The Vast and the Restless

[Malachi Lemont]

"The world is vast, and only men are restless."
-- High Vicar Cossigan

"No, you old fool, the world itself tosses and turns, and all that is vast comes from us!"
-- Archpriest Fiodor

"These debates are nothing but empty words from empty-headed men. We have people to feed, and a world to serve."
-- Goodmaster Tom



So yes, even the people who live in this world don't even know what the title means. In fact, the only thing they can agree on is that the world they live in - The Vast - is a wild but beautiful place.

The Vast
In the Vast, geography is a wild card in the course of history. The laws of nature are different here than on Earth, such that a mountain may move several miles within a person's lifetime, a lake may appear out of nowhere one day, and a river might never reach the sea. People will spend centuries building a thriving metropolis only to have it torn in two by a opening in the walls of the world. Many people survive the constantly shifting landscape by always staying on the run, forming nomadic communities based around trade and foraging. Others stake out a spot in the turf and hope that the next earthquake will miss their village.

The Great Rages
Although the Vast is constantly struck by natural disasters, every so often the physical realm and the spiritual realm - the Restless - collide with each other so violently that a temporary apocalypse occurs. This has happened ten times in recorded history, and seldom happens more than once in a lifetime. Historians refer to these ten enormous disasters as the Great Rages. The most recent one, the Tenth Rage, happened roughly thirty years ago, and is still vividly remembered by the older generations.

Every Great Rage is different, but each one is deadly in its own right. Sometimes the seas rise to nearly swallow the dry land. Other times, the land folds in on itself, opening up sinkholes the size of cities and mixing together cultures that were once thousands of miles apart. The social consequences of each Rage usually persist long after the natural effects have subsided. And they are impossible to predict.

Author's Note:
Before I get too far into this project, I wanted to explain precisely what I'm aiming for with the Vast and the Restless. I'm hoping to create a world that's not excessively dark, but full of conflict nonetheless. This world will not be ruled exclusively by ruthless warlords, scheming nobles, or treacherous wizards. There will be plenty of benevolent leaders looking to pursue the best course for their people. Also, technology levels can range anywhere from the dawn of civilization to the 1850s, depending on the region. So I want to keep the tone optimistic, but also mysterious and ominous at the same time. I want to avoid any sense of balance or symmetry to this world - it is meant to be surreal, chaotic, and seemingly arbitrary - yet beautiful because of its irregularity. As I continue, please offer any criticism you think of, and let me know whether I am progressing toward these goals or missing the mark. Thank you.

[Malachi Lemont]

The Major Nations of the Vast:

Averdach
Averdach is a woodland nation divided between two main groups - The Protectors and the Givers. The Protectors are a small and elite ruling class, in which gender distinctions are almost non-existent. Women can wear suits of armor and men can wear jewelry and cosmetics if they wish. Polygamy and communal marriages are common. The Protectors ride around on horses and in chariots, which they prefer over the noisy locomotives. The Givers, on the other hand, have strong codified gender roles that emphasize physical prowess in men and beauty in women. They do almost all of the manual labor in Averdach. There are many levels of social hierarchy within the Givers, and some Givers who achieve highly enough in their field can become Protectors. Although the two groups are distinct, they are not strictly hereditary.

Cadonmarch
Centuries ago, the rolling plains of Cadonmarch were the exclusive domain of the Cadons, a race of nomadic people who had mastered the art of horseback riding, and roamed the land herding sheep and cattle. Now these old ways have been all but forgotten, as the shifting geography has transformed Cadonmarch into a wild and diverse region. Cadonmarch has almost no central government, except for the Committee, which gathers representatives from all the major towns, but has little military power. This region is more like a confederacy of separate kingdoms and republics, each one home to a wide assortment of upstart capitalists, exiled nobles, and overworked peasants. Although Cadonmarch lacks the unity that some of the other nations have, it serves as a crossroads where people from all over the Vast come to meet each other.

