Whale/The%20Westermark/Westermark-mapdraft17aug11wmlocal.jpg)(With key!)

I realize I’ve gotten a bit carried away with marking sites and naming them, so the map is a bit cluttered. Please tell me if this is a real problem or if it is manageable as is.

As for scale, I have included a scale in the bottom right corner, so 1cm=65km(1inch=102.6 miles, if my calculations are correct). That makes the Dawnrealms and the Westermark each about the size of the US.

I have only passing knowledge of climatology and geography, so I would appreciate any observations you could have on the plausibility of the world on that front. (The climate should be easy to observe: The green like in Aurland is fertile farmland, darker green is woodland, pale green is less bountiful arable land, yellow is drier still, but not quite a desert. Desert is the pale reddish-brown marked by the Thawai Desert. Tundra is observed in the far north, east of the Great Northern Forest, and the dark green south of the Thawai signifies jungle.)

I would also appreciate critique on the names of locations. I’ve tried to make the cultures apparent through the place names while still making them fairly easy to pronounce. I followed Rich’s advice and made Sunseat and surrounding area English and English-sounding to represent their central role in the current culture, with names growing less English with distance.

Very Brief History(256 words, but covers the important bases): A couple millennia ago the Elves of Songwood conquered the Westermark from the native gnomes, who fled north to seek asylum among the dwarves. A thousand years later, their empire collapsed due to the Weirding Sickness, separating the elves into two subraces: The High Elves of Songwood and the nomadic Wild Elves of the Westermark.

200 years ago, the dwarves, along with the gnomes, invade Westermark from the north. They carve out a sizeable chunk of territory from the inhabitants but twenty years later, the home city of the dwarven invaders is destroyed by a volcanic eruption and the dwarves retreat, but the gnomes remain, digging in around the Titanic Sea.

140 years ago the Unification War of the Dawnrealms ends with Emperor Richard, Prophet of Ave, previously the god of death, justice and fate, now the One True God, establishing his rule over the lands of the East. Refugees flock west, fleeing the war, then the oppressive religion and policies of the new Empire, to forge new lives for themselves in the Westermark, in what is now simply called the Settled Lands.

Now the Prophet is dead. His successor has none of his power and guile, but all his stringency, and he has already earned himself numerous enemies in the Empire. There is talk of rebellion and the wind whispers of war. More refugees arrive in the Settled Lands, but they are comprised of both monotheists and polytheists now, inciting more trouble in the lands people go to escape exactly that.

Welcome to the Westermark.

Not-Quite-So-Brief History(800 words, but goes into more detail on history outside the Westermark): An undefined amount of time ago(between 2 and 3 millenia), the Elves of Songwood colonized the Westermark, escaping the overpopulation of their home forest. They drove the native gnomish inhabitants out, most seeking refuge among the dwarven fortresses north of Jotungard, a mountain chain marking the Westermark’s northern border.
At a similar time, possibly further still ago, humans arrived in the Dawnrealms by sea from the east, enslaving the native halflings and establishing several rival kingdoms and republics.

Between one and two millennia ago, the Weirding Sickness erupted within the elven population. The disease caused madness first in its victims, then haemorrhaging through eyes, ears, nose and mouth and finally death. Even those who survived often had their personalities irrevocably changed, usually becoming more erratic and even violent. Over the next years, elven society collapsed. The elves of the Westermark degenerated into a nomadic, tribal society, losing most contact with their brethren in the Songwood, replacing arcanism with shamanism and, curiously, shortening their lifespans greatly.

300-600 years ago, the Mithril Empire of the Dwarves finally defeats the Lich-King Ponrang and his undead legions after a gruelling war. The gnomes living in the empire played an as-yet-undefined but crucial role in this victory and are rewarded with the island of Palmor Shienn(where they would found the city of Fann Göör) and all the Shirraz Isles to rule as an independent kingdom. Shortly thereafter, the Empire, which had been in decline for centuries as the mithril that won its affluence was depleted, fell apart as Mittralsar proved unable to control the other cities, especially the rising powers of Jotungate and Makkan-Ghul.

After the fall of Mittralsar, Jotungate became the principal town of the dwarves, enriched massively by a virtual monopoly on trade with the realms beyond Jotungard, enabled by their position astride the only viable pass through the mountains. 200 years ago, the Jotungate army crossed the mountains and invaded Northern Westermark, encouraged by the gnomes of Fann Göör. With gnomish cannons and primitive handguns, the invaders managed to conquer vast territory from the wildelves, kobolds and orcs who inhabited the area.

After twenty years of colonization, however, the volcano Giantspyre erupted, flooding Jotunsgate with magma and destroying the Trade Pass. Now bereft of support, the Jotunsgate army retreated from the Westermark, many settling in newly-founded New Jotunsgate, or Kenn Jutannkro. The gnomes remained, however, fortifying themselves around the Titanic Sea.

150 years ago, the Weirding Sickness spread to humans for the first time, arriving first in Yornmouth, that is now called Sunseat, and there it was called The Pain. Over the next few years, 20-40% of the Dawnrealms would fall to the sickness, but while it caused excruciating pain to its victims before they died in the same manner as the elves, they never suffered the same madness. As the disease seemed unstoppable, many people turned to worshipping Ave, god of death, fate and justice, greatly expanding his clergy and power. In response, the priesthood of Kraios, god of war, righteous rage and courage, accused Ave of creating the plague. It is unclear who struck the first blow in Yornmouth but the clergy of Ave won the fight, not only driving Kraiosites out but every other faith as well, burning their temples and hanging the priests. From the carnage arose Richard, High Priest of Ave, imbued with enormous clerical powers, and he proclaimed Ave to be the One True God and all other gods to be His enemies. Over the next decade he would use his prodigious power and cunning to bring all the Dawnrealms under his rule, break the Magespire, throw the Bone Throne into the sea and abolish the Kingdom of Gunderland, and establish Ave as the sole god of the Dawnrealms in the war that would be known as the Unification.

Many were discontent with this new faith. Thousands of polytheists would flee the ravages of war and Richard’s religious oppression and settle in the Westermark, in the area now called simply the Settled Lands.

Richard would rule for 140 years, blessed by his patron god with long life. Fourteen decades of peace, prosperity and stability, but also of restrictive policies regarding the excesses of life, such as alcohol and tobacco. Opium, once securing huge profit for the Magespire, was banned.

After the Prophet’s death, he is succeeded by Oliwor, a Gulwasi High Priest of Ave. He, however, has none of Richard’s power and guile, and all of his stringency and more. Already his restrictive policies and power centralising are earning him enemies throughout the Empire. There is talk of rebellion in the Sevenseat Commonwealth and in Eleia. There is war in the wind, and now more people flee to the west, even monotheists, seeking a dream of peace and freedom in the Promised Land of Westermark.

Alternative Starts: The history above details the concrete history but I have actually written a little further than that, I am just unsure whether to include them right away or allow the events to unfold as the first adventures are run through the setting.

The later history bookmarks are these:

Bookmark 1) A few years after the Prophet’s death(between 4 and 10 years, I’m thinking)The Kingdom of Eleia and the Sevenseat Commonwealth secede from the Empire for various reasons and Emperor Oliwor immediately declares war to restore them.

Bookmark 2) Emperor Oliwor dies, either in battle with either Eleia(more likely) or the Sevenseat, or he is assassinated somehow. What matters is that he’s dead, and did not name a successor. The High Priest of Ave claims the crown as the second-in-command of the Avean faith, but so does Oliwor’s wife, Princess Elena of Avia, citing the laws of inheritance. Aurland declares for Sunseat while Ferranz, Kalmark and Pare declare for Avia, the Magespire claims complete neutrality, the rest are undecided and the stage is set for a spectacular civil war.

Please, tell me what you think.

Information on Races:
Humans: Classically enough, humans are the most populous race in the world. They inhabit the Dawnrealms, the Dusklands, the continent to the Far South, beyond the Songwood, and possibly an as-yet-undefined landmass to the far east, across the Sea of the Rising Sun. The culture of humans is as varied as might be expected.

There are no plans for mechanical or thematical change to humans from the standard D&D.

Wild Elves: These are the elves who remained in the Westermark after the collapse of the elven empire. They have adopted a tribal/nomadic culture, centered on shamanism and horsemanship. They are widely considered superior riders, perhaps the best in the world, but they are disunited, fighting amongst themselves, and have a limited tradition of metalworking. Curiously, their lifespans are also far shorter than that of High Elves, only living about twice as long as humans.

Mechanically, they will receive the typically elven sensory bonuses and resistances, plus bonuses to riding and survival, weapon proficiencies will be tweaked to fit their culture. The Constitution penalty may be changed into an Intelligence penalty in order to represent a culture that would discourage careful thought and planning(in favour of intuition and spiritualism), but encourage endurance and fitness.

High Elves: These are the elves who did not colonize the Westermark. The collapse of the empire has left them without a central government, but they are far more peaceful than their northern cousins. After the madness of the Weirding Sickness, contrariness and spontaneity is frowned upon, so High Elves are very traditional and diplomatic. While they are without any organized manufacturing, those elves who decide to dedicate their lives to a craft have centuries to perfect their art. Due to their traditionalism, the elves of Sunwood are, on average, a couple of centuries behind the Dawnrealms technologically. They are, however, far more skilled in the arcane arts, a remnant of their days of Empire.

Mechanically, they will be based on the Sun Elf template, receiving most of the bonuses of a standard elf, but receiving an Intelligence bonus instead of a Dexterity bonus and the sword proficiencies will be replaced with a proficiency with katanas as martial weapons(and full proficiency if using them two-handed).

Mountain Dwarves: These are fairly close to the standard dwarves, but more amiable, as they trade freely with the other races. They still like ale, beards, heavy women and the sound of a smith’s hammer.

Little mechanical change apart from switching the charisma penalty to a dexterity penalty.

Deep Dwarves: These are not an entirely different race than Mountain Dwarves. They are born from Mountain Dwarves through a generation of cave adaption. If a dwarven mother carries a child to term without ever seeing the sun during the entire pregnancy, she will birth a Twilight Dwarf, who are the same as Mountain Dwarves, except they get some bonuses in the dark while receiving penalties in bright light. If a Twilight Dwarf then gives birth under the same circumstances, she will birth a fully-adapted Deep Dwarf. These are pale, often albino, people, who see very well in absolute darkness but are very sensitive to sunlight. They are honoured in dwarven society, often considered more “pure” than “regular” dwarves, but are rarely seen outside the dwarfhalls, and often have difficulty interacting with other races.

Mechanically, they will be a sort of “Duergar-Lite,” hopefully without any Level Adjustment.

Gnomes: The true natives of the Westermark, gnomes have been upgraded from being comic relief or The Forgotten People to being political movers in their own right. They are the inventors and weaponisers of gunpowder and masters of illusion. They will keep some of their idiosyncrasies, however, so as not to make them completely alien. They are prized tinkerers and alchemists and they still like practical jokes and really long names, in contrast with their more serious nature.

Mechanically, they will face few changes, except to receive some proficiency with firearms in return for an as-yet-unspecified trade-off.

Halflings: Halflings are an oppressed minority in the Dawnrealms. They were actually the native inhabitants there until subjugated by humans arriving from the east, but the uneducated are unaware of this. The only Halfling-dominated place in the known world is the town of Little Billington, on the edge of the Settled Lands.

Mechanically, I’m not sure how much I want to change halflings from the SRD. Possibly, the throwing bonus may be replaced with skill bonuses to reflect their culture.

Half-Elves, Half-Orcs: I’m not sure what to do with the half-races. If I include Half-Elves, I feel like I should have to differentiate between Half-High Elves and Half-Wild Elves as well as include half-dwarves(Mountain, Twilight and Deep), half-gnomes, half-halflings, half-everything. So for now, I’m going to put Half-Elves on hold.

I was going to leave out Half-Orcs entirely, but with the recent changes to the savage races, I’m more likely to include them. But that would mean half-goblins and half-other-things, so I’m putting those on hold as well.

Goblins, Orcs, Kobolds, Gnolls and Bugbears: These have been upgraded from mindless savages, fit only for being slaughtered by adventurers, to semi-civilization, more alike the barbarians of Roman times. They will be classified as evil, but they are not mindlessly evil. Their culture simply favours strength over kindness, but they are not above showing kindness, loyalty or generosity if they think it will benefit them in the long run. Above, they are ordered in order of least savage to most savage.