Homevale
The rulers of Homevale would like to think their nation is immune to the forces of time. Despite the industrial progress that has swept the rest of the Vast in the last few centuries, Homevale has remained trapped in antiquity. Nearly surrounded by mountains, this feudal kingdom maintains an agricultural economy built on the backs of peasants. Over the years, its rulers have grown increasingly xenophobic and isolationist, maintaining an strong military but engaging only in the most minimal trade with Homevale's neighboring countries. Many of the peasants have heard tales about the wonders of the outside world, but few will ever stray more than a few miles from the place of their birth. Surprisingly, the shifting geography that affects the rest of the Vast never seems to alter the layout of Homevale. The rulers attribute this to the fact that they are the chosen people, free from the corrupt ways of outsiders.

Saiadel
Saiadel is a paradoxical nation, a mix of the modern and the ancient. In recent years, this small but wealthy kingdom has produced some of the greatest scientists, inventors, and philosophers. Buildings will reach up into the heavens, and the trains always run on time. But the people still abide by an ancient caste system that the rest of the world finds bizarre. In Saiadel, a person's height is the chief factor in his or her success. Those of average height are considered "made in the image of the Gods," so naturally, they have the authority to govern. The taller men and women (although they usually end up being men) provide the backbone of the industrial labor force, as well as the military. The shorter folk (usually women) occupy the service industries, as waiters, entertainers, and merchants. People in Saiadel welcome gladly welcome foreigners and have almost no concept of ethnicity in the traditional sense, yet they discriminate fervently against people whose bodies do not fit the aesthetic ideal.

Vooln
The people of Vooln describe their troubled nation as "in a period of transition." The rest of the world is not so kind. Often called "the cesspit of the Vast," Vooln is where many of the least fortunate folk tend to spend their lives. Plagued by foul weather, frequent natural disasters, and the more recent problem of industrial pollution, the low standard of living often repels all but the most desperate workers. But many Voolnians soon develop a pride in what their nation has to offer. As the only somewhat democratic nation in the Vast, all men and women of whatever economic status have the power to elect local leaders, who make up the High Council of the land, which makes a genuine effort to fairly distribute the resources Vooln is able to take in. Vooln's aristocracy is all but extinct. Most of the noble houses have gone bankrupt or been bought out by industrial companies. The few dynasties that remain consist of tired old lords and ladies who hold honorary posts on the High Council but have little influence on its decisions.

[Malachi Lemont]

Minor Nations and Regions:

The River Holds
In the eastern part of Cadonmarch, where the Bellows River widens and flows into the Hallowed Sea, a cluster of small kingdoms called the River Holds developed a culture distinct from the rest of Cadonmarch. This swampy terrain, rich in the fishing trade but poor in other resources, was devastated by the Tenth Rage, which sent a massive hurricane through the area, flooding most of the river basin. As the River Holds recovered, they were unable to pay taxes to the other holds in Cadonmarch, and also became increasingly competitive with each other for control of the more prosperous land to the west. The people in Cadonmarch grew irritated, but did not have powerful armies to defend their lands. The secession of the River Holds ended up as a proxy war for Vooln and Averdach to play out their rivalry without engaging directly. Four of the five River Holds gained independence. The other was utterly destroyed by the war.

The Roaming Isles
As the name suggests, these islands can never be found on a map, as they float all around the seas of the Vast. Sometimes sighted in the Hallowed Sea to the east, and sometimes in the Deadman's Gulf to the north, but usually somewhere in the Unforgiving Ocean to the West, this archipelago is home to small population of farmers and fishermen who live at the mercy of the Vast. People born on the isles often migrate to the mainland, but rarely do mainlanders ever approach the isles - they are too afraid of the myths about the sea. The Roaming Islanders exploit these fears and have developed a powerful navy despite their small population.

Kaithman's Ridge
This rugged, sometimes volcanic mountain range separates the mapped portions of the Vast from the unknown. The Ridge got it's name when Lord Kaithman, a legendary conqueror, led an army of thousands across the Ridge, and they all disappeared. Not a single man was heard from again. This strange occurrence has inspired all sorts of myths and tales about what lies beyond the Ridge. The only thing people agree on is that the far side of the mountains is a dangerous place. The people who live on the foothills of the Ridge, on the near side, are called the "Onlookers" or "the Ridgemen," and are often characterized as an honorable but primitive people. They live in small communities, and have never been conquered due to other nations' fears of repeating Kaithman's folly. The Onlookers are the only outsiders who are respected by Homevale.