Goblins have forts, mines and crude metalworking of their own in the Úrkhal-Zha mountains and while they occasionally raid their neighbours, they trade freely with them when not fighting.

Orcs are expert woodsmen and used to be coastal raiders as well, operating out of the Jade Islands before being driven out by the Arboreans. Today, they still hold the Lockwood despite repeated attempts by Arborea to bring the province fully under their control. They trade fish, amber, woodcrafts and even mercenary services to their neighbours.

Kobolds have little trade with their neighbours, being on abysmal terms with both dwarves and gnomes, but may trade with travellers from other realms.

Gnolls and Bugbears are the largest and meanest, and closest to the traditional portrayal of their race.

Classes:
I’m not experienced enough with the system to make any sweeping changes to the classes. I intend to begin testing the setting by running a short adventure with only the core classes, possibly with a couple of additions, then gradually allowing more and more sourcebooks as I get comfortable with the balance.

The only change I envision would be to add more combat specialization paths to the Ranger class, such as Crossbow, Two-Handed Weapon, Polearm(or Spear), One-Handed Weapon, and a non-combat path giving skill bonuses. The choices would then be restricted according to race(Dwarves, for example, would be able to choose Crossbow but not Archery, and vice versa for Elves).

Magic and the Magespire:
Magic has been in slow decline for quite some time. The Magespire was raised in ages past with magic, a huge tower thrusting into the sky, far taller than any other building in the known world. It was a university for aspiring wizards and sorcerers learning their powers, but for centuries before the Unification, only a fraction of the Spire had actually been used. Even today, after the Prophet broke the Spire, the remaining levels are more than enough to house what remains of the academy.

Wizarding is not available to just anyone. Intelligence and study helps a mage’s abilities to advance, but he must possess an innate ability himself to be able to apply magic. Sorcerers are often portrayed as simply extraordinarily gifted wizards, but experience shows that their abilities differ from the standard wizard on key aspects, and therefore require specialized training in the Spire, if they are even Spire-trained at all.

Before the breaking of the Spire, it held a virtual monopoly on the training of wizards and required that each student forswear all previous loyalties before enrolling in the school. This often resulted in their loyalties being held exclusively by the Spire, and accorded it enormous clout within the Dawnrealms. After the Breaking, however, the loyalty clause was removed, allowing lords to send apprentices to be trained in the Spire and then return to their lieges to serve as hedge wizards. The shattered prestige of the Spire has also resulted in many apprentice mages receiving education from without the Magespire.

Technology level: I'm aiming for an Early Renaissance level of technology, with the Dawnrealms armies on the verge of entering the pike-and-shot era. I feel it is a vastly underrepresented era of military history, and has caught my interest. I do wonder how this will affect the setting, however.

Alignment: Alignment is a curious thing, and I’m not really sure who judges it in this setting. I want to leave it in, though, but a few curiosities will arise because the defining struggles of the world are not struggles of good vs. evil, but rather of cultures or ideologies. Gnoll raiders will still usually be evil, and most wild elven raiders may also be evil(depending on their reasons and methods), but you’ll also have Lawful Good paladins of the Lawful Neutral Ave fighting Lawful Good paladins of good polytheist deities, each believing fervently in their cause and without anyone falling from grace(eliciting much confusion and consternation).

Other Changes:
I’m looking for ways to make bastard swords and katanas viable to use as two-handed Martial Weapons, ie. giving them some sort of bonus to represent their superior agility compared to the true two-handed weapons. Possibilities include: AC bonus to melee attacks(against one or more opponents), attack bonus when making attacks of opportunity or an Initiative bonus when wielded(may prove troublesome). Admittedly, this may belong in the Homebrew Forum proper.

Furthermore, after reading about this world, I would definitely like some ideas for adventures I could run. Preferably something small, short and easy to manage. I was going to go through a few low-level one-off adventures I have lying around and find one I can localize and run on this forum to get some experience DM-ing(I have none), test the consistency of the world and get some idea of balancing encounters and so on, but if you have any better ideas, I’d love to hear them.

Thank you very much.

[Werewhale]

Mechanical Information

Races
Humans:
Medium: As Medium creatures, humans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Human base land speed is 30 feet.

1 extra feat at 1st level.

4 extra skill points at 1st level and 1 extra skill point at each additional level.

Automatic Language: Native language. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic). See the Speak Language skill.

Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass human takes an experience point penalty, his or her highest-level class does not count.

No change from SRD. Except to change Common into Native language. More on that later.

Wild Elf
+2 Dexterity, –2 Intelligence.

Humanoid (Elf)

Medium: As Medium creatures, wild elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Wild elf base land speed is 30 feet.

Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.

Low-Light Vision: A wild elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.

Weapon Proficiency: Wood elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the scimitar, lance, and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats.

+2 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks.

+2 racial bonus on Survival and Ride checks.

Receives the Track feat for free at 1st level.

Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan.

Favored Class: Ranger. A multiclass wild elf’s ranger class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

Level Adjustment: +0

Change from SRD:
-2 CON malus becomes -2 INT.
Weapon Proficiencies changed from longsword, rapier, long- and shortbow to scimitar, lance and shortbow.
No Search check bonus and no automatic secret door detection.
Skill bonus to Survival and Ride.
Free Track feat.


High Elf
+2 Intelligence, –2 Constitution.

Humanoid (Elf)

Medium: As Medium creatures, sun elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

High elf base land speed is 30 feet.

Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or
effects.

Weapon Proficiency: All High Elves can use the katana as a two-handed weapon, and can use it one-handed as a Martial Weapon(ie. A high elven fighter can use a katana in one hand but a high elven wizard can only use it two-handed unless she takes a Martial Weapon Proficiency feat to use it in one hand.)

+2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. A high elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it.

A high elf with an Intelligence score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day— prestidigitation, mage hand, light. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + high elf’s Int modifier + spell level.

Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Auran, Celestial, Chondathan, Draconic, Gnome, Halfling, Illuskan, Sylvan.

Favored Class: Wizard. A multiclass high elf’s wizard class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

Level Adjustment: +0

Change from SRD:
+2 DEX bonus exchanged for +2 INT.
No Low-Light vision.
Weapon Proficiency for longswords, rapiers, long- and shortbows exchanged for proficiency with katanas.
Cantrip-level Spell-Like abilities.

Mountain Dwarf
+2 Constitution, –2 Dexterity.

Humanoid (Dwarf).

Medium: As Medium creatures, mountain dwarves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Mountain dwarf base land speed is 20 feet. However, mountain dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations).

Darkvision: Mountain dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and mountain dwarves can function just fine with no light at all.

Stonecunning: This ability grants a mountain dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A mountain dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a mountain dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A mountain dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up.

Weapon Familiarity: Mountain dwarves may treat dwarven waraxes and dwarven urgroshes as martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons.

Stability: A mountain dwarf gains a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).

+2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison.

+2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like effects.

+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs and goblinoids.

+4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type. Any time a creature loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class, such as when it’s caught flat-footed, it loses its dodge bonus, too.

+2 racial bonus on Appraise checks that are related to stone or metal items.

+2 racial bonus on Craft checks that are related to stone or metal.

Automatic Languages: Common and Dwarven. Bonus Languages: Giant, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Terran, and Undercommon.

Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclass mountain dwarf’s Fighter class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

Level Adjustment: +0.

Changes from SRD: -2 CHA malus exchanged for -2 DEX.

Twilight Dwarf:
A dwarf whose mother was untouched by sunlight for the entire duration of her pregnancy is born a Twilight Dwarf, who receives all the same bonuses and penalties of a normal Mountain Dwarf with the following exceptions:

Light Sensitivity(Ex.): The Twilight Dwarf is dazzled in sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.

Darkvision is extended to 120 feet.

Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day – Mending, Detect Magic


Deep Dwarf
+2 Constitution, –4 Charisma.

Humanoid (Dwarf)

Medium: As Medium creatures, deep dwarf have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Deep dwarf base land speed is 20 feet. However, gray dwarves can move at this speed even when wearing medium or heavy armor or when carrying a medium or heavy load (unlike other creatures, whose speed is reduced in such situations).

Darkvision out to 120 feet.

Immunity to paralysis, phantasms, and poison.

+2 racial bonus on saves against spells and spell-like effects.

Stability: Deep dwarf are exceptionally stable on their feet. A deep dwarf receives a +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground (but not when climbing, flying, riding or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).

Stonecunning: This ability grants a deep dwarf a +2 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, stonework, traps, new construction (even when built to match the old), unsafe stone surfaces, shaky stone ceilings, and the like. Something that isn’t stone but that is disguised as stone also counts as unusual stonework. A gray dwarf who merely comes within 10 feet of unusual stonework can make a Search check as if he were actively searching, and a deep dwarf can use the Search skill to find stonework traps as a rogue can. A deep dwarf can also intuit depth, sensing his approximate depth underground as naturally as a human can sense which way is up. Deep dwarf have a sixth sense about stonework, an innate ability that they get plenty of opportunity to practice and hone in their underground homes.

Standard deep dwarf have the following traits:

Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—enlarge person and invisibility as a wizard of twice the deep dwarf’s class level (minimum caster level 3rd); these abilities affect only the deep dwarf and whatever it carries.

+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against orcs (including half-orcs) and goblinoids (including goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears).

+4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against creatures of the giant type (such as ogres, trolls, and hill giants).

Light Sensitivity (Ex): Deep dwarf are sickened in sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.

Deep dwarf have a +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks and a +1 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks. They have a +2 racial bonus on Appraise and Craft checks that are related to stone or metal.

Automatic Languages: Common, Dwarven, Undercommon. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Goblin, Orc, Terran.

Favored Class: Fighter.

Level Adjustment: +1.

Changes from SRD:(actually based on Grey Dwarf stats, but I'll be comparing to the SRD dwarf character)
Added -2 extra CHA malus.
Darkvision extended to 120 feet.
Immunity to paralysis, phantasms and poison.
No weapon familiarity.
Spell-like abilities.
Extra-strong Light Sensitivity. Note that the Deep Dwarf is sickened, not dazzled as usual.
Skill bonus to Move Silently, Listen and Spot.


Gnome
+2 Constitution, -2 Strength.

Small: As a Small creature, a gnome gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.

Gnome base land speed is 20 feet.

Weapon Oversizing: Gnomes may use longspears and firearms of Medium size without penalties, but receive full penalties for any size beyond that(ie. two size differences for Large longspears).

+2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions.

Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by gnomes. This adjustment stacks with those from similar effects.

+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids.

+2 racial bonus on Spot and Listen checks.

+2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks.

Automatic Languages: Common and Gnome. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, and Orc. In addition, a gnome can speak with a burrowing mammal (a badger, fox, rabbit, or the like, see below). This ability is innate to gnomes. See the speak with animals spell description.

Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—speak with animals (burrowing mammal only, duration 1 minute). A gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + gnome’s Cha modifier + spell level.

Favored Class: Wizard. A multiclass gnome’s wizard class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty.

Changes from SRD:
No Low-Light vision.
Weapon Familiarity exchanged for Weapon Oversizing.
Skill bonus to Spot.
Favoured class changed to wizard.

Halfling
+2 Dexterity, -2 Strength.

Small: As a Small creature, a halfling gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but she uses smaller weapons than humans use, and her lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.

Halfling base land speed is 20 feet.

+2 racial bonus on Climb, Jump, Listen, and Move Silently checks.

+1 racial bonus on all saving throws.

+2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear: This bonus stacks with the halfling’s +1 bonus on saving throws in general.

+1 racial bonus on attack rolls with thrown weapons and slings.

Automatic Languages: Common and Halfling. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, and Orc.

Favored Class: Rogue. A multiclass halfling’s rogue class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.

No change from SRD.

Half-Elves and Half-Orcs are, for now, unchanged from SRD.

[Werewhale]

What do the Gnolls eat? Living in a desert is really hard, and finding food is one of the toughest problems.
Original post. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11666927&postcount=5) There is plant growth in that area of the desert. It's sparse, but enough to support some breeding of goats and camels. Some enterprising gnolls grow grazeland by the river, those living by the borders raid their neighbours for extra food.