The Screaming Wastes
This sweltering desert in the north has rarely been entered and even more seldom been charted. Only a few towns and outposts on its southern and eastern borders have managed to persist. Many of the magical creatures that emerged from the Great Rages are thought to have ended up in the Screaming Wastes, waiting for foolish mortals to enter and be devoured.

Thrynum
An icy tundra to the far south, sparsely populated and covered in snow for most of the year. The people of Homevale often tell horror stories about the monsters living in these frigid hills. Even Lord Kaithman didn't want to invade Thrynum.

Tasaron
The homeland of the Tasaron people vanished without explanation during the Fourth Rage, at the height of their glory. Many Tasarons ended up in Vooln, displaced by the shifting geography of the Vast. A series of conflicts developed as a result of their unexpected appearance. The land of Tasaron is believed to have been completely destroyed, but many people hold out hopes that it lies across the sea, just beyond the horizon, waiting to be rediscovered.

[Malachi Lemont]

Religions of the Vast:

The Seekers of the Truth
An ancient religion with well-established roots in nearly every region of the Vast, the Seekers of the Truth remain the most populous. You'll find a Temple of Truth in every village, even in Saiadel, where the faith is discouraged. The Seekers worship no actual gods, but believe in the pursuit of higher knowledge about the world. They see all hardship as a step on the road to discovery. For centuries, the Seekers have been divided nearly in half between two closely related sects, Sky and Earth. Recently, though, a third powerful sect has emerged. Despite their different beliefs, all sects have similar worship services, and an all-male clergy.
-- The Sky Seekers believe that knowledge about spiritual forces, like morality, hope, and fate, is the most important kind of wisdom. They see the weather and atmosphere as the physical manifestation of the spiritual realms. Priests of the Sky Seekers are called Vicars.
-- The Earth Seekers believe that the land itself is the greatest source of wisdom. They pursue a more physical branch of science, interpreting stones, trees, and animals as signals from the Vast. Priests of the Earth Seekers are called Priests or Archpriests.
-- The Heart Seekers aim to pursue social justice rather than abstract knowledge, and only take part in science when it contributes directly to the public good. Some call them heretics, others call them the only True Seekers, and still others appreciate the value of all three branches of the Seekers. Priests are called Goodmasters.

The Wise Wayfarers
The Wise Wayfarers are a missionary religion that travels around the Vast offering free services to those in need. Wayfarers must take a vow of poverty, forsaking all but the most necessary possessions as they travel. They form tight, friendly communities ranging in number from ten to a thousand. Membership among the Wayfarers has been declining recently. Although nearly everyone respects them, few are willing to join.

The Lord and The Lady
The state religion of Saiadel reflects the cultural standards of its people. They worship two Gods - the Lord and the Lady, who they depict as the moral and physical ideal of mankind. The religion reinforces the belief that the body reflects the soul, and only those whose bodies are beautiful and perfectly proportioned can gain the favor of the Lord and the Lady. This religion has a "Heaven" for those who the Gods favor, but it has no "Hell." The unfavorable simply die and return to the earth.

The Dark Faith
The Dark Faith began about five hundred years ago as an obscure cult in a remote corner of Vooln, but through tireless evangelism it has grown to become one of the major religions of the Vast. People of the Dark Faith, believe that trust and respect are ultimately more powerful than fear and intimidation. As a result, their religion forbids any member to touch a weapon or to cause deliberate harm to any individual. In times of war, members of the Dark Faith are notorious draft dodgers, and are often imprisoned and even killed for their beliefs. Clergy members are called "Shadowsire" for men and "Ghostmother" for women. Services always take place at night, which they believe to be far more sacred than the day. They aim to convert the entire world to their faith through peaceful means. Although there are those who have killed in the name of the Dark Faith, these people are not considered true members of the religion. The Dark Faith has loose attitudes toward sex and gender roles, although they do require celibacy among the clergy. They have strong and gruesome beliefs about the afterlife, but share a utopian vision of the future.