Do the Dawnrealms have access to gunpower/guns, even only very basic ones? How does this affect their military tactics as compared to other militarily powerful countries?
Original post. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11666927&postcount=5) Yes. Handguns, equivalent of real-world arquebuses circa 1500, are emerging onto the fields of battle in the Dawnrealms, and militaries are adopting pike-and-shot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pike_and_shot) tactics.


What does each country do best, economically? What are their weaknesses? How do they shore those weaknesses up?
Original post, with preliminary information. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11666927&postcount=5)


Can you put up a complete listing of all of the countries and their population demographics?
Here you go:
The Dwarf Cities
Land area, population density: 1.254.000km2/485.000sqm, 8 people/sqm
Population: 3.880.000
Demographics: ~96% dwarves, ~4% gnomes
Principal Cities + Dependent Territories: Makkan-Ghul(50.000+814.800), Mitrallsar(35.000+504.400), Ghul-Shirraz(25.000+388.000), Zhontur(18.000+271.600), Bracc(15.000+232.800), Kenn Jutannkro(8.900+27.160), Veini Makk(7.600, vassal of Makkan-Ghul).

The Dawnrealms
Land area, population density: 5.088.055km2 / 1.964.500sqm, ~63 people/sqm
Population: 124.381.200
Demographics*: 95,1% Human(33,0% Gundish, 10,0% Arborean, 9,2% Zesian, 8,3% Ferranzi, 7,9% Eleian, 7,8% Gulwasi, 7,2% Jote, 6,7% Old Aurish, 6,7% Kalish, 3,1% Qoren, 0,4% unspecified), 3,6% halfling, 0,19% lizardfolk, 0,17% High Elven, 0,16% goblin, 0,1% orcish, 0,04% Wild Elven, 0,01% dwarven, 0,16% people of unspecified race.
Principal Cities: Sunseat(~400.000), Trean(75.000), Saltcoor(63.000), Choenne(57.000), Worwen(54.000), Werengport(50.700), Ferranz(50.000), Serenna(48.000), Pare(41.000), Augerby(38.000), Ollywass(38.000), Joteburg(33.000), Qor Ester(32.500), Magespire(30.000), Silbard(29.000).

*The numbers here on unspecified ethnicity and race is a total of populations from the constituent kingdoms which were too small to fully define, so these numbers may include members of races and cultures that are specified.
Constituent nations of the Dawnrealms:
Imperial Demesne
Land area, population density: 654.500km2/253.000sqm, 100 people/sqm
Population: 25.300.000
Demographics: 94% humans(94% Gundish, 4% Kalish, 0,8% Old Aurish, 1,2% other) 4,5% halflings, 0,5% other.
Principal Cities: Sunseat(500.000), Billington(24.200), Wellway(16.900), Treehop(12.700), Yornby(10.200).

Kingdom of Arborea
Land area, population density: 588.500km2+93.500km2(claims on Lockwood)/227.220sqm+36100sqm, 55,5 people/sqm
Population: 12.610.700
Demographics: 95,4% humans(95% Arborean 4% Jotes 0,5% Qoren, 0,5% other), 3,5% halflings, 1% orcs, 0,1% other
Principal Cities:Choenne(57.000), Meara Ine(22,700), Rilltomm(17,000), Wilwenna(12,800), Gerfald(10,200), Karinn-Palle(8,700), Bricce(7.700).

Kingdom of Aurland
Land area, population density: 506.000km2/195.400sqm, 105 people/sqm
Population: 20.517.000
Demographics: 96,5% humans(82,9% Gundish, 17% Old Aurish, 0,1% other), 3,4% halflings, 0,1% other.
Principal Cities: Trean(75.000), Werengport(50.700), Augerby(38.000), Sinspyre(29.000).

Kingdom of Avia
Land area, population density: 495.000km2/191.000sqm, 60 people/sqm
Population: 11.460.000
Demographics: 97,8% humans(84,3% Zesian, 8% Gulwasi, 4,1% Kalish, 2,6% Eleian, 0,5% Ferranzi, 0,4% Gundish, 0,1% other) 2,1 % halflings, <0,1% other.
Principal Cities:Worwen(54.000), Ollywass(38.000), Eleivin(30.300), Qunn(23.000), Undwen(18.200).

Kingdom of Eleia
Land area, population density: 269500km2/104.100sqm, 95 people/sqm
Population: 9.889.500
Demographics: 93,5% humans(92% Eleian, 3,6% Ferranzi, 2,6% Zesian, 1,8% Gulwasi), 2,3% lizardfolk 1,9% halflings, 1,2% goblins, 1,1% High Elves, <0,1% other.
Principal Cities: Serenna(48.000), Mondohoros(9.500), Xalband(7.000), Teltest(5.700).

Kingdom of Ferranz
Land area, population density: 478.500km2/185.000sqm, 40 people/sqm.
Population: 7.400.000
Demographics: 93,3% humans(96,4% Ferranzi, 1,7% Eleian, 1,2% Arborean, 1% Jote, 0,6% Kalish, 0,1% other), 5% halflings, 1% goblins, 0,7% Wildelves <0,1% other.
Principal Cities: Ferranz(50.000), Ordemaxo(28.000), Eldea(19.500), Meziopulta(11.600).

Kingdom of Gulwas
Land area, population density: 412.500km2/160.000sqm, 55 people/sqm.
Population: 8.800.000
Demographics: 95,1% humans(97,5% Gulwasi, 1,2% Gundish, 1% Eleian, 0,3% Zesian), 4% halflings, 0,8% High Elves, 0,1% lizardfolk, <0,1% other.
Principal Cities: Saltcoor(63.000), Gunderford(19.000), Reighton(11.400).

Kingdom of Kalmark
Land area, population density: 335.500km2/130.000sqm,45 people/sqm.
Population: 5.850.000
Demographics: 97% humans(96% Kalish, 2,4% Jotes, 0,8% Old Aurish, 0,7% Zesian, 0,1% other), 3% halflings, <0,1% other.
Principal Cities: Silbard(29.000), Shinward(8.700), Ferdunbard(6.500).

Kingdom of the Jotes
Land area, population density: 594.000km2/230.000sqm, 33 people/sqm.
Population: 7.590.000
Demographics: 98,8% humans(97% Jote, 2,3% Kalish, 1,5% Ferranzi, 0,9% Arboreans, 0,4% Qoren, <0,1% other), 1% halflings, 0,2% dwarves, <0,1% other.
Principal Cities:Joteburg(33.000), Irhonn(9.900), Naderbure(8.000).


Principality of Pare
Land area, population density: 209.000km2/81.000sqm, 64 people/sqm.
Population: 5.184.000
Demographics: 94,8% humans(53% Ferranzi, 24% Zesian, 10% Kalish, 7% Jotes, 6%Eleian), 5% halflings, 0,1% High Elves, 0,1% goblins.
Principal Cities: Pare(41.000), The Terenne(12.800).

The Magelands
Land area, population density: 132.000km2/51.000sqm, 100 people/sqm.
Population: 5.100.000
Demographics: 97,8% humans, (86,5% Old Aurish, 6,1% Kalish, 3,4% Qoren, 3% Gundish, 1% other), 1,4% halflings, 0,5% High Elves, 0,3% other.
Principal Cities: Magespire surroundings(30.000)

The Sevenseat Commonwealth
Land area, population density: 401.500km2/156.000sqm, 30 people/sqm
Population: 4.680.000
Demographics: 91% humans(89% Qoren, 7% Arborean, 5% Jotes, 1% Old Aurish), 9% halflings, <0,1% other.
Principal Cities: Qor Ester(32.500), Kalli Puur(23.000), Urquna(18.000), Qor Atill(14.500), Qor Pandor(9.500), Lumpur(7.600).

The Westermark
The Settled Lands
Land area, population density: 759.000km2/293.000sqm, 8 people/sqm
Population: 2.344.000
Demographics: 80,5% humans(30% Arborean, 18% Ferranzi, 15% Eleian, 12% Gundish, 10% Gulwasi, 6,5% Kalish, 4,5% Old Aurish, 2,3% Jote, 1% Qoren, 0,7% Zesian), 16% halflings, 1,3% orcs, 0,9% Wild Elves, 0,7% goblins, 0,5% gnomes, 0,1% other.
Principal Settlements: New Qunn(18.000), New Silbard(11.000), Little Billington(9.000).

Gnomish Territory
Land area, population density: 649.000km2/250.000sqm, 8 people/sqm.
Population: 2.000.000
Demographics: 98% gnomes, 2% dwarves.
Principal Settlements: Lunder Amm(22.600), Fann Göör(21.000), Glitterport(4.500).

On Cultures: Most of the countries have their own unique culture, with a few exceptions. Gundish is the culture of Sunseat and surroundings, after the old Kingdom of Gunderland which was abolished at the start of the Unification, and of Aurland, which has a minority of people called the Old Aurish, who in turn are the dominant culture in the Magelands. Qoren is what most people call the people of the Sevenseat Republic(they have a difficult-to-pronounce name for themselves, which is rarely used outside their own people). Zesian is the culture dominant in the Kingdom of Avia, that used to be called the Kingdom of Zesia.


What is stopping the Emperor/Empire from invading the rest of Westermark?
Original post. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11666927&postcount=5) Too much trouble for too little gain. The Westermark holds no unique resources that would justify a campaign of conquest, the Emperor's attention has been focused on keeping his fledgling Empire together, and he's been keen to prove himself a peacebringer rather than a warmonger.


What is/are the government/s like in the Settled Lands? What is the terrain like?
Original post. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11666927&postcount=5) The area is based on the American West, and this is shown in both terrain and government. Lots of plains and wide spaces. No overarching governments. Towns are usually loosely governed by elected officials.


How do the Orcs interact with the Dwarven cities, being so close to each other? Same for Kobolds/Gnomes, Kobolds/Dwarves, Gnomes/Wild Elves, Gnolls/Wild Elves, Goblins/Wild Elves, Bugbears/Orcs, Bugbears/Dwarves, Settled Peoples/Wild Elves, Settled Peoples/Goblins, Settled People/Orcs, Orcs/Humans, etc etc.
Spoilered for tidiness:
Orcs and Dwarves: Relations are generally not so bad. Mostly the orcs keep to their forests and leave the dwarves alone, except to meet in traditionally established areas to trade(small trading towns, usually a modest dwarven outpost). However, dwarven travellers venturing into the orcish woods for whatever reason, innocent or violent, may come under attack by a territorial tribe of orcs. Zhontur has more history with the orcs of Norwood, both good and bad, as they desire Norwood timber for construction material.
Orcs and Wild Elves: Trade is rare, but so are clashes. Neither has interest in the territory of others, but occasional disputes may still erupt in localized violence.
Orcs and Humans(Arborean): A long history. Orcs used to hold the Jade Islands and raid up and down the North Sea coast until the Arboreans conquered them. Descendants of those coast raiders live close to the sea and river and still dream of those glory days, and are thus more violent. The Lockwood is de jure a province of the Kingdom of Arborea, but de facto controlled by orcs. The Arboreans have tried to pacify the forest several times, but the Orcs are infamously dangerous woodsmen and highly motivated when defending their territory. The road through the Lockwood is still heavily defended, and dotted with small forts, but travellers still fall prey to Orcish bandits. On the other hand, some of the less violent tribes trade freely with the Arboreans, many remain in the Jade Islands, more or less assimilated into human culture, and some migrated of their free will from the Lockwood to Arborea proper. These face mixed welcomes from the humans. Many look down on the orcs as violent and primitive while the Kings are either keen to agree with this sentiment or wish to assimilate the orcs in order to better control the Lockwood.
Orcs and Humans(Settlers): The Lockfort was erected by Settlers in order to defend against Orcish incursions, but it has also adopted the role of a trading hub between the two. Still, opinions are mixed on Orcs, with may having lost someone they knew to their bandits. Rarely, orcish raiders attack human settlements.
Kobolds and Gnomes+Dwarves: Very poor relations. Kobolds do not enjoy the luxury of orcish strength or goblin fortifications, so their only way of surviving against conquest by gnomes or dwarves is by adopting a strategy of total war. If it's shorter than 4'6'' and doesn't have scales, shoot on sight. If there are too many of them, don't be seen. This goes for gnomes especially, because while the dwarves have retreated to their mountains and mostly stay there, the gnomes stayed. This has convinced the kobolds that the gnomes mean to kill them all.
Kobolds and Wild Elves: The Wild Elves are the only trading partners the kobolds have, but actual trade is made difficult as the dwarven fort of Steelford straddles the only real viable crossing over the River of Swords. Mostly good relations, since that same river serves as an excellent natural border between them, preventing most disputes.
Gnomes and Wild Elves: Intermittent trade and conflict. The Wild Elves resent the gnomes for intruding upon their land, but the more pragmatic among them enrich themselves by trading with them.
Wild Elves and Gnolls: Mostly violent interaction, with territorial disputes being the main factor. Neither side feels much of a need for respecting the other. On some of the more peaceful areas of the border, tribes will trade with one another.
Goblins and Wild Elves: A little better relations than between the Wild Elves and the Gnolls. Several goblin tribes live in the western lowlands, a necessity since the mountain terrain cannot feed many mouths, but the Wild Elves still feel they should stay in their mountains and leave the flatlands to them. On the other hand, goblin weaponry and metalsmithing is a good reason to keep them friendly.
Wild Elves and Settlers: The Settlers have significant wealth of their own to trade, and through them, the Wild Elves can access Eastern wares such as tea and tobacco, so those who pursue good relations have a lot to gain from doing so. On the other hand, a lot of Wild Elves see the humans as intruders and feel that they should be driven out. Some tribes will trade, others will fight.
Wild Elves and Dwarves: Mostly the same as gnomes. The few remaining dwarven forts are either excellent trading posts or blights upon the land, depending on which Wild Elf you ask.
Bugbears and Dwarves: Bugbears are the wildest of the tribal races, and generally have little interest in trade or diplomacy. A few dwarves have succeeded in temporary trading missions, but these are individual enterprises, and do not register on the grand scale of things.
Bugbears and Orcs: Limited interaction. Dwarven land separates the two, although not by much in the area around Zhontur and Norwood. The two cultures are too wild and disorganized to create a permanent alliance but when a bugbear tribe meets an orcish tribe that is hostile to the dwarves, they may make common cause, if they should both make the fortuitous decision to talk before drawing weapons.
Settlers and Goblins: Trade or conflict. Depends on who is the current leader of the northern goblin clans(if there is one. Often they're all independent, but sometimes a powerful chief will subjugate the others). Mostly its uneasy trade, centered in New Silbard, but that same city has high walls to protect them from the goblins, and goblin raiders plague the route from Pittos to New Silbard.
Settlers and Gnomes: Lots of trade and mutual protection, generally good relations. The gnomes saw the Settlers as a way of securing a trade route with the Dawnrealms, as well as allies against the wild peoples of the Westermark, so they actively aided them in their expansion by offering military protection and engineering expertise. Gnomish marksmen are not uncommon in the larger towns, though today most are paid by the humans themselves, rather than paid soldiers of the gnomish crown.
Settlers and the Dawnrealms: Neutral relations and some trade. There have been no large-scale conflicts, but individual fights may break out over religious issues. The neighbouring Dawnrealms see them as a moderately valuable trading partner, but also as a route to trading with the gnomes. However, there is a rumour going about that the new Emperor intends to ban trade with the polytheist heathens of the Westermark...


How hard is the journey there? How many people (Roughly, obviously) a year move there? What is stopping any bandits or raiders in the Settled Lands, since there are no organized lawbringers?
Original post(regarding banditry). (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11669788&postcount=7) The journey can be pretty gruelling, taking at least three weeks after clearing the Wall, and is plagued by bandits(orcish, wildelven, goblin and even human) and, in some places, rough terrain. Anti-banditry is handled by paid mercenaries, adventurers(is there a difference?) and posses of locals taking matters into their own hands.


Is Westgate a Wild Elven port, or Gnomish, or what?
Original Post. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11669788&postcount=7)
Neither, it is a collection of various races, with human Dusklanders and Wild Elves forming the largest minorities.


Is the Titan Sea an actual sea, or just a really big lake? Big lake seems most likely, but I suppose it could be an inland sea or a salt lake.
It has an exit, the Titan's Relief, but is so huge that evaporation plays a part as well, so it has some salinity, but far less than the ocean.


What are the main enemies of the people? Are there widespread monsters? Are the monsters just humanoid races?
The humanoid races are the main problems, but the wild nature of the area allows for several species of monsters to exist. There are hags, werewolves, ghouls, manticores, owlbears, dire animals, ogres, trolls and all the paraphernalia of fantasy literature(or at least a lot of it), but they are uncommon enough that they do not pose any problem in the grand scheme of things(those who are unlucky enough to cross paths with these creatures may disagree on my evaluation, however).


a few questions: Is Elia part of the empire? it would seem to me that the easiest way to get to the westmark from the empire is by boat. Is that route often used. If so, why isn't there a large port city?
Original Post. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11674233&postcount=9) This is a definite flaw in the design of the setting. To preserve the Westermark as isolated from the Dawnrealms, I have decided to contrive a line of cliffs around the northern shores of the Eleian Sea, making a landing there impossible. I will incorporate this change in the next version of the map.


Question; since there is like 1 halfling for every 30 or so Humans in the Dawnrealms, are there accommodations for shorter peoples? I mean, Halflings seem plentiful enough, but the Humans could also definitely just not care, and force them to just deal with it.
Original post. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11682176&postcount=15) Some innkeepers keep rooms with short beds and furniture appropriate for the Small Folk. This is more common in large, cosmopolitan cities, and less common in the north, especially Joteland, which has an especially bad history of halfling oppression.


I also have a couple of questions. In your extended backstory, you describe the struggle between the priests of Ave, the priests of Kraios, and the polytheists (this smacks of New Kingdom Egyptian history, with the Aten affair, btw :smallsmile:). Have you already planned out any of the other pantheons of the world, and what role do they play in world politics?
Original post. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11682176&postcount=15) I have only the very vaguest ideas on any of the pantheons, mostly just isolated ideas. Religious struggles like the Unification and the real-world Crusades/Jihads are very rare, though differing religions can contribute to cultural differences, which may contribute to hostile relations.


Your answers lead me to yet more questions. Are all of the pantheons interconnected under one power structure/hierarchy, or are they all independent of one another? How does a portfolio change hands? How is a new deity created? Can a deity die or be killed? Do some deities have authority over the powers of other deities? From where do deities derive their powers?
Original post. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11683642&postcount=18) As for now, the pantheons are independent of one another. Portfolios can change hands by the collective will of the rest of the pantheon or by a change in the views of the worshippers. A new deity is created when enough people get together and begin worshipping a new god. A deity dies when no-one worships them any longer, not by another god's hand. Some deities may have authority over others, but only in the same manner as a lord has authority over peasants; they still have the free will to disobey. Deities derive their powers from the worship of mortals.

[unosarta]

What do the Gnolls eat? Living in a desert is really hard, and finding food is one of the toughest problems.

Do the Dawnrealms have access to gunpower/guns, even only very basic ones? How does this affect their military tactics as compared to other militarily powerful countries?

What does each country do best, economically? What are their weaknesses? How do they shore those weaknesses up?

As a suggestion, giving the Deep Dwarves LA is probably a good idea, just to discourage players from playing them, since their inability around sunlight makes them fairly weak in most places, and LA would explain why they remain in the halls most of the time.

I personally like the second bookmark more, but it honestly doesn't matter, they both have a very intense feel, and provide the characters some plot hooks. In fact, it might be fun to play before either of those, and help facilitate the Emperor dying, or the war against Eleia and Sevenseat.

Can you put up a complete listing of all of the countries and their population demographics?

What is stopping the Emperor/Empire from invading the rest of Westermark?

What is/are the government/s like in the Settled Lands? What is the terrain like? Speaking of which, can you provide a key to the map, it is kind of hard to tell what is what.

How do the Orcs interact with the Dwarven cities, being so close to each other? Same for Kobolds/Gnomes, Kobolds/Dwarves, Gnomes/Wild Elves, Gnolls/Wild Elves, Goblins/Wild Elves, Bugbears/Orcs, Bugbears/Dwarves, Settled Peoples/Wild Elves, Settled Peoples/Goblins, Settled People/Orcs, Orcs/Humans, etc etc.

I love the way you describe the setting. It is just really well done.

[Werewhale]

What do the Gnolls eat? Living in a desert is really hard, and finding food is one of the toughest problems.
The desert in that particular region is less Saharan and more like Arizona (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/88/Saguaro_Forest_-_Tucson_Arizona_-_Relic38.JPG) or Australia (http://www.australianwildlife.org/images/image/mt-gibson/mt-gibson-c.gif). There is some plant growth, so the Gnolls can sustain themselves with game and herding(goats, mainly, but also camels). Some enterprising Gnolls also settle down around the river Al Vianda to grow grazeland for their animals. Those living close to the elves and goblins raid their neighbours for some extra meat.


Do the Dawnrealms have access to gunpower/guns, even only very basic ones? How does this affect their military tactics as compared to other militarily powerful countries?
Yes. Simple cannons have been around for a while, and the gnomes invented hand-held guns shortly before invading the Westermark, but kept their construction a secret. Now, the Dawnrealms have created their own guns, which are fast becoming just as good as those the gnomes make. This has all the expected effects on military tactics. Armies become larger and are centered more on professionally trained footsoldiers rather than the heavy knights of old, who are too expensive to field in great enough numbers to match the growing size of armies, and whose armor is no longer quite so impenetrable.

There has barely been any military clashing between the Dawnrealms and outside countries, they have been quite content to fight among themselves, so tactical comparisons between them are hard to make.


What does each country do best, economically? What are their weaknesses? How do they shore those weaknesses up?
I intend to answer this more fully later, when I've worked more on it, but for now I'll give a simplified answer.
Spoilered for tidiness:The Dwarf Cities: Makkan-Ghul is famous for its great silver deposits and has grown very rich from trade with the southern realms. Like all the dwarf cities, they lack cavalry(only an issue when they venture out of their mountains) and population.
Imperial Demesne: Sunseat has grown into the largest city on the continent, of half a million people. The delta of the Yornelde is famously fertile and Yornby mines superior iron ore, prized even by the dwarves. The only real weakness of the realm would be its shape, which could make it hard to defend should it come to civil war
Kingdom of Arborea: The Arborwood gives them a lot of wood to export and to build houses and ships with. There is also amber to be found in the forest, and jade in the Jade Islands. It's one of the largest and most powerful kingdoms, but lacks the great population centers of the southeastern realms.
Kingdom of Aurland: Very fertile lands which can grow rice and tea, but lacks ores for making arms.
Kingdom of Avia: Lots of plains, good for horsebreeding, which they do very well, and the river Gulwas facilitates trade. Lackluster farmland, however, and little ore to be mined.
Kingdom of Eleia: Very defensible position in the home islands, guarded by the largest fleet in the known world. Grows olives and wine. Must struggle with the goblins to the west for access to minerals.
Kingdom of Ferranz: Rough terrain, metal mines in the mountains, but modest farmlands and a history of struggle with Eleia.
Kingdom of Gulwas: The river Gulwas facilitates trade, Saltcoor is a fairly affluent trading port and the river delta lends fertility enough to support a large city. Beyond the delta, however, fertility is low and is mostly used for the breeding of animals such as goats, sheep and horses. Also, they lost a lot of territory to the Kingdom of Avia during the Unification.
Kingdom of Kalmark: Hilly terrain in the north, flatter around Silbard. They have a tradition of strong warriors that used to raid up and down the river Yornelde but have grown more placid since then. They lost the Riverwood and Yornby to the Empire during the Unification.
Kingdom of the Jotes: Ethnically similar to the Kalish, but behind on civilization. Hill tribes under the Sunspine still cause trouble. Lots of metal mines and a strong warrior tradition, but poor farmland and comparatively low population.
Principality of Pare: Fertile river delta, but few other resources.
The Magelands: Used to be larger and richer, but now the opium that fuelled its economy has been banned, the mages decimated and their territory diminished.
The Sevenseat Commonwealth: Lots of fishing and a strong naval tradition. A lot of minerals mined from the Sunspine and commanding a very defensible position, but a dearth of arable land results in a comparatively low population.
Gnomish Strongholds: Expert jewelers and tinkerers, export firearms and clocks. Command the Titanic Sea unopposed, but their small size disadvantages them in pitched battles(so their tactics involve not getting caught up in melee).
Settled Lands: Little unique economic wealth. Mostly everyone does their own thing. Veterans of fighting against elves and others can find easy employment as mercenaries elsewhere.
Wild Elven Clans: Superior horsemen and breed fast, light horses. Weak metalcrafting culture and suffer from internecine fighting and struggles with neighbours.