The Beckoners
The Beckoners are a radical, sometimes violent group with their minds on the future. They believe that the Vast will soon come to an end, and that it is their job to prepare humanity for its annihilation. By purifying the world, they believe that the chosen few will be gifted with a glorious afterlife. The Beckoners worship a single God whose name is only known by one person in the world, the Oracle of the Sun. The name itself is said to provide direct communication with the God, but only for those who are worthy. If anyone else sees the name, they will burst into flames. This theory has been tested by many heretics. So far it is true.

The Worldwakers
The Worldwakers worship many Gods, whom they believe are scattered throughout the corners of the Vast, waiting to be discovered. They take joy in exploring new lands, regardless of the risks involved. Although they condemn violence and ill will, the Worldwakers have gained an unfortunate reputation as swindlers and thieves in many regions. Their temples are looked at with suspicion, and people outside the religion consider them more of a criminals' guild with a happy face than a genuine faith.

The Silent Stewards
The Silent Stewards, like the Worldwakers, swear allegiance to a multitude of Gods, but they live by an entirely different lifestyle. The Stewards believe that the Gods are far beyond human comprehension, and that the best humanity can do is wait patiently until the Divine plans are revealed. They encourage integrity, grace, and, of course, silence. Rather than preaching their beliefs to the world, the Stewards prefer to lead by example.

[Malachi Lemont]

The History of the Vast

Before - 6 million: The Age of Chaos

c. - 6 million - 14,000: The Age of Beasts

c. - 14000: The Beginning of the Modern Epoch

c. - 10000: The Birth of Mankind

c. - 4000: First Cave Paintings

c. - 3000: Discovery of Fire

c. - 600: Beginnings of Agriculture

Year 1: The First Rage

Years 2 - 250: The First Towns Emerge

c. 250: The Second Rage

250 - 400: The Cold Years

c. 400: The Third Rage

400 - 750: A Time of Growth

c. 750: The Fourth Rage

750 - 1134: The First Kingdoms

900 - 1134: Rise of the Tasarons

1134: The Fifth Rage

1134 - 1141: The Conquest of Vooln

1141 - 1145: The War of Liberation

1145 - 1190: The Time of Shackles

1190 - 1192: The Slaves' Revolt

1192 - 1285: Expansion into Cadonmarch

1285 - 1288: The Cadonic War

1288: The Retreat of the Cadons

1289: The Sixth Rage

1290 - 1350: The Rebuilding Years

1311: The Dark Faith begins

1300 - 1445: The Rise of Saiadel

1444 - 1457: The Southward Campaigns

1457 - 1531: The Quiet Years

1531 - 1554: Kaithman's Conquests

1555: Kaithman's Folly

1556 - 1581: The Wars of Succession

1581: The Seventh Rage

1582: The Retreat of Homevale

1582 - 1619: The Beginnings of Gunpowder

1619 - 1624: The War of Cannon Fire

1624 - 1630: The Unification of Cadonmarch

1630: The Eighth Rage

1630 - 1650: The Beginnings of the Urban Age

1650 - 1662: The Shortages

1662: The Ninth Rage

1662 - 1699: The Rise of the Averdi

1669 - 1703: The Founding of Averdach

1703 - 1770: The Beginnings of Coal Power

1754: The first railroads appear in Saiadel

1754 - 1790: Railroads spread southward

1790 - 1794: The Troubles of Vooln

1794: The Tenth Rage

1794 - 1798: The War for the River Holds

1798 - 1826: The Stagnation of Averdach

1798 - 1810: The Decline of Vooln

1810 - 1826: The Recovery of Vooln

1826: Current Year

[Everyl]

Looks like an interesting setting, with a good mix of relatable and fantastic concepts. I gave the whole thing a once-over, and I don't have time for a second look today, so sorry if any of these questions/comments were addressed already and I just didn't notice.

The calendar goes back about 2000 years, by the looks of it. Was there anything before the First Rage? Is that when recorded history begins, or when the world came into existence? Do people in the setting know the answer to those questions?

You address tech levels a bit, but not magic levels. The only direct reference to magic is talking about magical beasts. Is this a D&D setting, with D&D-style classes? Or is magic a function of the world's unpredictable and mutable nature, keeping it out of the reach of mortals? And if humans do have access to magic, how, if at all, does that interact/influence the progress of technology?

Speaking of mortals, it looks like this is a humans-only setting, with no fantasy races. Is that correct? It feels strange to have to ask that, but I'm not sure what, if any, D&D tropes are involved in your setting.

For the society where "average" height is valued, how is that average determined? If there's a famine and a generation goes malnourished, does the "ideal" change with the shorter population? Also, what happens if a person's height is somehow difficult to determine - if someone loses their legs, for example? And do people ever try to "game" the system - short parents spending extravagantly on food for their tallest child in the hopes of achieving average, or a tall child going on a starvation diet to try to avoid overshooting the ideal?

General comments: I like the religions quite a bit. It's nice to see fantasy religions that aren't clearly Good vs. Evil, but instead more complicated and viewed differently by different groups. Also, I like the way the cultures' defining characteristics are comprehensible, but generally not directly related to any real-world cultures.

[Malachi Lemont]

First of all, I wanted to say thank you so much for reviewing my setting. I know it can be a lot more difficult to critique someone else's setting than to make your own, which is why I try to give some helpful feedback on each promising new setting I see. I hope this will be a project I will continue to work on for a while.


Looks like an interesting setting, with a good mix of relatable and fantastic concepts. I gave the whole thing a once-over, and I don't have time for a second look today, so sorry if any of these questions/comments were addressed already and I just didn't notice.

The calendar goes back about 2000 years, by the looks of it. Was there anything before the First Rage? Is that when recorded history begins, or when the world came into existence? Do people in the setting know the answer to those questions?

I'm glad you asked this question. Sometimes I get annoyed when settings have recorded histories that are way too long, like 10 million years of civilization or something, so I decided to shorten it a bit. Then I realized that the setting started a little too abruptly, so I went back and edited the timeline. To answer your question, the First Rage was not the beginning of the World, but it wiped out so many traces of history that anything that happened before is highly uncertain. Although there is evidence of agriculture going back several centuries before the First Rage, modern civilization did not truly begin to develop until after it.


You address tech levels a bit, but not magic levels. The only direct reference to magic is talking about magical beasts. Is this a D&D setting, with D&D-style classes? Or is magic a function of the world's unpredictable and mutable nature, keeping it out of the reach of mortals? And if humans do have access to magic, how, if at all, does that interact/influence the progress of technology?

I have to confess that it's not really a D&D setting. I have nothing against D&D, it sounds like a great game, but I've never actually played it, yet I love world-building nonetheless and this forum seemed like a great place to get feedback. This setting is really meant for some kind of freeform or homebrew RPG, that is, if it becomes an RPG at all. Of course, if you want to adapt it to D&D or some other system, please do so. That would help a lot in making sense of the setting. I will try to be as detailed as possible, but I think I'm going to avoid classes and stats in order to create a system-independent setting built for storytelling rather than mechanics.

Now, to address the issue of magic. Does it exist? Yes. Can it be controlled? Not easily. Magic, in the Vast and the Restless setting, is, as you suggested, a product of the supernatural landscape. In addition to the Great Rages, there are often gaps in the space-time fabric that let in strange curses, and occasionally monsters, from other dimensions. These other dimensions can also abduct people from the real world. Occasionally, someone will try to harness these otherworldly forces into an art. With various degrees of success, various wizards and sorcerers have been told to perform stunning works of magic, but the general public often doubts their authenticity.


Speaking of mortals, it looks like this is a humans-only setting, with no fantasy races. Is that correct? It feels strange to have to ask that, but I'm not sure what, if any, D&D tropes are involved in your setting.

I kind of shied away from addressing the topic of race, seeing as how controversial my "Specter of Racism" post ended up. So yes, this setting is most-likely going to be humans-only, mainly because I like the aesthetic, and there's so much you can do with humans. However, if you feel strongly about introducing some other races, please tell me, because I would like to do a thorough job on them, rather than simply heaping them in on top of the already-established human cultures.