As a suggestion, giving the Deep Dwarves LA is probably a good idea, just to discourage players from playing them, since their inability around sunlight makes them fairly weak in most places, and LA would explain why they remain in the halls most of the time.
This is a good idea. I generally want to stay away from LA, but in this case I can certainly see its merits.


I personally like the second bookmark more, but it honestly doesn't matter, they both have a very intense feel, and provide the characters some plot hooks. In fact, it might be fun to play before either of those, and help facilitate the Emperor dying, or the war against Eleia and Sevenseat.
This is exactly what I had in mind. I want to make players feel as if their characters really are a part of the world, and having them be involved in events that shape it would be a perfect way to achieve this. However, I would have to run a few less-important adventures first to get a feel for DM-ing so I can do the campaigns justice, which would mean delaying the events for real-life years.


Can you put up a complete listing of all of the countries and their population demographics?
Of course. I'll begin working on it, but it may take a while. History as a study of the movement of peoples is an interest of mine, so I want to put some real thought into this.(Also, I've been playing Victoria 2) Generally, however, populations are fairly homogenous, with some exceptions. The Dawnrealms have about 99% humans and halflings(I'm undecided on the ratio between those two) or more, with each country's population being about 95% their native ethnicity, except for a few curiosities, like a sizeable halfling minority in Billington, a dwarf community in Yornby, a Jote majority in Arborean Gerfald and Gulwasi in Avian territory conquered from Gulwas itself during the War.


What is stopping the Emperor/Empire from invading the rest of Westermark?
Too much trouble for too little gain, mostly. The Empire is young and the various kingdoms and cultures disparate, so it's a full-time job keeping it all together while still allowing the people to thrive. Invading the Westermark would be a huge investment, and there are no resources there to make it worthwhile. The Dawnrealms possess all the necessities of life. Furthermore, Richard will have been keen to strengthen his legitimacy by showing his good nature. Many saw him as a foreign conqueror and a warmonger, even after decades of peace, and he would be loath to prove them right by invading the Westermark just because he could.


What is/are the government/s like in the Settled Lands? What is the terrain like? Speaking of which, can you provide a key to the map, it is kind of hard to tell what is what.
There are generally no set governments in the Settled Lands. Most towns are ruled by councils or individuals elected by the locals. An exception to this is New Qunn, where a dwarven expatriate supplanted the local government and named himself duke. Resistance to his usurpation has been discouraged by the fact that he has proved to be quite an able administrator. In fact, in the first draft of the setting, there are a lot of dwarven nobles moving south from Makkan-Ghul, because the city is on the verge of a French Revolution that I've yet to flesh out properly.

The Westermark is based on the American West, so most of the terrain is like that; wide open plains and steppes. Closer to the mountains, you'll find hills and valleys, but otherwise, it's pretty flat. Ideal for the riding culture of the wildelves.

I'll make a smaller-scale map of the Westermark with a key, it should be fairly simple.
I have made a local map of the Westermark with a key (http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm95/Ancient_Whale/The%20Westermark/Westermark-mapdraft17aug11wmlocal.jpg), it was fairly simple.


How do the Orcs interact with the Dwarven cities, being so close to each other? Same for Kobolds/Gnomes, Kobolds/Dwarves, Gnomes/Wild Elves, Gnolls/Wild Elves, Goblins/Wild Elves, Bugbears/Orcs, Bugbears/Dwarves, Settled Peoples/Wild Elves, Settled Peoples/Goblins, Settled People/Orcs, Orcs/Humans, etc etc.
I'll answer this properly momentarily, it's a big question.


I love the way you describe the setting. It is just really well done.
Thank you very much! And thank you for the questions.

[unosarta]

The Settled Lands sound absolutely awesome.
How hard is the journey there? How many people (Roughly, obviously) a year move there? What is stopping any bandits or raiders in the Settled Lands, since there are no organized lawbringers?

Is Westgate a Wild Elven port, or Gnomish, or what?

Is the Titan Sea an actual sea, or just a really big lake? Big lake seems most likely, but I suppose it could be an inland sea or a salt lake.

What are the main enemies of the people? Are there widespread monsters? Are the monsters just humanoid races?

[Werewhale]

How hard is the journey there? How many people (Roughly, obviously) a year move there? What is stopping any bandits or raiders in the Settled Lands, since there are no organized lawbringers?
On travelling to the Settled Lands:
The journey can be pretty gruelling. There are three ways past the wall: The northern pass through The Wall is difficult to negotiate and forces one to pass through the Lockwood, where they may fall prey to Orc bandits. Once past the Lockfort, however, the remaining way is comparatively safe, although wildelves may raid caravans on rare occasions.
The second option is going through Gerfald PassMeziopulta Pass(it's called Gerfald Pass on the map because I switched Ferranz and Jote a while ago and forgot that name. It will be updated next time I update the map), but it is very difficult terrain and impossible to drive a cart through, it climbs high into the mountains where the weather turns treacherous due to the altitude, and travelers may come under attack by giants. Once they reach the village of Ander Hill, however, the rest of the way to New Qunn is completely safe.
Thirdly, migrants may choose to pass south of the Wall, either by travelling on foot along the Eleian shore to Pittos, over difficult terrain, or by taking ship from Ordemaxo to Pittos directly. The rest of the way is threatened by goblin and wildelf raiders, despite the presence of New Silbard and the Baudefort.

For an idea about the distances and time involved in travelling west, walking from Pittos to New Qunn takes at least three weeks, not counting any delays in any settlements along the way. And that's the most easily negotiated route. The Lockwood is difficult to move through and the area past Gerfald Pass is without any good roads.

Bandits and defensive measures:
Without any real central government, anti-banditry is overseen by mercenaries paid by town councils, adventurers(plot hook! Yay!) and posses of locals banding together to take matters into their own hands. These posses are the most dangerous, as they may raid the homes of wildelves, orcs and goblins, further damaging relations and exacerbating the lawlessness.

Furthermore, most settlement have erected some sort of defensive structures, even if they're just ditches or palisades. The larger towns have more elaborate walls to protect them and employ militias and watchmen to keep the peace.

Population, Population density and immigration rate:
Going by the map, I've extrapolated the area of the Settled Lands at about 293,000 square miles(using a rather nifty system of hexes, which will allow me to detail demographics much more easily) and decided on a population density of 8 people per square mile, which I believed fitting for a frontier country. That makes ~2,350,000 people over 150 years, giving an average of 15,600-15,700 people a year, or just over 40 people a day. I have no idea if that is a plausible number or not.


Is Westgate a Wild Elven port, or Gnomish, or what?
Westgate is a curiosity, belonging to no nation and populated by many races. Wild Elves and Dusklanders form the largest minorities, but there are also a few gnomes and High Elves. It's a trading hub that connects the Westermark and the Dawnrealms(and, to a lesser extent, the Dwarves) with the Dusklands of the Far West, for those who do not wish to take the treacherous sailing route around the great continent south of the Songwood.


Is the Titan Sea an actual sea, or just a really big lake? Big lake seems most likely, but I suppose it could be an inland sea or a salt lake.
I'm not sure what the difference is between a lake and an inland sea, but it is entirely separate from the world's oceans except for the Titan's Relief. It is large enough to feel like a sea, however, being roughly 10-11 times the size of the Caspian Sea, or rather larger than India, so it affects the weather and climate of the surrounding area in a similar manner as an ocean, and has a comparable level of salinity.


What are the main enemies of the people? Are there widespread monsters? Are the monsters just humanoid races?
The humanoid races are the main problems, but the wild nature of the area allows for several species of monsters to exist. There are hags, werewolves, ghouls, manticores, owlbears, dire animals, ogres, trolls and all the paraphernalia of fantasy literature(or at least a lot of it), but they are uncommon enough that they do not pose any problem in the grand scheme of things(those who are unlucky enough to cross paths with these creatures may disagree on my evaluation, however).

[erictheredd]

a few questions: Is Elia part of the empire? it would seem to me that the easiest way to get to the westmark from the empire is by boat. Is that route often used. If so, why isn't there a large port city?

as for early adventures, you can have a wild elf raid where a prisoner must be recovered, a raid on the wild elves by a rabid civilian (who can be either stopped or aided), being hired to protect a farmers land from a bunch of thugs, or even travling the bandit (and patrol) infested route to westermark. You could also have dwarves root out a bunch of undead left over from the ancient wars. You could have them track down a were-wolf (or two, or however many get involved). yes, it this setting, the dongeon filled with monsters doesn't work, so get out your story ideas. we all like to think epic, but the adventure has to start somewhere.

An Inland sea has no exit. The main difference is salinity. The dead sea and great salt lake are small inland seas in deserts: they have high salinity. The Caspian and Aral Seas are large inland with salinity less than the ocean

The Great lakes have exits, and thus are fresh water

[Werewhale]

a few questions: Is Elia part of the empire? it would seem to me that the easiest way to get to the westmark from the empire is by boat. Is that route often used. If so, why isn't there a large port city?
Eleia is indeed a part of the Empire, and now that you point it out, sailing to the Westermark would indeed be far the safest, fastest and easiest option. That would logically result in a large port close to Pittos and making the trip west dramatically easier. In fact, going through Meziopulta Pass or the Lockwood would be suicidal. This would change the entire dynamic of the setting and make the Westermark far more accessible. Therefore I'm contriving a line of cliffs bounding the Eleian Sea between the Wall and the goblin mountains in the south, making landings there impossible. Pittos will be moved further southwest and made into a small port, keeping sailing as an option for travelling westwards, but forcing migrants to cross rough terrain afterwards through territory threatened by goblin raiders and giants.

I'm hoping this doesn't feel too contrived.


as for early adventures, you can have a wild elf raid where a prisoner must be recovered, a raid on the wild elves by a rabid civilian (who can be either stopped or aided), being hired to protect a farmers land from a bunch of thugs, or even travling the bandit (and patrol) infested route to westermark. You could also have dwarves root out a bunch of undead left over from the ancient wars. You could have them track down a were-wolf (or two, or however many get involved). yes, it this setting, the dongeon filled with monsters doesn't work, so get out your story ideas. we all like to think epic, but the adventure has to start somewhere.
These are all excellent ideas. The dungeon-crawl is not entirely out of the question, however. The Old Elves(before the Weirding Sickness) may have left some constructions, now home to ancient treasures, traps and dangerous inhabitants. The old gnomish civilization may also have left something as they were driven out by the elves.


An Inland sea has no exit. The main difference is salinity. The dead sea and great salt lake are small inland seas in deserts: they have high salinity. The Caspian and Aral Seas are large inland with salinity less than the ocean

The Great lakes have exits, and thus are fresh water
I see. Then the Titanic Sea should be fresh water, or at least with a lot less salinity than the ocean. With such a huge body of water, evaporation will account for a sizeable part of its outflow.

[Pokonic]

Ohh, this looks interesting, but one thing stands out a being odd.
When I say that, I mean the distinct lack of Hobgoblins.

No, realy. They make one of the greatest choices a a "cilvilsed but prone to war" options in a game, and they could even fit in as one of the few races that willingly live in the Jotungard mountains and Kor Shiraz, ether running mines and trading ore with the orcs in exchange for food, or living in large citys in the rocky coast of Kor Shirraz, literaly living in buldings carved into the seaside rock and trading with the Gnomes in a mutral partnership that everyone benifits from, and both main areas would always be geared up for skirmishes with the wild elves.

I do not mean to sound demanding, for this is realy good.:smallsmile: Its just a minor suggestion about what could fit in to this setting.

[Werewhale]

Ohh, this looks interesting, but one thing stands out a being odd.
When I say that, I mean the distinct lack of Hobgoblins.

No, realy. They make one of the greatest choices a a "cilvilsed but prone to war" options in a game, and they could even fit in as one of the few races that willingly live in the Jotungard mountains and Kor Shiraz, ether running mines and trading ore with the orcs in exchange for food, or living in large citys in the rocky coast of Kor Shirraz, literaly living in buldings carved into the seaside rock and trading with the Gnomes in a mutral partnership that everyone benifits from, and both main areas would always be geared up for skirmishes with the wild elves.

I do not mean to sound demanding, for this is realy good.:smallsmile: Its just a minor suggestion about what could fit in to this setting.