For the society where "average" height is valued, how is that average determined? If there's a famine and a generation goes malnourished, does the "ideal" change with the shorter population? Also, what happens if a person's height is somehow difficult to determine - if someone loses their legs, for example? And do people ever try to "game" the system - short parents spending extravagantly on food for their tallest child in the hopes of achieving average, or a tall child going on a starvation diet to try to avoid overshooting the ideal?

Another great question. The height-based caste system is something I've wanted to explore for a while. Granted, it exists to a certain extent in certain aspects of the real world, but I wanted to create a society where it was the primary means of discrimination. I decided it would be too simplistic to go with "taller is better," and thought it would be more likely to have the most average-bodied people looking at others as aberrations.

That being said, of course it's difficult to pin down what an average body means. In Saiadel, however, the perfect height is typically defined to be about 5'7". We would consider this rather short for a man (Tom Cruise is 5'7") but rather tall for a woman. (Keira Knightley is the same height.) The Saiadelans ignore the inherent height differences between men and women, claiming that either gender can aspire to the same standard of perfection.

One of the interesting things about this method of social division is that people often don't know what caste they will end up in until adolescence. As a result, parents subject their children to routines that are sometimes sensible, sometimes ineffective, and sometimes abusive, in order to improve their chances of making it into the ruling class.

Their "perfect body" myth depends on more than just height. The Saiadelans encourage vigorous exercise and strict dietary habits in order to maintain a lean, muscular physique. Being overweight or excessively thin is just as much as stigma as being tall or short, but these symptoms can be treated. Typically, the only overweight people are those who honestly don't care about the caste system. For women, large breasts are frowned upon and seen as a hindrance to the body's athletic potential. Men, of course, are lucky enough to never have to worry about this.

One might guess that the elderly would also be poorly treated, since their bodies have begun to decline. Indeed, most of the positions of power are held by young adults, but those who survive until old age are usually respected for their minds rather than their bodies. The Saiadelans value more than just the body. Their nation has also produced many scientists and philosophers, and their achievements are commemorated in the history of Saiadel.


General comments: I like the religions quite a bit. It's nice to see fantasy religions that aren't clearly Good vs. Evil, but instead more complicated and viewed differently by different groups. Also, I like the way the cultures' defining characteristics are comprehensible, but generally not directly related to any real-world cultures.

Thanks. That's exactly what I was going for. There will be hints of real-world cultures here and there, but I basically want to create my own cultures with unique, but believable, characteristics. Some of the cultures and religions are a bit one-dimensional for now, but I might flesh them out a bit more later. Eventually, I'd like to describe the sub-cultures that develop within each nation - mainly focusing on the effect of multilingual cultures. I might make a brief list of the languages spoken in the Vast.

Anyway, thanks again for your help in making this a more dynamic and entertaining setting!

[Malachi Lemont]

As the name of the highest religious figure in the Vast, right now I have The Oracle of the Sun. But this might not be the best title out there? How about...

The Pontificator

The Holy Ray of Dawn

The Redeeming Sword

The Voice of Heaven

The Shadow of God on Earth


Or how about if I combine all of these to get....

"All hail the Great Pontificator, our only Redeeming Sword, the Voice of Heaven, Oracle of Sunlight, Holy Ray of Dawn, and the Shadow of God on Earth!"

A bit much? Nah....

[Alexkubel]

ooh fun, this setting looks wonderful!

with the description given I could...
Yes I could have the Players unexpectedly Arrive rather then their intended Destination by some unforeseen event. so many opportunities. all of them probably wont happen.

[Everyl]

Just a quick reply before I head out for work:

I have no problem with non-D&D worldbuilding or with a humans-only setting. Truth be told, it's been nearly a decade since my last involvement in a long-running D&D game, and the few games I've managed to be involved with since then have been other systems. Also, I think that humans are more than complicated enough to make for interesting stories without any other races at all. Also, antagonists are more interesting if the players can still relate to them on some level, and that's easier to do if you haven't slapped a coat of "Usually Evil"-colored paint on them.

[D20ragon]

This setting looks great. I like "voice of heaven" for a religious title.
I will post more as I think of it.