Thank you. Hobgoblins did indeed, pass through my mind. Do note for future reference that just because a race is not explicitly mentioned on the map does not mean that they do not exist in sizeable numbers. A good example of this is the giantkin population of most mountain ranges and the harpies which plague Jotungard. But do continue to ask questions if you find something missing.

As for the hobgoblins, I had envisioned them as living in between and amongst the goblin holdfasts, either keeping their own mines and fortresses, often in conflict with their lesser cousins, or working alongside them as elite warriors and doing tasks fitting for their greater size and strength. Your suggestion is fine, but it makes the hobgoblins sound a bit too peaceful for my taste. While I do want to destroy the image of goblinoids as adventure-fodder, I still want them to retain some of their wildness and danger, in order to preserve some familiarity and simplicity for players introduced to the setting.
EDIT: Actually, I may put them in charge of the Southern Empire, which I had yet to flesh out. I'm thinking a China-sized political entity with a lot of similarities to real-life China, except more war-like and with elephants. It's a united Empire(albeit which still has to use its entire army most of the time just to keep itself together, and which sees civil wars almost on a regular basis. Hey, hobgoblins) whose people worship its Emperor as a god(and thus actually grants him godly powers, albeit powers that are very limited in scope and application).

unosarta, I have written up a list of demographics, population size and landmass of the civilized countries(ie. everything on the map but the elves, goblinoids and orcs) and added it to the third post of the thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11664353&postcount=3).

[Pokonic]

As for the hobgoblins, I had envisioned them as living in between and amongst the goblin holdfasts, either keeping their own mines and fortresses, often in conflict with their lesser cousins, or working alongside them as elite warriors and doing tasks fitting for their greater size and strength. Your suggestion is fine, but it makes the hobgoblins sound a bit too peaceful for my taste. While I do want to destroy the image of goblinoids as adventure-fodder, I still want them to retain some of their wildness and danger, in order to preserve some familiarity and simplicity for players introduced to the setting.

Perhapes change "minor skirmishes" to "wars of genocide" when it comes to the wild elves. Too chaotic, and they have nothing to give or trade, so why not take the land with orc mercs and use it until its done, and than rinse and repeate? But I would rather keep at least one trading partner that is not as murder-happy, and the gnomes fit that to a tee. That, and selling ore/metal to the gnomes for wepeons they could not get normaly sounds like a good trade agreement to both partys, and gnomes often hire hobgoblins to protect there borders from "misguided" elven clans.



Actually, I may put them in charge of the Southern Empire, which I had yet to flesh out. I'm thinking a China-sized political entity with a lot of similarities to real-life China, except more war-like and with elephants. It's a united Empire(albeit which still has to use its entire army most of the time just to keep itself together, and which sees civil wars almost on a regular basis. Hey, hobgoblins) whose people worship its Emperor as a god(and thus actually grants him godly powers, albeit powers that are very limited in scope and application).

Oh, now your talking! Oh, a idea for a inda equivulent: All the goblinoid races that existed in a moderate amount of land gathered under a united banner by a great sage who taught that a sort of "cosmic cast system" existed, in which the goblins where the servents, scribes, and skilled laberers, bugbears existed to effectily be the "untouchables" and could only find redemption for there past lives actions by dying to protect a honarable cause, and hobgoblens where the solders, preists, and rulers. Now, they may not nessasaraly be in a different country from goblin-china, but is realy a semi-independent state with its own custems, laws and traditions. And of course there not exempt from the civil war goblinoids are prone to, but most self-proclamed warlords are generaly more peaceful then there northern kin.


Also, on this peace of history:



300-600 years ago, the Mithril Empire of the Dwarves finally defeats the Lich-King Ponrang and his undead legions after a gruelling war. The gnomes living in the empire played an as-yet-undefined but crucial role in this victory and are rewarded with the island of Palmor Shienn(where they would found the city of Fann Göör) and all the Shirraz Isles to rule as an independent kingdom. Shortly thereafter, the Empire, which had been in decline for centuries as the mithril that won its affluence was depleted, fell apart as Mittralsar proved unable to control the other cities, especially the rising powers of Jotungate and Makkan-Ghul.

For that crucial role the gnomes played, how about firepower? Hear is a little scenareo that may fit or not:
The lich-king knew that the dwarves would attack with most of there army from a a area with fantastic cover, but would first have to cross a relitivly flat plain to do so. As such, he sent a envoy to one of the largest
Harpy flights to tell them that if they kill off the almost helpless dwarves while on that strip of land they would be rewarded with territory. However, on the night before the harpys would slaughter the dwarves, a gnome scout found out about the strike and helped get several units of snipers situated on a vantage point, and killed so many harpys that they had to retreat back home, saving the dwarven army from aniliation.

[unosarta]

Nice demographics.
Question; since there is like 1 halfling for every 30 or so Humans in the Dawnrealms, are there accommodations for shorter peoples? I mean, Halflings seem plentiful enough, but the Humans could also definitely just not care, and force them to just deal with it.

[3SecondCultist]

Great setting! I especially love your attention to detail, to names, and your maps. I am somewhat of a History buff myself, so I'm definitely adding this to my subscribed threads.

I also have a couple of questions. In your extended backstory, you describe the struggle between the priests of Ave, the priests of Kraios, and the polytheists (this smacks of New Kingdom Egyptian history, with the Aten affair, btw :smallsmile:). Have you already planned out any of the other pantheons of the world, and what role do they play in world politics?

[Werewhale]

Oh, now your talking! Oh, a idea for a inda equivulent: All the goblinoid races that existed in a moderate amount of land gathered under a united banner by a great sage who taught that a sort of "cosmic cast system" existed, in which the goblins where the servents, scribes, and skilled laberers, bugbears existed to effectily be the "untouchables" and could only find redemption for there past lives actions by dying to protect a honarable cause, and hobgoblens where the solders, preists, and rulers. Now, they may not nessasaraly be in a different country from goblin-china, but is realy a semi-independent state with its own custems, laws and traditions. And of course there not exempt from the civil war goblinoids are prone to, but most self-proclamed warlords are generaly more peaceful then there northern kin.
I like the idea of a culturally separate state within the Empire. Indeed, such a large empire would naturally contain several distinct cultural identities. Basing one off of India is a good idea, but while I love basing nations off of real-world equivalents(Wild Elves are a mix of Mongol and Native American, High Elves are a mix of Spanish and Aztec and the Dawnrealms a mix of W. Europe and Egypt with a little Islamic Middle-East and the Far East thrown in), I have to take care not to make the comparison too obvious. The Indian caste system is unique and very recognizable, so I'll have to think on how to differentiate the hobgoblin culture, while still making it believable and easy to grasp.


For that crucial role the gnomes played, how about firepower? Hear is a little scenareo that may fit or not:
The lich-king knew that the dwarves would attack with most of there army from a a area with fantastic cover, but would first have to cross a relitivly flat plain to do so. As such, he sent a envoy to one of the largest
Harpy flights to tell them that if they kill off the almost helpless dwarves while on that strip of land they would be rewarded with territory. However, on the night before the harpys would slaughter the dwarves, a gnome scout found out about the strike and helped get several units of snipers situated on a vantage point, and killed so many harpys that they had to retreat back home, saving the dwarven army from annliation.
I hate to shoot down a suggestion, because I want to encourage them, but this scenario has a couple of flaws. These are the level of technology required, the implied organization of the harpies, the desire of the harpies for territory in the first place, and the tactical implications of such an encounter.
Firstly, the scenario requires a firearm of very good accuracy, such as a highly developed musket or a rifle, the techological equivalent of 1700-1800, when the current technology of the setting is closer to 1500, placing the War of the Lich-King at a technological equivalent of 900-1200. This can be bumped up a bit without dramatically upsetting the dynamic of the world, but that still leaves the gnomes with, at best, primitive cannons(I want to leave proper hand-held firearms for the dwerro-gnomish invasion of the Westermark). But then again, we can replace the firearms of this scenario with finely-made crossbows of superior accuracy(indeed, with the gnomes' aversion to melee, it would only make sense that they are excellent marksmen). But that leaves the other problems.
In order to present a relevant threat to a fully armed host of the Mithril Empire, the harpy flight would have to number thousands, and that's more organization than I want to attribute to the harpies. Still, the Lich-King could have some way of empowering a few harpies to both gain their loyalty and allowing them to bring unprecedented numbers of their kin under their power. More on that later.
The scenario also assumes that the harpies have enough desire for more territory, which I'm not sure they do. They have no interest in the lowlands and they already hold much of the mountains, living mostly in areas the dwarves cannot reach, or have a lot of difficulty reaching, while the dwarves stay underground and in the lowlands. Overpopulation is not so much an issue that they need to expand, either. However, the lich may have other things to offer the harpies.
Lastly, if the harpies were to encounter a force of marksmen with superior weaponry, they would simply fly out of range once they see that they're not going to win a fight, and stay out of range until the attackers grow bored and leave.

However, involving the harpies in some way is a good idea. The Lich-King could bribe a few strong harpy leaders with magical items(magic was a bit more common back then, and he is powerful enough to hold a wealth of enchanted items), both earning their loyalties and making them strong enough to both keep their own population under control, subjugate other harpy groups, and pose a greater threat to the dwarves. Instead of tangling with the field army of the dwarves, they could harass their support trains and the civilian population left defenseless by the absence of the armed forces. This could decimate the dwarven army as lack of food and arms weakens them and soldiers desert to return home to protect their families. The gnomish contribution could be small forces of gnomish warriors that hunt down these harpy leaders and end them.

The more I think about the gnomish contribution, the more I am convinced that it isn't just one, really dramatic thing, and not so heroic as the current history implies. Instead, the Mithril Emperor drafts the gnomes into the army to fight the undead hordes of the Lich-King, an act of desperation after drafting almost every able-bodied dwarf proves insufficient. One gnomish prince distinguishes himself in service, possibly in dealing with the harpies, and soon becomes the leader of the gnomish military, and proves himself a talented tactician. Once the war is over, the dwarves have suffered far more than the gnomes, and the Emperor finds himself leader of a teetering Empire, his people desperately weary of war, his treasury empty but for debts, and facing an army of well-armed, well-led gnomes drunk on victory, and feeling especially patriotic(the prince's motto for galvanising the gnomes and stirring them up for battle was "Forgotten No More!" Before this, the gnomes were often called the Forgotten Folk.) and entitled to a land of their own. The Emperor may have granted them the island of Palmor Shienn(a land that the dwarves weren't using much anyway) not out of gratitude, but to prevent a full-scale revolution of the gnomes, a revolution he may not have been able to resist.

I also want to say this: Just because I shoot a particular suggestion down, doesn't mean it wasn't useful. I may not use your scenario as you put it forth, but it still guided my creative process into helping flesh out a part of the world that I was having trouble defining. So keep them coming, folks!


Nice demographics.
Question; since there is like 1 halfling for every 30 or so Humans in the Dawnrealms, are there accommodations for shorter peoples? I mean, Halflings seem plentiful enough, but the Humans could also definitely just not care, and force them to just deal with it.

(Whoops, went on a tangent here, skip to next paragraph for a proper answer to your question) Halflings are second-class citizens in the Dawnrealms, and history is full of the oppression and even attempted genocides of halflings. For a real-world counterpart, I was thinking of the Jews of old Europe when first writing them into the setting, but they can also be compared to the Roma people(gypsies), or Native Americans(being, after all, the native people of the Dawnrealms). They are forbidden from holding land in most of the Dawnrealms, so a disproportionate amount of them turn to other vocations, such as shopkeeping and banking, earning them an undeserved reputation of greed and miserliness. Others turn to crafts where their little fingers offer them an advantage over their human counterparts(in some kingdoms, they are forbidden from pursuing these careers in order to protect the livelihood of those same humans), or work that in the real world was often accomplished with child labour, such as working in narrow mine shafts.

As for accomodations, there are certainly examples of, for example, inns with short beds and properly-sized chairs and tables(like Lord of the Rings' Bree), but they are not standard. They can be common in areas with high halfling populations, such as Billington, and the larger cosmopolitan cities of the south, such as Sunseat, Trean, Werengport and Saltcoor, but grow less common further north, especially among the Jotes, who have an especially bad history with the Small Folk. There, the halflings do indeed need to just deal with it.


Great setting! I especially love your attention to detail, to names, and your maps. I am somewhat of a History buff myself, so I'm definitely adding this to my subscribed threads.
Thank you very much!


I also have a couple of questions. In your extended backstory, you describe the struggle between the priests of Ave, the priests of Kraios, and the polytheists (this smacks of New Kingdom Egyptian history, with the Aten affair, btw :smallsmile:). Have you already planned out any of the other pantheons of the world, and what role do they play in world politics?
This is the first time I hear of the Aten affair, but I'm happy to hear of a real-world parallel. I shall have to check it out.
I have only the very vaguest idea of the pantheons of the world. Even the Dawnrealms (old) pantheon is very vague. Kraios is a part of the polytheistic pantheon, and often viewed as their champion against the (percieved?) tyranny of Ave, although he has been losing support as the principal god of war to a more ruthless, less honourable and as-yet-unnamed deity who delivers more success against the superior forces of monotheism(Kraios's dogma is one of honourable battle, which obviously failed miserably in the Unification). There is actually a fair amount of politics among the pantheon, working as a second layer of conflict on top of the politics of the mortals. Portfolios change hands over the ages, gods are absorbed by other gods and new gods are created. Ave, for example, used to be only the god of death, but he absorbed Visathe, the god of fate(because the fate of all men is death), then was given Kraios's portfolio of justice by the other gods(Kraios was considered far too fiery and inconsistent for such a task, and it was handed to the quiet, more bureaucratic Ave instead), earning himself the enmity of Kraios, the god of righteous rage.
The as-yet-unnamed Southern Empire worships their Emperor as a god, and his supposed father the Lord of Ice and Fire. Other gods may be worshipped as well.
In the Dusklands, there is the old homeland of the Lich-King Ponrang, an unnamed empire of undead lords which fell to a crusade of paladins and clerics of a god of (life?light?growth? something like that). The undead lords had a habit of crucifying these clerics, but they turned the cross into a symbol of their faith(it always pains my linguistic sensibilities when I see the word 'crusade' applied to a conflict which doesn't include so much as a mention of a single cross, so I had to include it somehow. Is it too much? I did, after all, criticize the Indian caste system as being too recognizable.). I haven't decided anything about the rest of his pantheon. Furthermore, the Dusklands are home to several religions, most likely polytheistic, possibly closely related(like the Greek, Roman and Norse pantheons).
Both elven races have a more spiritualistic religion descended from the common religion of the Old Elves. The Wild Elves are even more spiritualistic than the High Elves, but still worship a few(maybe only one or two?) 'standard' gods.
The halflings have a separate religion from the humans of the Dawnrealms, but many have converted fully to the human religion, especially after the Unification. The gnomes also have a unique religion which seems suspiciously similar to the halfling one, indicating that they have a common ancestor religion.
I have no idea what to do with the dwarves yet. I thought of a ancestor-worshipping religion, but that seems too predictable to me. I'll let that wait for a bit.

This is the full extent of what I have written/thought of on the subject of religion in the setting. As for their role in politics, actual religious wars like the Unification, or the real-world Crusades/Jihads, are very rare, though they may contribute to hostilities between nations as yet another cultural difference. People may also resent being ruled by someone of another religion than themselves, contributing to popular dissent.

[Pokonic]

I also want to say this: Just because I shoot a particular suggestion down, doesn't mean it wasn't useful. I may not use your scenario as you put it forth, but it still guided my creative process into helping flesh out a part of the world that I was having trouble defining. So keep them coming, folks!

Ah, okay. Its that, as you mentioned harpys, the idea that a lich would bribe huge flight of them to attack from the air and a few, well armed gnomes killing them off one-by-one was to good to pass up.

[3SecondCultist]

There is actually a fair amount of politics among the pantheon, working as a second layer of conflict on top of the politics of the mortals. Portfolios change hands over the ages, gods are absorbed by other gods and new gods are created. Ave, for example, used to be only the god of death, but he absorbed Visathe, the god of fate(because the fate of all men is death), then was given Kraios's portfolio of justice by the other gods(Kraios was considered far too fiery and inconsistent for such a task, and it was handed to the quiet, more bureaucratic Ave instead).

Your answers lead me to yet more questions. Are all of the pantheons interconnected under one power structure/hierarchy, or are they all independent of one another? How does a portfolio change hands? How is a new deity created? Can a deity die or be killed? Do some deities have authority over the powers of other deities? From where do deities derive their powers?

I also assume, seeing that your pantheons are obviously different from the standard D&D Greyhawk one, that your planar structure is going to be very different. May I make a suggestion? Leave the Inner and Transient (read: Elemental, Shadow, and Ethereal) Planes, as well as the Astral Plane intact. That way, you can make all of your changes to the Outer Planes without affecting the basic game mechanics too much. It's also a lot easier on the players.

[Werewhale]

Your answers lead me to yet more questions. Are all of the pantheons interconnected under one power structure/hierarchy, or are they all independent of one another? How does a portfolio change hands? How is a new deity created? Can a deity die or be killed? Do some deities have authority over the powers of other deities? From where do deities derive their powers?

I also assume, seeing that your pantheons are obviously different from the standard D&D Greyhawk one, that your planar structure is going to be very different. May I make a suggestion? Leave the Inner and Transient (read: Elemental, Shadow, and Ethereal) Planes, as well as the Astral Plane intact. That way, you can make all of your changes to the Outer Planes without affecting the basic game mechanics too much. It's also a lot easier on the players.
For now, the pantheons are independent, or mostly independent of each other. I don't like the idea of an Overgod, like the Forgotten Realms' Ao. Deities derive their power from the worship of mortals, which is how Ave gained a temporary boost in power, which he used to devastating effect. This power is also tied in location to where their worshippers are, so the Dawnrealms gods will have little power in the Dusklands, for instance.
In the HBO series Rome, Roman centurion Lucius Vorenus advices his friend not to insult the gods of Egypt while they are campaigning there, for they are old and very powerful. This is the sort of thinking I'm going for.
Deities die when no-one worships them any longer. Deities battling it out in personal combat and killing each other that way is the stuff of myth and legend, and has no defined place in the timeline of history, even in the metagame. It just happened 'a long, long time ago'.

Some deities may indeed have some authority over others, but the lesser gods have the free will to disregard them, just as a peasant may disobey his lord.

Gods are created when enough people worship one, and his or her personality and portfolio is shaped by the beliefs of those people. That god may then communicate back to their clergy(albeit in very unclear, roundabout ways, not like regular speech. It still requires the priest to apply himself in order to interpret the deity), expressing their desires or correcting incorrect assumptions about them made by their worshippers, creating a curious feedback loop. People shape the gods and the gods shape people.

I understand that I'm being very vague in all of this, but that's because I want to keep the divines mysterious, inscrutable and undefinable. This may cause problems if someone else than me runs an adventure in the setting, but that's the nature of the game. The DM will have to use his own intuition to determine the game mechanics of deities. When in doubt, I would use the Forgotten Realms mechanics, since that is the setting I am most familiar with. However, it should not be too much of a problem since the world is designed for relatively low-level adventuring, so adventurers tangling personally with gods is highly unlikely.

Planar mechanics is something I had not given a single thought to, but I'll try not to write anything too alien, so I'm likely to use your suggestion.

[Werewhale]

unosarta, I have added a list of relations to the third post. Also adding it here, so you don't have to search for it:

How do the Orcs interact with the Dwarven cities, being so close to each other? Same for Kobolds/Gnomes, Kobolds/Dwarves, Gnomes/Wild Elves, Gnolls/Wild Elves, Goblins/Wild Elves, Bugbears/Orcs, Bugbears/Dwarves, Settled Peoples/Wild Elves, Settled Peoples/Goblins, Settled People/Orcs, Orcs/Humans, etc etc.
Spoilered for tidiness:
Orcs and Dwarves: Relations are generally not so bad. Mostly the orcs keep to their forests and leave the dwarves alone, except to meet in traditionally established areas to trade(small trading towns, usually a modest dwarven outpost). However, dwarven travellers venturing into the orcish woods for whatever reason, innocent or violent, may come under attack by a territorial tribe of orcs. Zhontur has more history with the orcs of Norwood, both good and bad, as they desire Norwood timber for construction material.
Orcs and Wild Elves: Trade is rare, but so are clashes. Neither has interest in the territory of others, but occasional disputes may still erupt in localized violence.
Orcs and Humans(Arborean): A long history. Orcs used to hold the Jade Islands and raid up and down the North Sea coast until the Arboreans conquered them. Descendants of those coast raiders live close to the sea and river and still dream of those glory days, and are thus more violent. The Lockwood is de jure a province of the Kingdom of Arborea, but de facto controlled by orcs. The Arboreans have tried to pacify the forest several times, but the Orcs are infamously dangerous woodsmen and highly motivated when defending their territory. The road through the Lockwood is still heavily defended, and dotted with small forts, but travellers still fall prey to Orcish bandits. On the other hand, some of the less violent tribes trade freely with the Arboreans, many remain in the Jade Islands, more or less assimilated into human culture, and some migrated of their free will from the Lockwood to Arborea proper. These face mixed welcomes from the humans. Many look down on the orcs as violent and primitive while the Kings are either keen to agree with this sentiment or wish to assimilate the orcs in order to better control the Lockwood.
Orcs and Humans(Settlers): The Lockfort was erected by Settlers in order to defend against Orcish incursions, but it has also adopted the role of a trading hub between the two. Still, opinions are mixed on Orcs, with may having lost someone they knew to their bandits. Rarely, orcish raiders attack human settlements.
Kobolds and Gnomes+Dwarves: Very poor relations. Kobolds do not enjoy the luxury of orcish strength or goblin fortifications, so their only way of surviving against conquest by gnomes or dwarves is by adopting a strategy of total war. If it's shorter than 4'6'' and doesn't have scales, shoot on sight. If there are too many of them, don't be seen. This goes for gnomes especially, because while the dwarves have retreated to their mountains and mostly stay there, the gnomes stayed. This has convinced the kobolds that the gnomes mean to kill them all.
Kobolds and Wild Elves: The Wild Elves are the only trading partners the kobolds have, but actual trade is made difficult as the dwarven fort of Steelford straddles the only real viable crossing over the River of Swords. Mostly good relations, since that same river serves as an excellent natural border between them, preventing most disputes.
Gnomes and Wild Elves: Intermittent trade and conflict. The Wild Elves resent the gnomes for intruding upon their land, but the more pragmatic among them enrich themselves by trading with them.
Wild Elves and Gnolls: Mostly violent interaction, with territorial disputes being the main factor. Neither side feels much of a need for respecting the other. On some of the more peaceful areas of the border, tribes will trade with one another.
Goblins and Wild Elves: A little better relations than between the Wild Elves and the Gnolls. Several goblin tribes live in the western lowlands, a necessity since the mountain terrain cannot feed many mouths, but the Wild Elves still feel they should stay in their mountains and leave the flatlands to them. On the other hand, goblin weaponry and metalsmithing is a good reason to keep them friendly.
Wild Elves and Settlers: The Settlers have significant wealth of their own to trade, and through them, the Wild Elves can access Eastern wares such as tea and tobacco, so those who pursue good relations have a lot to gain from doing so. On the other hand, a lot of Wild Elves see the humans as intruders and feel that they should be driven out. Some tribes will trade, others will fight.
Wild Elves and Dwarves: Mostly the same as gnomes. The few remaining dwarven forts are either excellent trading posts or blights upon the land, depending on which Wild Elf you ask.
Bugbears and Dwarves: Bugbears are the wildest of the tribal races, and generally have little interest in trade or diplomacy. A few dwarves have succeeded in temporary trading missions, but these are individual enterprises, and do not register on the grand scale of things.
Bugbears and Orcs: Limited interaction. Dwarven land separates the two, although not by much in the area around Zhontur and Norwood. The two cultures are too wild and disorganized to create a permanent alliance but when a bugbear tribe meets an orcish tribe that is hostile to the dwarves, they may make common cause, if they should both make the fortuitous decision to talk before drawing weapons.
Settlers and Goblins: Trade or conflict. Depends on who is the current leader of the northern goblin clans(if there is one. Often they're all independent, but sometimes a powerful chief will subjugate the others). Mostly its uneasy trade, centered in New Silbard, but that same city has high walls to protect them from the goblins, and goblin raiders plague the route from Pittos to New Silbard.
Settlers and Gnomes: Lots of trade and mutual protection, generally good relations. The gnomes saw the Settlers as a way of securing a trade route with the Dawnrealms, as well as allies against the wild peoples of the Westermark, so they actively aided them in their expansion by offering military protection and engineering expertise. Gnomish marksmen are not uncommon in the larger towns, though today most are paid by the humans themselves, rather than paid soldiers of the gnomish crown.
Settlers and the Dawnrealms: Neutral relations and some trade. There have been no large-scale conflicts, but individual fights may break out over religious issues. The neighbouring Dawnrealms see them as a moderately valuable trading partner, but also as a route to trading with the gnomes. However, there is a rumour going about that the new Emperor intends to ban trade with the polytheist heathens of the Westermark...
Please tell me if I missed something.

I shall be moving into a new apartment over the next few days, so please excuse me if my posting slows down.

[3SecondCultist]

In the HBO series Rome, Roman centurion Lucius Vorenus advices his friend not to insult the gods of Egypt while they are campaigning there, for they are old and very powerful. This is the sort of thinking I'm going for.

Hey, I used to like that show! Too bad it was only two seasons... :smallfrown:


Planar mechanics is something I had not given a single thought to, but I'll try not to write anything too alien, so I'm likely to use your suggestion.

Okay, but this bring up new issues. Where do souls go when they die? Are the outer planes based on the alignment mechanic, or some other variant? Are the consequences of death in your setting more or less than in the standard D&D multiverse?

[Nick_mi]

What happened to this thread? I'm thinking about utilizing this world to DM with. Anymore updates or information?

I noticed that smoking and drinking are banned. How has the populace handled this? I have a feeling my players will want to drink. Are there speakeasy s or?

[Werewhale]

I apologize for the disappearance. I've had to deal with some issues in real life, but I haven't abandoned this project, though updates may be slower than at the beginning(but I hope to avoid another month-long delay).


Okay, but this bring up new issues. Where do souls go when they die? Are the outer planes based on the alignment mechanic, or some other variant? Are the consequences of death in your setting more or less than in the standard D&D multiverse?
I have only tentative ideas on the afterlife, but I'm thinking that after a person dies, their soul goes to a sort of Limbo, or Fugue Plane, the attributes of which I have not yet fully determined. As long as a soul is in the Fugue Plane they can be resurrected by the appropriate spell. However, they do have the option of "going on". By going on, they accept their fate and move beyond the Fugue Plane and beyond all ken of mortals and gods, though gods and priests have no qualms about teaching people what they believe lies beyond. Once a soul moves on it is removed entirely from the board and cannot be resurrected by any means. There is no time limit on how long a soul can stay in Limbo, but it is not a stimulating place and extended stays(on the order of years, decades or centuries) may fray the sanity of the dead soul.

As for plane mechanics, that's a really big question that I'm not sure how to answer, being unfamiliar with planar geography, but I would keep it simple with fewer planes rather than with numerous.


What happened to this thread? I'm thinking about utilizing this world to DM with. Anymore updates or information?

I noticed that smoking and drinking are banned. How has the populace handled this? I have a feeling my players will want to drink. Are there speakeasy s or?
I'm very flattered that you're thinking of using this world. I actually expected that I'd be the only one to use it. If you do DM with it, please let me know so I can observe it in action.

The populace has reacted to the ban as one might expect. Most are not ready to be bereft of a mug of ale at the end of a hard day's work, so illegal alcohol-serving establishments are common. In the north, further removed from the centre of power in Sunseat, these establishments barely even try to hide their business and the authorities place less emphasis on enforcing the ban. Organized crime has received a massive boost by profiting from the manufacture and sale of intoxicants, and many of the Settled Peoples have profitted enormously from selling the same to the Dawnrealms. Some crime syndicates have cropped up in the Settled Lands to force farmers to grow tobacco or brew alcohol in order to export it eastwards. The situation is nearly identical to the U.S. Prohibition era, but with the addition of tobacco and, to a lesser extent, opium.

[Nick_mi]

Ok cool cool.
What were you planning on using as your MAIN adventuring hook. One of my guys made his character last night and is going dwarf, so I'll be starting them up in the dwarven kingdoms. Any words of advice or thought on that?

Edit: Also, what is the dragon population. Are there any on the planet, etc?

[Werewhale]

I still hadn't entirely fleshed out an adventure but I was thinking of starting out from New Qunn and featuring some conflict with the Wild Elves.

As for the dwarven kingdoms, there are several conflicts which may be evolved into an adventure:

Veini Makk is at the edge of dwarf-controlled territory and often finds itself attacked by bugbears and monsters from the forest, especially in winter when the river freezes over, depriving them of a moat.
Mitrallsar still dreams of its old empire and longs for some sort of knowledge or resource to rebuild it(for dwarves, it only fell 2-3 generations ago).
Kenn Jutannkro, being a relatively(for dwarves, anyway) newly-founded town, may have several issues such as giant attacks.
Zhontur, on the eastern shores, is another trading hub, nevertheless often a target of bugbears and some of the wilder orc clans of Norwood. Furthermore, trading vessels sailing between Zhontur and Arborea or the Commonwealth have to deal with piracy(orc and human alike) and storms.
Kobolds are frequently encountered in mines of the smaller(unmarked on the map) settlements on the south side of Jotungard. Less common, are orcs and giants.
The ruins of Jotungate have been mostly stripped clean by looters, but there may still be some treasure to be found in less accessible areas. And probably monsters, too, or just competing and not-too-friendly looters.
If you like a more politically-minded game, as opposed to a more classical evil-bashing one, Makkan-Ghul is on the verge of class warfare as the burghers are becoming massively wealthy from trade, threatening the traditional, conservative power-base of the landed aristocracy.


Eurgh, dragons are a really tough question. I'd really like to keep them in, but in a low-power setting, they're just too damn powerful. There's no real logical reason why a huge, superhumanly intelligent, magical and greedy creature wouldn't just carve out a kingdom for itself. I'd like to keep them in but depower them massively and make them clever, but closer to animal intellect than humanoid, and dangerous, but still something a town or a small elite military force could handle. So for now, they don't have a set place, but they feature in histories, unverified witness accounts and most people are certain that they exist somewhere, probably in the Sunset Realms and the Southern Empire.

[3SecondCultist]

I still hadn't entirely fleshed out an adventure but I was thinking of starting out from New Qunn and featuring some conflict with the Wild Elves.

As for the dwarven kingdoms, there are several conflicts which may be evolved into an adventure:

Veini Makk is at the edge of dwarf-controlled territory and often finds itself attacked by bugbears and monsters from the forest, especially in winter when the river freezes over, depriving them of a moat.
Mitrallsar still dreams of its old empire and longs for some sort of knowledge or resource to rebuild it(for dwarves, it only fell 2-3 generations ago).
Kenn Jutannkro, being a relatively(for dwarves, anyway) newly-founded town, may have several issues such as giant attacks.
Zhontur, on the eastern shores, is another trading hub, nevertheless often a target of bugbears and some of the wilder orc clans of Norwood. Furthermore, trading vessels sailing between Zhontur and Arborea or the Commonwealth have to deal with piracy(orc and human alike) and storms.
Kobolds are frequently encountered in mines of the smaller(unmarked on the map) settlements on the south side of Jotungard. Less common, are orcs and giants.
The ruins of Jotungate have been mostly stripped clean by looters, but there may still be some treasure to be found in less accessible areas. And probably monsters, too, or just competing and not-too-friendly looters.
If you like a more politically-minded game, as opposed to a more classical evil-bashing one, Makkan-Ghul is on the verge of class warfare as the burghers are becoming massively wealthy from trade, threatening the traditional, conservative power-base of the landed aristocracy.


Eurgh, dragons are a really tough question. I'd really like to keep them in, but in a low-power setting, they're just too damn powerful. There's no real logical reason why a huge, superhumanly intelligent, magical and greedy creature wouldn't just carve out a kingdom for itself. I'd like to keep them in but depower them massively and make them clever, but closer to animal intellect than humanoid, and dangerous, but still something a town or a small elite military force could handle. So for now, they don't have a set place, but they feature in histories, unverified witness accounts and most people are certain that they exist somewhere, probably in the Sunset Realms and the Southern Empire.

I quite like that idea. I've always thought that myths and legends were something lost in D&D, because the creatures and gods have been brought entirely from the immaterial to the material. That absence, that leaving something out, is noticeable, and has a tangible effect.

Which, as always, leads me to more questions. Do any humans remember where they come from? What kind of myths, legends, or bits of folklore do people tell? How well founded is oral tradition in places like the Dawnrealms compared to more recently settled lands such as the Westermark?

[Nick_mi]

So I'm starting up a game here soon. Unless things change, it's a two-man party. One dwarven fighter, one dwarven cleric. Their stats are pretty good. The cleric took a 34 point buy in. And the fighter rolled for his stats, but when all was said and done he was at 36 points over.

I haven't thought about it too much, but for now I'm going to have them start up in the dwarven areas. Not sure what city, but I'll just have them start out looking for something to do and suggest a bunch of conflicts that you mentioned above and see what they do. I plan to either collaborate here with you guys or make the main plot later and for now just keep them busy, invested in the world, and getting stronger since they're not very experienced players and I worry about their survival :P.

For now my main questions are. Do you have any dwarf lore, relevant characters(political, militarily, evil, etc), or just anything about dwarves. If you wanted a focal point to start really hashing details out on, I request the dwarven area. =)

[Werewhale]

Sure thing, Nick_mi. I don't have anything at the moment, it's late here now and I'm doing a five hour drive tomorrow, but I'll start on making some dwarven fluff, so I should have at least something to present to you tomorrow night or the next day.

3SecondCultist, I haven't forgotten you either, but I can't answer your questions just yet. I'll try to present something in a couple of days.

[Nick_mi]

Started up my campaign 2 nights ago. Kinda got cold feet 30 minutes in and we called it a night there. Last night another buddy came and joined in. So now the party is.

Dwarf Fighter 2
Dwarf Cleric 2
Gnome Rogue 2

Rogue is going into alchemey and poisons. Anyways, I had them start out in renn jutannkro. I had some ideas set up for him that you suggested but they were all about finding a caravan to protect. So after some searching they found a potion shop making a shipment to Steelford. They passed up on a couple of adventures I had planned due to protecting the caravan, but last night they ran into a kobold trap that made them imooble for a day, and the driver was kidnapped. The two dwarves end up running into a gnome rogue, and they end up wiping a a kobold cave with about 17 or so kobolds, and a trapped bear that was released at the end. Now we're sitting in the kobold cave, and I intend on having them fight some sort of intelligent humanoids who found the wagon when they were all in the kobold cave.

Still got nothing on an over-arching plan.

[3SecondCultist]

Started up my campaign 2 nights ago. Kinda got cold feet 30 minutes in and we called it a night there. Last night another buddy came and joined in. So now the party is.

Dwarf Fighter 2
Dwarf Cleric 2
Gnome Rogue 2

Rogue is going into alchemey and poisons. Anyways, I had them start out in renn jutannkro. I had some ideas set up for him that you suggested but they were all about finding a caravan to protect. So after some searching they found a potion shop making a shipment to Steelford. They passed up on a couple of adventures I had planned due to protecting the caravan, but last night they ran into a kobold trap that made them imooble for a day, and the driver was kidnapped. The two dwarves end up running into a gnome rogue, and they end up wiping a a kobold cave with about 17 or so kobolds, and a trapped bear that was released at the end. Now we're sitting in the kobold cave, and I intend on having them fight some sort of intelligent humanoids who found the wagon when they were all in the kobold cave.

Still got nothing on an over-arching plan.

You could always pull a Sartre or a Beckett on them. Play with the philosophy of the game. Make it look as if there is something there, and then you pull back the curtain: there is no overarching plot. I've tried it before, with varying degrees of success. :smallamused:

[Nick_mi]

You could always pull a Sartre or a Beckett on them. Play with the philosophy of the game. Make it look as if there is something there, and then you pull back the curtain: there is no overarching plot. I've tried it before, with varying degrees of success. :smallamused:

Nah, these guys are very combat oriented.

[3SecondCultist]

Nah, these guys are very combat oriented.

Exactly. It's a win-win. They get a lot of crazy fights, and you get to have some existentialist fun.

[Nick_mi]

No updates makes me a saaaaaaad panda